doctorandchef

Hmm.... the issue of "tackiness" of stating prices with the specials is a bit puzzling for me. I guess this is assuming that the person paying for the meal doesn't want the "treated" person to know how much the meal costs. Going by that logic, let's have no prices on all the menus then!! I have no shame and I flat out ask what the specials' prices are, and I sometimes ask the waiter why he/she did not mention it during his spiel. Big pet peeve.

Deep Fried Crispy Bean Cake/Deep Fried Minced Shrimp Ball: Californian Sparkling wine or Prosecco: something light with good acidity to cut the fat and highlight the seafood flavour. Stir Fried Prawm. Cuttlefish and Chicken in X.O. Sauce: Alsatian Riesling with some residual sugar to balance the spicy X.O sauce Assorted Dried Seafood with Shark Fin Soup: Trophy Bordeaux Reds, cult California Reds. Not sure it makes sense but that's what they serve in HK. Live Lobster and Crab in Black Bean Sauce: That's a hard one. Beer might in fact be the perfect match. A tall cold Tsingtao or the HK favourite, San Miguel Draft. Chef's Special Free Range Chicken: If you're referring to a steamed chicken with ginger and scallion dipping sauce, can't ask for a better match than a zippy New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Sweet and Sour Rock Cod: Another tough one. Do you fight acid with acid? I think only a champagne will do the trick here, otherwise go with beer. Any other wine would be overwhelmed and wasted. Chef's Special Stuffed Duck (Boneless) A no brainer. Red Burgundy or Oregon Pinot Noir. Selected Vegetable Braised with Bai-Ling Mushroom. White Burgundy (Montrachet)or a nice California oaked Chardonnay. Minced Beef and Green Onion Fried Rice: Aren't you drunk by now? I think a simple Loire Valley Sancerre will complement the green onion. Another alternative is just drink champagne throughout. Or try a semi-dry Gerwertz or Auslese from Germany. Finish off the meal with a shot of Louis XIII (refrain from mixing with 7-Up like some would!!), or some Ontario Riesling Icewine for dessert. Now if I could only get an invite to this dinner......

I almost bought a portable single burner unit, not the tiny ones but the ones used in cafeterias. Until I tried using them at work. Maybe the units were old or something, but they were very slow. Using 12 inch sitram induction saute pans, the darn pan simply would not heat up enough to get to a vigourous saute temperature. The pans were perfectly flat btw, and the units appeared to be working. I was previously impressed with demos of the thing being able to boil water in 2 minutes. So are they as fast and efficient as people are saying they are? Can you sear a steak quickly on an induction cooktop?

Ahem.... a little self promotion if you don't mind. My contribution to gastroporn: Raymond's Heart Healthy Cookbook writing journey

saute shallots in roasting pan, deglaze with white wine/vermouth, throw some herbs in, peeled and sliced apples, reduce until almost dry, add cream, strain. Or try a maple syrup red wine vinegar gastrique..... deglaze with vinegar (watch the fumes!!!), add a few tablespoons good maple syrup to taste, cream/milk to sauce consistency.... thicken with corn starch slurry if desired. Red wine/port with dried figs would also work.

"Fish n' chips": Potato crusted snapper with lemongrass tamarind ketchup, and oven roasted "chips" with thyme. http://doctorandchef.blogspot.com/

Pan roasted chicken in garlic broth, with Thai basil, tomatoes, and saffron potatoes. right click photo and press "show picture" to see photo. Haven't worked out exactly how to post photos yet!

Sorry about the size of the photo, hope you have high-res setting on your screens! Pan seared halibut, saffron mussel sauce, with roasted thyme potatoes and spicy "ajat".

Dorset Lamb shoulder chops au jus, wild mushroom saute with marsala, and yellow tomatoes.

