HKDave

I haven't tried the Rio location yet, but the word I'm hearing from several sources is that it's not quite as good. Last month I was at the old location talking to the staff. They said that the new location is run by sous chefs, and Wendy and Micheal still spend most of their time at the old location. The Rio location does have a better-equipped kitchen, a legacy of the late Napa Restaurant that used to be in that space, and so the menu there is a little more elaborate than the old location. The food at the old location is still fantastic. The sommelier/manager, Nick Hetzel, is a pro, I'd drink anything he recommended. Rosemary's is one of my favorite restaurants anywhere. - Hong Kong Dave

Itch22, the blowtorch+low temp. method can deliver a great roast, and gotta love playing with that blowtorch! But you can get close to the same results and solve your when-do-I-add-the-herbs problem by dressing the roast with whatever herbs you want, starting it at high heat (say, pre-heated 425 conventional / 400 convection) for just a few minutes to brown it, then dropping the heat to the very low temperature for the remainder of the time. It's not perfect Heston Blumenthal method, but it gets the job done. Alternatively, insert the herbs in thin slits, then blowtorch (which will usually seal the slits nicely, the herbs won't burn), then go straight to low temp. Or do the herbs in an emulsion or rub and brush them on after blowtorch - if you're applying herbs to the outside just before cooking the flavour doesn't penetrate very much in any case. Be very careful of your hygiene and use good quality meats when you're doing low temp., because you're working at temperatures that some bacteria love. I use a combi oven (convection + steam) which works well at low temperatures. - Hong Kong Dave

I can't remember my first drunk - probably sneaking drinks at some boring family event or getting wasted at a high school party, there were plenty of both back in the day. But I do remember my first major adult drunk.... at least the initial part of it. I was in my early 20's, in Long Beach for a trade show, and the travel agent had booked me into a mediocre apartment hotel. The building had a small local bar attached to it. Now, at this point of my life, I'd spent some time drinking draft beer in stripper bars, that being the popular choice in Vancouver back in the days when nobody seemed to ask for ID, but I'd never been to a real American-style bar. And I noticed this place had a giant free sub sandwich during happy hour, so I wisely figured that I'd have a drink or two and save money by eating some sub for dinner. I started with double rum and cokes - a kiddie drink if there ever was one - and continued with more double rum and cokes, and then some more. The place was reasonably friendly and the bartender was generous with the pour. I remember there was some popcorn on the bar, and I did eat some of that (I know this because I was able to see the popcorn later that night - the memory of the texture of reguritated popcorn still haunts me), but I never did get to the sub sandwich. Just sat there and drank more and more rum and coke. After a while, I realized that somehow I had become seriously inebriated, so I got my bill and went to my room. Where, almost immediately, my brain exploded. I later determined from my bill that I had somehow consumed 18 rum and cokes in one sitting, and at the time I was a skinny kid, so that was a heck of a lot of alcohol. They all seemed to hit me at the same time. I will spare you all the details of that night, mostly because I can't remember them, but you can guess - part of the time unconcious on the floor, a lot of the time driving the porcelein bus, the rest of the time wondering when I would die so that the pain could stop. I prayed that night, and I am not exactly a religous man. The California sun rose the next morning, but I didn't - it was about noon before I dared move very far from the toilet, and then only because it was check-out time. I stumbled over toward convention center wearing dark glasses, found a patch of grass along the way, and passed out cold for the afternoon. If someone wanted to take my wallet, or for that matter my pants, I would never have noticed. I got a nice raccoon sunburn from lying face up with sunglasses on. Then it was back to the airport for the flight home, having done absolutely no work at all. I can't remember what I told my boss. I was just about to say that I haven't touched rum and coke since, but that wouldn't be true. There was that time in Dana Point last year, with that incident in the pool hall afterward..... but this is a thread about the first time. - Hong Kong Dave

Gloag's is an inexpensive, strong-flavoured London style gin. You usually see it in the speedwells of bars in UK or Asia that are watching their costs, or that are locked into pouring the Maxxium group of brands (Famous Grouse, Jim Beam etc). Here in Hong Kong, the Hard Rock is the only place that I know that pours it. I've never seen it in North America. They have a website at www.gloagsgin.co.uk but it appears to be down at the moment. It's not to my taste, but if you like an 'edgy, tough, burly' martini - hey, it's your drink! - it could be a good choice. Similar price strong-flavoured London gins available in North America would be Gilbey's or maybe Gordon's. - Hong Kong Dave

