When was I there?  Friday, November 18 around 11 a.m.

What  I liked about this restaurant: My wife I decided to meet up for lunch before she went to work and I liked this particular restaurant because it didn’t take forever to get our seat and, since it was a buffet, we were able to start eating right away. This is was very important because I only had an hour for lunch and she had to be at work in about an hour.

The service at the restaurant was fantastic. Our waitress checked on us a couple of times and made sure our drinks were re-filled. We also didn’t have to wait for them to bring us our bill (something I can’t say about some other restaurants here in town and something that would have been a bad thing considering we were in a hurry).

As far as the food goes, I have no complaints. It tasted decent and our lunch wasn’t too much more expensive than what we would have spent at a fast food restaurant (plus we got quite a bit of food for our money).

What I didn’t like about this restaurant: We got there just as they started serving lunch and, as a result, their buffet was actually almost completely empty when we went up to it the first time and wasn’t a full buffet until we went up a third time. I’m going to give them the benefit of the doubt on this though because I think they let us get our food a few minutes before they officially started serving lunch.

Final Opinion: I have a choice of three Chinese restaurants here in town and this is still my favorite of the three for the reasons I stated above.

At Sagar Indian Chinese restaurant we recreate the magic of Indian Chinese cuisine at its original best, featuring the artistic culinary cultures of India & China that will take you down the course of losing yourself in the exotic flavors of the world famous Indian Chinese cuisine. As you enter the restaurant you will be wowed by the contemporary vibrant interior and themed spaces that have been designed with subtle elegance and style to suit a variety of tastes, moods and occasions. The Dining Lounge offers an exquisite setting and is perfectly ideal for all those who want to dine in a private and amidst formal atmosphere.

Sagar Indian Chinese restaurant caters for all occasions; whether it is a small gathering or a large event, rest assured that your special occasion will be handled in a friendly and professional manner. Besides that when it comes to value and good food Sagar Chinese lives up to its image and is ideal for casual dining serving Indian & Indo-Chinese cuisine to kindle your taste buds. The expertise of our chefs and the delectable cuisine made from the freshest ingredients and finest spice combinations enables us to offer you with a culinary experience like no other.

Come, explore and enjoy an unforgettable culinary experience at Sagar Indian Chinese restaurant. We are open 7 days a week.

Contact Information:

Sagar Chinese

87-47 Homelawn Street (169 St. & Hillside Ave)

Jamaica, NY 11432

Phone: 718-657-3333, 718-657-3334

WEB: www.sagarchinese.com

Throughout southern China cats are considered a delicacy and the furry dishes are served up in restaurants at high prices, primarily to the middle classes.

Pussy soup is a particular favorite; cat meat is boiled in water along with orange skin, parsley and herbs, and then served in large pots.

Western society believes the eating of cats to be vulgar and inhumane.

However, while cats are domestic animals throughout the West, this is not the case in China and large parts of Asia where they are mainly wild animals and thus seen by many as a legitimate food source.

And while numerous animal rights groups have been campaigning vigorously to have the eating of cats banned throughout China there is as yet no law or legislation preventing the eating of pussy.

           Of course you and I know the answer but anyway, the food that people ingest willingly and knowingly, be it  human foetus soup, monkey brain or fried locusts, although I am very opinionated about it,  does not make the subject of this article.  I am concerned more with the food we think we are eating when we dine out and what turns out to be.    Did you ever face difficulties in persuading your cat to eat ready to cook hamburger? I personally didn’t succeed.  I was dead-curious to know why, what my Pamela senses into the hamburger, so I made friends with a biochemist, had hamburger take-away and waited anxiously for the result:  E930,  E 509, E415, E 412, E 282, E 281, E202 and many other chemicals and ingredients that would be more fit for androids than they are for human beings.  Rest assured that I don’t have anything against junk food in particular but

against the (g)astronomic lies we pay for, not only with our money but with our health too and sometimes it costs us our lives. 

