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Kevin, I particularly liked the look of that serpentone. That looks like something I'd like to eat! About that pane pecorino bread, what kind of pecorino would they normally use in Umbria? I'm not familiar with umbrese pecorino, but I do know that pecorino toscano is a lot different from pecorino romano.

To me this is different. In most of the cases you describe, I would not have a problem because they are people you have known for some time.[...] ← Right. I've been to Congee Village umpteen times in the last several years, so some of the personnel know me by face. I recall a time when I had a banquet with about 6 or 7 other people and one of the managers I knew took over the ordering process when I asked for the menu with the lamb chops on it, which was all in Chinese (thanks to a suggestion on these boards from Fat Guy). I negotiated our multi-course meal between the other guests and the manager, and he came back to help serve us and make sure we enjoyed every course. At the end of the meal, we all told him how wonderful it was, and he put his arm around me. I was very happy and saw that as his way of showing his affection for a person of good taste who appreciated his efforts. But no way is that like being touched by a waiter I met for the first time, which I can't remember having happened to me in New York. Hmmm...maybe in a family-style restaurant as a little kid, and then, it was probably that annoying cheek-pinching crap...

Oh well, this makes me a little blue. But thanks for sharing! I always liked ikan kembung, which was the good fish that was often available (unfortunately, not every day) in Merchang back when. Never liked ikan selayang; too many small bones. Do people still eat ikan selayang?

I think you sort of answered your own question. If it is a Russian word or they think it is, there's a lot of historical baggage there.

Funny story, Mark! I have something to add about the discussion of anonymity in reviewers, though. Some eGullet Society members are pretty damn reliable when it comes to their appraisals of restaurants, and some of them are very good writers. Do you suppose some of those are not known to restaurant personnel as "reviewers"? Well, technically they aren't reviewers, but I think I've made my point, which is that now that there are sites like this, true anonymous reviewing can take place, in such a way that the anonymous reviewer (reporter, whatever) has an online identity but is just a customer to restaurants.

We had another thread about this topic somewhere. I think this is cultural to a major extent. I don't think New Yorkers would react so positively to touching, and if you're a man working as a waiter in Malaysia, don't try touching a Muslim woman customer you're not married to!

The Chao Zhou places I know in New York (Chinatown and Flushing) serve a lot of noodle soups, some like the one you had, which looks good. I share TP's skepticism about satay sauce, unless this is a Malaysian or Singaporean Teochew restaurant. The fish cakes look like the Thai ones I like, and unlike the rectangular strips I usually get in soups like Triple Ball Soup at Chao Zhou Restaurant in Flushing (which comes with fish balls, beef balls, shrimp balls, fish cakes, and various vegetables and such).

Definitely, they're sprayed with pesticides, but that hasn't prevented large spiders from hitching rides with the bananas. I'm not sure mangosteens are free of pesticides in Malaysia nowadays, though their thick skin offers good protection against insects.

I like the morcilla at Pampa; have you been there, Bux?

What a great review! Odd that they were celebrating Ferragosto in September, though! In Italy, Ferragosto is on August 15. Can anyone else shed light on this? And were any special foods or drinks available special for the celebration?

That was really touching. I'm very sorry for your loss, but thank you for sharing your thoughts with us.

Duck with sour cherry sauce, yum! Thanks for the pictures, Wendy!

You mean those mozzarepas that you can get at any street fair in New York? Great pictures, Jason! I have to try to remember the date for next year.

I have various thoughts but don't want to pull this thread too far off course, so I'll only ask whether many of the restaurant jobs you're talking about were done by undocumented immigrants, as is the case in many kitchens in New York, for example. I guess I'd also make the point that if there are jobs, people who need jobs and are willing to work those jobs will come and get them. Whether they'll all be the same people as before is another matter. Some cities have significantly reduced crime in poor neighborhoods without evicting all the poor people, but since that really isn't about food, I'll refrain from further comment on it.

I thought cili padi/bird's eye chilis were usually green, not red.

Hey, I'm one of the people who's said that, and all that means is that it used to be even better. But if you have luck ordering or they're cooking on all cylindars on that day, it'll be as good as it ever was.

