Congee Village, NYC

Our final eat-out in NYC was at a Chinese restaurant, neither a new nor adventurous dining experience, yet it is perhaps one of the best eats we had in NYC. Even the name Congee Village doesn't hint that they serve so much more than just congee. Located close to the heart of Chinatown (though it can still be considered to be within the vast vicinity of NYC Chinatown), it wasn't too difficult to locate. The restaurant space was quite large, and we were directed to the dining area above the bar adjacent to the main dining area. The interior was beautifully decked out with bamboo, which seemed rather extravagant for a place so casually named. Service was friendly enough.



The NYC foodie folks in eGullet said that the lamb chops were to die for, but that you had to explicitly request for the lamb chops menu. In fact, there are perhaps five levels of menu in addition to the one you'd be presented, Not being a big fan of lamb meat, I was admittedly reluctant to ask for lamb chops, but the curiosity about the legendary lamb chops eventually won. And it was just like the eGulleters said, not a whif of mention of lamb was on the menu, which already had quite an impressive offering. So we asked the waiter about the lamb, and him not understanding much English and us not having the ability to speak much Chinese certainly made for an amusing encounter. Eventually he called the floor manager over, and the manager informed us that indeed they served lamb chops which would cost $18 for a plate. Since it didn't look like we were going to be given a range of choice to choose from, I asked how the lamb was served. "Special sauce", he replied. We placed an order for one.

We had fried Mantau (Chinese bread) to start with. It was beautifully fluffy when bitten into. If I recall correctly, it was served with honey as a dipping sauce.

The fried mantau:


After that, our order of Frog's Legs Congee arrived, and Rob had his first taste of frog's legs which he said tastes just like chicken, but more tough to chew and more bones to deal with. The congee itself was mildly flavoured, which was a good thing since I'd half expected it to be heavily salted like most food we had in NYC. We also ordered Lotus root with special bean sauce based on recommendations again by the foodies in eGullet, and it was really scrumptious and more-ish. It was a huge serving but we surprised ourselves by finishing it off before we left the restaurant.

Frog's legs congee and the lotus root with special bean sauce:


When the chops arrived, frankly, it didn't look anything outstanding. Since I quite dislike the strong taste of lamb meat, I hesitantly bit into one of the chops. It was delicious! Succulent and tender with a yummy sauce, it was perhaps the best lamb I have ever eaten! Even after eating all that food, placed an order for the Baked Rice with Seafood, mostly because we liked how it was presented stuffed inside bamboo. It was pretty tasty, and the squid in particular was very tender.

The yummy lamb chops and the baked rice:



We rank this dining experience as one of the top three best eats we had during our 2-mth stint in NYC. I'm glad that this was a really nice experience since I don't know when the next time we'll eat good Chinese food again (let's just say I've yet to have decent Chinese food in Japan). When Rob paid compliments to the manager about the lamb, the manager proudly told him that they had many more lamb dishes to choose from, and that we ought to come back to Congee Village to try them. And I thought I'd never say this for lamb meat, but I really would like to try their other lamb dishes! Too bad we won't have the opportunity to do that anytime soon.

Magnolia Bakery, New York

One of the many things we've noticed about New York is just how much people follow fashion here. I'm not talking about clothes but about food. Yes, food. The popular gets more popular just by virtue of its popularity, and the ones not mentioned fail to get the recognition and publicity that they probably deserve. As much as both Rob and I love to buck the trend and go against the flow, when it comes to travelling to a foreign country, we usually have to go with the safe choice of what is popular. That means waiting in long lines.

Magnolia Bakery is one of these popular places. Apparently they make the best cupcakes, and they sure have a lot of loyal cupcake enthusiasts (or perhaps most are tourists). We first chanced upon this tiny little place during our first week in NYC two months ago; Rob was keen to try it out but when I saw how ridiculously long the line was, I said perhaps next time. Then my MIL came to visit, took a tour that brought her to this bakery, and she was told that Magnolia makes the best cupcakes in NYC. It piqued Rob's interest once again, so we dropped by again when we were around the area for our seafood lunch on our last Saturday in NYC.

