Restaurant Review: Mister Hotpot

Last week, I finally had the opportunity to use a Groupon that I had purchased to Mister Hotpot in Sunset Park.  Not too many pics were taken as I was too busy eating the deliciously fresh food that we've selected, so I apologize!  I absolutely love hotpot, so I was really excited to try this new joint out.  I walked out with a very satisfied tummy, but very empty wallet ... even with a $30 Groupon!

Lets start out with the Pros.  The food was indeed really fresh.  They also had a huge selection of balls to choose from, one of which I loooooved: the fish roe ball.  A must try if you ever stop by!  I also loved the herbal soup base.  We ordered some udon noodles (which was fresh and elastic btw) and every bite tasted like herbal soup.  It was delish!  Nom, nom, nom.  Each selection also came out in a really fancy dish, so I have to give presentation an A.  Service was great & attentive and the decor was nice, which made the stay even more enjoyable.

And now for the Cons.  We made a reservation for 7pm on a Saturday night and the place was packed.  There were 4 to 5 other parties waiting to be seated, and we all waited over half an hour for  a table.  It doesn't help that the restaurant is situated on 8th ave, on one of the busiest streets in Sunset Park with pollution and huge crowds.  We all had to wait outside the restaurant while salivating and staring into the window at all the other customers eating.  A few parties got so fed up, they decided to stop waiting and eat at a different restaurant =(.  

Another con is I was CONNED!  I pointed out that I wanted shrimp, which was $6 on the regular menu, but the waitress, who was just doing her job (and doing it well apparently), asked me if I wanted fresh shrimp.  Thinking that it was the same price, I said sure ... and it came out to be $15 for a handful of shrimp!  I can't blame it on anybody but myself, for being foolish, but I would appreciate it if she informed me that fresh shrimp came from the special menu, which wasn't the menu I was looking at.

Lastly, the broth base itself starts off at $15 (or more depending on your soup selection)!!  So on top of everything you plan to order is this $15, which can really do damage to your wallet.  

Needless to say, the meal was absolutely fab, but I walked out paying $15 for shrimp that I regretted ordering cause I was getting annoyed with peeling the shell off anyway, plus $15 for soup that I didn't know about till I received my check.  Besides the wait and the pricey meal, it was a gratifying dinner.  I'll visit again when I'm up for spending some money.

Pork bone and herbal soups

Oysters, tripe, fish roe balls, cuttlefish balls, Fujianese fish balls, Beef .... just some of the stuff we ordered

Restaurant Review: Ritz Cafe

After prolonging my visit to Ritz Cafe for a couple of years, I finally decided to give it a shot.  The "A" on their window assured me that it wouldn't be that bad of an experience.  I wouldn't give it an "A" for their food, but it was pleasant and worth another visit.

The main reason why the restaurant was appealing to me at first was its Hong Kong style dishes.  HK style may be a bit ambiguous to some  people, but to me, HK style cuisine is simply a conglomeration of Chinese and Western menu items.  Something as simple as having a cup of milk tea with a ham and egg sandwich can tempt you into a restaurant like this.  They serve rice noodles, congee and typical Chinese dishes, but you can also find items such as baked pasta or spaghetti with Chinese toppings.

Despite that, we opted for Chinese dishes, but I am more than willing to try some of their HK style menu items next time.

We started off with a Chicken satay.  It was more on the greasy side, as it was oozing with grease rather than the lighter grilled chicken satay, but it was still tasty.

The beef stew rice noodle casserole was probably our favorite.  Rice noodles were soft and the beef stew was tender and flavorful.  It was also a generous portion with a good amount of one of my faves, daikon radish.

I wasn't feeling too well that day, so I opted for a lighter seafood noodle soup.  Unfortunately, it was too light ... just bland.  The broth had no flavor whatsoever, so I had to add white pepper ... a lot of white pepper.

My bf had the Singapore rice noodle, which was okay.  The chicken in the stirfry tasted a bit off to him, but it was a good enough dish.