Correct on it being Peter Benchley, but it was on a film set - story here: http://members.aol.com/zigystar/inhistory/ I think the best type of gin depends on how dry you like your Martini. The lighter you go on the vermouth, the more you rely on the flavour of the gin, because there ain't much vermouth in a 10:1 martini. If you like a more classic mix, then I like a more alcoholic but dryer flavoured gin. I like my martinis 'wet' - about 5:1 - and I find this works best with Plymouth gin. The greater amount of vermouth nicely balances the extra alcohol (a little over 41% for Plymouth regular, and 57% for Plymouth Navy). But for friends that like them dry, I mix with a London type gin - in which case I like the balance of Tanquery, although I keep some Bombay Sapphire for those that think it tastes better (or those that think they need a 'premium' spirit even if they can't taste the difference). Interestingly, in some countries in Asia, Tanquery sells a higher alcohol (47.3%)version of their classic gin. For me, this is the best of all worlds. Makes a great Martini. But so far I've only seen it in duty free shops in Saigon, and I think it's sold in Malaysia.

This link no longer works. Anyone else have a recipe to share? I'd like something simple and perhaps a little spicy. Here's a working link to that CI meatloaf recipe: http://www.google.com.hk/search?q=cache:O8...&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

Here's a variation on the LC vs Lodge Dutch oven debate: about 20 years ago I got one of these Wagner cast iron 'chicken fryers' (as they were called then - now they're just called 'deep skillet with lid'): http://www.wagnerware.com/ProductDetail.as...rod=126&PSub=22 It works great as a Dutch oven for up to about 4 people (in other words, it fits about 4 veal shanks), plus of course it's fine for saute (the high sides help reduce splatter) or deep fry, it goes in the oven, and it's so well seasoned now that I can, and regularly do, make sauces in it - even acidic ones like tomato. The heavy ovenproof glass lid means you don't have to take the lid off to peek. If I had to have just one kitchen pot, this would be it. It cost less than $20 when I bought it, and it's $30 now. I figure it's good for another 60 years or so. How many things can you buy for $30 that will last your lifetime - heck, that actually get better as you use them? Seasoning is not a big problem, just follow the directions, which are cast into the base of the pot in case you ever need to do it again. Once it's seasoned, just quickly rinse it out before it cools (no soap - I use a plastic brush if I have to remove anything that won't rinse off) , put it back on the stove to dry, and you're good for next time. I'm assuming we're all talking about stovetop Dutch ovens here. For on-the-fire use - which is what Dutch ovens originally were all about - it has to be all cast iron, with the heavy lid that you can pile coals on. - Hong Kong Dave

Thanks for the links, Beans. I should have trolled back through the forum before starting ranting on an old topic - newbie mistake on my part. I'll spend some time on that now. And my apologies to all for calling it a 'martini glass'. I know it's a cocktail glass, I was just worried that if I called it that, people would *really* think I was an old timer. For the record, HKDave is 42, but feels much older this morning. The US Navy is on shore leave here in Hong Kong, so the bars were slammed last night. Everyone seemed to be male, 18 and from Nebraska, or local (apparently) female semi-professionals, if you know what I mean. A night for Corona drinkers... A lot of kiddie bartenders don't know a cocktail glass from an old fashioned glass - but that's another topic Obviously I'm in the comfortable company of seasoned pros here in this thread <pulling up a seat at the end of the bar near the kitchen, where the old-timers hang out>. I'll order a martini (which I will carefully spec as Plymouth if you have it, Tanquery if you don't, 5:1, up, olives, stirred) at your bar anytime.... <lighting a small inoffensive Cohiba> What? You can't smoke in bars here? You're kidding, right? And why are the police here? What do you mean, Cuban cigars are illegal in the US? Hey, I just wanted a Martini! <sound of HKDave's heels dragging on the floor as the authorities haul him out the door for deportation back to HK ...>

In Vietnam (specifically Saigon) I've often seen locals adding sauces to the broth. The first time I tried pho was years ago in a downscale shared table dive on Main St in Vancouver, with 100% Vietnamese clientele. An older woman sharing my table noticed I clearly had no clue what to do and explained to me (using hand gestures - we didn't have a language in common) that I MUST put the sauces in the broth, so I've done it that way ever since....