The queue to get inside Magnolia was long and it was a good 20 minutes before we stepped inside. I read that they sell over 3000 cupcakes a day. It's a tiny bakery and only about 6 customers are allowed in at one time. The girls in front of us were regulars, and they informed us of their favourites. I think there is a limit of 6 cupcakes per customer, and each sells for $2. We bought 4 between us two: chocolate cupcake with vanilla icing, chocolate with choc icing, vanilla with vanilla, and a red velvet cupcake with plain icing.

How were they? Well, honestly, they were like any cupcakes with extremely sweet icing that towers as tall as the cupcakes themselves. I failed to see why these cupcakes in particular were popular, and it looks like I'm not alone. I am also not big on buttery icing/frosting, and I found myself scraping off most of the icing just to get to the cupcakes, which were only okay by our standards. Actually, the red velvet cupcake was quite yummy, moist and chocolatey and I liked it better than the best-selling cupcakes.

Inside the bakery, making our selection (notice the line outside? That's only 1/4 of the whole line); and our purchases:


Were the cupcakes worth the wait in line? Maybe if you're a huge cupcake follower to begin with. You may be disappointed otherwise.

Lobster roll @ Mary's Fish Camp, NYC

Prior to our stay in New York, I'd never heard about lobster rolls. It's quite a popular seafood item in America, which apparently originated from the US state of Maine. It was mainly curiousity about lobster rolls that led me to do a search about the best place in NYC to have lobster rolls. It seems that there is a strong consensus amongst New Yorkers that two places in Manhattan make excellent lobster rolls, and one of them is Mary's Fish Camp. We paid a visit to Mary's Fish Camp for lunch on our last Saturday in NYC for an indulgence in seafood, and it was well worth the visit.

MFC is certainly popular as the tables were full when we arrived - not surprising since the dining area was quite small with the capacity to fit perhaps 20 people at once. It looked like the kitchen space was actually as big as the dining area, We waited perhaps 5 or 10 minutes before a table was available for us. Buzzing place, with plenty to offer on their regular menu as well as their daily specials. The waitstaff were friendly, but were always zipping around with orders to take and food to serve.

Rob knew what he wanted even before we sat down: Lobster Roll ($28), which was what we came for. The lobster roll consisted of a generous serving of lobster meat doused with herbed mayonnaise, stuffed into a small hotdog bun and served with a large heap of potato fries. The cheap feel and look of fast food aside, the lobster roll was scrumptious. You could taste the chunks of juicy lobster flesh in every bite, although I felt that it could have done better without so much mayonnaise - the subtle taste of seafood should be enjoyed as nakedly as possible. The other weakness of the dish was perhaps the serve of potato fries. I think that something more acidic, like salad with vinaigrette dressing, would have helped cut the rich taste of the mayonnaise dressing instead of adding to the fatty taste like the fries did.



I decided on a grilled Whole Black Sea Bass ($24) from the daily specials board. The grilled whole bass was quite a lovely sight to behold, and I enjoyed every part of the fish, head and all. I must have been quite a sight as I tucked into the fish using my fingers. The fish was stuffed with herbs and served on top of grilled onions, zucchini and yellow squash which accompanied the fish quite well. The fish was fresh, and superbly simply prepared with subtle ingredients.



To finish the meal, we went with 1/2 dozen raw oysters ($12). The oysters were fresh and yummy, but not as plump or juicy as the ones I've had in Perth, Sydney and Japan.



The lobster roll was pretty pricey, but it was a generous serving of lobster meat. Overall, it was a good experience.

