Category Archives: New York

Tabata Ramen by Port Authority

03 Monday Sep 2012

Posted by in allium, Asian, Japanese, New York, seafood, snacks, spicy

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If you get a chance, try Tabata Ramen, which is right behind Port Authority. The staff was sooo friendly and the ramen was fantastic! Here’s a picture of the house Tabata ramen (which seems to have a Burmese influence). The thick, fragrant coconut broth is similar to ohn no khao swè and is topped with chicken, cilantro, and red onion. It was $10. A 16 oz. Sapporo is only $4.50.

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The garlic noodle dish was amazing — totally loaded with crispy fried garlic pieces and scallions. It gives you what my dad calls “breath of the iguana”.

I know what you’re thinking… Port Authority bus terminal is the armpit of New York. Don’t let that stop you from trying this place though! It’s like the diamond in the rough of that neighborhood! (Well, along with Piccolo Cafè and their awesome croissants!)

Tabata Ramen
540 9th Avenue
New York NY 10018

Balut Eating Contest

02 Sunday Sep 2012

Posted by in American, Brooklyn, bucket list, Filipino, meat, New York, snacks

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I was a contestant in Maharlika’s first annual Balut Contest last weekend. The embryos seemed to be a little more developed than the ones I have had at Maharlika.

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Originally I entered the contest just to eat free balut — I have never been a very fast eater. But when el momento de la verdad arrived, something came over me and I really wanted to win!

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In five minutes I was able to shove 11 baluts down my throat. I almost choked a couple of times. It seemed like the guy next to me, Wayne Algenio, (the guy who won) wasn’t even chewing them! He ate 18!

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Here’s me with the champion!

Smorgasburg

02 Sunday Sep 2012

Posted by in American, Asian, Brooklyn, bucket list, Japanese, New York, seafood, snacks, urban

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This brothless ramen bowl (mazemen) was topped with crab and miso at Yuji Ramen at Smorgasburg this weekend.

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The best thing I ate were the “Jersey style” (head on) fried anchovies with smoked paprika mayonnaise at Bon Chovie.

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There was a special combo that included an order of anchovies and any side for $10. I got the Caesar salad on a stick.

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When I realized that Caesar salad on a stick was a whole head of romaine lettuce with their own Caesar dressing, croutons, and Parmesan cheese shoved into all the nooks an crannies of the lettuce, my jaw dropped to the floor. Isn’t it amazing?!?! The “stick” was a skewer that held the paper in place around the salad. I liked eating it even more than the original salad on-the-go, the McDonald’s Salad Shaker!

Wineberries

23 Monday Jul 2012

Posted by in American, foraging, fruit, New York, snacks, vegan

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While hiking in the Hudson River Valley, just an hour outside of New York City, we came across few wild wineberry bushes. Wineberries are a species of raspberry with origins in eastern Asia. They have very large, hairy calices, as you can see in the photo. A man we met on the trail told us that these berries were once used to make wine, since grapes do not grow well in this region.

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They were a little bit bitter — I wonder if they weren’t quite ripe yet.

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Here is a view of the Hudson River looking south from one of the white Breakneck Ridge trails.

Tortillería Nixtamal

21 Saturday Jul 2012

Posted by in autochthonous, Mexican, New York, Queens, seafood, snacks, spicy, sweets

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Shrimp tacos with mango and cucumber at Nixtamal in Corona, Queens ($3/taco)

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Chongos zamoranos is a sweet curd dessert from Zamora in Michoacán, Mexico.

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Nixtamal provides tortillas to many restaurants in New York such as La Esquina, Choza Taquería, and even Nobu. The owners, Shauna Page and Fernando Ruiz, make their own corn masa using a method called nixtamalization. The corn is soaked in mineral lime, which increases its nutritional value, allows it to be more easily ground, kills fungus, and improves flavor. In front of Nixtamal there are a few stalks of corn growing in a planter.

Mint, Green Chili, and Lime Potato Chips

20 Friday Jul 2012

Posted by in bucket list, Indian, New York, Queens, snacks, spicy, vegan

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The man at Patel Bros. grocery in Jackson Heights, Queens told me they didn’t have any green chili powder or lime powder, but they did have this powdered mint chutney mix. The first ingredient was salt, perfect for a batch of potato chips!

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I don’t have a mandolin so I used my Kyocera ceramic knife to slice the potatoes as thinly as possible.

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I microwaved them for 3 minutes and then checked them to see if any were burning. I think it took about another minute before they were crispy. No oil, just non-ionizing microwave radiation!

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They weren’t bad but I had to dump a lot more chutney mix and some raw green chili to make it flavorful enough for my taste. It looks like I might have to go to India after all!

Minamoto Kitchoan Summer Wagashi

18 Wednesday Jul 2012

Posted by in Asian, Japanese, New York, snacks, sweets, wagashi

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The Minamoto Kitchoan kiosk at Mitsuwa in New Jersey is selling a special hands-on summer wagashi. I think it’s arrowroot with agar agar and extra water, mizu. The jelly prism is placed inside a plastic box and pushed through a screen that cuts it into small, spaghetti-like ribbons. A small packet of molasses is included and could be used as a sauce for the jelly noodles. The whole set is only $6.

My Molcajete

17 Tuesday Jul 2012

Posted by in bucket list, Mexican, New York, Queens

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A few months ago MexGrocer.com had a huge blow out sale and so I bought a real lava rock molcajete. It was kind of hard to find a real one even in New York. Many of the ones I found in Jackson Heights and Corona were decorative serving dishes made out of cement, not lava rock. It took me at least three months to season the one I bought online! I read on The Mija Chronicles that you should do a few turns of dry beans, then dry corn, dry rice, wet rice, and finally the spices. The many rounds help get rid of gritty pieces that might get mixed into your food. Today I finally got to the spices round!

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I ground some garlic, dried epazote, ancho chiles, and salt. The resulting paste was very fragrant and tasty!