"Posted by althetrainer ---- Oh Dcarch, the hydrofoil boat ride! I had tried it once but have to say it was not too stomach friendly. It could be just me, not used to that up-and-down motion, I really didn't feel so good the entire trip! LOL ----- Al"

Shame on you, complaining about a little bumping here and there. :-)

I was visiting Kowloon one time. Had the luck of right in the middle of a giant typhoon on top of a highrise hotel.

It felt like I was inside a cocktail shaker.

I don't think it is typhoon season now.

dcarch

gellchom, I haven't a clue what you should pick up but please keep your eye open for a cute, petite 22 year old with long brown hair and tell her her mother sent you!! LOL

My daughter is leaving Australia tomorrow for Bali, then Java, Sumatra, Viet Nam, Cambodia, Singapore, Thailand and China.

colleenoz, that sounds like a wonderful tool. I don't have a mandoline, and recently I tried using the slicing blade from a food processor as a hand-held one ... I cut myself but good. I will certainly look for that. Good gift, too.

That's why I'm not too concerned with getting things that cannot be found here. I do have a few gifts to bring, mostly to cooks.

annie1992, I would love to get together with you when you are next here in Clumbus, Ahia. I'll even cook for you! (Now, that takes some ego strength -- to cook for YOU. But I'd love to.) Have you been to the North Market? You'd love it.

I'm flattered you'd like to see our pictures. My husband, brother, and brother-in-law all stand there and take the IDENTICAL pictures (even though they will be sharing them all) wherever we go. So I figure that they have that covered, and I find that almost the only pictures I take are of amusing signs and mangled menus. (I am a terrible person, I know.) My favorite from the last category from our trip to China (a goldmine for this stuff; there were several contenders) was "Stir-Fried Dork Shreds with Garlic Sauce."

But when the "boys" give me their travel pix, I will post them, if you can suggest an appropriate place.

Anyone else have anything for the shopping list?

Don't know anything else food wise, but what about cookbooks? Some of the more westernized cities i.e. Hong Kong Singapore should have bilingual cookbooks. I love baking breads. Stepson's girlfriend brought me a special Asian bread book that I really liked. It was in Chinese fortunately the book was very well organized with lots of picture. I could practically just follow all the steps by looking at the pictures. All I had to do was to get the ingredients part translated. Al

gellchom, I'd love to have you cook for me. Just be aware that I usually yak all the way through a meal. (grin) Just like I do here. I've only been to Columbus once, Elery and I went to a big outdoor mall where they had a Trader Joe's and a Sur La Table, but I thought it wouldn't be fun in January!

Pictures in an appropriate place? That's what the gallery is for, just post them over there and make sure you tell me! I'll really look forward to seeing them, I've never been to anywhere in Asia.

Hey, get a cookbook and then cook Chinese when I visit! I'll take pictures...

Annie

You've got it, Annie. I got a dim sum cookbook when we were in China 2 years ago. I could eat Chinese food three times a day (sometimes I do!), so I cook it as often as I can. I figured you'd want Jewish -- but, hey, what's more Jewish than eating Chinese food? Especially on Sunday nights.

I've tried some Thai recently and even Vietnamese. I did pretty well for a beginner! Anyway, we liked it.

I'll soon know what they eat in Singapore. It's our first stop.

Gotta go finish packing! I can probably get on line on the trip, so keep your foodie shopping ideas coming. I'll let you all know any particularly fascinating culinary adventures.

I'm not sure about collecting food from Vietnam and China. If you like fish sauce and can withstand the smell, as Colleen mentioned, do get a few from Phu Quoc region. But, do be careful packing them. As for cookbooks, hum... not sure how true in directions they would be given. They love to hide an ingredient or two, or even a step or two in the instruction.

If you like tea, tea from China are among the best. Tea from Vietnam are mainly green tea, not any better than Chinese tea. However, there's one tea that the Vietnamese do better and that is Lotus tea, green tea infused in the center of the Lotus flower. You must get it from a reputable manufacturer from Ha Noi. Otherwise, you may end up getting one with artificial flavor which is not the same.

Other than kitchenware and food, these are best places to get arts and hand-made crafts very inexpensively. Another thing is clothes that can be made to fit your body. They can be made as quick as 1 day.

Besides the food, enjoy mostly all those tropical fruits. Try out the Jackfruits, fresh coconut juice, longan, dragon fruit, mangos, grapefruits, pineapple, sugar canes, and so many more that I don't even know its name in English. Fruits here are abundance and are ripen from the trees, they taste absolutely devine.

