Xiao Yang's Recent Activity
Chowhound Post
Shanghai dining tips
Well, yea and no. In Shanghai "tang bao" is sometimes used to mean conventional xiaolong bao (as in Jia Jia Tang Bao) and other times it is used to refer to the monstrously large dumpling that comes with a straw to drink the soup with, like this http://is.gd/4oz44 . Joe's are neither, though I think he intended them to be xiaolong bao.
Chowhound Post
Shanghai dining tips
Can you name some? I've never found xiaolong bao in New York as good as you can get on almost any street in Shanghai.
Chowhound Post
Best Shanghainese Restaurant
My vote is for Jesse (吉士酒家). Go to the original on Tianping Lu, not one of the spinoff "New" 吉士 restaurants. Info in English at http://is.gd/4hCIa Info in Chinese (with more than 200 pictures) at http://is.gd/4hD1c
Chowhound Post
Chowhound Report - Miss SaiGon
The tenderness and juiciness of the beef may have been pleasing to you, but it's far from authentic. As Charles Phan (The Slanted Door) described it to Mark Bittman in a 2004 interview,
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In Vietnam, tender beef is hard to come by, so to make the meat easier to chew, cooks cut it into small bits (hence ''luc lac,'' echoing the sound of the knife hitting the cutting board). It is then cooked, Mr. Phan said, ''really, really well done -- crunchy, in fact.''
http://is.gd/4eUun
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Actually sounds good to me.
Chowhound Post
Chowhound Report - Miss SaiGon
It would probably be useful to put the name of the restaurant in the title of the post.
Chowhound Post
Ommegang at Costco (SF) $15.99 three pack
Hate to let the cat out of the bag but the three-packs are still at the SF Costco as of today and reduced to the ridiculous price of $9.97. I shop by bus, so I couldn't buy them out. Go for it!
Chowhound Post
Sunday Suppers in the SF area?
"Nice outdoor seating area but it gets packed. A couple of indoor tables and a secret long side table INSIDE the restaurant facing the bay" according to a Yelp review.
Chowhound Post
Shanghai dining tips
Here's a good website for navigating the Metro http://www.exploreshanghai.com/metro/
Chowhound Post
Anthony Bourdain vs Alice Waters
I guess I'm a fogey. I don't even know what a Tivo looks like. But if Bourdain is pushing a baby stroller, he must have gotten a late start. According to Wikipedia he's 53.
Chowhound Post
No Reservations NYC outer boroughs episode tonight
I think that's an excellent assessment of the man, and I'll add that he probably needs to rely less on his producers' selection of destinations. Prior to his China tour a couple of years back, one of his producers contacted my by email to ask if I had any suggestions for subjects in remote areas of China. I responded that I really didn't know much about China beyond Shanghai, but I would be happy the give suggestions for Shanghai. She in turn replied, somewhat cursorily, that they had Shanghai "covered." As it turned out, he went to a couple of the most obvious, tour book-driven places imaginable in Shanghai.
Chowhound Post
Anthony Bourdain vs Alice Waters
Is that from an official transcript? "Fogey" doesn't sound right in that context. Vogue-y would make more sense. If 30-somethings are "fogeys," what does that make Bourdain?
Chowhound Post
Anthony Bourdain vs Alice Waters
I've not been very impressed with Brooklyn Brewery's products, though I have had one nice draft beer from Six Points. Anyway, I don't know if local pertains to beer, since none of them would be using local ingredients anyway.
Chowhound Post
Anthony Bourdain vs Alice Waters
He said that in the Diner segment on the New York Outer Boroughs show when Bourdain pressed him to name the most something-or-other neighborhood. (I'm not sure if "trendy" was the exact word, but it was something of that nature.)
Chowhound Post
Anthony Bourdain vs Alice Waters
Tell it to Peter Meehan, not me. I haven't lived in New York in nearly 50 years.
Chowhound Post
Anthony Bourdain vs Alice Waters
I suspect Diner was mandated by his producers, and also that he's bound by a "If you can't say something nice......." dictum on the show. (It was obviously very painful for him to utter his faint praise of the Ferry Building Farmers' Market.)
I haven't eaten at Diner but had lunch at Marlowe & Son on my last trip. My panini was worth its price and the people were so...nice.
For the record, as Peter Meehan pointed out (taking AB's bait) the trendiest neighborhood in NY is Park Slope, not Williamsburg (which has great places like Moto and Spuyten Duyvil).
Chowhound Post
No Reservations NYC outer boroughs episode tonight
The reason was to validate the place's authenticity, pretty sight of not. AB was a bit over the top with his flippancy, but that's Bourdain, take him or leave him.
Chowhound Post
Just Moved to LIC: What's Good?
You're right, Crab House (or Waterfront Crab House, per my notes). Had Old Clam House (San Francisco) stuck in my mind.
Chowhound Post
Taste of Shanghai (Shang Hai Xiao Chi) - delicious shanghainese in flushing
Blue crabs are about as big as you'd get in Shanghai. Be thankful you were weren't dealing with dazha (hairy) crabs.
Chowhound Post
Shanghai - Vietnamese pho
Pho Real, perhaps? http://is.gd/353Ri
Chowhound Post
Anthony Bourdain vs Alice Waters
My perception was that Bourdain was schticky earlier in his career (what could be schtickier than Kitchen Confidential?) and now more bent on speaking out on what''s bugging him. Although I consider him still a young man, he was downright plaintive in last night's NY episode, repeatedly wondering if it was "too late" for him to catch up with what he'd been missing in his own back yard, etc. He's feeling his age, and as you get older you get more outspoken, you show more "rage against the machine", as it were, and in his case the elitist foodie establishment is the machine.
