Writing With My Mouth Full

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    • XO Cafe & Grill

      96 Walker Street on Centre
      212/343-8625
      about $20 for two, without drinks, without tip

      If you only have $5 to spare, XO’s congee is pretty good. I order my usual favorites: sliced pork or fish.

      With decent congee on the menu, I don’t know why they try to westernize everything else. XO is probably the only place in Chinatown that serves spaghetti as an alternative to rice. Their rice dishes are only good when you’re in a drunken stupor and they will definitely make you wonder why you ordered them in the first place after several hours.

      Everything comes in some kind of thick brown sauce that reminds me of a poor man’s stew, cornstarch and soy sauce galore. But at least they’re civilized enough to be served with two stalks of green vegetables.

    • Chick Peas and Broccoli Salad

      Adapted from an Everyday Food recipe using cannellini beans

      Ingredients:
      1 can of chick peas, drained and rinsed
      1 head of broccoli, cut into florets and blanched
      1 seedless orange, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces
      2 ribs of celery, thinly sliced
      3 scallions, thinly sliced
      1 tsp rosemary, chopped
      2 tbsps red-wine vinegar
      1 cup of plain low-fat yogurt
      salt and pepper

      1. In a medium bowl, combine vinegar, yogurt and rosemary. Add the rest of the ingredients and toss. Season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate before serving.

    • Chicken Breasts with Pepper-Potato Ragout

      Adapted from Everyday Food

      Ingredients:
      3 pieces of chicken boneless chicken breasts
      2 red bell peppers, julienned
      1 big red onion, cut in one-inch pieces
      half a pint of grape tomatoes, halved
      a handful of red potatoes, quartered
      1 tbsp fresh rosemary leaves
      half a cup of parsley leaves
      salt, pepper, olive oil

      1. Rub chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a deep skillet over medium-heat. Cook chicken until brown on both sides, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
      2. Add onions, rosemary, peppers and potatoes to the remaining oil and toss until potatoes are a little brown while scraping off the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Add half a cup of water and simmer until potatoes are half-cooked, about 10 minutes.
      3. Return chicken to skillet and add tomatoes. Cover skillet and cook potatoes another 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Turn off the heat and stir in parsley.

    • Kang Suh

      1250 Broadway on 31st Street
      212/564-6845
      about $60 for two, with two drinks, without tip

      Manhattan’s Koreatown pales in comparison with the one in Flushing, Queens and it certainly is embarrassing compared to the one in Los Angeles. Kang Suh is one of the more established restaurants on 31st Street between Broadway and Fifth or Koreablock. It’s also one of the restaurants I choose from when I’m with a group of friends who want barbeque. Kalbi or beef ribs are expensive in Manhattan and Korean restaurants, Kang Suh included, charge so much for so little meat but we tend to forget that we’re being ripped off after a few bottles of OB and at least an hour’s worth of barbeque smell in our clothes.


      Kang Suh’s pan chan or side dishes include kimchi, anchovies and spinach

      What I usually go for at Kang Suh however is their yuk kae jang, a spicy beef broth soup with bean sprouts and green onions served with noodles and rice. It’s enough to clear your sinus and make you forget that it’s winter outside.

      The boy likes their daegoo muhri tang, or codfish soup also served with a bunch of vegetables and sometimes with clams and shrimps.

    • Karahi

      508 Broome Street between West Broadway and Thompson
      212/965-1515
      about $25 for two for lunch, with two drinks, without tip

      I always come to Karahi when I’m in the mood for more than one helping of chana saag (creamed spinach with chick peas) and tandori chicken and lamb vindaloo and aloo gobhi (cauliflower and potatoes). Not to mention kheer, their rice pudding flavored with fragrant cardamom and pistachios.

      Karahi’s buffet costs about $8.95 a person which is pretty standard for SoHo lunches but if you can eat like me, it’s a steal. The restaurant caters to the neighborhood during the day and their dishes are consistently delicious. They know not to make them spicy without sacrificing the most important Indian flavors so that we can all go back to our offices and work for five more hours. There are work days that call for a long, heavy, Indian buffet-style lunch and then there are days that call for a lazy afternoon with a full stomach.

      Update, August 2006:
      Karahi has moved to 118 Christopher Street but still has the same phone number.

    • Congee Village Restaurant & Bar

      100 Allen Street between Delancey and Broome
      212/941-1818
      about $25 for two, without drinks, without tip

      When I’m craving congee, I usually run to Congee Village for their $3 hot bowls, either served with pork, chicken, duck, fish, hundred-year-old egg or a combination of all of them. Congee is a type of rice porridge cooked the Chinese way, slowly and with water until the rice has a thicker consistency. It’s comfort food and it reminds Filipinos of their own version, arroz caldo.


      Congee with hot chili oil

      Congee Village also carries a lot of Chinese food outside their congee selections. I usually order the sautéed lotus root served in bean paste sauce or the assorted vegetables cooked Buddhist style to match. If you like hot pots, their casserole with salted fish is excellent. But skip on these soupy buns.

      They’re always stuck on the wooden bowl, they rip apart when you pick them up and you’re left with soupless buns. Get them at Joe’s Ginger instead.

