Street Food from Taiwan

We recently came back from Taiwan and tried many of the local cuisine. By local cuisine…we mean STREET FOOD! Street food or what locals call “xiao chi” is in abundance! We saw (and tried) everything from snake soup to exotic fruits.

Here’s a few of our favorites:

[Picture 1] BBQ squid; [Picture 2] We've only seen these fruits in Taiwan. Not sure what the red apple looking fruits on the left are called. The green fruits on the right are called "Shi Jia" or pineapple sugar apples. Both are delicious!; [Picture 3] Fresh muscles cooked in basil and chili peppers.

[Picture 4] "Steal" Eggs (small and tasty); [Picture 5] Grilled snails! We did not try this...; [Picture 6] Interesting dessert, it was a flour tortilla wrapped with parseley, peanut crumbs and icecream.

Cheesecake-Filled Pumpkin Cupcakes

My latest Rachel Ray magazine came in the mail recently and we tried out some recipes. Since its the fall season, this pumpkin cheesecake cupcake recipe caught my eye. Here is the recipe right from the Rachel Ray website.

Ingredients:
One 8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
2 large eggs, plus 5 large egg whites
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoons salt
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup light brown sugar
Simmering water
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-size pieces and chilled

Directions:
1) Place a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350°. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with baking liners. Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and confectioners' sugar for 3 minutes. Beat in 1 egg white and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla.

2) In a bowl, whisk the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt. In another bowl, mix the pumpkin puree, 2 eggs, granulated sugar, oil and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Whisk in the flour mixture.
3) Layer each muffin cup with some of the pumpkin batter, then the cream cheese mixture, then more of the batter. Bake until springy to the touch, 25 minutes. Let cool.

4) Using the electric mixer, beat the brown sugar, remaining 4 egg whites and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Fill a medium saucepan with enough simmering water to reach a depth of 1 inch; place the mixing bowl on top. Whisk the mixture until it registers 160° on an instant-read thermometer.

5) Transfer the bowl back to the mixer and beat at high speed until fluffy; lower the speed and beat to room temperature, about 5 minutes. Add the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, then beat at high speed for 5 minutes. Beat in the remaining 1/2 teaspoon vanilla.

6) Transfer the frosting to a pastry bag; pipe large rosettes on top of the cupcakes.

THE VERDICT:
The cupcakes itself tasted great, but the frosting was a waste of money and time. Also, there was way too much frosting for 12 cupcakes. I ended up throwing away the frosting and enjoying the cupcakes by themselves. I would make this again minus the frosting. The recipe was easy to make and takes very little time.

Backyard Cooking Classes at 24 Prince with Top Chef's Nikki Cascone

We recently attended Chef Nikki Cascone’s, former Top Chef Cheftestant, backyard cooking class. It was an amazing experience! The class was at her restaurant, 24 Prince. We’ve learned some cool tricks and tips, plus enjoyed a 3 course meal while learning her secrets.

Chef Nikki Cascone is one of the nicest ladies you’ll ever meet. She is very friendly and thorough in explaining the ingredients, the food, cooking methods, and more. She was very approachable and even dished out some Top Chef behind-the-scenes secrets to us. She made the entire experience very enjoyable. Here’s what we learned to make:

Watermelon Salad
















This was a very unique salad with a mix of fresh greens and fruit. Ricotta Salata is now our new favorite cheese!

Seared Jumbo Shrimp


















Butter squash Pound Cake with Homemade Whip cream


















You’ll have to attend the class to get the recipes…I can guarantee you that each dish is simply delicious!

Each cooking class is $35 per person + tax and gratuity and can be reserved by contacting Emily@24prince.com or (212) 226-8624. Just on a side note: you are not actually cooking with the chef; you are actually sitting and watching Nikki cook and explain the dishes. She provides the recipes at the table and you take notes as she is cooking.

