East Village & Beyond

A roundup of the notable eats from the past 2 weeks in NYC. Despite the long commute to work, East Village sure has its charms..especially when it comes to all of the great food. The night before I moved to NYC, I created a spreadsheet of 100+ restaurants/foodtrucks/holeinthewalls that I had to try. Fortunately, I've manage to slowly chip away at the list (while concurrently adding even more).

1) Asian Goodness

Totto Ramen: Spicy ramen with egg + char siu pork, Extra intense ramen with extra pork, egg and other goodies
Prosperity Dumplings: BEST DUMPLINGS I have ever had (and $9 for 50 of them???)
Brick Lane Curry House: Lunch buffet for 10 bucks!

BCD Tofu House: New K-town obsession. Spicy cold noodles and spicy hot tofu :)
Sao Mai: $6 bucks Bah Mihn and Pork Bun.Yummy and one of the cheapest eats in EV.

2) Flushing

Hahm Ji Bach aka the most famous Korean BBQ in Flushing, Queens. Michelin recommended to boot.
Pork Belly & Gal Bi

Li's Noodles, Kung Fu Bubble Tea, Xiao Long Bao from Nan Xiang Dumpling House, Portuguese Egg Tarts from
New Flushing Bakery.

 3) Drinks

Cucumber cocktail, Punch bowls from CienFuegos, happy hour at 10 Degree Bar.

4) Gourmet Fast Food

Crif Dogs Hot Dog
Luke's Lobster Lobster Roll

  
5) Good Old Fast Food

Japadogs: Beef hot dg with spicy mayo, seaweed and other Asian flavors
Mark's: Bacon, regular, and pulled pork sliders & cheese fries

NYC in February

Back to NYC for Valentine's Weekend. Discovered some amazing new eats and returned to some old favorites.

Xiao Long Bao from Joe's Shanghai.

$5 for an entire basket of plump and delicious XLB? Yes Please. Each dumpling is big and juicy and filled with meat. Yums. Ignore the rest of the menu. Sesame chicken and lo mein? Might as well just go to Panda Express.

Chicken & Rice from the Halal Guys

Ah finally I have eaten the "official" chicken & rice from "The Halal Guys". That spicy sauce sure packs a punch. I have finally met my match which was a feat even Han Dynasty failed to accomplish.

Our selection: panna cota & french toast

Last week, we were watching Hitch and suddenly, a restaurant name flashed across the screen: Rice to Riches. Considering the movie is almost 10 years old, I was rather skeptical that the place still existed. But I was so fortunately wrong. The place was packed when we finally trekked our way over to Prince Street. The entire restaurant is devoted to rice pudding and it is delicious. I don't think I've ever eaten rice pudding before, but I am officially in love. Guess what's coming up next on my cooking list?  

New & Improved

Nan Zhou La Mian has gotten a face lift. Bigger store, bigger menu and a new location. My mom and I journeyed over for a quick lunch and opted to order our respective favorites despite the extended menu.

Aromatic Platter of tendons, pig ear and beef

Beef Shaved Noodles

Beef Pulled Noodles

Loving the upgraded camera!

Ramen Bar!

Spicy Pork Ramen w/ Straight Noodles
Miso Ramen w/ Wave Noodles

I've heard a lot of mixed reviews about the new Ramen Bar by 40th and Locust. Maybe I just have low standards for ramen, (I still think Shin ramen is an amazing 2am meal), but I'm a fan of this place. Especially compared to the heavy weights in New York like Ippudo and Momofuku, this place is in terms of relative value and quality is comparative. No its not as good as Ippudo but it is a lot cheaper and it is still pretty good.  I'm particularly fond of the thick broth which I think is crazy flavorful.

Noodles in Paris

Why would I get noodles in Paris of all places you ask? I am in one of the best culinary destinations in the entire world and I opt for the type of no-frills ramen shop that I could easily find in New York.  Well there's sort of a reason to my madness. Sort of.  I was craving noodles.

Many famous diners have come to Higuma including "The Last Samurai"!