A third Broadway theatre experience

Three Broadway shows in less than 2 months is impressive for someone who isn't a theatre-enthusiast. The last show I watched in Broadway was Phantom of the Opera with Honey. She wanted to watch it based on how much she'd liked the movie version, and I think she was probably more impressed with the theatre production. The show was held in the Majestic Theatre, which was pretty impressively decked with props for the show. I loved how the scenes with the crashing chandelier and gondola rides were executed. I was generally impressed with the whole production - a talented cast, great props and engaging plot. And having front-row seats certainly was fantastic. I guess it's not the longest running show in Broadway for nothing.

A shot of the theatre's interior before the curtained opened; the chandelier on stage after its crashing scene at the end of Act 1 (shot taken during the interval):


Front row seats meant we could see the ochestra below the stage; Times Square during the day:

Back in Japan #2

In an earlier post, I mentioned that we have returned to Tokyo, so perhaps it is appropriate to show some photos of the Presidential Lounge at Newark Airport and the food on the business class flight. How does it compare to our first experience? The lounge in Narita Airport had more variety of food available, but we were served by Japanese flight attendants on the flight to Narita so we enjoyed great service. Food was the same - great presentation, lovely ingredients, but had "plane food" taste. Rob went for a non-seafood main course (steak) which was actually pretty nicely done. Me, always a sucker for seafood, I chose a lobster and fish dish - both the fish and lobster were overdone, but still tasty. Unfortunately, seafood is not a good ingredient for plane food as the heating appliances onboard is not so forgiving towards seafood. We also had the usual dessert, fruits and cheese after the meal. A full passenger is a quiet passenger...

Rob enjoying a bagel in the 'presidential' lounge at Newark airport:


Appetiser and salad: half lobster with Du Barry sauce and an assortment of sushi


Main dish of tilapia and lobster on rice:



Now for a bit of update for friends and family. We are staying in Chuo-ku, the centre of Tokyo. We are about 25minutes' walk east of Tokyo Station, the 30 minutes walk north east of Ginza, and fresh sushi in Tsukiji is only about a 20 minutes' walk south (yeah, we did a lot of walking yesterday). Certainly a nice change from inaka (rural) Japan where everything and everyone else is a 20 minutes drive away! The area we're staying in is a pretty nice area with river paths, and it is more quiet and less hustle-bustle than the more touristy spots like Shibuya, Akihabara and Ginza. Unfortunately, a central location in a big city doesn't come cheaply - if all goes well, soon we will be signing a long term lease to a nice albeit tiny 1-bedroom apartment which will cost a very dear 193,000yen (~AU$2000) per month.

As mentioned before, I secured a teaching job in Japan sometime during our stint in New York. I'll be teaching mainly kindy- and elementary-aged kids, and class sizes are pretty small (largest class is 4 kids) - it'll be great not having to deal with large classes of unmotivated teenagers! Pay is pretty good for what it is and work conditions are probably one of the best I've come across (although not as good as the JET Program, of course). The teacher I'm replacing leaves this position tomorrow, so I had to head to work on Saturday for my first day at work. She's a fellow Aussie and taught at this school for 5 years, so I have pretty big shoes to fill. The kids and parents all adore her, and my first day at work was pretty full-on with information overload, feeling overwhelmed and inadequate at the same time, and jetlag certainly didn't help at all. Let's hope I'll eventually get the hang of it.

Both Rob and I are working in Chiba but living in Tokyo, which is funny if you think about it. Is it worth paying high rent in Tokyo and commuting out for work? A lot of people do it the other way around - live outside of Tokyo and commute long hours into Tokyo for work. We have managed to convince ourselves that we are doing the smart thing here because Rob's office will eventually move to Tokyo, and it's a pretty straightforward no-train-transfer commute for the both of us to our respective workplaces, and the nearest train station is only 5mins walk away. And have I already mentioned that it is a really nice area?

This is the first time the both of us will be working full time away from home - I wonder how it will work out? I guess only time will tell.

Still playing catch-up with my photos, so more posts on New York to follow...

