Text 1782, 119 rader
Skriven 2006-05-27 17:36:55 av Glen Jamieson
     Kommentar till en text av Michael Loo
Ärende: AU PROJECTS 726 60527
=============================
 -=> Quoting Michael Loo to Glen Jamieson <=-

 GJ> With all this talk about soft-shelled crabs, I had never eaten any, so

 GJ> just.  The texture was good, with a nice tender-crunch.  Just some
 GJ> pieces were oddly salty.  Overall, rather disappointing, mainly
 GJ> because of the lack of crab flavour.

 ML> Stir-fried intestines are wonderful. Crab flavor of soft-shells
 ML> is dependent on a bunch of factors - freshness, care in handling,
 ML> transparency of treatment, speed of cooking. I had some splendid
 ML> ones last night (see bottom of post).

Noted.  I will give the soft-shells another chance if I get the
opportunity, but probably not at that restaurant.  I might try their
intestines, though.  They might be more successful with them than the
Vietnamese place which I tried some time ago.

 ML> Unless carefully flash-frozen, frozen are nowhere so good as fresh,
 ML> and your salty criticism indicates that they may have been brined
 ML> for preservation before freezing, which degrades them further.

I was asked if I wanted the crabs "salt and pepper", or just "black
pepper", and as I had asked for the latter, I was surprised at the
saltiness of some of the crabs.
 
 GJ> So smart, friendly dogs and cats are safe from your depredations;
 ML> But I have no intrinsic objection to dog or cat meat. 

I don't object in principle, although I am somewhat averse to eating
any of them who I have known personally, unless it was a beast with a
particularly odious character.

 ML> =
 
 GJ> Hopefully your eyes and some of your skin will survive a couple of
 GJ> weeks.  Some people prefer an umbrella to a hat.
 ML> Lived in Houston for 4 years without ever using a hat or
 ML> sunblock, never getting sunburn or sunstroke. Of course, one

The heavy air pollution over Houston from the refinery flares and cars
acts as a sun screen to protect the inhabitants.  They are more likely
to die of sooty lungs than melanomas.

 ML> has to work up to solar imperviousness, but between Caribbean
 ML> jaunts and trips in the convertible with the top down, I think
 ML> that I should be able to develop some melanin (though of course
 ML> between September, when the season essentially ends here, and
 ML> November, the tolerance may have gone away again). There was, I

I'm sure you would look fetching in pink.

 ML> admit, the day when I took a 4-mile hike (aborted from a 6-mile
 ML> one) in 107F weather and no canteen, after which I was not the
 ML> same at all.

Sometimes foreigners do that in the outback; sometimes their bodies
are never found.  The dingoes can survive, even without tourists.
 
 GJ> And of course, tasting is free, everywhere as far as I know, except
 GJ> at the Wine Centre in Adelaide.
 ML> Got to have some source of revenue in that city of pensioners
 ML> and folks on the dole.

Tourism had been dropping, but recently there has been an upsurge.
Thanks.
 
 ML> =

 ML> A mini-banquet at Royal East.

 ML> I was all set for this big party (Nicholas promised frogs,
 ML> soft-shell crabs, and live shrimp), but life seems to have

 ML> the usual squab (a pair but only one head), which were juicy

Leaves one wondering what happened to the other head...

 ML> salt-pepper soft-shell crabs, which were wonderful. The
 ML> flavor is a delicate one, but the ginger slivers and fiery
 ML> santaka peppers are a fine accent, and a quick shake of
 ML> cornstarch and trip through pristine oil didn't hurt things
 ML> at all.

Definitely better than mine, which had too much batter.

 ML> We also had a dish of hollow greens in fu ru sauce, which
 ML> was great with the rice that came unbidden.

"Hollow greens"?   Kangkong?

 ML> the guests. The bill did come, however, $33 apiece counting
 ML> wine, tax, and tip, a regular bargain.

At the T-Chow ours was Aus$25 apiece, with entrees, wine, no tip.
Probably equivalent price/quality ratio.

 ML> Afterwards, we strong-armed Irina into going to Toscanini's,

A nice walk to settle down the meal.  Coincidentally, after the crabs
my daughter and family took me to a recently established ice-cream
chain for dessert, where I had an excellent coconut ice-cream.

 ML>  the coconut was a bit leaner than
 ML> before (apparently others don't like the clots of coconut fat
 ML> so much as I do, so gradually the mix has gotten less and less

I got clots of coconut cream in mine.  Nyah, nyah!

 ML> said that it was like essence of chocolate). Nicholas didn't
 ML> have any cash, so I paid (he promised to return the favor via

Ha!  I've read that line before...


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