Shinjuku - we are not how we once were

After being terribly disappointed with a restaurant closing down (if you must know, Bab Al Yemen is officially closed as of August 2013), J and I had to decide quickly on a place to eat. We walked past Shinjuku before and saw the all-you-can-eat sign for $19.95 and thought we'll try it out one day - that day was here.

The restaurant was quite empty and quiet when we got there, it was around 9pm already. We were asked if we wanted to do the AYCE or the regular menu. The AYCE consist of a lot of varieties, sushi, cooked dishes, skewers, soup/salads and special rolls. The waitresses give you 2 small pieces of paper to mark off what you want. The wait didn't take too long for the food to arrive at our table.


Soups were ok, a bit on the MSG side but overall it's not bad. The vegetables in mine were definitely not cooked, it was just thrown into the hot soup which I'm not a crazy fan of.

J went a little crazy and got the Tuna and Salmon Salad which were practically the same thing but with different fishes. The dressing tasted like thousand island and they added a lot of panko which then got really soggy.

Probably my favorite out of everything because it was quite crunchy, meaty and not that oily. This was worth a re-order.


J wanted sashimi and ordered one, told me some of the pieces taste like it was frozen and was thoroughly defrosted. Hahaha...can't expect much from a place in Brooklyn. The sushi was just meh, uni wasn't fresh but the sweet shrimp was alright. The handroll was massive, it's like they cut 1/3 of the avocado and just stuffed it in there.

All of the special rolls weren't special at all. Each one was filled with avocado (must be really cheap). A lot of it tasted really mushy and you can't really distinguish the fish from the avocado from the rice from the seaweed. Yes, it was that bad.

Don't think I will be returning. The quality was really poor and I really just can't see myself eating more avocados. But, if you love them, please come.

Shinjuku
1664 Sheepshead Bay Rd
Brooklyn, NY 11235
(718) 934-8886

Yakiniku West - great late night bbq

So it was around 9pm, J and I were getting hungry after a few glasses of wine. We were hungry but didn't exactly want anything heavy so small plates would be perfect for us.

Yakiniku West popped into our heads because of the interesting take-off-your-shoes concept before entering into the dining rooms with the tables. Good thing I brought my flats along for easy slip-ons and offs. The tables are a lot lower than your average dining tables and you sit on the floor, but no worries, they have holes right underneath the table for leg room. Oh, and cushioned seats for your buttocks, so comfortable haha

We ordered an array of dishes (about 6 dishes plus a drink) to grill and the total of everything was less than $50, mind blown!

J was curious about this OneCup sake and when it came out I started laughing. It looked like those cup they give you at the doctors to do a #1 for a body check up. The taste on the other hand was like unfiltered house sake, I wasn't a fan.

Love me some Agedashi Tofu when I can get my hands on it. I love how light the tofu is and the dashi soy broth is just so refreshing. Pieces of tofu here are pretty big, one piece can be split into quarters while other places I can just split them in half and fit it in my mouth (that's what she said!).

The first time we had Yooke was at Takashi and it blew my mind. Ever since, J and I were on the search for the best Yooke and up until this day, Takashi is still in the #1 spot. YW's Yooke isn't bad, beef was tender and we liked that touch of cucumbers in it, but also agreed that something was missing. A flavor was lacking but we just couldn't put our hands on it.

Grilling at a Japanese restaurant is totally different than a Korean restaurant because you're not rushed. Every time I'm at a Korean restaurant, the waitress/waiter always come by and cooks the food and quickly places it on our plates. At a Japanese restaurant, you cook it yourself and get to experience it. Which is what I like about it, I can control how much I want on the grill because I like eating it piping hot and fresh off the grill.

Everything was delicious. We were given dipping sauce but some weren't really needed. Tongue was the best and next came the pork cheek but everything was excellent.

Really dig this spot because of the atmosphere, concept and decor. Great place for group get-togethers.

Yakiniku West
218 E 9th St
New York, NY 10003
(212) 979-9238

Mini Express - well worthy breakfast

I find myself struggling to think of what to eat on a Sunday mornings. I usually pick up my breakfast on my way to work and sometimes it's just the regular Chinese pastry with a small coffee, cost me $1.70 total, can't beat that price.

But there are times where I want something different and maybe a bit more extravagant.

And this was definitely something I was looking for in a gourmet breakfast (as least to me). I like the whole Cantonese-style breakfast thing, where I can just choose a letter on the menu and the staffs would know exactly what I want. There are a lot of options but I went for the Sauteed Ramen Noodles in Soy Sauce, all came with toast and coffee. The best part is the price, total was just $3.25. Yes a little more than what I usually spend but I get noodles with meat and vegetables, have to treat myself sometimes.

You might think it's a heavy and oily breakfast but after nights of drinking, this is probably the best Asian hangover breakfast. I also like how their "buttered" toast are made, with sweetened condense milk, score! The place is small so if you can help it, order it to go as service is quite fast. They also have some really great items for lunch and dinner.

Mini Express
14-18 Elizabeth St, Ste 32-33
New York, NY 10013
(212) 267-0888

Karczma

Random Saturday, random place, random dinner. It was a last minute pick for J and he wanted to try this Polish restaurant in Brooklyn. I had to take the train there after work, the only train that was in the area was the G train, literally less than half a block away. But J had picked me up with his car somewhere around the area of Williamsburg, right off the bridge (yes, I'm spoiled).

It was a full house, so we ordered some drinks to let the time go by faster.

J had a Czech Lager, pretty smooth and not a bad beer at all. I would have no idea how beer is suppose to taste cause I don't exactly like beer much, correction - I don't drink beer much.

I like something more like a Mark and Ginger, easy but you taste the liquor. The price for this drink here was quite the band for you buck, and there were a lot of Mark in there, I saw her pour it. J and I already like the place.

We finally were seated in the corner of the restaurant, nestled in the side with wooden seats and table. The dimness of the restaurant really sets the mood.

Started off with some bread and butter along with some olive oil and...soy sauce. It definitely was soy sauce, I assume it was suppose to be balsamic but it wasn't! We stuck to the butter.

This was interesting, I wasn't surprise that J wanted the Peasant Style Lard. It was so oily and fatty but yet so good at the same time. Fat people galore here!

I wanted the Steak Tartare and at this moment, I realized we ordered too much food again even though J denies it. The tartare came out very unappetizing, like something I just bought in the meat section at a supermarket. It did look fresh but I was full of skepticism. But, we ordered it and we might as well eat it.

Mixing up everything; there were capers, diced onions, pickles and that thing on the upper left hand corner which I have no idea what it was. Altogether, it was interesting and tasty. Needed a bit of salt and that's what we did. It tasted really healthy, even with the small egg yolk. We actually paired it with the lard which balances everything out. The tartare acted as a palette cleanser for us...haha.

The entree was crazy, it was a Grilled Platter for 2, it might as well be a platter for 3 or 4...just not 2. There was an insane amount of meat; bacon, chicken, salmon, kielbasa, white sausage, blood sausage and I'm probably missing something but it was massive!

As if the entree wasn't enough, it came with potatoes and mushroom cabbage. Oh lord, I felt the food coma creeping up on me. It was obvious we couldn't finish everything, so we bagged up the meats.

I wanted to order dessert but I didn't think our stomach allowed it so I stuck with coffee.

The Karczma House Press Coffee was strong and intense, this yield 2 cups of coffee which was well worth the price. It was delicious and I love how I can just pour it into my cup, actually J poured it for me but you know what I mean.

I really think we'll be back because we really enjoyed the atmosphere and food, oh and of course - the drinks.

Karczma
136 Greenpoint Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11222
(718) 349-1744