Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 1

• 1 Top Ramen (any noodles of your choice)
• 1 tbsp Oil
• ½ Small Onion Sliced
• ½ tsp Ginger Paste
• 4 Green Chilies Chopped
• 1 Carrot Chopped
• 5 Strings Beans Chopped
• ¼ cup Green Peas
• Cilantro Chopped
• ¼ tsp Pepper Powder
• 1 tsp Tamari Sauce or Soya Sauce
• Salt to Taste

• Boil water in a pan and add the noodles. Cook for 3-4 minutes until noodles are cooked.
• Drain the noodles and run it under cold water. Add little oil to the noodles and mix, to avoid the noodles from sticking.
• Heat oil in a pan and add onions. Cook until onions are translucent. Add ginger paste, green chilies, beans carrots and peas, and cook until vegetables are tender.
• Add pepper powder, ½ a packet of flavoring, tamari and salt. Be careful with salt. Seasoning flavor has some salt it in it. Mix well and add noodles.
• Sauté until noodles are fried, for 3-5 minutes.
• Serve hot and enjoy.

About five years ago, Noodles was in the animal shelter. He's a himalayan, but mange and fleas had cost him his beautiful lilac fur. The kind assistants at the shelter realized that his matted, tangled fur was painful for him, so they shaved him. What was left looked like a cross between a human hand and a Keebler elf - he was *ugly.*

Regardless, I adopted him anyway. He was sweet - he played with me, never left my sight, slept in my lap, and always laid down right next to me when he had the opportunity.

He purred constantly when he was around me, would stand on his back legs for treats, and loved snuggling up next to me when I went to bed.

Then I brought Ravioli, my flame-haired himalayan kitten home. This was about a year after Noodles had come to crash at my crib. Noodles changed - he became dignified! He was the big brother, so he had to be a good role model. But ... he was still my cuddly little buddy.

Now, the cat is an ingrate.

Seriously.

First, he gets excited when everyone comes through the door but me. He meows, purrs, puts on the cute little show for everyone - especially Zilla, who he *loves* - but when I come in, he tries to run out in the hallway to escape me! The traitor!

Tonight, he was asleep on the sofa. I went over and sat next to him, being very careful not to jostle him or invade his space. I petted him - he opened his eyes, yawned, made a fake sneeze for attention, then sauntered his fluffy ass right off the sofa.

Five minutes later, he's snuggled up next to Gouty McNutsack, my roommate.

Traitor Traitor Super Hater!

I guess I'm stuck with Ravioli - he meows a lot, antagonizes me, but hey, at least he's jumping on the sofa to be next to me - not sticking his little brown star in the air and traipsing off to the next petting hand.

We're sorry for not updating any recipes these days. With both of us getting ready for qualification exams (yikes! the woes of being a student...still) and family over, we just haven't had the time to sit down and post one up. It takes a lot of thinking when posting it up, you know (ex: K: "what the heck did we do in this picture/step?") and we don't want to post up a recipe with directions we just hastily write up...so bear with us for another week, and we'll be sure to put up some good ones! We do have a stockload of them (thanks, mom!) Here are some food eye candy for what are to come! Let's get excited!

As you can see, the next posts will be very Korean/Asian themed...spicy, flavorful, and did I mention spicy? :) These are just some of the foods we will likely post up.

In the mean time, we'll entertain you guys with more reviews of various restaurants around Los Angeles and Las Vegas, so keep coming back for those, please!

Have a tasty one!

-H&K

I really like noodles - all kinds of noodles. And when the recipe involves pan-searing the noodles over high heat with savory, spicy seasonings, shrimp and scallions, I'm all over it. Especially when I can get my husband to toast the shrimp paste for me.

We actually decided to make this dish as a result of my picking up a bottle of dry muscat wine from our local wine shop. It claimed to go well with spicy Asian food, so we figured we'd make some. As it turned out, it worked pretty well with the noodles - but the wine turned out to be so yummy, next time we might just drink it all by itself!

