Stocking a Kitchen From Scratch, Cutting Boards, Ice Cream (feat. Mei Liao)

This week, we’re talking to our friend Mei Liao who runs one of our favorite channels, @daywithmei. She recently made a cross-country move and has started rebuilding her kitchen equipment collection as both an avid home cook AND a food content creator.

Then Mei joins us in answering a listener question about wooden cutting boards, but let’s be honest, Bryn commandeers that question and barfs out a bunch of facts without answering it... (Sorry! Clearer answer below 👇 — Bryn)

And then we round the episode out with an ice cream ranking in a booth at Mamahuhu in San Francisco. Mei was even kind enough to bring in some new flavor combinations that she’s testing out.

👋 Get Involved

• Subscribe to Cult Flav (starts at $20/yr): https://cultflav.com/community
• Ask a question: https://cultflav.com/community/going-off or call 424-419-3528.

🍿 Snack

• BonBon Fish Candy: https://bonbonnyc.com/collections/bonbons-originals
  • Sour Blackberry was our favorite flavor
  • Sour Peach was a close second
• Kolsvart continues to have the best texture: https://www.kolsvart.com

🍦 Follow Mei

• Website: https://www.daywithmei.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daywithmei/
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@daywithmei
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@daywithmei

📝 Things Mentioned (in order of appearance)

• Example of restaurant supply table tops (not the exact one that Mei has): https://www.webstaurantstore.com/regency-30-x-60-wood-top-work-table-with-galvanized-base-and-adjustable-undershelf/600TW3060G.html
• Oxenforge Wok: https://cultflav.com/products/oxenforge-hand-hammered-wok
• Deli Containers: https://www.webstaurantstore.com/search/deli-containers.html
• Bryn’s favorite deli containers: http://reditainer.com
• MannKitchen Pepper Canon: https://mannkitchen.com/products/the-original-pepper-cannon-pepper-mill
• Unicorn Pepper Grinder: https://www.unicornmills.org/magnum.html
• Peugeot Pepper Grinder: https://us.peugeot-saveurs.com/en_us/
• Cuisinart ICE21 Ice Cream Maker: https://www.cuisinart.com/frozen-yogurt---ice-cream-sorbet-maker/ICE-21P1.html
• Whynter Compressor Ice Cream Maker: https://www.whynter.com/product/no-pre-freezing-automatic-compressor-2-1-qt-ice-cream-maker-stainless-steel-icm-200ls/
• Immersion Blenders: https://cultflav.com/products/vitamix-immersion-blender
• Tatung Rice Cooker: https://us.tatung.com/Product/1-Tatung Multi-Functional Cooker
• Zojirushi Rice Cooker: https://www.zojirushi.com/app/category/rice-cookers
• Aroma Rice Cooker: https://www.aromaco.com/category/rice-cookers-multicookers/rice-grain-cookers/

👋 Questions

“Is it better to have one big wooden cutting board, or should you have multiple for different tasks?” - Silas

• Mei suggests shelf liners to add more grip: https://www.homedepot.com/b/Kitchen-Kitchen-Storage-Organization-Shelf-Liners-Drawer-Liners/N-5yc1vZc3xh
• Sheet pans for food prep: https://cultflav.com/products/winco-eighth-sheet-pan

Wood: 

👍 can sequester bacteria 

👍 gentle on knives 

👍 doesn't create more plastic 

👎 handwash-only, occasional oiling. 

Plastic: 

👍 sanitizable in a home dishwasher (though some boards can warp) 

👍 soft ones (such as LDPE) are gentle on knives (but not dishwasher-friendly). 

🤷‍♂️ bioavailable microplastics unlikely(?)

Glass/Steel

👍 Easy to confirm sanitization

👎 Prone to causing injury due to knife slippage

👎 Causes way more knife damage/wear than plastic/wood

🍨 Ice Cream Ranked Mentions

📝 We had to do some fancy processing on the audio to reduce background noise between street sounds and the opening team setting up for the day. It made our voices a little muffled, but I hope the change in audio doesn’t throw you off too much.

• We shot this at Mamahuhu: https://eatmamahuhu.com
• Mei’s Favorite Gelato Shop is Pitango in Baltimore: https://www.pitangogelato.com/location/fells-point/
• Start Here Semifreddo: https://youtu.be/9A-5-JF6aYE?si=QjnRucV9pzRdrelf&t=486
• Rootbeer Floats at Penny Ice Creamery in Santa Cruz: https://www.thepennyicecreamery.com
• Culvers for Custard: https://www.culvers.com
• Mei Recommends Double Rainbow in San Francisco: https://doublerainbow.com/products/vanilla-mango-tango?_pos=1&_sid=35d0e8ab9&_ss=r
• Mamahuhu Soft Serve: https://www.instagram.com/eatmamahuhu/p/CiG3bIhLblf/
• Straus Ice Cream: https://www.strausfamilycreamery.com/products/ice-cream/
• Gotts Soft Serve: https://www.gotts.com/private-events/sf-ferry-building/#
• Dippin Dots Expands Into Freezing Blood Plasma?: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dippin-dots-debuts-new-manufacturing-facility-spurred-by-growth-of-cryogenic-division-301107732.html
  • We don’t know if this is still or ever was a thing, but Dippin Dots was acquired J&J Snack Foods Corp. in 2022.
• Nojo’s in San Francisco - Used To Have A Great Black Sesame Ice Cream Sandwich: https://nojosframen.com/menu

Thank you Mei for joining us! Thank you to Mamahuhu for letting us use a booth! Thank you to Silas for our question this week! Thank YOU for listening! And, of course, thank you to all of our lovely sponsors! You know who you are. 👋 Have a great week, we’ll see you next Sunday!