wonjo

The O-Jinguh Jjigae (spicy squid stew) with its secondary ingredients - bean sprouts, softened kimichi, and a measly bundle of enoki mushroom, arrived bubbling furiously. It looked the most promising of the dishes, but the deep red stock was deceptive and tasted like watery chili powder upped by unhealthy dose of MSG. The squid logs were tough and sour.

Duboki and bulgogi stew with slippery vermicelli on the bottom was our 2nd stewed entree. The thin beef slices and pleasantly chewy rice cakes sat in a sweet, foamy broth.

 

The pancakes I've ordered at various Korean venues have always been too thick or chewy. This scallion seafood pie broke that cycle; it was unusually thin, light, and crispy.

Unlike the broth in the spicy squid, the broth in the Soondooboo was rich and meaty, dotted with glimmering fat droplets. Silky tofu, beef slices (one of four options), and the remaining banchan (which I added in) made this stew a proud representative of the Korean classic.



Bibim bop with Bulgogi and the classic fixings in a sizzling stone bowl ended the meal. The bright red bibimbap sauce, which was possessed a pungent fermented tofu taste, was bold and savory with just the right amount of heat.

Swift service, generous portions, reliably satisfying Korean food.

nobu

The first of my Restaurant Week 2012 ventures...

[ heirloom tomato / red onion / cucumber / yuzu ]

Chunks of heirloom tomatoes dressed with yuzu was extra-refreshing after the lengthy trip to Tribeca from middle-of-nowhere Queens. Although this was only my second exposure to yuzu, I've already grown impartial to the flavor. Refreshing yet savory, even without the bias.

[ gemstone lettuce / black cod / vermicelli ]

Two bite-sized squares of Nobu's infamous silky miso-marinated black cod topped with fried vermicelli straws made for two delectable lettuce tacos.

[ baby spinach / garlic chips / arctic char ]

The fried baby spinach scattered on top of the flaky fish (whose flavors are comparable to a mild salmon) was delicious; each nutty leaf melted in my mouth like extra-thin nori. 

[ shrimp / orange clam / spanish mackerel / white fish / salmon / yellow tail / tuna / tuna roll ]

"Just sushi"- to quote my friend. 

But from the little I do know about sushi, I can confidently say that the fish, though unremarkable in presentation, was fresh. The rice could have used a little more acid.

The orange clam's texture, similar to that of scallop, was almost buttery in texture and mild in flavor - undoubtedly the best morsel on the plate.

[ white chocolate mousse/ coconut foam/ pineapple cracklings ]

This "piña colada" dessert was the selection of that day. The mousse was slightly on the sweet side and the foam lacked authentic coconut flavor, so I ended up eating the pineapple cracklings separately.

Nobu (New York)
105 Hudson Street
New York, NY 10013

the meatball shop

This was a visit long overdue. I had read about the guys that created this 3-store chain over two years  ago, right when they first opened their first shop at 84 Stanton, and never bothered to come until today, after recently coming across a very convincing Yelp review, and a meatball craving settling in.

This place doesn't take reservations, so I got there shortly after opening, hoping for an outdoor seat on a gorgeous Sunday; the place was completely packed with what seemed like loyal customers enjoying their meatball brunches. We ended up sitting at the communal table, centered in the middle of the shop. I'm not sure how I felt about sitting so closely to a complete stranger, but I made do. 

I kept it basic with my order. Photographed below are the classic beef meatballs lounging in its classic tomato sauce pairing. I was surprised to detect hints of smoky ground prosciutto in every bite, and the light and tart tomato sauce was delicious. And the coarseness of the ground meat was perfect. If only it came with a bigger slice of foccacia, and toasted while at it. 

Another recommended flavor are the spicy pork meatballs (not shown), which reminded me of a fresh Italian sausage with meatball consistency. 

 The daily greens special featured snap peas and pickled hon shimeji mushrooms tossed in herb butter. Refreshing, but the snap peas were bland. I don't remember that last time I had picked up a salt shaker.

The "Everything-But-The-Kitchen-Sink" salad really did have everything but the kitchen sink. The dish fearlessly embraced its lengthy name, sporting blanched broccoli, roasted chilled cauliflower, cucumber, arugula, roasted fennel, three meatballs smothered in its sauce, and a fried egg.

