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The Best Mooncakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival

Does anyone know where to find Hainan style moon-cakes? I cannot describe the difference, but they are especially delicious.

Thomas_Traveler at 11:16AM on 10/02/09

Ed Levine's Serious Diet, Week 86: Is 200 Pounds Out of My Reach?

1. More than weight, % of body fat is a critical factor. If you were in peak physical form you might be heavy, but it might all be lean muscle. Many top athletes are way off the charts in weight. If you go to a sports club or gym, ask a trainer to measure your body fat. Then look that up on the carts.

2. Having muscle will help you burn fat, even when you are at rest. (How cool is that?). Building muscle is easy. If you lift correctly for only about 40 minutes, 3 times a week, you'll be super buff in 12 weeks.

3. For your cardio exercise, consider upping the intensity. 20 minutes of intense exercise can get your pulse, and your metabolism, up for hours.

For a really easy overview of all this, pick up the NYT best seller Body for Life. And remember, you didn't gain all that weight in a few months, it's likely to take time to lose it too.

(Okay, just step away from the doughnut .)

Thomas_Traveler at 1:40PM on 09/25/09

The Joys of Bluefish

I've been eating fresh blue for years and have a super simple & tasty approach:

1. Heat a heavy enamel pan under the broiler with a bit of oil (grape-seed or canola) to stop the fish from sticking.

2. While the pan is heating, rinse rinse a fresh bluefish fillet under cold water, removing any remaining scales and bones. Pat dry with a paper towel.

3. Sprinkle with salt & pepper.

4. Dredge the fillet non-skin side first through the hot oil, and then place skin-side down in the pan.

5. Broil. (Approx 7 minutes)

That's it. If it's a fresh blue, you really don't need anything more seasoning than the fish itself.

Thomas_Traveler at 11:32PM on 08/22/09

French Dip Sandwich in NYC?

Try the Waterfront Alehouse on 2nd Ave & E31st. I've seen it on their menu along with their Texas dip. And while I have yet to try it, most everything on their menu is tasty and not too pricey.

Plus, you can wash it down with any one of their hundreds of beers.

Thomas_Traveler at 3:35PM on 08/21/09

Great Coffee in the Schmatas District

Adam,
How was it?

Apparently they've just added gelato from Il Laboratorio.

It looks like I picked the wrong week to give up decadence.

Thomas_Traveler at 11:37AM on 08/20/09

Recommendations in Koreatown and Curry Hill?

Saravana Bhavan is the real-deal; an offshoot of a chain in India. And you will see it packed with south Asian families.

Just be sure to go the one on E 26th & Lex. There is another place with a similar name a bit further north that is not nearly as good.

Thomas_Traveler at 11:34AM on 08/20/09

Do Singles Bars Exist in NYC?

Reverse question: what's a good place for guys to meet interesting, cheeky, intelligent women?

I'm a guy in my 40's (single, not unattractive, employed). I want a place where I can actually hear the woman and maybe even get to know her.

When I was out west I was amazed at how easy it is to just mingle and talk with people. Here it seems harder.

Suggestions?

Thomas_Traveler at 8:28PM on 08/05/09

From A Hamburger Today

Closings: City Burger

I'm not really surprised. Every time I was in there it was chaos. People who came after got served before. They didn't cook the burgers as ordered. (I'd order med-rare and get med-well). And the black label burger I got was about the size of a quarter-pounder at $$.

Oh well.

Thomas_Traveler at 3:25PM on 07/24/09

From A Hamburger Today

Dear AHT: 'Hamburger Is My Life' at Mos Burger in Japan

MOS is a contraction of Mountain Ocean Sun (just in case you were expecting something more to your lichen.)

They have a lemon-mustard-mayo sauce for their chicken nuggets that is better than anything I've found in the states.

Thomas_Traveler at 3:29PM on 04/17/09

Win Tickets to Taste of Tribeca

Kitchenette for brunch.

Thomas_Traveler at 2:39PM on 04/15/09

Hell's Kitchen...WTF??

I laugh every time I see the grand prize: head-chef at the Borgota in Atlantic City?

What kind of person wants to be the head chef there?
What kind of Hotel wants one of these knuckle-heads as its head chef?
Oh, and, yeah, they get to be "head chef," but for how long? A year? An hour?

