rlr222

SobaAddict, Thank you for taking the time to refer me to the previous post by Pan. As I wrote in my entry, it was a big mistake that I ordered the soup dumplings (my mind had not shifted from the shanghai to the sichan difference; also, unfortunately, I had blocked out reading about these dumplings because of the many threads I have been following). However, my other two dishes were from the Prodigal Daughter's special menu and a Hunan dish. By the way, it was lunch time. I agree with you that I should go back and try some of the Sichuan dishes, even if spicy, if they represent the better quality cooking. I am always up for good cooking. Also, it is good to know of good restaurants near the theatre district. I generally like dan dan noodles, so I will give them a try next time I am in the area and let Pan know if they are too much! (If the flavor is good, I can still appreciate a good but spicy dish). I will also try the Kung Po with fresh chicken and see how that dish is. Of course, I will have to go minus my hubby (the one with a very sensitive stomach).

True, not every restaurant is for every one. However, I am not opposed to trying anything for the first time. It is just a shame I happened to order non-signature dishes, which may not reflect the best that the restaurant may be capable of cooking up, e.g., they were out of the quail; the fish dish was made with fish we had bad experience with, etc. So my regret is that we came away so very unfulfilled from a restaurant that quite a few people have enjoyed in this discussion thread. I do not mind trying something moderately spicy for the first time and if it is well made, I can appreciate it even if the dish is spicy, rich-tasting, whatever. It is just a shame that the less spicy dishes were not well executed. What happens when there is a party with someone who likes spicy and others with more sensitive stomachs? Perhaps it is too much to ask that the flavors be toned down and still be good? (This is not to say we do not like some spice, so to exclude this restaurant from our list based on this factor alone is a shame.)

We were in the theatre district today and decided to try the nearby GS (9th ave) for lunch. Unfortunately, it was a very disappointing meal. I had read some of your comments before but forgot the specifics. Very unfortunately, they were out of the quail dish in the Prodigal Daughter's menu. So I ordered the silken tofu with shrimp (only 5 smallish shrimps for a $12.95 dish); it had too much oyster sauce, though the bland dish needed something to flavor it. Not very memorable dish. My husband usually like Kung Po chicken but decided to stay with something milder (seems like it was a bad decision). He was going to order the whole fish but they only had talapia, not a fish we care for. So he ended up with Hunan chicken. It was somewhat flavorful, but after awhile the sauce tasted too rich (sometimes there is rich and good, but this was not the case). FInally, we ordered the soup dumplings. Big mistake! (I had not read the comments hereabout the soup dumplings before going to the restaurant earlier today). All in all, we thought the restaurant would not be one we would return to. And yes, I remember Four FIve Six, the great Shanghai restaurant that was there in Chinatown before I left for grad school in CA. I and my Chinese friends all loved the authenticity of the food. I believe we ordered the wrong food today, but I gather you are all into spicy food? Those may be the best dishes, but I am afraid we do not have the stomach for too much spice. I was hoping to order the dan dan noodles but we did not want to over eat with our dinner reservation for Restaurant week. Apparently, a lot of mis-steps for us! Consequently, my husband now has a negative impression of GS and does not want to return!

Pan, I am afraid I am not the best person to respond to your question. My family members generally like their food mild. They are either used to Cantonese flavors or American food, so a little spiciness is enough for my family. In fact, my mother, my husband, and my son complained about the spiciness of the curry sauce and the pineapple fried rice. I thought they tasted OK/good (Pineapple fried rice) to great (curry chicken and potato dipping sauce). Since you have lived in Malaysia, you must have a stronger stomach for spicy food. It seems to me Sentosa would be more than obliging in adding whatever amount of spice you want. But you probably have to ask (since they may have to cater to tastes like my family's). I really like the food. I am not sure how much Chinese influence there is. I suspect quite a bit since there are dishes I know of from Cantonese cuisine, like pork with taro or with dried vegetable. However, there is definitely a Malaysian bent to many dishes that I consider it an Asian culinary adventure that deviates from the typical Cantonese I grew up with. I consider this place a treat and I am planning to bring some friends there soon.

