A Menu in Every Home

Vietnamese.......except  for  dog,  that's  where  I  have  to  draw  the  line.   My  kid  gets  her  monthly  treat  to  "beautify  herself"  from  the  Vietnamese  family  who  run  the  nail  parlor  in  the  next  town.   The  man  and  his  wife  work  long  days,  6  days  a  week,   and  raise  their  son  and  new  baby  in  the  land  of  opportunity.   Man's  father  pushed  a  bicycle  loaded  with  ammunition  for  AK-47  assault  rifles  down  the  Ho  Che  Minh  trail,  over  a  thousand  miles  in  the  jungle.  Man's  uncle  got  promised  by  the  United  States  that  by  working  for  us  that  he  and  his  family  would  never  be  abandoned.  Unfortunately  the  last  helecopters  took  off  from  the  roof  of  the  American  Embassy  in  Saigon  with  him  and  family  standing  in  the  courtyard.  No  idea  what   happened  to  them,  there  was  likely  little  sympathy  for  American  collaborators.   They  probably  died  in  a  "reeducation  camp"  in  the  killing  fields  of  Cambodia.   Blue  funk  moments  like  this  are  times  when  it  gets  really  tempting  to  seek  out  coupla  three  bottles  of  premium  vodka,  but  that  wouldn't  be  keeping  my  promise  to  my  daughter,  her  head  up  against  my  arm,  asleep....  Being  an   adult  gets  really  really  complicated.....

I Just want to say THANK YOU all for sending out good wishes to the Universe for me ~ I got the job at Barnes & Noble and am very grateful!!!!!!!!!
 
after all these months this somehow seems like the begining of seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.
 
Michael the answer to your ? is yes... Although I never did ask what the employee discount is... Should probably check that out.... 
 
Thank You everyone!!   
 

so the old Chinese married couple is in bed....it's been quite a few years they have been together....and the husband finally has gotten up the nerve to ask   "how about a little 69?"....to which the wife responds........"why do you want beef and broccli at this hour?"

On my Menu ~ Crab Meat Ragoons.. A must have along with the Wontons & the General Tso's Chicken. Of course I am wondering exactly who Gen Tso was & why he has Chicken?...

Rings90~there is a great book I read by Jennifer8 Lee....that's right, her middle name is the number"8"...it is called the fortune cookie chronicles.     It not only tells the story of the invention of the fortune cookie, but the root of that General Tso chicken quest...and it is a really great read.....it starts out with a bunch of people winning the lottery by playing the lucky number found in a cookie.....

RINGS90:    You  did  it,  girl!!!!!    I  am  so  very  happy  for  you.   Now  I  have  somebody  respectable  in  the  "publishing  industry"  to  add  to  my  inventory  of   personal  virtual  friends. 
 
By  the  way,  there  is  no  such  thing  as  "General  Tso's  Chicken"  in  China.  It  is  a  bit  like  Chop  Suey,  an  Americanized   variant  whose  ancestry  is  unauthentic.

Bert~I'll bet you can get Tso chicken now....Americanized Chinese food is probably fad food in big town China...they have tourists looking for it I'll bet....

RoadYacht:  Heck,  you  are  probably  correct,  you  can  get  McDonald's  &  KFC,  all  the  easier  to  blend  in  General  Tso's  Chicken.   Hey,  Eli:  You  think  "chicken"  is  a  verb?

Bert~maybe an adverb, to the word "out"

as in chickening out

RING 90:
 
Congratulations!!!
 
We'll at celebrate in the club car at coctail time later on today. 

My favorite dish is Peking duck.
 
In the place my friends and I go they have Frank who carves my duck and has been given the official title of "DUCK MASTER".

Szechuan Chicken I love for its spicy heat, perfect foil for the way Chinese cook rice -- the aim not to keep each grain distinct, as is our WASP goal, but moist, sticking to the utensil.  One must either be told or learn the hard way, as did I, to avoid the ingredient that spawns that heat, -- the hot pepper.  Bite boldly into it and you'll learn why. (Unlike, say, Santa Fe, where honey is on every table to cool the mouth after a hot Spanish dish, no remedy is provided.  Take care.
 
What most intrigues me is how Chinese dishes differ from city to city; ubiquitous, they are found even in small towns with no other restaurants than the town diner.  I wonder, seeing one, how came this Chinese family (usually it is a family venture) to this place, and why?
 
In my city Chinese laborers were imported in 1850 to work on the canal system feeding off the river, and they stayed.  For many many years we had but one Chinese restaurant, and it sold only take-out food; other Chinese ran grocery stores (except in frontier days, when the city had wide-open hashish shops). In the last century Chinese restaurants suddenly sparng up everywhere, many operated by relatives of our first wave of immigrant Chinese.
 
Inevitanbly those families lived above the restuarant; inevitably their children were brightest in school; inevitably they excelled in music, also, usually playing (very well) stringed instruments in the city's symphony orchestra. And until rewcently, they chose chiefly black neighborhoods for their grocery stores, catering particularly to black customers' tastes.  Now there seems another wave, upscale, often expensive.  
 
It brings to mind "...a rose by any other name..." because dishes bearing the same name vary greatly among our "population waves":  Today's Chinese restaurateurs are as likely to be from Taiwan as from any other place, Szechuan chicken differs (as do all dishes) famously; never do these cooks/owners live over a store; and one often finds menus with Chinese dishes on one side, Thai on the other.   
 
