bethpageblack

Of course, since she's from Sydney. Yes, I concur with your sister that Chinese and Vietnamese food in New York is not up to par. You should have seen the spread we had eating this past week with my aunts and uncles coming from NY to Guangzhou. The food was amazing and 5x cheaper than NY prices. No pics, sorry! Should take some next time - and I promise to bring the camera when I go for Chiu Chow food.

Is it Chuan Guo Yan Yi in Tianhe, inside of an office building on Ti Yi Dong Lu, across from the sports stadium? If so, that's supposedly the best Sichuan food in GZ.

Nice. I hope the story didn't follow her to Sydney.

Convinced or unconvinced, I could care less.

Well, you claimed that I had not even one source to back my assertation, so I merely provided it. Nothing more, nothing less. I'm not trying to convince you of anything.

Yes, those breads are amazing. I should really look into how they make those breads taste so good. Not a fan of cat, either. I had cat when I was a lot younger (well, could've had it recently too, but it's been a while since I had a mutton skewer). Now I have a cat as a pet, so I wouldn't dare. No cats or dogs for this guy. You and my GF are so similar it's eerie! However, she doesn't have the interest in trying different things as you do. She only eats standard Cantonese food, Japanese food, or pasta. Nothing else. No BBQ, fried or seared things, etc. Every time we go out I have to make sure that the restaurant can make something to accommodate her.

So. The trader gets his cat meat for free and decides to sell it as lamb for ¥1 or ¥2 for a stick as opposed to the ¥10 to ¥20 he can get by openly advertising cat meat? Yeah! Right! Do you have even one source you can provide for your assertation? ← Sorry, I thought it was Guangzhou, but it was Shanghai. I might have embellished a bit with the percentages, but I read this article over a year and a half ago. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2...tent_509870.htm Article printed below: Some restaurants are serving cat: animal worker (Shanghai Daily) Updated: 2006-01-06 09:14 Restaurant diners may want to skip the lamb. Animal aid workers alleged some restaurants in Shanghai were serving cat meat that was listed on menus as mutton. The Shanghai Small Animal Association, one of the earliest and most renowned NGOs in the city, said it has gathered enough evidence to make the charge after a one-year investigation. The claim has not been confirmed by police or other authorities. The association said stray cats were being sold to vendors who produced goods with the fur and sold the meat to restaurants. Li Ruohai, the director of the association, said they launched the investigation a year ago after they repeatedly noticed stray cats were disappearing. The association received frequent tips from its members or animal lovers that they saw people catching stray cats and selling them to food vendors. Li said a team of volunteers from the association launched an undercover investigation. Progress was slow at first. But recently, one of the investigators managed to get several pieces of "mutton" from a food vendor. The meat was taken to a lab where one of the association's volunteers works. A DNA test found cat meat in two of the 12 samples, Li said. Li showed Shanghai Daily the written report from the lab. He claimed it was strong evidence that stray cats were being eaten. "The thieves are killing our efforts to save the stray animals," Li said. The association also said some of the animals were used for cat fur products. Shanghai Daily searched auction Website eBay.com.cn for cat fur items. Many goods including cat fur bags and clothes were available on the Website. The Shanghai Food and Drug Administration didn't comment on the the Shanghai Small Animal Association's DNA report, but said it is illegal to sell cat meat. "In China, animals such as sheep, cows, pigs and even dogs are listed as legal food materials, but never cats," said Gu Zhenhua, an official with the FDA. "We have no food safety standards for cat meat because it's not supposed to be on the menu," Gu said. "Without food safety and quarantine checks, it's unsafe to serve cat meat." Gu said those who sell cat meat will be punished according to the law. Gu also said there was no common procedure to distinguish cat meat from other types of meat. Here's another article from Reuters: Shanghai street stalls serve up cat dressed as mutton REUTERS 6:22 a.m. January 6, 2006 SHANGHAI – Shanghai street vendors are using the meat from stray cats to supplement mutton to make kebabs, an animal welfare organisation said on Friday. The Shanghai Small Animal Association has just completed a one-year investigation in which kebab samples, mostly lamb but sometimes rabbit, tested positively for cat meat. Although cats are a delicacy in wealthy Guangdong province in the south, diners elsewhere in China tend towards more conventional meat, prompting some street vendors to pass cat meat off as mutton in a city where stray cats are two a penny (emphasis added). 'There's no way of protecting cats here, no laws that defend their rights,' said Li Ruohai, director of the Shanghai Small Animal Association. 'Actually the problem is both dogs and cats. There's around 100,000 stray cats and dogs in the city, so people take them by force. It's a big problem.' Li said the problem began with Shanghai residents who bought cats as pets, or received them as presents, but soon tired of them.

