Hibino

I finally made it to Hibino last night, a Japanese restaurant on a residential stretch of Cobble Hill. Located at the corner of Henry and Pacific streets, the restaurant serves the usual Japanese fare, as well as daily "Obanzai" specials, or home-style Japanese version of tapas. The food is very good - simple, unfussy and satisfying. The sushi was also the best I've had in a long time. The service was also great, our waitress was attentive but not obstrusive, appearing at all of the right times.

To start, we ordered one of the obanzai specials: the curry croquette, which came with a thick ponzu dipping sauce and the Hirousu, which are tofu cakes served with a mild soy broth. The curry croquette looked like a McDonald's hash brown and tasted sort of like a samosa. That description doesn't sound appetizing, but it was actually my favorite dish.

Our bill for two obanzai (obanzais?), two rolls of sushi, a glass of wine and a glass of beer came out to about $35. That's a pretty good deal.

http://www.hibino-brooklyn.com/

Vegetable Soba Noodle Soup

I love this dish because it's healthy, versatile and super quick and easy to make. It's the perfect meal on a cold winter night...it's guaranteed to warm you up! You can use whatever vegetables you want....spinach, bok choy, carrots, mushrooms, cabbage...my favorite is a combination of carrots, tofu and enoki mushrooms. The following recipe serves one with a little bit extra.

Ingredients:
Half of a brick of firm tofu, cubed
1 scallion, chopped loosely
1 carrot, sliced into thin pieces
1/3 package of enoki mushrooms (the weird looking ones with the long white stalk and a very small head)
2 cups of water
1 teaspoon of hon-dashi (seafood flavoring, you can find this in any japanese grocery store, M2M in Manhattan sells it, it comes in a small round jar with a red cap. you can find it in the spices aisle)
1 1/2 tablespoon of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of miso (available in many regular grocery stores and all japanese grocery stores)
1 small fistful of dried soba noodles

Directions:
Bring 2 cups of water to a boil
stir in the hon-dashi and soy sauce
Add the carrots and bring down to medium heat
After a few minutes, add the tofu
After another 5-7 minutes add the mushrooms
In a small dish, mix a spoonful of the broth with the miso, until it turns in to the consistency of a thick paste
Add the miso paste to the broth and stir
While you're working on the broth, bring another pot of water to boil
Add the soba noodles and cook according to the instructions on the package (probably will instruct you to cook the noodles for 6 minutes)
Drain the noodles, place in your serving bowl
By now, your soup will be done. Ladle the soup into the bowl with the soba noodles
Garnish with scallions
Sesame seeds would also be a nice finishing touch.

Sariwa

I noticed a new restaurant...actually I wouldn't call it a tiny restaurant, it's such a tiny space...it's more of a take-out place, on 16th street at Prospect Park West. The new restaurant, a Filipino place called Sariwa, has a short menu and serves up foods like Chicken Adobo and Beef Empanadas. Best part has to be the fact that it delivers to my neighborhood! Amar and I decided on an order of Chicken Adobo, a beef empanada, Vegetable Lumpia (spring rolls stuffed with green beans, jicama, carrots and tofu) and Pancit, a traditional Filipino dish of rice noodles sauteed with cabbage, carrots and green beans.

Overall, the food was pretty good but it appears that Sariwa is still working on its delivery skills. The food was a bit late and while Amar's food was piping hot, my Chicken Adobo was icey cold.

The Chicken Adobo reminded me of a dish my Dad often cooks back home: he stews chicken or pork, potatoes and hard-boiled eggs for hours in a soy sauce mixture until the the meat is falling off the bones. It's the ultimate comfort food and is just the right thing on a chilly and windy night. Anyways, this Chicken Adobo had a very similar taste. The Chicken is stewed in a soy sauce, vinegar and garlic mixture until the meat is tender and has both a salty and tangy flavor. The extra soy sauce and vinegar sauce was a perfect dressing for the rice. I thoroughly enjoyed my dinner, too bad I had to reheat it first.

