Asian Food Goodness

The 3rd day in NYC saw the Tummies visiting one of their all time favourite Chinese restaurants (possibly in the world). How good is it? let's just say that Mr Tummy's mom actually requested to go there TWO days in a row while on holiday there a couple of years ago. For any restaurant to achieve this rare recognition is no mean feat especially given the high standards of Mr Tummy's mom. In fact, when Mr Tummy was talking to his mom the night before, she specifically asked him if he was going to that restaurant.

So what exactly is this well regarded restaurant called???

*drum roll*

And what exactly is so famous about it???

*another drum roll*

Xiao Long Bao! (otherwise known as Soup Dumplings to people who don't know Chinese)

(Here's a handy instructional guide on how to eat these little pieces of heaven without hurting yourself. The soup inside tends to be very hot, often scalding the uninitiated. muahahaha)

it's so good that each of us had to have 1 bamboo steamer each (8 XLB's) otherwise the Tummies risked fighting each other over the yummy-ness. this dish is usually served with a dipping sauce of vinegar and sliced ginger. best eaten when it's fresh from the kitchen at its hottest (and therefore most dangerous if you're not as skillful as us. heh)

in an effort to make sure we ate a balanced meal, we also ordered some braised tofu with spinach (a house specialty) and incidentally another dish that got us hooked to this place to begin with. Following which, we rolled out of the restaurant and into the warm sunshine because we were so full and thought that perhaps a walk would do our digestion some good. Only partially true in this case. heh. We felt taht the walk definitely helped in our digestion and made us feel more comfortable after the meal, but a walk in Chinatown means to be tempted by the many sweet treats on display. Needless to say, Ms Tummy succombed to one of them (Mr Tummy happily joined in too! heh). Ms Tummy was drawn by the very direct advertising of this bakery. Needless to say we walked out with 2 warm and lovely egg custard tarts that were ever so promptly devoured. Did someone say something about being very full? There's always room for dessert, especially if it's an egg custard tart as good as this one. Light flakey crust and a warm soft custard centre. Not too soft that it falls apart in your hand, but not too hard that you actually have to bite hard into it. Someone with no teeth would still be able to enjoy this lovely treat.

speaking of eggs... I couldn't resist taking a picture of this egg-cellent ad. heh.

later that evening, the Tummies would invite their most gracious host, C, to dinner at Kenka, a dive-y japanese place in the heart of St Mark's known for it's cheap draft beer and cotton candy machine. as if that wasn't unique enough, the "rules" as listed on the menu have to be seen to be believed. you can't make this stuff up even if you tried.

makes for a very interesting restaurant. all in all the food was good. we had a nice "steamboat" style soup since the evening turned out to be pretty chilly. perfect pick me up at the end of a long day of walking around the city.

Joe's Shanghai
9 Pell Street
NY 10013

Egg Custard King Cafe
76 Mott Street
NY 10013

Kenka
25 St Mark's Place
NY 10003

Day 2 in NYC

Happy toes! Since Mr Tummy has started with the NYC update, it only seems fair that I should get my act together and post something too. Because of our late night snacking adventures, we only ventured outside around noontime. Since the weather was gorgeous, we decided it would be the perfect time to indulge in some sushi in the park! I love central park, especially when it's warm and sunny out. So much fun just lazing around, having a picnic, watching all the children-dogs-lovers-runners-parents-friends doing their thing. Sushi from the nearby Whole Food supermarket at the Shops@Columbus Circle.


For dinner, we met a friend, D, from college and the significant other, B, at Righteous Urban Barbeque. You heard me right, R.U.B., where lots and lots of meat is rubbed with some voodoo mix, slowly cooked over a low fire, and then eaten greedily by new york bbq fans. No reservations here, so we placed our names on the waitlist and waited for a good half an hour before getting seated. IMHO, the food is worth the wait.


This is the baron's platter, all the meats in the house plus 2 sides. If I can recall, clockwise from top right is chicken, then sausage, ham, ribs, turkey, pastrami, brisket, and in the middle is something I cannot remember anymore. But it was all really really good. The out of place mush is collard greens, I think.


We also had more ribs, and "burnt ends", which is twice cooked burnt fatty stuff from the brisket, aka meat-lovers heaver. Our other sides were fries, onion rings (YUM!) and beans (MORE YUM!) In general, the meats were really flavorful, but drier than I was used to, as I'm used to ribs dripping with sauce. This is possibly because I'm not used to Kansas style bbq. However, a shot of the R.U.B house sauce fixed that up really quick.


Needless to say, we were majorly stuffed and very satisfied after that pig-out session.

Righteous Urban Barbeque (R.U.B. BBQ)
208 W 23rd St ~ NYC ~ Between 7th & 8th Ave
no reservations

Late Night NYC Grease Bomb

(Admittedly it's taken a while for me to post this. A combination of inertia and some laziness crept in. I will endeavour to capture the full flavour and emotion of this meal as far as I can remember even though it was 2 weeks ago.)



the last time mr tummy was in NYC back at the start of october last year, ms tummy introduced him to this place on the corner of 6th ave and 53rd street. apparently a legendary late night haunt of almost mythical proportions among those who know about its existence. ms tummy was tipped off about it through her housemate who told her that if she was in NYC, she had to try it.



did we try it? did we like it?



let's just say, we made it a point to come back and partake of this oasis of yummy-ness again. in fact, it was the first thing the tummies did when they got to the city. =)



the queue at this place is also somewhat legendary, it tends to stretch for at least 20-30 metres on an average night. pretty impressive for a mobile food truck in a city that has many other eateries open at this hour. an institution in its own right, it draws crowds in from all over the city (and the world!) the other food trucks on the same block must wonder what sort of drugs they add to the food to make people come back again and again. they can only stare in amazement and jealousy as night after night, people walk right past them without even giving them a second look and head straight for this little serving of heaven in a tin foil container.



so what exactly is this delectable delight? here it is.

the menu's pretty simple really. chicken or lamb? rice or wrap? and of course, you can order a mixed meat combo. (pictured here)

it's the perfect late night munchie with all the right ingredients. plenty of carbs (both yellow rice and several pieces of warm soft pita) to fuel the late night, generous servings of tender and savoury meat to give it that extra bite, crisp salad so you can say that it's actually healthy (heh), and of course, a mysterious white sauce and flaming hot chilli that brings it all together. MMMmmm.

needless to say, its an amazing and simple meal that really hits the spot. God only knows how many late night suppers i would eat here if i lived in NYC.

Corner of 6th Ave & 53rd NYC