The Market Coalition

It’s a long time since I’ve eaten at one of the Noodle Stalls of Spring Garden Lane, on Hong Kong Island, but the experience is one I will treasure all my life.

The street food stalls are what the Cantonese people call ‘Dai Pai Dong’, and they are wooden food stalls where you sit and eat at a raised bench, rather than a table and chair.

The food stalls are painted green and have a tin roof to keep off the tropical sun and the rain. They are built on four small wheels, because some past regulation must have said they have to be mobile. However, the wheels are set firmly into a block of concrete, so they can’t go anywhere. And the food stalls have electric power connected to them permanently, and even a telephone to take orders.

The Chinese cook creates everything in a giant-sized boiling pot in the center of the food stall, with a roaring kerosine burner underneath. He tosses in the indredients and stirs it with a wire scoop and 2-foot long cook’s chop sticks… Then he ladles out the noodles and wuntun into the large soup bowl placed in front of you.

My favorite food there was wun tun mein, a large steaming bowl of noodle soup containing Chinese Wun Tun - steamed dumplings contining chopped shrimp or beef.

You can even tell the cook what types of noodles you want; just point. The choice usully includes bright yellow egg noodles, white vermicelli super-fine rice noodles, brown thick wheat noodles or even white hor fun noodles (thick strips of hand-sliced rice pasta).

Living there as a local Gwai Lo (meaning ‘Foreign Devil’) for many years, I was reluctant to eat at a Dai Pai Dong for a long time. They looked so crude. But once I overcame my initial unease, I discovered the food was fantastic and cheap, and their hygene was tip-top as well.

You can always ask the cook to rinse your bowl and chopsticks in boiling water for you before you eat. They do it all the time for people and they won’t take offense.

Oh, you can use chopsticks, can’t you? They won’t have any knives and forks. I suggest you learn to use chopsticks first, before you try a street noodle stall.

If you just can’t make it to Hong Kong for the experience, there are Asian food stalls all around the Far East, in Singapore and Malaysia as well. But you really should give it a try somewhere. You’ll be glad you did!

David Harvey spent half his life in Hong Kong before moving to Australia. He now publishes web sites, and he still adores Chinese food. More info at Enjoy China.

This week I came face-to-face with a genuine dilemma. I had several meetings across town and for some reason I miscalculated and ended up with a 2-1/2 hour gap between meetings. I hate to waste time, but if I drove back to my office, I would simply have to return to my meeting later and with the cost of gas these days, one cannot be too cautious.

You know gas is getting high when it costs more to fill up the car than the car is actually worth. The most valuable thing in my car is in my gas tank.

I remedied the situation by stopping in a small coffee shop for cup of Joe. As far as I’m concerned, there is no bad time to have a cup of coffee, in spite of the price. I ordered my coffee and when the waitress brought it to me, I began to think about coffee. Why did God give us coffee?

Then my mind went back to my grandfather, whose great gift to me was a love of coffee. Nobody loved coffee more. I remember one of his favorite quotes, “You can always tell a man by the coffee drinks.”

Anathema to my grandfather was the idea of instant coffee. No man, in his opinion, would ever drink anything of the kind. “If a man would drink instant coffee,” my grandfather perked, “there’s no telling what else he would do. Never trust a man who drinks instant coffee.”

Making coffee was an art form to my grandfather. There was a right way and a wrong way to make coffee, and he always insisted on the right way. Of course, the right way was the way he made coffee.

In grandfather’s kitchen was an old wood-burning cook stove. My grandmother cooked meals on this ancient apparatus for more than 50 years. Sure, she eventually got an electric stove but it was more for show than anything else.

On this old-fashioned stove, my grandfather brewed his famous mud broth. He never allowed my grandmother to make the brew; it was his job, which he took seriously.

Once for his birthday we all chipped in and bought him an electric coffee pot. I had never seen my grandfather so mad. When he saw what it was he would not even take it out of the box.

He had strong ideas about coffee and how it should be brewed and woe be to the person who contradicted his ideas.

Grandfather always kept a fire in the old wood cook stove and on the back of the stove he kept his coffee pot, a large 2-gallon pot one of those old-fashioned percolators long since gone out of style. The coffee was always on, and no matter when you stopped in to see him, he always had “fresh” coffee brewing.

When I say “fresh” I need to explain. Actually, the coffee was only fresh on Sunday. On Saturday night, he routinely emptied the coffee pot and prepared fresh coffee for Sunday morning.

He had an old coffee grinder and ground the coffee beans on Saturday night. He put some other things in the coffee, I have never figured out what. One thing I know he put in was a crushed eggshell. What it did to his coffee I have no idea, but grandfather was sure it was an important ingredient.

