Bibimbap!

I tried this bibimbap at Village Yokocho while out in New York City with some friends. The rice in the bottom of the sizzling bowl got nice and crispy and that beautiful egg yolk spread lusciously throughout the dish. Amping the spice level up with lots of hot chili sauce we devoured two these between five people in no time. SO GOOD.

Plus bibimbap is the most fun food name to say out loud. Trust me, it's been proven.

Apollo Chinese Restaurant

Every once in a while I just get a craving for simple, delicious pork fried rice. Basic greasy fried rice from your standard Chinese place—nothing special, just good comfort food.

I recently had this craving for two months. I don’t know why I didn’t do anything about it—the craving would come, I would consider getting Chinese food, and then I would do something else. On one recent hot and humid afternoon I decided to do something about it. I think that the weather really put me over the edge. The oppressive heat was so reminiscent of China that I just couldn’t get it out of my mind. I kept thinking about how I used to walk down the street from my apartment and visit this little hole-in-the-wall restaurant on the corner with a man spooning out fried rice into buckets for just a few measly cents in U.S. currency. I would go pick up a bucket of egg or beef fried rice and then savor the salty MSG, filling rice, and chili heat. Granted, the fried rice I would buy on the corner in Chengdu was quite different than the American-Chinese food of my craving, but somewhere in my mind fried rice and hot weather are knit together.

Being unsure where to get some good fried rice in the Collegetown area of Ithaca, NY, I checked out my friend Celeste’s blog 90 Restaurants, 90 Days, a site on which she documents her culinary experiences in Ithaca before leaving the area to pursue other ventures. This blog became a go-to for me during my time in Ithaca. After checking out Celeste’s reviews of a few Asian restaurants I honed in on Apollo Chinese Restaurant, and was immediately convinced that it was the best option. It sounded like the best cure for my craving and they were right around the corner from me.

One of the most satisfying parts of the experience was that when I walked into Apollo the scent immediately took me back to the smell of food in China. It’s so interesting how a particular scent can transport you through space and time, and I definitely experienced that on my recent venture to Apollo. The pork fried rice was exactly what I was craving. My ideal pork fried rice consists of greasy, salty rice laden with hunks of bright red roast pork, bits of scrambled egg, onions, carrots, and peas. I like the rice to be brown from a bit of soy sauce and slightly crispy and clumped together—perfect for scooping up glorious mouthfuls with chopsticks. This was exactly what Apollo delivered.

When I checked out the menu and was tempted to order a few dishes, but it was really just the pork fried rice I was interested in. Even though I was getting a very basic dish I got the feeling (and can see evidence of it in Celeste’s review) that they do “real” Chinese food right. I was more than satisfied and had my craving filled by the fried rice, but if I were to return again I’d probably want to try out their steamed pork buns, one of their various noodle soups, Peking duck, or double sautéed pork (I’m guessing this is the same as twice cooked pork, one of my favorite dishes). Alas, I’m far departed from Ithaca now, but if you’re in the area and looking for a fried-rice fix then it’s the right place to be.

Woo Chon

If you’re looking for delicious Korean barbeque in New York City then you’ll definitely want to check out Woo Chon, located in Midtown at 8 West 36th Street. We had quite a crew that night, and Woo Chon was a great place for family-style dining. We ordered a ton of food, and left stuffed and satisfied.

First the servers brought out an array of Korean vegetable dishes. These included kim chi, bean sprouts, egg plant, radish, and dried seaweed. Just look at that spread—there was something for everyone. 

 

And then the appetizers started filling up the table. First up was the Seafood Pajun—an incredible scallion pancake with mussels, squid, oysters, and mushrooms. It arrived at the table nice and crispy on the outside, fluffy and light on the inside, and simply exploding with seafood.

Next came the Mandoo Gui. These dumplings stuffed with beef, pork, tofu, and vegetables and fried until crispy were excellent, like little pockets of perfection that were great for sharing.

