Monday, April 30, 2012

My favorite Malaysian restaurant in NY

New Malaysia Restaurant 
48 Bowery 
New York, NY 10013
www.newmalaysiarestaurant.com

This delicious restaurant is tucked in a tunnel alley way between Bowery and Elizabeth Street, so finding this place is like finding a hidden treasure. I use to come here every weekend when I was young, since this was one of my mom’s favorite joint. The restaurant came a long way before it renovated, because I remember it looking a lot like a cafeteria with minimal décor and everything was served in cheap plastic utensils.

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Hainese and curry chicken with fried egg on rice combo
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Curry beef and fish balls noodle soup

For appetizer, I usually start off with the roti canai (not shown here), an Indian pancake dipped in curry. It’s always fun to peel away the flat flaky bread and soak it into that spicy curry before devouring it. Another favorite for most people is the Hainese chicken, served plain yet very moist with a side of mild chili and mashed ginger sauce that I can never get enough of. The real highlight for me however, is the rice. The Hainese rice is packed with yummy flavorful chicken goodness, because the rice is cooked in the same chicken broth that was used to cook the chicken. I think I could eat the rice all by itself because it’s that good.

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Pearl fried noodles
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Curry beef brisket with noodles

The pearl fried noodles and curry beef brisket are my favorite Malaysian dishes. The pearl noodles look like little mouse tails with a smooth and chewy texture fried with shrimp, pork, egg, mushrooms, scallions and bean sprouts. The curry beef brisket here is always sold out towards the end of day, so don’t come here too late if you want some. The meat is extremely tender and the aromatic curry broth is rich, filled with different spices and creamy coconut milk. I love this stuff!

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Singapore ice

I always make room for dessert here. They have a variety of shaved ice, laced with sweet red syrup and condense milk, with choices of fruits, red bean or jelly. The shaved ice can be served as a drink or served in a bowl, so taking it to go is never a problem. This place inspired my mom to purchase a manual ice shaver... that continues to collect dust in my basement.

All in all, the food is always tasty and consistent here so I’m never disappointed. The restaurant can get crowded, and feel a little cramped but the turnover is super fast. New Malaysia is definitely one of my go to spots in Chinatown.


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

New Malaysia Restaurant on Urbanspoon

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Cheap Sushi

Chikurin 
2274 86th St 
Brooklyn, NY 11214 
www.chikurinsushi.com

If you crave sushi as often as I do, and you don’t want to spend too much money - this place is a good option for a quick sushi fix. Chikurin is a Japanese restaurant chain known for their 50% off sushi made by my Chinese homies. Of the 9 restaurants located here in New York, the 86th Street, Brooklyn location is my favorite. Their classic rolls are only $3.00, all sushi or sashimi pieces are $1.00, and they have 4 pages of special rolls to choose from their menu. The fish is decent and fresh every time I come, especially anything with salmon, and they have a good selection of cooked food as well.

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The atmosphere here is a little noisy during dinner time, but for the price you pay, this place hits the spot. Good for my belly, great for my pocket! =]

Mickey’s ratings: 8/10 

Price range: $

Chikurin on Urbanspoon

Sunday, April 22, 2012

PPZ

Prospect Park Zoo 
450 Flatbush Ave 
Brooklyn, NY 11225 
www.prospectparkzoo.org  

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This zoo is awesome, perfect for kids and adults. Even thought it’s a small zoo, there are plenty of cool animals to see including curious Pallas cats, baboons making silly faces, weird looking emus, geese and ducks quacking, peacocks strutting by, a posse of turtles laying in the pond, golden lion tamarin with cool hairdos, saki monkeys playing, beautiful tufted deer and more. It’s intimate, well maintained and never crowded, so I got the best view for every exhibit and attraction.

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As you walk into the zoo, you’ll be greeted by two bright and loveable sea lions. They have a short performance prepared for you, so make sure to watch them during feeding times. They’ll make you smile by showing off a few tricks up their sleeves.

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The twitchy tail prairie dogs were laying out lazily sunbathing. A couple of them popped their heads out of the burrows, just like the game whac-a-mole. There are a few viewing bubbles that you can crawl up a tunnel to pop your head out too, perfect for photo ops!

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I was so happy to see the red pandas up close and personal because I didn’t get to see them at The Central Park and The Bronx Zoo. They have beautiful red fur with a long furry tail, and a face that slightly resembles a raccoon. I was so fascinated by them… I want one.  

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Dingoes made their debut at the zoo recently, so I’m glad to welcome them with a visit. They look like domesticated dogs but are more closely related to wolves. These are also the first dingoes in a New York City zoo in 40 years. They are just adorable.