This is one of those topics that makes me feel very old.... I mean, a Martini is a stirred 5:1 gin/vermouth cocktail, served up with green olives in a martini glass, right? Not any more. Now it's an anything/anything mix served with anything in a (usually giant) martini glass. My test of a good bar these days (besides how often I get comped) is simply what happens when I order a Martini for the first time. If I get a classic gin Martini without comment - even if it's 6:1 or 7:1 - ok, it's a real bar. If I get asked "gin, up?", ok, they're just making sure. If I get asked "gin or vodka?", that's not so good. If I get asked "Martini cocktail or on the rocks? (meaning do I want vermouth rocks)", I must be in Europe, or on a non-North-American airline in Business Class. But if I get multiple questions, or get handed a menu of colorful kiddie drinks that happen to be served in martini glasses, or get served a watery cold glass of gin with no discernable vermouth, I switch to beer. Bottled beer. I don't have a problem with people ordering dry Martinis, but every time I serve someone a 5:1 for the first time - especially if it's a vodkatini - they always exclaim how good it tastes. Umm, yeah, that's why the drink has vermouth in it.... I think some people automatically order dry Martinis because they saw it in a movie or something, so they figure that's what cool people do - even if they've never tried a classic Martini. Bars that by default do the 'swirl and dump', or worse the 'drop of scotch' trick to make the drink even drier, are creating a generation that have no idea what a Martini tastes like. It's not getting better. It's at the the stage where it's like ordering at a Starbucks, you have to order a 'stirred 5:1 gin martini up with an olive' to get a plain Martini. Ok, I'm clearly just ranting now. I'm not that old - am I? Tell me someone under 40 agrees with me - please.... - Hong Kong Dave

I don't know if canned soups have gotten worse over the years, or if our palates have become more sophisticated. I think it's the latter. But have you noticed how the cans seem to be getting smaller? We always used to have Campbell's in the cupboard for quick lunches (Progresso is hard to find out here), but a few years ago I began to get sick of it - invariably over-salted to compensate for the lack of real flavour, plus here they all have MSG. It doesn't compare to real soup. So now every Sunday I throw together a big pot of something - maybe chicken or beef stock, or split pea and ham, or cream of carrot - using real ingredients. It takes little time, makes the apartment smell great, and makes Sunday lunch at the same time. I freeze most in 2-cup jars, and now we have real soup and stock on hand instead of the canned junk. Oh, and it's cheaper! For those recipes that 'need' a can of cream of mushroom, or whatever, I do quick bechamels and add fresh or dried mushrooms - ditto for cream of celery and the like. The only thing I can't figure out is why I didn't start doing this 15 years ago. But I always make sure there's one can of Campbell's tomato (not cream of) around for emergencies - that's still my 'first thing I feel like eating when I've been sick' food. Just don't try to feed it to me unless I've been chundering for a week... - Hong Kong Dave

I'm with FoodMan on this - my expectations rise with the prices. No way will I put up with bad food or service when I'm throwing down US$100+ a head (which is easy to do in here in Hong Kong). Also, I do quality control for a living, so I notice everything... But if I'm in a stripper bar eating a burger and they forgot the lettuce, well, no big deal. My approach is never to complain, but rather to quietly bring the problem to the house's attention - maybe even away from my table. I start with the assumption that I'm dealing with pros, and the staff want to know about and are eager to address problems. I want to do what I can to help, because I'm eating there. The table next to me, or my own table for that matter, should not have their dinner disrupted by the problem. If the house is any good, they'll make it right quickly and quietly, and they'll get a regular customer, and I'll tell people about it. I'm very loyal to restaurants that look after me. If they don't, they don't see me again - and I tell people about it. But there's never an excuse to get loud in the front of the house, that's just bad manners. Plus it's usually counterproductive. If it's something that can't be resolved while I'm there, I send a real letter (not an e-mail) to the manager. Again, if they place is good I'll get a phone call immediately and probably get comped next time. If it's not, we never see each other again. But nobody's meal gets disrupted. - Hong Kong Dave