One if by land, Two if by Sea Restaurant

We went to One if by land, Two if by Sea during New York restaurant week (they are actually offering this until Labor Day), so it was a three course pre-fixe dinner for $35. It was an elegant setting and the staff was very nice. The appetizers were good, not great, but the entrée and desserts were superb…cooked to perfection. It was well worth the money.

Here’s what we ordered (from the restaurant week menu):
Appetizers
Tomato Gazpacho (Soup)
Crab, avocado, lemon basil oil
Although, in many Tomato Gazpacho recipes paprika is added, we did not expect this soup to be as spicy as it was. The spiciness really took away from the other flavors of the soup. We liked the small chunks of crab meat in soup though. Overall, it was decent, not great.

Mushroom Tart
Wild mushroom, baby zucchini, amaranth, salsa verde
We would not order this again. It was extremely salty. The mushroom was minced very finely and placed on top of a small piece of pastry. The zucchini was on the side. We tasted nothing but loads of salt on this! Stay away from it.

Entrée
Grilled Bavette Steak
Pearl onions, confit tomato, roasted radish
Three of us were at dinner; we each ordered our steaks to be cooked differently. However, when it came, the redness was the same all around. We were going to send it back until we took a bit to try it first. It was tender and flavorful! Maybe I do like my steak medium-rare…I never knew that! The steak was already nicely sliced and ready to eat. Would come back just for this!

Desserts
We ordered one of each from the restaurant week menu. We loved all three, but the cheesecake was the favorite among the group.
Nutella Cake
Olive oil semifreddo, popcorn ice cream, chocolate coated popcorn

Blueberry Composition
Rosemary gel, yuzu curd, blueberry tapioca, blueberry sorbet and rosemary chip
This was our least favorite because the smell and taste of rosemary was very strong (may not be a bad thing if you love rosemary!).

Mascarpone Cheesecake
Black currant foam, black currant streusel, pineapple
Very soft cheesecake, unlike regular cheesecake where there’s a stiffer consistency. Overall, yummy!

This restaurant is gorgeous, the waiters were nice (they even gave us a complimentary soup), but if it wasn’t for restaurant week, we might not come back again. The regular menu is extremely expensive (you can spend upwards of $250+ for 2 people). The other downside was that the portions are relatively small. We’ll go back again for next year’s restaurant week!

Address: 17 Barrow St, New York, NY 10014 (Btwn 7th Ave S & W 4th St)
www.oneifbyland.com

Total Yummy Points: 8
(Lost some points with the appetizers!)

Ashiya 2: All you can eat sushi and sake for $30, worth it?

We have mixed feelings about this place. We’ll just lay out the good, bad, and ugly for you. Let’s start with something nice to say:

THE GOOD:
You cannot beat the price. All you can eat sushi for just $25 and with an additional $5 you get unlimited beer and sake. We highly recommend the Ashiya and Dragon rolls. The food was some of the best we’ve had at any sushi buffet. If you are looking for decent sushi at a reasonable price and don’t mind the crowd, this would be a safe bet.

THE BAD:
We had made reservations for a large birthday dinner here. We called a week in advance, gave them all the information they needed including our credit card number to hold the reservation. The morning of the dinner, we called again to ask if it was okay to bring a birthday cake to eat there. Turns out it was okay to bring a cake, but they have NO RECORDS of our reservation! They also said they didn’t have a table to accommodate for a large group that night either! After much negotiating and talking to several people, magically, a table became available.

THE UGLY:
You are given a two-hour limit on your sushi buffet, but after you put in your first order, expect to wait at least 40 minutes to get your first sushi rolls to your table. We had some late comers to dinner, but their two-hour limit started when ours started. So in actuality, some people had about 1 hour. You may be tempted to order A LOT of food in your first order since its take so long to come, but be WARNED, if you don’t finish it all, they charge you extra (depending on how much is left). They tried to sneak some rolls to our table that we did not order and after we sent it back, all those same rolls still came back at our table. They sneaked a roll here and there to the plates of sushi that we did order.

