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There has been ample discussion on chowhound, here, and other food sites about dim sum. Does anybody have a recommendation for the best place to have a moderately priced chinese dinner in Oakland's chinatown? (Especially with one's 60 and 70-something parents along) Their favorate place seems to be Little Shin Shin on Piedmont avenue. I'd like to expand their horizons towards chinatown. Has anybody tried Legendary Palace for dinner perchance?

By and large traditional Chinese cuisine is cooked. No raw fish tradtion to speak of, and nary a salad section to be found. Yet because adaptation is the tradition, salads have crept into the repetoire. Have you had one? How was it? What was it? Lobster with Mayo?

Have any favorite Chinese greens? Favorite recipes?

What makes a great roast pork bun? Who makes a great roast pork bun? Steamed or baked, which do you prefer? Why?

I really wanna know...Does it have shrimp, does it have chicken? Is it deep fried? Did it come from Chinese take out or did you buy it frozen? Ive never had a good egg roll that I bought from the grocery store, however... Tell me how your favorite is and where did you get it...

There's a lot of Chinese restaurants here, and it's not for lack of trying, but so far I haven't found the right one. It's been my experience that most of the Triangle's Chinese restaurants operate under the premise that there's no such thing as too much sauce (and please...don't skimp on the oil). Order something with beef and it's like eating Chinese style country fried steak smothered in an oily pool of brown gravy. The best so far has been Peking Garden. Any other suggestions or recommendations? Preferably in Raleigh. Preferably where oil isn't the primary ingredient of every dish. Thanks.

Do you eat Chinese breakfast? What do you like to eat? Sweet or salty soy bean milk with fried dough? Congee? A cup of coffee and a bun? Bacon & eggs?

Folks I have been cruising through this forum and I am struck by one thought, you are by and large discussing American Chinese food. My wife and I are living in China and rather than spend the next eight hours replying to posts trying to enlighten a few posters I have started this thread for one purpose. If anyone wants to know about real honest to God authentic Chinese food as it is made in China ASK ME. I will tell you and if I don't know the answer I will find it for you as some of my close friends here (guanxi baby!!) are traditionally trained chefs born and bred in the PRC. I am not the expert but I will translate for you what they say and give you this westerners take on the culinary landscape. So let 'er rip people...

hi e-gulleters-- i'm a westerner who loves "pho" (vietnamese soupe tonkinoise), risotto, and brothy soups. i would like to make congee at home for the first time, and i'm wondering what people's favourite ingredients are? i guess i would like a slow-simmered chicken broth, mint, basil, and coriander leaf, some bean sprouts and sesame oil, but that is my imagined recipe hehe... :-) if you were to suggest a congee for me to try, what would be in it? thaks in advance for your thoughts! gus_tatory in montreal

Hi gang! I've recently purchased preserved duck eggs, and I'm unsure on how to prepare them. I did find some information that preserved eggs should be steamed for 10 min, and salted eggs (soft) should be hard-boiled for 15 min. Are these guidlines correct? Also, any recipe ideas would be appreciated!

A whole category of Chinese food. Temple street in Hong Kong, Snake Alley in Taipei are some of the exciting places I've enjoyed Chinese street food, even Canal Street in Manhattan. What street foods have you encountered in your travels or communities? Any experiences you can tell us about?

I'm watching the EGG battle on Iron chef..challenger used swallow's nest for a dessert, judges were chattering that it was a strange way to use it? What is Swallow nest? I've seen it as an ingredient, but never questioned it before. Thanks.

I love Shredded Pork and Szechuan Pickled Vegetable Soup, Peking Duck, Soup Dumplings, Frogs Legs with Ginkgo Nuts and sooo..... many other dishes. Live for esoteric and delicious Chinese banquets. But I'm not ashamed to admit that I like Chicken Chow Mein too. I didn't eat it as a kid too often. I usually went for egg rolls, spare ribs, lobsters (when mom and dad were feeling flush), and when it was chow mein time, if I ordered it, it was subgum style - which was really more like diced chicken with almonds than chow mein. As an adult I cook compulsively, frequently having guests over for elaborate Chinese dinners. I might make spicy wontons, steamed fish, oxtail, scallops with egg white etc. But then, every once and a while, I slip in some homemade chicken chow mein. It has freshly poached chicken, good stock, lots of fresh onion and celery, beansprouts and homemade crispy noodles. I love the flavor of the sauce when all the vegetable juices mingle with the stock - good stuff, not authentic, but delicious nonetheless. What's your take on chow mein? Chow mein stories anyone?

What Chinese sweet pastries, candy and desserts do you like? Are there any that you used to eat as a kid but can no longer find them? (Edited - Just ignore this part if it's not relevant to you. Was just wondering about this.) Do you prefer Western sweet pastries / candy / desserts to Chinese ones?

Any recommendations for eating in Englewood area. A restaurant where the noise level allows conversation.

Inspired by Jinmyo's return of gyozilla menu on the Dinner thread, I've decided to try my hand at making potstickers sometime over the next week or weekend. I have a recipe for five onion dumplings with a shoyu-mirin dipping sauce from an old Natural Health magazine article that I saved over the years. It calls for, among other things, a dough made from rice flour and sesame oil. I'm not sure whether it will work, so I was hoping people could mention a couple of their favorite recipes or processes when making potstickers or Asian dumplings. Or should I go for the store-bought premade dumpling wrapper route? I want thin wrapper skins but sturdy enough to hold the contents within without falling apart. Ok, discuss away... Soba

What Chinese cookbooks are your favorites? Most helpful? Least helpful? Why?

