Job Discussion Forums

[Marcoregano]

I wonder how much cooking people do, and what they cook, compared to when they were back home? We certainly eat out far more frequently than either of us did in our home countries (England/USA). Here in HK we probably eat out 3 or 4 evenings a week, perhaps even more in the summer when cooking in our tiny HK kitchen can be a nightmare. I doubt that many of my friends or family in the UK eat out more than once a week. As for cooking, I like to cook the sort of stuff we can't get too easily here....lots of 'homey' but basic British, Italian, Spanish, Mexican and Cuban dishes. Tonight we're having putanesca with a good bottle of Tuscan red. Bon appetite!

[foster]

I make lunches usually. I will make a pasta and sauce on Sunday and eat it for 3 days, then maybe salad and go out for lunch with the work crew on Friday.

I often stop at Wellcome and get sushi take home for dinner. I eat dinner out often. Why cook for one person?? I would *kill* for an oven tho. I would love to bake a lasagna or a casserole or roast a chicken and all the trimmings.....

I would cook for more than one person and I love to cook. Anyone wanna come over for Dinner???

[Mike_2003]

I love cooking too, but do less of it here in Turkey because less ingredients are available.

As I mostly teach in the evenings, and don't like eating late, I have my main meal at lunchtime.

I've just cooked up some kind of pasta dish: chicken stir fried with finely chopped red peppers, tablespoon of tomato paste, squirt of brown sauce, two sugar cubes, dash of soy sauce and seasoning. Served on pasta with some grated cheese.

Sometimes I can't be bothered to cook and I'll call out for something, but I rarely go to restaurants except on special occassions or if I'm out all day.

Mike

[nik_knack0828]

ME!!!!!
I wasn't a good cook at home, and I'm definitely not a very good cook in China.
I really struggle, and it's especially bad in China because I can't read any packages and can't identify any spices (nevermind that I don't know what to do with them).
And I'm a vegetarian.
But, man, I would kill for some pasta. MMMMMMMmmmmmmm....
So, yeah, I eat out when I'm craving good food. Otherwise I just stay at home and try to make something semi-delicious. Usually it's not too bad, but just a little bland. It's hard to cook for one.

[Joachim]

Yes I wanna come over for dinner!

And I otally understand - I would KILL to be able to make a roast chicken or birthday cakes for people orroasted vegetables. Constant frying, boiling and steaming gets boring, and I never use the microwave.

I probably eat out (or get a take away) 5 days a week or so, it seems pretty standard to do that in Hong Kong.

[denise]

I cook about as often as I did in the States--four or five times a week, usually on weeknights. I do my basic dinner of rice or pasta + sauteed veggies + tofu, and I always make leftovers to have for lunch the next day. On weekends, and maybe an occasional weeknight (like tonight--found a cute little soba place) I go out. I have limited options when eating out, however, since I'm vegan. (Thankfully there are two fabulous Indian/Pakistani places nearby.)

I would also love an oven--preferably one large enough to make more than, oh, three cookies at a time. I've managed to procure many of the ingredients that I need for all of my favorite vegan treats (thanks, mom and dear ex boyfriend!), but I'd have to borrow an oven.

d

[nolefan]

My wife and I take turns cooking. Our diet has been "asianised" so to speak as rice has become a staple dish (sometimes it is noodles) but we still cook some different stuf here and there.

the biggest issue right now is lack of proper cuts of meat at the supermarket. I cannot find a good ribeye or a nice flank or any other cuts of meat I was used to back home. This week end I found olive oil, pasta and gound lamb so it has been a bit of a feast

Man, those Lamb burgers were so tasty and yesterday's pasta with garlich sundried tomatoes and cheese .... I'm drooling and it is dinner time.

[Irish Blood English Heart]

I think i'll probably cook omelette a lot as i cant cook anything else, im useless ive always just eaten out or cooked out of tins!

[Mark-O]

Marco/Joachim/Foster,

I plan to eat out regularly in Hong Kong. Previous experiences have indicated that this is very affordable and presumably sometimes even cheaper? The wonton shops for example - a bowl of shrimp wonton with noodles and greens and a drink for about 13HKD! The sushi from the supermarkets seemed to be pretty cheap too, not to mention places like Yoshinoya for a quick, cheap feed.

Is cooking in Hong Kong worth the effort - unless of course, you can't find those dishes or not at reasonable prices? Like you say, it seems to be the DONE thing to eat out regularly.

(Sometimes though, you can't beat a bit of good, old home-cooked food - a roast dinner never tastes as good when you eat out!)

[dmb]

I love cooking but don't do as much as I used to. Cooking for one is a lot of trouble. The only time I really cook is when I have friends round. But as that usually involves Alcohol, it isn't a good idea midweek. Instead I have discovered many cheap Indian restaurants and I am really handy with the microwave

[ntropy]

Cooking constantly, three meals a day, seven days a week. As I have celiacs disease I basically cannot eat out, either at restaurants or friends. Even "safe" foods often aren't. Soy sauce,for example, is poisonous to me. Try to eat out in Asia without soy sauce, teriyaki, etc on the food.

[lozwich]

Why is cooking for one difficult? I've been doing it for years , and all I do is either make less, or cook for two, five, ten, whatever and have leftovers.

In Australia, I used to eat pretty much the same as Denise (although I'm not vegan), but here in Mexico I eat out a lot more, because I can't get things like tofu or noodles except when I go to Mexico City, and in any case the tofu here is revolting. Unless its rice/pasta and vegies every day, its meat, which I don't know how to cook anymore, so eating out here is easier.

When I leave this country I plan to go back to my old diet of mainly vegetarian with an occasional seafood feast, so I don't want to learn how to cook chicken and red meat just for the next 4 months.

Have a good day.
Lozwich.

[Sara Avalon]

The first few months I was here in Kuwait I was going out 4 or 5 times a week and that was mostly to family gatherings. Since then it's just a bagel in the morning, salad for lunch, and fruit for supper... and the occasional rice with steamed vegetables or pasta dish (once a week).

I think I'm a freak of nature or slave to habit.

[Teacher in Rome]

This is sacrilege, but in the land of pasta I crave south-east Asian food. For years it was just impossible to get fresh lemongrass, so I made do with the dried stuff. Then I tried growing my own (complete failure) and I thought all was lost until a Chinese grocer's opened up down my street. I can now get fresh lemongrass and frozen banana leaves, and I am in heaven.

On the plus side, there's a well-known import shop that sells all the usual condiments, and the Indian stall in my local market sells fresh coriander, which I grow in summer as well. My local market also sells exceptionally good fish, seafood and meat, as well as vegetables in season. I can (more or less) satisfy my cravings for chicken amok (eat your heart out khmer hit!) and tom yam soup...

If there are any of you in Rome, fed up with pasta, pasta e pasta, just PM me!

[ls650]

I share a house with four other teachers. We pay the maid extra to do all the grocery shopping and cooking of lunches and dinner.
Not only is she a good cook, but because she pays the "local price" in traditional markets she can pick up the food cheaper than we can.