I'm actually pretty content with Ollie's scallion pancake, right in the middle of Times Square, enjoy

wondee

how bout Sanur?

too bad you're not venturing to queens, if you do, try Empanadas Del Parque on 108th st in Corona

amen to Virgil's cheese grits!!

Atomic Wings on 3rd ave? pretty close to what they served in buffalo

LOL, i could totally remember me and my brother doing the same thing, hold our nose and just suck it up, with our mom standing next to us. how i miss those soups, sighs..

gotta love Virgil!!

Im terribly jealous of your Sumatra trip,
home sweet home

Never been to Khao Homm before, but sriphraphai's definitely a gem.
Almost all of my Thai friends love Shri, guess if it comes from the locals, you can't really
go wrong.

And their snacks and dessert section (by the cashier) are heavenly

Enjoy

Upi Jaya vs Minang Asli
This is a tough one, love both, Upi Jaya being the pioneer has a more authentic Padang style taste (although i have to agree w/ Kittyslair that Upi's rendang's a lil bit tough), I've found myself to venture out more to Whitney Ave, where Minang Asli is, why?

1. MA's more accessible
2. a wider selection (MA serves some other non Padang style food in their appetizer's section
note: make sure to check out their specials, it's usually posted by cashier; also, try
to check out their snacks and desserts, also by the cashier
3. much better service

One con's about MA, is that a few times I was there, food gets a lil bit salty, which can be easily counterbalance with more rice.

Now, Mie Jakarta serves an entirely different type of foods, they're known for
Jakarta's style chicken noodle (re: not your average flu fighting chicken noodle, this is much much more delicious). their chicken noodle comes with sides of soup, steamed greens, fried wontons.

Besides noodle AND if you think you can handle spicy food, try their Ayam Rica Rica
, this is Manado style (another part of Indonesia, where majority of their foods are spicy enough to make you shed tears and runny nose, yet exquisite) Ayam Rica is fried chicken (Ayam = chicken), topped with Manado style fresh cooked chillies, oil, and garlic, if you can take it, this is a really good dish to have.

Enjoy!

Hey Pan,
I'll just reply in the later thread (see Peter's link)

pings@ mott st's awesome, heard a lot of good things about golden unicorn

their sandwich's awesome!!
wait line during lunch hour especially on summer?
try to go after lunch hour (1 or 2 ish) or else be prepared to wait at least 20 minutes

i've been to both bali nusa indah, and borobudur, both places serves mediocre foods,
if you're willing to travel bit further to Queens, try Minang Asli, take the R train,
stop at Elmhurst Avenue, it's on Broadway and Whitney. or Upi Jaya (also in Queens,
7 at 74th St.-Broadway; E, F, G, R, V at Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Ave). Both places
are reasonably priced, friendly staffs & wider selections

Enjoy!!

how to pick ripe durian?
my mom usually have to smell them, or you can go by what simon mentioned, check with the sellers. Best durian, in my humble opinion are from indonesia, specially, from north sumatra. unlike thais and spore's, overthere, durian flavors and textures comes in a large varieties,
from ice cream like sweet tasting to bitter, slimy to thick textures

other exotic fruits? i saw some rambutan on canal street (skin of rambutan is red but the inner part of the rambutan (the meat) is white. The skin of the rambutan has lots of "hair.

enjoy!!