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

Cha Chan Tang - breakfast before you leave

There's not enough Chinese restaurants in Chinatown that does traditional Hong Kong breakfast. Cha Chan Tang is one to consider since it's the most spacious and eye-appealing.

J and I came in for breakfast before I had work, service wasn't the fastest but it was quite average. Just like any Americanized Chinese restaurant, they have your letterized meals and each comes with coffee or milk tea of your choice; ie. A=macaroni in soup with ham.

Something really simple like Satay Beef Instant Noodle Soup is done really well. I can always make instant noodle but satay beef is definitely something I wouldn't be willing or wanting to whip up at home out of the blue. The meal is $4, well $3 to be more accurate since a drink is usually around $1.

 
J got Preserved Egg w/ Pork Congee along with Soy Sauce Fried Noodles. Both of these for just $3.75 which is a really good deal.

Portion size is generous, especially when you're only one person. I'm not crazy about congee but I do really enjoy the soy sauce noodles. Combine the congee and noodles in one bite and it's quite heavenly. I always think that the congee is bland and the noodles are more on the oily and dry side, therefore they're a perfect match when ordering and eating them together.

The atmosphere of Cha Chan Tang does give you that hint of Hong Kong cafes because of the stand off-ish feel. I mean, you sit, you order, you're served, you eat, you pay, you leave. There's hardly ever any smiling or nodding or goodbyes. It's just how it works. If you ever went to Hong Kong, you'd know what I mean.

Cha Chan Tang
 45 Mott St
New York, NY 10013
(212) 577-2888

Cutting Board - it happened again, but for his sake

I finally took J to Cutting Board after months and month of talking about it. It just never seem to fit into our schedule and whenever we're in the neighborhood we rather eat something else. But this time, we promised each other we would go to Cutting Board after our salon appointment.

There were new things on the menu that I was told that were a must order, not to mention there were also a dish I have been wanting to try. We ended up getting 2 appetizers and 2 entrees to ourselves, leaving no room for dessert which I was totally bummed about.

I remembered the CB Mussels being really good so I had to order it for J. They sort of messed up our order of Grilled Calamari Salad and gave us Fried Calamari but they were nice enough to go back into the kitchen and gave us the right order.

The dish might look simple and plain but the calamari was delicious and the dressing worked well with the calamari and arugula. I wish they had a full entree portion of this.

J had the Ox Tongue w/ Spaghetti, huge portion with a lot of ox tongue.

The dish I have been longing to order and taste was the Uni Pasta. Why did I want to try this so badly? Because uni is uber delicious and they only charge $9 for this amazing dish. It truly was good, you can even find chunks of uni in there, portion size can actually feed two people and the pasta was cooked al-dente.

I can't get over how great Cutting Board is along with their never-ending dessert menu (which I have yet to try) that people are raving about. It's a great fusion restaurant for quality dishes that doesn't hurt your wallet.

Cutting Board
53 Bayard St
New York, NY 10013
(212) 528-0188

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

Bassanova Ramen - you don't need much to be much

J and I first read about Bassanova and their ramen burger in the magazine and online, hoping they would have it when we got there but instead they said they'll have it by the end of the month. Still wanting to try Bassanova out since it opened in the midst of Chinatown, we were curious how this place would work in such an inexpensive area. Mind you, their ramen average about $14 a bowl, it's expensive considering you can get a bowl of noodles around the corner for about $5.

We chose to sit by the bar, facing the open kitchen where the chefs were putting together the bowls of ramen. There were mountains of different size bowls in front of us making the preparation hard to see.

Different sizes for different type of ramen. They only have 3 dishes on the menu when we went but I heard they increased it to 6 now, including the dipping style ramen.

The utensils given to us were huge. The chopsticks were twice the size of your average chopstick and the spoon was heavy, made with true porcelain . But it was fun using these to slurp up my ramen anyways.