Chowhound Post
No Reservations NYC outer boroughs episode tonight
Queens alone could fill an entire season, so something's got to get left out when he does four Outer Boroughs in a singe episode. Sri Lankan is what Staten Island is most remarkable for (Bourdain mentioned that he had first heard about the Staten Island Sri Lankan community IN Sri Lanka) so it was a logical choice for that borough.
In truth, he showed three Chinese places, if you count two separate stalls at the Golden Mall.
Chowhound Post
Anthony Bourdain vs Alice Waters
I finally watched the AB San Francisco episode yesterday after finding the channel (so I could watch the New York Outer Boroughs episode). I have never been a Bourdain fan, but the show may have converted me, the way he stuck it to The Untouchable Alice Waters and foodie correctness in one fell swoop in the Red's Java House closer. His cheeseburger at Red's was not only the "antidote to Alice Waters" but also tasted "like it died screaming."
Bourdain's show last night on New York's Outer Boroughs (which included a from-the-hip shot at Berkeley vegans) confirmed that he has his Jihad against foodie elitism and hypocrisy in high gear, and I'm ready to egg him on.
Chowhound Post
Roland's Bagels > Real Bagesl in SF (Finally)
Due respects to SF City College, but its baking program is not likely to turn out makers of real New York bagels. If Phillip Roland's bagels taste good and are worth the price, Buy them if you enjoy them and if they are worth the price.
"New York Bagel" is just a label without much meaning. If you ask me, you can't even find "real" New York bagels in New York these days.
Foodie semiotics needs an overhaul. We're too hung up on labels and concepts that are empty of meaning.
New York bels
Chowhound Post
Shanghai: a xiao long bao report card (long)
De Long Guan actually had multiple outlets, mostly north of the Suzhou Creek (Yangpu, Hongkou and Zhabei districts). Hopefully some remain.
http://is.gd/2IygF
Chowhound Post
Roland's Bagels > Real Bagesl in SF (Finally)
An April Tablehopper report gave an overview of Roland and his background, including
"It’s a project from owners Philip Roland and Michael Green, who met in the baking program at City College. Roland’s background includes working at Sweet Inspirations, his Escape from San Francisco Bagels in Willits, and recently some part-time work at Mission Beach Café. Roland, an East Coastie, is going to be offering hand-rolled specialty bagels from a water bath......"
http://is.gd/2IxJq
Chowhound Post
taqueria coatzingo
I hit TC twice on my recent visit to NYC and couldn't resist going for a Cemita on both occasions, since that's something we lack in San Francisco. My first was with al pastor (my favorite Mexican meat prep) and it was great. Burying my face in that thing gave me a "don't bother me, I'm eating" moment that Carl's Junior copywriters could only dream of. The second time I tried the carnitas Cemita which was good, too, thought the carnitas had a texture and flavor that was unexpectedly different from what I've been used to,
Chowhound Post
Help needed to cull choice for a foodies week in San Fran....!
Of course California's climate and the agribusiness-developed techniques give it an advantage in year-round variety of produce. But if you are talking about quality and service, that's another matter. California can never match the flavor of ground fruits, legumes and root vegetables from Quebec you will find at Montreal's Jean-Talon and Atwater Markets, and let's not even mention dairy products. These markets are open 7 days a week, 10-13 hours per day (depending on DOW), year round regardless of weather. How can anyone take a once-a-week produce market seriously? Do you only eat fresh produce on the weekend?
The ancillary bricks-and-mortar shops and restaurants surrounding the Montreal markets equal or surpass what you'll find inside the Ferry Building, as well, and included Montreal's top cheese purveyor, bakery and delis.
Chowhound Post
Help needed to cull choice for a foodies week in San Fran....!
It looks like you did a prodigious amount of research and have compiled a list of places you are curious about for various reasons, including historicity. I'd suggest you stick with your plan, which seems doable since your long list includes only a relatively few full sit-down meals and avoid subjective "eat here not there" advice except for practical (logistical) reasons. I'd skip Moe's Books, for example (as much as I loved the late Moe Moskowitz and his cigars) because it appears to be the only place in the East Bay (not counting Sharffen Berger) and you'd kill half a day going there and back. (You're probably aware that TFL will kill a whole day as well).
Golden Gate Fortune Cookie factory is on the Wok Wiz tour (recommended) so doesn't need to be a separate item.
Kamei is out in the Richmond (Clement St.) and it you keep it on your list you might want to pair it with another nearby place like Schubert's Bakery or New May Wah (a great Asian market).
You might want to add the just-opened Minamoto Kitrchoan (tea ceremony confectionery) at 648 Market St. It's one of only four (w/ New York, Singapore and London) outside Japan.
I'm not a big fan of the Saturday farmers' market (I think there are greater farmers' markets in North America) but I certainly salute your dedication to your mission in changing your Australia-SF flight schedule to accomodate it. You ought to be awarded a special tomato or peach for that!
Chowhound Post
Just Moved to LIC: What's Good?
The Clam House is definitely old school (tell them it's your birthday, and you'll see!)
Cafe Henri has great breakfasts/brunches and early reports on Iwahan (upscale Filipino) are promising. Lounge 47 is good for late night bar food.
Otherwise the 7 train is your ticket to noshing paradise
Chowhound Post
Roland's Bagels > Real Bagesl in SF (Finally)
Maybe the sweetness mentioned by Cynsa reminded the Yelper of Montreal bagels, which have a bit of honey added to the boil (and use no salt at all). If they really are Montreal bagels, I'm there!
