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I don't think the seaweed threads with sesame is Chinese in origin (probably Japanese) but it has morphed into our culture as I have seen it offered in restaurants sometimes. How to make it? Not sure. Just buy the package stuff from the grocery store and sprinkle on some sesame seeds and drip some sesame oil and light soy sauce on top. (??) Making pickles is not my area of expertise. I have seen my father made some pickled cucumbers way back. Boil some diluted white vinegar (1 part water 1 part vinegar? Or 2 part water? Something like that?) Toss in the sliced cucumbers and immediately remove the pot from fire. Let it cool down to room temperature. Does it sound about right? I am not really sure. Need help from other experts.

Thanks for the tips kimcooper. Next time I will explore that neighborhood more for other Thai restaurants.

Thank you. And yes, the sight of San Diego Harbor is just breath-taking. And... for budget travelers... some 500 yards away there is a food court in Seaport Village. Have some Greek roast chicken and sit on one of the benches outside. Same close-up view of the harbor. For less than US$10. And that's for two!

Suckling pig (skin)? Deboned vinegary chicken feet? ("white cloud" chicken feet) Braised beef shank slices? Seaweed threads with sesame on top? Pig ear slices? Roasted peanuts with salt? Pickled cabbage, pickles, carrots, daikons? How "Chinese" do you want?

How big is Thai Town in Los Angeles? From what I can gathered on eGullet or elsewhere, Thai Town is located on Hollywood Blvd between N Western Ave and N Normandie Ave. Last time we drove by, I could only find one mini-mall on that stretch clustered with Thai restaurants. I found four Thai restaurants with one shared parking lot: - Ruen Pair (we ate there) - Thai Patio (we ate there) - Ganda (selling buffet/take-out style Thai food) - Red Corner Asia (I think) I would imagine that if a place is called "Thai Town", it would be more than just one mini-mall. (e.g. Korea town - at least a few blocks full of Korean restaurants/shops) But after driving up and down Hollywood Blvd I couldn't seem to find other Thai restaurant or store. How did I miss? Are they not on Hollywood Blvd? Or they are beyond Normandie? Are there other good Thai restaurants in the area?

Out of Kalypso's list, I have been to only a couple of them. I really like The Fish Market next to the Seaport Village. Here are some pictures from my last visit earlier this year: We ate on the top floor, "Top of the Market" and sat at the patio. It was a little hot but the view was quite nice. As you can see, there were some jet skiiers roaming around when we ate there (lunch). The view is of the San Diego Harbor. At the distance is the North Island Naval Base. Sometimes you might be able to see an aircraft carrier anchored there (as we did). There are usually plenty of sail boats passing by. If you want the "ocean view", you would need to go to the restaurants at Pacific Beach, La Jolla or Del Mar. Their menu changes daily. We had 1/2 dozen oyster shooters. A sampler plate of smoked salmon/albacore, cheese, capers, bread. The pesto sauce is excellent. Crab Cioppino. Very nice. I think this was the best value. About US$25. There were plenty of shellfish and fish and shrimp and crab in the pot. I can't remember what the heck I had that day. I think it was shark. It was good. Our souvenir: their bib.

There is one good Chinese restaurant closer to Santa Monica (West LA): HOP KEE SEAFOOD RESTAURANT 11901 Santa Monica Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90025 TEL (310) 268-2463 They are right at the corner of Santa Monica Blvd and Armacost Ave. This place used to be called "Hop Li" but apparently changed names (or ownership?). Not sure what the story is. We ate there in 2006. Hopefully still there. When we were there, Hop Kee was just grand-opened and packed. Cantonese stir-fries, seafood, Cantonese BBQ items, etc.. The food is surprisingly good and is comparable to those in the San Gabriel Valley. Take it from me who grew up in Hong Kong. Prices are quite reasonable.

Go girl! I eat that all the time! Fu yu as a butter substitute... But I am in weird school...

Hi Erik: Their "Beer Duck" name was directly translated from the Chinese dish name "Pei Jiu Ya" [Mandarin dialect]. I don't doubt the authenticity. That's probably how this dish was made in Chung King. But it's just not a good value IMO. I think they do use beer to cook the duck or broth. There are a few Chinese dishes that use beer (e.g. braised mutton).

Vacationing in San Diego. We came to eat at Ba Ren for the first time too. The menu contains what seems to be mostly hot/spicy dishes... perhaps as one should expect in a Sichuan restaurant. We only sampled two dishes. My impression was a mix - but the sample size is too small to come to any conclusion. Be mindful of what you order, perhaps. We tried a dish of "Kung Pao Shrimp", which was good. $12.95. Quite tasty. Taste seemed right, unlike many places who make Kung Pao overly sweet. The other dish was "Beer Duck". $15.95. DON'T ORDER THIS ONE! (Listed under House Specialties). I don't see any value in it. A big pot of broth, which is the typical Sichuan hot pot kind of broth with heavy doze of dried chilies and hua jiao. Where's the DUCK??? About 10 small chopped pieces of boney duck, together weighing less than 6 oz probably. Bone and fatty skin. That's about it. And the rest was bamboo shoots, woodear fungi. Absolutely not worth the money. The service was bad. Not bad-bad. It's lacking. The waiter came by, took the order. 5 minutes later, brought out the food. That was the last time we saw him. No seeing how you are doing. No Can I Get You Anything Else. No dinner check. The staff was chatting and eating their dinner at the quiet corner of the dining room. That is not the level of Chinese restaurant service that I am used to, or delivered when I worked as a Chinese restaurant waiter in San Diego. I will come back to taste more items from their menu. But be mindful of what to order, and don't bring much expectation on their service (or decor either). I think I would spend my dinner budget on Panda Inn at Horton Plaza and be happier.

