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NYC Restaurant Week is coming up. Hurry up and get your tables now.
Month: <span>January 2015</span>
We went to Batard the day after the “faux” snow storm Juno, it was freezing cold outside. We opened the door to a very warm welcoming place. Wood floors, faint yellow walls, chandelier, it is very formal, elegant, refined. It was 7pm, dinning room was half full. Dinners seems to be more sophisticated, more of a country club crowd, whispering conversation. We sat down in the deep corner of the dinning room. From we sat, we could get a glimpse of the kitchen’s ceiling. If the kitchen and dinning room is actually separated by glass instead of a wall, so the action in the kitchen is in full display, it would make me so happy.
The first thing that Batard did made us happy is warm bread. We were each offered a poppy seed roll and a olive french baguette. The olive baguettes smelled so good. Both crunchy on outside and soft spongy inside, serve with creamy whipped butter, most importantly, warm!
My co-conspirator ordered a cocktail. The server sat the cocktail down on the table with a coaster, what is unique about it was that the coaster was printed with the cocktail’s name and it’s ingredient. Very smart and detail. The menu breaks down to 8 appetizers, 9 entrees, 4 desserts and a cheese cart to choose from. We both chose 3 course menu opting out of cheese.
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OCTOPUS “PASTRAMI”
braised ham hock, pommery mustard, new potatoes
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RED SNAPPER
mandaarinquat, grilled squid, fennel
We were a little disappointed when we didn’t see sweetbread on the menu, since we heard so many good things about it. We had the Octopus Pastrami, and Red Snapper for appetizers. Octopus legs were pressed into a brick form, with chunks of ham hock, dressed with an excellent whole grain mustard. Octopus was not as good as the one at 15 East, but still very tender and good pair with the mustard. Red snapper was sweet. Mandarinquat not only added acid and brought out the sweetness of snapper, also added color to the dish. However, the olive oil was a little too much that almost covered. The celery was a little bitter, I would prefer it to be apple or maybe asian pear. But the little bits of squid was amazingly good.
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DUCK BREAST
foreleg pear, mushroom crêpe, duck liver mousse
Duck was beautifully cook. Perfectly medium rare, tender and juicy. There is a spring roll like mushroom crepe. Very moist and well season, although I wish the crepe would be a little crispier. I absolutely love the pear, so sweet and fresh; and the duck liver mousse was just as good as it could be. The only thing the didn’t fit in this plate was the matcha like green power underneath the duck liver mousse. I couldn’t make out what it was. It was powder like, green breadcrumbs but have absolutely no taste.
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VEAL TENDERLOIN
“tramezzini,” trumpet mushrooms, sweetbreads, sauce diable
It is a veal medallion wrapped in a pastry like golden crust. It had the crunch I expected. But I would like my veal a little more red. The trumpet mushrooms gave the dish a different texture.
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CARAMELIZED MILK BREAD
blueberries, brown butter ice cream
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ARBORIO RICE PUDDING
preserved raspberries, earl grey-milk ice cream
Desserts were good, not too sweet, I have heard a lot of good things about this caramelized milk bread. It was very good, very fluffy, but the caramelized sugar coat might have been a little too much. For us, this milk bread is something can be easily acquired at a Japanese bakery, and there were places that we have had better, so we were a little confused why so many people were head over heels about it. Nevertheless, everything we had was great and elegantly presented. And for its reasonable price tag, we’ll be back. (Jan, 2015)
For a successful hot pot, the soup base is everything. The most simple Chinese hot pot would be just chicken/ beef stock. But there are so much more than chicken stock out there, there are Sichuan pepper, Chongqing Ma La, Manchurian, herbs, etc. Thai’s offers a chili, lime dipping sauce which makes even more spicy. There are places use milk as soup base, and of course we have visited “Hakata” style. Here, I want to introduce to you Vietnamese vinegar hot pot – Nhung Dam.
I first encountered Nhung Dam in Las Vegas, at Pho SO 1, an authentic vietnamese restaurant off the strip, in a strip mall on Spring Mountain Road. Nhung Dam is actually part of the traditional vietnamese meal Bo 7 Mon (Beef 7 courses). Out of the 7 courses, I like Nhung Dam the best. It is so simple, yet so good. The vinegar broth has lemongrass, onion, garlic and of course vinegar in it (some places also add coconut water). Heated by a portable stove, along side with it are: slice of raw beef (or your choice of meat), a small mountain of vegetables (lettuce, cucumber, carrots, basil), a plate full of rice noodles, rice paper, a hot bowl of water, and a dipping sauce. We would cook our meat to our desire temperature, and wet the rice paper till it is soft, add meat, veggies, noodles, and roll it as if we are making out own summer roll, then dip it in the sauce. Because the broth is mostly vinegar, it reduced the oil of the meat and added flavor, and lemongrass added aroma. But, the star is actually the dipping sauce. This is not your typical soy sauce, spicy sauce mixed. It is called Mam Nem, a very popular dipping sauce in vietnamese cuisine. It is a mix of pineapples, chili peppers, lime juice, lemongrass, vinegar, fish sauce, and anchovy sauce. It is sweet, sour, fresh, spicy and salty all at the same time, just thinking about it, makes my mouth watery. I dare to say this is the best dipping sauce of all. This is the star of Nhung Dam. The sauce is so good, I want to bottle it up and bring it home. Every time I go to Vegas, this dish is a must have for me.
