Food & Pixels – Page 16

Chef Ishikawa’s Jewel Bako

Last year we learned that chef Yoshihiko Kousaka has left Jewel Bako, and opened Sushi Kosaka, and since, it has been on our “to eat list”. While we have yet found the time to find out what Kosaka offers, we revisited Jewel Bako to learn what has changed.
On a quiet block near St. Marks, Jewel Bako is warm and intimate. On a cold winter night, the light spilled out from little square window feels welcoming and cozy. Curved ceiling dinning room is branched with bamboo, and the mirrored glass makes it looks like a jewelry box, hence, Jewel Bako. The clever design making the place bright and light.
We are no strangers at Jewel Bako. During Chef Kousaka 10 years tenure there, we have visited the place numerous time. And it has been very consistent, Jewel Bako holds a michelin star for 11 consecutive years. Until last year, along with 15 East, Jewel Bako is one of our more trusted “go-to” place for sushi in that price range. Coincidentally, both Chef Masato Shimizu and Kousaka has found themselves a new venture.
We love Jewel Bako because of it’s reliable standard, impeccable quality and reasonable pricing. Of all the times we have visited, Chef Kousaka always served up the freshest ingredient, with outstanding technique. Even with the utmost quality, the pricing is still fair in comparison to others with similar standard. The last time we went, the sushi omakase was at $85/pp with 17 pieces. This time, with new Chef Shimao Ishikawa, Omakase comes in 2 different pricing, 85 for 15 pieces and 120 for 18 pieces. We settled at the sushi bar (sit 8), Chef Ishikawa greeted us with a warm smile. He is an older gentleman. According to Jewel Bako’s website, he has over 40 years experience in traditional sushi. And here is his Jewel Bako, piece by piece…

Grilled giant clam with pepper. Complementary from chef. This is great. We love giant clam, sweet and crunchy!!!

Miso soup- what’s wrong with miso soup lately, everywhere is very light, or is it just me…

Marinated kinmedai with yuzu pepper- I love Kinmedai, and I admit that I might even like kinmediai more than toro. I would like this kinmedai as much,, if the skin had been torched a bit more.

Akami- chu toro was a little cold…

Kamarsu (Japanese barracuda)

shiroebi- still a little cold, actually it was too cold to taste

Sayori with shiso leaf and lemon juice. Excellent texture. The zest of lemon is awesome. Shiso is still strong but yet still balanced

Trio- toro chopped, Maine uni, ikura

Akamutsu (Torched sea perch)

Hokkigai with lemon- this was surprisingly good. Totally changed my mind on hokkigai.

O toroooooo so metly. This is heaven. Yes, hallelujah. There were light beams coming out my mouth.

Santa Barbara uni

Geoduck

King salmon with sea salt and lemon

Mackerel

Aji with ginger

Otoro with Santa Barbara uni – uni was torched, but honestly kinda unnecessary because toro is so great and got all the attention. When Toro is shining like a bright star, let it shine, don’t overcrowd it.

Unagi baked first then torched in banyan leaf

So the $85 omakase stopped at 15 pieces; the $120 has 3 more pieces, which were, Mackerel, Aji, and Otoro with uni. While, i’m glad I had the experience, I would gladly stay at 15 pieces next time and order some more on the side. The mackerel and aji was a little disappointing. After the course was over, we asked Chef Ishikawa what else we should try. While chef was struggling with translation, the very friendly staff came to rescue. He patiently explained and translate the chef’s recommendation, and we ended our meal with 2 more pieces, sea bass and cherry blossom snapper (sorry, forgot to take picture…)

Sea bass with yuzu pepper. Yuzu pepper was a little strong, and the sea bass didn’t have the crispiness I was looking for.

At the end of the night, a large bottle of plum wine was brought in front of us. And the staff skillfully filled a tiny glass for each of us as dessert wine.
Overall, I think with Chef Ishikawa, Jewel Bako has kept it’s fish quality, but I felt the presentation and attention to detail is not up their previous standard. Pay close attention to the plate, often it was smeared with a little too much sauce. And when there were left over “juice” from the previous piece, but no one care to clean up. I know, I know, i’m nitpicking. But it is important! Our eyes eat first! It looks messy, and the left over sauce could potentially ruin the following one. Also, there were a few pieces that the temperature could have been control better. And take a look at the “uni cup”, it’s hard not to compare. The presentation speaks for itself.

