Pan

Klary, I thought your cheesecake looked beautiful, but I do not like Philadelphia cream cheese, because they put guar gum in the cheese, giving it an annoying texture, especially in cheesecake. Is that not true of the cream cheese manufactured in the Netherlands? I hope you're feeling better.

I had trouble finding this thread under its new title. Anyway, here are some great threads that I wouldn't want any of you to miss for lack of awareness: The witty Peter Green takes you on a copiously illustrated trip through various parts of China with his wife and kids in "Across China with the vermin"; report still in progress. Domestic Goddess shows us through the 21st Ichon Ceramic Festival, with many photos of ceramic ware, lots of food, and even some Korean bellydancers! See how a couple of young gourmands with a large budget and nearly infinite stomach capacity go all out, in "Travelblog: Foodies Gone Wild Spring Break '07, London, Paris, Barcelona in one week," with reportage by BryanZ. Then hop, skip, and jump to South America with docsconz in "A Family Trip to Peru," which is just full of great photos and fascinating information. A thread that started on Feb. 11, with questions and answers, but really got going with reports with photos on March 10, is "Tokyo with kids; how do you say "no sauce" in Japanese?", about the trip Majra and her family took to Tokyo and Kyoto. See how two of our favorite gourmets joyously pig out in "NY trip report; how much can we cram into 3 days?", featuring Ling and hhlodesign of Cache' Dinner Club in Seattle. Then look at the Cache thread.

I'll await his answer, but those look like xiaolong bao ("soupy dumplings") to me.

Are Dutch coffee cups smaller or bigger than standard American 6-ounce cups?

Klary, the effect of petai on urine is well-known in Malaysia. You definitely weren't imagining it!

Is that the Yemeni luncheonette, or is that on Smith? If it's the one I'm thinking of, I remember it having a lot of offal on the menu, but I've never been able to schedule my arrival at the right time of day.

I've liked everything I've ordered at Indus Valley. My only problem with the place is the usual problem with Indian restaurants: Too much ghee and oil, so it's tough on my stomach later. But the restaurant is good. I'll withhold comments about Pampa, given how long it's been since I was last there and the remarks that it's deteriorated in the interim. If you want to know my parents' address, PM me. Do you have something you want to give them?

Happy Anniversary, Klary! I, too, find your rats really cute! About petai: I like it and eat it on occasion, but do you notice how it affects your urine? (Yeah, asparagus does, too, but petai does even more, and you ate both in the same meal! )

I guess North Indian at Indus Valley is too "exotic." How about an Argentinian steakhouse, Pampa? I have to admit I haven't been there for something like 2 1/2 years, though. When I eat out up there, it tends to be either Indus Valley or El Malecon; otherwise, it's chez les parents.

I've read that a lot, but I have yet to go to Waterfalls, and I've liked Fountain. Very good shawarma and felafel and some nice desserts. I'm sure it used to be better, but I lack that basis for comparison. Have you tried Hadramout, the Yemeni restaurant a few doors down from Yemen Cafe? I haven't but I'm sort of vaguely curious. Their menu looks a lot less Yemeni and their prices are higher.

Prepared food and desserts: I'd start with three places on Atlantic Av.: Sahadi's, Damascus Bakery, and the shop on the other side of Atlantic near Yemen Cafe whose name I forget. Restaurants: The aforementioned Yemen Cafe has very good, hearty Yemeni food and the atmosphere of a social club where you are a welcomed guest. The portions are humongous, so it's best to go with at least one other person. Teresa's is a good inexpensive Polish-American restaurant where you can get orange-ricotta pancakes and kielbasa in the same meal if you like. I'm in the East Village and go to their East Village location exclusively, but assuming the food is really the same at both locations, try their soups and pierogies, and get the chicken stew with the lunch special. I went to Clark's Restaurant once and had a terrific, really superior diner meal there. I haven't been back but have read other good reports. I thought their home fries were the best I'd ever had. If you want to go more upscale, there's Queen on Court St. I haven't gone in years but have had a couple of good meals there. They're known for both Italian-American "red sauce" style food and upscale Italian food. Enjoy your stay!

Just a thought: You're not confusing El Faro with El Farolito, are you? ← Nope.