The lamb cooked in the stews and in the pastas are indeed tender, but we sometimes have roasted lamb, which is heavily spiced with salt, cumin, some red pepper and other spices. It's served well done. Very tasty, but not tender at all. It's the kind of food where you get your hands dirty, sort of like eating BBQ. Good stuff. The breads are also quite nice. As for the cat kebabs, I didn't mean to scare you off. Most of the street vendors have plenty of turnover so the stuff isn't rotten or anything. I haven't gotten sick from any of that stuff as of yet, so I'll eat it without hesitation. I'm going to Bangkok and Hua Hin next week for vacation so I will have to check out the street vendor scene there. The boss (my G/F) might not let me eat that stuff though. I might have to put my foot down.

Liuzhou, the article was about a decrease in the amount of stray cats, not pet cats. As far as I know, the cost of stray cats are free, along with a couple scratches.

You are one food-curious woman, Ce'nedra. Don't know how to cook Xinjiang or Uyghar food, but I have sure eaten a lot of it here. There are tons of Uyghar and Xinjiang restaurants here in GZ, and they range from, of course, very bad to very good. I go to one place where they specialize in hand pulled noodles, but they cook it sort of like Italian style pasta, where they boil it, then throw the noodles into a sauce. Very heavily spiced with garlic, tomato, onion and cumin. Not spicy, but you can add your own spice. btw, the lamb I eat at these places are not "soh" or gamy at all. I don't know what they do with it to make it that way, but it's delicious. As for Xinjiang, there are many Xinjiang people in GZ riding a bike with a portable grill on the back cooking lamb kebabs and flatbreads. The kebabs are about 1 RMB each, or 13 cents or so each. 5 skewers makes for a good snack. The skewers are small, and they are about 65% meat and 35% fat, but pretty darn tasty. Lamb fat rules! That said, a GZ newspaper reported last year that there was a huge decrease in the amount of stray cats in a particular area of the City. FWIW, there are tons of stray animals in GZ. Cats, dogs, etc. Anyways, they then bought skewers from different kebab vendors around that particular area, and tested the kebabs in a lab. Sure enough, 50% of these kebabs were not lamb. I'm assuming I don't have to tell the rest of the story..

I follow that rule, depending on the portion size. If I'm in HK, I order 3 for 2 people, or 4 for 3, etc. HK portion size seem a little small for me. Anyways, in Guangzhou, the food wasting is not nearly as bad as up in Beijing, Shanghai, etc. In GZ, they follow HK protocols more and usually don't order to excess because of HK's relationship with the West and HK being more "mature" with respect to newly attained wealth. Up in Shanghai and Beijing, ordering 10 dishes for 2-3 ppl because you have the means is de rigeur these days. I hope that their non-subtle approach to newfound wealth will die down in due time. To me, it looks gaudy; to them, it looks like you have the means. I think it's a waste of food; they don't feel that way. I remember once meeting a propery development director in his office in Beijing. He had a desk the size of two snooker tables (not joking), and there was one young girl who poured tea. Yes, she did nothing else but pour tea. Talk about excess. We had lunch in the VIP cafeteria and we each had a servant who would dish food for us, etc. The lazy susan was approx. 30 feet in diameter. The way I deal with it is just to feign ignorance. If I take a client out and I don't order 10 dishes I might be looked at as cheap. Lucky for me I tell all my clients that when I am treating don't expect me to order like a moron. I'm not going to order like that because it's how it's done here. All of my contacts know that I was born and raised in the States so thankfully this "faux-pas" will be forgiven.

It's all intertwined. Fujian Province is located east of Guangdong Province, and Teochow (Chaozhou in Mandarin) is located at the eastern tip of Guangdong Province. So it's not surprising that fish sauce is used in Chaozhou cuisine as well. Another factoid is that there are lots and lots of Chaozhou people in Thailand and other parts of SE Asia, i.e., Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore. They've been emigrating there for hundreds of years. So - the big questions are: Did fish sauce originate in China or did Chinese immigrants bring fish sauce with them to Thailand and Vietnam? Or did Chinese immigrants bring fish sauce back with them to China? Or was it transplanted from the Romans? I should read that book referenced by Andrew. Sounds like an interesting read.

To overorder now, sadly, is chic here in China. I've seen overindulgence to no end here. There are many newly minted rich people here in China, and they are not afraid to spend it. For example, I've seen a couple of two order 10-12 dishes at a fairly expensive restaurant. The girl was a toothpick and the guy wasn't too much bigger. I'd say about 1/8 of the food was eaten and the rest thrown away. I've also heard of a story from an acquantaince of mine where some Chinese officials were given a case of high end French red wine (I still don't understand the concept of red wine with Chinese food, but that's another story) as a gift. They finished their meal, and there were about 4 bottles unopened. So what did they do? They opened the bottles, and then spilled the contents onto the table. Why? Because they can afford it. So sad.

