Lau's Profile
Hakkasan - new luxury Chinese restaurant in Midtown
well what i'm trying to get across is that price aside (OG is not at the price point im talking about), OG's food would pale in comparison to any of the restaurants im talking about and OG is a cantonese restaurant as is HK food (not saying OG's food is bad btw, i liked it actually, but its not on the anywhere the same level as the restaurants im talking about from a taste standpoint).
yes there are high end restaurants in the rest of china, but you have to remember something about china. China until basically the last decade and really the last 5-7 years was really poor and i mean really poor. Even today vast swaths are china are still extremely poor. In very poor countries, high end cuisine doesn't develop for obvious reasons (i.e. people can't afford it), so having high end chinese cuisine is something that is somewhat new for most of china. That is not the case in more affluent chinese cities that are or were not part of China (HK, Taipei or Singapore), this is particularly the case in HK b/c in HK there has been a rich part of society for a very long time, so there has been demand for this type of food for a long time. So the main reason i say HK is b/c i think on the high end side of things HK is by far the most developed. To put it in context think about high end american food in the 1980s vs today, its markedly different...i just think these things take time to develop
Hakkasan - new luxury Chinese restaurant in Midtown
i have a theory as to why although i can't substantiate it
1) Local chinese demand: while there is a sufficiently large chinese population in NY, unlike places like vancouver, the cantonese here are generally not from HK, they are from poor places like toison, so i dont think there is the same natural demand for it (i.e. they dont have alot of money and its not something they are used to eating anyhow). The non-Cantonese chinese that live here are also generally poor: fujian immigants, now some more northern mainlanders and taiwanese, but its not like LA where there are a bunch of rich taiwanese b/c as far as i can tell they generally dont have much money either. so unlike some other cities with large chinese populations in north america, i dont know you necessarily have the natural demand for a place that would serve the type of food you're talking about (i'm talking about high end HK style cantonese food)
2) non-local chinese demand: no one has ever opened up a real high end chinese restaurant in NY. And when i saw high end i'm not talking a nice venue with "chinese food", i'm talking about a real deal high end place like ones in HK, with top-notch chefs, ingredients, service, decor. it just hasn't been done, so its not totally clear how regular NYers would react to it? the vast majority of people on this board have never been to the type of restaurant i'm talking about, i think people are chowhound are certainly more adventurous and i'm certain would rush to go there, but i think chowhound people are more exception than rule and won't keep the place in business, so im not sure if regular NYers are going to be ordering expensive fishes, abalone, shark fin soup, roast goose etc etc. as a regular thing and not some one-time type thing.
sgordon - OG isn't really the type of restaurants that huiray is talking about, OG is like a nicer more seafood centric version of now-defunct SCG (btw i went there for dinner recently, im going to write about it soon, pretty decent quality seafood, but i think the chef is weaker than SCG). Check this thread, kosmose7 has some pics of the type of place im talking about in HK
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/807494
Zhongzi/Joongs From Grand Street Lady w/ Pictures. Not Mei Mei, But Still Good
interesting, will try
whole roast duck in flushing
is that place good? i always walk by it, but never heard anything about it
i briefly looked at it and its a cantonese restaurant, but thats all i saw
Overseas Asian – Authentic Malaysian food in Chinatown
i need to go back one or two more times to do a full report, i need a few more pics
ive only tried one of the herbal soups so far, i want to try some of the more exotic ones and report back
Overseas Asian – Authentic Malaysian food in Chinatown
sorry left them out, but yes hainanese too
Overseas Asian – Authentic Malaysian food in Chinatown
hmm never tried it, i guess i could find a recipe and try it
ive been trying to make bo zai fan b/c i gave up on trying to find a decent version, havent got it totally right yet, but its better than whats in ctown right now
Overseas Asian – Authentic Malaysian food in Chinatown
they speak mandarin
i think most of them are from malaysia, ive spoken to a few of them, i think they were from KL if i remember right. although totally possible they hired non-malaysian chinese.
In malaysia, the major chinese are cantonese, hokkien, teochew and hakka to a lesser extent, so i almost view "malaysian" food like singaporean food where it's become this mix of chinese, malay and indian to a lesser degree.
anyhow back on topic, rojak is impossible to get good outside singapore / malaysia, ive never had a good version, you need a guy with good ingredients who toasts his own you tiao etc and most people aren't willing to go to those lengths
yong tofu, you can get ok versions outside singapore / malaysia.
