Lao Shanghai/老上海飯店

Lao Shanghai is a old school Shanghai restaurant in Wan Chai. This post is clearly really old because it is no longer hairy crab season. I thought it was pretty well done here but prefer Liu Yuan Pavillon.

Lao Shanghai/老上海飯店

238 Jaffe Road

Wan Chai

Hong Kong 

Elephant Grounds

Elephant grounds has been opened in Central for a while but I never really liked that location because it was so tiny. I heard that they have a new location in Star Street and it is now one of my favorite places to hang out. The location is super airy and bright and I love working/grabbing a coffee there. It does get quite busy during lunch times (especially during the weekend!) but it is a perfect location to hang out during off peak hours.

The food is also yummy and there are a lot of wholesome options such as donburi bowls and poke bowls. Their menu changes at 2:45 pm so make sure you time yourself accordingly!

Tuna Poke - Sweet Chili Soy, Green Onion, Tenkasu, Furikake, Radish & Onsen Egg
My friends loooove this poke bowl and I think it is very well made but quite expensive (~145?) given the price of other poke places popping up all over the city!  

Miso Black Cod - White Miso Marinade, Torched Miso Mayo, Shimeji Mushroom, Snap Pea, Nori Potato & Carrot 
This dish is both delicious and beautiful! The serving of fish is a little small and I don't like how it is broken into random little pieces but the taste is very good. It is a TINY bit too salty but overall I enjoyed it. I think since it is quite strong in flavor, it would go very well with rice. 

Yeah we had a lot of poke lovers that day haha 

Ebi Mayo - Tempura Shrimp, Cabbage & Housemade Mayo Sauce This dish is part of their "sharing plates" and is quite a large portion! This dish is tasty but can be a little heavy and isn't my favorite out of the menu. 

Matcha Latte 
I loveeee their matcha latte! It is incredibly smooth and strong in milk and matcha flavor. 

Aburi Short Rib Donburi - 36-Hour Slow Cooked Beef Short Ribs, Onsen Egg, Fried Garlic Chips, Pickled Ginger, Corn, Green Onion & Furikake 
I did not try this but my friend said it was really good! I think the addition of the pickled ginger is really smart to off set the richness of the short rib. 

Torched Salmon Donburi - Cured Salmon, Sake Soy, Pickled Cucumber, Onsen Egg, Mixed Leaves & Onsen Egg 
This dish was perfect for lunch! I felt like I was getting the perfect serving of veggies, protein, and rice. Everything complemented each other well both in terms of flavors and textures. 

It can get really packed here but I think it's a super comfortable location for some yummy eats!

Elephant Grounds

8 Wing Fung Street

Wan Chai

Hong KOng

Flex Mussels

Flex Mussels is a classic that never disappoints! The food is always delicious and the vibe is fun and cozy.

PARMA - parmigiano cream, lemon, scallions, toasted garlic, crispy shallots
The mussels are super plump and sweet and the crispy shallots on top gave the creamy dish a crunchy element. A squeeze of lemon was perfect to offset the richness of the dish.

The Flex Donut Collection
Oh my god these donuts are heavenly! These little nuggets of delicious are fluffy and injected with a selection of amazing fillings such as caramel and peanut butter and jelly. The vanilla sauce is also very well made. MUST ORDER! 

I have also seen pictures of savory donuts for brunch but unfortunately I will be unable to try them until my next visit to New York.

Flex Mussels 

174 82nd Street

New York

NY 10028 

Seamore's Again

Seamore's is a gem in NYC and a place I can go back to again and again. The food is always incredibly fresh and the flavors are bright and delicious. I also love that it is environmentally conscious and serves only sustainable seafood. The owner Michael Chernow is also frequently at the restaurant and always checks in with his customers about their experience. I really love it when you can tell that the owner is passionate about his business and make the extra effort to make his customers have a great experience. They have some constant items on their menu and also specials on whatever is freshest at the time. Check out the menu here!

Kale and Avocado Salad - Walnuts, Sweet Potato, Quinoa, Honey-Apple Vinaigrette 
This salad is absolutely delicious! The vinaigrette has the perfect touch of sweetness and I love to top off this salad with one of their daily fresh seafood offerings. The crunch of the walnuts and the crisp apples also take the salad to the next level. 

