Keko Tea Room

May 22, 2013 Leave a Comment

I love tea, go though several cups of tea a day! In fact, this week has turned out to have a somewhat bumpy start because of my love for tea… Well, let me explain, on Sunday we were invited for high tea at a friends place, I drank one too many cups of her well brewed tea and was up all hours of the night and faced Monday very tired.

Keko Tea Room

Today, is another day. In fact, I am all set to tell you about my stop at the Keko Tea Room, a place I had passed by on several occasions and it beckoned me to come in.

 

Keko Tea Room 

The right occasion struck on Administrative Professionals Week, when I had to find a place to take my lovely assistant out. I went with her and our friend Ken, who, seems to have been very sick lately, so I am glad that I got a chance to get out and sneak a pleasant lunch. Ken even amused us by sitting and posing on the chair we had labelled the throne.

 

 

 

Keko it turns out was as much of a coffee place as it was a tea place, in fact, we were actually served our tea in white lavazza cups.  The menu had a interesting selection of sandwiches, crepes and breakfast items. Yes, they serve afternoon tea and all day breakfast.

 

 

With a respectable selection of teas, I got the spice tea and Ken the Earl Grey. I hope you like the teapots, because I was so facinated by them, I have ordered one for the house.

Wholewheat Crepes 

The savory crepes were made with wholewheat batter, which were still crisp with a nice grainy bite. I had a bacon, egg and cheese crepe.

 

 

 

Ken had the french toast and loved the treat. He passed up dessert, so it was Richarleene and me left to share the delectable Fruiti Di Bosco. Another, wonderful place that has been added to our place of pick me ups and great food.

Keko Cafe
Keko Cafe on Urbanspoon

121 Madison Ave,

New York, NY

 

 

Filed Under Restaurant Reviews, Uncategorized Tagged With Keko Cafe, Lunch with Ken, New York City, Restaurant Reviews, Richarleene, Tea Rooms

Dong Chun Hong – Korean Chinese Fusion in Flatiron

May 5, 2013 Leave a Comment

As a matter of speaking, this post is along the lines of decompressing after a busy week of sorts and also clearing out some old pictures that needed to be organized. It has taken me several visits to write about Dong Chun Hong, because for starters it took me some time to learn the name. However, every visit probably was an excuse, to go back to the place for more. I was introduced to this place by my friend Cheng, who has actually been great about introducing me to some places off the beaten path. This one depending on your point of reference, might just be an extrension of another Korean Fusion Place, meandering along the fringes of Koreatown.

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An interesting collection of dishes, the menu has an interesting assortment of Dim Sum dishes, and I can tell you that I have happily worked my way through an assortment of fried shrimp balls, seafood dumplings, vegetable dumplings and crispy shrimp rolls to tell you that the Dim Sum is pretty good.

 

 

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An interesting feature called the Spicy Dumplings, offer a heavy but well fried dumpling with a flavorful and light tasting filling. In fact, the Siu Mai was a little mediocre, possible because it was not an often ordered dish, other wise the rest of the fair was pretty good in this department.

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Given, the multitude of noodle and rice dishes, I have not really ventured beyond their basics menu. There  jjajangmyun (spicy black bean noodles) has convinced me this dish is a winner. I have also tried their spicy seafood rice, which essentially is a fried rice with kimchi. Their ramen style noodles have more than enough for two. All things considered, their wait staff speak good English and offer service with a smile. The large menu certainly ensures that you will not get bored every time you are back. Take it from me, you has been there literally a countless number of times, which given the number of lunchtime options in the city speaks volumes for the place.

Dong Chun Hong

312 5th Ave
(between 31st St & 32nd St)
New York, NY 10001

http://www.dongchunhongnyc.com/

 
Dong Chun Hong on Urbanspoon

 

Filed Under Restaurant Reviews, Uncategorized Tagged With Dim Sum, Dong Chun Hong, Flatiron, Korean Fusion, New York City, Restaurant Review

Vermilion in NYC

November 20, 2012 Leave a Comment

Vermillion was on my mind for a long time, I have a mixed relationship with fusion flavors. I like to dabble, mix and match, sometime with gentle touches and sometimes with an assertive touch. I like to check out culinary marriages of different cultures because I feel that this allows me to get an insight into how different people interpret and understand culinary styles and techniques.