Penang-style Char Kuey Teow

from Cradle of Flavor by James Oseland

• 8 ounces flat rice noodles (we used dry rice sticks, but fresh is probably better)
• 3 dried red chiles
• 1 tsp dried shrimp paste
• 3 Tbsp oil or lard
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp water
• 2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
• 7 ounces peeled prawns
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cups mung bean sprouts
• 5 scallions, cut into 2-inch lengths
• salt

If using fresh noodles, rinse and drain them. If using dried, cook them in boiling water - this takes anywhere from 30 seconds to 2 minutes, depending on the noodles. Drain and rinse. Toss the noodles with a little oil to prevent clumping.

Combine the soy sauce, sugar and water in a small bowl and set aside.

To make the spice paste: Stem the chiles and break them in half, then put them in a bowl and cover with warm water. Soak 20 minutes to soften them. Wrap the shrimp paste in foil to make a little flat packet and toast (more about toasting shrimp paste here). Remove the shrimp paste from the foil and put it and the chiles in a small food processor. Puree, adding water if necessary.

Heat 1 Tbsp of the oil in a wok or large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Add the chile-shrimp paste mixture and saute until the sauce and oil begin to separate. Scrape the sauce into a bowl and set aside.

In the same pan, heat 2 Tbsp oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook until just golden, then add the chile paste back in. Stir well, then add the shrimp and up the heat to high. Stir-fry until the shrimp is just cooked. Add the noodles and the soy sauce mixture and stir fry until everything is hot through and the noodles have absorbed all the flavorings. Make a well in the noodles and add the egg. Scramble it with your spatula until it sets, then mix it into the noodles. Add the bean sprouts and scallions and stir-fry just 30 seconds longer. Salt to taste and eat immediately.

PS: Prepararea nu am mai avut timp să o fotografiez pentru că cineva urla din răsputeri. Stomacul! Mă felicit că am mai prins măcar finalul

We had some left over from dinner last night even after we hogged on my Mum's famous Chili Chicken and Hakka noodles (recipe coming up soon). Its a wonder how Chinese cuisine is anything but "chinese" in Kolkata. Credit, of course, goes to China Town (Tangra). The sauces are intact and so are some of the ingredients. Unfortunately the concept and techniques have flown out of the window since long. Although, honestly, most Indians would have invariably prefer Indian Chinese food over Authentic Chinese food. Its this innate quality (or habit, if you may) that Indians have, to infuse local flavors into any dish from any part of the world...and transform it into a hit.

Anyway, my morning breakfast consisted of bland chow mein, cooked lightly in oil, and tossed with chopped baby corn, green beans, carrots, shredded and cooked cabbage, sprinkles of fried eggs and a generous dollop of green chili sauce. YUM!

And oh, don't miss the photography a la' My Brother The Self-Proclaimed Genius In Whatever He Does.

Greek-Style Lentil Burgers with Tzatziki Sauce (recipe from the July/August 2007 issue of Vegetarian Times) - This is a lentil-veggie-kalamata olive-chickpea-spice burger with a tasty sauce, stuffed into homemade pitas with baby spinach. Really delicious. We ate these while watching the Twilight Criterium, a super cool bike race that happened here in Portland not long ago. These guys are amazingly talented and they just happen to have sexy legs. Here are some snaps from the race:

More food:

Nearly Raw Tahini Noodles (recipe from VeganYumYum) - The perfect meal for those hot evenings when you can barely move your butt from one room to the next.

Whole wheat tortillas with homemade hummus, shredded carrot, cucumber, and homemade roasted garlic tofu (the food is in the background, I promise!). Easy. Fast. Filling. This little wooden dude brings good luck. I hope he makes me a rootbeer float tonight...

Awww.... ! Thanks lil' fellow!

