Yo! NYC

Chinatown Showdown 2010

This Sunday, June 20, UEAA will be hosting its annual Father’s Day Soccer Tournament at Columbus Park. Beginning at 10am to 3pm, 8 teams will be battling 15 minutes games up and down Columbus Park. Go to ueaa.org for more info.

69 Bayard Restaurant

In the heart of Chinatown, a restaurant located at 69 Bayard Street, bearing the same name, is papered with dollar bills. From wall to wall, dolla dolla bills, y’all, cover every square inch of the restaurant. Customers, visiting tourists or local New Yorkers, leave their mark by plastering a George Washington (or Abe Lincoln) on the wall or the ceiling and write something, a declaration of love, a Greek affiliation, a gang motto, or a simple “________ was here.”

The food served at the restaurant is simple enough: meat and/or vegetables over rice with an abundant amount of source and flavor for around $4.75. I always get the same thing when I come here, tofu and beef over rice. And take out always comes with a free cup of soup.

In sum, give this restaurant a try; the food is simple Chinese fare, cheap and filling. And the interior of the place is in itself worth seeing.

Crazy 10 course Chinese lobster dinner

Get ready, loosen up that belt and get ready for a feast, because East Boat Lobster Restaurant does the craziest 10 course “Chinese Style” lobster dinner for $100. It says its a dinner for 4 but the meal can easily feed about 6-8 people. Their specials are seasonal, so ask if they have any special deals.

East Boat Lobster Restaurant
72 Kenmare Street
(212) 226-8881

The decor is outdated, the theme they were going for (I don’t think they were aiming for anything) is a cross between Chinese New Years and outdoor picnic area. The checker table cloth and mugs from 99 cents store makes you feel very casual.

They serve enormous portions in random plates. But they are very attentive. We asked for a couple of substitutions ( instead of chicken we requested snails) and they were more than happy to accommodate us.

Salt and pepper shrimp was really good, sweet and tender on the inside, light and crunchy on the outside. The octopus with pepper was nothing special, not my favorite dish.

This was the lobster ’s brain(there was a lot of brain), they asked if we like it serve over scramble eggs. Nothing goes to waste and it was quite tasty.

Sea scallop, this was added.
“Hungry Buddha Jump The Wall” soup.

Baked Snails stuffed with mashed potato. (not that great)

This was a 4lb lobster so we requested for have fried and half steamed. I preferred the fried over the steam. The steam felt to watery and seemed tasteless.

Steamed lobsterThe Steak (edible)

Chinese spaghetti (tasted like they use ketchup for pasta sauce)

Fried rice (Ok, but it’s weird to have this plate last)

Dessert was ice cream and coconut tapioca. (again random mug and dish)

Overall, it was bargain for the amount of food and the size and amount for the lobster.

YO NYC: ASIA SPECIAL Part 1

It’s a little late but I’ve been busy with school and what not, but this past summer I spent about a month in a half in Hong Kong, Thailand and Singapore. It was wicked hot, and I had loads of fun. Aside from the usual touristy attractions, I was more excited to eat my way through the places I visited than actually care about whatever else the country had to offer. Food to me is the best part of other cultures. First I was in Hong Kong for a little less than a week, and to say the least that place has the swampiest and mucky weather ever during certain parts of the summer. But I still love it. Let’s just start with the most traditional Hong Kong food, the typical HK style cafés with the ABCD meals on a tiny breakfast menu.

I personally got the ramen with satay beef and a fried egg on top. Loaded with my favorite substance of monosodium glutamate, it was satisfying and it just made my morning happy. How could you not follow this up with HK’s signature morning beverage? It may look nothing special but the Hong Kong iced milk tea is simply divine. There is no possible way I have drank that beverage in NYC, the distinctiveness of that drink is something no one can get anywhere else.

A yet I shall show another Hong Kong signature morning pastry that started here first; the pineapple butter bun. Similar to its younger sibling the pineapple bun, this revamped pineapple butter bun seriously bullies its younger sibling. It is basically a fresh hot pineapple bun cut in half, and a big slab of butter is just sandwiched between, and it just slowly melts and just makes the pineapple bun that much more unhealthy. But hey the more unhealthy the food, the more delicious it’s probably going to be.