80%? My mother uses that exact same percentage when lecturing me about eating till your stuffed. I wonder if they were reading the same book, or if it's a Sze Yap thing? My mom is originally from Kaiping (Hoi Ping).

I agree. When I was growing up, we were forced to eat all of our food. Back in China, I'm sure that wasn't a problem for mom and dad. But with all the food available to us in the States, I suppose they didn't know what was a proper portion. I remember having to eat a huge plate of rice (we used to eat 4 cups of rice for 4 people and my mom would only eat a small bowl) and about 3-4 dishes, at least two of which were meat (steak, stew, pork chops, etc.). Leftovers didn't exist because my dad didn't like it (and still doesn't). Anyways, the US diet is a lot richer (and higher in hormones) than China's, and my brother and I grew to be a lot bigger than our parents. I'm a little over 6 feet tall and 200 or so pounds, and my parents are both approximately 5'5". Go figure. That said, whenever I have dinner with my parents, my mom tells me now to not overstuff yourself. Now she tells me. I give her a glance and then she laughs, knowing that I'm going to tell her for the millionth time that I was trained to finish everything on my plate since inception. At least she didn't have to force us to eat. We did it willingly, except for maybe veggies. To this day, I still finish whatever is on my plate.

http://chinesefood.about.com/library/blcdfishsauce.htm ← Back in the States, our family friends were from Fujian Province and they use fish sauce very liberally. They usually don't even bother using salt, substituting it with fish sauce. I remember distinctly because my family (dad's side) is Hakka, and we don't use any fish sauce and rely on salt mostly (equal to or even more than soy sauce), probably because Hakkas were very poor in the past). In Fujian, I was told that if you use salt to salt your dishes, you're looked at as poor. In any event, from what I remember, they do not use fish sauce as a dipping condiment, but more as a flavoring agent. I never saw saucers of fish sauce on the table, etc., like they have in Vietnamese and Thai restaurants.

It's very popular in Fujian Province.

I just wrote a long post, but my computer froze. Anyways, briefly - The restaurant in your hotel is pretty good - Hoi King Heen. My girlfriend's father eats there about 3x/week. The steamed grouper is my girlfriend's favorite. I like the soup. Yung Kee - gotta try the roast goose. However, I think that's the only thing they make that stands out. Everything else is ok, but not something I would go out of my way for. Beef brisket noodle soup - Kau Kee, on Gough Street. Unruly waiters, cramped sardine like conditions and a line out the door almost like the men's room at Yankee Stadium right after a playoff game. But it's all worth it. Egg tarts - I usually go to this cha chaan taeng called Honolulu Coffee Shop on Hennessey Road about 75 meters or so east of the Wanchai Computer Centre (Wanchai station exit A4 I believe). It's weird; I only eat egg tarts when I'm at this place. Any other time I don't eat them. Egg tart with a yeet ngai cha (hot milk tea) is what I order. They strain the tea through pantyhose to make it stronger. Goes well with the richness of the egg tart and is a perfect mid afternoon snack. Dim sum - haven't been to a nice hotel for dim sum in a long time, but it really depends on how exotic (in terms of ingredients) your dim sum selections are. I'd say $200 HKD (7.75HKD:1USD) per person should be enough for a moderate meal at a nice hotel for dim sum. I rarely eat dim sum, but the last time was at Maxim's at City Hall, and it was about 600 HKD for 4 people. Not cheap, but not too expensive. As for Maxim's, IMO, great view, dim sum is so-so. I did, however, arrive at 2PM. I should try it again during prime hours. Hope this helps. Let us know how your trip goes.

WARNING, all canned dace (oval cans) have been pulled off the grocery shelves in Canada for over a year. I had a terrible time looking for my yearly supply in Toronto last week and after 10 +/- stores, I finally had someone explain the situation to me. Apparently some aquaculture operations in China were very lax with their operations and used chemicals, biologics and drugs very liberally. Tested cans of the stuff were veritably dangerous to your health. ← Oh well, I just apply the "what won't kill you only makes you stronger" adage to it. There are all sorts of bans on food here, from fake shrimp to warnings on fish, duck eggs, thousand year old eggs, fat choy, etc. No use in avoiding it. Anyways, whenever you guys can get your hands on some canned dace, try it. It sounds weird, but it ain't half bad. They call it country style food here, and they mostly offer it in restaurants in the countryside. Whenever I go for factory visits and inspections I always try to find a a spot with a bunch of cars parked in the dirt and gravel lot during lunchtime. I've had some weird dishes, some that go well, and some that just don't work out for me.

