Dim Sum GoGo

[Suvir Saran]

Suvir,

Can I tag along with you and Ed? I'm with you and Simon on DSGG, but am willing to give it another try.

I would very much enjoy dining with someone that knows greatly more and intimately so about this wonderful cuisine. I am sure Ed would be of similar thought on this. Your being Taiwanese certainly must give you great insight into Chinese cooking and foods. I am sure we will both learn greatly from you. For Ed it could be a learning of experiences that are different than his, and for me it would be learning from each of you as you share thoughts on dishes from the Chinese traditions of food.

It would be great. We can discuss this via PM. But this would have to be after a couple of months at the very earliest.

And certainly I am willing to give it another or several tries. But only if I know another I trust can assure me they can teach me something new about it.. or find new ways of understanding why it is so different.

Bond Girl, is it safe to assume you grew up eating Chinese food? Or would that be a horrible generalization? Did you grow up in NYC?

After Indian food, Chinese and Mexican foods are two that really captivate my mind. I can also enjoy Italian and French food as also Ethiopian, but Indian, Chinese and then Mexican for me.

I also am very impressed by the lore and history that surrounds much of this cuisines food. And I wish someday I can understand enough about the culture and food that I am not overwhelmed by it in a nice way, but am able to lose my fear and try indulging in it.

Ed's son taught me how to prepare Fried Rice and it is sensational. His son had lived in China and speaks the language and grew up eating great Chinese food. It was a treat for me to see this young man prepare with great confidence and ease a dish I really love. It was inspiring. His fried rice was amazingly better than most I have ever eaten. Only Pings and maybe Ed's was better than Ed's sons fried rice.

[Bux]

Bond Girl,

I've never met Ms. Rossant and have only the briefest introduction to Hong Kong, so all that I say on the subject is second hand at best. From talking to Ed, on and offline, I'm getting a better appreciation, if that's the applicable word, for why food can vary so much at any one restaurant, even on the same day.

Perhaps we should set up some irregular series of eGullet Chinatown dinners. Are you going to the New Year's dinner later this week?

[Bond Girl]

Bond Girl, is it safe to assume you grew up eating Chinese food? Or would that be a horrible generalization? Did you grow up in NYC?

For the first twelve years of my life I ate chinese food. When I came to the States I had to learn how to cook, so I discovered French, Italian, Spanish and Indian (because we lived in Jackson Heights). I also travel to New orleans a lot so I made a lot of cajun food as well. In my thirties, I am rediscovering Asian food, so it's Indonesian, Singaporean, Chinese, korean and Japanese. So I think my idea of Chinese food is kind of warped by all the other influences.

BTW, where do you get good Ethiopian in NYC anyway? The only time that I get to eat decent Ethiopian is when I go to DC. I miss a good Ethiopian dinner.

Edited January 26, 2003 by Bond Girl (log)

[Bond Girl]

Perhaps we should set up some irregular series of eGullet Chinatown dinners. Are you going to the New Year's dinner later this week?

Yes, I am going to the new year's dinner, and if you are there, I would enjoy talking to you some more about it. The eGullet Chinatown dinner would be a great idea.

[Suvir Saran]

BTW, where do you get good Ethiopian in NYC anyway? The only time that I get to eat decent Ethiopian is when I go to DC.  I miss a good Ethiopian dinner.

Meskerem is one. It is also a restaurant where you are most likely to find Marcus Samuelson of Acquavit. It is superb.

I LOVE DC for Ethiopian and also Dallas.

[Suzanne F]

A note of Colette Rossant: she was born in France in the early 1930s, and raised mostly in Egypt and France by her grandparents from the mid-1930s on. In 1999 she published a"A Memoir with Recipes" called Memories of a Lost Egypt. A small but fascinating book, with quite a few tempting recipes.

I think the original chef at DSGG was Guy Leung, from Hong Kong. (Can't find any clippings, so I could be wrong.) I assume that CR's husband had a hand in the design of the place, since once when we were there he was explaining the materials used in the decor to some guests of theirs.