 
 
 
 
 

GREAT STUFF RINGS !!!   And it will all turn out the way you want it to ....... As you think it, so shall it be .......
 
Sunday afternoon/evening would not be the same without Chinese Food ... A bissel War Shew Duck, Moo Goo Guy Pan, Egg Fu Yung, Some Egg Rolls, Won Ton Soup maybe, maybe a bissel Fried Won Ton (No MSG in the Subgum)some Barbecued Short Ribs, a pot or two of Formosa Oolong Tea ... It is the only way we can get away with eating Treyf, openly ... Down where I am, there is no, Takee Outee ... and we either hafta go out and sit under the cheesey Red Lanterns and try and keep the paper Napkin Rings from falling undetectably into our plate, at the Chazzerai Palace owned by a Brooklyn transplant who came here to get away from Snow(Never hearing of course, about Hurricanes), or go across town(takes five minutes) to Casa de Chang, where the Won Ton looks ominously like Tortillas ... and the Moo Goo may produce a CrackerJack like Prize with an ASPCA Number on it and the name, Muffy ....... In the Alternative, one can stay home and cook Chinese himself amid the drudgery he was gonna  try and avoid after Sunday School ....... In this town there are three hundred twenty-five thousand people ... all but a thousand of them are Meskins, and of those thousand "All Others" only half a dozen Asians(Howzat Bert?) and the one with three or more cats is called a Rancher ....... Not a lotta choice here  ... Of course, cooking  Chinese myself is just about as odd as going to either of the two joints available ... A Russian-Jew, in a Sout Texas town known to Truckers all over the country, since 1945, as Tacoville ... cooking Chinese for a Krewe of Meskins in the Shop, and actually using Real Chicken in the Moo Goo, since the Fur Ball producing variety REALLY isn't Kosher ....... Gotta draw the line SOMEwhere ....... Life just gets, "Curiouser and Curiouser ..."
 
Herbert Hoover, at one time, promised us all, " A Car in Every Garage" and"A Chicken in Every Pot"  and now we've got a guy promising us,"A Bar to Avoid the Barrage" and "Every Chick With Pot ..."  Gives a whole new meaning to, Treyf .......

I'm just a short subway ride from Manhattan's Canal Street so I usually don't order take out.  I frequent the rice shops on the side streets.  This tme of year I will stop for congee before going off to a volunteer gig in Soho or the East Village.  

Before all: congrats to Rings90 (and to B&N for being smart enough to 'get the very best').

It's only 5:19 in the morning & alraedy my mouth is watering. YUM.... Our small town has no even half decent chinese place. We have a giant chinese buffet- gross to the 3rd power. When we drove thry the town where my husband teaches & lives during the week we ate at Bobo- the most adorable little chinese place, plus the name is so charming- it was a treat. JULIE- soooooooooo jealous! What is congee?
RINGS- Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How could they NOT hire you?! I'm really happy for you.
GEORGIA- I made that mistake once- bit into the delicious, crunchy red piece of pepper. I thought I was dying, like a bomb had gone off in my mouth. I am careful now- on the rare occasion I get chinese.I also love the stickiness of the rice.
BERT, RY, & JALOPKIN- 3 young men on a roll...
KORTHAL- please send duck now!
TIBERIUS- I too love chopsticks. My parents had us use them & so it's easy. I take mine to school when I make stirfrys(SP?) or other rice dishes. The little kids in the cafeteria are so fascinated.
 
I just felt like addressing everyone. Have a wonderful day all.
 
JALOPKIN- I will put that movie on my list Thanks! Gary Cooper in "The Fountainhead"- swoon...

Rules for eating in a 'Vietnamese' restaurant:
1. If the waitress warns you not to order something, listen. (NB: Avoid coagulated pig's blood soup).
2. Pho is good!
3. If there's a big screen TV hitched up to satellite TV in one corner of the restaurant, don't sit there. Once 'the game' comes on all the single Vietnamese guys will sit there smoking cigarettes and cheering.
4. Use the Sriracha sauce sparingly. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sriracha_sauce
5. Never eat in a restuarant where most of the customers are 'whitebreads' (unless one white guy in his 60s is happily chatting in Vietnamese with his wife or with the owner.)
6. Don't bring folks from work to lunch who clip coupons for What-A-Burger (especially if they say, 'I LIKE Chinese food... and its cheap, too!)
7. Always order something you've never tried before (except coagulated pig's blood soup).
8. It's ok to ask the waitress, 'What are they eating?' If she's under 50 you may understand her response (and if she's under 30 her English will be just as good/bad as your kids/grandkids). No matter what the waitress says, say, "I think I'd like to try that, too!"
9. For fast checkout, learn what number your table is, as in 'number 43'. The counter person will appreciate not having to shout at the waitress (in Vietnamese), 'What table these?'
10. If the folks in the kitchen are visible and obviously Vietnamese, that's a good sign.
11. If the oldest person in the kitchen is over 50 this is an excellent sign.
12. If the kitchen staff is all speaking in Spanish, well....

Rules for eating in a Chinese restaurant (similar to eating in a Vietnamese restaurant).

