Amelia's Bistro - Paulus Hook, Jersey City, NJ

Jimmy and I have chosen to brunch on Sundays in the recent year - weather permitting. Our staple was always Sam A.M. but decided to explore a bit more of Jersey City.

It was a sunny morning and we decided to sit outside, in the shade of course. Service was quite slow, actually pretty slow. A good 15 minutes had gone by after we placed our order and there was no sign of water or bread for us (and yes I was getting a bit annoyed). We had to ask for water and then they gave us bread (unacceptable), it was actually just mini muffins which tasted like store-bought. We both ordered an iced latte, another 10 minute had passed and the beverages came. The latte was extremely light in color (too much milk possibly?), it tasted like watered down coffee and not one bit of espresso at all. I'm completely bummed out at this point because everything so far was a disappointment.

Finally, our food came. The entree were a decent portion but my side order of apple chicken sausage was a complete fail. It was served on a large plate, one sausage link cut in half and cost $4. I was in disbelief and shock.

The only redeeming quality of this entire meal was actually the brunch entree itself. Jimmy's Shrimp and Grits were quite delicious, my Eggs Benedict was not bad, the home fries were great. We ended the meal with two mimosas - because why not?

Mini Muffins w/ jam

Iced Latte...

Apple Chicken Sausage - $4

Bistro Eggs Benedict

Shrimp and Grits

Mimosas (double vs. single)

The meal started in a complete disaster, but ended unexpectedly...not bad. Will we return? Probably not. I still can't get over the fact that a place cannot make an iced latte appropriately. Am I expecting too much?

Verdict:
Food ~ 4 out of 5
Price ~ 2 out of 5
Service ~ 1.5 out of 5

Amelia's Bistro
187 Warren Street
Jersey City, NJ 07302

Em Vietnamese Restaurant - Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, NY

There's never a time when I'm not in the mood for a soup noodle - ok, maybe when it's like 90 degrees outside but as long as they have the air conditioner blasting, I can eat a bowl of pho any day.

Pho wasn't really the specialty at Em, my eyes were fixed on the Hu Tieu. Coming from a Vietnamese descent, I'm always up for trying delicious Vietnamese food and hu tieu is one that really connects me back to my roots. The simple yet flavorful umami broth with toppings of ground pork, quail egg, shrimps and tons of herbs can leave a person salivating.

Jimmy and I were meeting up with a friend, so I thought Em was a perfect spot for some chill time and delicious food. Decor was simple and clean, service was quite good.

Vietnamese Iced Coffee

Pho Bo Em

Hu Tieu Em

The Hu Tieu Em really hit the spot. Lucky for me, the weather that day was dreary and rainy so it was the perfect comfort food. Viet life isn't just about pho (or maybe it is...), there's so many different noodle soups that Vietnam has to offer and the hu tieu at Em is perfect to start your adventure.

Verdict:
Food ~ 4 out of 5
Price ~ 4 out of 5
Service ~ 5 out of 5

Em Vietnamese Restaurant
1702 86th Street
Brooklyn, NY 11214

Sushi on Jones - NOHO, New York, NY

A small little sushi spot, giving a taste of how Japan run their business. It's a no frill, quick 30-minute meal. Don't expect any lengthy conversation with the chef, just a smile is what you'll get. The concept of less talk and more eat fits perfectly with NYC lifestyle.

Sushi on Jones has been on the sushi scene for a while. They've started out with $50 omakase and now (thanks to inflation) has gone up to $58 which is still a great price for good quality omakase style sushi. Be sure to make your reservations since there are only 6 seats available.

The omakase menu changes seasonally, so your best bet is to check out their Instagram and see which items they have to offer during that time.

They don't offer alcohol, so we opted for green tea. It was nice and refreshing on sunny spring day. Also helps to cleanse your palette if you don't like pickled ginger.