Uni cup, left by Chef Ishikawa; right by Chef Kousaka

On a side note, although we didn’t order any maki roll, we watched those huge rolls being constructed in front of us at the sushi bar. Chef Ishikawa doesn’t make maki, his focus is on sushi omakase. His apprentices, 3 other chefs cater to the table services. But it was painful to watch. We watched the makis being prepared, cut and served by a younger chef directly in front of us. We watch the nori being broken, rolls cut in various sizes, and lousily plated. I’m almost certain, no 2 pieces were the same size. This young apprentice obviously have years ahead of him, but we wonder if he has any respect for the trade. Sushi/ maki making is an art form, to serve up such lousy looking pieces, is a disgrace. But he didn’t seems to bother to try. Roll after roll, we watched in horror. It is a waste of such premium ingredient.
On the bright side, the “oh so melty” o-toro blows our mind. The word “buttery” can’t even describe it. It’s easily the star of our night. However, I found myself thinking about the Sayori more. The shiso and lemon created the perfect balance and that mild crunch when I bite into the Sayori, and that sweetness mixed in with the zest was just fantastic.

Jewel Bako | 239 E. 5th Street | Feb 2016

Hirohisa

There were 4 new Japanese restaurants made their first appearance on the 2016 Michelin (New York): Tempura Matsui is new to New York, we have yet able to convince ourselves to drop $200 on tempura; Sushi Yasuda is not unfamiliar to anyone; we visited Cagen late last year and were amazed by the variety of fishes, the last of four is Hirohisa. The 2.5 years old restaurant by Chef Hirohisa Hayashi (Former Sushi Samba) is located on a quiet block of Soho. The place can go easily unnoticed. All white facade with only a small rectangle window peeking in and a small square bamboo plate by the door that indicates its present. I must have passed by the place a million times without knowing its existence.

We came to this zen place on a chilled evening in January. Step inside, the minimalist place is even more quiet, but I was a little overwhelmed, by the aroma of miso. The open kitchen hides nothing, everything is in display, for sight, and for smell. Hirohisa serves refined “seasonal” cuisine. The menu is simple with very few items, mostly traditional cooked dishes. But the Omakase part is confusing. And we were even more confused after talking to the staff. We wanted to know what the 7 course vs 9 course are consists of, mainly we want to know if there were sushi within the course. We are all sushi addicts. Apparently the waitress is new (we think). She did not know what the courses are, we turned to Chef Hirohisa for help. And here are the 9 course, plate by plate…

Lobster ball with sake leek soup
Very blend… the soup is a lot more “clearer: than it looks.

Snow crab winter green and ikura

Scallop, sesame tofu, black truffle
There was only a hint of sesame. Scallop is very nicely done. But is the broth necessary?

Wagyu wrapped sushi and uni
Now this is what I’m talking about. Sweet juicy wagyu beef, one from Japanese, one is american, both topped with Maine uni. Hmm hmm hmm …
and look at that dish they came in, that is one beautiful tableware.

Sashimi: Shima Aji, tuna, Kinmedai

Red rock fish
Skin is very crispy and tasty but fish body is just ok. Very well cook but not much taste. Need seasoning…

Washu beef stew with sweet potato ball
Washu beef is very nicely done, tender and falling off on its own, but too much sauce, and very salty. This could be a very nice dish over a bowl of rice. But as rice was not present, the melty Washu beef is drowning.

Sushi, pressed (from top left): Maine uni, Santa Barbara uni, Arctic char, and mackerel. We opted out of the eel over rice as main course, instead we got 2 extra pieces of uni, one from Santa Barbara and one from Maine. We gonna need more…

Miso soup
Light, las light as water. There was no taste at all. I would like to call it… dish water soup… I only took a sip.

Mochi wrapped strawberry and green tea syrup
We observed the dessert chef took the mochi paper out from a box piece by piece. Then meticulously scarped off the extra white power off each mochi paper. It took him about 15 minutes. Strawberry and the red bean paste balance off each other, but the green tea syrup was too sweet for me.

There you have it, 9 courses Omakase. Everything was decent, sophisticated but not memorable. Nothing really stands out. The beef wrapped sushi topped with uni was the only highlight of the night, thanks to the very fresh ingredients. Chef seems very focus on technique, but could careless about customer interaction. We were the only diners at the counter that night, while we can appreciate the process and preparation Chef Hirohisa to the food, we felt no connection. Staffs are nice, warm, but attention to details is not… we asked for tea when we sat down, then shortly after, we ordered sake, however, the tea never came. True, I forgot about it too, perhaps is my bad that I didn’t ask for it again.

Hirohisa | 73 Thompson St | Jan, 2016

Babu Ji

If you normally get your Indian curry fix in Murray Hill, aka Curry Hill, but crave for something more, it is time to take that short ride down about 30 blocks and get in line at Babu Ji.
Babu Ji, a not-so-new player in New York. The place opened last June, but this is New York, if there’s something good, news spread fast. And soon enough, lines/ crowd/ gangs are hanging around the block trying to get in. Yes, they do take reservations, but only for chef’s tasting menu. Not for a la cart. Price tag ($60) on the tasting menu is reasonable, cause although we didn’t order that, the bill came very close. So to ensure you get your table with the least amount of wait time, that might be an option.