Don’t expect a nice, quiet dinner here with friends either. It’s an extremely rowdy crowd. There were people playing “sake bombs” all night. This game involves loud banging on the tables (and yes, you’ll hear plates and chopsticks come crashing down once in a while).

Double check your bill when it comes. Some of us did not order the sake, but was charged. They did take it off after we complained.

To sum it up -- food is decent, price is great, and service is so-so (if not poor)!

Address:
167 1st AveNew York, NY 10003-0309(212) 505-3348
http://www.ashiya2.com/

Total Yummy Points: 6.5

I’m wild for WILD GINGER!

We recently tried out Wild Ginger because we bought a $25 certificate from http://www.restaurant.com/ for $2! We were able to use the $25 certificate with ease and our total bill came out to only $45 (tax and tip included). The setting was serene, Asian influenced, and the lighting was a little dim. Perfect for a date!

Here’s what we ordered:
Appetizers
Wild Ginger Lobster Roll: It was made with fried Panko (Japanese bread crumb) rolled with lobster salad and brunoise (avocado and tomato inside served with spicy mayo and eel sauce). We LOVE LOVE LOVED this roll! The mix of flavors is the best I’ve had in a sushi roll. The taste is very original, nothing can quite compare to it. I would come back just for this roll! It was a little sweet, with a fiery hint and the lobster was delicious. The panko made it a little crunchy too. The texture and the flavors were simply amazing!

Thai Crab Cakes: This was a little disappointing. The crab cakes were heavily fried and somewhat tasteless. We couldn’t taste the crab in it, it could have been shrimp! The flavor and texture reminded me of the spring rolls you get free with your Chinese take out.

Entrées
Wok Glazed Ginger: Caramelized red onion, shiitake mushroom, and pork.
Mild Mango Sauce: Crisp vermicelli on the bottom, fresh mango slices, and beef.

Both dishes were served on a miniature wok and the portions were very decent. Both were cooked very well and were delicious! The mango dish was a little spicy, which we loved!

All the dishes we had here (appetizers and entrees) came with or cooked with sauces that we haven’t tasted anywhere else – what’s the secret? I’d like to know! The waiters were friendly and service was fast too! We highly recommend Wild Ginger!

Total Yummy Points: 9

Location:
226 E 51st StreetNew York, NY 10022

They also have a location in Long Island, here is the website for it:
http://wildginger.kpsearch.com/df/default.asp

Food and Drinks from Majestic Colonial Hotel Beach Resort in Punta Cana, DR

We recently came back from an awesome trip to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. We stayed at the beautiful, all-inclusive Majestic Colonial. If you haven’t been -- its time to go! Let's get right to the food and drinks! Pictures are worth a million words, see below. These photos are from all their restaurants, which included:

• Buffet Supreme Restaurant


• la Hispaniola Restaurant


• Matsuri Restaurant


• Rodeo Grill Steak House Restaurant


• Taíno Resturant


• Restaurant Tres Carabelas ***our top pick!


• La Bodeguita del Majestic


• Restaurant Le Gourmet

Leave us a message if you’d like details on a specific restaurant!

Happy Hour at Third Floor Café

This modern-looking K-town spot is definitely worth your time! I just started coming here recently and fell in love with the food, drinks, décor and atmosphere.

It’s tucked away on the third floor of a corner building on the corner of 32nd and 5th avenue. You have to look hard to find it! The elevator up is also TINY! You’re officially warned – only about 3 people up at a time!
The Scene: nice big couches with lots of space for diners too. The crowd is predominately Korean. Hip hop music, but not too loud where you can’t chat with friends.

Happy Hour Special: Every night from 5pm-8pm. Get dinner and a cocktail/beer/wine for just $10! It’s an awesome deal! I’ve tried the Kimchi fried rice and beef w/ rice – both delicious! I also have not tried a cocktail that I did not like here. The lychee martini is my fav.

