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There have been individuals (myself included) who went to Hong Kong "just to eat" (sort of... ha ha) at different times. But I am not aware of any eG get-together in HK in the past. We can be the pioneers!

Yeah... triggered my memory. I was in Hong Kong Nov 2007. Went to 德發. Right the first morning off the 16-hour plane ride. Haifong "indefinitely" temporary food market. Thanks for HKDave and Aprilmei. Orange bowl. Yellow spoon. Got it! Hole in the wall. But great beef balls. I think their business name has been around for a long time. I used to live in the living quarter for workers in "Kowloon Godown", which was located exactly at where the temporary market is now. The living quarter was torn down in the 70's. The beef-ball dai pei dong used to be located at Peking Road crossing Canton Road (present day - a business building). I walked by their "dong" almost everyday in the 60's. I still remember the "bang, bang" noise from the machine hammering on the ground beef, and how the workers use bare hand to squeeze the ground beef on one hand and use a ceremic spoon on the other hand to scoop up the beef balls, give them a twise to separate, then lay the beefballs on a big round plate in a spiral pattern for them to dry. They probably still do it the same way. I believe it is the same "dong".

Would you wait for me????? Oct or Nov 2009. Promise to be there...

Wow... lots of gems info. Great timing for my 2009 HK trip. But still a long way to go (or long time to wait?)... Forget about Michelin. We can start our own guide right here on: Best for roast pork Best for char siu Best for roast goose Best for wonton Best for beef brisket Best for beef balls Best for fish balls Best for pigeons Best for dried abalone Best for .... The list goes on and on...

Ah.... Sham Tseng. Of course! My last visit there was in 87 when I still lived in Hong Kong. At that time, those were "dai pai dong" (food vendors under a steel canopy but no permanent building structure). Is "Yue Kee" the same still? Or they have their own restaurant store front now? Would you please provide the link? I can read Chinese too. Thank you! Different places for different food... Sham Tseng for roast goose Sai Kung / Lei Yue Moon / Aberdeen for live seafood Shatin / Tai Wai for pigeon Lau Fau Shan for oyster Yuen Long for wife cake Causeway Bay for ginger milk custard

Wow, aprilmei! I gotta record that episode on my DVD and go through it frame by frame to see if I can guess which one you are! Is this one in Yuen Long also featured in a TV food show? I remember seeing a Chinese woman running her private kitchen/dining room (only 1 round table) in a small village near Yuen Long. What impressed me was that she made her own baking oven to make char siu with 2 big terracata flower pots (one upside down on top of another).

Is "Bo Innovation" the one featured in the Anthony Bourdain's No Reservation show (one epidode on Hong Kong)? It is in Central, right?

I can't stand the suspense. Please... tell me tell me... Where is the best-best for roast goose?

The egg tart, pineapple bao and curry puff pastries are from Western influence back to the colonial days - with local adaptations, such as using savory fillings (e.g. BBQ pork shreds, curry minced beef) mixed with European style pastry crusts. The more traditional Chinese bakery items would be moon cakes and crackers/biscuits or sort (e.g. coconut shreds, winter melon filling, red bean paste filling, etc..). Note that Cantonese BBQ items such as char siu and roast chicken are done in clay ovens. In any case... not practical to do at home as we typically have a wok but not oven.

I have not lived in Hong Kong for years. But my brother does. He lives in Ma On Shan and here is what he recommends: Hit Hot Chiu Chow Restaurant Room 3049, 3/F, Sunshine City Plaza, Ma On Shan Tel: 2633 4829 潮州好棧 馬鞍山新港城商業中心 He said they are a small restaurant. You order dim sum items on a card (no cart rolling out). The variety may be limited but he does like it. He also suggests that you can try to locate the Chinese restaurants inside a hotel in Sai Kung or Ma On Shan area. Typically hotels can hire good dim sum masters. The one and only hotel in Ma On Shan is: Horizon Suite Tel: 3157 8888 You may call them and see if their Chinese restaurant serves dim sum. Good luck!

