chengb02

I would second Rules as the quintessential, British meal (at least in the eyes of this American).

I will second the recommendation to buy a copy of Let's Go. It has become my favorite travel book over the past few years and when I traveled to Paris for tourism, it really helped me in getting around. A student ID (especially one of the international ones) can definitely be helpful in getting into museums and other sights for free or a reduced price, but even if you are a student, it doesn't always work. Not sure about Paris, but I know in London some places wouldn't give discounts for students above a certain age (typically 25).

hmm...plum sauce in pho? in DC? Not sure where she usually goes for her pho, but in all my pho eating experience in DC, I have never run into plum sauce. itch, you bring up a good point about eating, but also sometimes there is a need to be careful, I know certain Chinese ways of eating are considered very uncouth and insulting by Koreans (previously documented in this forum). kai, thanks for the pho making tips!

lucky, lucky...I was looking into planning a last minute trip for mid-March, but decided against it when discovering the exchange rate was so bad. I was in the UK shortly after Christmas and that was bad enough. Well, airfare is a bit more expensive, but there is always Asia. For the time being, Canada isn't that bad either, I've picked Montreal for my trip...

Speaking the unspeakable name! The service was always bad and there was the foreboding sign above the buffet threatening that any group that wasted food would be charged an additional fee that basically equalled the cost of dinner. Yet despite all this, the excessive amounts of meat and other foods available for an unbelievably reasonable price and coal grills instead of gas made it one of my favorite places in the city. It closed down for a little while and reopened without the aformentioned buffet. I've been back a few time since, its still good food, but the prices make me cringe (considering no improvement in quality) as I think back to the old days...

its very interesting how 2 posts on Korean food in Chicago have simultaneously popped up. I second Jinju as a decent intro for someone interested in Korean food but not sure if they're ready for the trip to some of the more "authentic" Korean places. Korean food is definitely growing in popularity in the US through places like Jinju and similar restaurants in other cities around the country. The Korean flavors aren't foreign to US tastebuds and such dishes like kalbi and bulgolgi will be appreciated even by the least adventurous eaters in any group.

if you're going the route of Kobe beef, what about Japonais' kobe beef prime rib? But I guess that gets us off the topic of traditional steakhouses.

i couldn't see the pics so I can't help, sorry. For those looking for an easy intro into Korean food in a bit of a "hip" setting, Jinju is a good place, but getting down and dirty and heading to the "Korea town" area is the best for true Korean food. I will suggest a few of my favorites in the area when I have the chance. One of the side dishes, called panchon (i think), is ALWAYS going to be kimchi, which is the spicy, fermented cabbage (and probably takes other forms too). The omelet sounds like it was a dish called pajun (not Korean so sorry if spellin mistakes!) which often comes with assorted seafood in it (haemul pajun). I can say that any stop in that area for me undoubtedly requires a side trip to Great Seas on Lawrence a small Chinese restaurant run by Koreans with entirely mediocre food with the exception of their "spicy chicken wings", like nothing you've ever had before!!! So good!

not sure if its meant as a kangji or not, but in Chinese, the character is "yi" and means something like meaning/idea or hint/suggestion...This month's Chicago mag has an article about Moto that made me very interested, I'm looking forward to a visit soon.

I love Robinson's, definitely my favorite rib place in Chicago. The ribs are great, very good sauce (the only one I use at home) with good extras like the fried zucchini and excellent rolls with the liquid butter! An extremely fattening meal, but a must have every now and then. Gotta go to the original location if you want the ribs though. I will stop by the stand in the train station for lunch every now and then for a sandwich, but not the ribs...

so many that i like, mostly like everyone said: long beans, chinese broccoli, baby bok choi... hmm, one that hasn't been mentioned (and that at certain times I really have a taste for) would be ku gua...

surprised to hear this is a Japanese chain. They opened up in Beijing a few years ago and seem to offer stuff slanted more towards Korean, like their bulgolgi burger...

