Running commentary on the things I've seen, the places I've been and what I've done in my measly years. It might help some, entertain others or bore everyone (including me). Regardless, let's get this started...
i opted for a quiet new year this year in order to avoid the craziness and pressure of "making plans" in NYC. it's great when your friends are all 1 cohesive group, but mine tend to be a little scattered, which in turn makes it hard to decide what "event" to go to for NYE and which one will be the most "fun." inevitably, i end up wondering about the options i didn't pick which deprives of the whole purpose of making a "choice." so instead i chose to spend a quiet evening with Sully at home. i'm starting to wonder if Sully thinks i'm uber-boring since i often request that we stay home and watch movies/television when we hang out. in my defense, i tend to have a great night out with Kiddo and BrownSesame on friday night and end up being a little hungover on saturday which results in me wanting to loaf around. then sunday rolls in and i dread the upcoming work week and decide i want to just relax and do nothing in preparation for the daily grind that monday represents.
so my NYE was a quiet one. the next morning, Sully and i headed to k-town for lunch (no surprise that this was Sully's choosing). he was also pretty excited because various restaurants were doing a New Year's Day special and offering a free bowl of TteokGukto celebrate the new year. and that's how we ended up at New Wonjo for New Year's brunch/lunch.
after we ordered our Premium Gal bi ($35.95) and Sam Gyup Sal ($23.95) we were immediately provided our gratis bowl of tteokguk. while the bbq was good, the best part was the tteokguk. although i'm usually not a fan of clear korean soups because they require you to season them yourself (i'm looking at you sulluntang), this soup was perfectly seasoned and the tteok was cooked just right so as to remain chewy.
probably the BEST part of the meal (and day) was the 2 ajusshis (old men/uncle types) that had the table next to us. they were the epitome of korean drama ajusshi stereotypes. one of them was actually wearing aviator sunglasses the entire meal.inside the restaurant. and they were drinking soju mixed with bokbunja (a korean wine) at noon. the waitresses and the owner of the restaurant kept coming over to their table to give them exceptional service, although i can't tell if they were actually important or just given deferential treatment due to their age (which wasn't that old, just older than the usual crowds that frequent these kinds of places in k-town). once the ajusshis started bbq-ing, they made every waitress who came over to flip/cook their meat do a shot of soju. and no one could say no. which was awesome.
Sully and i often get into debates about korean vs. chinese food. being the stalwart korean that he is, his cuisine of choice is always korean, and in particular, korean barbecue. i, on the other hand, have a wide and diverse palate that cannot be limited to any 1 or 2 cuisines, so i have a hard time picking a "favorite" anything and have cravings for different cuisines depending on my mood. due to my lack of fortitude when it comes to these debates, Sully seems to come out the victor more often than not, and i don't really mind. except when it comes to jajang noodles. i am a BIG fan of korean food, mainly because i can finish a meal without ingesting a single carb which tricks my mind into believing that i ate "healthy." i mean how bad can a few pounds of pork belly and beef short ribs be? plus i always eat it with tons of lettuce wraps and banchan. so really, the 2 balance each other out.
the only time i can't do this is when i go out to eat korean-chinese food. which i rarely ever do, except that Sully likes korean jjajang noodles and the tangsuk squid/shrimp. and that's how we found ourselves at Son Ja Jang in k-town (a branch of which i'd previously visited in NJ). the k-town restaurant is interesting because Son Ja Jang and Muk Eun Ji seem to merge their offerings together since they share the same space. the 2 restaurants' offerings don't overlap, which provides a nice symbiosis for diners with differing agendas. also, and this is a BIG ALSO, sharing with Muk Eun Ji makes for awesome kim chi banchan since Muk Eun Ji serves something called maisan kimchi which is pretty delicious.
as such, i ordered the Kalbi Gobdol Bibimbab ($14.99) and Sully opted for the Handmade Noodle w/Bean Sauce w/Spicy Soup ($9.99). at my request, we also ordered Man Doo Gui ($7.99) which were the crispiest and plumpest fried dumplings i've had to date in k-town. the bibimbab was good, although i'm not the best judge since i don't usually order it (i wasn't very hungry at the time and knew that Sully loves kalbi and bibimbab so i figured he would eat most of it).
