Gastro888

New Lok Kee is *the* place to go for homestyle Cantonese and seafood dishes. It's not "fine seafood dining" like Ping's on Queens Blvd in Elmhurst, which is a nice restaurant as well. Ping's does salt and pepper frog and fried duck tongues very well. They have a dungeness crab dish that's fried and served with fried garlic that I'm keen on trying. Ping's also has good dim sum but limited in its variety. They have very good "fun jaow" (chicken feet). It's been braised in a sauce that tastes almost like cha siu (Chinese roast pork). The benefit of going to Ping's is that they have their own parking lot and as a duce you can get your own table. Unheard of in almost all dim sum restaurants! Ping's 8302 Queens Blvd Elmhurst, NY 11373 (718) 396-1238 PS: Best chicken feet are at New Ti Yung Fung. Those are braised until they're incredibly soft and tender. If the chicken feet are chewy and tough, it's a sign for me that the restaurant's cooks don't know what they are doing and can't manage a kitchen well. (Yes, I'm very picky when it comes to dim sum. I'm sorry. I'm anal!)

If you want an industrial like setting with average dim sum but a guaranteed table every time you come go to one of the East Buffet chains. The one on Kissena Blvd has ample street side parking. Their dim sum's not great but it'll suffice if you want it now without the wait. (I'm particular. I'll wait for some damn good dim sum.) Don't go to Gala Manor. It's incredibly overpriced. You get great atmosphere but unless you have connections or score a good table in the front at the cross sections of the walkways (near the kitchen so you can get the dim sum hot and fresh), you're in dim sum Siberia. That means cold picked over dim sum. Bleah. The quality of the food is not horribly bad but I got away with $20 for dim sum for 2 (1 small dish, 6 medium, regular tea service, tax and tip) at New Tung Yi Fung across the street where the same fare at Gala Manor was $50(!). If you are into a more elegant atmosphere, go to Gala Manor and try their kung fu tea service with dim sum. You'll get a separate tea room and the kung fu tea service that's $5 a head. (Normal tea service is $0.75 a head) New Yung Yi Fung is my favorite but I recommend that with a warning. Although you'll find excellent dim sum (and my favorite - black sesame rolls - you must be there before 11:30 to get those babies), you'll have to know how to wait for a table. One, it's a two level restaurant. The kitchen's on the first level. Unless you're super hungry, it's worth waiting for a table downstairs. Two, the wait for the table can be a pain. Each level has a host and you have to be assertive when you're jockeying for his attention along with other patrons. They are very nice - it's the PATRONS you have to watch out for. If you're unlucky enough to sit at the front people will hover over you to make you finish faster. Also, I almost got into a fight with a family that stole my table. Long story short - their number was called 10 numbers ago (30 minutes ago) and they didn't respond. Our number came up and we were to be seated and lo and behold this family swoops in and said they were there first. To be fair, the host gave the table to them even though they didn't respond when their number was originally called. Pissed, extremely hungry and well, pissed off starving, I argued. (Luckily for them there were kids around.) So why do I keep going? Why did I put up with it? Because the dim sum is that good (to me. Did I mention they have the best black sesame rolls? Seriously, that's my crack.) Gum Fung is a good one, too. The room's big enough that you don't wait too long but small enough that if you don't get an ideal table, the dim sum is still fresh. The variety is decent and the dumplings here are good. The prices are reasonable and they have several specialty dishes that float around including roasted suckling pig. If you are a party of less than 6-8. you'll end up sharing a large banquet table with another family. This is normal and just dig right in. Just keep an eye on what's yours and that the waitstaff marks the proper tab. NOTE: These are all my opinions. So take it as just some foodie's obsessive opinion. I know what I like and I have my own standards for dim sum. I'm also Cantonese so my taste in dim sum may be different from yours. I judge restaurants by their ha gaow, their variety & selection, their freshness, the quality & skill of their culinary talents and how (relatively) clean they are. I would say that the restaurants I mentioned are all "good" but New Tung Yi Fung is my favorite (they meet all the criteria and they're good enough that I'm willing to put up with bullshit to get a table and I've no patience so that might tell you how I feel about their food) and my second favorite is Gum Fung. Gala Manor Inc 3702 Main St Flushing, NY 11354 718-888-9232 Gum Fung Restaurant LLC 13628 39th Ave Flushing, NY 11354 718-762-8821 New Tung Yi Fung 135-29 37th Ave Flushing, NY 11354 718-886-8233 East Manor website And random Flushing tidbits: The best xiao long bao in NYC is in Flushing at Shanghai Tide. Forget all those in Manhattan. They have excellent fried dumplings as well. Two dumpling dishes are $6.50 total. Shanghai Tide 135-20 40th Road Flushing, NY 11354 718-661-0900 New Lok Kee is the best homestyle Cantonese place. They make an awesome beef with bitter melon over white rice. This is where I go for comfort food. Delish! New Lok Kee 36-50 Main Street Flushing, NY 11354 Hope this helps! Good luck and happy eating! 718-762-6048 PS: Of course it is helpful in Flushing if you speak Chinese (Cantonese or Mandarin) or if you're not able to, you go with someone who does.

