There are many Korean restaurants to choose from along 32nd Street. Less known is that there are good Korean restaurants along 35th Street as well as we discovered. Cho Dang Gol is on such restaurant known for its home made tofu. In the back of the restaurant are large pots that are used to make fresh tofu. The place is always packed with patrons and at peak time, there is a long queue.
We ordered tofu kimchi soup, stone bowl bibmbap with bulgogi, and korean pancakes (chijimi). The side dishes were very refershing in that they were not all different versions of kimchi. Tofu soup was mild, not too spicey, and full of soft tofu. Very tastey. Chijimi was more vegetables than batter, which we liked because it brought out the flavor of the vegetables and kimchi. The rice bowl was taste and mild. The best stone bowl bibmbap in New York so far.
The staff was attentive and quick; and no non-sense service. A bit on the pricey side for a Korean restaurant but it was worth it. We'll certainly go back again.
55 West 35th Street (between 5th and 6th)
New York, NY 10001
(212) 695-8222
http://www.chodanggolny.com/
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Monday, February 18, 2008
Soba Totto - Sequel
Recently, I went back to Soba Totto for dinner. Although my prior visit was not the best experience, the soba noodle was good so I decided to give it another try.
What I learned was that the restaurant does not take reservations for parties of less than four. I had three in my group, so the restaurant simply told me that I will have to come to the restaurant to get a table. I did not think too much at the time since it was a dinner with few of my good friends. But, I would not use the restaurant for any client dinner or dinner with important guests. Sure, if I have four or more in the party, it looks like the restaurant will take reservations. But I could not quite understand the reason there. For important dinners, I need to know that I can secure a table so that we can get seated. Next time, I may ask why. Certainly, I would not come back for any important dinner.
As for the dinner, we were asked to wait at the bar until everyone in the party was there. So we had to wait for about 10 minutes until everyone was in the restaurant. But we got seated with no further problems. There staff was friendly and did not get the order wrong this time. Everything on the memu were available this time. I was a bit surprised that the each portion size was small - small even for Japanese standard. Perhaps we did not notice this the last time since we were more focused on getting the right food to begin with. We orderd different kinds of yakitori and few other dishes. Nothing to fuss about. Ordinary yakitori.
The soba was good. But the rest of the food was so so. Luckly, Aburiya Kinnosuke is only a few minute walk away. So next time, I'm inclined to have dinner at AK, then perhaps stop at Soba Totto for a quick soba noodles to finish the evening.
What I learned was that the restaurant does not take reservations for parties of less than four. I had three in my group, so the restaurant simply told me that I will have to come to the restaurant to get a table. I did not think too much at the time since it was a dinner with few of my good friends. But, I would not use the restaurant for any client dinner or dinner with important guests. Sure, if I have four or more in the party, it looks like the restaurant will take reservations. But I could not quite understand the reason there. For important dinners, I need to know that I can secure a table so that we can get seated. Next time, I may ask why. Certainly, I would not come back for any important dinner.
As for the dinner, we were asked to wait at the bar until everyone in the party was there. So we had to wait for about 10 minutes until everyone was in the restaurant. But we got seated with no further problems. There staff was friendly and did not get the order wrong this time. Everything on the memu were available this time. I was a bit surprised that the each portion size was small - small even for Japanese standard. Perhaps we did not notice this the last time since we were more focused on getting the right food to begin with. We orderd different kinds of yakitori and few other dishes. Nothing to fuss about. Ordinary yakitori.
The soba was good. But the rest of the food was so so. Luckly, Aburiya Kinnosuke is only a few minute walk away. So next time, I'm inclined to have dinner at AK, then perhaps stop at Soba Totto for a quick soba noodles to finish the evening.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Soba Totto
Eating "soba" noodles on New Year's Eve is a Japanese tradition. For 2006, we went to Sobaya in East Village to close out the year. But we were not overly impressed. So as 2007 came to an end, we wanted to try a different noodle shop in Manhattan. When we heard about the opening of Soba Totto in Midtown-East, we thought we'll give it a try and made a reservation.
