Text 23787, 114 rader
Skriven 2015-02-07 13:44:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av NANCY BACKUS
Ärende: S'pore 182
==================
 ML> negligible. So back in the '90s I started visiting long-
 ML> neglected friends and places in southeast Asia for what
 ML> amounted to next to nothing! 
 NB> Pretty much a no-brainer, for those in such a position, I see. :)

There were a couple times when my net expenditures ended
up in the double digits only! I made up for it this time,
spending in quadruple digits EACH for airfare and hotels,
even allowing for the value of the points earned. Some got
reimbursed by Lilli, but there's a good reason I chose Manila
as the secondary destination. And why I may cancel the trip
to see Ian in the spring (might be able to afford it by fall,
but that remains to be seen).

 ML> miles to close to 1c. Now it's more seeing people whom one
 ML> has seen every year or two for over a decade and thawing out
 ML> for a week. I talked with the organizer (the 4th such in 13
 ML> years) about maybe moving the event to a more cost-effective
 ML> venue next year.
 NB> Seeing people is good, as is thawing out... ;)   Cost-effective is
 NB> also a good thing, especially for those whose income decreases with
 NB> age.. ;) Did you have any specific destinations to suggest to
 NB> him/her...? 

The guy currently in charge is one whom I might be said to have
mentored a decade ago - read, served as a bad example for. Now
he's in his thirties and an affluent airline executive; even so
the price issue is relevant, partially because some of his
constituency is younger and/or poorer than he. Places we discussed:
Manila for the cheap, KL for a mixed experience. He threw out
the suggestion of Taipei, which I liked (he works for SkyTeam,
and China Airlines is based there), but it's almost as expensive
as Singapore and not nearly so warm. No matter where it is I'll
probably fly to Singapore on United, overnight at the Conrad,
and then take Air Asia (if it's still in business) or another low-
cost carrier for the intracontinental leg.

 NB>> Maybe they start out with better chickens to begin with...?
 ML> I'm pretty certain that is the main explanation. I don't
 ML> know what the southeast Asian equivalent of Tyson is, but
 ML> the locally-sourced certainly is tastier.
 NB> I'd certainly expect so.  :)

There do exist, and I have to be reminded of this sometimes,
poultry whose white meat actually taste like something,
somewhere in the world.

 NB>> Onions, one can specify small, medium, large
 ML> Those terms conjure up something in my mind, but what you
 ML> may imagine might not be quite what I'd imagine. To me,
 ML> these mean 1/2 lb, 3/4-1 lb, and bigger. But then I like
 ML> onions, too.

I really do err on the generous side with onions, more even
than with garlic. OOC I just looked on culinarylore.com, which
has a picture of what it characterizes as medium onions, and
they're tiny and pathetic.

 NB> Point.  I've not exactly weighed the onions I use... probably the ones
 NB> I get in the bag of yellow cooking onions I'd classify as small or
 NB> medium (with gradations thereof)... sometimes there's a larger one in
 NB> the bag, but I try for a bag that seems to have more uniformly sized
 NB> onions.. ;) 

Funny thing, I generally do the opposite, looking for bags
with a variety of sizes so I can pick one based on what I
think the dish will need for being kicked up or down a notch. 

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v7.07

      Title: Fried Rice #5
 Categories: Chinese, Rice, very meaty
   Servings:  6

      1 lb Rice cooked and cooled in
           -refrigerator a few hours
           Vegetable oil for sauteing
      4    Pork chops cooked or an
           -equal amount of roast pork
           -sliced in
           Matchstick pieces
           Half a chicken cooked and
           -sliced in matchstick pieces
      1 tb To 2 tb soy sauce
      1 lb Shrimp peeled deveined and
           -cooked
      1    Finely diced large onion
      8 oz Fresh sliced mushrooms
      1 tb Garlic powder
           Soy sauce to taste
      6    To 8 oysters optional
      8 oz Bean sprouts optional
      3    Eggs scrambled and cooked
      1    Green onion diagonally
           -sliced for garnish
      1    Quartered red tomato
           -optional
      1    Lemon sliced optional

  In wok or large frying pan, saute meat in oil over medium high heat. Add
  shrimp, then onion, mushrooms and garlic powder, stirring after each
  addition. Sprinkle soy sauce to taste. If desired, add oysters and bean
  sprouts. Make a well in the center of the mixture and put in about 1
  tablespoon of oil. Break up pre-cooked rice and crumble into the oil well,
  gradually incorporating rice into meat mixture. Stir in scrambled eggs,
  place on platter and top fried rice with green onions. Garnish the sides of
  the rice with tomato quarters and lemon slices.

  Source unknown - M's note - use real garlic

MMMMM
___ Blue Wave/386 v2.30
--- Platinum Xpress/Win/WINServer v3.0pr5
 * Origin: Check Out Doc's QWK Mail  Via Web BBS > DocsPlace.org  (1:123/140)