nykeiko eats: Lots of udon options at TsuruTonTan Udon

Dave has taken a particular liking to udon lately. Sometimes, it is all he seeks to eat. A few weeks ago, when we were walking around Union Square and walked by TsuruTonTan, He read about this place opening a few months ago and was eager to try their their daily made in-house udon. Dave got all excited when he saw there was no line to eat. We got a table right away and marveled at the large selection of udon dishes. You can get your udon with or without soup. You can get curry udon or topped with fancy toppings like caviar or uni. They also offer appetizers and donburi if you're not here for their homemade udons. On the menu, it says you can supersize your udon serving to large at no charge. The waiter warned that we cannot bring leftovers home but wouldn't get charged for not finishing the noodles. We skipped the appetizers and got the large. We were pretty confident we would finish it all. I got a sizzling sukiyaki udon because I read that was pretty decent. Dave got the tempura one. The udon was very good but we don't know if it is worth the price. It was good to try and definitely hit the spot for udon craving.  I admit it was a struggle to finish the large bowl but had help from a third little mouth to feed but next time, maybe we won't both get large. We don't like to waste food!

nykeiko eats: South Indian dosas at Saravanaa Bhavan NY

Big ass dosa for our big ass appetite. 

We dropped in Saravanaa Bhavan really by fluke a couple of weekends ago. What happened was we were driving around after running some errands and hunger struck. Dave asked for food suggestions and I thought hmm, we haven't had indian cuisine in a while so we decided to drive to Murray Hill aka Curry Hill aka Indian restaurant row. Dave was driving so asked me to pinpoint a restaurant destination and I went on Foursquare and picked out this place called "Pippali" It had good reviews, high rating and two $$. But we didn't end up going..

nykeiko eats: Hawaiian-inspired cuisine at Noreetuh in the East Village [NYC]

Hawaii! The ocean, the beaches, the turtles, the sand in my butt and the food! I love it all but I'm not there at the moment...

nykeiko eats: Mountain Bird is back at Tastings NYC [Harlem]

When we heard Mountain Bird was back at a temporary pop-up space in Harlem (at Tastings NYC), we knew we had to make a date of it. Mountain Bird was open for about 8 months until a rent hike forced them to shutter. Well, they are back but only as a pop-up since the owners are still searching for a permanent location in Harlem (yay!) to serve delicious French cuisine.

nykeiko eats: All'onda. All around dissappointment + paying with Cover app

Bucatini from All'Onda. Where's the herb? and missing a lot more than that...

Last week was the beginning of Restaurant Week in NYC (February 16 - March 6). We skipped out on the last few ones since smaller portions and mediocre service never pleased anyone (especially Dave). However, sometimes when a new restaurant with high prices with good reviews might put you on the border of wondering if it is worth the splurge, Restaurant Week becomes a good idea. For those who just want a taste without breaking the bank.

A coworker booked a Saturday evening dinner spot with his family at All'onda and I decided to follow suit after he showed me some reviews about All'onda's uni pasta. Uni pasta? I was sold. The one time I tried uni pasta before was at Basta Pasta and really liked it.

nykeiko eats: Japanese comfort food at Kissaten Jin [Harlem]

Kissaten Jin

Ramen, ramen, ramen, I love ramen. I was craving for some ramen the other night (I crave ramen a lot) and Jin Ramen seemed to be the only ramen in our neighborhood in Harlem. Of course, it wasn't close by but since it was early in the day, we took a nice long stroll to 125th and Broadway which was about 30-minute walk away. It was a beautiful evening after it had rained all day and we enjoyed strolling hand-in-hand through Striver's Row, St-Nicholas Park, City College of New York and discussing Harlem's potential and how great that we live here.

When we got to Jin Ramen, an unexpected line had already formed outside. It was still early in the evening we thought but hey, if you're close to Colombia University and the only ramen joint around, you're going to get a lot of business. To our delight, Kissaten Jin which is next door, had a shorter wait and a menu that excited me more. What caught my eye on the menu? The Sake Ikura don. Sake and Ikura are possibly my two favorite japanese word. I love salmon and salmon roe and on rice? Perfect! If I moved to Japan, I think I'd eat dons all the time! What a great comfort food.

