Pan

The restaurant formerly called "New Taste Good" on 1 Doyers St. is now called the something-or-other ("Good," I think) Chinese Restaurant. I went there tonight and had some Asam Laksa and part of some Rojak. At a certain point, I got to a piece of fried tofu in the rojak that tasted of mold (or, probably less likely, the mold was in the sauce). Don't go there! (By the way, please don't confuse this place with the Excellent Pork Shop House at 3 Doyers. I haven't been to the latter and don't want my remarks to be taken against them.)

Thanks for the report, Anko, and I'm glad (and a little envious ) that you had such a wonderful time! Did you write all that down on a pad or did they give you the menu? Wow, all those wine pairings! What fraction of a glass did they pour each time?

Sounds like a very nasty company, but I don't think we should assume that all MSG is manufactured by them. What about Aji-No-Moto from Japan, for example? I have no idea what their environmental or workplace safety records are, as indeed I don't know this information about most companies that produce foodstuffs.

I don't think so, Yetty.

My brother, who lives in SF, thinks The Slanted Door is a hugely overpriced really mediocre restaurant, so comparing a place unfavorably to them is a real slam, from that point of view. But I want to know how many people were in your party, Stone.

You're right, Todd, this tangent should be a new thread, on the General Forum. By all means, start the thread there if you like.

I see that park on my map. The first time I was in Beijing, I stayed in Longtan Binguan near Longtan Park (nice park, I thought at the time, which was 1987, and the 10 RMB price for a shared double room at that hotel was the biggest bargain of my whole trip). In those days, that felt like the southeastern outskirts of the city. It seems like you're roughly the same distance south, though further west, but the city and indeed many suburbs are so much more built up now. But anyway, I don't really know the neighborhood you're staying in.

The soju I've had is smooth and not rotgut, but the really alcoholic rice liquor they sell in little Beijing supermarkets, even the least cheap stuff in such discount stores, is an abomination. And I mean, the really, really alcoholic stuff. My brother bought some for I think 3 kuai and change or so for a large bottle, and just tasting a tiny bit of it made my throat feel like someone had thrown kerosene in it and lit a match. It was just awful! We got rid of it quickly, and not through our stomachs, thank you very much!

I'd have to agree. That bothers me.

Yetty, what's that on the left? It looks good!

Believe it or not, there's a two-page thread called "What syllable do you emphasize in eGullet?"

Hmm...it didn't occur to me that chicken soup and cream cheese make a treyfe meal! Of course they do! No mixing of meat and dairy! I guess my Orthodox godmother makes her post-fast matzo ball soup with vegetable stock! Carrot Top, I've never heard of such a thing as fasting on Diwali/Deepavali. It's a festive occasion with plenty of delicious food, and I'd be amazed to hear that there's some tradition of fasting then. Here's a thread about Indian Ramadan (or Ramzaan) foods. Here's a shorter thread on Arab Ramadan foods, focusing on Katayef. Here's an eGCI piece on Diwali and Diwali recipes by Monica Bhide & Sudhir Seth!

Not really. Those who try to get people to register will never require them to show their voter cards for some kind of payment. That would be illegal throughout the U.S., I believe. Considering that it's prominently displayed outside the restaurant, they are at least attempting to get new customers with the offer. Whether they have been successful in attracting new customers, I don't know.

Jokhm, what part of Beijing are you staying in?

Really? They get them pre-filled? Including the soup dumplings? And if they get the soup dumplings pre-filled, why are they better than the soup dumplings at other Shanghainese restaurants I've been to in New York?

No worries, Geetha, and I wonder myself what's traditional as break fast food among Indian Jewish communities.

Maggie, if you're really ambitious, look into Rijstaffel. That was something the Dutch had their Javanese cooks make for them, and the Dutch have really embraced Indonesian food, from what I understand (I haven't yet had the pleasure of visiting the Netherlands). Rijstaffel isn't something Indonesians typically eat, but it does have a lot of Indonesian touches to it and can be analogized in some ways to Anglo-Indian food that Indian cooks made for English colonists in India. It would take a lot of work to make Rijstaffel because it's a bunch of little dishes eaten with rice, but it's really impressive and tasty when done well.

I walked past a Thai restaurant on Lexington Av. just south of 39 St. called Saga tonight. Next to the glass-covered display of their menu on their outside wall was another display entitled "Saga and Zagat" (or vice versa) that said something like this (I may be paraphrasing, because I didn't have a pen with me, but I stand behind the content 100%): "Do you want $20 off your next meal at Saga? All you have to do is vote for Saga on www.zagat.com. The proof of your vote is a printout [etc.]." Do any of you know other restaurants that have so publicly bribed customers to vote for them on Zagat.com? Has it worked for them? And would you ever voluntarily go to a restaurant that publicly offered such a bribe? I wouldn't, and I think it's slimy, but it does point out a weakness of survey-driven rating systems.

Or in Manhattan, try Yeah Shanghai Deluxe.

The Dominicans cook guinea hen. For example, you can click on the menu for El Malecon Restaurant II on menupages.com and see the following special for Monday: Gallina Spanish Style Guinea Hen Stew. I've eaten that dish, and I assure you it's not chicken. I'm sure El Malecon is not getting their guinea hens at D'Artagnan, which suggests to me that anyone who wants to get one cheap should head to Washington Heights or another Dominican neighborhood.

Geetha, this thread is about a meal that's served after a 25-hour no-water no-food fast with most of the afternoon spent continuously standing in synagogue. A meal to break such a fast is a sensitive thing because some people (like me) react to such a fast as if they had been literally starving. (I could go into details but don't want to derail this thread, and no, I don't fast completely anymore, for health reasons.) Also, the host will have come from synagogue, too, so things that have to be cooked to order are a no-no (too much time and energy). I think that tea and broth (matzo ball soup, if you like) are essential for those who may have trouble with their stomachs after the fast. For similar reasons, you might want to have some Ginger Ale handy. Otherwise, I think the suggestions above are good, with the addition of some fruit or (if you want to prepare it) fruit salad that's been refrigerated for a day.

Thanks for the report, snausages. Since soup dumplings are a Shanghainese specialty, I'd recommend for people to stay away from soup dumplings at non-Shanghainese restaurants and at Grand Sichuan, get Sichuan dumpling dishes instead, especially as they have good ones.

As Suzanne said, they carry a wide range of goods. Check it out yourself on their website! Happy shopping!

A little different from chicken, and I like it.

Is that a bad thing?