The server also brought over some Haemul Sun Tofu soup on the house. This spicy soup was prepared with seafood and soft tofu. There was lots of different types of seafood in the soup, and I was happy to discover some tasty tentacles.

I insisted on ordering grilled baby back ribs, which were flame broiled with a spicy marinade. These ribs were out of this world with their spicy and sweet sauce. One of the reasons I love ribs is tearing the meat off the bone—it makes me feel primitive (in a good way).

The Korean-style barbeque was one of the main reasons we decided to hit up Woo Chon. At each table there is a burner. The server turns it on and allows a metal grill plate to heat up. After it’s hot enough the meat is placed on the grill and allowed to cook through. We ordered Galbi (prime rib filleted off the bone) and Saewoo Gui (filleted shrimps). Both were served in the Woo Chon marinade and tasted awesome.

When the meat was ready we wrapped the pieces up in lettuce and a dollop of spicy sauce (next time I'll definitely be saving those assorted vegetables to wrap up the barbequed meat!).

 

We also ordered two types of Bibimbap. Bibimbap is a very popular Korean dish—it is often a mixture rice, vegetables, and meat served sizzling in a hot stone bowl. The ingredients are then mixed together in the bowl at the table. I don’t remember exactly what was in each of the bibimbaps that we ordered, but they were delicious. Bibimbap is great to eat, but it's also a lot of fun to say.

For drinks to accompany our meal I ordered some cold house sake while everyone else opted for the Korean OB beer.

 

Woo Chon was a great place to devour tasty Korean barbecue. There’s so much to choose from that you simply can’t go wrong. I recommend going with a large group so you can try lots of these delicious dishes!

I Feel Like a Zombie Soup Dumpling

Sonya, Pat, and I have a list of places we need to eat at before the end of January. Or rather, places they’ve already eaten at but want me to experience. So far we’ve crossed four out of fourteen off our list: ’ino, Thai Market, Beard Papa’s, and, the focus of today’s post, Shanghai Cuisine.

So after a lazy Sunday of White Russians and cream puffs, we headed to Chinatown to check out Shanghai Cuisine. Our mission: Zombies and soup dumplings.

Zombies on the Shanghai Cuisine menu are described as “our version of Don the Beachcomber’s original lethal libation, a real dirty stinker.” This description is absolutely true. The Zombie is basically a combination of rum and fruit juices, and it’s all topped off with a shot of 151. Powerful. We thoroughly enjoyed drinking this classic tiki drink as we indulged in delicious Chinese food.

Sonya tried the Pineapple Paradise, which was a blend of rum, tropical juices, and spices. It came frozen like a smoothie in a cute, little pineapple glass. I knew another Zombie would put me over the top, so when it came time for a second round of cocktails I opted for a Mai Tai. I love Mai Tais with their combination of light and dark rums and fruit juices, and they always remind me of my time spent in Hawaii. I was pleased with Shanghai Cuisine's interpretation of the Mai Tai. It seems they take their cocktails very seriously.

We accomplished part one of the mission with our first sip of zombies, and next up was the soup dumplings. Shanghai Cuisine offers three different types of soup dumplings, so naturally we ordered all three kinds: pork, crabmeat and pork, and shrimp and pork.

Some of you may be wondering what exactly a soup dumpling is. No, it’s not a dumpling in soup. It’s a dumpling that has a meat filling also has soup inside. The dumplings arrive in steamer baskets, and the first thing to do is carefully transfer a dumpling from the steamer to a spoon. It’s key to be careful so that you don’t accidently pierce the dumpling wrapper and lose the precious soup inside.

 

Take a little of the sauce that accompanies the dumplings and pour it on top. Once the dumpling is on the spoon you don’t want to just pop it in your mouth—the soup will probably be too hot and will explode in your mouth and burn you. Not cool. So instead take a little bite out of the side of the dumpling and suck up the soup through the hole. Be prepared for a savory, salty, delicious broth that warms the soul. After quaffing the lovely liquid, it’s time to eat the dumpling. The soup dumplings at Shanghai Cuisine were superb. Everyone needs to experience these little packets of deliciousness at some point in their lives.