I ordered one $12 Donburin set (which includes a miso soup and salad) and extra salmon for $8 so Dave can enjoy it too. He ordered a Ikura Oroshi Soba with extra side of beef. Dave initially wanted to try the Obanzai set which sounded great but was deterred when there was limit on protein dishes. He wanted all the protein dishes. Maybe next time we will try other dishes but now I know where I can go to tame my salmon cravings.

The menu...

nykeiko eats: Red Rooster and Ginny's Supperclub [Harlem, NYC]

Long before moving to Harlem, Red Rooster has always been on our radar and on our (infinite) 'to-eat' list. But how many times have we showed up there but only to walk away because of the long queue? On a Friday night or the weekend, a typical wait time for dinner is maybe one to three-hour long and people seem to be willing to wait. Not us though, we always give up and head to Sylvia's just a block away instead or Amy Ruth's. This has already happened three times and one time, it was totally my fault for mixing up our reservation dates (sorry to my sister Melissa!). But finally, for our one year wedding anniversary, I made reservations a couple of weeks in advance to secure a favorable time slot as I think you can always snatch up a last minute reservation for late hours between 9:30 and 11 p.m.

Well, was it worth it? I hear a lot of "the food is okay" from people who have gone before. Some of them have also been multiple times so I am sure the food is more than okay. I personally thought our meal was very good. Not mind-blowing nor outstanding but it definitely finger lickin' good (The Fried Bird!). Below are some pictures I took of our meal and my thoughts. We also checked out Ginny's Supperclub afterwards since admission was free with our Red Rooster receipt in hand! Chop and Quench performed that night and it was super entertaining, exotic and so different. It was the perfect way to end the night!

Red Rooster Menu - July 2014

nykeiko eats: Dinner at Ponty Bistro [Harlem, NYC]

Ze menu 'Ponty Bistro' in Harlem 

A new restaurant 'Ponty Bistro' just opened in our neighborhood almost two weeks ago and it took us no time to give it a try. It's a Senegalese French restaurant which has another established restaurant downtown by Gramercy Park. This one is only two blocks away from our apartment so there was no excuse not to check it out. It's so brand spankin' new that our waiter was working his first shift that night. That of course didn't come without a few minor mistakes with our orders but we were forgiving when free desert and drinks were offered at the end of our meal.

Dave arrived early and took advantage of the bar's happy hour and ordered himself an African lager 'Tusker'. We ordered the 'crispy tuna' for our appetizer which appeased our hunger very well. For our main course, our friend got the shrimp linguini, I got the wild mushroom risotto and Dave got a grilled sirloin steak marinated with Senegalese spices which is probably the only Senegalese thing we ordered that night. The portions were very generous and everyone's dishes were tasty. I was slightly disappointed not to find any "wild mushrooms" in my risotto unless they were so finely chopped up, I didn't see them.

Despite the server's mishap, we will definitely return and try out other dishes on the menu. We're so happy this place popped up and that we now we have a new joint in Harlem to take our out-of-town guests (or for dinner when we feel too lazy to cook).

Tusker African lager

nykeiko eats: Thai-Isan cuisine at Somtum Der [East Village, NYC]

Dave and I have been keeping up with episodes of Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown. If you are kind of a foodie or a world traveler that likes to immerse yourself in the culture (usually by consuming large amount of food) then you should definitely watch this show.

A couple of weeks ago, after watching this episode about Thailand and drooling a bucket by the end of it, it was coincidentally dinner time and I absolutely needed some thai food in my watering mouth. In this particular episode, Mr. Bourdain met up with chef Andy Ricker in Chiang Mai and they just kept eating non-stop and it was painful great to watch. My craving for thai food was palatable. I wanted thai food and I wanted it now!

