Let's Eat Here!

Central Park Picnic

2011-06-28T10:38:00.001-07:00

There's nothing better than a picnic on a shaddy day with your friends and family. Especially my friends, who all love to cook and eat. We always end up being the envy of the picnic scene... :)

Here's what we had:

- fried chicken wings
- buffalo wings
- vietnamese sandwiches (mine!)
- mortadella and liverwurst sandwiches
- fruit salad
- brownies
- chips and pretzels...

Another dinner party...

2011-06-01T10:39:00.000-07:00

Grilled shrimp salad with blood orange vinaigrette

Skirt salad with chimichurri sauce

Five Spice Braised Goose

2011-06-01T08:03:00.000-07:00

Does anything smell better than braising a goose? ok, maybe roasting a duck... or searing a steak... ok, fine. meat + heat = heaven!!

This is a very Shanghainese dish, my mom learned it from my grandmother and I learned it from her. The recipe is shockingly simple, perhaps because the goose is naturally so flavorful or that everything tastes good braised.

I will come back and post the recipe soon, but in the meantime, here are the sides I served with it. Yes, we eat a lot for two people.

Shiitake mushrooms with bok choy and shrimp tofu stew

Seafood paella....

Venetian Seafood Salad

2011-06-01T07:56:00.000-07:00

I loved, loved this dish from Osteria Morini. So I finally had a chance to recreate this amazing dish my memory and a little googling!

Here's the recipe copied word for word from Food Network, of course I edited some parts and added a few others the way Morini had it.

Ingredients

For the seafood and poaching liquid:

1 celery stalk
1 medium carrot
1 small onion, halved
1 bay leaf
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 quarts water
1 pound cleaned calamari, cut into 1-inch-thick rings
1/2 pound sea or bay scallops, foot removed
1 pound medium to large shrimp
1 pound octopus

For the salad:

1 cup julienned tender celery
1 cup julienned carrots
1/2 cup seeded and julienned red bell pepper
1/2 cup seeded and julienned yellow bell pepper
1 scallion (white part only), julienned
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 2 lemons) or lime juice (about 3 limes)
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
6 to 8 cups baby lettuce

Directions

To poach the seafood, you will need a large saucepan fitted with a colander insert. In the bottom of the pan, combine the celery, carrot, onion, bay leaf, lemon juice, salt, and water. Bring to a boil.

Place the calamari in the colander and cook in the simmering water for 2 minutes. Remove from the water, transfer to a large bowl, and set aside. Place the scallops in the colander and cook until opaque, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the water and transfer to the bowl with the calamari (large sea scallops may be cut in half horizontally after cooking; bay scallops may be left whole). Place the shrimpin the colander and cook until pink, about 3 minutes. Remove from the water. Peel, devein, and cut in half horizontally, adding them to the bowl with the calamari and scallops.

Remove the colander from the pan and place the octopus directly in the saucepan, adding more water if necessary to completely cover. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and gently simmer until tender, about 40 to 50 minutes. Transfer the octopus to a bowl and rinse under cold running water until octopus is completely cooled, about 5 minutes. Use your fingers and a small paring knife to remove the outer skin. Discard the hard mouth and head sac. Cut the tentacles and octopus on the bias into 1-inch pieces and add to the bowl with the other seafood.

To prepare the salad, toss the julienned celery, carrots, bell peppers, scallion, parsley, basil, and garlictogether in a serving bowl. Add the seafood and toss. Add the lemon juice, vinegar, and olive oil and toss well. Season with the salt and generous grindings of pepper. Arrange 1 cup of lettuce on each serving plate. Top with equal portions of the seafood and vegetable mixture, and serve immediately.

Variations: 6 to 8 steamed mussels may be added to the basic recipe and tossed with the other seafood. To extend the recipe and add a new texture dimension, 1/2 cup cubed, peeled, cooked Idahopotatoes and/or 1/2 cup cooked or canned (drained and rinsed) cannelini beans may be added to the basic recipe. Although it isn't traditional, I like this salad with a hint of chopped cilantro, about 2 teaspoons.

Sake Steamed Wild Pheasant

2011-06-01T07:45:00.000-07:00

Isn't that beautiful? There is no doubt that wild game is always more delicious than commercially raised game... everyone knows that. But what's the best way to get the most flavor from that tasty bird? The Chinese believe it is with a gentle steam in the universal four (qual-fecta) umami producing ingredients: ginger, scallion, smoked ham and shiitake mushrooms. Doesn't that already sound great? :)

Being me, I also added a little sake and a tea spoon of sugar to bring together all the flavors! Yum!

