Amelia's Bistro - Paulus Hook, Jersey City, NJ

Jimmy and I have chosen to brunch on Sundays in the recent year - weather permitting. Our staple was always Sam A.M. but decided to explore a bit more of Jersey City.

It was a sunny morning and we decided to sit outside, in the shade of course. Service was quite slow, actually pretty slow. A good 15 minutes had gone by after we placed our order and there was no sign of water or bread for us (and yes I was getting a bit annoyed). We had to ask for water and then they gave us bread (unacceptable), it was actually just mini muffins which tasted like store-bought. We both ordered an iced latte, another 10 minute had passed and the beverages came. The latte was extremely light in color (too much milk possibly?), it tasted like watered down coffee and not one bit of espresso at all. I'm completely bummed out at this point because everything so far was a disappointment.

Finally, our food came. The entree were a decent portion but my side order of apple chicken sausage was a complete fail. It was served on a large plate, one sausage link cut in half and cost $4. I was in disbelief and shock.

The only redeeming quality of this entire meal was actually the brunch entree itself. Jimmy's Shrimp and Grits were quite delicious, my Eggs Benedict was not bad, the home fries were great. We ended the meal with two mimosas - because why not?

Mini Muffins w/ jam

Iced Latte...

Apple Chicken Sausage - $4

Bistro Eggs Benedict

Shrimp and Grits

Mimosas (double vs. single)

The meal started in a complete disaster, but ended unexpectedly...not bad. Will we return? Probably not. I still can't get over the fact that a place cannot make an iced latte appropriately. Am I expecting too much?

Verdict:
Food ~ 4 out of 5
Price ~ 2 out of 5
Service ~ 1.5 out of 5

Amelia's Bistro
187 Warren Street
Jersey City, NJ 07302

Hidden Grounds Coffee - Jersey City, NJ

As you can tell, I've changed the name of the blog to incorporate my husband! We had gotten married last year which was why there was a major lack in food posts. We also have an IG page dedicated to food we ate and/or cooked. As for the name, it's our middle name merged into one; Ding and Ngoc. Clever me!

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Jersey City has been treating us well. We can finally relax a bit after the chaos of our wedding planning the past year.
J somehow stumbled upon Hidden Grounds Coffee one Sunday morning when we were deciding on brunch.

It felt so nice to be able to take it easy and just stroll around. Needed this to de-stress the body and mind.

The cafe was super nice, modern with comfortable cushioned seats along the wall and a couple of tables for coffee sippers and mind wanderers.

Rose Chai

The beverages here are so pretty. I mean look at that Rose Chai, it taste as beautiful as it looks! The cups, flowers and succulents makes for great IG photos.

Rose Chai//Saffron Chai

J got the Saffron Chai which was very good also. I like how they were sweetened just right, and the sweetness actually brought out the flavors of rose and saffron. The pistachio nuts were a nice touch to give the drink a little different texture.

For brunch, I had gotten The Architect and J ordered the Just Bae. The gravy that comes with both dishes were excellent - maybe it was also the cold, windy weather but this biscuits and gravy totally hit the spot. I liked how there was a hint of garam masala in the gravy, gives it a nice depth of flavor.

I adore this place a lot. Especially when they offer a free latte with a Yelp check-in.

Latte

The latte was on point, strong espresso flavor which was not watered down by too much milk. I can't wait to come back in the warmer month to try the Iced Rose Chai.

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

Hidden Grounds Coffee
148 1st St
Ground Floor
Jersey City, NJ 07302 

Chelsea, NY - Le Grainne Cafe

Cappuccino

Cafe Au Lait

Chicken Crepe

French Toast

Omlette

Le Grainne Cafe 

183 9th Ave 

New York, NY 10011

(646) 486-3000

Dudley's - LES brunch

J and I along with a friend had a NYC scavenger hunt last Saturday and was in desperate need of food. Actually, it was only me that was in desperately need of food since the previous night was a bit wild. Originally wanted to go to the Classic Coffee Shop, but we all fail to realize it was closed on weekends! So, we just walked around until we found a place that caught our eyes and stomach.

