NY Eats – Page 12 – Food & Pixels

SomTom Der vs Zabb Elee

SomTom Der and Zabb Elee are located within two blocks of east village. On this year’s Michelin list, one Thai raised, the other fell. We visited both places in October to determine whether we should trust the system when it comes to asian cuisine.
Both SomTom Der and Zabb Elee listed to be Authentic Thai cuisine. To be specific, a Northeastern Thai region name Isan. According to wikipedia, Isan bordering with Laos and Cambodia. The majority of people that lives there are actually Laos. And the Lao’s influence not only to the language there, also culture and food as well.
The one that raised is SomTom Der, got it’s first star this year. With addresses in 3 different cities, we are calling it a chain. This location in alphabet city is the only one outside of Asia, the other two are in Ho Chi Ming City and Bangkok.

Somtum Der (one star)

Opened mid 2013, got one star this year, Somtom means papaya salad. We arrived on a early evening, the place was very empty. Despite the fact we have a reservation; the hostess said we can only be seated when all parties are here. And so we waited patiently at the little bench at the entrance. Our co-conspirator was running very late that night. After about half an hour, we finally asked to be seated so we can start ordering. Turns out that we just need to ask the right person.
Long commute table in the middle, fish traps lights, pine wood wall & ceiling. Very modern asian. Huge menu with colorful pictures, everything looks appetizing, but a bit confusing. The sets of menus we were given did not match each other. Make it somewhat difficult for us to communicate what item on what page we want to order. On the last page of the menu, there are two full pages of “Recommended Combination”, but no price listed. There were a set that matches what we were going to order, so we asked the waitress.
“Oh these are only suggestions of what would be a good combination. They are not actual sets. You would still have to order them individually.” She explained.
WHAT?! I’m confused!!
You have a nice idea, already put together, but not go through with it. I don’t understand.
So we continued to study the menu. They don’t have pork neck meat!?!  But they have raw sausage…? That’s interesting. Never had raw pork sausage before. Didn’t think pork can be eaten raw. But we tried it anyway. It was… interesting. Didn’t taste like pork at all. Wasn’t smoky either. The texture was kind of like the cold spicy chicken feet that you can found in Hong Kong dim sum. It is definitely interesting, but not sure if I would want to order it again though.
STD08 SomTom

STD09 Goong Chae Nam Pla– Thai prawn sashimi with house special green chili sauce.

STD11 Moo Ping Kati Sod– grilled coconut milk marinated pork skewers.

STD10 Moo Rong Hai Der & Khao Ji– house special grilled marinated pork.

STD12 Nam Sod– marinated raw pork sausages

Food are decent, but nothing to write home about. Service is warm but slow. Aside from missing order, dishes came out fairly slowly. Some certain staff obviously need training, he couldn’t help us with the menu, and don’t know what some of the dishes are either. Is it worth a michelin star….

Zabb Elee went another direction on décor. It is clean and white. Instead of fish trap, they use bird cage instead, for the lights over the bar.. What’s up with Asian and cages?? It is simple and elegant here. Staffs are nicer and service is faster here.

ze04 Som Tom Poo Plara– Papaya salad with preserved crab

ze06 Duck Larb– shallot, fresh mint, scallion, cilantro, chili powder, and lime dressing.

ze08 Kao Moo Dang– roast pork, sweet sausage, half boiled egg

ze10 Moo Yang– Grilled marinated pork with sweet tamarind chili sauce

ze05 Kana Moo Krob– Sauteed Chines broccoli with crispy pork

ze09 Goong Chae Nam Pla

ze07 Pla Dook Dad Deaw– Crispy Marinated catfish with Thai Herb with sweet tamarind sauce

Like most non-high-end asian restaurants in town, both places could care less which plate is appetizer or main course. They either all come at the same time, or come out whatever whenever it is ready. It is not much of a problem I guess, if the table is big enough to place it all.
Really spicy!!! But very authentic. The burning sensation is not a joke. I couldn’t say which raw shrimp I like better but I certainly like the SomTom more here at Zabb Elee. And I would definitely rate it higher than SomTom Der. But the grills pork neck meat is still the best at SriPraPhai.

ze11 (October, 2015)

The Fat Radish- A charming place in LES

Opened by a catering company, the Fat Radish has been residing in LES since early 2011. it’s a really cool, chill place. We arrived on a early autumn evening, and was immediately taken by the warm welcoming lights. A coffee bar out front double as a foyer, and a cruiser bike park by the wall. It feels like I am just visiting a friends place. Pass the hallway where we hang our jackets, coffee bar extend into a wine bar, and open up to a beautiful dinning room. Expose brick wall, large commute table in the middle, huge rustic mirror bouncing off lights, it is all very pleasant, charming.

