Pan

No. I seldom cook nowadays, but I have made Indian food to satisfactory results from good cookbooks (Madhur Jaffrey's cookbooks, Coleman Marks' Regional Indian Cooking, et al.). Yes. Masala Dosas, because there's a good South Indian place near me that makes good Masala Dosas. The answer to your primary question is I eat Indian food on average at least once a week and often two or three times a week. I sometimes go by a little corner store/taxi stand on 2nd Av. and 2nd St. in Manhattan called Pak-Punjab and get a Chatli Kebab or some such to go.

The market I know I remember is the Pasar Chow Kit, which was east of Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman toward Kampung Baru. Yep, big bazaar with lots of vendors selling foodstuffs and sundries. I'm trying to remember whether there was another big pasar in Kampung Baru, or whether the Pasar Chow Kit extended into Kg. Baru. The restaurant I remembered up the hill on Jalan Bukit Bintang was, in fact, called Hilltop Restaurant! Does that ring a bell? Niall: Do you remember Akbar? Sometimes really good food (though not consistently), though service could be really surly and downright nasty there. I don't remember Bombay Palace. Do you know what year it opened? I had a fabulous banana-leaf Tamil meal in a hole-in-the-wall on the 2nd floor of somewhere on a side street downtown, but we were taken there by a friend and could never find the place again.

I want to congratulate you, Louise. You are obviously doing well! Pay attention to your teachers when they tell you to trust your work. Reading about your nerves in front of the Masters really reminds me of my own experiences as a musician - but even more so, current experiences of students at year-end juries I hear. The week before the juries, I talked to students in my Music Theory I class about dealing with nerves. I reminded them that what they are doing isn't dangerous or life-threatening, and to think about the fact that surgeons, for example, injure or kill people many times when they make mistakes, yet loads of people owe their lives to the fact that surgeons are _WILLING_ to risk killing people and deal with that outcome of their imperfection. I was telling them: "What's the worst thing that can happen in a jury? You make a mistake. So what? The sun will still rise tomorrow, and no-one will be injured or killed." One of the students interrupted me: "But...It's terrible to make a mistake!" "Why? What terrible thing will happen to you because you made a mistake?" "But it's...it's a mistake! Mistakes are bad! I'll feel terrible if I make a mistake because that will mean that I'm a failure!" I told her that last summer, I was slotted to perform a piece I'd already performed _and recorded commercially to acclaim_ at 9 A.M. at the National Flute Assn. convention in DC. I just _could not_ fall asleep at a reasonable hour the night before, and the next morning, somehow nothing went right onstage. The results? I got numerous compliments from fellow flutists, many of whom expressed interest in acquiring the piece, and the composer - who was in the audience and obviously knew what notes I played right and wrong - was not only not upset but said he'd like to work with me again, perhaps writing a concerto for me this time. So I screwed up (trust me, I really did, without exaggeration). Was I a failure? Did anything terrible happen? It was uncomfortable, but I wasn't a failure and nothing terrible happened. Good lesson for me, and perhaps for them (maybe even for you). I and the Director of the school have had several conversations about how overly self-critical many of our students are, such that they punish themselves for every imperfection and are so terrified they can't enjoy performing. Don't make that you. Enjoy doing what you want to do and obviously have great talent for. Enjoy the performance, enjoy the process. I'll give you another pep talk: For some 11 years, I studied with Samuel Baron, a wonderful musician and teacher who was one of the founders of the New York Woodwind Quintet, played for many years in the Bach Aria Group, was a recitalist, toured all around the world, was one of the most famous and greatest flute teachers in the U.S., etc. His first full-time professional job after graduating from Juilliard was Principal Flute in Minneapolis. Mr. Baron was impressed with the veteran musicians in the orchestra, especially when they had a recording session. His fellow musicians would play extremely difficult passages for take after take without seeming to break a sweat and then just had coffee. Mr. Baron was dissatisfied with his own playing, so he made a vow that if he made a mistake in the next concert, he would pack up his flute and go home. Needless to say, his next performance was imperfect, but he was having too much fun to go home, so he needed a new rationalization. He figured: "The concert is on Saturday. What if I make a mistake on Monday? Well, it's better not to, but it's the first rehearsal and everyone will forgive me. What about Wednesday? That's worse but that's still a rehearsal (etc.). What about the dress rehearsal on Friday? Well, it's honestly pretty bad to make a mistake then, but it still is, after all, a rehearsal. So what about making a mistake in the concert itself? Well, how many concerts will I play during my career? So the truth of the matter is that each concert is a rehearsal for the next concert." Perfect logic? No. But it's a pretty good way to live. Striving for perfection is good, but always expect to fall short, accept your humanity, and have pleasure in the striving itself. God knows I know about that, having been in the fascinating and sometimes satisfying, often grueling search for perfect command over my tone for almost 29 years of flute-playing! Gosh, sorry for getting on the soapbox or whatever, and I don't know how this "sounds" in teletype format, but from one artist/performer to another, I hope it can help you. Keep up the good work. All the best from a former stagiaire de la flute traversiere in Nice, Michael

