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)

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

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

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

Best Egg Benedict - Over Easy (Toronto)

A perfect place to help me begin with first my proper blog entry has be OVER EASY in Toronto, the one on Bloor Street.

Their egg benedict has set the standard so high that I have trouble finding another egg benedict that satisfies me as much. The eggs on toast are poached perfectly. (slightly running is the key! but some restaurants just don't get it.)

Homemade fries are also a revelation, which are wonderfully seasoned and I really like how they are cut into tiny cubes.

I have always missed brunch at Over Easy. It is the place that cheered me up during my university days and it continues to the place that cheers me up when dear HC would go there to eat for me.

Address: Bloor & Queens Park

208 Bloor St. West

Toronto, ON, Canada

M5S 3B4

Phone: 416-922-2345

Hours: 7am-4pm daily 

Website: http://www.overeasyrestaurants.com

I have not tried the other branch at Yonge & Wellington but the one on Bloor is definitely a classic.