What are you eating?

[Psyke]

Prawn noodles for breakfast.

http://img46.yfrog.com/img46/8106/wzk.jpg

[fahoumh]

That's your breakfast? When I think breakfast it's usually cereal because it's light enough for me to stomach first thing in the morning.

[Psyke]

That's your breakfast? When I think breakfast it's usually cereal because it's light enough for me to stomach first thing in the morning.

Comparatively, I think the Asian breakfasts are heavier. The usual fare would be congee, various flour based dishes, bread and toast, or other noodle variants. Rice is considered heavy and would usually be taken during lunch or dinner.

[Buffalobiian]

Comparatively, I think the Asian breakfasts are heavier. The usual fare would be congee, various flour based dishes, bread and toast, or other noodle variants. Rice is considered heavy and would usually be taken during lunch or dinner.

Really?!

I always considered Western breakfasts by far being the heavier.

Maybe it's just the people I encounter, since I only used to eat little amounts of cereal or a 1-2 meat buns for breakfast. Heavier Sunday breakfast was usually rice-noodle roles. Nowadays I don't even eat breakfast.

My white-Aussie friends eat things like 3-5 pieces of toast, bowls of cereal, maybe some bacon & eggs plus something to wash it down with.

[shinta|hikari]

Filipinos probably eat one of the heaviest breakfasts in the world.

A usual breakfast would be:
1) Fried garlic rice (with tons of oil, enough to make the rice glisten),
2) Fried (in oil, as if it doesn't have enough) Longanisa (sugar cured fatty pork sausage) or Tocino (sugar cured fatty pork slices) or maybe Tapa (cured beef)
3) Fried eggs (yes, fried again because eggs are almost always fried here).
4) Sometimes a salad of salted egg (go cholesterol!) and tomatoes.

If you are poor, and most Filipinos are unfortunately, 3 is replaced by fried (as expected) Tuyo (salted dried fish) or Daing (smoked dried fish). This is still quite unhealthy because of the insane amount of salt content.

[XanBcoo]

I'm gonna cast my vote for Mexicans having the potentially heaviest breakfasts.

"Migas and Fajitas" sounded good on the menu, but not after I carried it around inside me all day. It was more like a lunch/heavy dinner.

Edit:

Filipinos probably eat one of the heaviest breakfasts in the world.
Nevermind, the sound of all that makes me never want to eat again.

[shinta|hikari]

I personally never eat that kind of breakfast though. I used to not eat breakfast at all, now I just eat a minimal amount of whole wheat cereal with skim milk.

[Kraco]

3) Fried eggs (yes, fried again because eggs are almost always fried here).

If you are poor, and most Filipinos are unfortunately, 3 is replaced by fried (as expected) Tuyo (salted dried fish) or Daing (smoked dried fish).

But eggs are cheap...

Anyway, I can't contribute anything here because Finns don't generally eat heavy breakfasts by any reckoning.

[Dark Dragon]

If you think about it, a standard breakfast from the south in the US isn't exactly light either.

Waffles or Pancake with syrup
Eggs
Bacon

I do notice that western cultures tend to eat more sweets during breakfast (maybe because sugar give fast energy). Asian breakfasts that i'm familiar with are more like pho noodles, and baguettes (vietnamese) meat dumplin, congee and a variety of other steamed foods (chinese) and the traditional Japanese breakfast which really doesn't differ from the other meals. I do notice that the Japanese only really eat Natto for breakfast, but that could just be my relatives who i was staying with in Japan.

[shinta|hikari]

But eggs are cheap...

Anyway, I can't contribute anything here because Finns don't generally eat heavy breakfasts by any reckoning.

Sorry, I meant 2.

[Buffalobiian]

I just had the fattiest pasta meal in my life.

After finishing a takeaway container (http://www.cater4you.co.uk/acatalog/650cl-take-away-container-s.jpg) of (what I thought was) Penne Carbonara, there was 1 tablespoon of pure oil left in the tub.

Describe how I feel in one word? Saturated

[fahoumh]

Do you think it was Extra Virgin Olive Oil? If it was, then you don't really have much to worry about.

EDIT: I used "too" instead of "to"

[Buffalobiian]

Do you think it was Extra Virgin Olive Oil? If it was, then you don't really have much too worry about.

I doubt it. Probably 100% vegetable or canola oil. It tasted rather good still. :o

On a different note, I've discovered these past-expiry-date Cadbury BrunchBars in my cupboard, and have been eating those for the past week or so for breakfast.

Cadbury + "toasted coconut" can't be good for me. When it goes down, it leaves a thick, dry feeling behind in my throat too. But I think I'll finish off these regardless before I move on the my healthier (and probably also expired) fruit bars.

------------------------------
edit: I forgot to bring lunch today, so popped down the the local city restaurants for something to eat, and ended up settling with some fettucine + salmon in dill sauce. It was good and all (pasta was freshly made I think), but damn the serving was small. I could have easily eaten 4 plates of it. After sitting for 5mins afterwards though, it manages to be just short of being enough. (no where near full, but enough).

My next choice was then to either head back up to the office or pop by Hungry Jacks (aka Burger King) on the way and pick up a burger (forking out even more money).

I've heard that supposedly eating till you're just short of being full is good for your health, but that's like pulling out at the last minute. :(

[fahoumh]

I doubt it. Probably 100% vegetable or canola oil. It tasted rather good still. :o
Hahaha. Well, as long as it tasted good.

On a different note, I've discovered these past-expiry-date Cadbury BrunchBars in my cupboard, and have been eating those for the past week or so for breakfast.

Cadbury + "toasted coconut" can't be good for me. When it goes down, it leaves a thick, dry feeling behind in my throat too. But I think I'll finish off these regardless before I move on the my healthier (and probably also expired) fruit bars.
How far past the expiry date are they? And that feeling you described sounds worse than the worst case of cotton mouth.

but that's like pulling out at the last minute. :(
OMG, that is fucking hilarious. And yeah, it's pretty a good feeling when I'm done eating, lean back, and let out a good belch. Not very proper but it's usually around close friends.

[animus]

I had some Ddukbokki for the first time which is a Korean dish for Spicy Rice Cakes with Fish Cakes. It wasn't spicy enough, which is probably attributed to how weak the general Western population is with spicy food but damn it was good. It made me really full considering how little I ate of it, due to the fact that rice cakes are so thick and condensed.

[Kraco]

I ate today a steak of mixed minced moose meat and minced beef, with mashed potatoes. I'm far from being even a decent steak cook but fortunately moose meat belongs to the best meats around, so it alone made the deed much easier. Although I had to be very careful with spices in order to avoid masking the moose meat's own taste. No use having excellent ingredients if you can't taste them. So, I only used some pepper and salt, plus a little paprika.

[shinta|hikari]

I really have to try moose meat then!. Can you describe its taste and texture? Please be as detailed as you can, and not just liken it to some other meat. Also, what flavours go well with it?

I like goat meat if not for its extremely tough texture. Is moose like that as well? Of course, since you used minced meat, it would not be tough at all, but what if it was an actual cut?

[Kraco]

Unfortunately my prime interests in things edible lie in sweet, baked things where I even consider my skills tolerable, unlike with actual meals where lasagne is the most complicated dish I've ever made (and it's not complicated at all, of course).

Moose naturally has game taste since they are beasts living in the wilds. So, it has more flavour as such than typical farm grown animals. This is why I wanted to be careful with the spices. It's not overly tough, though, in my opinion. I have eaten it in myriad forms over the years. It's excellent in soups or stews and as a roast. I think it's kind of airy as a roast, not tough or overly dense. I don't think the texture in a soup is that different compared to beef, perhaps. It has very little fat as well, which is considered a plus in any meat at least in these parts.

Sorry, but I'm pretty lousy at describing tastes. I've eaten moose as long as I can remember and I consider it a lot better than reindeer, for example (not that reindeer would be bad either). Still, it's highly valuable meat as it's all game and hunting really costs an arm and a leg despite the animals growing themselves up freely. So, hunters aren't really willing to deal it out just like that. That's why any moose meat I've got is random.

[shinta|hikari]

Seems like an interesting culinary experience. Unfortunately, that means I won't be able to have that any time soon, seeing as it is that hard to get.

I made myself some melon pan this weekend. I made two different recipes because I wanted to try out the differences before creating my own.

This one has a good crust that is easy to decorate, but lacked flavor in my opinion. I think it needed a bit more sugar in the cookie topping.

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g310/shinta617/IMG_2818.jpg

This batch was a lot richer, but the topping could not be decorated because of the amount of fat in it making it soft. It was almost too rich, and the bread deteriorated quickly in taste only a few hours after baking.

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g310/shinta617/IMG_2824.jpg

I finally made my own recipe, which basically follows the 1st one only with more sugar for the topping, and a longer baking time.

[shinta|hikari]

Seems like an interesting culinary experience. Unfortunately, that means I won't be able to have that any time soon, seeing as it is that hard to get.

I made myself some melon pan this weekend. I made two different recipes because I wanted to try out the differences before creating my own.

This one has a good crust that is easy to decorate, but lacked flavor in my opinion. I think it needed a bit more sugar in the cookie topping.

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g310/shinta617/IMG_2818.jpg

This batch was a lot richer, but the topping could not be decorated because of the amount of fat in it making it soft. It was almost too rich, and the bread deteriorated quickly in taste only a few hours after baking.

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g310/shinta617/IMG_2824.jpg

I finally made my own recipe, which basically follows the 1st one only with more sugar for the topping, and a longer baking time.

[Buffalobiian]

Do they have any filling inside, or is the melon flavour in the bread (if there's melon flavour at all)?

[shinta|hikari]

No filling, and no melon flavor. I am trying not to be too ambitious in my bread making, since I only started one week ago when I bought my first (both own and use) oven.

Also, melon pan is rarely filled or flavored with melon in Japan, and I was aiming for a more authentic version. In my experience, melon flavored melon pan is far from being delectable. I will definitely add chocolate chips in the next try though. Maybe even white chocolate chips...

[Buffalobiian]

No filling, and no melon flavor. I am trying not to be too ambitious in my bread making, since I only started one week ago when I bought my first (both own and use) oven.

The last sentence threw me off for a minute or two thinking about portable ovens. Living in Australia builds the impression into our minds that household ovens are in-built under the stove.



Also, melon pan is rarely filled or flavored with melon in Japan, and I was aiming for a more authentic version. In my experience, melon flavored melon pan is far from being delectable. I will definitely add chocolate chips in the next try though. Maybe even white chocolate chips...

Yeah, I wasn't sure how/if melon pan was flavoured normally.

How about the texture? For example, is it supposed to be spongy, doughly, crisp, dense?

Too bad I can't be there to taste test. :D

[shinta|hikari]

Melon pan is basically bread with a cookie topping/coating. The cookie layer is supposed to be slightly crisp and sweet, while the bread inside is soft and light. It usually does not have any flavoring aside from the usual butter and sugar. It is not uncommon to see them with chocolate chips on the topping though.

[shinta|hikari]

Sorry for the double post, but I feel it is warranted with the amount of material I am about to post.

I have been on a baking spree the last few days. This is my own version of curry pan, with my special pork curry recipe (with bacon!).

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g310/shinta617/IMG_2835.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g310/shinta617/IMG_2837.jpg

Here are some banana muffins with chocolate chip and raisins.

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g310/shinta617/IMG_2841.jpg

And here are the croissants I finished making (after 14 hours of labour) right now.

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g310/shinta617/IMG_2858.jpg

The better shaped ones are currently frozen for future use. These are the odd shaped ones that were produced due to my inexperience at pastry shaping.

I swore that I would never make croissants again during the process of making it, but I slowly had to take it back when my house began smelling like a french bakery during baking. I swore to make croissants again the moment I ripped one open and heard the crisp crust cracking. Then I had to double think that oath in consideration of my health and diet plans when I ate 5 pieces right after I bit into one.

[The Heretic Azazel]

That curry pan looks so good. please come be my housewife.

[Kraco]

Yeah, those curry pans look really good.

Although baking is kind of a hobby of mine, I'll probably never make croissants. So much fat that it simply unnerves me.

[shinta|hikari]

I agree. I am thinking of it as a very rare treat, as well as practice doing more difficult baking techniques, and an exercise of patience (something which I severely lack).

The curry pans were indeed great, and much easier to make than croissants if you have leftover curry.

[Buffalobiian]

What's the orange outer layer of the curry pan?

I always assumed curry pan was simply bread with curry filling.

[shinta|hikari]

Panko bread crumbs. It is lightly deep fried, then I baked them to prevent too much oil from being absorbed. Panko is very light anyway so very little oil is taken up, but I wanted to go the extra mile.

Curry pan is generally like this in Japan, only less fluffy.

[oyabun]

The curry pan was awesome.

[Ryllharu]

"Spiceghettios."

I took a can of regular spaghettios (http://www.campbellsoup.com/spaghettios.asp) and added in some extra aged cheddar cheese and a liberal dose of Tabasco (pepper sauce).

I contemplated going with another hot sauce (Frank's Red Hot), but the advantage of Tabasco is that it adds heat without adding in too much flavor. Spaghettios taste pretty good on their own, so I didn't want to overpower that flavor.

I was left with a filling (and gloriously unhealthy) pasta soup that gives a pleasing and subtle burn in the back of the throat.

(I take that back, Spaghettios are actually pretty healthy for you aside from higher than average sodium.)

[shinta|hikari]

Baked two pizzas yesterday.

This is the thick crust version.