Ingredients:

1 pheasant (approx. 1 pound)

1-2 tbsp of sake

1 ounce of salted, smoked ham

1 ounce of ginger

1 ounce of scallion

3-4 shiitake mushrooms, sliced

pinch of salt and pepper (don't overdo it, the ham is salty!)

1 tasp of sugar

stuff the ham, scallions, ginger and mushrooms inside the bird and scatter the remaining on top. pour the sake, sugar and s&p all over the bird. steam in low heat for 90-120 minutes.... perfect as the most luxurious midnight snack.

Yup, it's amazing!

2011-05-19T07:52:00.000-07:00

Seafood pan fried noodles at Amazing 66

My favorite roast chicken with preserved veggies
and beef short ribs on a hot skillet

Dinner Party!

2011-05-13T10:58:00.000-07:00

Another fabulous dinner in a beautiful Central park apt... :)

broccoli and cheetos a la Park Ave (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter)

Bacon crusted pork burger with beet and celery relish and air fried sweet potato fries...

Crab Two Ways: steamed and crab roe with tofu stew

2011-05-10T07:31:00.001-07:00

Don't you love Asian restaurants that take an item and executive it multiple ways? They were the original innovators!

So here's my version of crabs two ways: steamed then crab roe with tofu stew

Steamed is a favorite for purists, steamed until barely cooked. in some places the fresh is still like sashimi... not my cup of tea but then again I am a carnivore! :)

Crab roe with tofu stew is a widely popular Shanghainese dish. But ridiculously time consuming. The reason I steamed first is so I could pick out all the claw meat for the stew, but what truly made this dish amazing is the crab roe... so umami!!

Another weekend meal

2011-05-10T07:20:00.001-07:00

Cold soba noodles is one of my favorite summer time meals. From the moment I first had it at Soba Totto, I was shocked how some simple noodles with a soy-based sauce can be so delicious!

Imagine my excitement when I found out I can make this at home! To serve with the soba, some cold cucumber salad (not pictured), baked chicken wings (I steam then bake to eliminate some of the grease), and steamed maryland crabs.

Simple. Light. Delicious. Happiness.

Osteria Morini

2011-04-30T12:54:00.000-07:00

Osteria Morini opened a year ago, I went twice the first month and LOVED it! I haven't been back since, there are just too many great restaurants in NY...

So it was great to go back to an old favorite last Friday. We walked in at 6:30pm, the place was already half packed but we were lead to a table in the center of the restaurant right away. No wait, check!

We (I) decided to start with two appetizers, and share a pasta dish and an entree...

Appetizer course:
Mare $12
adriatic style seafood salad, olives, lemon, and capers

Fegatini $13
duck liver mousse, passito wine and grilled crostini

Pasta course:
Garganelli $19
pasta quills, batterkill cream, truffle butter and proscuitto

Entree course:
special of the day - grilled lmab should blades

See top. God, this was one of the best lamb chops I ever had, juicy, flavorful, lamby and soo soo tender!

Antipasta Dish

2011-04-28T08:23:00.000-07:00

I love tapas, appetizers, antipasta, snacks, small plates, sharings....etc

Basically I like variety. That's why I love the Hot & Cold appetizer platter at Uncle Nick's Ouzaria in Hell's Kitchen.

This thing has a ton of stuff going on: grilled shrimps, olives, grilled sausages, feta salad, grilled zucchini and eggplant, calamari and shrimp seafood salad, grilled chicken, potato salad, spinach pie, stuffed grape leaves, pickled peppers, 3 bean salad... almost all my favorite foods!

Red Cooked Pork

2011-04-24T13:29:00.001-07:00

There's no dish more famous in Shanghai than Red Cooked Pork, yes, the name in translation is horrible. But what can you do? At least the dish tastes good.

Red Cooked Pork is the dish that any self-respecting Shanghainese housewife knows how to cook. And there are so many variations and every family has it's own thing. Kinda like how fried chicken is treated in the South.

Anyway, the basic includes:

pork bellies
lite soy sauce for taste
dark soy sauce for color
rock sugar for the caramelized sugary, savory taste
ginger and scallion

that's it.

Now, there are always ways to improve upon the classic... why not add fried tofu to absorb some of that porky good sauce? and traditionally eggs are also added to stretch the meal and also provide a different texture contrast. But eggs can be boring and they are huge so that means the flavor never really reach the center. So why not add quail eggs? Who doesn't love quail eggs? They are so poppable, just like pringles!!

Being me, I also added some sake to bring out the heavenly scent of meat cooked with wine... now THAT'S love.

