Best pastrami in NYC?

Guess where I am? 

that queue... all day, every day.

I'm at none other than the famed Katz's deli, which is known to have queues at any time of the day. However, I don't think they are anywhere comparable to the queues of Hong Kong's Ichiran... yes my home city is some crazy queue-loving place. 

Anyway, my belief is that one cannot have truly "eaten" NYC without visiting a proper deli... and since I've heard too much about this place it was only righteous that I paid a visit to Katz's.

Other delicious bits and pieces of NYC

 Other eats I'd highly recommend and would revisit on my next trip to New York:

Wafels & Dinges

Belgian waffle

 topped with Speculoos (caramelized cookie butter), strawberries and banana... best breakfast/snack EVER.

 Bouchon Bakery

Big macs...

Raspberry lemon macaron

Dark chocolate macaron

 So freshy and flavours so balanced, hands down better than any macaron I've had in Hong Kong.

La Colombe Coffee

Cappuccino

Blue Bottle Coffee

Drip coffee

La Colombe and Blue Bottle Coffee are must-visits for coffee aficionados.

Eataly

Vegetable station menu

Pinzimonio - bagna cauda dip with a range of raw and cooked veggies

Italian seafood soup from the seafood station

Cappuccino

Even the coffee at Eataly is really good! 

Shake Shack 

Shack stack burger

Cheeseburger and a 'Shroom burger topped with lettuce, tomato and shack sauce. Cardinal sin not to try this dish. I went to the Madison Square Park branch, of course! 

Cut in half

 I loved the fried portabella mushroom stuffed with cheese. Any vegetarians would be very happy eating just this between their buns with the shack sauce and a frozen custard. Ahhhhhhh. 

Luzzo's NYC

really good pizza

"Calzone" ($24/16-inch) - tomato sauce, mozzarella, ricotta, mushrooms, spicy salami, ham, basil

"Tartufata" ($23/16-inch) -  tomato sauce, mozzarella, mushroom and black truffle pate

The closest version to Luzzo's pizza base in Hong Kong would be 208 Duecento Otto's but still Luzzo's was a mile a head and at basically half the price?! Incomparable. 

Absolute Bagels

Look at the crazy assortment of savoury and sweet spreads!

MINE: lox cream cheese, lox, onions, tomatoes on everything bagel.

Big Gay Ice Cream 

My "Salty Pimp" of vanilla ice cream cone, dulce de leche, sea salt and dipped in chocolate

 This ice cream truck turned shop is hugely popular and any time of the day you'll find at queue. We were quite disturbed by a homeless man but we were determined to get our sweet fix.... And was it worth it? Well my salty-sweet-cold-creamy combo was definitely worth it!

Cousin's "Mermaid" - Vanilla ice cream, key lime curd, crushed graham crackers and whipped cream

This post was incredibly hard to write, mostly because many of the tasty foods on here I can no longer eat... fingers crossed my allergy will go away and get my flights booked for my next trip! ;)

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. 

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...

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

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

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! 

The Steakhouse Winebar + Grill 

@ Intercontinental Hotel

 

Liberty Exchange

Liberty Exchange @ Central

Liberty Exchange's bar is packed every night. Promising drinks, food and great location why not? Tonight was a family reunification and heres what we had: 

Veggie SF

Date of Visit: 27^th September 2010

Veggie SF @ LKF

My friend K is a vegetarian, and I took advantage of this and suggested we go to Veggie SF to try out some veggie fare. I was initially torn between Life Café and Veggie SF, but in the end we decided on Veggie SF….

We didn’t make any reservations, so we were lucky to get a just-become-vacant table when we arrived at half eight, in the fully packed restaurant.

 

 menu, with only six choices, but there's also a side menu of smaller dishes

"Veggie Balls" ($28)

texture was bouncy like a cross of fish and squid balls, in an aromatic and spicy curry sauce, with paprika on top 

8/10

"Spirulina spinach soup"

Soup of the day, part of the Light Combo ($78).