1. Don't bring up politics. If the owners are from Beijing and any random customer is from Taiwan -- may start arguing.

2. Don't EVER say, when ordering 'Ants on the Tree', 'more garlic please...'.

3. Learn a few basic characters when going to an untried Chinese restaurant: these include those for chicken, pork, shrimp, big, little, medium, and so on. If the menu is entirely in Chinese this will help a lot. (Never eat in a 'Chinese restaurant' where the menu is entirely in English, of course!)

4. Dim Sum is fun, but only go to places where 90 percent plus of the clients are Chinese -- and arrive early before all the good stuff is gone!

5. Don't expect the ladies pushing the dim sum carts around to speak English. Just smile and point. And never ask a question or THEY will simply smile and point.

6. Be careful with Cantonese cuisine (except dim sum) unless you're sure the owners are new immigrants. The Cantonese old hands (second and third generation) will turn good food into total garbage if they find their American customers have no appreciation of good food -- especially if by doing so they can 'cut food costs'. (The restraining influence here are Chinese customers. They will desert a bad restaurant instantly if the food is really bad!)

7. If a lot of kids are playing on the floor, this is a good sign.

8. And as always, order stuff you've never had before...always!

My son tells me he never had Chinese food as good as that he ate while wandering around China 14 years ago.   Duh!  And you won't find Cajun food as good anywhere as you will wandering around southern Louisiana, either.  Or Italian food as good as in Italy.

As I've told Olivia, Houston, Texas, probably has some of the best and most varied ethnic cuisine in the nation -- with the exception of Los Angeles and New York.   That includes both ethnic RESTAURANTS and ethnic GROCERS.  Among the later: H-Mart (Korean), Hong-Kong (Chinese and Vietnamese), Phoenicia (Mediterranean and Middle Eastern), Nippon Daido (Japanese), and Fiesta (mostly Hispanic).  If you come to Houston and don't spend most of your time exploring its restaurants, you've cheated yourself....

what's for breakfast on a chinese menu?
 
 

rice
 

A classmate of my daughter is a Chinese fellow named Steven. He has attended her school since they were in 2nd grade; they are now in the ninth. He has a little sister about seven years old who attend the same school (private).

The family owns and operates The Dragon House Restaurant.

Every time there is a class lunch or fundraiser, the Yeungs are quick to provide the food....for free.

Steven was elected Jr. Class President this year. His campaign slogan was "Vote for Me. I'm Asian."I remember the first year he attended the school; his classmates would barely speak to him. Whenever we would visit the restaurant, Steven would be there with his homework or helping with bussing tables etc.

Yesterday was Chinese food day at the school. Steven passed out menus last week and took everyone's order Monday. Scores of hot Chinese meals were delivered to the school at lunch. All of the proceeds went to the Cross Country team. Steven and Rachel are teammates.

miss blue, you bring to mind the following ~JOKE~ folks
 
How I learned to mind my own business:

I was walking past the mental hospital the other day,
And all the patients were shouting, '13....13....13.'

The fence was too high to see over, but I saw a
Little gap in the planks, so I looked through to see
What was going on.....

Some idiot poked me in the eye with a stick!

Then they all started shouting '14....14....14'...

Hey,  it's  time  for  the  dog  to  come  home,  but  he's  AWOL.    I  sure  hope  that  Jalopkin  didn't   decide  to  use  him  for  the  main  course  in  the  Vietnamese  special  occasion  meal  that  I briefly  described....

that should be Freshman class president....too early need latte'

http://www.impactlab.com/2008/04/29/a-visit-to-beijings-exclusive-penis-restaurant/
 
 
 
wayyyy too early in the morning for this, but I have a busy day ahead.
Gag !!!

Chinese Restaurants scare me. Don't get me wrong I like Chinese food. Its just that I have had too many experiences with bad Chinese restaurants, starting first with restaurants in China and then I think the experience carries over here to the States. On China restaurants the food is a bit more mysterious with entrees foreign to the average America. "An acquired tasting experience" might apply. So experimentation is the soup dejour. Getting use to the idea that killing your prey just before you eat it is a Chinese version of fresh that doesn't make is way to the States. What it does in the process is a lack of FDA standards along with you get parts of the animal that is normally discarded here. It seems killing, butchering and actual the preparing processes have sanitary lines that should be observed. As critical as anyone could be on our FDA you come to appreciate it after one trip to China. Where the criticism of our FDA make take root is in our Chinese restaurants where those same cultural practices or oversights in the form of sanitary conditions puts a question mark on what your are eating. My score sheet on Chinese restaurants in America finds 2 of 10 where I'd go back for more. Of those two, I go back often.

Great comments already and it's only 10AM!
 
CONGRATULATIONS to rings!!!  B&N has certainly gone up in my estimation.
  
Miss Blue:  Steven gets my vote - if only because his slogan was so simple and direct.
 
Doc:  thanks for all the restaurant advice.
 
And Ivan, last but never least, way to go on being sensitive for Bert!!  You ole softie!
 

Not on topic, but not too far off....  Rings90:  I have a close friend who sometimes gives horrible advice.  Example: 'You should get a part-time job when you retire in a bookstore!' Yeah, sure... like advising an alcoholic to work in a bar since he knows so much about mixed drinks! PLEASE don't yield to temptation and 'just take a look' at the books ;-) -----  It would be very interesting to have as a topic, 'The Worst Advice I've Ever Been Given'.  Wow!   I could fill a book with examples!  In some cases I took the advice :-( and in others I igonored it :-).  

cuukoo1: After working for a year as a waitress in a Chinese restaurant, and much experimenting with the matter, two of the best  Chinese entrees for breakfast are Egg Foo Young (with out the gravy) and Chow Don (basically scrambled eggs, green onion and bar-be-que pork). Chow Don wasn't on their menu, but one of the meals the cooks would make for the "family" style meal they fed the emplyees for dinner.

