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Best Dan Dan Noodles would be at Spicy & Tasty in Flushing. If Flushing isn't convenient, you can get an excellent rendition at Grand Sichuan's Midtown, Chelsea, or East Village branches. There are many different types of noodle soups. Do you want Chao Zhou? (Consider Bo Ky and Chao Chou in Chinatown, Chao Zhou in Flushing.) Hong Kong style? (Consider New York Noodletown.) Shanghainese? (Consider Yeah Shanghai.) Are you interested in Lo Mein? I haven't been for a while but always really liked the Ginger-Scallion Lo Mein at New York Noodletown. Congee Village isn't a noodle soup place but has some excellent noodle dishes, such as Sliced Beef with Black Bean Sauce Chow Fun Noodles. They also have excellent genuine-Chinese Chow Mein, of which I recommend Beef Chow Mein with Chinese Veg. Please let us know what you find in your quest. I love noodles and noodle soups.

I like my felafel sandwich with tahini, salad, spicy pickles, hot sauce made from scratch, and sometimes hummus and sauerkraut. I get it at Chickpea, my local felafel/shawarma place. They make their own pita, too, and it doesn't get soggy.

Nice dinner, Elie! Thanks for the pic.

"Several of the items that you or/and your friends ordered were not Sichuan- or Hunan-style dishes" is neither an attack nor condescending, but merely an accurate statement. Sorry that it bugged you.

I guess there's another thing I'm thinking of. You know how there are a bunch of biological fruits (e.g., tomato, squash, pumpkin, olive, avocado, cucumber) that are usually thought of as vegetables? What biological non-fruits are usually thought of as fruits? Rhubarb, perhaps. Do you think any of the previously-mentioned roots, stems, leaves, grasses, and seeds qualify as being normally thought of as fruits? Coconut, perhaps?

Parsnip is pretty sweet without added sugar, however. There are a bunch of sweet roots, and the most common ones plus some less common ones have already been mentioned here: Sweet potato, carrot, parsnip, beet, angelica (with which I was unfamiliar), ginger, etc.

I'm glad to see another East Villager here, but my one experience with Covo dell'Est was unsatisfactory. Some time ago, when my brother was in town, the two of us had lunch there. We enjoyed the decor and had good service, but found everything almost inedibly salty.

Fresh waterchestnuts are great. One thing you can do is use them in any Chinese recipe that calls for waterchestnuts and taste the difference. But you could also make sweets with them, such as by candying them or making an ice cream with them.

Biologically, olives are fruits. I'm guessing that Chinese people, accustomed to having them sweet or sweet/salty (etc.) preserved, may think of them as such. In most other cuisines with which I'm familiar, they are commonly treated as vegetables.

Is it harder to define "vegetable" than "fruit"? I would tend to agree that it is, but perhaps worth the effort on a site devoted to food.

94 views since this was posted, but not a single response. Should this be in "Cooking"?

Anything new and noteworthy at Grand Central?

After my recent visit to Bianca, it's already one of my favorite places, and I do think it fits as middlebrow, though I'd note it's less expensive than some of the other restaurants mentioned in this thread - which I think is due for a revival and more listings. So please contribute, fellow restaurant-goers.

