the Pabo page

Hyo Dong Gak 10 Year Aniversary Special

noreply@blogger.com (Pabo76) — Wed, 24 Jul 2013 19:36:00 +0000

Hyo Dong Gak's 10 Year Anniversary Special, $6.95 Jajangmyeon from 11:00am to 5:00pm.

In celebration of 10 years of service, K-Town's original Korean-Chinese joint Hyo Dong Gak is offering its Jajangmyeon (Noodles With Brown Peking Sauce) for $6.95 from 11:00am to 5:00pm. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Korean-Chinese cuisine, Jajangmyeon is it's signature dish, basically its spaghetti with a sauce comprised of fermented black bean paste, onions, small cubes of potato, and pork. Other veggies are often thrown into the mix, but at Hyo Dong Gak, they stick to the basics.

Jajangmyeon

Mix your Jajangmyeon well, as you would your BiBimBap

While perhaps not as bad as Daniel, the service provided for non-Koreans in K-Town can vary, especially in regards to what comes out to the table. So be sure that your server provides you with the requisite side of kimchee, raw onion, pickled yellow #5 daikon slices, and dab of jajang sauce (for dipping your raw onions into).

How your Jajangmyeon should be served

March Madness

noreply@blogger.com (Pabo76) — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 19:15:00 +0000

This weekend consisted of whatever my wife and I happened to be doing between various March Madness matchups. It began Friday, meeting friends after work between Midtown and the Upper West Side. After far too many, my last clear memories had something to do with how wonderful the combination of Korean red pepper, SPAM and soju were while closing the night out at Po'Cha 32 in K-town (which btw more than deserves it own post, someday).

Originally the fantasy was to start Saturday early with a 9:00am visit to Williamsburg's Egg for some breakfast. But as often happens, our hangovers derailed any hopes for such an early start. Still with temperatures heading toward the mid-70's we were motivated to make it out to breakfast and still make it to the Brooklyn Botanical Garden while admission was still free (Saturday's 10am-12pm).

Daffodils

The garden was absolutely wonderful. By the early afternoon it was so warm that standing in the direct sunlight was almost too hot. While the garden is still awaking from its long winter slumber, signs of spring abound everywhere. If they aren't already open, buds are about to burst, while daffodils, snow drops, crocuses, magnolias, and many other flowers are in full bloom.

Crocuses light up the Brooklyn Botanical Garden

As if to show how food is always on our minds. Seeing a field of crocuses reminded my wife that we were out of saffron. As it happens, a few days earlier I was trolling the interwebs and found that Despaña (perhaps more famous for its SoHo store) had its wholesale outlet in Jackson Heights. Thus we decided that on our way back to Astoria, we'd stop by and see what kind of Spanish goods we could enjoy on this lovely Saturday.

It turned out that on Saturdays, Despaña offers a wide sampling of their goods including an array of Spanish cheeses, meats, olive oils and pastries. These included several types of and ages of hams and cheeses, as well as varying types of chorizo. To top it all off, it was all accompanied by copious amounts of complimentary wine. What was to be a routine jaunt to the store turned out to be a wonderful (and free!) siesta.

After such a busy Friday night, and Saturday morning, we'd eventually spend the rest of the day largely vegging out while watching more bball at home. As the games wound down, we found ourselves calling it an early night.

Sunday was far more mellow, yet we still managed to stumble upon some new discoveries as we made our back to Jackson Heights for some Desi lunch at Dosa Place. We left our house having skipped any sort of breakfast, thus eagerly awaited sitting down to eat. Much to our dismay we got to Dosa Place around 11:15 and were told they were still getting ready to open (though the sign and menu claim an 11am opening). However as they say back in the mothership "SaeOngJiMa!" This roughly translates into something like "every cloud has a silver lining" or for you Sino-Korean scholars out there 새옹지마 / 塞翁之馬 .

With the choice of finding alternate plans or killing time, we choose the later. It was then we found on our silver lining, as we'd eventually come upon a storefront (Bhim's Cafe) which had a sign proclaiming "Momos Sold Here." We had heard a lot about momos from our Nepali friends, but had never actually eaten them, thus we took this as a sign that the food gods had decided that now was the time.

Walking into Bhim's, we found that they too were just opening. fortunately they were ready to serve us up some momos. We were given the choice between chicken and veg, and we went with the veg. A few minutes later our auntie brought us a plateful of steamed veggie momo's.

