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basquecook

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    Yangzhou Dining

    in China: Dining

    Posted

    I am also on my way to Xian for a couple of days before heading down further south.. if anyone has any recs for Xian, i would appreciate that too.. I don't have the flight or hotels booked or pretty much anything.. staying in local hotels, like 50 bucks a night type places.. If anyone could just point me in the right direction of even what area to stay, i would appreciate it.

    THanks.

    Yangzhou Dining

    in China: Dining

    Posted · Edited by basquecook (log)

    I am in Yangzhou for a few days and was wondering if anyone had any dining suggestions. So far I have heard of Ye Chung which is a 200 year old dim sum spot but, that is about it. i know the town is known for fish head meatballs and pork head meatballs and their fried rice. But does anyone know where the most famous places are to get these things are.

    Yesterday or today I guess, whichever way you look at it, i went to Ye Chung and had their dim sum..I ordered the 30 rmb set dim sum menu. It included a plate of soy beans, a bean soup, a large plate of shredded tofu, a plate of pickled vegetables, some cubes of tofu, a large bowl of soft tofu in a spicy sesame sauce and various dumplings.. Some steamed bread dumplings one filled with scallion, one was pork, one with bean, and with chicken cooked in wine.. Then there were thin pot sticker dumplings.. One was a pork soup dumpling, and one was a rice filled dumpling. This was all for about 4 bucks.

    Some of the most delicate and well made dumplings i have ever had.

    Thanks for you help.

    The 8 best Chinese restaurants in NYC

    in New York: Dining

    Posted · Edited by basquecook (log)

    Shun lee can kiss my arse. And I will charge them 200 dollars for the pleasure.. Where is Chin Chin on this list of over priced Chinese Places?

    My favorite chinese restaurant in Flushing is Imperial Palace, I think it's my favorite in NYC.. The oysters with XO sauce a lone is worth the trip..

    I like the Hunan Kitchen of Grand Sichuan in Flushing. I like A Fan Ti in flushing.. I also like Golden Palace in Flushing. Henan Flavor in Chinatown.. I go to Great NY Noodletown late night, especially during soft shell crab season. I like a lot of Chinese food.. Nothing on their list though.

    Anyone been to East Boat Lobster?

    Oriental Garden

    in New York: Dining

    Posted

    I thought Oriental Garden was decent a few years ago but, having gone there this weekend, it pretty much sucked.. And it was stupid expensive. We got very basic things and not a lot and the bill was 52 bucks..

    I use to go to a spot a little north of canal on Mott, it now has a new name, I don't remember it.. I will have to check it out..

    But, our go to these days is Jade in Flushing. We live in BK so, it's not to bad a trip. Jade is some of the better dim sum offered in NYC.

    Cooking with "Modernist Cuisine" (Part 1)

    in Cooking

    Posted · Edited by basquecook (log)

    Well, I've been cooking steaks for over 30 years, and my guests have been eating a lot of them. We all agreed that it was the best steak they'd ever had, so I'm going with, "Yeah, it was worth it."

    Does that mean that a grill is a bad way to cook steak? Not at all -- and the MC book details how to think about that issue. But when it's 10F outside, it'd be hard to beat this method.

    I failed to see where you said it was the best steak that you or any of your guests have ever eaten. I wonder how cold smoking and cooking something sous vide could perform such amazing results as I believe the smoke would not penetrate much of the steak at such a low temp. But, all I can do is take your word for it. But cold smoking, lightly heating and finishing on a home kitchen range? are all things to mimick a properly cooked steak over a wood fire.

    I just wonder how much people are in love with the process of playing scientist. It seems cool to add a bunch of chemicals to mac and cheese but, I wonder about the actual results.

    I have been all around the world and all over this country (as a guest here) and there are very few people who have been able to use this modern cooking with decent results. And the handfull of ones that have, are pretty much world famous because of it.

    Cooking with "Modernist Cuisine" (Part 1)

    in Cooking

    Posted · Edited by basquecook (log)

    The promised photos. First, a shot of the potatoes in the FoodSaver bags. They were all trimmed square; if I had been thinking, I would have grated the trim for hash browns at lunch. As I mentioned above, no water in the bags:

    DSC00006.JPG

    A note to the SVS owners: those bags were just barely too big for the SVS, so I had to get two long skewers, poke holes in the top of the bags, and let them sit slightly diagonally from the top. I learned the hard way that big bags lying flat are a nightmare for the temperature controls on the SVS for all obvious reasons.

    Meanewhile, here are the steaks getting ready for the smoker along with some other items:

    DSC00003.JPG

    Post-cold smoke (~2h of apple smoke; never got about 50F in the smoker) and trimmed. I am seriously looking forward to using that smoked fat somehow:

    DSC00007.JPG

    I was working quickly -- the steaks were a bit warmer than I'd like -- and I got them into their bags with some black pepper, Aleppo pepper, kosher salt, and a knob of rendered beef fat:

    DSC00012.JPG

    Into my high-tech, super-expensive ice bath:

    DSC00015.JPG

    As I mentioned above, I SVed them at 56C, which was a bit warmer than I'd have liked for the steaks, but I was thinking about our guests. Here they are getting their last marks on a screaming hot grill that I'd sprayed with high-heat Pam:

    DSC00018.JPG

    All of this seems like a lot of fooling around just to cook a steak. Also, if you are going outside to use the smoker, why wouldnt you continue the outside cooking with a grill. it has to get hotter than your home range. Do you think all of this is worth repeating?

    The dreaded truffle up-sell and other annoyances

    in New York: Dining

    Posted

    I have been in Italy and France where I would travel with my own truffles to many restaurants and the waiter or owner was more than happy to accomodate me and build entire meals around the truffles I had. i wonder what a restaurant's policy would be on bringing in your own truffle. I am buying truffles that weigh about an ounce and a half for 60 bucks. I purchase everything wholesale through my restaurant. So a table of 6 could get a 4 course truffle dinner from the one truffle I bring, for 60 bucks.

    Would they kick me out? Or not let me truffle-ize my own food. Is there a shaving fee?

    THE BEST: Flushing Chinatown

    in New York: Dining

    Posted

    I switch between a few dim sum places but, as of the last few months, i have been going to Jade. I think it is exceptional. The mall is still a really nice place to get soup dumplings and some noodles at the Xian place. My favorite might be those lamb sticks for a buck on the street though. Still really want to try the burger place but, its closed on Sundays.

    Underground/Supper clubs in Manhattan

    in New York: Dining

    Posted · Edited by basquecook (log)

    I would not say that Bite Club is dead, I would say they are sleeping. I recently met them at a charity event. They were cooking some very amazing tasting goat. They recently purchased a place in Brooklyn and are in the process of building a kitchen. I believe they should be open by October so this will not fit into your criteria.

    Bite Club will be open in Broolyn after the summer. I hope to work with them if they are reading this. They are very talented.

    Most Underrated Food

    in Cooking

    Posted · Edited by basquecook (log)

    Sun-dried tomatoes. They have such a wonderful flavour and can be used so many ways. But even here in California I mostly see them added to things like pizza and pasta as an afterthough.

    When tomatoes are not fresh you can use them for salsas which are great.. But, I wouldnt consider them underrated.. I am still recovering from the freaking Sun Dried Tomato fad from a few years back.

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