Palena or Courdory. I've never been to Komi but I've been told it's good.

I fyou can, try getting the broken rice from a Vietnamese market (or an Asian market that sells a large variety of rice). I learned by accident that this type of rice makes for a great jook. I supposed you could take your own rice and pound it, which would make for about the same thing. Oh ick, farina and Cream of Rice? Bleah...where's the thick creaminess?!

Ok, I checked and actually the jar's 4.2 oz and not two. Here's a shot: Ingredients: Tofu, cooking wine, salt and sesame oil. It could be a case of I just bought the wrong brand...

Here we go: Tomato concentrate made form red ripe tomatoes, distilled vinegar, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, salt, spice, onion powder and natural flavoring. No precentages are given. The ingredients are listed from greatest to least. Good luck!

Love it!!!! ← Our housekeeper in Hong Kong regularly brought food back with her from her country after her trips home. Once one of the dishes main ingredients was dogmeat. The kids weren't too happy at my barking every time they opened the fridge but I did explain that in some places people are so poor that this is one of the few cheap sources of protein they have access to, as indeed was the case with our housekeeper's family, and it is, after all, just meat. I tried it and it tasted like veal, quite nice actually. But a lot of people did go eeewwww when I told them. ← You don't eat dog in Asian countries because of economics - it's because it's supposed to be very energy boosting and very "warming" for the winter months. It's good if you're a guy and if she brought it back to share with your family, she must've really liked you guys!

I mix my Cantonese and Toisanese in the same sentence if I speak staight Cantonese. If I speak straight Toisanese, I'm pretty good. I'll have to really focus when I go to the herbal shop!

Salting without tasting is a bad habit. As is drowing a dish in soy sauce before you taste it. Gah, I hate it when my friend does that. I admonish her every time. I swear, that whole scene in Joy Luck Club where the bf comes to dinner? Yeah, don't ever do that. That there will get your butt on someone's poop list for life.

Sorry, I just took a quick glance and thought it was pork belly. Go for the carnitas!

How about cooking while wearing classes? It's just a pain!

FAGE yogurt isn't available in Canada due to the high tariff imposed on importing the product. Unfortunately, you'd have to cross the border for FAGE. But I'm sure you could work a trade agreement out with a local American...say discounted Rx for some FAGE? (I kid, I kid)

The same people who use chopsticks as drumsticks at the dinner table. DEAL BREAKER! BIG DEAL BREAKER!

OK, so it's not impolite to eat lamb chop ribs with your fingers in polite company? Good to know! Thanks!

How in the world can you not "slurp" a bowl of noodle soup? Maybe you've been exposed to those who excessively slurp but under normal circumstances it's not all that loud. If they adopt Western eating habits for eating noodle soups, I pray that the Asian habit of removing shoes before you enter a home spreads across the globe!

Please explain what are "Asian slurping sounds"? Last I checked slurping sounds were darn near universal and not limited to just Asians.

I think I get it. I'm not sure but hopefully I'll get it. Nah, because we're talking about food and how to pronounce something should anyone want to go to the market and purchase wolfberries.

