Dishes of the Week: 2/12/16

June 16, 2016 by Jesse Hsu in Restaurant, Review, Food Diary

FRIDAY, 2/12/16

Restaurant: Khe-Yo

Address: 157 Duane St, New York, NY 10013

Dish: Pho

Thoughts: This was the first time Rebecca came to try my favorite pho in the city and she LOVED it. As simple as it sounds, it all comes down to the quality ingredients. Creekstone Farms Brisket, Oxtail, and Eye Round. The noodles aren’t gummy and have a nice mouthfeel as you slurp the broth which is perfectly balanced and not as salty as other places. The finishing touch is the fried garlic paste and pickled chiles that adds an extra punch of umami and acidity to cut through the meaty broth. We’ve made many repeat visits since this initial phoday.

FRIDAY, 2/12/16

Restaurant: Duane Park Patisserie

Address: 179 Duane St, New York, NY 10013

Dish: lemon pound cake with cream cheese frosting

Thoughts: Picking just one thing from the display case at this patisserie is a Herculean task that I wrestle with every time I visit. Should I go with a almond pastry? Fruit tart? Oh look, chocolate cannele. On this fateful day, I discovered my favorite baked good there by accident. I’m still not sure why I picked the lemon pound cake with cream cheese frosting. It definitely wasn’t the prettiest belle at the ball. In any case, this cake was fluffy with just a hint of lemon (unlike the overpowering tart and sweetness of a key lime pie). I usually scrape off 90% of frosting off my cupcakes because it’s too sweet but this cream cheese version was delightful. If you ever find yourself in Tribeca, do yourself a favor and pick one up and pair it with a nice cappuccino.

MONDAY, 2/15/16

Restaurant: Harbs

Address: 198 9th Ave, New York, NY 10011

Dish: royal milk tea, matcha with barley, strawberry shortcake

Thoughts: This cute Japanese café serves a little bit of everything but the tea and the cakes are the highlights. Went with Sohee on my first visit two hours before they closed and a few things stood out.

1) Everyone there was Asian. Not even like American Asian but like straight up Japanese and Korean.

2) It was as quiet as a library. No music. No noise except for the occasional clattering of silverware scraping the remaining crumbs of the cake. No talking really…..in fact, Sohee and I were whispering in hushed tones the entire time.

3) A great place to study or read in peace while sipping on your tea.

I ordered a cup of royal milk tea, perfectly creamy and slightly sweet. She ordered the opposite, a matcha with barley that was more astringent and earthy, an effective foil against the slice of strawberry shortcake we enjoyed. Strawberry shortcake is probably my favorite dessert and the best I’ve had is at Mad Hatter’s in North Carolina near the Duke campus. Harbs version is very clean and I wish it was just a tad sweeter.

THURSDAY, 2/18/16

Restaurant: Sons of Thunder

Address: 204 E 38th St, New York, NY 10016

Dish: salmon poke bowl

Thoughts: After trying out all the major poke players (Wisefish and Pokeworks) in 72 hours, I finally found my favorite. Sons of Thunder has the best quality fish. Their tuna and salmon are sushi grade and the salmon just melts on the tongue. The other two places I feel like the taste of the fish gets lost and mashes with the rice, seaweed, and other components.

This quality comes with a tradeoff – most of the bowls have predetermined ingredients while Wisefish and Pokeworks offer customizable options. I’m all for choice and customization but in this situation, I prefer having superior fish and rice quality. Besides the food quality, there is plenty of seating space and high ceilings whereas the competition has a cheaper, Chipotle feel with limited seating.

Next week's EATS

Last Week's EATS

Dishes of the Week: 2/5/16

June 03, 2016 by Jesse Hsu in NYC, Restaurant, Food Diary

Friday, 2/5/16

Restaurant: Maman Tribeca

Address: 211 W Broadway, New York, NY 10013

Dish: squash and corn spaghetti carbonara with pumpkin seeds and poached egg

Thoughts: I’m a fan of traditional pasta so I had reservations when ordering this dish. My doubts dissipated after the first bite - the squash and corn pasta tasted pretty similarly to regular pasta, the pumpkin seeds gave it a nice crunch, and the poached egg was literally the glue binding everything together. The sprinkling of parmesan by Lexi didn’t hurt either. Pleasantly surprised on how much I liked the dish and that there was no food coma afterwards.