I recommend Third Floor Café for the happy hours and dinner. It’s also a chill spot to hang out and catch up with friends…

Address: 315 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10016

Cottage Cheese Boats -Tasty Appetizer made in 15 minutes!

This is my go-to tasty, healthy and fast appetizer that has a fiery kick!
Ingredients:
1. Celery Sticks (discard leaves, clean and cut into 3 inch pieces)
2. 1 tub small curd cottage cheese
3. 2 tablespoons of horseradish
4. salt, ground black pepper, garlic powder – to taste
5. 1 cup Walnuts
6. ¾ cup raisins or dried cranberries

Directions:
Add salt, ground black pepper, garlic powder and horseradish to cottage cheese (you can use its original packaging, just mix in ingredients). Mix well. In a small bowl, crush the walnuts until it’s in small chucks, and then mix in the raisins (or dried cranberries). Lastly, scoop about a teaspoon full of cottage cheese mixture onto each piece of celery – top each with the walnut/raisin or cranberry mixture. There you have it! A simple, fiery appetizer!

Chocolate Lava Cake - in 15 minutes and less than $10!

I get excited when I receive my Everyday with Rachel Ray magazine in the mail each month because I can’t wait to try out the recipes. In a recent issue, the S'mores Lava Cakes caught my eye and I tried out this VERY EASY recipe. This is great for beginner bakers! You get yummy chocolate lava cakes in about 15 minutes and costs less than $10!

Here’s the no-brainer recipe:
SERVES 4, Prep Time: 25, min Bake Time: 15 min (I did 12 minutes and it came out more gooey inside, which I looooved!)

Ingredients:
-1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
-1/4 cup sugar, plus more for coating
-4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped (Instead, I used semi-sweet chocolate chips and it worked wonderfully).
-2 large eggs plus 2 large yolks, at room temperature
-1 tablespoon flour

These are optional (I actually didn’t even do the marshmallow sauce, just sprinkled some graham cracker crumbs on top)
-3 tablespoons heavy cream
-2/3 cup marshmallow cream
-1 graham cracker sheet (2 squares), finely chopped

4 SIMPLE STEPS:
1. Preheat the oven to 425°. Grease four 6-ounce custard cups, then coat with sugar; place on a baking sheet. In a medium bowl, microwave the butter and chocolate at medium power for 2 minutes; stir until smooth.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolks and sugar until foamy. Whisk in the chocolate mixture, then the flour. Fill the prepared custard cups two-thirds full with the batter. Bake until the edges are puffy, 13 to 15 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, microwave the heavy cream at high power for 30 seconds. Stir in the marshmallow cream until smooth.

4. Carefully invert the cakes onto plates and drizzle the marshmallow sauce on the side. Top with the graham cracker crumbs.

*photo from Everyday with Rachel Ray Website

Looking to Escape NYC for a Weekend? While enjoying great dining too?

Look no further!! Here is your weekend itinerary:

Destination: Saybrook Point Spa and Resort
Address: Two Bridge Street, Old Saybrook, CT 06475
That’s just 2 hours from NYC!

Saybrook Point Spa and Resort is located in scenic Old Saybrook, CT with a breath taking view of the Long Island sound. This was exactly the weekend getaway we needed to recharge our batteries (so to speak). The staff was very accommodating, the rooms were very comfortable, the hotel services were superb, and the FOOD WAS EXCELLENT (more about the food below).

Here’s what you can do after check in:
*Unwind in the hotel pool (indoor), hot tub (overlooks the Long Island sound), or relax in the saunas.
*Make a spa appointment – there’s an array of services ranging from a quick pedicure to a full couples massage. Hotel guests get 20% off any spa service.
*Go shop at the outlets – there’s two outlets within a 15 minute drive. Ask the front desk for shopper discount books.
*Take a stroll along the pier or in downtown Saybook.
*Drive 30 minutes to Mohegan Sun or 45 minutes to Foxwoods

BUT you must not leave until you’ve eaten at Terra Mar Grille!
The food here is definitely on our top ten list! The restaurant is conveniently located in the hotel. The restaurant has a cozy, romantic atmosphere with a water front view and has a full bar. We’ve had breakfast and dinner here and there wasn’t a thing that we didn’t like. The cuisine is American contemporary and seafood. The price is a little on the steep end – average dinner entrée price was about $30-$35.

