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Fast Food, Small Shops
More Plate Lunches – Honolulu
08.18.10 | Permalink | 2 Comments

Lots of plate lunches were had in Honolulu (some good, some bad, all humongous), but my favorite plate lunch was at Monarch Seafoods with Yummy Korean B-B-Q coming in at a close second. Monarch was great for incredibly fresh seafood, and Yummy Korean B-B-Q for surprisingly good galbi (갈비, Korean beef ribs, also spelled kalbi) from a fast food court. MORE »
Street Eats
North Shore Seafood Trucks – Oahu
08.05.10 | Permalink | 8 Comments

According to Joohyun, my friend’s awesome sister who deserves the “Best Sister Award” for acting as our culinary food guide last year in Seoul, I had to try Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck in Oahu. Unfortunately, the day David and I hit up the North Shore for some surfing and bomb-ass shrimp, Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck was out of commission. No fear, parked next door were three more food trucks open and ready for business. Shrimp were surely to be eaten that day. MORE »
East Village, Restaurants
Dinner at Momofuku Ssäm Bar – NYC
07.02.10 | Permalink | 8 Comments

When I have guests from out-of-town, I always recommend Momofuku Ssäm Bar. Why? Simply put, because the restaurant is freakin’ awesome. Or to be more specific, Momofuku Ssäm makes insanely good well-crafted food that could be served in a four-star restaurant in a casual atmosphere. Unfortunately, friends are not always convinced, especially if they’re Korean. Their mentality is that while they’re in New York, they don’t want Korean food. However, Momofuku Ssäm isn’t a Korean restaurant. It’s New American with Asian influences, Korean being one of the more prominent influences. And even if they’re not Korean, they don’t want to go to Ssäm because they haven’t heard of the restaurant. They rather go to Lombardi’s or Magnolia Bakery (Lombardi’s I like, Magnolia I do not). Well, seems this year things are changing. Ever since Momofuku’s cookbook came out last year, all of sudden the Momofuku restaurants have become New York destinations.

Last month, when Alvin came to visit and said he wanted to go to Ssäm, I was stoked. I love taking people to places I love. It’s a win-win situation, for them and my belly.

I began dinner with the Seven Spice Sour, togarashi infused sake, fresh lime juice, and yuzu. I loved it. It wasn’t spicy, but it was clean, crisp, tangy, and not too sweet. I ordered another as soon as I finished it. Alvin ordered the Celery & Nori, which he said he liked, but wished the nori flavor was stronger. MORE »
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 »
Alphabet City, Announcements, East Village, Restaurants, Small Shops
Moving to the East Village – NYC
04.08.10 | Permalink | 8 Comments

For those who were interested in my apartment hunt, I have great news. I finally found an apartment, and I’ll be calling the East Village home at least for the next two years. I’ll miss the Lower East Side and the close proximity to Chinatown (I did a late night walk through Chinatown yesterday and it was indeed very sad), but I’m consoled by my new delicious neighbors: Porchetta, Luke’s Lobster, Momofuku, Ippudo, and Veloce Pizzeria. (The pizza part I’m especially excited about. Nights when I craved pizza, it was torturous when all my favorite pizzerias refused to deliver below Houston. I will be pizza-less no more!) The next two years should be quite tasty.
Fast Food, West Village
Tacos & Hot Dogs at New York Hotdog & Coffee – NYC
03.10.10 | Permalink | 11 Comments

Korean tacos were the craze last year because of the Kogi truck in L.A., but if you’re looking for Korean-Mexican fusion in New York, don’t go looking for it at New York Hotdog & Coffee on Bleecker, the first American outpost of the fast food chain in Korea. The tacos there are more of a Korean person’s loose interpretation of Mexican food with Korean ingredients, but it’s still tasty, and a great spot if you’re babysitting or happen to be drunk. MORE »
Gadgets
Pasta Maker Circa 1973 – Seoul to NYC
03.01.10 | Permalink | 6 Comments

My dad moved to New York first, leaving my mom, my older brother, and me in Seoul until he settled in. A year later, my dad called and told my mom it was time to make the big move. My mother immediately went out and got the tightest perm possible, because who knew if she would be able to find a decent Korean hair salon in New York, and my grandmother immediately packed up her pasta maker (circa 1973) for her daughter, because who knew if she would be able to find fresh Korean noodles in New York. So that’s how my mom came to the States, with a Korean afro, two kids, and a pasta maker in tow. MORE »