Kowloon Cafe

It was a nice Saturday morning, J and I didn't want to head out to the city so we stayed in Brooklyn to find a spot to eat. It was around 1pm when we met up and decided to head to Kowloon Cafe. A Hong Kong based cafe, I love these kind of places. The staff spoke in Cantonese and the service was quick. I've never been here before but J had eaten here a couple of times already.

We got seated immediately but it took us a while to decide on what to eat since they have a ton of dishes on their menu. As usual, we ordered way too much. I guess we're back on the greedy track.


Grass Jelly w/ Soy Milk

I think J started to slowly like this when I ordered it back then. He's been bringing up this drink a lot lately and finally he gets his fix! They serve it really sweet here, and I was so glad that they put a lot of crushed ice into it... the ice eventually melted and mellowed out the sweetness of the soy milk.


Salt and Pepper Duck Gizzard

If you haven't noticed, J and I love gizzards. It's been a while since I've had duck gizzard, chicken gizzard are more assessible than duck. Nonetheless, the dish was good. A bit on the salty side but I can live with it cause I heart gizzards. Duck gizzards are just a bit larger in size but the texture are similar to chicken's, just as gamey and chewy.


Curry Fish Balls

Ever since we ordered the curry fish balls from Hong Kong Station in Chinatown, we are addicted. Not knowing how it would taste at Kowloon, we took the risk and ordered it. It was definitely different than HK Station because at Kowloon they actually use the curry powder which yields that curry flavor. At HK Station, they use crushed chilis, oil, and pepper as the curry sauce. I still love both styles.


Kowloon French Toast

I was never a big fan of HK style's toast but J loves it, must be a Hong Kong thing. This one in particular had a bit of a surprise in the middle for us. There was a thin layer, sufficient enough so you can actually taste it, of red bean paste. What a pleasant surprise! The entire toast was actually pretty good *claps*


Amoy Style Fried Vermicelli

Don't know why they didn't just call it rice noodles. When I'm in the mood for a light stir-fried noodle, rice noodle will be the choice. They have a lot less oil than any other noodle dishes and plus, the Amoy style has a lot of ingredients. Anything from ham, egg, onions, sour cabbage, peppers, shrimp... at the list goes on and on.

Curry Beef Stew w/ Rice

This is where we realized that we ordered more than we can consume. J was like, we should've sticked with the noodles. Haha! But hey, the rice dish was really good, like gooood. The beef was tender and soft, sauce was perfect, even the rice was good.

I definitely enjoy this meal. Then again, I think I just really like Cantonese food in general. A place that is worthy of return.

Kowloon Cafe
2365 86th St
Brooklyn, NY 11214
(718) 333-1388

Mile End

The search for the best New York poutine still continues. Of course, it will never be the same as Montreal's poutine but I would like to think there is this possibility out there where we'll find a poutine that comes close to our (J's and mine) favorite Frite Alors in Canada.

Somehow, searching around Yelp brings me to Mile End. They had good ratings, great photos and most important, the poutine looks really dam good.

When we arrived, we had to wait a while. I was actually surprised at how many people were eating here, must be good...

They had a small menu so deciding on what we want wasn't so difficult.


Classic Poutine

Looks pretty legit to me.
I wish the cheese curds were smaller and colder. Because by the time they served us the plate, the curds were melting. Gah! I want that squeaky feeling of cheese curds between my teeth. The gravy was good, not too overly seasoned and worked quite well with the fries, which were quite good also. And so, that's where the good food ends...

Smoke Meat Sandwich w/ pickle and slaw

The smoked meat was dry. They needed more fat in that meat, not just lean meat. Felt like eating dry cardboard. But, the pickle was amazing. Nice, crunchy, salty... the way a real pickle should be.


Grandpa

Another disappointment. Layers of turkey breast with thinly sliced pickle (-_-) and a turkey rillette, one word - dry. The only moisture was the pickles and the rillette. Plus, I felt like it lacked some sort of texture, probably would've helped if they gave me more pickles.

