anil

Luger is a decent, simple no-nonsense place. There are some really good steak joints in EZE (Buenos Aires, Argentina) they might not be aged in the same manner like here, but oh!boy-o-boy if one were to say "I'm a stuffed-goose " after one such meal, it would be a mild assertion of the fact There are also some good steak houses in GIG (Rio de Janeiro,Brazil) and NRT (Tokyo, Japan) too. Different from US style meat havens, havens nonethelesss. I have begun to avoid the use of superlatives such as "best", "greatest" etc. in food and in other common comparisions for my own health and wellbeing.

In Goa: A peg of feni with rice and salted fish. In Punjab: XXX Rum with mutton and tandoori roti, specially Army issue rum from the defense canteens. In Kerela: Arrack with rice & meat In Mumbai & Costal West: Toddy with anything In Kolkatta: Banglu with Macher Jhol On the road, Tharra with dhaba food. Yes there is Indian Whisky,Gin,beer,wine - The above is what comes to my recollection of those youthful days

I agree with Steve, that a lot of HKG money flowed in in the the late '80 to YVR. In fact, when I used to stop over at HKG in those era, that was the buzz. It led to a resurgence of good Chinese food. Before SEA had its own food awakening, it was so convenient to schlep over to YVR from Seattle for the weekend, just like going from Buffalo to Toronto is

Dang !! How did I miss that -- I guess I'll have to do a mileage run just to check it out Seriously YVR here I come........

I admit to having indulged in Shark Fin soup in HKG. I am also aware of the growing movement to ban its use. However, Shark Fin soup, is not cheap. I'd further venture that a good soup can run one about $50-60USD/person in better restaurants in HKG. My last splurge was at "The Chinese restaurant" in Hyatt Regency in TST, Kowloon.

In my limited exposure to weekend special foods in India, I found the following: 1. In my hostel, Sunday lunch was Chicken (non veg) and Kheer, or Mix Vegetables 2. Among the North Indians who ate rotis/naan during the week, it was Rice. During winters, it was mooli paratha at lunch eaten in the courtyards in the sun. Finally, the dishes on weekend also reflected the desires of the visiting weendend guests. Not much help here :confused:

While it was for Suvir or respond, let me take a stab at it - No & No. Most Indians would take pride at sharing their recipes; however, in the past generation or two the transfer of knowledge is under going transformation. Instead of knowing by doing [or], knowing by observing, younger generation [MTV crowd ] want explicit documentation, and no elaborate manusha about fermentation..... blah, blah!!!!!!!!!!!!! Similar observations are being made in Costa Rica, Peru, Belize and needless to say in Brazil and Argentina [again, these are just my humble opinions, based on the past few years] Most Indian housewifes would take pride in sharing their way of cooking -- PSY101

EATING IN TEMPLE ST. KOWLOON, HKG Night Market, Temple St. what a concept. A must for every visitor to HKG. More specifically, eating in Temple St. can be adventurous and fun. There are many small places, as well as outdoor seating by the sidewalk. Last trip, in November, we sat down in a hugh semi covered off-the-street kind-of-a-place. Picture, if you will a typical Mall type of a food court, except that these places are makeshift, look shanty like, and each kitchen has most seafood on display.Unlike the food courts here, they also have a few large tables with plastic chairs for themselves. Very few tables for two, the mone that are there tend to be on the sidewalk proper. Food here is inexpensive and good. Menus are in Chinese and a few of the kitchens have a photo-copied English menu with limited choices. You don't want that do you ? Large and small groups of people congregate in the these tables, order Heineken beer in large bottles, and an assortment of seafood appetisers - snails in large bowls. Order an assorted platter and the good folks of the kitchen associated with your table will drag in a small LPG bunsen burner on to yourtable. On top of it will be a round can like container with a partition in the middle. Each partition contains a different kind of a broth. Then comes the big platter, with slices of meats, live prawns in wooden skewers,and Chinese lettuce and Watercress. On the side, one has hot-oil (as in spicy), teriaki sauce, and yes, a bottle of Tabasco As the broths start bubbling, dip in the skewers of live prawns, or douse the watercress, or the other meats and seafood, eggs (of various birds). When you feel that the prawns or the vegetables are reasonably done, pull it out, dip it in your choice of sauces, and slug it down with Heineken. All this for 10-15USD per head. Bon Appetit.