Not something I'd order, but it was good to at least try spirulina once. Spirulina is a fresh water algae, and is often trumped as a 'super-food' in the western part of our world. It is incredibly rich in protein, vitamins and minerals.... so yes it is good for you. But what did it taste like?? Gummy moss.  Sorry, but that was how it did taste, and I could tell only a little had been added because the soup itself was quite thin, but its flavour masked any spinach flavours...

4/10

"toast"

this came with option A, with the soup and salad. the dollop of pesto was very tasty - herby, the olive oil was pungent and the ground nuts were also pronounced.

8/10

"salad"

romaine, cherry tomatoes, mesclun mix, fresh mint, raisins, beet, chopped peanuts

the vinaigrette dressing was basic, but good nonetheless. I wish they listed the ingredients of the salad, so diners could have the option to remove certain items. I don't care for dried fruits to begin with. So the raisins, peanuts and mint didn't work for me, and I wouldn't have chosen to pair them together...

6.5/10

"I am fabulous" ($98)

veggie burger with a beetroot paté, cucumbers, tomatoes and alfafa sprouts. the sides were a salad and potato and pumpkin wedges. 

This burger tasted sinful and incredibly healthy at the same time. The beetroot paté was beyond our expectations. It was red, resembling medium-rare beef, but definitely fully cooked here! The patty was slightly on the thin side, and was a very tasty burger patty. The cheese layer on top can be opted out of if you are vegan, but the thin layer of cheese combined with the patty didn't even make me miss the meat!

Pumpkin wedges were damn tasty too - starchy and sweet, with a caramelized flavour from the grill. 

"Ginger Ale" ($20)

After the above we were so stuffed we had to skip the Ghiradelli Chocolate Sundae which San Francisco is so well-known for....=(.(note to self: must save room for dessert upon next visit!) The good food and friendly service we received definitely warrants a next visit for us!

Food: ♥♥♥ 1/2 

Service: ♥♥♥ 1/2 

Price:$$$

Veggie SF

10/F, Stanley 11, 

No. 11 Stanley St, Central, Hong Kong 

Tel: +852 3902 3902

Green Waffle Diner II

Date: 4th September 2010

Green Waffle Diner @ Soho

This is my third time here, but I didn't mind at all. My previous two visits were good enough to warrant another visit, and this time I brought three hungry dining companions! 

"steak and egg hash skillet" ($8x)

mushroom, onions, peppers, potatoes, chopped medium well steak and a poached egg

there was quite a lot of steak cubes in this. my friend proceeded to down the entire thing as well. 

"country skillet with sausage" ($7x)

peppers, onions, potato cubes, tomatoes, chopped sausage and two poached eggs

definitely for potato-lovers. not a lot of sausage, so a fairly meatless dish. the poached eggs cooked perfectly and the onions + peppers were sweet and tender. seasoned very well as a whole, yumm..

"Pit beef sandwich" ($68)

salad, fries, roast beef and cheese sandwiched between a burger bun

this was my order. the salad was not fresh at all- tip of the leaves were greying and didn't have the usual brightness in fresh mesclun mix. beef sandwich wasn't huge (size of a double cheeseburger from HK Mc.D's) but actually really filling, the beef was surprisingly moist and perhaps even 'juicy'. the cheese sauce could have been better, perhaps using a deli swiss cheese? the bun could also be lighter - it was small and dense. 

"chicken and waffles" ($70)
probably my favourite of the four savoury dishes we ordered today. chicken drumsticks were cooked so well! tender chicken meat on inside and crispy crunchy brown coating....lovely! waffle was an original flavour, light and crisp like how it should be. 

