NYC FOOD LOG
Aug. 10th, 2022 10:13 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
permutativehonestly i did a lot of things in nyc, and kept track of these things to varying extents (food, working out, reflections on career, learning ML and math, friends, etc). i feel kinda ??? about posting this because 1) how did i eat so much FOOD. 2) how do i even describe the past six weeks… another thing that is kind of crazy to me is the fact that i still have like half of my summer break left TTT like yes i’ll be rotting away in september while everyone else is in school… it’s fine though… i think i felt slightly lonely/unsettled during my first week or two in new york but once i started hanging out more regularly with people i really had a lot of fun! i went to the gym a lot, played a lot of cards, went thrifting a bunch, and also kind of learned from my program (i guess) (not really though)
warning that this post is super image heavy. and long. and possibly annoying… i'm not very good at describing food clearly. um also these photos are really not that good and half of them are sideways but i couldn't bother switching the orientation. ENJOY </3333
EAST ASIAN FOOD
- mala project (x2) ♡
info: $$, szechuan
ordered: dry pot fish and pork, scallion pancakes
thoughts: holy shit why was this dry pot so serioussss it had quail eggs and bok choy and LOTS OF GARLIC <333 sometimes bok choy isn’t good but i actually really enjoyed this place. also the sauce that came with the scallion pancakes wasn’t soy sauce but it was so mfing good
edit: hmm i lowkey feel like this place is expensive for portions but apparently szechuan food in general is expensive in manhattan so idk
- five senses
info: $$($?), korean
ordered: some octopus dish, kimchi jigae
thoughts: ngl the kimchi jigae was mid and the banchan was kind of pathetic compared to my fav place in san jose (tofu house <333) but the octopus was really good!! this place is really popular and kind of expensive btw. and the service is good…
- yubu
info: $, korean
thoughts: this place sells “rice-filled tofu pockets” with the topping of ur choice. imo the combo of tofu skin + rice + meat is kind of unmatched and it was a pretty nice casual place to eat. wouldn’t recommend meeting up there for any type of extended conversation though LOL because they have barely any seating T_T shoutout to anna for coming here w me!
- kimbap lab
info: $, korean
ordered: onigiri with spicy pork
thoughts: i didn’t get the kimbap because i was just purchasing a snack so i feel like i’m not even adequately equipped to review this place properly… i thought the food was good though, maybe a litttlleee overpriced ngl
- kong sihk tong
info: $, hong kong-style cafe, cash/venmo only
ordered: baked fried rice with pork
thoughts: have never had hong kong cafe-style food before so this was really cool!! the portions were really good given how cheap it was and while the flavors weren’t like out of this world amazing it was good comfort food and really yummy… did i mention it was cheap like it was around ~$10 without tip and lasted two meals for me
- tasty hand-pulled noodles
info: $, HAND-PULLED NOODZ, cash only
ordered: pork dumpling noodle soup
thoughts: lol like the reviews said the noodles are good and the actual broth is bland before u add the vinegar + other sauces. i’m not sure if that’s intentional or not but i enjoyed my food… was it amazing though?! eh. again, really good price and big portions though
- joe’s house of soup dumplings
info: $$, chinese
ordered: asdf so much shit because we did family style for a group of 8. i think the most notable things were the SOUP DUMPLINGS though
thoughts: lol as someone in our group rightly pointed out while going thru this place’s yelp page… if their most popular dish after soup dumplings are SESAME CHICKEN and the restaurant has 4.5 stars u might wonder who is giving those ratings 🤔 the soup dumplings were reallyyy good though and had so much soup!! (and also weren’t priced that badly) and then everything else was like mid/okay for the price ngl :/ (me when i have to pay more than $20 for a meal :///)
- steam
info: $-$$, dimsum
ordered: yeah i’m not going to list every single thing i ate because it was family-style dim sum for 6 people…
thoughts: i thought it was pretty solid dim sum!! i’m never really good at judging when a dim sum place is like exceptionally good or bad though especially since i usually only try like 1-2 of each thing… my (chinese/taiwanese) friends said it was fine as well (??) shoutout to the waiter who looked at us when we asked for the check and was like YOU LOOK HUNGRY YOU SHOULD ORDER MORE (we had ordered a perfectly reasonable amnt btw). little did he know we were going for boba afterwards
- tonii’s rice noodle roll
info: $
ordered: shrimp rice noodle roll
thoughts: ummm you get what you pay for i guess… there were like maybe 4 shrimps in total in the whole meal. but also it was $5 in total. so idk. i think the strat for going here is to get hella add ons and also take advantage of the fact that their iced drinks are super cheap <333 my iced lychee green tea was definitely hitting
- shimiaodiao yunnan rice noodle
info: $$
ordered: ??? pork noodle soup
thoughts: the way i don’t remember anything about the food because i was so focused on the person i was eating with… assume it was somewhat mid-good but the quail egg was definitely a Little (a lot) salty. would not recommend meeting someone you’ve never talked to before here though 🤔
- kimura
info: $$($), japanese
ordered: kuro buta nabe hotpot, salmon and avocado roll, eel and cucumber roll
thoughts: went here with crys!! ik this place specializes in hotpot but lowkey why was the SUSHI so much better than everything else [person who has never had nice sushi in their life].