Sully really liked the jjajang noodles and went on and on and on and on and on about how korean jjajang noodles are so much better than chinese jajang noodles. which i totally disagree. don't get me wrong, korean jjajang is good. i just don't understand why it has to be so sweet. and have such a little amount of meat. and SO many beans. whereas chinese jajang has a generous portion of mince and an adequate savory flavor that can be adapted to spicy or not spicy versions. as lunch/dinner food should be.
initially when Cousin told me she was coming into town, i was a little put-out in that selfish-aww-man-but-i-wanted-to-laze-about-and-do-nothing-like-i-do-every-weekend kind of way. there's always something slightly inconvenient about being asked to deviate from your normal schedule. but, as with all things, change can be a good thing. the eating and drinking theme of last weekend definitely took an unintended "korean" turn. it was kicked off by meeting BlackSesame at our usual friday night happy hour at K-town for some 50 cent chicken wings, soju and Hite beer. i'm supposed to be dieting (the result of a "serious" conversation with my Mom) and had had a little Checkersrelapse the night before, so i'd abstained from eating all day except for a giant iced coffee (with skim and splenda) and a half of a whole wheat bagel with cream cheese. so after 2 bottles of soju, 4 beers, and a lot of inappropriate conversations with the bouncer, BS and i headed off to Chinatown before i became one of those "unni" girls in the bathroom. i had intended for us to check out Super Taste so i could cross another restaurant off my list (hey, if i'm gonna fall off the diet wagon, i might as well go down slugging noodles and dumplings). unfortunately, by the time we rolled onto Eldridge Street from the subway, most of the restaurants were closed except for one sole beacon of light: Sheng Wang. and so it happened that BS and i found ourselves sharing a bowl of Fujianese Dumpling Noodle Soup ($5) and an order of dumplings ($3).
i honestly couldn't have been any happier at that moment. the dumplings were juicy and flavorful with thin dumpling skin, but not so thin that the filling just falls out at the slightest touch. the noodles were chewy and a great texture. the only thing that would've made it better was if i had been clear-headed enough to order what i had really meant to order: the fishball noodle soup. because fujianese fishballs are the best little treasure bombs any fishball could have (it's fishball on the outside and meat on the inside. surprise!). but that being said, our order was perfect for the meal we were fulfilling and the shared order was just the right portion so we didn't walk away feeling like fatties. after dinner i lame-assed it home in order to prepare for my cousin's arrival since she was taking a red-eye from Cali. and by laming out i missed out on meeting Sarah Silverman who BS saw at the bar he went to (Bell House in case you were wondering. they were doing a comedy show there that night.)
This is what happens when you decide not to be lame and go home.
after cursing my bad luck when i woke up the next morning, i diligently cleaned my room waiting to hear from my cousin. but around 12:30 i had still heard no word and was getting stahving. so Kitty and i made plans to meet up at Miss Korea in K-town for some delicious kalbi and pork belly bbq and dumplings. Miss Korea supposedly has some kick-ass lunch specials and is generally all-around good. when we arrived at 2 pm on Saturday, the place was packed. however, by the time we finished eating (around 3:30ish), the place had completely cleared out except for a few stragglers. we ordered steamed beef and pork mandu ($8.95) to start. being chinese, i'm a big fan of boiled and steamed dumplings. however, to date i have yet to have any steamed korean mandu where the dumpling doesn't completely fall apart. when i'd told Kitty i wanted to order it, he raised his eyebrows in a "are you sure?" look which i had chosen to ignore. lesson learned: when eating mandu, always ordered to fried version. for entrees we decided to go with straight-up BBQ, so we ordered a serving of thick-sliced pork belly ($22.95) and premium kalbi aka Hang A Ri ($26.95). while the samgyupsal was ok, the galbi was superb. the marinade flavoring perfectly complements and tenderizes the meat and the portion is very generous. and it comes with some interesting vegetables inside the pot which is also grilled with the meat. another perk of Miss Korea is that they allow you to specify which type of rice you want (healthy or white). the healthy version is the purple rice with various types of beans and oats. very hearty and it fools you into thinking you're counteracting all that dense meat you're putting into you're stomach.
