cwyc

What are some major landmarks around 11E Oak? I am going to be in Chicago this weekend and would like to visit Sarah's. Will be my first time there, so need lots of good directions. Staying downtown.

I also found www.bento.com very good for current listings of restaurants in Tokyo and the Kansai region. I was travelling between Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto last week.

Check out WYF's suggestions for some good places to dine. I would also recommend May's Garden Restaurant just west of Chinatown (still on the Somerset strip) for some truly good, northern Chinese-style cuisine. You will find lots of spicy, stewed dishes, Peking Duck, hot pot, dumplings, and a bunch of other stuff true to its roots in regional Chinese cooking. Check out Joy restaurant which newly opened on Somerset. I have not been there yet, but hear it is good. Fusion Korean and Japanese-style cuisine. As far as Spanish is concerned, I am not too familiar with any restaurants that specialize in that, but have heard a place called Don Alfonso (also in the downtown core) has Spanish cuisine. Based on the criteria you outlined, I would highly recommend Beckta's. It is within walking distance of the Chateau Laurier or a five-minute cab ride. Beckta is one of the new "it" restaurants in Ottawa ever since it opened a year and a half ago. It serves fine wine, focuses on fine regional cuisine, is semi-formal and aims to please. Beckta The other one I would recommend based on your description would be Eig8teen or Eighteen. I can't remember how they spell it. It is within five minute's walk of Chateau Laurier and is located in the historical Byward Market. Again, fine wines, fine regional cusine, posh/minimalist atmosphere. Restaurant Eig8teen

I'm rather fond of Pilos on Montreal Road for Greek food. I also like many of the suggestions WYF made. I haven't tried all of them, but Man's Kitchen serves good, solid Cantonese-style home dishes. I like Mee Xim for Vietnamese as well; although for unabashed pho, Thu Do and Pho Bo Ga are the places to go. I have also tried Elgin Street Freehouse and I really enjoyed it. I found it comparable to Beckta's without the hype and pretense. Don't get me wrong - Beckta is good. But sometimes you don't necessarily have to pay for the hype to get a good meal of the same genre. Has anyone tried Sweetgrass Aboriginal Bistro? I am rather curious about it.

Just got back from my trek around Asia. Was in Beijing for a few days and managed to stop by a couple of restaurants as suggested by fellow e-gulleteers. Just wanted to thank you all for your input and suggestions. Managed to make it to the Quanjude duck restaurant located on Qianmen. Although Jon Tseng had mentioned it was very touristy, I was impressed all the same. Most of the people that dined there that evening were locals anyway. But more importantly, touristy or not, I have to categorically say it is the best roast Peking/Beijing duck I have ever had in my entire existence. No exaggeration. Instead of going à la carte, we opted for the set menu for two. Duck is one of those things that need to be made with care and experience because it tends to be on the fatty side. When the carver came out with the whole duck and cut it up in front of us, he sliced off a few pieces of the skin and placed it on a separate plate from the rest of the duck he was carving. It was both crispy and melt-in-your mouth all at once. There was also freshly prepared asparagus and chinese mushrooms among other duck dishes. But probably the most memorable was the duck broth. It was so intensely rich and deeply flavoured with duck, duck and more duck. Just amazing. Also made it to the Gobouli restaurant located downtown. Not too impressed with the steamed buns. Reminded me of a fast food joint spinning out mass produced buns. Also made it to some of the street markets. I loved all of the seafood and pieces of meat on a stick. Very greasy, but it was fun. They tried to get me to eat sea horse on a stick and bugs on a stick. Even I have my limits.

Has anyone tried sticking it in a pile of uncooked rice? Something about the heat from the rice..?

Is there a way of speeding up the ripening process of an avocado. I am making sushi tomorrow and my avocado is still too firm for consumption. Any suggestions?

What a great story about Goubuli. I do not read Chinese. I hope these signs will be in English as well so I can identify the restaurants and eateries?? I am staying at a place called The Bamboo Garden Hotel. It's a little bit out of the way, near the Bell Tower. By the way, how is it this time of year (weather-wise) to rent bikes to go around the Hulongs?

What is the historical significance of the Goubli Baozi???

Hey, I'll be in Beijing in a couple of weeks as well. Speaking of Quanjude for peking duck, I was reading the location by Hepingmen Gate is the newest and largest. Have you tried it? Is it good or would you say they are all about the same? In terms of proximity and a central location, which one is the most convenient to get to, say from Tiananmen Square?