I started Googling and found a few top thai restaurant lists for New York city. I crossed out the places we have been to before and researched the menus whenever they were available. I didn't want the run-of-the-mill pad thai or tom yum soup but the gritty, greasy, intensely spicy dishes that make you sweat. We have already tried Andy Ricker's Pok Pok (reviewed here) in Brooklyn which would have been the perfect place to go to to satisfy my craving but to be honest, Pok Pok was a bit inconvenient for us to get to now that we live in upper Manhattan. Queens has a bunch of thai restaurants where we have already tried a couple like SriPraPhai.  But insisting on staying on Manhattan, I finally found Somtum Der- which opened last year and got a few good positive reviews. The menu caught my attention (prawn sashimi with chili sauce, spicy papaya salad with salted eggs, larbs with chopped duck, meat skewers, hot chicken soups...yes,yes,yes,yes) and oh, the fact that Somtum Der can also be found in Bangkok sealed the deal.

I called and made reservations although it wasn't needed. When we got there, I even ordered a cold Singha beer to modestly replicate Bourdain's drinking habits on the show. The food was spicy and awesome. The only thing I thought we could have not ordered was the Pad Thai Mun Poo (ha,ha poo). I should have also maybe tuned down on the spice level so that I could enjoy the food without having to wipe my forehead of sweat every 5 minute or so. Also, I wish that we were a group of people so that we could have sampled more dishes but the 5 dishes we shared amongst the two of us is no easy feat. I really wanted to try that prawn sashimi dish...oh well, next time for sure!

Here is what we consumed...

Tum Thai Kai Kem : Thai Spicy Papaya Salad with salted egg

nykeiko eats: Brunch at The Butcher's Daughter [Nolita, LES, NYC]

A girlfriend visiting the city is always a good excuse for me try something new and check things off my to-eat list.  The Butcher's Daughter is a juice bar and café which also serves all three meals a day + weekend brunch, that has been on my list for quite some time. In its rustic but contemporary atmosphere which attracts the hip and healthy eaters of New York, it is the perfect place to catch up with old friends. So I brought my friend Xiang (She is new to blogging and looks very promising: Stylegy) who I knew would enjoy this place as much as I would for some brunching action (For example, the presence of fresh mint leaves in our bottle of water made both of us very excited!). The last time I saw her was almost a year ago at my wedding and preoccupied with being a bride, we had no time for deep chit chatting.

We ordered the drip coffee to start. It was a bit too bitter for our taste but since I was going through a weekend coffee withdrawal, I managed to chug down my cup of Joe despite the bitterness. We stirred in (constantly) some homemade almond milk which made it better. Not really knowing what to pick from their 100% vegetarian menu, Xiang asked our waiter what his favorite dishes were. We picked two out of his three top picks and got ourselves the 'Full English Breakfast' and 'Smashed Avocado Toast Benedict' to share. Everything was of course fresh and delicious. Afterwards, we stopped by the Butcher's Daughter cute little market which was adjacent to the restaurant and took tons of pictures.

It is noteworthy that the Butcher's Daughter menu changes with the seasons. They also advertise new monthly seasonal vegetables and fruits which they incorporate into their juices and food. This insures that the freshest and best ingredients are served daily. For the month of July, it is sweet corn and watermelon! Both very yummy on their own already!

We spent the rest of the afternoon shopping around Nolita/Soho but with both of us having secondary plans in the evening, we sadly had to part one another too quick, too soon.

Looking forward to your next visit Xiang!

More pics after the jump...

nykeiko eats: Uni pasta and duck at Basta Pasta NYC

As we wandered around the Flatiron distract on a beautiful Friday evening with no concrete plans except wanting to be out in the sun, our appetite to try something new and delicious surged. Searching nearby restaurant, Basta Pasta popped up. Uni pasta instantly popped up in my mind and a bit of salivating ensued. Having eaten pasta the night before, it was perfect to have it AGAIN. Washing down carbs with more carbs makes sense to me. We called to find out what the wait was for two if we get there in 5 minutes. It was 7 pm on a Friday. No wait. Surprised but happy. When we arrived, there was a short wait which was just enough time to order a drink (Sangria Bianca) and take one sip before being seated.

Basta Pasta: Sangria Bianca

Seeing chefs cooking my food is always entertaining and reassuring. No mice over here.

