posted on September 14, 2008 07:04:54 PM new
When I was in my early 20's, a seasoned (28 year old) New Yorker advised me that if you want a really good Chinese-American restaurant (note, not an authentic Chinese restaurant), pick one that has plastic food in the window - the more sun-faded, the better. I guess the reasoning was that it had been in business a long time, with a loyal customer base. That worked well for some time - gradually, the plastic food disappeared. I was on a side street in the neighborhood yesterday, rarely traveled since traffic patterns changed 20 years ago. There it was- plastic food- bleached white- probably from circa 1949 when the restaurant opened. I had to go in for take-out - it claimed to be the first Chinese take-out in Portland. Absolutely fantastic - potstickers made-from-scratch , ditto all others and super cheap. Look for the plastic food!
posted on September 15, 2008 06:30:02 AM new
The practice of displaying plastic food is Japanese,not Chinese.
You probably found an old time Chinese restaurant run by a family and one of the family members is the cook or these days they just buy them frozen ready made.
Find a good Asian supermarket ,there is a large selection of frozen dumplings,wonton,steamed bun from NY,CA,Taiwan.China,Vietnam,Korea!
I usually buy the ones made in California.
If there is a Chinatown in your city,look for new supermarket some the size of Kroger superstore,the $$capital comes from overseas,and they have in fish tanks live tilapia,Canadian dungenses crab,3 sizes of lobsters,clams,oysters,conch,coral shrimp,cat fish,and some deep water fish caught off coast of WA,geoduck from Canada .
I believe there is a H Mart (Korean) in Portland which is huge and have fresh produce and fresh fish,and of course tons of Korean food.
There is a lady who mans the Kimchi station,dipping the pickled cabbage into a tub of spicy chili sauce per customer request and I saw some kimchi refrigerators too!
GOOGLE H Mart,I think there is one in Portland .
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Gulag-a Soviet era concentration camp is now reincarnated as EBAY with 13,000 rules.
posted on September 15, 2008 06:33:41 AM new
BTW,most Chinese restaurants in Houston have Mexican cooks as they can no longer afford the authentic ones,a decent Chinese chef starts at 3k-5k a month and selling entrees at 6.95-7.95,they cant afford a Chinese cook!
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Gulag-a Soviet era concentration camp is now reincarnated as EBAY with 13,000 rules.
posted on September 15, 2008 06:44:06 AM new
Here is a link to H MART in Portland,OR.
http://www.hmart.com/ourstore/ourstore_main.asp#or
The prices of their fresh produce is very good,I found the same Kiwi fruits sold in Kroger 2 for one dollar,they sell them at 3 for one dollar.
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Gulag-a Soviet era concentration camp is now reincarnated as EBAY with 13,000 rules.
posted on September 15, 2008 08:04:35 PM new
Thanks, Hwa. There are many Chinese markets closer to my neighborhood. Trader Joes sells great frozen potstickers, but they are still surpassed by fresh homemade ones.
posted on September 16, 2008 09:40:40 AM new
The name 'POTSTICKER' comes from the way they are prepared-you brown it with some heated oil in a skillet and then cover and simmer with water,then drain most water and turn on high heat until remaining water is gone and the dumplings stuck lightly to the bottom of the skillet.
For some reason,the browned bottom of these dumplings bring out the flavor of the meat,dip in your favorite sauce and you get a good meal.
Worchester sauce is a good choice.
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Gulag-a Soviet era concentration camp is now reincarnated as EBAY with 13,000 rules.