So, the entire time J and I was sitting at the counter, we noticed the dude behind the counter that was preparing sandwiches started munching on pieces of smoked meat and turkey. He would purposely slice more and just eat the extra pieces, and I say extra pieces because they actually weigh the amount that goes into the sandwich. Man, I rather go to Katz's and let them pile on the meat and they're not dry!

All-in-all, I'm only coming back for the poutine, if I ever come back.

Mile End
97 Hoyt St
Ste A
Brooklyn, NY 11217
(718) 852-7510

Ed's Lobster Bar

I finally have the time to catch up on my post now since work is slowing down. Tax season was a pain and definitely tough but it's finally over, for now.

J and I went to Ed's Lobster Bar Annex near the Lower East Side. We were hoping there wouldn't be as much people at this location since the other one was at Lafayette Street, a total tourist trap.

We sat in the back where we were able to sit oustide and get some fresh air. Mind you, this was still in March so as the night got darker it starting getting a bit chilly.

We started with a selection of oysters. I don't think I ever know what kind of oysters I eat, west or east coast, I just eat them. I like that briny and fishy-ness from the oysters, pity how fast they go though.

Crudo Selection - Tuna

I don't think I really had crudo before, J explained it to me and it's such a simple process. Crudo means olive oil and sea salt with the cut of fish or meat being sliced thinly. Can't get any simpler than that, plus it was actually good. Simplicity is the key.


Mussels in Lobster Broth and Fennel

I find that whenever we head to a restaurant, if there's mussel, we're getting it. I know J loves mussels and the fact that it was in lobster broth totally got me sold. I like how big the portion is for this and it was only $10. And you get bread that was soaked in butter to dip into the broth. That is just amazing and genius.


Seared Day Boat Scallop



Special of the Night - 3 sliders (lobster burger, skate, fried oyster)

I had the scallops while J had the special. For once, I think I got the better end of the bargain here. I love scallops and pairing it with sauteed spinach and mashed potato was perfect. The scallops were just slightly overcooked, just slighty. But the overall dish was definitely good.

J's sliders were a hit and miss. The best was the fried oyster, the other two lack susbtance and/or flavor. Oh, if you love fries then you're in for a treat here, they give a shit-load of fries with your order.

I like Ed's Lobster Bar, but I also know that it could've been better. I think there's 3 locations and each location has a different menu, I'm determined to head over to the Lafayette one and try it out. Their menu was actually more appealing to me but hey... no complaints since it was a nice meal either way.

Ed's Lobster Bar
25 Clinton St
Manhattan, NY 10002
(212) 777-7370


Les Sans Culottes

One of my all time favorite restaurants would be Les Sans Culottes. They have a prix fixe menu which can literally fill you up like a balloon. They have price from $25, $32 and $35 that includes a three-course meal. J and I absolutely love this place, it's cheap and satisfies our tummy. We usually order from the $25 menu but we felt a little adventurous so we ordered whatever we wanted that night.

Fruit and Vegetable Basket

Fresh fruits and vegetables. The melons are always so sweet here.

They also give you a rack of sausage and you can eat and enjoy as much as you like. Don't be afraid to get your hands dirty, you can also use the table as a cutting table since they already covered it with a white sheet.

And that's not the end of the appetizers yet. They also give you bread, pate, butter and dressing to accompany the sausages, veggies and fruits. All these things are included with the prix fixe which is probably enough to fill a person that doesn't eat much.

Escargot

J and I love this dish, it's one of our favorites. Snails in garlic, butter and parsley. The reason why we love it so much and see ourselves coming back and ordering this dish is because it's actually still in its shell. Plus, it's so darn cheap... cheaper than other places that serves escargots.

Filet Mignon Champignons

Shell Steak w/ Peppercorn Sauce

The entrees are ginormous. They are seriously really generous with the portions and the food there is pretty decent.

Flan

Nothing better than to end the meal with a dessert. There's two choices you can have with the prix fixe, either flan or chocolate mousse. I'm not a big fan of chocolate so I always order the flan, though I did try the mousse before and it wasn't all that great. I recommend the flan for sure.