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g310/shinta617/IMG_2861.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g310/shinta617/IMG_2862.jpg

This is the thin crust version:

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g310/shinta617/IMG_2863.jpg

The thick crust was really good, though it was lacking toppings a bit. The crust was really thick, but the the outside was crisp while the inside was nice and soft. It also lacked the oil usually found in pizza takeouts. Really, one of the best pizzas I have ever had.

The thin crust one had a raw crust, mainly because of a bad pan. The top was burning while the crust was still raw. Strange enough, people liked it better than the other one. Maybe it is because pizza = toppings here in my country. I am personally a crust man, with toppings being a nice plus.

[animus]

You'd make a great wife.

[Buffalobiian]

That looks great man. What does the sauce taste? Was it more like a simpler tomato paste, or heavily seasoned and modified?

Onions are probably the best thing you can have on a pizza, so I highly approve. :)

[shinta|hikari]

Seasoned and modified. It added marjoram, basil, oregano, cayenne, garlic, onion and chili flakes.

[KitKat]

I made Paska today! That's Mennonite/Ukrainian Easter Bread, which I wanted to make at Easter but didn't actually have time until today. Pics are of before and after baking. It's a citrus-y bread (has a whole orange and a whole lemon in it) that is usually eaten with icing instead of butter on the slices. Yummmmm

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d125/engphysgirl/P2230002.jpg

Fresh out of the oven!
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d125/engphysgirl/P2230005.jpg

[shinta|hikari]

Looks great! Can you share the recipe via pm? I love citrus flavors, so I might try making it if it is not too difficult.

[Alhuin]

It really does look delicious. I am a fan of citrus fruits myself. I often eat Lemons by themselves (rine and all... minus seeds). So I envy those that get to taste this... =P...

[Buffalobiian]

This is the first time I've heard of citrusy breads. I think I've had breads before that perhaps had bits of orange peels in it or something (or maybe that was just the jam).

How does that taste? Looks awesome.

[Animeniax]

Hey shinta|hikari, any chance we can get the recipe for that curry pan? I imagine you bake the bread yourself which might put it outside of my culinary abilities, but it might be fun to try. Looks delicious, hope it tasted as good.

[shinta|hikari]

Kare pan recipe

Makes 8 to 10 buns

The dough:
• 3 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 ¾ tsp. regular dry yeast
• 2 Tbs. sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 large eggs, beaten, with 1 Tbs. taken out and reserved for the eggwash (see below)
• 1/2 cup + 2 Tbs. milk
• 2 1/2 Tbs. butter, at room temperature

The filling:
• About 4 cups of leftover curry (any filling will do really, including stews etc. If you are making curry, you can use the Japanese curry roux blocks that make it a cinch to produce a good curry. Experiment with what ingredients you like. Japanese curry is very flexible. I add ripe mango puree and bacon in my curry filling, but you can do anything as long as it can be mushed up to filling consistency. Recipe is at the bottom of the post)

The coating:
• Panko or Japanese bread crumbs
• The reserved 1 Tbs. egg from the dough
• Milk

To fry:
• Oil

Equipment and supplies:
• Parchment paper, cut into 10 pieces about 20cm / 8 in cm square (big enough to hold the buns)
• Pastry brush
• Deep fat fryer or wok or a deep enough pan for frying
• A spatula big enough to put a bun on
• Oven

1) Make the dough. If you’re mixing by hand, mix together the dry ingredients with a whisk (or sift). Make a well in the middle of the mixed dry stuff. Add the egg (don’t forget to reserve 1 Tbs. for the coating/wash) and milk into the well, and mix rapidly with your fingertips until you get a rough dough. Continue mixing until you have a ball.

2) Add the butter, cut into small pieces, and knead on a lightly floured surface. The dough will be very sticky at first but resist the temptation to flour your board too much, or the dough will become very stiff. If you keep scraping off the stuck on dough with a scraper and kneading and stretching, eventually the dough will become smooth, coherent and pliable.

3) Once you have a nice smooth dough ball, put into a clean ball, cover with plastic film and let rise for about 1 to 1/2 hours until doubled in size. Punch down the dough, re-cover and let rise an additional 45 minutes.

4) While the dough is rising, deal with the curry. Mash down or smoosh/cut up any big bits of carrot, potato, meat etc. Over a low heat, slowly cook down the curry until it’s reduce to 2 cups or so, and thick and paste-like. Let cool, then refrigerate until stiff.

5) Take out the dough, punch down, knead and divide into 8 to 10 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, and let rest for about 15 minutes under a piece of plastic or a damp kitchen towel.

6) Put about 1 tablespoon of milk in the reserved egg, and mix well.

7) Start forming the buns. With a rolling pin or with your hands, flatten out each piece into a thin round, with the center thicker than the edges. If you’re making 10 buns the circle should be about 18cm / 7 inches in diameter.

8) Paint the edges of the circle with the egg wash. Don’t make it too wet - the purpose of the egg wash it to act as a glue to form a seal.

9) Put a tablespoon or so of curry in the center of the circle. Gather up the opposing edges of the circle above the filling.

10) Pinch the dough all around to seal well, like making a dumpling.

11) When the edges are all crimped, push the crimped edge down to one side.

12) Add a bit more milk to the egg wash and put into a bowl or dish big enough to contain a bun. Dip the bun into the egg wash, coating it on all sides, then roll in bread crumbs.

13) Put each bun on a piece of parchment paper. Leave in a warm place for about 15 minutes - the buns should rise to about 1.5 times their original size.

14) In the meantime, preheat the oven to 150°C / 300°F. Heat the frying oil to 175°C / 350°F (this is pretty hot, be careful)

15) If the buns have developed any gaps, pinch them closed.

16) Pick up a bun with the paper, with a spatula. Slide the bun, paper and all, into the hot oil. Don’t worry the paper won’t burn - just scoop it out with the spatula.

17) Fry the buns until golden brown - this shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes per bun. If they won’t stay down just hold them down a bit. Do about 2 or 3 at a time at most - don’t overcrowd the pan.

18) Drain well on a rack or several layers of paper towels, and put the buns on a baking sheet. Bake for about 8-10 minutes. If you don't have an oven, simply extend the frying time around 2-3 minutes, although this might make the bread absorb more oil and make it a bit more greasy. Be careful of burning when frying for a long time.

Recipe adapted from a site somewhere.

I realized that the filling part is a bit vague, so here is my recipe for curry filling.

Japanese Kare recipe

1/2 package golden curry (or any brand that you like) roux blocks
2/3 cup diced carrots
2/3 cup diced potatoes
1 cup onions, sliced thick
300 grams lean ground pork (beef will work as well)
4-5 slices bacon, sliced into 1 inch lengths
Stock of whatever ground meat you are using
1 Ripe mango, mashed or pureed (optional, use only if making the bread soon after making the curry) - This will add an exquisite sweetness and acidity to the curry.

1) Cook the bacon in a pan until lightly browned (not crispy). Remove the bacon and set aside.

2) Brown onions in the bacon fat. Cook until it has become really soft and dark. This is important to achieve the sweetness necessary for Japanese curry.

3) Add ground meat and cook until browned. Add bacon and carrots in the pan. Give it a stir.

4) Add the stock until it barely covers the ingredients.

5) Bring to boil and simmer for 10-15 minutes.

6) Add the potatoes. Continue simmering for 10 more minutes or until all vegetables are cooked but not mushy.

7) Add mango puree and mix until evenly incorporated. Chop up the curry roux blocks to small pieces and add to the pan. Remove from the heat and mix until the curry has thickened.

8) Serve hot with rice, but not too hot that it will burn away your taste buds making you curse yourself due to impatience.

[Kraco]

I made Paska today! That's Mennonite/Ukrainian Easter Bread, which I wanted to make at Easter but didn't actually have time until today. Pics are of before and after baking.

Looks very good and delicious indeed, despite the name.

[Psyke]

Looks awesome! :D

[itadakimasu]

Recent nom noms :

Breakfast :
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e383/bbaucom/breakfast.jpg
Light dinner sandwich served w\ chicken noodle soup :
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e383/bbaucom/sandwich.jpg
"taco salad" chile w\ corn topped w\ cream and cheese and lettuce :
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e383/bbaucom/tacosalad.jpg
STEAK!:
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e383/bbaucom/steak.jpg

[Buffalobiian]

.................
.........................
......................................

You're making me want to eat breakfast and lunch again.

[Alhuin]

You're making me want to eat in general.

Too bad I am no good at cooking.

[KitKat]

Bill: This is pretty different from those breads that have fruit peel in them. Personally, I'm not so much a fan of chunks of stuff in my bread. In this one you peel the orange and lemon with a vegetable peeler to get the outside bit that has all the fruit oils in it, and then discard the white layer and chop up the inside fruit and puree it all in the blender until it's very smooth. The bread is only slightly sweet, and it has a very smooth texture.

Shinta: Recipe on its way to you! Also, I definitely am going to try out that curry pan. Looks amazing. I'll post here when I have some results :)

[fahoumh]

Just ate 2 sandwiches of Smoked Hungarian Salami with hot-peppered Monterey Jack cheese, tomatoes and lettuce and mustard on 12-grain bread and a glass of milk for lunch. Nothing glamorous but still good, nonetheless.

[shinta|hikari]

I made potato gratin with bacon (yes, I love bacon) during the weekend. It was easier than I thought, and tasted divine. It is very unhealthy, but that very reason I workout is to be able to eat stuff like this without worrying about getting fat.

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g310/shinta617/IMG_2904.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g310/shinta617/IMG_2906.jpg

These are the french vanilla chocolate cupcakes I made for dessert. The white ones are topped with vanilla frosting (which was not so good because I used half caster sugar instead of only confectioner's sugar because I did not have enough for the recipe. The brown ones were fantastic though. I used nutella and some cream to make a chocolate hazelnut syrup.

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g310/shinta617/IMG_2903.jpg

Then I made a thick crust pizza yesterday. It had tons of bacon (again). I think this is the best one I have made yet simply because it had a great crust that has good texture and flavor while having the proper thickness and still having a crunchy bottom. I am definitely keeping this pizza dough recipe. The balance between the toppings and the crust was also better than before.

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g310/shinta617/IMG_2921.jpg

[KitKat]

God forbid that shinta and I should get married else our house would become a black hole of baking that would never allow anyone to escape ever again.

[Assassin]

If you dont get married, could i hire you both as my personal cake makers? seriously, that is some delicious looking stuff.

[Testarossa Autodrive]

Top ramen and it is disgusting.

[shinta|hikari]

What is top ramen?

[Dark Dragon]

Top Ramen (http://www.nissinfoods.com/topramen/)

They are the company that first introduced Instant Ramen Noodle to the world in the 1950's. I can't imagine the first ramen noodles being any good and it doesn't look like it changed much in the past 50 years.

Edit: I know the website said 1970, but that was when it was introduced to the US. Instant Ramen came out in 1958.

[Buffalobiian]

I've never tasted the Top Noodle line of products, but I've been eating Nissin Instant Ramen (出前一丁) products for most of my life.

From these selections (I've seen more, but this is enough), only the curry and satay ones taste subpar. The rest are very nice. Particularly Tokyo Shoyu, Tonkotsu, Miso and XO Seafood.

http://img690.imageshack.us/img690/1804/23040861.th.jpg (http://img690.imageshack.us/i/23040861.jpg/)http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/3521/70172853.th.jpg (http://img214.imageshack.us/i/70172853.jpg/)

[Dark Dragon]

I've tasted a few of those during my short stay in Japan and they weren't bad. Maybe it's because i was starving at the time or the fact that it was a long time ago, but the American version of their food taste horrible in comparison.

[shinta|hikari]

Instant noodles in Japan, or those imported from there are definitely better than the local ones I find here. However, I am not fond of instant ramen. I only eat real ramen, and my favorite is tonkotsu. I like instant yakisoba though, even more than the real version.

[Buffalobiian]

Tonkotsu's rich aroma and flavour is pure awesome. I've had it for real in the past as well. The pork just melts in your mouth. (that shop also provided free second servings of noodles)

[shinta|hikari]

Where did you have it?

I used to eat at Guutara in Mitaka, Tokyo before. They also serve second servings of noodles for free to students.

[Buffalobiian]

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/1775/001yl.jpg

I had it at this place in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.

I was afraid to enter that place once a few years back because everything was written in Japanese, which had an authentic (but forbidding) feel to it. During that time they must have added English (plus Korean and Chinese it seems) to some plastic menus to expand their customer demographic beyond Japanese tourists (Gold Coast is a big tourist destination after all).

I was surprised at first to discover they only sold Gyouza and Ramen (and only 3 variants at that: Tonkotsu, Tonkotsu Extra Pork, Spicy Tonkotsu). Only later did I find out that such is how ramen stalls worked in native Japan.

[shinta|hikari]

Specialization is the key to quality.

[Spiegel]

Wheat toast with butter and home made blackberry jam on top. It is absolutely delicious.

[shinta|hikari]

Kentucky Fried Chicken thigh, original recipe with rice and gravy.

I have been to only 2 countries' KFCs, and there is such a big difference in terms of menu. What kind of chicken does KFC in your country serve? Here we usually have rice and gravy with the fried chicken. There are two basic fried chicken types, the original recipe and the hot and crispy (spicy). In Japan, they had more sandwiches, and I don't think they had the hot and crispy type.

[Buffalobiian]

Original Pieces, Hot n Crispy, Coleslaw salad, potato + gravy, chips, softdrink, burgers, twister wraps, popcorn chicken.