Veggie Momos

Perhaps just like Nepalis and other Himalayan peoples, momos resemble their East Asian brethren but have an uniquely South Asian influence. With the momo initially we expected to taste something just like most other mandoo-gyoza-dumpling kind of experience we've had but from the first bite, we were to be delightfully suprised. On the outside, the momos we ate were indistinguishable from a mandoo, and even the innards were pretty much the same cabbage, carrot, etc stuffing you'd find in any generic East Asian dumpling, but the seasoning was definitely more Indian type curry tasting, and delightfully so. It is certainly something that everyone should try.

Momo innards

Finally after finishing up our momos, we made our way back to the Dosa Place, where despite the name, my wife ordered Vegetable Biryani and I ordered the Thali which included the whole lot of what is pictured below for only $8.95. I can't really think of a better brunch in NY for such a price. But if its out there I know that we'll be searching for it.

Dosa Place's Thali
Two Veggies,Dal, Sambar, Rasam, Rice, Roti (not pictured), Pickles, Pappadam and Payasam

Po'Cha 32
15 W. 32nd St., 2nd fl.
New York, NY 10001

Despaña Brand Foods
86-17 Northern Blvd.
Jackson Heights, NY 11372

Bhim's Cafe,
74-10 37th Rd,
Jackson Heights, NY 11372.

Dosa Place,
35-66 73rd St
Jackson Heights, NY 11372.

Flavors of Chung Moo Rollrice

noreply@blogger.com (Pabo76) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 06:32:00 +0000

Dduk Boki

Every now and again, the most wonderful transcendent joy can found in the most unexpected places. For example, last night my wife and I went to Flushing short on time and awash in hunger. With a little over half an hour on our hands, our plan was to simply get something fast before moving on to our next engagement. As luck would have it we found ourselves near a tiny Korean snack shop, Chung Moo Rollrice & Dongas.

Previously we had been to Chung Moo before, but only to pick up some of their fried goods, which include all of the following dipped in battered and perfectly fried: sweet potatoes, squid and little rolls of rice and glass noodles wrapped in kim. What we got was always well made, but fairly average, so we weren't really expecting much. However this was the first time we actually grabbed a table, and perused the rest of the menu.

As this was what Koreans would consider our native fast food, the menu was primarily composed of BoonShik Jip (Snack Shop) classics like noodles, dumplings, and (as the bizarre translation of the house's name suggests) kimbap and tonkatsu. Always ones to err on the side of what's least likely to be screwed up we went with Korea's most common street food classics Dduk Boki (Rice Cakes in Red Pepper Paste) and KimChee ManDoo (KimChee and Meat Dumplings).

Since the room only seats about 12 people, and half the space is taken by the service counter/kitchen we only needed to shout our order to the auntie. Immediately upon ordering, another auntie brought us two bowls of complimentary o-Deng (aka o-den or kamaboko) broth. It was from that point on that we was instantly transported back to the streets of Seoul where most anywhere you're bound to run into Korea's prolific street food. We would find that these foods are Chung Moo's stock-in-trade and the Ah-jum-mah (Korean phrase for Auntie) and her assistant have done well to represent the scene here in NY.

Hye with BoonShik

Almost as soon as I washed down my first gulp of o-deng soup (which is also the complimentary drink of the street in Korea) we were brought our Dduk Boki which was cooked perfectly al dente while its the kojuchang sauce was just the right balance of spicy and sweet. Meanwhile our KimChee Mandoo was also cooked with care so that it was perfectly crispy but not greasy. As accompaniment we were brought a the typical Korean soy sauce dip (soy sauce with a bit of pepper, red pepper flakes, etc), however as they do "back home," we just dipped our dumplings into the Dduk Boki sauce. The sauce is also perfect for any of the other fried items on the menu as well.

While my wife and I partook silently and in contemplative wonder of the most humble and common of Korean foods, we observed a parade of all the colors of Queens come through to order take out on their way home from work. Then as other customers finished and moved on, which would eventually include us, Ah-jum-mah asked if the food was okay. We were sure to let her know we loved it, and to keep up the great work.

Fried KimChee ManDoo

Chung Moo Rollrice & Dongas
(충무김밥 & 돈까스)
39-04 Union Street
Flushing NY 11354.