It was Anshul’s birthday and I could not think of a better occasion to head over with him to NYC. Actually, what made the case more compelling was the fact that the GPS had dropped and the connection wire had snapped. So, long story made short, I was in the mood for non-driving options. The husband anyway does not make it in to the city very often, so this was a fun thing to do.

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Filed Under Restaurant Reviews Tagged With Latin, Latin Fusion, New York City, Restaruant Reviews, Rohini De, Vermilion

Saravana Bhavan – Upper West Side, NYC

June 24, 2012 Leave a Comment

Earlier this year, when the daffodils were blooming and the kids had their spring break, we ventured out to spend a day in the Museum of Natural History. It was also a day when we discovered Saravana Bhavan.

 We have avoided doing too much of the city museums until recently, just not organized enough to get our act together. The kids are however finally a good age to enjoy some of what the museums has to offer. It is important for us to fit some of this into our weekend schedule. So inspired by the wonderful weather we headed into the city.

After three hours of wandering through the exhibits we decided it was time for food. One of the things that I strongly feel is that while museum restaurants are serviceable and will get you an adequate and possibly overpriced meal, it really is a shame to waste a mealtime in the city without trying something unique. We had initially set our sights on Sarabeth’s however en-route spotted Saravana Bhawan. This restaurant is theWest Side branch of theLexington Ave restaurant whose parent is inIndiathereby lending claim to being the real thing! The cuisine is from the Udipi region in Southern India and the fare is what is collectively called tiffin and tends to be the ultimate Sunday Brunch for most Indians. Actually, I should preface this, the restaurant has vegetarian meal options and a wonderful collection of tiffin offerings, which tends to be the prefered choice for brunch.

I tend to get my fill of this since I get into the city for work, but my for my husband this is fairly unique, and his rather greedy glances lured us in.

The kids tend to like this fare as well so we went into a very busy and bustling restaurant. This pretty clearly meant slow service. On a beautiful spring day sitting outdoors, the only downside to this was two hungry children, who kept staring at everyone’s food. On the bright side none of the usual coaxing was needed when the food arrived.

We pretty much ended up ordering half their menu, including some unusual items such as the adai with avial (a unique south Indian mixed vegetable curry from Kerela). The coffee, that is also a sweet India style latte is a regional favorite. The food was served in traditional stainless steel multi-compartmental plates and tasted fresh and consistently good. The prices were reasonable, although a little higher than their downtown counterpart possibly to cover the overheads for this upscale part of town. Interesting finishing touches included two to three well spiced chutneys. The restaurant is Kosher and the menu is also chock full of vegan options and is vegetarian.

There were a few coarse stops such as a dessert order getting mixed up and the waitress spilling a tray full of food, which to their credit was very promptly and effectively cleared up. So, maybe Sunday mornings might not be their best service day, the food certainly is as good as it gets in a rather pleasant and authentic styled setting.

If the test of a restaurant is an overall satisfying experience, this restaurant certainly complied.

 Sarawan Bhawan

413 Amsterdam Ave,

Manhattan, NY 10024

 
  Phone: (212) 721-7755
 

 

 

 

 
Saravanaa Bhavan (Vegetarian) on Urbanspoon

Filed Under Restaurant Reviews, Uncategorized Tagged With New York City, Restaurant Reviews, Sarawana Bhawan, South Indian, Vegetarian

The Koreatown Series – Episode Two – Pho

May 6, 2012 Leave a Comment

I had featured my first Koreatown post, here telling you about Shanghai Mong. Here is a somewhat delayed second episode. This post will take you to a little Vietnamese place that is really, really good. It is so good, that people stand in line for up to 10 or 15 minutes to sample and savor the steamy savory bowls of Pho.