I find corn quite variable. The best corn I've tasted in the past 5yrs came from the fruit stand beside hillebrand winery in NOTL. They actually gave it out for free because it was 2 days old. Ask to sample the corn. I usually take a bite after I've paid for some and if it's good I'll buy some more. Ask them when the corn was picked. I was told by John Laidfield, the forager for Hillebrand Vineyard Cafe and Peller's restaurant, that corn is at its peak within 8 hours of picking. The sugar starts to turn into starch. In summary, take a bite before you buy a lot.

I think Michael Chiarello did a rant against All Clad on his show before. Personally the All-Clad pans have worked great for me both professionally and at home. I like the cheapest All-Clad i.e. the ones with the brushed steel exterior, as there really is no point having a nice and shiny pan on the outside other than esthetics, if you care about that at all. The performance will be the same. I've also worked with Sitram pans before and they perform just as well, with round handles that make so much more sense. Plus their pots have lips on them. Whoever designed the All-Clad pots should be shot..... how archaic it is for high-end cookware to not have a good pouring lip . Only their copper-clad ones have a lip, which leads me to believe that perhaps it's more difficult to manufacture pots with lips. I hope an All-Clad spokesperson can respond to this. In any case All-Clad handles are really silly, they are not comfortable to hold nor are they stable. Ever have a hot saute pan flip over on you? Not amusing at all. You can't really go wrong with either brand as they will last a lifetime unless you abuse your pans.

I think for those who grew up in HK a 10% tip is customary as they add this to as a service charge, hence it was ingrained in many of us that a 10% tip is "standard" in a Chinese restaurant. The custom in HK is just to round up oh so slightly.... i.e. $192 you leave the $8 worth of coins behind on the tray. BTW, waiters in HK stand there and wait for you to collect your change, they don't just leave it discretely on your table. Having said that, after moving to North America, I've noticed HK people tipping more than 10% only at restaurants where they are regulars and get "special treatment" i.e. expedited waiting times for a table, free tea etc. (Haha, I'm reminded of that Seinfeld Chinese restaurant episode......) This, of course, pertains only to my circle of social interactions, hence may or may not be representative of the entire chinese population. But I think many would agree this is the case. I used to tip 10% only as well, and did not feel that I was cheap, until I read that gwellos consider 15% as a cheap tip, and 20% is standard. Now I tip according to the situation, 10-15% standard in a chinese restaurant, 10% if I get below average service, a little more if service is good. For western restaurants, I go by gwello's standards. Knowing several people in the chinese restaurant industry, I have come to the conclusion that many of the waiters expect gwellos to be a lot more generous than chinese people, but they don't really hold anything against the stingy chinese tippers unless its below 10%. I've read on some boards that gwello waiters get really mad if they get only 10%, as if someone had jilted them. btw, I'm chinese.

I must confess I have a block wrapped up in the back of my fridge. Empirically speaking, pie crusts made with a bit of lard do come out pretty flaky, but I'm not sure whether it truly is flakier than ones made with butter/shortening. I think someone must have done a blind taste test on this (Cook's Illustrated anyone?) I have never used shortening in my baking/cooking just because of a personal bias. I am tempted to one day make some frites using a big tub of lard just to see how they taste. To share an anecdote, I once made an apple tart with a crust made with lard and brought it to the hospital during teaching rounds. The cardiologist commented on how flaky and light the crust was. I didn't have the heart to tell him it was made of lard..... what you don't know can't hurt you.

Wouldn't that be literally tongue-in-cheek? ← tongue in cheek in cheeks...... it's true, some people require a sphincterectomy, plus a colon-craniectomy. I think we're going off topic now......

I've tried 170F, and I ASSURE you the food will only be lukewarm if kept for more than 10 minutes. Eating lukewarm food is a BIG pet-peeve of mine to be honest. I personally use at least 200F, 225-250F if the food is not TOO prone to drying up e.g. spring rolls, fried rice etc. I used to keep large platters of food at 250F when I did catering. One thing to note: not all oven temperatures are accurate. Hope yours is calibrated properly, otherwise buy a cheap oven thermometer. It will help your baking too!