Pappardelle with Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce

noreply@blogger.com (Pabo76) — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 14:22:00 +0000

A quick an easy dinner adapted from this recipe for Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce. Some nice touches took this dish over the top. This included the addition of crimini mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes (which we brought from Italy, and later re-hydrated then packed in olive oil and garlic), and fresh Raffetto's pappardelle.

$3.99 JaJangMyun Special at KumMoon Do

noreply@blogger.com (Pabo76) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 18:22:00 +0000

Continuing the theme of exposing specials advertised in Korean only, the PaboPage is here to report that the Korean-Chinese restaurant KumMoon Do (pronounced like Kum-Moon-D'oh!) in Flushing is offering bowls of JaJangMyun for only $3.99.

The offer is presently running all day, everyday, with the only exception being that it is only good for dine-in only. So if you somehow you can find your way to the corner of Northern Blvd and Murray St, go now and get your JaJangMyun fix, for less than the cost of a round-trip fare on the MTA.

KumMoon Do
152-12 Northern Blvd.
Flushing, NY 11354

$4.99 Lunch Special at Shilla

noreply@blogger.com (Pabo76) — Tue, 12 May 2009 20:24:00 +0000

Intrepid eaters willing to cross cultural and linguistic boundaries in the quest to expand their gastronomic horizons have often encountered the following experience. When going to establishments which serve authentic "ethnic," cuisine and are frequented by a clientele composed primarily of that ethnicity, English largely goes out the window. Save for a basic menu of standards that the proprietors believe that outsiders are likely to order, much of the "real," menu remains untranslated.

While some might see this as conspiracy of the other, to keep the man out. I think it is probably more the result of complacency (and a lack of faith in the adventurousness in the American eater) . Many dishes and their ingredients do not easily translate into anything meaningful to the general public. Going through the effort to make such a menu is seen as too much of a unprofitable hassle for most. Unfortunately this can result in missing out on changing specials, new menu items and the like for those who can't read or speak a certain language.

A good example of this phenomenon is now taking place at K-town's Shilla Restaurant where during the month of May six popular Korean dishes and a variety of pan'chan are available for only $4.99 during lunch (11:00a-3:00p). The special is advertised throughout the restaurant as well as on the window out to the street, however every sign is in Korean.

As a service to all my non-Korean speaking brothers and sisters out there, here is my translation of the above menu. I took photos of about half the menu thus far, so without further ado, the $4.99 menu (in order of their menu listing) is...

DenJang JiGae
fermented soy-bean soup

Soon DuBu
spicy Tofu Stew

Hae Jang Gook
"Hangover Stew," a blend of beef stock, bean sprouts, napa cabbage, and sweet potato stems.

The remainder of the menu includes, KimChee JiGae (KimChee Stew), Sol Long Tang (Ox Bone Soup) and Kong Bi Ji (would take to much time to explain ;) .

I've had the chance to try them all and they were all fairly decent interpretations of standard Korean dishes. The KimChee JiGae and Soon DuBu tend to go towards the HOT side, while the rest of the dishes tend to be on the earthy side of the flavor scale. All of the dishes come with a bowl of rice and a selection of pan'chan.

Remember places like this aren't trying to keep you out, they're just lazy! If you ask the servers or other patrons for some help, most of the time you'll find that they'll be more than happy to help you try something new. Someday the people who run such places will become fully assimilated, speak only English and lose their penchant for using spice. Then foodies of the future will lament the loss of another culinary tradition. So until then, eat it while you still can. Besides where else you going to get all this for only $4.99?!

Shilla
37 W 32nd St.
New York, NY 10001.

Scenes of Winter

noreply@blogger.com (Pabo76) — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 23:09:00 +0000

New York City saw its first "significant" accumulation of snow today. For the most part the result was a slushy mess, however a few inches of snow did manage to settle down and cover the city in a wintry white. Here are some scenes from mid-afternoon in the middle of the storm.

54th St

42nd St and 6th Ave

9th Ave

Return to the Mothership

noreply@blogger.com (Pabo76) — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 01:38:00 +0000

Our first sunrise in Asia, as seen from the plane as we passed over Alaska

My wife and I have made our first return to Korea in over 2 years. It is now the third day of our trip and already we have met several family members, eaten several memorable meals, and seen a lot of unique sites. There is so much to share, so its my hope to update this blog at least every couple of days. In the meantime, please check out my flickrstream which I will updating regularly.

