ABC Cocina

ABC Cocina is celebrity chef's Jean-Georges Vongerichten's tapas style restaurant. The cuisine is Spanish and Latin inspired and packed a huge flavor punch! The decor is very eclectic and we came for a yummy lunch after a intense soul session.

Guacamole with Peas and Warm Crunchy Tortillas 
The addition of peas wasn't as bad as I thought it would be haha. The guac was perfectly chunky and very fresh. I loved the warm tortilla chips.

Maitake Mushrooms with Goat Cheese, Fresno Pepper Vinaigrette 
The char on the mushrooms was perfect as it added another level of smokiness to the already earthy flavor of the mushrooms. The tartness of the goat cheese paired perfectly with the mushrooms and I loved how the cheese made the sauce creamier as it melted. It was a tad too salty but this would be absolutely delicious with some rusty crusty bread.

Chimichurri Grilled Shrimp Salad
The shrimp was juicy and well cooked and paired very well with the crisp salad greens. 

Charred Octopus, Smoked Paprika Creme Fraiche, and Guajillo-Vinaigrette 
Such a decadent dish! The little potato cubes were so crispy and fluffy on the inside and was the perfect bite with the tender chunks of octopus.The creme fraiche had a nice little kick and held the dish together. Once again this was tad salty for me but was just so flavorful that I did not mind. It would be so good over a bowl of white rice (I'm so asian). 

Arroz Con Pollo, Crackling Skin, and Lemon Zest
This was so so good! The rice was permeated with chicken flavor and the crackling was perfect on top of the warm and wet rice. It was such a comforting dish that had many textural components. 

Overall I felt that the food here was well executed and flavor packed. I did think that many of the dishes were a little too salty but they were definitely delicious also. I love the atmosphere and can see how this is a super popular night time spot. I think it would be great for a fun girls night out!

ABC Cocina 

38 E 19th St.

New York

NY 10003

Toro - NYC

For those who have been reading my blog for a while, you may remember my post about Toro, one of, if not the most, popular tapas place in Boston. You can find the old post here if you are interested. Now Toro is also opened in NYC and it is already becoming difficult to score a reservation at this new hot spot!

The atmosphere very interesting and cool - I suppose you would describe it as industrial chic? Our server was just the best and so very accommodating and friendly. The drinks were also very enjoyable and we had a great dining experience. The menu is veryyyy extensive so it does take a while to decide what you want but apart from some small critique we enjoyed everything that we ordered.

Erizos Con Caviar - Caviar, Sea Urchin and Quail Egg Spoon with Iberico Jamon 
This was a spoonful of decadence. At first I was unsure whether this would be as good as it sounds but it sure was! It was absolutely indulgent and all the flavors actually went very well together. A definite must try if you are here! 

Patatas Bravas - Fried Potatoes with Aioli and Spicy Tomato Sauce
A perfectly executed classic tapas. The potatoes were perfectly crispy and seasoned well. The serving was much too large however and we were only able to eat about half of the potatoes. 

Navajas - Razor Clams with Piquillo Pepper, Garlic and Lemon
While this was visually stunning, the razor clams were a bit chewy. The flavors were bright and interesting though.

Croquettas De Jamon Y Cabeza - Ham‎ and Pigs Head Fritters
These croquettes had a very distinguished porky flavor which I loved. However it was slightly too salty. 

Maiz Asado con Alioli y Queso Cotilja - Grilled Corn with Alioli, Lime, Espelette and Aged Cheese 
Another popular tapas dish. This was delicious and I loved how it was absolutely smothered with the sauce. 

Filete - Marinated Skirt Steak with Cabrales Blue Cheese Butter 
This was definitely one of the highlights of the meal. The steak was melt in your mouth tender, juicy, and super flavorful. I loveddd the blue cheese butter and only wished that we were given more of it. 

Pulpo - Galician Octopus with Potatoes and Charred onions
The tentacles were nicely grilled but the body of the octopus was a bit mushy and just did not appeal to me. 

