jschyun

Ripe, dark red strawberries sweet baked good of any kind chocolate

Certainly no more euwww than this from upthread: ← ahahaha! That's true. Well, at least they plan on cooking them...hopefully.

some sort of calabash gourd (I think) and bitter melon, respectively. Right Monica?

Well, I guess this isn't as much of an ethical issue since it's going to the trash anyway. But am I the only one thinking that it's sort of ew gross? Was is really good wine or something?

I could swear I read some story about some Cambodians and how they're rocking the donut world. But I digress. I had read about the Thai owned bagel shops like absolute bagel but confess that Korean owned bagel shops are new to me. i'd be happy to try them. But I don't know that I've had a great bagel to test against them. I'd love to hear some recs on this thread.

I can't believe this but I am seriously contemplating flying up from California so I can stand in line for a "dough ball with filling", and see what you are all going nuts about. I'm gonna call you guys on your shameless bluff.

How long are you going to ferment this particular batch? Speaking of which, almost time for me to make kimchi as well.

Oh my God, that was fabulous, and I promptly forgot about counting the reasons. I'm definitely printing this to keep in my India trip file. I wish I looked like your cousin.

No I meant the review that I linked to. Thanks for the rec by the way.

I would not go to Kiss Seafood for "serious sushi". The cooked dishes are pretty good, but the sushi is seriously lacking.

In the past, I think I used the S&B brand, but I cook rarely these days so perhaps my memory is failing me. I guess I'm a fan but not enough of one to search out the best curry products. I make it the way my mom makes it, with American stew ingredients. Big chunks of stew meat, onion, peas, carrot, potatoes, well, perhaps not that different from anyone else's version, now that I think about it. Very nice with good hot rice. I've had curry at Japanese shop before, and they weren't that different from ours, except less stuff in it like meat and veggies.

A real American home. Hmm, interesting. So I'm an American, but I guess my dinners of kalbi, rice and sides would be out of the question. This talk of women slaving away so their man can succeed (before he divorces them and goes after the secretary) makes me respect Carly Fiorina even more. She made it to the top, and was smart enough to marry a guy who recognized and nurtured her potential. Go Carly!

I have to admit, I was surprised myself, because I fully expected something that would be a nice neighborhood joint, if not a blow of the socks type of meal. But I really do hope it was an off day because that meal was just awful. I said to my seatmates that i wouldn't give it another chance, but later I reconsidered and thought I'd go again. Now with your review, perhaps I'll make good on this and revisit. The poster that disliked the place earlier posted after my meal. He actually was one of my seatmates, though I didn't realize he had posted about it until a while afterward. I have had a lot of organic produce in my time, and this place is supposed to be very interested in OG produce. But what I got was almost definitely organic (the strawberries had some sweetness) but also definitely unripe and not particularly well handled. One of the reasons why I was disappointed. Yeah, I hate to say that Chuao Chocolatier is not one of my favorites. But that chocolate caramel passionfruit heart, I could eat 20 of those. That is my favorite piece hands down. Just my $.02 and glad to hear your opinions. Please keep posting! Your posts are just excellent and it's good to see you here.

In my experience, organic fruit and vegetables for the most part do taste quite a bit better than their conventional counterparts. Organic strawberries in my area are noticeably darker and sweeter than the non-organic. I like organically grown tomatoes too. Funny that I say "conventional counterparts" because not too long ago, organic was conventional.

Yes, great work Krys. Please don't be put off by my bad impressions of this place. It doesn't reflect on you at all.

I went once this summer to 1550 Hyde and thought it was the worst restaurant in San Francisco that I've been to in 15 years. Bitter Lolla Rossa type lettuce in my salad (gee it was organic though!), something they called "insalata caprese" which was this yellow rectangle slice of I dont know what but it wasn't mozzarella, on an unripe tomato slice, pasta bolognese that is easily the most uninspired I've ever had, some dessert where I distinctly remember strawberries that were white with the faintest touch of pink on the outside and even fainter flavor. The only good thing about that meal was the ribeye steak someone ordered. I may try it again thanks to your report, but am only a little bit more enthusiastic about it. Not a particularly comfortable space as far as I'm concerned. Lackadaisical service.

Also, Nicole's Gourmet Foods in Pasadena. there's also another another cheese shop, I think in Costa Mesa? Damn, I forget the name. grandcru posted about it earlier, but I tried searching and couldn't find the post. I prefer Bristol Farms in NB to Pascal Epicerie. Gelson's, in Irvine, is almost as good, but is more of a generic supermarket.

Oh man, I read this thread right after eating a huge dim sum meal topped off with half carton of ginger gelato. Damn you people. But yeah, I did gain quite a bit of weight in the last week, so must figure out something re slimming back down to fit into now too tight pants. I'll eat a salad for dinner tonight.

