AzrihaEatsWorld | I eat. I drink. You look.

March 24, 2011

Birthday Cake from Momofuku

It was Meridian Man’s birthday, so Alpha and I decided to surprise him with a cake from Momofuku…the “Birthday Cake”. Yup…it’s called “Birthday Cake” 6″ for $38 bucks.

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Comes wrapped in a nice box.

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It looks like a bunch of ‘confetti cookies’ put together…maybe this is the reason why Momofuku ousted the confetti cookie?

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check out the layers…its like the leaning tower of piza.

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you can almost smell it can’t you?

MoMoFuku Birthday cake vs. MeridianMan (as you can see the big smile on his face, he was very happy…as he does love Momofuku cookies)

SAMURAI SLICE!

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Summation: the cake was good, but way too sweet for me…we were all bouncing off the office walls after we had this…there were like three spidermans in the office leaping off of all the cubicle dividers and furniture, it was like that episode of “the office” where they discovered free running AKA “Parkour”

Whatever the case, it was a good birthday shindig. woot!

March 21, 2011

Korean Tacos from Korilla

Korilla BBQ

<– locations vary daily, check website for schedule

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Well i had been hearing the buzz about this coming Korilla food truck for the longest time from not only the foodie community in nyc, but also fellow foodies from as far as Cali…so i had to check their website and spy when they’d be in my neck of the woods…and seeing as winter was setting in and NYC Craving’s truck was gonna go on sabbatical for the winter and to open a store location in ktown…decided i needed another truck for food fix… SO WHY NOT?!

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There truck is HUGE! they park up to the curb and there’s already a freaking line…service is pretty fast, and on those really cold days they let you order over the phone and you can just go pick it up cutting the whole line, WOO HOO!!!

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*note: the first two pics of the korilla truck are courtesy of the google gods. i did not take them.

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I was really hungry so i ordered two items. they were still nice and hot when i got them, WOOT!

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Ribeye of the Tiger Taco Set (Bulgogi, sticky rice, red kimchi, korilla sauce, mild korean hot sauce, shredded monterey jack cheese, tomato salsa, and red leaf lettuce. $7.00

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everything inside the taco itself was really good, it was just the tortilla that i didn’t like…it was too grainy…and its texture overtook the texture of the innards…which….made it displeasing to me.

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Alpha had brought it to my attention maybe i just don’t like tortilla’s made this way…cause i sure as heck didn’t enjoy this as much as i would have if it was just over some hot rice….but again, i must iterate the bulgogi was really really good.

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Porkinator Burrito (Pulled pork, bacon & kimchi fried rice[burrito only +$1], kimchi slaw, kBBQ sauce, shredded monterey jack cheese, tomato salsa, and red leaf lettuce) $8.00 total

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to me this was aite…nothing about it wow’d me…

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I honestly felt like this was just pretty much regular.

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Summation: ultimately i felt the food was aite, nothing about it really wow’d me. of course my second time around was MUCH better cause i got the Ribeye of the Tiger BURRITO…and it was sooooooo much better…i felt that was probably the best combination they have…

I’ve been meaning to try their other items on the menu, but it seems everywhere i look has a different menu, and Alpha has asked about the chompers, and they never have them, however, it would seem at other locations they do…not to mention it sometimes seems like their menu is always changing….

I’m fearful to try the chicken for fear of it being like a plain jane chicken burrito…also it seems like they’re always out of korean drinks too…*shrug…bummter….

I definitely look forward to trying more items…but admittedly, when NYC Cravings comes back online in March….they’ll be my weekly foodtruck fix again…

CHEERS!

March 17, 2011

Kolache Factory for my Birthday (^__^)

The Kolache Factory
PH: 713-523-5567

2045 Westheimer
Houston, Texas 77098

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on her way to a work a friend had told me about Kolaches…and ever since then i had been interested in trying them. Low and behold, she sent me a box of them from Texas. 0_o

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Of course that wasn’t the only thing she sent, got a neato calendar too and of course a box of Kolaches.

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With a lovely hand written message on it for yours truly, (thanks, you ass…)

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Summation: Kolaches are basically really good pastries that are normally filled or topped off with savory or sweet toppings/innards. I can actually say these were really good. It was a very pleasant surprise and my palate was quite happy.