1/2 lb. fresh or dried Chinese egg noodles (or use fresh or dried thin spaghetti)

5 T corn or peanut oil

2 T oyster sauce

2 T soy sauce

2 T rice vinegar

1 t Asian sesame oil

1 t sugar

1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced

1 red bell pepper, diced in 1/2" cubes

1 package shiitake or button mushrooms, stems discarded and caps thinly sliced

1 zucchini, diced in 1/2" cubes

1 T. grated fresh ginger

2 garlic cloves, minced

Directions:

Cook the noodles in a large pot of boiling water until al dente (time varies according to the noodles you use). Drain the noodles and rinse with cold running water. Toss noodles with 1 Tbs. of corn oil. In a small bowl, combine 3 Tbs. water, the oyster sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil and sugar and stir to dissolve the sugar.

Heat a wok or large fry pan over high heat until very hot and add 2 Tbs. of the corn oil. Add the onion and bell pepper and stir-fry just until tender, about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and zucchini and continue to stir-fry until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Transfer the vegetables to a bowl and discard any extra juices. Stir-fry meat, if using, and add to vegetables.

Return wok high heat and add the remaining 2 Tbs. corn oil. Add the ginger and garlic and stir-fry until fragrant, about 5 seconds. Add the noodles and stir-fry until heated through, a few minutes. Return the vegetables and meat to the pan, add the sauce, and continue to stir and toss until all the ingredients are well combined and heated through, about 2 minutes.

Synopsis
Ching-He Huang is one of the brightest stars in modern Chinese cooking in the UK. Each week in her new BBC2 series she re-invents the nation's favourite Chinese dishes, modernising them with fresh, easy to buy ingredients, and offering simple practical tips and techniques. These are brought together in this beautiful book to accompany the series. Drawing on the experiences of top chefs, her family and friends, growers and producers and celebrity enthusiasts Ching sets out to discover the best Chinese cooking in the UK today, introducing easy-to-make Chinese food to sometimes resistant Brits, and painting a picture of modern Anglo-Chinese life in the UK as she goes. Chinese Food Made Easy begins with some of the most familiar dishes from a Chinese takeaway menu - Sweet & Sour Prawns, Chicken with Cashew Nuts, Chop Suey and Cantonese Vegetable Stir Fry, each with Ching's special and imaginative twist. Later we explore spicy Szechuan food: Noodles, Dumplings and Dim sum; Seafood; Fast Food; Desserts and finally Celebratory Food, where Ching presents a complete banquet of dishes to celebrate the Chinese New Year.Ching's knowledge, charm and enthusiasm shine through as she shares the 'basic principles' of Chinese cooking including some of the simple techniques and tips taught by her Grandparents for tasty results.

Using ingredients from high-street supermarkets and some imaginative suggestions for alternative ingredients, these classic Chinese dishes are updated, fresh and healthily prepared so that anyone can make and enjoy them.

Interviewed by Geoff Elliss for Radio Times

Is the Typical Chinese Takeaway menu really Chinese?
It’s certainly not Chinese home cooking. Some of these dishes do come from Canton – that’s because of the British connection with Hong Kong – but they’ve been westernised. Wherever Chinese food has gone in the world, it’s been adapted to use healthy dishes at home that are not laden with monosodium glutamate.

So what should I keep in my Chinese store cupboard?
You may already have corn flour and good-quality stocks. Add dark and light soy sauces, five-spice powder, black rice vinegar, a good chilli sauce to get you going and toasted sesame oil for dressing – for cooking I use groundnut oil. Some olive oils are too strongly flavoured and conflict with the Chinese flavours. Then the rest is fresh, including the typical flavourings: ginger, garlic, spring onion, chilli and coriander.

What about Stir-fry sauces that you can buy in jars?
I hate those. The only sauces that are OK in jars, if they are good quality, are oyster sauce and chilli bean sauce. They’re both proper preserved sauces. For sweet and sour sauce, use pineapple juice, brown sugar and ketchup for colour.

Should I be looking for Chinese Supermarkets?
I’m surprised and pleased to see authentic Asian products on some supermarket shelves. In general I’d say you have to experiment. You often find that even good brands do only one excellent product. I can recommend Kikkoman soy sauce, for example. That’s my honest opinion – they don’t pay me!