Chocolate Cremeaux with Olive Oil Gelato, Sea Salt and Coffee Crumble  
This was the perfect sweet ending to our meal. The chocolate creameaux was incredibly decadent and rich amd the olive oil gelato was creamy and sweet. The coffee crumble also added the needed crunch to this delicious dessert.

Jamon Serrano - Premium Cured Spanish Ham 

While it was very good, I am also looking forward to try other tapas restaurants before coming again. 

Toro

85 10th Avenue (Between Avenue of the Americans and 5th Avenue)

Chelsea

New York

NY 10011

Friends the Restaurant

Friends is one of the most famous and popular restaurants in Phnom Penh. It is also started by Mith Samlanh and is a training restaurant for Phnom Penh's marginalized youth, similar to Romdeng. It is rated #2 of restaurants in Phnom Phnom by Tripadvisor so I clearly had a certain level of expectation for the. As much as I wanted to support this restaurant due to its good cause the food was simply a huge disappointment. I understand that the food is not cooked by famous chefs but it was just not enjoyable! The atmosphere was cute and was filled to the brim with tourists and expats, the service was also friendly. You could tell that there was a lot of effort put into the plating and the servers were also very sweet, but the food just did not taste good which was a shame.

Crispy Zucchini and Cheddar Fritters
This was a good start to the meal. The fritters were hearty and well flavored. The outside was nice and crispy. Unfortunately the rest of the dishes did not fare as well.

Sun-dried Tomato Hummus with Crispy Wonton Wrappers
I did not try this as K who is vegetarian was very hungry and we did not want to eat her food :)

Honey Garlic Pork and Beef Meatballs on Pandan Noodles
This was probably the worst dish of the night, and sadly one of the dishes that I was most looking forward to. The meatballs were heavily glazed with this sickeningly sweet and gloopey sauce and the pandan noodles were soft and tasteless. The flavors just did not work and it was a major disappointment.

Romdeng's Yummy Stir-fried Red Tree Ants with Beef Filet and Holy Basil
J and I decided to be adventurous and try the tree ants! It is my first time eating ants and it was quite interesting. The ants were rather large as you may be able to see in the picture below. After we got over the initial thrill of eating ants... we were then forced to try and eat the rest of this pile of food. The amount of beef was actually quite shocking and the amount of herbs was also overwhelming. This may be a personal preference but I really didn't enjoy the flavor profile of this dish and could only take a few bites of it. The beef was also very lean (quite typical of Cambodian beef).

Creepy crawliessss 

Taro and Sweet Potato Fries with Tom Yum Mayonnaise
Ugh, once again something that I was looking forward to but which totally disappointed me. You all know I love fries to death, and these were horrible. They were not crispy at all and the insides were in this awkward state of half cooked/powdery. Meh.

Sandan's Grilled Fish Filet with Green Mango and Red Onion Salad
This dish was decent. The fish was nice and tender and the mango and onion salad was refreshing. Nothing to rave about though. 

Overall, Friends was a big disappointment. I really admire the charitable work that the restaurant is doing, but unfortunately the food just did not live up to expectations. If someone REALLY wanted to come back, I would probably be hesitant but I could try other dishes. But if it were up to me I would not come again. 

Friends Restaurant

#215 

Street 13

Phnom Penh

Cambodia

Catalunya

As you can probably tell from my previous posts or from personal experience, Hong Kong is all about hype. There is always a hot new restaurant that people are dying to try but only a few reach the level of buzz that Catalunya created. Catalunya has been packed from day one and this can be attributed to stellar reputation of its sister restaurant Catalunya Singapore and also to the background of the executive chef. The executive chef is Alain Devahive Tolosa and has worked with the legendary Ferran Adrià of El Bulli. Such strong culinary backing is definitely a strong selling point and have Hong Kong foodies excited way before the opening of Catalunya.

Catalunya Tomato Tartar
This dish was one of the most interesting and innovative dishes of the night. The tomato tartar had the texture of meat and it was such a pleasant surprise to our entire group. It had a robust flavor and it went perfectly with the crispy bread. 