Any reason for it being in Sai Kung? Is it because it's near where you live/are staying? Seafood dinners are terrific, excellent. But I don't recall seeing good dim sum (yum cha) places. Perhaps things are different now. If you want something nearby, a taxi ride to Ma On Shan area (Saddleback Peak) might give you more choices - if you want something near Sai Kung.

Agreed. Maybe Yung Kee is the best known (and perhaps accessible) to foreign visitors, who rarely step foot (dining) outside of Tsimshatsui or Central/Wanchai.

You can get both in Hong Kong. The origin of mustard..... not sure.

In some shops, they are equipped with steel rollers. (If they have it) you can ask them to roll-cut the char-grilled squid. Wooooooooooooooooooooooooollllllllllllllllllllll!!!!! Wholey Abalone!!!! In California, these fresh abalone would probably sell for US $30-$40 EACH! I had paid US$18 to eat one about half the size of what you showed!!!

Prawcrackers: You ate very well!

Yours is an interesting quest but may not be too easy to fulfill. I am a native Chinese. I eat Chinese food all my life. Even for me, I can't tell the differences between the big 8 Chinese cuisines. I can tell between Cantonese (my native region), Sichuan, Shanghai and Beijing (I think). Perhaps Hunan. But beyond that, it's a bit blurry. And consider this... I had been living in China half of my life. Now imagine if I want to distinguish the differences between the eight regional French cuisines. And I have been to France only once. Where I live, there are only a few French restaurants. I don't know what region of French food they serve. I can read all I want about French cooking from books... Chinese restaurants oversea (in Europe/USA/Canada/S.America, etc.) are mostly Cantonese because of historical reasons. Only until recent decades that other regional Chinese restaurants became to spread. So Cantonese style is still the most widely available.

Take a look at the existing threads. There had been many recommendations on San Diego restaurants, many of which are in the Gas Lamp District. http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=116023 http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=85638&st=0 http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=117001 If you want to Google and find more, use this string: site:egullet.org california forum "san diego" restaurant

Freezing tofu will change the texture. I don't like the resulting texture - sort of rubbery, chewy and it doesn't resemble the smooth texture tofu once has. Tofu sheets should be okay. Pressed tofu might be okay. But the softer the tofu, freezing will completely alter the texture

There are many Chinese restaurants in Sacramento. Mostly Cantonese style. I will name the top two IMO: New Lai Wah Restaurant 5912 Freeport Blvd Sacramento, CA 95822 (916) 428-6183 New Canton Restaurant‎ 2523 Broadway Sacramento, CA 95818 (916) 739-8888 Richmond is near Berkeley, about 80 miles West of Sacramento along I-80. Not sure if you will pass through there. This one they have very good Sichuan style dishes: Great SzeChwan Restaurant 3288 Pierce St., #B109 Richmond, CA 94804 (510) 526-8897 In San Francisco, this one has pretty good Sichuan style dishes too: Spices! II Restaurant 291 6th Avenue (crossing Clement) San Francisco, CA 94118 (415) 752-8885

I live right here in Sacramento and I am an ethnic Chinese. Sorry to say I have not found any genuine Sichuan food. If you find it, please let me know. I only know of some in San Francisco and Richmond.

Use the frozen one is the best. If use the dried one, buy the kind that are in "sheet" form (not twist). Soak in water before using.

I don't know who the "usual suspects" are. Mendocino is a very small town. The "center" of town where the restaurants are established span only half a block. The choices are limited. We ate at Medocino Cafe only 2 weeks ago. It was decent but not fantastic. Only about 5 miles or so away, there are a couple of restaurants in the marina of Fort Bragg that I would like to try next time.

liuzhou: do you know the Chinese name (Chinese characters) for this "preserved lemon"?

I really like: LoCoco's Cucina Rustica 117 Fourth Street (Downtown Santa Rosa) Not a fansy foodie restaurant. Just good Italian food.

Take the dark soy sauce (Cantonese "see yau", or "lo chou"), mix it with some hot water (1-2 parts of water, 1 part soy sauce). and add a few spoonful of sugar. Very simple.