Vy Eats in NYC

What a weekend. Shopping and eating and walking and a musical! Gorgeous weather throughout, save for a few showers and a flash storm on Friday.

We start Friday with lunch at Ippudo Westside. 

Pork buns - so delicious. Messy, but worth it. The pork is just so tender.

My Shiromaru Hakata Classic ramen - I don't know how they do it, but their broth is always so flavorful without being oily.

Shigureni - pull apart pork that I always get on the side. I love this pork.

Wei's Akamaru Modern with egg.

 Tai's Karaka-men with extra chashu.

 Rosa's Karaka-men with egg.

Jessica's Karaka-men.











Ippudo is always delicious. Seriously. I always want to try other places, but I also want to drown myself in their broth. So...we always go back.

After lunch, it was off to Woodbury Commons Outlet. Where if you're not careful, old Asian people will run you over with their suitcases or strollers. Luckily for us, it was not so crowded this year. Unluckily for us, it rained a little bit.

A snack in between shopping.











For dinner, we went to Kang Ho Dang Baekjong in Flushing. We found this place last time because they're open late, which is necessary, as we sometimes get back from the outlets around 10 or 11. This year, we were back in NYC by 9.

The table when we sat. The grill is in the center, with egg, corn and cheese, and peppers and onions around the perimeter. Various ban chan dishes and lettuce and salads are also available. As are dipping sauces.

Closer view of the grill. The egg and the corn and cheese are delicious.

Beef tongue on the grill.

Another beef (maybe ribeye?).

A tofu stew.

Kimchi tofu stew.

Another meat.

Pork belly.

Another pork.

 Short rib.

 Yogurt soju in a gold teapot.











Sooo much food. I think I missed a couple as well, because there was definitely another pork somewhere. And they kept refilling the egg and corn.

The one thing here is that the server cooks your meat. So food was being cooked pretty quickly, which is great when you're hungry. Not so great when you're beyond stuffed. Also, the atmosphere is interesting. Fun and loud, but sometimes they turn the lights off and blast music, which is not for everyone (ie. me). But I really enjoy the food here.

Saturday started with lunch at Pokeworks. Similar to the movement that is gaining traction in many places, here at Pokeworks, you can pick a protein, flavors, and toppings.

Our bowls.

My Hawaiian classic as a salad. It was a bit plain. I probably should have picked a different flavor of tuna.

Tai's rice bowl with wasabi aioli, topped with seaweed salad, ginger, mango, and tobiko.

Overall not bad. But I wish that the fish were of better quality and that the flavors were more prominent. The place is small though, with seating for 5 at a bar. 

After lunch, Tai and I split up from the rest to see Les Misérables. We then Ubered over to Clawdaddy's for dinner. Clawdaddy's is a no-frills kind of place, where the servers are clad in plaid shirts and jeans and sneakers.

Oysters.

Grilled clams - chewy. Super chewy. I assume oysters work better.

My lobster roll with salad - do not order a lobster roll here if you're used to New England lobster rolls. Seriously, don't do it. This one had chopped mushroom, and that was all I could taste.

Jessica's dungeness crab.

 I think this is tai's king crab legs.

Harry's king crab and shrimp.

 Wei's king crab.

 Rosa's dungeness crab.

 Crawfish.











I'm not sure what it is with NYC and super loud music in restaurants, but I'm guessing it's a thing. Clawdaddy's is okay overall, a bit slow in the service. They also ran out of dungeness crab as well as strawberry basil iced tea. Odd to run out of things at 7pm on a Saturday evening.

As full as we were, we had been planning on checking out the night market in Flushing.

 I got dessert :).

 Tai got corn.



















Definitely a lot of food options, and many are probably hit or miss. I'd like to have some room to try more than one thing though.

Ah Sunday. Our final day. We went to Mitsuwa, which is a Japanese supermarket with a food court.

Jessica and I both got the crab egg on rice. This is so good, but so filling.

 Harry's hamburg set with fried rice.

 Wei's mayo shrimp with egg on rice.

 Tai's shrimp tempura bowl.

 Rosa's everything tempura bowl.











I wish we had a Mitsuwa. I love coming here. The food court is crazy though, and you definitely spend a bit of time waiting/searching for a table.

After a quick stop in NYC for fruit from Chinatown, we were on our way back. Which then leads to the question of what to eat for dinner.

From one Chinatown to another, I guess, for a quick dinner at New Golden Gate.

Clam with glass noodles.

Sweet and sour pork.

 Pork with vegetables.

Fried fishy thing.











And onto laundry and work and real life. :( Until next year, New York.

BONUS:

Sweets at Kai's inside Mitsuwa.

 Bao stall at the night market.

Adult Capri suns at Clawdaddy's.

Street fair in NYC.

 Les Mis!

 Trunk full of shopping bags after Woodbury.

Crossing the George Washington bridge.

Wings and Things

This weekend was a pretty low-key one. Saturday evening, I had dinner with my family at Yong Yong in Malden. We did hot pot and sushi buffet.

Things I liked:
- food came out quickly
- they did not skimp on portions like many other all you can eat places
- the quality of the food was really good

Things I didn't like:
- spacey waitress (seriously, she brought out my wine bottle but forgot to open it.)
- not many broth options
- only one type of beef available

Not a bad place for all you can eat though.

Sunday for lunch, Tai and I went to Blue Asia Cafe in Allston, mostly because he had been wanting shaved ice.

Tai's salt and pepper fried chicken and fried basil over rice.

My stewed beef noodle soup - the meat is so perfect.

House shaved ice - you need more than two people for this. Well, more than a Vy and a Tai.










For dinner, we met up with Edmund at Assembly in Quincy. This place is surprisingly really busy after work on weekdays, so weekends are a better bet. Drinks can be hit or miss, as can the food. I'd suggest sticking to the bar fare.

Cajun wings - cooked well with a good amount of cajun seasoning, but where's my ranch?

Mussels in white wine sauce - salty. Very salty. The garlic bread was a nice touch.

Crispy fish tacos - huge portion! I would have liked something, sour cream or salsa or guac. But it wasn't bad.

Edmund's scrod, I think.











I think Assembly gets it like 2/3 right (sometimes 3/4) and then flubs the rest. I don't quite understand, but it seems to work for them - they're always busy when I go. The portions are generous though, so there's that, at least.