Seat Savers

Have you ever avoided a subway seat because of the filth on it? Well this person took the idea and made this an item called “seat savers”. Basically he took a messy situation you typically see on the street, like spilled coffee, spilled ice cream, exploded ketchup packet and froze it with some plastic material. Pretty cool idea, I bought a few of them, going to try and see how it works on the LIRR.

@ Union Sq

*UPDATE* – Check out Jeremy Sage’s (the guy in the hat) website for more of his work. – jeremysplace.com

Sam’s Deli – 30 Mulberry Street

If you are in Chinatown, especially if you work around this area sometimes you want anything but Chinese, well this is the spot! In the morning you can get breakfast sandwiches, hash brown, and coffee. They always have newspapers so you can relax a bit before your day starts. For lunch, they have all the standard cold cut and many choices of hot sandwiches like chicken parmesan, chicken cordon bleu, etc. They usually have specials or new items so you can’t get too bored from eating here regularly. This deli wouldn’t be so special anywhere else, but because it’s right in the heart of Chinatown I think it really deserves a mention.

Rice noodle roll cart

This dingy, steamy cart serves only one thing and that is rice noodle roll. They do it quite well and it’s made to order so it’s always fresh and piping hot. But if you want to try this cheap eats ($1.25 an order!), you need to be here early from 7am to 1pm. There are 5 varieties: pork, beef, chicken, dry shrimp, and plain. All are made by steaming in their special pan with the above mentioned ingredients. They are perfectly soft and practically melts in your mouth. The light soy sauce and scallions brighten this savory treat. I like mine with a little hot sauce on the side. Just remember to eat it right away and it’s perfectly fine to do so on the street.

(in front of 157 Hester st, Hong Kong Supermarket)

5 varieties: pork, beef, chicken, dry shrimp, and plain.

Close up

Early 8:30am

Expired Chinese Mooncakes?

Latest China food scare: Mid-Autumn Festival is coming up that means it mooncake season. Be sure to check where your mooncakes came from and most importantly look for the expiration date. A good advice is to buy the loose ones from bakeries so you’ll know where it comes from and can inspect for freshness.

Look what a pretty box.

They hidden the expiration date underneath a *FAKE* storage instruction label, how shady. You can’t see the expiration date because they marker out the month.

Gaby’s Pizza.

204-23 hillside ave
queens village, ny 11423
(between 204th & 205th streets)
gabyspizza.com

One of the best pizza you will ever eat in your life. The Sicilian slice is deLICious. The line can be long at times, but you never have to wait for too long. Relatively cheap. The slices are always hot and fresh. It’s pretty well-known — they have pictures of various actors/musicians coming here, throwing up their gang signs. One of the pictures I can remember is Ja Rule being there. Small and cozy. Trust me, you’ll be back for more after one slice.

The best Vietnamese sandwich battle – Paris vs Saigon

There are two big Vietnamese sandwich shop in Chinatown, Paris Sandwich and Banh Mi Saigon, both well known for their fresh delicious sandwiches but which one has the BEST Vietnamese sandwich(Bánh mì)? My judging criteria are on presentation, ingredients, and taste.

1. Presentation:

(left)Paris Sandwich $4 (right) Saigon Sandwich $3.95

The Paris Sandwich took maybe less than 5 minutes from order to pick up. The Saigon Sandwich took about 20 minutes with close to 15 people waiting on line.

2. Ingredients:

Paris Sandwich’s ingredients: Vietnamese mayonnaise with special ground roast pork, salami, and a mix of pickled carrots, cilantro, cucumber, and jalapeno peppers if you order spicy.

Saigon Sandwich’s ingredients: The sandwich is huge. The ingredient has same as above, the only difference is they use a Chinese barbecue grilled pork in place of the Vietnamese mayonnaise with special ground roast pork.

3. Taste:

Saigon: The over-toasted crunchy bread will scratched the roof of your mouth. A heaping amount pickled carrots, radish with each bite, and cilantro gives it that freshness taste. The meat they use is a fatty roast pork bits which taste very Chinese.

Paris: Perfectly toasted piece of bread, and with the right amount of vegetable and meat. They give just enough to ensure that it overloaded .

My verdict: Paris Sandwich WINS – No annoying lines, fresh authentic Banh Mi taste, and a baguettes that won’t scratch up the roof your mouth.

Paris Sandwich Bakery Cafe
113 Mott St
(between Canal St & Hester St)
New York, NY 10013

Banh Mi Saigon
138 Mott St
(between Grand St & Hester St)
New York, NY 10013