Dudley's caught our eyes and looked very modern and welcoming. We sat at the bar, took a while for a staff to realize we were there to give us the menu and also took a while to flag down one to take our order. Pretty poor service. What's even worse is that this couple next to us got their utensils before we did and we came and ordered before them...I'm starting to sense some discrimination here...

Anyways, enough of the service, let's move onto the food.

J ordered the Cortado, pretty bitter which I didn't like. I would need to add more milk and lots of sugar.

I had the Flat White which I wasn't too thrilled about. It wasn't as great was I hoped it to be. It tasted a bit bland and didn't give me that velvet-y texture, also got cold really quick (no beuno).

So, I still had a light "hangover" from the previous night which usually means I don't want other people's food but my own which also means I didn't get to try the other two dishes. I was cradling my plate which was the Fried Egg Sandwich. It was good, but I just couldn't finish it. The sandwich felt like a fancy version of a breakfast sandwich, I can totally deal with this.

The other two dishes looked really appetizing but I didn't really hear J or our friend rave about it... The Wild Mushroom Eggs Benedict and Avocado Toast were a lot smaller than expected. Overall, not too bad but the whole experience was just average, or maybe even below average. Very mediocre.

Dudley's
85 Orchard St
New York, NY 10002
(212) 925-7355

Philadelphia: Wedge&Fig + Monk's Cafe

On our second day at Philly, we chose Wedge&Fig to brunch at because of the cute name and they had the normal brunch menu along with BYOB. The cafe was small but they have seatings in the garden which we were instantly interested in.

The garden looked really realistic and made me feel like I was in the rain forest, the floor was made of pebbles too.

We ordered our food and had our waitress opened our bottle of wine. They also provided an ice jacket for our bottle which was pretty neat since a lot of places just give you an ice bucket - boring.

The Strawberry Stuffed French Toast came in quite a big portion, our friend SS wasn't able to finish it and had to wrap up the rest. It was good and not too sweet which I liked but I can't imagine having it again later when it's all soggy.

Knowing how J is, he ordered the Bacon-Lattice Mac + Cheese Pie. Looks insanely unhealthy. Bacon was really good though and surprisingly it wasn't really a big dish. The pie part didn't seem to really work so bacon mac + cheese would've been a lot better by itself.

I had the Eggs NOLA; I like eggs benedict but you have to make it right. What's special about this was the cornbread instead of your average English muffin. The cornbread was a thick cut which makes it a bit soggy to eat. Didn't exactly enjoy it too much because even the sauce was a bit lacking in flavor, I needed salt.

Most likely I wouldn't be coming back because everything felt average and even below that, but one thing, the waitress was really nice.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The next morning we went to Monk's Cafe. I initially wanted to come here for dinner but SS was like we haven't tried it out this visit to Philly yet so let's just go there before heading back to NYC.

The restaurant was completely empty when we went for lunch. It was quite dim inside with no lights, the only light that we saw was coming from the outside.

They have a huge variety of beer. So this would be a heavenly place for beer lovers.

Started off with some Frog Legs, they were lightly fried and then covered in a light buffalo sauce. Really good, very meaty. If you never had frog, they're very similar to chicken but a little chewier than usual. These would be great beer food.

SS got the Monk's Duck Salad, amazing. Duck was cooked extremely well, meat was tender and soft and the salad had a nice vinaigrette dressing that was really appetizing. Wish I had the whole plate to myself.

J was hungry so he ordered the Rib Cap Steak that came with grilled vegetables and mashed potatoes. This is a hungry man's food! Steak was good but could've been better, the cut was a bit tough but nonetheless enjoyable.

