Bangkok Cuisine UES

Hey so I'm back with another restaurant recommendation. It is called Bangkok Cuisine and you must go asap. I found this place on Yelp after having an extreme craving for some good Asian food and this place certainly lived up to its high reviews and my high expectations. Here is what I ordered:

To start, I ordered a Thai Iced Tea, which is an awesome drink to have with spicy food because it cools down your taste buds due to the heavy cream. It was served in a tall glass which I think added to the atmosphere of the place, which you can also kinda see from this picture. Not to mention it was only $3! It was very clean and felt very southeast Asian. To top off the aesthetic of the restaurant, pictured below you will see a golden decoration. Guess who? Buddha.

As an appetizer, I had the Thai Style Pork BBQ. It was insanely good and came with a sweet and spicy dipping sauce that complemented the pork perfectly. It comes with 5 skewers, not three like pictured below. I ate two before remembering I needed to take pictures for my blog. They were THAT irresistible. $13.

Next, I had the Pad Prig Khing with beef. The picture is a little dark, but this dish includes veggies like carrots, string beans and red peppers all sautéed in a delicious curry paste. A perfect combination of flavor, which leaves me with nothing to critique.  $15. 

Finally, the Massaman Curry with chicken. A massaman curry includes coconut milk, butter beans, sweet onions and potatoes. Paired with chicken, this dish is irresistible. I probably could have eaten two, and I will definitely be returning to Bangkok Cuisine for this dish. If you have read my post on Up Thai, you might remember that I had this same curry, however, in comparison, Bangkok Cuisine wins, hands-down. $14. 

I have really no complaints about this restaurant, except one. On my bill, I was charged $3.50 for the Thai Iced Tea instead of $3 like it said on the menu. Although it is only $.50, it displays either a careless mistake, or the restaurant being sneaky and trying to make a few extra dollars. So watch out for things like this at any restaurant you go to! 

Please go here. I promise you won't regret it!! 

A Sit Down With a Sous Chef at Cafe Boulud

I have blogged about Cafe Boulud once before when I talked about the importance of food presentation. If you missed that post, you can read it here. This time, I asked their sous chef to answer a few questions I had regarding her experience working in the kitchen. Her name is Kiki, she is from Korea and this is what she said...

Q: What sparked your love of cooking? And why did you decide on French cuisine?

A: My love for French cuisine is based on the similarities it has with Korean cuisine. It is very simple, yet elegant. This is what I want my future restaurant to be based on. A mixture of French and Korean cuisine.

Q:How do you motivate your employees to work hard and care about the food that they are preparing?

A: It is sometimes very hard to do by yourself. Loving your job is important which shines through when you are working. Your employees mirror your own work ethic.

Q:What was the most stressful situation you have faced in the kitchen?
A: When unexpected things happen it gets stressful. For example, a cook not showing up for work or being short on ingredients to make the dishes.

Q:In your opinion, what is the most important aspect of your job?

A: Consistency. Having to be in the kitchen every day both mentally and physically. This is a mentally taxing job and subduing emotions from your personal life is very important.

Q:How do you feel about racial diversity in the kitchen?

A: My current kitchen is very diverse. Most chefs respect diversity within the kitchen. You can see this in our voyage menu because many cuisines from around the world are displayed. Having this voyage menu allows all of us to learn from each other's culture since there is such racial diversity in this kitchen. I even was able to do a Korean voyage dinner.

Q:Do you feel the role of women is different than the role of men within the kitchen?

A: Mentally there is no difference but yes, physically. My arm is currently injured after two and a half years of grueling hands on labor, so I cannot lift heavy things or do repetitive tasks which slows me down. Men have an easier time completing their daily tasks because of their physical strength.

Q:What is your favorite food to eat? What about to prepare?

A: Korean food is my favorite to both eat and prepare. I like to cook all Asian cuisines. Southeast Asian and Japanese are some of my other favorites.

Q:What individual has had the greatest impact on you?

A: Chef Aaron who is the head chef at Cafe Boulud has always given me opportunities to grow and has always pushed me beyond my limits to make me grow extremely fast. There is never nothing to do.

Q:How do you evaluate success?

A: I rely upon feedback from my coworkers. I make something good, it tastes good and I feel good.

Q:What is your greatest strength? How does it help you as a sous chef?

A: I am a very organized person and as a sous chef prioritizing and keeping the rest of the kitchen organized is extremely important. It makes delegating tasks faster and more efficient which keeps the machine going.

Q:What do you do to stay educated about new food trends?

A: I use the internet to look up current top restaurants and visit those restaurants. I do this because the top restaurants are basically the canon in which our industry relies upon for trends.

Q:Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

A: I want to start out small with my own restaurant with a unique style which is Korean food with French influence. I want it to be called Bottari which is a cloth that Korean's used during the war to carry all their belongings when traveling from place to place.

I want to thank Kiki so much for taking the time out of her busy schedule to complete this interview with me. I also recommend you check out Cafe Boulud next week during Restaurant Week to catch their $29 Prix Fixe Menu while you can!

Sushi Gama

Hey Guys! So last night was Saturday night and I visited a restaurant called Sushi Gama on the Upper East Side. 

I sat in a corner table with a nice view of the outside. The atmosphere was nice, and it was decently busy for a Saturday. Here is what I ordered:

Ika Butter: This is a grilled whole squid in a butter sauce. It was cooked to perfection and the presentation was appealing. I would order this again, and recommend it to you. $12.