after the late lunch, i was pretty full and skipped dinner which worked out well for Cousin, who had a double dinner at Ippudo and Soba-Ya due to a miscommunication with the hostess at Ippudo. the next morning, continuing my korean-themed food-a-thon, we grabbed brunch at BistroPetitin Williamsburg. hole-in-the-wall doesn't begin to describe how tiny this restaurant is. it has 3 dining counters and self-serve station of fancy sodas and coffee (and no free refills on coffee and no tap water available). we sat at the counter facing the kitchen and helped ourselves to menus. it's a limited menu, with only 1 page of options, but then again, for a place so small, what else would i expect?
we ended up sharing an order of Watermelon Salad ($10)-diced watermelon, pickled watermelon rind, mint, grilled haloumi cheese, and spicy watermelon reduction sauce and the Kimchi Bouillabaisse ($19)-mussel, scallop, pollack, shrimp, fried tofu, rice gnocchi, kombu, white wine, korean chili paste, watercress and kimchi.
the clear winner was the Watermelon Salad. sweet, refreshing watermelon with contrasting yet complementing flavors of picked rind and salty haloumi cheese. amazeballs. the Kimchi Bouillabaisse on other hand was a little salty. while the seafood was well-cooked, the soup itself was salty. and i kept wishing it had made up its mind whether to be fusion or kimchijigae instead of a wishy-washy version of neither/both.
after our meal, i took Cousin down to Brooklyn Flea in order to walk off some of the food and to check out the wares. it was my first time visiting the Flea since they moved from Hanson Place to the Williamsburg location. the wares were interesting, but a more important food lesson learned: the lines at vendors at Brooklyn Flea are significantly shorter than at Smorgasburg. well, with the exception of Dough.
before you get up in arms at me for this post, just try to keep in mind that racism and cultural/ethnic stereotypes are interpreted in many ways by many people. and a person's level of sensitivity or perception of an image/conduct is subjective to each individual.
ok, that being said, i watched 15 mins of hilarious television that covered a whole plethora of asian stereotypes.
Cousin arrived in town on friday night from a conference in Philadelphia and met me near my office for a happy hour dinner at Haru(which was so average and passable that it's not worth describing-except for the Happy Hour where everything offered on the HH menu is under $5). we finished relatively early, which meant we had time to head to K-town to meet up with BlackSesame, Kiddo, and Kiddo's new girlfriend for drinks, but first we had to make a stop at my apartment so Cousin could drop off her luggage.
once inside the apartment, Cousin needed a few mins to answer some work e-mails and use her laptop, so i turned on the tv while i waited for her and got to watch Supernaturalfor the first time in months. what can i say? i like spooky stories that resolve themselves within an hour, Jared Padelecki and Jensen Ackles are easy on the eyes, and the writing and dialogue's can be pretty witty at times. i don't have to justify my CW11 tv-watching to you.
however, this episode happened to center around a high school student who gets struck by lightning and becomes a prophet that can transcribe the word of God. but that's not the best part. the kid is a typical asian stereotype. he:
1. plays the cello: he's introduced by a close-up of the cello and then the camera pans out to show him playing it. then to nerd it up even more, his computer chimes and a message alerts him that his cello practice is complete. 2. he dates a chubby asian girl who's dressed like a catholic school girl. 3. he too is dressed in preppy school gear: button-down, tie, and slacks. 4. he's stressed out about his SAT scores. 5. he wants to attend Princeton. 6. he has nothing to write about in his college admission essay: since you know, asians are robots when it comes to school and only spend their time practicing their cello/violin/piano and doing homework. no other extracurriculars allowed. 7. he's in Advanced Placement (AP): when he meets the main characters for the 1st time, that's actually how he identifies himself, "I'm Kevin Tran. I'm in AP."
as i watched this i thought, "come on, Supernatural. was this really necessary? i mean, fine, he's asian. but does he really have to be the stereotype? couldn't he just be a normal person who happens to be asian?" i'm not saying the stereotype doesn't exist because it clearly does. i myself fit most of the characteristics listed above when i was in high school. but i also did other non-stereotype activities like go out with my non-Asian friends (i did have them), went to the movies, and went to house parties (gasp!). just like every other normal teenager who's not asian.
then things got really weird. the show ran to commercial, and the first commercial that played was the Intel Ultrabook commercial.