I'm stuck in downtown SLC twice a year on business, and while it's not the total culinary wasteland some people make it out to be, it's damn close - especially on Sunday, when many restaurants close. Here are a few quick recs. of places to keep you out of the hotel coffee shops (which in SLC are generally awful): The Gastronomy Group ( http://www.gastronomyinc.com/restaurants.html for addresses, menus, hours etc for all these - their site even has a good selection of recipes) runs several reliable downtown restaurants. The New Yorker is the 'place to take clients' expensive steakhouse, and while it's often full you can sit in the cafe section in front and still order off the main menu. Baci Trattoria is quite decent semi-upscale Italian, and they have a few seats at the pizza station so on busy nights you can sit and watch some poor sweaty Utah boy hopelessly in the weeds - great fun. For some reason they seem to keep the Latino pro cooks hidden up the line and torture a local kid by putting him on the pizza oven. Avoid their 'Mexican' Cafe Pierpoint - it's the dud of the lot. Their Market St Grill and Oyster Bar are your 'open on Sunday' options. For the best Mexican, the place is definitely the downscale Red Iguana (not the so-so Blue Iguana). Not exactly downtown but a short cab ride, or about 40min walk, away. Details and menu here: http://rediguana.citysearch.com/ They don't take reservations, so come early or late or you'll be waiting outside for an hour - which is a problem in the winter. But the food is worth it, I can recommend the moles. Open 10am-11pm, 7 days. Thanks to 'venusv' on Chowhound for turning me on to this place. A modern Italian option, also a short cab ride, is Trio. Also no reservations, but good value - mains $10 - 18, all wines $24, and a professional operation both front and back of house. The clam apps were so good we ordered a second round, and the server did a great job with a table of bunch of loud drunken business people (us, sadly - but we tipped big time). 680 South 900 East, 533-8746. Lunch and dinner, but closed Sunday. And for fast food, I love the local Crown Burger chain. They have 5 locations, I've only been to the one at 118 North 300 West, tel 532-5300. They have a bizzare menu - a mixture of burgers, old-skool sandwiches, and Greek food, and the decor is, well, kind of like the menu. The specialty is the (duh) Crown Burger, which is a proper 1/4 pound burger with quite a lot of pastrami. Surprisingly, it's fantastic. Sort of like a bacon cheeseburger, but with a twist. There's a photo of one here: http://utah.citysearch.com/profile/11362720/ Don't expect to be hungry after you eat it. Their fries are great, and the milkshakes are big and thick - forget the straw, you need a spoon. This is fast food as it should be, even better than In-n-Out. And they're open Sunday! - Hong Kong Dave, on the road again.....

Sterling Silver is a brand name used by Cargill, one of the International mega-companies in the meatpacking biz. It's not an official grade of beef, it's a Cargill marketing concept. In Canada, Cargill's plant is in High River, Alberta, so all 'Sterling Silver' beef in Canada does get packed in Alberta. They take the good stuff off the same line as everything else and sell it at a higher price as 'Sterling Silver'. But there's no special place or breed where 'Sterling Silver' cattle come from, they're beef cattle that get trucked in from anywhere. 'Certified Angus' is the same idea - it's a brand-name marketing concept, not an official grade. In fact, for Canada it comes from the same Cargill High River plant as Sterling Silver, as well as from other meatpackers. Doesn't mean it's bad - quite the opposite, both Sterling Silver and Certified Angus are usually pretty good - but there's still no substitute for looking at your meat when you buy it. You can buy excellent quality - in your case, Canada Prime - unbranded (as in no brand name, not as in no brands on the cattle!) beef that's better marbled than brand-name beef, for less money. Here's what Canada's official meat grades mean: http://www.telusplanet.net/public/cbga2/grades.html And here's what 'Sterling Silver' means: http://www.ams.usda.gov/lsg/certprog/Schedules/schedG-2.htm I suspect it's the same spec in Cargill's US and Canada plants. Basically, if you can learn to recognize good marbling, you can do better shopping on your own. - Hong Kong Dave

annanstee, did you say Hyatts? I think you mean Hy's. ... Yes, I know all have the same boss now - his name is David Aisenstat, and his Dad was Hy Aisenstat (as in Hy's Restaurant). I saw a great quote from him once. Someone asking him what key mistake people make when opening new restaurants, and he replied 'serving something other than steak'.