Can you give an example of the sort of thing you cook?
When I cook dinner at home, I’ll make a one-pot meal, chao mian, meaning "stir noodle" or chow main as you probably call it. Marinate some sliced chicken in five-spice powder and minced garlic for a few minutes. Cook noodles in boiling water – buy dried, long wheat-flour noodles; don’t bother with ready cooked. Drain and put to one side; you can toss in a bit of sesame oil to stop them sticking. Chop red pepper, bok choi and spring onion. Mince some ginger. Get your wok nice and hot. Cook the chicken until it’s fully opaque. Put to one side. Add the other ingredients, stir then and add a splash of water to create steam to help cook the veg. After about 40 seconds return the chicken to the wok, season with soy sauce, sesame oil, and add the noodles. And that’s it a modern, one-pot dish.

First thing I want to bring up is the number of different kinds of noodles. There is a lot but, let's say there is umm... 20 sounds good and let's say there is 2 huge stores we can buy these noodles at. Plus, there is 6 gas stations we can get these noodles at too but if we want the best noodles, we go to the 2 major stores. Okay, 20 noodle types is a lot to choose from. Man, I would be lost in the store if there was 4 more types of noodles. I wouldn't know what to do. I could spend hours or days trying to choose the right noodles for me and if there was 4 more choices, I would just be lost. I know it is going to take me years to taste all 20 noodles and enjoy ever second of the pasta in my mouth. I will chew them 40 times and let them sit in my mouth to soak up in my taste buds. The best part is having 2 opposite tasting noodles in my mouth at once. It is like they are battling of my fortress-like taste bud towers. The battle could last weeks but in the end I had fun eating my noodles. I'm just not ready for 4 more types of noodles. Let me battle with the 20 I have now and when I am full I will want to try different noodles not out yet.

The second and last thing about noodles I want to talk about is the stores we keep our noodles. Again, let's make up the number of 2 huge stores and 6 gas stations we need to stop at to get to the huge noodle stores. Yeah the gas stations have noodles but we know the 2 huge stores have more people to talk to about noodles. What I like about just 2 stores is, I can see so many different types of people and talk about my noodle fetish. If I had to choose between 6 noodle stores, I might never get to see these wonderful people ever. If my favorite store chain was attacked by it's rival store chain and we were spread out to 3 different stores, we might never be able to defend our noodles fully. I would hate to not have enough people at my store to save my noodles. That is why I like 2 stores better. 1 store for my noodles and 10 friends. 1 store for the 10 jerks that keep trying to take over my store and eat my noodles. I feel like a closer knit noodle community that way. The 6 gas stations add a great place to hang out and beat up the jerks.

That there is my noodle story. I'm glad I got that off my chest. All this time I was having to use WAR as a metaphor for noodles. I feel great now. I am going to go eat some noodles for lunch now. I'm not giving my opinion of the noodles because I haven't eaten them yet and everybodies taste buds are different. I could like the noodles and some other person could hate the noodles. It is up to you and your buds. I'm just a fan of noodles and that is why I blog about them now. Noodlehammer is coming prepare yourself! SLUUURP!

Click on Stir Fry Cafe Lunch Menu or Stir Fry Cafe Dinner Menu to see all the scrumptious dishes they're bringing to Downtown Kingsport. If you are looking for a beer Thursday night and for some reason the DKA is not setting up the tent, you can walk over to Stir Fry Cafe, 12 Bones, or the Kingsport Grocery Co. (lots of microbrews on tap at KGC) and there is also beer available at Junction 115 on Broad Street.

Here's another update for Stir Fry Cafe and their moving to Kingsport's Downtown.
Click on the following:www.gotricities.com for the full story. Next time you're Downtown, drop by the old Intellithought building on Broad. This video shows the the space just in its shell before being built out. You'll be amazed to see the transformation when you walk in to the restaurant now.