For now here are some of the early sites we've seen so far...

Friday night crowd in MyeongDong, Seoul's fashion and general night life mecca.

Smiles all around in MyeongDong. Generally Koreans don't have a reputation for being the most lighthearted people, but I think these sorts of scenes prove otherwise

CheongGyeCheon

Victory!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Pabo76) — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 21:09:00 +0000

YES WE CAN!

Gahm Mi Oak

noreply@blogger.com (Pabo76) — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 17:57:00 +0000

Seol Long Tang

With longer nights, falling temperatures and the impending end of the global financial system, times have never been more appropriate for some good ol' comfort food to soothe the soul. In my case whenever I'm feeling particularly down either spiritually and/or physically I invariably turn to my gastronomic roots, and seek some good Korean food.

Among my favorite cold weather Korean comfort foods is the classic soup Sul Long Tang, and perhaps no place in the city does it better than Gahm Mi Oak in Midtown. While Gahm Mi Oak offers a handful of other dishes as well, most everyone comes for the sublime milky broth that is at the heart of Sul Long Tang. The broth is derived from the slow boiling of ox bones over the course a day. Once the broth is done, rice, somyun noodles, and slices of beef are also added. To add the final touch, each table in Gahm Mi Oak also has bowls of roasted sea salt (add sparingly), black pepper and green onions for garnish.

Of course as in nearly every Korean experience, the meal is never truly complete without the addition of kimchi, and here is another area in which Gahm Mi Oak excels. As a counterpoint to the soup, the kimchi served here is of a slightly more aged and more pungently fermented than the kind you would typically be served. To indulge in this pairing of old stinky kimchi with simple beef broth is an truly an epiphany of the Korean gastronomic experience. Thus upon making your order, your server will return to you with a large bowl of KkakDuKi (Daikon KimChi) and BaeChu KimChi (Napa), and then ceremonially cut it into more manageable pieces.

As mentioned earlier Gahm Mi Oak has a handful other menu items, and a quick visual survey of fellow diners, will reveal that the handful of other menu items (SoonDae Sausage, BoSsam, and the ever present BiBimBap, which my aunt swears by) also sell quite well. For myself and my wife a bowl of Seol Long Tang and a good helping of KimChi are more than enough, but knowing that the BinDaeDuk (Mung Bean Pancakes) here are wonderful (think Korean latkes, but made with mung beans, and filled with veggies), I had to order some as well.

A serving of Seol Long Tang makes a great hearty meal and at $8.50 a pop (24/7), a great value as well. As the weather gets colder, and world seems to become ever gloomier, order some soup, and soothe your Seoul ;)

BinDaeDuk

Gahm Mi Oak
43 W. 32nd St.
New York, NY 10001
212-695-4113

HanBat

noreply@blogger.com (Pabo76) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 05:00:00 +0000

GobDol BiBimBap

With commodity prices continuing to soar, finding a healthy and affordable meal in Midtown has gone from slight challenge to near impossibility. However for those who are fortunate enough to have easy access to Koreatown, and are willing to spend around $8-12 for lunch, can choose from among at least a dozen different delicious and fairly authentic Korean establishments.

Now as most American are still relatively unfamiliar with Korean cuisine, I find that many Korean-American restaurants, are really nothing more than Korean diners. That is to say just as the prototypical American diner has its encyclopedic menu with "served 24/7," breakfast menu, BLTs and chicken fried streak, etc. Probably 95% of the Korean joints in the US have similarly thick and generic menus, with the standards of BiBimBap, BBQ meats, amongst a hundred other variations of stuff with veggie, protein, and loads of red pepper derivatives. Yet despite this seemingly cookie cutter nature, there are places that distinguish themselves through the care with which they prepare and serve their food. HanBat among my personal favorites in K-town, is one such place.

HanBat executes standard Korean fare with a consistency sometimes lacking in some of its neighbors a few blocks south on 32nd St. Little details such as regularly rotating panchan (which btw are side dishes, not appetizers!) make each meal unique.

HanBat's PanChan

On a recent visit, my wife and I stuck with the standards, and ordered the GobDol BiBimBap and KimChi ChiGae. Both were just what we were looking for in the severely hungover state in which we were in. Again the little touches showed through, as my BiBimBap was served along with a large (complimentary) serving of SolLongTang, which is a wonderfully slow cooked beef/marrow broth and noodles. While the BiBimBap itself was composed of a wonderful assortment of various veggies, which were really just a hodgepodge of other forms of panchan. Meanwhile my wife's KimChi ChiGae (KimChi and Slice Pork Soup) had a soul full homeyness that would make any Korean mother proud.