anyways the hotpot was good but ummmm personally i do feel like there could be more meat and less CABBAGE/bean sprouts. like *(&@(% it’s kind of a scam? the sushi was pretty affordable though (~$8/roll) at least for the quality…
- dumplings n dips
info: $-$$, ?? just what it says on the tin
thoughts: wait highkey i barely remember this place. had high reviews on yelp and it’s like… decent fast casual but not good enough to actually be super memorable!
- gochujang (ktown food court)
info: $
ordered: kimbap with side of tteokbokki
thoughts: i think the relief of not having to pay $25+ for something in ktown made me enjoy this way too much T__T but also at first i was kind of annoyed because the special was advertised as $14 but then it was like +$3 if you wanted any sort of meat in the kimbap. LIKE BRUH. anyways this was good… i am not super familiar with korean food tho so take my words with a grain of salt. also a warning that the ktown food court is NOT air-conditioned. in fact, it is 10 degrees hotter than outside. i’m convinced it’s a ploy to actually make people buy shit from the kung fu tea located in the food court… yes i was dying
- bings&noodles (x2)
ordered: jiang bing with egg, homemade yogurt drink
thoughts: wait i forgot this place existed. anyways it was pretty good especially for the price (~$7???) and i really liked the yogurt drink as well.
- zutto ramen bar
ordered: tonkotsu ramen
thoughts: this was pretty good but i remember thinking that the pork was insanely hard to chew through at times... also had to sit through the awkwardest 45 min conversation with this guy i hadn't seen in like three years because we were having a "hs reunion" there but the people i was actually friends with were an hour late. IT'S FINE! also i prefer ramen with thicker noodles. so i'm just picky i guess
SOUTHEAST ASIAN FOOD
- saigon shack
info: $, vietnamese, cash only
ordered: pork banh mi
thoughts: really good pork banh mi!!!!!! like seriously what the heck. but also i don’t think i have particularly high standards for banh mis in general so um
- galanga
info: $.5, thai
ordered: pad see ew with tofu
thoughts: kind of bland/mid, only went because it’s a block away from my dorm. obsessed with the yelp review that accuses the owners of serving alcohol to 14 yr olds and has photos of the police to back it up!!!
- thai market
info: $.5, thai
ordered: pad see ew with tofu
thoughts: pretty good!!! crys said this was the best pad see ew in the city and i feel inclined to believe her (ish)… in particular i love how they made the tofu and the noodles were really soft and nice
- up thai ♡
info: $$, thai
ordered: pineapple fried rice with pork
thoughts: this place goes sooo hard and the price isn’t bad and the ambiance is GREAT! maybe it’s because crys and i went after the kpop concert and i had been standing/dancing/walking for like 4 hours but the food was actually sooo good T_T something about the combination of flavors and the combination of sweet/savory with cashews, pineapple, pork, cucumbers, etc. was amazing. also i think crys liked her pad see ew here better than thai market’s 🤔
- soothr
info: $$, thai
ordered: chicken ki-mao noodles
thoughts: i feel like i had unreasonably high expectations for this place after going to up thai and also hearing about it from van for so long. and tbh it was sooo good and their noodles are perfectly soft and chewy but also i still like up thai better… also umm lowkey the staff in soothr are always trying to get u the fuck out of there. also i spotted a roach there lmao
- lovemama
info: $, thai/vietnamese/malaysian
ordered: roti canai, uhh i lowkey forget.