Friday, 2/5/16

Restaurant: Beautiful Memory Desserts

Address: 69 Bayard St, New York, NY 10013

Dish: Tang Yuan (Sesame soup with sweet rice balls with black sesame filling

Thoughts: After braving noodle bowls of scintillating heat over at Xian Famous, Mama Hsu and I cooled down with one of my favorite desserts on the same block: tang yuan. One bite of the balls and I was hooked. An explosion of black sesame filling oozed out into the sweet almond soup. Mama Hsu didn’t want to share so she and I ordered two separate portions and then 2 more to go.

Friday, 2/5/16

Restaurant: Lam Zhou Handmade Noodle and Dumpling

Address: 144 E Broadway, New York, NY 10002

Dish: Fried Dumplings

Thoughts: While waiting for our table at Golden Unicorn on Chinese New Year, I may or may not have snuck out by myself to inhale a plate of my favorite dumplings in the city. All about the ratio of skin to meat to juice which Lam zhou has nailed - thin skin, ample meat, and pockets of juice that bursts forth like Gushers. Their beef noodle soup isn’t bad either

Monday, 2/8/16

Restaurant: Chef’s Club featuring Mister Jus

Address: 275 Mulberry St, New York, NY 10012

Dish: Black cod with mushroom sauce and sourdough crisp

Thoughts: Chef Brandon Jew was previewing the menu for his San Francisco restaurant, Mister Jus. The black cod was perfectly cooked and super tender and was the perfect blank canvas for the umami from the mushroom sauce. Love the sourdough crisp on top that was an homage to San Francisco. If I ever find myself in SF, I’d love to try out the rest of the menu.

Tuesday, 2/9/16

Restaurant: Via Della Pace Pizza

Address: permanently closed

Dish: n/a

Thoughts: This was a memorable night, not for the food, but because it was my first food blogger event. I was invited by Rebecca and didn’t know what to expect. As I walked in, all I saw was a sea of asians with iphones and dslrs taking pictures of pizzas on the…floor? Wait, what?!

I was told that the tile provided an aesthetically pleasing background for the picture. I didn’t take out my camera for a while and just observed. These bloggers were clicking their shutters and positioning pizzas in synced rhythm like how flocks of birds fly together without hitting each other. At one point, a standalone light apparatus was set up on the table to provide even, bright light. I was still staring at this operation when I met a few food instagrammers: justafoodienyc, _jillish, dianaaeatsnyc, mattbruck, shiumaieatsnyc, allisonkimchi and entered the food blogger universe.

Wednesday, 2/10/16

Restaurant: Mission Chinese

Address: 171 E Broadway, New York, NY 10002

Dish: Spicy rice cakes

Thoughts: Not a fan of Mission Chinese as a whole. The dishes are overpriced for hipsters and most are too salty. But there is one dish that fires on all cylinders. Chewy rice cakes that pairs well with the smokiness of the bacon. Good amount of spice too so ask for extra napkins (and white rice).

Next week's EATS

Last week's EATS

What I Ate: 1/29/16 - 2/4/16

May 23, 2016 by Jesse Hsu in NYC, Restaurant, Food Diary

Inspired by "Grub Street Diet", I wanted to start chronicling my meals for posterity and sharing my favorite dishes with others. Each diary will cover food eaten in one week, no matter how big or small.

This week: Moving Day, back-to-back Basta Pasta, and meeting someone off of Instagram who turned out to be normal

FRIDAY, 1/29/16

On the way to lunch, I stopped by Arcade Bakery and picked up dessert: lemon sugar brioche and s’mores danish for Sammy to try.