What food ? No I do not work in the food industry, just help sustain them along with the Airlines and Hotel businesses.

Chutneys,Pickles and other condiments. Chutneys tend to have very minimal amount of spices, Pickles are more elaborate and then there are fresh herbs,ground.mixed with few basic oils or youghurts. Sometimes one, or all three are offered with meals. Just as with spices, Pickles are made at home, with things in season. A month or so before the ripe mangoes hit the market, green unripe mangoes are bought by the basket, cut and mixed with oils and spices and put in ceramic jars. The jars are put out in the backyard, in the sun, or in the balcony in the sun. Days or weeks later, lo and behold you have the family Achaar ready for tasting. Years old achaar gets better with age. Among the few vegetarian achaars I crave for are bamboo (found in the alleys of Haridwar) and Lotus Root (in Bengal and Bihar). Southern style pickles have more tang and fiery peppers and fewer other spices. Fish based pickles are mainstay in Western India along the coast. Oils: The use of oils in making of the pickles add an entirely new dimension to the taste and flavour of essentially the same (i.e mango) pickle. Marinated vegetables: In Maharastra, expect to see onions,carrots and other vegs. marinated in vinegar to show up in some households and restaurants.

Secret Recipes - Hmmm, actually it is more like undocumented oral traditions with on-the-fly changes Garam Masala: Many families get individual ingredients, cumin,coriander,turmeric,cinnamon etc. etc. and they are mixed and sent off for grinding to the local small grinding mill. It is here lies the secret no: 1 How many grams of each (or in the past, tolas instead of grams) Extra spices: Hing,Cloves,Saffron etc. are added individually depending on the regional influences. Utensils and Oven: The chulas, the handi's, different types of Tavas, Concave-side up,convex-side up. There are Ofcourse many more subtle variations that go into making each recipe unique. Many substitutions done out of necessity due to unavailability of ingredients. Finally, adding various spices and ingredients are always done without precise measurements. A pinch here, a extra sprinkle there during the roasting or browning does the trick. Nothing special, hardly documented. No ISO 9001/9002 here Spending time in any kitchen can easily reveal the secrets. Simon and Suvir have covered the rest quite nicely.