Trestle on Tenth

2011-04-24T09:45:00.000-07:00

Restaurants are a funny thing. There are moments where everything is perfect, the chef is at top of his game, the wait staff is not hurried and can dedicate just the right amount of attention to you, and most importantly, you order precisely the right thing for you at the right time. The last part is where so many ppl run into problems, and who can blame them? It's hard to order precisely the right appetizer to share, with the right entree catered to that individual's precise desire at that moment and not to mention the right amount of food... so that's why I love it during those rare moments when everything turns out perfectly... precisely perfectly. :)

Trestle on Tenth is one of those restaurants that I really enjoy - affordable, neighborhoody and relaxed. I happily go there versus Daniel or Per Se (more on those later).

To start we shared a simple country pate, so shockingly good at just $5. Picture on Top

Then it was crispy Belgium waffles with caramelized apples and maple syrup creme for me... $10.50

And Leg of Lamb with morels, fingerling potatoes and two eggs, sunny side up $16... he definitely won today's who-ordered-the-best-dish contest

Broiled Vietnamese Pork chops

2011-04-21T08:03:00.000-07:00

I love Vietnamese food! And I don't care what anyone says, NY has pretty decent viet food. Yes, I have been to Houston and Cali... whatever, I like my pho here!

And I love the grilled pork chops, they were actually an obsession in college, I used to drive (or make someone else drive) for hours so I can get some pork chops and spring rolls. hell yeah!

So why not make them at home? If you can't bbq (and who can in manhattan?) broiling is the next best thing. So I pounded the porkchops (very shanghainese thing to do) and then marinaded my porkchops in:
lemongrass
lemon juice
garlic
onion
salt
pepper
brown sugar
regular sugar
honey
sake
and finally vietnamese fish sauce (eww! haha)

To serve with that, sauteed belanchan with garlic:

And caramelized shrimps. Btw, this is my favorite way to cook shrimps, imagine all that soy sauce, sugar, ginger, scallions and sake reduced down to an intense, finger-licking, kick ass sauce... and that's what you got

Crispy, Salt & Pepper Shanghainese Duck

2011-04-17T18:44:00.000-07:00

When I was growing up, this was my favorite duck preparation - salty, peppery, steaming hot and soo sooo crispy out from the fryer!

To me this beats peking duck any day. And today this is still my favorite preparation for duck for the following reasons:
1. the duck was steamed first so majority of the oil is already gone
2. it's been marinaded in roasted szechwan peppers, five spices, black & white peppers, salt, cinnamon, clovers, garlic, ginger and scallion. If all those thing don't give it enough flavor, it was also steamed in quality sake.... mhmmmm
3. once steamed, it's left to dry for hours in order to promote extreme crispy skin
4. the residual oil is fantastic for sauteed spinach or roast potato

Now I know the traditional dish is meant to be deep fried. But I live in Manhattan with a small (actually bigger than most, but still small compared to suburban standards) kitchen and the idea of deep frying and then getting rid of the oil is a pain in the ass. Plus, why introduce more oil when my danko oven is perfectly capable of reducing even more of the oil left in the duck with a quick broil?

And to serve with it, caramelized brussel sprouts with lardons...

Surf & Turf

2011-04-16T15:18:00.000-07:00

After a busy week, there's nothing better than an elaborate spread. For those weekly highlights, there's no where better to shop than Whole Foods. Don't get me wrong, I hate spending a Whole Paycheck there as much as anyone, but I have to admit they have the best quality meat and seafood in Manhattan.

So when I saw the Bone In Ribeyes on sale for $10.99, I knew I had to get one. And for the Surf, a huge bag of perfectly clean, plump and unbelievably fresh mussels.

Look at that! So pretty and pink!

My fool-proof method:
salt (like there's no tomorrow)
sear (2 minutes each side)
broil (4 minutes on 450+ degree oven)
butter (like it's god's gift to steak, cause it is!)
rest (for at least 5 minutes)
carve (this is very important, most ppl don't know how to cut a good piece of steak and will mutate it with their ridiculous dull butter knife. Better do it for them)

On to the mussels! Remember my little kitchen secret? a bottle of sake... that's all this recipe needs. That, and:

2 cloves of diced garlic
half a medium onion, also diced
a few ounces of slab bacon, again diced
half a ripe tomato, diced
a bunch of parsley

brown the bacon first, then take it out and add the garlic and onion to the flavored oil. After 5 minutes, add the tomato and cook until they are all one big happy family. Then add a cup of sake (very important to use a good sake and a lot of it). once the alcohol has burned off, add the mussels, cook for another 5 minutes with the lid on and then sprinkle with the parsley and bacon before serving. yum!!

No meal is complete with veggies... and why make regular veggies when you can broil portabella mushrooms in the steak juice?

Crab Season!

2011-04-11T06:47:00.000-07:00

I love crabs!

I love carbs!

I love crabs and carbs together!