[fahoumh]

It was a day for celebrations yesterday so we made a feast:

Cremini mushrooms with red and yellow bell peppers marinated in olive oil and pepper:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4043/4541670884_8fcb5ee24a_o.jpg

Caramelized onions with 6-year-old cheddar and black olives on garlic-butter brushed baguettes:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4012/4541670810_d40051154d_o.jpg

Arugula with cherry tomatoes and blue cheese and balsamic vinaigrette:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4018/4541037359_58dc63ef94_o.jpg

Salmon marinated in paprika and chipotle seasoning with garlic and olive oil:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4044/4541670680_37f1e72392_o.jpg

Chili-garlic marinated shrimp with cilantro and lime:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4071/4541670594_df46de76e8_o.jpg

The entire meal was cooked on the barbecue...well, except the salad, hahaha. We had a bottle of Chardonnay to go with the meal. I was really surprised at how well everything turned out. :D

[Buffalobiian]

I particularly liked how the shrimp looks. Delicious.

[shinta|hikari]

Food looks awesome. Blue cheese is so expensive here. If I could afford it, I would use it to excess, like stuffing in burgers, salad dressings, sauces, pasta, pizza, everything.

[fahoumh]

I particularly liked how the shrimp looks. Delicious.
Oh it was. Do you want me to post the recipe?


Food looks awesome. Blue cheese is so expensive here. If I could afford it, I would use it to excess, like stuffing in burgers, salad dressings, sauces, pasta, pizza, everything.
Blue cheese is freaking awesome. But I find that the flavour is so intense that I really have to be in the mood for it.

[shinta|hikari]

I find that it is a love it or hate it thing. Most people I know either haven't tasted it yet, or dislike it, or worst of all, both. Yet, those that do eat it love it.

I also find that majority of those who do appreciate its flavour tend to be the ones with more sophisticated palates.

This might be because cheeses are not really a big part of my country's cuisine. The most common cheese we use here is called "processed cheese food", which obviously is not even real cheese. The sad thing about that is, most people don't even care or can't tell the difference between that and emmental, or gruyere.

[Buffalobiian]

Oh it was. Do you want me to post the recipe?

If you don't mind, I'd be happy. :D

I can't remember if I've had Blue Cheese before... but I'm pretty sure I have. I think I found it a bit strong as well, but as long as I had it in moderation I thought it was good. From memory, "romano" cheese was one I was rather fond of.

[shinta|hikari]

I like Romano as well, but I have my reservations in using it. It is quite salty, and I once used it as a replacement for parmesan in a seafood risotto I was making, and it made it taste like the sea, and not in the good way. Maybe I just put in too much though.

[Alhuin]

I just finished eating a homemade microwave dinner that tastes just as good as a restaurant dinner to me.

I get these microwaveable chimichangas (jalapeno and cheese) and microwave them for a bit. Then sprinkle some shredded cheese (mexican blend is the best) over top and but it back into the microwave to melt it. Once it melts, pour some Ortega taco sauce (or salsa... but I prefer Ortega) and sprinkle some shredded lettuce around it. I make two at a time, so it's pretty much a complete dinner.

If I were to compare it to a restaurant dinner... If anyone has eaten at Tumbleweed and had the Burrito Deluxe dinner, Enchilada style... that's about what it's like.

[fahoumh]

I find that it is a love it or hate it thing. Most people I know either haven't tasted it yet, or dislike it, or worst of all, both. Yet, those that do eat it love it.

I also find that majority of those who do appreciate its flavour tend to be the ones with more sophisticated palates.

This might be because cheeses are not really a big part of my country's cuisine. The most common cheese we use here is called "processed cheese food", which obviously is not even real cheese. The sad thing about that is, most people don't even care or can't tell the difference between that and emmental, or gruyere.
I remember liking it the first time I tried it more than 10 years ago. And I would agree that people with more sophisticated palates tend to like blue cheese but someone else could counter with the "different strokes for different folks" adage. When I think of cooking with cheese in my culture, I would say there is a tendency to use it more in baking, particularly sweets. The first thing that comes to mind is knafe.


If you don't mind, I'd be happy. :D

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3278/4555773118_e1a22a74af_o.jpg

[David75]

had natto over sashimi, and then a chirashi because the serving wasn't enough.
I so love natto, it reminds me of cheese I can not eat anymore (and God I loved cheeses and we have hundreds in France...)

Blue cheese? good one is a strong salty and spicy taste, something worth a try.
Often given to babies that have trouble to digest milk. A very small fraction of bluecheese diluted in milk)

If you are prepared to trash you oven and kitchen (yes, destruct both and trash them)
If you have people you wish you'd never see again
If you are highly tolerent to awful stink...
Then prepare a Maroilles pie.

Maroilles is a cheese from the north of France, I loved it, and even more in a Maroilles pie because the heat only makes it stronger.
But I'm one in a million with that fetish :D, usually anyone you serve that pie will become an enemy for the rest of your life :p

[Kraco]

Why can't you eat cheese anymore?

[LaZie]

Just made some fried rice today. It looks plain since there were no eggs or assorted vegetables in the fridge so I just made do with what I had. Hotdogs and rice :)

http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/2451/img2255x.jpg

[The Heretic Azazel]

That's so ghetto.

[Buffalobiian]

That's so ghetto.

Nicely coloured though.

I have to wonder what it'd taste like without the usual stuff.

[shinta|hikari]

It tastes fine. Simple works as long as it is perfectly seasoned with salt and pepper, which is a lot more difficult than it seems.

My favorite fried rice is the one with sweet chinese sausage, garlic, and egg.

[shinta|hikari]

Sorry for the double post, but I wanted to bump the thread with new updates. I finally had the chance to upload new pics of my culinary adventures, some more fruitful than others. Here they are:

Chewy chocolate chip cookies
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g310/shinta617/IMG_2945.jpg
These came out perfect. Chewy with tons of chocolate chips. All my nieces (around 7 of them) feasted on them. I really have to thank Alton Brown for this one.

Melon Pan - the 3rd attempt
Before baking
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g310/shinta617/IMG_2950.jpg
After Baking
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g310/shinta617/IMG_2951.jpg
Best batch yet. The ones without the chocolate chips on top are filled with hazelnut chocolate cream. The cookie topping was nice, rich and crisp, while the bread inside was flavourful.

Baked Carbonara
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g310/shinta617/IMG_2947.jpg
Mixed feelings about this one. I did not mix the cream sauce into the pasta before baking and merely topped it. This resulted in uneven coating. Some parts of the casserole were perfect, while some lacked sauce and thus had little flavour.

Thick Crust Pizza with bacon and sausages
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g310/shinta617/IMG_2965.jpg
This really pissed me off because the bottom got burnt. It is literally inedible if the bottom part of the crust is not removed. My mom actually smelled the burning but chose to ignore it, which really ticked me off for both personal (the pizza) and safety reasons. Aside from the burnt parts, the crust and pizza were excellent.

Thin Crust Tom Yum Pizza and Classic Carbonara
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g310/shinta617/IMG_2968.jpg
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g310/shinta617/IMG_2969.jpg
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g310/shinta617/IMG_2971.jpg
The pizza was perfect, so much so that I had to post 3 pictures of it. This is my 3rd attempt at making thin crust pizza, and it seems the trite expression is true. I used Tom Yum sauce, which is basically a sour and spicy thai sauce, and topped it with chicken and mushrooms. The carbonara was made by my cousin under my instructions. It came out pretty well, only lacking a bit of salt IMO.

[darkshadow]

Lol I was talking about this in IRC the other day, your skills are exactly the ones I need to learn.

Baking your own pizza's and cookies is just the best thing ever.

[Buffalobiian]

a) The burnt pizza looks really good. Pity it burnt.

b) Tom Yum Pizza? First I've heard of it, and it sounds interesting. How does it taste compared to straight Tom Yum Noodles, for example? Stronger? Weaker? "Different"? I remember Tom Yum took a bit of getting used to before I liked it. I don't know if I still do.

c) Your cousin's carbonara doesn't look as good as yours. From the pics, it doesn't look dry enough. As for your problem with the sauce not dripping throughout the entire dish during baking, it usually doesn't happen anyway unless you've got some really runny sauce. Mixing it would be a good idea if you want to get the flavour to even out (and mix it again upon serving so you mix the drier and wetter portions up), or you can (and what I think most do) is stick the fork/chopsticks all the way down and eat the entire vertical cross section to get the lot.

d) Not sure if I've asked this before, but does well-done melon pan's colour look like that. From the photos, it doesn't look "cooked" enough, and still gives a slight raw feeling.

-----------------------

I wished I took photos for these, but my phone went in for repairs.

Lunch: tried out a new sushi place that opened up in a moderately close shopping centre. The prices are slightly higher than their nearby competitors, but they've got a broader range. They sell Makizushi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sushi#Makizushi) as well as Nigirizushi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sushi#Nigirizushi), which is kind of rare here since most places focus on Makizushi (sushi rolls) only, in the cut and uncut versions. Naturally, I went for the Nigirizushi. (They had eel!).

To keep it short, it tasted pretty good :)

Probably the most interesting thing about it is that, unlike most foodcourt style shops, they've got a decorated dining area inside with very Japanese-looking wooden furniture and all. Its atmosphere sells big time.

Dinner: Chinese-BBQ pork, soy-sauce chicken with shallot&ginger sauce over rice + half a hard-boiled salty egg.

Seriously, shallot&ginger sauce added to rice/chicken/pork is heaven. Better yet, it was home-made, so instead of a little tub of takeaway sauce, we had an entire bowl.

[shinta|hikari]

Tom Yum Pizza pretty much tastes the same as any tom yum dish. I am not sure about the strength of flavour, since that depends a lot on preference.

Yeah, the carbonara was not dry enough mainly because the noodles cooled a bit before the eggs were mixed, leaving the eggs a tad raw and runny.

Melon pan is supposed to look like that. It looks really pale, almost whitish. The reason it appears a bit more yellow in the pics is because of the flash, which gives an odd yellow tint to everything. You can brown it a bit more, but that would detract from its traditional appearance.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_-pqrQDrwPkE/SRFICmIqKcI/AAAAAAAACWs/c_fA4J5GdIU/s1600/smile-oven-big-melon-pan.jpg

[itadakimasu]

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g310/shinta617/IMG_2951.jpg
Best batch yet. The ones without the chocolate chips on top are filled with hazelnut chocolate cream. The cookie topping was nice, rich and crisp, while the bread inside was flavourful.


Those look delicious.

[shinta|hikari]

New stuff I made and feasted on:

Lasagna in bechamel sauce with beef and italian sausage
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g310/shinta617/IMG_3000.jpg
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g310/shinta617/IMG_3003.jpg

Adobo rice - Fried pork adobo rice surrounded by crispy fried chicken flakes and topped with sauteed red onions and crunchy garlic, a dish I invented. It is really unhealthy, but delicious in moderate amounts.
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g310/shinta617/IMG_3004.jpg

Apple muffins with Cinnamon crumb topping - My cousin made this under my instruction. It turned out really well.
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g310/shinta617/IMG_3009.jpg

Homemade yakisoba pan with aonori and japanese mayo on top. I used bacon instead of the normal pork slices because it goes so much better on bread and with the mayo.
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g310/shinta617/IMG_3024.jpg

[Lucifus]

Good god. I want some; like no joke. That's just not fair.

But seriously, don't give your family and yourself a heart attack, but those muffins and the rice look like their to die for man.

Good job on your cousins part.

[Buffalobiian]

I could really do with some of that lasagne right now. :o

Could you describe how your rice tastes? It looks really interesting, but it's hard to imagine the flavour from simply looking.

[shinta|hikari]

The adobo pork in the rice and the rice itself are basically soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar seasoned. The vinegar and sugar flavours are very subtle, but the saltiness from the soy sauce is quite apparent.

[Sapphire]

Biggest strawberry (http://img580.imageshack.us/img580/6100/photo0012s.jpg) I've ever seen, thanks to California agriculture. They come in boxes of 6-7 at the dollar store.

[Buffalobiian]

lol, that's massive. Normally strawberries here come as either 1 or 2 "segments", separated by that depression of a line on either side. That one's like.. 3?!

[Penner]

I just finished 2 hamburgers, each piece of meat alone was ~200 grams.

Buns, ketchup, mustard, dressing and about 1-2 teaspoons of Sambal Oelek (http://www.chilliworld.com/SP6.asp?p_id=185) spread out on each of the burgers.

Since trying it like a year ago i got hooked, now i always have Sambal on my burgers, it's awesome :D

Cautionary word:
It is pretty spicy and salty so if you're not used to that you might want to take it easy if you decide to try ^_^

[Animeniax]

I made jambalaya following a recipe from a Betty Crocker's slow cooker recipe book... absolutely amazing results. I know all the flavor comes from the fat melted from the pound of smoked sausage, and that it's clogging my arteries and ruining my workout/diet routine, but it's worth it.

[iMUSTbeTHEdevil]

I just had a rice crispy treat.

[Animeniax]

I made jambalaya following a recipe from a Betty Crocker's slow cooker recipe book... absolutely amazing results. I know all the flavor comes from the fat melted from the pound of smoked sausage, and that it's clogging my arteries and ruining my workout/diet routine, but it's worth it.

If a recipe ever calls for beef sausage, DO NOT substitute turkey sausage. I don't care if you have high cholesterol, high blood pressure, problems with obesity, heart problems, or any other health concerns. It's not worth the loss of flavor to make the switch.

[David75]

I got to try the century egg recipe yesterday:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Century_egg

I was very curious to try it. By the looks of it, I knew this was an edible rotten egg...
The taste is not that strong, quite salty, something you could compare to some cheeses.

