Die, die, must try! -- Eating outside Singapore

[slickalick]

Hong Kong

Indian

Cheap & Cheerful - The Maharani Mess, Lan Kwai Fong
Posh & Pricey - VEDA, Central

Pizza

Cheap & Cheerful - New York Pizzah, Soho
Posh & Pricey - Wildfire, Various Locations

Thai

Cheap & Cheerful - Thai House, 'Rat Alley' Lan Kwai Fong
Posh & Pricey - Sweet Basil Thai, Various Locations

Buffets

Cheap & Cheerful - Dickens Pub Lunch Buffet, Excelsior Hotel
Posh & Pricey - Cafe TOO, Island Shangri-La

Korean

Cheap & Cheerful - Sorabol, Various Locations
Posh & Pricey - Airirang, Various Locations

Midnight Cravings or Post Drinking Food

Cheap & Cheerful - Cul-De-Sac or Ebeneezers, Various Locations

Happy Hour Nibbles

Cheap & Cheerful - Red Lantern, Soho (Free Asian Snacks)
Posh & Pricey - Mortons, Sheraton (Free Minute Steak Sandwiches)

[jjpb3]

Updated with the recommendations from jhm, YK@HKG, and slickalick. Muchas gracias.

[KeithMEL]

Contemporary European:
Pearl on the Peak (Up the Peak)
Harlan’s (Central) – Great burger.
M at the Fringe (Central) – Mediterranean/ French cuisine in the Fringe Club. Located in LKF area.

Contemporary Cantonese/Chinese:
Heichinrou (Causeway Bay)
OvoLogue (Wanchai)

Traditional Chinese
Lei Garden (Central and Elements Mall, Kowloon) - its Central branch is Michelin starred, has v nice Peking duck.

Japanese:
Wasabisabi (Causeway Bay)

Latino:
1/5 Nuevo (Wanchai) – Great food and great bar for meeting other travellers and expats. Located in a rather quiet area in Wanchai.

Italian:
Isola Bar and Grill (Central) - Alfresco dining with nice views of harbour

Steak:
Wooloomooloo Steakhouse (both LKF, Central and Elements Mall, Kowloon)

Noodles/dumplings:
Wong Chi Kei Noodles and Congee (Wellington St, Central - opposite Ben and Jerry's)
Mak's Noodles (Wellington St, Central)
Xia Man Guan (Elements Mall, Kowloon)

Yum Cha:
Maxim's Palace (City Hall, Central) - it also has other good stuff besides dim sum, such as roasted meat
Luk Yu Tea House (Stanley St, Central)
Jade Garden Restaurant (both Causeway Bay and Kowloon)
Yu Joy (Elements Mall, Kowloon)

Roast Goose:
Yung Kee (Wellington St, Central)

[cawhite]

The Hakka? The non-alcoholic drinks you had?

I'm not the one who said the sake and vodka counterbalanced the alcohol in each other, thereby making it non-alcoholic!

I don't think it's an error by mistake...

At least nobody tried to teach them about the proper glassware to be used in serving martinis

[jhm]

A few more which come to mind:

Taipo Tianfu Shanzhen (Beijing) - a hotpot at your table with a black chicken and mushroom broth (apparently made with 32 different kinds of mushrooms) into which you add more mushrooms (chosen from a very large selection on the menu), beef, meatballs, tofu etc. We made the mistake of ordering far too much (the portion sizes are quite substantial) and ended up struggling over several hours to try and finish off all of the different types of mushrooms - we dreaded the sight of the waitress coming out with another plate of the stuff!

Dao Jia Chang (Beijing) - an attempt to recreate an Old Beijing restaurant complete with waiters (who all shout a greeting when customers enter), everyone running around and traditional dishes, e.g. the mashed up grey tofu sludge with lamb oil which I ordered which was actually quite edible despite its appearance...

Sjavarkjallarinn (Seafood Cellar) (Reykjavik) - Icelandic fusion. We went for the exotic menu (about £50/head) which gave us lots of different courses, e.g. sushi; foie gras; kangaroo (!!!); lamb; and several desserts. We went in prepared to be disappointed but actually quite liked it.

[CGK]

Bangkok

Chandrphen Restaurant

Famous Barbequed Chicken
1030/1 Rama 4 Rd
(opposite Lumpini Boxing Stadium)

If you are looking for more traditional and old style restaurant, I like this place. I like the bbq chicken, very very spicy som tham, and many more. My best friend took me and DFP to this place, and yes he seemed to enjoy the whole crab! And I have to finish the bbq squid. (Note: my friend has a tendency to order too much. And I don't feel like to waste them)

[YK@HKG]

- Luk Yu Tea House (Stanley St, Central)

Agree about this one, but, price wise might be a little bit expensive. Nevertheless, Luk Yu and Yung Kee are two of my favorite restaurants in HKG.

[jhm]

Roast Duck? That would be the Four Seasons restaurant.

I just tried China Tang (easierly the glitziest Chinese restaurant in London I think) at the Dorchester for CNY last weekend. The Peking duck was excellent (although expensive - £44 for two courses; £48 for three courses; plus service) - crispy and glistening all over.

The whole duck is carved at your table with the skin taken off for you to eat with pancakes and then it disappears to be made into the 2 (or 3) additional duck courses (duck meat and vegetables and, I believe, soup).

The other Chinese food is good but not, IMO, up to the standards of Hakkasan.

