Kevin's Watch

Chinese and Italian cuisines: both delicious, but I prefer Chinese. I just feel better after eating it, and I think it has a better variety of flavors.

Above, I wrote:Chinese and Italian cuisines: both delicious, but I prefer Chinese. I just feel better after eating it, and I think it has a better variety of flavors.

Still love that Italian spumoni ice cream, though. Mm-mm-MMM!

Pizza is far and away the greatest creation from either of the two cuisines.

I eat Chinese much more frequently than I do Italian if you take pizza out of the equation.

I love Mexican, Indian, and Thai too. Cajun and American bar food are mandatory. Oh, jeez, I can't choose only one.

This thread is just so wong [sorry - genuine typo there I thought I'd jeave in as it was so aposite ] I mean wrong. It's just plain wrong!

Both Chinese and Italian food satisfy such different gastronomic 'needs' that to try to decide the precidence is like trying to decide the relative importances between say sleep and air in respect of survival [or to go the other way say between Close Encounters and 2001].

Chinese is the ultimate comfort food. Sweet and sticky, the ribs come with the meat peeling from the bones, and the drispy duck sings of garlic and ginger from the plate. In a MSG induced haze you fall into the fritters and golden syrup and then miraculously clean it all away [untill that dehydrated craving for a glass of water hits you at 3.300am] with the Jasmine 'tea that is not tea' - as subtle as the emporer's concubine.

You're italian on the other hand, is a different animal. The rissoto is sprinkled with shavings of black truffle by the aloof waiter, and only the first mouthfull tells you if they've got the 'al dente' bite to the correct firmness demanded by the dish. The dishes come out one after the other anti-pasti, primo, secondo [plus or minus contorno], fromaggo, dolce and a dozen more besides. In the hands of the master - each course is so simple, so pared back, but every thing is executed to perfection - the indulgence passes beyond the limits of human endurance untill finally, exhaustion catches up with you, and you raise a trembling glass of limoncello in the direction of the maestro who has nearly killed you. Truly is it said that the problem with italian food is that three days later you're hungry again.

Harbinger wrote:Pizza is far and away the greatest creation from either of the two cuisines.

Isn't pizza technically Italian American cuisine, though?

peter wrote:This thread is just so wong [sorry - genuine typo there I thought I'd jeave in as it was so aposite ] I mean wrong. It's just plain wrong!

Both Chinese and Italian food satisfy such different gastronomic 'needs' that to try to decide the precidence is like trying to decide the relative importances between say sleep and air in respect of survival [or to go the other way say between Close Encounters and 2001].

Chinese is the ultimate comfort food. Sweet and sticky, the ribs come with the meat peeling from the bones, and the drispy duck sings of garlic and ginger from the plate.

OH, MY...I just HAD to stop reading peter's post right then and there!

peter wrote:Both Chinese and Italian food satisfy such different gastronomic 'needs' that to try to decide the precidence is like trying to decide the relative importances between say sleep and air in respect of survival.

Respectfully disagree. Air obviously has more relative importance in survival, for one will expire much faster without it.

But you'll expire nonetheless from lack of sleep. Me, I'm not that big a fan of either of them, for what it's worth.

--A

Sleep and air? Well, we're glad you tolerate them well enough to remain among us.

I'm a big fan of sleep and air. And oddly enough, the best Italian restaurant in my old neighborhood was run by a Chinese family.

Savor Dam wrote:Sleep and air? Well, we're glad you tolerate them well enough to remain among us.

No, of Chinese or Italian.

Sleep and air I'm quite fond of. Especially sleep.

--A