Poke - Ponzu, Peanut, Avocado 
This poke is incredibly flavorful and has a slight Asian flavor to it with some sesame oil. The fish is very fresh and the serving is also very generous. This dish definitely is a party in your mouth. At times I think this is slightly salty since the chips are also salted but I would highly recommend ordering this! I could totally see myself eating this over rice. 

I love Seamore's and would highly recommend it to anyone! Apart from the great seafood offerings, I hear that their burgers are also on point.

Seamore's

390 Broome St.

New York

NY 10013

Sons of Thunder

The poke wave has hit New York hard and Sons of Thunder is considered by many to be one of the best in the city. Like most poke places, you purchase your meal at the counter with add ons and then find a spot to sit down. The sit down area is really cute and sunny and this is a great spot for a quick lunch.

Salmon Bowl with Spicy Marinade and addition of Garlic Chips
The fish was very fresh but I thought that there was way too much sauce and the garlic chips were also overwhelming. I tried my friends shoyu bowl and liked it much better. I think that I will definitely chose the shoyu version next time and also ditch the garlic chips! 

My first experience at Sons of Thunder was not as positive as other people's but everyone I've spoken to loved their meal so I will definitely give it another chance! The fish and salad was very fresh so I think this is definitely a top choice for poke in the city! 

Sons of Thunder 

204 E 38th St.
New York
NY 10016

Zz's Clam Bar

This was one of my dining highlights of 2015! There are a couple of dishes in my lifetime that I will remember and the trout roe toast has made it on the list! Zz's is known for its delicious tropical drinks and fresh and indulgent seafood offerings, but is also known for its notoriously high prices and strict reservation/dining time issues. Luckily I did not suffer any drama regarding our reservations or getting kicked out (thank god that would have been a mess), but I did experience the sky high prices (but worth every penny in my opinion!). The drinks were yummy but I would rather spend my money on the food when I visit next! I loved the interesting flavor combinations but they were a tad sweet for me (I like a stiff drink).

Cutest pineapple cup! I am obsessed with these. 

Uni Toast
Oh yessss... this is basically porn for Asians haha. The uni was very fresh and the crunchy toast held up perfectly to the perfectly creamy mountain above. 

Trout Roe Toast
OH MY GOD. This was a toast sent from the gods above. The trout roe was so incredibly sweet and savory and the crème fraîche below was the perfect complement. There was also a lovely aroma of truffle that was not overpowering at all. This dish was just out of the world and both Y and I were completely blown away. We got seconds and I think I could eat this toast forever if I could. 

Seared - Live Scallop, Sicilian Pistachios, Brown Butter
The scallops were once again very fresh and I loved the sweet nuttiness of the pistachio and the brown butter. It was not a must order dish but I definitely enjoyed it. 

Carpaccio - Tuna, Foie Gras, Bone Marrow
Mmmmmm this was so good with the buttery bread. The beef was melt in your mouth tender and the grated foie was very fragrant and flavorful. The bone marrow was not very pronounced but it definitely added another level of indulgence and creaminess to this dish. 

Another angle because it's so prettyyyyy 

Super cute seashell case for the check! 

It's too bad that the menu only has raw items because as much as I love oysters and raw seafood I do like to have a little bit of warm and cooked items. There is also a noticeable lack of carbs which makes it hard to feel completely full (especially for dinner). Y and I decided to have more wine and some small bites at Boqueria later and we definitely had quite the perfect night catching up over amazing food!

Zz's Clam Bar

169 Thompson Street

New York

NY 10012

Crave Fish Bar

I love oysters and seafood and W has been wanting to try Crave for some time! We knew that it was near one of our friend's house but we had no idea it was just one street away. Unfortunately I was not super impressed with the meal and probably won't go back. The food wasn't bad, but there were a few dishes that were big misses and others were decent but not good enough to warrant a return.

Oysters
They were fresh and I liked how they added little bits of grapefruit for color 

Plancha Grilled Octopus - Chinese Broccoli, Cumin Mustard Vinaigrette
The octopus pieces were a bit skinny and this made them a bit chewy and dry. The cumin mustard was also much too overwhelming and the Chinese Broccoli was too bitter and didn't really complement the octopus or the mustard well. 

Fluke Ceviche Tostada - Bean Puree, Hearts of Palm, Baby Romaine, Thai Chili 
I did not like the addition of the baby romaine as it was just distracting and did not really go well with the smooth texture of the ceviche. The ceviche itself was fresh and I like how it was on top of a crispy tostada but the romaine was out of place. 

