Quick eats in NYC

Here are some of the great restaurants I tried in NYC, thanks very much to my dear friend Fi:

Brunch: Sarabeth (40 Central Park South)

Chinese: Mister Hotpot (5806 8th Ave, Brooklyn)  

Japanese: Totoya (1144 1st Ave, Manhattan) 

Seafood: Grand Central Oyster Bar Restaurant (Central Station)

Korean: Kunjip (9 W 32nd St)

Dessert: La Pepita (Barcelona)

One tapas I tried and really liked in Barcelona is La Pepita. I like the ambience of this place a lot. The decor of the restaurant is chic and cosy.  As the name suggests, the restaurant specializes in pepita. We ordered it and it's quite nice.

What amazes me the most is their innovative desserts. We had corn ice-cream topped with popcorn and raspberry. The other is a pumpkin mesh topped with cottage cheese and pumpkin seeds. They are light in texture and go really well with the sangria.

Address:  Carrer Còrsega, 343 (close to metro stations Diagonal or Verdaguer)

Phone: 93 238 48 93

Favorite French Toast: Eric Kayser (NYC)

This week I invited my dear friend Fi who lives in NYC to write about one of her favorite brunch places:

"It has been a long time since I am writing something that is not about science. It is very difficult to find the favorite restaurant in New York city as there are too many good ones. Eric Kayser is one of them that I tried recently that serves excellent breakfast and pastries. It is located at the corner of 74^th street and 3^rd avenue. Like most restaurants on the upper eastside, it is busy yet classy. 

I ordered French toast with apple maple syrup and fresh fruits. It is the best French toast I have ever had. The toast was glazed with brown sugar on both sides to make it crispy. Apple maple syrup was really light and served on the side. Most French toast that I had before are saggy but this is dry and not buttery. There was sour instead of regular whipped cream too. Nice combination with the sweet toast, syrup and berries. I also tried oeufs brouilles saucisses which was scramble egg, sweet sausage and red pepper on toast. Scramble egg was extraordinarily soft but overall I like that French toast more!"

Address: 1294 3rd Avenue at 74th Street, New York, NY 10021
Phone: 212.744.3100
Website: http://www.maison-kayser-usa.com/

See also: http://newyork.seriouseats.com/2012/08/maison-kayser-eric-kaysers-bakery-boulangerie-patisserie-baguette-french-nyc-opening.html

Sydney Fish Market (Sydney, Australia)

A visit to the Sydney Fish Market (SFM) is a definite must for all tourists and locals who consider themselves seafood lovers.  Aubergine can agree with me that I went crazy over the Sydney Fish Market.  It was one of my favourite places; been there 5 times during my 2 weeks’ stay there.  I must admit though, once I stepped into the vicinity, my eyes went straight to the food, without really noticing what’s around there.  It is not until now that I realized they offered seafood cooking classes as well as tours of the market.  I would have loved to go behind the scenes and explored its operations.

There are over 15 retails/restaurants at SFM.  You have the option of buying seafood home or enjoying it there.  However, I do find that sharing a table with complete strangers, digging into the food with your hands, and making a huge mess are part of the wholesome experience.  If you are looking for a fine dining experience, this certainly isn’t the place for you.  It might be a bit exaggerated to say this, but they probably sell every living eatable creature you would find in the sea – lobsters, prawns, crabs, oysters, mussels, scallops, abalones, squids, and octopus, etc.  You name it, they probably have it, maybe with the exception of shark fin.  Regardless, you would be engulfed with the large selection of seafood.

It would be difficult to try every single kiosk, but if you are there at the right timing, you would be able to sample some goodies here and there.  Among the varieties, I would recommend Christie’s Kitchen (which is now called Christie's Seafood Excellence).  If you like your seafood fried or grilled, they offer a great selection including snapper fillet, barramundi fillet, salmon fillet, tuna steak, calamari, etc., all served with chips.  If you prefer your seafood raw, they also have a great variety of freshly shucked oysters and sashimi grade tuna, prawns, scallops, sea urchin and abalone.  You might think, this is pretty normal, don’t other kiosks offer the same?  What sets Christie’s apart from other kiosks is the opportunity for customers to pick out anything from their live tanks, and have it freshly cooked any way you like.  Steamed mussels? Too easy.  Lobster mornay? No problem!  Salt and pepper mud crab?  Consider that done! 

