Szechuan Gourmet - Chinese Restaurant in Midtown NYC, New York

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Recently, I went to Szechuan Gourmet with my colleagues for lunch. Be aware that there are several Chinese restaurants called Szechuan Gourmet! This one is located on 56th avenue. They even refer on their website to Szechuan Gourmet 56.

So, the particularity of Szechuan cuisine is that it is spicy. Fortunately, they put a chili in front of the dishes on the menu so you are not surprised, but you can anyway asked for mild or spicier if your stomach can make it!

The restaurant has two floors and can accommodate large parties. The service was fast and they kept checking on us to make sure we had a nice experience.

In term of food, they have the traditional dishes you would find in a Chinese restaurant: General Tso Chicken, eggplants with garlic sauce, fried rice, chow fun...But they also have other delicacies not so usual: Jelly fish (I tried once...not a favorite of mine!), duck tongues, or ox tongue and tripes. This time I was going for a more usual lunch...

So, we decided to order lunch menus: items are going between $7.95 to $9.50. You pick a soup, rice and dish. On top of it, we ordered some scallion pancakes for the table.

They were very good: crispy and not oily. 

Then, I asked whether it was possible to have an egg drop soup instead of a wonton or Hot & Sour one.

They graciously accepted. The soup was awesome: a bit gelatinous like I like it.

For the main dishes, we decided to share.

We ordered sliced chicken with baby eggplant. The eggplant were perfect and well cooked; they kind of absorbed the sauce that came with it (I am wondering if it was not a garlic sauce). The chicken was good and there were plenty.

The General Tso Chicken was delcious: crispy, tasty and not too spicy. It is a classic dish and a good test if you try a Chinese restaurant!

Then came the spicy scallops with roasted chili peanuts. This was the revelation of the day! It was my favorite. The sauce was so good. There was definitely a kick to it, but not too much. For sure, as it was for the lunch menu, they did not put as many scallops as you would have chicken, but there was a nice portion of it. Definitely a dish to try!

I had a great meal at Szechuan Gourmet, at an affordable price. Another great Chinese restaurant outside of Chinatown!

Enjoy (I did)!

 

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Pie Face Bakery Cafe in NYC, New York

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I have discovered Pie Face Bakery Cafe thanks to a co worker whose wife, Jane, is Australian. We were talking about Australia that we would like to visit one day and, at some point, we inquired about the food. It all started when talking about dessert. Jane mentioned the Lamington, a cake made of sponge cake with strawberry jam and coated with chocolate and coconut. I then learnt that there is a bakery on the corner of Broadway and 53rd called Pie Face. As you can imagine, it was my next mission possible to go there. 

To give you some background: Pie Face is a true Australian chain that opened its first location in NYC in January 2012. They are in fact opening a new location soon. It is in 2003 that Wayne Homschek and Betty Fong opened the fist Pie Face in Sydney, Australia and since, they have more than 70 shops, serving more than 18,000 pies a day! They are planning on opening 50 bakeries in Manhattan: pretty ambitious! So, what do they serve: the main specialty there is meat pie or potpie as some are vegetarian. The pie itself is a delicious puff pastry. What is smart is that they serve the pies in two sizes: regular and small. So you can try several small as I did. They were even proposing a menu for $8: three small pies (any choice) and a bottle of water. For somebody with a regular appetite like me (!), three small pies and a dessert is sufficient.

They also serve quiches and sandwiches; they mention baguettes, but it did not really look like baguettes! 

So I tried the small pies.

Each of them have a different face so you can differentiate them. I had:

• The tandoori vegetables one (with a V as a mouth): it was very tasty and had a delicious Indian flavor. The veggies were like a puree, at the exception of chick pies. It was not too spicy.
• The Mexican (with a X as a mouth): it was composed of ground beef, black beans and jalapenos. It was good but did not really remind me of Mexican flavors. The Jalapeno taste was even inexistent.
• The Chicken and Mushrooms: this was my least favorite. It was like eating a cream of mushrooms in a pie. I really did not like the texture.

From the three pies, the vegetarian one was the best!

Then, of course, I needed to try the desserts! I ordered few of them:

The cherry pie (bottom right) is one of their best sellers: it was very good! In fact all their desserts were perfect: good and not too sweet! The lemon pie was also delicious with its thick lemon layer. The other best seller I tried is the Pear and Ricotta pie.

It was, in a puff pastry, a layer of poached pears, a layer of ricotta that was caramelized on top. The three layers gave a nice balanced flavor.