thoughts: kaia always talks about ROTI CANAI and i was sooo excited to finally try it! this place is super cheap and it’s pretty good value for the food, especially during lunch specials.
i wasn’t wowed by my entree but honestly the roti canai made up for everything <333
- ????? just found this random photo in my camera roll wtheck TTT don't remember the name of this place but i think it might have been thai villa... um it was good. but also at this point i was lowkey done with eating thai food
SOUTH ASIAN FOOD
- taco mahal
info: $, “indian mexican” (literally just indian food)
ordered: naan taco with paneer tikka masala, roti taco with chana masala
thoughts: i think it was a good amount of food for the price, and the concept of “tacos” is um… well it was cute i guess. kind of wondering why the ratings are so high but also the chana masala made me miss my mom’s cooking so bad ngl
- ny dosas
info: $, dosas
thoughts: ok this place is pretty famous and it’s located right in washington square park AND i’m indian so i was like… yeah i have to try this place… ummmmm anyways i still am not a dosa person :////// good value for the price tho!
- gazab
info: $, indian
ordered: bok choy chaat, paneer tikka, gobi manchurian
thoughts: KJAHDSJHGKJAH ngl this place was really good but my entire experience was like. affected by the fact that the person i was eating with was such a truly strange girlboss.. i had never had chaat with bok choy in it before though and i thought it was a really good twist on a classic dish TT something about the bok choy balances out the richness of everything else
MIDDLE EASTERN FOOD
- kubeh ♡
info: $$
ordered: ny restaurant week lunch special
thoughts: literally Reflecting and i think this might be my fav place that i ate at in new york… part of it is that the meal was paid for by my program, part of it was that it was the ny restaurant week lunch special so i got to have an appetizer (3 diff dips with a pita) and entree (chicken shawarma) all in one, part of it is that i’m relatively new to middle eastern food so i def don’t have as much of a refined palate/high standards when it comes to this sort of stuff.
but it was just so good!!! the pita was insaneeee like literally the best pita i’ve ever had ever…
- zaytoons
info: $$
thoughts: ngl this place was good but after experiencing kubeh… why do i even bother to compare. also they served all of the white people first before serving us 😭
MEXICAN FOOD
- los tacos no. 1 ♡
info: $, TACOS.
ordered: pork tacos
thoughts: really famous tacos and for good reason. it’s a really casual place (standing room only) and the food is super worth it — maybe a little overpriced because it’s $4.50/taco but each taco is pretty substantial!
- de mole
info: $$ (but $ during happy hour!)
ordered: al pastor tacos, carnitas tacos
thoughts: came here during happy hour on fourth of july so the tacos were way cheaper than they would have been otherwise ($5 for two small tacos, and i ordered 2 of those). idk it was just like standard decent tacos… they definitely needed the sauce they come with lol
- la contenta ♡
info: $$
thoughts: holy shit this place is so good… i never ate brunch in ny but this would probably be the perfect brunch place. i can’t tell how much of me liking this place is just like… me being unfamiliar with mexican food in general and being surprised by how much i enjoyed every dish T__T their brioche french toast is literally the best french toast i’ve ever had in my life though. what the h*ck
AFRICAN FOOD
- lalibela
info: $-$$
thoughts: first time trying ethiopian food and i really liked it!! it honestly really reminded me of indian food T__T loved all the LENTILS and how u can try a lot of different things all at once
EUROPEAN FOOD
- cafe delia (x2)
info: $, georgian food
ordered: penovani khachapuri, kubdari
thoughts: went here on a whim because kaia and emily were mentioning khachapuri on the tl and it sounded good. this was pretty simple (just puff pastry + cheese) but for $6 it was a pretty substantial pastry and their other options were similarly reasonably priced. also they have an nyu discount <33 hopefully i can update this when i try their other options. update: tried their meat pie (kubdari) and it was $10 for a whole lamb meat pie that lasted me two meals. I LOVE IT HERE!!!
