Pan

What restaurant was that? Please post in another thread with a link, if you like, but I'd like to know.

Yes. And under other reviewers, they would have been likely to be given 2 stars, just as Bruni did. You still haven't explained what "one-star trappings" are.

Huh? What are "one-star trappings"? Officially, one star is merely "good." Sure, if the food were served in a freezing tent with an outhouse for a bathroom, there might be an issue, but I've never seen or heard anyone talk about "one-star trappings," by contrast with no-star trappings. And for the record, if it matters, Szechuan Gourmet has white tablecloths. I look forward to your explanation here but can very reliably predict in advance that I won't agree with it.

I had the duck/foie gras ravioli at L’Impero when Conant was Chef there. They were great, and had a good deal of foie taste, as I recall. And if that's the case, I wonder why it's no longer true at Scarpetta.

I've never been to Daniel and, therefore, naturally have no opinion about the establishment. However, I do have an observation about the nature of the discussion. I would consider that to judge a restaurant only on how it is at its best, if it's so inconsistent that whether it's at anything close to its best on any given day is a total crapshoot, would be grossly inaccurate reportage, and therefore, inappropriate in a review. And Fat Guy seems to agree:

Your rendang looks great! You've found the secret to rendang, which is to slow-cook it for a LONG time. I wonder if there's a Thai store in Vancouver that sells asam gelugor. It's the Malaysian kind of "tamarind," which is not a bean but a fruit that grows on a tree. Does anyone know the Thai word for it? This is the most relevant result I found in a Google search for "asam gelugor thai": http://www.bigcookings.com/asam-gelugor.html

For all practical purposes, although perhaps theoretically possible (I've never actually tried), I doubt Hearth is really doable for $50. $80 is more reasonable.

Are you sure you're talking about Cacio e Pepe here, not Cacio e Vino, about which the things you write are true? Oh, by the way, if loudness is an issue, don't go to Crispo, either: The place can be very loud.

I agree with Lupa. Reservations would probably be late; they seem never to have reservations available at peak times, but maybe that's partly because I don't usually plan far ahead. Get a table in the back, if possible. I haven't been to Cacio e Pepe in a long time, but wasn't terribly impressed; then again, I've never had their signature dish (cacio e pepe, of course). I haven't tried the other places Daisy mentions. One other place you could consider, if you can't get reservations at Lupa at a reasonable hour and don't feel like risking it as walk-ins, is Supper. It's considerably cheaper than Lupa and certainly not on the same level, but it serves honest, well-cooked food in a pleasant environment. I like to sit at the bar and watch the cooks work in the open kitchen. I don't know whether Supper takes reservations.

Please be more specific. What do you want to spend? Do you care how loud it is? Any other criteria? And by the way, would the East Village be OK for you?

afauthentic, your food looks really good! The kangkung belacan looks just right, and your acar looks right, too. I really don't expect acar to be sweet, but maybe that's because I spent most of my time on the East Coast of Malaysia, or perhaps I was just more sensitive to sourness when I was 10-12 years old. Anyway, when I get "achat" (the usually spelling here, for some reason) in New York Malaysian restaurants, it's pretty sweet. I wouldn't worry about there being too much sauce with the Indonesian tempeh dish, as long as the sauce is tasty. For the ketoprak, do use sprouts when you have a chance. They really make a difference. I'm not sure why your potato rendang is so bright-colored. How long did you cook it?

Thank you. Nice pics!

I passed by Sorella before and based on the prices of its small plates, I had pegged it as too expensive. But I may be making a mistake. Just how small are those dishes? Do you suppose a couple of small plates plus a couple of contorni and dessert (do they have any desserts?) could feed two people?

Sean, have you been to Skyway? I'm gonna have to give New Malaysian another try. I haven't been there for years and wasn't that impressed the last time I went.

They don't let you take leftovers to go? Why not??!

That looks like an excellent trip! Thanks for sharing it.

Pan, You are absolutely right, though the mamak shops in Malaysia and Singapore have greatly diversified their product range. You can see roti canai-stle bread stuffed with various fillings, so popular choices include pisang (banana and honey), planta (local margarine with lots of sugar), sardin (tinned sardines with onions) and bom (condensed milk and planta margarine). You can also see regional deviations such as roti strawberi (insides spread with strawberry jam) in Cameron Highlands. ← Interesting. I knew about roti telur, of course, but I think of the extra eggs as not a stuffing but a coating. I saw signs for roti sardin many times on my last trip to Malaysia (2003), but I guess I never got around to eating any!

I recognize what you got, except that where I used to live, it wasn't called roti. In Malaysia, these stuffed pancakes are in my experience called lempeng (pronounced lepeng in Terengganu/Kelantan), and typical fillings for them in the 1970s were banana (pisang), coconut (nyior), and jackfruit (nangka or cempedak - two very distinct varieties with different tastes). I've never had a savory lempeng, but a quick search pointed very quickly to one savory lempeng recipe from a Malaysian (with potato filling). In Kota Bharu, Kelantan, murtabak (though of Indian origin, I understand) seem to be considered a local specialty, and can be either sweet or savory. I've seen them described as crepes, but the first Google result for "murtabak recipe" defines them as "wrapped roti canai" with filling. Roti, as such, though, means "bread" in Malaysia (so that if you ask for "roti," you're likely to get a loaf of ordinary Western-style bread), and roti canai, when so called, is in my experience not stuffed with anything. Did you get further south, to any of the Malay-majority provinces?

I'm very glad you were able to post the photos. Please say more about the tongue dish. I'm not familiar with that particular way of serving tongue. Is there paté between each slice of tongue and a little mayonnaise in the front right corner? Can you compare the taste of that tongue (presuming that it's a beef tongue) and one you could get at a place like 2nd Av. Deli?

I'm really enjoying this diary. The post about the former refugees from Yunnan who operate a tea shop gave rise to the philosophical question of when one ceases to be a refugee, but that's a non-food question. I look forward to the rest of the reports!

And by "chestnut flour," you mean water chestnut flour.

Might some of them lower prices in an attempt to stay open? By the way, I agree that it's unfair to name them publicly if it's just a guess (~rumor).

What was in the lo mein you got?

Thanks. Can you describe those black sesame rolls a little? They look moist. Are they agar agar with black sesame? [Edit: I realized I've gotten these elsewhere. But go ahead and describe them if you like.]

Yeah, Mott St. is in Manhattan. Both restaurants are in Chinatown. OK, for recommendations. So far, I've been to Shanghai Cafe by myself only, so I haven't gotten any of the bigger dishes. I've really liked their kao fu, though, and some of their other small dishes, and their noodle soups. There are some recommendations for Yeah in this Chowhound thread: New Yeah Shanghai Deluxe - what to order In that thread, I also linked to this earlier (2006) thread: Yeah Shanghai Help Specifically, this post contains recommendations from me.