Jon Tseng

Blimey That's some catching up! Must toddle off to digest it all In the meantime, a warm welcome city dude! cheerio J

Remember a wonderful pig gut at Cafe des Federations in Lyon. This was back in 1997. Remember it tasted tripey, but meltingly tender. Something you hardly ever see in the UK. The only one I've had is chitterlings at St John with chicory and mustard. Very different sauteed, crispy, salty (almost hammy rather than tripey). A great pairing with cold, bitter chicory and the bite of english mustard. cheerio J

Is that anyway to speak to your friendly neighbourhood moderator? I wouldn't dream of spoiling the fun. Mainly because I have no idea whatsoever where this menu comes from. Bapi - touche; a much underrated establishment Andy - only cos you bloody did the last one five minutes after it went up J

Nope, good thinking though A bit more haute J

A couple of other simply salad things (northern) Chopped up chunks of cucumber, slightly bashed (hard to describe) with vinegrar and sometimes sesame oil Sliced tomatos sprinkled with sugar (sic) Think also cold starters at the start of a formal meal; some might get a bit salad-y (does dressed cold jellyfish count?) cheerio J

OK Bread trolley Foie gras, duck neck, green apple Black cheery soup shut up this time, Andy cheerio J

Isn't it the old adage that the best way to get the measure of the kitchen is to order the following: pate maison roast chicken lemon tart Heck, anyone can make green tea foam (I've made a passable pea sorbet myself), but to do these takes real skill J

How about tinned fruit cocktail with xiang er dofu (the sweet almond tofu-like desert; don't know the exact transliteration) a classic! J

Chuen Cheng Ku or New World J

Is there any distinction between courses? i.e. I find I'm more receptive to fiddly starters more than fiddly puddings.... ... Maybe because by the end you're too veloute-ed, foam-ed and generally cute but pointless-pastilla-on-the-side-ed to want anything by horlicks and bed. ... Or maybe its just because deserts haven't progressed as much as starters, and could actually DO with a bit of tarting up (why ARE people shocked at a fifteen quid pudding while they're perfectly happy to pay twenty quid for a couple of langoustines and a puddle of truffle gloop for a starter?) ... Or maybe its because puddings are inherently simpler. Very difficult to beat a perfectly ripe fruit salad, a great coupe of ice-creams or a simple made tatin (viz. Gordon Ramsay). Very different with savouries - try serving pigs trotter au natrel and see the reaction! ??? J

It there connection to that series of books which came out a few years ago - "Atelier de Joel Robuchon", "Atelier d'Alain Ducasse" &tc? From what I remember they were quite big, expensive had lots of pictures and a lot of of recipes by the disciple of the chef rather than the chef himself cheerio J

That's fascinating Thanks for the write-up So is Petrus up and running now? D'ya know if Marcus Waring was about? Cheerio J

Gordon Ramsay's Passion for flavour lost its spine a while back - victim of particularly severe reffing because of its useful range of "building block" recipes which can be used elsewhere Front and back covers of my paperback larousse also fell off a while back on account of constant browsing (the spine of the hardcover version also gone, although due to genuine abuse rather than overuse) cheerio J

Conversely, though, deep-pan pizza is also yummy the day afterwards read an article on this a couple of years back. Something to do with all the oil in the crust I think cheerio J

Pah. All too easy. Should have gone for plan B ur turn J

OK, (my descriptions) Lobster soup Sea bass with vanilla Trio of creme brulees J

Angela Hartnett at Verre?

Hullo e (do you mind the diminutive?), and welcome to the madhouse! >I lived in Chengdu mid-80s, Shanghai mid-90s, and have spent alot >of time in Nanjing (3 hrs by train from Shanghai) and Dalian (NE, on >the coast) mid-90s as well. Blimey. Now THAT is a China Hand! The big difference I noticed about Chinese markets is they were (and still are) highly seasonal - toffee hawthorns and roast sweet potatos in the winter, strawberries, lychees in the summer along with big tubs of live crayfish. This means that when the stuff is in the height of season (eg fresh, juicy lychees shipped up from the South) it is REALLY good. Kind of spoiled lychees for me wherever else I go, now. I agree that Sichuan food is fantastic - one of my great beefs is you can't get it here in the UK AT ALL cheerio J

Shame about the cancellations Look fwd to hearing your take... trust it will be suitable impartial ;-) Do they still have the pate trolley at the Almeida? (once went in, had pate and tap water, went out. definitely value for money!) J

Blimey, someone got out on the wrong side of the bed today! Nonetheless, good to see you mate, and welcome again. Eaten anywhere interesting recently? cheerio J

Why thank you, luv

Michael Caines? (Chagford or Exeter) J

A little rant on a subject which has been bothering me for some years now: 1) Airline meals taste of poo. Even the business class ones taste of poo, albeit poo presented in cute little china pots which make great souvenirs 2) Airline meals are inevitably overcooked; probably to fulfil hygeine requirements but partly, one suspects, because the look of horror on the faces of victims - sorry, passengers, as they peel away the clingy carton tops is a source of endless entertainment to the cabin crew 3) The only nice food I have ever had on an aeroplane was on Air France. And what's more, IT WAS COLD. Simple point: Why do airlines waste time, power and money heating up insipid cartons of pap when they could instead spend the (or, even less) money on top-quality cold meals which require the minimum of effort on the part of the cabin crew. Instead of twice-baked, thrice-congealed turducken breast, I would much prefer a a few slices of a top-quality salami, a chunk of excellently aged parmesan and a slice of good quality bread (or, failing that, some Carrs Water Biscuits some grapes). Instead of a steaming wedge of steaming turd, how about a simple salad with some real parma ham, a few nicely marinated olives and a slathering of REAL vinaigrette (not that icky gunk in dinky bottles) Surely if airlines spend the money which goes on preparing and refridgerating ready-cook meals (not to mentioned reheating them in the middle of a packed jumbo at 30K) on sourcing top quality local ingredients served a froid it would be a) cheaper b) easier c) dramatically decrease the level of flatulence in the passenger cabin. Why don't they? Is it because they feel they have to offer "propah" hot meals? Is it because the demands of centralised catering means everyone means meals must be standardised across an airline? Is it because they simple enjoy watching us squirm???? Any thoughts? J

Jalepeno poppers? J

Ooooh yes, thanks for reminding me of those They had then in beijing - instead of dough stick they used flat squares of you tiao, wrapped in a crepe with an egg, and the scallion and hot sauce A wonderful - and remarkably cheap way to start the day. Another option are all the taiwanese-style fast food joints which have started up (no hassle with ordering, you just fill in a form at the table with what you want - very good for non-linguists as there is usually a picture menu too) offering soya milk and various other breakfast goodies, as well as a variety of stuffed, steamed and fried dumplings. Plus they open really late. There is nothing like unlimited cut price dumplings at midnight!!! (beats chips n' cheese from the kebab van any day) J