From top left counter-clockwise: hamachi, golden eye snapper, albacore, artic char, scallop, tuna

From top left counter-clockwise: ikura, botan shrimp, eel, squid, hokkaido uni, wagyu-ni

The omakse consist of 12 pieces, 12 delectable and satisfying pieces. All prepared within minutes of each other. Once you devoured a piece, the next piece was placed in front of you - hence the 30-minutes time frame. But, I like that. It doesn't give you time to think twice about it nor time to digest and feel "full." It was fast, delicious and to the point.

Specials from T-B: toro w/ caviar, uni w/ caviar, The Big Mac (wagyu, toro, uni)

We indulged a bit and that's where the price sky-rocketed - but it was totally worth it. These specials were amazing and to be quite frank with you, I've never had French Sturgeon caviar before. If this is how it taste, then I can eat this all day. I can understand why they are priced so high, it's so clean tasting and decadent, one of life's little pleasure.

If you get the chance, definitely do yourself a favor and visit Sushi on Jones. They have another location in the West Village that has indoor seats and alcohol but still only slot you 30-minutes. I'd much prefer this location since it's outdoor, you get to eat delicious sushi while basking in the sun and the busy streets of NYC surrounds you - quite an experience you can't get anywhere else.

Verdict:
Food ~ 4.5 out of 5
Price ~ 4.5 out of 5
Service ~ 4.5 out of 5

Sushi on Jones
348 Bowery
New York, NY 10012

Hidden Grounds Coffee - Jersey City, NJ

As you can tell, I've changed the name of the blog to incorporate my husband! We had gotten married last year which was why there was a major lack in food posts. We also have an IG page dedicated to food we ate and/or cooked. As for the name, it's our middle name merged into one; Ding and Ngoc. Clever me!

~~~

Jersey City has been treating us well. We can finally relax a bit after the chaos of our wedding planning the past year.
J somehow stumbled upon Hidden Grounds Coffee one Sunday morning when we were deciding on brunch.

It felt so nice to be able to take it easy and just stroll around. Needed this to de-stress the body and mind.

The cafe was super nice, modern with comfortable cushioned seats along the wall and a couple of tables for coffee sippers and mind wanderers.

Rose Chai

The beverages here are so pretty. I mean look at that Rose Chai, it taste as beautiful as it looks! The cups, flowers and succulents makes for great IG photos.

Rose Chai//Saffron Chai

J got the Saffron Chai which was very good also. I like how they were sweetened just right, and the sweetness actually brought out the flavors of rose and saffron. The pistachio nuts were a nice touch to give the drink a little different texture.

For brunch, I had gotten The Architect and J ordered the Just Bae. The gravy that comes with both dishes were excellent - maybe it was also the cold, windy weather but this biscuits and gravy totally hit the spot. I liked how there was a hint of garam masala in the gravy, gives it a nice depth of flavor.

I adore this place a lot. Especially when they offer a free latte with a Yelp check-in.

Latte

The latte was on point, strong espresso flavor which was not watered down by too much milk. I can't wait to come back in the warmer month to try the Iced Rose Chai.

Verdict:
Food ~ 4 out of 5
Price ~ 4 out of 5
Service ~ 4 out of 5

Hidden Grounds Coffee
148 1st St
Ground Floor
Jersey City, NJ 07302 

Short Grain - Jersey City, NJ

Never had I thought I would be living in another state...let alone Jersey.
But, it was one of those decisions that when you think back, you decided correctly.

On a random morning, well I guess it wasn't that random, it was Labor Day after all. The fiancé and I decided last minute we wanted Vietnamese sandwich for brunch. I can't remember the last time we had a good sandwich so I agreed.

Short Grain was a bougie version of a regular Vietnamese cafe that serves coffee and sandwiches. Actually, the only Viet thing about this place was just the sandwiches and coffee, they have other items on the menu like pancakes and avocado toast (which is like the "thing" now). The cafe has a good amount of tables and seats. We luckily grabbed one before the lunch crowd came.