[Suvir Saran]

A note of Colette Rossant: she was born in France in the early 1930s, and raised mostly in Egypt and France by her grandparents from the mid-1930s on.  In 1999 she published a"A Memoir with Recipes" called Memories of a Lost Egypt.  A small but fascinating book, with quite a few tempting recipes.

I think the original chef at DSGG was Guy Leung, from Hong Kong.  (Can't find any clippings, so I could be wrong.)  I assume that CR's husband had a hand in the design of the place, since once when we were there he was explaining the materials used in the decor to some guests of theirs.

Thanks Suzanne!

I loved her memoir/recipe book. Had great time reading the memoir part, was tempted by many of the recipes, and failed by them in trying to execute.

I loved reading about Egypt through her experiences as a child. They were amazing. I remember keeping up all night and being hooked to the book long into the day as I finished it.

It is a fascinating book. And yes small it is, but with big impact.

[Bond Girl]

Never read the book, but had a good dose of Madame Rossant from the weekly company sponsored French classes (sadly no longer due to cut backs). Interestingly enough, she is also the God daughter of the infamous novelist Colette. Husband did the interior of the restaurant. She once told me that the hamburgers at DSGG is comparable to the Daniel Boulud burger. Is that true? I'm allergic to red meat, so I can't really experience it at first hand.

As for the original chef, he quit after he was told to reduce Kitchen staff by half. Colette blame most of her recent restaurant mishaps on the communication issues with the new chef.

[anil]

.......

BTW, where do you get good Ethiopian in NYC anyway? The only time that I get to eat decent Ethiopian is when I go to DC.  I miss a good Ethiopian dinner.

Ghenet, Queen of Sheeba, and Meskerem.

Ghenet is either Mott or Mulberr below Houston - It is quite good.

Queen of Sheeba in on 10th Ave around 45 th St. I've been there a few times, and

as usual Meskerem - on 47th off 10th Ave. This place tends to get crowded, and since the place is quite small, the tables give a crowded feeling.

[Pan]

I'm always told that the Chinese use meat sparingly, but the restaurants in Chinatown, catering either to westerners or a more afluent NY Chinese population (more affluent than one in China) generally seem to serve dishes with a lot of meat in them.

No doubt, the peasants have normally used meat sparingly and ate mostly rice: They were poor and couldn't afford more meat. But I can tell you that I ate jiaozi several times in Beijing, and that was a typical working person's lunch. A big, filling plate of jiaozi - dumplings filled with pork and a wonderful fragrant green herb (mint?) cost 80 fen (.80 Yuan) in ordinary dumpy-looking places in 1987. And baozi and jiaozi filled with pork were readily available in typical workingpeople's eateries right across from train stations in cities like Wuxi. Duck was the second most-eaten meat after pork at the time, it seemed to me. Cheap noodle soups could also be had in places like Suzhou that included pork or duck. So I really doubt that one can make a general statement that Chinese use meat sparingly. I might add that when I lived in Malaysia in the 1970s, I observed that Chinese people there - being less poor on average than those in China 10 years later - ate a lot of pork in local inexpensive restaurants like the one we loved in Kuala Terengganu.

So what do the rest of you think: Do Chinese typically eat pork a lot or not? And if the peasants didn't (or don't), is that much different from the poor French peasants who used to have trouble getting even a crust of bread in the bad old days?

[Bond Girl]

I've been to Ghenet, but found their Injarat a bit on the sour side. Never been top Meskerem. Will try it next weekend. Is the 47th street location better than McDougal Street?

So what do the rest of you think: Do Chinese typically eat pork a lot or not? And if the peasants didn't (or don't), is that much different from the poor French peasants who used to have trouble getting even a crust of bread in the bad old days

?

I think only the wealthy Chinese got a lot of pork. Growing up, we may get it about once every other week, more if the neighbors slaughtered a pig and have leftovers to give away. We had chicken only on new years holidays. But, I grew up in a period when Taiwan had just recovered from Japanese occupation and people that are parents at the time are still frugal because they remember what it was like to go hungry.

Edited January 26, 2003 by Bond Girl (log)

[Bux]

The eGullet Chinatown dinner would be a great idea.

It should clearly be a series.

[Simon Majumdar]

Supper last night with G and Y Johnson

We met first at The Temple Bar which I realised I had been to a few times before in another life althogether.

