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I am having a hard time seeing any benefit to trans fats. Is there anything that wouldn't be better with either butter, some kind of animal fat (duckfat, etc.), or oil? From the article: [Edited to insert quote.]

More great stuff, johnder. You're a really good photographer, and the meal at Applewood really looked excellent! Thanks for photographing the menu for us, too. I have another restaurant question for you: What do you think of Franny's? A friend and I went there for the first time recently and really liked it a lot.

I was led to understand that a name for dumplings for goulash is nokedli. Is that right?

When my mother made them in the 70s, upside-down cakes were already very old-fashioned.

My mother didn't bake them with cherries. I've definitely come across cherry-less pineapple upside-down cakes in other contexts, too.

There once was a man from Peru Who made a soufflee out of glue And try as he might He just couldn't quite Relieve his poor mouth of that goo! I knew a young man from Shanghai Who never could bake a good pie Pine needles and cones Duck feathers and bones The filling could make a man die!

Italians love children, so I don't think it'll be any problem. If anything, they may want to pinch his cheeks and dote over him.

My favorite Chinese restaurants in Manhattan are Grand Sichuan International's Hell's Kitchen location and Congee Village, a Cantonese restaurant on Allen St. just south of Delancey, arguably barely on the fringes of Chinatown. If you'd consider Malaysian in Chinatown, have a look at the thread on Skyway.

That's the inevitable problem of well-attended, good conferences, in my experience.

I thought the Village started north of Houston St., but perhaps I'm wrong. I'm very much enjoying this, johnder! You work near the River Cafe. What do you think of that restaurant?

Did you check out "Florence/Siena an eGullet Restaurant Guide," pinned at the top of this forum? Lucky you, to be going to Tuscany. Buon appetito e buon divertimento!

I'm sure the offal discussion was fun. I know you and I share an appreciation of offal.

John, was there much discussion of the imporance of sustainable aquaculture at the congress? I don't have a problem with foie gras as long as the geese and ducks aren't treated inhumanely, but I do have a major problem with sharks' fins, because the whole shark isn't used and so many sharks are killed that I understand that it has been threatening their population.

As someone who raised chickens as a child in rural Malaysia, I recognized your descriptions. That probably made them even funnier to me!

It occurs to me that what's commonly called "tamarind" in Malaysia (asam gelugor in Malay) is in fact a fruit, and a common ingredient in curries (or at least was on the East Coast in the 70s) and asam dishes.

Maryland Chicken was the first dish I ever cooked, when I was I think 9. I don't know what recipe I used, but I remember liking the results and being complimented by my parents, who I doubt would have told me they liked it if they didn't.

Hmmm...well, maybe I can eat grapefruit; my cholesterol is fine. But I think it's important to check on interactions for each medication separately. I don't have the recipe here; the cookbook is uptown. The recipe is in French, with metric measures. I'll see if I can find the cookbook the next time I'm up at my folks'.

OK. My parents, brother and I visited Sumatra in 1976 and spent most of that two-week trip on Pulau Samosir in the Toba Batak land (pulau is Indonesian and Malay for "island"). While we were on a ferry going from Prapat on the "mainland" (in Sumatra but across Lake Toba from Samosir), some friendly Bataks told us that they would be having a second burial the next day and that we should join them as guests. The Batak people disinter the bones of ancestors about 60 years after they have died, rebury them permanently, and have a big celebration. There were two kinship groups represented, the wife-givers and wife-receivers, and one of the groups adopted us for the purposes of the ceremony. There was a lot of dancing and many people were dressed in colorful clothing. Pigs were roasted on spits over wood fires with an amazing mix of spices. The roast pig was so spicy and so uniquely delicious! That second burial has to be the best serendipitous adventure I ever had while traveling. ← Great story! Thanks for the telling. It's amazing how good a well roasted whole pig can taste isn't it? ← Absolutely! But the spice mixture also had a lot to do with it. So spicy, so tasty! That Indian taco looks interesting. I've never had anything like that before.

I don't even know what a teishoku menu is. I'll look forward to your report.

Thanks, donbert. It was way too crowded. Next time, I will realize that reservations for lunch are essential. We ended up going to a Japanese restaurant named Naniwa, which I will report on in its own thread.

There's a likelihood that I may be going to the 48th St. branch for lunch today, as part of a party of two. What should we get? I guess tangerine something is de rigueur, but I sure hope there's more tangerine peel in it than when I had tangerine chicken at the 39th St. branch (see report upthread). Any other suggestions?

I think that photo belongs in the regular dinner thread. Good rendang is one of the most delicious dishes I can think of that doesn't require the use of luxe ingredients and a Michelin 3-star-quality chef. It's really great!

Try Two Little Red Hens for excellent American desserts. Their Manhattan location is 2nd Av. between 85th and 86th Sts.

First I've heard of it! Satay sauce is a peanut sauce! Do they use sa cha sauce for satay in Taiwan?

If you have the time, it would be great if you could correct the factual errors in the Wikipedia article, so that it will be a better reference for those of us who are reading this thread.