Avocado and Lobster Roll
The avocado was beautifully ripe and creamy and enveloped the generous portion of lobster. This dish was quite good, but not particularly memorable. The presentation, however, is quite whimsical and cute.

Cantabrian Anchovies
Nothing much to say here haha, pretty decent anchovies for you anchovy eating folk.

Ham, Cheese, and Truffle "Bikini"
This is one of the most raved about items from Catalunya. Although this was delicious, I don't think I would pay this price for such a simple dish that I can easily make at home. Despite this fact, it was very delectable and I could nom on this all day.

Cod Fritters 
Many in our group did not enjoy this as they thought it was a bit heavy or salty (I forgot) but I think this was quite ok. It was a bit on the heavy side but the fritter was well done and was very hearty. Perhaps it would be better if each fritter was smaller and a little less dense. 

Jamon Iberico Croquette
The croquettes were lovely and crispy on the outside and fluffy on it inside. Solidly made croquettes but perhaps some aioli would make it even better (it would make anything better mmm).

The Other Spanish Tortilla
This item was raved about in my dinner party. I usually would go crazy for this type of dish but for some reason I was not particularly amazed by this. It was executed perfectly though for once you cut through the thin yet still tender egg layer the cheese and fluffy potato mixture oozes out gloriously. Perhaps I was not in a very eggy mood (which is VERY rare) but while I enjoyed this dish I was not madly scooping away at seconds. I do recommend that you get this though as it was delicious.

"Estrellados" with Chorizo
This is a very hearty dish for those who like chorizo. It reminds me of a breakfast skillet with the potatoes, egg, and meat. I am not a huge fan of large chunks of potato so I did not take too many bites of this. 

Lobster Rice
The rice was cooked perfectly and was smothered with a rich lobstery sauce. The presentation was also very appealing with a half lobster plopped atop the rice. 

Pineapple Roasted with Spices 
I was a bit judgmental as to who ordered this pineapple when it first came but I quickly realized my mistake when I took my first bite. The grilling allowed the pineapple to attain a caramelized sweetness and the spices accentuated the natural flavor of the pineapple. Yum!

Lamb Shoulder 
The lamb was roasted to perfection with the meat so tender that it was falling off the bone (sorry very cliche food blog line over here). The seasoning of the lamb was quite basic but it allowed for the flavor of the meat to shine. 

Mediterranean Red Prawns 
I did not try this dish so no comment!

Traditional Suckling Pig "Segovian Style" D.O. Teruel
Hello babe on a tray! The whole suckling pig display may be a tad disturbing for most but it was so so yummy. This dish was served the traditional way which mean chopping the piggy up with a plate... how that tradition came about I can't even begin to hypothesize. The pig was one of my favorite dishes of the night! The meat simply melted in your mouth and had a lovely thin layer of fat. The skin was thin and crisp and the seasoning was spot on. A MUST order if you are here. 

Torrija - Soft and Sweet Warm Bread with Smoked Milk Ice Cream
Ahhh this was SO delicious. I am a sucker for bread pudding and this dessert was just amazing. The bread was tenderly soft and creamy and the outside was caramelized to a crispy perfection. The ice cream was delectably sweet and the chilly coldness went perfectly with the warm bread. The serving should be much much bigger because I could not stop eating this!

Cheese Flan
I don't have very vivid memories of this dish but it should be quite decent. It was smooth but the flavor of cheese was not too apparent.

Rice - Cream Rice and Milk Pudding
This dessert was another perfect ending to our meal. The rice pudding was lusciously creamy and divinely sweet. 

Catalunya was a enjoyable dining experience but I do not think it deserves the insane amount of hype its been receiving. I would want to return again when I have the craving for high quality spanish cuisine but I wouldn't make a massive effort to try and score a reservation. Most of the dishes were executed extremely well yet I was not BLOWN away to the extent that I felt like I had to tell all my friends to go and try it as soon as possible. Nevertheless it is definitely a restaurant that I believe has staying power as it does serve very solid food in a sophisticated environment.

