Archive for January 30th, 2011

Chinese New Year at Chi Dynasty Restaurant – Los Angeles

Sunday, January 30th, 2011

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CHI DYNASTY CELEBRATES CHINESE NEW YEAR

Local Studio City restaurant transforms their parking lot into a Chinese New Year festival

Los Angeles, CA – (January 25, 2011) – Chi Dynasty in Studio City will celebrate the year of the Rabbit on February 3, 2011 when they transform their parking lot into a Chinese New Year festival.

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Chi Dynasty will commemorate their heritage right on Ventura Blvd (12229 Ventura Blvd. Studio City, CA 91604) from 6:30PM – 8:30PM; complete with a traditional lion dance, red paper lanterns, and Chinese drummers. The event will be open to the public, providing guests with complimentary tray passed appetizers and beverages by Tsingtao Beer. As a parting gift, each guest will receive customary red envelopes with $8 in Chi Bucks to be used on their next visit.  The restaurant will remain open during the event, allowing guests to stop in for dinner before or after the festival.

ABOUT CHI DYNASTY:
For over twenty-seven years, Chi Dynasty has had a long-standing reputation for exemplary service, value, and delectable Chinese cuisine. Using only the freshest ingredients and never compromising quality or taste, Chi Dynasty brings together authentic Chinese influences with a contemporary approach to Asian fare. Based on traditional values, Chi Dynasty provides an unforgettable dining experience to its customers, and continues to serve notable Chinese cuisine to old and newcomers alike. For menu and locations, please visit www.chidynasty.com.

ABOUT TSINGTAO
Tsingtao beer is one of the most popular beers in China and the No. 1 imported Chinese beer in the United States. Tsingtao is brewed and bottled at the Tsingtao Brewery in Qingdao, China, which was founded in 1903. Made with spring water from Laoshan, a mountain area famous throughout China for the purity of its water, Tsingtao is available in two varieties in the U.S.  Tsingtao Lager is a pilsner-style beer with a crisp, slightly malty flavor and Tsingtao Pure Draft is a smooth, light-tasting, draft-style lager with a well-balanced taste and clean finish. For more information on the beers including pairing ideas, recipes and Chinese New Year celebration tips, please visit www.tsingtaobeer.com. Monarch Import Company (Crown Imports LLC) is the exclusive importer of Tsingtao Lager and Tsingtao Pure Draft in the United States.

Atlantic/France: Juvenile Oysters Succomb to Killer Virus, Once Again – France

Sunday, January 30th, 2011

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Oyster Forecast for 2011

The mortality of juvenile oysters has impacted the entire European coast and production this year will fall by more than 40 percent compared to 2009 and 2010. This decline is expected to continue over the next  year or more depending on how fast they can control this current virus.

Ninety-five percent of farmed oysters hail from the same species, Crassostrea gigas, which occurs naturally in Japan and Southeast Asia. There are currently three scientific programs underway to study oyster juveniles, with the initial larvae sourced from Japan. In the 1970s and ‘80s we brought in larvae from Japan, and it seemed to work, but we don’t know if it will function this time. The key difference is that in the 1970s there were no more larvae. Now there are some still surviving. While the species is the same, larvae have different characteristics, with each acclimated to their environment.

The aim is to identify the larvae with characteristics best suited to our climate. The quality of water due to man’s activities is also a constant battle for the industry

The price rise may not be that significant because there is quite a bit of margin at the distributor/supermarket level. While producers were paid about EUR 2 or 2.10 a kilo for oysters four years ago, last year they received EUR 1.80. By contrast, the consumer can pay between EUR 8 and EUR 10 a kilo. Traditionally, there has always been this big a margin between producer and retailer.

France consumes 95 percent of the French production. The remaining 5 percent is mopped up by Belgium, Germany, Italy and Switzerland, plus about 7,000 metric tons exported to Asia. The United States and Asia are not allowed to enter the European market for sanitary reasons.

France does import about 3,300 metric tons of “plate” oysters from other European countries and about 2,200 of “creuse” oysters. Sold between EUR 6 and 30 a kilo, the rarer plate, or round and flat, oysters are three times more expensive than the more common creuse oyster.

Up until the 1980s, there were not creuse oysters in Britanny and Normandy, only the sweeter and firmer plate oysters. This has totally reversed now, and France barely produces 2,000 metric tons of plate oysters at this time.

Oyster production in France runs along the coast, from northern Normandy, through Britanny, the Loire, the Poitou Charentes to the southwestern Arcachon basin. We know that the potential for the at-home oyster market is enormous. Ten years ago, France produced 180,000 mertric tons of oysters, and we sold the lot. And today, foreign markets also hold growing potential.

In terms of creuse oysters, nothing has changed for years. A third is sold at the retail level, a third in restaurants or at the fishmonger, and a third via direct sales, such as markets. By contrast, a hefty 75 percent of mussels are sold at the retail level. The buying pattern differs for the two different shellfish. A spontaneous purchase, shoppers tend to buy oysters on the spur of the moment. But mussels are bought to make a dish, so the purchase is planned.