Midtown East - Hot Kitchen

I've been to Hot Kitchen a couple of times, for dine-in and takeout.

I see myself coming back whenever I'm craving for something spicy. It's a Szechuan style cuisine. The service is quite fast and the food is usually a hit or miss, depending on what you order. I usually get the lunch specials since it's the best 'bang for your buck' kind of deal.

I'm not exactly fond of their soup, the Hot and Sour Soup is barely hot - spicy wise and temperature wise.

I think this is probably one of the best dishes I've had from them. The Double Cooked Pork was very flavorful and I just couldn't stop eating those scallion/leek things.

The Shredded Pork with Dried Bean Curd was insanely oily. I think I would've enjoyed it if it was more gravy and sauce without the extra dollop of oil in it.

Not a bad rendition of the Mapo Tofu. Feels like it's missing some magic powder or ingredient but overall, not a bad choice for something spicy.

Hot Kitchen
251 East 53rd St
New York, NY 10022
(212) 588-8826

Chinatown - Ken's Asian Taste

Takeout only --

Sunday lunches are a difficult decision when there are so many choices. But lately, the choices are getting more and more expensive. Before this whole lunch inflation thing, I would order regularly at Ken's Asian Taste. Might I add, they have really good dim sum.

Their lunch specials are $5.95 and $6.95 the last time I ordered, which was just a month or so ago. The extra dollar one applies to the rice being totally separate, which means you get more rice and more side dish by paying a little extra.

I love eggplant and this Eggplant with Fish Filets was not bad for $5.95. Really good flavor and wasn't overly salty, it also had enough gravy for me to eat the rest of the rice with.

I think this would by my second favorite dish. Sate Beef with Vegetables, the gravy sauce is killer with the rice. The vegetables had enough crunch to them and was not soggy or soft at all.

And my favorite? Pork chops with Onions really hit the spot. This is the $6.95 lunch special I was talking about. A lot of pork chop in the container which was a great deal. For people that eat a lot less, this can be divided into two meals.

The Beef Filets with Chinese Broccoli was ok, felt like something was missing and the beef didn't exactly tasted like beef.

It's a good lunch, but depending on what you order it's going to be a hit or miss.

Ken's Asian Taste
40 Bowery Street
New York, NY 10013
(212) 608-0806

East Village - Ten Degrees Bar

I don't understand why it took so long for J and I to come to Ten Degrees. He's been nagging me about the wine bar but I was dumb enough to ignore (sorry babe!).

Ten Degrees has this awesome happy hour, like really really awesome. It's from 12-8pm everyday and you basically get 2 drinks for the price of 1. Insanely good right? The deal isn't just good but the drinks themselves are quite incredible.

The service was pretty quick. The wine bar was spacious and even had a backroom. The atmosphere was honestly really carefree and you can sit here for hours talking about absolutely nothing.

We ordered a meat and cheese plate and it was a really good bang for your buck deal. They had fresh berries, I mean, what other place gives this many fruits?! It was the perfect snack to go along with your happy hour drinks.

Ten Degrees is definitely a place I would recommend. It's no speakeasy but the quality and the deals you get here can't be beaten anywhere else.

Ten Degrees Bar
121 St. Marks Place
New York, NY 10009
(212) 358-8600