Pan

Shiewie, you are a treasure! I will definitely carry this with me to Malaysia as a printout, and if I forget, there are always internet cafes! I would tend to avoid any place that would be reluctant to serve the real stuff with the proper amounts of chili for me, so that is a minus. I deal with too much of that in New York; when I'm in Malaysia, I want the food bursting with flavor, like I remember. Just two questions: (1) Please give me an approximate range (RM are fine) that represents Upmarket and Mid-Range. (2) What are options for public transportation from KL to PJ nowadays? Is there any light rail, or is that only within KL? Oh, also, I'll be in KL for a few days on either end of my trip. If you'd like to meet me, please PM. I have no idea which hotel I'll be staying in, at this point.

(1) Chinese foodstuffs: A. When I'm in Flushing, I go to a huge supermarket on Kissena Blvd. across from the library. Excellent selection, cheap prices. B. In Manhattan's Chinatown, Hong Kong Supermarket is king, but it's not as good as that place in Flushing. C. There's a store on Mott (west side) between Grand and Hester that has excellent-quality lychees for $2/lb. When you go, leave some for me! (2) Indian foodstuffs: In the East Village, Dowel is best. (3) Malaysian/Indonesian foodstuffs: For those not available at general-purpose Chinese stores like Hong Kong Supermarket, the Thai-Indonesian store on Bayard between Mott and Mulberry in Manhattan's Chinatown is best, overall. The Thai store on Mosco St. is also good, but slightly more expensive. There's also a good Vietnamese store on Mulberry (west side) between Bayard and Canal that sells things needed for Malaysian and Indonesian food. I love Kalustyan's, but seldom have occasion to be in that neighborhood. The last time I was there, I wanted to get Iranian pistachios, but I like them roasted without salt. I got the roasted/salted ones for my mother and got raw ones for myself, put them on a pan and roasted them in the oven. There are a whole bunch of smaller stores in Chinatown that have many of the foodstuffs one might want; they're just not as complete as bigger places like Hong Kong Supermarket. I also occasionally go to Atlantic Av. for Arab foodstuffs, but that's really just to get some snack foods.

Whats wrong w that one? I suppose in opposition to "Sad Hour" ?? It's also often more than an hour long, but my, what nitpickers. On "brooshetta," could that be a Sicilian or Neapolitan pronunciation or something? (Though it seems more like the accent of someone from, I think, Milano or maybe Torino. I used to know a guy who often used the "sh" sound for words with "s," but I can't remember precisely which northern Italian city he was from.)

Thanks for giving me your take on the place, FG. I met one of the owners, who not only is hosting the exhibition but also painted a piece on display. He was indeed friendly.

Thanks, Michael. If no-one else says they were excited, I'll put Macelleria on the back burner indefinitely.

A friend of mine has some paintings up in a nice group show of cityscapes of the Meat-Packing District at this attractive eatery. I went to the opening today, and did we have good food and drink for such an occasion. Whereas most art openings feature some middling cheese and crackers plus fair-to-awful wine, this one was serving excellent prosciutto with grana padana and little gougeres, and I had a pleasant, light Cabernet. I enjoyed my experience and am seriously considering going back to this place for a normal sit-down meal one of these days, as the place doesn't price me out, I think. The only mention of having eaten anything in this restaurant is by Fat Guy in this thread: click Has anyone else eaten there?

The vegan steakhouse is good, but I don't get this.

I've had the fried fishballs from a cart across from the Flushing branch of the Queens Public Library repeatedly without incident, and used to enjoy the Hong Kong Egg Cakes that were sold from a booth on Mosco off Mott (I miss them). No problem there, either. And then there's the boiled tofu I get from a storefront on Roosevelt Av. I've also gotten them on the street on Broadway (or was it Lafayette?) and Canal. No problem there, either. I think that people can be too cautious, but hey, do whatever makes you comfortable.

