Category

Curry Hill

• Curry Hill, Delis, Specialty Markets

  Cheapish Lunch at Kalustyan’s – NYC

  01.10.11 | Permalink | 4 Comments

  

  Kalustyan’s is one of those special places in New York I love visiting. It’s a treasure trove for any spice imaginable. Need peppercorns? They have black peppercorns from Ecuador, Brazil, Kerala, Lampong, Malabar, Sarawak, and Thalassery (Tellicherry). (They also carry Szechuan pepper, but Chinatown is cheaper.) Besides spices, they also carry a lot of sweets. Usually when I’m in the area, I stop in for some Lebanese halva for my BF. He loves the stuff. But last week, I discovered Kalustyan’s is good for more than just sweets and spices. If you’re looking for quick bite, a tasty sandwich awaits you upstairs. MORE »

• Curry Hill, Giveaway

  Halloween Giveaway – NYC

  10.27.10 | Permalink | 28 Comments

  

  Remember those old ladies that used to give you apples instead of candy on Halloween. Seriously, I wanted to egg those people’s apartments. It was like, ‘Lady, I don’t want your cyanide tainted apples!’ The purple raisin boxes were even worse. I’m sure the little old grannies meant well, but the last thing a child wants on Halloween is fruit. Now as an adult, I wouldn’t mind getting a piece of fruit on Halloween. Especially if that fruit was a persimmon. I love me my persimmons; the crunchy kind (fuyu), the mushy kind (hachiya), and even the dried kind. [For me, dried persimmons are mandatory in a proper soojunggwa (수정과), Korean cinnamon punch.]

  So what about you guys? What fruit wouldn’t you mind getting on Halloween? Submit your answer in the comments and one lucky reader will receive a gorgeous fruit basket from Manhattan Fruitier called the Cortland Hamper ($85 retail value). Trust me, you won’t want to egg my apartment after getting this basket. MORE »

• Curry Hill, Restaurants

  Dinner at Chinese Mirch – NYC

  07.16.09 | Permalink | 10 Comments

  Taste is highly subjective and often influenced by nostalgia and fond childhood memories. For example, my brother loves General Tso’s chicken, the pervasive dish found at most Chinese take-outs in America, but found nowhere in China. Me, I wouldn’t order it unless it was the only thing on the menu at the last restaurant left standing after the apocalypse. That said, to a certain extent, I like similarly battered, fried, and viscous sauce-coated foods at Korean-Chinese restaurants. [Ganpoog sehwoo (깐풍새우, fried shrimp in a spicy soy ginger sauce) is my favorite, but tangsooyook (탕수육, sweet and sour beef) reminds me of eating out when I was a kid. We used to order it a lot because my brother liked it.] It is what is. Chinese fast-food interpreted for another culture. If you don’t expect an authentic gourmet meal, you won’t be disappointed.

  This was the case when I went to Chinese Mirch (an Indian-Chinese restaurant in Curry Hill) with Simrit, one of my besties from Parsons. She warned me in advance. “You won’t like it, it’s something Indian people crave because they grew up with it” she said, but I didn’t really understood until a few bites into the meal. MORE »

• Announcements, Curry Hill, Small Shops

  Jalebis at Curry in a Hurry & 3 Buck Bites – NYC

  05.05.09 | Permalink | 2 Comments

  

  After a mouth-scorching meal in Curry Hill, I always crave something sweet, something intensely sweet to counter the fire burning in my belly. My favorite Indian sweets are jalebis. At Curry in a Hurry, these sticky saffron-hued coils of fried batter are crispy on the outside and soaked with sugary syrup on the inside. Sold by the pound, around eight to ten jalebis — more than a sane person can eat in one sitting — will cost you about $2.38 ($7/pound). Jalebis are great paired with a cup of hot masala chai, but I gobbled these down with a disgusting chai latte at the Starbucks in the Union Square Barnes & Nobles because the BF wanted to read. The things you do for love. MORE »