We ordered the Fillet Mignon:

It was served with a Portobello mushroom that was grilled to perfection. The fillet mignon was tender and cooked just the way we like it.

We also ordered the Vegetarian Entrée:

The risotto was creamy and flavorful. There was an assortment of diced, roasted vegetables on top – carrots, asparagus, potatoes – and pine nuts. The contrast in the textures and tastes between the risotto, nuts and vegetables was just awesome. This is one of the best vegetarian dishes we’ve tried.

TOTAL YUMMY POINTS FOR Terra Mar Grille: 10!

Between the relaxing spa services, hotel amenities, the great food, and shopping, you have yourself an eventual weekend!

Side note: We found great hotel rates through Travelzoo.com and since we went there for a birthday celebration, they left us chocolates in our room!

Rachel Ray’s Not-Sagna Pasta Toss

No time to make the lasagna that you love? We’ve tried this recipe from Rachel Ray a few times and it’s a perfect substitute. The ingredients are similar and still full of flavors ---but made in less than half the time it takes to bake a traditional tray of lasagna! Try it out:

Cook Time: 20 min
Level: Easy
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients
1 pound curly short cut pasta
Coarse salt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
1 pound ground sirloin
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, eyeball it in your palm
Black pepper
1/2 teaspoon allspice, eyeball it in your palm
1 teaspoon, several drops, Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup dry red wine, a couple of glugs
1/2 cup beef stock
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 1/2 cups part-skim ricotta cheese
1 cup fresh basil, about 20 leaves
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, a couple of handfuls, plus some to pass at table

Directions
Heat a large pot of water to boil for pasta. Salt water and cook pasta to al dente. Heads up: you will need a ladle of the starchy cooking water to help form sauce before draining.

Heat a deep nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan. Add the meat and break it up into small bits as it caramelizes. Once meat has good color to it, 4 to 5 minutes, add garlic, onions and red pepper flakes and season with salt, pepper, allspice and Worcestershire sauce. Cook another 5 minutes, deglaze the meat and onions with red wine, cook off a minute, then combine about 1/2 cup of stock into the meat. Stir in the tomatoes and bring to a bubble. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer 5 minutes.

Place ricotta cheese in the bottom of a shallow bowl. Add a ladleful of boiling, starchy pasta water to the ricotta and stir to combine. Add a couple of handfuls of grated Parmesan to the ricotta and mix it in.

Drain pasta. Toss hot pasta with cheeses. Add half the thick meat sauce to the pasta bowl and combine. Tear or shred the basil and add to the meat and pasta, toss again. Taste to adjust salt and pepper. Serve bowlfuls of Not-sagna with extra sauce on top and more grated Parmesan to pass at the table.

Recipe found here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/not-sagna-pasta-toss-recipe/index.html

Best Nachos in Town!

The Australian’s veggie nachos are the best we’ve ever had! The crispy tortilla chips are topped with guacamole, sour cream, mango chunks, assorted diced peppers and onion, a variety of cheeses, and has a slight taste of sweet salsa (I can’t pinpoint what it is exactly) – but put that all together and you have an explosion of flavor in your mouth! We’ve been back here numerous times just for the NACHOS! During happy hour, the nachos are just $5 and its enough for 2 people! Regular price is only $9. You can’t beat the price or taste anywhere else!

On a different note…
The Australian also has great happy hours. The drink and food selection is awesome. Fosters anyone? Having spent time living abroad in Australia, this place DOES compare to the real deal! Aside from great food and drink, the waiters and bartenders are extremely friendly and accommodating. We have an awesome time every time we’re there!

