Ling

Saturday night I'm dating someone new! He took me first to Bayside Lounge (we could only find parking on Denman and it was getting late). We ordered some wine and a few cocktails (Mai Tais, Amaretto Sour) and he also had a Ten Inch Johnson (to drink...heh heh.) I had the crab cakes. They were just OK. Came with salsa. Then we went to True Confections because I mentioned that I was a dessert freak. I had the Diplomat (not very good--at $6.75 for a paper thin slice, you'd think they could do better than cake mix and shortening "buttercream".) He had the cheesecake with the strawberry topping, but he wasn't very hungry so I ate that too. Monday I took my friend from Cali to Granville Island but we couldn't decide on what to eat for lunch, so we got these creamy Frap-like drinks from JJ Bean, glazed sour cream donuts from Lee's and I chose a bunch of deli meats from Oyama. My favourite was the Serrano ham. And then we took our food out to one of the tables outside and had our own little picnic.

Rice pudding is super easy to make at home. My secret is half-and-half and the thick cream from a can of coconut milk.

24 hr Bread Garden on Robson: last Sunday Sorry, I didn't pick this place--my date did. To his defense, there wasn't much open since we watched a late movie. He had a mediocre piece of cheesecake, and I had a mediocre piece of carrot cake. UBC vending machine: yesterday (Saturday) Ate "lunch" before going in to write my final. Went for a childhood favourite...Coffee Crisp. I also dug up some beef jerky in my car. Pretty sucky lunch. Chinatown night market: yesterday Sampled some snacks after a light dinner of chicken, ribs, and garlic bread (heh heh). Was disappointed with the "stinky tofu"--I ordered it because I've never had it before, but it didn't really smell that bad. Just regular fried tofu with a slight "off" odour. My friend said that due to some health regulations, you can't get stinky tofu that's truly rank-smelling in Canada like you can in HK. Silk Haus: yesterday I'm at a private party downing watered down drinks (gin and tonics, vodka and tonics, shots of Jaeger). We bounced when the puking started. Sonar: err...I got there at 1am, so technically this morning Cage-dancing and more drinking. I gave my number to two guys. I am a bad girl.

^Is it Shiang Garden?

^The crunchy pork skin seems to get softer a bit quicker than the crispy pork at most Chinese BBQ places, so the secret is to eat it in the car.

^Fish maw soup is my absolute favourite Chinese soup!

I'm so glad you enjoyed it! (And I'm so glad my estimates worked out--the topping on your cake looks just like mine, except for the choice of fruit.) Makes me smile that I could (in a way) repay you for your excellent butter cake recipe.

Which one--BBQ 2000 or the one in Parker Place?

^Yeah I'm sure it's the whole suckling pig or the belly.

^I use quick-cooking oats too.

the spoonfuls of Carnation Hot Chocolate mix I was eating when I was alone in the kitchen.... (tell me I'm not the only one who does this.... )

Ann_T: I actually got a shiver down my spine when I saw that chicken covered in that lovely sauce. It looks soooooo good! Dinner for me was Chinese soy sauce chicken with Chinese "tea eggs". And a mug of hot chocolate, despite it being summer.

^Yes, Dollar Meats is very good! I like their spice blend the best. We used to get our bbq pork from there every week but my parents don't often go to Chinatown anymore. I like BBQ 2000 underneath the Superstore in Richmond--the crispy skin is thicker than most places, and the pork is fattier--you can see the layers of fat in between the flesh as opposed to some places where it's just a layer of fat underneath the crispy skin. I love the layers of fat--it makes the pork so succulent My parents prefer the Chinese bbq place in Parker Place--the layer of crispy skin is thinner, darker, slightly crispier, and the pork is a bit leaner. (My parents don't like BBQ 2000 as much b/c apparently they boil the pork first before roasting to cut down on the time.)