The freshly-ground coffee beans were put in, the pot filled with fresh water and set on the back of the stove to slowly perk. This coffee would last the entire week. The coffee was so strong on Sunday that if it didn’t wake you in the morning, you were dead.

In fact, cousin Ernie died on a Sunday afternoon, so my grandfather tells the story, and one sip of his black coffee roused him and he lived seven more years, which was unfortunate for grandfather, as he had to support him.

Before retiring each evening my grandfather took care of his coffee. He would freshly grind a few coffee beans, sprinkle it on top of the old coffee grounds, and then add a newly crushed eggshell. Then he would refill the coffee pot with water.

His coffee percolated 24/7 and by Saturday it was so strong you needed a half-cup of sugar just to drink one cup. It was thick enough to use as syrup on your pancakes, but so strong, it dissolved your pancakes before you could eat them.

My grandmother once tried washing the coffee pot. When my grandfather saw her, he became furious, “Never wash that coffee pot,” he spouted, “you’ll ruin its character and a coffee pot needs a lot of character to make good coffee.”

When my grandfather died, I looked at his old black coffee pot and discovered two things. One, the original color was blue. And two, although it was originally a 2-gallon pot, it only could take three quarts of water. The “character,” so important to my grandfather, had built up so much over the years its capacity was diminished.

In pondering my grandfather, I thought about my Heavenly Father and His gifts. The Bible puts it this way; “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” (James 1:17 KJV.)

I really don’t know why God gave us coffee but I do know God’s character is of such a nature that it never diminishes His ability to bless me each day.

The Rev. James L. Snyder is pastor of the Family of God Fellowship, 1471 Pine Road. He lives with his wife, Martha, in Silver Springs Shores. Contact him by calling 687-4240. His e-mail address is jamessnyder2@att.net. The church web site is http://www.whatafellowship.com

Some of the top of the capital’s restaurants are stated to be some of the very best on the planet. Connoisseurs may go a long way to dine in these locations and oftentimes one may be compelled to book a place ahead to get your place, or maybe to be willing to perch in the venue’s drinks area for a small number of glasses of wine until a table is free. A principal spot to feast at is the Ping Pong restaurant; this is a celebrated, contemporary spot to feast in. This exquisite & ritzy spot serves up a few of the leading Dim Sum dishes that you will ever come across, a remarkable collection of delicious tea and first class cocktails. Should you delight in Dim Sum meals, this spot has got to be up there with the top notch places to feed at.

Likewise, Nobu is a fresh & new Japanese venue. This is Nobu’s first English project & it has done excellently. Their menu is excellent & acceding that their portions are, from time to time, on the small side, this spot should not be any trouble, seen as you’ll almost certainly buy a few dishes - revel in the professionalism over only the the sizes. Principally, this restaurant delivers cracking food, has nice attendants and a stunning delivery.

Electric Birdcage spot based in St James St. is a venue where folk’s creativity may run all over the place! In this new hang out their cuisine is based upon innovative Asian meals & it has been declared as being a must try - their cocktails are tremendous and it’s top drinks must be experienced by all of us. Our capital benefits from scores of pricey, ritzy places to eat, but don’t forget it furthermore is able to provide a myriad of cheap restaurants, many of these are similarly our city’s humble and concealed jewels. Find out about all of London restaurants with Time Out.

This metropolis, as is well appreciated, is one of the most impressive places on earth - nonetheless don’t forget it is sometimes a bit costly. If you are seeking super, low cost dining then you’re in the perfect setting to get it, providing one is looking in the correct spot. The capital contains stacks of fabulous choices - pizza houses, low priced Italian cafes and zillions of vegan establishments. The Gourmet Burger Kitchen’s a wonderful burger joint that is inspired by countless marvellous burger houses situated around the U.K. There exists each and every combination of burger one can conceive of, and that means it’s got burgers to cater for every person. GBK is really competitive, and their portions are massive, there is definitely no compulsion for getting any more in this joint. Masala Zone’s a pioneering bunch of modern Indian restaurants. These places are all fairly priced and have classic Indian Street goodies, awesome for when one needs to dine, nevertheless your dinner plans mustn’t be for overly long, or may be pleasing for those times when one is going out with a party of mates & you are searching for a place with super nosh and also a vibes to match.

Some drinks look and taste better in special glasses although you could serve almost any drink in a Highball, white wine or Martini glass. However, since Champagne is a distinguished celebratory drink, it should always be served in its unique and extremely elegant glasses: flutes. Champaigne is a copyrighted trademark of those who make sparkline wine in Champaigne, France. All other drinks of this type are called sparkling wine.