When I'm back in Van I don't mind hitting the Keg for a big chunk 'o meat at a rational price. Plus I love to hear those immortal words from my youth: "Will that be regular or Keg-sized?" It's not world class food but it's not pretentious - unlike overpriced steak places like Gotham. I haven't tried the Keg in HK, it will be interesting to see if they can pull it off here. And I have nothing bad to say about Earls.... try living 13 years somewhere (like HK) where you need reservations to get a burger that's half as good and costs three times as much and is served by waitron that doesn't pretend to care, and you'll see what I mean. But White Spot I can live without, no problem.... HKDave

Itch22, pho isn't hard to make if you've ever made beef stock. There are infinite variations but here's a basic prep. Make a good homemade beef stock with the addition of a clove studded onion, a chunk of daikon or mild turnip, some star anise, a cinnamon stick and a piece of ginger. Strain into serving bowls, divide the chunk of turnip among the bowls, add to each bowl a small handful of soaked rice noodles (soak 15-30 min in warm water depending on the thickness of the noodle, thicker = longer), some shredded cooked chicked or thin sliced raw beef. Garnish with: - a thin slice of raw onion - a shake of black pepper Have on a separate plate on the table for people to add as they wish: - thai (purple) basil - blanched bean sprouts - a lime wedge per person - some thin sliced red chili pepper plus these sauces: - nuoc mam (fish sauce, aka Thai nam pla) - I think this wasn't mentioned in the thread above but I feel it is essential, it's the 'salt' flavour. This is a very common seasoning in Vietnam. - hoisin sauce - a smooth red chili sauce, again the Thai stuff is easiest to find in USA - and if you really want to be authentic, a bottle of Maggi liquid seasoning. I've never tried it and am not sure what it tastes like, but it's on the table at hardcore pho restaurants from Saigon to Vancouver. If you need a more formal recipe just Google 'pho recipe'. The recipesource.com one works but I think my suggestions about garnishes and sauces are more authentic. I work in Vietnam for a few weeks a year and have a bowl every day when I'm there.... Cheers Hong Kong Dave

Herbicidal, we have to resort to Latin to be exact.... Gai Lan is Brassica Oleracea var. Alboglabra, commonly called in English, depending where in the world you are, Chinese kale or Chinese broccoli (which never made sense to me - it's not anything like broccoli). Kale per your link is (I think) Brassica Napus. There's a lot of mix and match with names in the Brassicas, which include the various mustard greens, turnips, brocolli, cabbages and brussel sprouts. Cheers HKDave

My perspective on the differences in steak from different places or different grades - I live in a place - Hong Kong - that's unusual in that there few import restrictions on food products. So in my building, I can buy rib-eye - the best cut, IMHO - steaks from, at least before the current mad cow nonsense: Canada USA Japan Australia New Zealand Argentina in a variety of regular and premium grades, all at prices ranging from very high to absolutely insane. Plus I have connections with a meat wholesaler here, where I can get Australian regular, Certified Angus and Organic beef, at more rational prices. And I've cooked them all in the last few years, usually the same way: grilled medium rare on a cast-iron grill pan with a little cracked pepper and sea salt. My conclusion as to which was best? The one that's best marbled. Country of origin made far less difference. And marbling varies greatly from primal cut to primal cut, even within a grade. Sometimes I'll find some regular Aussie meat that's better marbled (and far cheaper) than top American Angus. You have to buy steaks by looking at them. There's no magic brand or grade that guarantees the best meat. When beef is graded, it's very difficult for the inspector (who is usually looking at a side of beef, not a primal cut) to know how evenly the fat will be speckled through the rib muscle. Really good steak houses, like Peter Lugar in NYC, use their own staff to select their meat after it has been partly butchered, they don't just rely on grading. If you're eating at a steak house, you have to rely on their reputation, not the grade or brand or country of beef they claim to be serving - which you have no way of verifying anyway. My personal approach is to be friendly to my butcher. Once she knows that you can appreciate the good stuff (hint: ask her to cut you some rib steaks from the small 'prime' end of the primal cut rather than the tougher but larger 'standing' end) you'll get some great quality. I recently was at my supplier and was able to pick up a 3-bone rib roast - Aussie Angus, in this case - which had the most amazing marbling I've seen anywhere. Hey, someone has to get the good stuff. I cooked it as for prime rib, and it was suck-it-through-your-teeth tender. It's been a while since I've bought meat in Vancouver, but the folks I used to make sure I was friends with were Jackson's Meats on 4th Ave. Are they still there? This is an over-simplification of a complex topic. Grain-finished beef (white fat) is usually more tender but less flavorful than grass-fed (yellow fat), but in North America you're unlikely to see grass fed. Also, dry aging, properly done, makes a difference, but is now getting so rare that it's barely worth discussing. Wet aging is a meaningless term - it's a storage method, not a way to make meat tender or to add flavor. To answer the earlier question about how you can get Kobe beef that's not from Kobe - what you're getting is extremely well-marbled beef from Wagyu (or Wagyu cross) cattle, the same breed as used for Kobe. Because of the BSE-related difficulties in shipping beef between countries, Wagyu are now farmed in Australia, Canada and USA. I feel the Kobe level of marbling is excessive for steak, it lends itself more to Japanese style preparations. If you do use Kobe for steak, don't take it much past rare or you're wasting money. For that matter, don't take any decent steak past medium or you're wasting your money. For well-done, just use something cheap or old. Cheers Hong Kong Dave