For an interview with Angela Vachon of Urban Synergy and tour of the future Stir Fry Cafe by Go Tricities check out below:Stir Fry by GoTricities

This post is proudly sponsored by AMMA / Appalachian Medical Massage Associates. AMMA is the nation's only wellness center to offer Vodder Certified MLD, Nationally Certified Medical Massage Therapy, and SI, all under one roof. Experience the Difference.
We are located in Downtown Kingsport at 317 Cherokee Street Suite 101
Hours are by appointment M-Friday, between the hours of 8am and 7pm. (423) 288-2662

1/2 pound processed cheese

1 cup hot milk

2 tbsp butter

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp paprika

4 eggs, seperated

1) Cook the noodles in salt water until tender, then drain and rinse with cold water.

2) Melt the cheese in the hot milk. Add butter, salt and paprika. Add to noodles and then fold in beaten egg yolks.

3) Beat egg whites until stiff and fold in gently. Pour into a greased and chilled ring mold. Place mold in a pan of hot water and bake at 350F for 45 minutes.

Wat is het?
Een noedelsoort, gemaakt van het zetmeel uit mungbonen (ongekiemde taugé). De noedels worden verkocht in bundeltjes en zijn dun, sprieterig en wittig transparant van kleur. Na te zijn geweekt worden ze zacht en doorschijnend.

Hoe te gebruiken?
In net gekookt water kwartiertje tot 30 minuten weken. Dan uit laten lekken en verder verwerken: in soepen, als onderdeel van roerbakgerechten of fijngesneden als ingredient voor loempia- of dumplingvullingen. Als je de glasnoedels zonder te weken in hete olie frituurt, bollen de sliertjes op als kroepoek en krijg je een interessant effect (wordt ook gebruikt om bv in de wok vogelnestjes te maken).

Wat is er te koop?

merk: Tiantan 天坛 [China] verpakking: doorschijnend plastic zakje (100g) etiket: Longkou vermicelli 龙口粉丝 ingrediënten: mungbonen, water prijs: €0,40

Meer weten?

• Tip: koop kleine verpakkingen. Omdat de noedels zo hard zijn is het bijna onmogelijk om een bosje in tweeën te delen. Daar komen scharen en zo aan te pas.
• Let op: glasnoedels zijn niet hetzelfde als mihoen! Deze glasnoedels behouden, ook na bakken of stoven, lange tijd hun stevigheid, terwijl mihoen al vrij snel uit elkaar valt.
• Meer foto's van: glasnoedels

Wat is het?
Een noedelsoort, gemaakt van het zetmeel van zoete aardappel. De noedels zijn ongeweekt grijsgroen van kleur en half-transparant. Na te zijn geweekt worden ze lichtgrijs en doorschijnend. Ze zijn een beetje glibberig maar hebben een stevige, aangename beet.

Hoe te gebruiken?
In koud water half uurtje weken of 15 minuten in net gekookt water. Dan afspoelen en verder verwerken. Deze noedels zijn lekker in Chinese noedelsoepen.

Wat is er te koop?

merk: Sichuan Baijia 百家 verpakking: plastic verpakking (250g) etiket: Sweet Potato Noodle 红薯粉条 prijs: €1.95

Meer weten?

• Meer foto's van zoete aardappelnoedels op Flickr

This recipe for cinnamon beef is slowfood and fastfood at the same time. It's slowfood because it will take a few hours of stewing to tenderize the meat. But in China it's considered to be fastfood, there are numerous noodle bars serving great noodle(soup) 24/7. McDonald's is for the children, noodle bars for the adults!

I've adjusted this recipe a little bit by adding a jar of "game stock" from the shops because I love a deep, rich stock.