Hi All: Can you tell me what Issan is? I'm going to be in Bangkok in a couple of weeks and I'm gathering as much food knowledge as I can. Thanks.

noodle

I was in DC last summer for work and tried to do some research of good Chinatown restaurants. Unfortunately, I didn't get much of a response on egullet, so I went out on a limb and walked into a two story restaurant in Chinatown based on its appearance. I can't remember the name, but it really isn't even worth mentioning. The dim sum was so poorly prepared, I wish it was unmemorable. All I can say is it left a bad memory and bad taste in my mouth. The only thing that seemed remotely interesting about Chinatown was the arches and the fact that the new MCI centre was being built - but that has nothing to do with Chinatown.

I would tend to agree with herbacidal and jsolomon. Services were rendered, albeit poorly, so they do deserve some form of payment for delivery and providing the food. At the very least it would seem to make sense to cover at least their operating costs. After reading your last post, it would seem to me you have already made up your mind that the advance you paid was sufficient and they deserved no more. If that is the case, then there really isn't much point in arguing your situation. I get the sense you are looking more for affirmation of having paid him only 1/6th of the originally agreed upon price.

In my opinion, it can't be just ANY ketchup chips or dill chips. It's got to be Old Dutch Chips. It seems Old Dutch is available only in the western provinces, so most people east of Manitoba don't seem to know about it.

What about: Eat Drink Man Woman The Scent of Green Papaya

It's actually not groundless or a stereotype. There is nutritional and scientific evidence how certain foods, after consuming it, spike the blood sugar level with a corresponding depletion of energy shortly after consumption. It's called the Glycemic Index (GI), in which foods low on the GI scale break down more slowly and maintain a steady delivery of sugar into the bloodstream rather than producing a sugar spike associated with high glycemic foods. That sugar spike is quickly followed by a rapid drop in your blood sugar which leads to hunger. This is where the notion that you get hungry an hour after eating Chinese food. To take an extreme example, chocolate bars are high on the Glycemic Index and when consumed, it spikes your blood sugar level. High GI foods like the chocolate bar are quickly broken down and stored as fat. But soon after, the body will be hungry again because it is so quickly broken down in the body. On the other hand, if you consume a bowl of brown rice or 100% stone ground bread, it takes the body much, much longer to break down these items and you will not be hungry soon after as the food is still digesting in your body. That is why GI diets recommend you to stay away from Chinese foods because it is high on the GI scale with its white rice and saucy dishes. HOWEVER, there is a real misperception that all Chinese food is high on the GI scale. I suspect people who make that mistake have a very limited understanding of Chinese cuisine. Yes, sweet and sour sauces are high on the GI scale because of the copious amounts of sugar used in those dishes. Yes, deep fried veal balls are out of the question because they are loaded with fat and calories. Even glutinous rice is high on the GI scale because of the way it has been produced as a sticky, starchy white rice. But as we all know among us, Chinese cuisine is NOT the stuff you find in mall food courts. It's much more complex, balanced with an abudance of vegetables, a portion of meats and a "small" accompaniment of long grain rice (which is recommended in the GI diet) at every dinner table. So, in a way, there is some truth to the statement that people go hungry after consuming Chinese food. But the question is, what kind of Chinese food are they consuming anyways? Certainly not the real stuff that has sustained the oldest civilization known to humans.

loufood, I quite agree with your assessment of a general eating order to dim sum. I had never conciously given it much thought before, but now that you mention it, that is generally how I dine. It does seem to make sense that one would start with the lighter items, and then move on towards the meatier, saucier items. But as anyone who frequests a busy dim sum restaurant knows, particularly the crazy ones in Hong Kong and elsewhere, where you are fighting just for a table and sharing it amongst strangers, it is essentially, survival of the fittest. It's not uncommon to be running after the women who push the carts, instead of waiting for them on the off chance they might actually come to your table before its all gone. And then you might end up having to wait another little while before it comes out again. So what most people end up doing is getting what they can get when it arrives. Otherwise, you miss out on it. There are some finer dining dim sum restaurants where you can order from the menu and it comes out course by course, but that is not generally the case in more common establishments. It does make sense to get a few of the items (particularly desserts) before its all gone, and then wait till you are ready to consume it. But even then the hot, steamed items will cool off and lose their essence. So, in a perfect world, yes it would be nice to have each of the items come out orderly, but in most fast-paced dim sum houses, you get what you can. Dejah: I have not tried my hand at making cheung fun yet. In fact, I quite admire your abilities and your ambitiousness. Hope everything turned out well.

