Hong Kong: Breakfast for Dinner - Congee

For my first full meal in Hong Kong, J and I decided on porridge. I was being picky and we finally found a decent place to order, sit and eat.

I liked how easy the process was. It's not like your average restaurant where you sit and a waiter/waitress comes and takes your order. You basically order on a separate line, pay for it. Bring your ticket to another line, put your ticket on a tray, slide it down for the staff to see what you order and slowly all the food appears on your tray. Carry your tray of food to a table and enjoy. The best part is when you're done eating, just leave and go. Hahahaa spoiled-ness.

J and I literally just shared this. Might look like there's really little food, but it filled us.

Top left clockwise: Fresh Soy Milk, Soy Sauce Noodles, Fried Cruller wrapped w/ Rice Crepe and Preserved Pork and Thousand Year Old Egg Congee.

Delicious! Loved the fried cruller and rice crepe the most, especially when you dip it in soy sauce. I would eat this breakfast for dinner any day.

Hong Kong: Street Skewers

After my trip to Vietnam, I met up with J in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong is a beautiful country, the food there is even better.

We lived off from street foods when we stayed in HK. They're known for that stuff, literally 10 minutes away there's a place you can grab some food on-the-go. Extremely convenient and addicting also.

It's even better when the place we were staying at is a plaza which means we were surrounded by food stalls at the bottom of our building...dangerous.

One of the first places J took me to (he spent 2 weeks prior to my arrival), claims to have some really good mango slush and skewers.

The Mango Slush was really different, tasted naturally sweet and not the overly loaded with sugar kind. Worked great with our food.

Mmm...Gai Dan Jai aka egg waffles or eggettes. Slightly hollow in the center with a good crunch to it.

Cow's Tongue anyone? The mustard was a bit weird, I would've done perfectly fine with just the sweet sauce and just that. They served this cold, I wish it was hot.

Fish Balls was amazing. We had them make it spicy and boy it was spicy! This is where the slush comes in handy haha

Lastly, Siew Mai or Shumai, we actually had 3 and then I remember to snap a picture. It was really that good. I don't care if it was frozen, it was steamed instead of being microwave and it was fresh. Add some soy sauce and I can eat like 50 of these.

J has been my model for holding foods in HK so you'll be seeing a lot of his tummy, hand, shirt, etc... yea...

Vietnam: Shellfish/Sea Snails

I personally love seafood, in whatever shape or form it is in. Although, don't ask me to cook anything because I can totally get freaked out by it. Being in Vietnam I knew I should try their seafood because I was told it was uber fresh.

Here are different types of ocean creatures with shells. I really have no idea what they're called so we're both out of luck here. But if you do know what they are called, enlighten me!

Ok, this is one of the few that I know because I've been longing to try this. Blood Cockles are rare in the states and even if they have cockles, it's not the blood type. Call me a vampire but I always wanted to try it. It definitely is on the irony side but texture-wise is similar to clams. Odd thing about these creatures is they don't usually open up like clams do when they're cook, you have to manually open them which can be a pain when you just got your nails done.

One of my favorites, they might look creepy but taste just like the sea snails in the states at those Chinese restaurant. These are a lot easier to hold and "suck."

The patterns on the shell were a real eye-catcher. It tasted like conch but slightly harder and tougher. Not really a fan.

This is like a marriage between a clam and mussel which then had a baby and voila! Tasted like clam but with a softer texture of a mussel, dip it in fish sauce and it was pretty darn good.

Lastly, this weird looking shell. I actually completely forgot how this taste like, wasn't so memorable nor did the sauce work with it. Reminds of those round toffee/butterscotch candy, weird.

There were so much more in Vietnam but with the limited amount of time we had and our relatives having to go to work, we lucked out. Must be more prepare next time.

Vietnam: Bo 7 Mon

I was utterly excited when I had the chance to dinner with my parents, and dinnering in Vietnam made it that much more special. I can't remember the last time I ate with my parents at a restaurant, my dad can be extremely picky and lazy.

I knew my mom wanted to try beef 7 ways in Vietnam, supposedly better? This was definitely my first true experience.

