Wynonna's Roast Chicken Feast

My friend W always makes the most amazing food and I am so lucky to be able to shove my face with her creations all the time. She decided to make a roast chicken feast last week and here are the results. 

Sunday's Grocery

I was not in the best of moods but these delicious sandwiches and good friends definitely cheered me up (and maybe that coffee alcoholic beverage helped too)! The team behind Yardbird and Ronin have once again created a hip and interesting new outpost that serves delicious food that already have people talking all around town. I absolutely adore Yardbird, and I really loved Sunday's Grocery also. But I just don't know why Ronin never really did it for me. Maybe I need to go back and try it again. Sunday's Grocery offers customers made to order sandwiches and side dishes and a selection of shochu, sake, and other alcohol. Apparently there should be a draught wine system but that did not seem to be available yet when I went. There also will be lifestyle goods for sale but I didn't really notice when I went but it may still be in its opening phase. There is not seating there so you can either choose to bring it elsewhere to nom on or do it like us and sit on the little plastic boxes outside the shop. They also serve fried chicken on Sunday's but unfortunately I have yet to try them!

Mmmm what to get what to get?!

I forgot the name of this, but it was basically a espresso martini in a cute glass that I got to keep. The drink was freshly made too and then sealed with a little metal cover. Super cute! 

Chicken Fingers
Extremely solid chicken fingers. Juicy and high quality chicken lightly breaded with the perfect amount of crunch. Pretty sure that was kewpie mayo also which is just a gift from the gods. I love mayo always but kewpie is just NEXT LEVEL shizz.

Market Chips - Root Veg, Black Sugar, Shichimi
These market chips are SO delicious. The addition of the black sugar just genius and really makes these chips rise above other veggie chips. They are fried to crispy perfection and the sticky sweetness complements them so perfectly. They are also so pretty with all their vibrant colors! 

Mineeee!

Katsu Sando - Pork Katsu, Tonkatsu Sauce, Milk Bread
Oooooo this was so yummy. The katsu was not what I expected but it was still amazing. If you've been to Yardbird, the katsu tasted like a deep fried patty of the tsukune (chicken meatball). The katsu is then smothered in creamy slaw and savory tonkatsu sauce. This amazingness is then enveloped by two slices of fluffy Japanese milk bread. Eating this was like the taste equivalent of the feeling of wrapping yourself up in a soft fluffy fleece blanket. I'm a poet.

I feel like the team behind Yardbird is so great at taking dishes that are familiar, and adding a little something special to bring it to the next level. Like at YB, the type of skewers in terms of the meat is nothing innovative, yet they flavor it in such a way that really makes the whole thing pop and makes it so unique. They also are very good at inventing totally creative dishes too such as the KFC  (omg YUM). Once again, service was super friendly and knowledgable. C got the banh mi and I had a bite which was also extremely good. It would be nice if there was seating but that's not a big deal. I will definitely be back again and I also really want to try the fried chicken! 

Sunday's Grocery

66-68 Catchick Street

Kennedy Town

Hong Kong

The Halal Guys

When you are in NYC, you are surrounded by tons of different street food carts, but the ultimate winner is CHICKEN AND RICE (bacon egg and cheese croissant is amazing too... but nothing beats the chicken and rice!). And the king of chicken and rice is the indisputable the Halal Guys. They have turned a common street dish into their own brand and company and now they have many different carts on 53rd and 6th. There is always a long long line and I must say that their version is above the rest. The meat is marinated very well and the rice is just better! They also give you a massive amount for $6 and I really like how they do not try to rip you off even though they are so famous. The white sauce is DELICIOUS so make sure you just drown your rice with that, it may look like a lot but I promise that you will want more so just load that up. I love the mix plate with lamb and chicken :)

WARNING: The hot sauce is next level spicy. I love spicy food but this is some serious shizzz, remember to just put some on the side or else you will be in a lot of pain... both when you are eating it and also the next morning..... if you know what I mean! 

The Halal Guys

6th Ave W 53rd Street

New York

NY10019

More Turntable Mad for Chicken

I have posted about Turntable before and here are some more photos! I am back in NYC now and am ready to eat more chicken wings but Mexico is in two weeks so I will probably try and control a little (but who am I kidding I will probably eat the same as before hehe).

Jacob's Pickles

I am actually not much of a pickles fan but T loves pickles and Jacob's Pickles was listed as one of yummiest restaurants in the UWS so I decided to come here with T during his NYC visit. It was only 1 subway stop away from me so it was a perfect pre-class lunch spot. Apart from its pickles, Jacob's Pickles is also famous for its biscuits. The servings are GINORMOUS so make sure you come hungry or be ready to pack some leftovers to go. The atmosphere was very cute and service was friendly and warm.

Deviled Eggs
The deviled eggs were well seasoned but the serving was just too big for two people. One half of the egg was enough for me. 

Chicken, Bacon, and Egg on a Biscuit with a side of Cheese Grits
The grits were very creamy and lush. I used to not like grits but I think it was just because I had a very horrible version of them. Now I know that they can be so delicious! The picture may be misleading but this biscuit was the side of my face and 1/4 of this would probably be enough to have me stuffed. The chicken was thick and juicy and the outside was crispy and not too heavily breaded. The biscuit was moist on the inside and delectably crumbly on the outside. 