Soba Totto is the fourth restaurant in New York opened by the company that owns/manages Yakitori Totto, Toris, and Aburiya Kinnosuke. It goes without saying that our expectation was quite high. And the rumor had it that the restaurant went to Japan to bring a well regarded "soba shoku-nin" to run the kitchen.
When we went, the restaurant had been opened for a week. So the service was not fully polished; which was expected. At the same time, the restaurant is a sister restaurant to the other three establishments - all with good reputation. So they should be experienced with opening restaurants in Manhattan.
Although we initially went to have soba noodles, we decided to order yakitori as well after reviewing the menu. But when we tried to order, a lot of the yakitori items was "sold-out." For example, nankotsu, tebata, kimo, and others were not available that night. Perhaps we should have stopped there and stuck with our original plan to simply have soba noodles. But we didn't and tried to have some that were available - tsukune (tare and shio), mune, and karaage. To finish the dinner, we order zaru-soba.
Tsukune (tare) and mune came soon after we ordered. They were both good - tender meat and cooked well. But then the problems started. The staff began to bring items that we did not order. Then our zaru-soba came before we got our other orders. We asked them to take back the zaru-soba and bring our other orders first (yes, we were picky about the order in which we eat our food, especially to finish everything with soba noodles). Then we waited, waited, and waited. Asked about our orders and they kept saying "soon." After about 30 minutes, we finally gave up and asked to cancel the orders, simply to bring our zaru-soba.
When we finally got our zaru-soba, the excitement was gone. Have to admit, the noodles were good. But our whole dining experience was ruined. As we got ready to leave, we asked for the manager for explanation. Apparently, the staff punched in the wrong table number with our order, causing the confusion. Well... the manager did try to compensate us with "complimentary" dessert. But we were not in the mood, so we kindly refused, asked for our check and left.
Oh, and one other thing. The table next to ours was a group of six Japanese people that were very loud the whole time. Understandably, some noise is expected in a place like this. But this table was beyond noise. And to top it off, they got one of the restaurant wait staff to do a "split" (as in both legs going the opposite... a dance routine) right there in the restaurant - right in front of our eyes. The staff apparently was a dancer in New York and one of the guests at the table was also a dancer. But it is simply unacceptable for a staff person to behave this way in a restaurant. Of course we mentioned this to the manager. To their credit, the staff person immediately came to our table to apologize.
Perhaps we should give them the benefit of the doubt as they get their house in order. The noodles were good and would go back again, in spite of the service issues.
Soba Totto is the fourth restaurant in New York opened by the company that owns/manages Yakitori Totto, Toris, and Aburiya Kinnosuke. It goes without saying that our expectation was quite high. And the rumor had it that the restaurant went to Japan to bring a well regarded "soba shoku-nin" to run the kitchen.
When we went, the restaurant had been opened for a week. So the service was not fully polished; which was expected. At the same time, the restaurant is a sister restaurant to the other three establishments - all with good reputation. So they should be experienced with opening restaurants in Manhattan.
Although we initially went to have soba noodles, we decided to order yakitori as well after reviewing the menu. But when we tried to order, a lot of the yakitori items was "sold-out." For example, nankotsu, tebata, kimo, and others were not available that night. Perhaps we should have stopped there and stuck with our original plan to simply have soba noodles. But we didn't and tried to have some that were available - tsukune (tare and shio), mune, and karaage. To finish the dinner, we order zaru-soba.
Tsukune (tare) and mune came soon after we ordered. They were both good - tender meat and cooked well. But then the problems started. The staff began to bring items that we did not order. Then our zaru-soba came before we got our other orders. We asked them to take back the zaru-soba and bring our other orders first (yes, we were picky about the order in which we eat our food, especially to finish everything with soba noodles). Then we waited, waited, and waited. Asked about our orders and they kept saying "soon." After about 30 minutes, we finally gave up and asked to cancel the orders, simply to bring our zaru-soba.
