Maharlika - East Village, NY

Maharlika has been on my list for the longest time, even before the hyped, but I'm glad it died down a bit because that's how J and I were able to get a quick seating on a Saturday during lunch.

It's a really small restaurant but filled with personality. The walls were decorated with Filipino style art and photos which really gives a cool eccentric vibe. Our waitress was so adorable, very friendly and outspoken. It didn't take long for us to decide on our dishes and everything we ordered was delicious.

We shared all the dishes which we almost had a problem finishing. Started off with the Lumpiang, Filipino version of a spring roll, it was absolutely phenomenal. Crispy and flavorful, I really like that sweet and tangy sauce, and also the banana ketchup. Next two things were Sisig and Tapsilog, excellent. The sisig was something special, in a small cast iron were pork ears, snout and belly all sauteed together and mixed with an egg. Tapsilog is a basic lunch dish with steak, garlic rice and some lightly pickled cucumbers. All of these dishes we were drenching them in this special sauce they provided us - vinegar and chili sauce. Absolutely tasted great with every dish, and they encourage you to eat it with everything cause it's that good and it enhances the flavor of the dish.

Filipino food is pretty awesome and Maharlika just makes it that much better. Definitely a must visit.

Menu

Rizal's Ruin

Lumpiang Barquillos

Tapsilog

Sisig

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

Maharlika
111 1st Ave
New York, NY 10003

Zundo-Ya, Ramen - East Village, NY

January can be blistering cold, and ramen always seems to be the answer on those cold nights.

Tucked away on the side streets of where the infamous Ippudo is, lay a very hipster ramen joint. Zundo-Ya is the first international ramen joint opened by Tatsuya Hashimoto, he already has 19 shops in Japan.

When you walk through the door, it felt like a cafeteria. Open space and large communal tables, and to mention, it gets quite loud here. The staffs look like they came out of a Grease musical, so cheery and chipper to serve. Service can be a bit slow but nonetheless the entire experience was pleasant.

The menu was very straight forward. J and I were greedy so we decided on the Zenbunose Ramen which has all the toppings they offer, it can be hefty at $18 a bowl but I'm not eating this all the time, so I can definitely justify it. Besides the ramen bowl/flavor that you choose, there's also noodle type and broth richness you can choose. Talk about life decisions here. I had the straight noodles and J has the wavy, we both agreed on the regular richness for the broth. I'm sure we had that moment and realized that we don't want to mask the beautiful taste of the entire ramen by clogging our arteries, plus I don't think we can totally appreciate the super rich super fatty broth yet.

Alongside the ramen, we also ordered the Kaarage. I have this weird fascination with Japanese fried chicken, they're just so delicious, if made correctly. This here came with Japanese mayo and salt and pepper dip, so good. The chunks of chicken were big and juicy - that's what she said.

Onto the Zenbunose Ramen. Honestly, can words even describe it? It was absolutely worth that $18. The bowl looked very vibrant with all the different toppings, soft-boiled eggs, roast pork, garlic chips, dried seaweed, scallions, spicy oil, and bean sprouts. Plus, they give you sesame seeds, pickled ginger, and pickled cabbage on the side. Of course, we threw all those in the ramen also. The medley of all the ingredients made the broth super delicious, it had that umami flavor - indescribable but just insanely good.

I'd come back, I also don't want to recommend this place because I'm greedy. I want this all to myself and let no other know. But with all my raving, that's not going to happen.

Verdict:
Food ~ 5 out of 5
Price ~ 4 out of 5
Service ~ 3.5 out of 5

Additional Toppings

Japanese Beer

Kaarage

Zenbunose Ramen

Zundo-Ya
84 East 10th St
New York, NY 10003

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

East Village - Spina

I love Spina's tasting menu and they usually have different ones during the year. So when they had a special tasting menu for Valentine's Day, my boyfriend made sure to secure a reservation spot.

We've dined here before so there wasn't anything new except for the menu itself.

We got seated and as always, was given fresh focaccia bread and house-made ricotta cheese.

Started off with the Amuse Bouche, it was interesting and delightful. What we did not enjoy were the oysters. They were frozen, still covered in ice when served. Extremely poor dish. I'm surprised it was even served.

The appetizers were alright. The Winter Salad tasted light a ball of shredded lettuce, not much flavor or texture going around, very bland. The Lobster Risotto was a bit better, had chunks of lobster and the risotto was creamy.

