SG-

Offerings seem like a HUGE improvement over when they first opened.

Will be donating this evening to Doctors without borders this evening, given the scores of injured they will be needing all the medical aid they can get. Having grown up in M'sia and overall familiarity with the regions affected, this tragedy is indeed near and dear to me and have decided to forgo any luxuries in the near term and donate my excess $ instead. Seems like these large natural disasters always seem to affect the poorest nations, esp. those who have very little to begin with. Go figure...

Used to get my fix at the various places around Washington Ave but have since decided that the best I've come across in the area is the one at Saigon Cafe in NE Philly. Here's the addy: 823 Adams Ave Philadephia. This is Pho 75's address by the way Saigon is right next to it. Good Luck, they're tasty and cheap buggers, very satisfying.

Hey JC, help me understand I always thought the Kershaw's were some form of faux damascus finish and not the true results of constantly folding the metals...

thought I would mess people up with this pretty pic of a true damascus knife

Yeah, second the shibucho recommendation, one of the best experiences I've had at a sushi bar and prices are reasonable to boot!!!! Very old school which is what I enjoy, he doesn't make any of those stupid dynamite blasting dragon rolls or whatever stupid variation is in the vogue these days. Check out this review I love reading it and reminisce my own experience... Shibucho review

Perhaps you could give the address and some directions for us city folk who don't get into the burbs often. ← It's actually located in north wales, see the map below. Map

Yup the have 'em there, guavas look promising too but not so the rambutans esp. for $3.99 /lb. Also running some specials probably just for this week, small persimmons (similar in size to the israeli sourced Sharon brand variety) $4.99 for a box of 20. In response to a previous question, didn't make it to the food court but was told that they have a bibimbap joint, bakery, takeout sushi and noodle place. Will confirm once I make it there later in the week.

definitely bigger than hahn ah rheum, it's the size of a full blown traditional supermarket ie. Genuardis etc. Not sure if it's better than Hahn ah rheum at this point, too freakin crowded tonite and wasn't up hanging around for too long this evening...

Grand opening today, as of 9pm the place was still mobbed with cars overflowing to the neighbouring parking lots with 30min lines at the cash register. I dare say that it's probably bigger than the hahn ah rheum at cherrry hill. great addition to the area. been a while since I've seen fresh mamey, guava, rambutans sold anywhere.

Darn, I was getting a little excited after reading the initial post. IMO "Standard issue Thai" should be meant as an insult since all these new places are adopting the hopeless renditions of americanized items like those princess curries, rain dance salads etc. bleah... and sadly this is what people have come to expect these items on the menu in any new thai restaurant that open around the area.

Here's a question for you, given that these bottom feeders often come from the "pristine" waters of the Chesapeake, how well are the crabs cleaned before being cured?

Had lunch at Kissen once and thought the tempura was quite good, sushi was another story. Hope they haven't closed down.

Thinking of heading over and I saw on their website that it's $65 / $75 and up. Seems like your dinner was a pretty good deal .

mrbigjas, how much did this dinner run per person?

Michael, funny how you should bring up air mata kucing when talking about longan. Coincidence? Mata kucing is longan, but in its dried form that's brown in color. Tell me you already knew that. Air mata kucing is simply a drink made from dried longans. Incidentally, longan or 龙眼 is literally "dragon's eyes" in Chinese. Edited to add: The chief ingredient in air mata kucing is extract of Luo Han Guo, a fruit found in southern China. If I'm not mistaken mata kuching is a different variety than longan, thinner flesh.

Fifi, I was at the Hilo farmers market last year and bought some surprisingly good rambutans and longans which were apparently grown locally, and were comparable to the ones in Asia. Saw some durians too but looked quite scrawny. Do you know if they've are farming them on a scale sufficient for exports to the mainland or are they just for local consumptions?

The skin of the salak fruit looks like snakeskin or pangolin. I find the Balinese variety tends to have less of the puckery aftertaste and is sweeter in general. Quite addictive once you get used to them.

Assi Supermarket, subsidiary of Rhee brothers opening soon in Lansdale, site of the shuttered Superfresh, nearby Sultan. Word is it's bigger and better than Hahn Ah Rheum, expected to open in Sept / Oct. Assi info

The one and only time I had a cacao fruit thought similar to say a cross between a cherimoya and buah nona (help can't find english translation). quite enjoyed it actually. As for the dragon fruit, not sweet enough, a little bland IMO.

Just adding another find Bought Wine Spectator # 10 on their Top 100 Wines of 2003 list SETTE PONTI Toscana Oreno 2001 98 points, listed for $80 @ $40 last month at PLCB. Been a while since I last shopped but I have to say their wine offerings have vastly improved.

Don't bother with frozen pandan leaves. It's quite useless really, the freezing process virtually eliminates any flavor.

Just used my Zojirushi for the first time this weekend to cook congee, sooo easy and convenient. No more standing by the stove stirring constantly, highly recommended.

Aaaauuugh blasphemy, no sambal with the nasi lemak !!!! No egg, kangkung, cucumber.....

Think people who shop at JC Penny, Gap, and consider cutting edge haute couture fashion to be had at Banana Republic, Jcrew and you get the idea. They generally want something marketed as being hip, dangerous, urban but with always with a safety net. Thought about it somemore and what comes to mind as possibly appealing to them is hawaiian fusion food like the one's served at the Roy's chain. A lot of "exotic" asian themes in the cuisine coupled with more traditional core ingredients (beef, fish etc). Not as edgy as say Alan Wong, but rather leaning more towards comfort food tastes. Am I making any sense??