now i get it, this commercial is a parody of House of Flying Daggers. although i don't see why the actors have to be asian. it's about trying to find an outlet in a coffeehouse. i think that's pretty universal to all ethnicities and races. i don't think the use of coffeehouses are limited to asian people. i started to wonder whether CW11 was going to make the entire hour asian-related, but thought, "nah, that's impossible. this was just a coincidence."
except the commercial immediately following the above was this Starburst commercial:
wha?! this did not just happen. just because the Supernatural episode involves an asian doesn't mean the whole hour has to be asian does it? it just seemed really weird.
honestly, i wasn't particularly offended by the above series of events and i could find the humor in all these commercials (and the Starburst one doesn't involve any stereotyping and shouldn't be considered offensive at all). what sort of bugged me was that these were presented in a series, one right after the other. i can't believe it was intentional, because that would just be stupid. but then again, what are the chances of that happening? it's not like commercial featuring asians are so abundant that there's a 1 in 3 chance every commercial you'll see has them.
my brain can't really process what i saw. it was just weird.
my new favorite outdoor destination for chatting and relaxing is the High Line. i know, i'm a johnny-come-lately to the High Line party, but better late than never, right?
Kiddo and i had dinner plans at Park Avenue Summer and since the weather was hot and sunny, i decided to spend some time with ArrangedMarriage and kill 2 birds with 1 stone by arranging to go to the High Line together. coincidentally, AM's apartment is very close to the High Line so it all worked out well.
the High Line is a great park to walk along with a friend/date and enjoy the tall views and interesting architecture and design of the park itself. there's also various spots to lay down and sunbathe, rest, or grab a seat to talk/eat. the key point is that while the park itself is interesting conversation fodder for about 10-15 mins, you'd best go there with someone you can hold a conversation with.
where you're acutely aware that there's an uncomfortable lull in conversation and now you're just walking with someone beside you looking at stuff and not talking. if i'd wanted to do that i could've just gone to the High Line myself. at least then i could've stopped and sat to observe the views and contemplate lofty thoughts instead of frantically trying to think of something to talk about with AM. he seriously doesn't like to make my life easy.
luckily, at the end of High Line is a new space called the Lot. we purchased some drink tickets and beer at the Lot on Tap and grabbed a seat on the long bench tables placed throughout the outdoor space. and we sat directly in front of the Korilla BBQ truck. it was one of the hardest temptations i've had to endure. i knew i was going to eat a 3-course dinner with Kiddo so i didn't want to spoil my appetite but the truck kept taunting me with yummy deliciousness. one day, Korilla, one day you WILL be mine.
a return trip on the High Line led us to Chelsea Market, which i haven't been to in years since i rarely find myself on the west side anymore. since i love all things food, it's no surprise i liked Chelsea Market. the trip also yielded gelate from L'Arte del Gelato, which, while pricey, gelato is always a treat.
i booked it uptown to meet Kiddo for our dinner reservation at Park Avenue Summer, which i was totally looking forward to. the last time i ate at Park Avenue was during the winter, and every winter Restaurant Week following that 1 time has had the same menu. come on now, really?! for a restaurant that's supposed to change with the seasons to serve the best food for that season, you'd think they'd also have a more innovative menu with each season. so you can imagine how amped i was to finally get to partake in a completely different tasting menu for the summer season.
i'm glad Kiddo is a seasoned RW eater like me so we know not to order the same foods if at all possible. that way we can get a wider range of options to sample. the meal was off to refreshing start when we were served with an amuse bouche of watermelon topped with goat cheese/creme fraiche foam. while the amuse itself was good, i wasn't overly impressed by the culinary prowess (aside from the foam part-i mean, i can cut watermelon too, but i admittedly cannot make flavored foam). but the presentation was adorable as little watermelon lollipops sprouting from a box of grass.
we ordered the Salmon Tartar and Potato Gnocchi with Summer Corn and Truffles as appetizers. the tartar was a nice and light option to counteract the creamy potato gnocchi which was laden with butter and cream. i could seriously taste the insane amount of butter that must've gone into that dish. but in that salty, buttery good way. i'm sure it's completely degenerate and unhealthy of me to say that, but i did it anyway.