To be sure there are places in the city, even K-Town that excel at their house specialties, like GahmMiOak for their SolLongTang, or say BonChon or Baden Baden for their Chicken, but for the best overall "Korean Diner," experience, HanBat is hard to beat.

KimChi ChiGae

As HanBat is open 24/7, anytime is a good time to go, however as the lunch specials are very reasonable, lunch is probably the best time.

HanBat
53 W. 35th St., New York, NY 10001
(near 6th Ave)
212-629-5588

Blueberry Pancakes

noreply@blogger.com (Pabo76) — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 13:02:00 +0000

With Blueberries in season, and readily available across the city's GreenMarkets. Pancakes have also come back in to season in our kitchen. Not having made pancakes in a while we referred to this Mark Bittman video on the NYTimes website. Basically the recipe is super simple just remember the rule of 1's. As in:

1 cup flour
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1 egg
1 one cup milk

To the mix we added some farm fresh berries and crushed walnuts for some extra crunch. Also the milk we used was Whole Milk from Ronnybrook Farm Dairy.

Simple and delicous!

Pasta With Cherry Tomatoes and Arugula

noreply@blogger.com (Pabo76) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 01:04:00 +0000

My wife and I saw this wonderfully easy and delicious pasta sauce in the health section of the New York Times, and just had to try it. With fresh arugula and tomatoes from the Union Square Greenmaket already on hand, we only needed to go our local Salumeria to pick up some ricotta salata.

It is also nice that this "sauce" is also no-cook, as anything to reduce the heat in our apartment these days is much appreciated. As tomatoes are now very much in season, this recipe offers a great and simple way to enjoy them.

Summer Greenmarket Goodness

Chung Po Mook

noreply@blogger.com (Pabo76) — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 03:04:00 +0000

A perfect summer side dish (PanChan) as it requires no heat, Korean Mung Bean Jelly (aka NokDuMook), is very similar in flavor and texture the other perhaps better known jellies (mook) derived from chestnuts and acorns. While these "mooks" are relatively tasteless, they have a pleasant feel on the tongue and go well with certain flavor combinations, in particular soy sauce.

For the Chung Po Mook above, my wife bought a cube of mook which was roughly the size in which tofu is also usually sold. She then sliced the cube into smaller rectangles, which she then dressed with soy sauce mixed with sesame oil, rice vinegar, red pepper powder, black pepper, sugar, sesame seeds, and green onions.

Welcome SeoJun!

noreply@blogger.com (Pabo76) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:21:00 +0000

This past Friday, July 18, 2008 at 11:30PM EDT, saw the arrival of the newest member of the Yun clan. The little dude came in to the world weighing 4lbs, 15oz (2245g) and at a height of 17.5 inches.

Winters Gone

noreply@blogger.com (Pabo76) — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 18:16:00 +0000

And he's gone...

Tomato Pesto

noreply@blogger.com (Pabo76) — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 00:01:00 +0000

Saw this recipe for Tomato Pesto on Serious Eats earlier this year, and we've been making it regularly since. As its super easy to make and quite tasty, I highly recommend you give it a try.

Recipe: Pasta with Tomato Pesto

Ingredients
1/4 cup (one 6-ounce can) tomato paste, preferably organic
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon pine nuts
1/4 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne or crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons tomato juice
2 plump garlic cloves, trimmed, peeled, and roughly chopped
1 pound dried mostaccioli, penne, or rigatoni
Freshly grated pecorino Romano

Procedure
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

2. Combine the tomato paste, olive oil, pine nuts, salt, cayenne, tomato juice, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor. Run the motor until you have a smooth purée. Set aside at room temperature while you cook the pasta. (You can cover and refrigerate the pesto, but be sure to bring it to room temperature before boiling the pasta.)

3. Generously salt boiling water; drop in dried pasta. Cook, according to package instructions, until al dente. Drain, reserving about 1/2 cup of pasta water. Transfer pasta to a serving bowl. Add enough of the pesto to coat noodles generously. Add a little pasta water, 1 tablespoon at a time, if pesto seems too thick. Sprinkle with Romano, and pass more cheese and any remaining pesto at the table.