Whole Foods gets a bad rap but I personally like having lunch there. Fried fish poboys next to the chicken tikka masala. A few feet away, you’ll find quinoa, kale, and other healthy things I don’t get. The variety of selection is overwhelming but you’re bound to find something tasty. Sammy got a nice golden rotisserie chicken while I enjoyed moist pork shoulder, risotto, and sauteed mushrooms. I ordered a matcha lemonade but they ran out of mint so they comped it for me while a barista ran to grab more mint for the line of waiting customers. We enjoyed the pastries while listening to screaming, crying babies. Note to self: Don't sit in the kids section next time.

Dinner was a seamless order from Angelo’s Pizza.. I had enjoyed their spaghetti and meatballs last time so I tried the Chicken Marsala. Delicious sauce and ample portions of chicken that retained juice despite being delivered.

SATURDAY, 1/30/16

Showed up at Golden Unicorn for dimsum with Sammy and his friends. After a brief wait, we were led to the 2nd floor and sat at a massive table while carts of happiness whizzed by. The egg tarts here are my favorite - perfectly flaky crust and the egg custard actually tastes like egg instead of the usual sugary, artificial filling. Unfortunately, you can’t just buy these a la carte anytime….they’re only available during dimsum.

SUNDAY, 1/31/16

After bringing some boxes of items to my new apt, I took a break and had a quiet solo dinner at Basta Pasta. I ordered a mushroom risotto to start (kinda watery and underseasoned) and their classic pasta that is submerged into a giant wheel of Parmigiano, tableside.

MONDAY, 2/1/16

Moving Day! To start off the day, I had breakfast at Sarabeth’s near Central Park. I made the mistake of going with the Restaurant Week menu and I don’t even remember what I had. On the walk back to my apt, I took it all in. The horse-drawn carriages plodding along Central Park, Columbus Circle off in the distance, and the Plaza Hotel where I enjoyed many Luke lobster rolls. Gonna miss this neighborhood.

After moving into my new apt in Union Square, my roomie and I celebrated with a dinner at….Basta Pasta. I had a very satisfying plate of homemade silk handkerchief pasta, mixed mushrooms, lemon zest, ricotta cheese. We split an uni pasta (uni is not created equal because their version is watery and not flavorful), and the roomie had a nice seafood vongole.

TUESDAY, 2/2/16

Cold day means Thai Son. David and I ordered the usual stewed beef pho and spring roll appetizer. We discovered an ingredient that improved the flavor profile of the noodle soup: a generous squirt of lime which added the perfect amount of acidity to the tomato based broth.

Later that evening, I met up with Rebecca, a food blogger on instagram. We’ve commented on each other’s posts over a few weeks so I arranged for a face to face meeting at Sakagura. Highlights included the miso short ribs, and silken tofu with bonito. Botan ebi was meh in its raw form but was resurrected in an improved tempura form. We talked about likes and dislikes (bell peppers for her and eggplant for me) as well as our shared penchant for pho. I made plans to take my new foodie friend to my favorite pho spot in NY called Khe-Yo.

WEDNESDAY, 2/3/16

Yesterday was vietnamese lunch and japanese dinner. Today’s lunch of green curry from Lan Larb Soho was fiery Thai. Coworkers smirked and smh-ed as I went through 10 paper towels for the beads of sweat perched on my eyebrows. Next time, I’m bringing a towel from home.

Second lunch was the office birthday lunch that was catered by Uma Temakeria (think sushi burritos and spicy tuna handrolls). It was a hit for the whole office - for those on a health kick and for those with gluten/kosher/food allergy issues. This was one office lunch that didn't elicit mass food coma afterwards.

After two lunches, I decided to have a light dinner on my way home at Republic, an Asian American bistro with a brigade of 10-15 chefs. Chatted with Caroline, one of the managers there and she recommended the vietnamese chicken salad. The chicken thigh chunks were juicy and the ginger marinade was light. My go to salad even though I hate salad.