           Delicious Chinese dinner out? Think again.  If you have a heart condition do not watch the following videos and links.  For me s a display of cruelty to animals and a sin; for others, it just describes the steps to prepare a “delicious”  meal.  Bon appetit? Don’t hurry to pat yourself on the back and say you can’t be fooled, because “Cooked rats actually look pretty good”  No, I am not paranoiac, but you can never be suspicious enough in these hard times.  I listened to many first hand confessions of people working  (even if temporarily) in the industry, and not only in NO NAME restaurants but in very notorious ones too.  I bet you never thought of counterfeit eggs either. But they ARE FACT as everything that I warn you about is.

          My solution?  Either “mistakenly” access the selected restaurant’s kitchen before you order, have long term spies inside or don’t eat out at all. You could pick from the Internet any recipe you like and, if you want to take a break from cooking one meal, with the same money that you would have dined out, buy its ingredients then hire someone to cook it and serve it for you in your own terrace or in a location of your choice rented by hour.  It is much more worth your good appetite.

Note: I am NOT this crazy, I made that for dramatic effect… My lists are more like this:

But, those are just average day-to-day lists. What I’m talking about is a ridiculous list. One with goals, dreams, and aspiration for the extended-but-near future, usually 1-4 months give or take. This is the one where you write down everything you have been telling yourself you’re going to get done plus all the stuff you really wish you could get done and organize it…and if you’re me make it pretty and colorful. I freaking love coloring…but that is another story… So you make you’re giant list with goals like “Work out everyday”, “Get taxes done”, “Write the great American Novel”, “Finish my pile of books that have amassed” and other lofty goals.

Then the amount of time elapses. You maybe get to cross 30-50% of the things off your list. Mostly the ones like: “Get blackout drunk on New Years” and “Try a new dish at Chang’s Chinese Takeout.” So basically your list becomes a carefully documented recording everything you didn’t do. It is physical proof of your laziness, your failure, your epic lack of awesomeness. So the beautifully crafted, carefully thought out, amazingly thourough itemization of to-dos becomes pure evil, because lists are more addictive and possibly just as destructive than meth will every be. So you wallow in despair for a while, and then make another list. This time it maybe be a little easier on your ego.

Moral: Drugs are bad. Lists are worse, but the high is oh so good.

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 There is no healthful or essential epicurean benefit to be derived from eating Shark Fin Soup other than the prestige of stroking one’s own sense of self-importance in public eateries. It is merely a visible and outward sign of wealth, prosperity and power to dine upon this so-called delicacy which incidentally, has no flavor of its own. Shielded from the consumer who knows nothing of how it is harvested, it reeks a foul stench of bloody death and wanton environmental disregard. Anyone that wants some rarefied and esoteric gastric experience to stroke their sense of self-importance should stick to something not so destructive to the planet, something like bird’s nest soup. That is another traditional oriental soup and by the way, it is considered to be the most expensive animal product in the world. It is just seaweed and bird saliva, chiseled from the side of a cliff.

We’re allowing millions of sharks to be killed each year for just a few pounds each of fin, and wasting the rest! We’re killing the oceans by decimating this top-level predator. I won’t go into some feigned bunny-hugger diatribe of ‘leave the pretty sharks alone, live & let live,’ and ‘have you hugged a shark today’ speech, for I eat meat. I love seafood too. I know some cultures and persons use personal choice in favor of a vegetarian or even stricter vegan existence. That’s fine with me. I am against the eating of over-hunted, endangered species and vehemently against it in those cases where the prey is slaughtered in the deplorable manner such as this. This is admonishable with its unregulated and wasteful tendencies. Maybe if the harvests were regulated and the product was used responsibly and wholly, I might consent that it is, maybe, okay. I have had shark steaks before recall enjoying it. I was assuming that the entire shark was used for food. Shark Fin Soup does not meet even that requirement. In fact, quite the opposite!

Shark Fin Soup, A Ming Dynasty Tradition

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Shark’s Fin Soup is a popular item served at Chinese banquets, weddings and is a luxury item. Serving it symbolizes prestige and affluence. The fin of the shark is a cartilaginous material, and it is only the pectoral and dorsal fins used for this soup product. The rest of the shark although edible if soaked in salt water to remove the high urine content, is deemed to be of a quality not worth taking up space in the cargo hold and is discarded back into the sea. Here is the waste. This is food, wasted. If this were to be used, the need or desire of the most coveted parts might be reduced meaning fewer sharks need be taken. There can be a balance. There could be a cullable number of sharks that can be safely and responsibly taken and still maintain healthy oceans.