When we finally got our zaru-soba, the excitement was gone. Have to admit, the noodles were good. But our whole dining experience was ruined. As we got ready to leave, we asked for the manager for explanation. Apparently, the staff punched in the wrong table number with our order, causing the confusion. Well... the manager did try to compensate us with "complimentary" dessert. But we were not in the mood, so we kindly refused, asked for our check and left.
Oh, and one other thing. The table next to ours was a group of six Japanese people that were very loud the whole time. Understandably, some noise is expected in a place like this. But this table was beyond noise. And to top it off, they got one of the restaurant wait staff to do a "split" (as in both legs going the opposite... a dance routine) right there in the restaurant - right in front of our eyes. The staff apparently was a dancer in New York and one of the guests at the table was also a dancer. But it is simply unacceptable for a staff person to behave this way in a restaurant. Of course we mentioned this to the manager. To their credit, the staff person immediately came to our table to apologize.
Perhaps we should give them the benefit of the doubt as they get their house in order. The noodles were good and would go back again, in spite of the service issues.
Soba Totto211
211 East 43rd Street (between 2nd and 3rd Ave)
212-557-8200
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Judgment of Paris by George M. Taber
I will admit that I have a bias towards wine from California, Oregon, and other U.S. states. Perhaps its out of my sense of patriotism towards things Made in U.S.A.. Or maybe because I learned to enjoy wine with California wine. My first wine experience was with a bottle of Chardonnay from Sonoma. I recall visiting Robert Mondavi winery to learn how wine is made. And it helps that its easier to understand California wine and that California produces some of the best wine in the world.
California wine has long history, long as the history of California. However, it was not always considered top-class as it is now. As I was learning about California wine, I had heard vaguely about a “competition” in Paris in the 1970’s where a bottle of California wine received the top prize. “Judgment of Paris” covers the event itself, the stories behind the tasting, and how the tasting perhaps changed the world of wine. The book was written by George Taber, the only person from the media that covered the tasting.
The tasting took place on May 24, 1976 in Paris. It was not highly publicized leading up to the tasting. It was organized by a wine shop in Paris to show case some of the up and coming California wine. But the panel of judges was prominent figures in the wine industry in France. The result was surprising – where California wine took first place in both Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon categories.
The book was written objectively. The author did not take any sides, but rather “reporting” the events leading up to the tasting, how the tasting was conducted, and how it was felt in the wine world. The first half of the book brought to life the stories behind the wine that took first place. These were the stories of winemakers, producers, winery owners that helped make the winning wine at the tasting. The book also covered how New World wine began to be competitive with wine from France and other Old World wine producing countries; perhaps thanks in part due to the tasting. I enjoyed reading the book and learned to appreciate California wine more.
Chardonnay
Chateau Montelena 1973
Cabernet Sauvignon
Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars 1973
California wine has long history, long as the history of California. However, it was not always considered top-class as it is now. As I was learning about California wine, I had heard vaguely about a “competition” in Paris in the 1970’s where a bottle of California wine received the top prize. “Judgment of Paris” covers the event itself, the stories behind the tasting, and how the tasting perhaps changed the world of wine. The book was written by George Taber, the only person from the media that covered the tasting.
The tasting took place on May 24, 1976 in Paris. It was not highly publicized leading up to the tasting. It was organized by a wine shop in Paris to show case some of the up and coming California wine. But the panel of judges was prominent figures in the wine industry in France. The result was surprising – where California wine took first place in both Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon categories.
The book was written objectively. The author did not take any sides, but rather “reporting” the events leading up to the tasting, how the tasting was conducted, and how it was felt in the wine world. The first half of the book brought to life the stories behind the wine that took first place. These were the stories of winemakers, producers, winery owners that helped make the winning wine at the tasting. The book also covered how New World wine began to be competitive with wine from France and other Old World wine producing countries; perhaps thanks in part due to the tasting. I enjoyed reading the book and learned to appreciate California wine more.
