Food: ☆☆
Service: ☆☆
Ambiance: ☆ 1/2
Cost: $
I recommend: Wonton with Spicy Sauce, Sesame Pancake Sandwich.
Strolling around Chinatown one day, my interest was piqued by the hustle bustle at a neat looking dumpling house. That’s how I discovered Vanessa’s Dumpling House on Eldridge Street. Vanessa’s works like a well-oiled machine and is run by an all women crew – love that! Continue reading
Take a trip to Southeast Asia by eating at Jean-George Vongerichten’s Spice Market. The cuisine here is inspired by regional street food combined with Vongerichten’s distinctive touch. The interiors are resplendent and definitely make you feel like you are in some exotic locale of Asia. There are decorative pagodas and arches that adorn the enormous space and a grand staircase that leads to the hopping bar area downstairs. All of this makes for a really great spot to hang out at where one is stylishly served by waiters and scantily clad waitresses, dressed in bright orange hues. Continue reading
Food: ☆☆☆☆ 1/2 Ambiance: ☆ Service: ☆☆☆ Price: $ Overall experience: ☆☆☆ I recommend: Crispy Watercress Salad, Soft Shell Crab with Curry Powder, Steamed Whole Fish with Lime Juice.
Chao Thai is one of Elmhurst’s food treasures. It’s the kind of place that really makes Queens famous for having some of the best ethnic eats in New York City. This tiny eatery couldn’t be more than 200 sq. ft, but they sure have packed in some flavor into that small space. Continue reading
Sushi of Gariis the abode of celestial sushi! Chef Masatoshi “Gari” Sugio in his brilliant creations has redefined sushi completely. Gari set out to educate Americans on how to truly enjoy the delicate flavors of sushi without dousing it in globs of wasabi and soy sauce. In doing so, he has masterfully paired the finest fish with the most innovative toppings and sauces. So, when the sushi is presented to you at Sushi of Gari, it is complete in itself and requires no additional flavoring to be added.
If you are looking for an other worldly experience at Gari, then don’t try any of the “regular” items on the menu. Skip the appetizers and go for the gold. All the food is really good at Gari but the thing to really have is the “Sushi Special“ or the “Omakase“( chef’s choice). Be prepared to spend spend spend but for food this good – who needs to save for college anyway!! Continue reading
Well over 15 years ago, when I was visiting Sri-Lanka, I had one of the best meals at the home of one of the local residents. I can’t remember what I ate but just remember it being one of those truly unforgettable meals. Ever since then, I have been trying to find shadows of that meal somewhere….anywhere …….here in New York City.
My search led me to Sigri on the Lower East Side. Sigiri is perched in a small space on top of an ethnic gorcery store right around the Bangladeshi- Indian Restaurant Row on East 6th street. Continue reading
BKNY is so aptly named because once you enter this restaurant, you really are transported from New York to Bangkok – at a fraction of the cost!
This fabulous find is a real jewel in a part of Queens where really good ethnic food is very hard to find. BKNY was opened in 2006 and has been serving up phenomenal Thai cuisine ever since. The owner Usai has managed not only to bring the authentic flavors of Thailand here to New York but also the unmatched warmth and hospitality that can only be truly Thai. Continue reading
Ever been to a Vietnamese Restaurant and not had Pho?
I have!
Pho Bang serves up some of the tastiest, bang for your buck eats one can find. The average cost for a dish is between $5-6 and boy do they feed you well. When we went, there were 7 of us. We ate like maniacs- ordered all the meats from shrimp to beef and the bill only came to about $60!! Now that’s a deal. My most favorite thing to eat at Pho Bang is the grilled pork. I think they have mastered their pork dishes. If you don’t eat pork there is plenty you can substitute with.
Here is some of what we ate:
GOI CUON
The Goi Cuon is a Vietnamese summer roll, which is wrapped with rice paper and stuffed with cooked shrimp, pork, green leaves, and mint, bean sprouts and rice noodles. It is served with a tangy peanut sauce.
I thought their summer rolls were pretty decent. I like my rolls more on the delicate side so when I saw them brining out a big lump of a roll I didn’t think I would like it at all. When I tried it though I thought it was quite tasty. I couldn’t eat more than a few bites of the roll. I found it got too mundane after a few bites.
TOM BO NUONG VI
The Tom Bo Nuong Vi is a table grilled marinated shrimp and beef dish, which is cooked at your table. It is then served with rice papers, greens and delicately pickled raw veggies and a dipping sauce. This dish was delightful. The dish came on a bed of flavored oil, which is used as a cooking medium on the grill.
While the meats are cooking, we soaked the rice papers in a bowl of water and waited for them to soften. Once the meat is cooked, we wrapped the meat/ shrimp alongside with all kinds of green leaves they provide – such as lettuce, mint and cilantro. We then topped it off with some fresh jalapeños and the dipping sauce and …………well you just have to try it to experience the yumminess of it all.
BAHN TAP
TheBahn Tap is my most favorite dish of all. Bahn Tap is an appetizer in which thin pieces of grilled marinated pork are served on a bed of shrimp flavored chips. It is topped off with crunchy, fried garlic and roasted peanuts. This dish is served with mixed greens and the way to eat it is to wrap the shrimp chips and pork in a lettuce leaf and top it of with cilantro, mint and jalapeños. I think this dish has the perfect combination of all the textures and flavors that good food should. It has the perfect marination for the thin pork, the crunch of the chips and the greens, which are both to different and yet come together to make perfection. The jalapeños add the right amount of spice and interest to this dish.
BUN TOM XAO/ BUN THIT NUONG
We also ordered the Bun Tom Xao, which is a sautéed shrimp on rice vermicelli, and a Bun Thit Nuong, which is marinated grilled pork, served on rice vermicelli. Both of these dishes are eaten with greens just as the above dishes. Both these dishes were very good too.
BAHN MI CA RI GA
I’m not a fan of chicken in Vietnamese cuisine. I feel that they do their other meats so much better but the chicken curry dish that we tried really pleasantly surprised me. The Bahn Mi Ca-Ri Ga is a chicken stew with potatoes. It is hearty stew that is simmered with curry powder and coconut milk. It was really outstanding. The stew had been simmered to the perfect texture where the curry was thick and really delicious.
COM CHEIN GA HOAC HEO
We also ordered a Com Chein Ga Hoac Heo, which is Vietnamese chicken fried rice with green peas. The fried rice on its own was okay but it went very well with the Bahn Mi Ca-Ri Ga (chicken stew).
I just love Pho-Bang. Its one of those places that you get an urge to go and eat at every few weeks. The digs are- well Chinatown – but with food so good and prices so cheap – who cares!! The staff is a cut above the Chinatown rest. In the noisy bustle and quick turn around of tables, they are quite proud of the good eats that they serve up on a daily basis.
MY RATINGS FOR THIS MEAL
Food: ☆☆☆☆
Ambiance: ☆
Service: ☆1/2
Price: $
Overall experience: ☆☆☆
I recommend: Bahn Tap, Tom Bo Nuong Vi, Bahn Mi Ca-Ri Ga