This morning I've been reshelving books in my house and just finished the 'Chinese row'.  One project I abandoned a few years ago was self-teaching myself Chinese; maybe when I retire I'll try again.  (Given the declining efficiency of 'the wetware' I'm not very confident I'd be any more successful than a 60-something convert to Islam trying to memorize the Koran... some tasks are best left to young brains....).  Among the books on my 'Chinese row' are Chinese cookbooks... so many recipes, so little time.  At least once I did something smart: on a very heavily discounted excursion to a convention, held at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, I played hookey to take a Chinese cooking class.  (I was the only guy among about a dozen ladies... hint, guys!).  Great class and we ate each of the recipes we made!  It has been years since I've used the bamboo steamers and made 'sticky rice with shitake mushrooms'.  And here is some advice:  If you keep everything (and I try), accept the fact that when you want to find the recipe/instructions for making 'sticky rice with shitake mushrooms' (a) you have it carefully filed away, and (b) you won't have a clue where the recipe is carefully filed away.  Moral: Marry or date a librarian (or someone with a truly photographic memory).  Another moral: When you least need or are looking for something, wow, up it will pop, a pleasant surprise on an otherwise boring day.  Take your pick of morals.....

thank you damnselfly!

If I were working at Barnes and Noble, I can imagine ME getting hauled into the office for 'reading on duty', surely an offense rivaling sleeping while on watch in a combat zone, or flirting with a nurse while waiting to do brain surgery.  But I'm sure Rings90 will give us all good example, right? :-)   (Geez, working in a bookstore!  Yum! Yum!) 

Doc Nolan: Your mention of Sriracha actually produced a fond memory of my ex-husband--a rare and magical thing to accomplish these days--after we moved to San Francisco and he discovered you could buy "Rooster Sauce" in the regular grocery store he used the stuff like ketchup...

BERT:  I'll STILL save you a place .......

Rings,

First and foremost..... Congratulations! Great news indeed!! If I buy a book there today, I'll tell ‘em you sent me. The one in town is on my daily route. I hope you enjoy it immensely.,,,, best wishes your way.

A distant second...... I'm with you on the Crabmeat Rangoon (or Crabmeat Raccoon as my son used to say). It's awesome with sweet sauce and hot mustard.

meeeooooooowwwww 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmXxrMC5Pv4&feature=player_embedded

Dim sum....oh, I always choose too much.  We are lucky in San Francisco...there are so many wonderful restaurants... Chinese and everything else.  All of you have made me hungry.
 
Congrats Rings.

SHANDONISTA:  Very kind of you to say .......  but it WAS unusual for me, wasn't it .......

Jalopkin:  Did  you  read  yesterday's  last  post  by  me?  It  was  around  5  minutes  to  midnight,  it  might  give  you  an  insight  into  my  holistic  approach  to  trying  to  make  this  planet  a  better  place.....
 
OH,  yeah....thanks  for  saving  me  a  spot....but  in  my  peripheral  vision,  I  saw  you put  a  whoopie  cushion  under  my  seat.....lol

Rings90: Congrats on the job.  If I ever get my own bookstore, you can quite B&N and come work for me.
 
Today is very much a tea day.  I have something called a Paris blend that is ideal for gloomy days.
 
Ok, Chinese food.  I don't think I've ever had real Chinese food.  All we have around here are the Americanized versions, one of which was closed down for awhile because a health inspector found a large quantity of cat-hairs in the kitchen.  I am not making this up. 
 
We do have some interesting Oriental style restaurants here, but they are very much hit-or-miss.  A few years ago, we got our very own Mongolian Grill place.  Sounds good, but when I looked through the meat choices, I found pepperoni and hot-dog pieces as an option.  I ate there once and the stomach-cramps floored me for the rest of the night.
 
Then, we got our own sushi place.  The food is authentic, Japanese style (except for the California and Philadelphia rolls, which are also good). They have a green-tea icecream with fried bananas that is worth the trip.  But the price is far too high for daily nourishment.  Plus, the Scottish waiter was a bit of an odd surprise.
 
And just last month, a Thai place started.  I went there, and had my first taste of Pad Thai in my life . . . I am HOOKED!!!  I just wish they weren't holding back on the spices so much.  I will be going back soon.
 
Now, if you will all excuse me, I need to go grocery shopping.  My breakfast was Saltine crackers with a bit of honey and my tea.  My belly is sending messages that something more is needed.

I was in a chinese restaurant doing a little refrigeration first aid,and heard the obviously Mexican chef speaking what appeared to be real cantonese with the waiters and owner....needless to say, I was amazed, and asked the owner"where on earth did you find a Mexican chef that speaks Cantonese?"....he took me on the side and said"SHHHH, he thinks he;s learning English..."    

Here in Vancouver, a full quarter of the population speaks Cantonese as its first language. (They fled here in the mid-90s, ahead of the Hong Kong handover. The ones who didn't come here went to Melbourne.) Even for an old San Franciscan, the resulting Chinese cultural experience is pretty damned intense.

