nykeiko almost eats: Onomea serves Hawaiian Ahi Poke in Williamsburg

Onomea in Williamsburg

We were strolling down Havenmeyer St. heading to our dinner destination when we walked by Onomea. We have read about this joint which opened back in August in Williamsburg. They serve authentic Hawaiian dishes such as ahi tuna poke and Spam musubi. Those who have been to Hawaii before know what a big deal this is. They also serve other traditional Hawaiian dishes such as Kalua pig, Loco-Moco, Teri-Burger as well as freshly brewed 100% Kona coffee.

Ever since coming back from our honeymoon in Hawaii,we have been craving poke (as well as the beaches, the warmth, the hikes, the people...). In Hawaii, we consumed a ton of poke whenever we found it. We were even a little worried about mercury poisoning at one point. We got pretty sick of it by the end of our trip but knew that if we didn't have it then, we would not be able to have it again back on the mainland. Well, who knew (but not surprised) that Williamsburg would be the place to serve up this Hawaiian delicacy.

I wish this post was about how great the poke was and this and that; but as we sat down, the waiter delivered the bad news to us and told us that there was no fresh ahi tuna that day thus, no poke. Since we didn't plan on dining there in the first place and the promise of poke was what got us through the door, we sadly left. Well, we will return for the poke some day but I just wanted to let you guys know that this place exists. Maybe call ahead to check if they got a fresh delivery of ahi tuna if poke is what you are craving :)

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: 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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In pictures: When the sun sets, the hipsters come out to play...Brooklyn Night Bazaar

Brooklyn Bazaar

Two bazaars in a day? Yup. That's what I did on Saturday where I attended the pop-up Daily Candy Bazaar during the day and the now-permanent Brooklyn Night Bazaar at night. I'm suppose to recover from a cold but curiosity of what goes around me always gets the best of me. Plus, we had Dave's parents' car this weekend so going to BK Bazaar was a breeze. Only a 5-minute drive from our place.

BK Bazaar is a little bit of Smorgasburg and a little bit of Brooklyn Flea and a little bit of 'je ne sais quoi'. Like a hipster underground amusement park or something. Some of the vendors were new to us and we liked that since we have been to so many types of flea markets, crafts fair, food fests etc. and think we have seen them all. There was also rooms dedicated for mini-golf ($5/ball) and ping pong playing area as well as an outdoor beer garden that serves beer and pizza. New vendors may pop up throughout the year so it might be worth it to check it out many times. This is Brooklyn's way of catering to the indie business-hungry community and supporting the local community. With Smorgasburg and Brooklyn Flea wrapping up for the winter, this will now be the place to hang out and grab a local draft beer.

We didn't get to see the bands play since we were there early and the "party" ends at midnight. For food, we had a Briskettown short rib sandwich and Sigmund's pretzels (whose warehouse is where BK Bazaar has settled) which were both excellent. We also had a bowl of cold noodles with spicy peanut sauce from Hong Kong street cart that was not so yummy (the sauce was good but why use pasta noodles?!). There was no wait when we got there just a little before 7 p.m. They carded and put a bracelet on anyone that wanted to drink so when we got out almost an hour later, there was a pretty long wait. I guess my advice is to go early, go hungry and bring some cash to find your perfect holiday gift for a special someone or yourself!

See more pictures after the jump

@Brooklyn flea...two celeb spottings!

We passed by Brooklyn Flea this past Sunday so Dave could find a nice vintage cufflink for the wedding. We got there just when vendors finished setting up for the day and people start trickling in. As I admired a nice flow-y sundress, I noticed Melissa McCarthy shopping inside the tent and I got super excited. I took a paparazzi shot of her because I didn't want to bug her peaceful shopping...at first.

I contemplated on this dress for a while whilst stalking McCarthy...it was $70

When I finally got the gut to offer her an iced cold drink, I couldn't find her anymore in the growing crowd or she might have left. Soon after I gave up looking for her, we spot Kim Schifino from Matt & Kim. This time, I didn't want the chance to slip by and I immediately went up to her to chat. She was with her parents and I apologized for bugging them but they seemed chill and her mom even offered to take a picture for us. Dave is a big fan of Matt&Kim so he was super excited ...can you tell from this picture?

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nykeiko eats and play: Just a couple of pics from the weekend ...

Monday isn't so bad when you had a great relaxing weekend.

Even though the weather was friggin' beautiful and warm on Saturday, I spent the day indoors sleeping in and napping trying to recover from my week long coughing episodes and then woke up to start cleaning the apartment. Dave slaved away working 10 hours in front of the computer. By 7 p.m., we made up the time we missed during the day by going on a super date. We stayed in Williamsburg and ate at Marlow and Sons which we have wanted to try for quite some time. The menu changes daily and so you know you're getting freshly delivered goods onto your plate! We had drinks, raw clams, delicious dishes and after our feast, we strolled to Bedford Avenue. We decided to check out the much talked about rooftop bar at the Wythe hotel where there is a panaromic view of Manhattan. The music was so loud though so we stepped out onto the terrace but it was too cold so we left. Yea, we're getting old. We took the stairs down and end up stepping into and crashing a movie release party with an open bar and food. Guess what we did there for 20 minutes. hehe. Quenching our thirst. We explored the hotel a little and admired this ex-warehouse turned to hipster hotel splendor. We then decided to get some dessert (Strawberry+Angel food) at the Wythe's resto called 'Reynard'. A great way to end our night with something sweet in our mouth!