So from March to October is crab season in the east coast, when I was growing up this always the time where I would go to a pier off of Suffolk county and catch me some blue crabs! I would get up at 5am, drag my unwilling accomplice with me and spend a good 6-8 hours line-pulling in dozens of crabs. Fun! Fun! Fun!

My favorite way to enjoy them is crab two ways: 1. steam the shells with all that yummy roe for 2-3 minutes and enjoy with just a little vinegar and ginger (think the soup dumpling sauce) 2. sauteed the crabs in ginger, scallion, sake, soy sauce and sugar with rice cakes. The rice cakes absorb all the flavors of the crabs, it's freaking amazing!

Of course, I can't just stop at crabs, we need appetizers!

Marinated mushrooms in hoisin sauce

Sauteed broccoli with roasted garlic:

Braised ham hock

Weekend Meals

2011-04-11T06:29:00.000-07:00

The more I get into cooking, the more I want to forgo the restaurant experience and stay home to create something all my own. It's getting to the point where I only go to restaurants for new inspirations. Great for his wallet, not so good for my workload :)

Weekend dinners are where I love to spend 3, 4, sometimes 8 hours creating something really elaborate. The standard Chinese meals always consist of multiple courses; veggie, meat, seafood and usually a soup. That's what I tried to do, so here's a typical saturday night meal:

Curry chicken with potatoes is a very typical Shanghainese meal, every mom I know makes it

Roast pig from Ctown, sometimes I cheat a little and buy some prepared food to supplement the meal, I really wish there were more places there I can easily pick up more prepared/appetizer food

Sauteed string beans with roast garlic... yum!

Lastly, Asians really believe in the healing power of soup. My mom has been telling me all about the ying and yang of food types since I can remember. Truth be told, that's not why I make soup, I make soup because it doesn't feel like a complete Chinese meal until I have had something savory burning down my throat

Weekend Breakfast

2011-04-09T15:14:00.001-07:00

I used to love making breakfasts in the morning, but that was when schedules actually allowed that luxury. Now the elaborate breakfasts are reserved for weekends only. I try to do it at least once every weekend... there always seem to be other obligations over those short two days.

Anyway, one of his favorite comfort food is congee. In every Asian country, there is always a variety of congee and people love it for it's hearty, warm, comforting feel. That's probably why it's sometimes considered the chicken soup of Asia.

Here's a bone marrow congee I made over a 3 days process. Day 1: parboil and clean 3 pork joints, make sure to get the ones with as much bone marrow as possible. Once clean, simmer the bones in a stock pot for 3-4 hours with ginger, scallion, sake and salt. My mom always use wine when cooking meat so I buy one of those huge bottles of sake and add it to everything. That's my little kitchen secret. Day 2: skim off the fat on top of the stock Day 3: shimmer with rice ( i prefer short grain rice) for 2-3 hours.

The end results:

Of course you can't have something that healthy and soft without anything that's crunchy and greasy! Here's my pan fried Chinese dumplings. If you take the B/D trains to Grand Street, there is a supermarket across from the train station that sells literally dozens of variety of Chinese dumplings. One of my favorite mixture is celery and pork (seriously, it's better than the garlic chives and pork that every dumpling stall serves). This is also the simplest preparation: a non-stick pan with a drizzle of oil, fry the dumplings for 30 seconds until you see the dark brown bottoms and then add a cup of water and place the lid on the pan immediately. By the time, the water boils out, the dumplings will be frying in the residual oil in the bottom of the pan and you will get amazing results like these:

Homemade Xo Sauce

2011-04-06T12:54:00.000-07:00

I recently went to dinner at a friend's apt. She served bbq ribs with asparagus and chorizo as a side. Just as we were sitting down, she jumped up and said "I have the PERFECT condiment to go with the ribs". I couldn't believe it when she brought out the homemade XO sauce. Other than the freebie at Dim Sum Go Go (which is quite good FYI), I have never had XO sauce. I kinda always thought it was a gloppy, brown, Cantonese sauce. Well, her's was brown, but definitely not gloppy. It was actually a deep mahogany saute of dried shrimps, herbs, lemongrass, chilies, fish sauce and a million other things!

The very next day I went to ctown in search of ingredients to make my own. I love culinary challenges and this is one I am especially proud of. However, knowing that I never follow a recipe, I might never be able to make this again. Haha!

Start with finely dicing dried scallops, shrimps, bird's eye chillis, garlic, lemongrass and shallots. It helps to have a sous chef :)

Start sauteing everything together. You are gonna be doing this for a while...

Until it looks like this:

Final product:

Better than the version at Dim Sum Go Go, and much, much more affordable.