Re: Jennifer8. Eight is considered a perfect and very lucky number in Chinese culture. Up here, businesspeople try hard to get street addresses and phone numbers with lots of 8s in them. (And they avoid 5, which is the unlucky number.) Evidently, Jennifer wasn't leaving anything to chance.

Re: favorite dishes. I'll take a pass on the just point-and-eat strategy, thanks. The last time I did that, I ended up with boiled chicken feet. But kung pao chicken is always satisfying, and hard to ruin. Better places will have lettuce wrap chicken, or whole fried fish. And few things cut through the chill of a grey, drizzly northwest January day like a big bowl of war won ton soup for lunch. Extra ginger, please.

Re: Lowered standards for American diners. Yes. A fine observation. And then there's the MSG problem. Most better American Chinese restaurants know that their customers don't like or want the stuff, and have mostly abandoned its use. But up here in Canada, some Chinese restaurant owners took a more offensive tack (in both senses of the word). Ask for food without MSG, and you're very likely to be told that it's not their problem -- and, in fact, the only problem that exists is the one in your head. (Which is true, in a way: the stuff gives me a 48-hour migraine.) Take it or leave it, you whinyass white person.

Still, if you ever get up this way, check out Kirin on Alberni St. Busy, elegant, efficient, and so authentic you'll forget which continent you're on. No MSG, either.

BERT:  You prolly didn't see MY last Post of Yesterday ... but, thats OK ...
 
And, if ... I were gonna put something in your Seat, it wouldn't be a Whoopie Cushion ... I'd rather it were Whoopie !!!  Now there is a serious Liberal Challenge that I could really have some fun with ... Great Legs too .......

A most interesting and flavorful marriage of Chinese and Mexican cuisines may be found in a self-proclaimed hole-in-the-wall restaurant called the Chino Bandito in Phoenix AZ. The heat is in the sauces and the right combination will clear your sinuses forever as well as turn the inside of your mouth into cellophane. Choose carefully or be at risk for spontaneous combustion.  

http://www.chinobandido.com/order.html

I'm not an authority on Chinese food; I just know that I enjoy it. Perhaps it's the take out cartons that grab me.

rings90~ Congratulations! I'm so very happy for you. Speaking as someone who could "live" quite nicely in a bookstore, I'm jealous. Best of luck in your new job. Barnes & Noble was very smart in hiring you.

Capt Neptune and Tiberius~ so very good to hear from both of you. I'm always pleased as punch (and becoming less and less surprised, as time goes on) to see that, no matter how engaged and distracted by life we may become, once any one of us becomes an "Eyester" we somehow find a way to visit once again...and then again...and again...

zeit~ a grand welcome to you!

China Harbor, in Solomons, MD, is our local Chinese carry-out restaurant. Yvonne Lee, a Taiwan Taipei native, is the owner/manager/order taker/grocery buyer...well, actually it might be easier to list the things she doesn't do! Twice every week, for years now, she continues to go shopping in Washington, DC to seek out fresh ingredients for her recipes; never having food items just delivered sight unseen. She oversees the day-to-day operations of her business, takes good care of her customers, and always has an eye towards future possibilities and improvements.
After working in restaurants in Hong Kong and traveling other places around the world, she eventually came to the United States to visit her sister. She liked it here so much that she decided to stay. One of the things she appreciated about the U.S. was the many opportunities it afforded her. She'll tell you she believes that 'America is the most open-minded country to outsiders, because they let you have a chance to do everything.' Through much hard work, strong family support, and making the most of her opportunities, she now has a successful business and many loyal customers.
China Harbor menus are in my car, attached to my bulletin board by the phone, and folded up in my purse. There is no delivery, but I can call 15 minutes out and a hot delicious dinner will be awaiting my pick-up; as I stop by, hungrily, on my way home. It can be a supreme exercise in willpower not to open any of the containers in the car!
Even though I know what I ordered, somehow opening the oyster pails is like the opening of an unexpected gift. What's inside this container? Ooh...look at this! From the meal-opening spring roll to the meal-ending fortune cookie, China Harbor always supplies a great feast. My favorite has to be a concoction called Singapore Rice Noodles - roast pork, baby shrimp, onions, green and red peppers, bean sprouts, eggs, carrots, peas, and thin rice noodles all stir-fried with their 'Singapore delicate curry sauce'...yum! All the seafood dishes are fresh and delicious. I'm also fond of the Finger Tea - hot tea flavored with ginger liqueur...especially on a cold evening.
Ms. Lee has put her heart and soul into her restaurant. I'm proud of the fact that America gave her, and others around the country, a place to make their dreams come true.

RINGS, I am delighted for you! I've wondered, but didn't want to invade your privacy by asking; thought you'd tell us when it happened

The way your last employer chose to tell you stayed with me, made me angry on your behalf. You deserve MUCH better, and you've found it. Frustrating the interim months had to be, but you're on a new page now. I couldn't be gladder.

CONGRATULATIONS!

With PAM, I've observed we keep coming back "...like a song." Life may get in the way for a time, but eventually we make our way, called by The Eye's sirensong....

zeit, welcome -- and what a fascinating name-choice. Perhaps you'll tell, as time goes by, how you chose it....

Superior Wisconsin, on Belknap st. a block or so west of the empty place that was once the Summer White House (really,for the President)there is a chinee restaurant.   Pinky and I stopped in one day,and there was a small buffet table with a small plate of everything on the menu; you pointed to whichever you wanted,and they made it for you.  I picked a fish dish,and was asked "do you want cheese with that?"   really. wisconsin.     We always laughed and pointed as we went by after that. A fond memory...