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We nearly missed the Australian wallaby because it was so tiny. So glad I walked back looking for it because I would’ve been so upset to not have been able to say hello. I was surprised that there was no real fence around the area. The petite baby wallaby was just hanging out on the rock crevice munching on some veggies while we adore him.  

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My favorite part was the petting zoo with the barn animals. The babydoll sheep, goats, and alpacas were all very gentle and friendly. With two quarters you could purchase some pellets to feed them. They enjoyed eating off my hands with their wet tongues tickling me. The two funny looking alpacas have really big eyes hidden underneath their cute little hairdos. They brought a smile to my face.
  
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I definitely prefer this zoo over The Bronx Zoo. I love that I don’t have to walk miles to get from one attraction to another. Everything was situated closely and the animals were practically right in front of me. It only takes about two hours to get through, so it’s a nice short trip before or after picnicking at Prospect Park. The Prospect Park Zoo may not have lions and tigers, but all the adorable lovable animals that they do have; you can’t help but fall in love with them too. I love this place!

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

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Brunch at Westville

Westville 
210 W 10th St 
New York, NY 10014 
www.westvillenyc.com

This is a quaint little restaurant with outdoor seating, so it’s the perfect place to come here for brunch with your pup. I love brunching outside on a beautiful day in the city… I get to people watch and doggie watch. It’s also a vegan friendly place filled with a long list of fresh beautiful veggies to choose from. There’s about twenty plus items on the market menu and if you like, you could even pick four items as your meal. The market sides are so amazingly delicious! If I could have this every single day, I would swear off meat. My waistline would totally appreciate it.

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Market sides - sauteed kale with shallots, honey dijon brussels sprouts, roasted beets with goat cheese, and fried plantains with cotija cheese. I love the vibrant colors. They were all so fresh and very delicious!
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Breakfast burrito with a side of hash. The hash was a spicy creamy mash potato with a Mexican twist. It's not your typical hash and I loved it!
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The inside of our breakfast burrito. Lots of diced chorizo tucked inside the fluffy scrambled eggs, topped with salsa and avocado. 
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Westville breakfast - poached eggs with Canadian bacon, and sauteed spinach on an English muffin. I didn't like this very much.

The breakfast burrito was large in portion and filling, however, it needed plenty of ketchup and Tabasco sauce to bring out the flavors. The side of hash on the other hand was quite tasty. It was a spicy creamy mash potato with a Mexican twist. I immediately wanted seconds. I also ordered the Westville breakfast because I enjoy a classic eggs benedict, but this one was just mediocre. Doh!

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Saying hi to Teddy, who was brunching next to us. :)

The wait staff at Westville weren't very friendly and quite frankly not very attentive. They seemed frustrated when we asked that they change our drinks because two of our cups were dirty. But it’s ok… I forgive them for having fantastic veggies. I will definitely come back here for more market sides and try their famous mac and cheese. Just thinking about their veggies, is making me drool. The wait here can be a little crazy during the weekends, but there are a few things that make it worthwhile.

Mickey’s ratings: 7.5/10 
Price range: $$

Westville on Urbanspoon

Monday, April 16, 2012

Not a fan of The Bar Room at The Modern

The Bar Room at The Modern 
9 W 53rd St 
New York, NY 10019 
www.themodernnyc.com 

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The Bar Room at The Modern

I’ve heard many great things about this restaurant for a long time, and I was intrigued so I finally came here for dinner on a Friday night. Well… I didn’t quite fall in love with The Bar Room at The Modern, even though I pass by this swanky restaurant every single day. The service was good but the ratio of wait staff was almost the same as patrons, so I expected excellent. The chairs were not comfortable and the tables were situated way too close together next to other people dining. The ambiance was pretentious, lively, and filled with snobby people by the bar. The bar was definitely bumpin', but it caused such a disruption that I didn’t quite enjoy my conversations nor my meal. Boo... this just proves that high expectations can lead to high levels of disappointment.

