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

Lunchin' Solo: Tanaka - Lunch Box

Tanaka is really close to my office and my coworkers always order from here. I finally gave in and tried out their lunch box because it was the biggest bang for you buck kind of deal.

I ordered from Seamless and it said it would be ready in 10 minutes. There was a lot of food for about $10 (I also used a code so it was cheaper than the original price). The entree came with soup and salad which was already more than enough.

I haven't had Miso Soup in forever, this wasn't bad but I also forgot how salty it can be also. I always like the pieces of tofu that came with it. There was also a small side salad with the ginger dressing but I passed on that since I want to be able to eat my box.

I ordered the Salmon Teriyaki. Everything was placed really neat in the box. Salmon was really tender and had just the right amount of sauce, there was also some grilled vegetables on the bottom. The fried dumplings were really good too, still crunchy by the time I picked it up and brought it back to the office. Best of all? Was actually the California Roll, I'm not a big fan of it because it's just a simple roll with imitation crab meat, cucumbers and avocado, but for some reason Tanaka makes it really well.

I would order this again on days that I'm starving or want a bento box. For midtown, the quality is quite good. Usually, I can't justify the price to what I'm getting in Manhattan because I always find it more worth it to get the same thing in Brooklyn for a cheaper price. But this was far better than I expected, apparently not a lot of people agree. Should give this place a go for lunch, you won't be disappointed.

Tanaka
222 E 51st St
New York, NY 10022
(212) 308-6976

Brennan & Carr - a special independence day in the heat

This year's July 4th was insanely hot, like temperature hot, like I want to dance naked in the street hot. J and I wanted to go to the beach but you see, we woke up late...actually, we woke up around 8 and was like let's sleep a little more and rolled over and passed out. The next thing we knew, it was already 11 and we had to sluggishly push ourselves up and get ready. So, by the time we got in the car and headed off to the beach, there was a long line just for parking...we turned around and drove off.

Needing something in our stomach, more like J's stomach since I already had steak for lunch haha

Brennan & Carr was on our list for a while, because of their roast beef sandwich. The place looked like a little cabin, gave me the cute vibe.

The Onion Rings were ok, had too much batter going on there and just a small amount of onion in the center. Plus, it was like hard-crunchy not fresh good crunchy. Need to go get my fix on onion rings now since this didn't cut it.

The menu wasn't big, but there were different variety of things. Everyone there ordered the clam chowder and what seems like iced tea, must be really good...must order next time.

J ordered this massive sandwich which he inhaled in like 5 seconds. The Gargiulo Burger obviously appealed to J because of the beef patty, roast beef, cheese, and onions, plus it was dipped into this heavenly beef broth. It was good but also really meaty and heavy.

I had a regular Roast Beef Sandwich with cheese, didn't want onions this time. Very simple and quite excellent. Mine was dipped also, makes it less dry and a lot easier to eat. I wished I had the appetite to finish it but the steak that was sitting in my stomach earlier was fighting me. J ended up finishing my half sandwich, fatty!

The atmosphere was really laid back and the staff there were nice. Looks like they came out of a 1970s movie, cool eh?

Brennan & Carr
3432 Nostrand Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11229
(718) 769-1254

Lunchin' Solo: iKimchi - Spicy Fried Pork

I've heard about the Korean Food Cart on Lexington Avenue near Baruch College but never really found the time to get it. Finally, as I was running some errands in the neighborhood I decided to stand on the long line and wait for my food.

Good weather and street food don't go well together. I despise the long lines but for good food, it's worth it.

There's like 4 people running this little cart. The chef, the person assembling my tray, the person taking my order, and finally the guy that just replenishes the items in the cart. Their meals range from $5-7 and miso soup for $2 unless you get it with the lunchbox which is just $1 more.

Heard from J that the Spicy Fried Pork is good since he works in the area and got it multiple times, so that's what I got.

Not a bad deal, the Spicy Fried Pork w/ salad and rice was $6. They also prefer you telling them if you want kimchi or not along with the time when you place your order. Salad was on the weak side, can't you give me more? But, I did get hooked onto their salad dressing. So good! I'm guessing ranch and vinaigrette? I did see them squirting 2 different sauces on it!

Kimchi was ok, took me an hour to finally be able to eat my lunch which by that time, my kimchi was warm. I like my kimchi cold because it holds that crunch. Even though it was warm, the crunch was still there. A good little banchan to start with.

The combo came with fried rice, I wasn't too crazy about it because it was a bit on the hard side. But I do appreciate the meat. Very flavorful and they give a generous amount.

Not a bad choice for lunch since I can sort of justify the price. A lot of times Korean lunches can come out to being $7-10, especially around K-town but this is quite reasonable.

iKimchi
Lexington Ave (between 24th and 25th Street)
New York, NY 10010

Hong Kong: - Tai Hing "Fast Food"

What Hong Kong-ers call fast food is totally different than the states. We usually consider burgers and fries fast food because they're quick, easy, and can be consume on the go. HK's fast food is quick also, the process of ordering and arrival can take less than 5 minutes, pretty close to the wait at McDonald's for a Big Mac. But instead of a messy burger, I can pretty much get a gourmet meal and be seated (and no top required).