Pho, seems to be so trendy these days, in fact, I would have brought it into my house a long time ago but resisted because of this little gem. Pho 32 has been the enabler that has prevented me from trying and cooking Pho, because I can easily get my pho and drink it too without the effort. The first time I tried this spot was when my brother was visiting from Seattle, and after a cold day walking all over NYC he wanted something to warm him.

We stumbled into Pho 32 by chance, and I found a keeper. I will confess, though I am not super experienced with Vietnamese food. We need more of them in Westchester. This being said, I do understand good tastes and flavors.

 

I have since then been back many a time. They key here is to hit the spot right before12pm, or you are guaranteed a wait. I have not been there on weekends, but I am told it is busy then too. The deal is simple. You order a big bowl of pho, which is essentially a hearty deep seasoned beef broth. The pho comes with base options such as chicken or seafood and an assortment of fresh veggies and herbs such as bean sprouts, cilantro, sliced jalapeno and lime. You get unlimited amounts of any of these enhancers. There is a small seasoning bar where you get your pick of hot sauces and there are optional add on, such as fish balls and tofu for a price. Pure and simple!

 

For less than 10 dollars, you experience a satisfying cornucopia of flavors and feel deeply satisfied. The place is mostly about the pho, but they have a menu with noodles, dumplings, Shabu Shabu and other entrees. I have tried a bunch of their appetizers and think that the dumplings and rolls are consistently good.

Featured here is there mixed platter, which is good for two or three people and gives you a good variety of snackables.

As I write this post, I really am tempted to try a vegetarian version of this glorious soup, I shall keep you posted about my efforts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pho32 & Shabu on Urbanspoon

Pho32 & Shabu on Urbanspoon

Filed Under Restaurant Reviews Tagged With Koreatown, New York City, Pho, Pho 32, Restaurant Reviews

Anjappar – Chettinad Cuisine in New York

April 10, 2012 Leave a Comment

 Anjappar, a new kid on the block replaced a long standing french restaurant. It was bound to happen, I guess. One of the problems with an ethnic neighborhood is that it often crowds out other cuisines other than those of the ethnic community. Most people frequent this India row in Manhattan for Indian food, leaving the rest of the restaurants wanting patrons.

There is enough diversity in just the Indian culinary styles, to satisfy the patrons, there is Indian vegetarian fare and then the more mainstream. Fast food and conventional sit down joints all showcasing the many moods of Indian cuisine. So, it might seem surprising to have yet another newcomer on this street. Well, with Indian cuisine there is always room for diversity.

 Anjapaar bring the Chettinad cuisine from the South of India. Chettinad cuisine is the cuisine of the chettiyar community of the Tamil Nadu region of India. As with all other communities the culinary style is distinct. The cuisine is charterized with a fondness for meat and robust spices. I was not sure how the restaurant would fare in this department. Well, getting in the decor is vivid and brings to you a strong sense of character with colors of bright red and black. The furniture is made of heavy dark polished wood.

For a lover of Indian regional cuisine, I am always thrilled to see more character and authenticity in Indian cuisine. I also, have learnt to temper my expectations since sometimes the authenticity is not all that. This however, was not the case. Two visits and I am left craving for more. Their lunchtime options include set meals from different parts of the regional.  On day one, I tried their non-veg options, this came with a fried and spiced chicken, a vegetarian curry and a spicy, creamy meat curry that came with layered paratha bread that is a speciality of the south and a mild flavored rice pilaf. Every bite was flavorful and the spices were fresh and full of flavor. Their menu was innovative and even had South Indian breakfast options, not just the tiffin choices, flavorful Indianized eggs.

Day Two, I ordered off the menu, this time I tried their biryani. I am addicted to good biryani, in fact, I can eat on all kinds of them. This was well seasoned redolent with a light touch of coconut and a touch of curry leaves. The rice grains were moist and well cooked but separate and the goat meat was nice and tender. Well seasoned perfection on a plate.

In a nod to some of the more classic dishes, they had the chicken tikka (yes, there is no getting away from that one on an Indian restaurant menu). My friend ordered a chicken karai, which had a nice and deep flavored tomato sauce and chunky peppers. A better rendition of a restaurant staple. Nice and fluffy parathas and a well seasoned raita completed the meal.