Spanish @ Malaga, New York

With the exception of tapas, Spanish cuisine is sorely lacking in the Perth's dining scene. It must be Perth's isolation since it's not so much a problem elsewhere - Sydney has a Spanish quarter in its CBD, and I've even had paella in Chiba (although it was quite Japanised, as to be expected). Therefore we made it a point to visit a Spanish restaurant in NYC during our stay since there are many Hispanics living there and hence many authentic Spanish restaurants.

Honey was still visiting us, so it was a great first opportunity for her to try the Spanish cuisine. I chose Malaga because I was specifically looking for good paella, and reviews of this Spanish restaurant seem to agree that their paella is a must-try. We went to Malaga for Sunday lunch, and there was only one staff on the floor, but we were the only customers so we received pretty good attention from him. Service was very good and personable (I like being called señorita!), and the complementary fresh warm bread was scrumptious.

The menu was pretty extensive with a lot to offer, and once we'd placed our orders, we were each served with a plate of dressed salad. We had some tapas to begin with: Pasteles De Necorn (a spicy blue-claw lump crab meat cakes, $12.95) and some Spicy Spanish Sausages (chorizos, $7.95)). The chorizos were so-so (I'm not big on sausages) but the crabcake was really good - there were huge chunks of sweet crab meat.

Bread, salad and tapas


I knew what I wanted for my main dish even before sitting down: Paella Marinara (seafood, $19.95). My seafood paella came out in a large paellera with a serving big enough for two people. It was delicious, but for the first time dining out in NYC, I thought that the rice was somewhat under-seasoned (Americans love their salt here). I guess it was better for me to season the rice to my liking rather than not having the choice at all. The seafood mussels, prawns, clams and scallops.

The seafood paella, plated:


Rob went with Camarones a La Cazuela - roasted large 'shrimps' with orange butter vanilla and white wine sauteed mushrooms ($18.95). The prawns were a bit too buttery for my liking, but Rob and Honey loved it. They were cooked quite nicely and not too overdone.



Honey ordered Mariscada with Green Sauce (mixed seafood in sauce with parsley, onions, sherry and garlic, $19.95). The seafood came out in a large pot, and Honey got a large plate of saffron rice to eat with the seafood - once again, this was enough for two people. Once plated, it looked like a more saucy version of my paella. The sauce was deliciously garlicky, and went really well with the seafood. This was a good choice.

Mariscada, plated on saffronrice


After we were done with the main course, we were really stuffed (with leftovers to bring home), but both Honey and Rob insisted on having dessert. There wasn't much to choose from, so we settled on sharing two fruit sorbets ($6.25 each): pineapple and coconut. The presentation was so cute and very fitting since they were made with the real fruits. There were chunks of pineapple in the pineapple sorbet, and the coconut sorbet was very creamy.



It was a good experience, and I hope Honey enjoyed her first taste of Spanish food. I wish I could have more opportunities to eat authentic Spanish food.

Italian @ Otto, New York

My MIL's flight back to Perth was last Saturday night, but she wanted to treat us to a nice meal before she left NYC. She's a pretty fussy eater, so we went with the safe choice of Italian food at Otto Enoteca Pizzeria, one of the many restaurants opened by Mario Batali of the American Iron Chef fame. Otto is Batali's most casual restaurant, serving pizza, pasta and antipasti with a very extensive winelist. In fact, Otto also has a pretty impressive and big bar space at the front. I'd also heard from NY foodies that the best gelati in NYC can be had at any of Batali's establishments, so with this in mind, we eagerly anticipated having our meal at Otto.

The restaurant was quite spacious, and the decor was quite posh, yet not uncomfortably formal. The staff was professional and efficient, and our waitress was very helpful in explaining the menu (written mostly in Italian). I thought that the menu was somewhat limited in its offering of main courses, and in fact there were more items listed in the wine menu than on the food menu.

