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Restaurants
Fire Noodles in Black Bean Sauce – Palisades Park
06.22.10 | Permalink | 9 Comments

I’ve been going to Mandarin, a Chinese-Korean restaurant in Palisades Park, for years. They have best jajangmyun (자장면, wheat noodles in black bean sauce) in the area because of their noodles. The noodles are made in-house, and to attest to this fact, they used to have a monitors in the dining area showing the cooks hand-pulling the noodles in the kitchen. Now the monitors show Korean programming. I guess the people working out front got tired of watching the back of the house day in, day out. In any case, the noodles are still good, and late last year I learned about their buljajajangmyun (불자장면, literally “fire jajangmyun”) through my brother’s friend, Young. By the way, I have a somewhat funny story about him. When I started this blog, I used to get a lot of weird comments that I attributed to an evil troll. Later on, I discovered it was Young. See, “somewhat funny.” I guess pestering your friend’s little sister never ends, even when she’s no longer little. Regardless of the source, since then, buljajangmyun has become a favorite of mine and my brother’s. MORE »
Chinatown, Small Shops
Cheapo Lunch at Lunch Box Buffet – NYC
04.28.10 | Permalink | 4 Comments

Ying Du, especially without roast duck, gets old after a while so when work load permits, I change it up with some Chinatown steam table action at Lunch Box Buffet. The first time I went a few years ago, I went after work and it was godawful. Everything tasted old, and the free soup tasted exactly what you imagine free soup to taste like: tepid water with salt. Lunch, however, is a different story; complete night and day. Two weeks ago, I actually went two days in a row. I would have made it three days had something not happened on the second. MORE »
LES, Small Shops
I Heart Buns at Baohaus – NYC
04.20.10 | Permalink | 9 Comments

I love crusty cracklin’ baguettes, but I also love white pillowy steamed buns. Filled with pork, even better. Filled with quality pork at a price lower than the buns at Momofuku, I’m head over heels. MORE »
Chinatown, Restaurants
Dim Sum at Golden Unicorn – NYC
03.29.10 | Permalink | 13 Comments

I don’t do it enough, but I love dim sum on the weekends. Even if the dim sum offerings in New York aren’t too imaginative, it’s still a nice change of pace from the typical brunch. (I mean really, how many eggs can you eat every single weekend?) In Manhattan, as of now, 88 Palace is my favorite, but I’ve recently started liking Golden Unicorn. It’s one of the more well-known spots and for good reason. The food is good (albeit greasy), the restaurant is cleaner than other dim sum joints (if you’re into that kind of thing), and you don’t have to share a table (sharing is not caring). Usually I don’t mind sharing a table at Chinese restaurants, but some days, especially in the mornings, I don’t want to get up close and personal with my fellow New Yorkers. That’s what New York subways are for. MORE »
Chinatown, Restaurants
Exploring Across the Street at Famous Sichuan – NYC
02.22.10 | Permalink | 6 Comments

Whenever my family comes to visit me in Manhattan, we usually go to Joe’s Shanghai because we’re all addicted to their soup dumplings. Yes, I know everyone likes to hate on Joe’s Shanghai these days, but we still love their xialongbao. Sure, it’s not as delicate as the crabmeat buns at Din Tai Fung in Hong Kong, or as cheap as a million other places in Taiwan, but I have room in my heart and stomach for all kinds of xialongbao. Fill it with soup, and I will eat it. Last month, however, I told my family I wanted to go somewhere else, somewhere completely different… the place across the street from Joe’s Shanghai, Famous Sichuan! They didn’t seem very excited, but I promised them if it was bad we could always go to Joe’s, and they begrudgingly relented. I don’t believe in democracy when it comes to food. MORE »
Restaurants
The Overpriced & The Bad – Las Vegas
02.02.10 | Permalink | 9 Comments

Sorry for jumping back and forth, but sometimes deliciousness throws me off track. Linear blogging is so “aughts” anyway.

At any rate, “The Overpriced & The Bad” focuses on two of my not so great experiences in Vegas; one a semi-miss and one a complete and utter mother of all misses. Not every meal can be hit, and here’s proof. MORE »
Midtown, Restaurants
Lunch Specials at Lan Sheng – NYC
01.25.10 | Permalink | 14 Comments

Two weeks ago, as is the case when my coworker, Taiwai, and I both happen to be “bag lunchless,” a half hour before noon, we were busy plotting lunch. Usually we get Chinese, he being Chinese and I having been Chinese in a past life (in another I was Indian, another Jewish, and another Italian). Hing Won was considered — it usually is — but then I remembered I hadn’t tried Lan Sheng yet; the newish Szechuan place across the street from Szechuan Gourmet. He mentioned his wife tried it the week before, and said it wasn’t as good as Szechuan Gourmet, so I quickly moved on to researching new Indian lunch options, when Taiwai imed me, “a place that has rabbit at least deserves some respect.” Yes, true, especially in Midtown. Lan Sheng deserved a shot, so off we went. MORE »