Uni---Sake Bomb special

Last night, I went to UNI for the first time. I have had the pleasure of eating at CLIO and had a wonderful meal. Plus I adore Toro. I went there early (the seating is first come first serve as they do NOT take reservations). I decided to sit at the sushi bar in front of the sushi chef Sean. I must say the quality of the fish on display was very fresh! The Sushi Chef Sean was very friendly, knowledgeable and fun! While I was dining there last night, owner and executive Chef Ken Oringer stopped by and sat right next to me briefly. His friend's kid who is only 11 was game to try the quail egg and uni spoon ($16) and he loved it! I was very impressed! For someone so young, he had a sophisticated palate!

My friend OK and I met up at the restaurant. She was over 30 minutes late! Luckily I was able to snack on some nice edamame sprinkled with sea salt and drank some artisanal still water Fiji ($6 a bottle). Then we got our sake bomb material---1 small sake cup of the HOUSE sake and a bottle of the Tiger Beer (from Singapore if you must know). I did put the sake cup into the glass. (Ah memories of my first sake bomb were at Newport Beach, CA before my red eye flight. I had a few.)

Our friendly server informed me after I asked about the Sake Bomb special, it is only for Sundays and he proceeded to tell me what were going to dine on. Yummy! First we got the kumimoto oyster served with a Japanese plum and it was divine! The freshness and the flavors of the sea were apparent and lovely. Next was the fresh poke salad marinated in a light soy marinade. I LOVED it! First time I had Poke was in Hawaii. Refreshing! Next came the salmon served with black bean sauce (Chinese) which was a lovely contrast of salty to oily/fatty. (I had a nice mini conversation with Sean behind the sushi bar. He was very friendly. I was telling him that I had not known many moons ago not all "black beans" were made equally. Having grown up with Chinese black beans, I once went shopping and got Mexican black beans. Suffice to say it was NOT The same. Next from the kitchen was the tempura rock shrimp which was crispy, not overly greasy and excellent! The ending of this lovely meal was the elderberry yogurt with a drizzle of black sesame sauce. Very different and light but pleasant ending for a very artistic and lovely meal.

*I bumped into a friend Suz and her dining companion mentioned he had seen my food blog. It was funny, as he was wondering if I was the one he had heard about who took pics of the food she ate. True to form, I was in the midst of taking a "photo" of my food! I was flattered that Sean wanted my "blog" address. I had to decline as I am still working on this blog. I promised that I would give it once I am ready.

Momofuku---NYC

wings


Momofuku Ramen


Pork Bun

Tsukemen

I wanted to try Momofuku (Lucky Peach) opened by Korean American chef David Chang (I saw an article on him in the New York Magazine last year.) It is nestled between 10th and 11th streets on 1st Avenue. There is no big sign hailing it but in this tight small space with a long communal table and seats along the wall you are greeted by a mainly young student and young profossional crowd. (My mom was one of two people over the age of 40 there easily). My pal came along (Leewa) a little later and we tried the Pork Bun (with Berkshire pork) $9 (Chang's take on Char Siu Bao). Then we had the chili ginger wings. My mom had the tsukemen (cold noodles with peas, pork and served with broth. Leewa and I got the Momofuku ramen $14 with a poached egg, Berkshire Pork, Peas, Nori sheet, noodles in a nice simple broth.

My mom wanted more leafy veggies. I told her there were not a lot of them in Japanese noodles/ramen. She thought the peas were a novel idea and she took my nori strips though. The broth was light and the cold noodles were favored by her. She dislikes scallions and there was alot them on her ramen.

The wings were good and just panfried but good marinade. The pork buns were simple flavors but good.

Food from Asia Travels ---December 2006

I had a great time eating and travelling while in Japan and Korea last December. Plus it was the first time I used my brand spanking new digital (thanks boss!). I finally joined the digital age.

Here are some highlights to get the bulk of the food pics of ASIA go here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nodame88/collections/72157600016145033/

But I will include some faves.

I love Asian food and I got some great stuff from trying fugu, Morioka style crackers, sashimi (around Tsukiji Fish Market), excellent sake, foods at an izakaya (equivalent to a pub/bar here), unagi (three tastes style in Nagoya to the eki bento), and holiday cakes! In South Korea, I had great pojangmacha food (from the street vendors) the rice cakes were the bomb---got some in gangnam, other great eats around Namdaemun and Dongdaemun,homemade soups---seaweed, tofu, ginseng chicken soup, different types of kimchee, mandoos, Red Mango yogurt, seafood soup and other great stuff.

Thanks to my great hosts for humoring me and introducing me to some great stuff! The kaiseki in Morioka was awesome!

Cafe Lalo-brunch in upper west side

Then I went to Upper West side to Cafe Lalo known for their european style desserts and brunch got off at 86th on the 1 (local) as the 2 and 3 are express. I got there before Leewa as he miscaclculated and could not get a cab crosstown at all. (Turned out there was a parade which was the reason why the cabbies refused). So, he ended up hoofing it over. We were seated pretty quickly. (I had already put my name in a half hour prior.)