as entrees Kiddo chose the Dr. Pepper Baby Back Ribs and i opted for the Scottish Salmon. the ribs were cooked to tender so you didn't really need a knife to eat it. and while it was good, i thought it was a bit sweet, but then again, that's why they're Dr. Pepper right? i was actually a bigger fan of the accompanying peach coleslaw it was served with which seemed a perfect summer side. and i love all things peach right now. the salmon was perfectly cooked so it was crispy on the outside but still moist and tender on the inside. i liked the accompanying cold cucumber side that came with it to help balance out the slight saltiness of the fish.
for dessert Kiddo smartly opted for the selection of sorbets, and there is quite a selection and you get to pick 2! i ordered the Peach Panna Cotta with Basil Foam which was pretty dense for a panna cotta but maybe what i think panna cotta is is not what it actually is. it was good, but Kiddo's dessert was clearly the winner, particularly on such a hot summer night.
afterwards, Kiddo had some time to kill before meeting up with (what would be) a very good date (wink wink, nudge nudge), so we went for drinks at K-town in K-town. this place has a seedy underbelly feel to it because it's downstairs with no natural light. but then you notice the giant projector screens are blasting kpop. i'm actually a big fan of this place because they do amazing soju happy hours everday. twice a day. Kiddo and i killed a bottle of soju and then parted ways.
speaking of kpop, as i was rushing towards my Park Avenue Summer reservation, i passed a slightly surly-looking but cute korean girl and did a double take. who to my surprise did i just walk past? Sohee of Wonder Girls! since she did not look happy and i was running late for my reservation, i didn't stop to gawk (too long), but i was super stoked and immediately had to Facebook the sighting for Stitch and GMW.
YAY YAY more trashy tv! i totally can't wait for this show. there's even an asian version of the situation who's also been involved in nude pictorials and, allegedly, porn. ::crossing my fingers that it gets picked up:: i'll finally get to see how stupid, trashy, and hilarious we can be ::excited squeal::
phew. all trashiness depleted for the moment.
haven't embarked on a Restaurant Week in a while due to complete lack of funds, but finally did and can't think of a better way to kick it off. GI has migrated back to the East Coast after having moved out to Cali for the past few years. GI and i met when we were both studying abroad in Edinburgh, Scotland, and, as it so happened, both of us were dating people when our friendship developed. in turn, there was never a sexually tense moment between us and, somehow, it's managed to stay that way throughout these 7 years we've known each other. i guess the fact that he was in Chicago and i was in Northampton helped. and then the fact that he moved to Cali and i was in NJ/NY also helped. but i've been in similar situations and something still happened so i'd like to think it's more than that with GI.
GI and i hadn't been able to meet up since his move to the east, and he's been here for a few months already so it was great that we could finally coordinate something between the 2 of us. we ended up deciding to eat at Rayuela, which i've always been interested to eat at since i hear good things, and also because they were offering an interesting Restaurant Week menu.
of course, on the date of our dinner, the weather was sweltering. by the time i got to the restaurant i was drenched in sweat. it was not pretty (or you could say it was really pretty-pretty gross). i arrived early so i grabbed a seat at the bar and lamented the fact that, even with the front door closed, the restaurant was still warm. a tall glass of ice water remedied that situation.
GI and i got a prime seat near the front of the restaurant but at the corner booth, which was really nice. the only drawback was when our waitress came over with a small towel wrapped on a stick. why, you ask? because the sweltering heat was making the A/C work overtime, which resulted on it sweating down on diners who were sitting underneath it. i really appreciated that they were coming around to wipe the A/C sweat so it didn't rain down on me, but then, after that initial wipe, they never came back! it only rained on me once, and i just scooted to the right a little and avoided any more mishaps.
Rayuela is not a bad date option, but it also serves just as good for a friendly-dinner option. the ambience is chic but not pretentiously so (yes, the tree in the middle of the room that grows up towards the 2nd floor is very cool) and the lighting is just dim enough that it could be romantic, but not pitch black so it doesn't feel weird if you're not on a date-date. GI commented he was surprised to see such a fine-dining-esque restaurant in this location, but i'm not surprised at NYC anymore and i truly believe the sectioning off of neighborhoods and types is growing blurrier and blurrier every day.