EATING AND DRINKING IN RIO Last month I visited Rio for a few days. Actually five nights. While there are really good upscale restaurants in Leblon and in 5Star hotels in Copacabana, I'll focus on my experiences from this trip alone. Arrive in the morning, empty stomach, head straight to the hotel as my escort did not show up at the airport. Its bright,sunny and the beach is packed to the gills.... Cross over to a stand by the beach and order a fresh coconut - Drink the juice, and have the thing cut up and eat the cream. So refreshing. It is noon by this time, I head to the venue of our panel discussion -- But first the lunch, feijoadas - typical Brazilian meal of meats,seafood with rice and beans -- something like paella, but not quite. There are many small eateries spread all over Copacabana and Ipanema area serving feijoadas as staple fare. Just like the salad bars in NYC, there are places that serve variety of cooked food by the weight. In the vening we break for the day. Since many of us had travelled from far (NYC,LHR,CDG,LIS) and presumably were still jet-lagged (ha!) anearly dinner was proposed by our local hosts. Our Escort had finally shown up with the mini-van -- Off we go to Ipanema - Mio, a small Italian restaurant with Brazilian accent - It means that along with fresh baked breads, come small plates of olives, cheeses, fresh anchovies in olive oil, pickled vegetables, and small pieces of roasted meats. The wines are mostly Italian, one or two Chilean/Argentinian. I settle for Chianti Reservo, while others pick Chilean and Agrentinian. Did I mention someplace earlier, that there was no - "Hi I'm John, I'll be serving you tonight.......Let me tell you the specials of the day blah! blah!" I order "pirarucu o frono", a fish found in Amazon, cooked in Lemon,butter and spices. The side order was fresh pasta. Unlike, in back-home Italy; pasta, atleast to my understanding, was treated as an accompaniment. Being stuffed from all the food, I begged off the dessert. Having finished the dinner, I chose to walk from Ipanema to my hotel in Copa. Our Escort warned and expressed concern at the hidden dangers. Two of us ignore the advice and head to the beach. On the way we pass the cafe, where on a napkin was penned "The Girl from Ipanema"- The name of the cafe ? Garota de Ipanema (originally called Velloso) Every block on Avenue Atlantica has atleast one or two open air Cafes. People sit there for hours chugging Choepps (Draft beer), or sipping Caipirinha made out of cachaca. We park ourselves at one next to my hotel. Brahma, the local favourite beer begins to flow. A steady stream of really beautiful people flow by the sidewalk - People watching at its best :-) Next day, complementary breakfast in the hotel - Fresh fruits,meats,juices and a whole slew of baked goods galore. Off again to more workshop and panel discussions. At around one in the afternoon - events for the day are over -- Since, I'd gorged on the breakfast, I was not really hungry. We sit down at "Alcazar", a beachfront open air Cafe. We order Caipirinha, and an order of Frango Passeano (sp?), fried pieces of chicken cooked with garlic and spices. This one order was so hugh that it could feed an army - A bucket full of really juicy chicken. Three hours and three drinks later I head to my room for an afternoon nap. Nightlife in Copacabana revolves around the HELP disco. Tourists hang around the nearby Cafes taking in the ambiance :-) Late at night, itsNightlife in Copacabana revolves around the HELP disco. Tourists hang around the nearby Cafes taking in the ambiance :-) Late at night, its more beer and Empanadas till it is time to retire for the day. Day 3: Today was really low key, we were recommended to pay a visit to Fellini in Leblon. This is a really great buffet place - not to be missed. One pays by the weight for the vast variety of Brazilian dishes and meats. Leblon is an upscale neighborhood and as a result many a great restaurants are spread all over the place. Day 4: Today we decide to visit "Marius" in Leme (far side of Copacabana). It is a churrascria. Actually Marius has two restaurants - Seafood and Meat BBQ. By a majority vote we decide that we'll go to the meatBBQ. Having been to Churrascria's in Both Manhattan and Queens, I knew what was coming :) Not so for two from .FR. The salad bar had fresh seafood, including oysters on the half-shell, mussells,peeled shrimp, lobster tails.... The meat offerings on this day were about 35 different kinds. Different kinds of game,pork,beef dominated the variety. All that food with Caipirinha,carafe of wine -- cost per head 64Reas with tip.

No & No. Mostly Bengal and Mumbai. Little bit in Delhi and Panjim a/k/a Panaji.

Park Ave. Liquor on 41st & Madison for most stuff or try Lehman on Upper East Side.

The pointer you posted is to some one else's post. Did you mean your trekking trip to Nepal ?? Delhi is reasonably safe. However do excercise street smarts as you would in any major metro area in the world. If you joinup with someone local enjoying the city will become really fun. I'd still take SIN on SQ as opposed to DEL on BA. In DEL last week, I used a car service with driver to take me around most of the weekdays - It was 450INR for8 hours & 80 km, and then 4INR/km over the mileage or 15INR /15 minutes over the number of hours. I averaged approx 600INR ( approx 13USD) As you probably know, SIN offers a vast variety of good street food. http://www.makansutra.com if you didn't already know always has something new for one to try.

Suvir, You did a pretty thorough job delineating the different kinds of samosas - North Indian style, Bengali Singharas, Parsee samusa, The North African/Egyptian/Morrocan meat and peas filled concoctions. The singharas of Kolkatta are smaller and crisper (something like twice-fried-fries ) and in the Coffee House of Cal U. were served with tomato-ketchup. In the outer regions of Bengal they were served with ghoogni (chick-peas) In New Delhi, I've had it served with chole (chick-peas) too, with chopped onions as well as at times with mint chutneys. The Egyptians and Moroccans have served the meat ones with yoghurt dips. The key to having a North Indian samosas is to get ones as they come out of the big kaddhai with boiling-hot oil. Once they cool of they lose their fluffy crisp outer maida base batter. In the south, specially in Hyderabad the samosas are a fusion of north with some variation of spices from the south, use of tamarind to tangy up the fillings, as opposed to pomegranate seeds used in Punjab. Finally, this past week, I had one in Cannaught Place with mutton, peas and methi -- Hmmm, I do not know whether it was a new variation, or he was using up the leftovers and mashing it with spices I'm told that "Mirchi" in the West Village is making an attempt to revive some of the street food traditions and samosas are in there. I shall wait a few weeks before I check the place out.

