First meal of 2020.
I thought this place was great, with a good variety in their bulgogi bento box. I do think though it is a bit pricey (the below picture is $30, which is the price of some AYCE).
Obao (53rd St)
So we went here for New Years since I wanted Asian fusion. This place did not disappoint.
From below, all but 1 dish were amazing, and I would get them all again.
Some of the dishes below: pad see-ew, pad Thai, catfish, steamed dumplings, pork belly, and salt and pepper shrimp.
They also had lychee martinis 🙂
The one dish from below I didn’t like was the brown/red beef dish.
Thai Villa
An interesting Thai restaurant.
I got their lunch special, which includes a soup plus their version of sui mai, plus pad Thai. I thought the Pad Thai was ok.
Next time I think I’ll try their pad see-we.
Momosan Ramen and Sake
Great ramen place, that would also be good for dining solo.
I got their house ramen, with a side of a pork belly bun. Also grabbed a warm sake. All terrific.
Menkui-Tei
So probably won’t go back here.
The ramen was ok (I got their tonkatsu ramen). However, I ordered sui mai as a side, and it was cold on the inside!
Hudson Clearwater
Went to this fancy restaurant as the last dinner of my New York trip.
For starters, we got the seafood appetizer platter. Could not go wrong with it.
For my main, got the braised beef. Also a great choice.
For dessert, got the apple crumbled with ice cream. Also great.
Nothing bad to say about this restaurant’s food (my first cocktail though I didn’t like so much, but their old fashion made up for it).
Ichi Umi
Tried this all you can eat Japanese and Korean restaurant in Korea Town (New York), and thought it was decent for the price (apparently they also have a location in Menlo Park).
The rice cakes was probably overall my favorite Korean dish, and then the bulgogi (when it just comes out of the oven). The crab cakes and tempura were also not bad. For the Japanese portion, the hot pot was the best part (sushi was not super fresh).
One piece of advice, for the hotpot, always do the ramen noodles.
For dessert, they did have cookies and cream ice cream, which was fine for cleansing the pallet.
Momofuku Noodle Bar
Checked out this ramen restaurant at the East Village.
This place is great for solo dining, as you can order and just sit at the bar (where you can also make some new friends).
I ordered the spicy beef ramen (had the chili sauce on the side so I could control the spicy ness), and the pork belly buns (which I actually thought was better than the ramen). Overall, really happy with this place.
And of course, I paired my meal with a glass of Sake.
Blue Bottle (Hudson Yard)
Same great taste as the SF locations. I got a mocha, of course. In addition, I tried the caramel chocolate chip cookie, and it is by far the best cookie I have ever had. In the center was basically a hard layer of chocolate. But combined with the Carmel, the sweetness was just right (somehow it was not overly sweet). Need to check if this cookie exists in the SF location.
Shake Shack (Hudson Yard)
Had to stop by this place for a snack, and of course got a shake and fries. Fries were great, and the shake was also good (got the coffee flavored ones). I did notice though that all the flavors are actually colored white. Hmm.