Have a great visit and stay safe!

"Posted by ntt_hou -----Besides the food, enjoy mostly all those tropical fruits. Try out the Jackfruits, fresh coconut juice, longan, dragon fruit, mangos, grapefruits, pineapple, sugar canes, and so many more that I don't even know its name in English. Fruits here are abundance and are ripen from the trees, they taste absolutely devine. "

I was told that it is illegal to eat durian fruit in public in Singapore.

dcarch

Sharon, Scott leaves soon for Thailand; Jacarta, Indonesia; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Perth, Australia; and Singapore. send me an email with Meredith's itinerary - maybe they'll be in
Sinapore at the same time! (I lost a bunch of addresses when my motherboard crashed a couple months back...)

Certainly a lot of hotels won't allow you to take durian into your room.

Did you noticed I didn't mentioned durian????

Come to think of it, I used to hate the fruit. Now, that is available here in the US and paying with a high price, I learned to love it. My favorite now is homemade durian ice cream... mmmm... yum....

Ok, if you're not familiar with this fruit, don't try it. Same as with the bitter melon, again... don't try it! They're considered to be among the group of "Whether you'd love it or you'd detest it!"

LOL, ntt, I saw durian on one of those Travel Channel things and I certainly was not encouraged to try it! I did see bitter melon at the Asian grocery when I visited Peppi in Chicago and I considered trying it, now I think I should have. Or maybe I should be glad I didn't!

I was spending my time there looking for Pocky, my granddaughter's all time favorite treat.

Annie

Dcarch, I thought it was chewing gum that's not allowed in Singapore? Maybe both!

I have tried both bitter melon and durian... can't say I want to try them again. Once is more than enough for me! LOL

Al

"Posted by althetrainer -----
Dcarch, I thought it was chewing gum that's not allowed in Singapore? Maybe both!
I have tried both bitter melon and durian... can't say I want to try them again. Once is more than enough for me! LOL Al"

Not kidding you. They do sell durian flavored chewing gum.

Interesting that durian and Jackfruit do not lost quality after they have been frozen.

I like trying different fruits, veggies etc. and find out how they effect me physically and emotionally.

dcarch

"Posted by Dcarch: I like trying different fruits, veggies etc. and find out how they effect me physically and emotionally"

So, have you tried the durian and/or the bitter melon? I am very fond of the bitter melon and it's supposed to be very nutritional too. Do let us know how these effect you physically and emotionally. Hope it doesn't turn you... stinky and/or bitter ;o)

Annie1992, if you'd like to try the bitter melon, for your first time, I'd suggest that you chose one that has a lighter green color. The darker the green, the bitter they are. You don't need to peel them, just slice it in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds at the center with a small spoon (tea/coffee spoon), then sliced them thin. Sautee them with a bit of EVOO, sea salt & pepper until soft, then add a couple of eggs (whipped) into the mixture and stir until the eggs are cooked. Somehow, the eggs help the melon to taste less bitter. Since I'm asian, I normally add fish sauce instead of sea salt. If you have and like fish sauce, you may want to give that a try.

My niece once asked me how did the bitter melon taste. Her mom doesn't like it so she asked me curiously. I replied to her that it tasted bitter and sweet. She frowned at me and said: "What?!? It either tastes bitter or it tastes sweet. There's no such food that tastes both at the same time." LOL... I think of that every time I eat the bitter melon.

ntt, thanks for that information, I figured the bitter melon would be eaten raw, like our watermelon or canteloupe.

So it gets cooked with eggs? Now I'm really going to have to find one!

I do like fish sauce, I think, I mostly use it in a single dish and it mostly just tastes like salt to me.

Annie

The trip sounds fantastic! My only vote is to make sure you try a mangosteen (note: not the same as a mango) -- perhaps the worlds most divine and delicious fruit. Because mangosteens don't transport well, they are essentially impossible to get here in the west....

Em, Ashley would disagree, she says the most delicious fruit in the world is guanabana, she first tasted it in Costa Rica and now she's always on the prowl for more. I did find some juice at the Mediterranean Market.

Annie

 Posted by ntt_hou (My Page) on
Fri, Jan 15, 10 at 3:24
["Posted by Dcarch: I like trying different fruits, veggies etc. and find out how they effect me physically and emotionally"
So, have you tried the durian and/or the bitter melon? I am very fond of the bitter melon and it's supposed to be very nutritional too. Do let us know how these effect you physically and emotionally. Hope it doesn't turn you... stinky and/or bitter ;o) ]

Oh yes I have tried them all and liking them all.
Speaking of stinky and bitter, as a matter of fact, I have noticed that areas where people eat lots of different food, they donÂt use much deodorant and they are very happy people.
You begin to wonder the quantity of deodorants and antidepressants sold in this country and if that has anything to do with our diets.