I ordered the Provence Mussels because I've been craving. This was a bit disappointing. I specifically wanted this pot because of the amount of vegetables that's in it, from mushrooms to peppers to celery to leeks and garlic, but it was the parsley and cream that made me ultimately want it. The broth was weak and light which I did not like. I wish it was thicker and heavier in taste because my mussels were lacking flavor. The mussels were also small.

The Pomme Frites came with the mussels and they were ok, the bourbon mayo dipping sauce was a bit bland. We all got full in the end regardless. I can definitely be satisfied with just the frogs and duck salad.

Wedge + Fig
160 N 3rd St
Philadelphia, PA 19106
(267) 603-3090

Monk's Cafe
264 S 16th St
Philadelphia, PA 19146
(215) 545-7005

Cafe Henri - the best surprise a girl can get

On a Saturday afternoon, pretty much around brunch time, J took me to Cafe Henri as a surprise. All I knew about the place was, it had a blue door. It was a long walk from where we were but the weather was so beautiful that it didn't seem far at all. Ok, maybe a little far since I was feeling hungry.

Cafe Henri was a cute little French place. Limited seatings but it felt so quaint and familiar. J told me they're known for their big latte cups and really good food.

J ordered their Mocha ($4), we decided not to supersize anything since the large was literally a size of a soup bowl. The Mocha was pretty good, had a nice cocoa finish on top.

I had their Latte ($3.50), so creamy and delicious. I wished it stayed hotter throughout the time I was having it, it got lukewarm pretty quick.

We knew we had to get this when we saw it on the menu...

The Escargot ($11) was so aromatic and plump. They were definitely heavy on the spices here which we both love. The toast accompanying the dish was amazing also, soaked up all the delicious herbs and garlic butter...we were practically in heaven.

Then our entree rolled out and we were at our most happiest place.

J had gotten their Crepe Henri ($9.50) which gives you a choice of 3 different add-ins for your crepe. He chose goat cheese, mushrooms and spicy sausage - these combination was perfect. Never thought I'd say this but the goat cheese was bomb in the crepe, I absolutely loved it.

My dish wasn't bad either, actually I really really enjoyed mine. The Eggs Benedict ($10.50) which I got with bacon was insanely good. How can everything be so perfect?! I loved how the English muffin didn't get soggy from my eggs and the hollandaise sauce. The poached egg was literally the most perfect ones I've ever had, still had that egg white surrounding the egg yolk. I was left speechless.

And even that wasn't enough, we got another crepe for dessert.

We were definitely greedy at this point because we both know well that we were full but still wanted to try their sweets. Decided on the Crepe de Marron ($7), chestnut paste inside the crepe. It was a little strange but in a good way. It wasn't too sweet and it balances out with the fruits and the creme fraiche.

This meal was so satisfying. I was extremely happy. I can't wait to come back for dinner or just the latte.

Cafe Henri
27 Bedford St
New York, NY 10014
(212) 243-2846

Maine: Nicky's Cruisin Diner - the best chicken fried steak ever

Alright so it might not be the best ever that I've had since this is only the first time that I had it, but still, it was quite bomb.

When J and I were in Maine, his cousins took us around to eat at places. Bangor, Maine is small but that doesn't mean they don't have good food. Nicky's is a great diner. The typical diner you would see in the movies of the 80s, kind of cool and retro.

The decor of Nicky's was extremely colorful. I mean you can probably spend hours looking at the driver plates on the wall, random hanging pinball machine and this photo booth which I have no clue if it works or not.

J had the Wolfman Jack ($7.99), extremely big breakfast. Well worth the price for so much food.

Ok, so my Chicken Fried Steak ($9.49) was extremely delicious. Maybe it's because I haven't had it before but it was just really dam good. Tasted like fried chicken wings without the bones. The gravy was perfect, I was always afraid it would be heavy and salty but it was literally just perfect. My favorite part would be to just dip the fried steak into the egg yolk. This is definitely one of the best brunch I've ever had.

