Friday, 2 May 2014 – Dinner

 

What did I eat? Korean BBQ

Where from? Mapo Korean BBQ

How much did it cost? $120 for three including tax/tips (ouch!)

How was it?
We heard about this place from a few of our Korean friends who said this was the best BBQ in town. I’m used to my usual K-Town joints or my favorite AYCE Korean BBQ place, Picnic Garden. Mapo is a tiny place with no more than 10 tables. The waitresses were super friendly and had phenomenal service. The grill is unlike other places; they use actual charcoal in the middle of the table. It’ll be good in winter but I can’t imagine how hot it’ll get in the summer.

Now for the food. An order of beef is barely enough for one person. We ordered 2 orders of marinated beef. This is not a cheap place!! $35 for an order of beef which will barely feed me. We also ordered a kimchi jigae. Although the beef was expensive, it was worth every penny! Man… I have never had such good beef at a Korean BBQ place. It was so tender and juicy. AMAZING!! Moreover, the charcoal just adds to the flavor. Next time I go though, I’m going to take a pile of cash and just order like 3 orders of beef for myself! The kimchi jigae was something to write home about too. It’s got a real sour kick to it which I enjoyed thoroughly. I don’t remember other places having noodles in their jigae but these guys had some noodles also which was great. The side dishes were plentiful too, but it’s the usual stuff – fish, pickles, that fluffy steamed egg thing, etc.

The only complaint is the price. Then again, I’ve raved about the meat so it’s probably worth the price you pay. I would expect to spend between $40 and $50 per person here and for some people, that may be a bit much considering it’s not an all you can eat place.

Rate it!
8/10. I really want to give it a higher rating but the value is just not there. Solely on the BBQ, I’d give it like 11/10 but for value it’s like 5/10.

Saturday, 26 April 2014 – Dinner

 

 

What did I eat? Sashimi for me. Random sushi rolls for HH

Where from? TJ’s Asian Bistro

How much did it cost? $50

How was it?
We first came across TJ’s when we used to live in Woodside. They had the best price for sashimi and they still do! $20 for 20 pieces of fish, plus rice and soup. The fish are very good quality too. I’ve had my fair share of Midtown Japanese lunch fish which are so-so but TJ’s is a notch above them. I wouldn’t call their fish Sushi Yasuda quality but for $20, I’ll gladly take what they give.

The disappointing thing about the sashimi deluxe these days is that they changed the presentation of the dish. Previously, they would have all sorts of things happening on your place. Every time I used to eat there, it would be a different arrangement. Sometimes it’s some sort of a garden decor with some bamboo and grass. Other times, there would be like a flower vase with a rose in the middle. But my favorite piece was when they had a piece of dry ice in water in the middle of the plate and it was very foggy. That was hands down the best presentation I’ve ever seen.

The white fish is the tastiest piece of fish in the assortment. I’m still not sure what fish it is but it’s so milky and rich. The salmon was OK. The tuna is mighty fine! The other pieces are also very fresh and tasty. I try to do as Jiro instructs by not dipping in soy sauce but call me uncultured, I still need to dip my fish in sauce with wasabi!

HH had an assortment of rolls. I don’t like these fancy cooked rolls. Just give me my fish raw. Only thing cooked I like is the eel. The rolls were decent if you like cooked stuff. I wouldn’t order them personally.

Rate it!
10/10

Sunday, 13 April 2014 – Dinner

 

 

What did I eat? Steak and sauteed mushrooms

Where from? Made it myself!!

How much did it cost? Under $10

How was it?
I bought this new cut of beef from the Asian grocery store – something loin related. Fantastic for grilling and the marbling is perfect too. It also helps that it’s about $5 for 2 strips so it’s really not expensive. I stay away from buying expensive meats when I grill because I don’t think I can control the heat too well on the gas grill and I tend to overcook the meats a lot. Although I am realizing that the thicker the cut, the better I can grill. I used the Chicago steak seasoning rub from Penzeys spices.

