Dakki

Frijoles charros and chilorio. It was cloudy so no hamfisted attempts at food porn today. (Maybe tomorrow. I made lots.)

Specific questions?

I see you added the Ghibli museum. I think it'll be a high point of the trip for the kids. As someone else posted, you have to buy tickets well ahead of time. A local friend did it for us on our trip. Not sure if you can do it online or perhaps through your hotel. If I understand correctly you're traveling with a friend and their children. If it was me I'd let the family take in the amusement park by themselves and use that day to tour Akibahara and/or Kappabashi-dori. Serious shopping/nerding out isn't very entertaining for third parties, even adult ones. I don't know if that's viable or desirable in your situation. I think you're confusing the Edo-Tokyo Museum in Ryogoku with the Shitamachi museum in Ueno, which is where the huge park and other museums are located. Both are pretty interesting. Well spotted. It was several years ago so I didn't quite remember it correctly offhand. If I'm remembering things correctly -this- time, the kids should love Edo-Tokyo museum. It has a lot of interactive exhibits. It's also been a while since I had to deal with kids but IIRC they get bored and rowdy or cranky if they only get to look at things.

Dejah, it's almost 11 at night and I'm craving apple pie. Thanks a lot! Nice chilorio, RRO. I think I know what I'll be making tomorrow! C. sapidus, the pulled pork looks and sounds fantastic.

You need to take your kids to the Ghibli museum (make a morning of it and have lunch at the soba place across the street). I'd avoid taking kids to a maid cafe. It's not inappropriate per se but they'll be pretty bored. It's kind of awkward if you don't speak the language, as well. I wouldn't take them to the fish market either. It's EXTREMELY hectic and not tourist-friendly at all. Nijojo/Nijo Castle in Kyoto is a must-see. I plan to make this my headquarters when I conquer the world, so enjoy it while you can. Also Kyozumi-dera (plan to do some souvenir shopping on the walk back down, the road is lined with handcrafts shops on both sides). Back in Tokyo, you should visit Edo-Tokyo museum as well as the other museums around it if you find the time (there's a large cluster of them around a huge park, and several important shrines and temples within short walking distance). About Kappabashi, you can't really go there and not get a nice knife or four. The owner at the place with the suit of armor outside (I forget the name of the place) speaks perfect English (and Spanish!) and is very helpful. The plastic food places also sell food keychains etc. that make nice souvenirs for your friends. EDIT: You should also hit the store with all the cast iron enamel stuff (you'll know it when you see it). The proprietor is a bit of an ass but he has very nice wares indeed.

Hey, some people like their beef well-done and smothered in steak sauce. De gustibus non est disputandum and all that.

Norm Matthews, that's a lovely crusted chicken. RRO, that bacon looks and sounds incredible. dcarch, what the heck is up with the grill pattern? That's probably the fanciest-looking steak in history!

Another bot of Matusalem Platino. Is it wrong to drink this stuff with carbonated water and ice? I know I'm supposed to mix it with eight different kinds of tropical fruit nectars and serve it in a hollowed-out papaya shell but the stuff actually tastes good like this.

It also buys a lot of very good frying oil. Speaking of which, I'm not entirely convinced of the fat reduction benefits of this thing. My understanding is that properly fried foods absorb very little fat. One would probably get better fat-reduction results overall from more-aggressive trimming and/or selecting for leanness in protein than by faux-frying. And aren't we supposed to be cutting sugar and starch instead of fat these days?

And all this time I've been blaming my symptoms on liquor rather than bad shellfish. I think the OP should get a checked out by a medical professional. If the doc says it's a shellfish thing, then he can go complain to the management. Local health authorities should also be aware of this sort of thing in case it's not an isolated instance.

A lot of the stuff reviewed probably falls under "acquired taste," not "bad candy." And, seriously, nine out of ten reviews could be boiled down to "THEM FURRINERS EAT THE STRANGEST THINGS LOL!!1!"

Oh, I'd love to keep my house at that temperature but the weather isn't cooperating. Anyway, I e-mailed the maker (good thing I bought this from a small operation, huh?) and he suggested cutting into ~1 kilo chunks, ziplocking them individually in the largest bags available and keeping them in the warmest part of the fridge. We'll see how this goes.

Okay, I've acquired a ~4.5 (~10 lb) kg round of Chihuahua with the intention of storing it; this is a cheese that definitely improves with aging. The cheese appears to be wrapped in cheesecloth and then shrink-wrapped. So, how should one treat a firm cheese for aging? Remove the plastic or let it stay in there? I assume it should be refrigerated? (Current temp in my kitchen: 42C/108F).

Just spent the last couple of hours looking over this thread, and seriously, guys, there's material for any number of cookbooks and magazine spreads here. We wouldn't lose to the pros in any sense. Prawncrackers and dcarch should quit their day jobs and be food photographers full-time. Regarding the posts on this page, dcarch, I'm still trying to wrap my head around what you did with that jello. And kayb, that might not be the showiest picture in the world but I want that shrimp!

Boil it. EDIT: On second thought, pour it out. Why are you bothering with 3c worth of brine?

So much delicious food here! RRO, I'd say you've mastered the gentle art of quesadillas, not to mention photography. dcarch, thank you. This was my first time using watermelon rind for anything and it was inspired by one of your posts. I'll use it again when I can figure out what to do with all that nasty red stuff that comes with it. (BTW, your pics aren't loading for me, which is sad because I always look forward to them).

I guess it's pork on rice day! Stir-fried pork, broccoli, watermelon rind and celery, with ginger, garlic and onion. Sauce is chicken stock, soy sauce, Worcester sauce with a bit of cider vinegar, brown sugar and a bit of habanero sauce because everything is improved with a bit of habanero. With no proper wok and not nearly enough BTU's, I hesitate to call this a complete success but, hey. Photo is uploaded directly from camera, no post at all. I think I'm getting better with this camera stuff.

RRO, that pork belly looks and sounds delicious! David Ross, the beef looks good, but I really, really like the presentation on that fish.

Thanks, RRO. I assume I should take all the pulp and the green outer rind off? Do you think it would be OK to blanch in boiling water instead of microwaving?

Okay guys, I got a whole, 5.5 kg watermelon (and I don't even like watermelon) because I saw someone use the rind in a stir-fry in the Dinner thread. How do you prepare the rind for that? I assume there's going to be too much rind, would you suggest I pickle the rest? And what the heck do I do with all the pulp? In retrospect I don't really know what I was thinking. A 5.5 kilo watermelon for one person is absurd!

That's awesome. I sampled yuzu on a trip once and despaired of ever tasting it again. I think it's just ridiculously good and should go really well with a "hot" component.

Yep, Matthew 6:5. EDIT: Previously linked to 6:6, which is a call to private prayer rather than a criticism of public prayer like 6:5.

heidih, I don't think Filipino longaniza (or, as Wikipedia would have it, longganisa) is the same as what we get here; I know the pinoy version of adobo is quite different from the Mexican (which in turn is quite different from the Spanish), for instance. Nevertheless I'm sure it's delicious (and I'm quite curious to try it). rarerollingobject, thanks for your encouragement. You're making me blush.

Rajas are chiles (in this case jalapeno) cut into thick strips, usually sauteed. Some pickled chiles are also cut like this. Longaniza is a type of sausage. It's a bit like a non-crumbly chorizo.

Great food everyone! This was supper - quesadillas with rajas and longaniza. If we're taking excuses for bad pics this week, I got home kind of late and the sun was already down by the time I finished throwing these together. Also I was hungry and the food was getting cold, and the dog ate my good pics.