Cute food

I think the hardest part about making cute food look cute visually, is making sure that the taste is just as appetizing. Nonetheless, these are still fun to make if you want to brighten up someone’s day! =] For unique ideas and inspirations, check out one of my favorite sites HERE.

Angry Birds bento box - with a little imagination, bento boxes are fun to make.

Candy sushi - made with rice krispies treats, fruit roll-ups, and swedish fish.

It's mango season!

 
So I was watching this show called Neighborhood Gourmet a few weeks ago, about 2 people who travels all over Hong Kong to taste all kinds of different cuisines. When they did a segment on Hong Kong desserts, I couldn’t help but drool over the delicious varieties that they have. Mango sago was featured on the show, and it just brought back all the sweet memories I had at Hui Lau Shan and Honeymoon Dessert in Hong Kong. I love the creamy pudding-like texture filled with sago pearl goodness, and I love mangoes! Since it’s mango season right now, I decided to make some mango sago. Enjoy!

Mango Sago Pomelo

Makes about 3-4 servings 
PRINT RECIPE 

Ingredients: 
1 big ripe mango 
¼ cup sago (small) 
½ cup condensed milk 
½ cup milk 
2-3 tsp sugar if needed (in case your mango isn’t ripe)
1 slice of pomelo (Chinese grapefruit) - optional

Directions: 
Soak sago for an hour. Rinse it to remove excess starch before and after soaking process. Bring a pot of water to boil. Add sago and simmer until it’s soft and translucent, about 4-5 minutes. Be careful to not overcook the sago or it will become a glob. Then drain water through a fine sieve, and rinse it under running water to wash out the excess starch so that the sago is not sticky. 

Peel and chop mangoes. Reserve finely chopped mango pieces (1/4 of a mango) for garnish. Blend rest of the mango pieces with condensed milk, whole milk, and sugar if desired, to a smooth paste. Add more milk if you want to change the consistency. Transfer to a bowl and add cooked sago. Mix well. 

Garnish with pomelo (peeled and sacs separated) and reserved mangoes. Serve chilled.
 
Easy peasy lemon squeezy, right? :)

A Taste of Northern Chinese Style Cuisine

House of Orient 
46-09 Kissena Blvd 
Flushing, NY 11355

I’ve past by this restaurant many times without ever giving it a second glance. Perhaps it’s because BCD Tofu House was replaced by this place, and the bitterness just lingered on... but let me tell you, this place was uhhh-mazing! House of Orient serves Northern Chinese style cuisine, strongly influenced by Muslim cuisine. Evidently, lamb is their specialty, where cumin and hot peppers are used liberally in every dish. If you like spicy food packed with bold flavors, this place is it!

Fresh leek and pork pancake

Steamed lamb dumplings

Country style shredded pork with vegetables

Cumin lamb

Sauteed hot peppers with fried pig intestines

Stewed sour cabbage with pork belly and vermicelli in hotpot

Potato, eggplant and hot peppers

Fried pork with sweet and sour sauce

Mongolia style lamb chops

I highly recommend this restaurant for big groups since everything is family style. This is also a great place to bring your picky Asian parents for special occasions. They will love this place because it's quick, delicious, and reasonably cheap. We had 13 people, and the bill came out to $104. That’s less than $10 a person! I will definitely come back here more frequently to try all the other dishes on the menu. Thanks Tony for recommending this place! :)

Mickey's rating: 9/10 
Price range: $

If I could rearrange the alphabet, I would put u n i together

Soto 
357 6th Avenue 
New York, NY 10014 
www.sotonyc.com

Last week was opening night for the movie Jiro Dreams of Sushi. It’s a documentary about a 85 year old sushi master Jiro, who’s lifelong passion revolves only around sushi. With all the amazing sushi visuals, it's inevitable that this movie would leave me mouthwatering and falling in love with sushi all over again. 

Jiro Dreams of Sushi at the IFC Center.

