"noodles" news and stories

• You know you're set when you're loved by Susur Lee. Two Ossington noodle destinations, The Golden Turtle and Pho Tien Thanh offer superior meals and get patronized by the famous chef.
• It's basil time! The plant is booming and it's the perfect time to pick up some green and purple leaves from Ted Thorpes 10,000 plants. The basil is available at farmers markets like Riverdale, Brickworks, and Dufferin Grove, which I'm definitely heading to tomorrow for a pesto fix.
• Some tasty wines from around the world: Rodney Strong 2006 Chardonnay, Cathedral Cellar 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, Bouchard Finlayson 2007 Sauvignon Blanc, Altos Las Hormigas 2006 Malbec, and Fielding 2007 Pinot Gris.

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• Greek yogurt experiences a revival

• A tour through Oxford's pubs

• A meat eater sings tofu's praises

• What is a mangosteen?
  

• Need some spice? Try piri-piri sauce

• When you get a craving for noodles and cannoli ice cream cones...

• Forget chocotinis, these are the real deal

I've never been a big fan of food that looks back at me when I'm looking at it. I was in a supermarket once and I saw an entire sheep (or maybe calf) head wrapped in plastic in the meat department. It not only still had its eyes attached it also had its teeth. Freaked me out.

I thought of that after seeing this Edible Flying Spaghetti Monster. The eyes are made with gelatin capsules, rainbow nonpareils, and malted milk balls! Then you attach the eyes to the "spaghetti," which is actually various noodles and marshmallow. I bet kids would get a kick out of this.

[via Boing Boing]

Move over Ferran Adrià. Northern China has its own version of molecular gastronomy: hand-pulled noodles. Well not quite, but the above clip of Chef Mark Pi is fascinating not only because of the sheer craftsmanship required to, er, pull off such a feat, but because of the science lesson the narrator gives.

Physicist Philip Morrison gives us noodle making as a way of discussing the size, particularly the thickness, of atoms. He states: "We approach the division of matter...by halving and halving and halving it again." This point is clearly demonstrated by Chef Pi's demonstration of hand-pulling dragon's beard noodles. After folding the noodles a dozen times he's created 4,096 ultrathin strands. Morrison points out that if the venerable chef had managed 42 times his noodles would have reached atomic thickness.

Incidentally, this vid comes from a 1987 PBS program The Ring of Truth: Atoms. I found another great and hilarious clip featuring Julia Child. Without giving too much away, all I'm going to say is it involves her isolating pure carbon.

Perhaps calling this bowl "perfect" is a bit of a stretch, but it is designed for both utility and beauty, so it must be getting close. The Udon Noodle Bowl is reminiscent of a giant shell, with spiraling layers that fit perfectly into your hand. At the top, there are grooves to hold the included chopsticks in place when you're not eating. Every bowl is handmade and will vary from the next ever so slightly. All are both microwave and dishwasher safe.

If soup, rather than noodles, is your comfort food of choice, you might want to consider the buddah bowl instead. Also designed to fit ergonomically into the palm of your hand, this bowl can double as a giant mug for large cappuccinos in the morning and a soup cup in the evenings, or even as a dessert bowl for ice cream.

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