Chinese food is indeed a golden cuisine. Everything good about food is included and nothing is wasted. The take-out menus seem to be a bit of a waste of paper and far too many are too similar, but if one looks hard enough, one can find the unique restaurants among the McChinese Places that seem to be everywhere, offering the same varieties of General Tso, Sweet & Sour, Lo Mein, and egg rolls. Chinese Food itself, although seemingly everywhere, has no clear-cut history of definition. Was the Mongolian Inn, the first Chinese Place my parents took me to at the young age of four, where I had Moo Shu Gai Pan and loved it authentic? The other places that grandparents and parents took me to? An Americanized version to be sure, but by no means truly authentic. When I was in 7th grade, new neighbors from China moved in three doors up. I became fast friends with their son Ying and was often invited over to eat. I still remember vividly how good everything tasted, fresh from the kitchen. They moved away to the suburbs right before I started ninth grade, and since then, I have found it impossible to replicate, duplicate, or find a restaurant that has food close to what his mum made. I think that the best way to truly enjoy a Chinese meal is get as close to the source as possible (and that goes for any ethnic cuisine).

Unfotunately, without the restaurants, there would not be the ubiquitous "self-closing leak proof oyster pail containers" which in and of themselves have become a fashion statement, their basic shape and design being used for everything from purses, the bowling ball bags, to dishes.

Perhaps the greatest contribution the cuisine has made to the American Table is both Soy and Rooster sauce. Soy sauce is a well-used ingridient in BBQ sauce and Rooster sauce is just awesome. (I hear they make one with a shark on it that's even tastier).

Congratulations on the job, rings90!  I envy you -- one of my unfulfilled dreams is to work at a book store!

I'll be having chicken dumplings for dinner tonight.
 
I keep a bag of the frozen Ling-Ling ones on hand, from Harris Teater, for just such and
 
occasion.
 
Take out a handful and you're set with a quick yummy meal.
 
They can also be added to soup for a sort of won-ton soup.

Georgia~ So right you are, I find, about the different variations in dishes of the same name. In other nationalities, I've found it to be the same way, too. My husband's native Czech cuisine has so many variations for kolache (a filled pastry) that it is impossible to sort them all out! Some are yeast-raised and some are flat, and they can have so many different fillings, from sweet to savory. And this is just one of many things to eat! 

Regional factors, such as availability of certain ingredients, freshness and traditional methods of preparation, have a tremendous impact on the final subtleties of a dish. It all seems to boil down to each individual cook and their own special affections.

It sure is fun to taste and compare them all, in the ongoing quest for our favorite!

Congrats, rings!
I always thought B&N was a smart place, now I know it is...
 
Well done!
 
 

Mrs. Robinson~ a very warm welcome to you, too! I was fortunate to have the opportunity to visit Vancouver in the early 90's. I thought it was a beautiful place. I had a grand time riding the trollies, taking the ferries, and going hiking in Cypress Provincial Park. I'll be sure to tuck Kirin (also the name of a Japanese beer) into my travel notebook...something I'm in the habit of keeping, because you never know where life will take you...

Michael~ That tea wouldn't happen to be Harney & Sons would it?
 
rings~ what's this I hear about you working at a B&N? That's really cool! Don't get caught reading or drinking coffee on the floor.

D-Zev: You know it.

I stopped at New China on the way home the other day...lunch special til 4, spring roll, egg drop soup, kung pao chicken hotter'n a baker's belt buckle...fabulous!
Four dollar...no check.
 
YAYYYY rings! I could never work in a bookstore, though, it would be too distracting. And I'd never make it home with my paycheck-thay'd get it all back!
 
Ivan-BEHAVE! I know that's wasted breath lol...

I didn't realize Kim is in San Francisco!  Ah, there is (or was, at least) a Burmese restaurant in the Richmond district that I really liked (Houston once had a Burmese restaurant but it disappeared :-/) .  If folks from 'out of town' want to eat well in SF, my uneducated opinion would be skip 'Chinatown' and head for Richmond.  A word of warning: San Francisco is a horrible place to drive (every space is owned and one can spend hours driving in circle searching for a place to put a vehicle!) Note: All the above is from a non-native.  What Kim says goes; she lives there!

What I think is an interesting aside:  When I was active in The Texas Bamboo Society I met a retired Chinese engineer at the annual meeting and auction in Austin, TX.  When we discovered we were both from Houston, we exchanged phone numbers and he invited me to see his bamboo farm.  I thought it was a strange choice of words until I took up his offer and visited his acreage (in the city, just a few miles from one of our Chinatowns).  He and his brother were commercially growing (and selling) bamboo shoots, and had to have at least two or three acres.  That's a LOT of bamboo and an even larger number of bamboo shoots.  We lost touch, but someday soon I need to swing on by and see if they're still doing their sideline retirement business.....

My first experience of bamboo shoots was back in 1972 in Nakhon Ratchasima (Korat), Thailand, walking around the market.  I couldn't figure out what the big root-looking things in the buckets filled with water were.  (Then again, I'd never seen rambutan, sohm-oh, or a lot of other things that we don't have here....). You will know you're in a real Asian market when you see bamboo shoots floating in buckets of water.... and in case you didn't know, there are hundreds of varieties of edible bamboo.  (Only a few are readily available, wannabee cooks, so don't freak out.... it isn't as confusing as -- for example -- picking wines or cuts of meat...)

