When Adam and I moved to Seattle from upstate New York, we discovered the delights of Thai food. After some experimentation with fish sauce, lime leaves, and curry pastes we learned how to make a few dishes at home, but our cultural background makes it difficult to locate and prepare the correct ingredients. As a result, I was excited to find Live Oak Multimedia's 4 Paws of Crab CD in the list of products shown at Macworld Expo.

4 Paws of Crab presents 45 Thai recipes along with a great deal of cultural and practical information. What makes the CD more interesting than just a collection of cultural comparisons and culinary tips is the way in which the presentation does not overwhelm the informational content, as is common when developers realize all the fun things they can do with sound and video. For example, sound clips provide the correct pronunciation of the names of Thai ingredients, and pictures show recipes in various stages of preparation.

4 Paws of Crab has, as the more alert of you might have expected, four sections for exploration: Mirrors uses graphics, links, text, and so on to share the experiences of an American visiting Thailand and a Thai visiting America; Time Romp offers a comparative history of America and Thailand, set up so you can find out what happened in the two areas at the same historical time; Happy Market looks a bit more like a book and has illustrations and text describing Thai ingredients; and finally, Recipes shows recipes can be printed or used directly from the screen. The recipes have links that tie the Thai ingredients into the Happy Market section.

At $50 you won't spring for the CD unless you have an interest in Thai food or Thai culture in relation to the American culture, but given the quality and contents of information and experience shared, if the topic does interest you, 4 Paws of Crab is worth checking out.

Live Oak Multimedia -- 510/654-7480 -- 510/654-4637 (fax)
liveoakmm@aol.com