Weekday Lunch: Oms/b

The day right before Thanksgiving and I was feeling for some rice balls. I'm starting to appreciate rainy days since it means less people which means little to no lines when I go out for lunch. I heard Oms/b had a variety of rice balls and after glancing at their menu, I was intrigued.

I ordered the Special Set which varies each day - I'm assuming. I didn't get to choose which rice balls but I did get to choose the soup. The set includes, 3 rice balls, appetizer and any soup. 

Miso Soup

Great Miso Soup, it even has cabbage. As long as it had tofu, I'm a happy camper.

Wasabi Shrimp

I was afraid to eat this one since it contained wasabi. I'm not a huge wasabi fan and by the look of it, looks like there was a lot of wasabi smeared into the rice ball. I finally got the courage to bite down (yes, I sound like a wuss) and it wasn't overwhelming at all. They had decent pieces of shrimp inside, not bad.

Spicy Tuna

I'm more of a spicy salmon kinda gal but I have nothing against spicy tuna. Tasted like regular tuna but with rice. This wasn't so great but it was good.

Miso Sesame Rice Croquette

Surprisingly my favorite and it just so happened to be fried also. A nicely intact rice ball that was fried to perfection. Crispy on the outside and just fluffy on the inside, you get a bit of miso sesame paste on top which is technically all you need to make this rice ball amazing.

I'm definitely a fan now. I can't wait for my next visit to try out more of the other rice balls.

Oms/b
156 E 45th St
New York, NY 10017
(212) 922-9788

BaoHaus

J had been wanting to try this place out for the longest time but for some reason I always seem to push it back. They formerly opened in the Lower East Side and later opened another shop on 14 Street, but decided to close their first shop.

On our way to the hospital to visit a friend, we figured we would get some baos since it was along the way. And because it was along the way that J finally convinced me that we should try it. It was definitely a small shop but seems clean enough. The girl behind the register was pretty cool also. We only ordered 3 different baos, probably should've ordered more but I guess that just gives us a reason to come back.

Cute wall frames. You have any idea how many tries J and I have to take of this to not get anyone's head in the way. This is the best that I got. Although, you can still see the little shadow on the lower left corner, but you wouldn't know that if I didn't point it out... right???

The cute cartoon on the back of the menu. Well, at least it makes looking at a short menu more enjoyable.

We did only order 3 because we actually had some snack beforehand and didn't know how big or small each bao were. If we knew it was this tiny, we most likely would've ordered more.

We tried the Chairman Bao, Haus Bao, and Adobo Bao. To me, none of them really stood out. Maybe I was already upset about how small the bao were but the flavors just didn't do it for me. If I really had to choose, then the Chairman Bao would've taken the crown because of the succulent juicy fat pork meat that was nestled between the buns. The Haus Bao, which was of beef cheek tasted a bit awkward. Don't get me wrong, I love beef cheek but the flavoring tasted so odd like it doesn't belong. As for the Adobo Bao, I thought it was taste fresh and exotic since cilantro usually perks up any food, this one seems to disappoint because there wasn't much cilantro to begin with. What was in there was a big spoonful of hot sauce which I think overpowered the entire bao.

Yea, I was disappointed. I expected something along the lines of ManTao that closed up like last year or something but their bao was like palm size big and filled with the right fillings and sauces. I'll admit, I would be hesitant to head back to BaoHaus but just to cure my curiosity about the other baos, I have no choice.

BaoHaus
238 E 14th St
(between 2nd Ave & 3rd Ave)
New York, NY 10003
(646) 669-8889 

Bubble Me: Kung Fu Tea

I'll be starting a series of entries, definitely not consecutively, which will be revolving around Bubble Tea. There's a bunch of places in NYC that sells Bubble Tea and I'm interested in trying all there is.

If you haven't know what Bubble Tea is, it's basically you're average tea with bites of tapioca pearl balls that are chewy in texture. It's quite the "thing" here since they target youngsters and the idea of flavored tea with chewy add-ons.

I'll be focusing mainly on the classic, Bubble Milk Tea. Ordering that from each store I can't get my fingers on and rating them on a scale of 1-5, with one being the poorest and 5 being the highest. I'll be rating the service, atmosphere/cleanliness, and taste of the drink.

Bubble Milk Tea, usually made with black tea, sugar, milk and tapioca pearls. Although, there can be infinite variation of it doesn't mean it tastes good.

So, enough babbling and for our first look -- Kung Fu Tea.

Cute name indeed.
This branch located in Chinatown in Manhattan NYC opened not too long ago. I gave it shot because the name was just so intriguing. I liked how the place was clean and the girls behind the counter was freakishly friendly. I don't usually get that kind of service in Chinatown, let alone in a bubble tea store. This Bubble Milk Tea was definitely different than the others I've had before. This BMT was a lot more frothy and sweet. I mean, really sweet. If they cut back on the sugar, I would've gave it a perfect score. Other than that, I really adore the black and white vibe from this shop. All the straws were black which makes it so much easier to not stand there and choose which color straw I would choose.

Overall --
Service 4.5/5
Atmosphere 3.5/5
Taste 3/5
Likelihood to return is 75%

Kung Fu Tea
234 Canal St, Suite 107
New York, NY 10013
(212) 334-3536  

The Palm Restuarant

I've heard good things about The Palm, probably not around New York. I first heard about The Palm on a television show and it was said to be pretty popular in California. Being the greedy person that I am, I searched to see if there's any around here in NYC... and there was a ton of them.

It just so happened that The Palm was having their 85th anniversary. They offered a Surf and Turf with 2 appetizers and 2 sides for just $85, total deal. I love lobster so 2 lobster tails and an 18 ounce steak was enough to make me happy.

How can one forget about bread bowls and butter? I love their butter because it's whipped, so soft and just the right amount of salt. I just couldn't stop with the butter.

A delicious cocktail that consist of pineapple, orange juice, and whiskey. Totally forgot the name.

J's margarita on the rocks with salted rim. Gosh so salty!

Autumn Salad

J chose this for me, now I wished he chose the Caesar Salad since I know I'll definitely eat that. This tasted interesting, so many elements within the salad. I guess it just didn't work for me, arugula, pears, walnuts, blue cheese in a balsamic vinaigrette.

Lobster Bisque

Ok, J chose the better appetizer. :le sigh: This was just so rich and yummy with chunks of lobster meat. I can also taste the heaviness of the cream that was added to the soup.

Half and Half

Fried onion strips and potato slices. I really like the potato cause it tasted just like potato chips, but a lot more healthier. I passed on the onions, never really an onion kind of gal.

Green Beans

I was so happy when I finally chose something food for the night! Although they might look oily but tasted so good. Sauteed with panchetta and pine nuts, definitely one of the best side dishes I ever had.

Surf and Turf

The star of the night. I loved the beef steak tomatoes on the side, goes extremely well with the steak. We had the steak cooked medium rare, was told by the boyfriend since he seems to know his steaks better than I. Surely, he was right. The steak came out tender and just right. The lobster was good also, can't really mess up a lobster tail unless you over or under cook it but then with a place like The Palm I'm sure they can master just a tiny lobster tail.

The meal sure didn't disappoint. J and I were both stuffed and definitely a satisfying meal. A dinner that can easily cost around $200 came out to less than $60 a person which was such a bargain.

The Palm Restaurant
Various Locations

The one I went to....
837 2nd Ave
New York, NY 10017
(212) 687-2953