The set up for Beef 7 Ways, looks like Korean banchan here.

A pot of vinegar, onions and an egg. Bo Nhung Dam is like a fondue but with vinegar, love the sweet and tartness it gives off. The egg was actually something different because when we make this at home, we don't usually add an egg but it was a nice touch.

The beef and cow's stomach which you boil in the pot of vinegar. The beef looks beautiful!

Get some rice paper, add some herbs, throw in the beef and onions and wrap it up. They have this type of dipping sauce, not nuoc mam but it's called mam nem which is fermented anchovy sauce, very pungent but works really well with the vinegar-ed beef.

Right in the midst of beef fondue, I asked my dad to order me a bottle of Vietnamese beer. He ended up ordering me Tiger which was definitely not from Vietnam, should've just told him I wanted a 33 beer...

Goi Bo is my favorite so far because the thin slice of beef was absolutely perfect. I didn't need to dip this into anything, wrap the beef around the greens, onions, and cilantro and bam! Orgasm in mouthhh.

This plate is a little crazy because they fit 4 different kinds of beef here. Starting from top left going clockwise -- Bo Cha Dum (steamed beef that comes with this crunchy sheet of rice paper (shown below) but a lot of places uses shrimp chips), Bo Nuong Mo Chai (beef wrapped with fat), Bo La Lot (lolot leaf wrapped in beef) and Bo Nuong Hanh (scallions wrapped with beef).

This was definitely not the shrimp chips because it tasted like rice. Tasted great with the Bo Cha Dum.

And the 7th course was Chao Bo, beef congee aka porridge. Most likely they just grilled the grains of rice to give it some aroma and throw it in the beef stock/soup hence the grains of rice looks weird and nothing like congee. I find that Vietnamese don't like the thick congee but they prefer it less dense.

That was not enough so we ordered...

...two large crabs! Cua Rang Me which is crabs in a sweet tamarind sauce was the total bomb! My dad says otherwise, see what I mean when I say he's picky and hard to please. I thought the crabs was delicious and the sauce was seasoned just right. The crab meat were so sweet and fresh. I regret not eating much seafood in Vietnam...

After stuffing ourselves with the crabs, to finish the meal off we were offered Banh Flan. One of the things the Vietnamese picked up from the French. Delicious, strong, lightly sweetened flan was a great finale.

And if you're curious and/or adventurous...

...tada! The address and name of the restaurant. Mind you there's no air conditioners, just fans. It can get pretty darn hot there. But all worthwhile with the delicious food.

Flex Mussels - Special Happy Hour

This past Monday, Flex Mussels sent out an e-mail stating that they would be having Happy Hour for the entire night. Which means, $20 for all-you-can-eat pots of mussels (with only 3 different flavors to choose from), $1 oysters and half off all their wine and beer selection. That's pretty dam awesome.

J and I had been to Flex before, specifically the one downtown (they have 2 locations) and loved their Happy Hour, we just never found the time to go again after last year.

It was a full house when we got there, you can only get the Happy Hour special at the bar or counter. The wait wasn't bad, especially when you have some booze in your hand. We got seated at the bar and fun began.

I had white wine the entire night, love how smooth and light they are compared to red wine. I switched between their Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc ($5.50 - half off).

Mmm...Bread and Butter. I like places that serve their butter soft, not brick hard. I like to be able to spread them on the bread, I know you're thinking the same.

We wanted the $1 oysters but by the time we sat, they were all out. We ended up getting their special West ($3.50 each) and East ($3 each) Coast. They tasted divine. I would go for another round if it wasn't for the mussels.

Complimentary Flex House Cut Fries that comes with the Happy Hour special. They're pretty darn great. Also not a bad idea to soak up the sauce from the mussel pot either.

So, there were three choices you can alternate from for the all-you-can-eat special. Classic, Dijon and Fra Diavolo.

Fra Diavolo is just a very classic Italian sauce. It has chunks of tomato, basil and spices.

Dijon, which is J's favorite, was very buttery with a hint of mustard kick to it. I personally don't like because the mustard seems too strong for me.