I'm hooked now, onto chicken fried steak. I would totally order it again and again and again.

Nicky's Cruisin Diner
957 Union St
Bangor, ME 04401
(207) 942-3430

Two Door Tavern - the latest brunch I've had to cure my hunger

This past Saturday, J and I slept in - like really slept in. We were deciding where to brunch and that totally took like 2 hours to do. After much yelping on my side and J just browsing around on the web, finally we agreed on Two Door Tavern.

By the time we got there, it was around 3pm already. Never had I ate this late before. Two Door was cute, modern and chic bar. They have a second floor that opens up and you can see the first floor. Staff there were very polite and attentive.

They had a huge brunch menu, which was why we chose this place. Also, the brunch prixe fix came with coffee and your choice of alcohol beverage.

Truthfully, I think I'm hooked onto coffee now. No longer do I worry about using the bathroom when I drink it (and I tend to go like every 10 minutes when I intake coffee) because it just taste so good. The bellini was alright, I'm not a fan of champagne. J had coffee also along with his Brooklyn Season Ale, again, me no like beer.

I ordered the Two Door Eggs Benedict ($15.95), been craving a good one lately and this one didn't really cut it. I liked how it had tomatoes and spinach but the tomato sogged up my English muffin! Making it extremely un-enjoyable. Home fries were good though, yummy onions.

J had the Marinated Skirt Steak ($18.95), freaking amazing dammit! Steak was nicely cooked and had that burnt charred taste, loved it. I can just eat a whole plate of skirt steak made by them.

I'm coming back, for the steak. I hope they have this option for dinner. So rare that we find a restaurant that cooks the steak perfectly, Two Door is definitely one of the few places that does it right.

Two Door Tavern
116 N 5th St
Brooklyn, NY 11211
(718) 599-0222

Lokal Mediterranean Bistro - a beautiful day calls for eating outside literally

Another spontaneous decision on Memorial Day weekend. J and I were suppose to go to a diner but ended up on the other side of the park and was too lazy to turn around and walk back. We were also hungry, so when we saw this bright awning in front of us, we decided to just brunch there.

The weather was great, I was definitely overdressed. We sat outside and enjoyed the sun which thankfully wasn't hitting us dead on. I've been wanting to sit along the sidewalk and have a nice meal, it's usually either or - I have nice meal but no sun or I get sun and the meal sucks. I can actually say otherwise about Lokal.

My coffee and freshly squeezed orange juice came first. I had the brunch prixe fix ($14.50) which I thought was a pretty good deal. The coffee was perfect, at least for me, didn't need too much milk and the temperature was just right. Being it was quite hot that day, having coffee that was steaming wasn't the brightest idea but after adding the milk, it was just a bit more than lukewarm and stayed that way throughout my meal. Oh, and the orange juice is also perfect. Tis the season for oranges which makes the little cup extra sweet.

I usually don't order Eggs Benedict but for some reason I did this time around. I did want a burger but then I didn't exactly want to use my hands - girl problems. Alright, so I popped the first pouched egg and water squirted out (weird) then the yolk started oozing out. Love when that happens. Runny egg yolks are the best thing ever. Salad needed more dressing and the potatoes were ok, a bit oily tho...

I was surprised when J ordered the Bacon Bloody Mary ($8). First off, we don't usually get bloody marys and second, I didn't know they even had that on their menu. But the surprising factor was, it actually tasted good. I would totally order that for myself next time. I never really liked bloody marys but then again maybe I just haven't had one that was made to my liking.

Tuna Burger ($13) was just ok. We definitely had better before so it wasn't anything to really "talk about." One thing though, that's a shitload of fries.

I mean, I liked the meal. I liked that we were able to sit outdoors and soak up the good weather. I also liked how it was spontaneous.

Lokal Mediterranean Bistro
905 Lorimer St
Brooklyn, NY 11222
(718) 384-6777

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