you should get it at some straight cantonese restaurants, its prepared differently usually in a black bean sauce, but its delicious, ill find somewhere that makes it decent and post back on it
also if u want to deal with all malaysian chinese, im pretty sure almost everyone at sanur is malaysian-chinese, ive heard them speaking malaysian several times
Zhongzi/Joongs From Grand Street Lady w/ Pictures. Not Mei Mei, But Still Good
im going to go try the one at sun ming again, i bought one but then i forgot about it and it was in my fridge, so ill go buy another one this weekend. their sausages are excellent though
i have not seen 碱水粽, but will let u know if i do
Zhongzi/Joongs From Grand Street Lady w/ Pictures. Not Mei Mei, But Still Good
lo mai gai is basically a zong zi, they taste very similar and are made basically exactly the same. the only difference i feel like is that the zong zi is packed a little tighter
Overseas Asian – Authentic Malaysian food in Chinatown
hey swanee -
- language: i always speak to them in mandarin (they speak cantonese as lingua franca there), so i've never had a problem with language and ive seen people speak to them in english, so i think that mustve been your specific waiter
- yong dau fu: this literally translated to stuffed tofu (niang dou fu in mandarin); there are many different versions of this, i've had cantonese versions (easily available in chinatown), the versions in singapore malaysia which are some combo of hakka, cantonese etc and then actual hakka version, there are probably more but im just not thinking of them off the top of my head. while i think its reasonably common to have bitter melon, i dont think its a must have and ive had it many many times without it, so i wouldnt it consider it quientessential to the dish, here's several blog posts by what is probably singapore's most famous food blog on yong tofu:
http://ieatishootipost.sg/search/label/Yong%20Tau%20Foo
rojak: haven't tried their regular one only their indian rojak which was mediocre
nasi lemak: their nasi lemak is decent, but i agree with u re: ikan bilis, for some reason no one can make a proper sambal or good ikan bilis in NY
Zhongzi/Joongs From Grand Street Lady w/ Pictures. Not Mei Mei, But Still Good
i always call it green bean too even though it is called mung bean in english
Tian Tian Hai Nan Ji Fan 天天海南雞飯 – My Favorite Hai Nan Chicken Rice in Singapore
interesting, will give it a try next time im in singapore...i absolutely love their chicken rice
Great Sichuan - excellent sichuan food in murray hill (maybe better than Szechuan Gourmet?)
i should go back soon, its been a long time
Zhongzi/Joongs From Grand Street Lady w/ Pictures. Not Mei Mei, But Still Good
interesting, didnt even know they sold them there
Anepalco’s Café – Literally Amazing Chilquiles in Orange
yah def, i havent been getting up to LA alot the last few tiems ive been home, but i need to get up there more
Anepalco’s Café – Literally Amazing Chilquiles in Orange
i try to eat stuff that i can't really good versions of in NY, so i'd say in order i typically get:
1) vietnamese: i really like little saigon and its not too far from where i live, my mom thinks im obsessed with japanese food (its my favorite food after chinese / japanese)
2) mexican: NY just doesn't even remotely compare
3) chinese: NY has decent chinese, but LA chinese is better
4) japanese: NY has good upscale japanese, but any more middle type of range japanese, LA is generally better
5) thai: NY has ok thai, but LA's is much better
Anepalco’s Café – Literally Amazing Chilquiles in Orange
thanks and thanks for the link
well i live 3,000 miles away in NY! haha, but i come back home to CA alot so i get to enjoy places like this when i go back
New Malaysia Review with Question
where is your hotel? i can give u some recs
is there a specific type of food you want? what is your price range? (USD per person)
Anepalco’s Café – Literally Amazing Chilquiles in Orange
oh interesting, irvine is closer to my mom's place so that makes things easier
yah it is different from the traditional way, but for me i like that better
New Malaysia Review with Question
there are many many other things i would eat in NY before i looked for malaysian
what r u looking for exactly?
New Malaysia Review with Question
well to temper your expectations malaysian food is not very good in NY
rendang: have not found a good rendition
roti canai: i like overseas version the best
char kway teow: overseas has the best version
teh tarik: have not found a good version and everything you will have is likely some packaged kind, the only place that might have it is sanur (a non-packaged version), who has decent wat dan hor if u like that
here's my review of overseas:
http://www.lauhound.com/2010/09/overseas-asian-%E2%80%93-authentic-malaysian-food-in-chinatown/
taste good in elmhurst was the best, but i heard its gone downhill since they sold the restaurant although i can verify that since i havent been since they sold it
http://www.yelp.com/biz/taste-good-malaysian-cuisine-elmhurst
nyonya: i don't like this place although it is popular, never been impressed by the food here
new malaysia: its been a while since ive been here, so i wont comment on it
sanur: i think sanur can be decent, but dishes are hit or miss. their wat dan hor and their lontong is decent, i think their ngor hiang is alright as well
http://www.yelp.com/biz/sanur-new-york
laut: this place is popular as well, ive been there and thought it was so so, but it was a while ago, so i think id need to go back to properly judge it
http://www.yelp.com/biz/laut-new-york
El Maguey Y La Tuna, 321 East Houston Street
interesting, its not too far from where i live, ill give it a try
Zhongzi/Joongs From Grand Street Lady w/ Pictures. Not Mei Mei, But Still Good
she's not always there, so you'll have try your luck a little bit
i bought one from sun ming (the chinese sausage place i was talking about today, ill let you know how it is
Zhongzi/Joongs From Grand Street Lady w/ Pictures. Not Mei Mei, But Still Good
fyi i went to the lady on grand and chrystie yesterday (friday) at about 5:30pm, she was very nice (although im not sure if she speaks english), but while on the box it has all the zhongzi in chinese, she now has a menu that has them translated into english
the zhongzi was pretty good, i got her taiwan style one that had pork, dried shrimp, mushrooms and boiled peanuts. it had a nice five spice flavor and the rice was cooked well. i thought it was good although next time im getting one with chinese sausage b/c i love them with chinese sausage
Fu Zhou Cuisine – Excellent Dumplings and Good Fujian Snacks
they're pretty good standard crepes
Hou Yi Hot Pot Restaurant
oh yah its like right down the street
how'd u like the dumplings?
Hou Yi Hot Pot Restaurant
it changed names from M Tasty to Hou Yi, but i think its the same ownership (used to sell sushi too), but it gets ok reviews on yelp, i havent tried it yet...supposedly owned by some taiwanese people
http://www.yelp.com/biz/m-tasty-manhattan-2
