Pan

Hi Pan, Is that Campbell's soup with tripe in it, Pepper Pot, or something like that? I don't have the slightest idea! I was asking dankphishin to tell me! I believe what you had was Soto Makassar, not coto. I always like soto, but have usually had Soto Ayam (ayam=chicken).

If you folks hadn't already complained about my using pasar (=bazaar) and words for fruits like rambutan, I was going to post some sentences in Malay. Quit the foreign-language posts, folks. (Yes, I read both Italian and French very well.)

Chinese cuisine travelled spectacularly to Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore, and very nicely to Indonesia. To a large extent, what happened is that local ingredients and various local techniques were embraced, creating a kind of regional Chinese cuisine that functions as a fusion in the best possible sense. For example, in Thailand, Chinese cooks have adopted things like mixing meat and fruit, and in Malaysia and Singapore, they've adopted local vegetables and, in many instances, strong use of hot pepper, plus use of curry flavor, belacan, etc. By the way, if you want to find a country where people are as passionate about food as Italy, consider Malaysia. I have to wonder what Italian restaurants may be like there. I heard a story on the local English-language news report this past August about an Italian restaurant in Kuala Lumpur that admitted to compromising in one way to the tastes of its clientele: By adding large quantities of hot green pepper slices to its spaghetti bolognese. I think it would be interesting to solicit some comments on this thread by Malaysians.

You think that's bad? Just how laughable is the best Malaysian restaurant in New York (in Flushing) compared to anyplace at all in Malaysia? And how pathetic are most Chinese restaurants here compared to Malaysian Chinese restaurants?

Malaysian fruit shipped by air to London is not remotely comparable to fruit that was picked today or yesterday. Even rambutan that's been shipped to Kuala Lumpur is hugely inferior to rambutan you can get in any pasar in Terengganu. And the durian that was picked from my friend's tree yesterday is many orders of magnitude superior to any durian for sale anywhere. I've never tasted fruit from Cuba, what with the asinine embargo in the U.S. and the fact that I have yet to visit Cuba. But I definitely understand your points about western Europe.

Eloquently expressed.

There's a Campbell's soup that has tripe in it? Also, you like a Campbell's soup?

How Zen.

In my experience, hearts of palm are from the center of the trunks of coconut palms, and you have to kill the palm tree to get at those hearts. I've never before heard of any other palm tree being used, but the canned hearts of palm I've eaten taste exactly like hearts of coconut palm I've eaten fresh in Malaysia when palm trees had to be chopped down or had snapped in a rainstorm. Do the sabal trees produce any edible fruit or nut and do they grow quickly enough for it to be cost-effective to kill lots of them yearly in palm-heart production?

Technically, of course, St. John the Divine is merely neo-Gothic. It's big, but I liked it better before they decided to finish construction. If you've seen any real Gothic church in Europe, St. John the Divine is just a big hulking building. The St. Thomas Church on 5 Av. and 53 St. is a little gem, though. I think the rest of the nicer churches in New York are mostly old Federal-style buildings and such-like from the 18th and early 19th centuries - St. Paul's Chapel, etc. When are you folks going to be in New York?

Are you missing something? Probably not. If you don't like the texture, you don't.

I want to eat wherever you're cooking! But I'd disagree with the idea that dessert is unimportant in Indian cuisine, and I'll bet Indian eGulleteers will also disagree. Whether Indian desserts are mostly too sweet for most Americans is another issue. I think most of them are. Exceptions would include kulfi, rasmalai, khir, payasam, Indian-style rice pudding, and possibly gulab jamun, though I have a fondness for burfee, too. I've had banana samosas in Indian restaurants before, but in my experience, they're served as appetizers, not desserts.

I agree with the recommendations for amchoor powder, which is a really excellent and useful ingredient. I love ajwain seeds, but no-one has yet mentioned kalonji (nigella) seeds, which are a truly great taste.

Sounds like you cooked up an impressive feast, Dejah! One question: What are si gup ribs?

Yes!

The best tripe dish I ever had was Tripa alla Romana at a trattoria in Trastevere in 1994. When I went back to the same place in 1998, unfortunately, the restaurant had gone to Hell and sucked.

Jinmyo, you're so hilarious!!!!!

For the purposes of this discussion, I would agree, but I recommend that you travel to Malaysia someday and try the bounty of fantastic fresh fruit grown on the East Coast of the Peninsula. In my lifetime, so far, the best produce I've experienced has been in Italy and Malaysia, and I wouldn't be able to say which place is better, but the climate zones of the two countries and, thus, the produce, is entirely different.

Are buckwheat stems edible?

Does no-one here like any Italian sweet wines? No Moscato?

Have you tried Zaytoon's? It's on Smith and Sackett, which is a bit of a walk. If you do go, tell me what you think of their merguez sandwich, which I think can be a somewhat ecstatic taste. Friendly, nice service, pleasant decor, family restaurant. I had a tasty tagine once at the Moroccan place on west side of Atlantic Av. between I think Court and whatever the next street north is. A little on the sweet side. There's also a Yemeni place that specializes in innards that intrigues me. I could find it, but I don't remember the name of the street - if I'm remembering correctly, it's just east of Atlantic on the street just south of Smith. Sorry for being so fuzzy. But anyway, the best time to go there is lunch, and I always show up too late because of my work schedule and such. If you go there, please report. I appreciate the recommendations for Bedouin Tent, Paninoteca 275, and Chestnut.

I have to admit I've always found "stinco" a funny word.

Hmmm...I don't remember having any problems with taking showers in Italy, nor has that always been trouble-free in the U.S. But I'm not going to argue about plumbing! Anyway, though, I take your point.

Thanks, Seth. Odd that that's the only one not in the regular list. It would fit easily right next to huh.gif.

I noticed that the article linked in the original post gave Singapore as the location of the Moon Festival, but that really is a pan-Chinese festival, as many of you know.