chengb02

gary got most of the ingredients right, the typical ingredients would be some dried nuts and berries, some green tea, and a dried chrysanthemum or two with a block or two of rock sugar. If the mix is right, as it often is in good restaurants in China, the tea is excellent with a bit more sweetness than found in most Chinese teas.

my favorite use would be in ba bao cha!

I totally agree about the butter, wonder why they even offer it this way, ugh!

okay, I guess in my original post, perhaps I was a bit harsh. Ruth's Chris, as a higher end steak house, should not make such mistakes. That isn't to say they never happen, as I can recall one occassion when a steak was undercooked (however they were very good about it, comp'ed the steak and dessert). The original intention was more to wonder whether the mistake was made due to their plates or not. I typically order steak on the medium well side, but will always make sure to order it medium at Ruth's Chris because the plate finishes off the job (and this is something I am pretty sure they inform the diner of before odering).

I can't imagine a steak overcooked at Ruth's Chris, as I recall they state on the menu their exact definitions for the differing degrees of doneness. I wonder if the mistake had to do with the sizzling plates (which, if I remember correctly, they do warn you about)...

Though I must disclose my natural preference for the boys on the south side, this in no way influences my food choices. Wrigleyville has a number of good pre/post game restaurants whereas Comiskey has nothing, but inside the park, Wrigley is terrible! The Cubs have nothing worthwhile at the concessions, with the exception of a better beer selection than Comiskey. The Sox grilled kosher dogs (with grilled onions if one so chooses) are excellent, and even better on thursdays when the price is knocked down to $2.50 for a kosher dog and $1 for a regular dog. Comiskey has a number of other food offerings (pizza, italian beef, mexican, gyros), but you go to the ball park for a dog, and Comiskey's are very good. Comiskey has a number of dessert offerings (including what is available in the sky boxs in one of the concourse concession stands), but every now and then I'll grab a churros from the vendor. In my younger days, I remember being at SkyDome when it first opened and they had McDonald's as one of the concessions. I was much younger and remember how cool I thought it was, but I can't imagine the same reaction now. I made the trip up to Miller Park last year and was very disappointed with the food options, though the park is absolutely beautiful. I'm looking forward to a trip in a few weeks to Camden Yards for some of the Boog's BBQ...

some thoughts...I totally agree with something Lisa J said, these lists are created for a very distinct purpose, to gain publicity and sell magazines. Look at all the conversation that has went on about it here. I'm sure many of us have went to the website a number of times (or bought/read the magazine). All magazines do this because its a great way to get people talking about your magazine. Those people who base where they eat solely on this list are doing so more to be able to say "I've been there" rather than for the food. That is not to say if somebody went to any of the places in the top 10 they'd be disappointed. The list is published by a UK magazine, so we should expect it to be UK or Euro-centric. It does include restaurants from all over the world, but it does so here and there. I agree that Trio belongs on the list, but Charlie Trotter's is a fair representative from Chicago. I'm sure people in LA feel there are a number of restaurants that deserve to be on the list instead of Spago, but LA also only got one representative. I'm sort of surprised that there is nothing from Bangkok, Singapore, Shanghai, or Tokyo. There is Felix from HK, I'd put a few other places above it, but its not a flawed choice... So is there any restaurant that blatantly doesn't deserve to be on the list? Maybe one or two, but the list isn't perfect and all places will provide an excellent meal. Just like listing music or beautiful people or anything else, how can you really say one food tastes better than another, especially when looking at different cuisines...

I think all of this is true, my dining experience in HK over the past few years has tended to be more hype than anything else. But then again, I don't think people who go to dim sum are looking for creativity. Most customers know what they like and what to expect and thats what they want. As for "shanghai" dim sum, I don't even know if I would include xiao long bao in this category (more for personal reasons, b/c when I go to eat xiao long bao, thats all i'm planning on eating). This is all coming from a weak memory of past dining experiences, but there were a number of dishes that were very much Shanghai type food and also a few that combined shanghai and HK dim sum. I don't know how much HK can really look over its shoulder at Shanghai, as they are almost equals today. If I was out to open a high end Chinese or fusion restaurant, I'd definitely go to Shanghai before HK, but I still think the tastes in China (for both Chinese and majority of expats) aren't ready for too much over the top haute cuisine right now....Though, if it ever gets off the ground (not sure of recent progress), I'm VERY, very interested in how 3 on the Bund will do...

I'm a lurker on the DC board, my girlfriend goes to school in DC and I get out there a few times every other month or so. On my last trip, she dragged me to Old Town/King St in Alexandria and we were both very hungry and not able to find anything, so we settled on Le Gaulois where we had a pretty good meal (with not so good service). I am planning on being in town again soon and looking for a good French restaurant with relatively reasonable prices (entrees in the $20-$25 range). Further, I'm wondering if anyone else has been to Le Gaulois and how they feel it compares to some of the other area restaurants. Thanks!

this contest is a very good idea, I wish I could take part, but my cooking skills, especially Indian, are very limited. I love asparagus, but typically just grilled or roasted with a bit of olive oil and some spices. I can't wait to try some of the recipes this contest will hopefully produce!

Sorry, didn't read ahead, this is already too late, but...If you are looking for something to do in Chinatown for a few hours and haven't been yet, check out the Spy museum. When I go to Chinatown I rarely eat Chinese food as I don't like most of the places, but will stop at Legal Seafood. As for Georgetown, there really isn't much. If you're going there to shop, just stop by D&D and get a sandwich or something and then continue on your way.