The sandwiches are pretty solid and so were the coffees. We ended up getting an iced and hot version of the Vietnamese coffee, it was perfectly sweetened in my opinion. I'm iffy about getting Vietnamese coffee now since they usually make it super sweet to counter the bitterness of the smokey coffee beans. The sandwiches were massive, packed with ingredients which I did not expect. I ordered the Vietnamese Cold Cut Sandwich, I have to say that I like this better. There was a lot of layered meat like headcheese, Vietnamese ham, pate spread and not too much pickled vegetables. It was extremely filling. The fiancé had gotten the Coconut Curry Chicken, it was spicy but addicting spicy which you just can't stop eating. Had a flavorful curry flavor but not much coconut which I was a bit disappointed with. Our coffees worked well with both sandwiches, the iced with the curry and the hot with the cold cut.

I see myself coming back. The cafe had a really lax vibe to it and everything was solid.

Vietnamese Iced Coffee, Vietnamese Coffee

Vietnamese Cold Cut Sandwich

Coconut Curry Chicken Sandwich

Verdict:
Food ~ 5 out of 5
Price ~ 4 out of 5
Service ~ 4.5 out of 5

Short Grain
183 Montgomery St
Jersey City, NJ 07302

Papa Ole's - Hauula, HI

The amount of good meals we had in Hawaii were endless, and Papa Ole's was one of them. Spur of the moment decision in which I had no idea how I landed upon this joint, maybe it was the high ratings or the fried chicken they had.

It wasn't far from where we were staying, so the drive took us less than 10 minutes. The restaurant was quite spacious but no air conditioning. They had the rotating ceiling fans, better than nothing. The fiancè and I wanted to try their garlic chicken but it was completely sold out, bummer. Instead we ordered the original fried chicken and pulehu ribs. Best decision ever!

Our plates did take a while since it was made to order. Once we had our plates, we jumped right into it. The fried chicken was crunchy and flavorful, it had a bit of sweetness in the marinade which made it very unique. But the star was actually the pulehu ribs. Even though it might look charred and burnt, it was absolutely delicious. So moist and tender, packed with flavor. This was a carnivore's dream.

Overall, an excellent meal.

Pulehu Ribs (left), Fried Chicken (right)

Verdict:
Food ~ 5 out of 5
Price ~ 5 out of 5
Service ~ 5 out of 5 

Papa Ole's
54-316 Kamehameha Hwy, Ste 9
Hauula, HI 96717

Giovanni's Shrimp Truck - Haleiwa, HI

One of the "must" visit food joints in Hawaii. I was totally excited about garlic butter shrimp and hoped that I wasn't going to get disappointed since it was hyped up so much.

My fiancé and I came right past lunch time so the line had dwindled down. We ordered 2 plates but one was honestly enough to hold our stomachs. The shrimp plates didn't take too long to prepare, I would say a good 5-10 minutes, assuming it was made on the spot (since shrimps doesn't take that long to cook anyways).

One important thing to point out, there are a lot of flies there. If you're not afraid of them buzzing around, you can definitely sit at the benches and enjoy your shrimp plate. But let me tell you this, once you open up your plate of goodies, the flies would be hovering around you. Nonetheless, the garlic butter shrimp was ok, nothing fantastic about it. There were about 10 shrimps along with 2 scoops of rice, the rice was way too soft. They spooned a good amount of the garlic butter sauce on top of the rice which made it even more soggy, wasn't very enjoyable. The shrimp itself tasted a bit soft, like it was floured up and then cooked in butter for a long time.

Overall, it was a disappointment. Oh, and the head of the shrimp is not attached. That's like the best part when you just suck the brains out (tmi?). It's a place you want to visit to say you at least tried it, but I wouldn't return.

Lemon Butter Shrimp (front), Garlic Butter Shrimp (back)

Verdict:
Food ~ 2.5 out of 5
Price ~ 3.5 out of 5
Service ~ 4 out of 5

Giovanni's Shrimp Truck
66-472 Kamehameha Hwy
Haleiwa, HI 96712