Thank goodness that we don't eat like that any more. Since the 70's.

There is a one thing I don't understand about Lin Heung teahouse. I see that it was featured in Anthony Bourdain's No Reservation. It was mentioned numerous times on Chow Hound. Now I see Peter and Ron had been there. Where/what is the attraction? Yes it seems to be one of the few restaurants in Hong Kong where you can still find dim sum and tea served in a very traditional Cantonese way. You use an open ceremic "dish" to wash your tea cups, chopsticks, and tea is brewed in a bowl with a lid, not in a tea pot. And the steel or aluminium water kettles on the aisle. In addition to sharing a round table with 4 to 5 other parties, (from the No Reservation episode) you probably need to fight with the others to grab your bamboo steamers of har gow, siu mai and char siu bao. When I see the settings in Lin Heung, it reminds of most of the tea houses along Shanghai Street (Jordan) 40 some years ago. That's how Hong Kongers used to "yum cha". (The only difference is they use "dim sum cards" instead of leaving all the bamboo steamers on the table. And hopefully the waitstaff don't sweep all the leftover skins and bones onto a wet ceramic tile floor.) Maybe time has moved on but Lin Heung hasn't. Maybe they chose to run it the traditional way as a means of attraction. I don't know. I haven't been there myself, and probably never will unless I feel like walking through a time tunnel to re-visit my childhood years. Did you enjoy the Yum Cha experience in Lin Heung?

Peter: The white, sponge-like piece is fish maw. The wrapper is not cabbage, but a root herbal vegetable called "Wai Shan" in Cantonese (not sure about the English name).

Why not???? Chew the whole head and spit out the beaks like all of us do... Did they just run out? Or never-ever had it?

Portland Street is to the west side of Nathan Road. I used to live on the east side of Nathan Road. A tad bit nicer. I didn't realize it's a "red light district". I always thought only of Wanchai and Temple Street - yeah, the exact same street (and section) where now tons of tourists go eat and shop for cheap every evening. Back to the food topics. Re: sea cucumber. I love sea cucumber. I know their shape is not very pleasant looking, large or small. If the small ones look like cat's poop, then large ones would resemble you-know-what-just-use-your-imagination.

What street are Wing Hub Lung and Canton restaurants on? If you remember. I used to live one block away from the Prince Edward MTR station.

This is amazing! I was just there last November. Things change fast in Hong Kong. But moving usually is not a good thing, for whatever reason. They will lose a good portion of patronage that they built up over the years. Now to start over. Causeway Bay is a much better location. Lots of foot traffic, day and night. Most of Central is a ghost town after dark. So the patrons really need to know they are there and make a visit to eat there.

Yes, "Cow's Tongue". Doesn't it look like a cow's tongue? Good for you! In the USA, they charge just about US$5.00 for the Zha Leung alone.

The fish may not be able to turn, but he probably can float up, belly up, then roll 180 degree to turn the other way if he wants to. The big question I have is who would order this humongous fish. How would they have the fish cooked? (Is it mostly for "show"?) The biggest fish I have ever ordered was a "Chiang Yee" (Green Cloth), about 10 lb. I had it steamed. But the meat was quite tough. I think the best size of fish to have (steamed) is about or under 2 pound.

Yeah! That's the spirit!!! Order a roast goose, take some pictures... just for us!!! When I was there, I had some of their "yun cheung" (liver sausages) - which are excellent. You can order the liver sausages separately, or have them do a combo - roast goose and liver sausages. I also had a casserole pot of mutton and beancurd sheets - which are very good but I like their BBQ items better.

I believe they are called "razor clams". The Cantoness translation is "Sing Zhee" (by pronounciation). The fried rice is "Yang Chow" fried rice. A staple in Hong Kong. 30 minute is indeed too long, especially in a fast-paced life-style in Hong Kong. I think anything over 10-15 minutes you can question the waitstaff. Perhaps no wonder Tung Kee is not as crowded as the other ones. When I was at Sai Kung, I also avoided the most crowded ones: Tsuen Kee and Hung Kee. But perhaps I had missed out. They were crowded probably for good reasons. Next time...

That was only an "afternoon tea"??? I couldn't wait to see what a real meal is like! Actually... there might be two schools of different philosophies. Yes there are Chinese who would not spend much money on food. But there are also those who believe in "man yee sik wai teen" [Cantonese phrase], which means "eating is the top priority (more than anything else)". (You can guess which school I belong to! ) Those are the ones who wouldn't mind paying high prices for anything - as long as they are "worth the money". And that has been a prime driving force for most of the high-end culinary establishments in Hong Kong. P.S.: And I believe the second school is bigger than the first.

Marvelous pictures! I look forward to viewing more! You posted your airline food pictures while you were on the plane via a satellite link??? (If you did, you are making new milestones!) PS: The meals I had onboard a CP flight (between SFO and HKG)... I was so glad that they treated me more like a Hong Konger than an American, foodwise...

Have a great trip Rona! And will you eat a ham siu kwok for me?

Stir-fry cheung fun with XO sauce. Stir-fry daikon cake. Cantonese seafood stir-fries. XO sauce and e-fu noodles (+ shrimp or mixed seafood). XO sauce and pan-fried shrimp. Plenty of ideas...