Ambitious Deliciousness – Dont Eat Lazy.

As a Korean girl who grew up in Queens, I’m a snob when it comes to Korean food. It also doesn’t help that my mom is an excellent cook. So when I was contacted to review a restaurant in the Union Square called BAK Korean Kitchen and Craft Beer Hall, I was more than intrigued.

Bulgogi Bibimbap at BAK (and Dan’s arm. Hi Dan!)

I had to find out – how did the food stack up to its Koreatown competition? I wasn’t sure what to expect but I went with a hungry stomach and my camera in tow.

(more…)

Thank you so much for all the well wishes, everyone! Now, back to business…

This is a follow up to the post I wrote earlier about the event I attended for Krups Nescafe Dulce Gusto. This little beauty was sent to my house to try out and review!

This model is called Piccolo.(Photo courtesy of Dolce Gusto)

The machine is easy to use. You just add water, pop a capsule, choose hot or cold, then brew as many capsules as you need for the drink you are making. But would I purchase it for myself?

(more…)

Is there anyone out there who doesn’t like a grilled cheese sandwich? There’s nothing more comforting to me than melted cheese and melted butter between two pieces of white bread. Add some tomato soup on the side and the meal will bring me right back to my childhood.  Though you may disagree, I am a firm believer that Kraft’s cheese slices are still perfectly appropriate in two places: in a grilled cheese sandwich, or melted on a burger.

Lately, I’ve been hearing about restaurants featuring fancy grilled cheese sandwiches, made with real shredded cheese and gourmet bread. I’ll admit, I had no plans to visit any of these establishments, since the idea of spending $7 on a grilled cheese was unappealing to me.

But I had a chance to visit Melt Shop for free of charge, so I jumped on it!

(more…)

Coincidentally, this post follows my homemade macaron post. According to the website, Macaron Day coincides with Jour du Macaron in Paris, created by la Maison Pierre Hermé. I forgot to mention that a percentage of the proceeds went to City Harvest. So it was for a good cause. Plus, I had never participated in Macaron Day before, so I was super excited to go!

Since there are a bunch of places in Manhattan, I looked up all the cross streets of each participating store, then printed it out, since I was not blessed with the gift of being good at directions. My friend Ryann and I made our way through a few places on the Lower East Side, then met up with our other friend Eun for the rest.

Though Sunday’s weather was not as amazing as it was on Friday, it was still very sunny! I really enjoyed walking around the city and not feeling like I had to rush to get somewhere. More details on which macarons I was able to gobble up, after the jump!

(more…)

When drugstores around New York City started carrying milk, eggs and other frozen goods, I had mixed feelings. While it pumps up the convenience factor, it just felt odd to me. Around the same time, sandwiches appeared at Walgreens drugstore, along with pre-packaged sushi. Only in NYC!

But when Target in my neighborhood expanded to a SuperTarget, I was actually excited. They renovated a large portion of the first floor and made room for an actual grocery store.It felt different from picking up groceries alongside with toothpaste, though you could argue that there isn’t a huge difference between the two.

One Sunday afternoon, I looked around the frozen section and saw that they had “Sutton & Dodge Steakhouse Quality Angus Beef.” Out of curiosity, I grabbed a package of steak to try. Oh, the things I do for this blog. =) [Note: There was meat in there; this photo was taken after I finished cooking.]

(more…)

It’s funny how ramen has become a trend food item as of late. If you had asked me five years ago if I’d eat ramen at a restaurant, I would have thought you were crazy. After all, packaged ramen – especially the one with spicy soup – is all I knew ramen to be.

On a brutally cold winter day, my body craves the warm porky broth, with chewy homemade noodles. Carbs and soup – what’s not to love?

I’ve been to most of the well-known ramen joints around Manhattan: Ippudo, Sapparo, Menchenko Tei, Mek Kui Tei, and now, Hide Chan. I have not been to Totto Ramen yet, but they share the owner so maybe I won’t.

I happened to be on the East Side for a work related event one night, so Dan and I went to try out Hide Chan ramen.

(more…)

Though Sarge’s has been in business since 1964, and is located in a quiet neighborhood – in Murray Hill, to be exact. I remember passing by this place dozens of times when I used to work around there. Back then, I was not as obsessive about my food choices, though I always appreciated good food. It’s unfortunate that I’m no longer there because I would probably go here a lot more often. I mean, just look at this gorgeous sandwich!

It took me a while to order, because the menu is so huge! Sarge’s has a diner like feel, also a comfortably friendly neighborhood diner that’s also open 24/7. If you’re ever craving pastrami at 3 am, you know where to go!

[Sidenote: Katz Deli also makes pastrami sandwiches, but I haven't been there in a few years, so I will leave the comparing up to someone whose memory is more recent.]

(more…)

This past Tuesday, I attended an event at Unilever Test Kitchen in New Jersey that enabled me to cook my own recipe using Ragu’s brand new pasta sauce. I met a bunch of mommy bloggers, which I thought was interesting, since I don’t have kids (or a husband) for that matter. But everyone was so friendly, which made it easier for me to feel comfortable!

The kind folks putting the event together asked me to send them a recipe so that they can prepare the ingredients. I was talking to my friend Sharon about what to make, and she suggested putting chorizo and pineapple in the pasta sauce. People seemed to really enjoy it, so I was happy. Thanks for the great suggestion!

(more…)

I was lucky enough to be invited to a tasting of Braeburn Restaurant’s fall menu. I love that all the food was not only seasonal, but local! Fall is my favorite season of all, and who wouldn’t want to be the first to try out a new menu? I enjoy these dinners because it gives me a chance to dine with a new group of people, which is always fun!

There were six people in total, and I was happy to see a familiar face- Grace of GraceNotesNYC! We were situated in a very cozy yet elegant private dining room downstairs, along with wine bottles adorning the walls.

Scrumuptious scallion biscuits

What we ate as our four-course meal, after the jump! =)

(more…)

A couple of weeks ago, Dan told me about a place called Mono+Mono, a Korean fried chicken place that allows you to enjoy fried chicken, mung bean pancakes while listening to original vinyl records. Intrigued by the idea, we stopped by on a Tuesday night, just three days after their grand opening at the Lower East Side Location.

We walked into an empty restaurant, with about 6 servers standing around. We saw a man with a ladder near the bar area, so it was clear that they were still fixing small things here and there. It was kind of empty at 6 pm, but we didn’t mind having the restaurant to ourselves. We saw a party of three walk in shortly after us.

It’s a nice space with high ceilings. One side has wooden walls while the other side is filled with rows and rows of vinyl records towering from ceiling to wall. The actual records rotate around the space, eventually ends at the player and gets heard. If you love jazz, this might be a great place to eat dinner and enjoy some music. It’s been a while since I’ve heard anything on vinyl, so it was refreshing for me to hear the unexpected scratchy notes and even the long pauses between the tracks.

Let’s get to the food- after all, that’s why you came, right?

(more…)