- liberty bistro in le district
info: $$$, french food (?), bar
ordered: frozé bebe (rosé slushy??), summer daisy (tequila + watermelon??), there were also a lot of random small plates
thoughts: i didn’t purchase any of this (was here because a recruiting event was hosted here) so i guess it was fine…? i feel like van in her nyc trip log ngl like sometimes u are 19 and cringe and will day drink bcs hey it’s a free cocktail n__n the first time i got something the server didn’t card and then when crys showed up we tried to order drinks again and the guy DID card… but i showed him my legal id and he didn’t even look at the date?! so idk. we love to see it <3 anyways looking at the prices of things on the menu now though, i’m like slightly appalled LOL and i would not say the “small plates” lifestyle is for me 🤔 the lobster rolls were hella good tho
- chana mama
info: $$, georgian food
thoughts: my program took us here! i basically was able to try all sorts of georgian food (most of them were variations on khachapuri) and it was reallyyy good. in particular the adjaluri khachapuri goes sooo hard… i mean what is better than bread + cheese + egg + butter all combined <3 i could tell that this place was nicer than cafedelia hahah
- juliana’s ♡
info: $$, pizza
thoughts: this is like the most popular pizza place in brooklyn!?!? we went in at some ridiculously early time and by the time we were done eating there was a crazy long line outside of the restaurant… they do provide water outside tho for those who are waiting in the heat </333 anyways this pizza was so mfing good. i’m not very good at describing what exactly makes a pizza good but it was thin crust and the perfect amount of cheese and everything was just… perfect. and not too heavy!
- veselka
info: $$, ukrainian
ordered: pierogi, matzo ball soup, honey cake
thoughts: ok im going to be honest. i do not see the appeal in matzo ball soup, the soup itself reminded me of canned chicken soup + there was a lot of dill in it. but also i’ve never had matzo ball soup before so maybe it’s supposed to taste like that… anyways the pierogis (??? basically a type of dumpling — we got the pork, cheese, and potato-filled ones to try) were pretty good especially with sour cream. ngl the star of the meal was the HONEY CAKE though, it was really light and nutty and not too sweet <33
- i went to two other european places (because professors took us out to eat there), but honestly they did Not stand out to me… um i don’t even remember their names. this post is too long anyways. NEXT!
BOBA + CAFES
- mi tea (x3)
ordered: fruit lust with aloe, black milk tea
thoughts: keep coming back here because it’s a couple blocks away from my dorm. the regular milk tea was kind of mid and the fruit lust was really good!! supposedly this place has the best hk style milk tea in the city!? the owner is super nice and knows my name (LMAO) i kind of love him… [update] he gave me hk milk tea for free and it was… just tea?!? but seriously i think he’s so nice the boba is just normal-good boba but his service elevates the experience of going there and he really knows his regulars
- xing fu tang
ordered: jasmine green tea with honeycomb
thoughts: ok i definitely ordered the wrong thing and i want to come back here to try their flavored bobas… i just wasn’t in the milk tea mood (it was 90+ degrees outside!!!). this place seemed super trendy/popular and worth the hype although i was slightlyyy appalled at the price… why is boba $7 these days
thoughts [2]: CAME BACK FOR STRAWBERRY BOBA AND IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT!!! i actually think flavored boba is so serious
- whale tea
ordered: peach oolong tea with lychee jelly
thoughts: yeah it was decent. went here with crys
- racoon cave coconut desserts
ordered: black milk tea with boba
thoughts: soooo mfing mid T__T just went because it was open on the fourth of july. btw the concept is that the drink is handed out with the employee wearing a ridiculous RACCOON PAW!!!!!! how am i supposed to take this place seriously
- hawa smoothies and bubble tea
ordered: peach green tea with lychee jelly
thoughts: tbh i have no idea how one would fuck this order up. again, a decent drink
- kona coffee (x4) ♡
ordered: iced hawaiian latte with oat milk, iced coconut matcha latte with almond milk
thoughts: omg this was so yummy, smooth, and sweet. i normally hate coffee because well it’s never sweet enough for my tastes but this was somehow sweet and not bitter at all without being too sweet. the slight nuttiness was soo mfing good T_T. i also got the coconut matcha when i went the third time and it was similarly good… i feel like an issue i have with starbucks matcha is that it’s too sweet but the coconut matcha was sweet without getting on my nerves lmao. BTW IDK WHY I COME HERE SO MUCH!!! actually it’s because the vibes are perfect for doing work and they have BIG TABLES (#1 factor in how much i enjoy staying at a coffee shop) along with outlets and free wifi.