Drifting back onto the topic of White Spot..... I have very fond memories of them from my youth (sounding and feeling older than my years here). I remember going to their drive-ins before Vancouver had its first McD's, and even better, going to the long-gone White Spot buffet at Oakridge (does anyone remember that place?) I was raised in a low-budget vegan household - I don't want to talk about it - and whenever my grandparents came to town, they would take my brother and I out to that buffet. For a couple of always-hungry carnivorous kids in the 60's and 70's, that was paradise. Turkey, ham, all kinds of delicious food that normal people ate - and you could eat as much as you wanted! The whole concept boggled our minds at the time. And when you're about 12 years old, you can eat a rather staggering amount. Their buffet closed years ago, and I moved to Asia in about 1990. I've been back a few times in recent years when passing through Vancouver, and wasn't especially excited. But I was walking through a mall in my current home of Hong Kong recently, and I was quite astonished to see a small White Spot outlet. Apparently an expatriate Hong Konger got a taste for White Spot while at university in Vancouver, and decided to open one here. I should try it someday. We've also got a Keg here now. Now if someone will only open an Earl's.... - Hong Kong Dave

My first choice would also be dau miu (pea shoots). I prefer the more tender ones you get in North America to the thicker variety usually available here in Hong Kong, quickly sauteed with a little garlic. I also have grown to like gai lan (kale), with a bit of oyster sauce for dipping on the side. I used to hate this stuff as a child, because it seemed to be the ubiquitous 'eat your vegetables' item in Vancouver Cantonese restaurants back then. I've recently encountered a new - to me, anyway - Chinese vegetable, which appears on restaurant menus and market signs in Hong Kong as "A" (the English letter) Choi, which just means "A" vegetable. It's similar to romaine lettuce (although it is always is served cooked), with thinner and more pointy leaves. I'm told it's popular in Taiwan. Does anyone know anything about it? I like the taste, and have been using it in cooking, but haven't been able to find out where it got this strange name. Cheers Hong Kong Dave

There are 2 kinds of hangovers: A - the kind where you awake with your digestive system in rebellion at all the alcohol you poured into it last night, in which case there's no way you can think about breakfast. There's nothing to do but ride it out until you stop doing the liquid laugh or techicolour yawn or whatever your favorite euphemism is (mine is 'negative breakfast', as in "I had a negative breakfast today"); or B- the kind where your digestion is working, and you don't wake up in jail. We're obviously all talking about the latter here. These barely qualify as hangovers, in my book. For breakfast, I recommend a couple big mugs of Starbuck's Yukon Blend, an mild overdose of extra-strength Tylenol, and this variation on huevos rancheros: Chop 1/2 onion, a few cloves of garlic, saute w/some sort of chili - chopped fresh, powdered, whatever you have. Even Tabasco works. I mean, it's not like you went shopping last night for your hangover breakfast, and there's no way you're going out now, so you have to use what's at hand. And maybe some oregeno and cumin, but who cares, if you're truly hung over you can't taste any subtle stuff. Throw in a 14oz can of tomatoes, break them up small if they're whole. Bring to a simmer. Crack a couple of eggs right into the sauce, put a lid on, let them poach in the sauce. Serve in a soup bowl w/sour cream or grated cheese, corn chips on the side, in front of the TV with the sound off. Then make yourself a big-ass healthy orange or red colored drink - maybe a Screwdriver, Bloody Mary or Tequila Sunrise, grab some sunglasses, and you're ready to face another day. Hong Kong Dave