 A mega scoop of ice cream sandwiched between two dark chocolate and hazelnut cookies finally came looking after much anticipation, at least on my part. The limited-time creme fraiche-cherry combination was what led me to choose this location in place of its brother shop, which was featuring blueberry (fro-yo) as its special. The cookies, which were also the special of the day, were inedibly hardened, but the ice cream center more than made up for that. The buttery, almost salty base with swirls of tart cherry made it the most memorable ice cream I've had in a while.

The caramel scoop arrived so melted it was nearly impossible to consume with the brownie walnut cookies. Although the ice cream was tooth-achingly sweet, we all agreed the thicker, softer cookies were better than the chocolate hazelnut ones pictured above.

After my last spoonful of ice cream, I sat there, please with simple, no-fuss food churning in my happy stomach. I was then ready to endure the three-hour long Batman movie and the terribly long wait then came with it. 

The Meatball Shop
84 Stanton
(1 of 3 locations)

salt and fat

I don't think I've ever done more research on one restaurant than I did on Salt and Fat, located in the low-key neighborhood of Sunnyside, Queens. The restaurant is situated on a stereotypical outer-borough street that seemed pretty abandoned for a Saturday evening. My friend and I waited impatiently for a seat by the front window where the backdrop was the setting sun met with an occasional passing 7 train. 

Cold popcorn with bacon drippings, in place of bread and butter, opened the meal. The taste of pig fat was faint. I'm don't particularly like popcorn but these would have been enjoyable had they been warm.

I'm always in the mood for seafood, especially a hearty plate of shellfish, but the mussels clearly weren't fresh. The disks of chinese sausage, which is much sweeter and denser than Italian sausage or franks, added sweet, smoky richness to the dashi broth, which we sopped up with our ever-present charred sourdough slices. 

I didn't think this dish was deserving of its popularity. The oxtail terrine arrived looking like a burnt brownie. The meat was bland and ropy; not tender. The roasted mushrooms underneath were bland as was the caramelized onion puree, which added unnecessary sweetness to the meat.

 It found it odd that this giant portion hadn't satisfied my fried chicken craving, and now I realize it was because there was minimal grease, although the skin was delightfully crispy. We spent twenty minutes shamelessly tearing apart the juicy chicken with our fingers and dunking it in the chilled citrusy herb ranch. 

 Tender scallops, pungent truffled corn, zippy fried capers, and silky carrot puree was delightful. Corn tops my list of most despised foods but I think I enjoyed the truffled corn salsa more than I did the seared scallops.

The consistency of the dessert, lychee panna cotta was more of a jelly snack than a memorable dessert. The lychee flavoring was too subtle, the texture too firm. But the yuzu sorbet. That bracingly tart sorbet  in its grapefruit sweet orange deliciousness more than compensated.

"You should know what these are," our waitress smiled and said. Complementary korean tart yogurt shots finished a overall satisfying meal.

Salt and Fat

41-16 Queens Blvd

Sunnyside, NY 11104

mission chinese food

I'm not sure how I stumbled upon the Mission Chinese Food menu, but when I did, nearly every item sounded worthy of a 90 minute commute. But if I had been completely unaware of the existence of an excellent Sichuan restaurant at 154 Orchard Street, I'd be unwilling to even accept a free meal there. The interior appears shoddy and dungeon-like from the outside, and the neon green "take out sign"only adds to the eerie vibe. I mean, I could think of all sorts of stereotypes the storefront may trigger, but I won't go into them.

 We had just eaten a late lunch but to avoid the long lines we arrived at 4:30,  thirty minutes before opening. I felt very much like a glutton as I hadn't even digested my lunch and I was waiting on line for dinner! But arriving any later would result in a two-hour wait on a dreadfully muggy afternoon, and I was even less for that.

Our first entree arrived hissing loudly on cast iron platter. Resting on a bed of wilted watercress, pickled long beans, and caramelized sticky dates, the cumin-scented hunks of bone-in fatty lamb breasts were seared crisp and remained luscious on the inside. I found the sweet, sticky dates unnecessary and thought they would be better off tempering a spicy dish.

