17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Entertaining, October 22, 2008
This review is from: Asian Dining Rules: Essential Strategies for Eating Out at Japanese, Chinese, Southeast Asian, Korean, and Indian Restaurants (Paperback)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
This little book is a very entertaining read. Part storytelling, part instructional, often very personal, every page is engaging. Steven Shaw writes in a style that is something between a columnist's approach and an essayist's. The result is a series of interesting, short segments that loosely hang together within each of the cuisine-specific chapters of the book. The closest comparison I might make to the flow is to a travel show on television.
Is the author authoritative on the topic? I can't honestly say, though I'm mostly convinced. I hedge because of issues with the advice itself - the "rules" referenced in the title - and the limited coverage. See more below on that. The book carries two Asian heavyweight endorsements on the front and back covers, though: Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto and Martin Yan of Yan Can Cook. So presumably the educational content is accurate.
This is a 250 page book that covers 5 major cuisines. Each cuisine chapter is, therefore, regrettably limited, especially when you toss in all the personal stories and offbeat - if interesting - segues (e.g., pairing French wines with Japanese food). And there's the rub - the book is supposed to be about "dining rules," here meaning what you need to know and how to act in order to be treated like an insider and get the good stuff. The overview-level coverage winds up coming short of the goal, in turn leading to the doubts concerning the author's authority mentioned above.
The Japanese section illustrates all the points mentioned above. The entire section is only about 50 pages long. Shaw occupies the first several with a charming story about the Ushiwaka Maru sushi bar in New York City, followed immediately by some sushi myth-busting, a few pages on sushi history, several more on a personal sushi story and a sidetrack into Kaiten sushi not particulary relevant to US readers, finally devoting 8 or 9, quite usefully, to sushi basics. If you are getting the idea that there is a heavy sushi focus to the Japanese cuisine chapter at the expense of the remainder of the cuisine, you would be correct.
The author has STILL not got on to the task of advising us on the "dining rules," however. And before he gets there, there are nearly 5 pages of his personal odyssey into making sushi at home. Sigh.
We finally get to the advice on page 47, under "Guerrilla Sushi Tactics." I'm primed and ready. I'm educated and entertained. Only to find that the advice amounts mostly to bravado and things you probably already know, including sitting at the sushi bar and talking directly to the head sushi chef. The most interesting thing here is, literally, the author's comments on the various cuts of tuna.
That done, we're on to a discussion of red wine and sushi - taking 4 pages, then 10 pages - 10 - titled "Beyond Sushi: Taking in the full scope of Japanese Cuisine"! To say that this is the briefest, barest, sweeping survey coverage of a limited number of food items would be an exaggeration. And to end the chapter, Shaw takes 5 pages on a completely off-the-wall topic - sushi (again) and pregnancy!
Whew!
What this book needs is a consistent focus. Starting with what's promised in the title would help, as the advice turns out to be thin. The format is also problematic. This is a pulp paperback and there isn't a single picture to be found. It's as if the author and publisher assume the reader is already knowledgeable. But that invalidates the premise of the book, doesn't it?
As I struggled for a cogent title for this review, it all boiled down to the single word "entertaining." If you approach this book as a diverting read written by an engaging author, you will enjoy it. If you go looking for a comprehensive look at any of the cuisines, or, frankly, substantive advice on being treated like an insider, you're going to be a little disappointed.
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10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Title is misleading, October 23, 2008
This review is from: Asian Dining Rules: Essential Strategies for Eating Out at Japanese, Chinese, Southeast Asian, Korean, and Indian Restaurants (Paperback)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I assumed this would be a book about 'Asian dining rules' and I was pretty much wrong. Maybe I have a different definition of what 'rules' are, but I assumed that meant things like etiquette, what not to do, etc. I love going to eat at authentic asian restaurants and figured this book would show me how to interact with the staff properly.
In my opinion, the book seemed like it was aimed more at people who had never ate at an Asian restaurant before (who those people are, I have no idea). The advice was common sense, like if you go to a Chinese buffet, fill your plate right when it's brought out from the kitchen so that the food is fresh. And, avoid the lomein because it'll fill you up. The Japanese section of the book focused almost entirely on sushi, and frankly I think there's a lot more to Japanese cuisine than that. It's sort of like writing a book about Italian food and only talking about pizza. I had figured this book was going to tell me things like what 'itadakimasu' means, etc.
Like I said, I think this would be a good book for someone who really hasn't had much by the way of Asian food, and would like help choosing menu items. But if you already have a passion for is, you should probably pass this one up.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fun Read!, November 1, 2008
This review is from: Asian Dining Rules: Essential Strategies for Eating Out at Japanese, Chinese, Southeast Asian, Korean, and Indian Restaurants (Paperback)
Reading Asian Dining Rules is like spending time with a good (and funny!) friend who explains what food critics already know about how Asian restaurants really work and how to get the most out of your experience. He takes you through Guerrilla Sushi Tactics, explains "Thai spicy", and lets you in on the secret of the Two Menus in Chinese restaurants. The real stories about families who have started and run their own restaurants are great. I find myself thumbing through the book before heading out to Asian restaurants now. I would recommend the book to both novice and experienced diners.
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