These fast food like cafes are really popular in HK, so don't be surprise to see it packed with people. You have to look through the menu quick, they usually have specials that are pretty cheap and includes a drink (score!).

At Tai Hing (太興) J and I ordered the hot and iced Milk Tea (奶茶) because we were curious. And plus, because his uncle said they had the best milk tea...

The Hot Milk Tea was nothing special, though it desperately needed sugar.

Ah...their well-known Iced Milk Tea that is kept in a bowl with ice around it. Clever way to keep the milk tea cold but doesn't dilute the flavor. Because of that, it tasted really strong which I don't like. J on the other hand prefers this much more.

I had this delicious thin rice noodles sauteed with beef, bean sprouts and green onions. Classic dish in HK, aka 干炒牛河. I never usually order it here in NYC just because it looks like the noodles are swimming in oil and there isn't much flavor. But having it in HK is totally different, everything just taste better there. I kid you not.

J's had the 8 Precious Rice (八寶飯), this was a first. I only see 3 in the states, but 8 different kinds of ingredients totally caught our eyes, especially J's. The meal was extremely satisfying and everything was excellent. This is some good fast food, I'd eat this every time someone ask me to go out for fast food.

Lunchin' @ Sophie's Cuban Cuisine - Cod Fish Stew

As you can see, I've been to Sophie's quite often lately (which can also explain the weight gain I'm seeing - not good!) because it's literally across from my building. The convenience of its location made it a lot easier and also more tempting to go there. They also have different dishes each day from Monday through Friday to spice up your taste buds.

I saw they had Cod Fish Stew on Friday and knew I had to try it. I love cod, it's one of the fishes that I can eat every day. When it's cooked just right, the meat of the fish would just flake off and it's of a milky white color.

At Sophie's, you get 2 sides with their meals. I refuse to ever order beans with it because I despise beans. Rather, I've gotten my Cod Fish Stew with Yellow Rice and Salad ($9.00).

Yes, it's pretty pricey for lunch but the portions are huge and can easily be two meal. I was so greedy and fat that I wanted it all in one sitting.

I was afraid the salad would be too soft because they might've left it in the fridge for a couple of days and that the dressing was too watered down. Boy was I wrong. The lettuce was still fresh and crunchy, same goes for the cucumber and tomato. The dressing was a strong vinaigrette which was very appetizing.

Onto my beloved stew. I have to say that Sophie's make really good stew, any kind of stew for that matter. I always get rice with it because I love the way the sauce seeps around the rice and covers it in every way. So dam good.

There was a lot of cod fish pieces which I appreciate. Stewed with onions and bell peppers, the taste was so aromatic. The fish was a bit tough but it's because it had been stewed for so long. Fish doesn't get softer when you stew it for a long time, meat does. The meal was still delicious and I would definitely get it again.

Sophie's Cuban Cuisine
Lower Atrium
805 3rd Ave
New York, NY 10022
(212) 308-1024

Lunchin' @ Pho Hoai Restaurant

Came here with my mum on Labor Day for a quick lunch and then some grocery shopping. My mum comes here all the time but I don't frequent here often. The last time was probably some time last year...

Whenever I go with my mum to a Vietnamese restaurant, we usually order the same thing. I definitely didn't mind because it's actually pretty good and close to what we make at home.

I've been on a coffee binge lately. Gosh, I love some good coffee especially if it's Vietnamese Coffee ($2.75) with some kick-ass sweetened condensed milk. I remember when I was a kid and see my dad order Viet coffee, it would always come in those drip filters, brings back memories.

I love how I get to mix the cup of coffee with the condensed milk and slowly watch the color change to milk chocolate. Iced coffee is the bomb in the summer!

Mum ordered the Sour Soup w/ Salmon ($10.95) which came with rice on the side. We usually make this at home because it's a really simple Viet soup. There's a lot of ingredients within the soup and you can use the straight up fish sauce as dip. So good!

Vietnamese Sour Soup consist of anything from celery, pineapple, bean sprouts, okra, tomato, and bac ha (some type of Viet vegetable which I can't find the English correspondence to). The base of the soup is tamarind. Deliciousness!

I ordered an extra Crispy Squid in Garlic Sauce ($10.95) because for some reason I really like how they make this at the Viet restaurants. Caramelized onions on top of the squid with a bed of lettuce and pickled carrots and daikon on the bottom. A great sidedish when you're having rice.

Any meal with my mum is good. So, I definitely will be back. Plus service was quick and pronto.

Pho Hoai Restaurant
1906 Ave U
Brooklyn, NY 11229
(718) 616-1233

Lunchin' @ Sophie's Cuban Cuisine - Fried Pork Sandwich

So I hate thinking about what to get for lunch when noon reaches. I don't like being so indecisive while having so many options around me. I don't like how there's nothing around me that appeals to me half the time which sometimes makes me go back to eating the same thing. And I don't like spending a fortune for lunch just for myself. Yup, I'm a little cheap-y when it comes to getting food for myself.