Oysters!!!

Scotch Egg– seeded Mustard, cornichons
These Scotch Eggs are huge!!! Lightly crusted, soft sausage wrapped with perfectly cooked egg. A two sided of scotch egg should be share with 4 instead 2 person. Love,love, love the little pickles!

Deviled Brussels Sprouts– Bacon, Thai Chili
Using Bacon fat to combat the sprouts’ bitterness. Genius!

Celery Root Pot Pie– Gruyere Cheese, Black Garlic
So, so, so good! Crust is fluffy and crunchy. Open it up, and the celery root aroma smell like I have been transported to a barn in England country side, and a pot of creamy celery soup is on the stove, boiling, and I can’t wait to dig in. it taste as good as it smells. It warmed me up and wrapped me around with it’s coziness. I wish I have this on every rainy cold winter night.

Peeky Toe Crab Gratin– Leeks, Aged White Cheddar, Sherry
Moist, and plenty of crab. The fat of white cheddar is really comforting, hearty. A fantastic dish to share. It would be wonderful to have this as a dip dish on a Sunday football party. Only problem is, to get me to let go of the bowl. However, it is too heavy to eat on its own. I only wish there were more bread. Seriously, four little piece of bread is not enough!!!

The Fat Radish Plate– seasonal vegetables, brown rice, adzuki beans. served with tahini, carrot-ginger, pickled cabbage

Montauk Diver Scallops
Perfectly seared scallops on top of a bed of sweet Potato Mash.

Monk fish Thai Green Curry– wild rice, coconut milk
Not a big hit at the table, sauce was too thin and watery.

Roasted Dutch Morgan Chicken– spinach, cornish pasty, shallot jus

Food is British at the Fat Radish. Some are light but flavorful; some are hearty and comforting. Price tags are friendly as well.
It is loud here. Because people let loose when they are happy. And we were happy here. What a lovely place.
Places like this is why we love lower east side.

(October, 2015)

Domodomo

The first and only hand roll bar in New York, Domodomo opened about half a year ago, operated at the old location of Ushiwakamaru. It is the same space, but somehow felt deeper and a lot narrower. Now it became a long stretch of sushi bar, with just a handful of tables in the front. The set up feels a little like Neta, but with a much more affordable price tag.

Sake list is not extensive, prices are very reasonable. We were surprise to spot sparkling sake on the list.
The laminated 1 page menu looks simple enough, a la carte section is meant both for appetizers and main course; miso soup, salad and pasta, udon are all in the same category….. Sushi by piece are really affordable, ranging from $4 scallop to $9 Chu Toro. Then there comes their proud specialities- Hand Rolls. The combo/ course/ Domokase, on the other hand, would require some studying. They all seems great, which makes it hard to choose from. And we did the math, the courses are a more economic way to go.

I really appreciate the patient of our waiter. After several rounds of questions, we ended up picking a sushi course and a hand roll course. We learned that we can substitute a few things, all we need to do is ask.

OYSTER SAMPLER $19
-Jumbo oyster with scallop, yuzu foam, ikura; Kumamoto with momijo oroshi; Blue point with mango salsa

Of course we had to have the oyster sampler. It came with 5 oysters: a jumbo oyster with scallop, ikura, in yuzu foam, 2 Kumamoto, and 2 Blue Point. While it does look good in all the instagram posts, the jumbo oyster fell short to impress. It wasn’t jumbo at all. The yuzu foam on top was way excessive, only to cover up that inside only holds a tiny little piece of oyster. Out of the 2 little bite we had, we felt the scallop and the squid by it’s texture, but the oyster was way too tiny to taste. Again, the yuzu form totally overpower the oyster, the whole thing…. where is the “jumbo” oyster?compare to that truly huge giant oyster at Saikai, this one may be it’s great, great, grandkid. The Kumamoto and the blue point were refreshing with their respective garnish.

CHAWANMUSHI $6 – Egg custard, black truffle sauce

Shrimp apple salad $12 – Arugula, candied apple, sweet chili shrimp

SUSHI COURSE $52
The sushi course comes with edamame, 8 pieces of sushi, a blue carb hand roll and an unagi hand roll. We don’t really care about the edamame, so we opt for the chawanmushi; and we chose to have a yellowtail hand roll instead of unagi.
The sushi are good, fishes are fresh. A fair comparison would be Saikai, but cheaper. The sushi comes in no specific order. The fact that blue fin tuna is served first have us wonder. But they are decent. I only wish that the marinated botan ebi didn’t come with the caviar. Yes, it may seems extravagant, but totally unnecessary. In my opinion, them two don’t go together, they contradict each other. The Botan Ebi can do better without it.

