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Thanks, Pam. I notice you mention Sayur Lodeh. Sayur is not a type of curry, but a different type of food that we could have another thread on. When I think of the curries I used to eat in Terengganu, I think of them as having a somewhat thicker, or at least different kuah (sauce) than sayur, redolent of coconut milk, fresh tamarind, and spices. Sayur is also made with coconut milk but has a different taste and spice profile, and is typically used as a side dish to a curry.

Maggie, I found this moving on many levels. The absence of something can make a person appreciate it more, but not everyone would have reflected as deeply as you did, let alone written about it so eloquently. All of us who do not face starvation or malnutrition, whether monotheist, polytheist, pantheist, agnostic, atheist, or some combination of the above, should take a moment each day to be thankful for the food on the table and the roof over our head, because we all know that we are lucky to have it and might not have it tomorrow.

For Susan and anyone else interested in what to do with fresh turmeric, I've done some more searching. Here's a thread you may find useful: Fresh Turmeric, help!!! Some more threads: Turmeric Talk Fresh Turmeric/Mango Turmeric, Recipes and sources Also, I should correct something: I do not believe Malaysian curries always or even usually include belacan, though many other types of dishes do. You might get some little dried shrimps in a curry, though.

That picture is so funny! I think your kids will get a lot of enjoyment from looking at these pictures in 20 years.

Elaborate, please on uses for this paste (or direct me to a topic...). Would the Malaysian shrimp paste be similar to Thai shrimp paste which lists "shimp, fish and salt" as ingredients? It comes in a small hard plastic jar with a screw on lid. The paste-on nutrition label says that 1 tsp provides 72% of the DRA of sodium! ← I don't believe belacan contains any fish, but it is black, very salty, and very smelly. But it's a good ingredient, in moderation. One really common Malaysian dish is [put in name of food here] Belacan -- Kangkung Belacan, for example, is water spinach fried up with belacan and bird's eye chilis. In terms of the uses of the paste I describe above, it is an all-purpose Malaysian curry paste. Add coconut milk, water, and the item(s) you want to curry, and boil until you achieve a stew-like consistency. At least, that's how I believe I remember women making curries in Terengganu homes. Oftentimes, fresh tamarind (called asam gelugor) was added for its acidity and unique taste. I don't think I've ever tried to make a Malaysian curry myself, though, so I've started a thread about Malaysian curries. I will say this, though: If you've made Massaman Curry, you already know a lot about the process of making Malaysian curries. To my tastes, Massaman Curry is a good Thai version of a Malay curry (or of a Malay version of an Indian curry).

What are your favorite Malaysian curries? And for those of you who cook them, how do you make them? These questions are prompted by this exchange in Tag Team Foodblog II: torakris/snowangel. Note that what prompted the exchange was a purchase of fresh turmeric root, so if any of you make a rempah with the fresh root or can direct Susan and other people who are interested to some good recipes including fresh turmeric, that would be great. But most anything connected with Malaysian curries is grist for the mill.

Fish toast with no shrimp in it is very common in Malaysia. The generic word is keropok, and fish toast is keropok ikan (ikan=fish). On the East Coast of the Peninsula, keropok is often tubular in shape and a good deal fatter than shrimp toasts; that type is called keropok lekor, and is known particularly as a specialty of the state of Terengganu, where I used to live. I think I can say with a high degree of assurance that they make it with dough from wheat flour but do not use bread crumbs. Bread is not a traditional food in that area.

Fresh turmeric is good to use to make Malaysian dishes. Use that mortar and pestle to make a Malaysian rempah (spicy paste) of turmeric, shallots, belacan (shrimp paste), garlic, fresh ginger, and hot peppers. I think our Malaysian members will have some recipes for you. There are also threads in the India forum about uses for fresh turmeric. Kristin, naive question here, but what is the difference between onigiri and mochi? I looked further in Wikipedia and saw that whereas onigiri is a rice ball, mochi is a rice cake, but of course there are different meanings of "rice cake" in different places. Are both made from glutinous rice?

Respectfully, I think it's unreasonable to ask for meat options at a vegetarian restaurant. The point of a vegetarian restaurant is that there isn't any meat there, and there are often religious or ethical reasons behind that. It makes sense for "regular" restaurants to offer vegetarian options for those who are vegetarians, but since as far as I know, no-one has religious, ethical, or dietary (health) reasons to require a meat dish at every meal -- and certainly, if anyone does, it's a minuscule number of potential patrons -- it seems evident that if you want meat, you don't go to a vegetarian restaurant. And if any of you think that's unjust, try ordering pork at your local kosher or halal restaurant and see what they tell you.

Looks like a good store, Susan! I'm impressed that you pound your own curry paste. Mortar and pestle?