I remember when the Kentucky Fried Chicken opened in KL. It was the chic place to go to, and expensive. As an American, I didn't go, of course, and thought the hype about it was silly in a place that was chock-full of fantastic Chinese, Indian, and Malay food. I had the same reaction to people spending lots of money for American jeans. Then, when I got back to the U.S. in 1977, I found out my fellow Americans were doing the same thing. I liked The Ship - if that's the one on Jalan Bukit Bintang that I remember (and I believe it is). My parents and I went several times and enjoyed their steaks and such. There was another place further up Jalan Bukit Bintang than the Hotel Malaysia and The Ship. I'm trying to remember the name, but it was a good Chinese restaurant that IIRC specialized in steamboat, and it was a lot cheaper than the Imperial Room and more informal. I think it was on a side street just off Bukit Bintang to the west. I'm surprised your mother was paranoid about MSG. I thought everybody in Malaysia used Aji-No-Moto in those days! Certainly, it was ubiquitous in kampung Malay cooking where I was living, but that's another topic. The name "Sakura" sort of rings a bell; I'm not sure why, nor am I sure where Jalan Imbi is.

Most of the price of coke and heroin is due to its being illegal, and all the attendant risks, costs, and destruction and confiscation of crops, n'est-ce pas? In any case, while theft should remain illegal, I see no good reason to put drug abusers in jail, even if the drug they're abusing happens to be illegal, rather than cigarettes or alcohol. No, I don't think that smokers are easier to avoid. And while I wholeheartedly agree with your condemnation of drunk driving, I fail to understand the context, in this case.

As a continuation of the tangent from the Jackfruit thread. The quotes are from Tonkichi: Yes, the National Art Museum, right across from the old railway station. And the Imperial Room, that wonderful Cantonese banquet restaurant that was our favorite Chinese restaurant in KL back in the mid 70s? I remember Mr. Lam well. Jolly, fatherly man. Ran the place with his wife. Both were justly proud of his restaurant and the food they served, but never arrogant and always gracious. Ugh! Is it still of superior quality? The dim sum at the Merlin was a little pricier than elsewhere (and the hotel's dinner restaurants were downright expensive), but really good. I don't remember the Federal Hotel. Where is it? And what exactly is yum-cha? (I know "cha" is tea.) Fancy North Indian place on Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman north of Masjid Jamek (sp.?). We used to have food with edible gold and silver foil over it there (the things that impress a child ), but anyway, the food was really good, and the mostly orange bangles that hung from the wall were pretty to look at. My other favorite memories of food in KL were eating roti canai and chapati made by that Indian guy with a griddle on the streets near the Pasar Chow Kit, having a fiery North-Indian lunch at a bare-bones Muslim place called Restoran Alim (with Quran inscriptions on the wall, of course), in the same general area (across from the Sekolah Bahasa2 Moden), and having satay on Jalan Brickfields (though Satay Kajang was better, and the best I had was outside of Jakarta). Did you ever go ice-skating in PJ? A nice rink opened in 1976 or so but (so I heard) closed a few years later. Too bad. And outside, there was an Indian guy selling the curried chick peas he made. Excellent! The Hotel Majestic itself mostly made good food, and way too much of it for one person to eat, most of the time. My mother and I usually split meals. They made good nasi goreng with plenty of ikan bilis, as I remember. The only time I ate a whole multi-course meal there (and the courses went on and on - soup, fish, meat - something like 7 courses, I think, and big ones, at that) was when the east-west highway was flooded near Karak and we had to take a detour south to Negeri Sembilan via back roads to get from Terengganu to KL. Back then, it took 7 hours or so to drive from Kg. Merchang (halfway between Kuala Terengganu and Kuala Dungun) and KL; but that day, it took 12 hours.