The standard soy sauce used for cooking and on the table here in Hong Kong is the light variety. This is what most of the world just calls 'soy sauce'. Dark soy, which is basically light soy with caramel and sugar, is used mainly in cooking where you want to darken something - for example, in braised or stewed dishes - as opposed to where you just want to just add flavour. Light and dark are often used together in cooking, but for Cantonese cooking, if you're going to have one soy sauce on your shelf, it would be light. I think the best way to taste test a soy sauce is to use it as a dip for, say, a big plate of steamed shrimp. There's nothing hiding the flavour that way. The big regional brands (available worldwide now) are Lee Kum Kee, Amoy, and Pearl River Bridge. All have a higher-end 'Gold Label' or 'Premium' labels (or both - Amoy has 8 different 'light' soys alone), which usually indicates no additives and natural brewing. Those are definitely the way to go. These brands claim to have stopped using GM soy, for those that are concerned about that. Buy these only from reputable stores, there have been cases of counterfeit Pearl River soy sauce appearing locally and in foreign countries. Before the days of these big brands there were hundreds of small local brewers of soy sauce. Only one survives in Hong Kong - Kowloon Soy Co Ltd. Despite the name, they are not in Kowloon. Their only shop is at 9 Graham Street, Central, Hong Kong (tel 2544 3695 but don't expect any English), and their plant is out in the New Territories, where they still age sauce in ceramic urns out in the open. Here's a photo: The one to get is their Gold Label Light Soy Sauce, and it's delicious. I think it sets the standard for light soy. We also keep a small bottle of Amoy Gold Label Dark Soy in the fridge for cooking. While you're at the Kowloon Soy shop, pick up a bottle of another great hard-to-find HK sauce: Yu Kwen Yick Chili Sauce. This sweet potato and chili based sauce is the perfect thing on many Asian fried noodle dishes. It's still made in a tiny old shop in Sheung Wan (G/F, 3 David Lane if you're really curious - good luck even finding it!), and has a label that was probably fashionable about 50 years ago. You can also find both these sauces at old style rice shops in HK - the kind where the rice is still sold from wooden bins by a 100 year old guy in his undershirt, and there's invariably a cat hanging around to keep the rats away. But there are not many of those shops still around, and even fewer of these small local sauce brands that make the world a interesting and tasty place. Let's support the local stuff while we can still get it. Hong Kong Dave