Went to Masque based on recs on this board. Thanks guys. New Italian restaurant with chef Angelo Auriana, former chef at L.A.'s Valentino. We didn't end up ordering a normal meal and I missed out on dessert, supposedly one of their strong points (and the desserts at other tables looked pretty good). Just a couple of quick notes: I read this review but still didn't know what to order when I got there. Next time I go there, I am definitely going to skip the beet salad and get the lobster farro app which looked really good. I got the smoked cheese ravioli this time, but will probably skip that and go straight for the entrees because they looked so good. We shared a veal Delmonico that was a more on the medium side than rare, but still a beautiful piece of meat ($30), on a bed of chanterelle mushrooms and spinach, as well as a side of this goat cheese custard. Good if you have some pasta or something on the side as it is mostly a big hunk of meat. All in all we spent about $90 before tip and had ourselves a nice little meal out in the rich, suburban neighborhood of El Dorado Hills. View more pics on my image gallery, including the menu Our beet salad. Your basic beet salad with goat cheese, pretty good, nice sized portion (this was a half portion). Ravioli with scamorza (smoked mozzarella) tossed in sage butter. This was really good, quite a big portion actually, and very reasonable for $15.

matcha (green tea) castella cake is one of my most favorite cakes. I guess for someone who is not used to it, the light green color of the cake looks weird, but when I see it, I just get hungry. My local bakery sells fresh slices that I think are excellent.

I expect restaurants to prosecute me to the fullest extent of the law if I stole something from them and I don't want to go to jail for a salt shaker. What's so great about salt shakers? How much salt are these people using anyway? I personally have no desire to clutter up my place with random crap in general though. In college I actually had this shitty friend who would steal so much stuff anytime we went out: plates, glassware, you name it, and even I couldn't detect her doing it even though I was right there, that's how good she was. Stealing from restaurants was just one aspect of it, she was a completely awful person in general. She (Korean girl) married this poor Korean guy, whose grandmother gave her a wedding present of all that she had, $1000 so that the girl could use it for college expenses, as she had told his family she was going to go to pharmacy school. The girl divorced the guy after she squeezed him dry, and then used the money to party. Then she went on to date this Chinese-Am guy who became my roommate when she couldn't foot her part of their living expenses and she begged me to live with him while she stayed at home to save money. As it turns out, he was a really good guy and a quiet roommate; I got great grades that quarter. Then one day in the fall she came back to live with him and started watching tv every day in the living room while I was trying to study. I told the guy that I was going to move out if he didn't do something about her, but being weak-willed, and easily swayed by her sexual wiles, he ignored me. Several days later I found another apartment and never talked to her or him again. I agree that stealing is stealing, but rich people that steal are especially despicable in my eyes. But perhaps that is how they became rich...assholes. The thing about hotel room service ketchup and mustard bottles is that it's not really a big deal, because it's there for you to use, and you essentially paid for it with the meal, unlike when people steal the silverware, linens and glassware.

I need to read the Adventures in Eating section more often. This is really amazing.

I hope I'm not the only one that laughed my butt off over this one. Don't get me wrong either, I totally love France and the French. About the site Manners Int'l: I think that site was useful to see what other people would do in a situation, so that I don't feel like I'm making social blunders in these situations. Thanks for the link. It reinforced some things I've been told before. I think the rule about knife in left hand and fork in right is totally appropriate. Of course, I'm a lefty. I agree with Pan that I don't understand the folding napkins on your lap rule. Doesn't make sense. I have never seen a napkin big enough to fold and cover me at the same time. Also, we put kids at the kiddy table, so they don't need to stand to stand or do any of that stuff at the dining table. That is a weird rule, never heard of that one before. The table setting reference sheet was pretty nice. That's a very good idea. Like Hest88, I was raised in a culture that doesn't really care about elbows on the table. Also, I was raised to take a spoon and eat rice from the bowl still on the table. But when I went to a Chinese friend's house for dinner one time, they taught me that the proper (polite) way to eat rice is to pick up the bowl and shovel the rice into your mouth. --oh wait, you're supposed to have the knife in right hand? Crap. Then there's no advantage for me being a lefty? I must change my habits immediately.

Apparently, someone I know got a KitchenAid mixer from his Secret Santa. Wow.

Some comments on your list: Kiss Seafood: If you're going here for sushi, I say forget it and go somewhere else like Ino or...anywhere else. The cooked dishes are decent but in general I feel the sushi esp is steadily declining from okay to bad to worse. That is just my $.02 Ino Sushi: so far, best in the city that I've had, though I haven't tried Kyo-Ya or Kabuto. Ton Kiang: In my experience, if it's busy, the food is good, if a little on the small side. But if it's busy, the wait is miserable. Koi Palace: Seafood here is supposed to be excellent here, but I will confess that I haven't made it past dim sum yet even though we go here a lot. Also, I am biased because I think this is the best dim sum in the Bay Area, but that is just me. Incredibly busy though, must call ahead and reserve a number.