Besides the soup dumplings, my other favorite dish we tried that night was jellyfish with shredded turnip in scallion sauce. I never had jellyfish before, but I wanted to try something a little exotic and Sonya was also down to test it out with me. Pat initially refused to taste the jellyfish, but after some liquid courage from the Zombie he took a bite. And I saw him going back for more.

I think for a first experience with jellyfish we opted for the right preparation. It was shredded into thin pieces and mixed in with turnip that was the same size and shape, so it was impossible to discern what was jellyfish and what was turnip. The texture was a mixture of softness from the jellyfish and crunchiness from the turnips. The dish was served chilled and reminded me of eating cold noodles. I loved the scallion sauce—it was nice and salty without being overpowering. I’ll definitely be trying to replicate the sauce at home. All in all, the jellyfish experience was much tamer than I expected and I would order it again in a second. I’m hooked.

We also ordered some pork fried rice. It’s classic comfort food. Shanghai Cuisine makes it just the way I like it—a little greasy, a little crispy, and loaded with lots of roast pork. Yes.

Next up was a seafood bird’s nest. It consisted of a combination of various seafood and vegetables displayed in a pretty “nest” made of fried noodles. Although the basket was nice to look at, it was not pleasant to eat—dry, tough, and bland. Don’t eat it. The seafood mixture was much more appetizing. It came with squid, crabmeat, scallops, shrimp, mushrooms, carrots, baby corn, and peas. Pat also tried what he thought was a water chestnut but turned out to be a fish ball. No, not the balls of a fish, but rather a sort of meatball made out of fish and steamed. The seafood bird’s next was pretty basic Chinese food—it was good but could not compare to the soup dumplings on any level.

My recommendation for Shanghai Cuisine is to stick to their powerful libations and dim sum menu. It’s definitely worth the trip to Chinatown just to try their soup dumplings. If you’re feeling adventurous I’d also suggest trying some of their less typical fare, such as jellyfish, duck tongue, chicken’s feet, or sea cucumber. And don't forget the Zombies!

Thai Market

The best type of boyfriend is one that treats his girlfriend’s sister to dinner every once in a while. I’m a lucky girl—I get to be that girlfriend’s sister. Remain single and still get my dinner and drinks paid for? Yes, please.

So while Sonya cultured herself at a friend’s dance recital, Pat and I ventured up the Upper West Side to 960 Amsterdam Avenue to dine at Thai Market. He raved about it all day essentially since we left ’ino earlier, and I couldn’t wait to try out some delicious Thai food.

The décor of Thai Market was pretty interesting—definitely not what I expected for a Thai restaurant. It was very modern with sleek tabletops and just enough dim lighting that Pat could hide his phone and watch the game on it while we ate.

We started off with a couple of Singha beers (a Thai lager) and ordered some appetizers to share. One of the items Pat insisted we try was the Loog Chin Ping—Thai meatballs with a tamarind chili glaze. They were the perfect item for sharing. The cute, little meatballs came split in half and impaled on toothpicks and drizzled with the tamarind chili glaze offering a bit of sweetness and spiciness. I couldn’t wait to get my mouth around those balls. 

Next up was Yum Yum Thai spicy salad. We ordered the Yum Neau, which came with grilled skirt steak, mint, red onion, watercress, and roasted rice. The salad was my favorite part of the meal. Don’t get me wrong—everything else was fantastic, but that salad was something else. Pat asked them to go really spicy, and they delivered. There’s something about really spicy food that, once you get over that initial burn, you can’t seem to stop eating. It’s almost as if you think if you keep eating it the next bite will cool off your tongue. But it doesn’t. The flavors of the salad were so delicious I couldn’t stop, and the alternation between delicious flavors and intense spiciness is like a little dance of pain and pleasure on the tongue. I definitely need to learn how make this salad at home.

We also opted for one of the items on the specials menu—crispy shrimp pancakes. Just imagine a latke but even crispier and with shrimp incorporated into it. Delicious. And the dipping sauce that came it was one of the best I’d tried. It was light, sweet, and spicy, and it was the perfect accompaniment for the crispy saltiness of the shrimp pancakes.