I've taken to wandring up and down the ailes in Chinese supermarkets, lost. What for instance do you do with dried lotus seeds?

I picked up a pound of Chinese watercress that I hope to wok stir-fry Thai style, a favorite. Peanut oil and garlic are the two other ingredients I plan to use. Does anyone know what other ingredients should be included? In the version I have tasted, there is not much fish sauce taste, but can anything be cooked in Thailand without fish sauce? Edited: Did I forget to mention soy sauce? Probably not too much.

While walking through the markets of NY's Chinatown I saw lots of wonderful kohlrabi piled high. Anyone want to share favorite recipes or experiences? Cold dishes? Pickles?

Hi there: I am desparately seeking a recipe for the famous Shanghai "Tung Po " Pork Belly. It is a variation of the Shanghai Red-roasted Pork Belly dish but better. I read an article in the New York Times in which the dish was mentioned by Ed Schoenfeld but I have no luck searching for the recipe on the net. Anyone out there can give me some pointers/advice? Thanks in advance! Best, Happy Halloween! Michael

I'm posting this because I just had a great meal from one of my favorite Chinese/Pan-Asian place in CT, Char Koon in South Glastonbury, CT. They have the standard Chinese-American fare, Beef with Broccoli, General Tso's chicken, but then also have unusual dishes which they describe as "pacific rim/southeast-asian." It seems to me a mix of Thai, Chinese, Indian and I don't know what else. They have a section of the menu devoted to noodle dishes. Tonight I had their vegetarian dumplings, which were great. I can't describe what was in them except for the fact that they had some type of greens. I also had their Spring Rolls, which have shrimp and bok choy (i think) in them. For some reason i am addicted to them, they are very light tasting, compared to spring rolls i get normally in a thai restaurant. I also got their Hot and Sour soup which had Tofu and Mushrooms, and was very spicy. My meal also made me wonder about other good Chinese restaurants in CT. In a previous post someone mentioned Taste of China in Clinton. I've never been there, but want to try it. I've also always wondered about Great Taste in New Britain. It gets a 25 for food in Zagat, which is the highest for Chinese in the state. Has anyone been there? What are some other exceptional Chinese restaurants in the state?

I'm wondering if anyone knows of a structured chinese cooking school for professionals, in China or Hong Kong perhaps? There's Le Cordon Bleu for French cooking, and the CIA for America, what about Chinese cooking? I know of many cooking schools for non-professionals (read: housewives) in Hong Kong, but nothing for professionals. Wouldn't it be nice if there is an institution like that in China so that more people around the world can learn about this wonderful cuisine? (which I think is the best).

It's finally summer (in the Northern Hemisphere) and this may be the year where tapioca drinks get really big and go mainstream. What do you like? Almond milk, flavored teas, or watermelon juice. Do you prefer black balls (sago) or traditional tapioca? Any favorite venues?

One of the odder (but perhaps logical) developments in New York City in the past twenty years or so is the growth of cheap mexican fast food... sold by Chinese people. I'm not sure if this has penetrated to other parts of the country (although I know they exist in New Jersey, since I just ate in one). I was tempted to put this topic in the New York forum, but figured it might qualify as "Adventurous" enough for wider distribution. I'm hardly an expert in evaluating Chinese-made Mexican food. I've only eaten at a handful of them and had mixed reactions--ranging from slightly dismayed to mildly enthusiastic. But you can notice a trend: -The emphasis is on mass quantities and cheap prices -Its not nearly as bad as you'd think it is -No starch. This must seem bizarre to some of the chinese grill cooks, but for the most part they seem to be pretty good about this. -They haven't really figured out how to use the cheese correctly (and probably won't ever). -Its often located EXACTLY two doors down from a fast-food Chinese take-out restaurant. Why the distance is usually exactly two stores down, I don't know. But it is. -The fajitas aren't very authentic, but they are usally the best thing at these places -They often feature oddball items which are neither Mexican or Chinese. The one I ate at today (probably one of the better ones I've ever been to) had "Jambalaua Chicken" (their spelling), "Parmagiana Chicken" (their spelling), "Chicken Finger", "Thin Louis sandwich", "Curry Chicken" and much more in this vein. And... as Eric Cartman says "tacos and burritos", as well as the rest of the usual assortment of fast foodish mexican items. -The items are "fresh", at least to the extent that nothing comes out of a steam tray, like at a mall. 80% of it is grilled. -You are offered roughly a million options. Every possible combination of meat/fish, cheese, wrapper, black beans, guacamole, etc. has its own menu entry. -The customer base is often hispanic, although not often Mexican. But that's probably because there aren't terribly many Mexicans in the areas I've seen these places. Also: remember that Mexican food--of any caliber--is much rarer in the Northeast than elsewhere in the country. The one exception I'll make in my analysis here is that I HAVE seen Chinese owned "Cajun" booths at shopping malls (and they are consistently horrible), so I suspect there might be Chinese owned Mexican mall booths too. And I'm not sure the ones at the malls will necessarily follow these patterns, since they all use steam trays and produce mans tons of gloppy results. The one other thing I'll say about Chinese Mexican is that at least, in small ways, I wonder if its carving out its own identity. Even though the results have varied between places I've been, I've noticed some basic similarities throughout. Are these just inevitable results of Chinese cooking adapted to Mexican food or is there more to it? So what do you think of Chinese Mexican? As an idea, or as a reality, depending on your exposure.