A Chinese restaurant mystery (unsolved).   I used to frequent a place then known as The East Ocean Restaurant (in English).  The Chinese characters read 'Great Buddha Mountain', but that's not the mystery..... As happens with many restaurants, it was sold.  And.... when I went to it the next few times, ALL the waiters were males aged 25-35, and all were precise, stood ramrod straight, and were models of disciplined efficiency.  I have a sneaking feeling that the purchasers must have been associated with the People's Liberation Army (PLO), that the 'waiters' were young officers, and that the objective was to give them an opportunity to master English in America while not being a drain on the Chinese government.  (Theory #2, based on my experiences in Thailand: A wealthy general and some relative decided to 'go into business', the relative providing the capital and knowledge of the restaurant business, and the general providing a disciplined workforce).  I have no evidence for either of my hypotheses, but I've run into much, much stranger things in my life, so I think one or both of my theories is very plausible.  And if I'm right, it would be interesting to know if any Feds were 'watching' the establishment to see if the 'waiters' were spending their spare time 'researching' the petrochemical, oil, and gas industry.  Some mysteries forever remain mysteries.........

Daniel Zev:  Harney and Sons:  I've enjoyed their tea on several occasions.  I forgot about them, but you've jogged my memory, and I think I'll go over to their website and take a new look...they're good, aren't they?
 
thanks!

Congee is sort of like porridge. I usually order  the fish and vegetable congee.    Its quite filling and very cheap.  The rice shops around Canal Street are a bargain. The only problem is that the menu is in Chinese so if you can't read or speakthe language then you should go later in the day or on the weekend when the English speaking waiters are around.  
 
Bebe, have you ever had qual egg soup? Its really delicious!

Sometimes the signs on the Chinese resturants don't translate well from caligraphy to English. But in the past few years the translations have gotten better.  I remember when a place said Fountain of Gold in Chinese and the English sign in the window said  Golden Showeres.

It seems to me that the mere mention of good food, and it doesn't even have to be great food mind you, can turn an angry mob into a herd of mewling kittens and puppies who just want their bellies rubbed.  

Why, I'd go so far as to say that a well prepared buffet table of sufficient variety has the potential to create a global common ground where all of those wounds and barriers that separate us are healed and diminished.

On those occasions when tensions are higher and tempers are hotter that usual, just roll out the dessert cart, stand back and watch the smiles appear as everybody shares and samples each others desert. After all, how can one be at someone else's throat while inhaling a slice of tiramisu? How could there be threats made if everyone is licking their gelato spoons.

Now I have noticed how the food topics and discussions that seem to come on the heels of the more heated controversial subjects really calms the waters in our little neighborhood, if we could just expand that idea.........

I wonder what's on tonight's menu in the dining car? I'd like a bowl of sizzling rice soup for starters..... some Crabmeat Rangoon..... chicken and snow peas......... followed by some hot tea and good fortunes in everybody's cookies.

Peace out

I am on hold with the IRS hearing  the same 2 seconds of monotonous music over and over.. Wait it beeped and the robot said just someone will be with you shortly.  A woman whose accent is so thick that I can barely understand her.  Now she is looking for the "form 56 department".  Music is back on...  Transferred to the tax law department...est wait time 10 minutes, more music
 
Doc Nolan:  Yup, I live just outside the city.  When i was a girl the Richmond was all russian but, the chinese own it now.  Chinatown is awfull and there are much better restaurants all over the city.  This city is food crazy and a little over the top.  I will look for the Burmese restaurant on line and let you know if it is still there.  There is one on Clement St. call Burma Super Star.  Is that the one?
 
Parking is really difficult but, if you live here long enough the driving isn't as I know all the sneaky ways...unless you are talking about the past few days with the closure of the Bay Bridge..oh my what a mess.
 
Re yesterdays topic.  There was a horrible incedent in Richmond (accross another bridge) where a young girl was gang raped by up to 20 people over a period of 2 hours.  No one helped but, lots took pictures and called friends to come over and watch and/  or participate.  This happend at her high school during a dance. 
 
Berty: Did your dog come home?
 

opps Bert: Did your dog come home?

Yes, Kim... I just checked out Burma Super Star (309 Clement Street) on Street Views/Google Earth and it's the same place.  The only difference is that a strange object in the sky seems to be beaming light all over the scene, which was overcast and drizzly when I was there.  [I believe the emanations come from a distant star called Sol].  Just checking out the Street View images makes me hungry, with restaurants stretching out for blocks and blocks!

Doc Nolan:  Yes, it has been a beautifull day here.  It is sweater wheather but, crisp and sunny.  The worst time to visit San Francisco is the summer...grey , cold, windy  and foggy.  I will have to try out The Burma Super Star restaurant.  I have walked past it many times.
 
One of my favorite winter soups is Won Ton soup.  I make a huge batch of wan tons and freeze them.  Then i just take a few a cook in broth or whatever else i want.
 
It's chicken soup and matzo balls tonight.  One of my employees is very sad as she had to  put her 1year old in day care and both are having a hard time adjusting.  So, I sent everyone home with chicken soup.  She said, "I thought it was just for colds!"  I said it helped everything.  I will find out tomorrow.
 
