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29
Mar 10

Best Asian (non-Chinese) restaurants in NYC’s Chinatown

by Louie D

As a follow up to my previous post regarding the best Chinese restaurants in New York City’s Chinatown, I would like say that NYC Chinatown has many authentic Asian restaurants in addition to traditional Chinese food. If you are in NYC Chinatown and don’t want to have Chinese food, I recommend the list of restaurants as excellent alternatives. Like the Chinese restaurants, these Asian restaurants in NYC Chinatown offer authentic flavor for a very economical price. I wish you enjoy these restaurants and provide us some feedback.

Nyonya – Located on Grand Street on the border of NYC’s Chinatown and Little Italy, Nyonya is the best Malysian restaurant in NYC’s Chinatown. My favorite and one of their signature dishes is the sizzling tofu. Nyonya’s curries are also good options. Getting the Roti Telur (Indian pancake with curry dipping sauce) as an appetizer is highly recommended. Nyonya also has locations in Brooklyn if you want to venture out to the outerboro.

Pongsri Thai Restaurant – There are actually several Ponsgri Thai restaurants in NYC (Chelsea, Uptown and Chinatown). My personal favorite is the one in Chinatown, located on the corner of Baxter and Bayard Street. Pongsri offer great traditional Thai curry dishes and is the oldest Thai restaurant in NYC’s Chinatown. Pongsri also offer great lunch menus such as curry, Pad Thai, and other noodle dishes.

Nha Trang or Pho Pasteur or Thai Son – There are three Vietnamese restaurants located right next to each other on Baxter Street (between Canal and Bayard). All three restaurants serve authentic Vietnamese food. Although these three restaurants aren’t as good as the Vietnamese restaurants in San Jose, CA, they are the next best thing in New York City.

Below is a map showing the locations of the restaurants. Hope you enjoyed this review and visit these NYC Chinatown eateries!

Best Asian (non Chinese) restaurants in NYCs Chinatown

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13
Jan 10

Five Star Indian Food in Long Island City

by Paul

When you first walk into Five Star Diner you’ll almost certainly be forced to ask yourself at least a few questions – “Am I in the right place?“, “Is this place even open for business?” or perhaps “Why on earth would someone purposely choose pink as the primary color for their ENTIRE restaurant and set it up as a 60s era diner?” After a quick sampling of any generously portioned dish, however, you’ll soon forget you dared to question the decor and realize you’ve stumbled upon nothing short of a culinary gem.

The diner is located right next to a giant banquet hall that caters to south asian clientele. Anyone not given exact directions might easily mistake it for the restaurant itself. I have to believe the two are affiliated given the quality of the food that the diner produces and, now this is just a hunch, the fact that the banquet hall is also named Five Star. Why they didn’t opt to share the same design principles when opening the diner is beyond me, but the food really speaks for itself.

Their menu consists of your standard Indian fare – some samosas, freshly baked naan, different flavors of chicken straight from the tandoori oven, a healthy mix of vegetarian dishes, biryani and the usual curry or chicken tikka masala. While all sounding very ordinary, Five Star’s chefs make them seem anything but. It might make you wonder if you’ve ever really tried Indian food at all.

The staff, albeit sparse, is very friendly and helpful. There might be the occasional banter with the numerous taxi drivers that frequent the place and the Indian television shows, while dramatically mesmerizing, might be a bit loud, but I find all these things add to the atmosphere to provide a more authentic experience. You can always opt for take out or delivery if that’s not your cup of mango lassi.

Portions for a single dish are sometimes enough to feed two. I can’t remember the last time I didn’t have leftovers. Couple that with the budget prices and you can’t help but go back again and again. Simple formula that I adhere to: value = (taste – price) x size. It’s one thing if a dish tastes like God himself created (then slaughtered) the animals that went into it, but if it costs as much as dinner with the Holy See then it’s no longer a good dish. Suddenly the taste is soured by the thought of how much of my paycheck just went into making it. On top of that, if the dish doesn’t fill you up, you are within every right to send it back to the kitchen or throw it in the server’s face because that’s just criminal. This is not to say some dishes don’t warrant their outrageous prices, but to find a restaurant that serves delicious food at a reasonable cost (and certainly that price point is different for everyone) – well, that’s right up there with the meaning of life, no?

Tips:

* Not the best place for a first date, unless you like them ending with a quickness.
* Delivery ends early (~6pm) so you’ll have to pick up or eat in if you need a fix.
* Try the buffet for a sampling of many of their dishes.
* Daytime visits are probably best, not much going on in the area at night.
* Convince one of your Indian friends to have a wedding at the banquet hall.

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30
Dec 09

Check out McNulty’s in NYC for a full selection of tea

by Vincent Y

mcnultys

One of my favorite places for coffee and tea is McNulty’s. Located on 109 Christopher Street, between Bleecker and Hudson, McNulty’s Tea & Coffee Co. offers one of the largest selections of loose leaf teas and coffee beans I’ve ever encountered. They’re one of the few places in the city that sells rooibois, and probably the only place that sells such a wide variety of flavored teas, from mainstays like ginger and lemon to the more eclectic orange spice or chocolate mint. Listing out just a few of their offerings doesn’t do the place justice, because the cozily sized shop is stocked to the ceiling with so many more. I’m more of a tea person, and so I can’t say much about their coffee selection, other than it’s size and variety.

And don’t be intimidated by the selection – McNulty’s staff are really friendly, and very knowledgeable. I’ve gone there a few times, with only an idea of what I wanted – a full bodied coffee, a light, fragrant herbal tea – and they’ve always pointed me to several choices that fit the bill. These are definitely people that know what they’re talking about, and love what they’re selling. And all of their loose leaf teas are available for customers to browse and smell.

If you’ve never tried loose leaf teas before, or never tried different kinds of teas before, there a couple of things to know about them. Teas are classed into four broad categories, depending on the amount of oxidation and processing – green and white are the least oxidized, then oolong, and then black. The less processed teas require a longer steeping, or brewing time, at a temperature below boiling. Black tea should have a shorter steep time (too long, and it becomes bitter), and should be brewed with boiling water. Whatever tea you’re brewing, unless you want to drink the tea leaves, should be contained in a mesh infuser, which you can buy with your tea if you don’t have one. And many loose leaf teas can be used to brew several pots of tea.

I personally prefer light to medium body teas, and my favorites so far, after trying only a handful, are the Rooibois – a naturally caffeine free, herbal tea that I like to drink in the evening; their Magic Spice Blend herbal tea, which they mix themselves, and has a perfect balance of spicy and sweet aromatics; and the Ceylon Silvertips. If you’re ever in the mood for tea – real tea, not the stuff in Lipton tea bags, or served at Starbucks in green or black variants – check out McNulty’s. I doubt you’ll be disappointed.

A little more about me: I like beverages – I appreciate well made mojitos, and cafe mochas, and fruit smoothies, probably more than I appreciate well prepared food. I’m going to be a little different from the other writers, and focus on what I’m most interested in – finding the best places to get the best drinks. More to come!

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