I liked Shanghai, too. I was there in 1987 and again in 2004. I know that it's more populous than it used to be, and yet the streets didn't feel more crowded. I could speculate about the reasons but I'm on stronger ground just stating my observations. In 1987, there was practically nothing in Pudong but a big Suntory sign and some warehouses. Shanghai by 2004 had the most active construction in the world, 24/7. The sheer amount of construction taking place was extraordinary, and I liked the futuristic-looking skyline. The food my family and I had was uniformly good or better, except for the time when we made the mistake of going into a tourist restaurant on Nanjing Lu. I loved the fact that we could go to any random noodle house and have a delicious meal. The biggest annoyance we dealt with was the very aggressive street sellers who immediately greeted us with "Hello!" and exhortations to buy this or that -- four at a time when we walked out of the Peace Hotel, where we were staying (and very happy with the rooms) -- but we did find "buyao" fairly effective in getting them to back off and seek other marks. Peter, I look forward to your coverage of Shanghai dining.

Really funny stuff! Thanks for the great reports!

Jason Perlow has a great writeup with copious photos. Here's an excerpt: Check it out: http://offthebroiler.wordpress.com/?s=insieme (click "Read the rest of this entry »" below)

OK, katsuobushi is on the right one in this photo. Dried bonito. The bag on the left contained niboshi (simmered and dried sardines). Do you remember now? ← Thanks. I think I get it now. Katsuobushi is dried bonito and dashi is broth that was traditionally made from katsuobushi. Is that right?

That's how my father made it, too. He sometimes put bacon on top, too. Toast was put on top, though.

I agree with you, Fat Guy. I am always surprised when I go to a good paninoteca like Tarallucci e Vino and I'm asked if I want my panino heated. No, of course I don't! Why would I want a panino with salame, fresh mozarella, arugula, egg tomatoes, and pesto heated up? I just don't understand.

Some kind of liquid (waste, by-product,... I don't know how to call it) from a katsuobushi factory, industrially processed, mixed with SMG, and, ... turned into a beautiful, tasty product. Disclaimer: I have never seen how instant dashi is actually made. The story above is just from what I read in a book.[...] ← I'd love to hear more about this. I don't remember what katsuobushi is. Maybe someone can point me to a thread in the Japan forum that addresses this? I'm glad your son's better and your wife's condition is improving.

That's really too bad. I saw that scene when Tampopo was being shown in movie theaters here in New York, and it's a great and hilarious scene! Wait. Instant dashi isn't made from niboshi? If not, what's it made from? Great blog, Hiroyuki. I'm glad your son isn't gravely ill, and I hope you'll give us updates on your wife's health. All my best wishes to you, your wife, and your family!

I enjoyed the report, and the food you made looks good. One small thing that surprised me: I'd expect Manicotti to be listed under Primi, not Secondi, since it's a pasta dish. But you didn't make any of those, anyway, right?

I think the best Vietnamese restaurant in Manhattan is...A banh mi takeout joint in the back of a jewelry and crystal shop! Many of the regulars here know it, and it's actually called Banh Mi Saigon Bakery. It's on Mott St. between Hester and Grand (east side of the street) and I like their banh mi ga even better than their banh mi Saigon. I have liked Bao Noodles in the past but really haven't had any dish at any Vietnamese restaurant in Manhattan that's comparable in deliciousness to the sandwiches at Saigon Bakery, so if you find the places recommended upthread to be underwhelming, don't say I didn't warn you. I've often read on Chowhound that there are better Vietnamese restaurants in the "Outer Boroughs," but I can't offer any recommendations on that score. When I go to Flushing, I tend to eat Chinese food, and I have yet to explore Brooklyn's Chinatowns. (There's a lot of talk, again especially on Chowhound, that Ba Xuyen sells better banh mi than Banh Mi Saigon Bakery does.)

Yeah. Sorry, raji; I usually include address and telephone number in my reports. Here you go: 5 E. Broadway Tel. 212-732-0797 Fax 212-964-3149 Here's their menupages.com site, from where you can see a menu.

I never had durian-filled jemput, but cempedak was often used. (For the record, I hated cempedak when I was a kid and didn't have a chance to try some as an adult.) Perhaps lempeng and jemput are more characteristic of the East Coast than the West Coast. Apom sounds smaller than the jemput I used to eat for breakfast, which were really pretty much the same width as an American pancake (maybe around 6 inches), but wider because of the filling.

Very hard for me to answer. First of all, any food can be smelly if handled improperly. Beef can be beefy, pork can be porky, onion can by onion-y(?), and so on. I understand that even properly handled fish is described as fishy by people who don't regularly eat fish, right? Think of ramen, for instance. Most American hate ramen with aromatic, "fishy" broth simply because they think it's fishy. ← I don't mean the taste of improperly handled fish; I mean an intentionally fishy taste that I like. I don't like bad fishiness and do like what I consider good fishiness. No hard science here; it's all a matter of taste.