Suffice to say, I won't be rushing to dine there.

Thomas_Traveler at 1:24PM on 04/12/09

Momofuku Noodle Bar's Ramen, Dissed

Shall we all chip in and by David C. a copy of Tampopo?

Thomas_Traveler at 11:22PM on 01/19/09

Momofuku Noodle Bar's Ramen, Dissed

My creds: I lived in Japan for 7 years (over a 15 year period) and sampled the ramen there from Hokkaido to Okinawa, with all the major stops in between. There are oodles of styles, and the debate over what is good ramen reminds me over the US debate over what is good pizza. (My own personal favorite is Ten-Ka-Ippin, in Kyoto--they have a thick brothed Kotteri Ramen that, with the addition of a bit of garlic, is about as close to heaven as I've gotten.)

I went to Momofuku noodle a few years back along with some other ramen aficionados. Our verdict: Momofuku was crap; we haven't returned since.

To break it down, the noodles didn't have the proper Koshi (spine) or slipperiness; in fact they were downright mushy. The broth didn't inspire one to drink down the bowl. The pork was nice, but not really cha-shu. In other words, "that's not ramen, that's just noodle soup." And not a great example of it.

Ippudo comes much closer to great ramen. But I'm still searching for the next taste of heaven.

Thomas_Traveler at 4:21PM on 01/13/09

Rocco DiSpirito: Misunderstood Chef of the People or Megalomaniacal Celebrity?

Union Pacific was an amazingly delicious restaurant. It opened up new worlds of food and wine appreciation for me--ones that I haven't had equaled, not at Per Se, not at Ko.

I took a date there who swore that she didn't like certain foods and left wanting to know why she'd been so blind all her life. The service was impeccable. And when I was fortunate enough to talk to Chef DiSpirito, he was very modest about it all.

So, enough with the hate. Let's get Rocco back in the kitchen where he belongs.

Thomas_Traveler at 5:19PM on 12/22/08

Seriously Delicious Holiday Giveaway: Two Peter Luger Steaks

Kansas City--It's like a New York Strip Steak, but with the bone left on.

Thomas_Traveler at 7:05PM on 12/16/08

Best fruit/fruit&cheese danish or strudel in NYC?

Zabars. 'nuff said.

Thomas_Traveler at 6:51PM on 12/05/08

From Recipes

Karen Bornarth's and Roger Gural's Croissants

@Chichi - Thanks for the update. But it doesn't solve the problem about what to do for lunch. Bacon-cheddar burger on the grill or Cobb Salad with tandoori chicken breast or left over "fried chicken" from Congee Village.

I think I'm going with the burger.

jbary at 12:53PM on 10/10/09

From Recipes

Karen Bornarth's and Roger Gural's Croissants

Hi guys,

Sorry for the confusion - this was scanned straight from the packet I was handed at the class, and now I realize that the POUND of butter that you do eventually have to "pound" out, is not mentioned.

Also, yes, it is possible to do this by hand, but you would have to knead very quickly and thoroughly (I've only ever made croissants at home /w my stand mixer)

Chichi Wang at 12:13PM on 10/09/09

http://portlandhamburgers.blogspot.com/2009/10/tokyo-where-to-get-burger.html

Hamburgers in Tokyo

Best guide to hamburgers in Tokyo isn't online (that I know of). But, go down to any well stocked magazine or book shop and pick up this guide. It has al lot of the better ones in Tokyo.

portland hamburgers at 11:19PM on 10/06/09

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=118042418340387336704.00045a85e4dcb92ad8fda&z=12

Hamburgers in Tokyo

Hiya,

I want to share my experience of burger shops in the Tokyo area. I was a vegetarian for 7 years and then moved to Tokyo, Japan, a city and country it was more or less impossible to be a veggie in (if you wanna have a social and business life that is). So I started eating meat again... and after a long hiatus from carnivorism I went back to my pet peeve - burgers.

I actually went on a bit of a rampage and wound up tested most of the higher-end burger joints in the Tokyo metropolitan area. I even created a google map to aid my endeavor of finding the best burger in Tokyo (slightly OCD I guess).