RECIPE

10 spring onions (or just 1 big red onion)
10 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
6 slices of ginger, crushed
1½ t chili bean sauce (Toban Jiang)
2 sticks of cinnamon
2 staranise
125 ml light soy sauce
1 kg lean beef for stewing, cubed
400 ml game stock

Noodles
Spinache
Spring onion

Stirfry the onion, garlic, ginger, chilipaste, cinnamon and staranise with some oil in a very hot wok untill fragrant for about 1 minute. Then add the light soysauce, 1 pot of game stock and 2 of those pots with water.
Bring to the boil. Add the meat, bring back to the boil again. Reduce heat and simmer for about 4 hours or until tender. (I used my crockpot : 1 hour on high and 9 hours on low)
Taste the soup, reduce if too watery, add water if too salty.

To prepare a bowl of soup:
Cook the noodles, drain, rinse and divide them over bowls.
Boil, steam of stirfry some spinach. Also divide over bowls, on top of the noodles.
Bring soup to the boil and add to the bowls, on top of the noodles and spinach.
Sprinkle with spring onion.

About the noodles
Traditionally this recipe is done with rice noodles, but somehow I haven't found any that I like. Well, I'm not a big pasta-fan, so maybe it's just me, but next time I will try this recipe with chinese wheat noodles (gan mien) or cantonese lo mein noodles or japanese udong noodles or maybe even glass-noodles.

As this is my contribution to the "chinese-weeks" at a fellow dutch blog koken.blog.nl , I've added this recipe in dutch, after the break.

Noodles met rundvlees en kaneel

RECEPT

10 lente uitjes (of gewoon 1 grote, rode ui)
10 teentjes knoflook, in dunne plakje
6 schijfjes verse gemberwortel, beetje gekneusd
1½ t chilibonensaus (=Toban Jiang, een soort sambal)
2 kaneelstokjes (geen poeder!)
2 steranijs
125 ml lichte sojasaus
1 kg (magere) runderlappen, in dobbelstenen
400 ml wildfond

Noodles
Spinazie
Lente-ui

Roerbak de (lente-)ui, knoflook, gember, chilibonenpasta, kaneel en steranijs in wat olie in een zeer hete wok of koekenpan.  Ongeveer 1 minuutje. Voeg dan de lichte sojasaus toe, de pot wildfond en dan nog 2 keer zoveel aan water.
Breng aan de kook, voeg het vlees toe en kook voor minstens 4 uur of zolang nodig is om het vlees heerlijk mals te krijgen. (In de slowcooker deed ik het 1 uur op hoog en 9 uur op laag)
Proef even om te zien of je water moet toevoegen of 'm juist in moet laten koken.

Voor het klaarmaken van een kom soep
Kook de noodles, giet af, spoel af en verdeel ze over de soepkommen.
Kook, stoom of roerbak wat spinazie en verdeel dat ook over de kommen.
Verdeel de kokendhete soep over de kommen.
Bestrooi met wat lente-ui.

Over de noodles
Traditioneel wordt dit recept met rijstnoodles gegeten, maar ik vond nog geen merk dat ik lekker vond. Vandaar dat ik een volgende keer gewoon een andere noodle-soort ga gebruiken. Waarschijnlijk japanse udon-noodles of chinese tarwenoodles of misschien zelfs wel glasnoodles.

In my strategy classes I often use the example of a "Noodle Joint" as a means of trying to get students to think about how, if they were in the noodle restaurant business, they would go about beating the competition.  (This exercise works really well in places like Hong Kong and Singapore - but it translates well here in Australia too).

I ask them to imagine that they are running a Noodle Joint and that competition in the area is fierce.  How would they compete?  What strategies would they use?

Usually I get a swag of responses that include:

1. More advertising
2. Cheaper Prices
3. Better decor (more attractive)
4. Faster service
5. Happier staff (friendlier service)
6. Special promotions (get in a movie star to promote!)
7. Different flavours 
8. Begin another business - get into DVD sales!
9. etc.

What now?  What strategies will you use to compete now?  How will you maintain sustainable competitive advantage?

It's usually at this point that the class goes relatively quiet.  Even when I get them to break into groups and try and solve this problem, students seem to have a problem coming up with a workable solution.