Just some ideas I don't think I've seen mentioned: Fruits: Lychee, rambutan, mangosteen, mandarin orange, date (I like medjools best) Sweet spice: Allspice Sweet wine: Port Disclaimer: I haven't made or eaten any of these types of creme brulee.

I don't think personal gain or even a perception of gain is necessary for a statement to be a lie. There are people who habitually lie, though it harms them, aren't there?

There's a -- I think it's a Papaya King -- at 8th St. and 6th Av.

Susan, I loved the pictures of that meal! Hang in there, you two. May you and your family have no more accidents or illnesses for the indefinite future.

What are product liability laws and enforcement like in Japan? Do people sue companies for dangerous products and food poisoning and so forth? That's really too bad, what happened to Hide; I'm sure he'll remember it for a long time.

Jing Fong is nowhere near as good as CBS Seafood Restaurant in LA, let alone really fantastic dim sum such as is available in Malaysia, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, etc. In addition, the places in the "Outer Boroughs" that I mentioned previously in this thread are significantly better than Jing Fong, overall. However, having said that, I don't think I've ever had as bad an experience with the food at Jing Fong as irongut or smgarsh and friends did. Generally, the closer to opening time (10 A.M., I believe) you get to the place, the fresher the food is and the wider the selection. If you're around there at 2 P.M., go somewhere else. Service? Yeah, it's hardly effusive, and if that offends you, don't go there. As for me, despite my criticisms of the place, I have continued to feel that it has its uses. But now that the objections have been corroborated, I'm beginning to wonder whether the place has slipped since the last time I was there (at least several months ago). smgarsh, acknowledging that Manhattan's Chinatown probably does not have the best dim sum in the city, what dim sum places do you like in Chinatown? I haven't tried Gala Manor, but I did Google it and got the following result: 37-02 Main Street, Flushing, NY 11354. Tel: 718-888-9293 It's right on the corner of 37th Av. and Main St. (3 blocks from Roosevelt and 1 block from Northern Blvd.) Sounds like another place worth trying.

I can understand that. Cold soups tend to be subtle and not obviously impressive. But to me, the point of them is that they are soothing. TP, maybe you can post here on what happens when you eat too much green bean soup or too much of something else that's humorally cooling. I'm still hoping that we can get more of a discussion going on the humoral system as it relates to food and drink.

I can't remember what mata kucing is called in English. I recognize a lot of stuff, like some of the juices/waters (coconut water and so forth), pulut hitam, curry puffs, some kinds of kuih, etc., but I'll let you label them. Is that tapai (sweet fermented tapioca root or rice) in the plastic bag on the left side of the bottom photo?

Interesting stuff, donbert, but I'm not sure if any of those places (or Joe's Shanghai on Pell) are fully consistent on their xiaolongbao.

I'm enjoying all the pictures. Kristin, I join the others in thanking you for letting us see how your beautiful children are growing up. I'm also amazed that your daughters' ballet teacher handmade the costumes. Has the ballet teacher had anything to say about what her students should be eating, how much, etc. (asked as a graduate of the High School of Performing Arts, where my dance-major friends got -- I thought unreasonably -- hassled about such things)?

I enjoyed that report, and clearly, you did hit some good dishes. But I would suggest that, along with trying some more of New (or old, or whatever) Green Bo's menu items, you also go across the street and try Yeah Shanghai. Moon House is also probably still worth a visit, though I've stuck with Yeah for some time, partly because the decor in the back room is so much more pleasant than the harsh fluorescent lighting in the single dining room in Moon House.

The place in Bensonhurst I linked above has the best dim sum I've had in New York, but both Prince Restaurant and East Buffet and Restaurant are superior to any dim sum eating hall I've been to in Manhattan. Judging from one visit to each place, East Buffet seemed to have more variety than Prince, but the overall quality seemed better to me at Prince, which is not a very popular opinion. I haven't had dim sum at either Oriental Palace or Dim Sum Go Go, though. I'll have to check out 88 Palace; thanks for the recommendation, Phatlouie.

Not just your opinion; we agree. But it has its supporters.

If you could find anyplace where I testified as to Psaltis' veracity or lack of need to defend same, perhaps you'd have an argument with me on that. However, not having witnessed anything in his book or read his book, I have no opinion on the truth or falsehood of his assertions. What I do have a clear opinion on is that if a person has the audacity to directly accuse someone in writing of, in effect, lying, s/he had better be able to directly substantiate the basis for that accusation. And note that I say that without having a personal opinion about whether Psaltis is or is not being truthful. I respect people who have been calling upon things they personally witnessed and marshalling other pieces of evidence to argue on both sides of that debate.

Wow, I want to eat that NOW, and it's 5:10 in the morning. Good night.