I’d just pop 1 or 2 in the nuker and heat them up to perfection….sooo gooood….*droolz

THANKS MUCH! (^__^)

March 14, 2011

Pop Burger: Burger #5 out of 82 Burger Challenge

Pop Burger
PH: 212-991-6644

14 East 58th Street (between Madison Ave & 5th Ave)
New York, NY 10022

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Man i’m totally getting my butt kicked by a girl in this 82 Burger Challenge… hopefully she doesn’t read my eatsite no more…or even better she probably doesn’t remember what our bet was for/on in her old age.

Anyway, i was fiending for a burger and fries, and noticed that a few burger joints on the 82 notables was available on seamless…it was a pretty busy night…and Pop Burger seemed interesting…SO WHY NOT?!

(if you cannot figure out that the top pic is the front of the joint i ordered from and the bottom is the inside where you order, then you should just stop reading my site and never come back. oh yeah, i didn’t take these two pics. )

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Food took a while to get to me, guess it was a busy night, but atleast it was still warm. They package it pretty well and lots of condiments. woot!

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French Fries: $3.75

Pop Burgers: $8.00

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The fries were amazingly good. I mean they were $3.50 good…but not $3.75 good….. oh well. all in my mouf.

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Now for the main event…burgers looked GREAT! but definitely on the smaller side.

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Juicy succulent meat, sprinkle of lettuce on the bottom with special Pop Burger sauce, tomaters and cheeeeeese, how could one ever lose with this combo.

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yeah one of the burgers is about the size of my fist.

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CHOMP! special sauce is just thousand island dressing…I too can mix ketchup with mayo and add some pickle relish……… <– notice all those periods? it means something.

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Summation: AND THE WINNER OF POP BURGER!!?!?!? IS THE FRIES! yeah, the fries were pretty damn good…but kinda expensive…hell everything from this joint is expensive.

Don’t get me wrong, the burgers are good…pretty good…but not 8 dollars good. WHERE’S MY GOLD FLAKES?! oh wait…wrong burger joint.

CHEERS!

March 10, 2011

The Hunt for Tonkatsu

Suzu Sushi
PH: 212-310-0155

1075 First Avenue (between 58th & 59th Street)
New York, NY 10022

So i was still hunting for some good tonkatsu for a cheaper price…and low and behold my Manager decided to order from his favorite place to order from…and it was lunch special time, so i checked out the lunch special menu and GUESS WHAT?! TONKATSU LUNCH SPECIAL FOR $8.25!!!!! this, my friends, was a no brainer.

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Tonkatsu Lunch Bento (served with Miso Soup AND Salad, Rice, California Roll, and 1 Haru Maki (which is that spring roll lookign thing): let the feasting begin! that’s alot of food for that price in midtown mind you. $8.25

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As expected, its a lunch portion so not as big as the dinner portions i’ve been devouring. pretty nice amount of food still. good salad with japanese dressing mixed in already. the haru maki was pretty good. Salad with dressing was good. Tonkatsu was good, though kinda wished they didn’t slice it so thin. Sauce was kinda dark but luckily it wasn’t overly salty. Katsu was good and breading held on well.

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And you get a nice cali roll. Cali roll was fresh and good, Avocado wasn’t under-ripe or over-ripe. just perfect. and I love the wasabi from Suzu cause its always so strong…cleans out my air passages…i actually just eat the lump of wasabi by itself….

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Summation: total cost with tax and tip was $10 bucks. good portion, good amount of food, but i wouldn’t be happy with this for dinner…I’d want more KATSU! so for lunch fix, not so bad, so for lunch i would recommend…hmmm i wonder what their dinner portion for $11.50 (which also comes with soup AND salad and rice….hmmm maybe by the time you read this i will have already tried it….)

CHEERS!!!

March 7, 2011

Tonkatsu from Dai Hachi

Dai Hachi
PH: 212-888-8101

303 East 56th Street (between 2nd Ave & 1st Ave)
New York, NY 10022

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I had been fiending for some good tonkatsu and my ole stomping grounds just wasn’t cutting it. Ocha is good and cheap, but its just too thin, feel more like i’m eating pounded flat viener schnitzel. And Hakata Grill has it nice and thick, but the breading falls off easily, its kind of on the greasier side and let’s not forget it’s a whooping $22!!! So i looked on seamless web for Japanese restaurants that delivered to me and were also well priced. luckily one of the highest rated places was Dai Hachi…and they had a well priced tonkatsu…SO WHY NOT!?

food came quick and hot…just the way i like my women.

er i mean food.

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Tonkatsu meal comes with white rice, katsu cutlets, soup or salad, katsu sauce, and orange. $11.50

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Nice hot Miso soup, i liked their miso soup as it wasn’t overly salty, which has been known to be the case at a lot of Japanese places.