Gay Zhi. That sounds like "remember" in Toisanese. Huh, interesting. Thank you so much for your help, Tepee. Maybe now I can avoid that laser eye surgery.

So what does the name mean in Chinese? How do you pronounce the second word? My Cantonese is very accented so I have to ask...sorry!

Ping's is small and cramped but pretty decent for dim sum in Chinatown. I think you're better off having the "over rice" platters or roasted meat noodle dishes at New Big Wong's or Great NY Noodletown instead. Or head to Goodie's for soup dumplings.

You bet! I've told this tale before but I'll tell it again. My 9 yo niece's classmate was wearing thick glasses, and her mom started to let her snack on gei chee everyday. In just 3 months, she didn't have to wear them anymore. Er...just don't go overboard....it also has a 'loosening' effect. My dear Hz...admit it...it's time to get them bifocals. ← In the specialty foods market now they're selling wolfberries as some superfood or whatnot. They just snack on them as is by the handful. Can you really do that? Oh, I have bad vision, too. I wonder if I should start snacking on them. They're called "gei chee" in Cantonese? Is the first work like the "gee" in "gee mah" (sesame)?

Oh that's a nice pork belly cut. Try making sui yook with it (Chinese roast pork). There's a recipe somewhere in the China/Chinese forum. If I find it, I'll paste the link. ETA: Try this Malaysian recipe: http://www.kuali.com/recipes/viewrecipe.asp?r=1147

Try to pace your ordering and go with more people. I've gone to many of those places you mentioned as a part of a two-top and I get the same treatment. It's just that they expect the larger families to linger longer b/c it's their "family outing" where relatives catch up with each other. Also, they're spending more per table than a two top so there's a bit more leeway given to them. I don't you being an Anglo affects you negatively, just the lack of other people eating along with you does.

The majority of Chinese-American restaurants in the States originated with first wave of Chinese immigrants, the majority of whom were Cantonese. Since they were the first here the Chinese food that America knows stems from the Cantonese/Guangzhou cuisine. Cantonese food on the whole is not sweet and the "sweet tooth" pheonomeon isn't common among Chinese. (In America, however, things are a bit different.) In general, sweets and desserts are not common everyday occurances in that cuisine. It's usually reserved for dim sum and special occassions. But think as if you were in their shoes - if you had to make a living, would you sell what the market demands or try to sell them what you like? Granted some may be able to succeed at doing the later and have the luxury to do so. But if you're struggling to survive here, you do what you need to do to survive. And that means adapting to market demands in order to make sales. You sacrifice authenticity for what sells. Imagine trying to sell sweet black sesame soup as a dessert when the majority of people wouldn't accept having a sweetened black "sludge" at the end of their meal. It's authentic, it's what we would eat at home for dessert, it's sure as hell good but imagine trying to sell this at a Chinese American carryout now - imagine trying to sell it 10 years ago. Even 5 years ago!

Oh geez, how come I always start something in this forum? Actually, it was a Vietnamese brand of fu yee that I got. It's super small and there's maybe a dozen pieces of fu yee in there, if even that many Given my living arrangement, I can't afford to use space for a large jar of fu yee when I need it for other things. I bought it for 99 cents earlier this year and just cracked it open this week to make the bak jook. So fu yee is kinda like kimchee then - it's a fermented product. My Korean friends make kimchee at home and leave it open on counter to get that extra oomph. I wonder if I could do that with this fu yee. I know it's not the same microbe but nevertheless, if it works for kimchee maybe it would work for fu yee? Seriously, can't you make this stuff at home? My friend and his family immirgated from Taiwan to Argentina back in the 80's and had to make their own tofu and soy sauce because they couldn't get any in the markets over there. I'm sure they made their own fu yee...I mean, our ancestors did, right? In regards to adding the rice wine to the fu yee, that's someting I picked up from my parents. They're the ones who added rice wine to the bland fu yee I brought home. Maybe they like the taste of the rice wine and that's why they do it? I don't know. (And in all honesty, I'm not the one who's sick - it was someone else. And both of us thought that the original fu yee was kinda bland. My taste buds have not been dulled. )