The Chubby Gourmet

2011-03-17T21:18:00.004-04:00

Bad day at work for H. So-so day at work for me. Nothing like a combination plate of store-bought and home-made leftovers for dinner to round out this Thursday: - my pork cabbage rolls - cha siew rice from Chinatown - remnants of my semi-home-made bah kut teh from last night's dinner Ahhhhhh

Hecho en Dumbo (now on the Bowery in Manhattan)

2010-08-06T19:23:00.001-04:00

Hecho en Dumbo was a well-known Mexican eatery when it was at its original location in Brooklyn. The entire restaurant moved over to Manhattan earlier this year (I think) and has managed to retain its large following. I was secretly pleased I was able to snag a prime seating by the open kitchen bar at the back of the restaurant when I arrived at 7.30pm on a Tuesday night. Shortly thereafter,

An Evening in Brooklyn

2010-08-05T21:24:00.002-04:00

Al di La is a restaurant that's been on my list of restaurants to try for years. YEARS! I'd always been impressed by how the reviews remained stellar after all this time. Finally, on a Friday evening recently, I decided to hit it. The restaurant has a no-reservations policy and a lot of the reviews comment on how long the wait could be. So I decided that I'd dine alone since it's always

A Delicious Sammich!

2010-08-03T07:15:00.003-04:00

I tasted this recently, on a day at the beach (Long Island Beach to be exact). It was truly wonderful! My friend got it from Parisi Bakery in NoLIta. It was ham, American cheese, tomatoes and some freshly-cracked black pepper on a round, semolina roll. The heat from the sun melted out the cheese a little by the time we were ready to eat the sandwich and actually made the sandwich really

Hester Street Fair

2010-08-02T22:09:00.003-04:00

I've heard SO much about the Hester Street Fair over the past year. I finally checked it out a few weeks ago with some friends. And BOY am I glad I did. The fair was amazing!!! Granted, it was a lot tinier than I expected. However, the quality of the vendors more than made up for the lack in size. I have to admit that there are a few hit-or-misses - I'm definitely not a fan of the too-dry

ABC Kitchen

2010-08-02T21:18:00.004-04:00

Hello there! It's been a while. I was busy the last few months. Getting ready to get married this October :D. Food-wise, I've tried not to miss out on too much though. Here's my latest update on ABC Kitchen. This is Jean Georges Vongerichten's newest restaurant, located inside/beside the ABC Carpet and Home store by Union Square. ABC Kitchen 35 E 18th Street between Broadway and Park

Toronto Ahoy! (part deux) - Splendido

2010-03-24T22:59:00.003-04:00

Part 2 to my part 2. I wanted to send off my final evening in Toronto with a blast, gastronomically. After searching through a few sites, I got word of Splendido. It sounded like an upscale, modern Italian restaurant. Management changed recently but apparently the standard has remained. Its menu presented dishes that have an Italian flare but also combined with a slight twist that made them

Pulino's - Finally!

2010-03-22T21:36:00.002-04:00

There's been a lot of buzz about this place. Keith McNally's (owner and restaurateur extraordinaire of Balthazar, Odeon, Lucky Strike, Pastis, Schiller's Liquor Bar - to name a few) newest baby finally opened this month. Eater has been tantalizing me for weeks with tiny snippets of news, updates about the status of construction, the menu, and photos of the bathroom even. I was thrilled and

A Great Way to Spend Sunday Lunch

2010-03-19T22:07:00.002-04:00

Big Wong is one of my favorite places in Chinatown for Chinese roast meats and casual Hong Kong cafe-style goodies. They have a wide selection of dishes, they are cheap and they are quick. A great lunch option for a lazy Sunday or even a hectic Sunday when you are running around getting groceries for the week. Something to note about casual Chinese places like Big Wong, you can really ask them

Toronto Ahoy! (part deux) - Guu Izakaya & Black Camel

2010-03-19T06:40:00.006-04:00

I'm here again! This time to process some visa-related issues. Nevertheless, the eating continues! First up: Guu Izakaya - I first heard about this place from a fellow foodie friend. Rumor has it that people will wait an hour to get into here. A line?! I'm in! After some googling, it seems like this joint is a bonafide foodie destination worthy of my trekking (although to be honest, it

A Night Out on Town in a Hurricane (sorta)

2010-03-16T21:22:00.001-04:00

This weekend was a total washout. There was rain, wind and some more rain. So much rain, in fact, it almost felt tropical, short of my breath smoking up in the cold. But a friend was in town and as our schedules were both limited, this was really the only time we could meet up. As my friend wanted to go somewhere in the meatpacking district, and we were making reservations pretty last minute,

A Delightful Lunch

2010-03-10T10:42:00.001-05:00

How simple and delicious - room service at the Intercontinental Hotel on Front Street West, Toronto - a grilled shrimp caesar salad with an added side order of sauteed mushrooms mixed in:

Toronto Ahoy!