Weekday meals

2011-04-04T09:02:00.000-07:00

I have been getting in the habit of cooking up a storm for my weekday meals. Work is currently going through a slow period to why not take advantage of the situation? :)

Meal #1
Pernil, avocado and apple salad, spanish rice

Meal #2
Baked chicken wings, sauteed Chinese broccoli and fried prawns in garlic, ginger and scallions

It's been years...literally!

2011-04-03T17:53:00.000-07:00

So obviously I have a ton of catching up to do... let's start with Super Bowl 2011...

Since the Cowboys weren't in the Super Bowl, the only thing I was interested in this year was the food. And the food was amazing! For those who have been to Anthos before it closed, an amazing Greek restaurant in Midtown, it is known for the lamb burgers and it is well deserved. The burger was juicy, meaty, smokey, all the adjectives a burger should have and then some. I was devastated when they closed, but thank god there's a recipe for the lamb burger on Saveur.

Here's the prep, this is one of the few times I have ever followed a recipe word for word. Well, almost :)
And here's the final product, I decided to serve these babies on a toasted mini potato roll with baby spinach and caramelized onions...

What's next? Ahhh, V-Day!

I generally hate going out on V-day: overpriced, mediocre food. I feel the same way about restaurant week. So this year, I decided to stay in and do a seafood boil. Who says you can't have a seafood boil in a manhattan apartment? Especially when lobsters are $7.99 a pound in ctown.

For appetizer, I served a salmon sashimi and avocado cerviche... with homemade cumin pita chips... I pretty much got full just from that!

For entree, I boiled a massive pot of lobster, shrimps, crabs, baby red potatoes, keilbasa and topped everything off with browned butter and cilantros...mmmmhhhhhh!!!

And here's the aftermath. I supplied the food. He supplied the roses. :)

the absinthe gummi bear at tailor

2008-06-09T15:55:00.000-07:00

when i told my friend about tailor's absinthe gummi bears, his eyebrows went up. he loves gummi bears, so this seemed to speak directly to the kid in him -- on a totally adult level. with absinthe being so taboo historically and culturally, how clever to serve it up in such an innocuous way. we were both very curious: was it really absinthe? would we be able to taste it? would it make us sick or dizzy or high or...something? would we even like it?

as it turned out, it was as wonderfully decadent and delectable as i thought it would be. more on that in a minute.

finding the place was no problem. it wasn't in the trendier pocket of soho for eateries, which threw me off. there weren't necessarily a lot of hipsters there, either. hm. maybe we beat the rush. the new york times review only gave them one star -- a good rating. i could care less about things like ratings because i eat where ever i like. but a rating that isn't raving is enough to put off people who eat at certain places because their favorite reviewer in the times told them about it. it wasn't very likely that those people would be at this place.

and oh yes, they're pricey. upon closer examination of the menu, we realized that this place was for those who enjoy a little experimentation with texture and taste combines, with a chef (sam mason) that clearly likes to walk on the wild side. and that doesn't necessarily mean foodie -- or downtown new yorker. in my world, this place is for a special occasion -- a moment when the food should be as much of an event as whatever it is that i'm celebrating. but that's me. i couldn't eat there every night because i simply couldn't afford it.

that being said, here it is:

when we got there, the place was full so our lovely hostess pointed us downstairs to the bar which was old-school perfect: dark woods, a marble bar, comfortable low seating, all kinds of bitters. and here's the kicker: bartenders really know what they're doing and who take the time and effort necessary to make your cocktail by hand. my friend was a downtown nyc bartender/bar manager for years; nothing rocks his world and he was suitably impressed. we decided to sit at the bar. great idea. we got a really cool bartender named adam who was very knowledegable, made great suggestions, answered my stupid questions and was friendly without being intrusive. i decided that i'd come back when he was working there. my blackgrrl rule #1 for eating out: have your own people everywhere you go. that way, you are always assured of excellent service and you can overtip with confidence.

i had that delicious, wonderfully inventive little gummi bear concoction with a shot of espresso, first thing. just perfect. there was the tang of anise at first, and then there was that overwhelming licorice taste that reminded me of childhood candy run amok. and then something more -- but the tiny little bear could only give up so much. our mixologist adam cautioned that if we ate a small bowl of them, we would definitely feel the heat. maybe next time.

seemed a shame to have coffee without dessert, so we ordered two -- and were pleasantly surprised. (sorry, but except for the gummi bear, it was way too dark to take a decent picture of any of these things.) i had the bell pepper cake with cornbread ice cream and sweet pea. loved it! my friend had the mango ravioli with the black rice ice cream with cilantro and coconut. really delicious. neither of these things resembled their descriptions. they were so much better than what i was imagining.