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Tarte flambee, Alsatian thin crust tart with creme fraiche, onion and applewood smoked bacon - This was the only dish I liked. The dish was surprisingly huge and the creamy cheese and sweet onions were a perfect blend. This is my kind of pizza!
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Upside down tuna tartare with fennel, Japanese cucumber and aioli - There was nothing special about this tuna tartare.
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Grilled diver scallops with fried brussels sprouts, butternut squash puree, and citrus nage - I ordered this because I thought there would be brussels sprouts, but where were they?
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Slow-poached farm egg, with Maine lobster, artichoke puree, crosnes and sea urchin froth - I couldn't taste the sea urchin because it was overpowered by the sourness of the artichoke puree, but the froth was very rich and foamy. The few pieces of lobster were a little overcooked and the soft poached egg just tasted odd with everything united.
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Beer-braised pork belly with turnip choucroute and ginger jus - The pork belly was very tender but the pork skin was a tad too tough and chewy.
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Roasted Long Island duck breast with peppercorn-crusted apples and toasted pistachio-truffle dipping sauce - The roast duck tasted like the roast duck I get at Chinese restaurants. It was good but with that price, I could’ve ordered a whole duck and more at a Chinese place. I didn't like the sliced peppercorn-crusted apples on the side at all, and I barely used my pistachio-truffle dipping sauce. I thought it was an odd combo and the flavors just didn’t mesh well.

The waiter advised us to order 3 items on the menu per person - categorized under ONE, TWO, and THREE, but I think 2 dishes should suffice. The portions are small, but I was actually full at the end of the meal and didn’t leave room for dessert. Each dish was beautifully presented, and even though they all have interesting and unique combinations of flavors, I was not blown away. Overall, I felt nothing amazing and the dishes did nothing for my not-too-hard-to-please palate. Sorry The Bar Room at The Modern for making you my first bad review. :(

Mickey’s ratings: 5/10 
Price range: $$$$

The Modern on Urbanspoon

Friday, April 13, 2012

Brooklyn's Best Sandwich

Court Street Grocers 
485 Court St 
Brooklyn, NY 11231  
www.courtstreetgrocers.com  

This cute hipster place deserves to be on "Adam Richman’s America’s Best Sandwiches". My friend Richie raved about how superb their sandwiches are, so my boyfriend and I entrusted his taste buds and immediately flocked to this place. Court Street Grocers have an amazing selection of fresh sandwiches, cooked and baked goods, and unique grocery items. It is definitely a good place to stop by for lunch after a weekend stroll in Carroll Gardens. :)
 
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Zapp's! And I LOVE blueberry sodas!
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The Turkey Club

Most of the turkey clubs I’ve had in the past are usually dry and sort of bland. But the Court Street Grocers’ rendition piles high with succulent white and dark meat turkey, on a triple decker buttered toast, with delicious bacon, slices of fresh tomatoes and crisp iceberg lettuce. However, the second time I went back, the turkey was a tad bit too salty… but the minor inconsistency does not stop me from believing that this is probably one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever had.

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The Delight

If you’re in a beefy mood then you have to try The Delight. Holy moly! The Delight was just deeeeelightful. On toasted Orwasher’s pumpernickel bread, with heaping layers of juicy tender house corned short rib, melted muenster cheese, and a creamy homemade coleslaw with a thousand island dressing. Yum!

Court Street Grocers’ sandwiches reflect a combination of simplicity and creativity in making the perfect sandwich by contrasting texture and flavors. This neighborhood gem has successfully built a solid foundation for its delicious sandwiches that not many sandwich makers can achieve. Sandwich lovers need to come here, pronto. Thanks Richie! :)  

Mickey’s ratings: 9/10 
Price range: $$

Monday, April 9, 2012

I love hand-pulled noodles

Tasty Hand-Pulled Noodles Inc.
1 Doyers Street 
(between Bowery & Chatham Sq) 
New York, NY 10013

_MG_5323There is something truly magical about hand-pulled noodles that I’m completely obsessed with. I would always crave that fresh, bouncy, chewy texture of handmade noodles whenever I want something warm in my belly. Tasty Hand-Pulled Noodles is a hole in the wall in Chinatown, that has been around for quite some time. This place definitely hits the spot with a good variety of noodles, delicious broth, and the perfect toppings. As I gawk at the noodle chef, I'm deeply enamored by the constant stretching and twirling in the art of hand-pulled noodles, while I slurp my noodles away.

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Steamed pork and vegetable dumplings
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Pan-fried pork and vegetable dumplings
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House special knife peeled noodles in soup
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Pan-fried regular hand-pulled noodles

You can order regular hand-pulled, fat hand-pulled, wide hand-pulled, knife peeled, and small or big rice noodles. I prefer the knife peeled noodles over the regular hand-pulled noodles. I love that irregular shaped sliced noodles that's a little more doughy and chewy at the same time. The juicy pork and vegetable dumplings are tasty appetizers whether it's pan-fried or steamed. 

There is certainly nothing impressive about this place in terms of decor and service, but if you want the real Chinatown experience that's dingy, cheap, and delicious - Tasty Hand-Pulled Noodles is the perfect choice!

Mickey's rating: 9/10 
Price range: $

Tasty Hand-Pulled Noodles on Urbanspoon
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