herbacidal

thanks. i see that it's true, but exactly when did it happen? was it to secure access to the yangtze river? that's the only reason tianjin is on the list, to secure beijing's access to the sea. or at least, that's my read on the situation.

when did this happen? last i heard, there were only 3: tianjin, beijing and shanghai.

Rant all you want to. I do. yea, you're right. this whole site is one big blog for you, isn't it?

i believe i've seen bobby chez mentioned by someone else as a potential buyer, most likely in print, although i do not recall exactly where. for my purposes, most often means once more than anyone else, and since i had not heard of anyone else specifically mentioned...

that's interesting. the bid increments, minimum #2 bid, but especially the $50,000 to cover legal fees. I did think the Bass did more than $100,000 a week, but even so, $1.3 million is a great offer for him to start with. I think it was a great move on Starr's part, especially with the $50,000 credit for legal fees in the losing case. Depending on how long the bidding process is, I'm wondering how many bidders there will be, especially from out of town. The Aqua group is a little far. Not sure how much they want to expand operations to Philadelphia. Bobby Slikowski (spelling??) aka Bobby Chez has been mentioned most often. I suspect he will bid as well. I'm wondering how many of the NY groups will bid. Moreover, I'm wondering which ones.

In Manhattan's East Village, if you stand at the cube, you can point to FOUR Starbucks without even turning around (OK one of them is hidden in the Barnes & Noble, but still). But when it comes to just a plain cuppa joe, I pull out my can of Cafe du Monde, throw a little cinnamon and/or nutmeg in the grounds before brewing and I'm a happy little camper. And it doesn't cost me $5! what's the cube? where is it?

nah, bring the old one. it's still good. like a fine wine...

i believe he'd do it. if i was him, i would do it. it's a great business move. fills in a gap for him in a part of the market he's not currently serving. and for less than half of what he spent on opening morimoto. the key is if he doesn't change anything. if he's smart, he won't. he'll change some of the systems maybe, but if he leaves most of it intact, he'll have more cash generated that he can put towards the rest of his restaurants.

never really thought about his name. first reaction now that i have to think about it is that his last name was cheng, and he added dude. more along jo-mel's line of thought, you're not sichuanese, are you, chengdude?

i'm not a cake person either. haven't had enough cakes in new york to compare them to those. i don't really remember the icing, but i also thought the cake part needed more work. much too dry. just my thoughts. ignore them if you like.

i think royal is one of my new favorites. too bad only been there once. i just like the whole vibe of the place. i wanna try the schmitter, but have no semblance of an idea when i'll be in chestnut hill. same for mcmenamin's and mt. airy. and i met the owners of ten stone at that very same party. imagine that. they are pretty cool. i will find an excuse to drop in sometime.

thanks for the education, ben hong. much of it i knew, but there were some interesting facts. the part about pre 60s Chinese being primarily Taishanese, how do you know that? From what I recall, much of the initial Chinese immigration resulted from the Pearl River delta flooding. Did it only flood the Taishan area, or flood mainly the Taishan area? I need a new map of where Xinhui, Taishan, and etc. are relative to the Pearl River. Or, I need to actually look at the map i have buried somewhere. the numbers for Canadian Chinese are interesting, but not unexpected. nice to put absolute numbers behind what I guessed. higher ratio than i expected though. the immigrant investor thing i didn't know about. i just thought canadians had gone there because it was easier and same basic lifestlyle as US, but easier immigration via government. so it wasn't just easier, it was significantly much easier, because of that. yes, of course that's also the reason behind the high quality chinese cuisine in Vancouver. i've told others this before, that in much of the US, east coast even more than west coast, the non-english speakers, the restaurant and factory workers, and other comparatively poor Chinese significantly dominate the Chinese population.