Well, here's a solution: Take what you normally do and get very good at it.  Make a big fuss about it.  Involve your customers in it.  Get emotional buy-in.

In my last trip to Singapore, I was lucky enough to be taken to a Noodle Joint in Smith Street (also known as "Food Street").  My colleague took us from our hotel, down into the train system where we changed two lines, and up into "Food Street".  We were then hustled along past rows and rows of Noodle Joints and other food places - many of who had touts out the front trying to solicit our business - to number 19.

My first impression was that the restaurant was unremarkable to look at:  although it had many photos of customers on its walls.  It wasn't until I looked closely that I saw that all the customers were dong the same thing:  they were standing in the kitchen with the same man and they had what looked like a large spool of rope between their outstretched hands.

We took a seat and waited for someone to come over and we duly ordered.  The menu wasn't all that remarkable, and the prices weren't all that special - I was seriously wondering why we had bothered to trek such a long way in the heat and humidity of equatorial Singapore in July.

Then came out the Master Chef.

I've never seen noodles made by hand before.  All I can say is that it is this magical process of taking the dough and by 'throwing' it around and stretching and kneading and playing it gets turned into long, silky noodles.  It was fascinating to watch.

And then came the good bit:  I was invited into the kitchen to have my photo taken with the Master Chef and my very own noodles. 

I'LL INSERT A COUPLE OF PHOTOS HERE ONCE I GET PERMISSION FROM EVERYONE THAT THEY ARE HAPPY TO HAVE THEIR IMAGES ON THE INTERNET

Not very long later we were eating the very noodles that we had seen being made in front of us.  We were involved; we were thrilled; we were keen to tell others about it so that they could also experience it!

After lunch we were talking to the Chef about how he did it and we asked him how business was going etc..  One of the most interesting things he said was that he would love to open another restaurant - even though he was doing very well with just one.

"Do you think you could compete in another market?", we asked.

"I love the competition" he said.  "Of course I could make it work".

Now, here was a man that was competing in one of the most cut-throat industries that you can imagine and was-doing-very-nicely-thank-you-very-much.

It goes to show that all it takes is a bit of imagination, a flair for being able to exploit a capability and to involve customers in the experience to be different.

Has it made a difference?  Of course it has.  There were hundreds and hundreds of photos on the wall of happy, smiling customers, and of they are anything like my colleagues and I, each of them will have been just as thrilled as we were.  I personally know that I have recommended this particular Noodle joint to hundreds of students in Singapore, hundreds more in Hong Kong and Melbourne and when a friend told me that he was off to Singapore with his family for the Grand Prix, I said he just HAD to go there for lunch.

Now I am recommending it to you.  Even if you don't et there - go and watch how it is done.  Think about what you do in your business that is 'normal' to you, but would be really cool to someone else.  See if you can find a way to exploit it.

Being different can make all the difference.

Jason.

ps.  I just want to say a BIG THANK YOU to Margaret Heffernan AOM who guided us to this fabulous restaurant and Dr. Alan Montague  for being such a fantastic lunch companion.

]]> http://suchagoodeater.wordpress.com/?p=3 Tue, 12 Aug 2008 02:13:44 +0000 suchagoodeater http://suchagoodeater.wordpress.com/?p=3 This is where suchagoodeater is going to live for a little while until I can find a permanent home for it.

Enjoy in the meantime.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="332" caption="Eleanor and Colin at the best ramen in the world in Fukuoka"][/caption] ]]> http://marianallen.wordpress.com/2008/08/11/a-most-satisfying-supper/ Mon, 11 Aug 2008 22:41:55 +0000 marianallen http://marianallen.wordpress.com/2008/08/11/a-most-satisfying-supper/ Even though it's August, the nights have been chilly and the days have been comfortable. I felt a craving for what's usually a winter meal. I baked a small loaf of bread in the toaster oven, cut up some cabbage and got some Polish sausage out to thaw. Melted some butter in a skillet and put the cabbage in there with some salt and pepper and just a smidgen of sugar. When it was good and hot, I put the sausage in, turned down the heat, and covered the pan. My husband came in from the garden with some ripe tomatoes and green peppers, so a small pepper got itself cut up and added to the cabbage, and two tomatoes got themselves sliced--thin for him and thick for me.

