28 Thursday Jun 2012
Two vendors were selling wax apples in Chinatown on Sunday. They were $5 per pound or $1 per piece. My friends (who had tasted them in Taiwan) told me they tasted like “water” or “nothing”. I thought they tasted like parsley.
The wax apples have little hairs at the bottom that remind me of pubic hair.
23 Saturday Jun 2012
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Yakitori Totto fries up tiny ice fish and serves them with a little green tea salt like French fries. The shirauo kara-age is only $6.
The green tea affogato was mochi, ice cream, and pon gashi drowned in matcha.
I want to go back again tonight for more delicious meat skewers. They had hatsu (chicken heart) and bonjiri (chicken tail), my favorite yakitori items.
Yakitori Totto
255 W 55th Street
New York NY 10019
18 Monday Jun 2012
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Manty (манты) are served stuffed with seasoned lamb and onions at Café Kashkar, a Uyghur restaurant in Brighton Beach just off the eastern end of the boardwalk. Freshly chopped celery leaves and dill are sprinkled on top of each dumpling.
You will find a little cruet of infused vinegar at each table.
This lagman (لەڭمەن) dish included stewed lamb and vegetables. It was so delicious I almost ordered a second plate.
If you get a chance, you will love this place. The new owners have updated the menu with pictures. The only downside is that the hot guys who used to work there no longer do… and there is a mechanical bird that chirps from time to time that drove me crazy.
Café Kashkar
1141 Brighton Beach Avenue
Brooklyn NY 11235
17 Sunday Jun 2012
Elmhurst’s Ayada restaurant is really proud of their raw shrimp salad. Their front window is wallpapered with New York Times articles that ranked it as one of the top 100 New York snacks. It is served with raw bitter melon slices, raw garlic, and a raw carrot salad in the middle.
I thought it was nice and spicy with a great brininess, but the sweetness was missing. No balance. I wonder if the chili and lime concoction that was covering each shrimp could have benefited from a little bit of jaggery.
I will probably never order it again and I give it 6 out of 10.
Ayada
77-08 Woodside Ave
Elmhurst NY 11373
(718) 424-0844
15 Friday Jun 2012
Posted in bucket list, Indonesian, meat, New York, Queens
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CNN asked their readers to vote for the most delicious food in the world and the Indonesian dish rendang won. Upi Jaya in Elmhurst serves chunks of this caramelized beef curry for $7.00 per piece. For $7.50 you can get the meal deal.
This shrimp curry had petai nuts (sator nuts) in it. The amino acids make your urine smell really odd after you eat them. They kind of tasted like lima beans that were soaked in methane.
I can’t wait to go back and try the djenkol beans!
Upi Jaya
76-04 Woodside Ave
Elmhurst NY 11373
(718) 458-1807
13 Wednesday Jun 2012
Posted in allium, celebrations, Japanese, New York, snacks
Kenka in the East Village has a special menu featuring raw tuna bones, bull penis, turkey testicles, a “cheap” okonomiyaki, and many other wonderful things. We ordered the bull penis and turkey testicles last night to celebrate a special homecoming.
We also got the deep fried garlic off the regular menu. It came with a delicious dipping sauce that reminded me of something I used to eat as a child at my grandma’s house. It was only $3.50!
My favorite was the turkey testicles. They had a wonderful flavor and texture. The first thing I thought of was a White Hot Snappy Griller, a pork hotdog that is sold in upstate New York. The testicles weren’t chewy or tough — they were tender and had a nice outer casing to them that broke easily between my teeth. I wish I had gotten a take out order of them for breakfast this morning!
12 Tuesday Jun 2012
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This Entenmann’s candle was hiding on a low shelf at CVS tonight. Joyce and I almost took a bite because the aroma was making our mouths water!
10 Sunday Jun 2012
Here’s a cure for colds that I just learned about: garlic tea.
It sounds so delicious I might drink it even when I’m not feeling under the weather!
4 cups of water
6 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup of honey
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
Cut the garlic cloves in half and put them in a pot with the water. Bring it to a boil and then remove from heat. Stir in honey and lemon juice.
I am going to make some right now with the madroño honey I have.
09 Saturday Jun 2012
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This year I got to spend Valentine’s Day with two people that I love very much. I am sitting on a train to Tarrytown kind of daydreaming and I found myself thinking about the meal we had that night. I boiled some lobsters, grilled some skirt steaks that were marinated in a red curry sauce, grated a fresh som tam, and mashed potatoes with coconut milk. I want to make another special meal for these two. Do you have any ideas?
09 Saturday Jun 2012
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On a walk through First Calvary Cemetery in Queens recently I found some wild chives.
This grass had gone to seed and looked good enough to eat!
If you get a chance, you should visit this amazing cemetery. One entrance is off Greenpoint Ave. The chapel in the back looks like it’s got giant stone pinecones for a roof!
Chinook Olive 