Amar decided to order a mish mash of things: two empanadas, spring rolls and a noodle dish. The Pancit was very good - the noodles were also cooked in vinegar so it had a very tangy and tart flavor. The spring rolls had a very distinct taste - different from Chinese, Vietnamese or Thai spring rolls. The spring rolls are lightly deep fried and stuffed with green beans, so the flavor is light and subtle, but has an almost meaty texture. I can't say much about the empanadas - it was dry and cold by the time I got to it.

Given a few more weeks, maybe a month or two, I think Sariwa will be really good. I'm just so excited that there's a new delivery option in my neighborhood! Click here for the menu.

PS - the Izzy/George storyline on Grey's is really getting on my nerves.

Province

Alright, so I'm not sure whether or not i've already written about Province, but I'm going to plug it again. Every time I go in there, it's always empty and I don't understand why because the food is EXCELLENT. Really good. Really authentic Chinese sandwiches. I blame it on the not so great location of the restaurant - it's at the corner of Church and Walker streets in Tribeca. It's kind of a random spot...straddling both Chinatown and Tribeca, but not in the center of either neighborhood. It's really too bad because if it was on a busier street, I think it'd do really well. The buns they serve are much better than the crap that's being doled out over at Momofuku Ssam. My favorite is the braised pork shoulder sandwich. The thick slabs of pork are tender, fatty and salty. A couple sprigs of cilantro, a few slices of pickled cucumbers and a thin layer of hoisin sauce accompany the meat. All of this is sandwiched in between two slices of chinese-style bun: soft and pillowy pieces of white bread that tastes much better than your average ho hum baguette or ciabatta. Province also serves chicken, steak, kimchi and pork sandwiches, soups, salads and dumplings. Best of all, each sandwich only costs $4.25. A pork sandwich and a cold Tsing Tao will only cost you $10. Side of shrimp-flavor chips included. Ok now I'm going to go watch Britney's VMA performance for the 10th time and cry into my pillow.

Ramen Setagaya

So there's been a lot of hype about Ramen Setagaya being waaaay more authentic than anything you can find at Rai Rai Ken, Momofuku, Minca, or the dozens upon dozens of other Japanese noodle bars around the city. As I'm always on the quest for the best noodle bar, I had to go to Setagaya, even if it meant waiting in line for 45 minutes. Jia, Jordan and I got there at 7 on a Friday night and the line was out the door. (Note: the restaurant is tiny and not conducive for big group meals. You shouldn't go with more than three other people.) We patiently waited in line for about 25 minutes, enviously watching the eating customers pick bouncy noodles out of their bowl and slurp their broth with gusto.

We are seated at the bar facing the chefs (yes! I get to wink and wave at the solemn Japanese cooks grilling pork!) I ordered the Shio (salt broth) ramen with BBQ pork (you have the choice between ramen, ramen or more ramen...not a restaurant with too much variety.)

They're not kidding when they say salt broth...cause that shit was salty! I mean like unbelievably salty...like I had to drink 2 pints of water afterwards before I felt normal again. That said, the broth was really flavorful...i can't believe they can make water taste that good without adding even a sprinkle of msg. The pork was soft and came apart really easily, almost like shredded chicken. The grilled edges added a nice bit of crunch to the meat. The egg was perfect - the yolk wasn't too runny, but also not chalky and crumbly...soft without feeling like you're drinking raw yolk. The bland taste of the egg white was a great compliment to the salty broth.

Oh and those noodles. The noodles held up incredibly well in the broth - they didn't get at all soggy or mushy, even after 15 minutes. It had the most interesting texture...it almost didn't taste like ramen. The noodles were chewy and had a slightly elastic feeling to them, like i was pulling long rubber bands out of my bowl.

Rai Rai Ken vs. Setagaya? Setagaya is the clear winner. Although, I prefer Rai Rai Ken's atomosphere. Hopefully Setagaya won't be such a zoo in a few months. I think I'll be making quite a few trips back to this place in the wintertime.