Chardonnay
Chateau Montelena 1973
Cabernet Sauvignon
Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars 1973
Saturday, April 21, 2007
pinkberry
I recall the “frozen yogurt” boom back in the late 80’s/early 90’s – TCBY boom. The frozen yogurt shops popping up every where, taunting its low-fat low calorie treats. If I recall, they came out with various kinds of flavors – including the usual vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate.
Well, it looks like the frozen yogurt boom is back – except this time its with a 21st century flare. A recent boom in Manhattan is pinkberry. This chic/modern minimalist frozen yogurt café seems to be quietly becoming the place to be for the Manhattanites. pinkberry got its start in Korean Town in Los Angeles, which quickly grew to about 10 shops in the area. Then it began its expansion into Manhattan with three stores open so far – SoHo, Korean Town (32nd Street) and UES.
The menu is quite simple. You choose either the plain or green tea flavor frozen yogurt. Then add toppings of your choice – including berries, fruits, nuts, and candies. They also have shaved ice topped with yogurt and toppings and smooties.
The dessert is bit on the pricey side. But then again, it is very good. And refreshing after a nice hearty meal and you don’t have to feel guilty about it – hey its low fat and low calories.
Give it a try.
www.pinkberry.com
Well, it looks like the frozen yogurt boom is back – except this time its with a 21st century flare. A recent boom in Manhattan is pinkberry. This chic/modern minimalist frozen yogurt café seems to be quietly becoming the place to be for the Manhattanites. pinkberry got its start in Korean Town in Los Angeles, which quickly grew to about 10 shops in the area. Then it began its expansion into Manhattan with three stores open so far – SoHo, Korean Town (32nd Street) and UES.
The menu is quite simple. You choose either the plain or green tea flavor frozen yogurt. Then add toppings of your choice – including berries, fruits, nuts, and candies. They also have shaved ice topped with yogurt and toppings and smooties.
The dessert is bit on the pricey side. But then again, it is very good. And refreshing after a nice hearty meal and you don’t have to feel guilty about it – hey its low fat and low calories.
Give it a try.
www.pinkberry.com
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Land
There seems to be a lot of new restaurants popping up along 2nd Avenue in the Upper East Side. One such restaurant is Land, a Thai restaurant serving Northeast Thai cuisine. Land is a second restaurant opened by executive chef and owner David Bank. The sister restaurant is on the Upper West Side, also called Land Thai Kitchen.
Land does not take reservation. So when we arrived at the peak dinner time on a Saturday night, we were told that the wait is about 20-25 minutes. We left our name and a mobile phone number and waited outside. The wait was actually about 15 minutes and we were shown to our table. The dining area was small but cozy – with perhaps room large enough to seat about 50 customers.
The staff was very attentive and friendly. We ordered a papaya salad as a starter and each of us ordered a separate entrée. I ordered the special – grilled tuna with curry sauce and coconut milk served on top of green beans, asparagus, and liche – while my wife ordered cashew nut with chicken. The papaya salad was very spicy to my liking, but to those who does not like too much heat may want to ask for a medium. The entrée came in white serving plate with a side of jasmine rice. The ingredients were quite fresh. And the seasoning was not overwhelming.
The prices were reasonable. The restaurant has BYOB policy. I’m not sure if this is temporary or permanent. But given that the restaurant did not have a bar area, this is probably a permanent policy. We looked around the restaurant and there were many customers with their own bottles. As customers got seated, the wait staff quickly acknowledge the bottles by setting up glasses and offering to open the bottles.
As we left the restaurant, there was a long queue outside. The restaurant was not exceptional, but will be in a list of our weekend restaurants when we want Thai food. Also a good place to come with a group. In fact the restaurant had two large groups.