Last, was the Lamington: I had to try it! And remember: I am not a huge fan of coconut!

It was delicious! The sponge cake was extremely light and moist. I was conquered!

At the end of this experience, I liked Pie Face, but mainly for the desserts. It seems that their chocolate mousse cake is very popular. I guess I will have to try it...Just for the blog...

Enjoy (I did)!

 

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Recipe: Almond cigars

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I love Almond Cigars. When I was a kid, my mom and my grand mother use to make them: it was driving me crazy! Well, it still does...

It is a treat that comes from North Africa, but in fact, as cuisine traveled, you can easily compare it to the baklava found in Greece or Middle East. It is a delicious dessert, served with a hot tea (best is with mint tea in fact).

The recipe below is very easy to make. In France, we used to make it with Feuilles de brick (brick sheets or dough) that are closed to phyllo sheets, but a bit different. You can find Brick sheets in the US, but it is way overpriced. So I decided to try with Phyllo dough. I admit that it was a bit challenging as the phyllo sheets were very thin!

So, here is the recipe for 14 cigars:

Phyllo dough

8.8 Oz (250 g) of almond powder.

5.3 Oz (150 g) of powdered sugar.

2 whole eggs and 1 egg white.

Put the almond powder, powdered sugar and eggs in a bowl.

Mix well until obtaining a uniform paste.

Now, let me explain how to shape the cigars. Take a 6 x 12 inches phyllo sheet. Fold it into two.

On one of the extremities (smaller length), place two to three tablespoons of almond paste.

Fold the phyllo on each side of the almond paste.

Then roll tight! Put a bit of water at the end to stick the edge to the cigar and maintain the flap down on a plate.

In a pan, put some vegetable oil on medium to high heat. Do not put it too hot as you want the almond paste to cook a little. Turn the cigars so they are cooked on all sides and remove them once golden brown.

Put them in a tray and add honey on top of it. Eat them at room temperature.

Et Voila! Bon appétit!

Enjoy (I did)!

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BLT Burger - The best burger in NYC, New York

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Today is National Hamburger Day and clearly I needed to celebrate it! So we decided to go to my favorite burger place in NY: BLT Burger.

If you do not know, BLT stands for Bistro Laurent Tourondel. Laurent Tourondel is a passionate and talented Chef, born and raised in Auvergne, France (great cheeses in Auvergne!). He told Food & Wine magazine that he ended up cooking because he was really bad at school. Today, his name is on several restaurants across the country: BLT Prime, BLT Steak, BLT Fish and...BLT Burger. 

Trust me: it is not because Laurent Tourondel is French that I like this place! I have tried many burgers here, but I can tell you: it is the best! The meat is always perfectly cooked, juicy and extremely tasty (yes: it tastes like real meat!), the bun is perfect (it is a sesame brioche bun).

So we decided to go today. We thought the place would be busy; first because it is most of the time, but also because they had a contest for the creation of the Dream burger: people could submit their creation and the one winning would get his/her burger on the menu. I submitted mine, but I guess it was too basic (some sort of burger reuben). So, there were not too many people. Good!

We started first with fried pickles, a Southern US specialty.

It is a slice of pickled dipped in a batter and fried, similar to the onion rings, but with pickles! I liked it! The taste was surprising as I could get the sour taste of the pickle mixed with the fried batter and the ranch chili-paprika dipping sauce that gave some kick to it.

Then, we got our burgers. We decided to order two different ones. The first one was the Maytag blue burger.

It is made with Maytag blue cheese, balsamic caramelized onions and mushrooms. At first, I was scared that the blue cheese would be too overpowering. Fortunately, there was just enough to give a taste that would not overshadow the taste of the meat. The onions and mushrooms were divine and a great addition, giving some texture to the burger.

The second burger was the classic one, with Vermont Cheddar cheese ($1 additional for the cheese).

It is simple and delicious. The meat on both burger was perfectly cooked (medium) and very juicy. It really tasted like meat, not like these burgers that you would get in fast food (I know: not the same price).

For the sides, we went for the onion rings.

The onion rings were good, a bit crispy and not too greasy. I just would have liked some ranch dressing with it.

We also got fries.

We chose the classic; otherwise, they propose waffle fries, sweet potato fries...These were like I like them: golden brown, crispy and regular cut.

The last thing we got was a vanilla milk shake.