J had the Green Curry Ramen. The bowl was big, not much was packed in it but everything was really good. Green curry was definitely something different in the ramen industry. When it comes to green curry, we think of Thai and southern Asian countries so the medley with ramen brings it to a new level. The wavy ramen was delicious and fun to eat. There isn't much broth so when you order kae-dama (more ramen) that might be a problem but by itself, finishing the ramen and broth is easy-peasy, if you can handle the heat.

I had the Tondaku Wadashi Jilu Ramen, simple yet flavorful. The broth was rich and the straight noodles were cooked al dente. Even though I was only served a slice of pork, it was nicely charred and had a really good smoke to it. Bamboo shoots were also really good, wished they gave more than just 3 strands. Yes, there's the problem of "not enough" broth again but realistically, how many people actually finishes the broth in a big bowl of ramen that has more than half a bowl of broth - not much.

I'm waiting for more items on their menu to return, especially the ramen burger.

Bassanova Ramen
76 Mott St
New York, NY 10013

Cutting Board - taking mom out for a nice run

I originally wanted to come here with J but I took my mom instead...haha

It was a mother and daughter day, didn't really want to eat the generic Chinese food so I took my mom out for something new and different. Heard good things about Cutting Board, the fusion of it.

Spacious inside but there were only 2 waiters, really? But they were quick, so not exactly any complaints about that.

I don't think my mom has ever experience mussels like this. The CB Mussels ($8) were quite delicious, served in a saffron broth, one breadstick was definitely not enough. Mussels were plump, which was a good thing. Generous portion too.

My mom had the Curry Beef w/ Rice ($6) which also had a fried egg. I liked the idea of how they separated the meat sauce from the rice, this gives the person utter control of how much meat they want and plus it doesn't sog up the rice this way. A sunny-side up egg is always a good addition to any dish.

I had the Pancetta & Cream over Linguine ($6), not bad at all. I was afraid it would be too creamy and weird tasting since you know, Asian places don't do creamy. But this was pretty good, kind of impressive if you ask me. I've been wanting carbonara but this will do for now until I actually find a place that serves up good carbonara.

So far, I kinda like Cutting Board. It's different and pricing is really reasonable, not to mention the taste isn't bad at all. I still need to take J here.

Cutting Board
53 Bayard St
New York, NY 10013
(212) 528-0188

Teariffic Cafe - a really quick afternoon tea to get my nerves going

It's been a while since J and I came here and it's probably because we haven't had any time lately, not to mention it always seems packed when we walked by.

But this past Saturday it was quite empty, even around 1pm. Got a table in the right corner, yay for the wall because I can lean back. We ordered ourselves a drink and a plate to munch on to kill some time (I had an errand to run around 2, hence the quick tea-ing).

Usually this place is ran by waiters but that day, there were only 2 waitresses. J joked that the girlfriends had to substitute in for the guys...haha

The regular size Blackjack ($3.05) was something that J and I ordered a lot of back then, but haven't been for the past 2-3 years because it was too sweet. It's still sweet now. Our palettes changed a lot but I did want to recall some memories while drinking this, brings me back to high school.

This "exotic drink" as Teariffic quote it as, is on the sweet and sour side. It has blue curacao, strawberry syrup, lemon juice and honey - definitely taste the curacao and lemon juice more than anything and the color gives it that mysterious look. Wished it was more on the black side than blue to justify its name.

J wanted something hot, don't know why since it was humid that day. He ordered the Dragon Pearl Jasmine Tea ($4.50), really wasn't worth the price since it was just tea. For some reason I was hoping it would have some pearls like tapioca but dragon type...yeaaaa. We admit it was good tea, very fragrant but I wouldn't come to Teariffic to get this type of tea.

Deep Fried Chicken Strips ($3.25) is usually what we get when it comes to tea-ing. It just works really well as just a dish to munch on and shoot the breeze with another person. Plus, it's enough to share and let the time pass. This time around, the chicken strips tasted more like pork, maybe it is pork but it's disguised as chicken. It isn't as great as it once was but it had that nice crunch factor to it, so it wasn't too bad.