Our neighbours had ordered an interesting assortment of fried idlies, that shall bring me back the next time round.

 Anjappar

 116 Lexington Ave

 New York, New York 10016

 Anjappar Chettinadu on Urbanspoon

Filed Under Restaurant Reviews Tagged With Anjappar, Chettinad, New York City, Restaurant Reviews, South Indian Cuisine

John Dory Oyster Bar

March 7, 2012 Leave a Comment

The name of my graduate school advisor was John Dory. It actually took me some time to realize that it was also the name of a fish. I could never quite understand why so many seafood places were named after Dr. Dory. Oh well… The John Dory Oyster bar, deserves credit for two things even before we get to the food, they both revolve around location. The restaurant convienently located adjacent to Stumptown Coffee Roasters, seems to also have a very inviting look, mostly due to the long glass windows surrounding it.

We had eyed this for a while and then one day decided that it was the day to try the place. The place was charming, elegant and had a special moment written all over it. It was a celebration type of day so the place was well picked. I did not get the best captures, but drank a lovely pink procesco with the meal. This place makes for elegant pick ups, that actually bely their richness. So, watch what you are eating.

We started with Hawaian blue prawns with coriander mayonaise. The prawns were good, but the mayonaise was simply the freshest tasting, creamiest mayo that I have ever tried. We saved the mayo after the prawns were done, because it was just too good not to finish up by itself.  We also, tried the sea urchin with pomegranate black pepper and I really am not sure what to make of it, rather strange at best.

We also, ordered the house parker rolls which were made fresh on the

premises and were just heavenly to mop up the remaining mayonaise with. I had ordered a roast pork sandwich with tuna mayonaise, and this sandwich was rather disapointed and too salty.  Other items were the parsley and anchovy toast and the fish dumpling soup, both of which were pleasantly nice. We finished off with the Ecceles cake, an interesting british tea time pastry that pairs stilton with a sweet currant sauce, also very good and hit the spot.

Overall, the place was generally a little pricey and hit some high notes but not enough to be considered an instant repeat place.

 In general, I think that the problem with the place is that it has a bit of an identity crisis in that, it is trying to be the neighborhood yuppy happy hour place and your fancy oyster bar both rolled into one, I personally think that is sometimes too much ground for any restaurant to cover.

John Dory Oyster Bar

1196 Broadway 
New York, NY 10001

212 792 9000

www.thejohndory.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
John Dory Oyster Bar on Urbanspoon

Filed Under Restaurant Reviews, Uncategorized Tagged With John Dory Oyster Bar, New York City, Restaurants, Seafood

Tracks – Stopping at Penn Station

February 24, 2012 Leave a Comment

A restaurant of contradictions that is not all bad! Despite being located in the heart of Penn Station (hence the name tracks) the place does not have a commercial vibe to it. One could almost relate the place to a neighborhood dinner, well almost! The restaurant does have a long bar, which reminds you that it is after all a short stop for some people who are looking for that quick dinner or stop, and of course a quick lunch in a relatively busy part of town. The warm old world coloring and pictures almost make you look for chipped tables instead of the burnished wood. But you do get the quant old world china, that reminds you of a grandmother’s cottage. Well, except my grandmother preferred heavy silver. That of course, is another story.

The next contradiction is the menu, the restaurant actually is seafood bars that also serves pub food on the side, or wait maybe, it is a pub that has a seafood bar on the side. This is generally a fun spot to stop by and has its own series of die hard fans.

The food we ate was not especially out of the ordinary, but great. I would err on the pub side of things and I have to confess that their onions rings were just great! A mixed platter of salmon, onions, eggs and capers was pretty to behold but good not great! The clam chowder in the bowl was comfortingly creamy. I am not a major fan of oysters, but their oysters were devoured quickly by the company suggesting that they were definitely a must for oyster lovers. Personally, I am convinced people tout the effects of the oyster in the romantic department, mostly to get people to eat them, why else would people rave about these slimy, briny, raw cratures.