on the cocktail tip, i love teas so i had the mate sour, made with (amongst other things) yerba mate tea, honey and egg whites. i am not a drinker -- i just never developed the palate for it -- and i loved this cocktail. it had depth, and so much flavor i very nearly licked the foam out of the bottom of the glass. my friend had the mushroom margarita, made with fairly amazing dark green huitlacoche mescal. there was so much going on in that little glass -- kind of like that tex avery cartoon where the big burly cowboy says, "make mine red eye, too!" and the bartender has to wear a welding mask and use tongs to give him this explosive little shot glass. yeah. it was something like that.

so good, it was almost trippy. but i guess that's the idea. you're supposed to have this wonderful experience in a place like that. i'm so relieved that we did.

so for dessert and drinks, i give tailor a definite yes. my birthday is at the end of the month so i'll have to get back to you about the food.

the red velvet cupcake at bake my cake, harlem

2008-03-20T20:07:00.000-07:00

yes, it was delicious. no, it's not better than mine.

this was nice and moist, with an irresistable cream cheese frosting that says homemade all over it and the just right tint of fake redness that can only come from dye. not too big and not too small.

oh, yeah. and you know what? call me nutty, but i was expecting walnuts, not pecans.

roast duck with baby bok choy

2008-01-09T20:16:00.000-08:00

my friend went to chinatown and picked up this dinner for the new year, so i wouldn't have to cook. it was lovely: nice and fatty and tender, with crispy crunchy skin that had an irresistable layer of savory grease that makes you involuntarily lick your fingers. the baby bok choy cut the fat just so.

after i took this picture, i wondered if i could drop into my favorite spot in any chinatown anywhere else in the world and pick up a roast duck that was this good.

probably so.

an ode to ny noodletown

2007-12-10T08:25:00.000-08:00

it's never the overdone frou-frou that gets me when i eat out. it's the simple basic things done well that are especially satisfying. especially when they're affordable.

this chinatown spot was a late night favorite when i first came to the city and i was gigging out at all hours. after my GERD was diagnosed and eating late at night became impossible (if i wanted to sing at all), it was a dinnertime must whenever the mood would hit me. nowadays, dating someone who actually lives in the heart of chinatown means that i get to have this way too often.

this is my favorite thing from ny noodletown -- duck rolls. and no, they're not on the menu. i can't even remember how i procured them from any of the waiters because they hardly speak english and i don't think i've ever gone in there with any chinese pals. but once i figured it out, i was hooked. i've never had them as good anywhere else. and believe me -- i've looked.

so crispy, so tasty, so greasy-yummy, with so much flavor -- i usually get two orders, with a nice green vegetable within easy reach. (seriously.)

and then there were three -- jewels, that is. soy chicken, roast duck and roast pork. this could very well be my favorite entree: all of them, such ample servings, hugging each other on this nice thin layer of oyster and soy sauce, with a green chimichurri sauce on the side. the whole thing changes from one bite to the next.

thank God i hardly ever eat alone. my friend is 6'6" and he's always got an appetite, so that usually means that i get to taste a lot.

crepes 2 go, montreal canada

2007-11-26T20:30:00.000-08:00

we tromped all over the other end of town looking for coffee and after we found it, we happened upon this homey little place. the last time i had crepes, someone that i was seeing who happened to be from montreal made them for me, so in a way i guess it was appropriate that i have some with my friend.

this was a real treat -- very thin, not too eggy, filled with nutella and then folded over again and stuffed with fresh cold strawberries, then laced with bittersweet chocolate sauce and powdered sugar. amazing.

very simple, really light and easy. like i could eat ten of them, but not really. so far, the best dessert experience of the whole trip.

na brasa, montreal canada

2007-11-22T17:19:00.000-08:00

the first time i came to montreal, i wandered up avenue st. laurent and veered into a portuguese neighborhood that was rife with eateries. i chose the one with the packed and festive patio, a place called bistro duluth. i couldn't have been more on point. the waiter was so sweet and everything was so delicious, i promised myself that if i ever returned, i'd have to eat there again.

so today my friend and i tromped through the snow and freezing rain in search of this lovely little spot. i had no idea where it was. and little did i know that the name had changed to na brasa. after three years, all i could do was wander up the same avenue and hope for some clues here and there. well. believe it or not, we found it. it was the perfect lunch. thank God we split everything. (frankly, my best diet trick is to always let him eat most of our meals. he should anyway because he's so much bigger than me and can burn it off much easier than i can.)

my cardinal rule to eating out: no chicken! why go to a restaurant and order something that you get all the time, anyway? so unfortunately, their infamous marinated specialty was off limits. because we intended to have a foodie dinner, we decided to mix it up on the light side by starting with this:

this is a tapas dish called petisco. it's chourico (much like the mexican chorizo i know so well and love so much, but dried and cooked down), pork (marinated and grilled on its own before it was thrown into this mix), morcela (a kind of portuguese blood sausage -- this one was dense and flavorful, with no fillers like rice) and a soft white cheese (not quite manchego, but close), with a little salad on the side to cut the intensity of the meat. it was the right kind of spicy, with a sauce that demanded to be sopped up with lots of crusty, fresh-baked bread.

