My Mom's Garden

My mom has an amazing green thumb. Last year I posted about all the goodies she grows in her garden. This year because of all the sun and rain we've been getting the crop has been abundant. Look at these beautiful yellow and red tomatoes!

Oh my OMAI

One of my favorite cuisines is Vietnamese . It is my comfort food and I would be more than happy to eat it everyday of my life. I love the balance of clean, fresh, and bold flavors that embodies Vietnamese cuisine.

Recently I had dinner at Omai and oh my was it delicious. This place is a hidden jewel in the city. Most of the Viet places here in NYC are down and dirty neighborhood joints. Don't get me wrong I do LOVE these places but what we need is a restaurant like The Slanted Door in San Fran that offers Vietnamese fine dining. Omai is as close as you can get in NYC. The restaurant itself is quaint with its brick walls and white parchment covered bistro tables. I find that many fancified Asian restaurants in NYC, that are mainstream for the American Folk, lack bold flavors and are not authentic or dumbed down for the masses. Omai has all the wonderful flavors that Vietnamese cooking should have, fish sauce offers that umami flavor, pungent herbs offer freshness and punch, garlic, fried shallots, it's all there. I highly recommend their apps. I had grilled calamari over cucumber, lettuce, tomato with a tamarind vinaigrette. The calamari was grilled perfectly. It was tender and soft unlike many places that serve it chewy. The banh cuon, shrimp ravioli topped with fried shallots and aromatic herbs, is delicious and their banh xeo, crispy rice crepe filled with chicken, shrimp, and bean sprouts, is the best I've ever had. I'm still craving that!

For the entrees I had the grilled prawn and scallop over grilled vegetables, rice noodles, in lime basil sauce and the sauteed chicken in spicy lemongrass sauce. Both were very good, a slight bit salty but delicious over rice. Portions are pretty big here. The two entrees can feed 2-3 people with rice. However I do recommend ordering lots of apps because they are really really tasty. I'm already planning out the apps for my next visit. I want to try the lemongrass beef roll in fresh rice roll, sesame seed and lime dipping sauce, the wok seared monk fish with peanut, chili, basil, served with sesame rice crackers, the grilled baby back ribs with five spices, and I would also get the shrimp ravioli and crispy rice crepe again! Prices are very reasonable too!

Omai
158 9th Ave (btwn 19th & 20th St)
212-633-0550

Breakfast. Brunch at Five Points.

I am having creamy non fat Fage yogurt with just perfectly ripe peaches and a drizzle of chestnut honey. It is divine.

Yesterday I had brunch at Five Points. I thought it was very good. I had the poached egg with hollandaise over homemade fennel sausage and buttermilk biscuit. I asked the server if I could have the yukon gold home fries instead of the buttermilk biscuit but the chef wouldn't allow it. Oh well. I would have liked it with the potatoes since I'm not a big biscuit fan. I did find their biscuit too sweet for my taste. The sausage could have used more fennel, especially since it was advertised as a fennel sausage, but it was still very tasty. The poached egg could have had a runnier yolk but now I'm being too nit picky. Overall the dish was good. The hollandaise was just right. It didn't overpower the whole dish with its fatty self like the way a thick hollandaise can. It was a perfect supporting character to the whole ensemble. I also tried the poached egg with hollandaise over cooked spinach, smoked salmon, and croissant type pastry. This was awesome! Everything was perfect, nothing was overpowering and all the flavors and textures melted in your mouth. I liked the spinach in the dish because it's hard to find veggies for breakfast unless you are having an omelet but that's boring. The spinach was delicious and it didn't take away from the dish at all. And honestly what doesn't taste good on a croissant? Really! The lemon blueberry ricotta pancakes offer a perfect counterpoise to the savory dishes. You can order this dish as your main but I think it is a perfect dessert to the brunch. The pancakes are so light and soft I think I can inhale a whole plate of these babies. They are a bit sweet, it reminded me of doughnuts, so go easy on the maple syrup.

Five Points
31 Great Jones St (btwn Lafayette and Bowery St)
212- 253-5700

Sasa my Bune

Sasabune
401 E 73rd Street
(between 1st Ave & York Ave)
New York, NY 10021
(212) 249-8583

"no spicy tuna
no california roll
TRUST ME"

Go here if you want really fresh sushi without all the frills at an unpretentious spot.

Tonight was my third time here and this time I was served: tuna, white tuna, yellowtail, amberjack, salmon, fluke, bonito, red snapper, scallop, giant clam, orange clam, stripe bass, horse mackerel, toro, black cod, sea urchin, salmon roe, fresh water eel, blue crab roll, toro roll, albacore, kumomoto oysters, abalone, octopus.

The highlights of the evening for me were the kumomoto oysters (always good), stuffed squid (interesting and delicious), scallop (so buttery), horse mackerel (holy cow the only mackerel I have eaten that was this good), black cod (like sex), salmon roe (like little bursts of umami broth), and the blue crab roll (so simple yet so good).

But you know what? You shouldn't go. Because it's so good I don't want everyone to know about my secret spot.

Australia VII: Good Eats in Cairns

If you are ever in the area of Cairns I highly recommend dinner at Bayleaf Restaurant. Bayleaf serves Balinese food which in my opinion is in between Thai and Indian Food. Green leafy plants and tiki torches add an exotic island feel to the restaurant. Perfect for a romantic intimate dinner for two or for large parties. Ask about the al fresco seating when it's not too hot. The food was really really delicious. We had the Lamb Curry with Coriander and Cardamom which was really made perfect, the lamb was tender and the spices and flavors were just right, and the mixed seafood grill which was also grilled and marinated to perfection. The food was good quality and well executed. Service was wonderful. For a fine dining experience and the fantastic food the cost was moderate and the portions were appropriate. I would definitely go there again.