A Champagne flute is a tulip-shaped glass designed to show off the “bead” (bubbles) of the fine wine as they brush against the sides of the glass and delicately fan out into a “mousse”. The flute has a long stem with a tall, narrow bowl on top, which is better than the traditional saucer-shaped glass at trapping and preserving the bead. After all, the fizzy bubbles are central to the pleasure of drinking a glass of Champagne, as compared to other wines. What’s more, they help to explode the bouquet just beneath your nose as you’re sipping the bubbly.

The tulip-shaped form enhances the Champagne’s robe, favors the ascension of the bead and prevents the wine’s bouquet from disappearing too quickly. Wine connoisseurs, of course, are acquainted with the fact that a particular flute might allow older Champagne to open more, while another will keep the Champagne chilled longer.

It should be noted that Champagne flutes need special care. Overcooling, soap residue or strong odors agitate the beads. To make sure your Champagne bubbles cheerfully, ascertain that your flutes are washed in clear water and dried with a lint-free dishcloth.

Have you ever wondered what to do with allspice or bought lemongrass and thought what now. Wonder no more here are 19 spices and how they can be used in everyday cooking.

Allspice: soups stews, curries, cakes, fruit pies
Caraway: cheeses, sausage, cooked cabbage, soups, soda bread, granola
Cinnamon: desserts, cakes, puddings, mulled wine, bread, rice, granola
Coriander: curries, vegetables
Cumin: meat, vegetables, chili, relish, salad
Curry powder: soups, stews
Fennel: pork, fish, vegetables, bread, pickles, bouillabaisse, potato
salad, cakes, Italian sausage, spaghetti sauce
5 Spice Powder: roast meat, poultry, marinades
Ginger: meat, fish, vegetables, cookies, cakes
Lemongrass: soups, stews, fish, meat
Mustard seed: Indian dishes
Nutmeg: meat, vegetables, egg, cheese, sauces, cakes, fruit, pancakes
Paprika: goulash, poultry, fish, vegetables
Peppercorns: marinades, stocks, stews, broth
Saffron: soups, sauces, fish, rice, cakes, breads
Star Anise: poultry, pork, fish, beef soup
Sumac: fish, chicken, salads, kebabs, lentils
Tamarind: soup, curries, fish, poultry, desserts
Turmeric: vegetables, beans, lentils

When you look at a list like this it seems daunting to buy all these spices and stock your pantry in one day. The best way to handle this is to watch for sales. Spices like allspice and cinnamon will go on sale around holidays. While spices like lemongrass and saffron will be during slow times of the year.

Shauna Hanus is a gourmet cook who specializes in creating gourmet recipes. She has extensive experience cooking with easy to find grocery items to create delightful gourmet meals. She is also the publisher of a no cost bi-monthly gourmet newsletter. Her newsletter is always fun and informational packed with tips and trivia you can use everyday. Sign up for her newsletter and learn more about Gourmayeats Weekly Recipe Club at http://www.gourmayeats.com/recipe.html

A long hard day at work. You get home and need dinner. Nothing in the fridge, nothing in the cupboard. Take-out again. The wallet just won’t comply much longer.

Re-wind.

A long hard day at work (sorry can’t help with that one). You get home and mmmm, what is that aroma? Dinner! Smells delicious, your mouth is watering.

And no you didn’t go to the wrong home and no you are not dreaming. You arranged all this, in a few minutes this morning.

What I won the lotto and hired a personal chef?

Well no, not exactly - you got a Crock Pot. A Crock Pot? Yep, it’s a cooker that cooks your food over a slow heat. Put it on in the morning and dinner is ready at night.

Don’t think you’ve got time in the morning. Well you will be pleasantly surprised how quick it can be. Chuck in some veggies (frozen or pre-cut if really short on time), throw some meat on top, pour in a sauce, put on the lid and turn it on low. That’s it.

It truly is that easy. And the aroma of dinner when you walk in the door at night, it is sensational - better than any take out.

Happy Crock Cooking
Lisa - “The Crock Cook”

Lisa “The Crock Cook” shares her wealth of practical Crock Pot Cooking knowledge and her Easy Crock Pot Recipes with you at http://www.a-crock-cook.com.

This is not just a collection of recipes. All the recipes are cooked by Lisa and husband Neil, and if they don’t work or don’t taste great they don’t get printed.

Web Master: Please feel free to use this article (unmodified) on your website or in your ezine. Just ensure that my details and the live static link to www.a-crock-cook.com are maintained. Regards Lisa