Land
1565 2nd Avenue (between 81st & 82nd)
New York, NY 10028
(212) 439-1847
www.landthaikitchen.com
Land does not take reservation. So when we arrived at the peak dinner time on a Saturday night, we were told that the wait is about 20-25 minutes. We left our name and a mobile phone number and waited outside. The wait was actually about 15 minutes and we were shown to our table. The dining area was small but cozy – with perhaps room large enough to seat about 50 customers.
The staff was very attentive and friendly. We ordered a papaya salad as a starter and each of us ordered a separate entrée. I ordered the special – grilled tuna with curry sauce and coconut milk served on top of green beans, asparagus, and liche – while my wife ordered cashew nut with chicken. The papaya salad was very spicy to my liking, but to those who does not like too much heat may want to ask for a medium. The entrée came in white serving plate with a side of jasmine rice. The ingredients were quite fresh. And the seasoning was not overwhelming.
The prices were reasonable. The restaurant has BYOB policy. I’m not sure if this is temporary or permanent. But given that the restaurant did not have a bar area, this is probably a permanent policy. We looked around the restaurant and there were many customers with their own bottles. As customers got seated, the wait staff quickly acknowledge the bottles by setting up glasses and offering to open the bottles.
As we left the restaurant, there was a long queue outside. The restaurant was not exceptional, but will be in a list of our weekend restaurants when we want Thai food. Also a good place to come with a group. In fact the restaurant had two large groups.
Land
1565 2nd Avenue (between 81st & 82nd)
New York, NY 10028
(212) 439-1847
www.landthaikitchen.com
Thursday, March 29, 2007
The Modern - The Museum of Modern Art
The Modern is a French-American restaurant located at the Museum of Modern Art. The restaurant is a member of Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group (“USHG”), which includes other well-known places in Manhattan, such as Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern, Eleven Madison Park, and Shake Shack. Having heard good things about this place, my wife and I decided to have our anniversary dinner at The Modern this year.
The Modern has two distinct dining areas – The Dining Room which features more formal setting with open ceiling area with a splendid view of the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden inside the MoMA complex; and The Bar Room featuring more casual but energetic setting and certainly much younger crowd than The Dining Room. Both dining areas showcase the creation of Chef Gabriel Kreuther, which is described as “elegant, creative French cuisine....”Obviously for our dinner, we choose The Dining Room.
We’ve been to many “fine dining” establishments in New York, some of them living up to the reputation while others some what disappointing. The Modern has one of the better ones and thought that it lived up to the hype. We were impressed with the service and delicious food to match the mood and the setting of the restaurant.
We were greeted by a staff assigned to our table with the menu. After taking our drink order (Bellini and Cosmopolitan), he gave us some time to leisurely read the menu. In fact, after we placed our food order, he offered to hold off on putting the order into the kitchen until we had some time to enjoy the cocktails and the amuse-bouches, which was a plate of scooped cucumber ball, goat cheese, and foie gras pâté.
And for dinner, we ordered the Chef Tasting Menu – which comprised of 8-course tasting course. And for me, suggested wine paring with the dinner.
The course included:
1).Melted Goat Cheese Amuse-Bouches
2).Foie Gra Terrine Flavored with Juniper Marinated Raisins, Grilled Country Bread
3).Yellowfin Tuna and Diver Scallops Tartare – Seasoned with American Paddlefish Caviar
4).Roasted Maine Lobster with Buckwheat Angelhair
5).Chorizo-Crusted Chatham Cod with White Coco Bean Puree and Harissa Oil
6).Long Island Duck Breast with Black Trumpet Marmalade, “Fleischneke”, and Banyuls Jus
7).Cheese Plate
8).Dessert
Did not care too much for the foie gra. Bit too much stuff around it. The tartare was quite good and matched well with the saltiness from the caviar. Maine lobster with buckwheat angelhair was an interesting combination. The duck breast was quite meaty. For the cheese plate, they brought a tray full of cheese for us to choose from. The portions on each course was just about right, except for the cheese plate. They were quite generous with the cheese, which we were not able to finish them all.
