Monday, February 23

Omma's Year

happy Chinese New Year! it's the year of the goat/ram. which happens to be the year my mom was born in.

i have to say, my lunar new year isn't getting off to the best start vs. my western calendar new year. hope it's not a sign of things to come...

since the new year fell on a Thursday this year, my parents decided to hold the family dinner on Saturday to accommodate theirs and our working/school schedules.


P.F. Market opened up in my hometown a few years ago, on a strip of the main street surrounded by car dealerships and Wendy's, Taco Bell, and Burger King. not a very promising opening. but over the years, i've heard very good things about the mildly upscale seafood restaurant. plus it's BYOB. 

the menu is clearly seafood-centric, with little to no other options. so diners with seafood allergies beware. 



we started with a Seafood Tower ($34) consisting of 3 little neck, 3 cherry stone, 3 east coast, 3 west coast, 3 shrimp, and colossal crabmeat. it was very difficult to be judicious in picking and choosing which pieces to eat in our family of 11. as is tradition and culture, the adults got first and multiple pick, with the kids, receiving it last, pouncing on the platter like hyenas at a feeding frenzy. 



we also ordered 2 versions of calamari.  the traditional Fried Calamari ($12) was nice and crisp and i actually preferred it over the special calamari that was offered that night, which was a twist on the traditional with an inclusion of honey and chili to the fried version. others also ordered bowls of Lobster Bisque ($8) and New England Clam Chowder ($5.50).  The lobster bisque was the clear winner that night, with a great creamy texture and light lobster accent.  unfortunately, the chowder that night was very salty, nearing on almost inedible.

for entrees, the Seafood Fra Diavolo (shrimp, scallops, calamari, PEI mussels, & lobster tail in spicy marinara over linguini) ($29) was a huge hit. and the portion was ginormous. it had the right bite of spice without being overpowering, and the sauce had a clear seafood flavor and was sufficient to properly coat the pasta so every bite was balanced with the dish's components.



as is expected, my mother ordered the P.F. Paella (fresh octopus, calamari, shrimp, scallops, PEI mussels, clams & chorizo, over rice) ($28). you know that 1 dish that you can never resist when you see it on the menu? that's paella for my mother. my dad ordered the Broiled Branzino, which is technically a special but appears to be on offer at all times.



unfortunately, the remainder of the entrees ordered were all from the specials menu.  there was a very light and refreshing lobster risotto, a squid ink pasta that was a tad salty, and my entree, an arctic char served in arrabbiata sauce. 


just about everybody took leftovers home (excluding my dad and BoyCousin#1). but, proving the resiliency of the young, WongSquared ordered dessert. and as typical of young taste buds, she ordered Chocolate Lava Cake ($8). knowing that people might want something sweet, but not that sweet, i ordered the Pistachio Gelato ($8), which was happily well received.



Thursday, February 19

Trendy Soup Dumplings

Bubby and i are attempting to make a standing monthly dinner date to catch up with each other AND eat at a restaurant either of us has had a hankering to go to.

which is how we found ourselves outside of Azasu last night in the LES. except Azasu was closed. inexplicably. there was no posting on their website. nothing on the storefront window. i even called them and there was nothing on the outgoing voice message. 

that is seriously annoying. especially since Bubby and i had been looking forward to the dinner all day.

so, forced to come up with a quick Plan B alternative, we hopped on the M15 and headed over to St. Marks to eat at Bao. the cold weather had given me a hankering for soup dumplings. 

we walked in around 8:00 p.m and the place was packed. it's not a large restaurant and is typical of most of the eateries on St. Marks in that it had an NYU-college-frenzied-atmosphere. we put our name on the list and were told there would be a 30 minute wait so we headed over to Barcade for a drink (plus Bubby really had to pee).

exactly 1 drink later, we were promptly seated at Bao. by this point, we were hungry, so it's no surprise we slightly over-ordered. Bao's menu has the plethora of selection, and it hits all the right notes between authentic Chinese options and dishes catering to the whities (ok, that's a little racist. Bubby's white and she would never order General Tso's Chicken). 