2010-03-10T10:37:00.002-05:00

I'm in Toronto for a few days, attending a work conference. The food in this city is rather renown. There is quite a lot of character, with an eclectic mix of flea and farmers' markets, ethnic markets, fine-dining restaurants and casual cafes. Here are a few of my top picks this trip (in no particular order): 1. Carousel Bakery's Peameal Bacon Breakfast Sandwich: Peameal bacon is a type of

Has W 48th Street (btn 6th & 7th Aves) become a mini restaurant row of sorts??

2010-03-10T08:16:00.001-05:00

Mondays - NYC Cravings food truck - taiwanese fried chicken or pork chop on rice w marinated ground pork sauce and pickles, siu mai, dumplings, rice dumplings (zhong zi). The aroma of the marinated ground pork sauce and the fried chicken wafts through the entire perimeter of the truck; it's the best marketing tool they have! Wednesdays - Schnitzel and Things food truck - constantly sold-out -

The Suckling Pig Speaks...

2010-03-06T23:25:00.001-05:00

I was psyched to go to Maialino recently for dinner. It's a relatively new Danny Meyer restaurant located inside the Gramercy Hotel. The overall experience didn't disappoint. The restaurant was bustling the way a somewhat up-and-coming restaurant should but the atmosphere remained very comfortable and the food (although a little salty for some) was generally well-executed. Maialino 2

Dinner at A Voce (Madison Ave)

2010-03-06T22:17:00.003-05:00

I’ve been to A Voce once before, many years ago when Andrew Carmellini was still the executive chef at this restaurant. In my memory, that was a pleasant, elegant meal. This past Thursday, I went again. The chef now is Missy Robins. The memory created this time was a little marred in spite of the good food. A Voce41 Madison Ave (at 26th Street) The space is still as before, warm with wood

Noodles That Soak Up All That Flavor

2010-03-05T07:20:00.005-05:00

One of my favorite comforts in NYC is the pad si ew at Pongsri Thai. I've been frequenting this restaurant on W48th Street over the past 2 - 3 years. It's a rather late 'discovery' on my part, due to the fact that I never really got over my passionate love for Rod Dee and the feeling that nothing else in North America could compare to that home-style Thai food mecca tucked 4 hours (by car/bus)

Food-Unrelated but...

2010-03-04T07:12:00.002-05:00

The sweetest sleep I've ever had has been the sleep I've gotten when I'm utterly jet-lagged and dozing off into zzz-land.

Food Bites

2010-03-01T19:59:00.001-05:00

The CUTEST little food magnets I found in Singapore, in the basement of Raffles City Shopping Centre.

Volcano Bread on a Monday Morning

2010-03-01T19:45:00.005-05:00

I was over at Momofuku Milk Bar this past Sunday. Momofuku Milk Bar 207 2nd Avenue at E 13th Street (entrance on E 13th Street, around the corner from Ssam Bar) As usual, a wide variety of dazzling, strange and oh-so-tempting desserts and menu options inundate my visual horizon while I was there. Good thing there is always a line at Milk Bar. So I bided my time and decided to make up my mind

Sunday Lunch in the East Village

2010-02-28T16:56:00.010-05:00

I like my Sundays. I have a routine and I thoroughly enjoy it. I (try) to go to church. I get my laundry done (ahh, clean clothes!) and watch Food TV while I'm waiting in between the cycles. I grocery shop. I make soup to last me the rest of the week. And very often, I try out a new place for lunch that I've been reading about during the week. This Sunday, I decided to try out the Pho Real

My Favorite Miso to-date

2010-02-28T06:24:00.004-05:00

This is an empty container of my favorite miso. I love it because it has this uniquely buttery aroma to it. It is slightly sweet and the coarsely-ground soybeans in this miso also add a wonderful layer of nuttiness and bite to the paste. I bought this package from the Mitsuwa Japanese grocery market in Edgewater, New Jersey. Anyone with any idea on the background or written quality of this

Snackages: Camille Bloch's Ragusa (heaven in a little block)

2010-02-28T06:15:00.006-05:00

I first came across these delectable little confections at an airport Dutyfree last year, during my layover in Frankfurt, enroute back to New York from Singapore. I always enjoy checking out foods in different countries because, well, I'm always hungry firstly and am looking for something to eat but also secondly, I love discovering new varieties of foods and being able to say "Hey! I've never

A Salty Piece of Fish (to go with your steaming plate of rice)

2010-02-28T05:18:00.006-05:00

I was inspired to create this dish after reading about Just Hungry's saba no miso ni. However instead of mackerel, I decided to experiment with monkfish - primarily because I figured the thick piece of monkfish that I already have in my freezer is going to require some method of cooking that needs a long cooking time. Monkfish differs from mackerel in that it is much meatier and less oily.

Snackages: Yoku Moku Billet

2010-02-27T09:15:00.012-05:00

I first sampled Yoku Moku's delectable butter cookies when I was in my late teens / early twenties and holidaying in Singapore. A good friend of mine, who was going to college in LA at that time, used to give me a box of those cookies as my Christmas present whenever we met up back in Singapore during our respective year-end school vacations. Buttery and decadent in its ingredients and