Overall, I'd give the food a 7.5 out of 10.  Service was good, other than our waiter mixing up one of our orders.  The decor was plain but the good part was: we caught up with our Olympics on their flat screen TV.

Worth another visit.  Next time, I will go for the HK style items.

BAD DREAM & CAKE!

Woke up at 8:50am on a Sunday morning.  That's very unlike me to wake up before 11am on a weekend.  But I had to do it, for survival, for my life!  I had a horrible dream this morning that nearly made me choke in my sleep.  I felt my heart pounding.  I felt my nerves.  I was trying to take the last part of my CPA exam in a "classroom-like" environment with a man sitting in front of me who was out to get me!  He was holding a grudge against me for something I've done in my dream (mind you, this man has recurringly appeared in several of my dreams, holding the same grudge ... very scary) so he was bugging me the entire time, distracting me from my test.  I got so fed up I told on him to the proctor (childish of me eh?) and started cursing him out.  The proctor arranged for me to sit somewhere else, but my mind was so boggled up due to seeing the man in the corner of my eye, that there was no way for me to focus and pass.  Fearing this, I forced myself up from my dream. LOL.  I feel like a kid again.

On a brighter note, my boyfriend got me these mini cakes from Financier Patisserie =).  It's a tiramisu on the right and a cheesecake on the left, two of my faves.  They were so yummy.  Not too sweet for cakes, which I like, and there was an apparent use of high quality ingredients.  Lady fingers in the tiramisu were soft and the amount of coffee you taste with every bite was just perfect.  The cheesecake was actually a moussey one, with a satisfying amount of cheese, topped with fresh raspberries.  LOVE!

Restaurant Review: Polonica

I've been wanting to try Polish food for a while now.  I've heard many raves about it, but never understood why because photos I've seen of the cuisine never defined what "good food" meant to me.  I finally discovered the reason behind this after having dinner at Polonica Restaurant in Bay Ridge, a boutique restaurant with one waiter and a little more than a handful of tables.

We walked in and waited a couple of minutes to be seated because there was only 1 wait staff in the entire restaurant, which was probably more than enough given the size of the restaurant, but a bit understaffed if all tables were full on a busy night.  It also took a while for us to finally get some water on our table, which was greatly needed at the time because it was a humid night and the restaurant wasn't too air-conditioned.  Nonetheless, these issues didn't bother my boyfriend and I because we're not demanding and we understood the circumstances.  All we cared about was the food!

Now for the food!  I have to say, Polish food probably isn't the most aesthetically appealing food to eat.  I don't often use shapes to describe food, but other than the lack of color in their dishes, odd shapes and the lack of garnishments also played a major role in its unattractiveness.  However, it was something different for our taste-buds and the unique combinations & cooking styles definitely make the cuisine note-worthy.  

For appetizers, we ordered the mushroom pierogi and Polish kielbasa.  Again, they're not photogenic but they were pretty tasty!  The pierogis, or Polish dumplings, were filled with potato and mushrooms and accompanied by some sour cream.  It was a unique combination and unlike the usual Chinese dumplings that we order out or make at home.

Couldn't stop cracking up after taking this pic ... but it was good!

This is one of those days when you want to kick yourselves for trying to be "health conscious" and go for boiled instead of fried.  I think the sausage (kielbasa) would've been more appealing to look at if it was fried, but what can we do.  We ordered the boiled one and ... well ... you can see for yourselves in the pic above.  LOL.  Don't be fooled by the pic though, it was homemade and actually quite good sided with the mustard.

For the entrees, we ordered the Hungarian pancake with meat (recommended by my boyfriend's Polish coworker) as well as the stuffed cabbage.  The pancake resembled a big hash brown, which excited my "healthy" bf lol.  He liked it so much he ate nearly 2/3 of one before trying anything else, and was full by then.  The smart one on the other hand (no need to mention names ... LOL) had 1/3 only and had room to taste AND enjoy the other dishes.  The stuffed cabbage resembled a healthier version of a burrito.  It was filled with pork and rice and topped with a tomato based sauce.