Definitely a great French restaurant if you want the bang for your buck kind of deal. But don't expect too much, you do get what you pay for.

Les Sans Culottes
1085 2nd Ave
New York, NY 10022
(212) 838-6660

Bangane

I've seen this restaurant on Yelp for the longest time. J and I finally went there since we drove, taking the public transportation takes a lot of work unless you live around the area. Bangane is on a strip of sidewalk which no other restaurants are in sight. From the outside, it practically looks like a flower shop since it has plants lined up against the windows.

I read that the staffs at Bangane doesn't speak English too well, or even none at all. They either speak Korean or Mandarin, none of both which we speak. You have a choice of whether to eat at the traditional tables where you sit on the floor with cushions for your tush or sit at tables with chairs. We opted for the traditional seating for the full experience.

Bangane has a small menu and the sole purpose of us going there was to get their 3-course goat feast. The 3-course was only $29.99 per order and you have to at least order 2. With all the food that comes with it, it's totally worth it.

Right as we order, less than 5 minutes later the banchan starts rolling out. So many different kinds ranging from kimchi to julienne scallions to eggplant. The waitress also brought over the burner for our first course.

When you look at it, it does seem overwhelming but the process was just so fun to eat.

The mixture of different kinds of sauce. It was absolutely amazing-mazing, worked so well with the goat meat. They also use the same sauce for the 2nd course.

When the first course was served, I was so excited. We saw the waitress bring out a large goat shank and started peeling away the meat to place on our bamboo steamer.

It was insanely massive. She put every last piece of meat on the steamer, minus the fat and veins but yes... every last piece of meat.

I start to dig in right away. There's many way to eat this and it's totally up to you and what you're comfortable with. J and I took the lettuce that came with the banchan and started making wraps with it. I gave up when it comes to dipping my wrap in the sauce because I could barely pick any up, as a result I just start spreading it in the wrap itself. So delicious. The goat meat was so tender and doesn't taste or smell gamey at all.

When we were a bit more than halfway through with the goat meat, the waitress came out with another pot. A pot filled with water, chives, scallions, and that sauce I was talking about. She then dumped the rest of the goat meat into the small pot. We waited silently and slowly for our second course to cook.

While we were waiting, J started taking pieces of meat off the pot... -_-

After a few minutes (it cooked really fast!), the goat stew was ready to chow! Extremely aromatic and warms up the heart.

Finally, the third course was about to be made right in front of us. Using just a bit of the broth from the goat stew, the waitress mixed in rice, radishes, scallions, seaweed, and that sauce again! She cooked it in the same pot where the stew was cooking and combined everything together.

The last course was a light fried rice, but up to that point... we were getting so full. We really couldn't finish it but it was really good. I would love to come back with a group of friends because doing this again with J would be overkill, we need more people to divide and conquer it!

Bangane
16519 Northern Blvd
Flushing, NY 11358
(718) 762-2799

Soba Totto

J and I love soba, we like the process of eating soba. After finding out that Soba Totto has soba and yakitori, it was a definite place to visit.

We go to Soba Totto early, before they even open. But they do open on time, which is definitely a good thing. After we got seated, greediness started to take over because we almost wanted all the yakitori on the menu. I liked how they have the unique cuts of an animal, unlike some places that just does the generic chicken meats and vegetables.

Sake

Started off with sake and pretty much ended with sake also. They have a wide range of different kinds and I absolutely love the pretty karafe that it came in. So fun to pour also. Our waiter was very patient in explaining and describing the different sakes, he also recommended us some also. Now, that's good service.

Agedashi Tofu

I've never tried Agedashi Tofu before and I'm so glad that I chose Soba Totto to be my first place because it tasted so good. Very refreshing and silky. There were also 4 pieces of tofu, yay! I always thought it usually come in pairs...