just to prove that great minds think alike, GI and i ordered the exact same menu, except for the dessert (which we split) and our choice of wine-pairings, which is only an extra $15 so i highly recommend-although i could skip the dessert wine. blech too sweet. the amuse of gazpacho was a nice start and more than a shot glass's worth, which is always appreciated. sometimes i'm a fan of gazpacho, other times i'm not. because it was so hot outside, the gazpach was very welcome and refreshing. We both ordered the Carpaccio de Corvina & Calamari Ceviche. i'm a total sucker for ceviches so i was really looking forward to this, but it ended up tasting a little bland, which threw me off since ceviche usually entails a strong acidic/citrusy flavor. and the corvine did not taste like carpaccio but instead had the taste and texture of cooked fish. however, the sweet potato croquette was piping hot, crunchy on the outside but soft and starchy on the inside=totes delish.
As entrees we had the Piramide de Carne which is beef, duck, AND pork in a single dish. i had been torn between ordering this or the lamb or the swordfish but this completely paid off. although the portion looked "eh", the density of all those meats and a side of rice=completely filling. the poached egg was perfectly poached (something i wish i could do myself) and i broke it over my rice and swooped up any extra yummy yolk with my 3 meats. for dessert, GI and diverged so that we could get a taste of both offerings. the Pastel Rojo=red velvet cake with typical white frosting. i like red velvet cake, don't get me wrong. but is that really latin american fare? the Natilla de Chocolate had so much potential but it was starting to melt by the time it got to our table and within 4 bites was a soupy mess.
overall i thought the meal was great, sans dessert, but honestly, by that time i was pretty full anyway.
****update****
yesterday i got a call from the NYC Department of Health. apparently somebody reported getting sick after eating at Rayuela on the same night GI and i did. i'm not sure what they ate or what happened but i just want to reiterate: GI and i were perfectly healthy after our meal. the only thing we left Rayuela with was a case of food satisfaction.
...at least that's what i tell myself. it makes me feel better about certain things like the Peach Light & Fit yogurt i'm eating right now. the lid clearly shows an expiration date of April 25, 2010. here's my thought process:
"o crap, i'm late for work. i need to grab a quick breakfast. but i don't have time to make anything."
"oooo, there's a lot of yogurt left. i'll grab one of those."
(pause) "April 25th huh? what's today's date? i know it's definitely May at this point."
"o crap, no time at all! i'll just grab this yogurt. after all, it's already milk gone bad. how much worse can it get with time?"
...and that's how i end up at this moment: typing this blog post after having just eaten an expired yogurt. it tasted fine. and i know i won't get sick because i already ate one yesterday and didn't get sick.
1. FIGHTS: cause korean guys and girls love to throw down. it's actually one of the reasons i'll actually go to K-town on weekend nights. the night starts out with everyone looking good in their going-out gear and as the night progresses you start seeing guys formerly in button-downs all of a sudden turn into brawlers in wife-beaters. seriously, they change into white/black tanktops the way Clark Kent changes into Superman. do korean guys have special button-downs to do that? they just tug a little at the collar of their button-down and it rips away to reveal the tanktop underneath? and the girls are just as good because they almost always are the ones who instigate the fights. and when korean girls fight each other, watch out. those girls look all hoochie but they can get super-gangsta when it comes time to fight. or else they'll get some guy to do it for them.
2. DRUNKEN SLOPPINESS: no explanation necessary hear. going out in K-town is always bottles and "buying rounds and shots for the boys". everyone's a baller in K-town (or at least they like to look like they are). and everyone's friends with the promoters and bartenders so there's always tons o' drinks.
3. PIMPS & HOES: based on the aforementioned #2, it shouldn't be surprising the hooking up that ensues. although, in this aspect, i don't think K-town's as bad as other places. it's pretty much on par or, actually, even less. why? because asian girls only run in 2 kinds: those that can hold their liquor and those that can't. there's not many in-betweens. so asian guys don't have much luck either way. asian girls that can hold their liquor won't sloppy it out in the middle of the club (at least not for long. if they like you, you might get some action, but not for more than a few mins in public-then it's all behind closed doors). asian girls that can't hold their liquor will sloppy it up for as long as the drunkeness holds, but then it always inevitably goes downhill. those girls almost always end up getting sick and then it's toilet hugging and falling down all over the place, but rarely hooking up at the same time.
o well, i'll just have to wait and see. how badly does it reflect on my that i'm more than a little intrigued by the concept?
