On a Friday after work, I stopped by the Starwich in the Citigroup Center for a quick bite to eat. Starwich has locations all over Manhattan and offers a healthy alternative for upscale food on the go. Since the Citigroup Center location mostly caters to people in Midtown and people leave work by 6PM on Fridays, they stock their kitchen accordingly. When I arrived at 6:30 (they’re open pretty late), Starwich was almost out of ALL of their menu options (no joke). I originally wanted the filet mignon sandwich (herb-crusted filet mignon, caramelized onion compote, roasted garlic and horseradish aioli, tuscan log) but since they were sold out of the tuscan log, I had to substitute the log with sourdough bread:

The bread was really dry and the meat wasn’t tender at all - it was really overcooked and tough. I wasn’t really a fan of the sandwich. The sourdough and the onions didn’t mix well together and I couldn’t even finish the thing.

Chris ordered the spinach salad with chicken strips:

The salad was dressed well but the chicken was dry and the only topping it came with was corn. I blame the crappiness of our meal to the fact that they don’t plan the logistics of Starwich correctly; shouldn’t they only keep Starwich open at 6:30 on a Friday night if they have business? I read that Starwich is really busy during lunch hours, so maybe during the rush they have more options.

Starwich is an interesting concept of a restaurant/cafe because they offer wi-fi and phone chargers along with comfy couches:

They also offer delivery throughout Manhattan (ANYWHERE), which I think is pretty convenient. The guy that was working was really friendly and I wish I had a better experience at Starwich, but I really disliked the food and the fact that they didn’t have anything from their menu.

How to get to Starwich:

Starwich
153 E. 53rd Street between 3rd and Lexington
New York, NY 10022
212-371-7772

RED MANGO CELEBRATES NEW YORK LAUNCH WITH GRAND OPENING EVENT AT GREENWICH VILLAGE STORE

Red Mango Has Arrived, Taking Over New York One Swirl at a Time…

WHAT: You’ve tried the rest, now try the best…and the original!!! In celebration of Red Mango’s New York debut, consumers will be treated to FREE FROZEN YOGURT, GIFT CARDS, GIFT BAGS, MUSIC, PRIZES…and more!

NOTE TO THE PUBLIC: The event is on a first-come, first-served basis. We recommend arriving early and please note that the line will be formed outdoors with heat lamps.

WHEN: Thursday, December 6, 4pm – 10pm

WHERE: Red Mango Greenwich Village, 182 Bleecker Street, NY, NY 10012

We headed to K-town for Mandoo at MANDOO BAR on a recent Friday night. I really like this place, EVEN though it’s like $1/dumpling. The restaurant is very cozy and they make all the dumplings in the front on a daily basis:

We both ordered the goon mandoo (fried pork dumplings) because last time I ordered the kim chi mandoo and I didn’t think they were THAT great. 8 little mandoos for $7.99:

MMMmmm fried goodness:

Mandoo Bar is a better dumpling bar than most Japanese places/Chinese places because their dumpling skin is 1. homemade and 2. extra thick. Their kimchee radishes aren’t that great, but you’re not going to a dumpling bar for their appetizers, are you? It’s almost always packed, but it’s a worthwhile wait.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving break at home with family and friends. I spent Thanksgiving with Chris and my family in North Carolina. We threw three parties, ate a ton of food, played tennis, had a couple heated games of Ticket-to-Ride, and went on walks in our neighborhood. Enjoy the pictures!

Our 22-lb turkey with fresh herbs from my mom’s garden:

The final product:

An east-meets-west style Thanksgiving dinner (including turkey, duck, corn pudding, sticky rice, mashed potatoes, and other yummy foods):

Jumping around the neighborhood:

Our beautiful lake:

My favorite picture of me and Chris:

My favorite picture of my family:

Less than a month until Christmas!

I’m slowly become a ramen junkie; in college, it was more of a food I ate because I couldn’t afford anything else (and it usually came out of a plastic bag), but now, I’m lucky enough to have a job that pays for ramen out of a glass bowl (with fresh meat, too!). There are a lot of restaurants in NY that specialize in serving the addictive soup and noodle combo, primarily in the East Village. I’ve gone to a couple places (Oh Taisho, Kenka, and Ramen Setagaya) but none of the places really hit the spot. Momofuku moved into a larger space to accommodate ramen-junkies like myself so I decided to give it a try (I went to their other location last year but didn’t order ramen).

Chris, Ariel, and I arrived around 8PM, put our names down, and prepared to wait 45 minutes for a cramped table (the restaurant is tiny!). Only in New York do people wait an hour for food but won’t wait 10 minutes for anything else. We decided what we were going to order (ramen for me, potato hash for both Ariel and Chris, even though I tried to tell them that I needed THREE different entree pictures, and three soft serve ice creams). After waiting an hour, we were seated and ordered right away.

My pork neck ramen:

Lots of pork (there should be if I’m paying $13 for it!), an egg, and random vegetables. The pork was moist and tasty but the egg was runny (a little too runny since the broth wasn’t hot enough to cook the rest of it). The broth was acceptable, but nothing you can’t recreate at home with a can of chicken stock and some bullion cubes. Onto the ramen:

Ramen (if that’s what they want to call it):

So if you look at the ramen, you’ll notice that the noodles resemble something that belongs in a Chinese beef noodle soup, not in a Japanese ramen dish. Ever heard of wei-chuan noodles? I think that’s what David Cheng uses for the pork neck “ramen.” I asked our server if the noodles were ramen and initially he said that they were, but the noodles were thicker. Then he went to ask another guy what the noodles were and he found out that the overall DISH is ramen, but the noodles used in pork neck ramen are actually Shanghai-style noodles. The other aspects of the dish are considered ramen, but the noodles aren’t. Please don’t pee on my leg and tell me it’s raining!

Chris and Ariel were both shocked with their potatoes with pork and egg:

I think you can actually count how many potatoes went into the dish. Yes, the dish was good, but no, it was not worth $13. The potatoes were a bit too salty (one less dash of salt and it would’ve been acceptable). Chris and Ariel both liked the dish, but they were both disappointed with the serving size.

After our disappointing entrees, we ordered three cream cheese soft serve ice creams:

The soft serve is a little too thick for me, especially since it tastes like you’re licking a block of cream cheese. Also, for $4? Seriously, I’d rather give my money to Pinkberry (where I know it’s good!).

The surprise ending inside my soft serve cone:

It tasted like sweet potato or pumpkin that was sugared and baked. If I were to make a cream cheese soft serve cone, I’d put some kind of fruit on the bottom to lighten the soft serve since it’s so thick and creamy.

At the end of the meal, we were all still hungry but we didn’t feel like spending another $20 on pork buns. Personally, I don’t see myself ever returning to Momofuku; Cheng’s food is too expensive, over-hyped, and just NOT worth it (save yourself the time and the money by taking the subway to Chinatown).

How to get to Momofuku Noodle Bar:

Momofuku Noodle Bar
171 1st ave between 10th and 11th
New York, NY 10003
212-475-7899