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I went for dinner tonight. I do not recommend the Seafood Soup, which included lobster and salmon that didn't taste fresh. I ate the soup anyway, and it was otherwise good, but people more sensitive than I to fishiness would have had to send it back. (I did tell the waitress why I was lukewarm on the soup, and the proprietor offered to comp me something else, but I declined, saying it was OK and I ate it, but just wanted him to know.) For a main course, I got Khichuri with vegetables. I thought it would be something like biryani, but it didn't have any sauce -- my mistake. It was in fact good; as described on the menu: "a mixture of lentils & rice with spices, comes with choice of chicken, lamb, beef or vegetable curry." The thing was, the vegetables weren't really a curry but just sauceless boiled or steamed vegetables. I would get the dish again, but would get another dish to have with it. Be warned, though: The Khichuri is a lot of food, and probably best to share with a dining partner (I was solo tonight). My feeling was that I had a good meal and should go back sooner than every several months, but that, despite the prioprietor's assurances that the Seafood Soup would be great next time, I think I'll order something else as a first course next time.

In the Beijing Shopping Centre on Wangfujing St., I got the sweet preserved mixed red and yellow haws. I really love the yellow haws and wish I could get them in New York. My favorite candy to get in Chinese supermarkets in New York is actually from Indonesia. It's called Ting Ting Jahe, and it's a sort of chewy ginger candy.

In Beijing, near the Asia Hotel, there was a hutong with a bunch of different restaurants that (at least in season, which included August) specialized in crawfish in a hot-and-Sichuan-pepper sauce. I think a couple of them were Muslim and halal (evident from the Arabic inscriptions, which I can read), and the rest weren't. The scallion flatbread was made on the street all over Beijing and also in Changchun (and doubtless, many other Northern Chinese cities and towns I haven't visited). I didn't get the feeling there was anything particularly Muslim or non-Muslim about that bread, but I could be wrong. But the bottom line is, it seemed clear to me that there was major overlap between Muslim and non-Muslim Beijing food, I imagine due to two-way borrowing.

Here in New York, chopsticks are offered as a matter of course or by request in every Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, and Korean restaurant I go to. Thai restaurants also typically offer them here. At Malaysian restaurants, you have a choice between a fork and spoon or chopsticks, which conforms to Malaysian practice, where members of the Chinese community often use chopsticks for fried noodles and noodle soups, while all Malaysians use their hands for roti canai and a spoon and fork for most other dishes (in some places, Malays use their hands for most everything but soup and such). Like some others here, I find the metal Korean chopsticks too thin to use, but I am very comfortable with wooden chopsticks and I suppose I'm at least as proficient with chopsticks as with a fork. I use chopsticks every time I have Chinese, Japanese, or Vietnamese food, with Malaysian noodle dishes, and with Korean food, along with a spoon. I do not use chopsticks for Thai food, and I use a fork for most other types of food. All of the above, but mostly the type of cuisine. Chopsticks are pretty common in New York. I could stand not to have them automatically offered at Thai restaurants, as a matter of fact. I guess my feeling is that, for me, using chopsticks is part of the experience of having Chinese (etc.) food, and using a knife and fork is part of the experience of having French (etc.) food.

Do you have a location for that stall?

In a number of visits several years ago, I found that branch of Pongsri to be quite tasty, with sometimes really outstanding service, but never great. You can see my most recent comments on the place here. But the only great Thai food I've had in New York was in my visits to Sripraphai in Woodside, Queens.

Yep - dan dan noodles and bean curd family style. The dan dan noodles had a bit of a metallic taste, and seemed to be missing the depth of flavor I enjoyed so much at Yellow Door in Hong Kong. The bean curd was good, but not remarkable. ← Based on your order, I consider your appraisal fair. I, too, ate better in China than at Grand Sichuan (and at least one if not two Sichuan-style restaurants in Flushing are also better, in my opinion), but all in all, I'm sure glad we have it.

MsMelkor, do you remember what you ordered at Grand Sichuan?

