pastameshugana

This sounds amazing. Especially with something like a brie and a blueberry or raspberry syrup. I'm going to have to make some...

My wife and I were in Brisbane for a few days for my work, and our route took us through Hong Kong. On the way home, we had a 17hr layover, landing at 7am and departing just after midnight. I took advantage of that and planned a food tour of the city. Even though we took the train/subway everywhere, we still ended up walking nearly 11 miles, so we earned our food! First up was a dumpling shop called Sun Hing on the Island side. Communal dining as it was tiny: We had: Custard lava bun, shui mai, shrimp dumpling, pork bao. The custard buns were amazing. One of the best bites in my living memory. Salted duck egg yolk custard in an amazingly perfect bun. All the others were world class as well, but I have (literally) had dreams about this custard bun since we've been back. Custard bun: Pork bao: Then off for roast meats at Dragon State Kitchen restaurant. We had duck and pork, both were excellent. There were others that were more highly recommended, but a combination of closed restaurants and location/distance landed us here. Still, we were not disappointed. Cash only, so I had to leave and find an ATM, but they didn't seem worried that I wouldn't come back. Pork: Obligatory pineapple bread and egg tart somewhere along the way: Then we bopped over to the mainland for the rest of the day. First stop was Mak Man Kee for wonton noodle soup: Another communal dining experience. Our table-mate spoke a little bit of english and offered to take a picture of us. The wontons were exceptionally good. Absolutely the best I've had. I loved the noodles, my wife not so much. They had an earthy flavor and strong chew. I couldn't work out what was different about them, but they were fantastic. Maybe buckwheat? After this a few hours of wandering around Jordan and various areas (it's a bit of a blur now). Made it to Kowloon Park and the free aviary, where I snagged a short nap on a bench while my wife watched flamingoes and tourists. There we found a little McD's ice cream kiosk selling Dark Chocolate Kit Kat Sundaes. So of course... Then ended up in a 7-11 looking for a power bank, and bought the first Slurpee I've had in probably 20 years - Orange and Blue Fanta: Spent a little bit of time at the Temple Street Night Market, and bought an egg waffle. It was nice, but definitely more photogenic than earthshakingly delicious: Took some photos of food I wanted to eat but was too stuffed to manage: Then for dinner, went to Hing Kee for clay pot rice. This restaurant, along with the first one (Sun Hing) were recommendations from Bon Appetit's Lucas Sin, and they are absolute winners. Oyster pancakes, broccolini(?), and black pepper beef clay pot rice. The broccolini was cooked perfect, a garlicky hit and delicious. The oyster pancakes were amazing. Plump oysters and scallions in a hot, crispy batter with a tangy chili sauce to dip them in. Both of those dishes we ordered after seeing them on someone else's table. And the clay pot rice was fantastic. The flavor of the beef and sauce on top were perfect, I dipped some of my other dishes in it. If you eat it carefully and don't disturb the rice around the edges/bottom, by the time you get about halfway done, they are nice and crispy. Then we broke it up and stirred it in for the lovely rice crunch. Amazing. Finally, we stumbled upon this little dessert place while looking for something else: 甜公館 or Sweet Moment She had Rice ball & brown sugar pearls in mango pomelo sago: And I had brown sugar mochi creme brulee with ice cream: They were both fantastic. What an incredible city. I would love to spend a couple of weeks here just eating, but life goes on...

That is usually a pre-requisite... ...ba-dum-tish...

That chicken looks and sounds wonderful!

