tommy

i make a version that cooks up fine. i use a mandolin to thinkly slice the potato. i cover the fish with the potato and brown the potato/fish in some oil on the stove top. i finish the fish in the oven. works fine every time! also try http://www.epicurious.com/run/recipe/view?id=10043

i may have asked this months ago, but, how is the peking duck house? we have friends who live near there and tell me good things about it. in fact, we're supposed to be going soon for dinner.

that sounds like quite a deal. sorry i missed the info the first time you posted. question: can they possibly keep up with my sangria consumption, especially considering it's built in to the price? i'd be quite impressed if they do.

is this a prix fixe deal?

E. Gullet i hope! (he's a french guy of course)

i forgot to mention the salt and pepper shrimp. huge plump juicy shrimp crusted with a bit of salt and pepper. you eat the shells and all. absolutely fabulous. and...that 25 bucks a head, was including a 30% tip! the meal for 9 ppl before tip was under 170 bucks. i would have a hard time feeding 9 people at home for that cost.

we've been dying to go back to china 46, and this weekend we made it happen. we also brought along 7 friends to enjoy and fuel the feeding frenzy. tigertech mentions the ruby pork as a favorite. it was indeed fantastic. my friends are still talking about it. a huge pork shoulder that is cooked for hours. they brought out toasted sesame buns that are not mentioned on the menu. the pork is meant to be put in these buns, making for delicious sandwich type goodies. the dungeness crab with garlic and cilantro was fabulous (again). served over wide rice noodles. the trip and ox tongue was interesting. this is a really spicy dish, and it was delicious. we also had a fish ball casserole of some sort (i think it's called shanghai casserole), which is a huge pot of vegetables, broth, and fish balls. flounder came out in the form of fried fish balls, served on top of the whole empty carcass. quite a presentation and delicious. cecil, the owner, was very accomadating, recommending dishes and adding extras here in there. one dish came out on the house, although i forget what it was! the servers were very attentive. i think that they were just as fascinated with our large loud drunken table as we were with the food. we all had a good time, giving the kitchen a round of applause when sampling some dishes. they seemed to enjoy this and even joined in in clapping at one moment. the best part: 25 bucks a head. needless to say, we'll be back. haven't had any type of duck there yet. maybe next weekend.

is that by that irish pub down there? just trying to figure out exactly where you're talking about. thanks.

yes i *loved* the moo ping. and you were right, that's some hot hot sauce they serve it with. if anyone cares, the pork i made last night turned out pretty good and went over well. not an exact duplication of the thai and vietnamese versions, but close enough for hand grenades.

i think i'm finally understanding what the phrase meant. i'm such an idiot! LOL! somebody shoot me.

had the moo ping last night at wondees. it's very similar, but probably not as sweet and salty. i asked about the marinade, and they were very hesitant to give me specifics. i got the classic "if we tell you then you will make it at home and not come back", which is just absurd. from what i heard, oyster sauce was my missing ingredient. that makes sense as it's pretty dynamic and rich in flavor. i'm going to give my own version a whirl tonite: soy, oyster sauce, sugar, black pepper, lemongrass, maybe some asain "fruit sauce" for and additional element of sweetness, scallion, some ginger, garlic of course. too much crap ya say? i'm cooking for a bunch of drunk people who will be drinking Bud from a keg. chances are they'll eat *anything*. who knows. we see. (Edited by tommy at 12:42 pm on Jan. 19, 2002)

"If you are paying with a credit card, dinner ends with an annoying request to leave tips in cash rather than on the card. Dining is supposed to be about food and service, not the administrative costs of management." good point.

i was lying in bed thinking this morning, and i started questioning the "three plums" phrase. often times, there are common sayings that i don't know, since English is my first language. so a brief question to y'all: is this a common phrase that i misinterpreted? i just want to make sure i'm understanging grimes' and 861728's point. thanks!