I thought the American Red Snapper was done pretty well. The entire entree as a whole was executed nicely. On the other hand, the Spice Rubbed Filet Mignon was kind of a mess. Too much going on in that dish, spinach, mashed potato, crispy onion and sauce - it was too overwhelming and the taste was kind of confusing.

Dessert was subpar. I honestly expected more but both dishes were simple and tasted no different if I were to make it at home. Feels like they stopped trying.

Overall, I always loved Spina but this meal was one of the worse I've had. And sadly to say, Spina had closed down as of May 2015. Don't think I'll ever get the chance of eating there again.

Spina Restaurant - CLOSED
175 Ave B
New York, NY 10009
(212) 253-2250

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

Spina - Riesling Wine Tasting Dinner

J and I are back once again. I feel like we give a lot of love to Spina.

Riesling is my favorite type of white wine and once I knew that Spina was going to do a tasting menu with this specific type of wine, I immediately checked my email every day to see when they might host this event.
I made the reservation right away when I knew the date. The manager of Spina remembered J and I, excellent memory and customer service.

J got a tattoo for the event. Hahahaa
Actually, the manager, Matthew, gave us a temporary tattoo so we can be in the "spirit." I have to say, it was a pretty nice tattoo there.

There were 4 dishes on the menu, each paired with a Riesling that was carefully selected by Matthew.

First was the Tuna Tartare, I absolutely love this dish. J and I really enjoy anything tartare and this was one of the better ones. There was a sweetness to the dressing and the pepper flakes on top really balanced out the entire dish. The chips were a plus, wish there was more!

The next dish was a more refreshing, a nice palate cleanser. The Watermelon & Ricotta Salata Salad was really light. Watermelon was sweet which balanced the bitterness of the arugula, the brined watermelon rinds was really appetizing, a little sweet, a little bitter, a little sour...perfection.

Ricotta Cavatelli reminded me of gnocchi. Ever since I had the gnocchi at Spina at the last visit, I just couldn't stop thinking about it. This was so similar in texture but made with ricotta cheese. So delicious! The pasta was dressed with some fennel sausage and broccoli rabe, excellent texture and taste.

The last dish of the tasting menu was the Oven Roasted Chicken. It was over a bed of fregola and corn, lovely texture. The chicken was very moist with a nice crisp skin, that doesn't happen often when you roast chicken. Also seasoned really well, a great dish to end the meal with.

But we didn't exactly end at that, which we should've.

Tiramisu was a bit dry, too much cocoa powder on top. Definitely should pass on this.

Otherwise, the entire meal at Spina was ever so perfect. I'm actually looking forward to their red wine tasting menu if they're thinking of having one...I should probably email Matthew...

Spina
175 Ave B
New York, NY 10009
(212) 253-2250 

Spina - Rose Wine Tasting Dinner

J and I never had a wine tasting dinner before and this was a first that definitely didn't disappoint. Spina was one of the places we loved and when I got an e-mail from them about a tasting menu with wine, I immediately made the reservations.

We came a bit earlier than our reservation, but the manager of Spina was extremely nice and had us seated right away. He also asked us if we would like to start and we eagerly said yes.

Starting off...

Each dish was paired with a delicately selected rose wine to match the taste of the dish. I wasn't able to take a photo of each glass but know that it was paired perfectly. Rose wine is one of the more difficult wines to pair because it's a mix of white and red.

Delicious foccaccia that was made in-house along with the ricotta cheese. I never love cheese this much and this is on the top of my list. Creamy and light, I can eat this every day.

First up was the Fluke Crudo. Simple but extremely well done. Thinly sliced fluke with olive oil drizzled over, the sea salt really brought out the freshness of the fluke and the chives added a great crunch. Love anything crudo.

Second was the Heirloom BLT Salad. Pretty much what it is is what it sounds, fried tomatoes, bacon and some arugula. Tomatoes were really fresh, there was two kinds - heirloom and regular.

Third, the Goat Cheese Gnocchi got me a little worried because it was gnocchi and it had goat cheese. I had a bad experience with gnocchi and I'm not a big fan of cheese in general, mix them together and I start to get a bit skeptical and panic a bit. But, surprisingly the dish was really good. I can find myself really liking goat cheese gnocchi...haha

Fourthly, the main entree was the Scottish Salmon. Got some mushy peas there and more bacon! I can really learn to love these kind of tasting menu if majority of the dishes got bacon in it. Salmon was a bit bland but it was good, since the bacon totally offsets that with its saltiness.