Chefs at work at Basta Pasta

More pics after the jump!

nykeiko eats: Lucky Luna [Greenpoint,Brooklyn]

I'm Taiwanese and Dave likes tacos (okay, that was a bad introduction because it sounds like the beginning of a bad joke). Lucky Luna serves Taiwanese-Mexican  dishes which seems like the perfect marriage... just likes ours (awww). Actually, not really perfect. When I heard about this place, I thought it was the oddest flavor combo ever but it is probably because Mexican food isn't something I crave, ever. Except for guacamole, who doesn't like guac?? What I would love to find is a Taiwanese-French eatery...mmm. Foie gras with smelly tofu. Right, that doesn't sound so appetizing. Well, that is why I am not a chef!

After taking a quick look at their menu, I saw that there was no real fusion dishes happening. They served popular dishes from each country and maybe swapped out some ingredients with healthier alternatives and maybe mixed a dash of ingredients from each country. There were no crazy things like a chunk of guacamole in your beef noodles or something like that. You'll find popular Mexican dishes such as chips and salsa, tacos and pozole; and some Taiwanese dishes I grew up loving like lu rou fan (braised ground pork stew), cucumber salad and beef noodle soup. Oddities were the Hong Kong-style congee and Peking duck confit baos (which came highly recommended). While looking at the menu, I kept thinking about how I could probably get a bowl of congee at half the price somewhere in Chinatown and tacos from a food truck at a quarter of the price. But of course, it is not the same here. In order to operate in Brooklyn and stand out from other places that offer the same things, Lucky Luna incorporates organic and locally-made ingredients (tortillas and buns) and uses all-natural, free range meat in their dishes. Will this make you trek out to Brooklyn to grab a bite? Maybe not but when you live in Greenpoint with no authentic Asian restaurant in sight, this might fill the gap. We went there for our "last" meal in Williamsburg-Greenpoint-Brooklyn before our big move to the city last month.

Below are the dishes we tried at Lucky Luna. Since I am very attached to my traditional Taiwanese food, I got very critical. In fact, I didn't dare order my beloved lu rou fan because no one can make it better than my mommy :) I should have been more open-minded about their efforts though. As for the Mexican dishes, they didn't serve guacamole so that's that.

Kim Chi bloody mary

The waitress sold us this Kim Chi Bloody Mary which won a contest earlier that day at the 1st annual Brooklyn Bloody Mary festival. They were on special for $5 each so we took two (I'm a sucker for deals). It was too spicy for me on an empty stomach and I got tipsy right away but it was an interesting cocktail.

Duck confit bao

The duck confit bao might be the only I would come back for except it cost $5...and that time I had it, the bun was soggy wet at the bottom.

What are New Yorkers lining up for this time? [Sort of Montreal-style bagels at Black Seed Bagels]

Something novel is always happening in New York. Whether it is a hot new restaurant, The Cronut™ or a pop-up cat café (http://www.purinaone.com/cats/28-day-challenge/nyc-cat-café), New Yorkers seem to be always lining up for something.

What are Manhattanites with FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) lining up for this time around?
If you were in Nolita these couple of weeks, you might have noticed a queue forming outside a new bagel shop on Elizabeth street called Black Seed Bagels (http://www.blackseedbagels.com/). Everyone is trying to get his or her mouth around a doughy treat with a hole in the middle that is NOT The Cronut™.

nykeiko eats: Dunch (that's lunch/dinner)-Ethiopian gourmet at Zoma [Harlem eats]

When Dave said he would take me to try Ethiopian food, I did not know what to expect. It was not until the platter was served that I realized that the meal was going to be consumed entirely with my hands. It should have been a big hint when I noticed there was no cutlery on the tables. Doy! I went back to the bathroom to wash my hands extra clean just to make sure I don't ingest dirt accumulated from the day.

It was weird for me for the first 10 minutes as I kept thinking about picking up a fork or spoon that was not there before every bite. I had to constantly fight my brain off and think it was perfectly okay to eat with my hands and that my mom will not suddenly appear out of nowhere and slap my hands for eating with them. Next time though, I'll make sure I cut my nails short because the sauces stuck underneath my nails pretty good.

