Formosa Cafe - Brooklyn, NY

I was so sad to find this place right before my fiancé and I moved. We honestly missed these kind of Taiwanese style cafes. The kind where you can spend all afternoon just sitting there chatting and drinking some bubble milk tea and munching on popcorn chicken.

In a way, I'm glad we found it. Very popular during the day time which makes it quite difficult to get a table. The service here is pretty good for an Asian cafe, the girls behind the counter works quick. The drinks and food are also very good. I've been getting their Bubble Milk Tea non-stop whenever I'm in the area. I love a good milk tea when I can taste the tea and not entirely too sweet. This place does it right and does it well. The Jasmine Milk Tea is also a winner here, taste light and refreshing.

Our first time at Formosa, we stayed and chatted the night away. We ordered the bubble teas, Taiwanese Curry Popcorn Chicken, and Durian Crepe Cake. Everything was good; chicken was crispy and not just covered in flour, crepe cake wasn't too sweet and had a light hint of durian.
We keep coming back here to just get their bubble tea whenever we're in Brooklyn. Definitely recommend.

Bubble Milk Tea and Durian Crepe Cake

Same as above but with Curry Popcorn Chicken

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

Formosa Cafe
5323 7th Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11220

86 Hot Pot BBQ - Brooklyn, NY

It was a night to catch up with my girlfriends and what's better than to hotpot that night away. It was a chilly day in New York, so hotpot was definitely the better option. 86 Hotpot opened not to long ago and is still fairly new to the neighborhood of Bensonhurst.

It was quite empty on a Thursday night, but nonetheless, the service was pretty great. 86 Hotpot BBQ has both your regular hotpot and bbq, we only did hotpot which was $21.99 a person - not bad since it includes seafood (like mussels, clams and crab) which a lot of places don't. The interior was very modern and clean, sauce station was a bit small. The placement of the raw food that came out was on point, they didn't mix the more bloody items with the rest of the food (always a pet-peeve of mine).

At 86 Hotpot, you're given a menu with a list of food and you just mark off what you want. Very efficient and the food came out at a timely manner, which is always a good thing. One thing that might be interesting to know, if you're a party of 4 or less, you'll most likely get a big pot of broth to share whereas if you have a larger party, each person will get their individual pot.

I'd definitely recommend 86 Hotpot, it's very similar to 99 Favors. I need to come back to try the BBQ.

The spread...

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

86 Hot Pot BBQ
2239 86th Street
Brooklyn, NY 11214

Flushing, NY - Kulu Dessert

Kulu Milk Special

Mini Sweet Balls w/ Black Sesame Paste

Mango and Grass Jelly Tapioca in Coconut Milk

Kulu Dessert

37-06 Prince St 

Flushing, NY 11354

(718) 886-3302

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

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

Kulu Desserts - a treat that was long awaited

A big gap formed from late December until now, no explanations really, unless you want a reason...and the reason will be I was extremely busy, with work.

I finally was able to relax after April and even then it I still have loads of work to do. The life of an accountant. J and I along with another two friends decided to invest in a day of relaxation, it was pretty much a spontaneous day. After a late lunch, we visited Kulu Desserts which has basically your average Asian desserts. Anything from bubble tea to crepes and cold/hot dessert soups.

I personally love watermelon, then again, who doesn't? The Grass Jelly and Watermelon in Coconut Juice really hit the spot. Had a nice coconut milk flavor that wasn't too overpowering, the watermelon gave a nice crunch while the grass jelly gave a nice jello-bite to the whole ensemble. It's a good choice for a hot day, especially since it's already July.

To wash everything down, J ordered our usual, Green Tea w/ Honey. It's extremely light and refreshing, has just enough sweetness from the honey but something tells me that they added a bit of simple syrup in there also.

Nonetheless, Kulu is pretty neat for a hangout spot but it gets quite cold in there with the a/c blasting. And also, there are a lot of young Asian kids hanging around. After a good 30 minutes, we felt out of place, our friend was like maybe we should've went to a bar...

Kulu Desserts
806 62nd St
Brooklyn, NY 11220
(718) 680-2818

Munchies Cafe - something to cool down with during the heatwave

Munchies Cafe (MC) is fairly new, a nice addition to Brooklyn. The little cafe is really bright with summer colors, but the one thing that probably draws the most attention would be their touch screen computer monitors. Each table of 4, has a computer monitor that is connected to the internet, smaller tables don't have this feature. You can use it like your regular laptop/computer, watch anything on it and do whatever you please.

Their menu is pretty big, anything ranging from drinks, desserts, and savory foods.

J and I just wanted to relax and get away from the heat a bit. We ordered a drink and dessert each.

I had a regular Green Tea w/ Honey while J had a Strawberry Green Tea. I thought mine was way too sweetie, too much honey in there (I actually think it's some sweet syrup other than honey).

J had the Mario Brothers Snowy Mix Fruit. He chose watermelon as his fruit and coconut and red bean ice cream, all swimming in a sweet milky broth. Not bad, but it was definitely filling and there was a lot in there.

