SG-

It is true that the white umai dish presented here was inspired by one of my favorite restaurants, made by a Chinese couple in Pantai Ria, which has pickled mustard. In all likelihood Melanau recipes would not have pickled mustard, while other ingredients remain the same. Also, alternative preparation methods include pounding all ingredients into a mixture to be folded into the fish. Some people may add turmeric, garlic or even crushed peanut. Umai has many variations. Don't be surprised to find umai dishes from two neighboring stalls to be different. On the other hand, most places make Sarawak Laksa pretty much the same, of course some taste better than others. I really thought you were throwing out some M'sian humour with that Tan Ah Beng story, thought it was going to lead up to stories about Ah Pek, Ah Leng, Ah Moi etc etc

Laksa, got to hand it to you, you eat very well!!! Thanks for the Umai pics and instructions. One question though pickled mustard in a melanau dish?? When did that enter their diet?

Loaded question but how different is the food in East M'sia vs Western Peninsula? Also please post the recipe for Umai and Sarawak Laksa sounds interesting.

Excellent!!! I've been trying to kill these buggers all summer long. Now only problem is did or did I not spray weed killer on them a few weeks ago....

And Philly Style can host it, good press!!! Nudge nudge, wink, wink. I'd pay to watch.

OK, after reading this I will put aside my bad experiences ordering ala carte and give the omakase a go. Katie, You might be able to find Hawaiian sea salt from Ming Tsai line of products at Target. Recollect seeing them in bottles, but not sure if they still carry his line though. Better yet if you know of someone heading over to Hawaii, much cheaper there.

My opinion is that people move out to the burbs because they're looking for the same monotonous, predictable lifestyle (me being the exception of course!! ). Hence very attractive for the chains. I remember reading that H&M had to pare down offerings in the suburban stores because people were turned off by their edgier fashions. Having said this, it's unfair to blame the corporations because they're really giving the public what they want. As for mom and pop restaurants in the burbs, honestly other than a handful of adventurous folks most of them are crap.

Lacroix would be my vote, they do have a lovely room. Though some might say the portions are small, just order more courses!!

Does he use buffalo milk or regular cow's milk?

A shot of XO instead of lime to season the fish may help alleviate this problem in the future.

Had my first michelin star experiences at Le Grand Vefour and Carré des Feuillants in Paris last week and have to conclude that LBF still lags these places in terms of service and food. Granted you'll be looking for a second job after the bill. And for the first time my wife had no complaints about the food, other than portions were too large.

You'd better do good RICH!!!! Congrats!

Just an excuse to make yourself feel good and not look stingy. The extent of tipping in this country is going overboard!!! 60 Mins II: Are You Tipped Out?

Or masked as Scrapple!!! Scrapple Description How about haggis never had it myself but high on my list if I ever make it to Scotland.

Deep fried beef lungs with sambal, intestine and liver satay, chilled pigs ear, beef entrail noodles (?term), brains, dried pigs tongue, stir fried kidneys, stewed pigs heart etc It's all good!!! One of the main reasons I like "parts" is that there are variations from one part part to another in terms of texture, good change from the consistency from just plain ol meat. Someone was telling me that lions tend to go for the entrails of the prey first and leave the rest to the hyenas, any truth to this?

I bought some, frozen from a nearby german butcher... they carry brains etc too but all frozen too unfortunately. Illg's in bucks county

Is he actually cooking or just supervising the menu? I'm not surprised by the menu being not having any Scandinavian influences. If you look at his recent ventures in NYC they've veered more towards Asian than anything nordic.

Here's my suburban perspective. Honestly mom and pop operations have been progressively faltering even before the build up of chains. Looks at all these little towns in the burbs, Norristown, Ambler, Lansdale, Jenkintown etc. There's not a heck of a lot going on lately nor has there been for probably a least the past decade. Are the chains to blame? Produce for example, other than one or two places around me there is basically nothing worth bothering with before Whole Foods showed up. As much criticism as they get about their prices, where else can you get some La Colombe, epoisse or creme fraiche at 6pm on Sunday out here?? Can anyone honestly tell me that we have in the burbs any farmers market that really is worth going to? I have yet to see anything come even remotely close to the ones in Europe or Asia. I think Whole foods has done a GREAT job intoducing the possibilities of new and better quality choices than what's offered at the local supermarket chains. Call me crazy but I think we Americans in general have not done a good job holding on to our traditions, but have instead chosen to adopt and accept the McMansion cookie cutter mentality as the norm. My opinion is chains may in fact contribute to the revival of some of these towns. Lets say a TGIF and Outback opens up on the same block across the street from a United Artist Cineplex, guess what you're probably going to see the average joe heading to these destinations. The overflow from these restaurants will probably end up in local mom and pop restaurants. People being attracted to these cookie cutter chains may actually create new markets for mom and pops to thrive in.

Canned Top Shell Probably refers to this.

Milo lollies always seemed to end up a little powdery texture wise, could never figure out why. Didn't help that I hated Milo when I was young, more of a Horlicks fan growing up.

Cool Pics, glad you like Pat's version, always felt they were better than Geno's too.

They sell Milo at my local Indian grocery store here in the suburbs of Philadelphia. So there must be some sort of following over in India, not a complete failure perhaps? Pan, as for Maggi the more popular way of serving is fried with some additions like mustard greens, eggs, tofu, not straight from the pack and relatively inexpensive and tasty too. As previously mentioned these are served in mamak stands, not haute cuisines places or even anything that could remotely be considered a restaurant.

Sounds like a great place, good quality snacks without having to commit to a long meal! We sure need more of them around. What are their hours by the way?

Thanks Shiewie, will check out the site, looks good from a glance. I noticed you mention "Yut Kee" on Campbell Road, is that behind the Sheraton Imperial Hotel on Sultan Ismail??... 'cos if it's the same animal... man, Yut Kee is totally retro awesome cool. I was working on site when the hotel was going up and my dad introduced me to Yut Kee. The best Swiss Rolls and butter cakes from the kitchen out the back of the shop, the WHOLE OF KL... it's not halal, but I must mention for non-Muslim M'sians that the pork chops are way good, as are the Hokkien Mee, kopi-o. Wow, nostalgia... will definitely check it out next week!! Don't forget to Yut Kee's seafood laden "lam mee"(sp?) which they're famous for! Their kaya and shrimp toast are quite good too.

Maybe, but it doesn't quite fit Shiewie's description because it was plain white rice (maybe cooked with a little coconut milk) with the leaves and dipping sauces separate. LOL! Ok - so it's Nasi Ulam Pan Style. Jangan marah ye? Lawak-lawak saja. Don't be angry, joke-joke only. Pan - I saw a thread on fiddlehead ferns - are these similar to the pucuk paku here? similar to pucuk paku but a much larger variety and sometimes a little stringy.