eG Foodblog: *Deborah* - Power, Convection and Lies

[racheld]

Official red ones, rather than colour-coordinated black ones, of course!

←

YESSSS!! That's what my dear old black Franklin has--I call them her fancy earbobs.

She's probably fifty by now, and going strong. She's such a hotsy-totsy that I turn off the top pilots all Summer every year cause the three big cast-iron plates on top stay so hot they keep the whole downstairs racing with the air conditioning to see who will win the temp war.

(OH--and take care the first few times you slide a pot, especially one full of hot stuff. During our first few months, I forgot a couple of times to allow for the "no seams" feature, and would slide something with a little too much force, causing the contents to slop a bit onto the stovetop, and once--thank goodness I hadn't lit the burner yet, because the pasta water sloshed over into my sandal).

[mizducky]

Hey, that sink is just the right size for keeping a live carp in, like my maternal grandmother used to do before turning it into gefilte fish.

Happy blogging! Looking forward to more Vancouver goodness ...

[*Deborah*]

Well, it's been a full day, and I will have pics very soon.

Snacky! look forward to seeing you!

Canucklehead, am I doomed to hearing you go oohm and visualizing you rolling your eyes in your head each time I go into the kitchen??!! Time will tell.

Back in a flash.

[mochihead]

Oh, yeah, baby! Orange kitchen! (not that I'm prejudiced and it's my favorite color or anything.)

Ok, uh.... luau?! Is there going to be an official imu to cook the piggie in? Poi & haupia? Banana bread? Lomi Salmon? I can't wait to see what you Canadians are going to come up with! Although, I admit that I'm somewhat confused by the connection.

[*Deborah*]

So many many hours ago, my day officially began with me riding Enzo to work. You couldn't ask for a nicer day to scoot:

Trout Lake (John Hendry) Park

I stopped off at the Mouse House to pick up a little brekkie:

Junior Mouse and Moosh...with cocktail buns!

And got to work to find that I had more snacks awaiting me! A coworker just came back from vacation in Pennsylvania, and actually remembered I had given him US$5 and asked him to bring me back...what else? TASTYKAKES!

behold, the Butterscotch Krimpet! with Double Icing!

An unusually full morning; normally I don't have breakfast except for coffee, and don't snack at the office.

Lunchtime arrived, and since it is Thursday, I had Chicken Curry from the restaurant across the street from my office (which shares a kitchen with the William Tell), pretty good. I mean, I've eaten it 19 Thursdays out of 20 for the past 9 or 10 years.

[*Deborah*]

After work, I stopped off at T&T Supermarket, the mecca (or one-stop shopping, at least) for all things Asian.

They have a lot of live fish and shellfish:

Live King Crab and Spot Prawns up, Oysters down

For those who don't know, Vancouver has a very large Chinese population, so these kinds of items aren't all that hard to find, but it still amuses me to see duck tongues all plastic wrapped like this:

Duck Tongues, Geese Intestine, American Wagyu Beef Carpaccio...

The tea section is twice as wide as this picture:

And the Pocky aisle is a favourite place of mine

This is only a portion of the Pocky selection, there are Pocky and similar snacks displayed throughout the store!

And here is my trusty Enzo, ready to transport me and my purchases onward:

I can fit quite a bit in the "trunk":

various items, a whole frozen duck, and several ice packs that were in my freezer at work today

[*Deborah*]

I met up with the Mouse Family for supper on Commercial Drive:

A beautiful Indonesian puppet greets you at the door:

And the Mice were just about to order the food. These were our beverages of choice this evening:

Tiger Lager, not sure what Junior was drinking, and Jasmine Tea for yours truly

We began with a refreshing salad with jicama, pineapple, savoy cabbage, bean sprouts, a nice vinaigrette, and peanuts:

Then a few shrimp chips to tickle our tongues:

ANd then the real food started coming out: barbecued chicken (Junior Mouse's fave, and one that we grownups are all fond of as well) and a very nice vermicelli in kecap manis with various bits and pieces dish (I apologize, but I cannot remember what these dishes are called. Moosh may correct me, or I might find the energy to figure them out on the website later!).

We also got the extremely tasty green beans and prawns and fried tofu:

And a tilapia in spicy tomato sauce making funny faces at us. Oh, wait, I think he always looks like that:

For dessert, we managed to share a dish of deep fried bananas and ice cream (verrry good!):

[*Deborah*]

Then I went home. The Mice came too, we were going to assemble my new dining room table, but the room isn't ready for it yet. So instead, Mr Mouse went above and beyond to do what my Contractor hadn't: level the range. It took a good hour, I'd say, but we're all level all over, and I am now free to cook!

Here is a somewhat better picture of the Wolf, showing the S-grates and the lovely red knobs. And many fingerprints!

Unfortunately, I am simply exhausted and will not be cooking tonight at all! My Power seems to be going fine in the kitchen, though, so my trusty Gaggia is plugged directly into the wall

Here are my T&T purchases, minus the duck, which is in the fridge defrosting:

Dried aniseed, coarse salt, fish sauce, sesame oil, black sesame Pocky, coconut milk (on sale for $0.69 a can!) and some loose tea

And here are my current beverages:

San Pellegrino Aranciata with vodka and Campari, and water

And that's just about it for me for tonight! I have a clawfoot tub in my living room at the moment...it looks as though the bathroom upstairs might be functional for Saturday night!