Nestled in between a handful of other Japanese and Korean shops, Higuma, is a local and tourist favorite. You can easily tell that it stands out among its competitors from the line of American, French, and Asian patrons spilling out the front door. Can you say Ippudo? It is also one of the cheapest places on the block with a bowl of ramen starting from just 6.5 Euros. I'm pretty sure our cup of hot chocolate cost more than that...

CHECK OUT THAT MASSIVE GYOZA STEAMER

After 6 weeks in Europe without seeing anything that even remotely resembled a noodle shop or dim sum stand, I needed an Asian fix. Finding Higuma on googlemaps was a godsend. The open faced kitchen greets you as soon as you walk in and right away, you see the most efficient gyoza cooker you will ever see in your life: churning out something like 200 gyozas in one go. 

+ Kimchi Ramen with Pork
+ Butter Corn Ramen

Ask V and I and we will pick the cheap bowl of ramen over the plate of foie gras any day. No offense to French cuisine of course. We still love the croissants and eclairs :) 

Lunch @ Noodle Bar

A taste of something somewhat Americanized. Located right by the Cerge building, Noodle Bar is surprisingly popular among locals and college students alike. 

For a place called the noodle bar, the noodles were a bit lack luster and the paid thai needed a lot more spice. 

However, the curry was AMAZING and surprisingly VERY spicy. I'm sure we'll be frequenting this place often so I'll make sure to give the curry an official try on my next visit. 

Going on a weekend trip to Cesky Krumlov tomorrow! Apparently the pubs there are very good according a local source. We might wind up spending a good amount of time inside as it is supposed to snow (AGAIN) for the whole weekend. Can Spring pleasee come already? 

Snapshots

1. The Best of Street Food

Takoyaki Sampler, Curry Fries and Dessert Balls at Maru Global. Hi Jeff!

I took these pictures a few weeks back and after the meal, I realized the pictures were way way too small. You'd think I would learn by now but no. Last week, I went to the Met only to realize I didn't charge my battery so I went home, charged the battery, went out to dinner and realized I forgot the memory card. Sigh. Anyways back to these pictures, I found out that I could put them all into a collage! Maru Global is a specialty takoyaki joint in Philadelphia with made from scratch takoyakis on a takoyaki stove. SO LEGIT. The owner is from Japan and the food is as authentic as it can get when it comes to Japanese street food. They even have a takoyaki hat. 

Takoyaki literally translates into fried/grilled octopus. The octopus (or other seafood) is inside a ball of batter and is served with bonito flakes and Japanese mayo or some other cheesy/glutinous goodness. So so so so good. Googling takoyaki actually turned up a restaurant called Otafuku in the East Village. Guess I'll be going there next weekend!

2. Another Attempt at Dan Dan Mian 

Sauce ingredients: Peanut butter, soy sauce, garlic salt, chili sauce, sesame oil, salt, pepper, szechuan sauce, garlic sauce...might have missed something but that sounds about right. Used same ingredients (minus peanut butter) to cook the meat and added hot chili oil and peppercorns.

MMMMM. I want noodles now.

After looking up the directions to Dan Dan Mian, I realized I had missed about 10 ingredients in my first try. Then I realized, we didn't even have half of the ingredients. At least this attempt was closer but it still resembled noodles with peanut sauce. Hm oh well. At least it was still yummy.

3.Wisconsin!

My dinner...

Connie's dinner...

Forgot to include these pictures from my travels but we went to an adorable little town near Mequon, WI and ran into a cafe when got caught in the rain (which has happened 3 times already in the past week). Seriously, the weather in New York has been so spazztic. Its sunny in the morning and storming at night and then sunny again.

4. Metropolitan Museum of Art - Alexander McQueen Exhibit & Contemporary Art Section

Mcqueen and sitting on the Met steps. What else can you ask for on a Saturday?

As promised, here are some shots of all of the "cultural" activities we have been up to :) The first time we went to the Metropolitan, the line for the Alexander McQueen exhibit was completely overwhelming and we decided to skip the exhibit (poor choice).  Regretting it the moment we got back home, I decided I needed to get back ASAP. Sooo my roommates and I went back on Saturday (when the line was even longer) but we were on a mission. The museum didn't let us take any pictures, but I don't think pictures would have done justice to the exhibit. It was one of the most stunning things I had ever experienced. Now I understand what all of the hype around that guy is. There's also some pictures of the exhibit on the museum website which are lot better than anything I would have taken haha.