we started with XO Sauce Fried Rice, which was ordered partly because Bubby and i had chosen mainly spicy dishes from the menu and i didn't want our mouths to be on fire and because i've gotten an affinity for XO sauce ever since my visit to Vancouver. the rice is good and flavorful, with bits of pork belly mixed within, but nothing special. perhaps a noodle dish next time.

we also ordered the Radish Turnip Puffs, which were actually very well done.  the puff pastry on the outside was the perfect crumbly and crunch consistency without being greasy. the slight saltiness of the outside pastry was balanced out by the sweetness of the sauteed daikon radish on the inside. 



next, the main attraction, the soup dumplings arrived. we had ordered the Super Spicy Steamed Buns, mainly because i was intrigued at their use of the word "super." how spicy is super? apparently, very spicy. they use a ma-la flavored soup for the inside, which creates that super spicy flavor and saltiness. while it was a good dish, i think i'd order something else for next time.


we also ordered the Sauteed Black Goat and Stir Fried Lotus Root. the goat dish was cooked well, keeping the meat still tender. it was sauteed with chinese water spinach, which also added to the overall texture (and convinced you that you were eating healthy). the lotus root was also cooked well, maintaining a general crispy texture, although a little softer than i usually like it. it was the only non-spicy dish we ordered, aside from the fried rice (which should've been spicy but wasn't), which helped to balance out our overall meal. but i think that if you don't order such heavily spiced dishes, the lotus root could be a little bland.

i liked all the dishes we ordered at Bao and there were plenty more on the menu that i would've liked to try out. it's the type of menu that you want to eat with a bunch of friends, so you can try a little of everything, exactly the way chinese food is meant to be eaten (family style). BUT, i think the price point is too high for most of the food that Bao is serving. for 5 dishes and 2 glasses of wine, Bubby and i spent just under $100, including tax and tip. 

i'd probably go back to Bao, but just for their dim sum and cold appetizers portion of the menu, which is more reasonably priced for the items. although it'll be very hard to refrain from ordering other items when the rest of the restaurant is...

Monday, February 16

Ruined!

on perhaps one of the coldest weekends in NY, Spoon and i had made plans to meet up for brunch in Manhattan. this meant me travelling from my outer borough and her travelling from Jersey City. we are clearly not levelheaded people.

but we persevered and ended up at Mother's Ruin. the space is not that big and happened to be packed at the time we arrived. it's a rustic space with hardwood floors and furniture. a mirror display behind the bar has amusingly named cocktails and a live acoustic duo was performing at the front/center of the space. so essentially, hipster. (flannels and beanies abounded).

i started to get a foreboding feeling when the hostess sat a group that had arrived after we had arrived and given our name before us. maybe it was because they were all metrosexual/gay men who were a more attractive crowd to put at the coveted window bay table. after all, they need to keep up appearances for the crowds that walked by the restaurant. when i pointed out her faux pas, she shrugged her shoulders and told me she had their name down before mine. 

i do not like it when people lie. (see previous post). 

let me correct that: she may not have been lying. she probably really did put their name down before ours. but that doesn't make her correct. maybe that's why you shouldn't use a stupid chalkboard system to write down the names of people who are waiting. maybe, when you see a crowd of diners waiting to be seated, you shouldn't just walk through the crowd and ask everyone's name and then willy-nilly write down them down in whatever order you choose to remember.

but that's just me.



we got a comfortable table in the back, which started to thaw my prickly demeanor. and for me, the subsequent experience was pleasant. i got my brunch beverage-a bloody mary. it was meh, but not unpleasant. i prefer mine spicier and it barely had a kick. more salt vs. kick. but who can complain about a bloody mary? (or so i thought. the story continues later). i ordered Mother's Biscuits and Gravy ($13) (buttermilk biscuits, spicy sausage gravy, poached eggs & pickled cherry peppers) which is definitely one of the heartier savory menu items. again, the dish was overall salty vs. spicy but it was enjoyable. the poached eggs were done well. but it's sad that the only thing i can really say about a dish that contains BISCUITS! GRAVY! SAUSAGE! is that the poached eggs were done well...