THURSDAY, 2/4/16

Walked to Gourmet Garage with David and Xavier and split a whole rotisserie chicken with David. Paired it with an awesome sweet corn chowder. Cheap and filling.

Dinner was with some old friends (christine and Ken) and new friends (since undergrad). It was great to meet Nancy and her husband, Ted and we ordered the majority of the menu at The Milling Room on the UWS. The wood adorned decor and candlelit tables really made for an intimate ambiance. I ordered a thick porkchop which was a bit overcooked and slightly dry. The table unanimously agreed that the duck and the squid ink spaghetti were standouts.

WEEKLY SUMMARY

Dined out: 14 times

Restaurants Visited: Arcade Bakery, Whole Foods, Angelo’s Pizzeria, Golden Unicorn, Basta Pasta (2x), Sarabeth’s Central Park, Thai Son, Sakagura, Lan Larb Soho, Uma Temakeria, Republic, Gourmet Garage, The Milling Room

Highlights: Golden Unicorn; egg custard | Sakagura; miso short ribs | The Milling Room; duck and the squid ink pasta

Next week's EATS

Last Week's EATS

What I Ate: 1/22/16 - 1/28/16

May 10, 2016 by Jesse Hsu in NYC, Restaurant, Food Diary

Inspired by "Grub Street Diet", I wanted to start chronicling my meals for posterity and sharing my favorite dishes with others. Each diary will cover food eaten in one week, no matter how big or small.

This week: What to eat in a blizzard and $2 dumplings to $200 Michelin-starred kaiseki

FRIDAY, 1/22/16

Nursed my hangover with stewed beef noodle soup and some crunchy spring rolls at Thai Son. When you order this dish, make sure you repeat “no tendon” because today’s bowl contained lots of tendon. Fail.

Dinner was a fail too. Getting two al pastor tacos with hard shells via seamless delivery from Tehuitzingo was a rookie mistake. The flavor was there but the shells disintegrated in its own pork juices. Ordered another dish knowing there would be a blizzard tomorrow. The pork ribs in red sauce were succulent and perfect with the slight heat from the sauce.

SATURDAY, 1/23/16

Enjoyed my pork ribs leftovers for brunch and trekked to Central Park West to hang out at Christine’s apt to spend Blizzard Day watching Duke basketball and enjoying homemade pumpkin ginger waffles. On my way home, I picked up a cheeseburger and fries from The Burger Joint cause I had the munchies.

SUNDAY, 1/24/16

Was in an Italian mood so walked past Carnegie Hall to Trattoria Dell 'Arte, a spot popular for pre-theater dining. Enjoyed the presentation and flavor of the 101 layer lasagna and the lobster carbonara. Ate half of each dish and boxed the leftovers for dinner that night.

MONDAY, 1/25/16

Cafe Clementine has this amazing special that comes around infrequently, so when I see that it’s available, I drop all lunch plans and run to get the thinly sliced steak sandwich with jalapeño and pickled onions. Melted cheddar and havarti. Spicy and sour flavor profiles. Crunchy bread and gooey cheese textures? Game over.

Ventured to Eataly after work with coworker/friend/partner-in-crime - Julia. Noshed on a charcuterie and cheese plate and inhaled a filet o fish sandwich (the fried skate was too salty) and grabbed drinks at the upstairs bar which had transformed temporarily into a ski chalet.

After Eataly, I made my way to midtown for dinner at Hide Chan with coworker/gastronaut/food crusher - David. This kid’s eating prowess never ceases to amaze. He ordered a mega ramen with all the fixins plus extra pork. Reminds me of my voracious appetite when I was 15. While I struggled to finish my bowl, he polished his before me. Well done, sir.

TUESDAY, 1/26/16

Went healthy today and ordered a earth bowl and small butternut squash soup at Sweetgreen, an entity that prints money. Lines are always 50 deep, no matter the day. No wonder they are expanding all across the city. Met up with Jess, a potential roomie at the time (now we’re current roommates) to talk about the apt. Wait, hold up. Walking distance to Basta Pasta, City Bakery, and Ootoya? That’s all you had to say. Sold.