"Posted by annie1992 --------Em, Ashley would disagree, she says the most delicious fruit in the world is guanabana, she first tasted it in Costa Rica and now -------"

Very true, it is a fruit everyone would like. When I was in Costa Rica, it was their guanabanas and coffee that really made me want to go back again and again. I think guanabana is the same fruit as cherimoya in the Far East.

"Posted by fearlessem --
The trip sounds fantastic! My only vote is to make sure you try a mangosteen (note: not the same as a mango) -- perhaps the worlds most divine and delicious fruit. Because mangosteens don't transport well, they are essentially impossible to get here in the west...."

Nothing to do with mango. The outside thick skin is nothing much to look at, but the inside is beautiful and looks like and tastes like Lichee nut, which has nothing to do with a nut.

dcarch

Mangosteen and Cherimoya, oh yeah... yum-yum...

I remember when we were little kids, everytime we ate mangosteen, my mom would warned us to be careful when we peel them. Once the sap from the mangosteen skin gets to our clothes, it would be a stain that couldn't be washed off. In a matter of fact, it seemed to be as such with most tropical fruits.

Fearlessem, I once read it somewhere that for a long while, US would not allowed to import mangosteens because it commonly carried a fruit disease/virus. Just recently, a chemical spray was developed for the mangosteens. And now, it is slowly being imported into the US. It will get there to your neck of the wood eventually.

We're back!

What a great trip. What great food!!!

Durian ... apologies to those who love it, but to us, it is NASTY, NASTY, NASTY! And we are of the "iron stomachs" school. I was actually surprised that I hated it so much. My brother and I were literally gagging from the smell, so much that we even had to go into another room at the restaurant. But I did like this dialog with the waiter:
"What is this stuff on top?"
"That is topping."

Mangosteens, on the other hand, I adore. Fun to eat, too. We had them often on this trip. I also liked jackfruit, coconut as a refreshing drink, and the look of dragonfruit (although the taste is very bland). Someone gave us a gift basket with some longan honey; I haven't tried it yet.

Chase, sorry, I didn't see your daughter, but I'm sure she is having a great time.

Colleenoz, I found the peeler/slicer you described. Your description was so perfect, I knew I had found just what you meant. It was at the old market in Ho Chi Minh City. They did indeed cost less than a dollar each, so I bought them for my friends, too.

I didn't see any fish sauces that looked different from what I can get here, so I decided not to buy any and risk leaks in the luggage.

My brother-in-law looked and looked for some green Szechwan peppercorns he wanted. He finally bribed a waitress at a restaurant to give him a little packet.

Oh, we ate so many good meals! The 5-star food on the ship was great, the hawker food in Singapore, the street food in Thailand and Vietnam, the restaurants everywhere -- all just wonderful. (Except the durian!) One unusual thing we had was at a roadside stand in Thailand, north of Bangkok. It is a thin greenish coconut crepe wrapped around a sugar thing; not flossy like cotton candy, looked more like straw. They are called "rotee" and are made only by Muslims (according to our driver). I did notice a Halal certification on the enormous "to go" bags he insisted on buying us. It didn't sound good to me (I don't like cotton candy), but it was marvelous. We have a little of the "straw" left; maybe someone knows a recipe for the crepe batter? She had a big griddle and held a big glob of the gooey batter in one hand and swirled it around right on the hot griddle, leaving a thing disc. By the time she'd make a second one, the first was ready to flip onto the plate. I'd be burning myself constantly. It might be Malaysian? Not khanam krok.

Other discoveries for me included green papaya salad, morning glory salad, and different wonderful kinds of rice -- my favorite was cooked with cardomom and cinnamon (and was it maybe some coconut milk?) Anyone have favorite recipes to share?

I'm sure I'm forgetting a lot more that will come back to me when jet lag wears off!

Thanks for your tips and for "coming with me." I was thinking of you all a lot!

A few seconds ago I just saw a special report on PBS World News On Vietnam.

Conincidence!

dcarch

Wow, sounds like you had a great time!