Good thing I had one of the best sushi meals of my life at Soto, right before I went to see Jiro! With a full tummy, I controlled the sushi monster within me from unleashing inside the theater. If you're a sushi lover and haven't seen Jiro Dreams of Sushi yet, go see it! It's an inspiring story with beautiful cinematography. I truly enjoyed every moment of it - Jiro, you're my hero. :P

The facade of Soto.

Sushi Chef Kosugi prepares our sushi with a stern face.  

Hands down, this place is amazingly good. Does it seem like I say that about every sushi restaurant? Well it's true... even though Soto received mixed reviews and I've heard stories about Chef Kosugi, whom many patrons called “crazy”. He's known for having a bad temper with his staff and I even witnessed it. But I think he's just a serious man, who’s serious about his craft and knows exactly what the foie gras of the sea is. This place was unilicious! Unicredible! Uniful! Unirrific! Uninomenal! You get the point right? I walked right into uni lover’s paradise, where all uni lovers should UNIte!

Uni tempura with uni powder

Uni tempura close up - apparently when you deep fry uni, the unique flavor of uni disappears. It tasted like sweet potato. I think I'll stick with uncooked uni.  

Uni cocktail in a martini glass - it's indeed happy hour time.

Uni cocktail close up - sea urchin with soy reduction and fresh wasabi. This is my favorite uni dish. Make sure to get your own. I made the mistake of sharing one!

Uni and Yoba - black soy bean milk with uni served with shitake broth. I loved the depth of flavors and textures in this, and the cold broth was refreshing.

Uni Ika kelp roll - minty with good texture.

Steamed lobster with uni mousse

The steamed lobster with uni mousse was not only visually beautiful but tasted wonderful too. The lobster was cooked medium rare, full of flavor with a delicate sweetness that complemented well with uni, truffle oil, caviar and paper thin vegetables. Best lobster dish ever! This nearly stole uni's thunder. 

Lobster sashimi

We didn't know about this dish, until we saw Chef Kosugi intricately composing 5 of these lobster sashimis at the sushi bar. We immediately ordered it without hesitating, knowing that we wanted to try it, just because everyone else was having it. The sweet lobster was perfect, covered in a ginger vinaigrette with seaweed salad underneath. Wow!

Fluke

Isaki

Salmon sake

Red snapper

Striped jack  

Toro

We ordered the 8 piece omakase last, essentially letting the chef decide what to feed us. Sometimes I enjoy that surprise element, where each piece of fish is carefully and thoughtfully prepared by our chef. The best piece in the house was the toro. Oh... how I love thee! The toro was so heavenly, that it transmitted this indescribable euphoric feeling inside my body. I was giggling over the rich fatty flavor of the tuna belly melting in my mouth. It tasted like butter. We even skipped dessert and ordered one more toro sushi to cap off the evening. It's so gooooood.

So here are a few things to keep in mind, if you ever decide to dine here. Do not come here if you’re in a rush. Otherwise, you won't enjoy the full dining experience. The service is a little slow with only one sushi chef. The portions are small and the prices are expensive, but you're getting what you pay for - quality. Think about it, you get a taste of Japan without actually flying there. How awesome is that? I think Soto is one of the most inventive and most unique in flavors, in all of the sushi restaurants I've been to. I’ll never forget this incredible three hour meal.

3 things you must order here:
Uni cocktail – don't share this one!
Steamed lobster with uni mousse - so decadent and good!
Toro - this orgasmic piece of fish is kind of a big deal. Best toro I've ever eaten!

Mickey's rating: 10/10 
Price range: $$$$

Chinese Egg Tarts (Dan Tat)

My sister and I had some quality bonding time this past weekend making dan tats for the first time. It’s one of my favorite dessert. When I was young, I would only eat the egg part and leave the tart shell for my grandma. I just loved nibbling into that silky smooth, lightly sweeten eggy custard. It's such a treat. I grew up eating dan tats in Chinese bakeries and dim sum restaurants, thinking that these tarts would be impossible to make. But this recipe is simple, requires few ingredients and a crowd pleaser. They are extra yummy when served warm. Enjoy! :)