I never use a recipe when I make crumble! Just some flour, approx. twice the amount of oatmeal, a scoop of sugar, and cut in maybe 1/4 cup of butter. Then I just mix in the fruit and sprinkle a generous layer over the cake. My favourite is when I leave out the fruit, add chopped nuts and brown sugar and cinnamon though. ← Lorna, do you use fresh or dried fruit in your topping? and about how much in relaltion to the other ingredients? I've just got a job providing food for 75 at a mid-morning celebration and that sounds like it might be a nice option. ← Ling aka Lorna??!! I want to know, too because I want to try my Ultimate Butter Cake Recipe with your delicious sounding topping! So, I take it you fill the cake pans with batter and then sprinkle the topping evenly over it. And, then bake the cake layers for an extra 15 minutes as you wrote in post # 45 (the usual baking time is for 40 to 45 minutes -- see post #40) -- so, I'll bake the cake layers for a total of 55 to 60 minutes?! How do you unmold the cake layers from the pan? -- the usual way or does the topping fall out all over the place if you invert the layers before you place them upright, again ???? So, do you cool the cake layers in their pans??? Let me know... I am anxious to try your really great-sounding Ultimate Butter Cake Recipe innovation! ← "Ling" is part of my Chinese name and my Egullet name...my name is Lorna. CanadianBakin': I use fresh fruit. The quantity doesn't matter much...it's really how much fruit you prefer. I usually use a few small handfuls of blueberries (my preferred fruit crumble topping). Sarah: For the first butter cake I made, I chopped up 5 apricots, but I felt that was a bit too much fruit so I only used 3 apricots for the second cake. It doesn't really matter though. I mix it in with a few handfuls of crumble topping (if I were to guess, I'd say 1/3 cup flour, 2/3 cup oatmeal, 1/2 cup packed brown sugar--white sugar also works or sometimes I use some of both, 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/4 cup of chopped walnuts or pecans and enough butter to make it clump together--maybe 5 tbsp? This is for one cake.) I cool the cake in the pan, run a knife around the edge, and invert it. The crumble doesn't fall off the cake--the fruit has enough moisture to make it adhere very nicely to the cake. The crumble topping and the cake kind of become one in the oven.

Well, I do like the Whale's Tails. Those always seem to be hot and fresh, unlike the donuts. There's also more "fried" surface area. Plus, they're covered in cinnamon-y sugar goodness. How can one resist? And I agree--the burgers are frickin' nasty.

Can someone enlighten me on the difference between the white chocolate put out by different brands? I was always under the impression that they were similar, since white chocolate isn't real "chocolate" anyway. Are some brands sweeter? I've always used Callebaut white chocolate. Reasonably-priced and decent quality, I think. I rarely use white chocolate in my baking though, so I can't say I've tried many brands.

I never use a recipe when I make crumble! Just some flour, approx. twice the amount of oatmeal, a scoop of sugar, and cut in maybe 1/4 cup of butter. Then I just mix in the fruit and sprinkle a generous layer over the cake. My favourite is when I leave out the fruit, add chopped nuts and brown sugar and cinnamon though.

^I've always liked the squab at Sun Sui Wah. But you're right--banquet food is always the same. I'm hungry now, after looking at those pictures.

*picks up the gauntlet and smacks Daddy-A with it* WHO'S YER DADDY NOW?!!!!!!!!!!!! ...heh heh. The showdown will have to take place in September though. I have to write finals the next 2 weeks and then my friend's coming up from Cali at the end of August!

A Cornetto. I've been in love with that soggy, sugar cone since I was a kid.

I just wanted to add that my butter cake looks exactly like Sarah's, so I didn't post a pic. The only difference was that the edge was a bit browner, since I don't have light colored pans. (I use non-stick 9" Cuisinart pans.) I made a second cake today to give to my best friend's parents. This time I flavoured it with almond extract, and did the same apricot mixture. From the looks of it, the cake turned out as nicely as the first time. Really happy with this recipe.

pissaladiere: Thanks for the link...I've saved it to my Epicurious recipe box. Will try them very soon!

^Hey, that looked kind of like my breakfast. I made the butter cake from the ISO thread in the Pastry forum, and topped it with apricot crumble. Cake was delicious...could've even done without the fruit, but my mom likes fruity cakes.

I thought I posted in here already...but the best thing I had today was the butter cake from the ISO: Ultimate Butter Cake recipe in the Pastry forum, posted by Sarah Phillips! I topped the cake with an apricot crumble mixture.

Glad you girls liked the Korova dough. (Now go try the gingersnaps...hee hee! )