I know!

I already always get a cookbook from any country I haven't visited before. It's a great souvenir; they are useful (outside of a few in alphabets I can't read and a few that are really dorky), easy to pack or ship, and best of all I don't have to find a place to display them. Plus I used to have to find a local bookstore, which meant an interesting trip into a non-tourist area, but now they are everywhere, even in (sometimes amusingly mangled) English.

But besides cookbooks, what do I have to buy -- spices, cooking/serving items, etc., from these places? What have you found that you are SO glad you bought? It's so much fun to bring home things you really use. And what would make good small gifts for foodie friends?

We're more sightseers than shoppers. But most of us like to cook, so there will be more tolerance than usual for shopping.

But even if it is something I could find locally, I'd still love to hear about anything wonderful the forum foodies can suggest.

Try out one of the expensive boat restaurants, than tryout some of the cheap open street food vendors.

While in Hong Kong, take a quick hydrofoil trip to Macau, and possibly to Guangzhou in China. I read that they are building the world’s longest bridge, 31 miles long (Golden Gate 1.5 miles?)

Have fun!

dcarch

I don't have any idea what you could buy there, but the knife Colleen described sounds very cool. Although I know nothing about the area, I think that eating at the local places is always more fun than the "tourist spots", and TAKE PICTURES. LOTS AND LOTS OF PICTURES!

Post them when you get home, I love travel pictures. Please?

Annie

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

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

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?

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

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.

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!

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

dcarch

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!"

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

Annie

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

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.

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

Annie

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 don’t 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

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.

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!

Conincidence!

dcarch

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

dcarch

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

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 ....

Jim

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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."

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

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!