Wilfrid was already at the bar and two Martini's to the good. The drinks were not bad. My Martini was very cold but not dry enough. An old Fasioned lacked a bit of a kick.

G&Y and I went on to Dim Sum Go Go. I have to say I rather liked it.

The Dim Sum starters were OK. The turnip paste lacked the needed crunch on the outside but the duck dumplings and the Dim Sum burgers were excellent as Wilfrid had told us they would be

The mains were also pretty good and one, a chicken in deep fried garlic shoots was one of the best things I have eaten on this trip.

At c$30 a head with enough beers to keep even GJ happy, it was good value. One of the better chinese eating experiences I have had in NY

6/10

S

Edited February 15, 2003 by Simon Majumdar (log)

[Pan]

Simon:

I like the Temple Bar. When I go to a place like that (which I consider a high-class bar), I like to ask the bartender what cocktails s/he likes to make or even just ask him/her to make whatever cocktail s/he really enjoys making. But I like the beautiful interior and nice ambience.

[edit: by admin to remove reference to a deleted post]

Edited February 16, 2003 by Fat Guy (log)

[Stone]

We had an assortment of dim sum, but I can't really remember specifics. I thought they were good, and the fried stuff a little better than I usually get. One particularly strange fellow ordered a tripe dish. Not having eaten tripe before, I tried some. Not really a big deal. Not bitter, like I expected, and a little crunchy instead of chewy. Almost vegetable like in a way.

Chinese hamburgers were terrific. Little spiced meat patties served on an Asian style bun -- similar to a Peking Duck pancake. They went well with a little minced, pickeled ginger 'chutney' on the table.

I thought some of the entrees were the best. The ginger beef was very good -- thin sliced beef in a dry ginger sauce. I'm told it went well with the candy wine. And some good shrimp with asparagus (or some green veggie that I can't remember). Being close to critical mass, I didn't try everything.

[edit: by admin to remove reference to a deleted post]

Edited February 17, 2003 by Jason Perlow (log)

[Pan]

I usually don't like the tripe dishes and soups I've had in your basic inexpensive Chinese places (e.g. Chou Zhou in Flushing, New York Noodle Town, the big Chinatown eating-hall dim sum places like Harmony Palace and so forth) because the tripe is overly chewy to my way of thinking. I much prefer the Polish-style tripe soup at Teresa's and mondongo at Dominican places such as El Malecon. In both cases, you get tripe that, while still having a degree of chewiness, is tender and not similar to a mass of hard cartilege.

[Bux]

I agree that the Chinese seem to cook tripe to a less well done stage than the Europeans. I tend to enjoy both styles, but probably wouldn't want to eat a large bowl of the much chewier Chinese style tripe. That particular texture seems far more appreciated in Chinese cuisine than in western cuisines. Some squid dishes might be another example of that.

[Pan]

I agree with you, Bux. Some squid dishes, but so far as I can tell, all tripe dishes. I had a terrific dish of squid with kung bao sauce from the Chelsea branch of Grand Sichuan about a week or a week and a half ago.

[Wilfrid]

Wilfrid was already at the bar and two Martini's to the good.

Ah, I've been trying to piece tohgether last Friday night. That helps.

Might I mention that I thought the beef tripe I ate at Dim Sum Go Go last week was notably tender and tasty. And I speak as a seasoned tripe cook.

[Any reference to deleted post entirely inadvertent. ]

[yvonne johnson]

I really like Temple Bar (Lafayette St, b/w Bleeker and East Houston). We've been going there occasionally for 10 years or more. People would fall over in the past before even imbibing because it was pitch-dark but now they've turned up the lights a bit. Very good martinis. (Oh, a couple of weeks ago, up by Diwan, we popped into Terrance Brennan's bar (at the Benjamin Hotel where TB's Seafood/Chop House is) and the martinis there were huge (could've swam in the glass), and horribly warm. Never again)

DSGG hit the mark. Those burgers (ground pork? patties) between dumpling dough were great (Thanks again Wilf for the rec) and the shrimp and greens dish was superb. A good night out. I was wondering whether Simon got back to the UK in this weather.