- wanpo tea shop
ordered: taro purple rice milk
thoughts: yes i know there’s a wanpo tea shop 1 mile away from [redacted] campus. yes i don’t care!!!! i actually stopped by here in between classes because i saw kaia/van talking about purple rice drinks and this was the nearest option lmao. i think i see the appeal of purple rice but ummm… i’d rather get my qq through other means ngl.
- matchaful
info: literally only sells matcha lattes, $$
ordered: vanilla zen iced latte
thoughts: went here because van said this was the best matcha latte they’d ever had. tbf i didn’t get the exact type that van got (it was sold out!! :() but %((%* i was a little underwhelmed… WHY WAS THIS PLACE SO EXPENSIVE!!!!! i knew how much it would be going in but still i was like :o when the receipt was $9.25. it’s fine though [it’s literally not fine] this is what i get for trying to buy food/drink in soho
- whistle & fizz (x2)
ordered: nitro jasmine milk tea
thoughts: this was really good milk tea damn… not too sweet and had a lovely tea flavor. i ordered jasmine milk tea bcs it was the most popular online but ngl i normally go for black milk teas… anyways this was refreshing and really nice and yes everything in nyc is overpriced but i actually felt like it was worth it this time? it was so smooth and mellow and nice and the cafe ambiance was great as well
- debutea (x4) ♡
info: EXPENSIVE ORGANIC BOBA ONLY!!!, $$
ordered: peach gogo with fruit boba
yes i know this isn't my image but i couldn't find it in the imgur album i created so… yes
thoughts: why was this the most insane expensive ridiculously priced boba i’ve ever had in my life. and why was it so good… this shop is only a couple blocks from my dorm but i put off trying it because i knew how overpriced it was/i don’t even like fruit teas that much to begin with!! but yes their “organic” ingredients or whatever do work and there’s something so gratifying about a drink with peach pulp in it <3 also u can’t adjust sugar or ice. like seriously i would hate this place but it’s actually pretty good
edit: came back and tried some of their milk tea lattes T_T
- teazzi
info: OATS TO HELL AND BACK
ordered: house special milk tea w/ boba and oats
thoughts: ahhh i enjoyed this place so much. my taiwanese friend very correctly noted that i like CHEWY BOBA over soft boba. and this really delivered <333 also i think having oats as a boba topping is honestly revolutionary. also i’m pretty sure this came default with oat milk (is a person who always asks for things to have oat milk in them) anyways i really enjoyed this!!
- teavva
ordered: black milk tea with brown sugar boba
thoughts: ngl this seemed so revolutionary showstopping spectacular when i first got it but upon further reflection it’s like… damn… like yes it’s good but also i think it’s a testament to nyc’s boba scene that i was that charmed by this place that literally does the BARE MINIMUM!!! anyways their menu is pretty basic but it’s super good T__T also the one thing i really appreciated was that they actually have a seating area and wifi and the shop isn’t just like. a super cramped room to sell boba out of T__T this is very uncommon for new york ok!
- the bean
ordered: blueberry banana smoothie <3
thoughts: love that they have a happy hour from 8-9pm there’s nothing i love more than a coffee shop that is open late!!!!! also the happy hour special means that u can get two drinks for the price of one… aka an overpriced $10 smoothie is suddenly $5. my sister and i ordered our smoothie at 7:30 but we still got two drinks out of it, a win for society i think
- kam hing coffee shop
ordered: ube sponge cake + thai iced milk tea
thoughts: wait this was so good and so CHEAPPP i went here because i was in the mood for milk tea and wanted something that wasn’t like $5+… the sponge cake was really light and fluffy and not too sweet and the milk tea was really good as well. all in all a great visit <3 btw i was calling cindy during my walk to this place. just thought you should know
- kettl
thoughts: on yelp some people were saying that this is the best matcha in nyc... um idk. i'm not really an expert on matcha so i can't speak to whether it's super high quality or anything but by the way people hyped it up i would've expected more!! im just gonna quote my conversation with emily from when we were discussing the "best matcha places" in nyc: "ive seen youtubers go there and i think the quality of the matcha is considered to be pretty good (??)??? personally the size and taste were a little underwhelming to me. also they ran out of straws. also they only have outdoor seating… like srsly PICK A STRRUGGLE!!"