It was a bit of a pity that I was not able the try the live abalone.  They were huge, about the size of a personal size pan pizza, still in its shell.  It simply was too big for me to finish alone.  If I had a sixth visit, I’m willing to take that challenge.      

Address: Bank St, Pyrmont New South Wales 2009, Australia

Website: www.sydneyfishmarket.com.au

Cafe with the best view - Astro Cafe (Lake Tekapo, New Zealand)

In terms of the view one can get, it is hard to beat Astro cafe. The cafe is a glass house situated on the top of Mt. John, next to the observatory. It provides a stunning view overlooking Lake Tekapo, which itself is one of the most beautiful lakes I have ever seen. The spectacular blue colour of the lake is given by "rock flour," which are rocks from nearby mountains ground into dust and became suspended particles in the lake. The coffee at Astro cafe is very good. To be honest, I forgot what the food tasted like because I was too carried away by the view. 

Address: Mount John Observatory, Godley Peaks Rd, Lake Tekapo 7945, New Zealand

Phone:+64 3-680 6007

Website: http://earthandskynz.com/earthandsky/astro_cafe/astro_cafe.html

Cafe with the best view - Cafe Pho Co (Hanoi, Vietnam)

Cafe Pho Co in Hanoi serves egg white coffee. My friends and I were very sceptical at first but turned out it was just a thick layer of custard on top. It was actually good. 

It took us a while to find the cafe because it was tucked inside an alley. We only saw the sign of the cafe but couldn't see the entrance. There was a very narrow opening like a gap in the wall which suddenly spilled out a motorcycle. It was then we realised there might be something inside and we ventured in. After walking through a dark, mysterious, and winding alley, an old charming four-storey house appeared in front of us. It feels a little bit like Alice stumbling into wonderland. The waitress greeted us and took our orders immediately. 

We had to climb up a steep spiral staircase to reach to the top of the cafe and we were stunned by the beautiful night view of the city and the lake at night. Since we were there in the evening, the quality of the pictures is not that great. But the view is really gorgeous and since it was very breezy on the rooftop, it's a wonderful spot to hang out till late.

This is one of the coolest cafes I've ever been

The egg white coffee

Address: 11 P Hang Gai

Phone: 04 3928 8153 

China's best breakfast - Hu Bu Xiang (Wuhan)

Happy Chinese New Year - best wishes for a prosperous year of snake ahead! 

I, somewhat baised and somewhat not, think that one of the best breakfast places in China is located in the renowned breakfast street Hu Bu Xiang 戶部巷 in Wuhan. It is simply a breakfast heaven, where one can find all the signature breakfast delights in Wuhan. This narrow street was an ancient street that dates back to about 400 years ago. There are over 30 kinds of breakfast snacks that the local Wuhan people like to have for breakfast. In Wuhan, people say "guo zao" to mean having breakfast. Guo Zao is indispensable part for Wuhaners and is taken very seriously. 

The must tries are Madame Xu's fish noodle soup 徐嫂魚糊粉, small lobsters, fried green bean shreds (dou si 豆絲), Tofu skin with sticky rice and mushrooms (dou pi 豆皮), Wuhan style fried donut (mian wo 面窩), bbq skewers, fried tofu, and my favorite of all, the dry hot noodle (熱乾面). 

The breakfast street - Hu Bu Xiang

Fried Tofu

Madame Xu's fish noodel soup

The fried donut (mian wo) is a popular breakfast choice for the Wuhaners. 

BBQ skewers of various kinds

Fried green bean shreds (dou si)

Pan fried sticky rice and mushrooms wrapped in tofu skin. 

small lobsters

Cai Ling Ji's dry hot noodle is legendary

Dry hot noodle - a dish Wuhaners grow up with

Address: Zhonghua Lu Street, Wuchang

Best burger I - Byron (London)

When it comes to best burger places in London, BYRON will have to be on the list. I like how they keep their menu simple and neat.  Aside from the highly acclaimed classic hamburger, the cheese burger and the chicken burger are also worth noting. My friend tried the cheese burger with Emmenthal cheese. The soft Emmenthal goes wonderfully well with the doughy well-glazed bun. The bun might not be the entirely traditional type as it is a little sweeter and softer than an average bun.  I had a chicken burger. The chicken breast was surprisingly tender and juicy! I always find chicken breast hard to handle as it can easily turn out to be dry and hard to chew. 

There are 26 branches of Bryon all over London. I find the atmosphere at Covent Garden quite ideal for a burger meal. 