 

One of my favorite dishes of the night was this side salad for every party.  It was sooooooooo appetizing!  When they placed it on my table, all I thought of was Korean banchap, except it was yummier!   The red cabbage and carrots were picked and the beets were just delish!  Coleslaw and sauerkraut I've had before so I kind of just pushed them to the side, but oh-em-gee the carrots, red cabbage and beets were uh-mazing!

There you have it, our first Polish meal.  We cleaned our plates into our expanded stomaches.

Restaurant Review: Jean Philippe

I woke up this morning with one thing in my mind:  I'm fat.  Not only did I wake up extremely bloated from eating a whole package of Chinese pickled cabbage an hour before bedtime, but I had a dream about crepes.  LMAO!  Dreams are so odd.  Frankly I haven't had a single thought about crepes recently.  I don't know where the dream came from and what triggered it but what the hell, here goes a blog post about crepes!

There are three reasons why I love crepes:  simple, light and tasty.  They work like a slice of white bread that can be used to make french toast or a delicious sandwich.  To create a savory crepe, wrap it around some meat and veggies.  To create a dessert crepe, top it with some chocolate syrup, fruits or ice cream!  The good part is they are so simple to make.  The bad part is, there is no bad part!  Try it out with this recipe!

One of the best crepes I've had was from Jean Philippe Patisserie at the Bellagio Hotel in Vegas.  It wasn't an extensive menu so it didn't require much time to come up with my savory crepe and dessert crepe of choice.

We arrived at the Patisserie and was automatically hit with the lovely scent of crepe

While waiting in line, we enjoyed the view of stacked croissants (I picked up one the next morning!) ...

and the many other applications of phyllo dough

Ooh what's in this wonderfully boxed present?

My savory turkey crepe with a side salad!

Believe it or not we came here for breakfast but couldn't resist the sound of a dessert crepe with coconut ice cream!  It was topped with warm mango and paired with a memorable cup of hot coffee.  It was divine!

Pretty stirrer too!

It makes clear sense to me now why I would dream of crepes.  Time to visit a creperie in New York!

Birthday with a Foodie Girlfriend!

It was my boyfriend's birthday a few days ago, a good excuse to eat!! The fatty foodie girlfriend that I am ensured that his birthday was loaded with food! Because his bday fell on a weekday and we were both exhausted from work, we decided to celebrate on the weekend. Ofcourse, with the fat mindset that I have, I'm not going to let the night of his actual bday pass without some cake and take-out! Living Social coincidentally had a deal @ Haagen Dazs a couple of days before his bday: $15 for $30 ice cream cake! I had no clue that I can custom order a cake =( so I grabbed one that was readily made. Fortunately it was still good, with chocolate, strawberry and vanilla flavors, topped with frozen strawberries and Oreos. They also gave me a $5 gift card so I'm gonna order myself a coffee & chocolate cake next time! Woohoo

Came in a nice big box!

Looks like it's missing an Oreo ... or was it stolen? >=)

As for the take-out, I grabbed some grilled chicken over rice at Paris Sandwich, one of my favorite food spots in Chinatown!  They make the best chicken over the best short grain rice!  Oh, can't forget their green tea waffles ... delish!  They raised the price from a buck to $1.25, but still worth it!

They sure give a lot of chicken!

And as for the weekend celebration, we celebrated at Bayridge Sushi in Brooklyn.  Yes, yes, I know ... it was another coupon from Living Social.  I'm frugal, what can I say?  Anywho, we use to go to their old location once in a while for their all-you-can eat sushi.  We never made time for it ever since they moved to their new spot, so it was kind of nice eating at this roomier, romantic and hipper restaurant.  The fresh sashimi I ordered left me speechless because it was so buttery and melts-in-your-mouth!  My boyfriend ordered an udon noodle soup, which came in a bowl that I am on the lookout for!  I need to own that bowl!