and then there was this amazing little treat:

this is called cataplana moda da casa -- basically it's fish with lots of seafood: clams, mussels, shrimp, prawns, calamari and chunks of deboned fish swim amidst a stew-like broth of cilantro, peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, sweet onions and new potatoes. it was like a tomato-based bouillabaise -- complex, flavorful, somewhat spicy, not fishy at all.

my friend ordered a fruity/not so dry glass of white wine that i actually liked. too full for dessert. but i'll make up for that later on tonight.

presse cafe, montreal canada

2007-11-21T16:56:00.000-08:00

i know what you're thinking: it's just a sandwich. but it's not.

it's strange, the way food tastes so much better -- and in the most ordinary places! -- when i leave america. is it because of the good time euphoria that comes with being on the road, away from all that's familiar? is it because the food is generally chemical and pesticide-free? or maybe i'm imagining things.

one bite of this sandwich and i knew it wasn't me.

when the bread is baked by hand in the back of the shop instead of miles away in a factory somewhere and when you're eating the freshest ingredients, it's just better tasting food. it's easy to find this sandwich in the city -- so easy, i take them for granted. but not today.

this was the first snack i'd had all day and it was wonderful. there's the crunch of the fresh bread, giving way to its soft underbelly, and then the salty/savoryness of the paper-thin proscuitto cut with the heft of a thick tomato and crisp greens. and somewhere in there, a bit of thinly sliced bocconcini. something this simple is always such a joy. i can't believe i know people who've never tried it. seriously -- could i ever go back to kraft american cheese and bologna sandwiches on wonder bread, smeared with mayonnaise?

this sandwich (and many others like it) is one of the many ways that new york city has ruined me.

Tia Pol - Oh. My. God.

2007-09-06T20:35:00.001-07:00

Chorizo con Chocolate

palacios chorizo with bittersweet chocolate
$3.5

This is their signature dish. It was almost perfect; toasted banquettes with melted chocolate, covered with slightly spicy chorizo and sprinkled all over with saffron and sea salt. It was so good, we had to order a second round!

Croquetas de Jamón
ham croquettes
$4

This was my attempt at a trendy food image. Will not try that again. Notice how creamy the inside is, it's filled with cheese and little bits of salty Spanish ham. The outside was fried to a perfect crunch, yet not the least bit greasy. Someone in the kitchen had a fry thermometer.

Bocata de Loma Adobado

pork loin, piquillo and tetilla baguette sandwich
$9

I know this is going to be hard to believe, but it actually tasted better than it looked. And it already looked amazing! The tetilla cheese, the pepper, the pork all worked together perfectly! Tia Pol had great bread. Crusty, chewy, WARM! Everything bread should be but seldomly ever pulled together in most restaurants. I would happily eat that sandwich everyday, and for only $9, I could!

Navajas y Almejas

razor clams and cockles
$7

Since the friend I went with is such a meat-a-vore, I wasn't allowed to order any non-meat dishes. I was able to sneak in this little clam dish tho. How can you not order seafood (especially clams) cooked with garlic and white wine? That would just be moronic. And yes, it was great.

Assorted meat Croquettes
$9 (not positive)

That was the only disappointment of the night. The sauce was decent, made up of cream and herbs, can't really go wrong there. The croquettes on the other hand were bland and basically tasted like they came out of Applebee's.

Beef Short Ribs

$15

It is really rare for me to leave a meal and not be able to decide what was the best dish. But this one ranked right up there. First of all, beef? What's not to love? And this was a great piece of beef, flavorful, tender, juicy and the sauce? FABULOUS! It confirmed for me yet again that the best pieces of the meat are the ones close to the bone. And btw, the meat came off the bone with just a little help from my butter knife.

Pinchos Morunos

lamb skewers
$10

You know how some people really love street cart lamb? If you are one of those people, you shouldn't try this dish. It's not meant for you. Because you will never go back to the carts. Why go back to Coney Island when you have been to the Caribbean? The meat was unbelievably fresh and lamby and ridiculously tender. I had no idea lamb can be so tender.

Old School Cantonese in Flushing

2007-09-05T21:12:00.000-07:00

The long awaited first post, I am going to dedicate this to my partner in crime who first dragged my procrastinating behind into this.

I am a firm believer that while you can get a variety of decent Chinese food in Chinatown, Flushing is the place to go for truly good old school Cantonese. And what's more old school than seafood cooked in multiple ways and claypot rice?

Let's get to the good stuff...