I had that version, with lots of tofu, served as starters.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/Pidan_doufu_by_fortes_in_Beijing.jpg/800px-Pidan_doufu_by_fortes_in_Beijing.jpg



Why can't you eat cheese anymore?

For some reason I did not see that question. Well, I'm intolerent to milk and its derivatives. I discovered that 4 years ago or so. Even a teaspoon or less leaves me with 7 to 10 days of extreme exhaustion, like a strong flu witout the fever and muscle aches.
So cheeses are prohibited now.

Those messages remind me there are lots of recipes in the world that use strange bacteria or chemical behaviors to transform foods. I should search into that to have a replacement to cheeses. Although I'll never ever get the incredible mouth orgasm a delightful fresh goat cheese can give.... :(

[Animeniax]

Wow, a French guy who can't eat cheese? That's a hard way to go.

The egg recipe looks good, until you realize its tofu. Yuck!

[David75]

Wow, a French guy who can't eat cheese? That's a hard way to go.

The egg recipe looks good, until you realize its tofu. Yuck!

Well, the tofu is unrelated to the egg thing. There are many other recipes with the same 100 years egg. The pic was just to show the way I had it yesterday ;)

Oh funny thing, the English page for the 100 years egg is mostly text and fully described. The French one is almost no text, and mainly pics.

Other pics, from the French page:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Century_egg_sliced_open.jpeg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ec/Century_egg_by_Kent_Wang.jpg/800px-Century_egg_by_Kent_Wang.jpg

It would be difficult to eat that with the explanation and the egg not sliced too much... Maybe I'd try it however presented, but since I had to finely sliced version with tofu, I will never know.

[Animeniax]

Those blackened eggs are popular in Vietnam. Did the French introduce it to Vietnam or take it back with them from Vietnam?

[David75]

Those blackened eggs are popular in Vietnam. Did the French introduce it to Vietnam or take it back with them from Vietnam?

I did not tell how I got to eat that. It was in a Chinese restaurant, so that explains why I was introduced to that dish.

Regarding the wikipedia page, I guess some French guy got to try that, or he/she had asian background. From reading the page, It seems that similar egg preparation exist in western cultures. Although searching the annotation does not clearly establish that fact.

[animus]

Chinese people eat that egg a lot, and they put it a lot in something called Congee which is like a rice porridge.

Also I could tell that picture was in a Chinese restaurant do to the split condiments bowl, which you always see in a Chinese restaurant with mustard and hot sauce.

[Buffalobiian]

Chinese people eat that egg a lot, and they put it a lot in something called Congee which is like a rice porridge.

Also I could tell that picture was in a Chinese restaurant do to the split condiments bowl, which you always see in a Chinese restaurant with mustard and hot sauce.

Century egg (I never knew it was called this) & pork mince congee with a hint of shallot is totally awesome.

Over here, the condiments bowl tends to contain soy sauce and hot sauce instead.

Not a fan of tofu Ani?

[shinta|hikari]

I love Century egg on congee. I prefer congee with meatballs, liver, and stomach though. Minced meat is a bit bland for congee for me.

Over here, the condiments bowl tends to contain soy sauce, chili paste, and calamansi/calamondin (a very small lime-like citrus fruit that is very sour)

[alanmoore]

Im eating some potato chips. Yummy...

[shinta|hikari]

Highland legumes pan roasted with garlic and bird's eye chili.

aka. peanuts.

Brandy with Soyfresh Cappuccino flavored soy milk.

[Buffalobiian]

I haven't been eating regularly lately.

I rarely have breakfast, occasionally have lunch, and dinner may be the size of all three combined. (Well, it depends. My appetite can fluctuate hugely anyway).

The other night I had fried noodles and congee (the bland type with rice and bean curd flakes only).

Yesterday I ordered pizza, and took great enjoyment in watching my brother's face redden to tomato sauce levels as he ate the (chilli spiked) item.

[shinta|hikari]

I love hot sauce on pizza. None of my friends put hot sauce on theirs though.

I ate a dish called Enma ramen in a yakiniku restaurant yesterday. It was basically noodles with scrambled egg and ground pork mixed in it, as well as a ton of chili. You can specify the level of heat by levels. The levels are 1-10, and I ordered 7 while a friend ordered 4. 4 was pretty bland in terms of spice, but 7 had me hiccuping every time I drank a spoonful of the bright red broth. I think I could still manage the 10 though. Too bad I chickened out and didn't try it.

[Buffalobiian]

I love hot sauce on pizza. None of my friends put hot sauce on theirs though.

I love hot sauce on pizza as well. It's good too since by the time the pizza's served, it's not quite as hot as what I'd like it to be (ie fresh out of the oven). so the sauce compensates for that.



I ate a dish called Enma ramen in a yakiniku restaurant yesterday. It was basically noodles with scrambled egg and ground pork mixed in it, as well as a ton of chili. You can specify the level of heat by levels. The levels are 1-10, and I ordered 7 while a friend ordered 4. 4 was pretty bland in terms of spice, but 7 had me hiccuping every time I drank a spoonful of the bright red broth. I think I could still manage the 10 though. Too bad I chickened out and didn't try it.

That reminds me of this Japanese curry restaurant in the city that I've been to. They rate the hotness in terms of levels from 1 - 10 as well, and you have the option of various sides to go with it. I found lvl7 to be a little bit lacking, and lvl10 to be tolerably hot, but not the most enjoyable. If I get the opportunity to go back there again I'll try both 8 and 9 to find out which gives the best experience.

Your dish sounds hotter though. I'd love to find that here.

[Kraco]

I'm not really into genuinely hot foods so I only add Tabasco to my pizza. Although I've been gradually over the years accustoming myself to hotter foods as that's where the world at large is going and thus it would suck to be terrible with them. But still when eating at restaurants of foreign origin I almost always chicken out and select food that's disappointingly mild and obviously not what it should be.

[David75]

I think I've had the opposite development.
Over the years, it seems that my tastes develop into more and more precision, hence I've had to lower the strong spices levels to enjoy a meal.
I'm more and more able to discriminate subtler tastes, I think to progress I would have to find the reason for my hyposmia (reduced abitliy to smell), but that's another story.

3 weeks ago, I found a little restaurant run by a french guy and his Korean wife.
Very simple menus, maybe a tad expensive for the quantity and the place.
But their Jiaozi are just exceptionnal. I was so surprised the first time I immediately re-ordered some after finishing the very first one. I don't remember ever having such a positive reaction.

[Buffalobiian]

I think I've had the opposite development.
Over the years, it seems that my tastes develop into more and more precision, hence I've had to lower the strong spices levels to enjoy a meal.

Mine's opposite to yours.

I don't think I can differentiate the differences in taste as well as I used to when I was little. I personally don't think my tolerance for hot foods has changed over the years, but those around me seem to think so, so perhaps it's been too gradual a change for me to notice. To me it seems they're actually going backwards on the hotness scale.

I don't have to add more spice to foods to enjoy them though. The only other change (besides increasing heat tolerance) is that I tend to prefer my food (noodle broths, pizza etc) saltier than my family members.




3 weeks ago, I found a little restaurant run by a french guy and his Korean wife.
Very simple menus, maybe a tad expensive for the quantity and the place.
But their Jiaozi are just exceptionnal. I was so surprised the first time I immediately re-ordered some after finishing the very first one. I don't remember ever having such a positive reaction.

Were they of the steamed/boiled or fried variety? I prefer steamed over fried as it retains its flavour a lot better, while the fried-only variety is too oily and masks the taste.

Around a year ago however, I encountered a method where they are lightly fried before being cooked in 1.5cm of flavoured stock (usually chicken). It combines the previous methods quite nicely - retaining much of its original flavour plus the caramelised aroma of pan-fried pastry.

The restaurant that did that actually sold them as "steamed" dumplings, funnily enough. I think their "fried" variety was actually "deep fried"...

[David75]

I liked the Steamed version.
The grilled ones were far less tasty, enjoying.

It's funny though how tastes evoluate amongst people.
I guess in my case, it might be related to my dairy products problem that had me check everything down to cooking techniques. With my knowledge progressing, I might have been able to further select restaurants, dishes and so on, and started using specific neural connections to analyse what I eat :D
Yay for brain connection plasticity

[Animeniax]

Fell in love with the line of salsas from Stonewall Kitchens (available at HEB). At $6.29 for a 16 oz. bottle, they're pricey but the best salsa you will ever dip a chip into.

http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/4682/img3359v.jpg

[fahoumh]

I finally tried for the first time an authentic Chicago deep-dish pizza from Giordano's this past weekend when I was visiting my uncle in Chicago. I tried the sausage and the vegetarian pizzas and they were pretty good....but I was honestly a little disappointed since it wasn't the "most amazing pizza" ever that I was led to believe by all the hype.

[Buffalobiian]

3x420g of tinned spaghetti at least one meal a day, five days a week. A cheap ($3.25 AUD) and filling meal. It's pretty good in terms of carbs and protein (about half of what I need daily) and is low in fat. Problem is that it's probably devoid of any other nutrients, and contains 180% RDI of sodium.

Guess I'll look out for a reduced-salt version next time or see if there are better alternatives. It's sustainable financially but probably not health-wise.

[shinta|hikari]

Bintoro Nigirizushi aka White Albacore Tuna nigirisushi.

Probably the 2nd best sushi I've had yet. The best one was the Aburi (partially cooked, in this case blowtorched) Shake Nigirizushi. I generally dislike tuna sushi (while I love it in tartare and the like), but this one was sublime. The texture was soft and creamy, while the flavour was very delicate. If you like the texture of Salmon but are not fond of the distinctly salmon flavor, this is a great choice at the sushi bar.

I also tried Hokkigai nigirizushi or Surf Clam nigirizushi, but that was a bit disappointing. The texture was a bit chewy, which is fine, but the taste was pretty bland and it felt dry. It really did not have much going for it. It wasn't bad, just not good compared to the Bintoro.

[Buffalobiian]

Buffalobiian thinks he's suffering from overeating.

Today's ingestion:

-1 bowl of cereal
-1 can of ravioli (~420g)
-1 box of steamed rice with tofu, mince, cucumber, chinese mushrooms and carrot
-1 can of beef, beans and chilli to go with leftover rice
-2 packets of instant noodles with 4 slices of ham

I would have had a hamburger too, but the store was closing. Then I visited the pizza joint as a backup, but they would have taken too long and made me miss my bus.

When I eat over my capacity, I start getting hungry as soon as the foodstuff is a little bit under. Gotta stop this vicious cycle before it has visible effects.

[Dark Dragon]

When you overeat you're actually conditioning your body to naturally eat more food than you're normally used to. I did it by accident a few years back and gained quite a bit of weight. I had to reconditioned myself and exercised a lot to get back to normal.

[Kraco]

If you intend to eat a lot, at least you should eat some real food and not industrial carbage all the time.

[shinta|hikari]

I noticed that everything Buff eats comes straight out of a can, a box or a plastic packet.

[Buffalobiian]

I noticed that everything Buff eats comes straight out of a can, a box or a plastic packet.

Yeah, pretty much what happened today.

Misread when I was meant to work, so I bolted out of the house in the morning (and the manager who was meant to come so I could have a break never turned up) and I ended up having breakfast/lunch/dinner at around 8pm.

That consisted of:

-1 ham/tomato/lettuce/cheese sandwich (from a box)
-1 can of peppered steak with onion
-1 can of chilli beef/beans

Just came home, and am about to have 1 packets of noodles.

I actually reconditioned myself successfully yesterday, but broke it today just because I felt like it (and not because I felt hungry).

[KitKat]

I cooked with quinoa for the first time this week. Of course, seeing as it was something new to me, I had to go research it and found out via wikipedia some very interesting things:


It's not a true grain, being more closely related to beets or tumbleweed
The Incas held it to be sacred
Contains a balanced set of essential amino acids for humans, making it an unusually complete protein source among plant foods
It has a bitter red coating which protects it from birds and other predators, but can be washed off to make it tasty people-food. Incidentally, this coating can be used as laundry detergent or an antiseptic for injuries
Germinating the seeds in water only takes 2-4 hours and enhances their nutritional content
It is delicious


I made a curry with quinoa and red lentils, and stirred in some kale and sprinkled chopped cilantro on top. I think it was the most awesomely healthy dish I have ever cooked in my entire life. Like a space-age superfood.

[shinta|hikari]

The Incan curse shall be upon you soon. I hope that the taste was worth it though.

[fahoumh]

KitKat, I also had quinoa for the first time a couple of weeks ago in a salad and was actually quite delicious. I'll have to remember to get the recipe from my friend.

EDIT: I think this (http://somesmiths.com/Fairwinds%20Diners/FD%20Recipes/FD%20Salads/BOCCONCINI.pdf) is the recipe, except I don't recall having any peas or onions.

[Buffalobiian]

I was walking around the supermarket looking for dinner today, and decided on buying a roast chicken since it was marked down fro 10$ to about 7$.

I don't know what was harder, eating the whole chicken or eating it in 20 minutes.

But I felt shit afterwards...

.. and it all went out the rear end 30 minutes later.


Wise Words: don't eat a whole chicken. It's bad for you.



edit:
I noticed that everything Buff eats comes straight out of a can, a box or a plastic packet.

Just so you know shinta, this chicken was also eaten from a plastic bag.

[Animeniax]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YC1CUl4XcZc

Are you going for records like this fata$$?

[shinta|hikari]

@Buff - Why not try cooking once in a while? It is better for your health, and just about as expensive (maybe cheaper) if you store leftovers.