We then walked to Grandaisy Bakery to pick up a nutella cookie and a raspberry cornbread muffin for dessert.

Got hungry again from all the healthy food so I grabbed 10 pan fried pork and chive dumplings for $2.50 from Tasty Dumpling with coworker/graphic designer Jordana (she designed my scrumphsus logo!) and then picked up a chocolate cupcake from Sharkey’s Cafe.

Dinner was mapo tofu and hot and sour soup from Joe’s Shanghai for this frigid night.

WEDNESDAY, 1/27/16

Cafe Clementine’s other special is a fragrant rosemary pork shoulder sandwich with broccoli rabe and provolone with jalapenos. Juicy and bursting with flavors. Love the rosemary and jalapeno interplay. Also added bbq chips, butternut soup, and cowboy cookie.

Dinner was with Slo Mo Steve and my cousin Dan who was visiting from LA. Last visit, we went out to Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare and tonight was no different. We stepped into Rosanjin, a 1 Michelin Japanese eatery, known for its creative kaiseki format. Our first course was a soup but it came in a bubbling glass jar. Another highlight was their uni dish which included chewy wheat cake rolled up into a fried yuba wrapper. My favorite course had two amazing components: thinly sliced raw wagyu but more impressively, the white miso broth that we dipped the raw meat into. Complex, nutty, and so full of flavor. The meal ended with kamameshi, a huge bowl of rice and mounds of uni and mushrooms. The server saw our eyes light up so she gave our table some well-received seconds. The only downside happened after our meal when the server revealed that due to rent hikes, they were closing. When I asked when, they said…tonight after service. What a shame.

THURSDAY, 1/28/16

Really liked the seasonal special pizza at Arcade Bakery. It was a cauliflower pizza with walnuts and lemon parsley - best vegetarian pizza ever. A lemon sugar brioche was the perfect sweet ending.

Ken and Christine came by for my homecooked dinner: baked salmon with couscous and cherry tomatoes with squash. It’s a simple and foolproof recipe I learned from a managing director at my company. You basically put salmon on top of blistered cherry tomatoes and let it poach in that tomato juice liquid for 20 min. Comes out moist and tender every time as if it was sous vide.

BAKED SALMON AND TOMATOES

Use of a dutch oven pot is highly recommended. If you don’t have one, make sure you have a pot with lid. Cooking time is 20 min first round and 20-25 min second round. Prepping is done in between.

Serving size: For two

Ingredients:
-1 lb of salmon cut into 2 pieces

- few cloves of garlic

-1 shallot bulb or small onion

-1 container of cherry tomatoes

- Optional veg: asparagus, mushrooms, squash

-1 lemon

-fresh thyme

-S&P (Baleine sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper)

Round 1

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Wash and rinse your dutch oven pot, tomatoes nd then slice cherry tomatoes in half. Put sliced tomatoes into a bowl.
3. Add few swirls of live oil to inside of dutch oven pot. Drop in sliced tomatoes and a light dusting of &P.
4. Once oven has reached 350F, cover pot of sliced tomatoes with lid and place carefully into oven. 20 min on the timer.
5. Mince your garlic and chop your onion or shallot. Wash and chop optional veggies for sides. Examples: asparagus, mushrooms, squash, whatever you want.
6. Wash salmon, pat dry. &P both sides. keep skin on because that keeps the meat moist like a Canada Goose parka. You can remove skin later after it cooks (I recommend eating with skin for max flavor).

Round 2

1. After round 1 timer goes off, take out dutch oven with oven mitt and put on your stove. lift up lid slowly away from you to avoid steaming your eyebrows off. Tomatoes should be nice and blistered, just ready to burs. Fragrant juice should be pooling at the bottom of the pan. hot dam.
2. Add half a spoon of garlic and shallot and gently mix with tomatoes. Gently place fish fillets on top of the tomatoes. drop a few sprigs of thyme in there.
3. Cover the lid, put back into oven. timer 20 min for med rare, 25 min for medium.
4. After timer goes off, take out pot and put on stove. Portion everything according to how many guests you’re cooking for. Garnish with some fresh thyme, few drops of lemon over the salmon, and black pepper dusting to taste. I also like to add some red chili flakes for a kick.