It is a cute spot with many Cafe Lalo prints on the walls, a dizzying cake display to tempt any sweet tooth, but like any New York establishment, space is at a premium. We ended up sitting along the windows at the "side bar". The waitstaff was very friendly and helpful.
We both got the same thing save the Lalo Paradise smoothie one had yogurt $6 (mixture of tropical fruit-mango, papaya, strawberries, bananas, kiwi, cantaloupe, and pineapple) the other not and the moroccan breakfast served with pita bread $11(consisted of eggs, fresh tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, spices, jalapeno peppers, tricolored bell peppers with fresh herbs). Then we had for dessert the chocolate raspberry cake (very decadent rich and definitely a great choice for chocolate lovers!).

Texas Steakhouse

Cinnamon butter and dinner rolls

bucket of peanuts

cup of chili

Last night, I went out to the Texas Roadhouse Steakhouse with my buddy CC. He wanted to thank me for all my help over the years with all the great volunteering opportunities and gigs. He has been a good buddy over the last few years at least 7! Wow time has flown! Whenever I am involved with a community organization, gala, event I know I can ask him for assistance. So we met up and had steak. I had other options but once in a while I want to enjoy a good steak.
It was my first time there but if you take public transport, not very convenient as it is a good 10-15 minute walk from Wellington Station. We did witness a few bdays that night. They put the person on this saddle and then put the "light" on you. From there, they ask the whole restaurant to say a nice and loud "yeeee haw" to the birthday recipient. (I admit better than the Bugaboo Creek chant of "Happy Bday" multiple times coupled with clapping. I had celebrated a bday there and heard it one night seriously 20 times. A record and bit of annoyance to be truthful.)

There is a peanut bucket. (I did not partake). I had one too many of the awesome dinner buns with the delicious cinnamon butter. I opted for the medium size --16 oz prime rib medium rare (boy was it rare and a bit too chewy). CC assured me it is usually not this chewy. They were not kidding when they said it was bloody, which is fine with me but I wish it was not so chewy. HMMMM. The mash potatoes and gravy were tasty. The chili was just right too. By the end of the meal, I had no room for dessert! It was a good meal for value and being a chain. (I cannot have the same standards for some chi chi place to compare with this place anyways.)

Thanks CC for a great meal!

Stoli-Russian restaurant in Brookline Village (not the vodka)

Before my bro left back to the left coast, we took him to STOLI a Russian dining establishment as our first choice was closed. The sleek styling and of red was cool and looked uber hip (if it was nighttime). I was reminded a bit of the now extinct but fave bar club Pravda 116 now the current Gypsy Bar in the heart of Boston by Boston Commons. We entered there was no one inside and we had to as "is anyone there?" a few times. Luckily this was no future indication of what was to come...

But after we got our waiter, service was fine. We got the lunch specials and we had the borscht (beet soup), mushroom soup and karcho (lamp spicy soup) then a mixed salad (mesclun greens with salt pepper oil and vinegar). For our main entrees my bro got the Georgian dumplings served with sour cream, I got the stuffed cabbage and peppers served with a tomato sauce and my sis got the beef stroganoff with mash potato. My bro loved the karcho, beef stroganoff the best! My sis the mushroom soup and beef stroganoff. I think the warm chocolate mousse cake crepe and apple strudel both served with ice cream were my faves.

For the soups, the karcho had the best overall flavor with the spiciness and great lamb bits, the mushroom soup was light and flavorful, the borscht was simple but delicious. The Georgian dumplings were not that extraordinary as Asians we have consumed a variety of dumplings in our lives so this was not that special. The stuffed cabbage did not wow me nor the tomato sauce which was nice but lacked in the flavors and spices I am used. The beef stroganoff was the most flavorful but rich in texture and flavor due to the cream but after a few bites I was grateful to eat my entree. The warm chocolate mousse cake crepe was a sight to behold and the scoop of ice cream was a great touch. Yum! The apple strudel was simple and delightful.

This place is a bit pricey for lunch. But I guess if you consider you get choice of two soups and salad (no Karcho) it costs about $12-15.

Pomodoro in Brookline Village

BrSunday night, I met up with ALEE. It has been a while but she is a sweetie pie. I always love seeing her. She also went to a 7 sisters college as well. I just learned she went to her alma mater due to her parents. Cool chick and always great company.

This establishment also has another location in the North End and both do not take anything other than cold hard cash. My friend ALEE is on first name basis with the owner. Knowing the owner has its perks---glass of champagne (ok to lure us from our table to seat a party who had rsvped) or free appetizer of fried calamari. Yummy!

The bread was delicious and accompanied with the quality olives and olive oil, heaven! The nice chewiness and texture had a rustic feel to it. The calamari was just right lightly breaded and not overly greasy. The dipping tomato sauce was nice and thick with tomato chunks and not runny spaghetti sauce like sauce at other restuarants.

My seafood fra diavolo ($22) was a perfect blend of wi spicyiness and seafood chunks studding the dish with squid, clams, mussels, shrimp making it a heavenly dish. ALEE got the risotto with crab (got a pair of claws) ($22) and it was not overly done and great creaminess and the flavors were great. We did get dessert a trio of creme brulees ($8) in three tiny expresso mugs. Later we realized each one had a different fruit on the bottom (except for the middle one which was plain). The creamy texture and the nice hardened sugar crust was just right. Though in three small cups, it was a lot to have to consume.

Our drinks were good, I got a pomegrante martini ($8) which I thought was lovely. Not overly fruity but had enough bite of alcohol.

The restaurant space is definitely bigger than the North End location and much more inviting. I loved the exposed brick wall all around furnishings.