We shared two generous servings of Bruschetta ($6) from the daily specials menu - there are different toppings depending on the day of the week you dine at the restaurant. On Saturday, the topping was Lilies, a yummy combination of leeks, onion and ramps (wild leek used mainly in American cuisine). The bruschetta was delicious and quite filling. We also ordered antipasti of prosciutto and olives to share.



For my main course, I really liked the sound of Pizza Vongole ($14): clams, garlic and mozarella. And it was a sight to behold - the pile of unshelled clams atop a pizza. The pizza base was thin and crispy - like dry cracker-crispy. For those who are used to thicker and softer bases, you might not appreciate this crust, but I love crunchy cripsy stuff, so I liked this pizza. The mozarella was a bit dissapointing compared to Lombardi's, but at least the pizza wasn't as floppy. Sure the clams were a bit of a pain to shell, but at least they were fresh. Rob ordered the Rigatoni con Sausage and Chard ($9), which he ended up having to exchange with his mum's Spaghetti alla Carbonara ($9) because the carbonara was too eggy for her taste. Rob said that the rigatoni was a bit too al-dente to the point that he thinks it was too hard and undercooked. The carbonara was delicious, and indeed it was very eggy. And Honey ordered Pizza Quattro Stagioni ($14) with tomato and mozzarella and sectioned into four toppings: swiss chard, mushrooms, cotto and peppers (i.e. capsicum). She gave away half her pizza because she couldn't finish everything. My favourite sections were the ones with mushroom and capsicum toppings.

Pizza and pasta aren't too photogenic, so I'll post the only one worth showing - the clam pizza:


When we were finished with our respective dishes, the table was cleared and we were promptly presented with the dessert menu. And we weren't dissappointed. I'd heard that the Olive Oil Gelato is a must-try, and I know it sounds like it's an odd flavour for an ice cream, but it actually works. Both Honey and I ordered gelato ($7) where we can choose up to three flavours, and my choice of flavours were hazelnut stracciatella (deliciously nutty and chocolatey), ricotta (strong goat's milk flavour, not too pleasant for my palate) and concord grape sorbet. Rob ordered Olive Oil Coppetta ($9) which included olive oil gelato, passionfruit granita, raspberries, basil syrup and sea salt. The olive oil gelato tasted like olive oil, and the combination of the fruity granita and raspberries cut through the olive oil flavour quite nicely. Rob's mum ordered a strawberry mousse/meringue-type dessert, which was lovely and light. I eyed Biscotti ($6.50) on the menu and we all shared an order of the biscotti because no one would let me forego ordering gelato in place of biscotti (everyone else wanted to try as many types of gelato as they could without making pigs of themselves). They were yummy, although I wasn't too fond of the marzipan flavour in some of the biscuits.

My hazelnut, ricotta and grape combo; Rob's Olive Oil Coppetta:


My MIL's strawberry mousse/meringue dessert; and the Biscotti:


Overall, it was a pleasant experience, and it's like they say: the gelato is good.

Spicy Korean @ Kunjip, New York

A few blocks from the Empire State Building, there is a small district of K-town with several 24-hour Korean restaurants. Kunjip is reviewed as one of the best Korean eats in Monhattan, and was crowded full of Korean people when we ate there for lunch on Friday - a good sign that this is the place to have good authentic Korean food. The restaurant was packed, and we waited about 10 minutes for a table. Service was quick and efficient, and we must look Korean because the waitstaff kept talking to us in Korean.

One of the best part of this lunch was the banchan. A myriad of complimentary side dishes covered most of the table, and they were delicious. I could have had my fill with just rice and the banchan, which included the usual kimchee and beansprouts, but also many other dishes like pickled white radish, marinated nori (seaweed used for sushi), potatoes braised in soy sauce (reminded me a lot of pongteh, a Nonya dish my mum cooks), a dried seafood/jerky dish (which I loved) and some greens. The banchan given in Perth's Korean restaurants pales in comparison to this spread. Perhaps this is pretty close to what is served in Korea.



