Ducky

This may be a bit obscure, but when we lived in Asia we would often seek out Chinese herbal health soup shops, and I am now looking for something similar in the lower mainland. Typically these are small shops that serve only soups (usually clear broths) that contain herbs having various medicinal properties. The soups are usually baked in small serving-sized clay pots in a large oven for longer periods of time. Typically the menu will contain a list of the soups served - and the ailments for which they are intended. Do any of you know of such a shop in the lower mainland? Any leads would be appreciated.

I am not sure what "that movie" is and whether your reference to "Turkish delight" is a euphemism for something unmentionable on this forum - as it well may be - but in the event you are looking for a source of loukoum - those slightly rubbery, gelatinous sweets covered in icing sugar and ground pistachios that you find throughout the middle east, my wife assures me that she has purchased these at Famous Foods, The Parthenon and Meinhards at various times. And she should know.

Well I was beginning to think some of the previous posters had shares in this place - until we stopped by there for lunch today. What a brilliant little restaurant! Very simple family run atmosphere - with Daniel the perfect host. I had Clams with Jalapeno sauce - my guest the Prawns Piri Piri - and both were outstanding. Fresh food and rich, flavourful sauces - both lovingly prepared. What more can one ask? The chef was raised in Angola (then a Portugese colony) and that may explain the interesting pairing of food and sauces. Portugese colonial fare? Yes - the food takes a while - but I always find this a rather good sign. There are quite enough places in this town for fast food. I gather that insiders at this place simply tip up at the bar, order a bottle of vinho verde and ask Daniel to make them "something good". Menu's are dispensed with. That is a fine thing in my view and is certainly what we shall do on our next visit. Well worth a trip to the far east!

These very wise words deserve a bump. Could even save the odd marriage.

Well put! This, in my view, has always been the best thing about New Westminster.

We bought some yesterday at the butcher at the east end of Granville Island Market. "Tenderland" I believe is their name.

I think both Melkor and Silverbrow are correct. In Thailand good food results when fresh ingredients are well prepared - and because fresh ingredients are everywhere, you can have superb meals for very little money. In America, the great fast food nation, it is remarkably difficult to find "fresh ingredients well prepared". We drive to California regularly from Vancouver and on a drive such as this it is virtually impossible to find "fresh ingredients well prepared". This is no exaggeration. For our last trip we purchased a "Health Food Guide" to the USA - and used this to find little places along the way that cook fresh ingredients. This was great step forward for us - even though the food was largely vegetarian - which we are not. Of course in every major US urban centre you can find high end restaurants that prepare fresh ingredients well - but these are not broadly accessible or affordable. Contrast this with Thailand, where you can eat brilliantly on virtually every streetcorner. In Thailand eating well is (and long has been) a part of the culture which accepted at every strata of society. This has never been the case in the US - where a very large percentage of the population eats badly and unimaginatively. In the US "eating well" has always had something slightly elitist about it. This has never been the case in Thailand. In America a serious foodie with money will visit the French Laundry and Charlie Trotter's etc., and spend his time on eGullet. In Thailand a serious foodie with money will hire a good live-in cook.

I just saw this thread and wanted to add my endorsement for these pans. I obtained two of them about six months ago from Ed and they are superb. I use them daily and they still look like new. These are lifetime pans, and once you have them you will not touch your old ones. The really brilliant thing about them - apart from the features already mentioned - is that you can fry most things with just one or two drops of oil.

Of course Kim Phung and Mui Garden (at 41st & Vic) are so close and so good that you might consider adding them to your list of mid-town eateries. Also re the Tandoori place - unlike Mooshmouse I have a distinct preference for the Original Tandoori Kitchen on 65th. There is something clean and crisp and fresh about it compared to the Tandoori King - which is a bit greasy and slimy by comparison. That's just my view - but I always feel decidedly better after a meal at the T Kitchen than I do after a meal at the T King.

Pits stops on Fraser: Kedah House - everything Koon Bo - for Peking Duck in particular Tandoori Kitchen - Indian Noor Mahal - South Indian

Spotted Dick.... ...But my favourite was a dish prominently advertised at a restaurant in Hanoi as: "Fish That Has Found Immortality in the Oven". It was a carp of sorts that was flash fried from the gills back only and then served immediately so that the gills continued to "breathe" throughout the meal while the meat was sliced off the back of the fish. Very popular in Hanoi!

I'll recommend Le Gros again. We eat there a lot and it is always a pleasure. Not trendy - but sort of like an old eatery with a good kitchen that you might stumble across in the French Alps. Umberto's Trattoria should probably also be on your list for good Italian fare. Always reliable.

Le Petit Saigon at Hastings and Slocan does a very nice Pho.

And not just any newspaper! Our take-away last Saturday came wrapped in the Escort Service section from the West-Ender. My wife was so intrigued by the pictures that she finished all of her chips.

Ditto. Ditto. This garlic was the centerepiece of our pasta this evening and it was sensational!!!

Ditto for Rodney's.

The "new" Ichibankan has a great selection of sake. Personally, I think it was a mistake for this place to lose the conveyor belt and remodel as they did. The place always used to be funky and full. Now it's chic but empty. Is that progress? But they do have a great selection of sake.

Well I guess I should know the answer to this but.... In any case - we buy our ducks from Armando - and he gets these from somewhere near Chilliwack - so someone is raising them there. I couldn't tell you if they are teals - but will ask the next time I see him.

Don't miss the little Asian shop which has a brilliant selection of Asian and Mexican ingredients. This shop, plus Oyama and The Stock Market - are the three most indispensible shops on GI in my view.

Irwing: Having also lived in Hong Kong and other corners of Asia I can relate to some of your cravings. For congee and noodles we always go to the Kwong Chow - on Main St. just north of 16th. You really cannot go wrong with this place which is very close in all respects to my old regular congee shop in Causeway Bay.

Sometimes it feels like it was......

3 parts V8 juice 1 part Absolut vodka 1 egg yolk 1 good squirt of Sriracha Stir together .......The best hangover drink ever.

This sounds worth a try. In Greece and Turkey these rice pudding places are everywhere - and often sensational. This probably dates me, but does anyone remember the Pudding Shop in Istanbul , where every serious hippie on the road from Europe to Goa for the winter used to stop to score the finest rice pudding ever...among other things?

The "Vintner's Duck" at Don Francesco's.

Easily the most profound words I have ever read on this forum!