Dim Sum Go Go

The DC gals were in town this weekend for Nikki's birthday and I came up with the brilliant idea of getting dim sum on Saturday. The food at most dim sum places are extremely oily - I usually leave the restaurant feeling like there's grease oozing out of my pores and not wanting dim sum for another 6 months. Dim Sum Go Go is a bit smaller than the average dim sum restaurant, so it's not as loud and crazy as some other places. The dim sum is also served a la carte style - you check off the dishes you want on an order form and everything is made to order.

We ordered at least 10 different dishes - i didn't get to try everything but here are my favorites:
Snow Pea Leaf Dumplings
Shrimp Balls
Sesame Balls
Rice Roll with Shrimp

I've never had snow pea leaf dumplings before and these were delicious. The dumpling skins were thin and not too tough and the snow pea leaves were flavorful without being too salty. The shrimp balls were deep fried and crispy on the outside with soft pieces of shrimp inside. I love the consistency of rice rolls - the soft and slippery rolls just slide down the my throat.

Everything tasted great and best part about it was that nothing was too greasy. Even the sesame balls, which usually have the tendency of being overly oily. The portions were a little smaller other dim sum restaurants but well worth it anyways. I left the restaurant feeling perfectly satisfied and not gross and greasy. I'm definitely going back to try the other dishes on the menu!

Kuma Inn

There are those rare meals that you know you'll always remember. Not only does the food taste out of this world, but it also makes everyone at the table simply ten times happier and more energetic. I think tapas especially has this sort of effect on people, because you're not just having a meal together, you're sharing the experience of eating. I had one of those memorable dining experiences last night at Kuma Inn. The occasion was for Samantha's 24th birthday. Now, I know you all are going to think I'm biased towards this place, because I love any sort of Asian cuisine, but Kuma Inn really is amazing. Samantha and Sarah both raved about every dish and we all breathed collective "wow"s and "oh my god this is amazing"s after we tasted each dish.

The restaurant is located on a dark and run-down stretch of Ludlow street between Delancey and Rivington. It took me a while to find the place, because there's no awning or visible sign. Just a piece of white paper with the the words "Kuma Inn" printed neatly on it, tacked to a propped open door. The restaurant is located on the second floor of what appears to be an apartment building. The only things that give away the identity of the place are the dozens upon dozens of restaurant reviews and ratings from all the various newspapers and magazines, taped to the foyer's walls. You walk into the restaurant and practically walk smack dab into the open kitchen. Kuma Inn is small, there are no more than 12 tables. The decor is simple...actually it's kind of bland...blonde wooden tables and chairs, hard wood floors, white walls with minimal decoration. But it's great, because there's nothing to distract you from the food.

We decided to order two tapas each, so six in total. The first dish that our waitress served us was the Mixed Seaweed Salad with sesame and chili oil. The bright green seaweed strands were cool and refreshing and the sesame oil gave it a rich coating of flavor.

Next came the barrage of seafood dishes: steamed mussels in kaffir coconut lime curry, drunken spicy shrimp with sake and thai chilis and seared ahi tuna with a thai chili-miso vinagrette. The mussels were perfect tender little morsels of fresh meat. The mussel shells were perfect scooping vessels for the delicious lime curry sauce at the bottom of the bowl. The squares of seared tuna were a toasted brown color on the edges and a deep reddish purple at the center. The meat was amazingly tender - it was like eating sashimi...only 100 times better.

After the seafood dishes were delivered, the sauteed green market mushrooms with baby bamboo shoots, pork dumplings and chinese sausage arrived shortly thereafter. The chinese sausage is supposed to be one of their signature dishes, but I didn't think it was that spectacular. I thought the seafood dishes were way better. The meat was a little too tough and the sauce was extremely sweet and tart.

I was too busy wolfing down my food that I didn't remember to snap this picture til the end of our meal:















For dessert we ordered the coconut lime panna cotta and fried plantains. The pale green panna cotta, topped with one mint leaf and three blueberries, was served in a small glass tumbler. It was smooth, rich, fragrant, think...it was like a thinner custard. AMAZING. One of the best desserts I've had in a long time.

