anil

What is the term used for ginseng in Korea ? Waaay back; in Colonial Hong-Kong ginseng was subtly/not-so-subtly was touted what in modern day is pumped up as vitamin-V

"Tari" - in UP/Awadhi terminology means gravy -- ( Suvir correct me if I'm wrong it's been decades since ....) I remember, in my youth folks telling the "bawarchi" to add little more tari in the "katori" I doubt tari=curry ..... Actually tari=jhol (in bengali)

Now these were down-under ? Next time could you ask them the native name of the fruit ? I'm kind of at a loss; since it could be a strain of lime which probably grows in the tropical islands.

MenChekno-Tai between 5th & 6th on 55th is a decent noodle place with good value.

Expensive !!! How about >1000 HKD for the basics and going as high as 1300 HKD, just like having ablone soup over 1000HKD

A thing never mentioned in much of the press in the US, is the systemic decimation of the cultural and religious identity of Tibet by the Chinese; through forced migrations, forced inter-marriages as well as demolishing and destruction of many of the buddhist monestaries. Which pretty much made sure that the post cultural revolution tibet was not like the young Dalailama and his entourage left. This is not to say that the tibetian dhabas near Delhi Univ. and Bus-Terminus in Delhi are great placs for food - Dharamsala, Bodh Gaya,Sikkim and of course Nepal have sizeable tibetian population -

I surprisingly bumped into a very old friend of mine from my youth - here in the streets of NYC. One thing lead to another, and we got talking about missing dhansakand patra ni machi. Since, his mother-tounge is gujurati; born and raised in Mumbai - and we know that parsis came to India from Iran few centuries ago and settled initially in Gujurat - What is their cuisine ? My friend says that it is a confluence of Iranian and Gujurati techniques and some local ingredients adapted over generations ?

Never heard of rijstaffel in any of the major Indonesian Islands. However, in Netherlands rijstaffel is associated with Indonesian restaurants. It is not known in the pre-dominantly Hindu, Bali or in Java ? Even the Indonesian Consulate in NYC cannot say for sure. If it was foo that Dutch colonists ate in these islands and took it with them to Netherlands, then is Dutch ?

Just because you asked decades ago, when we were young and adventurous - CX (Cathay Pacific) would allow a layover in HKG and no extra charge - Lockhart Rd. was where the night-life was - and as were the dai pai dongs - So convenient that people coming out were nearly out of monies - having spent it on -- ahem ! something spicy and something filling was the guiding principle. In the same spirit, the stalls near the Orchard Rd. in Singapore - Mostly satays, some rolls. Kaula Lumpur - Officially it does not have a seedy side of nightlife, bt who can forget "roti-Teluer" Pan can elaborate more on .MY

Grand, between Mott & Elizabeth or the NorthSide there is a lady with steam dumpling table, that we pick some up whenever we are in the area. I maybe off by a block but definitely on Grand, and definitely on the Northern side...

Britt's Coffee Liqueur from my last trip to Costa Rica, Raki from Istanbul, but it is'nt a liqueur really.

Hmm!! I know of folks from the academia, in Paris who are invited to various swarees which also involve food. I wonder if show did those occasions too

Actually two things are necessary for us to travel - Food and culture; or Food and weather :) Taking those criteria - HKG,IST,CDG,EZE,SIN among cities in the past two years. Food and Floriade triggered last year's AMS visit. HongKong has historically been one the cutting of food. As a major gateway, the British saw the city flourish gastronomically. SIngapore another city-state was the confluence of ethnic chinese,indian,malay and few others to give it another unique position - Then there is Istanbul

Unless you go to 15, Rue Alfred Dehodeneq (i.e invited to the Indian Ambassador's party)

NO discussion of street fod is complete without a mention of SIN and their hawker stands Check this wonderfull newsletter

Very uneven the past year. Opend with a bang though

Some excellent observations One minor disagreement on the last point Anyway - I've noticed the crowded yum-cha places in the morning ; an this is a phenomena worldwide. In HongKong [7:00 AM] , it's because many are headed to work. Unfortunately, I've not had dim-sum during weekdays in NYC [i have to go to work ] The second wave of customers in many places are people who have taken a morning break [i.e 10:00 AM ] About third-generation ..... same can be said about one-generation too, it's a matter of exposure -- I always observe how and what shop-keepers eat in Canal /Chinatown/Flushing, you'd be surprised at how many times I find them chow-ing down pepper-steak or some run-of-the-mill stuff. As all anthropologists will tll 'ya that food is one of the major expressions of a culture, along with language,clothing etc., so an authentic may or may not be healthy or flavorful or nutricious; but a good/bad binary classification misses the more meaningful distinctions that are possible. The same is true of many in egullet - Not all who vouch, do so for just quality of food.

The most prelant use of lobster and crabs is in the Konkan region. They braise it in chilli & coconut masala. In mumbai to taste it try Trishna or Mahesh Lunch home.

Ah !!! Wasn't aware of that !! Last week waiting for a delayed flight at CDG (Paris airport) I spotted a bottle of 12 year old "reserve" of Cuban rum (forgot the name of the brand) What is the history behind the use of "reserve" in Rums ?

Yes you are right - I meant Budvar, the original Bud; instead of "and" If you look at what is happening in Old Praha as well as near Old Municipal Hall; you'd be shocked and depressed. There are more and more McDonalds, Pizza Huts, Burger Kings (and all packed no doubt) than there are the old beer halls All Yankee style bars in Berlin serve what the most ? You got it ! Bud !!!!

Do you know what they do to console big losers in the casinos of MAC (Macau) ?

YOu mean in Fresno ?

Sorry, I tend to forget which forum I'm in - YYZ,YVR are IATA (Int. Air Transport Assoc.) Airport-City codes for Toronto and Vancouver. Thanks for the Bright Pearl Seafood pointer - I normally stay pretty much in downtown area.

This is an excellent advice. Actually most tourists miss things like this.

YYZ - Chung King YVR - HongKong East Where is Bright Pearl Seafood ? I'm there duriing weekend @ YYZ