And for each course, the staff matched it with wine selection. It was quite good. Perhaps it was a bit too much alcohol but nonetheless, very enjoyable. They offered wines from various parts of the world, from Alace to Bordeux, from Virginia to Long Island. And finished it with Port for the cheese plate. Quite an experience and each wine was paired nicely with the meal. One regret is that they did not have a list of the wines served during the meal for me to refer back to.
The presentation of the food, with the wine and the timing were all orchestrated quite well by the waitperson in charge of our table and one additional staff to assist. Again, the service was quite impressive.
When we finished the course, had our espresso, and ready to depart, we had been at the restaurant for over 3 and 1/2 hours. Now, that is a leisurely dinner. One of the more memorable dining experience in New York for sure.
The Modern
The Museum of Modern Art
9 West 53rd Street
(between Fifth and Sixth Avenues)
New York, NY 10019
(212) 333-1220
Advance reservation strongly recommended. At least two weeks in advance
www.themodernnyc.com
The Modern has two distinct dining areas – The Dining Room which features more formal setting with open ceiling area with a splendid view of the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden inside the MoMA complex; and The Bar Room featuring more casual but energetic setting and certainly much younger crowd than The Dining Room. Both dining areas showcase the creation of Chef Gabriel Kreuther, which is described as “elegant, creative French cuisine....”Obviously for our dinner, we choose The Dining Room.
We’ve been to many “fine dining” establishments in New York, some of them living up to the reputation while others some what disappointing. The Modern has one of the better ones and thought that it lived up to the hype. We were impressed with the service and delicious food to match the mood and the setting of the restaurant.
We were greeted by a staff assigned to our table with the menu. After taking our drink order (Bellini and Cosmopolitan), he gave us some time to leisurely read the menu. In fact, after we placed our food order, he offered to hold off on putting the order into the kitchen until we had some time to enjoy the cocktails and the amuse-bouches, which was a plate of scooped cucumber ball, goat cheese, and foie gras pâté.
And for dinner, we ordered the Chef Tasting Menu – which comprised of 8-course tasting course. And for me, suggested wine paring with the dinner.
The course included:
1).Melted Goat Cheese Amuse-Bouches
2).Foie Gra Terrine Flavored with Juniper Marinated Raisins, Grilled Country Bread
3).Yellowfin Tuna and Diver Scallops Tartare – Seasoned with American Paddlefish Caviar
4).Roasted Maine Lobster with Buckwheat Angelhair
5).Chorizo-Crusted Chatham Cod with White Coco Bean Puree and Harissa Oil
6).Long Island Duck Breast with Black Trumpet Marmalade, “Fleischneke”, and Banyuls Jus
7).Cheese Plate
8).Dessert
Did not care too much for the foie gra. Bit too much stuff around it. The tartare was quite good and matched well with the saltiness from the caviar. Maine lobster with buckwheat angelhair was an interesting combination. The duck breast was quite meaty. For the cheese plate, they brought a tray full of cheese for us to choose from. The portions on each course was just about right, except for the cheese plate. They were quite generous with the cheese, which we were not able to finish them all.
And for each course, the staff matched it with wine selection. It was quite good. Perhaps it was a bit too much alcohol but nonetheless, very enjoyable. They offered wines from various parts of the world, from Alace to Bordeux, from Virginia to Long Island. And finished it with Port for the cheese plate. Quite an experience and each wine was paired nicely with the meal. One regret is that they did not have a list of the wines served during the meal for me to refer back to.
The presentation of the food, with the wine and the timing were all orchestrated quite well by the waitperson in charge of our table and one additional staff to assist. Again, the service was quite impressive.
When we finished the course, had our espresso, and ready to depart, we had been at the restaurant for over 3 and 1/2 hours. Now, that is a leisurely dinner. One of the more memorable dining experience in New York for sure.
The Modern
The Museum of Modern Art
9 West 53rd Street
(between Fifth and Sixth Avenues)
New York, NY 10019
(212) 333-1220
Advance reservation strongly recommended. At least two weeks in advance
www.themodernnyc.com
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