(L-R) chicken oyster, fatty salmon, 2 cow tongue

Alright, so I hate it when my boyfriend is always right when it comes to food. Why does he always choose the best thing on the menu??? The Chicken Oysters were so amazing, the piece right near the thigh of the chicken. Lord, it was heaven... plus the skin that was still attach to the oyster, no words can explain the awesomeness. The Fatty Salmon wasn't so fatty but it was grilled to perfection. The Cow Tongue was great also. J and I love strange cuts on an animal and tongue is surely one of them.

chicken skin

Crunchy goodness. Loved the charred parts 'cause it gives it that slight flavor and crisp.

chicken gizzards

One of my personal favorite cuts on a chicken. Chicken gizzard is hard to cook, but if done correctly the initial bite would be crunchy and the interior starts to taste like chicken heart (if you ever taste that before), the texture is quite addicting.

pork horumon

Horumon considers to be the part of a pig that people would just throw away because most people wouldn't eat it - according to the Japanese. But they were the ones who thought to make horumon so delicious also. It has a bit of a chew to it but doesn't chewing gum have a chew also? No harm there.

fatty tuna

I don't know why but this fatty tuna is so off-putting. It looks kind of creepy, like it came out of the horror movie or something. The color and shape just looks uber scary. Good thing I didn't order this, for once J ordered something icky! Tasted like regular tuna but it just looks blegh!

quail egg with yakitori sauce

I was craving for eggs and what's better than mini eggs? I usually don't order quail eggs because I know I can get them in a dozen at an Asian supermarket for a lot less but I was feeling not me that night... haha

(Top-Bottom) chicken liver, 2 chicken hearts

Chicken Liver was decent, nothing special there. Although I do have to say that some people can't handle the liver because there's a texture issue there. Depending on how long its cooked, it can be soft and mushy or hard and grainy. Chicken Hearts are the bomb! Sad how they only give 3 on a skewer but they were just so juicy and tender.

Mori Soba

Kamo Shio Soba (duck dipping broth)

I had the simple Mori Soba. I like the soy sauce with scallions and wasabi dip. At the end of your meal you get an interesting rectangular teapot full of broth and pour it into your soy sauce and that's your soba-yu, a nice soup to end the meal.

I don't remember exactly what the name is for the dessert but it was just fried dough with ice cream and fruits. It was pretty good, but not the best and it would've been perfectly fine if we skipped dessert and just ordered another karafe of sake.

Soba Totto really scored high in my books. Love the different yakitoris and the soba was great also, oh and the service was A+!

Soba Totto
211 E 43rd St
New York, NY 10017
(212) 557-8200

Jin Ramen

Jin Ramen opened a couple of weeks before the actual day we went to eat, which means it's pretty spankin' new. Just two weeks in and the place was already packed. J and I arrived around 7pm-ish and there were lines out the door. Luckily, it was only a 5-10 minute wait and we were seated soon enough.

The menu was small which I appreciate. Small menu usually means (to me) that they either make those certain dishes really well or they like to focus on those dishes to perfect it. You don't need a big menu to lure in a big crowd.


Nankotsu Kara-Age

J and I knew what we wanted already, I mean it was a small menu afterall. First came the fried chicken with cartilage. I didn't taste any cartilage with my chicken but they are good pieces of fried chicken chunks.

Kani Salad

My favorite of the night. I always see Kani Salad as just shredded cucumbers and imitated crabmeat but Jin Ramen sure twisted it around. I love Seaweed Salad and I was so thrilled when I knew they incorporated into the Kani Salad. The mix of textures and flavor just explodes in your mouth. Crunchy, sweet, tangy, salty, slimy, zesty... it was all there.


Shoyu Ramen

Spicy Tonkatsu Ramen

I had the Shoyu while J had the Spicy Tonkatsu. The broth was really good and I loved their char siu. Two things that didn't impress me was the bamboo shoots and the noodles itself. There wasn't much flavor in the bamboo shoots and I love bamboo shoots that comes in the ramen bowl. The noodles were a bit overcooked, like literally just 30 seconds overcooked - makes a big difference. I like ramen noodles to have that slight bite to it.

It wasn't a bad meal but if they tweaked those two things then this would be a bowl of heaven because I always thought that broth and char siu are the difficult items in the bowl. But really, their char siu is soooo good.

Jin Ramen
3183 Broadway
New York, NY 10027
(646) 559-2862