Pan

For what it's worth, I love these kinds of dishes, and I'd love to eat that dish!

I think Skyway is significantly better than Grand St. Nyonya, but don't expect the restaurant to be good relative to really good restaurants in KL or Penang. I've decided that some of their dishes are better than just OK by comparison with good food in Malaysia (such as some of their seafood dishes, their kangkung belacan, and the nasi lemak on a good day), but by no means should you expect greatness by Malaysian standards. I still think the place is very worthwhile, though. raji, Bali Nusa Indah is an Indonesian restaurant (though not Balinese), not Malaysian. I haven't been there in years but didn't find it too impressive. Jaya struck me actually as rather authentic but just OK (boleh tahan, in Malay). It's probably been at least a couple of years since I've been there, too.

I'm so glad you learned how to post photos, Rachel! I'm sure your Thanksgiving celebration will warm everyone's heart. Enjoy this busy week of work, celebration, and blogging!

I had bull's testicles back in 1977 in a Yemenite restaurant in Tel Aviv called Shaul's, and I still remember how good they were.

I haven't been to Fatty Crab yet, but so far, the best Malaysian food I've had in New York has been at Skyway. It's very informal food. For example, I got a "Curry Asam Ikan Kepala" casserole (you can tell they don't speak much Malay there), which I thought was very tasty home cooking. Some of their seafood dishes are more elaborate. PM me if you like; schedule allowing, I might be able to organize a group of people to join you there.

I really liked Chow on my last visit to the Bay Area. Here's the Chow thread, which I started and eje also posted on.

Atlantic and what? I would disagree, Jeff. I've found Indus Valley (99th and Broadway) to be a very good North Indian restaurant. Best, no; very good and dependable and a good value, yes. The last time I went there was a few months ago.

Salzburg is in Austria. These are also used in Hungarian food (which has a longstanding relationship with Austrian food, from the time of the Austro-Hungarian Empire). I've never heard of them as something sweet, rather than savory, but I'm not an expert.

For my money, yes. Sulfur dioxide tastes terrible and can irritate my throat at times. I hate it!

Kevin, you're right: Biscotti di Prato usually look different from that. But the most important things are the taste and texture; if those were satisfying, that's all that really counts. Really good ones are perfect for eating by themselves as well as dunking, though. I like the ones with plenty of almonds inside. I love the gnudi - they look really appetizing!

If it was covered before it got below 140C and was not reopened after, it was probably quite sterile this morning.[...] ← Quite sterile? I would strongly disagree with that. But total sterility is not necessary for safety. We take in all sorts of bacteria all the time, just by virtue of breathing.

I have a family member and several friends on both sides of the Bay. I love SF and I'm sure I'll enjoy this blog. Have fun, eje!

Confit de fruit isn't an abomination of any kind! It's really an issue of quality. I love confit de fruit but don't think much of that stuff with artificial color!

I love the sign on the chilis: "Directly from Hell."

Great writing, Andrea, and such an interesting discussion! I'm curious about something other than cooking: Why did the idea of opening a restaurant fail? On a personal note, I was living in Kg. Merchang, Terengganu, on the East Coast of the Malay Peninsula, when the first boatload of Vietnamese refugees landed at the mouth of the Merchang River in 1975 and the Malaysian government, not having yet formulated a policy toward the boat people, pushed them back out to sea - a step which was vehemently condemned by our Ustadz (Islamic religion teacher) in our 5th-grade classroom the next day, to his great credit. (His argument? Muslims are obligated to give charity to all people in need, regardless of their religion.) The international community subsequently stepped in to help Malaysia cope with the wave of immigration, and hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese refugees were temporarily housed in refugee camps in Malaysia. Many of them eventually received permanent refuge in the United States, Canada, Australia, and France, and you undoubtedly know some of them personally.

I ate at this place in 1991 and 1994. It was very good then, and I'm glad to hear it's still going strong.

Kira, get some citronella coils (sold as "Ubat Nyamuk" = "Mosquito Medicine") and burn them (not on fire but as embers) before going to sleep. They should help keep the mosquitoes away.

LMF, you're so cute! Thanks for the photos. The process of making parmigiano is very interesting. I can only imagine the wonderful smell!

Three questions: The Pugliese olives sold in the market are fresh and have not been brined at all until you treat them yourself? Do you ever eat at any of the shawarma places? Are any of them good? For the record, I'd love to move to Italy, if only I could support myself there.

I have nothing to add, except to say that you're such a considerate person, to cook for her and tailor what you make to what she wants and can eat. It's the right thing to do, but it's also a really sweet thing to do.

I was referring to the '05 one.

I've only eaten laksa, never made it. You could try recipes on kuali.com: Laksa recipes. There are various different types of laksa, characteristic of different parts of Malaysia. Re: WHS's mention of the alate stage of the termites: They got into EVERYTHING! They were gross!

Not everyone likes panforte. More for me! I did read Adam's thread about his visit to Prato. Like most any thread started by Adam, it's great!

Wendy, did you get the Campari and gelato in Siena at the Bar Il Palio? I do believe that was my favorite bar during my stays in Siena in 1991 and 1994 as a student (I subsequently returned for a short visit in 1998). I loved their macedonia di frutta con gelato! What great food and lovely scenery you experienced! But then, I can empathize.

The geckos will get into your food and eat and crap in it, too. Let me tell you a story: As some of you know, I lived in rural Malaysia for two years in the 70s. We bought a cabinet and stored various things in it. We found that ants climbed into it, no matter how well we thought we sealed it. So we got little plastic cups, filled them with water, and put the legs of the cabinet on top of them. Then, mosquitoes were breeding in the cups, so we had to add salt to the water. Finally, we found geckos and their excrement in the cereal boxes and such. We sealed the cabinet as well as we could but found it impossible to fully prevent things from getting into food by dropping from the ceiling, etc., etc. The tropics are very fertile and luxuriant with life. Lots of wonderful foodstuffs grow and are used for wonderful cuisines there. But because of all the rapidly-breeding, well-adapted life forms that teem in that area, it isn't really possible to fully eliminate contamination. You will coexist with roaches, mosquitoes, flies, ants, termites, geckos, moths, and all sorts of other creatures. That's the way it is. Do what you can and enjoy yourself in spite of the impossibility of declaring victory.