So all 3 of us (sorry Sha!) went to Alta and had "the whole shebang" (everything on the menu, all 42 tapas dishes, for $345) for H's birthday, but none of us have blogged about it. Shame!
It was quite the experience. I was stuffed to exploding, as I'm sure everyone else at the table was too. We had 7 pple, I think 8-10 would have been a better number, to even it out.
The restaurant didn't have the pacing right, and so for the first 15minutes we were inundated with small plates. Plate after plate after plate after plate, more time was spent trying to juggle things around to fit everything on the table rather than eating. I think about 15 of the 42 dishes arrived within those first 15 minutes. They only backed down when J pleaded with the busboy to slow down.
Some highlights (for me) were:
- watermelon salad, a dish that has pleasantly surprised me several times this summer)
- trumpet mushrooms
- bacon wrapped dates and olives. i don't usually like dates and olives, but this is testimony to the fact that bacon makes everything taste better.
- the pasta noodles, those were really good and al dente
- goat cheese with lavender honey, one of my favourites here
- smoked mozzarella in shredded filo
- beef carpaccio, somehow it hit the spot for me that day (sorry, inside joke)
But then the most terrible thing happened, they ran out of the brussel sprouts, which is mine and J's favourite tapas dish there. =( The restaurant made up for it with free dessert, but still! Brussel Sprouts!
No pictures from me unfortunately, I was too busy shuffling plates around and eating, and I was trusting that J and/or B, who are more camera-crazy would get at least some documentation. Maybe one of them will post something, but I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you.
I would say that now that we have indeed tried everything on the menu, we can move on to other restaurants, but then the whole brussel sprout issue throws a spanner in the works. We might just have to go back for the brussel sprouts. I swear, they are life-changing, you will never look at the little green globules in the same way ever again.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Monday, July 23, 2007
Saturday, May 26, 2007
salt to the wound
Friday saw a foiled attempt to eat cheaply at Park Avenue Cafe, as they're closed for renovations, with no visible signage on where they've moved to in the meantime, or when they'll re-open.
So being a tech-savvy glutton, I went to their website and saw the following notice in BIG FONT:
As all good things must come to an end,
Pay Your Age comes to a close on
Wednesday, May 23.
Enjoy the wonderful offer for the next few weeks.
We are grateful for your Pay Your Age patronage!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So being a tech-savvy glutton, I went to their website and saw the following notice in BIG FONT:
As all good things must come to an end,
Pay Your Age comes to a close on
Wednesday, May 23.
Enjoy the wonderful offer for the next few weeks.
We are grateful for your Pay Your Age patronage!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
updates on the cheap eats list
so sometime in august last year i found this list:
New York's Best Cheap Eats
me: "maybe we can try all the places on the list over the next year"
boy: "ok, sure"
and now 9 months later, we've still only tried 28 of the 101 restaurants on the list. the boy has since taken to accusing me of coercing him to submit to my bad ideas, but i maintain that he was at least agreeable, if not enthusiastic, when the idea was first formulated.
a few keepers have emerged from the list. buenos aires (6th between Aves A and B) is most definitely a value for money steakhouse that more than makes up for the trek you have to make to the subway station. super taste (eldridge and canal) lives up to its name, and the old chinese men slurping up noodles add to the authenticity. and we will all remember forever saravanaas, where we were so overcome with our excitement for thosai that we each ordered 2 entrees.
then there are places like sentosa, which were good, but not worth the travel time for brooklynites. no major disappointments though, which is heartening for the folks at new york magazine.
i think we could do at least 10 more over the next 3 months. there are some for which we don't have an excuse for why we haven't been there yet, like momofuku noodle bar, or room 4 dessert, or blue ribbon bakery. but we're working on it.
New York's Best Cheap Eats
me: "maybe we can try all the places on the list over the next year"
boy: "ok, sure"
and now 9 months later, we've still only tried 28 of the 101 restaurants on the list. the boy has since taken to accusing me of coercing him to submit to my bad ideas, but i maintain that he was at least agreeable, if not enthusiastic, when the idea was first formulated.
a few keepers have emerged from the list. buenos aires (6th between Aves A and B) is most definitely a value for money steakhouse that more than makes up for the trek you have to make to the subway station. super taste (eldridge and canal) lives up to its name, and the old chinese men slurping up noodles add to the authenticity. and we will all remember forever saravanaas, where we were so overcome with our excitement for thosai that we each ordered 2 entrees.
then there are places like sentosa, which were good, but not worth the travel time for brooklynites. no major disappointments though, which is heartening for the folks at new york magazine.
i think we could do at least 10 more over the next 3 months. there are some for which we don't have an excuse for why we haven't been there yet, like momofuku noodle bar, or room 4 dessert, or blue ribbon bakery. but we're working on it.
