Yakinku Don

In Japanese, yakinku don means grilled meat. It usually served in a bite size and topped with a special soy sauce. My favorite spot for Yakinku Don is Sharaku, a japanese restaurant located in the village. I was referred from one of my friends who used to work there. The entree came with a choice of salad or miso soup. The meat was tender and juicy.

Hotdogs (asian style)

 

Are you sick of eating regular hotdogs with buns? Asia Dog can spice it up for you;) They are known for their exotic hotdogs with a variety of Asian toppings available to choose from. They served mainly beef, chicken, and veggie dogs. My friends and I have tried the Vinh (vietnamese style dog), the Ginny (kimchi & seaweed toppings), and ITO (japanese curry & kimchi apples). The hotdogs tasted so good and we would love to grab and eat some more lol

Asia Dog's main location is in downtown but unfortunately they already closed down so whoever is looking for some exotic hotdogs check out the one in Urbanspace Vanderbilt.

Boozy Milkshake with caramel

Happy Caramel Day!

Why don't we celebrate it with a nice vanilla milkshake with caramel syrup?

Or even better..a nice milkshake with alcohol:)

One of the best places for some good milkshakes is Bill's Bar and Burger, a very popular burger chain located in midtown, manhattan. I ordered their Grand Esplanade milkshake...so damn good! It made out of vanilla ice cream, maker's mark bourbon, caramel and salt.

Raw oysters!

What kind of oyster eater are you? There are many different kinds of oysters but which one you like the best? Personally I am not a big oyster fan but I don't mine trying it once in a while. Commonly, you will find east coast oysters and west coast oysters in most of the restaurants. For people who don't know the difference they will ask the server, "what's the difference?"

East coast oysters are more salty and bigger than the west coast oysters. The west coast ones are more creamy, smaller and sweeter.

Edible Plant?

Ever seen a dessert dish looked like a house plant? Trust me..this is absolutely edible even though it looks like a real plant. This dish is called "The Harvest" and you can get it from Spot Dessert Bar. They have several locations throughout the city and they are known for its dessert tapas.
So what's in it? It is made from oreo crumbs, soft cheesecake, berries, meringue kisses, raspberry sorbet and black rose milk tea.

Seafood Paella

Yesterday was also National Paella day besides Easter day. Paella is one of the popular dishes in most Spanish restaurants. It is a rice dish with meats and veggies that served in either a black casserole or flat pan. My favorite is the seafood paella and the best one I have tried so far is in Guantanamera located in midtown west. The entree comes with yellow saffron rice, mussels, shrimps, squids and a baby lobster tail.

Foie Gras Inari Sushi

Mmmmh...inari sushi topped with foie gras. How can people resisted it? Inari sushi is basically japanese seasoned rice stuffed in a fried tofu pouch. In terms of the size, it is definitely bigger than the regular sushi. I found these delicious foie gras inari sushi in this japanese hotpot restaurant called Hakata Tonton located in the west village. The restaurant is a bit small but they served very good japanese food.

Crunchy Beef Bulgogi Tacos?

Happy National Crunchy Taco Day =D
Nowadays taco is almost everywhere with different variations. My favorite is definitely the crunchy/crispy taco. My #1 favorite go to spot for tacos is Mira Sushi & Izakaya. They are known for their beef bulgogi tacos because for those of you who don't know it is a Beat Bobby Flay Winning dish that made with kimchi slaw, korean pear, wonton shell, scallions, beef bulgogi and toasted sesame. I promised Mira's beef bulgogi tacos are scrumptious and crunchy that you won't be disappointed.

Macarons (dim sum style)

Macarons served in a bamboo basket?
This is my first time seeing an assortment of macarons served in a round shaped steamer made from bamboo aka mushiki. If anyone interested in trying the asian style macarons you should definitely go check out this authentic Cantonese restaurant, Hakkasan located in Midtown west. They served great well mixed cocktails and yummy Cantonese cuisines. It is a bit dark inside but very romantic setting with modern Asian wall interior decoration. There are total of 7 macarons in the bamboo basket but it would be cool if they can do 7 different colors just like a rainbow;)

Pecan Pie (irish style)

So far the best pecan pie I found in the city is in...you will never find out if you haven't been to this place...The Wheeltapper Pub.

It is an Irish restaurant that served great beers, cocktails and authentic Irish food.

I ordered their pecan pie for dessert since I was in the mood for it and it was sooo good. The pecan pie was topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and splashed with some caramel syrup. Mmmmhh:-p

They may have other ice cream flavor to go with the pie but I guess it depends on what they have for availability. When I was there, they had both vanilla ice cream and cinnamon ice cream.

Spinach Dumplings!