For 6 dishes (actually...now that I'm thinking back, i think we ordered an extra dish, so 7), 2 desserts and a coconut water, the bill came to about $80...a steal in my opinion for food that tasted so good.

Other highlights:
Sam Rockwell and the Mac Commercial Guy dining behind us!
BYOB!!
Foxy Brown and Lily Allen blasting from the speakers!

Go immediately...bring your friends, your loved ones, just tell someone about Kuma Inn!

Battle of the Brooklyn Noodle Soups

Yes, I know this is my second post in a row involving noodles - what can i say, I love mian tiao. I've made a few trips to the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn over the past few weeks. One time I was in the neighborhood picking up some groceries (ok, I was stocking up on rice), and I just happened to drive by a hole-the-wall noodle shop serving hand-pulled noodles. Hand-pulled noodles are made by stretching and twisting a solid chunk of dough into strands of thin and delicate noodles. It reminds me of a game of cat's cradle, except no string or children are involved. Just dough and old Chinese men. The noodle shop I'm referring to is called Lan Zhou Hand-Pulled Noodles and is located at 60th street and 8th ave.




























Aside from the beef and noodles, the soup also includes spinach, cilantro and a spoonful of preserved vegetables. The noodles are soft and chewy at the same time. The broth is flavorful, without being too salty. I am generally not a fan of preserved vegetables, but this time it added extra flavor to the soup.

My second trip to Sunset Park was caused mostly in part by a raving review of a Yunnan Noodle Shop I read on Chowhound. I had Yunnan rice noodles (mi xian) once in Bejing and I was curious to see if this place was truly authentic. Yunnan is a province located in the southwestern region of China. Their noodles are made with rice flour and are whiter and plumper than your average Chinese noodle.














Yunnan Snack Shop, another hole-in-the-wall restaurant located at 49th street and 8th avenue, similar to the Lanzhou Hand Pulled Noodles set-up. The soup looks pretty much the same too, but the flavors and textures are completely different. The Yunnan rice noodles are much chewier and kind of hard to swallow. I had to swallow a lot of them whole because I was having trouble biting down. This broth is also very spicy and more salty. Interesting flavor, but I'm not sure if I'll go back again. I definitely prefer the hand pulled noodles over the Yunnan rice noodles.

Korea Town

Kunjip is my favorite restaurant in KTown and nothing's more soothing than a spicy casserole on a cold night. Kunjip was packed as usual last night, around 9 o'clock, so packed that the hostess took our orders while we were in line, waiting for a table. Even though the place was crazy busy, the waitstaff was still incredibly courteous and efficient. About 45 seconds after we were seated, a waiter served us the Korean equivalent of a bread basket: little dishes of kimchi, jap chae (glass noodles stir fried with vegetables, seaweed tossed with some sort of vinegar sauce, pickled cucumbers, cold spicy potatoes and a steamed egg dish, with the consistency of a soft custard. The egg dish is almost exactly like a dish called dan geng my parents used to make when I was little, whenever i complained of a stomachache. All the little dishes are very delicious, a variety of different flavors and textures; it's alternately chewy and crunchy, spicy and sour. All this food even before we get our main course!

I ordered the Soon Dubu Chigae, which is soft tofu in spicy seafood broth, served in a clay pot. A side of steamed purple rice comes along w/ the chigae. I like to take a small spoonfull of rice and dip it in the steaming broth. The broth is so fragrant and flavorful, it warmed up my entire body. The texture of the tofu is smooth and soft, a nice compliment to the spicy broth. Amar orded the Bibimbob, which is rice, ground beef, fried egg and assorted vegetables served in a sizzling stone pot. The presentation of the bibimbob is enough to make anyone salivate. Brown ground beef, green and pale white sliced vegetables, bright yellow yolk and a dollop of deep red spicy paste.

