HKDave

No, he's coming here (or more accurately, his brand is) because the Sidoos are paying him a lot of money. No money, no Danny.

And even more briefly, Vancouver's own Rob Feenie. He had an out-of-town gig in New York re-working the Plaza Athenee's Le Regence about 10 years ago. He did this at the same time as he was supposedly in the kitchen at Lumiere. Sounds familiar? I'm not excited about Boulud's arrival (or rather, the arrival of his brand; rumour is that his contract requires he spend 6 whole days a year in Vancouver) but I wouldn't call the menu at db Bistro Moderne dated or nouvelle; it's bistro food plus a burger. In many ways it reminds me of the menu at Feenie's. http://www.danielnyc.com/dbbistro/cuisine.html As for what Boulud will do with the menu at Lumiere, by the time the renos (which will, among other things, expand the Feenies side to encompass what is now the Lumiere tasting bar) are finished, there won't be much Lumiere left to worry about. Lumiere wasn't the profitable operation. Feenies was. A scaled-down Lumiere will continue to exist primarily for reasons of ego and brand continuity, not business. Lumiere/Feenies problems have been largely management related; there's been quality in the kitchen and and on service even in the darkest days. The public's perception of the Lumiere/Feenies brand is still surprisingly good. Speculating about what Boulud will do is besides the point; the operation will succeed or (continue to) fail on how the business is managed going forward. And just as before, that will depend on the owners maintaining a functional relationship with their new Exec Chef/partner, and the owners' willingness to attract and retain quality managers (and to actually let them do their jobs). Based on their past record, the owners might have a bit to prove in all these areas.

I've heard good things, and they're just across the street from work, and it looks like they plan to be open late enough for post-shift drinkies... I tried to go last Monday, but it turns out they close Mondays. I'll give them another shot later this week.

I've been to Kintaro and Benkei recently, and, well, I don't think I'll be going to Kintaro any more. Benkei has (usually) shorter line-ups, tastier soup, and I like the room better. And it's less expensive, although that's a minor issue for a bowl of soup. Kintaro does have a few more options, so if you want cheese raman, you'll have to go there. And I think their portions are slightly bigger, which I don't need.

Hi insomniac! Sorry I wouldn't know. I have always been a Kowlooner. ← There is one - right across from Leighton Center just outside of Happy Valley. ← That's a different owner, and that's the original "Indonesian Restaurant". They have 3 locations: Leighton Rd Causeway Bay, Observatory Ct TST and New Town Plaza Sha Tin. The "Indonesia (not Indonesian) Restaurant" on Granville Rd TST is a copy, right down to the neon sign. It's been around for decades itself. The original group now call themselves "Indonesian Restaurant 1968" (that's the year they opened their first location) to differentiate themselves from the Granville Rd one.

Thanks to Vancouver and canucklehead for recommending Benkei upthread. I went there last night and had the best bowl of raman (shoyu with extra chasiu) I've had anywhere, and that's including Japan. I went around 6pm and got in with no problem, but by 6:30 there was a lineup out the door. I wonder if they're open for lunch today...

Nope... Dragon fruit is from a couple varieties of cactus; it's originally from South America but is now mostly cultivated in SE Asia. Kiwi fruit grows on a vine and was originally from China.

The real reason Keller uses them is probably the second reason quoted in the Grub Street article... capacity, which is another way of saying 'cost'. Peeling, chipping and blanching 200lbs of spuds a day takes a lot of labour. And labour, especially in union hotels in Las Vegas, costs money. Sysco fries are not simply frozen spuds, they're pre-blanched. http://www.sysco.com/products/productpage....&ctID=36&ptID=1 This means they can be cooked by a monkey, and they go frozen from the 40lb plastic-lined box into the deep fryer, and then onto your $30 plate. Just like at TGIMcFunsters, other than the $30. That's not a product I associate with fine dining. You already eat Sysco fries everywhere; they supply their products to 400,000 outlets ranging from prisons to, well, Bouchon.

Thanks, lobster. I didn't realize bento.com covered Yokohama... that makes it easier.

OK, this is slightly strange... I'll be in Yokohama on the 18th, but I'll be on freighter ship and we'll only be stopping overnight at the most. If I'm lucky, I'll have time for one meal ashore. We'll be berthing at the container terminal at the south end of the Bay Bridge, and depending on how much shore leave we get, I might be limited to where I can walk from there. I realize that this is reasonably close to Motomachi, but given that I'll be arriving from China, I think I'll give Chinese food a miss unless someone knows a good Sichuan place (but if I make it that far and have a few hours to spare, I'll probably hop on a train and go to the raman museum!) So, does anyone have any recommendations near that port area? Once we sail I'll be eating German food 3 times a day for the next 10 days, so this will be my last chance for an interesting meal for a while!

As far as I know, Yung Kee only has a minimum charge for the private rooms. You almost always have to share tables on the 1/f, that's part of the appeal (at least to me!) Most 1/f patrons are solo or couples who just want a quick goose rice or congee. The advantage is that you can usually get a seat there without a reservation, which isn't true for the other floors. Yung Kee also offers inexpensive take-out on their roast meats and rice, and is one of the very few HK restaurants that use cardboard rather than styrofoam take-out boxes. Their char siu is excellent, too. I'm happy to see you made it to Wing Lai and Man Jiang Hong! I love both places and I have to give thanks to former eG poster anniewood, who introduced me to MJH in 2003. Their Sichuan chicken is the best in town; the only way it might be improved is if they used the smaller 'heaven-facing chilies', but you rarely see those in HK.