Thank you very much for the additional info, Shiewie. tonkichi, it's very unlikely that I'll visit Singapore on this trip. It's much more likely that from KL, I'll head due east and then go north from Terengganu (after some time in the village I used to live in) through Kelantan to various parts of Thailand and perhaps Laos or Cambodia (though it'll already be the rainy season in northern Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia in August, evidently), then back through Terengganu to KL and out. But everything is subject to change except the point of arrival and departure and the trip to the kampung in Terengganu, though a visit to Besut and Kelantan is also pretty definite, barring something unforeseen. Anyone have info on the Malay-majority part of Thailand? I've been hearing conflicting things about how safe it is to visit (and will it be interesting?). I'll contact a friend who's spent a lot of time in Thailand and can probably tell me stuff, but please share your knowledge on this, if you have some.

Yep, sounds silly to me!

NY Times article regarding sea beans Soba Thanks, Soba. Lots of work. Are they special?

Thanks for the reports. What are sea beans? Are they, in fact, from the sea?

Pumpkin Lover: I forgot to welcome you to eGullet. But I'm tempted to say "Thanks but no thanks" vis-avis http://www.friedchillies.com/. When I checked their reviews, their "Western" category immediately dumbfounded me: http://www.friedchillies.com/reviews.php Western 3. American Chili's - Biggest juiciest steak in Bangsar. 19. TGI Fridays - Big burgers for big Appetites. 22. Planet Hollywood KL- Coolest Restaurant in Town 25. Victoria Station Bangsar- Juicy and Tender. 51. Dome Cafe - Great for a light meal. 67. The White House - No politicians here 68. Hard Rock Cafe - Rockin Good Ribs Combo... 79. San Francisco Steakhouse - Steak Out with Lobsters 87. The Ship - Steaks..steaks...steaks 93. Jake's Charbroil Steaks - Really WOW!!!... 99. Coliseum Cafe - Old but not forgotten... 102. Rahsia - Shh..it's a secret.. 105. The Social - Socializing Dinner.. 106. Out of Africa - Safari Dinner.. 109. The Big Plate - Steaks Malaysian Style.. 114. The Outback Steakhouse - Rack of Lamb..uuhh! 134. Austin Chase Coffee - Hearty Breakfast! 158. Top Hat - Top Hats to them! A good review of TGI Fridays? Yuck! And the Hard Rock Cafe as something worth going to to eat? So unless they are reliable for everything but Western food, I think I'll give them a pass. But I like their Parking rating: "Can-lah"

tonkichi: Just out of curiosity: Is Madam Kwan halal?

Thank you, Shiewie, and thank you tonkichi and Pumpkin Lover. Stalls are fine, unless they're so dirty you think they're likely to make us sick (my mother once got food poisoning from undercooked mee goreng at a stall - it was kind of funny, despite everything, because she went to the Emergency Room in Hospital Besar in KT thinking she had worms and was told "You have mee goreng" - but we all otherwise ate food from stalls many, many times without incident). I don't drive, but please post the names and locations of places because it's possible that my mother may be driving some of the time. I've heard about the bottlenecks in KL nowadays, but perhaps some of the places you're thinking about may be on the way out of the city in the direction of the East Coast. However, places that are reasonably easy to get to from within the city are most welcome.

I went back to DiFara's today (Sunday) around 5 P.M. with a friend who hadn't been there before. He got a slice of the Sicilian (square) pizza and pronounced it "great." I asked Dominic if he had porcini. He did, but they had to soak for another 30 minutes, so instead of getting excellent regular mushrooms, I decided to get two slices of baby eggplant and onions (red, as always). It was a fine choice, and I recommend that you all consider the baby eggplants as an option. All in all, a wonderful, very satisfying supper. Oh, also, it was very civilized today and not very crowded at all, unlike the time I went there at about 4:30 on a Saturday. Of course, I still had to wait a while, but waiting for such sublime food while sitting at a table with a friend is not at all unpleasant.