Thanks again, everyone, for the kind words

[Mooshmouse]

You've just been through a whole raft of photos, so I'll help you out with menu descriptions from Pondok's website.

Junior Mouse had his requisite glass of guava juice, while Mr. Moosh and I tippled our way through three or four bottles of Tiger beer. Jasmine tea for you, right db?

An order of Krupuk and Rujak Asinan were our starters: the salad consisted of pickled cabbage, jicama, bean sprouts and pineapple served with peanuts and topped with palm sugar sauce.

Junior Mouse's favourite chicken dish is Ayam Panggang: BBQ Chicken marinated with Indonesian style sauce. I think he mowed through three pieces on his own. The noodles were Bihun Goreng: vegetarian pan-fried rice vermicelli. For a vegetable dish, I chose Buncis: green beans, prawns and tofu sautéed and served in a wet sauce of dried shrimp, chilies, garlic, and shallots. And our finny friend was Ikan Rica Rica: fried tilapia in a succulent bed of tomatoes, garlic, shallots, and chilies. Though we ordered the fish three out of three peppers on the hotness scale, it didn't seem all that spicy to me.

Last but not least, dessert was Pisang Gulung Manis: fried banana wrapped in phyllo, served with caramel sauce and topped with vanilla ice cream. Despite your and Mr. Mouse's claims (except mine, of course) that you were too full to eat dessert, the bananas and ice cream disappeared in one hot second.

[*Deborah*]

Thank you , oh wise one!

[Mooshmouse]

My pleasure. We can have tuna casserole another night.

I'm just glad that my handyman husband was able to help you level your 650 lb. behemoth of a Wolf range without giving himself a hernia in the process! I take comfort in the knowledge that, should some natural disaster level the Mouse house, we can all come and take up residence in your stove without too much difficulty.

[*Deborah*]

It's not THAT big!

OK, it is.

[peppyre]

Deb, I think I could fit in your stove

The room is certainly starting to come together. I can't wait to see it on Sat. Great day girls. And just think, if the tub is still in the living room, just fill it up with after dinner cocktails and call them Tubertifs You know we'll drink them.

Edited May 19, 2006 by peppyre (log)

[Pan]

[...]The noodles were Bihun Goreng:  vegetarian pan-fried rice vermicelli.[...]

←

Yeah, but what it really means is "fried rice noodles." I love the simplicity of the names of dishes in Malaysia and Indonesia.

Though we ordered the fish three out of three peppers on the hotness scale, it didn't seem all that spicy to me.[...]

←

Moosh, does that happen a lot in Vancouver? In New York, it sometimes isn't enough to speak the language and ask for it very, very hot! And then there are other restaurants that serve it right without one needing to do anything but order. A lot of times, that depends on the location -- not only how close the restaurant is to an area where lots of Asians live, but sometimes, how much off-the-street business it gets and whether it attracts a crowd that's there for a date scene and not primarily for the food. When Sentosa, a Malaysian restaurant, was on a quiet corner of Allen St. and Division here in Manhattan, they had trouble getting much business, but the food was always spicy when it should have been, because their clientele were going there for the restaurant and the food. Then it moved to an even more Asian area, downtown Flushing, but it had fancier decor and an excellent location for off-the-street business and became a date place. I went to that location once, business was hopping, but the very spicy dish I ordered had no chili at all, even though I couldn't have made it clearer that I wanted it spicy! I congratulated the proprietress on her success, used hot sauce, and never returned. Ironically, on that same block is the best Sichuan-style restaurant in New York, and they have never toned down a thing for me. Now that summer is approaching and my schedule is starting to clear, I'll have to go back to Flushing for some cold bamboo shoot in hot oil...but I digress. Ironically, on the same block where Sentosa used to be, in Manhattan's Chinatown, there is now another Malaysian restaurant called Skyway which serves food with flavor...location, location...?

Edited May 19, 2006 by Pan (log)

[mizducky]

Ah, a cruise through an Asian supermarket. One of my favorite pastimes.

That whole tilapia was pretty spectacular too.

And your Vespa is really rockin'.

[Mooshmouse]

[...]The noodles were Bihun Goreng:  vegetarian pan-fried rice vermicelli.[...]

←

Yeah, but what it really means is "fried rice noodles." I love the simplicity of the names of dishes in Malaysia and Indonesia.

←

This I do know as Filipinos name a good number of their dishes in a similar manner; however, I was largely doing a cut and paste from Pondok's menu descriptions on their website. Gracias, though, for the clarification.

Though we ordered the fish three out of three peppers on the hotness scale, it didn't seem all that spicy to me.[...]

←

Moosh, does that happen a lot in Vancouver? In New York, it sometimes isn't enough to speak the language and ask for it very, very hot! And then there are other restaurants that serve it right without one needing to do anything but order. A lot of times, that depends on the location -- not only how close the restaurant is to an area where lots of Asians live, but sometimes, how much off-the-street business it gets and whether it attracts a crowd that's there for a date scene and not primarily for the food....