"bananas foster waffle" ($52) 

original waffle, dollop of cream, choice of chocolate ice cream,  chocolate sauce, sliced banana, cinnamon, golden syrup 

this was a champion combination - the three of us love cinnamon so this dessert was naturally a winner for us. waffle was crisp and light as always, chocolate ice cream was not bad (we could've chosen movenpick), and the bananas were tender and sweetened by the syrup and cinnamon. my only complaint would be the presentation of the bananas, and perhaps real whipped cream would've went better with the waffles (like the really light cream in cafe causette!). otherwise, a must-order if you love cinnamon! 

also worth mentioning were the fact that the unfriendly waitresses last time were not present this day, and instead there were two friendly waiters. however, they failed to serve water again...until we asked and even gave us hot water because they ran out of cold!

Food: ♥♥♥1/2 

Service: ♥♥♥

Price: $$

Green Waffle Diner

Shop 3 G/F Kar Ho Building, 35-39 Graham St, Soho

Central, Hong Kong

Tel: +852 2887-9991

Lunch around central

Date of visit: 31^st July  2010

Kau Kee @ Gough Street, Central

On this day I met up with my foodie friend M to try the famed beef brisket at Kau Kee. Service is very quick here so we didn’t really have to wait to be seated, we simply joined another table with random diners.

There are two sizes here, the standard where your beef comes in the same bowl as your noodle, or the large, where your beef comes in a plate, with a bowl of noodle on the side which is ordered separately. We opted for the standard size, but I had trouble deciding once again. What I really wanted was beef + tendon in their signature clear soup with wide-cut noodles, but the waiter wouldn’t budge and said I could have curry tendon only (as a dish too), so I followed M and ordered beef brisket with noodles in clear soup ($27), except she had hor-fun instead.

Beef brisket with wide-cut noodles

Our steamy bowls of noodles and beef came quickly, and I tasted the light-coloured broth first. It was definitely umami, but didn’t have a large amount of MSG that made me react with a pang of thirst like I normally would. [ps msg isn’t bad for you unless you’re allergic to it!] Anyway, we both loved our soup. Kau Kee’s thinly sliced beef brisket was really tender, and M clearly loved it. Perhaps I am used to a different cut – those squares of tender beef brisket are the way to go for me – so I thought it was only so-so. My wide-cut noodles were yum - al dente and not crazy-chewy like the regular thin wonton noodles, but so darn filling I couldn’t finish. M’s hor-fun was also really good. Soft and slippery but not over-cooked at all.

Beef brisket with hor-fun noodles

I do think this place deserves a recommendation, but I have yet to try many other supposedly ‘famous’ joints for beef brisket, such as Wah Jeh’s, or even the not-so famous, just to compare. If only they were more flexible, would’ve loved to try the beef tendons too. Ahwell…. Another time!

Food: ♥♥♥

Service: ♥

Price: $

Kau Kee Beef Brisket

G/F, 21 Gough Street, 

Central, Hong Kong 

Next stop....


 Jaspas @ Soho

We were here for one thing only - dessert! M had raved about their banoffee pie ($65) before and I had to try it, so she kindly agreed, even though I knew she wanted the malteser cheesecake more =P. 

Our pie took ages to come, but I guess they were slicing it, dressing up the plate blahblahblah..... Anyway, when it eventually arrived, I was a happy customer. 

Doesn't look as good (on its own) as Simply Life's aesthetically, but the layers were better proportioned, and definitely leaned more towards the real banoffee pie. This one had a bottom crust of crushed digestive cookies with butter, a layer of caramel (noticeably thicker than the one from Simply Life - much better too), whole bananas, and a layer of Chantilly cream (i.e. sweetened whipped cream). As the cream layer was significantly thinner compared to other banoffee pies I've tried / seen (798 Unit, Simply Life, Portobellos), I thought Jaspas had executed my ideal banoffee pie. Why so much cream anyway? Yes it looks better, but if I wanted to eat cream I'd just buy some cream and whip it up right?!

We were pleased with this dessert, and if you ever get a craving for banoffee pie I'd recommend you head over to Jaspas! =D

Food: ♥♥♥♥

Service: ♥♥

Price: $

Jaspas

G/F, 28-30 Staunton Street, Soho, 

Central, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2869 0733

(other branches also)