A satisfying meal, completed by two complimentary bowls of cool cinnamon tea, a perfect way to end the meal and cleanse the palate.

And what just happens to be next door? Pinkberry, the crack of LA that recently made its entrance into New York. The place looks so Asian, I was expecting there to be a giant Hello Kitty stuffed animal waiting to greet me at the counter. I ordered the original flavor with a topping of fresh raspberries. The frozen yogurt tastes literally like frozen plain yogurt, not like the usual crappy frozen yogurt at other places that is pretty much tasteless and bland. Pinkberry's yogurt is distinctively sour, without a hint of sugar. I was a bit apprehensive after the first few bites, but the peculiar sour taste kept me intrigued. I've been thinking about the taste of the frozen yogurt all day, I'm definitely going back for more. Maybe I'll try the captain crunch topping next time.

A Glutinous Affair

FINALLY, after weeks and weeks of salivating just at the thought of eating some half-decent Chinese food, Amar and I went to Spicy and Tasty in Flushing last night. I've been to Flushing a few times, whenever my parents are in town. I think it's the eating in Flushing aspect of the trip to New York that excites them, not the precious time they get to spend with their only daughter. Sigh. Anyway, so I've only eaten around the further end of Main street, near the library. I've never ventured off onto the side streets before. Spicy and Tasty is located at the corner of 39th and Prince Street. I had no idea that Prince Street is a corridor of Asian epicurean heaven! Walking from the car the restaurant, we passed by two noodle shops, a malaysian restaurant, a seafood restaurant, a few standard chinese restaurants and a bubble tea salon. I was wild with hunger and desire.

Spicy and Tasty was everything I had hoped for...the food was spectacular. And I never use the word spectacular to describe anything. The cold dishes are prepared by a chef near at a food station near the front entrance. It's a great way to pump up customers waiting for a table. I practically had to ask for a tea cup to use to catch my drool. Clearly, as you can see from the picture below, I got a little too excited about the food. We ordered enough food for 4 people. Oops.
The appetizers were all excellent. I was a bit disppointed with the dan dan noodles. The noodles were a little too mushy and congealed. And the presentation was definitely a little lackluster. The shredded cold chicken and chengdu jelly were both outstanding. The name chengdu jelly is misleading - it's actually rice noodles, which just look like and have the consistency of jelly. The chili oil in both dishes were extremely fragrant and tasty. The shredded tofu and celery was very good as well, a cooling relief from all the spiciness of the other dishes. The tofu and celery dish had an after taste of whole peppercorns and some sort of herb - either dill or fennel (i think?) It filled the roof of my mouth with flavor.

Onto the main dishes. The Gong Bao Ji Ding (General Tso's Chicken) was pretty good. But, General Tso's Chicken is like Beyonce to me: OVER IT. The Fish in Chili Oil was extremely tender and not too oily, given that it is drenched in oil. I was expecting a whole fish swimming in a bowl...actually more like a basin of chili oil, which is how the dish is served in China. But, the dish is composed of fish filet. The sauteed pea sprouts was excellent - tender, soft leaves, with an extremely delicate flavor. The waitress recommended it as the best vegetarian dish.

Everything was amazing, but I think the appetizers were the superstars of the meal. The leftovers are in my fridge right now and every time i hope the fridge door, the amazing chili oil scent wafts out. They should bottle that stuff and call it "Eau'd Chinois". Or maybe "Szechuan" by Stella McCartney. Dab a little bit of it behind your ears and the girls will come chomping.