Yes, post to the pre-theater thread (you can put a link here). No, don't look for anything at Times Square (except for a decent bakery on 7th Av. and 44 St. - a little pricey and no big deal, but OK). For after theater, you may want to walk down to Little Korea, between 32nd and 36th between Broadway/6th Av. and 5th Av., because most of those places stay open 24 hours and there are several good ones. Here's a thread for you to look at: Best Korean in Manhattan? Also, I can specifically recommend Woo Chon (look here and here for a bit of information, but it's probably my favorite Korean restaurant of the ones I've tried in New York [though I go to the Flushing location much more than the Manhattan one, by happenstance]); Kang Suh (look here for a report on my 2003 birthday dinner; I'm still a regular and the place is still equally good); Cho Dang Gol; Han Bat; and Yangpyung Seoul Haejanguk.

Since you said you were staying on 8th Av., that's the West Side, not the East Side. But I think the bigger point is that it's a nonstarter for you to try to do or eat everything in one day. If you want to eat stuff that's within a short walk of where you're staying, look through that pre-theater thread. If you want the best pizza, the best pastrami, etc., you can't limit yourself to a 10-block radius or something. How about having some excellent Sichuan food at Grand Sichuan International, 8th Av. between 50th and 51st? There's something you can do in one night in Manhattan that'll be worthwhile (if you stick to ordering Sichuan, Hunan, and special menu items -- none of that American Chinese or Cantonese stuff, and don't tell them to tone down the spiciness).

For those of us who'd like to, how do we do it?

Yes, very good, but no slices. Whole pizzas only, and with their medium-thick crust, a whole pizza is a lot for one person there, too much for normal people I daresay.

Katz's DiFara's in Brooklyn, Patsy's in East Harlem (Grimaldi's doesn't do slices, I believe). What kind of sausage? Describe it with a nationality at least (e.g., Argentinian, Italian, Chinese, German . . .). Cheesesteak is not a New York thing. You can get it here, but why not wait until you're in Philadelphia? Pre-Theater Dining: The Thread Enjoy your trip.

That would be mujadara, also known as Im Jaddara, among other spellings. I can't wait to see what you're having tomorrow!

Temple, the Korean restaurant on St. Marks just off of 1st Av., is owned by a young woman named Joohee Maeng.

I'm not sure the visa questions are on-topic for this thread (and if this thread is split, I will edit this post), but remember that you can always ask to have the stamp on a separate piece of paper, rather than your passport.

Search for Kung +chicken. But you're right, this is off-topic here, so if this line of discussion is to be continued, let's continue it elsewhere.

hzrt8w is right that the Invision search feature is pretty useless for this search, because it can't search for terms of 3 letters or less.

Teresa's, my much-appreciated local Polish diner, is in fact owned by a woman named Teresa. I don't know her last name, but I have had some conversations with her.

Tony, it looks like you have really skilled students, a fact that is undoubtedly due in significant part to your excellence as a teacher. I hope you'll take time out to post photos of more of your students' creations in the future.

Turmeric is really lame as a replacement for saffron, but there are plenty of dishes in which the strong taste of saffron would be out of place but I'd miss the absence of turmeric. And I like saffron very much, so in no way am I dissing that deluxe stamen.

Jeff, are you sure all of Patchogue is so dangerous and worthless? I didn't get that impression on a short visit. I did get the impression that there are good informal Latin eateries there. Sorry I can't name any places, though.

Shelora, if you're not eating raw leaves, it's not an issue, anyway. Anything that's peeled or cooked is fine to eat in China. Pickles were definitely the first answer I thought of. And they don't have to be nearly as pickled as kimchi. I had mixed pickles in Beijing that were only lightly pickled (and I suppose there's at least an even chance they were unsafe for me to eat, but they sure were delicious). Gastro888, I wonder if whether Korean panchan is a version of Northern Chinese food is really a pertinent question. Who knows which came first? Unless we can find out, we would probably do best assuming that these are related cuisines of neighboring peoples.

I agree; they're friendly, nice people, and I like to buy some prepared desserts and semi-savory items from them. Plus, the difference in price usually isn't that significant.

Yes, that does make sense. I'm curious what's in the Kaju Katri. Do you make that?