O MAI in New York, NY

1

O Mai is a Vietnamese restaurant located in the trendy Chelsea. It is a decent size place with a warm decor and an interesting menu with unique dishes that can satisfy any palate. We went there on a Friday night and the place was packed. This is definitely the place to go if you like loud music, loud people and barely no light to see your food...Fortunately, the cuisine is worth it: delicious and packed in flavors. Each dish has a name in Vietnamese and there is always an hesitation to give the original name or the main ingredient; should I ask for Ca Bam or monkfish? Bo Luc Lac or beef sirloin? I tried the original names of the dishes, making sure I was pointing them on the menu so there would not be any misunderstanding, and I am glad to report that we got the dishes we wanted...thanks to my finger...

We started with the crispy vegetarian rolls (Cha Gio). Nothing extraordinary there, but still, good rolls, a bit hot as just made.

Then, I could not resist to try their grilled calamari, served with cucumber, tomato, mixed greens and fresh herbs.

I love calamari and was not disappointed at all: it was perfectly cooked, not rubbery and very refreshing with the salad.

Then, Jodi ordered a tilapia served with some vermicelli noodles.

The fish was deliciously spicy, flakey and moist.

On my side, I ordered the sugar cane shrimp:

It is as if the shrimp was put in a blender to create a thick paste that was then put around a sugar cane stick, before being grilled.

It was sitting on a sort of rice net and served with a rice crepe. The way I ate it was by putting some mint leaves, peanut sauce, peanuts, onions and of course shrimp on the rice crepe, and then roll it. It was delicious: I was expecting some sweetness from the sugar cane, but did not taste any. The roll was packed in flavors, the mint giving some freshness to the dish.

Last was dessert. We decided to order the warm banana bread with Tahitian vanilla ice cream.

It was just ok; the banana bread being a bit too dry, it would have been better served with a creme anglaise.

This was a nice dinner and the service was very good. I love the food at O Mai: packed in flavors that are original and surprising. Would I go back? Sure!

Enjoy (I did)!



If you like this post or the photos, feel free to share it using the toolbar below or to write a comment! 

And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Continue Reading »

Brunch at Montmartre in New York, NY

0

Going to brunch with friends is always exciting. Not only because of the pleasure to see them, but also because we always try to make it a culinary experience. So, this time, we went to Montmartre, a French restaurant located in Chelsea, after our friend Gary read an article in NY Magazine that said that they had the best burger in town. Now, that's a statement and I could not wait to go there. 

If you never went to Paris, know that Montmartre is one of the famous areas there. Located on a hill, and topped by the Sacré Coeur basilica, it was the place where many artists like Salvador Dalí, Modigliani, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso and Vincent van Gogh, had studios. Today, you can still see painters, but I admit that it is becoming mostly a touristy place, losing a bit of its charm.

So, the restaurant, that had been opened for more than one and a half year by Gabriel Stulman, is an ode to French cuisine...minus the burger..., but not only. There, Chef Tien Ho crafted a menu on its own, interpreting dishes with a French flair. For instance, the chicken and waffles becomes the poulet and pain perdu; and then the burger. 

Yes, it is not you regular burger, but more like a sandwich version of it, the bun being replaced by two slices of bread, grilled similar to a grilled cheese, and a béarnaise cheese, that is a fusion between béarnaise sauce and a cheese sauce, smothering the patty made of dry aged beef.

It looked very appetizing. The first bite was just bread as the shape of the patty did not espouse the shape of the bread.

The meat, perfectly cooked medium was juicy. However, it was no match to the one at 5 Napkin Burger, being less tasty.

The béarnaise cheese was a nice twist though and there was a nice amount of it.

Served with the burger were fries that were delicious: skin on, they were lightly salted and a bit crispy.

Jodi ordered the omelette:

Served with toast and some baby lettuce, it was filled with lots of oyster mushrooms, leeks and goat cheese. That was a very good omelette, not only because of the delicious filling, but also because the eggs were perfectly cooked, soft and not dry.

For dessert, they proposed us the clémentine pot de crème that was succulent.

 Nice presentation with the bowl matching the color of the clémentine. I liked it: they added some macadamia nuts for crunch and I really liked the fact that it was not too sweet, was fresh, making it the perfect Summer dessert.

For beverages, I, of course, got some espresso (yes, it is a double...):

And a fresh squeezed orange juice that was just ok, tasting a bit watered down.

Even if I do not think that the burger is not the best in New York City, I really liked the brunch at Montmartre. The service was very good and welcoming and the garden in the back is definitely a big asset.

I would not mind going back there, maybe for dinner in fact.

Enjoy (I did)!

If you like this post or the photos, feel free to share it using the toolbar below or to write a comment!   

And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Continue Reading »

Kung Fu Little Steamed Buns Ramen in New York, NY

0

Don't be fooled by the word ramen in its name: Kung Fu Little Steamed Buns Ramen is a Chinese restaurant that offers flavorful dishes at prices that do not break the bank. There, one of their star item is the lamian or hand pulled noodles that Chef Peter Song, a native from China, prepares in the kitchen. 