Momofuku Ssam

I've never been that interested in trying Momofuku Noodle Bar. Why wait 20 minutes outside in the freezing cold just so i can get a seat in a cramped restaurant and pay outrageous prices for ramen? I can just walk half a block to Rai Rai Ken and get a hot, piping bowl of Shoyu Ramen at lightening speed. But, I've been curious about Momofuku Ssam since it opened back in the Spring. I know they're know for their Ssams (Asian Burritos), but I wanted to try their steamed buns and see if theirs is any better than the ones at Province. The steamed buns come in a pair, I got one pork and one chicken. The shredded pork and chicken were both extremely tender. The pickled cucumber and carrot slaw were a cool, refreshing compliment to the meat. But, the buns were drenched in so much sauce and oil, that it started dripping everywhere the moment i picked up my bun. Not only did it get all over my hands, the excess oil rendered the bottom part of the buns wet and soggy! A nice, clear broth or noodle soup would have gone perfectly with the buns, but Ssam doesn't sell soup. How can you call yourself a Asian-themed restaurant if you don't have noodle soup! The only non-alcoholic beverages Ssam carries are Dr. Pepper, Smart Water and San Pellegrino Limonata. A strange grouping if you ask me. Call me a typical Asian, but what about a nice Oolong Tea? Or even Jasmine Tea, I'll take that.

Had I never tasted better buns, I probably would have thought that these were pretty damn good. But I have. At Province. The Pork Shoulder steamed bun at Province is amazing. The meat is tender and even the fatty part of the pork is delicious. The hoisin sauce and pickled cucumber are the same at both restaurants, but the extra sprig of cilantro in Province's buns adds another layer of freshness and taste.

Aside from the food, my experience at Ssam was pretty bizarre. When i first walked in, I thought the restaurant was closed for a private event. The restaurant was completely empty, aside from the a crew of photographers shooting a group of people surrounded by their macbooks and ssams. Seriously, I counted 3 macbooks. The cashier tells me the group of people are from the New York Times. I was trying to figure out if any of the dudes was Frank Bruni, but I have absolutely no idea what Frank Bruni looks like. I imagine him to be a middle-aged man on the heavier side, jolly and michievious, spreading alternately joy and dispair. Not unlike Santa. I couldn't figure out the theme of the shoot. Everyone was dressed in their normal writer/editor attire, you know, vintage...i mean...thrift shop flannel shirt, slouchy jeans, tousled hair, unruly beard/other form of facial hair, like they'd woken up at noon and had spent the majority of their day writing at the neighborhood Starbucks. Except one guy, who was wearing a pair of Nicole Ritchie-sized black sunglasses, with a large, thick scarf wrapped around his face.

So, it was me, eating my bun in a dark corner of the restaurant, and the entire staff of the Dining section of the New York Times laughing it up in the other corner, under bright spotlights. When I walked past their table to throw away my trash...ok fine, i specifically went to the garbage can in their corner so I could spy on them, I overheard the crew debating the merits of Padma Lakshmi as the host of Top Chef and the attractiveness level of Gordon Ramsey. Oh come on, how predictable. If they were talking about the Superbowl, who is going to win: the Patriots or the Green Bay Packers (or whatever teams are in the Superbowl this year), or....I don't know...how some girl in Canarsie found a fried rat mixed in with her Chinese take-out meal (seriously, that happened. I just watched the story on Fox) , now that would have a surprise.

Anyway, I think my experience at Ssam pretty much exemplifies the general position of Momofuku Ssam: loved and praised by the critics, mixed reviews from the masses.

Pak Punjab Deli

So I remembered reading about some hole-in-the-wall deli in the East Village that sells tasty Indian food on Chowhound awhile ago. Late Saturday night, while looking for pizza on 2nd ave. and 1st street, I spied a deli across the street called Pak Punjab Deli. The name sounded really familiar, so i went inside to check out the situation. And sure enough, behind the glass counter, I saw saag and chicken tikka masala and veggie samosas! Oh, and beef patties, of course. Pretty soon even retail stores in new york will start selling beef patties. The veggie samosas were $1.50 each and delicious! But, I'd also been drinking earlier, so anything would have tasted good at that point. I also learned who exactly is the definitive "biggest pussy in the world" from a fellow customer. The same guy then goes on to hit on two girls sitting at the counter eating their samosas. One just cannot talk about pussies and then chat up a girl in the same breath. At a deli. At 2:00 in the morning. While your "pussy-ass" friend is about to beat up some old man in front of the church next door. Sigh.