Tuesday, August 29, 2023 - What's for Dinner?

[dragnlaw]

Might have to start a new thread to show off all our dishes! I like those Olive sets too. There was another popular Olive design that I like but for some reason never got - I think I was afraid I would get tired of it. But I love that green trim! (Guess I like that green as it matches my scales.)

Had an early supper as a late lunch yesterday,
Smoked Pork Loin Chop and some Stuffed Shells. (oops had already started on the chop- I was hungry, OK?)

 

[Jade Emperor]

Hurrah! On order now, but through Amazon. Most of the other retailers don’t supply to Australia.
(Dear MrJade, no more kitchen pretties, I kind of promise!)

 

[Jusa]

Hurrah! On order now, but through Amazon. Most of the other retailers don’t supply to Australia.
(Dear MrJade, no more kitchen pretties, I kind of promise!)

You're going to like them a lot! Funny thing is I rarely use the big bowl. The small ones get used for many things, including pasta.

 

[GotGarlic]

You're going to like them a lot! Funny thing is I rarely use the big bowl. The small ones get used for many things, including pasta.

I have a similar set. Before Covid-19, my neighbors used to have a monthly cocktail party/potluck. The big bowl is great for taking food to events like that.

 

[Jusa]

I have a similar set. Before Covid-19, my neighbors used to have a monthly cocktail party/potluck. The big bowl is great for taking food to events like that.

I tend to take unbreakable bowls with secure lids when we go to parties...none of them are in our neighborhood and the other containers travel much better. I wish we had good neighbors! The only neighbor I ever really liked moved away a few years ago and the ones who still live nearby are jerks.

 

[Jade Emperor]

I was a guest at a potluck party hosted by people who I didn’t really know well, but there was a lot of good friends also in attendance.
I took a Kanom Jin in a large, pretty patterned melamine bowl. The dish was being very well received, but I had to leave before it was finished. The host dutifully promised me that the bowl would be cleaned up and returned to me in quick measure.
I never saw that bowl again

 

[Meryl]

Know the feeling, the "island of lost borrowed items"

 

[Jade Emperor]

Yes, I was just disappointed because it was part of a very large set that many of you will be familiar with

 

[dragnlaw]

I've learned that 2 things about bringing a dish somewhere.

1.) Put your name on a piece of tape under the bowl.

2.) Even though the host says they will return it quick quick. Don't put the onus on them. Go back and fetch it yourself the next day.

and a 3rd option - probably the best...

Go to the $Dollar $tore and buy a cheap bowl/platter - whatever! and tell them to keep it as a thank you. And don't forget to purchase a serving utensil as well.

I've got several salad bowels and serving tongs. Given to me at an annual dinner. She and I both laugh every year because I've used them again and again. Think I may even still have them in storage somewhere.

 

[Jade Emperor]

Yes, @dragnlaw - that’s what I do in all cases nowadays.
But I was very proud of my big noodle dish, so I was showing off a bit.
I really remember these melamine dishes from a very young age, seeing them used at countless food hall outlets and the ubiquitous “cheap and cheerful” Chinese restaurants/takeaway subsets.
I found a fantastic deal on a 72 piece set on marketplace and snapped them up as a bit of kitsch folly. They were leftover unopened stock from a restaurant that didn’t last, and I just thought it would be great theatre to serve elevated street food in the kind of dinnerware that was hugely tied to my childhood memories of those hole-in-the wall Asian food outlets.

Of course, I did make solid noises about wanting my large serving bowl back. The hostess couldn’t really remember, but thought that it might have gone home with someone else

Replacement pieces are not that easy to find and I don’t have any remaining bodily parts be to tempt sellers with m.

 

[Meryl]

Yes, I was just disappointed because it was part of a very large set that many of you will be familiar with

View attachment 65842

That’s a really lovely set.
I would ask for it back, saying it's part of a special set which has sentimental value.

 

[Jade Emperor]

Thanks @Meryl .
When I bought them, it was just a bit of whimsy. Most of my hospo career was in high end dining, so it was white porcelain dinnerware and so on.
I thought that these were cheap inferior plastic plates that would suffice for outdoor parties and they inevitably always incited stories about cheap Chinese diners from my guests’ memories. Fun.
But I grew to love using them as somehow they felt “authentic” to me.
Now, having this discussion with my DC friends has motivated me to seek out a replacement for the missing piece, maybe to ease my mind about this set!!

 

[dragnlaw]

Are you saying those are plastic??

 

[Kathleen]

People keeping containers is why I purchased a couple of "Fancy Panz." I will pull an aluminum tray out of it, cover it with foil and leave it. Now, when I purchased mine, they were MUCH cheaper, but I would buy again at the current price because they hold up well, do look nice on a buffet, and are so easy to use.

 

[Jade Emperor]

@dragnlaw - well yes. They are melamine.

 

[dragnlaw]

Melamine, aha! That stuff lasts for ever! Thanks was a little confused.

Fantastic find, hope you find the bowl again or at least a new one. How frustrating.

 

[GinnyPNW]

Melamine, aha! That stuff lasts for ever! Thanks was a little confused.

Fantastic find, hope you find the bowl again or at least a new one. How frustrating.

That looks like what they have at my local Asian Market. I can look there for you, if you like? They are VERY reasonably priced...as were the little bowls I got last week for $1.59 each!

<<People keeping containers is why I purchased a couple of "Fancy Panz." I will pull an aluminum tray out of it, cover it with foil and leave it. Now, when I purchased mine, they were MUCH cheaper, but I would buy again at the current price because they hold up well, do look nice on a buffet, and are so easy to use.>>

I have a couple of those too! I keep them in the RV and use for Pot Luck. People "moving" my items is why I got them. If it is just the foil tray and it is moved without supporting it properly...it could be a disaster. And, like Kathleen said, I can pull the tray out, leave it and head for home!