More Shark Fin Soup

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Eww! WTF is this nasty-looking putrid stuff? Looks like Won-Hung-Lo or Cream of Sum-Yung Guy. Take it away! -Yuck! That is Shark Fin Soup and this is the quintessential subject of this rant. Don’t eat this stuff! Don’t buy this stuff. Avoid Shark Fin Soup. Protest its sale wherever you see it. Anyone that uses or consumes this product is supporting the extinction of the shark specie worldwide and that makes them part of the problem. Your silence is part of the problem. Speak up, just say NO to Shark Fin Soup! We will all share in the tragedy if these top-level predators of the world’s oceans become extinct.

Shark Fins on Display

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Shark Fins for sale, for making soup. It is just cartilage. That is all that the shark fin is. There is nothing powerful or magical here. You do not reap the prowess of the shark by eating its fin, penis or any other part of this or any other animal. Accept that and stop this abuse.

Conservationist’s Warning

A large part of the trade in shark fin come from a process called “finning,” -the cutting off of the fins of living sharks which are often still alive and they are cast back into the sea to either suffocate due to inability to move or swim, or be ravaged by other sharks that sense the blood. Millions of sharks each years die to satiate the growing appetite for Shark Fin Soup. Chinese New Year marks the highest demand for it. This appalling practice must stop.

What if the Sharks Disappeared?

Shark attacks on humans number about 100 worldwide annually, resulting in about 10 human deaths. We humans kill a staggering number of sharks annually mostly for their fins. The World Conservation Union states the number of sharks killed range from the 38-million to as high as 70-million+ sharks each year are taken for their prized fins. Sharks have FAR more to fear from us than we from them. And what if sharks disappeared from the world’s oceans entirely? Some sharks eat rays and skates, a form of bottom-dweller that eats clams and scallops. If the number of sharks decline, the alpha-predator of oceans, -the number of skates and rays would probably increase meaning more clams and scallops are being consumed. Think about that. Clam chowder may be the next endangered item on the menu.

Sharks are the cleaning stewards of the oceans; this top-level predator helps to keep the sea ecosystem in check. The clean-up dead and injured creatures. Predators are required.

Already, we are seeing increasing numbers of rays and skates which are, as stated. shellfish eaters. Their abnormal increase of numbers means that more clams and other shellfish are going to be consumed by their rising numbers. Clam harvests are starting to show decline. If we lose the sharks of the world’s oceans we will lose clams, scallops and other common marine shellfish too. We need sharks in the ocean to keep the balance.

Health Benefits from Shark Fin Soup?

No, not really, From the web site sharkfinsoup.ca comes this quote:

“….After many years of scientific study what has actually been discovered is scientists have found the sharks are contaminated with mercury, lead, PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) and other highly toxic poisons.

As well many people have said sharks don’t get cancer, well yes they do. Scientists again have proven that sharks do get cancer and get many malignant tumors and cancerous lesions….”

Shark fins may have once been ‘pure’ or safe to eat but their contamination should not be the only reason to stop eating this product. It is the cruel, ruthless and inhumane the way that we acquire the shark product in question. With the recent rise in general Chinese wealth, there has been a rapid increase in the desire for this once rarefied delicacy. The worldwide shark population is stated to have been reduced by some 90% due to irresponsible over-harvesting for human needs and wants, namely, finning practices have had the greatest impact.

Here in Canada, the Humane Society International has been targeting diners and restaurants here in the city of Toronto, informing them of the dangers decreasing sharp populations and of the cruelties in procuring the Shark Fins for the coveted Soup. They sought and continue to seek raised awareness by handing out brochures at this year’s Chinese New Year Parade. Probably most people are unaware that shark populations are rapidly declining and what this means for the health of the world’s oceans. The fact that the product is still available and on menus of high-end restaurants makes matters worse. For if it is available, the assumption seems to be that it is okay.

It was just reported that the food distributor Loblaw’s and Great Canadian Superstores have acquiesced to pressure from awareness groups and have stopped selling shark fin soup in its store. Let’s applaud this decision and if you shop there, mention your support of these boycott actions. -Shark Fin Soup? –Say, NO MORE!