On Sunday, we hit up a batting cage at Chelsea Piers for a friend's birthday. I was pretty impressed by myself when I was able to hit most of the softballs. As for the soft pitch baseballs..not so much. It's too fast. We didn't even try the regular pitch. We then checked out Friends and Family at Saks and had ramen for dinner.

A little gift of maple-vanilla roasted almonds I made for the neighbors...The recipe is SO EASY! Addicted.

Marlow & Sons

We had a nice dinner at a quaint restaurant in Williamsburg called Marlow and Sons and I was tipsy off my butt from one glass of gimlet!

We had a dozen of raw Littleneck clams and baked razor clams. For main, we had brick chicken and swordfish! It was so delish!

Marlow & Sons razor clam

Littleneck clams

Wythe hotel

Reynard

At Saks looking for bridal shoes but NOT looking at bridal shoes...

Jimmy Choo

Like an art piece on your feet!

Louboutins

Hide-Chan Ramen on a chilly Sunday evening.

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nykeiko eats: Williamsburg eats- Pâtes et traditions ~ Southern France cuisine [eat NYC]

Sultan Savory crepe - Pâtes et Traditions -nykeiko.com

If you want to find a place to brunch or dine in Williamsburg and don't want to spend a fortune or simply craving French crepe, I recommend Pâtes et Traditions! This small cozy eatary is always bustling with hungry eaters and a long wait is inevitable so we never got a chance to try it on Sunday when the wait was miraculously only 10 minutes.  They serve traditional South of France dishes which I'm not really sure what exactly that is. I was most interested NOT in their crepes, but their pâtés platter and delicious looking mixed green salad (I love salads). However, they did not serve the pâté platter for brunch but the waiter was nice enough to ask the kitchen staff if they can prepare it for me which totally made my day. I used to eat pâtés all the time back in Montreal so to me, it's like comfort food which is makes me smile. On top of the pâté plate, I got a large Niçoise salad with hard boiled egg, tuna and anchovies as proteins and Dave got the Sultan savory crepe which had chicken, bacon, cumin, cream, swiss, onions, garlic and mint! It was yummy! I actually didn't enjoy my salad because they used canned tuna but I manage to finish it all. I really should have tried their crepes since it is their speciality and all their savory crepes which comes with salad were $9 during brunch time! My pâté platter was $14 and salad was $12. I don't think I made the cheapest choices!
They also serve sweet crepes which I'd like to try some day to appease my sweet tooth.

Pâtes et Traditions brunch menu

Pates et traditions - pâté plate $14

Porc pâté  

Chicken pâté

Porc rillette and mustard

Sultan crepe 

Niçoise salad $12

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T'was a week before Christmas...

The weekend kicked off on Friday with a holiday work party slash housewarming party at my boss' new condo. What a great Manhattan apartment to-die-for on the 18th floor overlooking Central Park. There were about 40 people and it did not feel too crowded even with all the kids running around. My favorite kid that night ate, napped and ate some more. A king!

Saturday was meant for some holiday gifts shopping. Christmas holiday shopping for me means ...procrastination. I got one secret santa gift out of the way... more or less because I came home and bought it online and hope it will arrive on time. I also ordered this personalized memory game online for my nephew which was guaranteed to arrive before Christmas. Yay. Instead of shopping for gifts, I checked out the Opening Ceremony sample sale on Saturday hoping to score some Proenza Schouler goodies but was disappointed by the sale. It was day 2 and probably all the good stuff was gone but I thought the men's selection was better in terms of casual wear because as usual, Opening Ceremony things for gals are a little too avant-garde for my everyday wear. So, I got myself a cozy men's large sized Opening Ceremony tartan plaid sweater which I love, a men's belt from N. Hoolywood 1/2 Mister Hollywood from Japan and some random $1 Sanrio cell phone charms to give to Dave's little cousins. They don't have cellphones but kids will find good use for them. Then I went to Chinatown to join Dave for some won ton noodles which he has been craving forever and then to REI to find something for my secret Santa giftee who is outdoorsy. Finally on our way back home, we realized that we had forgotten about the 3rd ward holiday craft fair and had an hour before closing to get there. Good thing it was only a 10 minutes walk. We have been attending the fair over the past three years looking for some unique handmade goods but each year, we end up buying nothing. I like seeing all the crafts and talking to the artists and also finding creative gifts so I don't know why I never buy anything. The artists are probably charged a leg to rent a booth and they also need to cloth and feed themselves so I should support them and purchase something next time. Maybe a $49 wood ipad holder? Wait, I do not own an ipad.

Nap time for Ren after stuffing his face at my work holiday party

Tsumori Chisato with raffia Hawaiian palmtree

Opening Ceremony sweater-nykeiko.com

Rodarte for Opening Ceremony-$150

Sanrio surprise egg toys

3rd ward vending machine! Pocky!

3rd ward holiday craft fair -nykeiko.com

3 rd ward- nykeiko.com

and on Sunday, I did absolutely NOTHING at all and it was great! Oh, except going out to eat with Dave's familia! Something like this was on the table...

Giant oysters with black bean sauce

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