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fung jiao bao

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  1. I am travelling to the Lavaux area of Switzerland in late August early september. We are using Lutry as a base and then doing day trips from there. Can anybody recommend some places to go eat in Lutry and around? We have no car, but it seems there are many trains going everywhere and often. I am interested in eating as much traditional food as possible, with perhaps one fine dining gastronomic experience thrown in there. It seems that everyone offers fried perch meuniere and potatoes on their menu - is there a definitive place to go to experience this combination? We will be in Lutry 3 nights. thanks!
  2. Having eaten at Meson de Candido, you are right in thinking that it is a bit touristy. Everything about the meal was excellent; the beans, the sopa castellano, the cochinillo and the cordero. But I did get the impression that it was a bit of a food factory in the kitchen, just putting together the same meal again and again. In Toledo, Abadia is an okay spot, if only to eat in their dining room. You have to go down several flights of stairs and you eat in what must have been a cellar. Lots of corners and small rooms make it feel a little claustrophobic for some. You have to see it to believe it, as when you are just having drinks at the bar, there is no indication that you will be dining so far below ground. Depending on the budget, I would reccomend Restaurante Adolfo(Hombre de Palo 7) for a tasting menu and their incredible wine list. Ask if you can tour their cellar, it is incredible, and definitely taste the marzipan - the best in the old city. A more "tipico" restaurant rec would be Hostel del Cardenal(Pza. Recaredo 24). We were enjoying some very nice quail with white beans when we noticed that the rest of tables were eating the cochinillo and raost lamb. They looked and smelled wonderful. Enjoy, it makes me want to go back!
  3. I have heard of a new Japanese restaurant Downtown called "Sakura". It is supposed to offer a Kaiseki style dining experience. Has anyone been to this restaurant yet? I am interested because the cuisine apparently is on par with the offerings at Hashimoto, or the kitchen food at sushi Kaji. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks!
  4. A great restaurant with a really nice back patio is Churraquira Bairrada on College. Grilled foods, Portuguese specials, and a very relaxed informal atmosphere all combine with a well shaded and landscaped back patio. I reccomend it highly.
  5. The Quijote book was finally presented yesterday in Toledo. ← Vserna, what is the actual title of the book? Have you had a chance to look through it at all?
  6. I think that in the cases of Berasetegui, Arzak, and Akelarre, many of the people there are stagiares, working for room and board. Definitely, the michelin restaurants have programs that will accept stagiares for a season(4-6 months). Unless you are set at working at these places right away, you may find more success working at other restaurants, learning the language, making contacts with fellow spanish cooks, and then visiting the big guys. My experience with working in San Sebastian was helped greatly by a visit to the Escuela Luis Irizar. Luis Irizar is a statesman of Basque cuisine and his school is linked with restaurants all over Spain, and many right in San Sebastian. They will know the right person to talk to at all the restaurants, something that will be very useful. One thing that helped when we met with Martin Berasetegui, is that he also speaks French if your Spanish isn't so great. Good luck!
  7. Wow, KevV, you must be very tight with the crew at the restaurant to know what they "might" be doing when the chiefs are away. I am pretty sure that there would be other factors involved in a case of oversalting rather than your suggestion. If you've worked in kitchens that like to do that sort of thing on a night when the there are junior supervisors, that speaks of the class of restaurant that you've worked at. Unless you've spent time at JK's stoves and know something for sure, I'm gonna say you're suggesting something a wee bit slanderous....
  8. I agree with bux that Sevilla is amazing for Tapas, and not so much for restaurants. So my reccomendations are for Tapas - Enrique Bercera, and Casablanca. These two places are not anything like the Hacienda of el Bulli, but are honest representatives of traditional Spanish Tapas. Jerez de la Frontera is only an hour away, Andana is a good restaurant there.