WEEKLY SUMMARY

Dined out: 15 times

Cooked at home: 1 time

Restaurants Visited: Thai Son, Tehuitzingo, Burger Joint, Trattoria Dell 'Arte, Eataly, Hide Chan, Cafe Clementine (2x), SweetGreen, Grandaisy Bakery, Tasty Dumpling, Sharkey's Cafe, Joe's Shanghai, Rosanjin, Arcade Bakery

Highlights: Rosanjin; white miso broth and wagyu (RIP)| Cafe Clementine; rosemary pork shoulder sandwich w/ broccoli rabe, provolone, jalapenos

Last Week's Eats

Next Week's Eats

What I Ate: 1/15/16 - 1/22/16

May 02, 2016 by Jesse Hsu in NYC, Washington DC, Restaurant, Food Diary

Inspired by "Grub Street Diet", I wanted to start chronicling my meals for posterity and sharing my favorite dishes with others. Each diary will cover food eaten in one week, no matter how big or small.

This week: over-hyped disappointment, a taste of suburbia, and way too much Jameson.

Friday, 1/15/16

After talking up the Double Royale with Cheese, Xavier wanted to try it out so off we went for Friday lunch at Church Street Tavern. Even though I had it just two days prior, the burger took a few steps back. The buttery brioche bun was replaced by a drier, pedestrian sesame bun. The two patties also shrunk in size by at least 20%. Let the record reflect that this was the last time I ordered the Double Royale.

After work, I got my haircut near St. Marks and passed by Yuba, a sushi spot that has been instagrammed by some food bloggers. I poked my head in and sat at the sushi bar. Everyone from the waitstaff to the chefs, especially head chef Jack, was hospitable and courteous (he even gave me a free piece and a cup of sake after meeting me for the first time). If only the sushi was as nice. As Jack fed me piece by piece of my solo omakase, I kept waiting for the beat to drop…but it never did. I was slowly drowning in fact that I fell for another disappointment that was hypebeasted on social media. Not sure if it was an off day, but the fish didn’t taste very fresh and was slightly fishy. While the price was very competitive, I’d rather pay a premium for top quality fish. Gordon Ramsay said it best: “Damn, what a shame.”

I strolled into Sobaya to forget about Yuba but my bad food day was about to get its third strike. Sobaya was my happy place that never disappointed. Consistent quality, great rapport with the staff, and reasonable prices have earned my loyalty over the years. For some inexplicable reason, I decided to go off book and order something I never had before; the minced salmon sashimi over rice. Compared to my usual order of sake oyako don (sliced salmon with salty ikura), this salmon sashimi bowl was bland and meh. I wasn’t going out like this.

“Hi Han Dynasty? I’d like to place a takeout order for your chicken wings. 10 min? Ok, see ya soon.”

Victory.

Saturday, 1/16/16

Grabbed a bacon and egg burger for breakfast at Shake Shack in the JFK terminal and a decent crabcake sandwich at DCA airport when I landed. I was in DC to shoot portraits of my dear college buddy Victoria and her ginger munchkin, Maya. After walking around the basin, we got some shots at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and the nearby area. Victoria took me to a delicious local spot called “Meat in a Box” which served gigantic, juicy kebabs.

For dinner, we pulled up to a nondescript convenience store, called Lake Anne Market. In the back of the store was a small kitchen humming on all cylinders and pumping out orders. We put in our orders of baleadas (mine was stuffed with eggs, avocado, queso, and crispy pork) and relaxed while the sounds of Spanish soccer announcers and smell of fresh tortillas on the flat top permeated the air for eternity. My god was it worth the wait.