I was home last night nursing a cold and trying to take it easy (I've got several speaking engagements this weekend, so doing all I can to get better / not get worse). Was reading a little story about a bakery and thought 'I need to bake some bread.' Realized we were out of flour so bopped over to the shop for flower, and saw a little (250ml) bottle of cream and thought, 'Why don't I make some butter while I'm at it?' - which I've never done before. So, I made some basic salted butter, which was so easy and felt a little bit magical when the whipped cream 'suddenly' became butter. Then the super-easy no-knead bread that we usually make, but I substituted the buttermilk for the water called for. Made for a delicious breakfast. The texture of the bread was definitely different, reminds me a bit of a biscuit. I'm curious what is happening chemically when using buttermilk instead of plain water in a break recipe (or any baking, for that matter). Anyhoo, toasted with plenty of butter, what a great brekkie. And I probably need to go have another slice now...

Can you share your recipe/method for the popovers themselves?

The popovers look amazing!

@C. sapidus That egg looks amazing.

Looks beautiful, would love to see a 'profile' or side picture to see the stack. Also, great dish!

Something that is regrettably true about most of my kitchen escapades...

Thanks so much for all the input and thoughts. @Maison Rustique - no new medications lately (thankfully!) @Tropicalsenior - a shame! Now I feel kind of silly, because after all the handwringing over this, and trying to figure this out, I realized that there might be a simpler answer. Our iodized 'table' salt has been stored in a metal container all this time... some googling suggests that this could likely be adding the pronounced metallic taste I've been experiencing. This is good news for another reason: I despise that container and it's stupid-hard-to-open lid, so now I have a good excuse to buy a new one that I like! Fingers crossed that this solves the issue.

One of the things about heavy-handed rubs is that it always seemed to me they had the potential of limiting the smoke influence on the meat. I'm sure it's actually minimal when you consider the molecular sizes/etc., but one of those things that sticks in my head. On the other hand, I can't fathom the heavy BBQ basting that many do while smoking. In essence, you are now just smoking the sauce, rather than the meat. Or at least it sure seems that way.

I get the basic reasoning behind iodized table salt. I've never had a problem with it, really. Great for pasta water, or just kept in a dish for a quick salt addition when needed. I've also really enjoyed other salts over the years. Different sea salts, and while I certainly don't have a 'golden palate' there have been times when I've tasted salt that was definitely 'better' or 'worse' than others. However, recently, the iodized salt has started to really bother me, taste-wise. It's like I can suddenly taste 'it'. There's a distinct metallic tang that is really standing out to me that never has before. I've stopped using it when cooking almost universally, and on the table we've got sea salt in a grinder. It's weird because it's really sudden and pronounced. The other day my wife made pasta, and used sea salt in the sauce but the iodized in the pasta water, and I could taste it on the noodles. Has this ever happened to any of you? Am I becoming a salt snob? Am I destined to die of goiter because I can't stand the taste of iodized salt?

So, we had our 'Thanksgiving' early because the in-laws were in town (leaving today). Our big plans kept getting simpler as the schedule got fuller. Seeing the lions, family pictures, shopping, etc etc etc. So, on request, I re-made my 'not-shepherds-pie' from the dinner thread (with chicken and various veggies). Got a much better color on the top this time. I realized why we like this so much: It reminds me of the 'after thanksgiving' sandwiches we would make with all of the components of the meal between bread. For lunch today, I'll be putting this on bread with some cranberry/fig jam! Then Mrs Meshugana and her mom made some mini 'hand-pies', half were pumpkin, and the other half were blueberry/strawberry. Plus some homemade whipped cream. Those were outstanding. Some rolls and veggie sides. At most of the stores here you can buy fresh dough in a bag, you just refrigerate it until you're ready for it, then bake away. This batch was very yeasty, and tasted great with a real salty butter. Then, because we're in the Southern Hemisphere, the kids all jumped in the pool.

Given that salt isn't considered a spice, I vote that we include black pepper in the 'no spice' list. So, salt & pepper being a given in the pantry, I think I would have to say chilli (again in all it's forms and spellings, as @liuzhou said) would be the one I couldn't give up. You can get so many flavors depending on what and how you use it. But, I guess I'm technically breaking the rules by including black pepper. Although, I think if I had to choose only one (plus salt), it would still be chilli.