5. Cirque de Soleil - Zarkana

I'm surprise I managed to get some decent pictures given the low lighting but some of these are not too shabby.

There are very few things in life where the actual experience lives up to the hype and expectations. Cirque de Soleil definitely falls on that list. The show was absolutely amazing. Everything from the orchestral music, the singing, the acrobats, the set design was perfect. You could feel the suspense and tension in the audience whenever one of the performers flew across the stage or was vaulted into the air.

Whew that was on jam-packed post! Birthday dinner at Hurricane Club forthcoming!

Hellooo New York!

Ok, after a week and a half in New York  - I don't feel 100% lost anymore, its probably closer to 98% but at least that is still an improvement! I wanted to write a bunch of witty stories and insights about my adventures from the last week but its 11:30pm and I have to wake up in 6 hours so I guess I'll have to leave the stories for the weekend. Speaking of which, my roommates and I got tickets for the Cirque de Soleil show on Sunday!!! Maybe I'll turn the next post into a culture-y showcase. Anyways, enjoy the foodie pictures ;)

Dinner at Eatery with J. and L. after J. moved in. The space was really cute and the menu had an interesting Asian vibe to it [complimentary Toasted Black Sesame Chips] (??) I got a quesadilla since I was on a mini cheese crave and the other two got a salad which came with HUGE chunks of Brie cheese on crostini.  Unfortunately the quesadilla was rather underwhelming although the salad sure looked good.  Overall, I have a feeling the restaurant is experiencing a slight identity crisis since the menu's number one item is mac and cheese (at a pseduo-asain restaurant). But then again, I guess that's New York for you.

Fortunately, we did make it to the annual Big Apple BBQ Festival in Madison Square Park despite the rain and wind and coldness. The place was packed but I guess not so packed because we managed to snag some sandwiches in 15 minutes :)

Roasted Pork Shoulder 'wiches with cole slaw. Look at those people shredding the meat! Have you seen people who looked so happy at their job? The stand was called Dinosaur BBQ which apparently is a really famous joint up by Columbia and my roommate (who is from there) was rather pleased by our selection.

Naturally it wouldn't have been a proper Southern BBQ with some proper Southern desserts. The blondie was lacking in flavor (hate to admit it but I think I can make a better one teehee) but the blueberry crumble was AMAZING. I've never been the biggest fan of fruit desserts but this one was pretty darn good.

A brief visit to Soho found us stepping into Mercer Kitchen for a late lunch (at 5pm). Apparently dinner doesn't start till 5:30pm. Huh. Anyways, the place is adorable and all of the waitresses are stunning!

Of course L. got a burger (as per her usual) but nothing wrong with a good burger. Checked out Mercer's website after the dinner and there appears to be a Mercer hotel connected to the kitchen. We did see a library in the back and cafe bar right by the front.

 Pizza with salami, fennel seeds, basil and mozerella and french fries in a clay pot.

Went to Philly last weekend to see my parents and  we went to Nan Zhou for dinner. I finally got to try the Zha Zian Mian (Noodles with Pork and Soy Sauce) but I am still in love with the Dan Dan Mian from Han Dynasty. Maybe if the zha zian came in a spicy version, it would be a more difficult decision :p

Ok, off to bed! I promise to have plenty of stories for the next post as well as pictures from Upper East Side, Metropolitan Museum and a dish with eggplants.

Asian Inspiration

Finally a foodie update. I have to admit, I have gotten very lazy about updating my blog lately but with all my midterms finally finished, there should be no more excuses!

One of the first posts I made back in the summer was about how I really really disliked Pod because I thought the food was overpriced and pretty sub-par. After last weekend, I've changed my mind (a little) and will admit to saying that some of the food at Pod is alright. Ok, fine some of the food is actually really really good, just not the ramen or the sushi. Since the best way to eat to eat out is being able to share, my roommate and I ordered an agglomeration of fried goodness and asian-ness. Check it out.