Lobster #1 cooked in egg yolk sauce with dried scallops and shrimps

This is by far one of my favorite presentation of any crustaceans. It's actually a variation that you don't find often in the states, the last good version I had was in Shanghai. It an old method of first deep frying the seafood, then baking it in a concoction of salted egg yolk, dried baby scallops and shrimps. It tasted like the ocean on weed.

Lobster #2 cooked in black bean sauce

Some people complain that the flavor of the black beans is a little too strong to compete with the sweetness of the lobster. But personally, I think the salty, murky flavor of the black beans are a perfect contrast to the seafood. THIS should be the next miso and cod!

Chilean Sea Bass in sweet soy sauce

I was actually a little underwhelmed, in a sea (literally) of shellfishes, crustaceans and etc, Chilean Sea Bass in my mind is a pretty generic tasting piece of flesh. It has that subtle, almost milky flavor, but it really does depend on the sauce to fully coax out it's personality. Give me some uni or fresh oyster that can stand up on it's own without any garnish.

Beef Short ribs with chili peppers

Truthfully, beef is hardly ever the highlight of any Cantonese meal. Perhaps it was because pork is the dominant meat in China or perhaps because of the quality of beef served in Chinese restaurants. You are never gonna get waygu lo mein in Chinatown or Flushing. However, short ribs is always the safe choice to go since it can stand up to flash cooking via a wok relatively well. This rendition wasn't half bad.

Rice Casserole with Chinese sausage and frog legs

Next to the lobsters, this was the highlight of the meal! This was the traditional rice casserole with Chinese sausage, duck and pork, however they added frog legs!! The whole dish came in a perfect little claypot with it's own mini-pot of sweet soy sauce. The sauce was dumped into the pot and the lid was placed back on for a few minutes for the soy sauce to be fully absorbed into the rice and to lend even more flavor to the meat and frog legs! The best part was the crispy, slightly burnt rice on the bottom. It's rare for a restaurant to conquer the food-stall version of claypot rice and the high-end preparation of the lobsters.

Red bean soup

No decent Cantonese restaurant would let you leave without some form of "sweet soup" and fruits. And the red bean soup is my favorite. I am usually as giddy as a child when I am offered this treat at the end of a cholesterol laden meal of seafood and meat. Think of red bean as the Chinese fudge. Rich, decadent, comforting and leaves you completely satisfied and warm inside. It's perfect by itself on a cold day. It's even better on ice during the summer. Starbucks should take note.

The 5th Annual Big Apple BBQ Block Party, Madison Square Park

2007-07-01T14:39:00.000-07:00

this was my first time at this urban meat fest. i had fun because my partner in crime had a friend who made her little sister wait in line for the much sought after $100 "bubba fastpass" that lets you officially "cut" in line. we took our time and traipsed through what was there before literally going whole hog, as it were, courtesy of mitchell's pit-cooked bbq from north carolina.

the gentlemen with the straw cowboy hat told me that i was too fine to be denied a thing. so of course i asked for some fresh cooked pork skin for my co-hort and i, at her request. needless to say, that wasn't on the menu and the yankees didn't know to ask for it. so whenever i went back to that table, i got a nice-sized sheet, gratis. who knew i was that cute?

everything was a small sampler that kept you coming back for more. very frustrating. bbq is for poor folks. whoever heard of paying $8 for one rib? and yet, the yankees do it. and gladly.

the crackling made us happy, and there were longer lines elsewhere but i was over the moon when i found southside market and bbq: delicious tender brisket with that oh-so-german elgin county sausage, crackers, a just right slice of longhorn cheese, pickles and not too much sauce on anything. i don't know if i could have been happier: sitting there with that makeshift paper boat in my lap, munching away and letting out a hoot involuntarily every so often, and then after i was halfway through it, i had to declare, to everyone and no one in particular: "now, this is what bbq is supposed to taste like!" in an instant, i was transported back to The Nation's Capital, when eating world class bbq and tex-mex and czech/hill country baked goods was something that i took for granted. it was just that good.

my friend asked me to explain and inbetween mouthfuls, i tried.

texas was settled mostly by german peasants but also swedes and czechs. during world war II, german p.o.w.s were incarcerated in the texas countryside and stayed when the war was over. (they were treated very well by the way: fresh vegetables and fruit to eat, beer to drink, meat, the works. but i digress...) elgin county is considered to be the sausage capital of texas, and southside market has been making sausage for 123 years. so they kind of know what they're doing.

it was more than a little strange, the way this southern thing was brought to the city, like a culinary amusement park, replete with the sights and sounds of another region. it felt imported. and yet in spite of the yankee feeding frenzy and how corporate the set up seemed to be, i left the park feeling more than a little homesick for the southland.