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Asian Dining Rules: Essential Strategies for Eating Out at Japanese, Chinese, Southeast Asian, Korean, and Indian Restaurants | 
 enlarge | Author: Steven A. Shaw
Publisher: William Morrow Cookbooks
Category: Book
List Price: $15.95
Buy New: $7.65
You Save: $8.30 (52%)
New (36) Used (10) from $7.65
Rating:  39 reviews
Sales Rank: 68293
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 272
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 4.9 x 0.8
ISBN: 0061255599
Dewey Decimal Number: 641
EAN: 9780061255595
ASIN: 0061255599
Publication Date: November 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: BRAND NEW BOOK IN EXCELLENT CONDITION, NEXT DAY SHIPPING IN PADDED ENVELOPES, NOT A REMAINDER
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Product Description
Most Asian restaurants are really two restaurants: one where outsiders eat, and one where insiders dine. So how can you become an insider and take full advantage of Asian cuisines? In this indispensable guide, dining expert Steven A. Shaw proves that you don't have to be Asian to enjoy a VIP experience—you just have to eat like you are. Through entertaining and richly told anecdotes and essays, Asian Dining Rules takes you on a tour of Asian restaurants in North America, explaining the cultural and historical background of each cuisine—Japanese, Chinese, Southeast Asian, Korean, and Indian—and offering an in-depth survey of these often daunting foodways. Here are suggestions for getting the most out of a restaurant visit, including where to eat, how to interact with the staff, be treated like a regular, learn to eat outside the box, and order special off-menu dishes no matter your level of comfort or knowledge. Steven Shaw—intrepid reporter, impeccable tastemaker, and eater extraordinaire—is the perfect dining companion to accompany you on your journey to find the best Asian dining experience, every time.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 34 more reviews...
 Not really 'rules', but worth reading December 25, 2008
This is a tough one to rate, because despite the fact that the book isn't about 'rules' per se, it is a fairly interesting appreciation, and there are a few bits of trivia and history that will appeal to foodies.
Once you get past the title, and the oddly placed first chapter on Japanese food (oddly placed because it talks almost exclusively about sushi - and as a person who frequently eats in Japan as well as New York Japanese eateries, sushi is a small fraction of that country's cuisine) you'll find a fun meditation on asian dining, littered with anecdotes and New York - centric history.
The book is very heavily centered on Manhattan. That might be a consideration if you're in a less populated area, or won't ever be in New York.
I enjoy reading about food, and the book delivered. Here's a neat little piece I learned, something which has baffled me for years, and was answered in this book... as a student of Japanese, I used to translate the kanji on Chinese takeout menus, and noticed a few years back that 'garlic sauce' translates to 'fish dimension'. Why would that be? I asked some of the shop's employees and nobody could explain it. I chalked it up to the difference in meaning between Chinese and Japanese kanji usage and the seemingly nonsequitir usage of individual words to make a compound (a bit like 'hot dog' in English). Well, in the chapter on Chinese food in here I read that a very long time ago there were fishes used to make sauce in China, but the farther inland one got, the tougher it was to keep the sauce from going rancid - by using garlic, cooks were able to retain the fish sauce's pungency without need for extensive refrigeration. So 'garlic sauce' really does mean 'fish dimension'! Neat. That little bit alone made the book worthwhile.
So why only three stars? Because it is New York based, and because of the title. "Rules"? I don't think so. But it is a funny, informative appreciation.
 Disappointing December 23, 2008
Rambling, disorganized book that covers many aspects of Asian dining without adequately covering the title subject.
Essential Introduction December 23, 2008
The subtitle on this book lists as 'Essential Strategies' and is more appropriately subtitled 'Essential Introduction.' The depth and breadth of the dining experiences in Asian restaurants provided by this book is extensive, but I cannot see it as more than an introduction.
Having somehow, inexplicably, missed out on the furor surrounding the semi-recent (let's say the past decade or so) preoccupation with sushi, I felt this might be a chance to learn some of the ins and outs of dining out at sushi restaurants. In that sense this book was a great success. I may still need more confidence to eat comfortably at a sushi bar, but I at least now know what to expect.
The book is broken up by branches of Asian dining (heavy focus on Japanese and sushi in particular), including: Japanese, Chinese, Southeast Asia (Vietnamese, Thai and Cambodian), Korean and Indian. The author rambles a bunch, but it makes for entertaining reading. The prose is well written and does expose quite a bit of the 'hidden' side of Asian dining, although, perhaps not in the sense of 'secrets' so much as 'gee whiz, I didn't know that' moments.