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the main event…the tonkatsu was thick, well breaded, and juicy!

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really great flavor, still some crispiness in it, and the breading wasn’t coming off! AND it didn’t look like it was hammered flat.

The katsu sauce was really good too, too many times have i eaten this at different places and it being too dark and shway overly salty.

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Summation: and they give you oranges as a nice little touch. It’s always the little things ain’t it? All in all i have not tried any other dishes from this place, but i must say I’m SOLD! the katsu is well portioned and great flavor. The price doesn’t bug me that much as the quality of the tonkatsu is well placed and cooked really well.

I’ll not only be having Katsu here again, but i’ll definitely be willing to try other shtuff. WOOT!

(of course i should mention with tax and tip added it came out to $14.52….)

CHEERS!

February 28, 2011

Quest for Grasshopper Tacos @ Toloache

Toloache Bistro Mexicano
PH: 212-581-1818

251 West 50th Street
New York, NY 10019

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So Bridget Rhee had been telling me about this Grasshopper Taco joint, and i had always been curious to try it, so finally our schedules lined up and we decided to meet up and eat up! (not to mention this place had other items on their menu that seemed quite interesting to try.)

But let me cut to the chase so you don’t have to read through or not read through…they had run out of grasshopper tacos, our waitress informed us that every ones been ordering them and they’re all out..sigh…was quite disappointed in finding this out…

*excuse the bad pics of food as it was pretty dark in the restaurant.

The Food:

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Trio Guacamoles (comes with 3 kinds of guacamole and a nice almost liquified salsa): $21.00

Traditional
(Mild Spicy: avocado, tomato, onion, cilantro and serrano)

Frutas
(Medium Spicy: Avocado, pomegranate, vidalia onion, mango, apple, peach, habanero, and Thai basil)

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These were the tortilla chips that came with it, nice and hearty, a good crunch to it. All of the guacs and salsa were really good and tasty. i definitely recommend getting this.

Rojo
(Spicy: Avocado, tomato, red onion, chipotle, and queso fresco)

Salsa
(their house salsa, puréed to almost liquid)

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Then the rest of our food came out rather quickly, LET THE FEASTING BEGIN!!!

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Cactus Fries: lightly breaded cactus slices that are nicely fried. I felt these were ok, and kinda not my thing…it really felt like i was just eating cactus that i ripped off a cactus and de-thorned…some pieces felt uncooked. You can definitely try it for the experience, but i will most likely not be getting this again. $6.00
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Avocado Fries: Lighty breaded with a sprinkle of bonito and deep fried served with a nice ketchup mixed with a liquified chutney sauce. I thought these were really good and had been looking forward to try this…crispy outside with warm avocado innards…i did not thing this possible…sooo goood! $9.00

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Hamachi (yellowtail, Meyer lemon, cucumber, Huichol salsa, crispy avocado): this was actually pretty good, not the best ceviche i’ve had (morimoto) but it was decent. the drops of huichol salsa was not enough to offset the strong Meyer lemon, and the presence of the cucumber did little to solve this issue. i think with an extra drop or two of the salsa would have helped alot. $14.00
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Langosta (Spicy lobster tacos, morita salsa, and avocado): These tacos were pretty good…they were spicy but nothing a noob couldn’t handle. They purposely didn’t cool the lobster all the way through so it was just a little raw on the inside leaving a real nice sweetness that was accented well with the avocado and salsa. Though i don’t like cornflower tortillas, I do recommend these. $17.00

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Quesadilla de Huitlacoche y Trufas (manchego cheese, corn, black truffle, and huitlacoche salsa): this was one of the dishes, aside from the grasshopper tacos that i really wanted to try. WHY? Manchego cheese is actually aged cheese (atleast 60 days and up to 2 years!), but that’s not what really caught my attention, what caught my attention was the huitlacoche (aka corn smut) salsa, which is made from diseased corn infected with a fungus. YES YOU READ THAT RIGHT! and believe you me, that was the best tasting diseased corn fungus i’ve ever had…of course the black truffles and manchego cheese didn’t hurt in the mix. There was a nice woodsy earthly flavor to it that was just accented real well by the creaminess of the cheese and drips of evoo. though the ingredients look minimal they melded really well together and offset the somewhat pungent, not in odor, but in flavor corn fungus. $14.00

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Summation: Definitely a pricey place, but the food is actually pretty good…i actually look forward to going back to finally getting some grasshopper tacos.