Where can I get this bowl?

Eel avocado roll with oyster tempura roll

My entree: Sashimi with brown rice

Yeah so that was an extended birthday celebration with lots of food.  That's for being with a fatty foodie girlfriend!

Work: The Good Food and New York City Skyline

Boy do I miss blogging!  I was super busy the past month studying for yet another section of the CPA exam.  I felt prepared and ready for the exam, had an extra half an hour to spare and walked out extremely confident.  Can't wait to find out what my score is.  Two down and two more to go!

Although I've been home bound with my nose in the books for the past month, I made room for important dates with significant people.  There was my father's 60th birthday and me and my partner's 5th year anniversary =).  However, I will save those for next time!

Work has been constant as well, but one thing that I have to make note of is the BEAUTIFUL sunset I see every single night upon setting our clocks for daylight savings.  I truly hate not being able to walk back home from work in the sun anymore, but seeing this sunset every night just makes it all worth it.  I was especially  amazed by yesterday night's sunset.  It looked like a painting of a vast desert was set right behind the New York City skyline.  Speechless.

There's no room for fun & games when you're studying, but there's always room for food! Check out what I've been eating for lunch at work with my $5 budget.

Yes, I stick to my roots and eat Chinese almost each time I decide to buy something for lunch rather than bringing in my homemade delicacies, haha!  It's not that I don't like other cuisines, they're just way too overpriced in midtown!

For only $5, I can get myself a lunch box from Lunch Box Buffet, where there is a wide variety of selections to choose from.  I'm a big fan of their spare ribs, shiitake mushrooms with bamboo, ginger spiced chicken, ma po tofu, soy sauce chicken, rice vermicelli, and so on!  They have both hot and cold selections and for only $5, you get to choose 5 yummies in your tummy. Fay Da is situated in the same spot, so you can pick up a hot coffee, bubble tea or Chinese buns along the way!

Recently, I've also been frequenting Fuji Bakery, a hidden gem sitting only a few blocks away from my workplace.  My coworker gave me their menu several months ago, but I never gave it a chance after reading some pretty bad reviews from Yelpers.  Last week, I had a sudden craving for a hot noodle soup, so I decided to give Fuji a shot ... and am glad I did!

For only $4.95, I got myself a tightly stuffed quart of wonton noodle soup that came with bok choi.  It was so packed that the lid was literally about to pop off.  They weren't skimpy with the veggies, noodles or wonton.  Best of all, the noodle soup was tasty AND they gave me a sealed spoon!  Hygiene is a major concern of mine when ordering take-out.  You really have no idea where the utensils have been and who's hands have been touching them.  Judging by the pace of food going in and out of kitchens at fast-food restaurants, or any restaurant for that matter, utensils probably don't always get picked up by their handles.  So Fuji is definitely the way to go!  I went back to try their buns as well, and they were delicioso.  They even serve dim sum for breakfast!!

Another restaurant that deserves to be mentioned is Azuki.  I may be frugal, but I do and am more than willing to spend some money on food when it comes to dining experiences to be shared with loved ones.  I came here a while back with my sister, who was shopping around the area prior to meeting with me for lunch.  She loves Japanese food just like I do, so it was the perfect spot for us.

We both ordered a sashimi bento box, which came with California rolls, ha gow, salad, white rice and fresh sashimi.  I've dined and have had take-out from Azuki before and have never been dissatisfied.  It confuses me why some reviewers leave some horrible remarks and ratings for this restaurant.  Well, to each his own.  I know that we left with a full, happy tummy and a big smile on our faces.

Pizza? No, Pisa!

How often do people eat pizza?  Better yet, how often do New Yorkers eat pizza?  Frequently I suppose, since the good old "New Yawk Pizza" originated from this city.