I'll post a separate topic, Memories of Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya.

As J.S. Mill pointed out long ago, "the greater good" often operates as a euphemism for "tyranny of the majority." When I'm playing a gig around smokers, it's the smokers who are oppressing me. For that matter, this is also true when I'm walking on the street and someone is smoking upwind from me. There is no constitutional right to smoke. Tobacco is simply a harmful drug that has not been illegalized. People who shoot up heroin or snort cocaine bother me a lot less than smokers because there is no secondary effect of shooting up or snorting on the air I breathe. Sorry, but while I don't believe in putting drug abusers in jail, I have no sympathy for addicts who would rather impose their habit on others. Now, as for Europe: Each country is different. When I travel, it's obvious that, as a guest, I have to operate within the laws and customs that exist in whichever country I'm visiting. That has no bearing, however, on what policies I support in the place where I do have a vote. Suck eggs, smokers.

I can only add to others' compliments of your writing, Tony. You are a treasure.

You probably remember the Hotel Majestic, where I used to stay when I was in KL, and the Imperial Room at the Hotel Malaysia, and dim sum at the Hotel Merlin, and Bangles....Anyway, without going too far on a KL tangent (which we could do elsewhere or by PM, if you like), yes, there were indeed wild jungle chestnuts, and I liked them very much at the time. If chestnuts imported from China were available in the mid-70s, they were only _just_ available. I recall when the first large (2-story, I think) store opened in Kuala Terengganu, featuring imports from China. We snapped up the sweet preserved fruits and such-like. Must have been 1976. Malaysia renewed ties with China in 1972, I believe.

That is really amazing, that Vieux Comte, wasn't it? Fantastic! My 2nd- and 3rd-favorite cheeses during the cheese course at Grand Vefour were Roquefort (which I had never liked before my latest trip to France) and a Camembert-type cheese I forget the name of.

I didn't realize Aji-no-moto was more than a company name. Aji-no-moto brand MSG was ubiquitous in Malaysia, available at every little Malay sundries store in every village on the east coast of the peninsula.

Which part of Malaysia did you grow up in, tonkichi? Btw, chestnuts were rare in Kg. Merchang, Terengganu (where I lived from 1975-77), too. They grew wild deep in the jungle and required a special group expedition to gather. I recall wanting to join one such expedition and being rebuffed because the feeling was that, while I had proven my worth on clam-gathering trips through the mangrove "swamps" (not really swamps) and gathered plants in light undergrowth, it would be dangerous for even an adventurous American kid to go into the deep jungle, where all sorts of things can fell the less than totally sure-footed. I'm trying to remember which of the four chestnut types were edible. There were buah berangan, buah belangan, buah berongan, and buah belongan - or at least, such were the names in Terengganu and Kelantan. I think the last two were poisonous.

Bond Girl: Restaurants in Manhattan and Queens where I've had asam laksa, at any rate, sometimes use curry leaves, with good effect.

So attractive on the website you linked to! Just FYI, the word for MSG in Malay is Aji-no-moto, and the Malays use it often. Or at least they did in the mid-70s.

If you ask me today: 1. Really good, creamy Comte' cheese that remotely approaches the quality of what I ate at Grand Vefour last summer 2. Parmegiano reggiano 3. The wonderful extra sharp cheddar I get at the Farmers' Market at Union Square (New York, NY) from that guy from Pennsylvania. If you ask me at some point in the future, I may have tried other cheeses and decided they were better than these. I did enjoy Pecorino Toscano very much when I was in Siena. Excellent with prosciutto e melone.

EJ, "overpass" simply refers to the portion of the bridge that passes over dry land.