Bayleaf Restaurant
corner of Lake and Gatton Street
Cairns, Queensland, Australia 4870
Ph: +61 7 4051 4622

Australia Part VI: Cairns' Rusty's Market

Fitzroy Island in Cairns, Australia

A few weeks before I was leaving to Australia I caught an episode of Bizzare Foods with Andrew Zimmern about Australia. In the episode he explored the world of exotic fruits at Cairns' famous Rusty's Market. Lucky me, that's just where I was going! And if you know me then you know I looOooooOoooOoove me some outdoor markets! Initially I thought I was going to miss this awesome market because it's only open on the weekends but then I looked it up online and found out it was open on Friday too! Hallelujah my flight isn't until 7pm Friday!

I woke up on Friday really excited. With a list of all the fruits I wanted to try in hand I was off to the market. Rusty's Market not only has fruits they have a bunch of stalls that offer food. This is what I had for breakfast along with a bowl of Pho:



Samoan Tasting Plate- I have no idea the names of the different foods on the plate but it was really tasty.


Philipino Lechon- If you don't know what lechon is then you better go and find out, right now! This might have pushed this meal to win "The Most Gluttonous Breakfast While in Australia" award. Fatty, crunchy, fall off the bone meat, this was delicious! After this I was ready for some fruit. All of the fruit and produce at the market are picked fresh that morning. You can also find stands selling sugar cane juice, flowers, ready made food, coffee, smoothies, and jewelry.

Paw Paw- very similar to papapa

Unlike the States where we only have one type of banana, the markets in Australia have several varieties. These are called Sugar Bananas. I love bananas!

Cabbage bigger then a basketball

Carambola, also known as starfruit

Lettuce so fresh, every leaf was green, bright, and crisp!

The aromas from this coffee stand was intoxicating. When you order the man asks if you want it ground. If so he then asks if you are using a filter, coffee machine, or press.

A selection of asian greens

Passion Fruit- tangy, floral, tropical, slimy with crunchy seeds

This is the bounty that I came home with. I think it's the ugliest bunch of fruits I've ever seen but didn't your mama teach you not to judge a book by it's cover! These exotic fruits were amazingly delicious and also very interesting. I didn't know fruit can taste like this! Chocolate and caramel oh my! I had a long list of fruits but couldn't find most of them. When I asked one of the vendors she said to come back January to February when it's summertime and all the really exotic fruits are available. From the top left going clockwise: Black Sapote (Chocolate Custard Fruit), Dragon Fruit, Sapodilla, Apple Custard Fruit, Sugar Bananas, Passion fruit.

Apple Custard Fruit is also known as bullock's heart or bull's heart. It has a soft custardy inside similar to a very ripe pear and taste like mango/pear more then apple. This was delicious and my favorite of the bunch.

Black Sapote is also known as chocolate pudding fruit. I saw this on Bizzare Foods and knew I had to try it. How can a fruit taste like chocolate pudding? Indeed the inside is the texture of pudding. Imagine being one of the first people to discover this fruit. After opening it what in the world would make you want to eat it. It's so dark in color it stains everything it touches. I think I cut it open before it was fully ripe and fully mature in flavor because it didn't taste anything like chocolate to me.

Sapodilla - taste like caramel!

Dragon Fruit - I first had this fruit when I was living in China. It comes in two varieties, one has brightly red colored meat like the I bought at Rusty's shown above and the other white. Imagine eating a watermelon with the seeds of a kiwi and that's exactly the texture of this fruit. The flavor is very mellow and indistinctive but fun to eat.

Sugar Bananas - are small bananas with a meaty, dense, and slightly slimey texture.

Not shown is a picture of the miracle berries I scored! The lady sold them to me 3 for $1 aud which is about 83 cents usd. I bought 6 and she threw in one extra. She must have thought I was a sucker but little does she know they sell them for more then $5 a pop here in the States. I bought them back to Sydney to miracle trip with my mates and indeed lemon slices do taste like lemonade, Guinness like a malty smoothie, lime juice like sugar syrup, and goat cheese like cheesecake!

Rusty's Market

OPENING TIMES

Friday Saturday Sunday

5am to 6pm 6am to 3pm 6am to 2pm

Australia Part V: Aussie's Obsession with Chili Sauce

...is also my new obsession!



After doing the Bondi walk through Bondi Beach, one of the sexiest beaches in the world, I was starving. Thank goodness it was winter and there was no need for a sexy beach bod because I pigged out on a burger from Oporto's. Oporto's is a fast food chain restaurant found all over Australia but the original is in North Bondi. It only serves chicken, except for the bacon in their breakfast sandwiches, so when I say burger I really mean chicken not beef. There's no beef in their burgers. Their burgers are only chicken. Actually they are chicken cutlets that are flame seared char-grilled. That took me a long time to understand. Imagine me ordering the Bondi Burger and then asking the counter person if it was chicken. What makes Oporto's burgers (aka chicken sandwiches) different than anything I've ever had is their addition of spicy chili sauce! Aussie's are so obsessed with the Malaysian/Thai culture that even spicy sauce is mainstream! It's found in their kebabs and chicken burgers! I love it!

picture from the cliffs on Bondi Beach

So good I even had it for breakfast before getting on the plane for home!