So what if he's starting a buzz? He's not lying about anything or declaring the place oh so great under false pretenses? Like someone has already stated I think it's no secret to regular egulleters that Nondoctor works in Jamie Kennedy's place. Besides, is he not allowed at all to comment on the restaurants' opening? I guess the tongue-in-cheek tone was too subtle, ya? Out of curiousity, how did you come up with the handle "Nondoctor"?

I totally agree. If you spent all that time and effort, the least they can do is appreciate your efforts by showing up when the food is hot. Don't think this is too much to ask. If you're aggressive enough, one time if you're making something you semi-screwed up on and don't mind dumping it, pretend to throw a fit and chuck their plates in the trash while you eat your plate. Haha, that'll send a message. (I've always wanted to do something dramatic like that!)

Tomato "tower", with zinfandel vinegar and basil emulsion. Still waiting for better and riper tomatoes like the ones I had in Napa!!! Raymond's Heart Healthy Cookbook Writing Journey.

I agree with the above..... 200-250F is good, experiment. All ceramic plates should be able to withstand that temperature. Remember the dry cycle of a dishwasher usually gets to around 250-300F. My sister used to be intolerant of people not showing up at the table when the food was ready, and I learned really quickly to be seated and ready before the food was done! I've picked up on that trait and have been known to use a few choice words when people don't get seated!! Another thing is to keep your serving plates warm in the oven 15-20minutes prior to service. Think about it, temperature involves the exchange of energy, and if you put hot food on room temperature plates, the food molecules will naturally lose their kinetic energy (temperature) by transferring it to the colder plates. I personally think prevention is the best cure. DEMAND that your family be seated before everything is ready. After all, you did slave over the stove.

Steamed clams with sweet n' spicy basil, lime and galangal broth

Roast chicken, simply done.

Roast chicken au jus with lemon and oregano, beans and aioli, with mashed potato. Sorry about the size, don't know how to resize it as the pic is on my blog.

Yes, there is a chef's table overlookingthe kitchen at George. I wrote a review on this forum a month ago. just scroll further to the next page..... I've heard mixed things about Perigee, and I can assure you that you'll be pleased with the value of George. Cheers.

Hi, Excellent piece by Mr. Rogov. Thank you very much for your insights. As you have clearly stated (and from my own research), there really is no conclusive evidence that MSG causes the "Chinese Restaurant Syndrome". However, it is hard to ignore so many anecdotal reports in which it is so easy to take at face value. Scientific facts (or factoids) need vigorous testing under controlled conditions in order to prove anything. The problem is that it becomes too easy to quote the evidence that supports one's position i.e. the anti-MSG camp, without critically looking at the quality of the studies. While I am not saying people aren't intelligent enough to discern between a bad study versus a good one, but most of the general population do not have the training and education to critically review scientific literature/trials. For example, if I were not an accountant, would you expect me to be trained to interpret the subtleties of the tax code? Hence you get many reports that are taken out of context (see yahoo health or many other health related websites for examples of such). Your mention of the anti-MSG extremist's actions are in fact quite amusing, really. I don't deny the fact that some people may react to MSG, but perhaps they would have the same reaction to red wine or oysters or parmesian cheese. Is "artificial" MSG as evil as it has been portrayed? Perhaps not. I agree with you in that MSG simply makes mediocre food taste better, and I think forcing some chinese restaurants to display a no-msg sign forces them to pay a little more attention to their cooking in order to make their dishes more flavorful. Perhaps not such a bad thing. Philosophically, I would personally not use MSG in my kitchen because that's akin to taking a shortcut.... much like dumping loads of butter into a sauce to make it taste nicer. No doubt it works in selected cases, but I won't do that to my dinner guests. But it's not because of health reasons.......

Red Snapper with parsley coulis, chilena chorizos, potato cake, sauteed broccoli with chinese oyster sauce BTW, how do you resize pics? sorry about the huge size.....