Greetings from New York! I want to wish all the eGulleters here a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year! Enjoy your good eating wherever you are. As it turned out, we had our Chinese New Year meal early at Sentosa, a Malaysian restaurant in Flushing, NY. Fellow egulleter Pan knows this restaurant and reviewed it previously. I really like certain dishes at this restaurant ( a little more expensive than some of the Chinese restaurants we go to, but worth it). We had the roti canai and roti telur (both with delicious curry chicken and potato dipping sauce). The crispy style pancake in the roti canai dish was absolutely scrumptious, crispy but light and fluffy tasting. Appetizer also included satay chicken and beef (which others ate before I could try them). The main courses included the famous hainanese chicken (chicken had very smooth texture), volcano spare rib in silver foil (foil lit with small fire at the table as a finishing touch), deep fried chilean sea bass, and a primarily "vegetable" dish with the restaurant's own cooked tofu, mushrooms and chicken pieces. We also ordered pad thai, pinapple fried rice (which was somewhat spicy with very small pieces of pineapple, bigger pieces of shrimp and squid but beautifuly served in the actual pineapple outer cover), along with white rice and an "oil" - yau - rice. I also had very authentic and strong iced Malaysian coffee and the coconut pudding. The coconut pudding (served in a real coconut shell) is extraordinary (with the very authentic taste of tropical coconut, albeit sweetened). Yum! This is a quality restaurant with many excellent dishes. Now I do not have to feel so deprived or to think about the Chinese food in Vancouver. I believe some of the really good Asian/ Chinese food are not in NY Chinatown but in outlying areas like Flushing. Good thing since I am closer to Flushing. Anyway, Have a great lunar New Year with your loved ones! RLR

Hey, Vancouver, I have a suggestion that I hope is not off-base for you. Have you tried Pizzeria Uno? it is a franchise but we have enjoyed their "Chicago-style" pizza. We think it is pretty good for a franchise and we were happy to see it come around to our area in NY. There is an Uno Chicago Grill at: 455 N. 3rd St. #L154, Phoenix, Az. 85004. Tel. no: 602-253-3355. It may be worth a try if you do not have one of these in Vancouver and there is nothing that is more authentic in Phoenix. I have personally found the quality of pizzas to be very good. I love the thick crust individual pizza with tomatoes (original Italian), sausage and anchovies. Some of the other dishes are also good, like the Mandarin orange chicken salad.

Thanks for the replies. Unfortunately, Fat Guy's feedback was what I was afraid of. I tried to get a reservation at Union Square Cafe but they were already filled fr restaurant week. Too bad, we may forgo the lunch and just head home early to Long Island.

Hi, All, I am having trouble finding info specific to Cafe Boulud, especially as a choice for restaurant week. Has anyone tried this place for restaurant week in years past? Is it worth $25 for lunch or can you pretty much get lunch for this amount or close to it during the year? What have your experiences been eating there? We have a reservation there this year but will be spending extra to stay in a hotel to experience the place. It would be helpful to know if this restaurant is worth going to for restaurant week. (Sorry if I have somehow missed any previous discussion on this, but my search in the forum has not come up with cafe boulud.) Thanks for any input available.

Azn, thank you, what a complicated recipe. Hopefully I will get to try it soon (when I have the time and patience to make it). Questions: How do you debone the chicken while leaving the chicken intact (whole)? Was that what you meant? Also, are you referring to chestnuts in the shells or is there a way of buying them without shells and in dry form? This looks like a professional level dish or very time-consuming home-cooked dish made by someone with a lot of love for the family to spend this kind of time and energy! Wish you well with your CNY dinner. It looks like it is shaping up very well! Love the fish and the vegetarian dish! Will likely make these first before the 8 treasure chicken because they are not as complicated. Again, thanks for passing down the recipe.

Ah, Leung (or Cousin Leung? I am going to claim some relation!), No. I have not heard her music, but I just discovered your recipe pictorials! What a service. I love your ability to communicate the cooking techniques and ingredients to use via this forum. I just tried your pork chop recipe (pork chops marinating even as I write). I hope my cheap quality center loin cut will not do injustice to your recipe. But I am so excited that some "common" dishes have been passed on by you for home cooking. My mom was excellent in providing delicious home cooked Toisanese and Cantonese dishes (very creative with different dishes every night). Unfortunately, she was not a teacher and even to this day, she is very vague about her recipes. I am going to try to pin her down for her bird's nest soup recipe, which she used to make on a regular basis in the '70s and '80s before the prohibitive rise in cost of bird's nest. She made it with squab and ham (Chinese ham?). Not sure of the ham; also, does anybody have suggestions for getting bird's nest that is of good quality without paying an arm and a leg and getting ripped off? This was my mom's last response to me; bird's nest has gotten too expensive to cook with (on top of the cost, the quality one can buy has suffered). I asked a friend to check in HK and again there was no success. Anybody with suggestions for buying good bird's nest at a fair price (for home cooking) in NY, LA or HK? (I can go to these places to buy or have someone do so for me). Also, maybe a reputable place will do mail orders. Would this be a reliable process? Thanks, all! I love great food, especially Chinese since that was what I grew up eating (I was lucky to grow up in NY's Chinatown and we had great variety at home and in the restaurants.) I had "hou fook" as a child/ adolescent. Alas, now we are more established adults and we are lost in the wilderness of suburbia (NY is so close but so far). Love reading about the food I cannot have - ha-ha. Thanks to my cousin, Ah Leung, I now can replicate some of the dishes at home (once I gather the ingredients and get my energy up to the tasks.) Sorry I still find it easier to make the ma po tofu with the instant packages (my preference is also the silken tofu for this dish)!