We started the meal right away with Shrimp Tempura. The shrimp was cooked perfectly but the tempura was not the best I've had. It needed a little more crispness and airiness but tempura is tempura.

So turns out, we ordered the wrong dish. By shrimp tempura we actually meant shrimp and vegetable tempura but the wonderful waiter brought us some vegetable tempura anyways :)

Ok, this dish alone makes the restaurant worthwhile. So worthwhile it got two pictures! These are the most delicious spring rolls I have ever eaten my life. Ever. Crab spring rolls with massive amounts of crab stuffed in and a creamy semi-cheesiness which reminded me of ravioli. yum.

Chicken Ramen with wontons. The ramen at Doma was definitely at lot better but I really liked the wontons they had in this dish. Wontons are suppose to have a really think shell so when they're made probably, I get very happy :)

A side of Bok Choy. Is there anyone who doesn't love baby bok choy? delish.

All in all I think Pod is worth going to for the seafood appetizers which, when you order enough can be a meal on its own :).

Noodles Again.
Ever since my friend started going on and on about ramen and soba and udon, I've been paying even more attention to noodles than usual. After my one day trip to home, we stopped by the asian food market on our way to Penn and I picked up a handful of goodies to make a nice big bowl of noodle soup.

Egg noddles, Chinese Spinach, Shitake Mushrooms, Inoke Mushrooms and Fish balls. 

This was the first time I ever cooked with inoke mushrooms so I think I over did it a little. I might just leave them raw next time.

Home made chilli oil! This was one of the first things my mom taught me how to make...might explain why I'm obsessed with spicy food haha. So to prevent me from majorly setting up the fire alarm, I had to go to the window which is on the other side of the room and pour the peppers into the hot oil. Kind of scary but it worked out!

Topped it off with pickled vegetables. Not as pretty as how the restaurants do it but I'll get there :)

Brunch at Tap House tomorrow! I have been dying to try the famed french toast. 

some favorite things

Cheesy but cute.

Finally done with finals and the semester!  For some reason, this semester felt distinctly different than last semester but then again, my objectives for this semester were also very different. Can I say I think I’ve finally gotten the hang of Penn? Probably not, since I’m sure there are probably many more curve balls down the road. 

A little self indulgence. [ok I didn't actually get this as I think sprinkles are incredibly gross but I appreciate the numerous toppings all mixed together]

A quick moment of reflection on the lessons (I think) I learned from this semester

•  hardwork still ultimately pays off and all that sentimental cliche stuff life believing in yourself actually matters
• setting off the fire alarm in the kitchen can happen quite frequently (and putting a plastic bag over the smoke detector is both illegal and ineffective)
• true friendships take a hella lot of work but they are also very worth it
• cheap rings from h&m turn your fingers really green...like really really green
• low fat honey mustard dressing from salad works is insanely gross
• not every person you meet is going to like you and that is OK
• when you try and dye your hair - 20 minutes just isn't going to cut it
• every person you meet is amazing in his or her own way
• Korean fruit tea is insanely good
• some things in life just don't work out, but that's ok too :)

Now for the food related part: a quick conglomeration of some snackies and munchies from the past few weeks. 

 From the beach trip before the start of the semester with my wonderful pledge sisters. Favorite beach eat is still Kohrs ice cream (in a large).

From MARR and a great memory of the summer. Lychee bubble tea has definitely become the bubble tea of choice (and ten ren makes one good bubble tea).

From the Parli study break (as a new member of the board!). A quick baking session with M. Cinnamon buns and blueberry muffins.

From brunch with an amazing friend and debate partner at the best brunch place on campus (RX). Please go try this now. I have never been so excited about eggs, potato and toast.

From cramming for the Finance final (at least I’m fairly confident that I picked the right career choice thus far). Some noodle soup made with Korean chili powder and bok choy. I don't know how I would survive without those noodles.

Very, very excited for these few days of break. So many recipes to try and so many cooking dates with friends who I have not seen for far too long!

Coming up next: a french toast recipe and a few shots of the Perky trail.

wishing everyone a safe trip home!