Address:
20 West 38 Street (btw 5th and 6th ave) New York, NY 10017

Total Yummy Points: 9.5
(Do yourself a favor and go get some nachos! They also with chicken and lamb)

Cafetasia: Great dinin’ on a dime

This cafeteria style restaurant serves everything from cocktails to Thai ice-tea’s and you can have a three course meal here and still get change back from a $20. The menu is Thai, Pan-Asian influenced. I’ve tried numerous items on their menu and they were all just delicious! Just to warn you, even the mild spiciness here is still quite spicy!

Thai basil chicken with Udon noodles (pictured) is my favorite! My whole meal (pictured) was only $8.50 – included my soup, Udon noodle and Thai ice-tea. I went on a Saturday and got the brunch menu.

Pros:
-Very flavorful dishes
-Large selection
-Great prices

Cons:
-Long wait times (sometimes even when you make a reservation)
-Cramped tables
-Staff sometimes not so friendly (its hectic in there during dinner)
-At peak dinner hours, this place is PACKED

38 E 8th St (between Greene St & University Pl)
New York, NY 10003

Total Yummy Points: 10!!! GO GO GO TRY IT TODAY!

Café Muscat - Try it out if you're in the neighborhood!

We were looking for a nice, cozy place to unwind after a long day and to just enjoy some sweets. We happened to drive pass Café Muscat. The look and feel of the place looked so inviting and it was not crowded (although it was about 9:30pm). To our surprise, the menu had a large selection, from cakes and lattes to sushi and Paninis – all kosher too!

We ordered crunchy avocado rolls – resembled small spring rolls (minus the massive amount of oil). It was served with a side of mixed greens. It was delicious!!! The avocado rolls were fried just enough and you can still taste the freshness of the avocado. The salad was yummy, with a dressing that I’ve never tasted.

And what we came in for – desserts!! The waitress brought us over to their cake displays and explained what each cake was. They all looked so great, we couldn’t decide. We ended up choosing a three tier chocolate cake – white, milk and dark chocolate flavors piled on top of each other. You can really taste the different chocolates – yummy! I can’t wait to go back and try the other ones!

Pros:
1) Very friendly service. 2) Reasonably priced 3) Large selection of foods and drinks 4) food was very flavorful 5) It’s kosher

Cons:
This is all the way out in Fresh Meadows, so it’s really out of the way for most people.

Address:
17807 Union TpkeFresh Meadows, NY 11366

Total Yummy Points: 7
(Great first time experience, but will need to try it again)

Naniwa: Absolutely Delicious!

I've been here several times and this restaurant does not disappoint. Naniwa is like a hidden gem in mid-town Manhattan, nestled in between office buildings. The food taste authentic and the service is superb. The Udon noodle soup here is one of the best I’ve ever tried.
Pros
*You get great value for your food. Lunch (pictured) was only $11!
*Excellent service and very accommodating – it was crowded during lunch and we didn’t make a reservation. They kindly offered to seat us in private room.

Cons
*The restaurant is narrow, so space is tight. I would not recommend large groups coming here.
Address:
4 E 46th St, New York 10017 (At 5th Ave)

Total Yummy Points: 9

Welcome! Do you <3 food?

I live in nyc, where all kinds of foods and drinks are just a train ride away. This blog will be all about my interesting finds in food and drinks!

Here's what you can expect to read on this blog:

• Reviews on restaurants, lounges and bars (in and around nyc)
• New recipes that I’ve tried (successful or not so successful ones)
• Places to buy hard to find foods/ingredients
• Food and drink tidbits
• Reviews on new foods, snacks and drinks that we've tried
• …and sometimes just random chatter about food and drinks :)

Happy reading! Feel free to submit your recipes or make suggestions on places we ought to try out! Comments are always welcomed!