    • Where to eat in Chicago: Charlie Trotter’s

      We were an hour late for our dinner at Charlie Trotter’s because it started to snow and cabs were hard to come by. The staff nonetheless was very accommodating and seated us with no problems when we finally arrived. They served us champagne to let us unwind while they prepared us our dinner.

      The grand menu was a four-course dinner plus two courses of desserts. Out of everything we ate, the scallops stood out, served with a crab claw and an oyster. The boy cleaned up all his dessert plates while I struggled to finish the very decadent bison and veal cheeks, served with white truffles.

      All the matching wines were notable. Needless to say, we didn’t make it out to listen to some house music after dinner.

    • Chicken with Artichokes

      Adapted from Everyday Food

      Ingredients:
      boneless, skinless chicken breast, pounded and flattened
      1 can of artichokes packed in water
      sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil
      3 stalks scallions, finely chopped
      3 garlic cloves, minced
      1 cup of flour, sifted
      olive oil, salt and pepper

      1. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Coat chicken with flour and shake off excess. Fry until golden brown and cooked through on both sides in a medium skillet with hot oil. Remove.
      2. In the same skillet, heat more oil if needed. Sauté garlic, scallions, sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes. Add 1/2 cup of water and bring to a boil. Cook until vegetables are heated through and sauce has reduced slightly. Add salt and pepper to taste and spoon over chicken.

    • Roasted Turkey

      Adapted from memory

      Ingredients:
      For the turkey rub:
      1 large onion, finely chopped
      4 garlic cloves, crushed
      3 stalks of scallions, chopped
      2 tbsps oregano
      2 tbsps coriander
      2 tbsps paprika
      salt and pepper to taste

      1 frozen turkey, thawed for at least eight hours outside the fridge
      1 apple, cored and diced
      1 peach, diced
      1 lemon, sliced
      1 small box of raisins

      1. Combine all rub ingredients and purée in a blender. Pour into saucepan and simmer, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes. Cool and set aside while turkey is thawing.
      2. When ready to roast, preheat oven to 350º. Wash turkey and dry with paper towel. Empty the carcass and stuffed with the fruits, lemon and raisins. Bathe the turkey with the rub. Wrap turkey with aluminum foil and set on a roasting pan.
      3. Roast for at least six hours, carefully turning the bird during the last hour of cooking. For an extra 30 minutes, open the foil and raise oven temperature to 375º to brown the skin. Remove from oven and let the turkey rest, loosely covered, before carving.

    • Coconut Shrimp Soup

      Adapted from Everyday Food

      Ingredients:
      1/2 pound shrimps, peeled, deveined
      a handful of angel hair pasta
      1 can coconut milk
      1 medium carrot, peeled, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
      2 garlic cloves, minced
      2 tbsps ginger, minced
      2 stalks scallions, finely chopped
      fresh lime juice
      pepper flakes
      salt, pepper, oil

      1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add garlic, ginger and pepper flakes. Cook until golden and fragrant, about 1 minute. Add carrots, coconut milk and 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil.
      2. Break pasta in half and add to pot. Return to boil and then simmer until pasta is al dente and carrots are tender.
      3. Add shrimps and stir until opaque. Remove pot from heat. Stir in lime juice and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve in bowls and garnish with scallions.

    • Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Apple

      Adapted from Everyday Food

      Ingredients:
      6 slices of bacon
      2 pints Brussels sprouts, ends trimmed, halved
      1 apple, cored, cut into 1/4-inch slices and halved crosswise
      2 tbsps red wine vinegar
      salt and pepper

      1. Preheat oven to 425º. Arrange bacon in a single layer on a large baking pan. Bake until browned, about 10 minutes. Add Brussels sprouts in a single layer. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for another 15 minutes. Add apple in another layer. Roast for another 10 minutes or until apples are soft.
      2. Remove from oven and put into a salad bowl. Separate bacon pieces and chop into smaller pieces. Toss back in the bowl with sprouts and apples and vinegar.

    • Upstairs at Bouley

      130 West Broadway on Duane
      212/219-1011
      $250 for three, with several drinks, with tip

      If there’s one New York City chef I’m not familiar with, it would be David Bouley. Four years ago, the boy surprised me by making reservations at Bouley Bakery (now back to its original Bouley name). But it was a hundred-degree summer day and because I didn’t know he made plans, I met him wearing flip flops. We had to cancel then and we just never revisited.

      Turn the calendar to 2005 and Bouley opens Upstairs across the street, a packed space that offers sushi right above his café and bakery. I didn’t do my homework before I met a client here and while in a cab from work I thought, I could use a nice steak today. As soon as I sat down and read through the menu, I exclaimed, I guess I’m eating sushi tonight!

      For our sushi, we had a feast and ordered several pieces of uni and otoro (like buttah, baby, buttah!), hamachi, shad and mackerel. For our small plates, we shared a delicate bowl of Japanese tofu with mushrooms in truffle dressing and a very nice serving of monkfish liver, all while we were swimming in their delightful grapefruit sake martinis.

      Other reviews claim that when the chef is not in the premises, the service tends to be frustrating. I was in the middle of our second sushi plate, happily drunk and satisfied, when I turned around and saw the handsome man with salt and pepper hair behind the open kitchen counter. It’s David Bouley himself and maybe that’s why our waiter was very attentive. But chef or no chef present, sushi should always mean fresh fish. Upstairs surely provided them.