This is a small place, crowded, especially during the week, being located on 8th avenue and so, spoiled with a lot of passage. 

We decided to go on a Saturday early evening. I guess we were right not to go too late as, when we left, the restaurant was full. And trust me, it filled up quickly as we did not stay hours there: you sit, you eat and you go. Not that they were pressing us to leave, but this is not the place for a tête à tête, the tables being very close to each other. Don't get me wrong: you get the same feel when you go to other ramen places like Menkuitei or Totto Ramen. 

So we decided to try some of their little steamed buns and ramen. 

We shared:

The Kung Fu steamed pork buns:

These are soup dumplings that I guess are a hit in most restaurant, not only for the taste, but also because people try to understand how the soup made it inside (they do not use a syringe, but just freeze it, before putting it in the dumpling). It was fairly good, a bit fatty, but in a good way. I would put them at the level of Joe's Shanghai. 

The way I eat them is from the top, after placing the dumpling on a spoon (the plate is for the photo only...). 

Only problem was that it was a bit sticky and we had to be careful when lifting them from the steamer as one or two broke and leaked. 

Then, we tried the vegetable dumplings:

For sure, the green color stood out...inside and outside. It was just ok for me: too much broccoli and the filling was a bit dry. 

Last was the ramen. I decided to go for the roasted duck one. 

I forgot how difficult it can be to eat duck with chopsticks because of the bones. But I made it. It was very flavorful altogether, the duck giving lots of flavors to the broth that, on its own, did not stand up like the broths you can have at places like Ivan Ramen or Ippudo.

The noodles were delicious and perfectly cooked.

It was ok. Would I go back? Maybe. This is not a must go.

Enjoy (I did)!

If you like this post or the photos, feel free to share it using the toolbar below or to write a comment! 

And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Continue Reading »

Buddakan in New York, NY

0

Buddakan was on my list for a while and I was thrilled when Jodi picked this restaurant for her birthday (ok, I did not tell the restaurant it was her special day as she hates it when they come with a cake and sing...).

As soon as we entered, we were amazed by the impressive decor of the venue.

I am not sure if they did that on purpose, but they walked us all around the main dining room before bringing us to the table, allowing us to see how this more than 250 seat restaurant was organized.

So we sat at a table and I truly appreciated being able to talk without screaming to Jodi, until they started to lower the lights and put some loud music. I think that was the only negative of the whole experience. I should have known had I looked at the history of the place: it was opened in 1998 by acclaimed restauranteur Stephen Starr (Morimoto, Fette Sau...) who is a fan of music and decided to name the restaurant in honor of Nippon Budokan, an indoor venue in Tokyo where artists like Bob Dylan, Cheap Trick and Ozzy Osbourne performed.

The menu, crafted by Executive Chefs Yuang Huang and Brian Ray is Chinese, but with a twist. We decided to start with some appetizers. First was the tuna tartare spring rolls:

This was a very interesting dish, combining the lightness and freshness of the tartare that had a slight kick with the crispiness of the roll.

The second appetizer was the hoisin glazed pork belly:

The pork belly was served with soft steams buns that were very light, soft and slightly sticky.

And the pork belly smothered in this wonderfully sweet hoisin sauce:

What we did was to put some pork belly, cabbage and shallots in a bun, et voila!

Then, we got some entrees. Jodi ordered the wild mushroom chow fun that was succulent, the chow fun being perfectly cooked and very tasty, and with a nice quantity of mushrooms.

On my side, I chose the black pepper beef that was a ribeye steak sautéed in a wok and accompanied with a bird's nest (well more like a cracker than a real nest):

The presentation was amazing and the way you eat that dish is by mixing the steak and onions with the nest that you pulverize with your fork. This is a dish I recommend: original, the ribeye was perfectly cooked and tender. Knowing that ribeye is my favorite piece of meat, I could hear angels singing behind me after each bite.

As Jodi loves sugar snap peas, we ordered some as a side:

They were served with soy tapioca and mushrooms. Although I am not the biggest fan of sugar snap peas, I really liked that dish.

Of course, we could not finish our meal without any dessert! We ordered their best seller: the crying chocolate.

Served with a Vietnamese coffee ice cream, it was made of malted chocolate ganache and when we ate it, we could see it crying, the chocolate slightly dripping from the top to the bottom.

It might have been the most ordered dessert, it was not my favorite. The almond bread pudding, suggested by our waiter, was fantastic!

Served with a whiskey ice cream, it was topped with caramelized bananas and bathed in a butterscotch sauce. Imagine that Jodi, who does not like almonds loved it (so I had to share...). Not overly sweet, it was divine and I certainly recommend it.

After this feast, a nice walk was necessary. Despite the night club atmosphere, Buddakan is definitely one of the best Chinese restaurants for that category: the food was delicious and the service excellent. I definitely have this restaurant on my list of must do.

Enjoy (I sure did)!

If you like this post or the photos, feel free to share it using the toolbar below or to write a comment! 

And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Continue Reading »