Pizza parlors are scattered all over New York.  It leaves me wondering whether there are more pizza parlors than Starbucks, which seem to appear once every three blocks or so!  Has eating pizza become habitual as coffee has become addicting?  Hm!  Well, all I know is while there are those who eat pizza on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, eating pizza is a rare thing for me, but I  DO have occasional cravings for a good pizza!  My most recent craving brought me not one, but two pizzas!

So I offered him ONE bite & this is what he leaves me with

Out of the blue one day, on a train ride back home, I had a huge craving for pizza.  Thoughts came running through my head of good tomato sauce and melted mozzarella cheese, and the perfect last crunch of a pizza crust.  Pizza deprivation is a serious matter, kids!  So my feet walked me to a local pizza parlor to order a New Yawk Pizza and some garlic knots, all for $2.50 + tax.  I felt no guilt at all.  Nothing better than a cheap craving satisfaction and a full tummy! 

Unknowingly, I get home to find out that my beau has arrived home before me.  I wasn't going to give him my pizza, I only had 1 slice!

A couple of nights later, he comes home with a BOX for me.  Very aware of what a big fat foodie I am, what else would he fill a box with, really?  Lol.  Although I'd wish the box was 100x smaller and contain something that could possibly BLIND me, the huge box that contained a whiff of pizza was acceptable, for now.  He brought me some pizza from Adrienne's Pizzabar, which was a lot more upscale than my New Yawk Pizza.  Thin crust and topped with prosciutto, basil leaves and tomato, his pizza brought me back to Italy.  Oh, the days back in Florence, Rome and Venice ... the visit at the Tower of Pisa ...

Speaking of Pisa, Italy had the most amazing, authentic, thin crust pizza.  Here is a pic of us in Italy, with a huge a** pizza:

Pizza craving?  CHECK!

Why My Thai?

I gotta feeling ... that tonight's gonna be a good night!  That's tonight's gonna be a good, good night!

Tonight was the perfect night to dine out.  The weather's been fluctuating for the past week, so it was nice to see the sun again and feel the summer heat.  My beau and I decided to take advantage of the weather as well as a gift certificate that I had purchased a while ago to My Thai, located at 78th and 3rd Ave in Brooklyn.  It was a pleasant experience - great service, delightful ambiance and yummy food!

We started off with a dish of beef satay as appetizer.  The beef was tender and perfectly marinated.  It came with 2 dipping sauces, one that was vinegar based and another that tasted like a combination of peanut butter and sweet chili sauce.  They were both delicious but I preferred the latter whereas my beau liked the lighter one.  That goes to show you that fatter people tend to go for food and sauces that are much stronger in flavor ... lol.  The way I look at it is... we know what good food tastes like and they don't!

I thought the heart-shaped brown rice was so cute.  Normally you would see white rice as an upside-down round bowl, particularly in Chinese restaurants, so I thought this was pretty creative and a unique spin to the usual.  What girl doesn't like seeing a heart?  I'll admit it, I did the whole "Aww" thing when the dish came out, lol!

Unfortunately, my heart had to be broken when the main dishes came out.  It also started oozing with blood!  No, more like I drizzled a lot of flavorful sauce on it!!

We paired our rice with a specialty of theirs, Mango Chicken, apparently a very popular choice amongst the customers.  It was basically a sweet and sour chicken, mango and bell pepper stir-fry plated on mango skin.  It was delish!  Not only was it sweet and sour, there was a hint of spicy, which wasn't too overpowering ... just perfect for a weakling like me.

Ofcourse, we also had to order a curry dish, so we went with a "medium spicy" red curry seafood platter.  Although I normally prefer Indian or even Malaysian curry over Thai curry, I don't mind its coconuttiness.  It gives the curry a great aroma and sweetness, which is preferable over the overly spicy types once in a while.  This one was still a tad too spicy for me because I have a weak tolerance ... so you can imagine how empty I kept my glass of water.

Meal must've been good ... we ate EVERYTHING!

AND we had room for some green tea ice cream!

*burp