[Oogleman]

World's best restaurants 2008 winners list:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restaurant_(magazine)_Top_50


El Bulli, Roses, Catalonia, Spain (Best in Europe)
The Fat Duck, Bray-on-Thames, UK
Pierre Gagnaire, Paris, France
Mugaritz, San Sebastián, Spain (Chef's Choice)
The French Laundry, California, USA (Best in the Americas)
per se, New York, USA
Bras, Laguiole, France
Arzak, San Sebastián, Spain
Tetsuya's, Sydney, Australia (Best in Australasia)
Noma, Copenhagen, Denmark
L'Astrance, Paris, France
Gambero Rosso, San Vincenzo, Italy
Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, London, UK
L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon, Paris, France
Restaurant Le Louis XV, Monaco
St John, London, UK (Highest Climber)
Jean-Georges, New York, USA
Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée, Paris, France
Hakkasan, London, UK
Le Bernardin, New York, USA
*Alinea, Chicago, USA
Le Gavroche, London, UK
Dal Pescatore, Canneto sull'Oglio (Mantova), Italy
Le Cinq, Paris, France
Troisgros, Roanne, France
El Celler de Can Roca, Girona, Spain
+L'Hotel de Ville - Philippe Rochat, Crissier, Switzerland
Hof van Cleve, Kruishoutem, Belgium
Martin Berasategui, San Sebastián, Spain
Nobu London, London, UK
Can Fabes, Sant Celoni, Catalonia, Spain
Enoteca Pinchiorri, Florence, Italy
+Le Meurice, Paris, France
*Vendome, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany
+Die Schwarzwaldstube, Baiersbronn im Schwarzwald, Germany
Le Calandre, Padua, Italy
Chez Panisse, Berkeley, California, USA
Charlie Trotter's, Chicago, USA
Chez Dominique, Helsinki, Finland
DOM, São Paulo, Brazil (Best in Latin America)
Daniel, New York, USA
Oud Sluis, Sluis, Netherlands
Ristorante Cracco, Milan, Italy
+Asador Etxebarri, Atxondo, Biscay, Spain
Les Ambassadeurs, Paris, France
L'Arpège, Paris, France
+Tantris, Munich, Germany
Oaxen Skärgårdskrog, Oaxen, Sweden
Rockpool, Sydney, Australia
Le Quartier Français, Franschhoek, South Africa (Best in Mid East & Africa)
Note: * New Entry + Re-entry

Readers' Choice: L'enclume, UK

Breakthrough Restaurant: Le Chateaubriand, France

Lifetime Achievement Award: Gualtiero Marchesi

Best in Asia: Bukhara

[dave_syd]

England is not only the home of modern democracy

I stand to be corrected as I am not an expert on the UK system of goverment, but isnt the head of state an unelected hereditary monarch, and one of the houses of parliament an unelected mix of life and hereditary peers? hardly seems an ideal democracy

[Homesick]

England is not only the home of modern democracy

I stand to be corrected as I am not an expert on the UK system of goverment, but isnt the head of state an unelected hereditary monarch, and one of the houses of parliament an unelected mix of life and hereditary peers? hardly seems an ideal democracy

Isn't Australia's head of state an unelected hereditary monarch as well?

(Sorry, couldn't resist)

[dave_syd]

yep, but hopefully not for too much longer. I never suggested that Australia was a model democracy either.

former PM Paul Keating did refer to the upper house of the Australian parliament as 'unrepresentative swill'.

[Homesick]

Henry Cate wrote:
Then you switch to nutrition, and blindly assert that American cuisine is, speaking nutritionally, the worst in the world. And then you go on to make yourself ridiculous, and assert that the US has a "far higher malnutrition rate than even Africa."

Of course, what may piss you off more than anything is that AMERICAN restaurants, from the INFAMOUS MacDonald's and KFC, all the way up to (up to?) pizza restaurants and the Sizzler, have in FACT been successful around the globe.