Look: one of us had to sacrificed himself to get a combo price. I did. For $17, you can get a burger, fries and a milk shake. The later was very good. Not too thick, with the necessary amount of vanilla syrup. They gave the old fashion feel by serving it in an ice cream glass, adding whipped cream and top it with sprinkles. Delish! For You information, they also serve milk shakes with alcohol...

So, again, I was not disappointed by BLT Burger, that remains my top burger place in NYC. However, prices are a bit on the high range as for this meal we ended up with a bill of $52. Worth it though!

Enjoy (I did)!

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Momofuku Noodle Bar in NYC, New York

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If you recall, several months ago, I went to Momofuku Milk Bar for a snack. The experience was just ok.

As a reminder, Momofuku is a group of restaurants (Momofuku Noodle Bar, Momofuku Ssiam...) owned by Chef David Chang. In Japanese, it could be translated to "Lucky peach", but Chef David Chang once mentioned that it was in honor of Momofuku Ando, the inventor of the instant ramen. So, this time, we were thinking about having lunch at Momofuku Noodle Bar  located in the East Village to see what all the buzz was about.

We went there yesterday and arrived at around 11:45am. The restaurant was not yet opened (it opens at 12pm) and besides us, there were only two Canadian tourists waiting. So we decided to go for a walk in the nearby market. We came back after 10 minutes and surprisingly, there was already a line in front of the restaurant! Probably 20 people! The restaurant is quite bright, with light wood all over. You can either sit at the bar, the kitchen bar or the communal tables. We got seated at the bar, in front of the opened kitchen. It was perfect to see them cooked, but a bit hot...

They brought us the daily menu: Momofuku Noodle Bar is known for the buns as well as the ramen. We asked the waiter what he recommended for two and told us that typically, two people would share a bun, a noodle bowl and a side. So we went for that!

We started with the Shitake mushroom buns.

They bring you two buns that are very light and fluffly. They are opened and stuffed with mushrooms, cucumbers, scallions and hoisin sauce. I loved it: there were so many layers of flavors between the bun itself and the different components! I especially liked that they added cucumber for some crunch and to add some texture.

We also ordered the Spicy Miso Ramen, one of the most popular dishes, with the Momofuku ramen.

The bowl was pretty big and the food looked beautiful! It was composed of smoked chicken, Swiss chard, sesame seeds, a poached egg and noodles. I mixed the egg that was lightly poached and it  decomposed immediately. The broth alone was very good and tasty, but with all the ingredients mixed, it was succulent: each spoon was kind of a different flavor depending of which ingredient was on it. The noodles were delicious: perfectly cooked and very good. The dish was a bit spicy but not too much. 

For sure, do not go there on a first date as it is not that sexy when you eat ramen...

Last, we shared a side: the mushrooms with spinach, black garlic and thai chili.

There were different types of mushrooms and the sauce was brown butter. It was a hit! Very flavorful and the brown butter was to die for!

The fact that Momofuku Noodle Bar does not have desserts (they propose few items from the Milk Bar) was not a problem: the three dishes we ordered were delicious and we finished the meal satisfied! Momofuku Noodle Bar is definitely a place to try!

Enjoy (I did)!

And remember: I just want to eat!

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European Vacation - Part 15 - Lebanese Food in Berlin, Germany

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Towards the end of our vacations, in Berlin, we tried different types of cuisines. If you read my other blog posts, you probably seen two things:

1- German cuisine was not my forte. I admit that maybe it was because we did not find the good restaurants where maybe I would have had an epiphany!

2 - There were tons of ethnic cuisines...and I love it!

So let's start with Duniya, a Lebanese restaurant located in the Derag Living Hotel. The restaurant itself was nice with an outdoor patio, a cafe and the dining room. The server was a bit overwhelm and the service suffered from it. Imagine that the poor guy was the only one to take care of all the customers, going inside and outside intermittently. He clearly did not have time to take a break!

I love Lebanese food so it was a great occasion to have some. Not that we are missing Lebanese cuisine in NYC!

The menu offered several specialties that are pretty common: falafel, couscous, kebab...

So we had the falafel platter.

It was served with Tahini sauce, Lebaneh (cheese spread made with feta and sometimes cream cheese or mozzarella), hummus (chick pea spread) and some sort of ratatouille. The Falafel were just ok. A bit dry. However the hummus and Lebaneh were perfect on the pita bread that came with it!

We also had the lamb kebab.