Marco, thanks for sharing your post which really got me to thinking about some things. I know with the Chinese language a sort of similar situation developed where those that were further away from the linguistic center actually kept the more traditional pronounciations of words. Though in your grandmother's situation she was far away from Korea, that distance can actually help to guarantee that her cooking can be more "true" to the "traditional" ways of cooking. As with anything, a cuisine will evolve over the years and new methods will replace old ones, being farther away from the place where that evolution is taking place can often help to secure what is traditional. It seems strange at first, but it does really make sense. Anyways, thanks for sharing that great post with us!

Sorry, this is going to be way off topic! I have spent a considerable amount of time in a small midwestern town with 2, yes 2, Tibetan restaurants. This would seem odd, but the town I speak of is sort of a hub for Tibetan culture. Anyways, having been to Tibet, I can honestly say that "authentic" Tibetan food is something nobody would want to eat, further, the stuff that is offered in the US isn't close to authentic and, at the places I've been to, isn't very good. Yet these places are very popular...I think people go just because it makes them feel better about themselves. Anyways, back on subject, I haven't seen much mention about Indian food in Chicago. I know Hema's Kitchen is a perennial favorite for top honors, but interested in other ideas. I like Hema's and go every now and then, but I'm not really overly impressed with it, so I wonder if perhaps this is just my own bad ordering. As for London, I would second the recommendations for Zaika and add that while Khan's came highly recommended, I was a little disappointed with it.

this has been a very interesting discussion to me as I've always considered getting a Chinese cookbook in the US to add to my collection of ones purchased in China and recipes from relatives, but never really sure as to which ones will produce the "authentic" flavors that I know and am looking for. When I do deal with cookbooks, I typically am just looking for a good recipe and maybe a picture or two of the dish, anything more can get to be overkill, but it really depends on who is writing the book. That doesn't mean scholarly inquiry (or even just a bit of knowledge on the food) is a bad thing, but I'd prefer to find it in something other than a cookbook.

to deal with this factor, the best thing to do is right after buying your green onions, cut them all up, put in the refrigerator what you might use in the next two days or so and freeze the rest for later use. You won't lose much of the green onions flavor by freezing them and it will be convenient for future use.

I wanted to add my thoughts, but most of the other people have hit home my main points. First, that is a bit heavy on the corn starch. Also, if you want a lighter sauce, just use a different soy sauce. Finally, the savior of any Chinese dish is green onion and/or oyster sauce. If you are looking to add flavor, add one or the other or both!

Woo Lae Oak is originally a Seoul restaurant that exported itself to the United States. Opened in a number of locations (I have never been to the PC one, but went to the one in Chicago a few times) and has closed down in most of their locations. It is very different from the majority of Korean places as it has a relatively fancy dining room and is generally more "upscale". However the food offered is more or less the same as at any other Korean restaurants and the quality doesn't equal the higher prices. Unfortunately, my lack ofa car when I'm out in DC has typically stopped me from sampling the many offerings in Northern VA, although I have been to a very fine Korean buffet, pretty big spot in a Korean strip mall, but the name escapes me

if the weather is nice, its definitely worth it to walk around the campus and down to the lakefront. Offers a great view of the skyline and the rocks painted by the graduating classes add to it. Joy Yee's is worth hitting (if you won't be in Chinatown) as is Lulu's...there are Potbelly's everywhere in Chicago, so not sure if you want to do that for a meal. I know there is a Malnati's in the area if you don't have plans to hit a different place for Chicago style pizza. Viva Le Crepe is a nice little spot, I haven't eaten their dinner crepes, but have stopped by on a number of times after a movie or show and I really like their dessert crepes.

Shanghai has their own sort of dim sum that is very popular and has is nothing new.

as far as I know, dol sot refers to the kind of stone bowls that are used typically in dol sot bi bim bap that are heated and cook the rice on the bottom. What I'm talking about is a large, thick, flat rock that bulgolgi and kalbi is cooked on.

hmm...Mark's Duck House is alright, on weekends in DC I'll go there for dim sum when I can, but I haven't tried the regular dumplings (which is what I guess this post is referring to). Because I make dumplings all the time (either from scratch or cheating using the frozen variety), I don't often order them in restaurants. I also haven't found any Chinese food in the DC area that I really enjoy (this includes Mark's and Tony Cheng's)....oh well, guess I need to do more exploring! As for making dumplings, here is a very good thread from the Chinese cooking section.

one of the most fun (and more traditional) way to have Korean bbq is instead of gas or coal grills on the table, to place a large heated rock and let the beef cook on the rock. Unfortunately, not sure if this option is available anywhere in Chicago. I've heard some talk that Woo Lae Oak, formerly located in the River North area, has opened (or will be soon opening) in Rolling Meadows. I'm curious to know more...Woo Lae Oak originated in Seoul and spread to a number of large cities in the US, but it seems most have closed down (with the exception of the DC chain). The problem always was that the food was overpriced and the setting seemed a bit too nice for regular Korean bbq...

I haven't sampled many of the DC dumplings, far better to just make them at home! I think it begs the question, why don't you try to make a homemade variety?

chelsea in london?nyc? what type of jasmine tea do you like?

I've thought about trying the RU-21, but haven't really found it in stores. The similar products that they do sell haven't worked for friends. Exercise as cure for hangover? It seems plausible, but how do you get up and go exercise? Obviously sex is the far easier option...The idea that water helps prevent hangovers is familiar, in China there is belief that tea (especially a green tea) helps to prevent the aftereffects of a night out imbibing...