I love the fact that the Korean cuisine has such robust and unpretentious flavours, and its bold in-your-face spiciness is something I definitely appreciate. I've had yummy Korean in Perth and in Japan, and this is perhaps the best Korean food I've had so far. I ordered Suk-Uh Chigae ($12.95), a spicy seafood soup, and Honey got Yuk Gae Jang ($7.95), a hot and spicy beef stew. The seafood included prawns (or shrimps as they call them here), fish and clams and they were fresh. The beef stew was quite delicious with a pretty spicy kick - there was japchae (translucent potato noodles) in the beef stew too. I can't really say more than that the food was delicious, and very filling. Good value for what we paid.

Suk-Uh Chigae and Yuk Gae Jang


One day, we'll visit Korea and try some of the awesome Korean food and sweets that I saw on Dae Jang Geum (an awesome Korean drama series which got even a guy like Rob hooked on it).

Photos to show

Wow, it's been a really busy time for me this past week, having both Rob's mum and my sister Honey visiting us at the same time. MIL returned to Perth on Saturday evening, and Honey's meeting with her friend this afternoon, so I finally have some time to sort my photos. Honey and I spent a lot of time shopping, and can that girl shop! It has been a few years since I'd gone shopping with her, and it was good to have a shopping buddy, someone who gave good feedback other than "I don't know, that one maybe?" whilst shrugging and pointing quite randomly. I think my mum and older sister were hoping that I would be a good influence on my sister with her spending habit, but I think Honey had more influence on my spending habit. I'd actually forgotten that shopping can be fun when you have a good shopping buddy. But, with all that said, I still can't say I enjoy shopping... I only bought what I needed, compared to Honey who had a few impulse buys.

Other than shopping together, we took photos with an NYPD police officer armed with a huge gun, visited the famous Empire State building, briefly checked out Macy's ('world's largest store') in the Garment District (mainly to use the toilet), experienced the really crowded street fair in Little Italy (Feast of San Gennaro), checked out the usual really crowded street of Chinatown on a weekend, and walked through Central Park. And of course having good eats. That's basically the super-summarised gist of our last week. Here are some piccies to look at while I am busy with hunting for a place to stay in Japan - we leave NYC next Tuesday! :(

Check out the huge gun! The cop looks mean in the photo, but he was really nice and friendly. Taken near our apartment on Wall Street opposite the Federal Hall and next to the NY Stock Exchange:


Can you see the shadow of the Empire State Building?




At the Feast of San Gennaro in Little Italy:


The beautiful Minton Tile Ceiling at Bethesda Terrace Arcade in Central Park

Yummy falafels

Roadside stands are ubiquitous in NYC - newstands selling newspapers and magazines; foodstalls selling bagels, pretzels; and drinkstalls selling coffee, juice, water. Business people and tourists alike rely on these roadside mini-'shops' for their daily nutrition. The NFT (Not for Tourists) guidebook I use mentioned only one roadside stall, and it's Sam's Falafel in Liberty Plaza (now known as Zucotti Park) not far from our apartment on Wall St. Now, I noted this falafel place in the guidebook because Kim (one of my friends back in Japan, a fellow JET from America) said to me, "Jean, I'm so jealous you're going to New York city - you have to eat all the falafels for me". A few weeks ago, I happened to be in the park for a free music event around lunchtime, and I spotted this Sam's Falafel nearby with a huge queue of people waiting for Sam's falafels. I took a shot of the long line, knowing that before I leave NYC, I will be one of those people in line for falafels.