NewGuy ordered the Mother's 75 (their version of a mimosa, with grapefruit instead of orange juice) and the 'Real Deal' Maryland Crab Cake Benedict ($16) (lump crabmeat, poached eggs, old bay remoulade, home fries). i had a few bites of his entree and it was ok. he seemed happy with the flavor, although he lamented the small portion.



Spoon ordered the Frenchie ($11) (challah french toast, fresh poached pears, chai whipped cream, maple syrup)-the only person to order a sweet vs. savory entree. unfortunately, the toasts were skinny limp pieces of bread that were slightly charred from overcooking. the saving grace were the pears, whipped cream (the small amount given to her), and the maple syrup. Spoon'sHubby ordered a glass of white wine and the Tri Tip Hash ($16) (worcestershire marinated steak bites, poached eggs, red bliss potato hash) which he liked, but, he also lamented the tiny portion.  on this point, i can concur. of all our entrees, his was the smallest.

interesting point about the drinks. when you sit down at the table, they bring you a glass bottle of water and glasses to fill with it. when they brought our alcoholic beverages, all of them cocktails except for SH's, the cocktails were served in distinctive glasses. however, SH's white wine, which was a very light, almost clear color, was served in the same exact glass as our water glass. so imagine us chagrined when we asked our waitress where SH's wine was, and she pointed to the full glass of what appeared to be water on the table. we were feeling a little embarrassed about it until, about 20 minutes later, the waitress came over to refill our waters and filled up SH's wine glass with water.

again, Mother's Ruin, don't you think it would be smart to have water glasses be one shape and drink glasses to be another? perhaps to avoid that exact situation?


everyone seemed less than satisfied with their Mother's Ruin meal, so we made a quick exit and decided to head out for another drink to shake off the experience. first, we made a quick sweets stop at Birdbath Bakery, which just opened a new location at 45 Spring Street. a tiny offshoot of City Bakery, but it was my first time sampling their chew chocolate chip cookie, which i loved. just the right amount of crisp at the edges while still maintaining a chewy, but not completely soft center.

we took our sweet treats and headed over to Spring Lounge, one of my favorite low key bars in the area. or so i thought. the place ended up being packed. apparently there was a chili cook-off, allowing everybody to sample a bunch of free chili and voting for their favorite. Spoon and i took one look at the crowd and decided we should probably change locations. that idea was immediately curtailed once we saw the look on SH's and NG's faces. they looked like they were in pure heaven.

as they sampled each chili, moaning about it being so tasty, they each commented, "why didn't we come here first?!"


Sunday, February 8

Bella Lush

everyone always talks about opening a restaurant, creating an iPhone app, designing their own clothing line, opening a shop to sell some item. the great thing about human nature is that you're usually looking for something else, always searching for something better and contemplating self-improvement and ambition.

of course, the other thing about human nature is that we tend to be all talk, and very little action. 

more often than not, the realities of stepping out on your own, or even with partners or friends, is too daunting to actually implement in real life. 

which is why i give FashionDiva great kudos for going through with her idea to start a lingerie line. Bella Lush is a site for "lush women", riding that recent train of thought about real women with real bodies instead of Victoria Secret models. i met FD because we attended the same law school. post-law school, she did what most of us did, which was to enter the legal profession. she could've been content to stay the course, which most of us do, but she had other ambitions and interests and thus Bella Lush was born.

i recently attended the launch party for Bella Lush at Tenpenny located at the Gotham Hotel. it's a cute venue, and definitely conveniently located near Grand Central Terminal. however, it IS a small space, so i would recommend it more for an intimate date (perhaps before slipping up to one of the hotel rooms above?).

this was my first time getting a full look at the Bella Lush line, which, i heard from others, was curated specifically by FD. 




i checked out the website and the sets are adorable, but seems to be for more "lush" women. i might pass as a "lush" woman on the bottom, but i doubt i could ever pass for "lush" at my top... regardless though, great applause for FD for stepping outside of the box and pursuing her interests and ambitions! and thanks for including me at the launch of this promising new adventure.