Your assessment of edible oil product is bang on. I think the oiliness comes from the margarine, and not the lard I had mentioned earlier. Butter is the fat closest to body temperature, so it doesn't feel like a greasy finish; whereas margarine will leave an oily finish because it melts slower. I like lard only to the extent that it gives me the flakiness in crusts. I would only use a little, but have butter as my main component in that instance. Thanks for the tip on Boss cakes, prasantrin.

So I'm not the only who thinks Maxim's has disgusting pastries. I"m so glad you validated my same thoughts because I was just recently having an argument with someone about whether or not to bring Maxim's pastries as a hostess gift. Just because they are the only Chinese bakery in town (since the one in Chinatown closed a few years ago), does not make it the be all-end all of Chinese pastries in Winnipeg. The last time I was there, I spyed industral cases of margarine in their fridge. Not only does that offend my purist sensibilities, but I also find it gross that their pastries are tasteless and lard-like.

What about cheung fun or in English, rice rolls stuffed with shrimp, pork or beef? Alternatively, cheung fun can be "vegetarian" with green onions dried shrimp. To me the corner stone of dim sum dining must include har gow and the cheung fun, my two favourites. Your meal sounds great so far. I would even suggest maybe egg drop soup if you want to go for something lighter than congee. But then again, congee is a favourite of dim sum dining. For dessert, I like Gary's suggestion of egg tarts. You can make mini ones. I was at a fine dim sum establishment a few weeks ago, where they incorporated the idea of a "bird's nest" on the egg tart. They put small dollops of clear agar jelly atop the tart (in which they used a more custardy filling). The texture was an interesting addition to the old stand-by egg tart. We also had deep fried sesame balls. And they put a fusion twist on it by augmenting it with a chocolate dipping sauce. Very innovative. But if you are looking for a nice, light, refreshing dessert I would suggest tofu flower with fruit. If you get really ambitious, you can make individual lotus leaf packets of chicken and rice. The possibilities are endless.

Just a few years ago, China was accepted as a member of the World Trade Organization. It is quickly being recognized as a global super power in technological and economic development. I'll bet you donuts to dollars (just so we are still semi-talking about food) that computer chip in your pc was probably manufactured in China. Multinationals (including American and Canadian ones) are entering in hoards to take advantage of Chinese labour be it high tech or low tech. In many cases, companies offer housing to the workers, training, development and advancement they would never otherwise enjoy. I'm not saying we can ignore civil liberties and basic human rights. What I'm saying is that when broad statements like, I don't buy anything from China or from Mexico or from whereever, we should think long and hard, and do some well informed research before we make broad stroke comments. Those items manufactured in China or anywhere else for that matter is advancing the opportunities of workers in that country. Furthermore, there is no such thing that is produced in just one country. Every part has an origin. Every idea has an origin. Anything we buy nowadays can have come from multiple sources. This is what globalization is all about. Kudos to you for having Chinese friends. But that's irrelevant.

I'm sorry to get political here too, but Are you kidding??? Do you know how many thousands upon thousands of illegal aliens have entered North America since the 1980s in search of the American dream only to find themselves forced to work sweat shops and appalling, inhumane conditions? That sweater in your closet or that outfit purchased at the local mall or those pots that proudly claim they are made in Canada or the United States may well have been produced by some poor schmuck who barely makes minimum wage under in miserable, slave-like conditions. Don't kid yourself. North America does not have a human rights record we can truly be proud of. I don't mean to be nasty, but it just irks me when North Americans take a holier than thou stance when we ourselves have some pretty bad human rights attrocites in our own back yard. Okay, I'm sorry, but I'll get off my soap box now.

I might be going to Beijing this weekend. Does anyone have recommendations on restaurants and speciality items? Not familiar with the city, so any help would be great.

I just noticed the post on szechuan chilis, and I am having the same problem finding szechuan peppercorns. I can't find them anywhere. I see pink, red, black, green, but cannot find szechaun ones. I have been to Chinatown and places like Dean and Deluca, but have not seen it anywhere. Any suggestions?