For the entrée Pat ordered the Amber Shrimp dish, which came with shrimp, Chinese celery, onion, egg, and long hot pepper that was sautéed with yellow curry. I only tried a couple of bites but it was amazing and had a nice heat from the pepper and curry.

I ordered the Kow Moo Dang with roasted pork, Thai pork sausage, boiled egg, and moo dang sauce, served over rice. Sometimes I like to order what I know for sure will be good, and sometimes I take a risk—this night I took a risk. I was very curious was Thai pork sausage would taste like and was surprised to find that it was very sweet. The dish was sort of a yin and yang. On one side were slices of savory roast pork and on the other was the sweet Thai pork sausage, all brought into balance with the boiled egg in the center. The Kow Moo Dang sauce was also very sweet with almost an essence of maple syrup in it. While the sauce was quite tasty I needed some heat and tried it out with all the various hot peppers that served as condiments. Delicious.

 

Thai Market was a great place for dinner. The dishes were all high quality and authentic and yet the prices were not New York City prices—everything on the menu is completely reasonable. They don’t have a Web site, but you can check out the menu online. I highly recommend Thai Market to anyone in the city who is looking for a good place to enjoy some tasty, authentic Thai food.

White Inn

In celebration of my sister Tara’s 21st birthday I recently made the long drive out to Fredonia in western New York to visit her and drink copious amounts of alcohol. Ah, the joys of reaching legal drinking age! She had been saying for a while that she wanted to have a martini at the White Inn, a nice hotel and restaurant in town, so one night we headed there for delicious food and a perfectly crafted martini.

We decided to sit at the bar, which had a nice rustic feel to it. A fire roared nearby, diners sat and ate at their tables, and the soft sounds of a young man and woman singing and playing guitar filled the room. We started off with martinis—Bombay Sapphire gin, on the dry side, straight up, with olives. To me this is the perfect martini and apparently I’ve schooled my sister well because she ordered the same thing. The bartender made our martinis perfectly. It was just the right combination of gin and vermouth—crisp, clean, cool, and refreshing.

For food we started off with two appetizers, opting for a shrimp and goat cheese crostini and bacon-wrapped beef tenderloin. The crostini was nice and lightly toasted with a smooth, delicate spread of goat cheese, herbs, and minced shrimp layered on top. The cool creaminess of the cheese and crispiness of the crostini balanced well with the other appetizer. The bacon-wrapped tenderloin came with a sweet and spicy hoisin sauce. The bacon was fantastic, of course, and while the tenderloin could have been, well, a little more tender, overall it was a very satisfying and tasty start to the meal.

 

Next we moved on to entrees. I ordered the rack of lamb. The lamb was lightly breaded and cooked medium rare. It was accompanied with wild rice pilaf, carrots, and broccoli. Lamb is one of my favorite meats but I rarely have a chance to eat it, so although other items on the menu, such as duck and scallops, tempted me, I was happy I went for the nice, tender lamb. Tara ordered grilled salmon with a honey Dijon sauce, rice, and vegetables. She adored it. 

 

After we finished our entrees we switched from martinis to White Russians, which are made of vodka, kahula, and cream. Again the bartender crafted the drinks perfectly—they were lusciously creamy and a perfect way to anticipate dessert. 

Even though we were incredibly full from dinner we felt it was appropriate to order dessert since we were celebrating Tara’s birthday. We ordered a decadent cake with layers of coffee and chocolate deliciousness. Mmm, chocolate. How can you go wrong? We sat at the bar, taking bites of cake, sipping on our White Russians, and enjoying each others company.

A nice dinner with superb drinks was the perfect way to elegantly celebrate Tara’s birthday. We were very impressed with the White Inn, and even though it was on the fancy side the prices were very reasonable. If you ever find yourself in the quaint college town of Fredonia and want to indulge a little you should definitely stop by the lovely White Inn.