[Buffalobiian]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YC1CUl4XcZc

Are you going for records like this fata$$?

I can probably out-do him I reckon (in terms of speed @ 40 rolls), though I have no idea what these pizza rolls are like, so it's an unsupported opinion.

@shinta: if I was any good at it or could summon the effort to do so, I might consider it. It's a nasty spiral though.. lack of effort -> no skills -> no want to put effort in -> lack of effort...

And even then, yeah, I had considered cooking - but only foods that would let me cook a whole batch and eat it for like.. a week. I do get some healthier foods regularly, I just haven't been reporting it. (like sandwiches.. I don't think any sandwich can get better than a chicken and avocado one - though I might lay off chicken for a day or two, lol).

[shinta|hikari]

Japanese Curry is easy. It is the 1st thing they try to teach in anime for a reason. You can make a huge batch, and freeze them in single serving containers. Just don't add potatoes.

[darkshadow]

What a disgusting person D;

[shinta|hikari]

Me? or the guy in the video? or Buff?

[Animeniax]

Japanese Curry is easy. It is the 1st thing they try to teach in anime for a reason. You can make a huge batch, and freeze them in single serving containers. Just don't add potatoes.

Japanese curry done right takes a bit of time and effort, particularly to chop the veggies. I use this brand and it's delicious:

http://thefoodaffair.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/house-java-curry.jpg

[Animeniax]

What a disgusting person D;

If you've ever watched tosh.0, he did a challenge where he ate 3 chickens in a can:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gP74xUyYaoo

[Kraco]

It makes sense that dude needs to eat so much because he knows he'll die of cardiovascular diseases before he hits 40 years. So he's in a hurry to compensate as normal people can keep eating until they die at more than twice that age.

[Animeniax]

It makes sense that dude needs to eat so much because he knows he'll die of cardiovascular diseases before he hits 40 years. So he's in a hurry to compensate as normal people can keep eating until they die at more than twice that age.
The least he should do is eat some gourmet food so he can really enjoy it in his limited time on earth.

[Buffalobiian]

The least he should do is eat some gourmet food so he can really enjoy it in his limited time on earth.

See, that requires money, and it doesn't look like he has much of it. And even though gourmet food isn't necessarily healthy in the slightest, I'd think it would be significantly better than whatever he's eating at the moment.

On second thoughts, he's a big fellow. Those pizza rolls might actually be bigger than what they appear to be depending on how big he is.

[Animeniax]

He should enter competitive eating contests to finance his gourmet food binging.

[Buffalobiian]

Maybe the small local ones that give you free food vouchers, but I can't see him making it big in real comps.

Professional eaters would woop his ass.

[rockmanj]

I made bibimbap from scratch last night. It actually turned out to be pretty easy, although now I have a bunch of banchan I might not get to soon enough.

[Animeniax]

I made bibimbap from scratch last night. It actually turned out to be pretty easy, although now I have a bunch of banchan I might not get to soon enough.

Korean food has the most unappetizing names. Who wants to eat "bulgogi"? Sounds f*cking disgusting.

[animus]

Korean is probably my favorite cuisine atm, since I love spicy food.

[Buffalobiian]

I had a Southern Indian curry the other day. It was very hot indeed (I rarely find curries hot enough these days), but it didn't have enough of other flavours to balance it out IMO.

[shinta|hikari]

I had Chicago Deep Dish pizza at Gino's East and Giordanos.

I prefer the crust at Gino's East because of it's crunch and slightly sweet but yeasty flavour, but the Giordanos toppings were a bit more flavorful and had more cheese. Overall, I think Gino's wins by quite a bit because crust is critical.

I also had a Chicago dog and Italian Beef. The Chicago dog is a bit overwhelming with all the pickles, but I love pickles so I liked it enough. The Italian Beef was great. I had it with sweet peppers, and I always love the combination of peppers and beef. It was a bit oily, but it is street food so that is a given.

I also had Pineapple Chicken and Shrimp Fried Rice. It was excellent. It had good balance, and the rice was perfectly fried which is key in any fried rice dish.

[David75]

Had Natto-Udon again at Kunitoraya today. With fried chicken and Takkikomi gohan.
I love that small udon restaurant.
I need to try all their dishes. I took a picture of their menu so that I can prepare myself a score card I can update everytime I go there :D

[Animeniax]

Had Natto-Udon again at Kunitoraya today. With fried chicken and Takkikomi gohan.
I love that small udon restaurant.
I need to try all their dishes. I took a picture of their menu so that I can prepare myself a score card I can update everytime I go there :D

Is this shop run by actual Japanese?

[reckless]

Sweet and Sour Chicken.... Yum!

[KitKat]

Sweet and Sour Chicken.... Yum!
Oooh, that's one of my favourites! Closely followed by lemon chicken. I know it's not real Chinese food at all, but I love it.

[Buffalobiian]

You guys should try chicken feet in black bean sauce. That stuff isn't anywhere as popular amongst western communities. :(

[Animeniax]

You all should try crispy skinned chicken a l'orangel (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/melissa-darabian/crispy-skinned-chicken-a-lorange-recipe/index.html). It's easy to make and delicious.

http://img.foodnetwork.com/FOOD/2009/08/20/MN0102_crispy-skinned-chicken-a-lorange_s4x3_lg.jpg

[rockmanj]

I had Chicago Deep Dish pizza at Gino's East and Giordanos.

I prefer the crust at Gino's East because of it's crunch and slightly sweet but yeasty flavour, but the Giordanos toppings were a bit more flavorful and had more cheese. Overall, I think Gino's wins by quite a bit because crust is critical.

I also had a Chicago dog and Italian Beef. The Chicago dog is a bit overwhelming with all the pickles, but I love pickles so I liked it enough. The Italian Beef was great. I had it with sweet peppers, and I always love the combination of peppers and beef. It was a bit oily, but it is street food so that is a given.

I also had Pineapple Chicken and Shrimp Fried Rice. It was excellent. It had good balance, and the rice was perfectly fried which is key in any fried rice dish.

Did you take a trip to chicago recently or something?

[shinta|hikari]

Yeah, I just got back yesterday. We drove there from Minnesota, missing toll gates along the way.

I wanted to try those three dishes Chicago is known for (excluding Pineapple fried rice which was a pleasant surprise), and I managed to do it even with my companions not willing to take the effort to visit such places.

They wanted to eat at McDonalds the entire trip, for crying out loud.

[David75]

Is this shop run by actual Japanese?
Yes, it is.

[Buffalobiian]

Most of the sushi places I know here are run by Koreans. And this ramen place at the shopping center tastes like 2-minute noodles.

[David75]

Most of the sushi places I know here are run by Koreans. And this ramen place at the shopping center tastes like 2-minute noodles.

In Paris, most of them are Chinese. Quality is really low to very bad. However I know one case of "Almost the same" at a reasonable price, near my work place.
Then there are some very high quality places I have tried, but prices are really out of the everyday category.
Thing is, one of the two, the most expensive one, has had a great fall in quality.
Then there's that japanese restaurant, opened in the late 50's that I like. It's just that they are not opened saturday and sunday at noon and it's a shame since I can't really go to restaurants in the evening.

That udon affordable place, is run by japanese and many workers there seem to be students.
And these are not instant noodles, kitchen is right in front of you when you come early enough to have one of the 10 seats of the upper floor.
Amazing all they do in that very small place with like 5 people, each assigned some particular tasks (udon, frying, etc...)

All in all, in the last 10 years, I have evolved to discovering, to liking japanese food. Then I tried to understand and now found some nice local places. I wish I could find more of those nice places, it's just that I'm now too picky and fear bad experiences. Had one yesterday...
frost tuna (ice cristals inside...) no taste, poor quantity etc... I wish I had the choice to go to a good chinese restaurant instead (I know some)

[Zinobi]

I'm currently eating some nice milksteak.
Boiled over hard.

[fahoumh]

I wanted to try those three dishes Chicago is known for (excluding Pineapple fried rice which was a pleasant surprise), and I managed to do it even with my companions not willing to take the effort to visit such places.
I was there with my family back in October and we went to Giordano's. It was pretty good but not as good as the hype would have you believe. I can't remember where I had a Chicago hot dog...but it was pretty damned good. And you can't go Chicago without having a deep-dish pizza or a Chicago hot dog; it's a gastronomical crime.

[Animeniax]

Yes, it is.

Are you sure it's not just a bunch of Chinese posing as Japanese?

[David75]

Are you sure it's not just a bunch of Chinese posing as Japanese?
Certain,
Way of dressing, make up for girls, way of moving, faces, and most important language and accent...

[rockmanj]

I was there with my family back in October and we went to Giordano's. It was pretty good but not as good as the hype would have you believe. I can't remember where I had a Chicago hot dog...but it was pretty damned good. And you can't go Chicago without having a deep-dish pizza or a Chicago hot dog; it's a gastronomical crime.

Being from here (and living here again), I suppose that never was a big deal to me, as I ate the stuff all the time. Although since I stopped eating meat, I can't really enjoy a Chicago dog anymore :\.

[shinta|hikari]

since I stopped eating meat, I can't really enjoy anymore :\.

Fixed it for you.

Kidding aside, why did you stop?

[rockmanj]

Fixed it for you.

Kidding aside, why did you stop?

I hear that a lot hahah, but when I came back to the US I got sick from eating a lot of meat. I also started learning more about the US factory farming and those sorts of things. I watched and read a lot and decided that eating meat was not for me anymore.

[fahoumh]

Being from here (and living here again), I suppose that never was a big deal to me, as I ate the stuff all the time. Although since I stopped eating meat, I can't really enjoy a Chicago dog anymore :\.
Funny how something world-famous can be so mundane if it's readily available. It was an 8 hour drive to my uncle's house in Naperville, then like a ~40 minute drive into downtown Chicago. Plus, it was the first time I'd been there.

[shinta|hikari]

I can understand something getting boring if you get used to it. Singaporean Laksa and Char Kway Teow are world famous (and I loved them to death when I was there), but those are just street food for the locals.

[rockmanj]

School lunches around the world (http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/what-school-lunches-look-like-in-20-countries-arou?s=mobile) I must say, the US ones look the least appetizing, and the UK one is just confusing.

[Sapphire]

This is so cool.

[shinta|hikari]

Does that mean it is served free or part of the school service?

If so, the Philippines one is a lie. They would never serve lechon kawali to kids for free. It's too expensive (relatively).

[rockmanj]

I think they are just random examples. I don't think my school lunches were ever free.

[Kraco]

The Asian kids sure eat like kings if those are free and average school lunches in their countries. What was served over here in my time was quite basic but healthy food and the cycle was long enough that you didn't get bored. I had never any complaints. But then again, I had been raised to respect food.

[Buffalobiian]

We don't get food served like that here.

It's all either packaged uncooked foods (bags of chips), prepackaged cooked foods (pies in a plastic wrapping, sausage roles in a paper bag, or handmade foods put into takeaway containers (pastas, curried rice, sandwiches). Everything is take-away and self-paid. Nothing gets washed, and tables for eating are limited, let alone designated undercover eating tables. In fact, rather than "canteens which imply food being served with washable utensils and an area to sit, school eateries here are called tuck-shops where you just buy, leave and eat somewhere.

edit: that said, I think I like the option of having one single large serving of something instead of having bits of everything. I'm not really one who likes to have bits and pieces, but would rather eat one thing today, and another tomorrow. Maybe I'm just weird like that, but not having a full serving of something makes me feel like it's incomplete, even though I can fill myself with another half of something else.

[David75]

We don't get food served like that here.

It's all either packaged uncooked foods (bags of chips), prepackaged cooked foods (pies in a plastic wrapping, sausage roles in a paper bag, or handmade foods put into takeaway containers (pastas, curried rice, sandwiches). Everything is take-away and self-paid. Nothing gets washed, and tables for eating are limited, let alone designated undercover eating tables. In fact, rather than "canteens which imply food being served with washable utensils and an area to sit, school eateries here are called tuck-shops where you just buy, leave and eat somewhere.

edit: that said, I think I like the option of having one single large serving of something instead of having bits of everything. I'm not really one who likes to have bits and pieces, but would rather eat one thing today, and another tomorrow. Maybe I'm just weird like that, but not having a full serving of something makes me feel like it's incomplete, even though I can fill myself with another half of something else.

Strange how habits and culture can vary so much across continents.
I like having multiple things to eat in small quantities.
I love those restaurant where you get like 10 to 18 (yes 18) different dishes, in very small quantities.
You start thinking you'll never have enough to fill yourself, but around 2 third of the dishes, you start getting full... and it keeps coming and is delicious.

Now we are only talking school canteens.
I have to say that quality varies a lot depending on schools and cities. But there's really a full course and they try their best to give a balanced meal.
Also, tables are often organised to help socialisation, talk and eat is very important here in France, so much that many work meetings are in fact done at lunch time.

[Buffalobiian]

Are you by any chance a slow eater David? (or well, a relaxed, easy eater, if slow sounds too extreme and bad, lol)

[David75]

Are you by any chance a slow eater David? (or well, a relaxed, easy eater, if slow sounds too extreme and bad, lol)
I'm a slow eater by US or english world standards... but too quick for french people :D
Truth is, with work, I tend to be way too careless and quick, although I have my addresses and try to find the optimum in price/quality and time.
And many times a year, I like taking my sweet time, with 2 3 or 4 hours lunches :D
I have had an incredible experience in France in a top quality restaurant in Annecy (French Alps) and another one in Venice, that come to mind in the very slow yet wonderful category.