If you are an onion ring lover, these indulgent, very crisp beer battered onion rings will have you  comming back for more. It is all about the batter.

The last contradiction, possibly the happiest of the lot was that they have the cheapest dessert in the area, I mean seriously at $5 was a luscious slice of chocolate mouse cake. Overall this is a nice predictable spot that I am happy to have tried and shall stow away as a safe option for the area.

 

 

Tracks

1 Penn Plaza

New York, New York – 10011

212 244 6350

 
Tracks on Urbanspoon

Filed Under Restaurant Reviews, Uncategorized Tagged With Dessert on the Cheap, New York City, Restaurant Review, Tracks

Seven – My Fail Safe Favorite

January 16, 2012 Leave a Comment

 I cannot tell you how many times I have been to this surprising good restaurant tucked on the edge of Seventh Ave, in between 29th and 30th.

The first time I went there was when I software sales person took me out for a food induced sales pitch. It possibly worked, since we do own the product now. I later went there a couple of other times, including actually Christmas 2010, with my cousins.

So, why you wonder would this post be sitting in the archives for so long. Well, I do know what I have done with the food pictures of this place. Finally, I figured a good restaurant is a good restaurant, with or without pictures.

They have a good servicable menu, I have liked their crabcakes, there mac and cheese shells with a side of spinach. I have liked their potato cigars, calamari, tomato soup and fish specials. Lastly, I think that there cheese cake is quite amazing.

They tend to get busy, so I would recommend reservations or you might get seated right near the kitchen. That despite their white linen tablecloths would not be the greatest place to be.

If you are looking for something in Midtown west, that is predictably good without much to worry about, this place is definitely worth a visits.

 

Seven Bar and Grill

350 Seventh Ave

New York, New York 10001

 
Seven Bar and Grill on Urbanspoon

Filed Under Restaurant Reviews, Uncategorized Tagged With New America, New York City, Restaurant Reviews, Seven Bar and Grill

The Koreatown Series – Shanghai Mong

January 15, 2012 Leave a Comment

 New York City is filled with amazing litte pockets of various ethnicities. I have to tell you, it is always a thrill for me to be able to try a new cuisine, without having to travel feeling a real sense of authenticity.

Koreatown, is a classic example of what I am talking about. I mean, nothing beats walking through two  blocks in this case between 5th ave and Broadway on 32nd Street, watching Korean Street signs in Korean. The segment is mostly a business area, with very few residences. There are plenty of great restaurants, an assortment of Korean and other restaurants. I ha

ve gotten to like a few of them and  would love to tell you about them. This eclectic group also includes an asian grocey that is my go to place for good Sushi and Miso as well.

Sanghai Mong, calls themselves a Chinese Fusion restaurant. They have a menu that has a small collection of asian dishes from Japan and Thailand along with the Chinese fare. You need to look beyond the somewhat cheesy decor and the weird music and allow yourself to walk in there.

Once seated, you are greeted with a small selection of Kimchi.

We have tried a bunch of stuff from the menu, but my favorites there are their Pad Thai, which they go out of their way to advertise on their window. I will tell you, this is not the real deal, in fact, they even use thin rice noodles. However, this dish with hints of peanuts and soft and fragrant basil rocks! It is comfort food on a cold day. I often like to order this as a grab and go lunch.

The other item that also falls in the category of bad good comfort food. Their large and well seasoned dumplings (yes, the fried variety are just too good to be true!)

I could finish a plateful just by myself. In fact, for people like me, they indulge with a mini order size of two dumplings.

So, next time you are in the area, pop into to this non-descript looking place with shiny neon signs and you will leave happy! Their pho and other noodle soups are also pretty decent as are their essential chinese specialties.

 The details on Shanghai Mong,

30 West, 32nd Street

New York, New York 10001

 
Shanghai Mong on Urbanspoon

Filed Under Restaurant Reviews, Uncategorized Tagged With Chinese Food, Koreatown, New York City, Restaurant Reviews, Shanghai Mong
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