←

In this instance, the lack of heat was likely largely my fault since I dug in for the meat without scooping up a lot of the sauce. I was too busy eating to check what my dining companions' palates were telling them. As far as Pondok itself goes, it's usually quite good at notching up the heat meter; the Mouse family dines there on a semi-regular basis and they've served us some dishes that have had me reaching for my water glass.

Your take on restaurants' dumbing-down of the spice level is interesting. Like New York, Vancouver's cultural diversity generally points toward a fairly savvy palate when it comes to ethnic dining. Thus, the times that I encounter a quenching of the flames, so to speak, generally occur when I'm ordering more mainstream-oriented dishes from a menu. Another instance is when a restaurant, in its efforts to do the pan-Asian-fusion thing, tries to be too many things to too many people. Gimme simple, authentic and spicy any day.

[Swisskaese]

Deb, I think I could fit in your stove

The room is certainly starting to come together.  I can't wait to see it on Sat.  Great day girls.  And just think, if the tub is still in the living room, just fill it up with after dinner cocktails and call them Tubertifs   You know we'll drink them.

←

You could also fill it with gin and call it Bathtub Gin

Interesting blog *Deborah*. I would kill for your range. The orange is interesting.

I am curious, did you mention what you do for a living?

I really miss Asian restaurants. We have such lousy ones here. I really miss dim sum.

Edited May 19, 2006 by Swisskaese (log)

[torakris]

And the Pocky aisle is a favourite place of mine

This is only a portion of the Pocky selection, there are Pocky and similar snacks displayed throughout the store!

←

I love to see Pocky in blogs!

[Pan]

[...]The noodles were Bihun Goreng:  vegetarian pan-fried rice vermicelli.[...]

←

Yeah, but what it really means is "fried rice noodles." I love the simplicity of the names of dishes in Malaysia and Indonesia.

←

This I do know as Filipinos name a good number of their dishes in a similar manner; however, I was largely doing a cut and paste from Pondok's menu descriptions on their website.[...]

←

I figured as much, Joie.

My remark was mostly directed more toward Deborah, because it's funny how that thing she was trying to remember the name of is really "fried noodles."

I think a lot of cuisines are like this in terms of dish naming.

[Daddy-A]

And so it begins, Deb:  six days out of the coming seven that we'll be spending together!  Let the eating commence! 

Hey! Nobody said anything about this being a TAG-TEAM blog!

Ok, uh.... luau?! Is there going to be an official imu to cook the piggie in? Poi & haupia? Banana bread? Lomi Salmon? I can't wait to see what you Canadians are going to come up with! Although, I admit that I'm somewhat confused by the connection.

Ummm ... don't get your hopes up there mochihead. As host of said luau, this will be a luau in name and decoration only. Some guests bring Hawaiian themed items, but "luau" was chosen as a tongue-in-cheek homeage to the end of our wet Vancouver winters. Ironically, the Victoria Day long weekend is often wet itself ... so we're keeping our fingers crossed.

What can you expect food-wise at the luau? Think South.

A.

[*Deborah*]

My remark was mostly directed more toward Deborah, because it's funny how that thing she was trying to remember the name of is really "fried noodles."

I think a lot of cuisines are like this in terms of dish naming.

←

Oh, Pan, the thing is that I scarecely look at the menu at Pondok; I mean I do, but Moosh does the ordering, as she's such a regular and knows the proprietors. So she asks for everything in its original language, and while my grasp of the Romance languages is not negligible, I am quite lost as yet when it comes to Asian languages. I know a little dim sum, basically! but that's good to know that the names are just descriptive. That will make it easier

[*Deborah*]

I love to see Pocky in blogs!

←

I think of you when I see a whack of Pocky!

Edited May 19, 2006 by *Deborah* (log)

[*Deborah*]

I am curious, did you mention what you do for a living?

I really miss Asian restaurants. We have such lousy ones here. I really miss dim sum.

←

I didn't. My day job is with a small consulting engineering firm: administrative, word processing, website stuff, writing responses to requests for proposals. Herding a bunch of engineers and building technologists. I've been here for ten and a half years.

My love of words and language also led me to start a tiny business for myself. I do some work in the restaurant trade, and some out of it. It's very casual, I get the odd commission off the internet or eGullet. I should probably start hard-selling myself to pay off the Wolf!

I love dim sum! But I have none scheduled for this weekend, alas.

[*Deborah*]

Ah, a cruise through an Asian supermarket. One of my favorite pastimes.

That whole tilapia was pretty spectacular too.

And your Vespa is really rockin'. 

←

I tried to get a close up of that fish, but it didn't come out very well.

Thanks for the Vespa love! if the cats don't start spending a little more time indoors, it may be the closest you get to a pet photo.

[*Deborah*]

And so it begins, Deb:  six days out of the coming seven that we'll be spending together!   Let the eating commence! 

Hey! Nobody said anything about this being a TAG-TEAM blog!

Not so much tag-team blog, as tag-team eating