[rockmanj]

I'm a slow eater by US or english world standards... but too quick for french people :D
Truth is, with work, I tend to be way too careless and quick, although I have my addresses and try to find the optimum in price/quality and time.
And many times a year, I like taking my sweet time, with 2 3 or 4 hours lunches :D
I have had an incredible experience in France in a top quality restaurant in Annecy (French Alps) and another one in Venice, that come to mind in the very slow yet wonderful category.

A 4 hour lunch? O.O

[Sapphire]

Strange how habits and culture can vary so much across continents.
I like having multiple things to eat in small quantities.
I love those restaurant where you get like 10 to 18 (yes 18) different dishes, in very small quantities.
You start thinking you'll never have enough to fill yourself, but around 2 third of the dishes, you start getting full... and it keeps coming and is delicious.

Now we are only talking school canteens.
I have to say that quality varies a lot depending on schools and cities. But there's really a full course and they try their best to give a balanced meal.
Also, tables are often organised to help socialisation, talk and eat is very important here in France, so much that many work meetings are in fact done at lunch time.

Reminds me of when I was being babysat by a woman from Ukraine in the 4th grade. I completely resisted the idea of eating the small pancakes that she was cooking instead of just large ones because I thought I wouldn't get full. She made me eat them anyway and it turned out I was wrong lol.

The school lunches for America look particularly disgusting, but still within the bounds of reality if they only chose poor schools. I work in a school in Chinatown and the lunches look like that. I'll take a picture of it. The meals in the schools I experienced are more similar to what Buff described, pre-packaged and cooked in bulk in a single servings size. It was a main dish and a drink, and maybe a bag of chips as extra. Hmm now that I think about it, I never really experienced the sampling buffet style of eating on a regular basis until I came to college.

The Korean/Japanese foods look just like what they serve in the plastic bento boxes at the Asian stores. There's so much food that it's hard to finish...

In the dining hall at the dorm in my college, there is a huge variety of foods, so one's plate could easily look the ones in France (without that weirdass fruit). Or Brazil or Italy or Sweden.

Now I just think they were trying to make America look bad.

[Buffalobiian]

And many times a year, I like taking my sweet time, with 2 3 or 4 hours lunches :D
I have had an incredible experience in France in a top quality restaurant in Annecy (French Alps) and another one in Venice, that come to mind in the very slow yet wonderful category.

I can only imagine how miserable you'd be living here with half-hour lunch breaks. I try to make the most of it by microwaving my food before I take my break. (knocks 5 minutes off). I'm pretty quick, though I sometimes can still have trouble finishing off some meals in time because I'm web-surfing at the same time, or I simply brought too much food.

Even in university here we don't have the buffet-style lunches. You get introduced to the hot-tray on the counter, but you usually only mix 2 foods, if at all. If you bought some roast meat you might get a little bit more variety in the form of the various vegetables.


Now I just think they were trying to make America look bad.

Yeah, pretty much. Though I didn't find America to LOOK the worst, even though it's hands down the most unhealthiest. I might have had slightly adverse feelings towards some of the other food due to sheer lack of familiarity.

[David75]

In the dining hall at the dorm in my college, there is a huge variety of foods, so one's plate could easily look the ones in France (without that weirdass fruit). Or Brazil or Italy or Sweden.
695

If you talk about the item in the bottom left corner, this is not a fruit, but an artichoke:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artichoke

I had to become an adult to truly enjoy it though, as it really has a special taste and smell.

For some reason, I really think that picture is more a stereotype, or at least carefully chosen, as I don't ever remember having artichoke as a choice throughout the 20 years I have been to school canteens (from kindergarten to Engineer degree). Mainly because it is not that easy to eat/handle.
A french humorist once said:
"Artichoke is truly for poor people. It's the only dish that has more of it AFTER you've you ate it" :D

It is also true that it looks like some edible food you'd find in a Star Trek or Stargate episode :D

[Kraco]

Yeah, artichoke was pretty strange food. No way in hell it would ever get served in schools over here.

[shinta|hikari]

@Buff - I'm not sure about it (US) being the most unhealthy. The Philippines' Lechon Kawali is basically a huge slab of bacon (pork belly) deep fried in oil until crispy. It is also served with a high calorie, high fat, very sweet liver dipping sauce.

I think Philippine cuisine is one of the unhealthiest in the world. We're only lucky we don't get to eat too much of it, even if it is not by choice.

[rockmanj]

R
In the dining hall at the dorm in my college, there is a huge variety of foods, so one's plate could easily look the ones in France (without that weirdass fruit). Or Brazil or Italy or Sweden.

Now I just think they were trying to make America look bad.

Yea, that was a whole artichoke, and even though I like it, I have never had a whole one put in front of me. Also, I agree with Shinta; while a lot of Filipino food is tasty, there were few things that I found to be healthy. I must have gained about 7 pounds a month when I lived there.

[David75]

Yea, that was a whole artichoke, and even though I like it, I have never had a whole one put in front of me. Also, I agree with Shinta; while a lot of Filipino food is tasty, there were few things that I found to be healthy. I must have gained about 7 pounds a month when I lived there.

Well, having a whole artichoke to eat and the appropriate dipping sauce for scales is very nice. And after a hard work getting every bits, you can finally get the heart.
Really a nice appetizer, although you have to pause a bit because it gives a false feeling of being full for some time.

[rockmanj]

Well, having a whole artichoke to eat and the appropriate dipping sauce for scales is very nice. And after a hard work getting every bits, you can finally get the heart.
Really a nice appetizer, although you have to pause a bit because it gives a false feeling of being full for some time.

That sounds lovely...sadly, I live in the US. I do want to visit France and sample the cuisine there. I have not heard anything bad about the food there. Most of my friends (European ones included) say that the French take dining seriously.

[David75]

That sounds lovely...sadly, I live in the US. I do want to visit France and sample the cuisine there. I have not heard anything bad about the food there. Most of my friends (European ones included) say that the French take dining seriously.

Well, Italians do to, and other european countries.
Japanese tend to be perfectionnists too.

Sadly, things change and most restaurants, even at medium to high prices, use cheating methods like industrial meals they just have to heat... And it becomes hard to track.And what pains me is that it also happens in touristic places, I mean famous ones. I find it devastating for the culture and traditions.
Also, do not underestimate french restaurants abroad. It sometimes happens that chefs decide to travel and exercice their art in other countries and pass on their experience. Passion and dedication can make excellent cooks, even if they are not from the country.
That could be a good start, even if prices might be a tad high.

For anyone traveling to France, I would advise to use the "Guide Rouge Michelin" (red guide) for high end restaurants, and "Guide Vert" (green guide) for good quality/price ratio.

[shinta|hikari]

I plan to go to France just to eat one day... when I save up enough money.

I love travelling, and my 2 main goals are always the food and the thrills (i.e. Snowboarding, Scuba Diving, Canyoneering, White water rafting). I plan to skydive during this month.

Sight seeing and other things are minor priorities.

[XanBcoo]

Does that mean it is served free or part of the school service?

The school I teach at offers free breakfast and lunch to its students because it's located in such a poor area. Most of our lunches look like the ones pictured there, but sometimes we'll get foods that look more like the "Singapore" pictures.

They've got 4 options every day, "Homestyle, Pizza, International, or Deli". Every option is slim on vegetables and ridiculously high in carbohydrates. Though in the Deli line, they do get a small apple or orange.

[rockmanj]

I plan to go to France just to eat one day... when I save up enough money.

I love travelling, and my 2 main goals are always the food and the thrills (i.e. Snowboarding, Scuba Diving, Canyoneering, White water rafting). I plan to skydive during this month.

Sight seeing and other things are minor priorities.

I kinda like to just wander places and try local cuisine. I find my thrills where I find them.

[Animeniax]

http://forums.gotwoot.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=695&d=1304697170&thumb=1

For some reason, I really think that picture is more a stereotype, or at least carefully chosen, as I don't ever remember having artichoke as a choice throughout the 20 years I have been to school canteens (from kindergarten to Engineer degree). Mainly because it is not that easy to eat/handle.
A french humorist once said:
"Artichoke is truly for poor people. It's the only dish that has more of it AFTER you've you ate it" :D
Did you ever have a huge plate of freedom fries for lunch like in that picture?

[darkshadow]

My school has pretty much anything you want. Which is pretty funny cause it seems like our system is more like an evolution of some sorts; in the first phase of school (6-12y) I don't really remember there ever being school lunches, everything is packed in from home. Second phase (12-16(17/18)) gets a cafeteria, but doesn't offer much more than some drinks, sandwiches and snacks. Then the 3rd stage (16+) most school cafeteria's are a full blown kitchen....I'll post some pictures later of some stuff in our kitchen.

edit pic:
696

[David75]

Did you ever have a huge plate of freedom fries for lunch like in that picture?

I admitt I had the same reaction the first time I've seen that pic, there's a contradiction beetween fries with ketchup and artichoke. It's just I forgot about that reaction.
In many canteens, you can chose exactly what you want. But that choice also would be weird. Or we have a vegetarian here, who didn't like the other veggies alternative that day.

[rockmanj]

I admitt I had the same reaction the first time I've seen that pic, there's a contradiction beetween fries with ketchup and artichoke. It's just I forgot about that reaction.
In many canteens, you can chose exactly what you want. But that choice also would be weird. Or we have a vegetarian here, who didn't like the other veggies alternative that day.


Sadly, I often feel like an asshole when I inquire about vegetarian options.

[darkshadow]

Did you ever have a huge plate of freedom fries for lunch like in that picture?

Huge order of fries only is actually very normal here, I actually did some research about this and it seems that our country has perfected the art of "serving" fries. I though it was pretty funny that a lot of different countries served fries more as a side dish, in small portions. Also the lack of diversty in sauces also really suprised me....but then again we have a nationwide system of fastfood "slang" used just to identify fries + a certain sauce.

[Buffalobiian]

695

If you talk about the item in the bottom left corner, this is not a fruit, but an artichoke:

what about the top right? That looks like clams from what I see, but I really have no idea.

Artichoke doesn't sound like the food for me. So much manual handling before I actually get to eat the damn thing, lol.

@shinta&co: I forgot about the Philippine cuisine, but yeah I guess that's really unhealthy too. I think the "something + rice" combo made it skip my mind as being "normal". What sort of vegetable dishes do they have over there?

[Animeniax]

The food at top left looks like mussels, typical of what you see at Chinese buffets.

697

Artichokes are actually fun to eat. You pull a blade off, rake off the flesh with your teeth, then on to the next one.

[shinta|hikari]

@Buff - Vegetable dishes? Aside from the quick and easy stir fry people do when they have no time or effort to spare, the local dishes I know of are:

Laing - My personal favorite. Taro leaves cooked in coconut milk with shrimp paste, and sometimes pork belly.
Pinakbet - Assorted vegetables sauteed and simmered in shrimp paste.
Ginataang Gulay - Assorted vegetables cooked in coconut milk.
Lumpiang gulay - Fried vegetable spring roll
Tortang Talong - Eggplant dipped in egg then fried
Adobong Gulay - Vegetables cooked in soy sauce
Ensaladang manga - Green mango salad, eaten with shrimp paste
Sinabawang Gulay - Boiled vegetables


The coconut milk and the usual addition of pork for flavor makes these vegetable dishes pretty high in calorie and fat. The shrimp paste usually raises sodium to the roof. Adobo dishes in the Philippines usually require a lot of oil because they are stir fried before adding the sauce. The last 2 dishes are the only ones I can say are not unhealthy, but boiled vegetables are not really appetizing. Ensaladang manga is nutritious though (if the shrimp paste is kept to a minimum), and is a good appetizer.

[David75]

what about the top right? That looks like clams from what I see, but I really have no idea.

Artichoke doesn't sound like the food for me. So much manual handling before I actually get to eat the damn thing, lol.

@shinta&co: I forgot about the Philippine cuisine, but yeah I guess that's really unhealthy too. I think the "something + rice" combo made it skip my mind as being "normal". What sort of vegetable dishes do they have over there?

top left?
Mussels, but I had to watch carefully as the pic is a little small on my screen. Without paying much attention, I thought these were the artichoke blades, which wasn't very logical as the artichoke still is intact.

And an artichoke also is interresting to eat because you have to do so much work and slowly enjoy it ;)

Edit:
Should have read better, Ani did the same answer before I did


The food at top left looks like mussels, typical of what you see at Chinese buffets.

697

Artichokes are actually fun to eat. You pull a blade off, rake off the flesh with your teeth, then on to the next one.


So now French fries with Ketchup/mayonnaise and mussels make it a dish, fries are in fact coming with mussels as "Mussels and fries", basic dish, yet quite good.
There are many ways of cooking mussels, I particularly like the white wine method, called "Marinière" or Marina in english from what I just read earlier.

[Assertn]

Lol really now. I don't think I've had a single lunch at a cafeteria as unappetizing as the US ones listed on that site.
Also, fries as the main entree for lunch wtf?

[shinta|hikari]

@David - I love cooking shellfish in white wine, including scallops and clams.

[Archangel]

True, you'd think a civilization of fatasses would have tastier looking food

[shinta|hikari]

Tasty =! Fatty, though the correlation is pretty solid.

[Animeniax]

The last two or three pages of this thread should be moved to the "what are you eating" thread.

Thanks to rockmanj for posting the lunches website. It got a lot of traction and debate among the various nationalities at work.

[rockmanj]

I totally forgot about this thread...it should have went here originally (sorry about that). It was really popular on my facebook page as well, although I am not sure why.