Well, barring anything unforeseen, my parents will be in Malaysia for at least 4 months, starting in mid-July or so. I plan on spending time in Malaysia with a side trip to Southern Thailand (Patani, I don't know where else - any ideas on interesting places where I can find local Malay culture, such as Wayang Siam?) starting in the last week of July and going through much of August. We will arrive (separately) in KL, first, and subsequently go to a kampung halfway between K. Dungun and K. Terengganu. We also plan on visiting Besut and I want to go to Bachok, Kota Baru, and probably Pasir Putih in Kelantan before crossing over to Thailand. So I'm interested in places in KT, Dungun, Besut, and the places I mentioned in Kelantan, as well as KL. Other places on the way could include Kuantan and Kemaman, so if you know any great places anywhere along routes we might take, please mention them. We are interested in recommendations for all of these categories, recognizing that not every town will have all of them in quantity and great quality: (1) Chinese restaurants (2) Dim sum specialists (3) South Indian vegetarian places (can be very spartan as long as the food is delicious) (4) Halal North Indian restaurants (5) Malay restaurants (6) Roti canai/chapatti stalls (7) Satay places Fancy banquet places are fine and we enjoyed some of those when we lived in Malaysia in the 70s, but please don't hesitate to mention cheap, basic rooms with wonderful food. Variety is the spice of life, etc. I await your responses with great anticipation.

Why do you think it's been rejected, Steven? Have they told you why?

Well last year Chicago, New Orleans, San Francisco, Seattle and New York, year before that Boston, San Diego, Ann Arbor, Miami, San Diego plus a bunch of smaller places. Get about a bit! I have to say I have more trouble in the US than elsewhere, mainly because the people who write the menus are often more skilled at their job then the people who cook the food. But the menu is still the best clue you have, size, presentation, content, seasonality, paper, print/handwritten all give you clues. I've seen a lot of menus with misspellings ("Eggplant Parmagana" and the like), and they give me pause, even though I realize the kitchen had nothing to do with them. But I'm somewhat astonished that you have yet to eat in a good restaurant with a parking lot in any of those places. Parking lots are kind of necessities in most of the U.S.

Everyone's favorite French baseball food: "Chez Stadium." Seared fois gras "hotdogs," popcorn au beurre, pralines a la "Crackerjack," steak hache' au bun avec sauce de tomate aigre-doux de Pittsburgh (marque d'Heinz), "sandwiches" de la glace de vanille, and of course some Stella to wash it all down. Mexican (Southwest)/Malay: "Taco Indah" Durian margaritas, Satay de lengua, Kangkung burritos, Avocado sambal belacan, Goat curry tacos. Dulce de agar-agar and Flan de kaya for dessert. Leftover rice fed to the chickens out back.

What other places have you been to in the U.S.? Most of the U.S. is very car-oriented, but this isn't true of Manhattan and further-in parts of Brooklyn and Queens, nor of Boston, central Philadelphia, DC, parts of Chicago, or San Francisco, for example. Further-out areas of Queens are suburban-like so, for example, there's a great Korean restaurant in Flushing that faces onto the street and has a parking lot outside the back entrance.

Too bad. You might want to work on that.

Elyse: This is probably the last thing I'm going to say on this tangent, but that simply makes no sense. Just as everyone has some kind cultural and ethnic background and identity, everyone has an accent, and it makes no difference whether the accent sounds to you like the words look or doesn't, it's still an accent. Claiming that any New Yorkers have "little or no accent" may make sense to a New Yorker for whom your accent is "no accent," but it'll make a laughing stock out of you in almost every other part of the world, and rightly so. But that doesn't mean I don't like you.

I would kill to know how to make these! Why make them when you can buy them for $1.29 or so in Flushing and about 10 cents more per bag in Chinatown?

In France and Italy, your best bet at those prices would be to go to stores of various kinds, whether supermarkets, smaller markets, bakeries, or butcher shops. Bars also can be a good resource for you in Italy, and I often had breakfast (and sometimes, another meal) there when I was on a student's budget. My budget was always well over $15 U.S. for food for the day, though, and that was mostly over a decade ago. Basically, what I'd do is get some kind of croissant/cornetto or pain au chocolat or chausson aux pommes for breakfast with your preferred drink (you could do this for less than 5 Euros in France), go to someplace that looks like a butcher shop/deli (a Charcuterie in France) to get a nice sandwich and such-like for lunch (depending on how much you eat, could be some 7 Euros or perhaps less), and get stuff like yogurt in a supermarket or small market for dinner. And no gelato for you? I gotta tell you, 5 Euros ain't much. Figuring you're going to Europe from the U.S. or Canada, how easy would it be for you to eat 3 meals a day for $15 hereabouts without going to McDonalds twice and having yogurt once? But do what you gotta do. I hear that Switzerland is really expensive, but you may be able to save some money in the Czech Republic; I don't know. In any case, have a safe trip!