Food & Pixels – Page 21

Noreetuh- Aloha from East Village

Noreetuh…. I honestly could not pronounce the name of this restaurant. Is it Hawaiian? Japanese? Chinese or Korean? It didn’t really matter. There’s good food, reasonable priced wine, great vibe; and no, there is Tiki drink with an umbrella!! Mahalo!!!
Just opened not too not ago in East Village, it is on the “Heat Map”. This Hawaiian influenced restaurant is run by not one, but three Per Se vets. The night is young when we arrived. Only half of the tables are filled. But as the dark grows, people started pouring in, all the bar seats are occupied, as was the next door annex dining room. The crowd is young, loud (in a good way) and the place is chill.
No cocktail menu here, only wine and sake, and price tags are very friendly. Dinner menu is very affordable too. Other than the venison for two, the top priced entree is at $25. And poke!! We have our eyes set on poke. We are addicted to sushi, adore tartare and ceviche, so of course, we love poke. But first, let’s have some UNI!!!

Silken tofu, uni, shiitake, shiso

Corned beef tongue musubi with cilantro, peanuts
Musubi is not Hawaii’s official state snack, but it pretty much goes without saying. Not spam, nope, not the regular musubi you would find in any gas station or supermarket in Hawaii. Much better, it’s beef tongue. Thick slap of beef tongue wrap with rice and some cilantro sauce and peanuts. I personally can do without the peanuts, and maybe need a little more seasoning, would love for it to have a little heat.

Grass-fed beef tartare, smoked egg yolk, daikon, wonton chips
The wonton chips were great! Works perfectly with beef tartare. Not oily, and really light and airy. If you mixed the smooth, smoked egg yolk with beef tartare, put it all on top of the wonton chips, something magically happen. The flavor is quite interesting. Not cooked but smoky.

Big-eye tuna poke, macadamia nuts, pickled jalapeño, seaweed
Big chunks of firm tuna. The cloud ear was a nice surprise, mixed with sesame oil and seaweed, carry the heat very well.

Monkfish liver torchon, pear, cilantro, passionfruit, Hawaiian roll
This is an amazingly beautiful plate. A round column of pink monkfish liver lay on top of a bed of passionfruit. Decorated with diced sweet pear and cilantro. Rich, creamy, fresh, a little sour, a little sweet. The Hawaiian roll is fluffy and airy, and so perfectly toasted. Take all these goodness in one bite… I’m in haven.

There are so much more on the menu we want to try. Octopus poke, the mentaiko spaghetti, and the garlic shrimp over rice (hope it’s as good as the shrimp truck!). Next time. There’s always next time. In a near future I hope. (July 2015)

SaiKai Dining Bar

Opened late last year, Saikai is a modern izakaya in west village. Although also operated by two Masa Vets, unlike Neta or Shuko, Saikai is not as hyped, nor “publicized”. the only publicity it has gotten so far, was a mention on the Forbes as one of the 5 must try new restaurants. Thanks to the friends at Neuro Dining, on a weekday evening, we paid a visit to this sleek Japanese pub/ restaurant, and it did not disappointed.
There are two bars in this place. The one out front is the sake bar; the other is all the way in the back, but it is not a sushi counter, since sushi is not made there, and there isn’t a refrigeration unit at the counter. There is a grill behind the counter, we suspect that it is for yakitori. However, throughout the night we were there, no action is seen. We chose to sit at the counter. There are a few booths for more somewhat “Private” cozy sitting. Dim lite, dark but warm. There were only a couple other tables besides us.

We were so excited! So many uni items on the menu. I read it somewhere that earlier this year, they offered Uni 6 ways as a tasting menu. We totally missed out. Therefore our strategy is to order everything that has Uni in it.

Oyster Ceviche (special)
– Huge, giant oyster. incredibly sweet. There are also scallop in the mix, and of course UNI!!!! And cherry tomato. So light and refreshing, and plenty to pick at. We love it so much, we had two of them! 🙂

Uni Toast– Sea urchin, botan ebi on a lightly toasted milk bread. The dressing with ebi felt unnecessary. When you have ingredients this fresh, they shouldn’t be hiding in dressing…

Uni Yuba– Sea urchin atop grilled pressed tofu skin, aka yuba. The green stuff is edamame puree, crispy yuba, thick creamy edamame puree, and the sweetness of the uni. Take is in one bite. It’s a great contrast combination.