Hon Maguro Blue fin

Fluke

Sea beam

Yellowtail

Branzino

Madai

Smoked Kanpachi – surprisingly good, really smoky favor.

Scallop

Marinated Botan ebi with Caviar

Hand rolls came after sushi. Don’t expect the snow-cone shape hand roll you are used to. While the nori are perfectly crisp, my disappointment was the fish. The fishes in the hand roll were way too cold. So cold that we cannot taste it’s flavor. We expressed our concern to the chef. But he said that the “box” fridge’s is set to a certain temperature and can’t be changed. That’s odd, cause the temperature of fishes for the sushi were fine. We later found out that sushi didn’t have the same issue is because it was let out for a while before they were made into sushi and served. We only know that because we ordered some more sushi later, and they were too cold as well.
Blue crab hand roll

UNI HAND ROLL– Uni, chive
We also had an extra uni hand roll. Well, roll it is not. Seriously, it is just a piece of sushi on a piece of nori. Uni was good, but how could this be a hand roll?
A piece of uni sushi is $8, the hand roll is $12. So a piece of nori is $4??

UNAGI HAND ROLL-House smoked eel, chocolate kabayaki sauce
Again, it is a piece unagi sushi on nori…… but, to credit DomoDomo, Unagi is house smoked, and very flavorful.

UNI PASTA $17 – Squid ink pasta, cheddar dashi, caviar
Uni pasta was another disappointment. Squid ink pasta was blend, certainly not house made, and a overcooked too. It didn’t have the texture nor the tasted. The cheddar dashi did not help either. It was to watery to be carried by the pasta.

HOJICHA PUDDING

A hand roll bar, is an interesting idea. However, for our night here, sushi seems to have be a better choice because of the temperature. But like any new idea, it needs time to refine. For it’s price, Domodomo do have good quality fish. Perhaps we will be back. They do have good nori.
(November, 2015)

Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare — Well Worth it

“I had a dream. I was floating in the clouds. I took a bite, and it tasted like chocolate. I wish that dream never ended.” Except that wasn’t a dream. That is how we describe the frozen chocolate souffle we had at Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare. And that was only the last course of our memorable night.

Let me go back and start from the beginning.

Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare (CTBF) is the smallest restaurant in New York City to have been awarded Michelin 3 stars; also the first and only one that is in the outer borough. Opened in 2009, immediately praised by critics, and got 2 stars from Michelin in 2011. It has since expanded from 12 seater to 18 seater, and with another star. Of course the price is also 3 stars. Back in 2011, CTBF was $165pp vs $306pp now. Even though with a hefty price tag, it is still one of the hottest seats in town. A reservation at Chef’s Table does not come easy. It requires planning and extreme persistent. CTBF takes reservation 6 weeks ahead. Calendar is posted on their website, with specific instruction. I called CTBF as instructed, at 10:30am sharp on Monday. The phone keep ringing. Line was busy. I hung up, dial again, and repeated. Over the next 37 minutes; exactly 159 times after, I was finally connected. Jackpot!!!!

We headed to Brooklyn on a quiet Wednesday evening. Across from a subway station, two doors down from the grocery store, there it is, CTBF’s minimalist simple storefront kitchen.

“It’s a dream come true and my best experience throughout this entire process”
– Jean-Luc Naret of Michelin said in an interview.

With that in mind, we walked in with high expectation. Simplicity is the key here at CTBF. A huge stainless steel counter/ bar took up almost the entire place. No fancy décor, the only decoration is the copper sauce-pots hanging above the the prep station. We arrived a little after 6:30pm, and were seated at the far right end of the counter.
In front of us was a simple black vinyl place mat, with chopsticks, and chopsticks only. There is no menu here. All are tasting menu, or should I say Omakase. It seems more appropriated.

ctbf02

“Would you mind if I take pictures?” I asked politely as the restaurant’s host placed down my rose.

“Not of the food. We welcome you to take pictures of the place, just not the food.” he said with an apologetic smile.
We have heard of CTBF’s no pictures policy before, but still thought I would try. With huge disappointment on my face, I put my camera away.

ctbf04

There are two sitting 6:30 and 7:15. First group of dinners finally all settled in at around 7pm. Moments later, Chef Ramirez appears. White shirt, black trousers, black thick rim glasses, he looks more like a professor than a chef. After detaily checked his stations, he greeted us with a smile.

“ I know that you brought a camera. Feel free to snap a picture or two.” Chef Ramirez said with a soft voice.

“Really?” I must have sound overly excited.