Adapted from All Recipes
Makes a little over a dozen
PRINT RECIPE 

Ingredients: 
Crust 
1 cup confectioner’s sugar 
3 cups all-purpose flour 
1 cup butter 
1 egg, beaten
1 dash vanilla extract 

Egg Custard 
2/3 cup white sugar 
1 ½ cups water 
9 eggs, beaten 
1 dash vanilla extract 
1 cup evaporated milk 

Directions: 
In a medium bowl, mix the confectioner’s sugar and flour together. Mix in butter with a fork until it is in small crumbs. Stir in the egg and vanilla until the mixture forms a dough. The texture should be slightly moist. Shape dough into 1 ½ inch balls, and press balls into tart molds so that it covers the bottom, and goes up higher than the sides. 

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Combine white sugar and water in a medium saucepan, and bring to boil. Cook until the sugar dissolved, remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature. Strain the eggs through a sieve, and whisk into the sugar mixture. Stir in the evaporated milk and vanilla. Strain the filling through a sieve, and fill the tart shells. 

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in preheated oven, until golden brown and until the filling becomes solid.

Oh Marea Marea

Marea 
240 Central Park South
New York, NY 10019

www.marea-nyc.com

I’ve been wanting to eat at Marea for about a year, before I finally step foot into this sleek and classy restaurant. It was a tantalizing wait, but I saved it for a very special birthday occasion. For months, I must've read a ton of Urbanspoon and Yelp reviews, while I admire the yummy photographs online. So when the day finally came for me to visit Marea, I knew exactly what to order. It wasn't my birthday, but it sure felt like it! :)

 Ricci - sea urchin, lardo and sea salt.

Here we have a crostini spread with creamy sea urchin, that's topped with thin velvety sheets of lardo, with a touch of sea salt. I’ve never had lardo before, and thought it was weird at first, but the layer of porky fat gave an interesting texture, and complemented the sea urchin and toast very well. The sea urchin was buttery and perfect. In just two savory bites, heaven practically melted in my mouth. If you love uni as much as I do, you’ll definitely love this!

Clockwise from top to bottom: bigeye tuna, geoduck clam, and pacific langoustines

Then I ordered a tasting of 3 different crudos. Crudos are sliced raw fish appetizers dressed in olive oil and lemon juice. Sort of like the Italian version of ceviche or sashimi. There are about 15 choices of crudos on the menu and I wanted to try everything. We ordered the geoduck, langoustines and the bigeye tuna. All 3 were freshly prepared, and tasted wonderfully juicy with a delectable sweetness.

Polipo - grilled octopus, smoked potatoes, pickled red onion, radish, chilies, and tonnato.

Next we had the grilled octopus. This is definitely a must try! It's filled with a smokey flavor, perfectly tendered, with smoked potatoes, pickled red onion, radish, chillies and a tonnato sauce. It brought back wonderful memories of my trip to Greece, because all I ate there was fresh grilled octopus. 

Astice - Nova Scotia lobster with burrata, eggplant al funghetto, and basil.

Astice immediately followed, with chunks and chunks of succulent lobster paired with creamy burrata, eggplant and basil. This dish is colorful and absolutely beautiful to look at! I didn't want to eat this piece of art... but my belly didn't listen. :P

Spaghetti with crab, Santa Barbara sea urchin, basil.

I’m a huge uni fan. So when I saw a pasta dish with sea urchin, there’s no doubt that I will order it. This was probably one of the best pasta dishes I’ve ever had! The pasta was al dente and the delicious sauce captured the flavors of the sea. Every bite had crab, and every bite had sea urchin in it. I savored each appetizing bite slowly, with a huge smile spread across my face. I would go back regularly just for this dish, but I can’t possibly afford to indulge in this insane plate of goodness.

Fusilli with red wine braised octopus and bone marrow.

Finally, Marea’s signature dish - fusilli pasta with red wine braised octopus and bone marrow! The verdict? Perhaps my expectations were too high because everyone hyped it up for me, but I thought it was just good and not great. The pasta had a great bite to it with perfect braised octopus. The bone marrow was flavorful and rich, but I thought it was a tad too salty for my palate. I preferred the crab and sea urchin spaghetti over the heavily raved fusilli. However, I would definitely order this dish again, hoping that it’ll be perfect the next time around, with less salt.