Well, equatorial insects are very hardy and it would be hard to import things from Malaysia et al. -- especially agricultural products -- without insects and probably spiders and such hitching a ride. So that's my guess. But then, what about all those bananas from Equador and so forth? Are they in the ship so long that the crew can use pesticides to annihilate all the creatures hitching rides without committing mass suicide or something? I doubt it. So perhaps someone who really knows can explain. That thick, hard skin makes mangosteens very unlike tangerines. I think only the segmentation is similar, nothing much else about it.

Really good Comte' is probably my favorite cheese of all! Jenna, do you make your own red onion jam, or do you get it somewhere? I've never had the chance to try that. Is it made with raw or cooked onions?

If the mangosteens are just mediocre, that's still a great price!

Yellow? I've never seen a yellow mangosteen. There's such a thing? I never thought of mangosteen as being anything like a rose in any way. It's sweet, very juicy, and has a fragrance, but nothing like that of a rose. If anything, it's maybe comparable to a really good peach or nectarine, in some ways. I wish I could get mangosteens in New York, and not for an arm and a leg. But I still like lychees best of all fruits. west2100, how much did you pay for the 8 mangosteens?

That old Canada Tourism ad really is true: America really does border on the magnificent: Canada. (Afterthought: Do we have any members in Quebec city? )

I'm glad to hear even you have limits to what you can finish. Happy Birthday!!!!

I liked kimchi from the first time I tried it (when I was 10). It sort of seemed like something I shouldn't like, but I sort of suspended belief, knowing that it was basic to Korean cuisine, and enjoyed it! I often find, like you, that I like radish kimchi better than cabbage kimchi. My first two classes went fine, I think. Most of what happens in my music classes isn't food-related, but I complimented one of my students for bringing coffee to class and told the rest of my students to please bring the caffeinated beverage of their choice to class (though not their dinner). Those afternoon classes can be tough for some students to stay awake in, especially for those who've been going nonstop since 8 A.M. and just got out of a very hard math class. [indulgent smile] My mother's solution is to bring cookies to her 3 o'clock classes, but I couldn't afford to buy enough for 45-some-odd students twice a week! Oh, and I'm so glad I'm no longer teaching at the school where they wouldn't even let students bring bottles of water into class and made me enforce that idiotic rule.

Good-looking Korean meal! So, I take it they cooked the kalbi for you? Those pieces look pretty big. Also, how do you do with those thin metal chopsticks? They hurt my hands; I need the regular-sized sticks (you know, regular Chinese or Japanese ones).

I guess I'm lucky. I'll be going to a dinner for the 2nd night of Rosh Hashanah at my godmother's. There was a time when she wasn't much of a cook, but though my parents are still better cooks than she is, my godmother has developed a talent for executing North African recipes well, so I'm guessing she's be making some kind of chicken tagine again, and I'll be happy with that. For Passover, I go for the first seder to my cousins' in Teaneck, and my cousin's wife makes an excellent, non-dry brisket with tasty gravy and lots of caramelized onions. I really have nothing whatsoever to complain about in her cooking. Her matzo ball soup is very good, she makes her own gefilte fish, which is much better than store-bought, etc. As for the second seder, well, the only thing my vegetarian cousins make well is egg salad, and because it's by far the best thing to eat there, they always should make more of it than they do. Protose steaks are yuchy, but they don't make me eat them. But I'm not there for the food, but because I like them and it's worth having bad vegetarian food for one night in order to spend time with them. Good food is important to me, but it's not the only important thing in life! Oh, Thanksgiving? I usually spend that holiday with my parents, though occasionally at my godmother's. My parents nearly always cook food that's worth celebrating, anyway, or did until recently (my father hasn't had enough time and energy to cook much lately, nor does my mother cook often at this stage in her life). Sometimes, I've gone to my godmother's for Thanksgiving, which is also quite acceptable in terms of food and a pleasant place to be. I recall writing in a thread about Thanksgiving that what that holiday -- and, really, all holidays -- are really about is being thankful to have the chance to spend another special day with loved ones. Celebratory food is part of that, but what's most important is sharing.