My favorite of all, the Classic is just a simple herbs, garlic and white wine. It's not overpowering and you can definitely taste the freshness of the mussels here.

J and I keep saying how we should go back and try their other pot of mussels, like the one with bacon and lobster.

Flex Mussels
154 W 13th St
New York, NY 10011
(212) 229-0222

Mandoo Bar

I have been running errands with J these past few weeks and it's just hectic. We're around Koreantown often so we decided to revisit a spot where we once loved. It's been a good 2-3 years since we been here and before that, we use to come every week. No joke, the waiter knew us back then because of how often we ate there.

After a couple of years, the place completely changed...for the worse. Upon arrival, I noticed that the staff that wraps the dumpling has gone from 4 to 2 ladies. The inside smelled of nail polish, the floors were sticky. And the patrons were all non-Asians, not a single Korean customer in sight. That's quite sad considering this is a Korean dumpling house. The waiter was also very clumsy and seems to not be able to handle a couple of tables by himself while his colleage goes out for a smoke break.

They also have a larger menu now, and I mean literally larger menu. There's ramyun and an extended bibimbop selection on the menu.

Their usual banchan. Yes, it only consist of radishes. Although the kimchi-ed radishes looks poorly presented, like they only gave us scraps.

The Goon Mandoo ($9.24), what a weird price...was the only thing that tasted good, sadly to say. Crunchy exterior with a good meat filling, nothing to complain about here.

J and I love their Fried Tofu ($5.50) because of the delicious sauce. But the tofu definitely looks a lot messier this time around. The pieces weren't even and it wasn't pan-fried long enough to give it that crisp edge.

We always get the Combo Mandoo ($12) just because it's consist of a better deal with 3 different kinds of dumplings. I liked the vegetable, J liked the meat, and we both have mutual disagreements for the seafood. This time, the seafood was poor, it was just half filled. The vegetable lacked the potato noodles they used to put in and the vegetables tasted like it had been freezed for months. The only constant thing was the meat dumplings.

Last but not least, it was definitely one of those colder nights so we took a shot and ordered their Ra-Myun ($10) that had tofu and egg. It was just a mediocre dish with no meat. I rather have a bowl of Japanese ramen than this.

So we were extremely displeased with the meal. Most likely we won't return and I really don't suggest coming here because I'm sure you can find better mandoos elsewhere. At this rate, Mandoo Bar is barely surviving then again, as long as non-Korean customers continue to come, they'll last.

Mandoo Bar
2 W 32nd St
New York, NY 10001
(212) 279-3075

Brunchin' @ Cafe Mogador

Ever since I tried hummus for the first time (thanks to my beloved J), I absolutely fell in love with it. Yes I was skeptical at first but it's one of those time where it was love at first taste. J and I visited Cafe Mogador for dinner before and it was definitely memorable. The food was amazing even though there was a bit of a wait.

As for brunch, we did wait for a table for about 10 minutes. Not so bad.

The reason for returning was definitely the hummus. I just couldn't stop thinking about it.

Started off with a Bloody Mary ($7) and Blood Orange Mimosa ($7). I'm not crazy about the Bloody Mary, never was and never will be. The Blood Orange Mimosa wasn't so great, tasted a lot of citrus than alcohol.

The perfect plate of brunch. The Middle Eastern Eggs ($10) included hummus, tabouli, salad and eggs any style you want. I love me some sunny-side ups. This was the perfect portion for a hungry Asian girl that was craving for some hummus.

J had the Moroccan Eggs ($10), with 2 poached eggs in spicy tomato sauce and home fries.

The eggs looks like it was poached in heaven or something. It didn't lose the consistency of the whites at all and the yolk was spilling out perfectly.

I really enjoyed the homefries. Crispy skin and soft flesh, seasoned really well with salt and pepper. One of the best homefries I've had in a long time.

I've been here twice and the food has yet to disappoint. The wait might be long but it's definitely worth it.

Cafe Mogador
101 St Marks Pl
New York, NY 10009
(212) 677-2226