This was indeed, a very satisfying meal. Yes the signature dish was a bit disappointing, yet still good… everything else tasted wonderful, especially anything and everything with sea urchin. This two star Michelin restaurant truly deserves all the buzz it’s been getting even though it's on the pricier side. But it was worth every bite and every penny. Definitely a treat for that special someone!

Mickey's rating: 9/10
Price range: $$$$

Meet Adam Richman

Adam Richman's talk, "Exploring Fork First".

Meet Adam Richman from Man vs. Food! I'm a huge fan of his, so you could only imagine how excited I was to see him today at The New York Times Travel Show at the Javits Center. He's a really awesome guy with great insight on where to eat all over the U.S. He described how his love affair began with food, while talking about all aspects of what his job entails. He was fun and inspiring - totally living my dream of being an expert food explorer. 

Some fun facts I learned from Adam today:
- Likes to use Urbanspoon when searching for a restaurant review. 
- Likes banh mi and chicken feet. 
- His contract makes sure that all the hotels he stays at, has a gym. 
- He does cardio exercise every day.
- Always does a cleanse after all his challenges.
- Lost 3O+ pounds since his last taping and is happy to see his feet again. 
- His mom’s spinach pies are pretty awesome. 
- Worst thing he’s ever eaten are nattos (Japanese fermented soybeans) and male fish eggs. 
- He could not afford to watch cable tv until he was on cable tv.
- Misses his bed and Xbox when he’s on the road throughout the year. 
- Kept a food journal since he was in college.

Aww... he's such a huggable teddy bear! Make sure to look out for his new show "Adam Richman's Best Sandwich in America". I'm really looking forward to it. :)

First blog post!

Welcome to my first blog post! Thanks to those who have continuously encouraged me in the past to start a blog about my food adventures. I was hesitant for a long time, but I'm finally doing it! Here, I will be sharing photos, some restaurant and travel reviews, and maybe a few of my favorite recipes. I believe that the belly rules the mind and food is the essence of bringing people together, so please visit often. Your support will help keep me motivated! :)

So let's start with one of my favorite restaurants, Hatsuhana! 

Hatsuhana Sushi Restaurant 
17 E 48th Street (between 5th Ave & Madison Ave) 
New York, NY 10017 
www.hatsuhana.com 

Hatsuhana is an authentic and simple Japanese restaurant that serves impeccable sushi, that's not fancy at all. I’ve been to this midtown gem twice for two very special occasions and enjoyed both experiences very much. I probably would’ve never tried this place if I didn't get two free $80 vouchers through Living Social! They're known for their "Box of Dreams" which includes nine miniature bowls containing one type of fish on a bed of vinegared rice. It's nicely presented in a lacquer box and everyone who has eaten here has raved about it. However, we decided to be different from everyone else and opted for the "Sushi Hatsuhana" where you pick 10 pieces of sushi of your choice plus 1 roll, and appetizers. I think it's more satisfying to pick my own favorite sushi anyway.

Salmon Carppacio - Slices of raw salmon over avocado, with sprinkles of caviar and seaweed. Delicious!

Tempura appetizer - Two pieces of shrimp and assorted vegetables delicately fried in tempura batter. The batter was very light and crispy. 

Thinly sliced raw flounder sashimi with chives. Yummy and beautiful presentation!

Uni - My favorite!

Eel

Octopus

Scallop

Yellowtail and Amberjack

Salmon

Fluke

Mackerel

Otoro

Tuna and Toro

Negi-Toro roll

This is definitely the place to go to for good quality sushi. Everything was fresh and tasty, and the wait staff was friendly and attentive. I certainly recommend making a reservation here for your next special occasion, and ask for the sushi bar upstairs. The experience at the sushi bar is much more intimate and fun, and I love watching our sushi chef prepare my sushi as I devour each tasty pieces of gem. All in all, I love this place.

Mickey's rating: 9/10
Price range: $$$