If I have any leftover BBQ I usually saute it with chinese veggies like choy sum, gai lan or gai choy. Tastes especially good with gai choy. The fat of the pork mixed with the slight bitterness of the gai choy matches oh so well. A little bit of roast pork goes a long way, so there's no need to use so much. Also, sorry to stray off topic here but a popular veggie dish in restos here (I'm in Guangzhou currently) is gai choy with canned dace. Yes, dace with black beans sauteed with gai choy. I was pleasantly surprised when I had it the first time. Once again, a little goes a long way. Maybe a half a dace (I think there are 2 or 3 dace in a can?) is enough.

This is all they drink in China, and sometimes in Hong Kong. They mix either sweetened chilled green or chrysanthemum tea with Black Label or Chivas with ice, stir it, and then pour the contents into a small pitcher so you don't get a diluted drink. You can add as much liquor as you want, but it's usually in a 4-5:1 ratio. Very weak drink, but it can eventually pack a whallop if you're not careful. At first, I was very hesitant to drink this, since I'm from NY , and always asked for my drinks with rocks, but now I've gotten used to it. Not bad, but I still prefer it on the rocks. However, with the way people drink here, I wouldn't be able to last one hour that way.

Most of the wonton counters that I have seen have a big pot of boiling water and a smaller pot of broth on the side. I think they blanch the vegetables in boiling water, as they do with noodles. If you cook vegetables in the broth, it would introduce the "green" taste in the broth and I don't think that's desirable. ← I usually eat veggies either boiled or stir fried with garlic, but recently I've been eating spinach in sort of a quick soup, with stock, a couple straw mushrooms, a couple slices of carrot, some ground pork and some garlic. Tasty, and it goes very well with rice. You can have the soup afterwards. Sort of like two meals in one.

They're based on lo mein, I believe. ← Ramen is translated to "la mian" or hand pulled noodles in chinese. You know how there's a guy who pulls and twists the flour separating it into equal strands of noodles? In any event, I think Japanese ramen is better -- not the noodles, mind you. A freshly pulled stack of noodles has no equal. Very springy and toothsome. The stock and ingredients is much better in the Japanese version. As for the other foods discussed here, as another poster stated above, real, authentic ma po tofu is nothing like what you will eat in HK, Japan, or any other restaurant. Completely different. They each have their merits. Can't really say one is better than another. Tempura is definitely better than other fried foods, i.e. standard bread crumbs, or batter. Much lighter. Mayo -- can't say I really like the kewpie. I'll take Hellmann's any day of the week. One of my best buds, (he's Japanese) can't stand Kewpie and doesn't even allow it in his house. Gyoza -- personally I don't think it's even close; the original is way better and there are so many different variations. Sushi is a no brainer.

It's a NY thing too - I used to have this all the time in my much younger days after a night of drinking, along with a big messy hero like chicken cutlets or roast beef on garlic bread smothered in gravy and mozzarella. I would never eat this during the day. After a heavy night of imbibing though, you need to get some protein and grease to absorb the booze.

No they don't really speak English with a Japanese accent, but when they speak you can tell it isn't their native language. My oldest speaks the best probably because it was the only language we spoke at home until she was 5. Once my second daughter started preschool at the age of 3 the conversation between them turned to Japanese. By the time my son was born he heard more Japanese than English. The level of bilungualism is going to be dependant on many things. My husband is Japanese and isn't really very good at speaking English so we decided that we should each use our native language around the kids so they wouldn't pick up on our mistakes. My friends who have the best success with true bilingualism are those that have only one child or siblings spaced quite far apart and with two parents who can converse fluently in the language used in the home. If we were ever able to spend a year here, I really think my kids could get up to speed as I even notice a huge change in just one month. Their Japanese is native sounding with no accent what so ever. ← Thanks for the insight, Kris. Forgive me for sounding peculiar, but I have a sort of worry that my kids won't have command of the English language if they're raised in Asia. It's not a huge concern for me, but I would obviously prefer that they have command of both languages. My future wife is bilingual and has command of both Chinese and English, and I speak mainly English. I'm not really worried about the Chinese aspect, but the English aspect worries me a little. However, your post has me less worried. Thanks very much. One more question -- your kids, what kind of food do they prefer? I'm sure they eat more Japanese food in Japan. Do they have cravings for American food in Japan, and vice versa -- do they have cravings for Japanese food in Cleveland? Thanks.