Wouldn't blame you about the durians. I wouldn't get near them, let alone touching or eating them. Gag reflex usually is a way our body tells us if we like the food or not! LOL

My stepson Singapore girlfriend came to visit us last Christmas and she brought some jack fruits (dried) but we have not yet tried it. Despite the fact that I grew up in Hawaii I have never tried green papayas. The thought of eating it green is a bit too strange to me.

I have no ideas about the rest of the foods you've mentioned. Tried to visualize this cotton candy thingy but didn't do a very good job. So... I did a search on cotton candy roti and this is what I found. Looks pretty interesting.

Al

Here is a link that might be useful: Cotton Candy Roti

gellchom, welcome home! Now, where are the pictures?

Oh come on, you knew I was going to ask, LOL.

The food sounds really interesting, but I've never had the desire to try durian. Now I really don't!

Annie

"Posted by althetrainer -----I did a search on cotton candy roti and this is what I found. Looks pretty interesting.

Al "
When I was in Vancouver, there was a shop in Chinatown where they were making by hand a candy almost a fine as cotton candy. They called that Drogon's Hair candy.

They used the same pulling technique as making Chinese noodles by hand.

dcarch

Hey, you're already back?!? Time sure flies. Welcome back and thanks for sharing your eating experience. I laughed at your durian experience. Don't feel bad, many asians stay away from them too. Was the green papaya salad had beef jerky on the top?

Al, green papaya is harvested right at the period before it starts to ripe. It really doesn't have a chance to get sweet. It retains the crunchiness but doesn't have much taste to it. We normally peel it, then slice julienne so it could absorb the savory and sweet sauce that is poured over it. After sliced julienne, it needs to be soaked in lightly salted water for a few minutes before serving.

Ah-ha Dcarch! I vaguely remember the name but don't recall ever trying the candy. Did a search and this is how they look like.

I even found a recipe to make Dragon Beard Candy. A lot of work just to pull the candy into silky strands; completely out of my league! LOL Al

Baruch'a Habaita!!!!

I bought some dragon beard candy in the airport before we left Hong Kong. I quite liked it.

Welcome home indeed!

Its funny - I was at an Asian market yesterday and they had frozen durian fruit. I always thought they were about the size of grapefruit, but these babies were huge! Easily the size of a Thanksgiving turkey. And based on your description, I think I will pass too! lOLOLOL!

Alexa

OMG, Al!

I followed the "cotton candy roti" link in your message above, and immediately I could see, from both the description and the picture, that that was exactly it. And Ayutthaya was where we had it. I skimmed the comments, too, and here is the most recent one:

"Hui said...
I bought for American tourist and let them taste it when we visited Ayutthaya last week. Of course, it's so wonderful...even me...I'm Thai and love Roti - Sai Mai so much!! LOVE Thailand Very much.."

Yep, you guessed it: our guide's name was Hui. Funny that he spells it "roti" in his post, but dictated R-O-T-E-E to me. Now that I know the name "roti sai mai," I can find out a lot more.

Here is a link to a video of someone making them. Looks exactly like what we saw -- might even be the same woman.

The sugar filling comes in lots of pastel colors, but they all taste the same.

I didn't see any recipes yet, but I doubt I'd want to make it myself -- maybe the coconut roti, but not the way she is doing it! Does anyone know if it's possible to buy either the coconut roti or the sugar "straw" in Asian or possible middle eastern markets here? I still have the bag from the sugar stuff; the print is in Thai, but I could bring it with me. Seems like it might be pretty specific to the Ayutthaya area, though. We didn't see it in Bangkok.

Here is a link that might be useful: making roti sai mai

And here is how they make Dragon's Hair candy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8xSLGg6pDA&feature=related

dcarch

Wow Gellchom! Isn't that a small world!!?? You should post and say "Hey, I am that American tourist, and you told me that it was Rotee!" just to freak him out! LOL

The clip was fascinating! The woman was making the crepes so mindlessly that she didn't even have to look. Hand directly on the hot stone/stove? OUCH! Impressive enough to see each one of them turned out very close to the same size. Amazing. I couldn't make them the same size with a press!

Dcarch, I saw that too. That's why I said it was out of my league! I would try making most things but this probably will never make it on my to-do list! LOL

Al

I did post, but not to tweak him about the spelling, just to thank him again.

You see why I'm not planning on making the roti, at least not the way she does it! I burn myself too much as it is.

The young woman we saw making them didn't even watch while she made them. I guess after the first 30,000 it gets easy ....

YouTube has several videos of Som Tam being made. The main ingredient is shredded papaya, but it's not like any papaya familiar to me. The papaya I know is an orange fruit resembling melon. What is the papaya used in Som Tam?

