Food for my soul - Southern Style BBQ in NYC

The Cardinal is a place for soul food. If you don't know what soul food is, I strongly recommend a quick browse through this list. I was introduced to the Cardinal as my cousin's fave spot for Southern food and given that she had also accompanied me to the Red Rooster it seemed fit she brought me somewhere with real good fried chicken. 

source: cardinalnyc.com/

As it was my cousin's turf, it was only right that her and her friends decided on the food. I was keen to try pretty much everything on their menu anyway. When it came to the sides, all mains during dinner come with two sides of choice, and since I've never had Southern collard greens or candied yams I suggested for these and left the rest of the ordering to them. 

August Restaurant Week HK - Messina il Ristorante

Before the month comes to an end I just wanted to write about a memorable lunch, at Messina il Ristorante. A few friends and I were due to catch up and what better way than do it over good food? Ahead of restaurant week I booked us in for a Saturday lunch as we would all have to trek over from HK side...

We arrived the Harbourside, not knowing it was actually a residential area and hence given the weekend lots of families going in and out. Good thing the restaurants here by K.O. Dining Group have their own lift lobby.

restaurant week menu

August Restaurant Week HK - Socialito

I've always associated Socialito to being more of a drinking spot as opposed to a foodie venue, probably because I've heard too many friends tell me its "mehhh". And knowing the States sell tacos on average US$1-3 per taco ($1 being average); HK$60-85 for two before servicehere seemed a little on the steep end.
Tacos aside, Socialito serves up some Mexican eats in their main dining area. A couple weeks before Restaurant Week I'd heard they'd done some revamping - new menus and all and I thought this would be the perfect occasion to try out their (new) food.

Eleven Madison Park - New York

The month leading up to my NY trip I was extremely excited, excited because I was going to visit the legendary French-American restaurant headed by chef Daniel Humm (also the mastermind behind NoMad), a restaurant I had read (just a little) too many articles, reviews and blog posts on...

Hence from the moment I left Hong Kong for Boston, Eleven Madison Park was always on the back of my mind, curious as to what I would be served... The below will be mostly pictures, with a few comments here and there. Given the time we were seated, we weren't able to do the full tasting as it lasts 4 hours - i.e. we would've finished eating 2am! So the four of us went with the more feasible 4-course tasting...

August Restaurant Week HK - La Parole

Taking a break from playing catch-up on writing about my foodventures in the past year... I just wanted to write about a few recent places I visited during Restaurant Week this month. 

First up - a dinner at La Parole 

Menu

For those who aren't familiar, a select few restaurants in Hong Kong participated in Restaurant Week whereby they design a menu for a given price/category; and customers book in advance (through diningcity) to try out the specially designed menu.... La Parole was one such restaurant; and dinner was priced at $428 for four courses.

NoMad Restaurant NYC

I'm sure you will have heard if not already visited, Eleven Madison Park.

Head Chef Daniel Humm's second project was NoMad's, which I heard about whilst reading about NYC restaurants before my trip. Needless to say I had to visit....

So one fine day I dragged my lovely cousin C with me for lunch. We loved how it was in a boutique hotel and loved the interiors even more. Have you checked out their library?! Elegant and tres cool.

Southern Food - Red Rooster NYC

My first meal off the plane was at Red Rooster Harlem, opened by celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson, the Ethiopian-born Swedish chef that was crowned Top Chef Master in Season 2 (2010). For those who don't know me, I am (openly) obsessed with anything Top Chef and Iron Chef (only the US series please!) :)

Naturally, I had high hopes....and this was my first time trying Southern food. We were led downstairs upon arrival (make reservations weeks in advance if you want to go on a weekend!), and their decor reminds one of a speakeasy. With their red leather sofas and all. 

"Cornbread" with tomato jam and honey butter

Bagels....in Providence

Bagels are one of P's fave breakfast foods - naturally before I left for New York she took me to her fave spot Bagel Gourmet. Here they do a fine selection of sweet and savoury bagel sandwiches, but also a wide selection of burritos, baked goods and just about any kind of bottled drink you could wish for. 

Pumpernickel with lox and lox cream cheese (US$8.25)

I going to make a confession.

 I chose the bagel purely because of its colour - though it turns out I loved the slight bitterness of the pumpernickel with the savoury smoked salmon and cream cheese filling! 

 

 P was very happy with her staple of an everything bagel with egg, cheese and sausage (US$4.63)

Food: ♥♥♥ 1/2 

Service: ♥♥ 1/2

Price: Around US$1.50-8..25 per bagelwich depending on your filling

Address:  Bagel Gourmet

222 Richmond Street 

Providence, RI 02905

T: 401 454-8800

Ethiopian eats... in Providence!

Since it's opening, Abyssinia has received rave reviews. Whilst I can't say I loved the food (nothing beats Indian cuisine when it comes to curries and spices IMHO!) I certainly enjoyed the various elements and eating (gasp) with our hands - bid farewell to utensils as you're encouraged to eat with your hands only here!

Tasty eats around Providence

My stay in Providence was unforgettable, many thanks to P. Everyday was packed from breakfast to parties at night... but given this is a food blog, below is a collection of quick bites we took between activities.

Soft tacos  from Baja's Burritos - Choose any three from 7 choices of fillings (US$6.49)- I had pulled pork, buffalo chicken and grilled veggies

Spanish Tapas in Providence

Flan Y Ajo was one of the spots my Spanish-loving Chinese bestie P took us one evening. A tiny little tapas bar in DownCity that will seat less than 10 and have many people standing drinking and nomming on shareplates. We took up the window area with a small table to share and proceeded to order from their blackboard.... Below is a selection of the food we ordered!

pa amb tomaquet

Brunching in Providence

My second stop in the States was Providence, Rhode Island where I met my bestfriend P and her buddies J, T and A. We got along right away - bonding over nothing less than our love of good food! 

Nick's on Broadway was one of the stops we made for brunch. We waited nearly an hour to be seated if I recall correctly - this place is hugely popular on weekends!

open kitchen - we sat at the bar tables and got to see chefs at work!

EATING BOSTON

Warning: this is a very overdue post from my visit to to the States last summer.

My first stop was Boston - its not hard to love this city - people are friendly, getting around is easy, although rainy summer days and winters can be tough... 

On my first night, my friend K took me to a Tapas style restaurant called Toro and I must say it was a very memorable meal. We arrived around half 9 and the restaurant was full to the brim save for two seats at the bar which was fine for us. After consulting the menu a little, this is what we shared! 

AND.... I'm back!

After many things going on in the past year I've decided to join the blogosphere once again... 
I hope you look forward to my coming posts on the tasty (and occasionally the not-so-tasty) eats I've been up to since my last post a year ago as I am looking forward to writing again about my foodie adventures! 

Since last year, a lot has happened.... 
- I've experienced the best eats in the States and can't wait to visit again!
- I've started a new job... 
- I've (sadly) developed a severe food allergy which has restricted what I can eat in restaurants but nonetheless hasn't stopped me from chowing my way around town! 

HOWEVER...  I very much look forward to writing and possibly entering a new (writing) project with my dear food and friend N aka author of http://www.foodcraver.hk/ in the near future for a more comprehensive journal of our foodventures.

Till my next post... :)
G