Sushi Tasting– from left to right: Toro, Tai, Akami, Hamachi belly, Botan Ebi, Kanpachi, Giant Clam, Uni, Mackerel
$48 for 9 pieces of chef selection sushi. Yes, we didn’t have any the sushi counter action here, nor did we have any interaction with sushi chef. Nevertheless Good quality sushi. Of course we cannot compare to other high end sushi places. At this price range, we are happy.

King Crab DoNabe with Uni– You can get this without uni, but why would you?? Served in a hot stone pot, this rice dish is excellent. Lots of crab meat, uni are lightly torched, and sprinkled with tobiko. Hearty, comfort food. Nice portion too. Great food are meant to be shared.

Shiso Ice cream and Yuzu Sorbet
We love, love the yuzu sorbet!!!!! not overly sour, just right amount of sweetness and sour. And there’s pop rocks on top!!! one bite, I was in love! Every spoon is a dance party in my mouth. We were so happy and excited!!! why couldn’t people think of this sooner? Pop rocks ice cream, where have you been all my life!?!

We are very satisfy with our night at Saikai. It is quiet. Sophisticated but not intimidating. Service is warm and attentive. Not cheap but affordable, and decent quality. We have long for something in the mid-price range, and now we have it. Saikai is still petty new and lesser known, and frankly, for my sake, I’d like to keep it this way.

Asia de Cuba (restaurant week summer’15 lunch)

Life is funny. It goes up, it comes down. Butter moved up to mid-town; and Asia de Cuba moved to occupy Butter’s old space. Re-located/ reopened recently, Asia de Cuba’s new place is sleek, modern. During restaurant week, we went there for lunch.
When Asia meets latin, does it gel or does it crash?

We like the calamari salad. The orange sesame vinaigrette balanced the oiliness very well. And it is a very generous portion. The spring rolls were not much of a looker, but don’t let it deceive you. The slow braised short ribs inside has great flavor, tender and moist. A great surprise! The snapper ceviche, light and bright! A great summer dish, and the fried plantains slaws on top adds a crunchy contrast to the dish.
For entrees, we chose the flat iron steak and scallops. I felt the steak could use a couple drop of lime juice. I could taste any trace of chili on the scallops, but it was a hearty dish with the beans and rice. The flavor is great, however, It could go easier without the mayo on top. The dish is heavy to begin with, and the “Japanese aioli”, aka mayo, makes the dish even heavier. I would opt for some lime or yuzu juice and may be some paprika pepper.
Desserts were great, and we love all three of them. The peppercorn ice cream was very interesting; the coconut cake is fluffy as it can be. And I love the sorbet! Fruits dices at the bottom with yuzu sorbet, sprinkled with meringue chips, coconut water poured over. Every bit of refreshing. A great note to end a delightful lunch. (August 2015)

Tavern on the Green (Restaurant Week summer’15 dinner)

Just shy of 2 weeks left in NY restaurant weeks, where have you been to??

We didn’t plan ahead for restaurant week this time around, by the time we really start looking at our options, places we want to go were all booked. We were surprised that Tavern on the Green was still available for a 7pm reservation.
The place was built in 1870, became a restaurant in 1934. After closing it’s kitchen on New Year’s day 2010, it reopened as a more casual restaurant last year. However, it has not been warm-received by critics.

I have never been to Tavern on the Green before; I always think of it as a higher class place, more sophisticated, more expensive. So Restaurant week is a great opportunity to take a look at this “newly” re-opened place. We walked in from 66th street to west side of Central Park; there are areas still being blocked off for renovation. Turn the corner, there is a beer garden off the side, but no sign that it is open yet. We were greeted by the iconic red awning, open the door to a grand foyer. Flowers on a round table in the middle, almost feel like I walked into someone’s grand mansion. There’s gift shop on the left, and step to the right is the bar/ lounge/ sitting area. This used to be the original Crystal Room, now it feels like a very nice rustic country club. Fireplace, chandeliers , nice oversize comfy couches, and of course a bar in the middle of it all. With a carousel chandelier!!! I’m a little taken by all the nice lighting fixtures.
Dining room is deeper inside, modern and sleek, entirely different atmosphere. Floor to ceiling windows let in plenty of sunlight. On the other side is the semi-open kitchen. There are booth seats for more cozy companies; we were seated by the window overlooking the patio.