The line:


This morning I took my younger sister Honey shopping at the nearby Century 21 department store - man, this girl is a serious shopaholic! Brand names + discounts = big spending for her. It's dangerous shopping with her because even though I'm not a big brand person nor a shopper, I walked away with a Guess bag. Anyway, two hours later, and five bags bought (yep, she bought four - and we hadn't even gone to the clothing section yet!), it was lunchtime. On our way back, we walked pass Zucotti Park, and even though it was just past 12pm, there was already a line in front of Sam's Falafel. We stepped in line and munched on the fried pieces of pita bread (kindly provided) while waiting for our turn to order. There were only two choices: combo platter for $5 which includes hummus, salad, dolmades, pita and a lot of falafel (10 pieces?); and falafel sandwich for $3 which includes three falafel, hummus and salad in half a pita. We bought the combo platter to share, which was plenty - we were full with some leftovers.

Verdict? It was really cheap and very yummy. Probably not very healthy since the falafels are deep fried, but I'm glad I tried it :) The package didn't look so photogenic after the 5 or so minutes walk home, but I took a shot of it anyway (there's a nicer looking photo of the combo by someone else here).

The yummy falafels:

Breakfast food: crunchy muesli/granola

I do many things, but this is one thing I never do: skip breakfast. Yeah, I hear all the excuses for skipping brekkie: not hungry in the mornings, losing weight, in a hurry. Whatever! I myself don't have a big appetite in the mornings and I'm often in a hurry (who's not?) but I still eat something, or grab something to eat on the way. Skipping meals is also the worst way to lose weight and a good way to hang on to body fat. Think about it - you skip meals, go hungry and your body instinctively goes into starvation mode where your body's metabolism slows down in order to conserve energy. That's nature working to keep you alive when your body thinks there's a famine (aka starving-yourself-to-lose-weight). Then when you do eat again, you might have a bigger-than-usual meal (because you're hungry, right?), but the thing is, your body is still running on low metabolism (i.e. burning energy s.l.o.w.l.y.) and a lot of the energy you consume in that meal goes to fat. So, eating often is the key to maintaining a high metabolism, and high metabolism = burn energy quickly, and so on.

Anyway, back to breakfast. Granola is a popular breakfast cereal-type food in the US, and back in Japan I'd often wonder what my American neighbour was talking about whenever he mentioned that he ate some granola for breakfast. Found out that it is just crunchy muesli mainly made from rolled oats with a combination of nuts and dried fruits. I love toasted oats, and I would often make my own pan-toasted muesli to have with some fruits, nuts and yoghurt for breakfast. But I love crunchy stuff (gimme the crust of your toasted bread and baked pizza!) and after trying some store-bought granola, I decided that it was not too difficult to make my own at home. The main benefit of doing it yourself is that you know what goes in. None of that artificial crap that is found in many packaged cereal. Unless you want it, of course.

Oats is not so readily available in Japan (the land of rice), but it is both abundant and cheap in Australia and countless other countries. My recipe is special because it does not contain added fat (like butter or oil), but it contains good fats from nuts and seeds. I only use natural sweeteners like maple syrup and honey, and rely on the sugars in the dried fruits to add the extra sweetness. I usually eyeball quantities, and pretty well anything goes - add any fruits, nuts, seeds, spices, and even cocoa if you like (...mmm chocolate peanuts...). If the nuts and seeds are not roasted, roast them with the oats in the oven. Healthy you say? Yeah. That's the idea, right? But I warn that this is addictive - like eating sweet crisps, except it's healthy.

Ingredients
3 cups rolled oats
3 tablespoons applesauce (for moisture)
3 tablespoons maple syrup
3 tablespoons honey
good sprinkle of ground cinammon (I use about 2 teaspoons)
3 tablespoons dessicated coconut
a handful of toasted sunflower seeds
a handful of roasted nuts
a handful of dried fruits

Method
1. Preheat oven to 150-160degC (~310degF).
2. In a bowl, combine the rolled oats, applesauce, maple syrup, honey, cinammon, and coconut and mix well. Give it a taste and add more sweeteners if it needs it.
3. Spread onto an oven tray, and roast in the oven for about 25 minutes. Give it a stir every 10 minutes to prevent the sides from getting too brown. The goal is to get it nicely browned without burning, hence the low oven temperature.
4. Once the mixture is browned, take the tray out and let it cool.
5. Add the extra ingredients (seeds, nuts, dried fruits) and mix well.
6. Store in an airtight container or a zip-lock bag - it should keep for at least a week, but I doubt it will last that long (especially not with me around).