The mushrooms were just small portabella caps sliced and sauteed in butter and Worcestershire sauce with a bit of paprika. I think I used a bit too much butter this time since I ran out of olive oil. That made the mushrooms a bit rich but then again, you can never go wrong with excess butter!

The steaks turned out very well. The triangular piece wasn’t the loin but I think it was a London broil. All of the meats turned out very well. Check out the pink center in one of the photos. I’m only buying those loin pieces now since I can cook them to my taste very well.

Last photo is some noodle salad which the wife made and insisted I add it to this post.

Rate it!
9/10. Would have been a 10/10 meal had I made some mashed potatoes paired with a glass of sparkling apple cider.

Saturday, 12 April 2014 – Dinner

 

 

What did I eat? Double-Cut Prime Rib On The Bone

Where from? Waterfront Crab House

How much did it cost? $35

How was it?
This place has the best steaks at unbeatable prices. That piece of prime rib was just $25!! Unbelievable value for money. As much as I’m a big meat eater, I can never finish the prime rib. I always end up taking it home and reheating it on my skillet for lunch the next day.

The order comes with a salad and a side. The salad is just a regular salad, nothing particularly interesting. For sides, you can pick between onion rings, fries, baked potato or pasta. I wish they made mashed potato though. I had onion rings this time and they weren’t anything special either. Now the prime rib comes with some crispy onions on top and those are delicious!! The prime rib can be a bit fatty though and it’s really wet and juicy. I’m not sure if the fat will turn some people off but if you take the fatty part home and reheat it the next day, trust me, you’ll love it!

Crab House is an old joint from the days when LIC was undeveloped. There seems to be the usual crowd of regulars and they also have valet parking in case you want to drive in. In addition, if you’re in Manhattan, it’s super close to the LIC ferry dock so it’s easily accessible. Take a boat from 34th Street port across East River, take a stroll along the Piers in LIC, have a drink and dine at the Crab House and take the boat back over.

Rate it!
9/10 Best value for money when it comes to meat!

Monday, 7 April 2014 – Lunch

What did I eat? Tuna teriyaki on rice and a bowl of hot soba for me. Pork belly don for HH.

Where from? Soba Totto

How much did it cost? $20~

How was it?
HH had her usual pork belly don. It’s always a lot of food for lunch considering it’s a bowl of meat and rice followed by a bowl of noodles. I tried the tuna teriyaki on rice for the first time. To call that sweet would be an understatement. I enjoyed it though but certainly you’ll need it to wash it down with a bowl of soba noodles. The soba noodles were the usual fare and paired well with the sweet tuna. I always enjoy Soba Totto’s little side dish of mashed potatoes.

Just a word of advice on lunch diners in Midtown. If you go around 12:30pm, just expect a bit of a wait on some days. Also the host/hostess can be real grouchy on some days. We used to have a favorite waitress there who’s Burmese but she left so no more freebie appetizers or desserts!

Rate it!
7/10

Sunday, 6 April 2014 – Lunch

What did I eat? Dim sum

Where from? Claypot something at New World Mall

How much did it cost? $10

How was it?
New World Mall in Flushing has a food court in the basement. There are plenty of choices for you, depending on what you’re feeling. There’s a large assortment of hotpot shops, dumpling shops, stirfrying shops and desserts. Just be warned that if you go during peak dinner hours, it’ll be hard to find a table.

I got my usual selection of dishes from this place: Congee, spare ribs with black beans, shrimp and pork shumai. They’re all OK. Nothing particularly special but the place is quick and cheap so I can’t complain. I didn’t like that they had corn in the pork shumai though. I thought that was odd. The congee had decent chunks of meat in it. The spare ribs needed to be a bit more tender too.

On the topic of the bubble tea, I’ll make another post eventually after I have taken photos of all the usual bubble tea places I go to: Cha-Time, CoCo, ShareTea, TenRen, Quickly and KungFu.

Rate it!
6/10

Saturday, 5 April 2014 – Dinner

 

What did I eat? Ravioli Caprese for me. Fusili Amatriciana for HH

Where from? Il Corallo Trattoria

How much did it cost? $25 (that includes tip!!!)