I guess so matter how bad Teariffic changes or screws up, I think we'll still come back because there's so many more options on the menu. It's also one of the few tea cafes in Chinatown that has a lot of seatings and is also really casual.

Teariffic Cafe
51 Mott St
New York, NY 10013
(212) 393-9009

Cha Chan Tang - late lunch that felt so right into the evening

Cha Chan Tang basically means cafe in Cantonese. Serving quick fix dishes for the busy person.

J and I came on a Saturday around 2pm, the time where Hong Kong people start their afternoon tea. The reason why CCT was on my to-visit list was because of this...

The interesting idea of an ice bucket around your milk tea. I've had this in Hong Kong but I didn't like it much because it was so strong. I was hoping CCT was different. Their Special Cold Hong Kong Style Tea was just right, for me. I wish I could take the whole entire thing to go, that would definitely be interesting. J had the Black and White Milk Tea, it was bland so he had to add some sugar. But both drinks were really well made.

Why choose when we can get the Mixed Balls in curry sauce. The balls were mediocre, there's your average fish balls, beef balls and (my favorite) cuttlefish balls. The curry sauce was pretty amazing, had just the right amount of spice. I need to know if they make their curry rice dish with this curry because I need to get it next time!

Chicken Wings w/ Coke was pretty delicious. Very tender and flavorful. Not too much on the heavy and sweet coke flavor but you do taste that coke flavor. Give me some bread to soak up the sauce and I'll be a happy camper.

I asked J what's a popular dish Hong Kong-ers order at a cafe along with their milk tea, he told me satay beef noodles. Exactly what I got. The Satay Beef w/ Ramen Noodles was a big portion. Hidden lettuce leaves in the soup and a lot of noodles! There was also a good amount of beef which I couldn't finish. If only I can make ramen like this at home...

J had the Singapore Fried Ramen Noodles. It looked really appetizing. I'm always skeptical about ramen noodles being pan-fried because I'm afraid it would be too soft or soggy, but not here. CCT made it really well. I love the curry flavor that was in the dish, they also put a lot of ingredients in the dish (as you can see up above). I would totally get this again...to share of course.

CCT is a great spot to hang out and location-wise, it's at a good spot for teenagers stop by after their weekend Chinese classes. Food is good, service is quick. I really look forward to returning.

Cha Chan Tang
45 Mott St
New York, NY 10013
(212) 577-2888

Mei Li Wah - the best buns that leaves you speechless?

Three weeks ago J and I thought of going to Mei Li Wah for a quick brunch before heading into Jersey for some personal errands. I've had Mei Li Wah's pork buns before they fixed up the place and it was quite good, small but good.

This time, I wanted us to actually sit down and enjoy the food but time didn't exactly permit us. We ordered a bunch of stuff and ended up not finishing a dish...yes, we're back to being greedy again!

I had an Iced Coffee while J had an Iced Coffee & Milk Tea. Something that he likes, he enjoyed it and said they made it quite well. Me, on the other hand thought the coffee was too sweet. I was hoping the ice would water it down a bit but nope, didn't happen...still sweet.

Saw this and had to get it. One of my all time favorites, Fried Cruller wrapped in Rice Noodles. You get that crunchy and soft texture at the same time, not anyone's thing but hey I can eat this all week long.

Ordered a Siew Mai because J haven't had dim sum in a while. It wasn't the greatest, could be hotter also.

The Har Gow was actually pretty good. It didn't look that great at first glance because it looked so white, I mean, aren't shrimp suppose to look a bit pink? But there were mouthfuls of shrimp and the dumpling skin was chewy and tender.

Last but not least, because we were greedy we also gotten the Beef Chow Fun. I actually wanted the soy sauce pan-fried noodles but they don't make it at Mei Li Wah, so I settled for this. We barely ate half and took the rest to go. It wasn't bad, a lot less greasy than other places.