I also found this excellent burger blog, in English, describing many of the places found on the map "Hamburgers in Tokyo" - http://w-ice.cocolog-nifty.com/blog2/

Another great blog for burger joints around Japan (if you read Japanese) is "Hamburger Street" - http://blogs.dion.ne.jp/nakoi_h9/

My personal favorite in Tokyo is definitely Firehouse in Hongosanchome, the bacon cheese burger there is just to die for! Other "musts" are Frisco, Burazaazu and J.S. Burgers among others.

After moving back to my home country (Sweden) I've really missed the excellent burgers I found in Japan and it's after my recent "meat relapse" I've started following the awsome AHT-blog and can't wait to go over the pond and start making new google maps of real American burger shops!

Best of luck with your Tokyo burger hunt!

niklas at 6:52PM on 10/06/09

The Best Mooncakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival

FYI, I went to Hong Kong Supermarket in Flushing yesterday and they had the ACC brand on sale at 19.99 for 2 tins, of lotus paste with DOUBLE yolk. I instantly got those and they def rank among one of the best mooncakes I've had. I am Chinese native and fervent mooncake lover.

wenwenM at 1:44PM on 10/05/09

The Best Mooncakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival

I love mooncake, although they are getting so expensive...
My girlfriend love bailian flavor~

Flanker at 10:26AM on 10/05/09

The Best Mooncakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival

I would like to know how far in advance the mooncakes in the tins are baked. My mom always warned me that you never know if they were left over from last year (and that they might have worms inside). Like fruit cakes.
www.chillonthecheap.wordpress.com

JustineThyme at 1:15AM on 10/05/09

http://highlowfooddrink.blogspot.com/2009/10/celebrating-mid-autumn-festival-with.html

The Best Mooncakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival

We went to Tai Pan in Chinatown and bought the colorful ones: snowyskin, strawberry, taro, and sesame ones. Here are our photos:

HIGHLOWFOODDRINK at 7:53PM on 10/04/09

The Best Mooncakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival

This is a really comprehensive starter kit for mooncake! It's crazy how much mooncake history and paraphernalia is out there.

I gave you props in my reporter's blog: http://blogs.journalism.cuny.edu/interactive2010/2009/10/04/mooncake-why-i-love-being-chinese/

Sophia Chang at 4:17PM on 10/04/09

The Best Mooncakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival

There are so many kinds of mooncakes nowadays. The mochi style, strawberry, mango, green tea and durian. I think they are trying to make it much more popular than the once-a-year traditional kind. It used to be so filling that you would touch the stuff only for its traditional value and not much for the taste. Personally I like the ones with white lotus seed paste and one of two yolks.

YvesPaul at 11:40AM on 10/03/09

The Best Mooncakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival

not sure about the taste of this w+k mooncake, but it has an augmented reality pattern on it:
http://www.wkshanghai.com/mooncake/ (watch the demo video after the intro)

natamari at 9:35PM on 10/02/09

The Best Mooncakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival

This year I've got the tried and trusted Wing Wah but also a whole assortment of 'Yizhiwan" mini mooncakes - loads of different flavours. Been eating them all month!
FP

foolishpoolish at 9:31PM on 10/02/09

The Best Mooncakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival

How big are these usually? length X width?

klaus ok at 4:20PM on 10/02/09

This is one of my favorite photos of them.

The Best Mooncakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival

What I never see in NYC are the colorful snowskin versions like they have in Singapore and Malaysia. The flavors are crazy, as are the hues.

Krista at 2:42PM on 10/02/09

The Best Mooncakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival

@ gargupie: Whoa, lava melting egg yolk?! The ones I've had were always solid.

@ Joe DiStefano: Thanks for the recommendation!

@ alicemeichi: I didn't know they had one with wintermelon! The tin has Tai Wing Wah in English on it. Also it's the one with the picture of big flowers.

Gordon Mark at 2:34PM on 10/02/09

Jennifer @birdflygood at 2:17PM on 10/02/09

The Best Mooncakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival

I have to try one of these! I will be off to my local Chinese supermarket immediately after work! Thanks for the post!