I went to Yangpyung Seoul Haejanguk tonight. I ordered a soothing bulgogi soup. (How many of you knew that you could get bulgogi soup? I didn't until tonight.) It certainly was in a large enough bowl for my appetite at the time, but not a humongous bowl. It included scallion tops, onion slices, the very thin white mushrooms with tiny heads that are chewy, and some clear mung bean noodles, and came with a bowl of rice, as usual. The panchan was very good and included cabbage kimchi that was quite good, radish kimchi which was less chewy ergo more cooked than usual (a nice change, I thought), sliced daikon that had been kept in sugar/salt/vinegar mixture, salted anchovies with mildly hot green pepper slices, and cucumber and other vegetables with a very fishy-tasting seaweed (the last one being the only side dish I didn't like). I had barley tea with the meal, and it was refilled twice by a busboy without my having to request a refill and without being charged for the drink at all, it seemed to me. I found it of at least passing interest that the waitress who took and served my order spoke some Spanish as well as Korean and English, because the busboys, who look to be Mexican or Central American, don't speak much English. While I was there, the clientele was mostly Korean, but there were two two-tops of white Anglo men and women, respectively, and both seemed to be perhaps a bit clueless. One of the men couldn't believe that what he had - the kalbi, I think - was made with beef and when ultimately convinced, said to the waitress "I'm sorry; I didn't like it." She just walked away without responding further, which some might interpret as rude but which I interpreted as either her not hearing that part or essentially implying "too bad." She smiled right away when I asked for barley tea in response to a question about whether I would like something to drink and then approved of my order of bulbogi soup, so she respects people who like Korean food and know something about it, even if no expert, as I am not. As for the women, one asked pointedly whether x and y were spicy. The waitress worked with her, as she should have, but I can't see why people would specifically go to a Korean restaurant if they don't like spiciness. It seemed to me that service is friendly and good if you like Korean food; I felt I got good service, better than I've had in several other Korean restaurants. The only thing I didn't like was the after-dinner drink they gave me. I forget the name of it, but it was a tiny little plastic container of something, and it had an awful taste. I drank some more barley tea to get rid of the taste. The ambiance was more relaxed than I believe it would have been at Han Bat at that hour (around 7:40 or so when I arrived). The bill was $10.85 including tax but not tip. I noticed that the back of the chopsticks container listed four other branches of the restaurant, in addition to the Manhattan one: Flushing 156-03 Northern Blvd. Flushing, NY 11354 (718) 461-6511 Fort Lee 2024 Center Av. Fort Lee, NJ 07024 (201) 944-4242 Bayside 210-12 Northern Blvd. Bayside, NY 11361 (718) 224-4233 Annandale 4230 Annandale Rd. Annandale, VA 22003 (703) 354-0511 Anyone familiar with any of those branches?

Yes.

That was my answer too, Shiewie and Ling: Finish your rice. I know very well that being greedy with the side dishes is frowned upon in rice-eating countries like Malaysia and China.

Several of the items that you or/and your friends ordered were not Sichuan- or Hunan-style dishes. Sorry you didn't like the jellyfish, though. I've never found it bland.

Thanks for the link. That was fun! And I think Brooks looks good in that picture, so there!

I forget. I think it's the one right on the corner of Main and Prince. I like their black sesame milk tea.

That was really fun! I got 7 out of 11. I had no idea that the Chinese consider it impolite to clean the plate! I've been unintentionally rude in Chinese households!

You can get roasted chestnuts on Main St. in Flushing.

There's a good bubble tea place in Flushing, Queens that puts white tapioca balls into their teas.

Having trouble getting someone brave enough to follow Sam, eh? This really belongs on the "thread of great threads." But though I can't imagine any foodblogger ever topping this, without doubt, many interesting threads will be generated in future weeks, thanks to those intrepid souls who will open up their kitchens for our entertainment and edification. A salute to them all!

Go to Grand Sichuan.

You should generally stick to Sichuan and Hunan dishes and avoid almost everything else. Yeah. It's good but not my favorite thing there. The only place I was really crazy about Smoked Tea Duck was in China, I believe Home Restaurant in Beijing. Typical Chinese restaurant portions. Main dishes are large oval-shaped platters, appetizers and cold dishes are smaller. You should order cold dishes because they're delicious. I guess a cold dish is roughly equal to 1/2 the size of a hot dish or so. Never tried 'em. Yes. You could, though at that location, it may not be necessary. I'd do it, anyway. My favorite place for dessert in that general vicinity is Poseidon, but they aren't open late and have no place to sit, so I can't help you with that. Everyone has their favorites, but here are some dishes I particularly recommend: 28. Sichuan Wonton W. Red Oil 30. Dan Dan Noodle W. Chili Sauce 34. Ox Tongue & Tripe W. Hot & Pepper Sauce. 37. Beef W. Hot & Wild Pepper Sauce (delicious!) 38. Beef Tendon W. Hot & Pepper Sauce (a personal favorite) 47. Jelly Fish W. Scallion Oil 50. Cucumber W. Fresh Garlic 106. Braised Whole Fish W. Hot Bean Sauce 120. Gui Zhou Spicy Chicken 136. Squid W. Kung Bao Sauce 149. Cellophane Noodle W. Minced Pork (bursting with flavor!) 171. Bean Curd Family Style (a revelation, if you haven't gone crazy over bean curd before) 179. Sauteed Duck & Bitter Melon (if you like bitter melon, get this; great combination) 183. Spicy and Sour Squid (amazing!) In addition, some of the dishes from the Prodigal Daughter's menu are great, such as the spinach (#1 on that menu, I believe) and the dish with celery and spicy green pepper in a complex sauce including plenty of red oil (#2, I believe, and spectacular). Nowadays, I get food from the East Village branch of Grand Sichuan so often that I know their somewhat different menu better, perhaps, than the Midtown branch's menu.