Not to mention Mike's Burgers, which I think is an English operation.

I once lived in North Africa, that haven of good nutrition. I lived in Tunisia, with three Tunisian room-mates. (This would be 1968 or so.) Breakfast was basically nothing. Lunch was a large loaf of freshly-baked French bread with a very small bowl of something to dip the bread in. Dinner was left-over lunch. I was also working hard, and lost a lot of weight. The next time I saw the Peace Corps doctor, I asked him about this. He said that the diet looked basically OK, but had insufficient calories: life could be maintained on such a diet, but would not be robust and recover quickly.

Oh, well, whatever pleases you. England is not only the home of modern democracy, it is the world's leading citadel of cuisine. "Let's have it all"

Actually, I didn't even say in my post that I liked English cuisine, let alone thought it the best. Like most english people, I live mostly on curry.

Surprisingly, for someone who claims to be a linguist, you confuse malnutrition (=bad nutrition) with under-nutrition. Certainly, no-one could say the US population were under-nourished. But a huge proportion of the population eat bad diets leading to obesity, high cholesterol levels, diabetes and other diet related problems. The diet you describe eating in Tunisia may be typical of peace corp workers, but not of Africans. In the north they eat mainly durum, sorghum, millet or pulses, with small amounts of high protein foods such as fish, egg, goat cheese or meat. Salads, fruits and other vegetables are used when and where available. This is a very healthy diet.

The prevalence of American restaurants throughout the world can be compared to the prevalence of powdered milk in Africa. It kills large numbers of the local population, but makes lots of money for the multinational companies. This would piss any right thinking person off.

[homintern]

former PM Paul Keating did refer to the upper house of the Australian parliament as 'unrepresentative swill'.

And they're elected! Whether a head of state is elected or otherwise is irrelevant to whether the country is a democracy - the usual criteria for elections that are "open", "free and fair", "one man, one vote" and so on, with more technical definitions revolving around the segregation of the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary. The military is always under the control of the civilian government. All of the generally-recognised democracies express that in various ways; in some the head of state is a figurehead, as in the European monarchies, the Indian republic, the "white" Commonwealth, Germany and so on, in others the Head of State is also the Head of Government - France and the USA being the most prominent examples. When you look at countries like Malaysia or Singapore, which claim to be democracies, you have only to consider things like the muzzling of the press during election campaigns and the overall subservience of the Judiciary to the Executive to understand that they are not democracies in the full sense of the word. Where Thailand's proud traditions of vote-buying, military coups and royal interference place it in the democratic spectrum I'll leave others to judge

[Beachlover]

NB:one of our esteemed members was called a "bald fat old cunt" when strolling through Melbourne one day ( we don't know of the circumstances leading up to that exchange)

A (female) street hooker I had turned down - "I wouldn't want you anyway, you bald fat old cunt"

Goodness me... homintern from Australia?

[kenc]

The only bitch that's gonna get slapped Topjohn is you if you don't stop changing the topic titles!

BTW, my attire suggestion was only to mean that one should bring something a little more dressy than a t-shirt, shorts, socks and sandals for a night out.
I wan't suggesting you bring a Tuxedo!

(hmmm....Tuxedo....now that's kinky! A little Fred and Ginger?)

[homintern]

Goodness me... homintern from Australia?

I've been everywhere, man

[bao-bao]

(hmmm....Tuxedo....now that's kinky! A little Fred and Ginger?)

A tuxedo?