It was supposed to be served with grilled vegetables. Unfortunately, they mainly served it with onions. Lots of onions. I also did not care about the pita they served with it: there was some tomato sauce on it and...onions...Too bad, because I really enjoyed the kebab itself: it had a delicious lamb taste and was very moist. 

We finished the dinner with a baklava and traditional mint tea.

The tea was good but I would have liked it stronger. It is the perfect drink with a baklava! The baklava was a bit dry, missing some honey.

So, at the end of the dinner, I was a bit disappointed. The food was just ok. I am sure there are better Lebanese restaurants in Berlin! So no need to go there!

Enjoy (the post)!

Duniya

Neue Roßstraße 11-12,

10179 Berlin 

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Monday May 28th is National Burger Day: don't go to Sonic!!!

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I tried Sonic because I was told that they have good burgers. I have no preconceive idea, so why not: you may end up with a big surprise!

Sonic is an old fast food chain founded in the 50's in Oklahoma. The one where I went was a drive-thru: as you can see on the photo, drivers park and will order from their car, through an inter-phone. Problem is that they had difficulties understanding my accent...but I ended up with the correct order! If you do not want to eat in your car, the only solution is to eat outside, on the patio, as there is no dining room. 

On the patio, it is the same principle: you order on the inter-phone.

Once your order is ready, a person on rollers will come to bring your order, napkins and sauces.

In term of menu, they had the classic: cheeseburger (with one or two patties), chicken sandwich, hot dog...So I went for the cheeseburger, one patty.

First, there was more lettuce than meat! And the meat looked grey! Not very appetizing.

Clearly not the best quality! And tasteless! Fortunately, I had the taste of the mayo and ketchup to give some flavor.

So, the cheeseburger was a miss. I was hopeful that the sides would be better. They had this great idea to propose small portions of sides for $1. It gives you the opportunity to try several. So we picked: onion rings, tater tots and fries.

The onion rings are supposed to be hand made. They were crispy, but had this weird sweet taste. I thought first that it was because of the onions they used, but there was definitely something in the batter that was throwing off the taste!

The fries were uneven: some were good and crispy, other were not. Fortunately, out of the three sides, the tater tots were good! A bit of crispiness, tasty and not greasy!

Last, I tried the milk shake. If was supposed to be hand dipped (meaning they use ice cream rather than a mix).

I chose a vanilla one. They definitely try to give a diner feel by adding whipped cream and a maraschino cherry on top. The milk shake was thick, but a bit tasteless. They probably did not put enough vanilla syrup in it. So again: a miss.

At the end of the day, I did not like what Sonic was proposing. I would go there only if there is no other option!

So, Monday May 28th being National Burger day, do not go to Sonic! Try more BLT Burger or Five Guys!

Enjoy (the post)!

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European Vacation - Part 14 - Vino Caffe in Munich, Germany

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If you read my post, you probably realized that my experience of German food was not that great. As I mentioned before, it might have been my cold or just the fact that I did not prepare enough the trip to make sure I would eat in the best places to try German cuisine. So I admit that from time to time, we had non German food, whether in Munich or Berlin. Interestingly enough, I noticed plenty of Asian restaurants (Thai, Indian...) as well as Doner cafe. And of course, Italian restaurants.

In fact, the best dinner I had in Germany, was at Vino Caffe, an Italian wine bar very close to our hotel. Clearly, the location was not ideal as not on a main street, but it seemed to be popular with mostly German customers (meaning, coming back because the food is good?).

I really liked the decor with this big shelf full of wine bottles that was separating the bar from the dining room.

The service was perfect and they were kind enough to describe the dishes for us as they did not have any menu in English.

We started with a Cream of white asparagus.

It was a large plate! The asparagus were mostly white but there were few slices of green ones. The soup was delicious: very creamy and tasty.

Then, we had homemade Taleggio cheese gnocchi. 

This was awesome! The gnocchi were very light and succulent; not only were they generous with the taleggio, but on top, they added parmesan and bacon for some slight smokiness! If you are at the same time a pasta and a cheese lover, this dish is for you! 

The last dish was seared scallops with a carpaccio of beets.

The presentation was beautiful with the nice contrast of colors. The scallops were perfectly seared and not rubbery at all. The beets were cooked and then very thinly sliced. Delicious!

I loved Vino Caffe: we had great cuisine for a good price! I would definitely recommend it!

VINO CAFFÉ

Hochbrückenstr. 14 / Ecke Herrnstr.

80331 München

www.vino-caffe.de

Enjoy (I did)!

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