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Lamp Chops
The owner of the blog and his girlfriend were kind enough to bestow upon me a housewarming gift, a 12" hunk-chunk piece-o-metal cast iron skillet, and with the memories of the first ever episode of Good Eats fresh in my mind, we seeked out steak to sear!
Ingredients:
Some fresh lamb chops or equivalent red meat
Freshly Ground Black Pepper, Kosher Salt
Vegetable of Choice, I used Brussels Sprouts
Method:
Preheat oven to 500 F
Put cast iron skillet in oven til it hits 500F, remove and place on stove on high
Season lamb chops with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper on both sides
Lube both sides with some canola or peanut oil
Sear lamp chops in cast iron skillet 30s each side.
Move skillet and meat into 500F oven for 2 minutes
Flip meat and cook for another 2 minutes
If you have probe thermometer, poke it into the middle of the meat to check doneness:
Remove meat, cover with Aluminium foil and let it rest for 2 mins.
Meanwhile, quickly stir fry some brussels sprouts in the heat remaining in the cast iron skillet.
Enjoy!
(Recipe adapted from Good Eats)
Ingredients:Some fresh lamb chops or equivalent red meat
Freshly Ground Black Pepper, Kosher Salt
Vegetable of Choice, I used Brussels Sprouts
Method:
Preheat oven to 500 F
Put cast iron skillet in oven til it hits 500F, remove and place on stove on high
Season lamb chops with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper on both sides
Lube both sides with some canola or peanut oil
Sear lamp chops in cast iron skillet 30s each side.
Move skillet and meat into 500F oven for 2 minutes
Flip meat and cook for another 2 minutes
If you have probe thermometer, poke it into the middle of the meat to check doneness:
Rare: 120° to 130°Cook times might vary for different sized pieces of meat.
Med Rare: 130° to 145°
Medium: 145° to 155°
Toast: 155° and up
Remove meat, cover with Aluminium foil and let it rest for 2 mins.
Meanwhile, quickly stir fry some brussels sprouts in the heat remaining in the cast iron skillet.
Enjoy!
(Recipe adapted from Good Eats)
Monday, April 2, 2007
Lapis Surabaya (Indonesian Layer cake)
"30 egg yolks? wtf?!?"
yes, a cake that requires 30 egg yolks, yet only 6 egg whites. i used to hate recipes that leave you with such a great amount of leftover yolk/whites, but i've since learnt that it's not quite the same when you spitefully dump the entire egg into the recipe.
we halved the recipe, for this lapis surabaya, (i call it indonesian layer cake) not wanting to invest 30 yolks in something that we weren't sure would turn out. it would have been a great disappointment, and the souring of many a childhood memory, such as devouring the chocolate layer and refusing to eat the rest, to my mother's annoyance.
Ingredients:
250g flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
500g butter
250g sugar
1 1/2 tbsp rum
1/2 tsp salt
6 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
30 egg yolks
1 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp melted chocolate
3 tsp orange zest
some jam or butter cream
Method:
Preheat oven to 350F.
Cream butter, half of sugar, rum and salt till light and creamy
Beat egg whites, remaining sugar and cream of tartar till pale coloured. Add egg yolks, beat again till thickened and add in the butter mixture.
Fold in the flour and baking powder. Portion out 1/3 of the batter, and add to it cocoa powder and melted chocolate. Bake for 30 minutes.
Add orange zest to the remaining batter and bake for 40 minutes. Cut into 2 layers and spread with jam. Sandwich the chocolate layer in between.
Oh, we didn't have jam, but we did have strawberries. So I boiled the strawberries with 1 tbsp of sugar, and we got a pretty decent "jam".