I picked some parsley and cut it up into some boiling water and cooked some flat noodles. Bed of noodles, sliced cooked green peppers on one side, Polish sausage on the other side, cabbage piled on top, hot fresh bread and sliced fresh tomatoes on the side. Mmmmmmm!

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]]> http://thebestrecipes.wordpress.com/2008/08/11/beef-kway-teo/ Mon, 11 Aug 2008 19:34:00 +0000 theflyingchef http://thebestrecipes.wordpress.com/2008/08/11/beef-kway-teo/ This is an excellent recipe especially for an after work fast meal that is full of flavour, and to me if just having some friends around for a meal a great recipe without a lot of effort. I love anything that can be done in the wok as it is always quick on cook time but what makes this recipe fantastic is the low prep time as well. I must admit I haven't cooked beef a lot lately because of the expense and if you buy cheaper cuts they can be so tough and not enjoyable so I thought what is the point. I bought almost 2kg of fillet that was on major special so I have been cooking up a beef storm over the last couple of weeks and oh my god has the beef been great.

If you have been keeping up with the progress of my beautiful handcrafted camphor laurel chopping, cheese boards and Mezzaluna Boards. My official site is finally finished and live so to see my full collection please click here.

Ingredients

80ml Oyster sauce
3 Tablespoons ketjap Manis
3 Tablespoons Chinese cooking wine
2 Teaspoons sambal oelek
3 Cloves garlic, crushed
2 Teaspoons fresh ginger, grated
2 Tablespoons peanut oil
700g Beef,cut into strips
250g Egg noodles
4 Green onions
1 Red capsicum. sliced thinly
2 Tablespoon fresh chives, chopped
200g Bean sprouts
100g Snow peas trimmed

Method

1. Combine sauce, ketjap manis. cooking wine, sambal oelek, garlic and ginger in a bowl.

2. Heat half the oil in a wok and cook beef, in batches, until browned, remove and set to one side.

3. Meanwhile bring some water to the boil, add noodles, cook until tender, drain and rinse. If using fresh as I like to do, add noodles to boiling water, cover a couple of Min's, drain, rinse and separate with a fork.

4. Heat remaining oil in wok, stir-fry capsicum and onion, until tender.

5. Return beef with bean sprouts, snow peas, noodles and chives, cook until hot and remaining veg are just tender.

Serves 4

All photos taken by me unless otherwise stated.

]]> http://johnibiii.wordpress.com/?p=2944 Mon, 11 Aug 2008 13:10:21 +0000 johnibii http://johnibiii.wordpress.com/?p=2944 NBC has the contract to cover the Olympics in Beijing  and sometimes there is just so much sports one can swallow.

Thankfully, the eager producers at NBC are making our lives better by digging up lots of wonderful cultural stories about China.

China itself dug up some 4,000 year old noodle some time ago so maybe we should take a look at the food of China, Vietnam and lots of other nations....

A noodle is food made from unleavened dough that is cooked in a boiling liquid. Depending upon the type, noodles may be dried or refrigerated before cooking. The word noodle derives from the German Nudel (noodle) and may be related to the Latin word nodus (knot). In English, noodle is a generic term for unleavened dough made from many different types of ingredients. Noodles exist in an abundance of shapes.

The first written account of noodles is from the East Han Dynasty between AD 25 and 220. In October 2005, the oldest noodles yet discovered were found at the Lajia site (Qijia culture) along the Yellow River in Qinghai, China. The 4,000-year-old noodles appear to have been made from foxtail millet and broomcorn millet.

Our Thanks to Wkipedia, where you can read more Noodle News:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noodle

Stay with Peace and Freedom to learn more about the noodle and everything else......

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