Address: 33-35 Wellington Street, London WC2E 7BN

Phone: 020 7420 9850

Hours:
Mon-Thu 12:00-22:30
Fri-Sat 12:00-23:30
Sun 12:00-23:00

http://www.byronhamburgers.com/locations/

Best chilli crabs (Singapore)

There are so many good chilli crabs in Singapore and apparently those at hawker centres are really good. I can only introduce some of the big names and I think they well deserve the fame. The most popular ways of making crabs in Singapore are chilli crab, black pepper crab, and white pepper crab.

Here are the crabs from:

No Signboard (Geylang)

Palm Beach (One Fullerton)

Jumbo (East Coast Seafood Centre)

Long Beach (Dempsey Hill)

I like LONGBEACH's black pepper crab most in terms of style of cooking. Long Beach was recently awarded one of Asia's finest restaurant.

I like No Signboard Geylang's dining experience the most. It gives you the authentic taste of street market. It is nice to sit outside with a glass of iced lime juice to wash down the spiciness. I had one of my most memorable meals there with my dear friends. (The lobster might look a bit like crab so remember not to get confused.)

Yum Cha/Dim Sum - Lei Garden (Hong Kong)

"Yum Cha" and "Dim Sum" tend to be used interchangeably these days to refer to Chinese-style brunch. Yum Cha means drinking tea, while dim sum means the little dishes that accompany the tea. Both are essentials for a typical Cantonese style weekend brunch.

There are just too many good restaurants in Hong Kong for yum cha it's hard to pick the best. But the one I frequented is Lei Garden 利苑. It is a Michelin star restaurant but it is unpretentious and very reasonably priced. It doesn't give you the hustle and bustle of a traditional yum cha place so it might not be the best place to go if you are up for the nosiness. Another thing I like about Lei Garden is that they take reservation or else it's really hard to get a table in other restaurants during the weekends.

The typical dishes I would order for any yum cha place are:

Shrimp prawn dumpling (Har Gow)
Steamed pork and prawn dumpling (Siu Mai)
Rice noodel roll with lightly marinated shrimp (Har Cheung Fun)
Steamed sweet pork bun (Cha Siu Bao)
Teochew steamed dumpling (Fun Gor)
Congee of any kind
A veggie dish
Stir fry noodle/rice
A dish that goes with my mood of the day

I especially like Lei Garden's Snow Peak Bun (second pic below).

The dumpings or buns usually come in 3-4 pieces in each basket. The above order list can easily feed 4 people.

As for tea, the usual choices are Pu Erh or Jasmine Heung Pin. I personally like Shou Mei, which is a kind of white tea produced from naturally withered upper tips. 

Ever since I've turned a meat minimizer, I have often ordered the vegetarian variations of the above. They are equally good.

There are many branches all over Hong Kong. The one in Tsim Sha Tsui should be the most famous.

Address: B-2, Houston Centre, Tsimshatsui East, Hong Kong
Phone: (852) 2722 1636
Lunch Hours: 11:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. 
Dinner: 6:00 p.m. - 11:30 p.m

Website: http://www.leigarden.hk/eng/location/hongkong.asp

Read more: http://travel.cnn.com/hong-kong/eat/best-hong-kong-dim-sum-restaurants-674709
http://travel.cnn.com/how-to-eat-dim-sum-377769

Dessert: Lindt Cafe (Sydney)

One of the best places to go for a dessert in Sydney CBD area is  Lindt Cafe in Darling Harbour. They have a wide selection of chocolates, cakes, ice-cream, and beverages, all made from Lindt chocolate. 

Their hot chocolate fudge sundae and chocolate cake are wonderfully rich. It would be good if you are once in while up for some sugar rush. The waffles, served with white chocolate ice-cream and hot chocolate fudge, are relatively lighter in texture but equally sumptuous in quantity. Latte has always been good.

 

The best thing I like about Lindt at Darling Harbour is the beautiful Darling Harbour itself. Whether it's after a day out and about in Manly or a Sunday concert at the Opera House, you can always take a ferry to Darling Harbour. One of the reasons I was attracted to the Lindt Cafe is the gorgeous view right by its side. Thanks to the lovely weather, it is pleasant to sit outside all year round. The post-dessert stroll along Cockle Bay Whart is also part of the whole experience, a highlight indeed.

Address: Shop 104-105, Cockle Bay Wharf

Cockle Bay NSW

Phone: +61 2 9267 8064
http://www.lindt.com.au/swf/eng/cafe/