chengb02

I hang out with a lot of Koreans, but we never really got into talks of non-traditional Korean foods in Seoul, outside of fast food/Western chains. Are there are lot of "trendy" fine dining or fusion places? I know in Beijing and Shanghai this has been the trend over the past 5 years, especially trying to create some kind of "contemporary Chinese cuisine" and the like. The older capitals of food in Asia, HK and Tokyo are starting to get challenged from cities like Beijing, and I wonder how Seoul is doing in this respect?

I really like the Jamie Oliver cookbooks as the recipes are mostly pretty simple and my results have always been good using it. I would prefer not to add another tv chef to the list, but the other day I was perusing Rocco's book "Flavor" and it looked very good, the recipes were all relatively simple, it listed total time and degree of difficulty. I haven't tried any of the recipes yet, but plan on doing so soon, hopefully with positive results.

Diet Coke is always good, maybe a Sprite every now and then...If a place only has Pepsi, its iced tea for me...

I've been to the Scholar's Inn in Bloomington a number of times, by far the finest restaurant in Btown, and enjoyed the bread from the Scholar's Inn Bakehouse. Does the Indy restaurant have the same menu as Bloomington?

Mikado is a good option, but it is a bit overpriced for what you're getting. Is it connected to the Mikado in Bloomington, which I would generally say the same thing about? St. Elmo's is a good bet, but there are also 2 Ruth's Chris and a Morton's...I'm looking to go beyond steaks...Yummy's for dim sum is definitely the best you can get in Indy. I understand what Jim is saying, my trips to Indy have been centered around sporting events downtown or plays downtown, so I haven't gotten outside the downtown area. My post was intended to be less a complaint about the limited options and more a looking into of what there really is in Indy. But it definitely would be nice to have a "trendy" restaurant in downtown Indy.

as somebody who has spent a lot of time in Bloomington, trust me, the idea is a must! Indy is the main city in the entire state and yet there is nothing. Bloomington's quality dining options are minimal at best, when investigating into what there was in Indy, I was surprised to find out there wasn't much available there either. Around this time of year was always the hardest, picking a Valentine's Day restaurant was always very difficult.

Indy dining is difficult, agreed...with the discussion of other cities though, maybe we can liven this one up again...Outside of St.Elmo's and, say, Ruth's Chris are there any good dining choices around?

Starbucks is bound to be successful anywhere it opens and I'm sure it won't be too long before they start opening up everywhere in Paris. It seems odd nowadays to be in a major city and not see Starbucks everywhere. In a city like Paris, the cafe options are so numerous that unless I was on the go, I probably would choose somewhere else, but in some places in the US, Starbucks basically serves as the cafe culture. Starbucks seems to have 2 models of store, one which is meant as nothing more than a grab your cuppa and go place and the other offering more of a cafe environment, and wi-fi...Perhaps I'm too corporate, but I appreciate Starbucks because I know that I can get the same cuppa wherever I am in the world (basically)...

all this civet cat and no SARS, those that have tried it can count themselves as lucky (I guess) considering it is now nearly impossible to get within China. I don't know if I have much to compete with everybody else, Chinese just naturally eat a lot of weird things. But I guess what would top my list, and still be pretty low, would be snake (and also add snake blood to the list). The snake was okay, but the best part presentation wise (not for the faint of heart) is the killing of the snake at the table and then pouring its blood into a glass of bai jiu, I think the point is for the alcohol to dull the senses and help you to ignore what you saw...

John, if you're referring to the area around the Niu Jie temple, that is long gone, as far as I know not to have been replaced...Not sure what happened with all the Uighyers now... Courtyard has a very contemporary Asian fusion type menu, with a lot of Chinese influences. The food is excellent, I've been there both for dinner and the excellent 3 course and Champagne prixe fixe Sunday lunch on a number of occassions which was an excellent deal (not sure if its still going on). I have my own pictures, but go to the source for the best, there is a link to the restaurant on the gallery's webpage www.courtyard-gallery.com. The restaurant has a very plain white interior with just a few of the top art works from the most recent show on the wall. It also is directly across the pond from the Forbidden City, so its a very nice setting. As for Jing, I guess its an inaccurate statement to say it knocked out Courtyard as BJ's top restaurant as it was listed in Conde Naste's 75 Best New Restuarants around the World, an honor Courtyard received when it opened. It is surprising it took the Palace this long to get some solid restaurants, as they also have opened Huang Ting late last year, which has been the new talk of the town. I haven't dined at either restaurant yet though. Jing serves mostly Asian fusion as well, in the same price range as Courtyard.