Babu Ji, according to the internet, is an honorable term in India which loosely means “Sir”. There is a whole paragraph on Babu Ji’s website explaining the term, and this line caught my eyes, “A Babu Ji unashamedly indulges in food…” And that’s all we need to know.

I arrived at this corner spot on a rainy evening. It was just pasted 6pm; I was greeted at the tiny front door by the mustache man, whose facial hair is almost as flamboyant as Salvador Dali. Am I in the right place?? The mustache man said he can only seat me when all of us are here. No problem, I thought, as the place was still fairly empty. At around 6:30, I started getting worry. My co-eaters are not here yet, but tables were going fast. There were maybe 4 tables left but including me, there were about 5 different groups waiting outside. I overheard a gentleman told his dinning partner that he was here on a Saturday at around 6:30, but the wait was around 2 hours. And my worries were legit, when we sat down at 6:40pm, no more table was available, and we would have to wait at least half an hour – 45 minutes if we were one minute later.
So who is behind this popular joint? I did my research while I was waiting. Chef Jessi Singh and wife Jennifer came to us in Alphabet city from Australia. Chef Singh grew up in north Indian, had become a respectful chef in Aussie, where he had created several acclaimed restaurants. Last year, husband and wife team just packed their bags and came to New York. I’m guessing that’s because Jennifer is originally a native Brooklyn-er. Thanks to her, Chef Singh brought Babu Ji to us. Babu Ji is somewhat an extend from the one in Melbourne, although they sold that one too. Check out the Aussie website, deco is the same too. Same cool grandpa on the wall. Some Bollywood movie projected on the white wall above the bar. As you can imagine, it is loud. We found ourselves yelling at times. We were fighting with our fellow dinners, whom are fighting with the Bollywood music.

On the little light grey wood table, we each have a stainless steel plate/ container. Not very appealing, but that’s traditional Indian tableware. Menu is divided into 3 sections, and is printed on the back of a picture of a “handsome, well dress prince”? Could this be the cool grandpa when he was younger?
We got something from each sections, first, from the street:
A must try- that’s the description on the menu. I guess we have to have that. It is interesting. we weren’t sure what to make of it. Kinda like a salad or nacho. We got a bed of crispy popped wafers, then a mixed of different veggies lays on top with chickpeas. The sauce tasted like a sweet and sour sauce that is mildly spicy, and a little creamy by yogurt. it is healthy and delightful, but I wouldn’t necessary say it is “A Must Try”.

On the other hand, I would say the Yogurt Kebab is a must try. It is a simple but wonderful dish. It is not an actual kebab either. You would think this would be some sort of meat skewer with yogurt sauce, but it is not. It is a yogurt croquette on top of a pink-ish sauce that is amazing. The croquettes were nicely done. Crunchy on the outside, but moist inside. Dense, firm but still light and fluffy. The beetroot sauce already give color to this otherwise dull (for eyes) dish, and the kitchen added an orchid to give the dish a face. Now, it is a beautiful for our eyes, and our taste buds.

Raw papaya and nutmeg marinated Australian lamb chops, cumin roasted potato, Persian cucumber raita
Lamb chop here is outstanding. Tender, juicy, and full of flavor. The staff told us the lamb chops are very small piece. They are actually decent size. Yet it is so good that we wish we had more. And believe me, we were sucking on the bones. But if you don’t particularly like the distinctive taste of lamb, there’s the cucumber raita to dip on, it helps cut the heat, and smooth the lamb. In my opinion the lamb doesn’t really need the yogurt dip, but nothing is stopping you to lick it spoon by spoon. Oh, also, with the lamb chops, there were cumin roasted potato, they are the most awesome potatoes! Crispy, a little spicy, I wish all the potato hash everywhere taste like this! I would totally come here just for this dish.

From the pot are butter chicken and Lamb curry. We love the butter chicken. And yes, it is buttery without the grease. Tender, and moist. The tomato base curry is awesome. Sweet, creamy, I kinda wish there would be a little more spice, but it is good as it is. The lamb curry, on the other hand, needs work. The lamb was very nicely cooked, but the sauce lacks support. The taste and spice was there, but too watery. In the menu, it stated that there was a touch of coconut milk, perhaps there was too little of a touch. I didn’t taste any coconut at all, and the curry clearly need the creaminess to make is more dense.
So… Th curry dishes are meant to eat with naan or rice, and one would think, naan or rice would be come with. But nope. It is $4 for 1, $10 for 3. Rice is also extra charge for a small pot. A bit stingy?! And they weren’t the most fluffy naan.