[Buffalobiian]

Ate Today:

Chicken instant noodles, a Big Mac, a Fillet-O-Fish burger, a can of Raveoli and 2 sushi roles.

It's always annoying to have sushi that's been bought for you earlier in the day but kept in the fridge in the meanwhile. It keeps it from spoiling, but really destroys the flavour. Even "defrosting" them for about 20 minutes the inside is still too cold and hard to really taste nice.

edit: but still, better than no sushi by far.

[Marik]

I'm currently eating 20-piece Chicken McNuggets with Sweet 'N Sour sauce, large fries, a large pink lemonade, and 3 chocolate chip cookies.

[Archangel]

http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/5845/0819f.jpg

Best cereal ever

[Kraco]

Bushido cereals?

[Animeniax]

Just ate a grapefruit that was over-ripe. It was sweet and juicy, but after I finished, my tongue is all weirded out. Kind of regret eating it now.

[rockmanj]

I really want some noodles; and not shit noodles, quality noodles. Chinese style if possible...that don't cost an absurd amount of money. Gah!

[Buffalobiian]

I really want some noodles; and not shit noodles, quality noodles. Chinese style if possible...that don't cost an absurd amount of money. Gah!

Try some Shanghai hand-pulled noodles, or knife-cut noodles.

[Buffalobiian]

I tried out the Japanese food-court restaurant near my work the other day. Was looking for a late breakfast and settled on a roll each of:

-vegetarian tempura sushi
-smoke salmon sushi
-deep fried pork sushi

The last two were kind of tough, I have to say. I was surprised at the vegetarian one being 20c more expensive than the other ones ($2 AUD each), but it was much better and well worth the 20c. The tempura just breaks down as you eat it.

I had tempura before in Japan, but didn't fully appreciate it at the time given the circumstance we had that day, plus the fact that it was pretty expensive and 6 pieces really wasn't enough to fill me in the least.

[dragonrage]

Just ate Habachi; Salmon (medium done), bean sprouts, noodles, fried rice with a splash of shrimp.

also sushi: fatty tuna and gamora rolls( might have spelt that wrong)

washed it down with green tea and some water at the end.


Good lunch, won't be doing that again to soon though.

[gos27]

First time posting in this thread, some of the pics i seen of everyones food is awesome looking!!

this is what i had today:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-NTkgyMe6nGU/Td51d_ufIPI/AAAAAAAAAN8/hDt7CG_bUpQ/s800/DSC00230.JPG

Haddock, with some soy sauce on top,
Potato wedges,
spinach, baby tomatoes and some coleslaw. Not as exquisite as some of your guys' dishes but it was nice :D

[Buffalobiian]

No pics because i was short on time after wondering around the city, but I decided to pop in for some food since I stayed just slightly after work, but enough to miss my hourly bus back home.

Walked around a bit and ended up settling at this Japanese (food court style) restaurant for something to eat. I was going to get Ramen, but thought I'd try something different. Then thought of curry, but thought again that I'd go for something that I haven't tried before. Then I looked at the yakisoba and remembered how often I've seen it digitally, yet have never tried it in real life (though I've eaten my fair share of fried noodles). Since I was all in the "try something different" mood, I asked the waitress for a serving of yakiudon instead.

Apparently Yakiudon was sold out for the day though (how could that be?), so I defaulted to yakisoba and also asked them how long it would take to cook it (since I spent too long looking around the place, as well as other stores). She tells me 4 minutes and my flags went up. (sold out, and such quick cooking time? I wasn't familiar with EXACTLY how yakisoba was to be cooked, but I would have thought getting fresh ingredients together to cook would take longer.

I sat down, and in the stated time my serving of yakisoba arrived in front of me. First thing to note was that it definitely didn't smell like recently fried noodles. More like steamed. Or well-microwaved. By the time it hit my tongue, I can detect no caramelisation any more (whether it was there to begin with is unknown).

There was only one flavour in the dish. Onions. Perhaps an overpowering amount - due to the lack of anything else. I'd like to ask anyone who's had a serving of yakisoba to give their accounts for a comparison, since I totally wasn't expecting an onion flavour and nothing else (though I also never saw any seasoning added to yakisoba cooking sessions that I would have seen via television). Only other real flavour would be the ginger that I mixed in right at the end just to finish the whole thing off.

All in all, it was pretty underwhelming. Maybe next time I should visit a place with a visible teppan (iron slab) so I can see exactly what goes on.

[shinta|hikari]

Good yakisoba should be freshly stir fried. It does not taste of onions. It should taste of the sauce that was used to make it. The other ingredients are complementary flavours (shrimp, pork, onion, green onion) or for texture (carrots, other veggies). The sauce can be made up of different things, but usually soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce are present.

I personally like mine with Japanese mayonnaise and aonori. The combination of the mayo and the sauce is sublime, similar to how it works in okonomiyaki. I'm not a fan of beni-shoga in yakisoba though, but I will still eat it if there.

I love using bacon for yakisoba. It adds a certain depth of flavour that gets absorbed in the noodles.

Yakisoba isn't gourmet food by any means, but it is still good eats if done correctly.

[Buffalobiian]

So today was my Eat-To-Kill-Time (and I have a lot of time to kill) Day.

Started up in the morning with around 9 Siu Mai (http://www.google.com.au/search?q=siu+mai&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi&biw=1262&bih=864) and 2 coffee-flavoured buns (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mantou). I left 90 minutes early to go to the doctor's then, since it always falls behind schedule due to the wait. Ended up not being so bad though, so I had one hour to kill between that and work (excluding travel time). Next thought was to drop by this teppanyaki place I've seen a few times and try something out:

http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/8929/17062011163.jpg

Ordered:

1 bowl Yakiudon
6 pcs Takoyaki
1 cup Lychee iced tea.

http://img842.imageshack.us/img842/7702/17062011164.jpg

Now the yakiudon was more like what it should have been (unlike the yakisoba from last time). It was really hot, some of the udon was visibly charred (only a little) to show it was indeed fried, did not taste of onions and had sauce (dark, a little bit meaty, much like shinta's description above).

Not too much to talk about otherwise. Not exceptional, but not bad. I personally like my fried noodle dishes dryer, so all the sauce wasn't a point that really impressed me.

http://img808.imageshack.us/img808/6931/17062011165.jpg

Next up: takoyaki.

I've had takoyaki a few (but less than 20) times in my life (two of which were in Japan), and not once had I looked at it and wondered if it may have been deep fried. I say this because the outside just had this golden crust that was suspicious... but who knows, maybe it was just the batter mix they used.

The temperature was also the reverse of what I'm accustomed to. The outside of the balls were warm/hot, while the inside is best described as warm. The octopus wasn't rock hard, but it was chewy and definitely solid.

The takoyaki I know are cooler on the outside, yet taste like molten octopus goodness inside (your tongue will get burnt badly if you're not careful, seriously).

What they did seem to get right was the sauce.

The lychee drink was refreshing and probably overpriced. It's a shame that I couldn't get the two lychee out in any neat manner though. It would have been nice to add some fruit to my diet.

After that, went to work, followed by some home-made fried egg noodles (using left-over noodles and meat from a roast chicken from the supermarket plus some bean sprouts) to have on my dinner break. Filling, but I added too much water to it before I microwaved, so the flavour was kinda diluted. Still, I was never a fan of this shape of noodles anyway. By all means enjoyable however, don't get me wrong.

http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/2542/17062011168.jpg


Took a quick nap after that piece of work for about 15 minutes (built a bed out of boxs, even managed to make a leg rest and something to use as a pillow). Working till around 9:30pm, I had 40 minutes to kill before my bus home and wandered around the district to have a look at some eateries. This modernistic chinese dining place's prices seemed reasonable enough for me to give it a go (considering this was a meal I did not need). The sizes looked kind of small in the photographs, so I ordered two.

http://img580.imageshack.us/img580/8579/17062011169.jpg

First up was the Wonton & Cha Shiu (pork) Noodle Soup. The sizes were actually pretty big. More so than what the pictures and prices would suggest. The wontons were also sufficiently big and proportional (probably 3/4 was a lump of meat with the rest being the pastry, rather than being a tiny pinch of meat and pastry the size of half a passport that some places serve), and plenty of BBQ pork on the Cha Shiu side too.

But really, the essence of any noodle soup is ... the noodles.... and the soup. That's where this falls short. The soup was bland and boring, while the noodles were what looked like Hokkein noodles rather than your regular egg noodles. What these pale, thick noodles had in size they lacked in flavour and structure. The bite was soft (almost soggy) with no hint of egg at all. Anybody who's ever had a good bowl of noodle soup (especially wonton noodle soup) would know that the noodles are to be thin, and the bite starts off bouncy then crisp when you finish it. All with a rich aroma of egg. I wouldn't recommend this one to anyone.

http://img805.imageshack.us/img805/5157/17062011170.jpg

The second dish I ordered was curried chicken and rice. It was actually getting cold by the time I got to it (I don't believe I took that long, so they probably didn't serve it hot enough). It was winter though, so I'll give them the benefit of doubt. This one was a better eat, I reckon. The curry was of the creamy sort, with close to zero hotness to make it acceptable to the general platte (though to my highly-heat-tolerant tongue it naturally leaves something to be desired). But overall, yes, besides the noodle soup that I would only describe as "wrong" (wrong choice of noodles/cooking time), the quality-to-price ratio for this place just around the corner from work would keep me coming back for at least a few more times to see what their other dishes are like. Next will probably be a dryer stir-fried dish to see just how well these guys can stir fry.

I was informed that there was more fried noodles when I got home, but I passed on that one.

[Buffalobiian]

Weeaboo time again!

http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/1642/20072011173.jpg

Asahi beer with Nissan Terriyaki Chicken and Garlic instant noodles.

The noodles weren't that great. Alright, but not my favourite flavour. Not that it's really an "authentic" flavour either. I've got to find time to make a trip to this place for a box of Tonkotsu and a box of Kyoto Shoryu flavoured ones sometime.

As for the beer, I was pretty disappointed. At my old store I've had many customers ask for this, which we didn't have at the point. They talked about it like it was the best beer in the world. When we started stocking it, from seeing how pleased our customers were, I thought I should try some as well.

It tastes nearly identical to Hahn Super Dry. Extremely bland and flavourless. Xel's informed me that Asahi's export versions are brewed from various locations though (mine was from Thailand), so I must put this on my must-try list when I go back to Japan again (the trip is not planned at all, but it's inevitable.

Had a Sapporo soon afterwards though, and that was much like how I remembered it tasting when I had the Japanese brew. It's mid-strength bitter with a slight weirdness to it, but doesn't leave an aftertaste much upon swallowing. I find this much better than the Asahi that I had. Kirin's supposed to be Asahi's major rival though.. I haven't seen one such bottle in Australia yet (though I'm sure it's somewhere).

And then, last night I had this.

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/7103/04082011185.jpg

[Buffalobiian]

http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/319/10092011194.jpg

Had an unannounced hotpot dinner at home with family today.

Hotpot's usually a kind of big-deal, celebratory kind of meal that we don't have every day. Despite the foods being relatively "good" and more expensive compared to your average meals, I've always found it to be kind of 'meh' or 'it's alright'. I'm never really 100% full neither, and that's not from the lack of food. If anything, it's probably because the entire meal takes so long due to the cooking and waiting that I just end up "getting over it" and finishing up despite not being completely fed. I admit was was full yesterday, but I soon got hungry in 2 hours or so.

Hotpot was never really about the food though, but more about the whole gathering and such - so it turned out to be a good meal in the end anyway.

Guess this is what they're getting at when people talk about a dining experience.

The night wasn't over until I had some 2-minute noodles 2 hrs afterwards though. :P

[Buffalobiian]

http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/5672/07102011195.jpg

Had some Phad Thai (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phad_Thai) for lunch yesterday because I forgot my lunch. It was alright, but a few things could be improved:

1) increase serving size. Had to have some sushi afterwards to fill up.
2) Lessen the peanuts, increase the spicyness.
3) Fry the dish to produce a dryer result. A dry, slightly caramelised finish is essential. Otherwise, it feels more like the noodles are mixed with some hot sauce, rather than being stir-fried together.

And today, just some canned fish with rice. Fatty/oily fish ftw!

[Sapphire]

So I've been living in poverty for the past week or so, eating only rice and a special tomato sauce I make. On top of that, to save money, I walked home from 86th St to 14th St. It took a full 2 hours and I was running on a rice cake and an apple. I went to a delicious Japanese hole-in-the-wall called Otafuku and had a Yakisoba/Okonomiyaki combo with 6 pieces of Takoyaki, both covered in fish trimmings. I knew it wouldn't sustain me for long, but at that point I was exhausted and lying in bed and dreaded the thought of even going outside to a Halal cart (which there are 4 literally outside my door).

I let the hunger go to an unbearable max and decided to buy some Insomnia cookies. Insomnia cookies is a place around NYU that delivers cookies to all the dorms until late night. They're so good, they melt in your mouth and in your hand and just mmmmmm.

I look at the menu. The prices are almost too good to be true. The deals are too enticing. I end up going with the 18 cookies for $17 deal called Major Rager. I call up, 'cuz smores aren't on the online menu, and the guy says to pick "peanut butter" cookies and put that I want to switch it out with Smores in the comment section.