We tried Zoma in Harlem which has many good reviews. We got two meat platters (beef and the lamb) which came with two veggie side dishes of our choice. It was pretty decent and spicy!

Dave has tried ethiopian food several times before and kept telling me about his indian coworkers who "hand-feed" every day. He says that they also sometimes use their entire hand to scoop up food. The whole time he's talking, I had this elf in my mind:

Thanks for stopping by! xx

Weekender: David Barton, Williamsburg, Standard hotel, Umami burger, SoHo [almost Spring]

This past weekend started off with a kick-ass workout at David Barton gym (Astor Place) hosted by Racked NY. Everyone was in good spirits during the "Pain and Pleasure" class we endured on Friday night. I almost didn't make it to the end! I never ever do weights except when I carry my grocery bags but even that's often too hard for me. In fact, just the other day, I couldn't carry one bag of Trader Joe's grocery and called Dave from the subway for him to meet me half way. So pitiful I know. During the class, we used weights up to ten pounds to do squats, curls and sit ups. Three days later, I am still sore but loving the reminder that I indeed DO have abs even though I haven't seen them in a while! After class, I ventured deep into Brooklyn to join some friends for dinner and played with a cat the entire night.

The next day, soreness made me stay in bed. I slept in, woke up to have some cereal and then took a nap until 2 p.m. It was such a beautiful day and antsy Dave was all dressed with his coat on waiting for me to get the hell up already! I had an out-of-town friend waiting to meet up as well. We asked him to venture into Williamsburg since he's been cooped up in Manhattan for a few days and every single person needs to experience Williamsburg at least once right? We are going to miss Brooklyn when we move out so we took advantage of a beautiful day to walk around south Williamsburg for hours discovering the new shops and cafes that have sprouted up this past couple of years.

Mast Brothers store

When we met up with my friend, we took him to Blue Bottle coffee and the indoor Brooklyn Flea/Smorgasburg venue on N 5 th. Afterwards, we grabbed drinks at the Counting Room and then hopped on the L train to Manhattan and straight to the Meatpacking district. Here, we went to the rooftop bar at the Standard Hotel (the one you don't have to dress up for) and got a couple of horrible drinks. My gimlet, I didn't even finish it. The bathroom was nice though. For dinner, we wanted to take him to Spice Market but with the hour long wait (it was already 10 p.m.), we opt to try another place. Umami burger! A place we have wanted to try since it opened. The Truffl'd burgers are as good as it has been raved about. The truffle is over-powering but since I love truffle, it was perfect!

Someone went bun-less (not me!) but then ate all the fries later..

Umami burger

The next day, my friend and I spent almost the entire day shopping in Soho. I didn't buy anything except a card for a baby shower and a $45 lunch/dinner. I didn't take pictures but I have my eye set on a jacket from Mackage which I got to try on at the store. I have been looking for a lightweight, water resistant long coat for quite some time. I'm going to wait for a sale and snatch it up when it does! Oh and I also saw the cutest printed dress at Club Monaco but it was over $229 and with the chilly weather still lingering, I had no desire to try it on! Actually, on the model, it doesn't look so alluring anymore. Buuuut then maybe it will look better on me because I'm more tanned. Gosh I like to talk myself into buying things...

That was pretty much my weekend! How was yours??

Thanks for reading! xx

nykeiko eats: Fitzcarraldo..Rustic Italian farm to table experience [Williamsburg, Brooklyn]

New yorkers are busy, busy people and it is always hard to meet up and catch up with friends during the week so we all look forward to the weekend where we can sleep in and then get together for brunch offered at many of New York's restaurants. 

We rarely do brunch but amidst the chaos of juggling work and attending fashion shows, having a relaxing Sunday brunch was welcomed for me. We checked out Fitzcarraldo in Williamsburg recommended by Dave's cousin who has been there for late night drinks. At first, I was skeptical of the 5-item brunch menu as we are so used to having an array of choices at most restaurants. Well, it turns out, it is not about the quantity but the quality. The food was great. The crunchy artisanal bread with Italian salumi,  the spicy potatoes and the sweet caramelized French toast were all so delicious. We would highly recommend this cozy rustic place in the heart of industrial Williamsburg, located right next to the now closed 3rd Ward building. Next time, I want to try the brunch cocktails. The Kir Royale which had crème de cassis and Prosecco sounded tentalizing. We were also interested in coming back for the $35 tasting menu for dinner. We hope this place never closes. 