GC++: Mustard oil is wonderful. I don't know where you are, but if you come in to New York City again, just visit Indian or/and Bangladeshi shops in the area of 26-29 Sts. on Lexington and near 1st Av. and 6th St (Dowel on 1st between 5th and 6th is the best one in the latter area). I'm sure it's possible to mail-order mustard oil, but it's probably easiest and cheapest to wait and get it yourself. As for jaggery, this is from Merriam-Webster OnLine: One entry found for jaggery. Main Entry: jag·gery Pronunciation: 'ja-g&-rE Function: noun Etymology: Portuguese jágara, probably from Malayalam chakkara sugar Date: 1598 : an unrefined brown sugar made from palm sap Though jaggery is from palm sap, it's subtle, unlike Malaysian gula melaka (yum!), so I think turbinado sugar would be an acceptable substitute. Do you agree, Suvir?

Yep. Are there traditional sweets for March 3, too?

From that link: "Japanese celebrate `Kodomo-no-hi' on May 5th. It is an event to desire good health of a child(boy)." Girls aren't celebrated on that day, it would seem? And is there any other day when they are?

Malays have the following saying: "Dari cempedak, baik nangka; Dari tidak, baik ada." That means: "Nangka is better than cempedak; Something is better than nothing." I happen to hate nangka (I found it barely tolerable when I had little choice, but I never liked its sap and something else bugged my stomach or something), but cempedak is just awful, as far as I'm concerned. The opinion of my neighbors in the village I spent 2 years in in Terengganu (Peninsular Malaysia, east coast) was IIRC absolutely unanimous that nangka (which was generally well-liked) was superior to cempedak, which is smelly and has a nasty off-taste, if you ask me (which you weren't exactly doing). The only cooked things I remember that had nangka (which is your garden-variety jackfruit, I believe) in them were lempeng nangka and jemput (spelling?) nangka (NO-ONE made lempeng or jemput with cempedak, and I think the idea would have disgusted everyone!). IIRC, both were essentially pancake-type breakfast dishes, with one having a filling in the middle and the other, I think (lempeng) with the fruit distributed throughout. I much prefered lempeng and jemput with bananas (pisang) or coconut (nyiur). The big seeds in nangka and cempedak (also durian, a fruit which my parents love and I hate) are good roasted the same way you'd roast chestnuts (though chestnuts are better, if you've got 'em). I never liked ais kacang, either, with or without nangka. My favorite fruits in Malaysia were, in no particular order, buah kemunting - wild red berries I used to pick - manggis (mangosteen), mangga (the best kind of mango available in Malaysia in those days), Malaysian perfumy papaya, and kelat (tart) varieties of bananas like pisang kelat keling and pisang rastali. Rambutan are delicious, too, though I have to say I prefer lichees. Very honorable mention for the four varieties of pineapple that were available in Malaysia: nanas, nenas, lanas, and lenas.

The most _someone else_ has paid for a meal I participated in was about $125/person on average for lunch at Grand Vefour, I believe. The most _I_ paid for a meal (counting myself only, not a date) must have been something under $50/person. Oh, maybe on some occasion it came to just over $50/person. And that doesn't count the cost of dinner one place and drinks someplace else, but still. Now, why did you want to know?

By "curry laksa," I assume you mean the Singapore-style one with the coconut milk, but the only type of laksa I can get in New York is Penang-style asam laksa, so the only variations I experience are in quality, not in fundamental style. Perhaps I'll try some other type of laksa in Malaysia this August.

I take it you dislike squid, then? (For the record, I like it.)

Great writing, MobyP! Welcome to eGullet, and I hope to read many more posts by you. My parents, brother and I had lunch at Grand Vefour last summer. My mother and I were blown away, but my brother, though enjoying the meal, preferred the first of two meals we had at the Michelin 1-star Michel Vignaud in Chablis (our 2nd meal there was a big disappointment). My father was hard to please at French restaurants because he was on a low-fat diet. Anyway, I provide that background because I was just talking to my mother on the phone and wondered aloud whether I or she would have loved the meal you had at Gagnaire as much as you did. I really don't know, and would never know unless I tried those dishes there. But it sure was fun reading your report!