We visited Jewel Bako after Chef Kousaka’s departure, sadly, we were not impressed. May be the year-new chef still need time to break in, or other things still need to gel. But we can say with a definitive tone that, we like Jewel Bako better when Chef Kousaka was behind the counter. That is not a fair statement, I know, but we miss Chef Kousaka. So late last month, we headed west to Kosaka.
Category: <span>Japanese/ Sushi</span>
Marumi, the first sushi place in New York I fall in love with. It begins when I was a fresh grad who have no money, bold enough to sold my car and move to New York City with no job prospect in sight. I would work 20 hours a day, have only a plain bagel with no cream cheese for lunch (well, cream cheese cost extra $0.50 at the time). Drowning myself in cheap coffee and smoke way too much to keep myself awake and not feel the hunger.
It wasn’t until my second Christmas in New York that I felt I can live here, not only survive. It was that winter, a friend invited me to a birthday dinner at Marumi. Right there, it was love at first bite. A favorite was discovered. That was 2002. It’s been almost 15 years now, and I consider myself a loyal regular at Marumi.
Facebook, snap chat, Instagram, Pinterest, twitter…. How many does one need? Social media certainly change the way we live. Not only has it changed the way we communicate (or not communicating) to each other, also change the way we view the world. Nowadays, we get our latest news from twitter; express (or stalk) our concern to our love ones on Facebook; share everything from vacation pictures, cats video to what we had for lunch on yelp, Instagram and snap chat. I admit, I am one of these people, other than all the articles that I can read from authoritative “food” news outlets, I occasionally read reviews from yelp, but definitely check out the pictures from Instagram. Yes, they are not all trustworthy, and sometime the pictures can be deceiving or it doesn’t do the place any justice. Either way, I found myself checking out other people’s food journeys more than I should. But sometimes, it pays off. We would found places off the hidden path, and sometimes, I would got lured in by the pictures. Sushi DaiZen is one of the places I’m got drawn in by the power of social media.
Don’t remember when but ramen seems to have invaded the NYC dining scene. It wasn’t a thing before Momofuku. I remember a time when Rai Rai Ken seemingly the city’s only option, and I would have to cross the river to Mitsuwa to get a decent bowl. Thanks to David Cheung, all the sudden, NYers are obsessed. Nowadays, there is always a line outside of Ippudo; Momofuku became an empire; everyone is making ramen. The Japanese slurping culture became a trend here, a hip thing to do. Ramen places keep popping up all over the city. Minca, Mr Taka are among my favorites, to name a few. And now the Iron Chef decided he can make ramen too. Well, not exactly that he is “making” ramen. Morimoto team up with Sun noodle (US-based ramen manufacture, factories in NJ, LA & Honolulu) -to deliver his vision of ramen to NYers. Their love child- Momosan open its door on an April Friday evening near Grand Central.