With the preoccupation of so many Thai to keep a light skin tone I'm not sure a black condom is the correct bedroom attire choice

Reminds me of the post long ago where someone's Thai boyfriend was horrified that they'd gone out and gotten a tan. As I recall, their comment was "I ashamed you now, you black!" LOL

[fattman]

World's best restaurants 2008 winners list:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restaurant_(magazine)_Top_50


El Bulli, Roses, Catalonia, Spain (Best in Europe)
The Fat Duck, Bray-on-Thames, UK
Pierre Gagnaire, Paris, France
Mugaritz, San Sebastián, Spain (Chef's Choice)
The French Laundry, California, USA (Best in the Americas)
per se, New York, USA
Bras, Laguiole, France
Arzak, San Sebastián, Spain
Tetsuya's, Sydney, Australia (Best in Australasia)
Noma, Copenhagen, Denmark
L'Astrance, Paris, France
Gambero Rosso, San Vincenzo, Italy
Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, London, UK
L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon, Paris, France
Restaurant Le Louis XV, Monaco
St John, London, UK (Highest Climber)
Jean-Georges, New York, USA
Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée, Paris, France
Hakkasan, London, UK
Le Bernardin, New York, USA
*Alinea, Chicago, USA
Le Gavroche, London, UK
Dal Pescatore, Canneto sull'Oglio (Mantova), Italy
Le Cinq, Paris, France
Troisgros, Roanne, France
El Celler de Can Roca, Girona, Spain
+L'Hotel de Ville - Philippe Rochat, Crissier, Switzerland
Hof van Cleve, Kruishoutem, Belgium
Martin Berasategui, San Sebastián, Spain
Nobu London, London, UK
Can Fabes, Sant Celoni, Catalonia, Spain
Enoteca Pinchiorri, Florence, Italy
+Le Meurice, Paris, France
*Vendome, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany
+Die Schwarzwaldstube, Baiersbronn im Schwarzwald, Germany
Le Calandre, Padua, Italy
Chez Panisse, Berkeley, California, USA
Charlie Trotter's, Chicago, USA
Chez Dominique, Helsinki, Finland
DOM, São Paulo, Brazil (Best in Latin America)
Daniel, New York, USA
Oud Sluis, Sluis, Netherlands
Ristorante Cracco, Milan, Italy
+Asador Etxebarri, Atxondo, Biscay, Spain
Les Ambassadeurs, Paris, France
L'Arpège, Paris, France
+Tantris, Munich, Germany
Oaxen Skärgårdskrog, Oaxen, Sweden
Rockpool, Sydney, Australia
Le Quartier Français, Franschhoek, South Africa (Best in Mid East & Africa)
Note: * New Entry + Re-entry

Readers' Choice: L'enclume, UK

Breakthrough Restaurant: Le Chateaubriand, France

Lifetime Achievement Award: Gualtiero Marchesi

Best in Asia: Bukhara

I was staggered to see how may of these restaurants are in the UK. I'd bet that none of them features "British" cuisine though.

[topjohn5]

The only bitch that's gonna get slapped Topjohn is you if you don't stop changing the topic titles!

BTW, my attire suggestion was only to mean that one should bring something a little more dressy than a t-shirt, shorts, socks and sandals for a night out.
I wan't suggesting you bring a Tuxedo!

(hmmm....Tuxedo....now that's kinky! A little Fred and Ginger?)

Hahahaha! Shall I change it back now to the original subject! Okay, I will......

[kenc]

....With the preoccupation of so many Thai to keep a light skin tone I'm not sure a black condom is the correct bedroom attire choice

hmmm.... I wonder why Buckinaway was so popular then?

[lonelywombat]

....With the preoccupation of so many Thai to keep a light skin tone I'm not sure a black condom is the correct bedroom attire choice

hmmm.... I wonder why Buckinaway was so popular then?

Size?????

[Wesley]

[ if the suit is for sex then fine

Do you often have sex while wearing a suit, Wesley? Is this in public toilets during your lunch time?

No my dear...! He said his friend in the Philippines , on the second part of his journey wanted to tear the suit off him, suggestign some suit fettish, I was suggesting it is much to warm here for a formal suit of any kind.

As to what is good for Thailand to wear, I still think 501's and a nice polo shirt is good, but maybe I have gotten lax over the years.

I can never remember having sex in a toilet. I guess it could be fun. Tell me how it was and I'll let you know if I would like to try it.

Wes