Hi, Dejah and "Ah Leung (we have the same surname)," Thanks for the welcome. It is such a treat to read about food through your eyes and experiences, as well as those of others who share so well from their perspectives. At this point, I can only appreciate what you have written. I am planning a trip back to HK with my family and/or with some friends. I shall write about recommendations if I am fortunate enough to visit soon. (I will visit Vancouver first before HK, China and Japan?). In the meantime, I am enjoying the food vicariously through all of you. Dejah, I believe it was your website I saw with the 7 day logs of what you cooked for your family and yourself. I cannot believe your versatility and ability to cook up delectable Chinese and Western-style food. You do not have to miss living near a major cosmopolitan area with a sizeable Chinese population and quality restaurants! Maybe you will take me as an apprentice so I am not so (Chinese) food-deprived in the suburbs of NY. Really great food, enjoyed all the pictures, as well as Canucklehead's great pictorials from HK.

Hi, Lee, I am new to the forums, but I left a message regarding your fantastic pictures in the Chinese in Vancouver forum. You provide very appealing pictures of the fantastic food you have tried or witnessed. The photos seem to be a lot of work, but they speak a thousand words for those of us who cannot experience the same stuff first hand. Like a previous post mentioned, I have also not been back since I was a child (6 1/2years old) and for one reason or another I have not gotten back, so seeing these pictures is a special treat! I grew up in NY's Chinatown, but unfortunately, I live in the suburbs and do not get to go out much. I have some solid places I frequent in NY Chinatown, but nothing with as much variety as I have been reading in the Vancouver/ HK forums. The Flushing area in Queens, NY may actually have more of the varied food (Taiwanese, Malaysian) but I am not as familiar with it. Though I was recently introduced to a first rate Malaysian restaurant there. We are visiting in April (the Vancouver area). Hope to get your recommendations for some top-notch places to go to, Shanghai River, Shanghai Wind, and Sea Harbour? It would also be fun to have a meal with the members from the forum. Then we would not feel like we are just in a city with total strangers. Again, thanks for your efforts and generous sharing of your culinary experiences!

Wow, I just saw the pictures Canucklehead took of the food he ate or saw in HK. Fantastic. Mouthwatering! Now I want to go back to visit HK (have not been back since I was a young child). Just referred my friend to your post since she is returning to HK in a couple of days. Ling, the pictures of your home cooked meal for your boyfirend were impressive indeed. You can train to be a chef! I second the opinion that the venison dish looked really excellent. Your lucky boyfriend. I hope he was appreciative! I just had to comment on both your wonderful posts. Great pictures! P.S. The posts can be found in "Truth be told, where have you eaten recently?". Thanks for sharing. (Sorry, Ling, I meant the pheasant dish. Did you go by recipes in the 2 cookbooks you referred to? Can you just repeat them here? Also, the recipe for the apple crumb pie. The crust looks really good!)

Hi, I have thoroughly enjoyed the info and recommendations provided in this forum. We will be visiting in April '06 and would appreciate your top choices for Chinese food in Richmond. I believe Shanghai River and Shanghai Wind? will be top choices. We will also have one dim sum brunch. I have to go back and read the specific receommendations. However, can you respond with your top 3 favorites for a visit that will be basically 5 days in duration. (We will be staying downtown so we will try other cuisines there). This means that I may not get to Richmond for more than 2-3 days (if that, with all the things to take in). If any members are planning a dinner/ lunch get together during the week of 4/10/06 to 4/14/06, we would love to join you. (We are looking towards a possible relocation from Long Island, NY to Vancouver). The food descriptions have been enticing and great to read! Thanks for your input!