I have to say, if I had the time to just chill and relax, I wouldn't mind staying here longer. The waitress were ok, better than your average Asian middle-age waitresses elsewhere, that's for sure. They take a while to get to you, but they don't have that mean stink-face when they approach you - win.

Mei Li Wah
64 Bayard St
New York, NY 10013
(212) 966-7866

XO Taste - Everything was good but with a little extra something

J and I like going to the old XO restaurant by Walker Street in Chinatown. But ever since they closed that one down and replaced it with a Popeyes, we haven't really wanted to try the new location. This location replaced a Malaysian restaurant which sucked also because that Malay restaurant was pretty good. Everything was good at their original spots, why must they move?!

So finally, we decided to test out this new location. Out of all days, we came on a day where it was raining/snowing. It was a difficult walk because the sleet keeps blowing in my face, even with my hood on!

I have to say that this new location is definitely bigger. Same layout as the Malay restaurant apparently. We ordered our usual and one thing extra, just because.

The Japanese Style Pan Fried Dumplings ($3.95) were pretty much the same but bigger. J and I actually had a hard time finishing it. Don't know why I always order this, maybe it's the sauce.

We thought to give the Baked Escargot French Style ($8.95) a go. It was a risk because we usually don't order escargots at a Chinese restaurant but it somehow appealed to J so I was like, ok let's do this! It wasn't bad, lacked a little salt but overall quite meaty.

The entree we both usually get at XO will probably never change, although it should. J's Baked Ham & Cheese over Spaghetti Casserole ($6.95) was salty! Even when I had it for takeout it was salty, this was a big no-no and the sauce was too watery. Guess we shall move on from the casserole and J will have to find something else on the menu that will replace this.

I always loved getting udon from XO just because I think it's so much more worth it than getting it at a Japanese restaurant, I mean I get more udon and even meat! Although here, the Udon with Grilled Chicken Cutlet ($6.95) wasn't too bad. At least it was better than the casserole. The broth had a bit too much seaweed taste to it and the more I eat from it, the saltier it gets. What's with the salt here?!

So, the chances of us coming back is 50/50 to like really slim because of the salt. But it does makes me curious to know how their other dishes taste, like the curry stew over rice and cow penis with noodles...

XO Taste
41 Elizabeth St
New York, NY 10013
(212) 343-8625

M Star Cafe - Reminding me of what I once had

Occasionally, J and I would go out for breakfast. It's easy to find a diner here but for an authentic Hong Kong style breakfast, it's a challenge. What I mean by authentic or even close enough to an HK breakfast would be ordering by the letter. That's right, you didn't read wrong...ordering by letters. HK is all about being quick, so just saying the letter A, B, C, D, E, etc...can mean 2-3 items in your meal.

J went to M Star before so he knows what to expect. M Star is actually the closest you can get to some authentic HK breakfast. If you want to know how it feels like in HK, this place can definitely give you a glimpse/feel to it.

J got the C meal and I got the D meal. Both includes a drink, coffee or milk tea unless you feel adventurous, then go ahead and mix the two (there is a such a thing). Both of our meal include toast, but J got the egg...

My Satay Beef w/ Instant Noodle came in a decent size bowl, but it was packed with noodles. The satay beef gave a nice kick to the entire dish. Even though this might be really simple to make as home (I mean, hello...it's just instant noodles right?) but the idea of going to a restaurant for it just makes it that much better knowing that I didn't have to cook it and I wouldn't have to clean it, yay!

J's Macaroni w/ Ham, yet another simple dish but so comforting. This is refreshing and tasted clean, hearty and filling at the same time.

And because that wasn't enough, knowing our greedy-asses we got the Pan Fried Steamed Rice Noodle ($3). We both never had rice noodle pan fried before so it instantly caught our eyes. Deliciously crunchy and smothered in the sweet sauce and peanut sauce. I just wished they cut it into smaller pieces...