Ending the rose wine tasting dinner was the Passion Fruit Panna Cotta. Absolutely perfect to end the meal with. Had a nice melon puree around the panna cotta and it was paired with a sparking rose, one of the hardest to pair.

It was a great evening and a superb meal. Spina can definitely host a fantastic wine tasting dinner. The manager was extremely knowledgeable about his wines and the staff was attentive and friendly. They know exactly when to bring out clean glasses and help us move onto the next dish.

J and I came to Spina the first time with no high hopes, but Spina seems to surpass our expectations each time. I can see myself really loving this restaurant.

Spina
175 Ave B
New York, NY 10009
(212) 253-2250

Paprika - we wanted to but we didn't know why

It was one of those nights where J and I couldn't possibly decide what to have for dinner. While walking around the East Village, we saw Paprika. Totally forgot why we wanted to come here, we also had no idea it was here all along. So, we just shrugged and went in.

Luckily, they have a table open for us because it looked quite full, plus they asked if we made reservations...errr

Starting off with some bread and olive oil. We literally finished off the olive oil with two slice of bread, that's how crazy we were and how good it was.

J insisted on getting the Beef Carpaccio ($13) which I was fine with. Boy, it tasted amazing...like the bomb! You really couldn't tell it's beef, raw beef. It had a nice citrus-y flavor to it and the arugula, truffle oil and shaved parmigiano cheese worked so well. I mean, how can you say no to truffle oil?! I need to go back for this.

We also got their Special Cutting Board ($16). I was surprise at how much meat there were for that price, total win. There were also 2 pieces of cheese, I'm really assuming it was mozzarella but it was on the melted side, it tasted creamy and milky...meh I'm not a fan of raw cheese.

Moving onto entrees, I got their special. I really need to stick with my first decision. But the Spinach Fettucine in Pesto sauce w/ cherry tomatoes and brussel sprouts ($16) was too hard to resist. Very clean tasting and healthy, maybe a little dash of salt would've made it a tad bit better.

J stuck with his original dish he saw on the menu, Buckwheat Tagliatelle w/ cabbage, cheese and garlic ($16). His dish was on the heavy side, full of flavor. It's a type of dish where you would want to eat slowly, take a sip of wine and then go back for another bite. There's no way you can wolf this dish down.

Paprika is nice. It's busy but nice. Don't think we'll be heading back but I won't say no if someone invites me...

Paprika
110 St Marks Pl
New York, NY 10009
(212) 677-6563

Cafe Orlin - we left but came back for more

Yes, we returned. It was gonna be sooner or later and this was the chance to get our hands on their delicious foods again.

It's something about Cafe Orlin that makes me like it so much. Maybe because of the great food and the fact that we don't have to wait too long for a table. I mean, they're usually packed for breakfast/brunch but for dinner, they don't fill up until around 9ish and we get there way before that.

The last time I remember, we started with a bottle of red and here we are starting our meal with another bottle, but of white. Went for a Riesling ($32) this time, nice and subtle.

I think it's official that we love ordering things from the Specials Menu. The Black Sea Bass Ceviche ($11) was delicious. Just enough lime, onion, tomato and spices. It was quite the gamble that we ordered it because we usually only order ceviche at Mexican restaurants.

I've been hooked onto calamari lately. The Grilled Calamari ($11) was excellent. Spritz some lemon on top and it's the most perfect appetizer. I really like the watercress that came with the dish, balances out the spices that the calamari gives off.

For entree, J had the Hanger Steak ($18). Same thing as last time because it's that dam good. Always comes with fries and some greens, just do you feel a bit healthy. Steak is great as usual, add some tabasco and ketchup to really bring out the flavor and tenderness of the piece of meat.

This time around, I ordered something different. Actually, last time I wanted pasta but their fish special totally steer me off to the other direction. The Linguine with Shrimp ($13.50) was interesting. The sauce was a bit on the heavy side but very aromatic, lots of garlic in it. It was good, I enjoyed it but I got extremely full from the carbs.

Even though I said I was full, once I glanced at the menu I knew I wanted the Tres Leches Cake ($6.50). Such a fatty! It was just mediocre, definitely could do without it but everything we had was just exquisite.

Cafe Orlin
41 St. Marks Pl
New York, NY 10003
(212) 777-1447