Sunday, 1/17/16

Met up with Victoria’s parents at The Greene Turtle and guzzled down some bar food (crab dip, pretzels, burgers) while we watched the Panthers manhandle the Seahawks for 31 points when we left at halftime. For dinner, Marcus prepared these things called Pizza Bites in an oven. My cherry was popped and I may have swallowed 10 of them before we headed out to catch "13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi". We were armed to the teeth with 2 cherry Icees, nachos, Dibs, and popcorn; a radical and welcome departure from my usual Japanese dinners. #TasteofSuburbia

Monday, 1/18/16

Spent MLK Day catching up with Mari at Maketto over some braised beef and egg over bread (slightly salty) and Cambodian pork noodle soup (great!) and for L2 (lunch #2), she took me to DGS Delicatessen where we noshed on matzo ball soup, reuben with shmear of chicken liver, latkes, and babka bread pudding. We tried to walk it off but it was too cold and we Ubered.

I landed at JFK that evening and grabbed a light dinner at Shake Shack: two single shackburgers with cherry peppers on the side (highly recommended).

Tuesday, 1/19/16

Did a solo lunch at Khe Yo and ordered my favorite pho in all the land. Manager slipped me a comped toasted coconut gelato (sourced from il laboratorio del gelato) cause he saw me sweating like a little bitch. But it worked.

Dinner was a low key seamless order from Angelo’s Pizza. Decent spaghetti with meatballs that could have fed two.

Wednesday, 1/20/16

Our office used to get massive cookie cakes from Mrs. Fields but put a kibosh on that in an effort to be healthier. Now we order catered lunch and for January, we had GRK, a casual greek spot that delivered grilled chicken/lamb, pitas, greek salad, cole slaw, and greek yogurt with honey and granola. Pretty tasty without the usual food coma.

I was excited for dinner because I invited a few social circles of old and new Dukies to collide together over AYCE hot pot at 99 Favor Taste. There’s something extremely satisfying when you cook and prepare your own food. For the uninitiated, first you decide what type of broth you want (I prefer the original), choose your proteins and vegetables (I’m partial to the beef, fish fillets, enoki mushrooms, corn cobs, any type of green veg, and instant ramen noodles. I’d stay away from the shrimp cause it’s annoying to peel). It was my first time at an ayce hot pot and I can speak for our group of 11 that we had a blast.

For those that didn’t leave, they were rewarded with a free dessert tasting at Contra where the staff went above and beyond and threw in a few chocolate pb cups from Wildair as a bonus. A+!

Thursday, 1/21/16

Still full from the epic hot pot, I did a cheap $5 lunch in Chinatown. My plate consisted of curry chicken, radishes, cabbage, white rice, 1 egg roll, and 1 egg custard. Had to eat it outside because the last time I brought chinese food into the office, I got yelled at by the CEO. I don’t blame him though, radishes do smell like fresh farts.

Dinner was at Turntable in Ktown with my brother Jon. We split an order of a bulgogi burger and soy garlic fried chicken but our friend hooked it up with pork belly salad, fries, gyoza, and 6 shots of Jameson. If you know the Hsu brothers, then you know that you have to hold my hair after a ¼ bottle of Smirnoff Ice (that only happened once in college and I stopped drinking). We were fine and dandy after our first shot. After all, we had fried deliciousness in our bellies. The second shot rendered us speechless. We were staring at each other and were going to be late to a magic show. The 3rd shot on our way out suspended our disbelief, which was the perfect state of mind for the upcoming show.

WEEKLY SUMMARY

Dined out: 20 times

Restaurants Visited: Church Street Tavern, Yuba, Sobaya, Han Dynasty, Grille District, Meat in a Box, Lake Anne Market, Shake Shack (2x), The Greene Turtle, AMC, DGS Delicatesen, Maketto, Khe Yo, Angelo's Pizza, GRK, 99 Favor Taste, Contra, Chinese Deli, Turntable

Highlights: Lake Anne Market; homemade baleadas | 99 Favor Taste; hotpot | Contra; overripe banana ice cream

Last Week's Eats HERE

Next Week's Eats HERE