Gastro888

Aiiieee! No popovers! *gasp!* What's a girl to do? Ai, me. Ah, yes, I've been to Normandie Farm for tea. Was sorely disappointed. (Parents weren't pleased either). Their popovers were kinda crusty and a bit too hard. If you're familar with the Rockville, MD area, do you remember Phineas' Steakhouse on the Pike? They had the BEST popovers. Too bad they went outta business. Anyone done brunch at Bistro Bis? Worth going? Is it fancy dress on Sundays?

Acutally, I'd be surprised if she DIDN'T give you that much. We Asians like to feed (stuff?) our friends and family. Why not make kimchi pancakes? I don't know the name of them but I've seen the bags for batter at the Korean markets.

The one in Wheaton's open and didn't see any crowds when I drove by Sunday afternoon.

Cool beans, thanks for the tips, guys! I appreciate the link to Vidalia's menu site. I dislike overly sweet desserts so I'll stick with the trio of sorbets/ice cream. Personally, I don't like how Vidalia does its add ons but hey, I guess they can get away with it. Did they offer the popovers in the bread basket? I remember Tom writing about the popovers.

This Toisanese family also! I love chicken wings done this way. I usually strain my sauce before I put it away. The bits and pieces tend to get "rubbery and mushy" sitting in the liquid. I had asked about a recipe( in another thread) for the yellow coloured octopus found hanging beside Cantonese ducks at my Chinese BBQ shop. I just realized that it was cooked in Lo shui...pronounced in Cantonese with the long vowel O in LO. ← AI YA! NOW I know what you're talking about. Man, I so loose Chinese points for not connecting the dots. My mom does chicken wings in a sauce like that. As soon as you mentioned chicken wings, Dejah, it clicked. Yeah, Ben - it's more of a restaurant dish than a home dish. Sidebar - can I say how cool it is to find some fellow Toisanese in here? Woo hoo!

Thanks for posting the menu, mhberk! As for the service at Vidalia, I guess I should clarify. Yes, it was a while since I've been. The server was friendly and efficient with all the other tables except ours. I don't know why it was - due to all of us being young (maybe he thought we wouldn't tip?), and/or being women and/or our ethnic backgrounds. Don't know and would like to think he was just flakin' out but his service to the other tables didn't confirm that. *shrug* I'm hoping my Saturday night outing to Vidalia (6:30pm - look for a four top with one girl dressed in all black) will be a good experience. I like RW b/c I can try these great restaurants while sticking to my meger budget! Woo hoo for RW!

I'm Toisanese, too. Funny, the old water thing came to top of mind when I first read this. I don't know if Toisan cooking has this or my family just doesn't do it.

So pretty! Great job! More pictures, please!!!!

Teaism has good vegetarian options as well. Nooshi and Signapore Cafe near 19th and M has some good noodles dishes that can be made vegetarian (ex: mee goreng). Malaysia Kopitam (I know I'm spelling it wrong...) is a good choice, too. These 3 places are solidly decent, reasonably priced eats. Don't go to Penang - it's overpriced and the food's crappy. If you want some trendy place to hang out, go for it but otherwise, pfft.

Vidalia with my girlfriends on Saturday night! Looking forward to it. I'm sure the food will be stellar. Hopefully we'll have better service than the last time I went there.

I didn't realize you didn't go there for the food until I went there. I don't know why my other friend likes it so much. Ick. My Moroccan friend gave the dancer props. She was good!

Marrakesh is WAY overpriced and not all that great IMHO. I went with a bunch of friends a couple months back (one who was from Morocco) and the food was bleah. People go for the experience and the belly dancer (who was very good, btw). As the night wore on, it was hard to enjoy the food b/c: 1. I couldn't see what the heck I was eating (it was rather dark) 2. The food's "Americanized" and not authentic. (I noticed this before my friend from Morocco made a comment.) 3. The food took forever and a day to come out. 4. The service was organized chaos. OK, I just realized I sounded like a git but if I'm spending $60+ on food for myself alone (no drinks) and it's not that good and I don't enjoy it, well, we got problems here. Also, for those who aren't familar with DC, I don't know if I want to send them to that part of town.