Overall, great place for some Cantonese breakfast. Might be a bit packed in the morning but if you're a small group of 2-3, spots open up within 5-10 minutes.

M Star Cafe
19 Division St
New York, NY 10002
(212) 966-8988

Biang! - The pleasure of burning

I don't remember how J and I came to agree at dining at Biang!, might've been the delicious description of the skewers on their website.

Biang! is like a chic-er version of Xi'An Famous Food, given a place to sit down and being waiter-ed. The waitress was really nice and didn't mind that we wanted to change tables.

They actually checked IDs for this, I'll just take it as they think I'm young looking.
One of the reason why I was interested in Biang! was because of the YangJing Beer ($5) that they carried. I had this when I was in Hong Kong and I really enjoyed it. Never would've thought I would have the chance to see it in NY. J had the KingFisher Beer ($5) from India, pretty good, it had that light  fruity-ness in the beginning.

Our noodles came out first, I ordered the Mt. Qi Pork Biang-Biang Noodles ($6.50) in medium spice and it still kicked my ass. I mean, it was definitely really good. I love the spicy and sour combo and it was really appetizing, but I'll just go with no spice next time...

J's Spicy Cumin Lamb Biang-Biang Noodles ($7.50) doesn't look spicy but it was, it got quite difficult to eat but it was too good to stop.

Starting off our skewer binge. Yes, we went crazy and ordered quite a lot, especially when one order consist of 3 skewers. The Spicy & Tingly Squid Skewers ($4.50) was the best. Cooked absolutely perfect and seasoned so well. Definitely wasn't spicy at all, kind of had a nice sweet glazed to it.

This was J's favorite. Spicy Cumin Pork Intestine Skewers ($3.75) was grilled to a crisp which is why he loved it. I was on the so-so side with this. But I do find it cute that they go from the big pieces to the smaller pieces in the front.

Why did we order this? Big disappointment for me, better off not ordering this because the Spicy & Tingly Boiled Beef Stomach Skewers ($3.75) wasn't anything special. Maybe if they didn't boil it, then it would be a bit more exciting.

Another one of our favorites, Spicy Cumin Chicken Heart Skewers ($3.75) was nicely cooked. Sad they only gave so little on a stick, I wanted more since these can get addicting.

Saving the best for last, Spicy Cumin Chicken Gizzard Skewers ($3.75) was great. Crunchy and gamey. I told J that if I have a whole bowl of this instead of popcorn when we watch a movie, I would totally be a happy camper.

Biang! has surpassed my expectation and I would love to return. They cook their skewers very well and none of them were under or overcooked. I really enjoyed the noodles, but next time I'm sure I'll be able to enjoy it even more without the crazy spiciness in the way. If you like Xi'An Famous Food then this is a must visit.

Biang!
41-10 Main St
Flushing, NY 11355

Bubble Me: Bubbly Tea

I was in a crappy mood the day I went to Bubbly Tea, hoping it would cheer me up with some good Bubble Milk Tea...

The interior of this place is modern and chic, and also clean. There are signs everywhere of different drinks you can choose from and also snacks for you to munch on.

I went for the BMT and they served it to me in no time. Alright, so I wasn't impress with this at all. The milk tea was watered down and lacked any tea flavor. I was really disappointed. I was hoping this would lift my mood but it didn't. The tapioca was nicely cooked though, really chewy and soft and not too sweet. I would avoid their BMT and just get something else because apparently, they don't make the milk tea well here. It's a really simple drink but if you can't master it then you're not really up for calling yourself a tea shop. Maybe it was just me or I came at a bad time but either way, I won't be getting the BMT again.

Overall --

Price $2.75
Service 3.5/5
Atmosphere 4/5
Taste 1.5/5
Likelihood to return for BMT is 0%

 

Bubbly Tea

55B Bayard St
New York, NY 10013
(212) 608-3688