How was it?
This used to be our most frequented Italian/pasta restaurant when we first moved to New York. It was always packed then, and that still hasn’t changed. Only one thing changed, and for the better, is that the mean hostess is no longer there! She used to be a real stickler for groups and always shooed you out once you’re done with your food. I’m glad she’s no longer there because I probably won’t stand for that shit now. Fortunately, the wait staff still seem to be the same cheery guys.

I had ravioli filled with prosciutto, mozzarella and heirloom mushrooms, cooked with basil, tomatoes and herbs. I was hoping it came in a tomato sauce but it appeared to be in just olive oil. HH had fusili with pancetta, olive oil, red peppers in a tomato sauce. The sauce was very good but the pasta retained quite a bit heat even after waiting for some time.

The best parts about the dinner was the speed and the price. The food came out so quick that we weren’t even ready to eat; 5 minutes after we placed the order, the food was ready. Second was the price; $8/9 per dish, plus tax and a generous tip, and we ended up with one of our cheapest dinners ever!

Rate it!
7/10. The food is good for the price you pay. It’s not mindblowingly good but for $9, it’s plenty fine! One of my favorite spots in town for sure.

Friday, 28 March 2014 – Lunch

What did I eat? Dim sum

Where from? Jade Asian

How much did it cost? $27

How was it?
I haven’t been back to Jade Asian in over 2 months so I decided to hit it up with the bro-in-law. Surprisingly, we weren’t able to eat that much; the bill came out to be like $27 with tax and tip. Normally, I’d eat around $20 worth.  And damn, I just forgot to take the photo of the last dish, my favorite roast pork bun! Weekday lunches are the best time to hit up Jade Asian for dim sum. There’s no wait for seating and you don’t have to fight for your food as much since it’s not as crowded.

We had the usual dishes – chicken feet, spare ribs, shrimp dumplings, spring rolls (with mayo), etc. My favorite dish here as mentioned above is the roast pork bun. My second favorite is the spare ribs and as usual, Jade Asian’s did not disappoint; I had two orders of those. Somehow they ran out of the shumai, or the cart never came around, so for the first time in my dim sum visits, I did not eat those.

One thing which pleased us quite a bit was that this time, they left us a jug of water on the table. In previous visits, we always had to hail the waiters multiple times for water refills but this way, it was hassle free for us and them!

Rate it!
10/10

Friday, 21 March 2014 – Dinner

What did I eat? Brazilian BBQ

Where from? Brazil Grill

How much did it cost? $90 for two (using Groupon deal, plus tax/tip)

How was it?
Before I begin about the food, I should clarify the Groupon deal bit. The Groupon deal said you get a meal with 2, a value of $120 for $60 and it includes 2 all you can eat rodizio, 2 desserts and a bottle of wine up to a $35 value. The tax and tip came up to around $30 so the meal for two basically ended being $90. The Groupon deal is not so bad but I personally would have just gotten the regular priced AYCE rodizio since I don’t drink. Plus the wine they gave was a $5 bottle.

The food was fantastic as usual. The best piece was the top sirloin (middle right pic). The layer of fat surrounding the meat was heaven! Add the saltiness and the blood oozing out, it was amazeballs! My least favorite was the sausage and maybe the chicken. The beef and pork cuts were succulent and just to my level of rarity and saltiness. The meal also comes with an order of fries, rice and beans. I would skip out on those and just binge on the meat.

Rate it!
9/10

Airline/Airport food

 

 

 

  

Some of the airline/airport foods I ate during my trip home. Korean Airlines has one of the best inflight meals, in my opinion. Although I think the last meal I had didn’t sit very well with me after the flight. That bottle of hotsauce makes everything taste vibrant up in the sky! It also helps that they have a free flow of snack in the common area on the plane, in case you’re having the munchies; unlimited brownies, honey roasted peanuts, Shin Ramen cup noodles and assorted drinks.

The milkshake from the Yangon airport was mediocre. It’s basically chocolate milk and it wasn’t even rich. The Incheon Airport has very good meal options; Korean, Japanese, Italian, KFC and Burger King.