Sampling New York Xiaolong Bao

[spaghetttti]

Michael, IIRC there's a vegetarian place on Mott, near the church, is it? I'm not really remembering well. I know that we always pass it, but have never gone in. I don't know, but may give it a try.

How did your mother fare while in China, was pork pretty much prevalent? Was there a lot of "yi diar" ?

[Pan]

You're right on the location of one of the vegetarian places. It's got kosher certification, so I'm positive there's no pig in its food.

My mother did fine in China, eating duck, chicken, meatless vegetables, seafood and such (she's not kosher, and it's a long story that I'd like to tell you in person some time). But anyone who's really strict wouldn't eat anything that was cooked in the same pot that was used earlier for pork, and my mother did. However, there are a lot of Muslims in China. For example, they're clearly a large minority in Beijing, where there are a goodly number of Muslim eateries with Arabic inscriptions in evidence. I noticed on a map that part of Beijing province is actually an "autonomous Muslim county" or some such. I don't think it would be too hard to visit China and keep halal, though it would take some effort.

[Nathan]

interesting comparison on Shanghai v. NY on this thread:

http://www.liaoyusheng.com/archives/food_d..._bao_survey.php