After much contemplation, I decided on Sophie's. Although I wanted their cod fish stew, I'll just stick to a sandwich since it wasn't a Friday. I've read somewhere that the Fried Pork Sandwich is really good, and with the description the person gave, I know I must have it.

I went a bit after the rush hour of lunch so there was no one on line, success!
I told the lady behind the counter I wanted a Fried Pork Sandwich ($6.95), she got to work right away. Seeing her prepare my sandwich was like heaven. Seeing her stack the pork (which didn't look fried to me!), then the plantains (that's the surprise), then onions and then she squirted mayo and this green sauce (which I assume it was hot sauce). I was already salivating.

I was staring at the pork thinking that it would be dry cause it looked dry. But the second I bit down, it was so tender that it nearly fell apart. I was impressed. I also love how the sweet plantains gave the entire sandwich a nice twist in flavor. The onions were amazingly good, lightly pickled with cilantro to enhance the flavor. A really good sandwich.

Sophie's Cuban Cuisine
Lower Atrium
805 3rd Ave
New York, NY 10022
(212) 308-1024

Momofuku Milk Bar - Midtown West

My coworker recently brought up Momofuku Milk Bar and remembering the first time I ever had it wasn't so memorable. It was a couple of years back and in the East Village when Momofuku wasn't so popular.

Since my coworker wanted to go, I was thinking - why the heck not. It was a bit of a walk for us but no complaints since it was a beautiful day. MMB is a small spot and you could totally miss it if you didn't know it existed there. I was surprised at how empty the place was. Looking at the menu which was written on the chalkboard, I was trying to find the meal deals that was posted on the website. I asked the girl behind the cashier and she looked completely lost, so I said maybe this location doesn't carry that offer? She nodded frantically and said yea, don't think we have that. Basically I just answered my own question, lame.

I ordered pork buns and 2 types of sweets. The buns took a while and I didn't know Má Pêche existed behind the milk bar. We waited about 10 minutes for our buns, and couldn't wait to get back to the office and have a bite into it.

Too bad there weren't tables or chair for the milk bar, I probably would've appreciate it more if they did.

Truthfully, the Pork Buns ($10) are tiny. I was so disappointed to see how small they were. I've had pork buns or any sort of buns at other places before and it never appeared to be this tiny. But I did appreciate how much pork they gave.

I actually really enjoyed the pork buns. There was 2 slices of pork belly and each was loaded with pork fat, delicious. I wished they gave a bit more cucumbers because it was lacking a bit of texture.

The Compost Cookie ($1.85) was extremely weird. I didn't like it one bit. Seeing that it was the popular cookie of MMB, I decided to get it and was utterly disapopinted. There was too much happening within the cookie, too much odd ingredients and it just didn't work out for me. It was confusing and the taste was so oddly off.

On the other hand, the Birthday Cake Truffles ($4) were quite amazing. Even though they were small, they pack a lot in those little suckers. The center was densely compressed with cake while the outside was sugarly coated. It wasn't overly sweetened which is a plus because I'm always afraid they add extra sugar so it taste "good."

There were ups and downs with going to MMB. I don't think I'll be heading back for pork buns just because it seems so overpriced. I mean, $5 for a pork bun, really? But I do want to try the fish bun and the crack pie. Maybe I'll purchase those at their original milk bar in the village. We shall see.

Momofuku Milk Bar
15 W 56th St
New York, NY 10019
(212) 757-5878

Lunchin' @ Mulberry Meat Market

The past year or so I've been ordering my lunch from the Mulberry Meat Market because it's cheap and delicious.

It's a meat market which you can buy all sorts of raw meat and have it cook at home or you can look at your left hand side when you walk in, everything is already cooked and made for you. They have 2 sides and rice for $3.25 or with 3 sides add an additional 50 cents. They also have a lot of roast meats and barbeque meats also. Everything is priced at an affordable rate. I usually get their Roast Pork over Rice which is only $3.75 and they even give you vegetables.

Their Soy Sauce Chicken over Rice is amazing also, dark or white meat, the price is still at $4.50 a box. Extremely filling and pleasantly to look at also!

The chicken is moist and tender, the flavor of the soy sauce is soaked into the chicken skin which makes it packed with flavor. I really enjoy the ginger and scallion sauce they layer on top of the chicken, you need that sauce for a more authentic Chinese meal.

There is really only a few places that gives you vegetables with your rice box without the extra cost. I need my meat and veggies with my dish so this is why Mulberry Meat Market won me over.

If you want cheap roast meats that delivers in taste also, this is the spot to hit up. It's basically in the center of Chinatown and very conveniently close to Canal Street where all the tourist roams around.

Mulberry Meat Market
89 Mulberry St
New York, NY 10013
(212) 267-0350