  9. I think a really good resource book for Spanish cuisine is the Culinaria Series from Konneman publishers. They break down the country into regions i.e. Valencia, Pais Vasco, Catalunya, Castilla la-mancha etc etc. Lots of photos, Lots of information, Not all the recipes are that accurate, but they definitely give you plenty of ideas to work from. I also think the book is printed in several languages(the english one is a translation). A question for egulleters located in Spain. I was in Toledo last year and heard that there was a cookbook being produced to celebrate the 500th year of Don Quijote. Chefs collaborating on the book included Ruscalleda, Berasetegui, Arola, and chefs from the la mancha region such as Manolo de la Osa. The restaurant that I was at hosted the food photography session for all the chefs, and told me that the book would be published in 2005. I have no idea of the title of the book, but has anybody seen anything resembling what I am describing in the bookstores yet?
  10. I would have to say that what I don't like about Casa Barcelona is the HUGE menu. How can it all be freshly prepared? Tapas are a great way to eat, they really depend on freshness to be good(I guess like all food). Embrujo Flamenco is a smaller more focused menu card. Also, when I was there, the temperature that the food was served at was excellent. Everything was served very hot - that is to say, right from the pan, straight from the oven or fryer, onto the plate and over to the diner. That for me, made up for any lack of authenticity in the flavours. I vote Embrujo over Barcelona, but I can't wait until there's a really good spanish restaurant in Toronto.
  11. There, was that so bad? Thanks for the information everybody, will look forward to all the good eats. and if nondoctor wants to give out coupons, well I'll be first in line.
  12. Arielle, You make it sound like non-doctor is doing something illicit by posting stuff about the restaurant that he(are you even sure non-doctor is a he?) works at. What's the harm? I am pretty sure that there are hundreds of e-gullet contributers that work in the industry. What is so bad about plugging your own place? I think that non-doctor is trying to start a conversation about a topic; one that some readers know about already, and many more do not. I admit that the delight of the "rumour" or the "hot gossip" is spoilt by the fact that the gossip-spreader is an employee, but who better to start the conversation? At least we will get the facts truthfully. Maybe you can delight in exposing non-doctor's inaccuracy if what he promises in his posts are not in the final product.... In any case, I want to ask non-doctor to tell us more about the restaurant, and not have this discusison turn into the morality of using a post as advertising(its not like he's promising coupons to us or anything...) Non-doctor, please keep writing, i want to know more about ther restaurant. How many seats is it? Will Jamie be cooking in the new restaurant more often, or does he have a chef-de-cuisine?
  13. I was in BCN last February and I completely agree with everyone's praise of Cinc Sentits. But I was also travelling on a cook's salary, so Cinc Sentits was good value, but certainly not inexpensive(especially when you're exchanging Canadian dollars for euros) This isn't really in Cinc Sentits's league, but then again this reccomendation is based on the request for inexpensive degustation menus. Kaiku is a basque influenced restaurant in Barceloneta(I forget the name of the street), but it is the last restaurant on the boulevard before you reach the beach front promenade. When I was there, they offered 7 "tastes" plus dessert for 17 euro. It ended up being a great way to eat a menu del dia. The first plate came with the first 3 "tastes"; a cup of "crema de marisco", some "carpaccio de buey", and a warm salad of "endibias con pasas y pinones". All items were well executed, served on a large square plate, each of the tastes well presented and not crowding each other. The second plate arrived with 3 more tastes; Begi haundi(big chipirones) plancha, a grilled salmonete, and some pescaditos fritos. The last plate was some really good fiduea "rossejat" and nice aioli. Dessert, there was a choice. I had a sweet artichoke tart, which actually worked really well texturally and flavour-wise too. Vino Turbio and water to drink, a beautiful view of the sea, and it was a great experience for what I thought was a pretty good price for the quality of the food. Anyhow, I hope that this suggestion helps,
  14. wattacetti, Have you been back to Pintxo since your first post? I'd like to know more about the pintxo selections. Were they on a piece of baguette like the bars in San Sebastian, Spain? Or are they more like small plates of food, to be eaten with utensils? Were there more people at the bar, or in the seated area? I'd like to know how well you thought the concept worked...
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