The Best Mooncakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival

I wish this article came out before I went and bought 3 tins of mooncakes last night from Hong Kong Supermarket. :p

How about reviews on red bean, green bean, and wintermelon flavors? They seem to be pretty popular. And what about a photo of the Tai Wing Wah tin for us poor non-Chinese readers. (Being an ABC is so shameful...)

alicemeichi at 2:15PM on 10/02/09

The Best Mooncakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival

You should try Malaysian mooncakes...the pandan ones are really cool ...you can get them at the Malaysian grocery in Flushing Mall

Joe DiStefano at 1:04PM on 10/02/09

The Best Mooncakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival

I think Maxim's is pretty good too. Don't ever get the green tea flavored mooncake from Taipan. It's too artificial tasting. Always go for the authetic kinds (aka lotus seeds). The perfect mooncake should have lava-melting egg yolk, but that's very rare nowadays, even in Hong Kong.

gargupie at 11:23AM on 10/02/09

Do Singles Bars Exist in NYC?

I second Thomas_Traveler's post... as a 40-year-old (not unattractive, employed, divorced) woman who would love to meet a guy in his 40s and hasn't a clue where to start. Where do decent single or divorced men in their 40s hang out? Is TEdward's list valid for someone like me?

ProducerChick at 12:19PM on 09/29/09

Ed Levine's Serious Diet, Week 86: Is 200 Pounds Out of My Reach?

Congratulations, Ed! You're a great role model. I am on a weight-loss journey myself and I've lost nearly thirty pounds (29.9) since I've started a month ago. I also agree with other SE readers that changing up the exercise routine can help with the last bit of extra weight. I also suggest watching your salt, sugar, and fat intake...which you're most likely watching anyway. Your body could be holding water, which could be quite a number of pounds. Best of luck to you!

fatitalianbroad at 9:38PM on 09/25/09

Ed Levine's Serious Diet, Week 86: Is 200 Pounds Out of My Reach?

Long time lurker here. I can understand your situation. I was 223 lbs at 5'7. I probably weighed more but I didn't weigh myself until I had already started dieting. I plateaued at 200ish, 165, and 140. By year 3, after many plateaus, I got down to 123 lbs. I fit into size 0 jeans, in girl parlance. I had to exercise almost every night for months to it, but I did it.

I read a lot of diet sites, and I saw many people who stopped at a 'good enough' point that wasn't what they first wanted. I decided, if I was going to do this, I wanted to go all the way -- all the way out of overweight, into healthy weight, no excuses, no 'good enough'.

Do what you want, Ed. If you want

That all said -- taking a break is okay. Eat a little more. Maybe gain 5 lbs. Get your body used to slightly more calories, so you have something to take away later. (It's like investing money to make money.) Walk more. Try a new exercise, or sing while you ride your bike to use more oxygen. Get a heart rate monitor to motivate you while you exercise, or an iphone app to help with food tracking. There are options. There are ways to get there. Good luck.

sunyata at 7:47PM on 09/25/09

Ed Levine's Serious Diet, Week 86: Is 200 Pounds Out of My Reach?

Ed--50 pounds is a great accomplishment! You deserve a cocktail (I recommend vodka rocks--low-cal) and a minute to celebrate before you embark on the last part of your weight-loss quest.

And after that minute, maybe consider what you are willing to DO to be 10 pounds lighter. Because those last 10-15 are dirty dogs, sticky as heck, and to lose them you have to really kinda torture yourself.

I'd love to have 5 pounds shaved off, but I'm not willing to go to the gym EVERY day for an hour, give up bacon and wine, and eat grass.

I am 40; I'm in my healthy range for weight, and frankly, at this age, vanity loses out to enjoying my life. Nobody's paying me Heidi Klum wages to be stick skinny, so I ain't doin' it. Healthy and happy is good.

BUT, if you wanna go there, I'll be following with interest.

TheKitchenWitch at 7:11PM on 09/25/09

Ed Levine's Serious Diet, Week 86: Is 200 Pounds Out of My Reach?

The tables (and body mass index ranges) are based on statistical risk of developing disease, not on what looks or feels appropriate for you.

One way to break a plateau is to cycle your intake - higher for several days, then lower for several days. If you're aiming for 2,000 calories a day, shift it around and do 1,500 a day for three days, then 2,500 a day for three days. Keep that up for a couple of weeks. The seesaw jumpstarts the metabolism (the higher calorie intake days rev up the metabolism, then the lower calorie intake days lead to more rapid weight loss; as soon as the metabolism starts to slow back down, the higher calorie cycle revs it up again).

DrGaellon at 2:59PM on 09/25/09