As fun as Vegas is, it is still a long flight away. After some searching, I found a place near Boston that serves Nhung Dam with fish, and I love it even more than beef.
Anh Hong, is actually located in Dorchester, MA, south of Boston, a town with rising population of Vietnamese. The place is on a street corner in a residential area. Bo 7 Mon is advertised in neon light on the store window. Ca 7 Mon is on the first page, for only $32.95/ 2 pp, I didn’t need to take another look at the menu.
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Goi Ca
Anh Hong Special Fish Salad, a mixed of pickle vegetables with already cooked fish, sprinkle with peanuts. Very light and simple
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Ca Nhung Dam
Fish Fondue with Special Vinegar Sauce. Big slices of founder, although beef is the more traditional, fish is lighter and just as good. Unfortunately, the sauce here didn’t employed pineapples, but it was still very good. I was a little disappointed. I love pineapples.
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Cha Dam, Mo Chai, La Loi
I called this fish ball trio. We have a giant fish ball, grill fish sausage, and fish wrapped in Hawaiian “Loi” leaf. All grilled to perfection.
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Noung Ca– Gilled Fish with Butter.
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Chao Fish– Special Fish congee
This fish 7 courses offers enormous amount of food. We honestly could not possibly finish all of it. So we finished those we can’t take home. We tracked down the hot pot, grill fish, fish salad and the congee. All were delicious and satisfying. And the fish ball trio, we enjoyed it the next day.
There are a lot of vietnamese restaurants in NYC, but during my search, ti only found a couple places in NYC that have the dish. I asked some of the vietnamese restaurant owners, why won’t everyone put this amazing course or hot pot on their menu. They all said that, it requires a lot of work, with little profit margin. I guess i’ll just have to take a long drive, or even a longer flight.
Pho So 1 | 4745 Spring Mountain Rd, Las Vegas, NV | Jan, 2015
Anh Hong | 291 Adams St, Dorchester, MA | Jan, 2015
On a cold winter day like today, nothing is more comforting than sitting in front of a hot pot with friends and family. You are warm, there is soup; there is meat and vegetables; you can put anything in there you want; you can pick your own sauce. The only thing I would complain about hot pot is the amount of dishes I have to do afterwards. I’m not a fan of dishwasher, and against paper/ plastic-wares. So my solution to that is to eat out. There are a lot of Chinese hot pot places we can go to in the city, some of the best ones are in Queens, but I am recommending 2 hotpot places that are not Chinese.
The first one is right in the city. It has been around for quite some years now. Over the years, we have been back again and again, and the quality is very consistent. 
Hakata Tonton, a little hole-in-the-wall place in the village, serving hotpot Japanese style year around. This is not a regular shabu-shabu place, in fact, it has nothing to do with beef, but everything to do with pork- The logo of the the place is a pig’s nose, and the front cover of the menu stated “I heart pork”!!! Hakata is a town in Fukuoka, known for their rich pork broth ramen. Hakata Tonton utilizes that broth and turn it into hot pot soup base. Yes, that rich, white creamy soup that is so good, you can drink it by itself.
All the hot pots are half cook before it is brought to the table. It will keep boiling down with the help of a little stove, and keep it hot while you enjoy it.
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HAKATA TONTON Hot Pot (min. 2 orders)$13
A specialty of Hakata, Japan. Collagen broth, tofu, dumplings, vegetables, berkshire pork belly and tonsoku
The namesake hot pot comes with tofu, homemade pork dumplings, veggies, pork belly and tonsoku. You can order additional sides if you don’t have enough. But the portions are petty generous. And if that is still not enough, with an extra $4, you can choose to add ramen or rice to the pot, to make full use of that tasty, cooked down broth. There are 4 kinds of hot pots, and occasionally, there is a fourth broth which is in red. Honestly, there are no bad choice here, just pick one, sit back, and watch it bubbling down into a delightful, comforting bowl that warms your heart.
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Shabu Shabu Hot Pot ( min. 2 orders) $17
Collagen broth, vegetables, thin sliced Berkshire pork sirloin and pork belly
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Grill Pork Tonsoku with scallion and ponzu sauce
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Grill Pork Tonsoku with spicy garlic sauce
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Sauteed Pork Tongue w/scallions
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Foie Gras Inari Sushi
However, the hot pot is not the only star at Hakata Tonton. The Tonsoku is the true lead. Before diving into the hotpot, we tried the speciality tonsoku, with scallion and ponzu sauce and spicy garlic sauce. Both are absolutely delicious. I recommend to ditch your manner and eat it with your fingers, and suck every tiny bit of meat out. If you want less messy and more meat, go with the sauteed pork tongue. We also couldn’t help ourselves but ordered the foie gras sushi. Yes, the sauce was a little excessive, and it is a little sweet, but it is only $5 a piece. And since I am indulging myself, the soba crème brulee with black sesame ice cream is great note to end the night.
*Note: Hakata Tonton is a very cozy place, reservation is strongly recommended.