The Cupcake Cafe. I think it's on 9th Ave at 39th. They're very tasty and absolutely gorgeous to behold. The funky little storefront is a cozy and relaxing place to hang out too. really? i thought the cupcakes there were absolutely ordinary. didn't taste creamy or good at all. they looked nice.

first, all of the bars with good draft beer selection have above average food at least. The ones I've eaten at: Bishop's Collar, Standard Tap, Fergie's, Nodding Head, Monk's Cafe, Sassafras Cafe, Black Sheep, Fado, Locust Rendezvous, Doobies, North 3rd, Rembrandt's, London Grill, Tangiers, Bards, Rose Tattoo I remember getting basic bar sandwiches and stuff at all of them and being quite happy. Exceptions: Monk's for sausage sandwiches and mussels Bards: Irish breakfast or shepard's pie The ones I've eaten at and think both beer and draft selection are not as good as above: Locust Bar, Cherry Street Tavern The ones I've not eaten at, but yet to hear something bad about (both food and drink): TenStone, New Wave Cafe, Dark Horse Pub

Like the fruit in this link? I believe they are 'haw fruit' and if I remember correctly, they were sour. http://members.aol.com/lumabner/china/grap...2000/hawboy.jpg is that what they were? i remember seeing them when i was in china, but never bothered to try or ask what they were.

Haw flakes have been used to feed pre-digital parking meters here in SF. If you turn the crank carefully, they will work as quarters. If they break, they will jam the meter (also effective, as long as you are not caught in the act).

no peel for me. ginger candy is good though. what are kueh lapis, ABC, chendol, and love letters?

don't know who came up with them first, chinese bakeries or someone else. Whole Foods, which may have got them from Chinese bakeries, or maybe from somewhere else, sells something called elephant ears. they're exactly the same as butterfly wings. I've seen 2 versions of butterfly wings locally, 1 with wonton skins (now that makes sense), and 1 with what i think is phyllo dough. haven't seen the wonton skin version in a while.

wife cakes suck here. too flaky, filling doesn't taste right. that's why i never eat them here. can only compare them to Yuen Long in HK which no one i've known disputes as having the best. i've only had them once there, and that was back in 1997. never really eaten a lot of haw flakes. no more than 4-5 packages. (that seems like a lot, until you've see that 1 package is about 80% as large as the smallest shot glass you've ever seen) never had sutt kay mah that i can recall. they may be around, i'm not sure. just figured out what nor mai chee is. here they don't have peanuts that i can recall (been about 6 months since i've had one, luckily a relative makes them for all the local shops). for everyone else, they're shaped like if you sliced off the end of an hard boiled egg, all white, with a indentation in the middle. my favorite sweet soup always have been: tapioca with cantaloupe and honeydew peanut sesame the last 2 usually are just made from the powder, though. i'd be interested in trying them made fresh.

for the most part, i don't really add hot sauce to things. i prefer for them to already be spicy enough. it's just not something i think to do. i think the only things i put hot sauce on are fried chicken, and in noodle soups if they don't have beef brisket (in that case a hot chili sauce).

really? that's interesting. i didn't know that. Are you referring to Toronto and San Francisco proper, or their metro areas? I would have expected San Francisco metro area's Chinese population to be predominantly Chinese educated professionals and their families, in significantly higher numbers than in areas such as Philadelphia, with Chinese from rural China and poorer Guangdong to be in SF Chinatown.

a) probably New York Magazine's food + entertainment writers b) probably b/c they couldn't get a tenth finalized before it went to print c) probably whoever has gotten a reasonable amount of buzz, hype, and press that they were able to get enough info about

i'll hafta look for the yogloo. I'm guessing the only times i drank less than 2 containers at once were the times when i was sharing the 4-pak with others.

okay, well i suppose they're not heathens then. their heads and hearts are somewhat acceptable. not worth slicing off and eating.

just this saturday, i enjoyed a lovely tripe soup at El Malecon on Amsterdam just north of 97th. only problem is that while i was eating it, couldn't help but think it would be better if it was spicy.