KFC in China is so much better than in the US! After all my comments on Chinese food, I feel somewhat embarassed to admit it, but its a guilty pleasure, and since there are locations everywhere you turn, it is great in a pinch and it has sort of become my pre or post Jia A match meal...I don't know why it tastes so much better, but my guess is also because the chicken quality is better. The "old beijing" wraps were a must try (not sure if they are still offering them), instead of peking duck, they used fried chicken.

London on a budget can be extremely difficult...I just returned from a trip to London last week and it was wonderful, but a bit expensive...I didn't get to all the restaurants I wanted to, but those that I did hit were mostly very good. Chelsea Kitchen, not far from the Sloane Square tube station offered a nice meal on the cheap, it was very cozy and great wait staff, with pertty good food. I would say mostly to avoid tourist areas or walk a few blocks off the main streets and hit some pubs, drinks will raise the price of any meal fast, but especially for a first timer, you must sample some of the local brews, just go with half pint glasses instead. Good luck and wish you have a good trip!

Gary, sorry to offend...well, my comment about street foods was just because in a lot of other parts of China there is nothing similar and I just think its cool how after around 8 or 9 pm many of the side streets just sort of clog with people setting up their mini restaurants. As for the dome, I would consider it more as fusion or "modern Chinese" and not so much pure French. The "lavender menu" there is one of the more creative dinners I've had in China. However its Xintiandi and so its a bit overpriced, for a first timer, unless a big foodie, I would advise against it. As for the "Yu Xiang" comment, touche...Yes, its true that not all Sichuan dishes need to be extremely spicy, but there are some that should, and I haven't had many that have been spicy enough in Shanghai. Talking with a friend who used to run a Sichuan restaurant in Shanghai, this is mainly because of the Shanghainese palete. I am interested in hearing your suggestions in general though, as my typical stops in Shanghai are usually short and are usually business related and so its hard for me to avoid the Xintiandi/M on the Bund type meals....Do you have a recommendation for a good dongbei restaurant in Shanghai? Any ideas on whats happening with 3 on the Bund? I will try to keep my regionalism contained in future posts, but I agree this is a good discussion and hope that it can continue. There arre so many good restaurants in the major cities in China, both for high cuisine as well as local Chinese food. Being able to speak Chinese is a huge advantage as you can just stop anywhere around a neighborhood and probably have an excellent meal, the only problem is finding them. As I said, recent visits have confined me to specific areas of the city so its a little harder. As an aside, two more questions to ponder...What is the best place for a meal around Nanjing Xi lu or Hua Haui Zhong? What about a good bar in Maoming Lu?

its not traditional bar food, but I really like Cafe Asia's location in the city. Good, cheap pan-Asian food and good happy hour deals. The atmosphere is very young and hip in an industrial sort of setting...I've enjoyed each visit I've made there...A bit of a warning, the bathroom is a bit strange...

agree with the general sentiments of the others...stopped in a few times before or after Caps games. The food is alright, not horrible or spectacular, just average...I'm interested in what its like downstairs as I've always eaten upstairs...

I'll work on thinking up more local flavor type restaurants in Shanghai, but as was said earlier, if you have any Chinese speaking ability or sense of adventure, just stop into some local restaurants along the way, its a good way to really see what locals are eating. I know one thing I loved about Shanghai was how, late at night, you would see locals setting up their little, i guess it would be equivalent to the da pai dongs of HK, just little stalls along the street where you could get pretty good food very cheap. I would have never survived a semester at Fudan without the vendor at the west gate who would set up shop selling spicy fried chicken every night...Okay, thinking about more restaurants, Shanghai Ren Jia is very good traditional Shanghai fare with restaurants around the city, ask your concierge for the closest one. For upscale dining there is the Xintiandi area with 2 favorites, The Dome (very...interesting, set in an old Orthodox church) and Ye Shanghai, but anything in that area will be very expensive. Xintiandi is interesting, at the very least for the contrast, expensive restaurants and bars charging up to 80 RMB for a can of coke (CRAZY!!!) while if you keep walking a bit, you will be at the sight of the first Communist Party Congress...This is New China for you... For Sichuan food that isn't too spicy (Shanghai people can't handle it), hit Darling Harbour (Dalinggang) on Nanjing Xi Lu. I had really good Sichuan at a place in Pudong across from the Crowne Plaza, but the name escapes me...I will ask around and see if I can come up with a few more...

