Pan

Two questions for whoever wants to answer them: (1) What's "xiao cai"? (2) It's declasse' to order starches for a banquet, I think Gary meant. Anyone want to comment further on this?

I think this is a great thread that deserves revival. My top Chinese food experience of all time was at the Li Family Restaurant in Beijing. Another great meal I'd like to add to the list I posted in 2003, before my second trip to China, is the one I had at Shanghai Moon (in Shanghai, of course ).

Amy, I think you're lucky not to have gotten sick from using the tap water in Shanghai to brush your teeth with. Didn't your hotel provide you with an electric water boiler? We used only boiled and bottled water to brush our teeth with, though I admit I slipped at least once and, before putting the toothbrush in my mouth, tried to make up for it by putting some antibiotic mouth wash on my toothbrush. (I use a prescription antibiotic mouth wash on my upper molars and all my lower teeth twice a day.) It's not that you order raw veggies; it's that your lovely dish is garnished with raw cilantro or/and little slices of cucumber, etc. -- bits of raw vegetables that are hard to avoid completely. If I remember correctly, all four of my family members had at least some intestinal troubles while in China last summer (certainly, at least three of us did). Also, three of four (not including me) came back sick (respiratory or general weakness). I contended with a respiratory ailment when I was in China, too, but I think that was due to "sick air" in the Novotel Hotel we stayed in in Beijing, one of those [sARCASM]wonderful[/sARCASM] modern hotels that continually recirculates its air and has hermetically sealed windows. (Actually, with that one huge exception, it was a pretty good hotel.) I think that all of us felt our wonderful trip was worth the health stuff we dealt with, and I would certainly go back and visit other parts of China, but I'd be remiss if I were to reassure Robyn that nothing can go wrong. By the way, Beijing water definitely isn't safe to drink unless boiled, and has an off taste then, but it's way better than Shanghai water. But just drink bottled water and beer (tea is fine in Beijing but you may find it tastes bad in Shanghai because of the water). Everyone else does.

Dave, wouldn't you say that for travellers whose systems are not used to the local bacteria, it would be safest to be careful about raw vegetables trucked in from China that were probably grown with nightsoil fertilizer? Are there any safeguards being taken on "imports" to Hong Kong that would really make a salad of Chinese vegetables safe for visitors from abroad? And on a side note, I'm slightly surprised to see the words "Hong Kong" and "cleaner" in the same sentence. The Hong Kong I visited in 1987 was vibrant and lived-in but the more crowded streets weren't clean -- which didn't make me love the city less (as, for example, I found the spotlessness of Singapore's streets in 1976 offputting). But anyway, it sounds like there's been some cleanup since then.

I'm bumping this because I'm still interested in responses. By the way, do we have any Penang-area members or members who, though not living in Penang now, came from the area?

So, no other recommendations, people? I thought several of you really liked this restaurant.

I hope everyone will forgive me if this has already been covered, but have any of you ever showed up at Hearth without a reservation? How were you treated under that circumstance?

Canadian #2 Amber = American Grade B?

What grade of maple syrup did you use? And Marlene, what grade will you be using?

babiemindy will undoubtedly clarify, but the tone of her post suggested to me that the wait wasn't more than 5 minutes because they pushed to be seated early and weren't happy with "no" for an answer:

Mindy, if they did that to you for showing up early for a reservation, I wonder what they'd do to someone who showed up without a reservation. Tell them to get lost?

Shanghai water in particular is very bad. And for a more general answer, have a look at this thread.

Thanks for the cute birthday pics.

Dirty rice is delicious! Though I'm a New Yorker, there's been some influence of Louisiana cuisine in my parents' household for as long as I can remember, because my father was in residence at LSU in 1967-68. That was a very different time. Anyway, my mother used to cook dirty rice in the days when she used to eat pig.

I like the Temple Bar on Lafayette just north of Houston (look for the lizard logo on the door on the west side of the street), but the drinks are expensive (~$13 per cocktail). Chikalicious is a good idea.

I think pride is as important as skill. It doesn't matter how skilled a pizzaiolo is if he doesn't have enough pride to demand the best out of himself.

I can enjoy other things with some sea taste, like some seaweed and really fresh mussels (cooked), but raw oysters are nasty! Hey, chacun 'a son gout!

That pepperoni smiley face is cute.

Cooked oysters are OK, though not my favorite type of seafood. But I've never liked raw oysters. I'm with mrsadm on this: Yuck!

If you decide you'd rather make something Don will like, consider shoo fly pie. Here are some results for a Google search of "shoo-fly pie recipe"

As an example of one of the "lurkers" to your Q&A, I want to thank you, Chef Adrià, for spending some time with us, starting by asking a great question that turned into one of the best threads we've had on this site, and treating the questions you got so seriously. I did not think I had anything to add to the give-and-take, but it sure was compelling, to say the least! You are a very interesting thinker! And Pedro's efforts that made this Q&A possible, while ultimately proven not to be superhuman, were truly awesome, using that word in its original meaning. Awesome, awesome! You should get paid for this!

Good luck!

I'm going to be part of a group of 13 (possibly 14) at Congee this Sunday night. My father, with his dietary restrictions for health reasons, is content to eat congee for dinner (perhaps having tiny tastes of some other stuff, I'm guessing). Can those of you who know and like this restaurant please recommend dishes some of the rest of us might want? I've been a customer of Congee Village for years but have yet to patronize Congee. One interesting tidbit: I spoke with the manager tonight, and he told me he used to work at Congee Village and now owns Congee, but otherwise, there's no connection, and the ownerships are different. Thanks in advance. I'm looking forward to the visit.

Well, since no-one's suggesting that smoking be made illegal, there's a choice: Either they can smoke outside or inside. So if they're not smoking inside, inside is smoke-free. That's what it's accomplished. It's for the benefit of the breathing and general health of those inside. And while the smoking outside does result in some bad air, there's a lot more ventilation outside than inside, so the smoke gets dissipated more easily when they're outside. But you knew all of that already. I love the idea of more and more states and countries adopting smoke-free area regulations. But of course I'm not an Italian citizen.

I think something other than food when I see the word "pasties."