There was a thunderstorm earlier in the afternoon, everything is soaking wet and no one is out in the patio. But by the look of it, it would be a very nice place for an afternoon tea or a sunny Sunday brunch. The room is a little loud, no tablecloth or curtains to absorb the sound, we found ourselves getting louder and louder as the night goes on.
On the restaurant week menu, there are 3 appetizers and 3 entrees and 2 desserts to choose from. The wine pairing option is at very affordable $20 for 3 glasses of red, white and/or dessert. Regular menu is not super expensive, we decided to do half and half.

White Gazpacho– Red Grapes, Toasted Hazelnuts, Basil
Part of the summer menu, this one is not much of a looker, but a great summer soup. Super light and yet creamy. A mix of cauliflower, celery and cucumber with a little red grapes as decoration. A hint of nutty favor from hazelnuts. NICELY done!!!

Avocado Toast– Red Onion, Cilantro, Lime, Radish, Grilled Sourdough
So Tavern on the Green has an “Afternoon” menu. And this is a twist from it. The one on the afternoon menu listed at $22. There is plenty of avocado on it, but the disappointment is on the toast. It doesn’t taste like it had been toasted. The grape tomato is great, but it totally over crowded the “toast”. Just some sloppy avocado slapped on an “not-so-fresh sourdough”. Not even sure it is Sourdough.

Shrimp Scampi– frascati, Garlic, Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe
2 big prawns over a bed of spaghetti. Shrimps are cooked just right. For a cacao e pepe, there is enough pepper but not nearly enough cheese. The house-made spaghetti was great! Right texture and just al dente. It’s a little salty for my taste, but could also be just too much pepper.

Hickory Smoked Beef Short ribs– East Texas Baked Beans, Pickled Vegetables
Short ribs was a disappointment. Just as it looks in the picture. It is dry. Desperately need sauce. The tiny little drops underneath it wasn’t much help. The dish became blend and plain. However, I do love the little mushrooms that were mixed in the beans.

Long Island Striped Bass– Tomato-Onion Confit, Citrus Olives, Pomme Paille, Petite Cress 34.00
(From the regular dinner menu) Good size of bass filet, perfectly seared, the skin was very crunchy, but not oily at all. Seasoning was light but it didn’t matter. The tomato confit makes it a great summer dish.

Cioppino– Mussels, Clams, Scallops, Chorizo, Shrimp, Grilled Sourdough 32.00

Also, at average $30+ per entrée on regular menu, the portions here are very generous. The cioppino has plenty of seafood in the mixture. I was looking around, our next-table neighbor had the $56 rack of lamb, and it was gigantic! Huge, huge, huge rack. When they listed whole rack, they were not kidding. And I also saw they were shaving the black truffle on top of the lamb table-side. The server literally took out a good size of whole truffle and it started raining truffle slices. And he even handing out (shaving) truffle slices to diner’s hand at that table. WHAT!?! There was also a mountain of fries came along with that rack of lamb. The amount of food on that plate was unbelievable.
Back to the restaurant week menu. Chicken Pomodoro, the one entrée we didn’t ordered looked decent size too. It was a whole chicken leg, thigh included. Don’t know how the lamb nor the chicken taste, but sure looks good.
As the night falls, the outdoor patio lights up. How wonderful it would be to have a mid-summer night party here.
Tavern on the Green- a well known place with an expensive zip code; a historic landmark; a symbol of upper class Manhattaners. Through numerous renovations, scandals, and troubles, if these walls could talk… and I couldn’t understand how it could go from making $38million in 2007 to bankruptcy in 2009… I guess it is all just a part of New York history. Glory, downfall, rebirth…
Owners, chefs came and went, Tavern on the Green still stands its ground in Central Park overlooking sheep’s meadow. Will it reclaim its glamours days? It is still early to tell.
(July 2015)

Food & Pixels Posts

Noreetuh- Aloha from East Village

SaiKai Dining Bar

Asia de Cuba (restaurant week summer’15 lunch)

Tavern on the Green (Restaurant Week summer’15 dinner)