DESSERTS
- oakberry acai bowls and smoothies
info: $.5, acai bowls!!
ordered: an acai bowl. lol
thoughts: why are acai bowls so expensive in this economy… i split it with a friend so we only paid ~$6 each but the portion was lowkey small for the price :thinking: they say you can get unlimited toppings which is nice but keep in mind that the acai “bowl” in its smallest size is literally put into a smoothie cup. kind of hard to eat from imo!! but also this was actually really good and the vibes of the cafe space were great for such a small location
- black tap
info: $$, i think it’s a burger place ??
ordered: the cookie shake crazyshake
thoughts: i did not choose this place, my hs writing teacher/academic decathlon coach treated me to a milkshake from here. it was $17 which i think is insane!!! but yeah it was yummy i guess it’s def one of those things that is about the visual moreso than the actual ice cream and the process of eating it as it melted was lowkey harrowing T__T
- gelateria gentile
info: $$, gelato
ordered: idk it was just gelato man
thoughts: had this bcs it was fourth of july and literally any other dessert place in williamsburg, brooklyn, ny was closed. idkkk it was fine but i think im just not very impressed by gelato in general… why are they charging so much for such a small cup of ice cream!! whatever it’s fine.
- grace street
info: $$, asian dessert
ordered: milk tea boba toast
thoughts: split this with a friend and he was the one who ordered/recommended it — i feel like it was good (i like french toast!) but not 100% to my taste just because if i had to choose something it would probably be lighter/have shaved ice or something… it was good though and the combination of diff textures (popcorn vs boba vs strawberry vs ICE CREAM) surprisingly worked. why is boba + ice cream lowkey so good…
- schmackary’s
info: $, cookies + ice cream
ordered: chocolate chip cookie
thoughts: Extremely Gay Vibes cookie shop in hell’s kitchen. it’s not explicitly gay the way hot cookie is but the staff and customers are majority queer. the chocolate chip cookie was yummy and i had a good time people watching on a wednesday night T__T literally just stopped by here on a whim because i wanted to sit down somewhere lmao
- kamboat bakery and cafe
info: $, chinese bakery, cash only
ordered: pineapple milk bun
thoughts: ok ngl i am not an expert at chinese pastries and i feel like all i can do is tell a Good Pineapple Bun from like. a mid pineapple bun. and this was good!!! even better was the fact that it was $1 — i think they sell all baked goods at a discount after 4pm or something and i’m so glad i stopped by right before closing T_T
- fay da bakery (x3??) ♡
info: $, chinese bakery
ordered: taro bun, baked pork bun
thoughts: hmmm the experience of eating these was not quite as good as the sheer bliss of kamboat the day before but i can’t tell if it’s because i was less hungry. i was hoping for a little more filling with the pork bun but also i’ve actually never had a baked pork bun before. oh and the taro bun was good but the taste of the filling reminded me of powdered taro (aka the bright purple taro flavor that’s put in milk tea) as opposed to like. idk mashed/fresh taro haha 🤔
update: i went here so much just bcs it was close by and ended up trying like every popular bun they have… my favs were lowkey the pork bun (the second time i got it it had more filling??) and also the coconut roll fs!!!
- delimanjoo (ktown food court) ♡
info: $, cash only below (??? $10 or $7???)
ordered: nutella taiyaki that also lowkey had glutinous rice inside???
thoughts: holy shit why was this the best taiyaki/bungeoppang that i’ve ever had in my LIFE. i normally go for red bean but decided to indulge in nutella and i was lowkey afraid it would be too sweet but then it wasn’t!!! also the chewy mochi inside contrasted with the crunchy/fried outside contrasted with the warm sweet smooth nutella filling…. IT WAS PERFECTTTT sorry for sounding unhinged but it was literally perfect. top tier dessert. def one of the top sweets i had in nyc and lowkey better than my experience at grace street lmao
RANDOM
shoutout to my friend's charcuterie board, she was so real for this... ik this isn't a food place but i remember it fondly <3
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Date: 2022-08-12 01:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-09-14 03:10 pm (UTC)