Most convenient QuanJuDe from Tiananmen would be the original at Qianmen. To get there from Tiananmen, walk away from Forbidden City, toward Qianmen, past the subway stop and down Qianmen Dajie a little bit. Well, there is also one on Qianmen Xidajie, by the big KFC (I think the first one in BJ), but why not walk a bit further and hit the original? As for Goubuli, there are a couple in BJ, I am aware of one somewhere around Xidan...

I've been to Weber in the 'burbs and in the city and both were very good. I agree with Simon, they're attempting to capture a different market and nobody will put them at the very top of Chicago steakhouses, but the steaks are very good. My only complaint is that service at the one in Lombard is often spotty. I just wonder how long we're going to have Weber to ourselves, before they go national.

never knew there was Vietnamese in Wheaton! Do they have bahn mi (a new craving of mine) for lunch? Diho Westmont is far bigger than Diho Skokie and its still the best place to get Chinese groceries (though with a number of openings in Naperville there are options in a pinch). Has anyone tried the new Taiwanese bakery in Iriquois? Okay, as to the question, the best sushi in Naperville is probably Sushi House downtown. However, Yamado on Ogden Ave is pretty good and has a great $1 sushi special on Tuesday night and Saturday (but cash only!). The other food there is unremarkable, so just fill up on the sushi. For American food, I have had many fine meals at Branmor's in Warrenville and have often taken friends, have yet to hear a complaint. There are some decent Indian places, but my favorite was in Iriquois (the name escapes me) and it seemed to have closed down last time I was there.

I am a big fan of bulgolgi, even more so than kalbi because sometimes it can be too fat. Either way, they are both excellent and there's nothing better than grilling it yourself and then wrapping it in lettuce with a touch of hot pepper paste.

I'm not Korean but have had many a meal in Korean restaurants and have gotten used to metal chopsticks, though it isn't easy! I haven't heard about using a spoon instead of chopsticks to eat rice, but I've heard about picking up the rice bowl. Unfortunately, as a Chinese, its just second nature for me...

I think Korean food is definitely growing in popularity in the US. The problem is that like a lot of ethnic restaurants, the service at Korean places is often spotty, the restaurants are focused in an ethnic neighborhood, and the menus lack a lot of descriptions and usually use the Korean names. This sets up a very unwelcoming environment to many non-Koreans. It is increasingly common to see Korean influenced dishes, especially Kalbi ribs, in non-Korean restaurants. I also know of some attempts in Chicago (Jinju) and other cities where "trendy" Korean restaurants have opened in attempt to attract a new kind of customer.

I know before the World Cup there were a number of articles about Koreans eating dog. I saw one that went into the description of how they were killed for optimum tenderness and it seemed more than a little wrong. Not sure if it was true or not, though. I know dog is not unusual in Korea and Vietnam. I've run into in China, especially in the northeast where it is typically eaten in the winter as a soup, for its warming qualities, and I've had it served as such. In poorer regions of China, I also am aware of dog hotpots...

do we have a fellow Northeasterner here, Ben? Well as for me, the classic winter food is hotpot, but good dongbei food is perfect for the season. Dumplings are a winter dish to me because of their connection to Spring Festival. I don't think its necessarily a winter dish, but I would also say hong shao qie zi, a favorite of mine...

another place came to mind, while you are out that way, you should hit Lao Beijing Zhajiangmian, across the street from Tiantan's North (?) Gate and kitty corner from Hongqiao market (sorry, I always forget which gate faces Hongqiao)...A great place for traditional Beijing food and always packed but fast service...Definitely a good spot...