Catalunya

Guardian House

32 Oi Kwan Road

Wan Chai

Hong Kong

22 Ships

Woohoo! Another blog post already :) many more to come as I rush to get updated with all my previous reviews!

Hong Kong has been hit with a huge bout of Tapas fever and one of the most hotly anticipated and buzzed about new restaurants is 22 Ships. After seeing drool-worthy collages of the delicious offerings on instagram bestie C and I finally decided to have a taste ourselves. 22 Ships is headed by British celebrity Michelin star chef Jason Atherton who has trained under legendary chefs such as Pierre Koffmann, Nico Ladenis, and Marco Pierre White. Atherton has also launched numerous coveted restaurants such as Pollen Street Social in London and Pollen in Singapore. Lucky for us Chef Atherton has now extended his culinary talent to Hong Kong! The restaurant is tiny – only 35 seats, but the front façade of the restaurant opens out into the street which allows the restaurant to seem less confined and results in a bustling and intimate environment. There is a no reservations policy and waiting diners can stand outside and enjoy a drink until their table is ready.

Roasted Baby Gem Lettuce, Anchovy, Crispy Ham, and Parmesan Mayo
This dish seemed like a deconstructed caesar salad/wedge salad of sorts. It tasted fine, but not something I would want to get again. I believe we ordered it just because everything else was meaty and heavy and we felt that we should balance things out with a bit of greens. The crispy ham and the mayo was a nice touch but the dish was just not particularly memorable. I also don't think it is worth the price for a cut of lettuce.

Spanish Breakfast - Chorizo and Potato
This was a dish that was very popular in previous reviews. I was very excited to try it but must say that I do not share the same sentiments as the other food reviewers towards this dish. The reviewers praised the potato puree to be lusciously smooth and although it was very smooth, C and I just felt that it lacked texture and was almost like a potato smoothie. The egg was also very creamy and smooth which cause the dish to become quite one-dimensional. I think the potato puree can be a bit thicker and perhaps some croutons or crispy bread can be added for a much needed textural contrast.

Scallop Ceviche, Yuzu Dressing, Soy, Cucumber, Apple
This dish was very refreshing and all the flavors went perfectly together. The delicate slices of radish and apple provides a lovely crunchiness and sweetness to the soft and well flavored scallops. My only complaint is that the serving is tiny!

Iberico Pork and Foie Gras Burgers, Avocado and Pickled Cucumber
This was another dish that was very popular from what I read in other reviews. The beat patty was very flavorful and juicy. The onion jam at the bottom was delicious and rich and just made the burger even more decadent. I am a huge fan of foie gras but I felt that I didn't really taste any foie flavor. The sliders were very yummy, but I didn't think that the addition of foie was very evident. Perhaps the addition of the foie was what caused the burger to be so rich and juicy yet I definitely did not detect the rich distinctive flavor that I love so much. 

Fried Egg, Black Pudding, Capers, and Anchovy
This may have been my favorite dish of the night. The black pudding was robust, rich, and went perfectly with the soft cooked egg. I think they should provide bread for this dish as I had to request for thin bread crisps which went gloriously well with this. Without the bread this is a bit too rich and soft in texture overall. C and I both loved this dish and would definitely order it again.

22 Ships is definitely making a big splash in the Hong Kong dining scene and although not every dish was amazing I can definitely see myself returning to 22 Ships to try out the other dishes! I hear that the suckling pig is very good so that will be something that I will try next time! The atmosphere is great and very lively and  although service was a bit spotty (waitress put our white wine into a cooler that was empty...) at times I think these are things that can be ironed out soon! I also think that servings could be a bit larger as C and I were not too hungry to begin with therefore we were relatively satiated after the meal but we did feel that a lot of the dishes were too small (even for tapas!). We have heard however that the meat dishes are much larger and substantial so we will have to give that a go next time!

22 Ships

22 Ship Street

Wan Chai

Hong Kong