Razzle-dazzle Chicago musical

I accompanied Rob's mum to watch the Chicago musical in Times Square (Broadway) on Friday night. Both of us had watched the Oscar-winning movie and loved it, so naturally we wanted to watch the stage musical which the movie was based on. What can I say other than "wow"? Talented cast, sexy bodies, engrossing plot. Of course, having the view from a seat in the third row from the front certainly helps.

Unlike our last trip to a Broadway show, I brought my camera to take shots of the bright crowded streets of Times Square.

An intersection near the 42nd St subway station; outside the Ambassador Theatre:


The playbill:


Not related to the show: at the subway station in Times Square, there was this dwarf guy who did an impersonation of Michael Jackson. He was pretty good, and drew quite a crowd as he danced Michael Jackson's moves. I couldn't resist taking a shot of him:

Szechuan @ Spicy & Tasty, Flushing (NYC)

We were told by local foodies that there are good Chinese food to be had in Flushing, Queens which is one of the five outer boroughs of NYC. No wonder, since Flushing is home to the second largest Chinatown community in NYC. It's huge, unglamorous and crowded with Asian faces - yep that's Chinatown. Michael, the same eGulleter who accompanied us to have some yummy Malaysian, kindly suggested his favourite Chinese restaurant in all of NYC: Spicy & Tasty. The name sounded somewhat tacky, but I was assured that this is good and authentic spicy Szechuan fare. I love Szechuan cuisine in all its spicy glory, especially the hot-n-sour soup :9

Anyway, Chinese food is best eaten banquet-style (i.e. share many dishes), so it was clear to me that we needed more people in order to get the best out of this trip, which is a 1-hour ride on the subway from downtown Manhattan. The same Michael joined us with two of his friends, and with five people, we could sample a fair number of dishes. However I wasn't counting on dietary restrictions - one of them was a vegetarian and the other wasn't very adventurous and didn't eat spicy food. We still managed to order something for everyone, although I did feel somewhat guilty as we had many spicy dishes, and many meat dishes. Michael was the only one among the five of us who'd been to Spicy & Tasty before, so we relied a lot on his recommendations.

We ordered four cold dishes: two noodle dishes ("Spicy" and "Sesame"), seasoned cucumbers and jellyfish. The noodles were nice, but I'm not big on cold noodles. I really liked the jellyfish, which was served with a nice salty sauce with lettuce, but it seemed like I was the only one eating it (I think there's the ick factor with jellyfish) so it got a bit OTT towards the end.


Hot and Sour Soup, and Spicy Beef. I'd actually expected one serving of the soup, not a huge bowl for five because I was the only one at the table who wanted to try this. As a result I had about 5 bowls of this at the table, and took home the remainder. Talk about sodium overload! The water retention I had the following day was unbelieveable! The beef was tender, and tastily spiced with the Szechuan pepper.


Tofu in Special Sauce, and Soybean-encrusted Bass. The tofu was so-so but the fish was really yummy! It's not a very good looking dish, but the crusty coating was as delicious as the fish itself, and this was a favourite at the table as it was the first dish finished.


We also ordered green string beans which was tasty albeit a bit too salty. I didn't pay much attention to the price of each dish, but we paid $20 each including a generous tip. Overall, the food was pretty good and as authentic as you can get with large serving sizes. The food lives up to the restaurant's name: spicy and tasty; however, for some reason, I still prefer the familiar authentic Chinese food back in Northbridge's Chinatown.