Jim

Here is a link that might be useful: Som Tam (Papaya Salad)

Aha! I found it!

Short term memory started to kick in and I realized there had been a discussion here about green papaya. nttt hou explained it but the whole idea was so strange to me that I didn't internalize it (so to speak). Would the under ripe papayas in my supermarket work for this? I always have let them ripen and cut them up for breakfast sprinkled with a little lime juice.

Jim

Jim, I think that's all a green papaya is, just a very unripe one. Maybe an Asian market would have them. But I don't know if the unripe ones in the supermarket would do -- i.e., are they too ripe already? Anyone know?

I forgot to mention that I made one other cooking-related find.

Anyone remember the old Zip Zap knife sharpeners? They were ceramic, shaped like a sharpening steel, but short (like, 4 inches or so), and they worked better than anything. So of course, I somehow lost mine and discovered that they were no longer available. I searched for years.

And then, at a Japanese department store in Hong Kong, I found a similar item -- looks the same, but it is as long as a regular sharpening steel. The packaging is all in Japanese, so I can't pass along a URL for a website or anything, but if you are ever near a Japanese housewares department, see if you can find one.

Not sure if this is the one you're talking about. It's on Youtube so can't use the link. You will need to copy and paste to watch the clip. Seems like the guy carries the stones too. Al

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5L_lq2r4dw&feature=PlayList&p=C5C93B039C68AB6A&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=6

Oh, I almost missed this one. He actually has a website linked to his Youbute clip. Here's one that cost $29.95. Is this the one you're looking for? Al

Here is a link that might be useful: Ceramic sharpening stone

Mmm, no, although it does look good. The Zip Zap was shaped like the long, cylindrical steel thing that comes with knife sets.

Here is a link to a picture of it, but it says "not sold."

The new one I got in Hong Kong is much longer, and the ceramic cylinder is white.

Here is a link that might be useful: late, lamented zip zap

We had a wind storm a few days ago. Power flickered a few times and went out... so was my internet setting. I just had time to reset it tonight.

Jim, if the papaya is hard to the touch, it should work. After you soak it, if you have time, put the papaya in the fridge so it will retain the crunchiness. Otherwise, it'll get a bit stale.

Gellcom, just saw your link. Did a search and realized the rod ceramic sharpeners are all white these days. Zip Zap seemed to be the only one made that particular color. Strange how they discontinued making them. Al

Here is a link that might be useful: :Some ceramic rod sharpeners

Yes, that's what I meant. The zip zaps were shorter, but those look like what I bought last week. I guess I didn't have to go all the way to Hong Kong to get one! It cost almost as much, too. But it's fun this way; when I use it, I'll always remember buying it on a happy day shopping with my mother, just us two, while the guys were at a tailor.

colleenoz, thank you again for telling me about that Vietnamese cooking tool! It really is amazing; very sharp and cuts the thinnest slices imaginable. I never would have known about it except for you.

Glad you like it as much as I do :-) I found out about them at a Vietnamese cooking class I attended in Hoi An.

Hoi An looks fascinating; I wish we had gone there.

I bought mine in Saigon (oops, HCMC). You should have seen me pantomiming what I wanted to the hawkers. I'm sure I was amusing. But once I found people selling kitchenwares, a woman understood exactly what I meant (even though I sort of had it sideways) and went rummaging through a mountain of stuff -- I was afraid of an avalanche -- and pulled out a bundle of them tied together. I knew that was it; your description of a leaf-shape was perfect.

It seems to be called a "dao bao."

Here is a link that might be useful: article with a picture of dao baos

I'm so envious! Sounds like a fantastic trip!

It's funny tho - we have a Malaysian restaurant here in Boston that serves a dish called "roti" but it's a type of bread - almost like an Indian nan (sp?) bread, and it's served with a curry sauce usually with a little bit of chicken in it.

Lisa

If any of you live near or in Southern California or Houston, those 'dao bao' are available in Vietnamese markets. In Houston, they can also be purchased in Hong Kong Supermarkets. In other words, don't need to travel far if you'd like to have one.

I know -- I was at my favorite Thai market today, and I made sure I didn't look to see if they carried them -- more fun if I don't know I could've bought them here all along.

I have to admit that when we went to China a couple years ago, although we brought back lots of stuff for gifts, I actually ran out. So I went to Chinatown in Oakland and bought more of many of exactly the same items I'd bought in China for people I needed to tell I had thought of on the trip. Don't tell!