[MovieMan]

The other Chinese food is good but not, IMO, up to the standards of Hakkasan.

I was thinking of last month's SQT dinner at Hakkasan just today. Mediocre service, but excellent food overall, capped by IMO the best creme brulee (I know, obviously not a Chinese dish!) I have had anywhere, and I am not one to usually rave about desserts.

[Rejuvenated]

Toronto

We have some of the world’s best Chinese (Cantonese) & Italian restaurants here in the Greater Toronto Area. But one has to head over to the northern suburbs (York Region – where I reside) to accomplish the experience. Of course its not just limited to Chinese & Italian as GTA is one of, if not, the most ethnically diverse region in the world and dining is no exception.

Image Courtesy of Discover Toronto

My Recommendations:

Chinese:

Dim Sum & Seafood:

Spring Villa
7301 Woodbine Ave.
Markham, ON L3R 3V7
(905) 940 – 2888

Golden Court Abalone
270 West Beaver Creek Rd.
Richmond Hill, ON L4B 3Y9
(905) 707 - 6628

Diamond Banquet
(At First Markham Place)
3225 Highway 7
Markham, ON L3R 0J5
(905) 944 – 8288

Cheap (low in price but high in quality) Noodle Eateries Perfect for the Budget:

Jim Chai Kee
(Same complex as Golden Court Abalone)
270 West Beaver Creek Rd.
Richmond Hill, ON L4B 3Y9
(905) 881 - 8778

Wonton Time
(Inside Market Village Mall)
4392 Steeles Ave East
Markham, ON L3R 9V8
(905) 477-8882

Italian:

Castello Ristorante Antico
3600 Langstaff Rd, Unit 12
Vaughan, ON L4L 9E7
(905) 264 - 9248

Il Cavalino
8077 Islington Ave, Unit 105
Vaughan, ON L4L 7X7
(905) 850 – 3629

Millepiatti Ristorante
9929 Keele St.
Vaughan, ON L5L 6R6
(905) 303 – 0777

Terra Ristorante
8199 Yonge St.
Vaughan, ON L3T 2C6
(905) 731 – 6161

French:

Le Select
432 Wellington St West
Toronto, ON M5V 1E3
(416) 596 – 6405

Japanese:

Fune
100 Simcoe St.
Toronto, ON M5H 3L2
(416) 599-3868

Steakhouse:

Ruth’s Chris
77 City Centre Dr, STE 100
Mississauga, ON L5B 1M5
(905) 897 – 8555
I know there are plenty of Ruth’s worldwide. But among all the one’s I’ve dined at, this has been by far the best.

Will add more to the list when I have time..............

[jjpb3]

Updated with the latest round of recommendations. Thanks, y'all.

[CGK]

Colombo

Seafood restaurant called "Beach Wadiya"
Great food. Lots of photos on the wall, and some recommedation and thank you notes from the diplomats assigned on duty in SriLanka.
Yeah, the best kangkung I had.
Oh, it's not a fancy place. Just like a local hut with dining in or out on the sand!

[SQFAN]

I just tried China Tang (easierly the glitziest Chinese restaurant in London I think) at the Dorchester for CNY last weekend. The Peking duck was excellent (although expensive - £44 for two courses; £48 for three courses; plus service) - crispy and glistening all over.

The whole duck is carved at your table with the skin taken off for you to eat with pancakes and then it disappears to be made into the 2 (or 3) additional duck courses (duck meat and vegetables and, I believe, soup).

The other Chinese food is good but not, IMO, up to the standards of Hakkasan.

Well, that's the proper way. Damn, you're making me hungry.

[Tiger's Whip]

American
The French Laundry (Yountville) Done

Contemporary
Boulevard (Embarcadero) Done
Chez Panisse (Berkeley) Done
Jardinière (Market Street) Done
Michael Mina (Union Square)
One Market (Market Street) Done

Dim Sum
Yank Sing (Embarcadero) Done. There is a Fook Yuen in Millbrae, so you can step off SQ16 and be there in minutes.

French
Bouchon (Yountville) Done
Fleur de Lys (Downtown) Done
Gary Danko (Fishermen's Wharf)
Masa's (Nob Hill)

Italian
Steps of Rome (North Beach)

Japanese
Sushi House (Oakland) Done, but actually it's in Alameda (my town). Sushi House is more of an inexpensive, fun place. Lots of creative rolls. Not necessarily high quality. For really good stuff, try Kyo-ya

Mediterranean
Wine Spectator Greystone Restaurant at the Culinary Institute of America (St. Helena)
Zuni Cafe (Market Street)

Mexican
Mijita Cocina Mexicana (Embarcadero) Done

Seafood
Aqua (Embarcadero) Done
Hog Island Oyster Company (Embarcadero) Done
Swan Oyster Depot (Van Ness/Polk)

Steak
Acme Chophouse (SoMa)
Also try House of Prime Rib

Vietnamese
The Slanted Door (Embarcadero) Done

Cakes, Chocolates, and Desserts
Citizen Cake (Grove Street)
Citizen Cupcake (Market Street)

A lot of the places are hard to get into if you walk up. Many of them are on opentable.com

[Tiger's Whip]

Try the In-N-Out near LAX, munch on a burger and see planes landing on 25L.

Actually, from In-N-Out you're looking at 24L/R. The 25s are on the south side.

LAX Airport Diagram