Wantons are the same as kreplach.  Don't you think so Ivan?

Michael & Park4 ~ Agreed. Harney is very good. There used to be a little coffee shop near my office that sold Harney. I would get the Paris quite often. Russian tea is very good as well. May have to follow suit and order some this weekend.
 
Kim~ Kreplach is similar; like mah jong, egg noodles, and chicken, it's all a matter of interpretation.
 
All~ The best thing about Chinese for lunch is leftover Chinese for dinner!

Zev;  When i was a kid we would vist my mother's parents and the first meal was always chicken soup and kreplach with lemon morange pie was desert.  One of the first thinks I tried to cook as a kid was kreplach.  The counter was too high so I rolled the dough on the floor.

things

KIM- I'm now inspired to make wontons & freeze them. I make a great pot of matzoh ball soup- now it's all I can think about. Thanks for the inspiration!

BeBe: You are welcome.   tasty mushrooms, Garlic sauce, ginger..alll kinds of good stuff

Olivia - Great response yesterday! I agree that some elements of human nature defy explanation. Your saying it helped to settle my mind somewhat. I do, so much, appreciate your wit, wisdom, and eloquence. I am very glad to know that you love us men, and realize that we are not all dangerous, smelly, and unpredictable animals. Just most of us.

bebe - The women on-board here certainly DO rock, and have very often kept the forum from sinking with all hands.

KIM:  Good for you Kim !!!  And may your Matzoh Balls never sink !!!   Chicken Soup is indeed good for everything, and an amazing Comfort Food too ...  In fact, I am in the mood now for Chicken Soup, Fried Won Ton, and some Formosa Oolong ....... we have a cold front moving down, and a huge, treacherous storm approaching ... Something Lite but warming is in order ... Maybe some of my Aunt Rivvy's Israeli Fig Rugelach for dessert ...
 
My Great Uncle Leo usta make a pretty good living, spray painting three day old Kreplach and selling them for Door Stops ... His Brother Maurice found his niche in the South, as a Marriage Broker (the Male version of a Yente) His Card read, "Better a Shadkan than a Shotgun" ... Of course, he made good side money selling White Shotguns for Formal Weddings ... You Never Kow .............. Maurice was a real Mensch tho' ... he waived his Fee once for a poor widow lady who couldn't pay, because her out-go was so much greater than her In-come ... Maurice developed the postulate that says, "Never Bury a Man in a Rented Suit ..." One lives, and learns .......
 
All you Gentlemen out there remember ....... the reason most Jewish Women like Chinese Food so well is because Won Ton spelled backwards is, Not Now !!!
 
 
OLIVIA:  Yes  Ma'am ..............

jolopkin:  Matzoh balls did not sink and I make great chicken soup. I have a HUGE pot and make many many quarts and put in in the freeszer. comfort.
 
those of you that don't make them ...do not use mixes!!!!

KIM:   YOU'RE   RIGHT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  NEVER use mixes ... I tried a mix once about thirty years ago .......  Weapons I got ... Weapons !!! ... and I never used a mix again ... I cook everything from scratch anyway ... I fix goblotz of food too, but this Krewe around here all eat like my Kids did when they were home ... Left-overs are just something we ever have to worry about ... You know, it is a good thing that some clever Yid invented Cold Cuts, because we can't make Fires on Shabbat, and not all of us can afford a Shabbat Goy ... The last one I hired, I had to count the Silver every time he left .......
 
Bohker Tov, Kim ... I hafta go and fix Supper for the Krewe now, they're gonna wanna eat inna bout an hour anna half ... and I completely changed my mind after reading your Post, and I am gonna fix a 60 Quart Pot of Chicken Soup, fry up some Won Ton, and break out the Oolong Tea ... I was gonna do Breakfast for Supper tonite, but I can do that tomorrow nite ... THANKS for te idea !!!
 
Ivan
 
 
ps: When was the last time you had an Egg Cream ???????

don't like egg creams.   sorry

I J...my chicken soup wiggles like jello....trace of garlic,ginger,salt...and lots of chicken...add water,rice microwaves and eat with bread....sometimes I do it with root veggies too,when I make it for RX...

THAT,  RY, is what we call    Chicken n Rice    down here in the South ... a Louisiana dish, that we spike with Evageline Hot Sauce ... that fortunately was carried across the Sabine, and Westward on the Runaway Scrape ....... Texas Folks took to it like a Duck on a June Bug ... and we learned that it goes real well with a teeth-crackin' cold Beer and some fresh French Bread, so warm that it is not only steamin' when broken apart, but almost too hot to handle with bare hands ... that way a big slap of country churn'd Butter melts on it so quickly that it almost disappears before the Eyes ... and only that glistening Golden Patch to tell one where to take the first bite ....... 

 
Yesterday, queued up before the Panda Express Asian food stall at the mall, a slick and well turned out man of forty or so, explained to his plain but very huggable wife and two small, scruffy kids that they had better not be looking for authenticity in the items on offer.

The little girl said: "Me and Sherman don't care, we like goodity."

Good to see you Stoney .......  A bunch of you Old Heads have absent for a while !!!

Stoney -- wonderful post.

Stoney, - I'm with the little girl.  My taste buds have a mind of their own and I don't argue with 'em.

Thank you Ti...indeed, men are lots of fun generally speaking.
I'm thinking about some Pad Thai just now...