I was there many years ago and its a lot of fun, with Coke being dispensed by flying into your cup basically. They don't have different flavors of Coke (but this could have changed over the years) from around the world, but they do have flavors of other Coke products from many different countries. The only one I really remember was a Japanese Fanta which was some flower flavor, ugh, so bitter!

I would definitely second Morton's as Chicago's best, and unlike many of the others, it is an actual Chicago restaurant, nay, institution. I've been to the Sullivan's in Naperville and am not a big fan, much prefer Gene and Georgetti's, Ruth's Chris, or S&W (Morton's is a notch above these). Haven't been to Chicago's Palm in many years, but used to enjoy it very much.

In China, I've commonly had something very similar...extremely strong Chinese grain alcohol (either very cheap (erguotou) or more expensive (mao tai)) mixed with Sprite (bad) or Coke (worse) and then shaken till foaming... Something that I thought would be pretty bad, but actually turned out halfway decent was vodka and gatorade (another 3rd yr of college drink).

must apologize, with all the different spellings I guess that is why my search failed...

glad you enjoyed your experience in Beijing! Interested in knowing more of your dining stops and how they turned out. Quanjude, especially the Qianmen branch, is always very good, though as Jon said, it can be touristy (the "locals" were probably Chinese tourists). Its also a bit overpriced, you're paying for the reputation, but its worth it...

okay, i hope i got the romanization right...this is the korean dish made up of long, thin rice cakes in hot bean paste. There is a Korean noraebang place near me that makes an absolutely perfect version of this dish (at least to my taste), but me not being Korean, I'm unsure as to the true way to make it. Too often, mine either comes out too watery or too spicy. I'm not sure if I'm missing ingredients either, but I typically use the rice cakes, hot bean paste, water, and sugar...I have tried, at a Korean friend's suggestion, adding cabbage a few times...Any other ingredients needed? Any tips as to proportions of each ingredient? Thanks!

favorite teas, a difficult topic...There are a number of different ones: currently enjoying an english rose tea I bought in Chelsea and the F&M Royal blend, but typically drink Chinese teas a la longjing, pu er, or jasmine teas.

I love the show and have gotten a number of friends hooked on it as well. I think my favorite episode is the one with the female chef from China, where she comes in with a Chinese flag in the background, everyone in her supporters box is wearing Mao jackets and hats, and there are huge portraits of Mao and Zhou above her supporters box, all that pomp and a really good battle. I would really love to see the battles that took place in the Forbidden City, HK, and France, but Food Network hasn't shown them... haha, does anybody have any clue where Chairman Kaga shops??? I got the Iron Chef book for my father for Christmas and it was very interesting because while it goes into detail on everyone and every aspect of the show, Chairman Kaga receives almost no mention whatsoever and no bio...

hmm...I would love to see Chinese beer better represented than just Qingdao (Tsingtao), even if it meant one of the other kinds of Qingdao. I love Harbin Beer or Beijing's Yanjing Draught.

This is why this post is required. A lot of bars have Guinness, but very few have bartenders who know, or care, enough to take the time to give its customers a really good pour. I have found very few in Chicago that are willing to give a pint the care it deserves. I had a very fine pint (or two) at a pub/restaurant in NYC on St. Patty's Day, not far from Grand Central, and filled with Irish policemen, though the name escapes me (I think it was named after the first Irish woman to enter through Ellis Island or something like that)...As for Beijing, Durty Nellie's is the closest you will get to a decent pint of Guiness.

I think both Coke and Pepsi, which are both bottled all over the world, tend to change the formula a little depending on location and tastes. I like Diet Coke, but I think the European Coke Light is even better than US Diet Coke. I know the only time I might choose Pepsi over Coke would be in China, where Coke is absolutely disgusting, way too sweet, but even then, I'd prefer a Sprite or something else...

hmm...this is interesting, I haven't heard this as an everyday drink, but its often used by Chinese as a cold/fever remedy...

My two suggestions would be Ten Ren in Chinatown, which has a very good selection and Teany, which is the musician Moby's place on the lower east side. A great selection of teas and some interesting food options, and Moby often drops in...