Rice Dusted Point Judith Calamari - Thai Miso Sauce, Mung Bean Sprouts, Aleppo Chile
I really liked the flavor profile of this dish, we all said it tasted very "Asian". It's a bit hard to explain, but it had the taste of Asian noodles or a very stereotypical Asian flavor that we all enjoyed. I also liked the addition of the bean sprouts but unfortunately the calamari itself was not crispy enough.

Chilled Local Scallop - Anise, Tomato, Lemon Puree, Shaved Fennel 
Once again, the scallop was fresh, but the puree was so sour and overwhelming that it totally distracted from the quality of the seafood. I had to scrap it off before I ate it. 

Local Diver Sea Scallops - Oyster Mushrooms, Spring Onion, Yellow Wax Beans, Tomato Champagne Vinaigrette
The scallops were perfectly seared and very plump. I also liked the oyster mushrooms but could do without the beans. 

Lobster Curry - Chu Chee Curry, Charred Red Onion, Japanese Eggplant Thai Apple Eggplant, Fresh Bamboo Shoots
One of the better dishes of the night. The lobster meat was chunky and sweet and I liked the flavor of the curry. 

Seared Rare Yellowfin Tuna - Mexican Corn, Queso Fresco, Pickled Onion, Guajillo Salsa
This dish looked pretty but was definitely not my favorite. The tuna was MUCH too raw and it was a little sickening as the raw tuna was not seasoned well at all. I love sushi and raw fish but this was just not enjoyable as it was such a large chunk and the fish had no flavor of its own. It was just this cold raw lump. The corn was good though. 

Garlic Chive Griddled Rice - Snap Pea, Egg 
I think this rice mixed with the curry was what I ate most of this night. The rice was the perfect texture and I loved the slightly crunchiness from being griddled and the garlic and chive flavor. 

I think Crave is ok for some oysters and specific fishes if you are in the area, but apart from that, I would say skip it. There are so many other better oyster places in New York such as Mermaid Inn.

Crave Fish Bar

945 2nd Ave

New York

NY 10022

Seamore's

Seamore's is the new venture by Michael Chernow (you may know him as the co-owner of The Meatball Shop and the show Consumed) and has already attracted a lot of attention! Seamore's serves sustainable seafood in a beautiful bright and airy setting. W and I had such a great lunch here on a perfectly sunny day. Apart from some menu staples, there is a "Daily Landing" menu which tells you which type of fish or seafood is available on that day as they want to serve what is most in season and fresh. You can learn more about the menu here. There was a little hiccup in which our mains took forever to come after we enjoyed out appetizers but our server was incredibly sweet and you could tell that she was trying her best to get it to us asap. She ended up comping our first round of our drinks which was sweet gesture. We also ran into the owner when we left and he was really friendly and asked us how our meal was. I definitely would love to return and try other menu items.

Tuna Poke - Ponzu, Peanut, and Avocado
The tuna was very fresh and I loved the crispy shallots on top. However, it was slightly too salty. 

Crispy Fish Tacos - Cabbage, Guacamole, Chipotle Mayo 
Fish tacos are some of my favorite things so I was really excited to try this but unfortunately they were not crispy enough. I loved the chipotle mayo and the fish was nice and flaky but I wouldn't get this again next time. 

Kale + Avocado Salad with Black Mullet - Walnut, Squash, Quinoa, Honey-Apple Vinaigrette
This was absolutely delicious. I loved the vinaigrette and the the squash was so sweet and delicious.  The walnuts added a perfect crunch (I would have wanted even more!) and everything just melded together into such a lovely melody of flavors. The black mullet was very flavorful and kind of reminded me of Japanese grilled mackerel. The skin was perfectly crispy and the fish went very well with my salad. 

While I enjoyed some other dishes more than I did others, I love the idea of the restaurant and everything was just so fresh and clean tasting. I definitely will be coming again!

Seamore's 

390 Broome Street

New York

NY 10013

The Dock House

We went to a cute little seafood spot called The Dock House after a full day of drinking and it was the perfect meal to soak up all the alcohol. The lobster roll was fresh and sweet and the fried clams were also well seasoned and meaty. They have a great assortment of seafood and the chefs can also prepare them in a multitude of ways!

The Dock House
1 Long Wharf
Sag Harbor
NY 11963