Mushroom Gravy
Since I am greedy I also ordered the mushroom gravy. It was nice and creamy but I did not think it was mindblowing. It was a bit like Campbells cream of mushroom soup...? I have not have had a ton of gravy in my life so maybe that's how its suppose to taste like but I was not particularly amazed by this. 

Chicken and Pickles on a Biscuit 
The chicken was the same delicious type that I had and T said that the pickles were very good! 

Yolkporn oh yes

Jacob's Pickles is a great spot for lunch and I would definitely be happy to return. I don't think I can eat this too often as it is quite heavy but it was a very enjoyable experience.

Jacob's Pickles

509 Amsterdan Avenue 

Between 84th and 85th Street

Upper West Side
New York

NY 10024

USA

Turntable Mad for Chicken

Bonchon is one of my favorite places to munch in NYC and while there is still Bonchon in NYC I have heard that Turntable Mad for Chicken is even better. It is actually in the same location as the Bonchon that I went to back in the day and I heard that there was some management drama/recipe stealing? I am unsure but as long as I get my korean fried chicken I am happy. The cheese tekkbokki is also excellent here. The chicken is heavenly, make sure you give this place a visit! I will add more pictures next time but this should give you a taste for now :)

Turntable Mad for Chicken

2/F

314 5th Avenue 

Between 31st and 32d Street Midtown West

New York

NY 10001

USA

Korean Marinaded Chicken Filet, Brussel Sprouts with Balsamic Glaze, and Toasted Avocado

Hello! When I first started this blog, I had a lot of posts that featured my own cooking and recipes, but as the blog developed, it mostly revolved around restaurant reviews. I have had a couple of friends telling me about how much they enjoyed my recipes and how they learnt how to make a specific dish from my blog. Hearing such things has always made me so happy so I will make it a point to include more cooking/recipe posts!

This was a meal I made for T and I didn't take too many step by step pictures as I was not originally planning to post this! T is always talking about his salads and chicken breasts and I wanted to make him something just as healthy but a little bit more interesting. I got my Brussels Sprouts recipe from The Pioneer Woman and just made some minor adjustments. The recipes here are super simple and T seemed to have quite enjoyed it even though he was suffering from a raging hangover :)

Korean Marinated Chicken

Ingredients
- Chicken filets
- Korean Marinade (you can get these in most supermarkets but I am certain they have it at City Super and the supermarket in SOGO. The one I used was actually for beef kalbi but it worked really well with the chicken too!
- Ziplock bag (This is not essential as you can also marinade the meat in a bowl but I had to bring the ingredients to T's house to cook it therefore the ziplock bag was very convenient)

Directions
1) Wash and pat dry the chicken filets with paper towels.
2) Poke holes into the chicken filets with a fork. This will help the marinade penetrate the meat more. 
3) Place chicken filets in the ziplock bag and pour in a decent amount of marinade. I did not measure the amount but you need to make sure that there is enough marinade for all the chicken pieces to be submerged and exposed to the marinade.
4) Close the bag (duh) and massage around the chicken to ensure that the marinade is distributed evenly and that all the pieces of chicken are covered. 
5) Place in fridge and marinate overnight. 

The next day

1) Heat olive oil in a frying pan and allow the pan to get quite hot in order to get a nice browning on the chicken.
2) Cook each side for approximately 5 minutes. After browning the chicken for around 1 minute, turn down the heat or else it will be burnt. 

Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic Glaze 

Ingredients
- 2 packs of Brussels Sprouts (I forgot to check how large each bag was but you can get a estimate of the amount from the pictures. These were washed and trimmed already but I still trimmed off some stalks and gave them a quick rinse anyways)
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar 
- Salt and Pepper 

Directions 
1) Preheat oven to 375˚F/180˚C
2) Trim and wash the Brussels Sprouts. Lightly pat dry with paper towels. Do not get rid of the leaves that fall out, they turn deliciously crispy when baked! 
3) I preferred my Brussels Sprouts to be halved but I kept the smaller ones intact. 
4) Line a baking pan with aluminum foil and pour in the Brussels Sprouts. 

5) Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and olive oil. Toss to distribute evenly. 

6) Bake for around 25-30 minutes or until the Brussels Sprouts are nicely golden. The glaze takes around 15 minutes to make so plan accordingly. 

Tip: do not be fooled by the color on the top, it will be slightly golden but the bottom of the sprouts which are touching the foil will be very nicely browned. If you wait until the top is very brown the bottom will most likely be burnt! 

Making the Glaze 

1) Pour 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar into a pot and simmer for 15 minutes until the vinegar is nice and thick. The Pioneer Woman recipe called for sugar too but I felt that the reduced vinegar is quite sweet enough. 
2) Drizzle the glaze over the Brussels Sprouts and toss around. 

Toasted Avocado

This is pretty straight forward, you can easily eat the avocado as it is but T wanted to contribute to the cooking and I do think that the toasting of the avocado does make it slightly more creamy :) Sprinkle with some black pepper. 

Tada!