“Yes. I see that you brought a camera. The thing is with all the smart phones pictures. There is no quality control. They sometimes turn out very blurry and dark. Which might not be appetizing.” He explained.

“Ah… Thank you!!”
So Chef Ramirez does not have a problem with pictures, he just has a problem with bad pictures. I will try to do you proud to repay your kindness.

Then the show begins.

ctbf09

ctbf07 Tobiko– incredibility thin crust layering with sea trout roe.

ctbf10 Hokkaido Uni– Uni piled over toasted brioche with a round of Périgord truffle
white truffle is in season. And you can actually taste the fragrance.
it’s a high class party in a bite.

ctbf11 Fish– Charcoal grill Japanese baby red snapper with kelp

ctbf15 Egg– Caviar topped sabayon- there were smoke sturgeon, bacon bits, potato cubes and crunchy bread crumbs in the thin glass.

ctbf19 Lobster– Perfectly poached Maine lobster wrapped in pickled daikon

ctbf22 Crab– Chiramushi with king crab and truffle and squash. hearty and sweet

ctbf26 Fish– Poached wild Turbot from holland with mushroom Brussels sprouts and flowers

ctbf30 Vegetables– vegetables are flew in from a Ohio farm, Amazingly gorgeous dish.
We counted 14 veggies, 3 flowers, 2 small leaf and 1 big leaf
The veggies that I recognized were… daikon, cucumber, scallion, leek, baby Chinese broccoli, figs, tomato, mushroom, artichoke heart, applewood smoke potato with nori sauce, bamboo shoot

ctbf32 Beef– melt in my mouth Miyagi beef with grated daikon and horseradish

ctbf34 Duck– 20 days dry, green tea smoked Cross breed upstate NY duck with plum butter-squash and ginger. The breed is a mix from Peking duck and normandy. The skin is as crispy as peking duck but not as fat. That’s where the normandy duck comes in. rich, deep, meaty favor with crispy skin of a peking duck. Genius!

ctbf36 Shiso sorbet– unlike other icy shiso sorbet that we have had, this one is creamy. More ice-cream like texture. Secret? It’s coconut milk. A pint to go please!!!

ctbf40 Canadian huckleberry ice cream – Huckleberry is in season! Sweet!

ctbf41 Frozen chocolate soufflé -Fluffy, airy, extremely light. There were also some rice crispy (I think they are rice crispy) at the bottom of the plate. With a spoonful of the souffle and rice crispy, they were the greatest coco puffs! And it added a crunch to this dreamy souffle. Chocolate was just the right balance. #divine!!! This is most certainly the best souffle ever!!! This alone is well worth the trip to Brooklyn. By itself, I would paid $35 for this. Too bad that they don’t sell it by itself. What an remarkable way to end an extraordinary dinner. I would be dreaming about this for a long time.

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This 10- course upscale tasting menu is a truly a unique dining experience. We enjoyed every moment sitting in this open kitchen watching Chef Ramirez choreographed his beautiful creation. Him and his staffs are intensely focused. Like a well orchestrated symphony, there is no confusion, no mistake. Everyone knows their place, everyone is in the rhythm. And the thoughts and efforts that put in every single dish is tremendous. That vegetables dish alone, requires every single component to be perfect. May it be toasted, roasted, grilled or smoked, etc., they all bring a unique flavor to the plate. To be sitting in this kitchen, watching this crew assemble each course, is a profound, intimate experience.

Chef Ramirez makes his rounds to get to know his guests at the table as well. During our 3 hours there, Chef Ramirez came around to chat a few times. We learn that Chef. Ramirez is raised in Chicago, spent time in Japan for a while. Although his restaurant is in Brooklyn, he does not do anything in Brooklyn. We both enjoy Maera and miss Chef Masato. We were both heart broken when people waste the food; when people who were able to afford the price but did not know to savor it. We were deeply sadden when we saw perfectly cooked kinmedai found it’s way to the trash. Devastated when cups of caviar went swimming with dishes; utterly shock and depressed when we saw “fat” were cutted out from melt-in-our-mouth Mirage beef. Despite what I have read in pervious controversy, Chef maintained his posture and greeted those dinners with warm smiles.

Chef Ramirez loves sushi, therefore the obvious Japanese influence in his food. Like those great sushi chefs whom inspired him, Chef Ramirez holds the same quality and he is proud of it. The dedication, and attention to food, ingredients and details. Unfortunately, Chef Ramirez had already left the building when we were floating in the souffle, we couldn’t thank him for this extravagant dinner.

Chef Ramirez , It was an honor to be sitting at your table.

(October, 2015)

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