Soft Shell Crab: The whole point of a soft shell crab is so you can eat the shell. This crab was delicious and definitely met my expectations. $8.

Hamachi Kama: This is a grilled yellowtail fish collar. It is the best part of the fish, in my opinion, and this collar proved that to be true. The meat of the fish fell right off the bone and was tender and perfectly cooked. It was so good, the person I was eating with wanted to order a second one! I do feel, however, that presentation could be improved. $14.

Sashimi Platter: Chef's Selection of 18 different pieces of sashimi. This was the one big disappointment of the night. The raw fish they used was horrible compared to other sushi restaurants in the area. The raw salmon was too slimy and the raw yellowtail was too chewy. Overall, this dish left me feeling unsatisfied and grossed out. I do not recommend the sashimi or any of their raw fish after this dish. $24.

Overall, I would recommend Sushi Gama, just not for their sushi. The three appetizers were all delicious, but as I mentioned, the sashimi that I ordered was below par. 

My Rating: *** $$

Terakawa Ramen

I want to share with you guys one of my absolute favorite ramen spots in the city. It is called Terakawa Ramen and is located only two block south of Fordham's Lincoln Center campus. Here are some things you show know about this restaurant.

It is meant to be fast-paced. If you know anything about Japanese cuisine, eating ramen is like eating pizza in America. If you don't know anything about Japanese cuisine, check out my previous blog post: The Right Way to Eat Ramen.

It is a quick eat kind of place since it only sits 10 people at one time, and therefore it is not the right spot to go if you are expecting to talk to your friends and sip a beer. However the ramen is delicious! My favorite is the Spicy Tan Tan, which is spicy so beware.

Terakawa Ramen is relatively cheap running between $9-$14 for a large bowl. Also, it is cash only-so come prepared.

My Rating: $ *****

Up Thai

The next restaurant I want to suggest is called Up Thai. It is a more upscale thai place than you would expect, with prices that coincide with its atmosphere. The food was average in my opinion, except the Massaman Curry with beef ($14). This was phenomenal and I would return to this restaurant specifically for this curry. I also ordered the Pad Thai Woonsen ($12), which is a cold glass noodle dish and the Moo Dang ($12) which is Roasted BBQ pork, pork belly and Chinese sausage over rice.

The one thing that I feel is important to mention is the service was slow. I finished my meal and sat waiting for the check for at least 15 minutes. Then I waited another 15 minutes for the waitress to take my credit card and 10 more minutes for her to bring it back. The perfect way to ruin an already average meal.





My Rating: $$$ ***       (see sidebar for further explanation) 

Find the menu here: http://www.upthainyc.com/front/menu

The Right Way to Eat Ramen

Hey guys. So my last post was a recommendation for a ramen spot, and I was asked a very good question, "What is the correct way to eat ramen?"

I was in Japan just a short two weeks ago, and I must of eaten at least 4 bowls of ramen in my short 5 day trip. Here are a few things to pay attention to:

• The bowl of ramen comes topped with different ingredients, but usually always includes bamboo, bean sprouts, and an egg.  Before eating your ramen, use your chopsticks to mix around all the ingredients, so no one ingredient is in one corner of your bowl.

• Ramen is eaten using chopsticks and a spoon (called a Chinese Spoon). You lift the noodles with the chopsticks high enough that they separate from the bowl and the rest of the noodles. Then, you dip them back in the bowl to re-wet them with the broth before eating them.

• Most importantly: SLURP! In Japanese culture it is a sign that the food is delicious and shows a sign of respect towards the cook. So do not be afraid to make as much noise as you want while slurping up those noodles. And when you finish, it is proper to raise the bowl with two hands to finish any remaining broth which is is also a symbol that you enjoyed the food down to the very last bite.

Remember that ramen is meant to be enjoyed and eaten quickly, like pizza in the United States. When in Japan, I witnessed a group of four teenage boys slurp up their ramen loudly and quickly and they all finished their bowls of ramen in under 5 minutes. It was incredible.

If you want to know more about ramen, look here: http://www.seriouseats.com/2013/09/the-serious-eats-guide-to-ramen-styles.html  for some super helpful tips.

Meijin Ramen

The first restaurant I want to suggest is one off the Michelin Guide. It is called Meijin Ramen and the food is delicious. It was a small place that was super busy by 7pm on a Saturday night. I ordered the Nagoya Spicy Pepper Chicken Wings ($8), Crispy & Spicy Sesame Chicken Don ($13), and Curry Soy ($14). I also ordered a Lychee Martini ($8 during Happy Hour). The chicken wings were super good, and I highly recommend them; pro tip: Japanese cuisine revolves around the creation of 'umami', which is the perfect combination of flavor that gently satisfies each of the 4 tastes: sweet, sour, salt, and bitter. Translation: The wings are not spicy. The chicken don was tasty, however the chicken pieces were too big and should have been cut into bite size pieces. The curry soy was definitely the best thing we ordered. The broth was addicting, and the noodles were perfectly cooked. This is a must try if you go here. 

The mojito was decently strong and reasonably priced during Happy Hour. Worth a try, but not a must have.

My Rating: $$ ****    (see sidebar for further explanation) 

Find the menu here:  http://www.meijinramen.net