New York Speak

Dim sum in Chinatown is a very special ritual which can be botched by the uninitiated. There are a lot of touristy Chinatown dim sum places, which any self-respecting connoisseur would sniffle at. Only a few great dim sum restaurants exist, and you have to know which they are and go there. It will seem like another country. For all the carts whisking by are labeled only in Chinese and the newbie might be terrified by the sight of some of the more exotic dishes (chicken feet) and the fact that you may well be the only non-Chinese in the place that day. You might want to clean your chopsticks in the jasmine tea like the old timers, and calmly point to the dishes you think you might want (anything in the shrimp dumpling family? looove it) Careful not to go for the dessert dishes too early on (sometimes hard to tell, as they can look like dumplings too. Sweet custard desserts friggin kill me!

Ah, it might be time for another dim sum experience soon.

At least Chinatown has some authentic places. I can't say i've seen a single "authentic" restaurant in Little Italy - I've probably seen more authentic Chinese restaurants there than authentic Italian ones! Then again, I tend to be picky about this sort of thing, and to be fair, "Authentic" Italian-American and "authentic" Italian (or more likely, "Authentic" Roman/Milanese/Neopolitan/Ligurian/etc) are two different cuisines, and I tend to stick to the latter

@uptowngirl Yeah the chicken feet are a memorable sight!

@Everybody Okay, I'll look into a couple of names of dim sum places for you.

@NeverSleeps fish-head curry is a delicacy in Malaysia and I confess that I have had a couple and brain is quite yummy as well but nowadays I seem to have gone off 'offal' though I am curious to know as to how the chicken feet tasted.. crunchy I presume?

@BroadwayBK I love duck, too! Being rich is what makes it so delicious! But I have never been one of those white meat people.

@Uraniumfish Ha! That does not make me want to go straight out and pick up a brain.

Anyone ever tried jellyfish? Supposedly they know what they're doing with it at Blue Ribbon Sushi in Soho/Park Slope.

Also, brain tacos are apparently a relatively common staple of Mexican cuisine. Do those of you who have tried brain feel like this would be a tasty dish?

@BroadwayBK Goat is the meat of choice in India where many meat eaters are Hindu and so do not eat Beef because they consider the cow to be sacred.