LOL. How true When I was a kid I used to hangout and play at our neighours house and their daughter used to take care of me when my parents went shopping or to the "boies" or movies. When she got married, the wedding feast was my first rememberance of sweets gluttony. The first seating of bridegrooms party, all bhadroloks (gentlemens), dressed in white dhotis and all, sat down and ate till eons. Now the second group could not start till this group finished and so on and so forth. The last were to be the bride's guests - meaning me. This went on till wee hours, and I being hungry as hell started to cry (or so I was told). Rasagullas, my favourite in that tender age were finished, and so was golabjamuns... So I fell asleep hungry. In later years, whenever I was in the bridegrooms party, I remembered this incident and looked to see if any small boy from the bride's side was peeping in the pandal and invited one, at one such wedding to come eat with us, lest some of my uncouth colleagues made a run on the sweets just like Simon mentioned

Indian Fish traditions are divided into pond/river and sea. Bengalis prefer the pond/lake kind. In fact the pride of any feast is "macher Jhole" that differenciates one cook from another In the West and South, the influences range from Malvani,Konkan,Goan,Keralite(Kozikode,Cochin style) -- all based on sea based fishes, Custacians etc. For people from other parts of India, having the raditional bengali fish curry is an experience Many of the pond based fishes in Bengal are very very bony. While non-bengalis struggle even to have a small piece, the ghotis cream off a few big chunks in a blink. In the West coast, Crabs,prawns,dried ghinga are the favourites.

From my hazy recollection, there are a couple of restaurants in Kolkatta that are runs by Indian Jewish family. The Jews in Middle India are mostly Bagdadi-Jews, their food preparation is different from the one's in Koklatta. In Mumbai the Jewish food tradition is a mishmash of parsi/Irani influence -- Don't ask me why ? I'm still trying to figure that out myself. Currently, Mumbai has the only sizeable community. Elsewhere, the very famous and renowned have stayed behind while their children have migrated to .IL or .US

It is the batter and the right amount of fermentation of the lentil too. Hot-oil of course. Again, In Chennai, and in Trivandrum tradition some have hard vadais, and others have it light and fluffy. YMMV- You'll get a sense by the types served by Madras mahal on Lex&27th Vs Dimple on 30th.

Sweets in India vary by regions. Some regoins are known for their sweets. Note, that Desserts, as something one has after a meal is not really popular concept in india One eats sweets when one feels like Bengalis of Kolkatta are known for their love of sweets - Much different from the Punjabis of New Delhi, who also are know to gorge on Various kinds of Halwas,barfis. In Mumbai, the Gujuratis/SouthIndian srikand, in Cochin, the sweets made from bananas and flavorful rice-pudding are all yummy. As far as cities go - New Delhi is the place to be in terms of getting a large variety of sweets. Punjabis are willing to eat sweets from all regions and every neighborhood has at-least a few "halwais" Sweets in India can be a meal in themselves, and many times they are. In Bengal, the weddings bring in rasogulla eating competition -- just like the hotdog contest in Coneyisland; where guests at the weddiing (The one's I'd been to) stuffed these white-cheeseball sweet in dozens. I gather a British outfit is currently doing a documentary somewhere in Delhi, about foods of India, they will have a section on sweets too. I have yet to see in NYC any decent selection of sweets.

I'm glad you made a really positive effort to describe your experience. Coincidentally, yesterday, I was sitting in the bar of the ITC Lounge in Mumbai Airport talking to two romanian guys about their food experience in .IN, and also inquired about food in Bucharest. In their opinion, the eating culture in the country in an amalgam of influences from neighbouring countries and transposed by decades of poverty and strict communist rule under Cheauscau (sp?)

Good.

SIN is conflux of many kinds of folks, you'll experience coffees as you traverse from one neighborhood to another -- South Indians want their brew strong and syrupy with milk (not condensed). Arabica @ Raffles along with the home of Singapore Sling :-) Yes, airline brew is like their food,terrible.

1. Seperate ISO country code 2. Advisory to carry your passport driving from NCE to Monte Carlo 3. Maybe I wasn't thinking right having had a few glasses of ahem!!!!! :) I agree with rest of what you said about restaurants along the riviera.