Ippudo, New York (2nd entry!)

Couldn't resist blogging about Ippudo again. I was thinking whether I would give Momofuku ramen a try but better to stick with the tried and tested with Rach in town. This time, to ensure we did not have to wait, Rach and I were outside the door at 10.45am, getting in the way of the wait staff, trying to clock in before their shift time begins. Success! When they opened their doors at 11am, we were the very first customers and offered pride of place at the communal table round the hearth. Aside from the prerequisite pork buns, we had the Akamaru Modern ramen (my favorite ramen dish on their menu) plus the spicy one which was very good as well. For those that know me, you will know that I am also a big fan of dishware china so Ippudo's bar decor (pictured) certainly caught my eye. Lots of nice touches in the restaurant from the "I love ramen" t-shirts on the wait staff in the Star Spangled colors of red, white and blue to the downstairs window where you can see the ramen-making machine as you walk to the restrooms. Don't miss Ippudo next time you are in New York! Only their ramen broth is at the level that I enjoyed in Japan...no place in Boston comes close in my opinion. Other places in New York? I'm open to suggestions...

Sakagura, New York

By now, perhaps you have realized I am a big fan of Japanese food. 2nd stop on the NY culinary tour was Sakagura for dinner. 400 types of sake...sign me up. The decor was wonderful..like we had discovered a small sliver of Tokyo in the basement of a non-descript office building. The bathrooms were encased in barrels and they had the required Toto toilet with all the buttons. We ordered a selection of small dishes including their version of chawanmushi with a yuzu sauce, a cold onsen tamago dish and a homely mackerel wrapped onigiri. Ordered as a last dish, it was the very best of an interesting bunch. The food certainly enhanced the sake (or is it vice versa?) yet after a spectacular lunch at Aburiya at 2pm, perhaps it paled a little in comparison.

Aburiya Kinnosuke, New York

Fresh off the bus and heading to eat! Last month with Rach in town, we headed down to New York for a few days of culinary indulgence. You can call it plain gluttony if you like but quality is important to the Hungry Laws, not just quantity. Our chosen spot for a Midtown lunch was Aburiya Kinnosuke ( http://aburiyakinnosuke.com/) at 215 E45th Street. Perhaps it was my low expectations but this place blew them out the water. I was very very impressed. We went for two lunch sets - the most expensive one was $35 but it came with a boxed appetizer sampler, a dish of fried foods including a delicious crab claw enveloped in custard, then breaded and fried. There were also two pieces of cooked fish on shiso leaf and laver which were a great combination. The main entree was a beautifully-cooked just-done salmon fillet wrapped in sakura (cherry blossom) leaves and then cooked/baked under a salt crust. Magnificent. The server brought a wooden hammer to chisel away the salt, leaving salmon with a subtle taste of sakura which you can enhance with the surrounding salt, to your taste. Rice, pickles and miso soup was part of the course and the dessert was an incredibly fine slice of green tea mousse cake with green tea ice cream (which tasted store-bought). Rach was happy with her set which came with wagyu beef slices grilling on their own hot plate. We hustled a little for a private booth (which we got) and Rach spent a long time in the toilet. She told me she had to "press all the buttons".

Tasting Menu at Clio - Part 1

1. Arugula Almond Pastry with Olive Oil Gel and Chive Blossom





This amuse bouche tasted a little Asian-inspired. A savory pastry - it was good but not amazing.




2. Tomato Water Martini with Caper Berry, Tom Olive and Basil Oil




This was the highlight of the whole meal! Imagine juices from a tomato strained to clear and add basil oil emulsion. It tastes like tomato and basil but in liquid form. Impressive.

















3. Albacore Tuna Sashimi with Chives
Having just had the Uni sashimi platter, this was more of the same. Still very nice though.











4. Winterpoint Oysters with hisbiscus Jus

The oysters look like they are going to tip over any second and tip over they did. One of my oysters fell off as it came to the table. The hisbiscus jus had a nice vinegary flavor but I thought it masked the subtle taste of the oyster a little.

Tasting Menu at Clio - Part 2

Second Half of the Menu

5. Heirloom Tomato and Watermelon Salad with Feta Cheese

At this point, I was hoping for some hot food. Nonetheless, the marinated watermelon with balsalmic vinegar was the highlight of this dish.





6. Sweetcorn soup with Coconut Custard and Jalapeno

This one was good! The corn soup was warm and comforting with the
jalapeno giving a contrasting kick. The cococut custard cake was Asian-inspired and went so well with the soup.







7. Lobster Tail with Chanterelle Mushrooms

Didn't quite catch what was in the foam but the lobster tail was cooked beautifully - almost a little undercooked which I actually prefer.









8. Spring Lamb Belly with Wild Onions, Peas and Chamomile

The meat-eaters liked this one! Very well-cooked - the lamb was not gamey at all










9. Strawberry Confetti Dessert

This is a signature dessert at Clio. I thought there were too many appetizer-like dishes in the tasting menu and would have liked a cheese interlude before the dessert. It was still very nice though with beautiful presentation - a streak of strawberry confetti on a huge white plate.

Sashimi at Uni

Paul's Birthday Dinner Part 1 - The Appetizer

Ok, this one along with Part 2 is an epic. For Paul's birthday, we went to Uni and Clio - the two Ken Oringer eateries in The Eliot Hotel. We decided to start with this platter of sashimi at Uni. It was incredible - the fish was very fresh and we opted for the "dressed" version as opposed to "traditional". The chef had topped the sashimi with various herbs, sauces, barley beads, sweetened taro, goji berries and so on. With this amazing dish to start - we moved across to the next restaurant, Clio...

Red Velvet Cake

Since Paul bought me a Kitchenaid Artisan stand mixer for my birthday (the pink Susan G. Komen version no less), baking has become a little easier. I still find it tricky especially with an oven that runs 150 degrees hotter than what it states but I get by with an oven thermometer. The trick for me is very precise measurements in the recipe. Unfortunately, US recipes are all about "1 cup of this, 1 cup of that". What is that about?! I bought cup measurements but 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of sugar seems very different to me. Luckily, I found Alton Brown's recipe on Food Network does utilize precise measurements. I really don't mind getting the scales out to ensure a successful cake. For Paul's birthday this year, I made a red velvet cake. A couple of weeks ago, I made a practice cake which failed as the baking powder was too old and didn't react. I switched it out with baking soda and voila! Not bad for second attempt.