Fitzcarraldo's french toast with maple syrup and roasted apples

Country breakfast with toast and salumi, eggs and  spicy potatoes

Spicy potatoes

Fitzcarraldo in Brooklyn

Thanks for stopping by! xx

nykeiko eats: The Elm [Williamsburg, Brooklyn]

Isaac Mizhari spotted at The Elm

Soooo Dave and I have been eating out a lot lately but I like to believe that we have been really good about cooking at home as well. Also, we like to find excuses to celebrate; like every stepping stone in our life. It could be for a raise, a bonus, a promotion, signing of contracts or most often, just because!
Most of the time, it is just because we enjoy good food and drinks and dates (when there's candlelight, it's a date!!)

Michelin-starred chef Paul Liebrandt's The Elm makes its debut in 2013 in Williamsburg and is getting a lot of buzz. We went to check it out last week. Dave made reservations for The Elm just before the Christmas holiday without letting me know. He wanted to snag prime dinner hours on a Friday night.

The food was anything but simple yet delicious. Fresh ingredients and aromatic flavor combinations under one bite. Each bite tasted different. It kind of reminded me of Montreal's French cuisine.

The dishes were small so we ordered 4 dishes to share from the Raw, Land, Sea and To Share menu.

Love this table made out of all these type of wood!

I liked the bourbon maple mulled wine cocktail I ordered.

Delicious cocktails

Raw: The Beer tartare

Land: Duck with pomegranate jus

Sea: Skate with capers and green grapes

Share: Lobster Cassoulet. Traditional slow cooked stew with beans.

Thank you for reading!

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nykeiko eats: Four Seasons Restaurant

Four Seasons Restaurant: The Grill room

A week ago, I mentioned that I had this Gilt City voucher for the Four Seasons Restaurant. At the time of purchase, I did not known it was not affiliated with the Four Seasons hotel which was the reason I wanted to buy it in the first place. Dave had brought me to a restaurant in a Four Seasons resort on my birthday in Hawaii and I thought it would be something special to try in the city.

There was a snowstorm last Tuesday but since the voucher was expiring on that day, we strapped on our warmest gear and made it to the restaurant. We were planning on getting drinks and appetizers and be on our way to grab dinner somewhere more affordable.  The voucher was for the Grill Room and included two drinks (cocktails, wine or champenoise), oysters (raw or fried) and 2 appetizers to share. A $95 value I paid $44 ($58-25% off) for. Well, we were determined not to succumb to the voucher's trap and purchase more food but after being slightly intoxicated by the strong cocktails as well as a discouraging snowstorm outside, we decided to stay for dinner and order just ONE entrée to share. We picked the bison and foie gras steak dish which cost $68 (insert shock emoticon here). Yikes at the price but we read it was da bomb digity and went for it. Even with the voucher, the meal costed me over $150! I was shocked. Imagine we did not have a voucher, the meal would have costed over $200. Oh well. This is the price to eating fancy in midtown Manhattan.

Overall, it was a pretty good meal but we were not totally satisfied. The Four Seasons is known for its power lunch and some celebrity sightings but at this price, I expected something more. The waiter of course treated us like coupon customers by not serving us bread until we asked as well as not asking us how we would like our bison cooked. I was pretty peeved but should have not been surprised. I tipped him accordingly...not 20% but still more than 15% so that I don't make voucher users look like cheapos. The tartares were good but not amazing. We did enjoy the tender bison and Dave couldn't stop eating the french fries. I could have brought him to McDonalds for them.

Overall, I wouldn't recommend this place even with a coupon voucher.

Gimlet in a wine glass?

half a dozen oysters

Salmon tartare 

Beef tartare 

Dave couldn't stop eating these! 

What else is on the menu?

Bison and foie gras steak split in 2 

Thank you for stopping by!

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