Hey Pan, no I haven't. I'll scope it out next time. When I go to NYC, I usually stay downtown b/c I'm only in for the day. (Honest truth - I go to Chinatown 'cause the one in DC sucks and I miss eating good Cantonese food.) I gotta take a long weekend trip up there 'cause I need to get my grub on. From my NYC peeps I hear John's in midtown's good, but this is coming from a fashion designer and quite frankly, I don't trust anyone who says I need to be a size 0 in order to wear clothes! :-D

In regards to a dinner theater in the local area, the food's pretty mediocre. Better luck with a show at the Warner Theatre and doing dinner separately. I think Les Halles is nearby but the food's middling there. I'm sure the other eG peeps could give you some great suggestions.

Oh c'mon. You could go to Chinatown and buy a bunch for cheap. My family owns a restaurant so I know how it is when ppl swipe stuff. Corporate chain-style restaurants aside, family owned joints run on tighter budgets. If I ever caught anyone stealing tips from a waiter/busperson who worked hard for their money, I'll set it off. And don't get me started on rich folk stealing. Boo.

Duh, that would help, huh? OK, it was a large pie, 1/2 and 1/2: 1/2 mushrooms and sausage (go for that) 1/2 pepperoni and extra cheese (pedestrian but we were with someone who didn't like mushrooms and a European who wanted a real American pie) Topping were excellent. I remember there was a thin layer of sauce, good ratio of cheese and toppings and a thin crust. After having Lombardi's I'm spoiled for pizza. Coal ovens make a HUGE difference in taste. I went in June 2004 (ok, ok, not recent but hey, I live in Maryland...) and we had a good experience. Best pie I've had in NYC and I've tried a couple of those "buy a slice" joints but Lombardi's rocks. Only complaint - A/C was on full blast that day and it made the pie cool fast. Ugh.

Means a muddy consistency. Though this is also up for debate. I do a thin slurry, just add to the confusion, but personal taste and preference is important no? As for the sugar, just a hint man, no more. I swear by it, like in stir fry kai lan and stuff. Takes the edge off the ginger and the soy. ← Yup, totally personal preference. This could be another thread! Sugar in gai lan? No...really?!?! I think it's a Toisan thing. I've noticed we usually do our foods more on the savory side(ie no sugar in the stir fry unless it's like a beef and tomatoes type of dish). From what I understand "back in the village", the food's on the salty side. But this was a report from my goober cousin who's an uber health nut. Boo.

Their miso soup is a tad disappointing. The hot jasmine tea is good as is the genmaicha. Genmaicha is sooo good for an upset tummy. Or hangovers. The palak paneer is alright.

Happy New Year to everyone! Can't wait for CNY! (I joke w/ ppl the reason why I'm still single is 'cause I wanna cash in on the "lai see".) hehehe.

Why not Lombardi's? The pie was delish. Very thin crust, fresh ingredients and good toppings. Only complaint is that the the place is cramped but hey, for good food, I'd put up with anything. I also like how it's close to Chinatown. Bonus!

Penn Quarter outshines all for location and space but the food's not so hot. I've never been to LS but I always go to Dupont since it's closer. The salmon bento was not as good at PQ. Sometimes the portion size at Dupont can be dubious.

Salty oatmeal cookies. Wheee! ← are these salty oatmeal cookies the same as those at Marvelous Market ← No! The ones at Marvelous Market bite the big one in a bad way. The Teaism ones are these chunky, rough looking grainy mounds of goodness with just a hint of salt. Think of a very rustic, hippy lookin' oatmeal cooky with a tender texture - not at all granola like. The MM ones are flat, not grainy at all and overly salty. Bleah, I say!

We usually do a slurry.

I am Cantonese, too (Toisan) and we've never used sugar in the house when we're making a white sauce. Or in our restaurant. Then again, there are so many different ways of cooking Cantonese food. (Not saying that you COULDN'T but I almost hit the floor when I saw that. Like the time I was assisting a cooking class and the instructor told everyone to stir the pot of rice when making jasmine rice for a stir fry. And he didn't wash the rice prior to cooking. Lord have mercy...my chopsticks got all in a tizzy that night)

Salty oatmeal cookies. Wheee! ← YES! Salty oatmeal cookies are the bomb. So is their iced green tea, salmon bento box, naan, miso mayo dip, jasmine creme brulee and shortbread trio.