Dessert-
Kulfi… Is the Indian version of ice cream. This one was named the most must try ice crEam in NYC by Grub Street. This weird looking thing is desert and creamier than ice cream. Pointy stainless steel container with frozen custard-like mixture that include honey, ginger, pistachio that’s all grounded up. It is … Sweet! Very sweet. Condense milk sweet. And those grounded up ingredients were not blending in with the mixture evenly. See, the thing is, when the Kulfi was put in the freezer, they were hang upside down. The grounded up mixture floats while the honey condense milk sink to the pointy bottom. So the tip is overly sweet, but the base was full of grinds but not sweet at all. It would be nice to find a way to balance it out.

Babu Ji, its like a cool grandpa that we would like to visit more often but not too often. Overall, we did enjoyed our meal, and hoping that next time when we visit, we would have new story to tell.

Babu Ji | 175 Ave B | Jan, 2016

little park

In recent years, David Chang, Rich Torrisi, Mario Carbone have taken over the New York culinary scene like a storm. All their establishments have been extremely successful, tables are continually high in demand, and food is outstanding too. They have become the new super stars in the culinary world, household names, even if you are not into the food scene, but if you live in New York, you would have heard of the names of at least one of their restaurants. They have changed the landscape of New York food scene. Behind the success of these rock stars, we have one guy to thank for (in part), a man who David Chang, Rich Torrisi and Mario Carbone consider as mentor- Chef Andrew Carmellin. A lesser known name, but a name we should know, and his restaurants have been popping up in lower Manhattan too.

The 2 times James Beard Awards winning chef made his name during his time at Café Boulud. After his Michelin star winning venue A Voce, Chef Andrew Carmellin partnered with NoHo Hospitality group and gave us Locanda Verde, the Dutch, Lafayette (By the way, I adore Lafayette), Bar Primi, and most recently, Little Park at the Robert DeNiro’s Tribeca hotel The Smyth. All of these restaurants are participating in restaurant week, and we chose Little Park for lunch.

Little Park is a good looking place. Golden-wood toned, marble topped bar, golden lighting, flower box at the big window pouring in sunlight, to me, it very much resembled Lafayette, same vibe, different ways. It is posh and energetic.
This sleek, blondish hotel restaurant opened in November 2014. It is veggie/ health food focused. The vegetables here are excellent. It might not be as innovative or mind-blowing as Blue Hill, but it is still fascinating. The kohirabi salad is crisp, juicy as it can be. And the Brussels sprouts, so nicely done that we could have that as entrée. Honestly that was the highlight of my lunch. And I wouldn’t be mad if it ended there. I think the Brussel sprouts are poached before it is fried. Tender all the way to its core, while the outer layer is crispy as chips. And there were different sauce at the bottom of the bowl, I think on one side is apple cider vignette, and the other could be smoked mayo, every bite keep us guessing, and we truly enjoy it.

Kohirab (bottom)i- pear, hazelnut, roasted garlic Crispy brussel sprouts (top)- smoked parsnip, apple cider — Kohirab (bottom)i- pear, hazelnut, roasted garlic
Crispy brussel sprouts (top)- smoked parsnip, apple cider

Arctic char- meyer lemon, mustard, pancetta

Salmon is very nicely cooked, moist, tender, but the skin could be crispier. And I could use an extra drop of lemon juice. That’s just me, I like sour.

Grass fed hanger steak- apple, cabbage, beer

The steak looks a little dry, but it is at no fault of the kitchen. My friend like the steak done… well done. However, I do think it needs a little more seasoning. And the cabbage on the side stole the spot light, soft, sweet, and so juicy.

Chocolate cake (bottom)- orange pekoe ice cream Grapefruit sorbet (top)- old time fin, bruleed citrus — Chocolate cake (bottom)- orange pekoe ice cream
Grapefruit sorbet (top)- old time fin, bruleed citrus

Chocolate cake is excellent. It’s crunchy on the outside, moist on the inside. It’s not overly sweet. The grapefruit is lightly torched or bruleed. With sorbet, absolutely refreshing. The latte I had with dessert could use some more work.
Once again appetizers stand our more than entrée. The veggies are the stars here. It is a lovely lunch. And it was restaurant week menu only. I am excited to see what dinner would be like.

little park | Smyth Hotel, 85 W Broadway | New York restaurant week Winter lunch | Jan, 2016

Food & Pixels Posts

Chef Ishikawa’s Jewel Bako

Hirohisa

Babu Ji

little park