I recently had a chance to spend 24 hours in Tijuana in the middle of a biz trip. My taste runs more to street stalls than white tablecloths. My American friends seem to think TJ is dangerous. Judging by the violent crime reported in the San Diego newspaper the day we crossed the border, I think TJ might be safer than where they live. This was my first visit to Mexico, and I don’t speak a word of Spanish, but was with a local friend who did for most of the time. Also joining me was the delectable Ms. A. Most street stalls close whenever they run out of food, usually around 3 or 4pm. The way they all work is you call your order to the cook (holding up fingers and pointing seems to work), and pay the other guy when you leave. Many stalls and restaurants are closed Sunday. Just about anyone in TJ will know all the places listed below. Everywhere takes US$, the peso was 10.8 to the US$ during this visit. Sunday 3pm: Tijuana Oyster Bar in La Cacho (www.tijuanaoysterbar.com for location info). Mains $2-5 This place isn’t really an oyster bar, it’s a popular seafood street food stall that evolved into a basic restaurant. Order a mess of the little tasty 99 cent fish tacos (ask for some of their homemade hot sauce on the side) while you decode the menu. They have scallops, shrimp, marlin and octopus, served a variety of ways, mostly raw. If you’re as brave as Ms. A, try a ‘Coctel’, a plastic cup full of raw scallops (or whatever you want) with raw chopped tomato, cilantro, red onion, lime, tomato juice and a shot of hot sauce. This is considered the ultimate hangover cure. Our friend had a raw scallop tostada, and I had a cameron pescadilla – small intensely tasty cooked shrimp with melted cheese folded in a tortilla, which I spiked with salsa, lime and shredded cabbage. Everything was absolutely fresh and tasted fantastic. Beats sushi any day. Sunday 8:30pm: Carnes El Potrero Restaurant, Salinas Blvd.4700, Col. Aviacion, tel (011-52664) 686-3626, near the bull ring. (www.restauranteelpotrero.com Spanish only, but there is a map). Mains $10-20 OK, so it’s shaped like a giant sombrero. And it claims to be a steak house. And it was our 4th choice for dinner (not many options late on a Sunday). But it’s been around for years, it’s not a tourist place, the Mexican food is great, and if you don’t want to deal with street food, this is a very good choice. My local friend says that this is the kind of restaurant you take your girlfriend to (i.e., not your wife). We had some small chorizo tacos to start, along with a dish of sliced nopales (cactus paddles), fresh cheese and carne asada. Then tortilla soup, then chile Nogado (an excellent version of this classic dish, I’m told), chile relleno, and a cuitiacoche (corn fungus) dish. This proved to be approximately triple the food needed to feed the 3 of us. The bill came to about $40, but we could have eaten like kings for half that. I skipped breakfast Monday, still recovering from the huge meal at Potrero, and I knew I would need my strength for the afternoon ahead. By noon we were at: Tortas WashMobile, the little white van with the cluster of people on the sidewalk, parked on Jalisco just off Agua Caliente since 1963. Forget about phone numbers and addresses, everyone in TJ knows this place. It’s named after a now defunct car wash that used to be here. There is one thing to order: their torta, or grilled beef sandwich, which costs about $2.50. You will be asked something in Spanish when the guy is preparing it, just say yes (he’s asking if you want guacamole. You do.) Step back from the counter, there are other people waiting. The guy will call you when it’s ready (if you’re a gringo like me, it’ll be something like ‘Hey, Blondie!’ even if you have brown hair). Then you’ll get the bottom half of the bun with the beef and guacamole. Add your own tomatoes, onions, hot salsa, lime and salt from the counter, and then pick up the top half of your bun which will have appeared somewhere in front of you. If you want something to drink, ask for an agua de arroz – rice water – which cools you nicely if you overdid the hot sauce. Ohmigod it’s good. The best thing I’ve eaten standing up. Probably you’ll want to order another torta right now, so it will be ready when you finish the first one. But I couldn’t, because we had to hit… Tacos Memo’s (yes, with the gringo spelling) – you’ll have to ask someone for the location, because it’s another white-van-parked-on-a-side-street-with-a-crowd-of-people and they didn’t have any cards and I had no idea where I was, other than it was a couple minutes drive from Washmobile. The word is this is absolutely the best taco stand in TJ at the moment. I had a carne asada taco plus half a chorizo quesedilla plus some grilled chili peppers. All very good, cost $1-2 each. Then it was off to… Tepoznieves Ice Cream, Blvd Sanchez Taboada No 10737 (in the shopping mall, the shop on the extreme right as you enter the parking lot) tel 664 634 6532, for some homemade ice cream. They have more flavours than you can count (not really – there were 119 flavours when we were there, I counted). Cactus sorbet, anyone? Cucumber and chili? Tequila and lime? Buy a token from the cashier, and hand it to the person behind the counter. Even with the smallest size cup you still get 2 choices. Before we head to the States, just enough time to go to… Tacos El Gordo, the most famous taco stand in TJ, on Blvd Sanchez Taboada. El Gordo is open late, and is handily located one block from the produce market. But I couldn’t do it – I was just too full. Plus my friends said that actually the place across the street from El Gordo is now better, so that would mean at least 2 tacos for comparison purposes. I can’t eat like I used to ("Good thing", says Ms. A, staring pointedly at my belly). So we ducked into the produce market to pick up dried chilies and Mexican oregano and anchiote and a bunch of other things we can’t get back home in Hong Kong, and regretfully headed back across the border. We’ll be back. Easiest way to get to TJ: local tram (Blue Line) from San Diego goes right to the border crossing at San Yisidro. More info: check out www.hungryhiker-tj.com, I wish I had seen that site before my visit. Cheers, Hong Kong Dave

No comparison - if you want quality, go to Le Croc. I used to be a regular at Cafe De Paris back when I was living in the West End, but that was several owners ago. On a visit a few months ago, I was served a terrible meal - which I didn't eat - and they didn't even try to make it right. The kitchen is not what it used to be by a long shot, and neither is the front of house. Better to spend the extra for Le Croc. Too bad, I used to love C de P's steak frites with extra peppercorn sauce.... Hong Kong Dave