Bottom line is that this is an interesting introduction to a variety of Asian dining experiences, and well worth the read to anyone that hasn't been exposed to the gamut of Asian foods (beyond the obligatory kung pao chicken).
Find Out What You Might Like and Where to Start with Asian Cuisine. December 4, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
In "Asian Dining Rules", food critic Steven A. Shaw, aka "The Fat Guy", encourages American diners to be more adventurous with Asian cuisines and offers a bounty of advice on how to go about doing that. The idea that "most Asian restaurants are two restaurants: the one where the outsiders eat and the one where the insiders dine" is a central theme. Shaw tells the reader how to find the good stuff on and off the menu in everything from hole-in-the-wall Chinese take-out joints to sumptuous upscale Indian restaurants. If I had to summarize Shaw's most-repeated morsels of advice, I'd say: Don't be shy! And don't judge an Asian restaurant by its location or decor.
Shaw doesn't attempt to present a comprehensive guide to Asian eating in North America. Instead, he chooses what he thinks is useful, important, or interesting, especially to the person relatively inexperienced with Asian food. An Asian food aficionado may not get much out of "Asian Dining Rules", but the book does cover Japanese, Chinese, South Asian (Thai, Vietnamese, Cambodian), Korean, and Indian restaurants. If you're knowledgeable about one Asian cuisine, you still might benefit from some advice about another. There is no coverage of Indonesian restaurants, as there are too few of them to be of broad interest. Too bad, as vegetarians flock to them in Europe.
Each of the five sections dedicated to a different Asian nation or region includes some history of the cuisine in North America, description of the style of service in the restaurants and how best to navigate it, and advice for Beginners, Intermediate, and Advanced (experienced) diners. Shaw talks about specific foods, what they are and how to eat them. He doesn't usually say which items might be suitable for vegetarians or any other diet, but he provides enough information about ingredients that readers can figure out what they might, or would not, like to try. Interspersed throughout the book are interesting essays about specific restaurants and related topics, such as chopsticks or working conditions for deliverymen.
Shaw has a reputation for rejecting any notions that foods might be harmful to one's health. Along those lines, "Asian Dining Rules" tries to convince readers that there is no significant risk in pregnant women eating raw fish and that adverse reactions to MSG are imaginary. He ignores studies that have found unacceptably high bacteria levels in most fish on the market and doesn't seem to understand that the risk is to the fetus, not the mother. MSG is a neurotoxin whose long-term effects are hotly debated. But there is no neurologist who doesn't acknowledge that it causes everything from dizziness to panic attacks in sensitive individuals. I found Shaw's willful ignorance obnoxious.
But Steven Shaw's love of Asian food and adventurous spirit are infectious. "Asian Dining Rules" made me want to try some cuisines that did not appeal to me before. It alleviates the intimidation factor in Asian dining and encourages the timid or inexperienced to get out there and try the enormous variety of Asian food. While you do generally get better food at more expensive restaurants, Shaw covers all strata of restaurants in "Asian Dining Rules" and gives advice on how to get better food out of relatively inexpensive establishments. The book is very readable and a useful guide for those who might like more adventure in their dining but don't know where to start.
Fun AND helpful! December 4, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Living in the Pacific Northwest can be an Asian foodie's dream. In the suburb in which I live, 35% of the population is Korean. The city of Seattle has an International District that can keep you busy trying something new every day for years. We are blessed with fine Asian supermarkets and smaller produce markets.
While I love all kinds of ethnic eating, it really is a little overwhelming at times. And more than once I've found myself watching other people eating all kinds of weird things I wouldn't even know how to find on the menu.
Well, lucky me! Asian Dining Rules, while it never really does actually provide any "rules" came along to enhance my dining-out education.
Shaw is self deprecating and funny. He doesn't hesitate to share his embarrassing dining out stories. He makes you trust him, because he's just a regular guy looking for a good meal in a restaurant. (We know this isn't really true, because he's probably eaten in about 1000 times more restaurants than I ever will). By looking at dining from a regular person's point of view, he helps us along in our quest to enjoy an authentic meal in an ethnic restaurant.
This is more than a set of rules, its an entertaining read. Read it cover to cover, then go back and review the pertinent chapter right before eating out. Follow his guidelines!! Take some chances, and ask a lot of questions. Tell them how great your meal was, leave a good tip and then go back again.
Shaw probides the most helpful dining out list I've ever come across. Applies to Asian restaurants and pretty much anything else as well.
Short of a tour guide, this book can be your best friend when trying something new.
Highly recommended.
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