I get startled by a call that they're at my door like 4 minutes later. The guy sees me and hands me the box of cookies. It's.... MUCH heavier than I expected. I am too hungry to even wait until I'm upstairs and I open the box on the way to the elevator and HOLY SHIT WHAT HAVE I DONE

http://i.imgur.com/bipQA.jpg

Above is a picture of OMG all the cookies I got in an irrational haze of hungry hungryness, minus the two cookies I immediately shoved down my throat on the way to my room. I looked on top of the box and there's a quickly written note, "Smores not included in Major Rager. Lucky you, this time." So I got all the cookies PLUS SIX EXTRA peanut butter cookies which I can't even eat because I'm allergic to them. @____@ which is basically a crapload of cookies.

[Animeniax]

You live in poverty but you spent almost $1 per cookie for 18 cookies? A pack of 20 Keebler cookies costs $2.

[Sapphire]

Yeah, I was going to get like, 2 cookies, to indulge myself. Then it all went awry.

And Keebler cookies aren't as huge as these cookies so you have the volumes ALL wrong. These cookies are like the span of my hand.

Edit: A cookie of that size in NYC is usually $1.75 - $2. Me buying these cookies was tots irrational and horrible, though. I think I just learned the hard way that I should always have a healthy snack closely available. Well at least I only blew $20 instead of $70 like some people I know. D: D: D:

[rockmanj]

Well, I have been eating tofurky the past few days, but I do have a funny thanksgiving story. I volunteered to cook the thanksgiving meal for my (omnivore) family and my dad wanted me to cook a beef roast from 2006. That's right, it had been in my parents' freezer since 2006! Of course I refused to cook that, since if people died and ate it, I would likely be charged for murder. So I compromised and cooked a pork roast from early 2009 to the best of my ability. Of course the comments around the taste and texture were "it's a little dry..."

[Dark Dragon]

You guys must all have incredibly strong stomach. Pork should generally not be kept that long even while deep freeze.

[Assertn]

Friend of mine invited me over to his place for thanksgiving and oh man... his girlfriend's pecan pie is the best pie i've ever eaten. Ridiculous.

I've been trying to make more stuff at home, and try some new healthy options, so I got greek yogurt and a bunch of various super-sweet fruits to mix with it. There was a sale on blackberries and whole-freakin pomegranates, so I've been using those. By the way, pomegranates are kind of annoying to eat right out of the fruit.

[Kraco]

By the way, pomegranates are kind of annoying to eat right out of the fruit.

Which is why I've only bought them once in my life. The taste wasn't honestly worth the effort.

[Animeniax]

Friend of mine invited me over to his place for thanksgiving and oh man... his girlfriend's pecan pie is the best pie i've ever eaten. Ridiculous.

I've been trying to make more stuff at home, and try some new healthy options, so I got greek yogurt and a bunch of various super-sweet fruits to mix with it. There was a sale on blackberries and whole-freakin pomegranates, so I've been using those. By the way, pomegranates are kind of annoying to eat right out of the fruit.
Honestly was it the pie or the girlfriend that made it so delicious? Bow-chicka-wow-wow!

[gos27]

I've been trying to make more stuff at home, and try some new healthy options, so I got greek yogurt and a bunch of various super-sweet fruits to mix with it. There was a sale on blackberries and whole-freakin pomegranates, so I've been using those. By the way, pomegranates are kind of annoying to eat right out of the fruit.
They're a fecking pain to eat through them. Dragon fruit is very nice and so is star fruit (they're pretty hard to find though).

[Kagemane_no_Jutsu]

I feel like we live in an RPG.... the coolest sounding fruits are harder to find/prolly cost more.

just had some italian bread, popped it in the toaster oven, butter, yum.

[Animeniax]

Nah, just go to an Asian market or other ethnic market and you'll find all kinds of weirdly named food. Most of it doesn't taste very good, just different and therefore special to your average eater.

[Buffalobiian]

Starfruit's pretty alright. I'm not really fond of dragonfruit. It's rather bland, and the texture isn't that great. For something of comparable but superior characteristics I'd go for a nashi.

[Animeniax]

I just had Vietnamese banh mi with nem nuong spring rolls:

1089 1090

Gonna go sleep off this food coma.

[Buffalobiian]

Started going on a tuna and mixed vegetable diet in an attempt to lower body fat %.

Current daily consumption is between 4000KJ to 6000KJ. It changes depending on what variety of tuna/veges I have on hand, as well as which one I decide to eat due to taste. (Tuna in oil tastes better than tuna in springwater - especially if mixed with the veges - but I try to balance it out by only eating one can of those vs two cans of the non-oily variety a day to make up for it.)

Udon, ramen and curry are sooo distant right now...

[David75]

Starting a month ago, I decided it was time to eat something easy, fast, good to eat everynight.
Cheap rice cooker with steam basket is my cooker.
Buy lots of frozen fish from a good frozen food chain.
Have a 50lbs sticky rice bag
Buy some vegetables/mushrooms/other once a week.

In the morning, remember to choose the fish you wish to eat at night, put it in the fridge to slowly defrost.
In the evening, prepare one of the vegetables, cut it in long and thin. If these are mushroom, just cut them no bigger than dices
Clean rice
Dry fish a little as it should be quite wet from defrost.
Put rice in the cooking bowl
Put the veggies and fish in the steam basket.
Turn the rice cooker on
When it stops, stir the rice, wait another 10 minutes on keep warm mode.
Serve.
The evening part of the preparation is around 35 minutes all included.
The results are stunning considering the $US25 rice cooker and the overall simplicity. Juices from fish and veggies mix very well with the sticky rice. Truth be told, sticky rice goes with almost anything, I had stunning results with traditional french cuisine.

The idea is that with a fairly low food cost, low cost cooker, fast preparation time, I can have light good and nice dinners every-night.

[shinta|hikari]

Curry and udon are fine even when dieting, as long as they aren't loaded with fatty ingredients. It is all about portion sizes and eating smart.

[Animeniax]

Starting a month ago, I decided it was time to eat something easy, fast, good to eat everynight.
Cheap rice cooker with steam basket is my cooker.
Buy lots of frozen fish from a good frozen food chain.
Have a 50lbs sticky rice bag
Buy some vegetables/mushrooms/other once a week.

In the morning, remember to choose the fish you wish to eat at night, put it in the fridge to slowly defrost.
In the evening, prepare one of the vegetables, cut it in long and thin. If these are mushroom, just cut them no bigger than dices
Clean rice
Dry fish a little as it should be quite wet from defrost.
Put rice in the cooking bowl
Put the veggies and fish in the steam basket.
Turn the rice cooker on
When it stops, stir the rice, wait another 10 minutes on keep warm mode.
Serve.
The evening part of the preparation is around 35 minutes all included.
The results are stunning considering the $US25 rice cooker and the overall simplicity. Juices from fish and veggies mix very well with the sticky rice. Truth be told, sticky rice goes with almost anything, I had stunning results with traditional french cuisine.

The idea is that with a fairly low food cost, low cost cooker, fast preparation time, I can have light good and nice dinners every-night.
This is basically how Asian families have lived for the past thousand years or so. I'd gotten away from it and started eating too many frozen American foods. I think I'll give this simple method a try though...

[rockmanj]

Friend of mine invited me over to his place for thanksgiving and oh man... his girlfriend's pie is the best pie i've ever eaten. Ridiculous.


Must be a hell of a friend :D


You guys must all have incredibly strong stomach. Pork should generally not be kept that long even while deep freeze.

You can actually consume frozen pork within 2 years, but the muscle tissue is so damaged it is tasteless and hard to eat. Add to that, I don't eat meat; other members of my family ate it.

Lately I have been eating a lot of noodles, specifically, "chewy noodles", a cold korean noodle dish that is oddly filling. I feel like I eat one serving and I am full for the day.

[shinta|hikari]

Dinuguan.

It is a Filipino dish made of pork liver, intestine, fat, all cooked in blood.

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g310/shinta617/dinuguan.jpg

It has a bit of vinegar in it, so it is a mildly sour but deeply flavoured dish. It is a must try if you ever visit the Philippines. It is perfect with rice, or puto, a steamed sweet bread made with rice flour.

[Kraco]

There are some blood dishes over here as well, but I never learned to eat liver. It always tastes bad in my mouth. In fact even meat that has a kind of liverish nuance, like horse meat, doesn't suit my tastes.

[shinta|hikari]

Liver cooked well does not taste "raw" which is probably what you are talking about. If you fail at preparing it, it can be pretty bad.

[Buffalobiian]

Goose liver is pretty damn good, but you've got to be in the mood for a rich, buttery-smooth tastebud overload.

I don't think I'll mind blood dishes much. Not so sure about intestines though.. For some reason that organ has never been particularly entertaining for me. I might be persuaded into giving it a go though. It's certainly not at the bottom of the list. That belongs to penises.

[rockmanj]

Goose liver is pretty damn good, but you've got to be in the mood for a rich, buttery-smooth tastebud overload.

I don't think I'll mind blood dishes much. Not so sure about intestines though.. For some reason that organ has never been particularly entertaining for me. I might be persuaded into giving it a go though. It's certainly not at the bottom of the list. That belongs to penises.

I have had grilled intestines, which were really good. I had an aversion to it at first, but it grew on me

[erika08]

I'm eating barbeque chicken and vegetables salad because I love vegetables with lots of dressing,, :)

Ssikkek Korea BBQ (http://sg.openrice.com/singapore/restaurant/sr2.htm?shopid=23054)

[Animeniax]

Starting a month ago, I decided it was time to eat something easy, fast, good to eat everynight.
Cheap rice cooker with steam basket is my cooker.

The results are stunning considering the $US25 rice cooker and the overall simplicity. Juices from fish and veggies mix very well with the sticky rice. Truth be told, sticky rice goes with almost anything, I had stunning results with traditional french cuisine.

The idea is that with a fairly low food cost, low cost cooker, fast preparation time, I can have light good and nice dinners every-night.

Of course, I have an expensive rice cooker that does not include a steamer. I have a standalone steamer but then that's more cleaning and you lose the flavor from the steamed fish and vegetables dripping on the rice as they cook. I could spend $50 on a new rice cooker/steamer but not sure it's worth it. Progress isn't always as progressive as we'd like it to be.

[David75]

I've had a so called advanced rice cooker. Too slow! And rice wasn't always that good.
Decided to try the incredibly simple (simplistic) rice cooker since the risk wasn't that high with its very low price.
Changed my everynight meals as I described before.

Should the thing last only a year, that would'nt even be a problem... But my guess is that it can last quite a long time since it
really is very low tech.
My guess is that I'll break the glass part or something before it malfunctions. That then will just be another 25 dollars :D

[Kraco]

That then will just be another 25 dollars :D

Did you order it from the USA or Canada (since you state the price in dollars)? Even if you say the appliance itself was 25 dollars, the shipping must have been as much on top of it.

I have sometimes considered getting a rice cooker, but I doubt I will any time soon, even though your description of its extended use in addition to simply cooking rice sounds very intriguing.

[Animeniax]

@David75: I assume you're cooking for 2, so what size rice cooker do you use? I plan to buy Zojirushi NHS-10 6-cup (http://www.amazon.com/Zojirushi-NHS-10-Cooker-Steamer-Warmer/dp/B00004S576/ref=sr_1_83?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1323820666&sr=1-83) but the steamer pan looks too small.

1109

[Buffalobiian]

If your rice cooker doesn't have a steamer pan, just buy a steaming rack and a holey steamer bowl (or just a metal sieve)..

My mum doesn't know how to cook rice without a rice cooker. I just found that really funny.

[Animeniax]

I don't think those would work with my rice cooker. There's an internal sealing lid that would be compromised by a steamer pan/rack that rests on the lip of the internal cooking bowl. I'd like to find a steamer pan that sits further inside the cooking bowl, which is 8in/20.3cm in diameter at the lip.

It's funny how serious I'm getting about making this work... I really do need to improve my diet to include more rice and steamed food instead of oily, fried, and microwaved prepared food.

[David75]

25 dollars was a basis, truth is it was 19.90€ and was at a local store.

6 cups cooker is fine for 2. Remember it's for the evening and the intake should be lighter. Most of the intake has to be at breakfast and lunch.
Its true that I could use a larger steamer pan, But I have enough room for 2 portions of fish and carrots, mushrooms or any other easy to cook vegetable.
As Buff said, some steam basket are the correct size to fit the bowl top and have more room. Never tried that as I do with what I have. Problem would probably be with steam not being hot enough to cook everything the larger the pan gets. I don't know if you have a hardware store with such product in your area, that would help. Thankfully, the chinese/asian community in Paris and its region is quite large and we have great stores. Although I did by my cooker in a non chinese based department store...

The model you show really looks like the one I have, better brand for sure and the inox pan certainly is added value compared to the plastic one I have.

Consider that one maybe?
http://www.amazon.com/Aroma-ARC-743-1NGB-6-Cup-Cooker-Steamer/dp/B004O83YVQ/ref=sr_1_5?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1323843792&sr=1-5

I know this is not a japanese brand and not a brand at all when compared to zojirushi...
But it's got the qualities you need and room for steaming vegetables.

[Animeniax]

While my search for a steaming pan that will fit/work with my rice cooker continues in pursuit of healthier eating, I made this this weekend:

1122 + 1123 + 1124 = DELICIOUS.

[rockmanj]

While my search for a steaming pan that will fit/work with my rice cooker continues in pursuit of healthier eating, I made this this weekend:

1122 + 1123 + 1124 = DELICIOUS.

I like how you found the limpest sausages I have ever seen for a photo. No salad or anything to make you you are getting the fiber you need?

[Animeniax]

You like your sausages thick, rock hard, and manly, do you?

I get my fiber from other sources (hopefully). This meal was all about flavor.