Below is the fish fragrant eggplant. It was a tasty eggplant dish, but that's all I can say about it. It lacks originality compared to some of the other options. I'd recommend saving room (literally - the tables are inconveniently small) for the other dishes.

I thoroughly enjoyed the thrice cooked bacon, a medley of rice cake, thick bacon, fried bean curd, bitter melon, and a discreet sprinkling of fermented black beans. The bacon lent the bitter melon tons of smoky sweetness to balance out the bitterness. The chewy rice cakes were delicious cooked with bacon fat and pungent black bean. This is more of a rice cake dish more than a bacon dish, in my opinion. I wasn't pleased with the bacon, which was fatty and almost soggy, textures I wouldn't expect after something has supposedly been cooked three times.

Our had waitress explained to us that this restaurant features food prepared with a different kind of heat than that of a jalapeño pepper. She told us it slowly builds and is surprisingly potent.

I ignored her warning. Having grown up eating stuff, I didn't think it was going to be a big deal.

But these wings are something else, unlike anything my taste buds have ever experienced. Sure, I've had my fair share of peppercorn-based casserole and chili oil mung bean jelly at a variety of Sichuan restaurants, but nothing would compare to the intensity of these wonderfully crispy, impossibly juicy double-fried wings. 

They were dusted with a powder mixture that's initially sweet / savory then mercilessly numbing. You soon realize your lips and cheeks are numb, your eyes are watery, your head is throbbing and you're on a peppercorn high. It took some time to recover, and when I did I felt a tinge of embarrassment for assuming I had tried it all.

There is a winding red paper dragon hanging from the lights that casts an annoying magenta light on everything and everyone in the dining room. I didn't enjoy eating on a stool or waiting in line or the poorly unventilated space. But the flavors. The flavors were bold and potent, unique and imaginative. It didn't matter whether this food was authentic, which seems to be a huge debate centering this particular restaurant. And it shouldn't matter. I'd make the commute again any time for those chicken wings, and the many items I've yet to try.

Mission Chinese Food

154 Orchard Street

biang!

Like many people, I became obsessed with Xi'an's Famous Foods after one acne-inducing bite of their infamous cold skin noodles. That's why I was uber excited to eat at Biang, where I was able to properly enjoy cheap Xi'an cuisine without having to worry about rickety taped-up chairs collapsing underneath us.

Biang is known for their selection of rustic hand-ripped noodles, once considered the poor man's meal. Unfortunately, the noodles didn't turn out like I had hoped for; they were clumped, and the thickness rendered them bland. But the meat toppings, complemented by braised cabbage, were succulent and tender.

The first bowl held chili lamb slices with hand-ripped noodles. Eventually, the heat and spices became overwhelming. They managed to go a little overboard with the chili oil.

For the spice-averse, there's the tender oxtail, which is stewed in a light soy sauce infused with star anise and tea.

The stewed pork belly in the third bowl, which sounded rather plain on the menu, stood out by far. The fat and lean meat melded together to make for the most luscious, savory bite if pork belly I've ever had. 

We ordered over a dozen cumin and chili rubbed lamb skewers for the table. The smokey lamb is tender and occasional nibs of fat melt easily when chewed.

The chilled quail, marinated in light soy, was the unsuspected highlight, served alongside a vinegary salad of cilantro, celery heart, cucumber, and scallion. The meat was surprisingly delicate; I had been expecting to wrestle it off the bones. 

 In short, Biang offers street food in a non-chaotic, clean setting. (And possibly more hygienic too?!) Cumin, vinegar, chili oil / powder, and scallion seem to dominate the menu and are deemed "proprietary spices" on the menu, and I don't mind. Not one bit. I will be back once my BBQ lamb skewer craving sets in again sometime this summer.

....And strawberry shortcake style birthday cake from Paris Baguette to finish: I typically prefer cakes from Asian-inspired bakeries because I find Western pastries overwhelmingly sweet and dense. Cool whipped frosting, spongy cake, and fresh plump strawberries ended the spice-packed meal nicely.

     

 Happy birthday Christine!

Biang

41-10 Main Street

Flushing, New York