Hey, I like the G/F! Actually, there's a 4th floor as well, but you can only access it from the elevators in the hallway on the other side of the take-out area, not from the main elevator in the restaurant. It consists of private rooms and is reservation only. As far as I know, the menu and prices are the same for 2/F to 4/F, but there's a hefty minimum charge for the private rooms, and if you're not a regular (or famous) they'll tell you they're full.

I'm probably too late to help here, but for next time, Szechuan Chongqing on Broadway (original owners of the one on Commercial) delivers downtown. I used to get their brochures under my apartment door in the West End. Menu on their website: http://www.szechuanchongqing.com/home/

Loving a meal in a restaurant doesn't mean you'll love what goes into making it any more than loving driving a sports car means you'll love working in a car factory. Spend at least a couple of weeks working full-time in a restaurant, even as a dishwasher (actually, I should say "especially as a dishwasher"), before making a decision that this is the industry for you. Don't worry about starting at 18. Just don't leave it as long as I did. I started at 43. Culinary school is helpful, but in general this is an industry that hires on competence rather than paper qualifications. Get a little work experience first; it'll make the schooling a lot more valuable. Don't do it for the money. And while I'm sure your father is a wise man - he's right about the hard work and low pay - you're 18. If after a couple of weeks in the dish pit you still think this is the life for you, then welcome to the kitchen, Newbie. Now get back into the dish pit and stop standing around gawking.

If they're 18/8 stainless, nope. If they're (cheaper) 18/0 stainless, yes, bearing in mind Dougal's points about pan size and thickness.

The Fenwick McD's is gone; in its place is a restaurant called Quarterdeck, which has a sister restaurant (also with view and outdoor seats) at Ocean Terminal. Too bad, it was the only McD in HK that served beer.

It's HK-owned, currently by Chevalier Pacific, a local high-tech company. They were here before Starbucks, which in HK is run by Maxims.

I've never heard of pressing stock leftovers to extract the last pint of liquid. You might make a remouillage with the leftovers after straining off the first stock, but you wouldn't press them firstly because life's too short and secondly because you'll get lots of particulates that'll cloud up your stock. The only thing I can think of that sounds remotely close to what you're describing is a duck press. It's not used for stock, but you would find it in some old-school French restaurants: http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/equivalents_s...ndex=D&tid=2529

I make my own. Lard crust, pork and potato filling. Minimal seasoning in the filling; just a little onion and allspice, and always some milk.

Red Pepper is still good, but the menu is from 30 years ago (which is not necessarily a bad thing!) and the dishes are seasoned to suit more Cantonese or gweilo palates. For a more authentic mainland-style Sichuan experience that's also cheaper than Red Pepper, I'd recommend Man Jiang Hong in Causeway Bay. 1/f Thai Kong Building, 482 Hennessy Rd. The entrance is around the corner, not on Hennessy; look for the hostess at the little booth with the chili peppers on it. Tel: 2838-8811.

I'm with you on the clams, insomniac. Best dish there. The problem is that the last 3 times I've been there, they didn't have them. When that happens, they'll offer to do the prawns in the clam sauce, but the result isn't the same. So if you want to be sure of getting clams, O Manel on Taipa almost always has them, and does them at least was well (it's owned by Fernando's former chef, who claims to have developed the recipe). Reservations a must at O Manel for any meal. The sauce just seems to be white wine, garlic, coriander, a bit of chili and butter, but mine have never come out as well as theirs... maybe it's those tiny clams. I ate at Club Militar a couple of weeks back and enjoyed it. Not too fancy, and the FOH staff is now all Filipino, but the food - Portuguese with a few Macanese touches, like a duck rice that someone ordered at the table beside us and I'm definitely ordering next visit - was decent and it's a very good deal. That's not Bogart leaning against a post at the Lisboa, that's just me... wondering how I'm going to find a taxi on a weekend in Macau. Edit: punctuation.

You can book, just not on weekends. If you get there at 11:30 you'll just have to wait; they open at noon. It's no problem getting in on weekdays, in any case; and that's certainly the best time to visit Macau these days. And they do have an English menu now.

Cook's Illustrated recommends Forschner Fibrox knives. 10" Chef's Knife is $27.74 at Amazon. I haven't tried them yet, but they're on my Wish List. Linda ← I've used one of these for a few years, and I love it. When I'm working I use Victorinox and leave my fancy knives at home. They're great value and you see them in pro kitchens all the time. For most home (or dorm) use I'd recommend the 8", which Amazon has for just under $20. If you're buying more than $100 worth of Victorinox, this place usually works out cheaper: http://www.eaglemountainknife.com/

The place is called 'Guangdong Barbecue' in English, and - unusually for a roast meat shop - has an English sign and menu. It's a well-known local chain, and the one you were in is our local roast meat shop. They have another location in the Whampoa Gourmet mall in Hung Hom. Their char siu and roast goose are excellent but I don't go there for much else. 43 Hankow Road.

3 locations, all close to each other. The bigger ones are at 405 and 429 Lockhart, and there's a tiny additional one around the corner (this is the one that's 'under the bridge', and recommended if you want the full experience, it's only got about 6 tables) on Canal St. Tel 2893 1289. If you go under the bridge along Lockhart Rd toward Causeway Bay, there's another chili crab place (different owner) that has similar food but is a bit classier. Opposite the back of the fire station. I can't remember the name at the moment.