Tomato Paella

noreply@blogger.com (Pabo76) — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 21:57:00 +0000

Upon reading about this recipe on Mark Bittman's "Minimalist" column in the NYTimes (See video here), HyeRyung and I both agreed it was something we had to try. However the lack of an oven-safe saucepan, late summer heat without A/C in the kitchen, crappy neighborhood tomatoes, and no saffron, our attempt at homemade Paella had to wait. Yet despite the passing of several weeks, we kept this dish in our hearts, and finally this weekend, we were able to get everything together.

Before locally grown fresh tomatoes go out of season, I highly recommend you give this recipe a try. It is easy to make and absolutely delicious!

Recipe: Paella With Tomatoes

Time: 30 minutes

3 1/2 cups stock or water
1 1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes, cored and cut into thick wedges
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon tomato paste
Large pinch saffron threads (optional)
2 teaspoons Spanish pimentón (smoked paprika), or other paprika
2 cups Spanish or other short-grain rice
Minced parsley for garnish.

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Warm stock or water in a saucepan. Put tomatoes in a medium bowl, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and drizzle them with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Toss to coat.

2. Put remaining oil in a 10- or 12-inch ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables soften, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, saffron if you are using it, and paprika and cook for a minute more. Add rice and cook, stirring occasionally, until it is shiny, another minute or two. Add liquid and stir until just combined.

3. Put tomato wedges on top of rice and drizzle with juices that accumulated in bottom of bowl. Put pan in oven and roast, undisturbed, for 15 minutes. Check to see if rice is dry and just tender. If not, return pan to oven for another 5 minutes. If rice looks too dry but still is not quite done, add a small amount of stock or water (or wine). When rice is ready, turn off oven and let pan sit for 5 to 15 minutes.

4. Remove pan from oven and sprinkle with parsley. If you like, put pan over high heat for a few minutes to develop a bit of a bottom crust before serving.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

Anthony Bourdain Gives Props to Astoria!

noreply@blogger.com (Pabo76) — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 21:44:00 +0000

I can never say enough to promote our hood -- Astoria and the entire QBoro, but there's nothing like a little external validation ;) I'm also particularly happy that he choose the Kabab Cafe as Astoria's showcase; I can think of no better person than Ali El Sayed to represent us.

"I am insanely jealous of people who live in this neighborhood now..."
Anthony Bourdain

Happy 231st America!

noreply@blogger.com (Pabo76) — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 12:33:00 +0000

After having neglected the blog once again (I have a few half done posts in my draft box, I swear!) -- I am finally back with some pics from last nights fireworks display . This year HyeRyung and I decided to try our luck viewing the fireworks from the Manhattan side of the East River (last year I saw them from Long Island City in Queens).

Our goal was to make it all the up to the river somewhere on FDR Drive where traffic was closed and the road opened for public viewing. We nearly made it early this year, however we made it to about 1st Ave and 23rd St by the time the first volley of shells were launched. It was quite a scene to be in the midst of the excited crowd -- as people of all ages, etc began to hurriedly rush as we all heard the first BOOMs. HyeRyung and decided to setup camp just short of FDR, and we were lucky to have caught most of the show as well as find a nice spot where I was able to setup my tripod and capture a few nice shots -- including...

For more please visit my July 4th 2007 Flickr Set!

"All Over You Like Egg on a Bowl of BiBimBap.."

noreply@blogger.com (Pabo76) — Fri, 18 May 2007 20:59:00 +0000

In another sign of the Mothership's increasing influence on global pop culture -- Stephen Colbert throws down in a battle against Korean pop icon Rain.

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Rain Dance-Off

www.colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor & Satire Blog

Video Archive

Red Rope Screening

noreply@blogger.com (Pabo76) — Tue, 15 May 2007 14:14:00 +0000

If you're around NYC, and have some time tomorrow evening , please come by the "Red Rope Screening," at the Tribeca Cinemas. You'll have a chance to see some great films, and show your support for some great artists. Per the Tribeca Cinemas website:

The Red Rope Screening will assemble more than 200 leading filmmakers, producers, musicians, artists, designers, and local celebrities, to celebrate highly acclaimed yet still relatively unknown films and offer ideal networking opportunities.