my interpretation was that the wines were disparate and the waiter was simply pointing that out. i can certainly see myself saying something similiar if someone inquires of 3 disparate wines. disparate btwn producers or years, fine, but perhaps they were way way different. i don't know. i wouldn't have taken issue with that had i been there. however, i don't know the whole transaction or the context in which it was stated. a shortcoming of his article perhaps.

i'm glad this was brought up. i was actually thinking of going there. not much mexican/tex-mex around north jersey ('cept the big chains). i'll give it second thoughts now.

after reading that i stopped reading your post and disregarded everything that you've said up til then and will ever say in your life. how dare you. AKA (all kidding aside?) i question your questioning of the "three plum" phrase.

good call. i get that mag, but haven't looked yet. i agree...summer=fresh, spring=raw. although, i've seen vietnamese menus referring to their fried version as "egg rolls".

indeed. it would seem that the end product is much more a result of the process rather than the grape. this is not the case in france and other old world wine producing countries, where the grape is the single most important factor. hundreds of years of wine production gives these areas an advantage of course.

i think this is what i recently tried. in the freezer. billed "pastery" wrap. i found that it's next to impossible to use though. very thin. i think it's what they use for thai spring rolls. it is very good, but like i say, hard to use (at least for me).

as long as the food is good and there are no vermin, i don't care. the Hog Pit, which is mentioned in the Cheap Eats thread which spawned this, is not so much dirty as, say, shabby. it's part of the vibe. i wouldn't have it any other way. great jukebox, pool tables, greasy food. i mean, you gotta expect some dirt here and there! although, off-oders i do *not* like.

close: wondee's and china 46! mrs. tommy is no stranger to food passion, this i can assure you.

is it similar to the vietnamese version? and you do realize that you're giving me an excuse to go there for lunch on saturday!

alright, well i found out for myself last night. although i had been to popeye's a few times, i never gave it much thought. but last night i brought home a bucket and gave it the attention that it deserved. good stuff. big juicy breasts. i mean, what else can a man ask for? the coating was nice and crispy. the heat from the spicy chicken didn't jump out at me, but it had some nice residual heat that built up. the dirty rice was good, but not great. a bit dry i thought. the biscuits were very good, and obviously had a fair amount of butter in them. unfortunately, they forgot to put the coleslaw in the bag. that sucked, because we really wanted to try it. total bill before tip was พ.73. ;) and of course, champagne goes great with fried chicken. a fine meal overall.

i enjoy this dish at just about every vietnamese restaurant that i find. as far as i can tell, it's a standard dish. however, i can't seem to get it right, and can't find any recipes on the 'net. it's the one that is served either as a thinly pounded pork chop, or as grilled pork on a skewer (generally wrapped with herbs in lettuce, sometimes with vermicelli). either way, it's grilled, slightly sweet, and delicious. i'm guessing it includes: lemongrass, soy sauce, fish sauce, suger (brown?), garlic, maybe an herb. but, i'm probably missing one or two elements, and i'm sure my ratios are off (i do it by taste, but not very well apparently!) if anyone has *any* insight on this, i'd be greatly appreciative. i'm looking to grill up a pork tenderloin for a large group this saturday. cheers!

oddly enough, i logged on to inquire about vietnamese marinated pork. i will do so in a new thread. however, i've also recently gotten into vietnamese, or maybe it's thai, spring rolls. cooking them that is. i've only been able to find "wonton wrappers" in the local grocery store. these are essentially egg roll wrappers. (i'm talking about frying these rolls by the way). they do a nice job, but have the distinctive texture and flavor of egg rolls. how about the fried vietnamese rolls? i've had them in what i consider rice paper, and also some other paper. perhaps it's wheat flour that i like better, which was previously mentioned in this thread? two web resources that i've found handy (but i've never ordered from) are: www.thaigrocer.com, which has some good stuff, and also, www.ethnicgrocer.com. try them if you can't find a local place.