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone   

Guess what I found in my neighborhood..Spinach dumplings! Mmmmh...green and yummy:) The dumplings' wraps are made out of real spinach so no worries about food coloring. I ventured to the Urbanspace Vanderbilt yesterday to meet with some friends for happy hour. We walked and shopped around bunch of food vendors and most of them make me mouth watering hehe

I stopped by Hong Kong Street Cart because I was drawn to the green color of the spinach dumplings and I decided to give it a try. It costed $5 for 4 pieces of dumplings but it was good and maybe because it's spinach dumpling so I was willing to pay for it. I know some people think it's a bit pricey for asian food because you can get cheap and yummy dumplings in Chinatown for $1 for 4 or 5 dumplings. But anyway, this food cart was great overall and they also served spinach noodles with peanut sauce..mmmhhh!

Korean Ice Cream bar

St. Patrick's Day is almost here!

Looking for something sweet and green to please your sweet tooth?

Check out these cute ice cream pop bars at Tous Les Jours, a korean-french bakery located in Korea town. I believe they have 5 different flavors e.g. strawberry, vanilla, coffee, honeydew melon and green tea.

My friend and I got the melon and green tea one...creamy and juicy.

Tornado Chips?

Happy National Potato Chip Day:)

Ever seen potato chips in a skewer? If you ever swing by Chinatown in Manhattan you should definitely check out this little bubble tea place, Bubbly Tea on 55B Bayard Street. They have great bubble tea with a variety of flavors and great prices as well. I got their watermelon slush with boboa and tornado chips. The chips was crispy and spicy. Not sure if they can do mild spicy for the chips but I will definitely stop by there again and ask for it.

Juicy Octopus

Tender and chewy grilled octopus served in II Palazzo, a fine dining Italian restaurant located in Little Italy. The portion was a great size and it came with argula,tomatoes, potatoes and onions. I'm glad that it wasn't dry at all because of the sauce so it's easy for me to chew it. For those of you who are octopus lover, this is definitely one of the best restaurants to try it.

Fried Alligator?

A lot of people asked what does alligator meat taste like?...
Nowadays alligator is considered a new exotic but rare meat to try on the east coast. One of the popular spots to try fried alligator in NYC is Bo's kitchen and bar room, a New Orleans inspired restaurant located in midtown.

I have visited the restaurant once and their crispy fried alligator dish tasted like half chicken and half calamari.

It was pretty crispy and delicious.

Soft Serve with Frosted Flakes

Happy National Cereal Day everyone!

Instead of eating cereal with milk why don't we eat it with ice cream?

There's a very popular bakery place called Milk Bar (part of the Momofuku restaurants) located in east village that served great cookies, cakes, sweet drinks and other pastries. One of their popular items is the cereal milk soft serve with frosted flakes. It is delicious, creamy and crunchy.

Russian Sushi

We all know sushi is based in Japan so what's the difference between russian sushi and japanese sushi?

About 2 years ago, I visited an authentic restaurant called Rasha Nasha in midtown that served russian sushi as a cold appetizer dish. This type of sushi was wrapped by crepes with the following ingredients: cream cheese, chives, lox, and cucumber then topped with red caviar. Based on the ingredients, it really reminded me of the Philadelphia sushi roll except the caviar and crepe wrap.
The bad news is: Rasha Nasha has permanently closed:(

Skate Wing

For those of you who are seafood lovers, isn't it hard to find restaurants served skate fish nowadays?

I love seafood and skate is one of my favorite fish. I was invited by a friend for dinner at this restaurant called Mermaid Inn in the east village. While looking at the menu, I was so excited that they have the "local skate wing" as an entree dish in their menu. It came with kale and some other light veggies. The skate wing itself tasted really good but the kale was a bit more on the salty side. 

 

 

Coco Ice Cream in a Chocolate Shell!!!

Wow..Too cute to eat( ◞･౪･)
An artistic dessert featuring a nice chocolate shell filled with coconut ice cream, topped with a cute palm tree cookie and surrounded by mixed fruit swirls. I visited this nice Latin American restaurant on the upper west side called #Calle Ocho. They served great cocktails and Latin food. I was very impressed by the dessert they made for me. The #cute design really brightened up my evening.

Sushi Burrito?

Sick of sushi? Guess what's the latest asian fusion food trend now?...
#SUSHI BURRITO!!!

It is basically a seaweed wrap with sushi ingredients filling inside. The first sushi burrito store in NYC is #Uma Temakeria. They have several locations throughout #Manhattan and my closest spot is in #Gotham West Market. Besides burrito, they also served hand rolls and rice bowl with options to design your own meal. If you choose to design your own there are 4 things you need to pick: type of rice, type of protein, type of sauce, and type of veggies.