I had the Mango and Papaya Snowy Mix Fruit with green tea ice cream and mango pudding. They definitely pureed the mango and papaya to use as the "broth" base. It tasted very smoothie-like and so many fruits and pudding...

In all, I'm not too crazy about this place. It's nice to hang out and chill but the food just didn't wow me. I would come back for a drink and just chat.

Munchies Cafe
12 Bay 25th St
Brooklyn, NY 11214
(718) 333-1088

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

Hong Kong: Kam Wah's Cafe

On our last full day in Hong Kong, J and I had to Google a cafe to get some pineapple bun (nothing about it was pineapple - just a name). Lo and behold, we found Kam Wah's Cafe aka 金華冰廳. It wasn't far where we were staying so we decided to head over for some afternoon tea.

The place was packed inside, but service was moving quickly. They have a lot of specials posted all over the walls and waiters yelling back and forth, now that's service for ya.

There's an extensive menu right in front of you if you care to take a look. Tucked right into the table is pretty much everything they offer. Sorry guys, no English here...maybe a Chinese friend can come in handy now or you can ask the waiter or even point around and order what other people are eating.

I wanted to get some noodles but with the things that we ordered, there's definitely no room for that. Plus, we were sharing a table booth with 2 other girls...awkward.

J had the Iced Lemon and Honey (凍檸蜜).

While I had the Iced Milk Tea (凍奶茶). If I have the chance, I'll always order the milk tea at a cafe/restaurant in Hong Kong.

Tis the Pineapple Bun w/ Butter (菠蘿油). We had the Mexican Bun (墨西哥包) first, but apparently I never took a photo of it because now I remember that we just devour that sucker because it was insanely good. Fresh and fluffy and sweet, lord I want one nowww! The Pineapple Bun was a bit more bland and the butter didn't seem to add any flavor, maybe salted butter would be better?

Ahhh the Egg Tart (蛋撻), these things have to be fresh to taste good. It was already room temperature by the time we got to it, wish it was a bit more sweet but the flaky crust is good.

Last but not least, the Hong Kong Style French Toast (西多士). Let's be honest here, nothing will ever beat the french toast I had in Stanley - that was the best of the best and I would definitely want that as one of the last things I eat on earth. This toast was just average and I needed to add syrup which was no bueno already.

Experience was great. Service was fast just like how it's suppose to be. I want more Mexican Buns now.

Hong Kong: Tofu Dessert

What's better than having Tofu Fa in Hong Kong? Nothing! It's its own origin and is authentic as it can get. After a fulfilling meal at a dai pai dong (previous post in HK), J and I were up for some dessert. Cheap and delicious dessert.

Grandma's Tofu (亞婆豆腐花) isn't your sit-down-and-eat place but a quick 1-2-3 bam kind of place. Quite popular for their tofu fa aka 豆腐花 and other things like herbal drinks.

A good bowl of tofu fa is light and silky with the right amount of sugared syrup in it. A bowl here is $7HKD if you eat it on the spot; $9HKD if you decide to take-out, charging you an extra $2HKD for the take-out container.

J and I wanted it right there, fresh and cold. By the way, you have the option of hot or cold. We chose cold since it was hot in HK even during the late night. The interesting part I thought (which I didn't take a photo of), is this orange powder they have. I thought it was some Hi-C orange flavor thing but it was just orange powdered sugar, weird. But it was great! Really fun to eat and it looked so pretty. Yes, I'm easily amused by strange miniscule things.

So, forget about the sit-down really sweet dessert. Get something light, quick, and cheap for a change. Cost us less than $1USD for that bowl...haha.

Audrey's Concerto - A little symphony to keep the sweetness going

Audrey's Concerto is a great cafe, especially in Brooklyn. Opened up and run by Chinese people, the desserts are light and quite creative.

I came here twice, once was takeout while the other time, I finally got the chance to sit down and enjoy.

There's limited seats here, 2 large tables that sits about 4-6 and then 2 comfortable cushion chairs and also a "bar."

The cafe is really clean and everything was so organized. We came on a snowy day which is why it looked so beautiful outside. The staff behind the counter were very friendly and helpful. Would never thought that J and I would have a light conversation with them.

Milk Chocolate, White Chocolate, Coffee and Shaved Dark Chocolate ($3.25)
Lavender Honey Creme Brulee ($3.25, takeout is an extra $1.50 for the cup)
Green Tea Tiramisu ($3.25)
Strawberry Rose Mousse ($3.25)
The desserts were interesting and majority of them revolved around mousse or pudding. All of them were unique in their own way and truthfully, I didn't have a favorite. None really "wow-ed" me but it doesn't mean I won't head back for more.

What I really liked was the Lavender Rose Tea w/ Honey ($3.50?). It didn't have a strong tea taste at all but just enough for you to notice and the honey worked so well. Pairing a tea with a sweet dessert really helps balance out everything. Not to mention the teabag is so pretty, you can actually see the petals.

I like the concept of Audrey's Concerto and I would come back, I would even recommend it even though the desserts weren't crazy amazing. It's a good cafe to check out and definitely different that your average Chinese bakery.

Audrey's Concerto
2379 86th St
Brooklyn, NY 11214
(718) 266-2829