However, be forewarned, it is a somewhat nice decor for a date, but we went on a thursday night and it was really loud…couldn’t really get in a decent conversation…definitely not the place for a first date or first time meeting people. Other than that, the place is gorgeous inside. Service pretty friendly.

I recommend the place, but its not necessarily a MUST GO.

CHEERS!

February 21, 2011

5 restaurants, 7 kinds of dumplings, and one run.

Azriha’s Dumpling Run

Lord knows i’ve taken so many Fat Nation Members on my dumpling run and enough people have asked, so here it is! A MAP of my Dumpling run, ENJOY! (click on map for printable map with addresses)

1 Chinese Korean

2 Sifu Chio

3 White Bear

4 Taste of Shanghai

5 Nan Xiang

In the end it is five restaurants, however, there’s actually 17 different types of dumplings you can choose from, but i don’t want to kill the people i’m bringing around for the dumplings. But if you have time i do recommend exploring each of these places, as each of the five restaurants does have other really good food/interesting items.

February 17, 2011

Return to John’s Shanghai

John’s Shanghai
PH: 212-391-0888

144 West 46th Street
New York, NY 10036

Wow, its been almost over 2 years since last i’ve eaten here. I was fiending for some siu loung bao at work, and this is the only place that i felt delivers them good…so i had to go for it…as would only be able to get to my favorite place a week later…so had to get some now!!!

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the bag came nice and hot, which translates to the food being hot…i also got a little something extra to try out.

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Szechuan Dumplings with Hot Oil – oh man, these were surprisingly good…for some reason they kept hitting the nostalgia button and reminded me of those street vendors that sell really good rice rolls…$5.95

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these are on the spicier side, so its not for those that can’t handle the spice, but to me it was really really good.

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I highly recommend this appetizer if you get the chance to eat at this joint or run the take out gauntlet. woot!

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Crab Meat with Pork Steamed Juice Buns – man these were still hot, and totally hit the spot. filled up with yummy soup, i in the end had to drink the tasty soup from the container. =P it was really good…really good for take out that is. $8.95

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The crab meat was lacking in quantity, but the flavor was pretty good. Again this is the best soup dumplings i’ve had in midtown…way better than joe’s in midtown. man the warm soup inside really hit the spot.

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Summation: my review of two years ago still stands…this place is great for some szechuan eats, and i really look forward to trying other dishes from this place. CHEERS!

February 16, 2011

The Side Door @ Beacon Restaurant and Bar

Beacon Restaurant & Bar
PH: 212-332-0500

25 West 56th Street
New York, NY 10019

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Well if you look in the top picture you’ll notice a side door of Beacon’s open…and at first i paid it no mind, as i just thought they were taking the garbage out, but as i walked by i noticed…that don’t look like garbage…and there was a scrolling of a menu of some sort…so back at the office i asked the google god’s what manner of door was this portal to? and sure enough, and oddly enough my little sister’s blog came up (linkage) and i just had to try this side door operation.

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which is literally the side door and selling some of their foods on the fly for cheap! or until they run out at least. checking the prices, it was pretty cheap, ESPECIALLY since we’re talking midtown here…so WHY NOT!?

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My co-worker had become intrigued as well and wanted to partake in this consumption of side door food shtuff. We got one order hotdog, one order burger! LET THE FEASTING COMMENCE!!! (with every order you get chips and a drink)

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Mr. Pink’s Double Dog – Two All – Beef Franks grilled to perfection, 100% beef hot dogs with parmesan, grilled onions, po-boy roll, and sweet pepper relish. I did not partake in this but from what i heard, it was aite, nothing spectacular. $10.00

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Beacon’s Famous Wood Grilled Burger – With or without american cheese (i got it with), aged sirloin, grilled tomato, red onion, B&B pickles served on a grilled onion roll. It was actually pretty good! but not as good as the 18 dollar burger…which is good and bad and whatever. $10.00

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you can see the thin onion ring cooked into the roll…pretty neat.

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tasty juicy meat, good cheese…all in all pretty freaking good burger.

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Summation: Now admittedly 10 bucks for a burger is alot, but it comes with chips and a HUGE TIGER TEA (or choice of beverage) to placate those that would complain as such. The tiger tea was really good and i highly recommend it. Alas they only do this in the summer time, which kind of makes sense…and i definitely look forward to eating this burger again and trying the two dogs. (though…for the dogs…yeah…maybe a little too pricey…) but i’ll let you know if i have a mouthgasm from these 2 100% beef franks.

CHEERS!!!