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

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

JoJu - an anticipation left in disapointment

I'm not gonna lie, I like a good Vietnamese sandwich sometimes. I know that I might not get the best service at these places because Asian people aren't the friendliest. They care about making money, so they just want your order so they can put it through and get it to you asap. JoJu was a bit different, the people behind the counter were actually young...

Apparently for JoJu, when you check-in Yelp, you get a free egg with your sandwich. Which means, I save just $1 which is still a lot of money. J and I also ordered the Kimchi Fries but they messed that up.

Fries came first, we really thought it was the Kimchi Fries which was why we dug right in but then learn that it was the Banh Mi Fries ($5.25). By then it was too late to change our order. The fries were definitely fried twice if not more than that because it stayed a hard texture throughout the entire time we were eating it. There were a lot of pickled carrots and daikon which I felt like a vegetarian dish, it would've been a bit more exciting if there were some meat in it.

The JoJu Monster (originally $6.75 but I got it for $1 less because of the Yelp check-in) was literally what everyone was raving about. Is it just because of the extra egg that so many people like it? I wasn't impress at all. First off, all the sandwiches I had before had the same problem as this, everything is sectioned off weirdly. Why can't it just lay flat so when I bite, I get a little of everything? The meat and veggies are always squished off to the side...I mainly just taste the egg and the veggies, I didn't even know the meat existed until I look at my sandwich.

I wouldn't travel for JoJu unless I'm in the neighborhood. Then again, I don't really think it was worth it. I rather spent my money at Banh Mi Saigon or Luu's Baguette.

JoJu
83-25 Broadway
Elmhurst, NY 11373
(347) 808-0887

Dassara Brooklyn Ramen - Disappointment comes with a well worth price

Dassara was on Serious Eats and totally got J and my attention when they featured their infamous Deli Ramen. But I was pretty disappointed...

We got greeted right when we got through the door and got seated right away, no need to wait here. Our waiter was extremely friendly and ended up making one of our dish complimentary because it came late. Excellent service!

I knew J wanted to try the Tendon Tots ($8) because it was something out of the ordinary and the name was quite appealing. The dish contained only 6 pieces of tots, tendon that was deep-fried and paired with a "coke" sauce. It wasn't anything special, crunchy on the outside and gelatinous ont he inside.

This was my favorite dish and also the one that became complimentary, which made it taste even better! This Winter Chicory Salad ($10) had a lot going on in the dish but everything worked so well with each other. I thought the tofu croutons was a genius idea and a pouched egg in a salad, now that's a first.

My Deli Ramen ($15) which wasn't worth the price at all. I would save that $15 and spend it on another Winter Chicory Salad. The ramen was very plain with only 2 thin pieces of pastrami from Mile End, 3 mini matzo balls, a pouched egg, a few bamboo shoots and a ton of scallions. Even though everything was a thumbs down for me, the noodles was very good. Cooked perfectly al-dente, the wavy noodles were the best part.

J's Curried Goat & Bone Marrow Mazeman ($14) was the bomb! So aromatic and delicious. This bowl didn't have much broth which is perfectly fine because it tasted even better like that. This is a must order for Dassara.

So, screw the Deli Ramen and get everything else on the menu. Trust me, you won't regret it. Getting the Deli Ramen will be regretful.

Dassara Brooklyn Ramen
271 Smith St
Brooklyn, NY 11231
(718) 643-0781

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

Spot Dessert Bar

Being the crazy couple that J and I are, we somehow landed upon Spot Dessert Bar and decided to do the omakase. Thinking and probably hoping that by doing the omakase, the dishes would be smaller but somehow I really doubted it.

I really didn't know what came over us, but we did it and it was overly painful towards the end because we had a sugar coma. We pretty much tried every dessert in one sitting, never again... never, never, never again.

In no particular order, we had the following --


Yuzu Eskimo



Green Tearamisu



Smoked Coconut Cheesecake



Thai Tea Creme Brulee



Kabocha Brulee Cake



Soft Cheesecake



White Miso Semifreddo


There was only one plate that stood out to me which I absolutely loved. It was the Kabocha Brulee Cake, reminds me of pumpkin/carrot cake. The others didn't work for me, the mixture of different flavors were just off-putting and didn't work together.

After supposedly 8 plates of murderous sweet, we had to order a drink and decided on something cold and light.


Calamansi Honey Thai Tea

Amazingly refreshing and knocked out all the sweetness in my mouth. I would come back, but not for the omakase. Although I don't know how soon I'll return since it was sort of traumatizing?

Spot Dessert Bar
13 St Marks Pl
New York, NY 10003
(212) 677-5670

Ninja New York

The past weekend was a friend's birthday and she (well her husband) booked a whole section of the place for a party of 24 people. I loved how we dominated the entire area.

My other friend needed to use the restroom so she and I went down into the restaurant first, yes, it's underground. Once out of the elevators, we had to walk thru complete darkness. Well, maybe not completely but it was dark and there were small steps which you have to watch out for. Opening another set of doors will bring you to the restaurant where all the tables and seats are, and to hype it up, they yell "HAI-YA" out of nowhere at no particular time or place.

Before eating, since some people haven't arrived yet, my table started ordering drink... specifically cocktails. We literally tried all the cocktails that were on their menu, they probably loved us.


Rin



Zai



Sha



Kai



Zen



Toh

All of them looked so pretty but I did have two favorites, the Rin and the Zai. Rin was more on the girly side, citrus-y fruity while the Zai was more refreshing and masculine. 
Because we had such a large party, everyone had to order from their prix fixe menu. J and I shared the Hanzou which consist of the following --


Batto Jutsu

A plate of duck pate and rock shrimp in yuzu sauce with a light vinaigrette salad. I loved the shrimp, I wish I wasn't sharing this... The duck pate would've worked great with some toast.


Hot Artichoke Dip

Another favorite of mine. More on the cheesy side but it's so good. You get bits and chunks of artichoke. Here, I wish they gave more bread.

Kataplana Hot Pot

 A pot filled with clams, mussels, seasonal fish and some potato in a Portuguese style broth. Again, bread please!


Angus Ribeye Steak

Cooked medium rare, just the way J and I like it. There was also a compound of urchin butter slapped right on top along with some fried garlic. The garlic had the texture of potatoes with just a hint of garlic essence. The steak was alright, nothing too phenomenal though.


Chocolate Cake w/ Raspberry Sorbet

Finally, the dessert. Wasn't so thrilled about the sorbet but the chocolate cake, well the middle section was really good. Mousse texture which reminds me of Three Musketeer Chocolate Bar, so nommy.

Since J and I sat at the table with friends, we literally took a bite from others and it also gave me a chance to snap away. Some dishes were presented really nicely but taste otherwise.


Caesar Salad



Creamy Crab Cake



Miso Salmon



Stew in a Stone

Overall, the meal and company was excellent. Would I come back? I'll have to think about it. The food is a hit or miss, it's really all about the experience that you're going to get here. Random ninja's bouncing out of nowhere trying to scare you with retractable knives. It's even better when the waiter aka ninja lend you their knives to scare your friends. Pretty awesome.


Ninja Star Martini

Can't forget about this drink. One of my friends ordered it, pretty sure he was out of it after chugging the last half of the drink before we left. No idea what's in it and shame on us for not asking. The description says "Mysterious Black Potion," I caught me off guard that it actually was served... black. But, it tasted good. Do you dare to try it?

Ninja New York
25 Hudson St
New York, NY 10013
(212) 274-8500