[Saka]

I will give you a 'Murican classic, the hamburger!



I enjoy fancy burgers from restaurants rather than fast food chains. There used to be a great place in my hometown, but they were victim of fame. As they got super popular, they expanded at the cost of quality. Their food has gone downhill a lot; now it no longer feels appealing to me, knowing I might get "crunchy" or undercooked meat and burnt fries.

Since I restarted kendo I have been getting some fast food burgers. Normally they are not very appealing to me, but there is a Burger King on my way home. They seem to have better quality than McDonalds or Hesburger. Their vegan, halloumi or chicken burgers have been pretty alright. I haven't actually had the beef one, my spouse says that it's a bit meh compared to the chicken. When we are not super starving, there's a good deal of 2 small sets for 10 euro. The small set can have either beef or chicken burger, and my choice is the chicken one.

And for the dessert I suggest some halva. I haven't had any fancy one lately, maybe I need to moan to my mother to find me something nice in the deli for when I finally visit. As I said, Finland is not very good with the food selection. Poles have a lot more trusting palates and stomachs. As proof, my in-laws decided to take me and the spouse out for my birthday. FIL seemed really disappointed that I didn't want to stop at the Mexican place, as he was hoping for a burger. I've just had a lot of Tex-Mex around that time and it was starting to come out of my ears. He was really suspicious when we picked a Thai place instead. But somehow he managed to survive eating his beef with cashews and rice. 😂



Oh, and to answer your question, both ways work for me. Usually I eat the gyoza fried though, as it's quicker and easier for me to prepare this way at home. Plus the light browning on the dumplings adds some more texture and flavour. Nom nom.

[DoctorEldritch]

@Saka Hamburgers are certainly a semi-modern classic. I prefer the proper burger joint varieties, though, not fast food chains, but that's as far as the taste is concerned. Because I see the same issue with hamburgers as David Mitchell:

And that goes to the hamburger in your picture, too. I mean, I'd definitely eat it, but I am not a python. How do you eat something like this?

Now we're moving to the letter I, and I am excited about it because Japan has a lot to offer with this letter, so it's gonna be a small dish parade: a starter, main dish, and dessert. Starting with Inarizushi:




Inari is the Japanese god the god of rice, fertility, and foxes (now that's multitasking)! This sweet, fried tofu sushi dish was created to appease this deity. If I had a dish named after me, I guess I'd be appeased... Then there is also Imoni:



That's actually in season right now, it's Japanese Autumn stew. And for dessert, some Imagawayaki:



It's a poufy batter bun filled with azuki bean paste.

[Saka]

My head feels a bit heavy and I am not very good at thinking of any food starting with the letter I... other than ice cream!



Regarding eating burgers, I treat them as exercise for stretching my jaw. 😂

[DoctorEldritch]

@Saka Ice Cream is a classic. I see your ice cream and I will raise you with a Bengali version of it, Ice Cream Sandesh:



A sweet dessert made with chilled cottage cheese.

[DoctorEldritch]

For the letter J, here are Jalapeño Poppers:



Jalapeño peppers stuffed with cheese and bacon and green onions, and then baked. They also can be done with extra spices and deep-fried instead of baked, but I like them milder.

[DoctorEldritch]

For the letter K, I thought to go with Korean Kimchi:



Probably the most famous Korean fermented dish. The traditional way is too spicy for me, so I have to make them milder myself. I do not get it right all the time and Korea definitely makes them better, but they still come out tasty more often than not.

[DoctorEldritch]

For the letter L, Lemon Carlota, a Mexican dessert:



It may not look like it at first glance, but it is a no-bake dessert which is actually quite easy to make, so it is good for making with kids. @GoLLuM13 I know your niece can even make banana pancakes, but this could be another interesting option, maybe.

[GoLLuM13]

@DoctorEldritch Indeed I'll let her see this maybe she'll want to do it, thanks 😁

[Saka]

For the letter L, I suggest Garfield's favourite: Lasagna.



Thishearty dish consists mainly from squares of pasta alternated with tomato sauce and mince meat. However, there are variations of this dish, some of them don't even have meat. I really like white lasagna with mushrooms.



A common variation is stuffed with spinach, but I only had that one a few times:

[Marwaesam]

For the letter m, I suggest Garfield's favourite: molokhia in Egypt



My favorite dish