This cake really needs to cool thoroughly before its flavours peak. Ideally leave it overnight so that the layers can settle into one another firmly. Picking at it while still warm will leave you with the impression that this is an oily, too-sweet pound cake. Leave it for a few hours more and the texture changes...somehow it'll tastes better; moist rather than oily, flavourful rather than too sweet.
yes, a cake that requires 30 egg yolks, yet only 6 egg whites. i used to hate recipes that leave you with such a great amount of leftover yolk/whites, but i've since learnt that it's not quite the same when you spitefully dump the entire egg into the recipe.
we halved the recipe, for this lapis surabaya, (i call it indonesian layer cake) not wanting to invest 30 yolks in something that we weren't sure would turn out. it would have been a great disappointment, and the souring of many a childhood memory, such as devouring the chocolate layer and refusing to eat the rest, to my mother's annoyance.
Ingredients:250g flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
500g butter
250g sugar
1 1/2 tbsp rum
1/2 tsp salt
6 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
30 egg yolks
1 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp melted chocolate
3 tsp orange zest
some jam or butter cream
Method:
Preheat oven to 350F.
Cream butter, half of sugar, rum and salt till light and creamy
Beat egg whites, remaining sugar and cream of tartar till pale coloured. Add egg yolks, beat again till thickened and add in the butter mixture.
Fold in the flour and baking powder. Portion out 1/3 of the batter, and add to it cocoa powder and melted chocolate. Bake for 30 minutes.
Add orange zest to the remaining batter and bake for 40 minutes. Cut into 2 layers and spread with jam. Sandwich the chocolate layer in between.
Oh, we didn't have jam, but we did have strawberries. So I boiled the strawberries with 1 tbsp of sugar, and we got a pretty decent "jam".
This cake really needs to cool thoroughly before its flavours peak. Ideally leave it overnight so that the layers can settle into one another firmly. Picking at it while still warm will leave you with the impression that this is an oily, too-sweet pound cake. Leave it for a few hours more and the texture changes...somehow it'll tastes better; moist rather than oily, flavourful rather than too sweet.
Friday, March 23, 2007
chocolate cake!
you're going to feel cheated when i tell you that it's from the back of the hershey's cocoa powder box. but i swear, this recipe is moist, chocolate-y (i hate it when chocolate goods just taste *sweet*) and absolute bang for its buck. yes, there are richer and more elaborate chocolate cakes out there, but this one is really for the times when you have a craving and need some chocolate cake *now*. it's measured, mixed, and baked in 1 hour.
ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup warm water
method:
preheat oven to 350F, and grease a 9" baking pan.
combine dry ingredients in large bowl.
combine wet ingredients, except water. mix in dry ingredients, beat at medium speed for 2 minutes, then stir in warm water.
bake for 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
or for cupcakes, bake for 20 minutes. makes about 30 giant cupcakes.
like i said, bang for its buck. no ridiculously expensive melting chocolate, or cream, or fancy egg separation requirements, it uses cooking oil instead of butter for goodness sakes. which means you don't have to cream the butter, making for a faster process, ie. shorter waiting time for a mouthful of cake. heck, the recipe is so simple that you don't even really need an electric mixer, just a wooden spoon will do. saves on washing up.
you're probably finding adding water to the batter a little weird. yes, it will look more like chocolate soup than batter, but DO IT. it's key to making this recipe moist. the original recipe called for a full cup, but i fear that that may dilute the batter too much and it won't dry out in time, let alone bake fully. that said, i wouldn't go add water to all other cake recipes if i were you. i think the water works here because the ingredients are so simple. other recipes with more complex chemistry may just collapse with the addition of more liquid.
the original recipe also called for *2 cups* of sugar. i've learned that using 1/2 to 2/3 the amount of sugar called for in most american dessert recipes makes the end product more palatable to the rest of us. 1 cup was just right for this cake. it was sweet, but you could still taste the cocoa. each bite left you craving for more, which perhaps is a little dangerous for a dessert, but you have to do it justice; you wouldn't make a sub-standard cake on purpose would you? i wouldn't go a teaspoon over 1 1/3 cup of sugar for this one.
my proof of success? when the boyfriend (who isn't a fan of chocolate) gets seconds.
yes, eat with strawberries. they're good for you.
another day i'll tell you about the tung lok chicken recipe that we tried tonight. go try this recipe first, and you'll trust me on the next one.
ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup warm water
method:
preheat oven to 350F, and grease a 9" baking pan.
combine dry ingredients in large bowl.
combine wet ingredients, except water. mix in dry ingredients, beat at medium speed for 2 minutes, then stir in warm water.
bake for 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
or for cupcakes, bake for 20 minutes. makes about 30 giant cupcakes.
like i said, bang for its buck. no ridiculously expensive melting chocolate, or cream, or fancy egg separation requirements, it uses cooking oil instead of butter for goodness sakes. which means you don't have to cream the butter, making for a faster process, ie. shorter waiting time for a mouthful of cake. heck, the recipe is so simple that you don't even really need an electric mixer, just a wooden spoon will do. saves on washing up.
you're probably finding adding water to the batter a little weird. yes, it will look more like chocolate soup than batter, but DO IT. it's key to making this recipe moist. the original recipe called for a full cup, but i fear that that may dilute the batter too much and it won't dry out in time, let alone bake fully. that said, i wouldn't go add water to all other cake recipes if i were you. i think the water works here because the ingredients are so simple. other recipes with more complex chemistry may just collapse with the addition of more liquid.
the original recipe also called for *2 cups* of sugar. i've learned that using 1/2 to 2/3 the amount of sugar called for in most american dessert recipes makes the end product more palatable to the rest of us. 1 cup was just right for this cake. it was sweet, but you could still taste the cocoa. each bite left you craving for more, which perhaps is a little dangerous for a dessert, but you have to do it justice; you wouldn't make a sub-standard cake on purpose would you? i wouldn't go a teaspoon over 1 1/3 cup of sugar for this one.
my proof of success? when the boyfriend (who isn't a fan of chocolate) gets seconds.
yes, eat with strawberries. they're good for you.
another day i'll tell you about the tung lok chicken recipe that we tried tonight. go try this recipe first, and you'll trust me on the next one.
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
On Fried Chicken - I crave it fortnightly!
Growing up, fried chicken was a rare treat. I never really got a chance to eat much else than fast food fried chicken, but boy was it good. I grew up loving the times when the family roadtrip would stop at a KFC and pick up a bucket of the good stuff, complete with sporks. Whenever we would pass a Popeye's, I would wonder why a restaurant would devote their kitchen to spinach dishes. Later on in my eating career, I discovered that Popeye's actually served chicken, and was far superior to KFC. KFC can't compete against Popeye's fresher taste, crispier bite, and juicier (and not mushy!) meat. I have yet to see how Church's chicken fares against the other fast-food giants. As there is a combination White Castle/Church's Chicken within travelling distance of me, this gap in my fried chicken consumption will not be open long.
As tasty as it is, Popeye's still doesn't hold a drumstick to one of my favorite food memories. This memory is, of course, having Chicken and Waffles for the first time. Roscoe's was the place, and good lord, was it a treat. Salty and sweet, the combination was unlike anything I had ever had (or heard of, for that matter). After I had crammed every last bit into my mouth, I felt like I still needed more. Thankfully, my engorged stomach and empty wallet soon reminded me that this wasn't such a great idea. Waffles have thus supplanted corn bread as my favorite fried chicken accompaniment.
It isn't all good out there. I've had some good chicken, some life-changing chicken (more in the "Damn, that's good shit" than the "Damn, that's a heart-attack", thankfully), and some god-awful chicken. One showing that had me thinking that there was something wrong with me was an experience I had at 'Hip Hop Chow.' A fusion of Chinese and soul food? Sounded interesting. The chicken and waffles there did not bring me back at all to Roscoe's. Tough, bland, and slightly burnt chicken topped a passable waffle. I was glad that I had ordered the mac 'n cheese along with it, as that allowed me to somewhat salvage my unhappy tongue. As I didn't have any of the more fusion-y dishes, I can't really comment on the combination of Chinese and soul food. Their corn bread was mighty tasty, so they do get some points for that.
There are still some more places I have yet to explore in New York. Chowhound tells me of places in Harlem and Brooklyn that I have to venture out to one of these days. I've visited Amy Ruth's, but have yet to truly try their chicken... I managed to steal a bite off of one of my tablemates but didn't get the full experience. "Charles' Southern Style Kitchen" is supposed to be one of the best in the NYC area. That's going to have to be the next place I hit up when the craving catches up with me again.
The guilty pleasure of tearing into a drumstick or juicy thigh piece can't be put off for long. I'm just thankful that there aren't any Popeye's nearby, or else I would have an even more pronounced waddle than I do now.
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