According the press release by Red Rope Productions, the screening will feature:
2007 "A Nick In Time," by Be Garrett; Sundance/Tribeca/Cannes selection
2007 "First," by DB Woodside/Nick Sivakumaran; in festival circulation
2007 "Spread The Love," by Matt Lilly a.k.a NewguY
2005 "No Menus Please," by Edward Shieh; 20+ international selections
2000 "Mutual Love Life," by Robert Peters; Oscar finalist
2006 "Our Time is Up," by Rob Pearlstein; Oscar nominated

Followed by our networking after-party with DJ Tabu and Stretch Armstrong.

Adidas will also showcase short student-filmmaker documentaries about New York graffiti art for their "End to End" sneaker collection designed by internationally reknown graffiti artists (www.endtoendproject.com).

Two FREE screenings by RSVP ONLY @ 7:30pm @ 9:00pm
Limited seating available.
10pm After-Party.

Wednesday, May 16th, 2007
Tribeca Cinemas, 54 Varick
(and Canal Street)

2/3's of Chai, Matt & Phil

Most exciting for my peoples representing Pittsburgh , is that our friend and filmmaker Matt Lily will be having his film "Spread The Love: A Day In The Life Of Allen Valentine, Freelance Entertainer," screened at this event. And as if having one former yinzer represent on the silver screen wasn't enough -- the soundtrack to the film also includes the song "PB & J" (click for clip) by our boys ChaiBaba, who will also be coming through the city to come see the movie.

For some earlier Matt Lily & ChaiBaba collaboration check out Matt's video from ChaiBaba's Slow Brewed CD release party shown in the YouTube video below.

If you can go, please remember to RSVP for the movie at Red Rope. And Spread the word!!!

Der mensch trakht ur got lahkht

noreply@blogger.com (Pabo76) — Fri, 11 May 2007 05:14:00 +0000

Need to keep the blog chuggin' along -- so just posting some photos that I just uploaded to a new set on Flickr (click LES, to see the whole set). These were taken just yesterday afternoon, on a trip HyeRyung and I took down to our friend's Matt and Mara, who live in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. As we live in Queens, and work in Midtown or sometimes further downtown, it isn't often we get to hang out in this part of town. Also Matt and Mara have access to a roof which has some of the most incredible views of the city I have ever seen. Next time I'll be sure to take my camera over at night, but until then, check these photos out.

HyeRyung & Mara checking out the view

Midtown

The last holdouts in a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood

Here comes progress!

Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Marinara Sauce

noreply@blogger.com (Pabo76) — Tue, 01 May 2007 16:55:00 +0000

Marinara Sauce inspired by Lidia Bastianich's Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen as adopted by Serious Eats

Ingredients:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
8 garlic cloves, peeled
3 pounds ripe fresh plum tomatoes, peeled and seeded, or one 35 ounce can Italian plum tomatoes (preferably San Marzano), seeded and lightly crushed, with their liquid
Salt
Crushed red pepper
10 fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces

Procedure

1. Heat the oil in a 2- to 3-quart nonreactive saucepan over medium heat. Whack the garlic with the flat side of a knife, add it to the oil, and cook until lightly browned, about 2 minutes.

2. Carefully slide tomatoes and their liquid into the oil. Bring to a boil, and season lightly with salt and crushed red pepper. Lower the heat so sauce is at a lively simmer, and cook, breaking up tomatoes with a whisk or spoon, until sauce is chunky and thick, about 20 minutes.

3. Stir in the basil about 5 minutes before sauce is finished. Taste sauce, and season with salt and red pepper if necessary.

Steamed Acorn Squash with Cashew Nut Dressing

noreply@blogger.com (Pabo76) — Tue, 01 May 2007 16:45:00 +0000

HyeRyung found this simple dish in a Korean Vegan cookbook she recently picked up online (송학운 김옥경 부부,의 자연식 밥상, Song Hak Uhn and Kim Ok Kyung's Natural Dinner Table)

The squash are simply chopped and steamed for about 20 minutes or until fork tender. The Cashew Nut Sauce(the book actually calls it Mayonnaise) contains the following:

- One Lemon
- 60g Cashew Nuts
- 25g Onions
- 4Tbspns Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 5Tbspns Honey
- 1tspn Sea Salt
- 1/2tspn Minced Garlic

Once you've assembled the ingredients, just throw them into a food processor and blend until smooth. As with anything, follow your instincts and make any adjustments to the ingredients accordingly.