While my mom was visiting (way back in January), she wanted to try some Chinese restaurants in Chinatown. Since I’m not that well-versed in the Chinese food world, she asked her colleague, Dr. Allen Lee, for some recommendations since he grew up in Manhattan. He recommended Chatham Square:
They were celebrating a wedding on the first floor of the restaurant, so we were seated in the basement with the restaurant employees (they were having a family meal). We knew we wanted to order fish (especially because I love it when you can pick the fish you’re going to eat!):
When our family goes to Chinese restaurants, we usually let our mom or dad do all of the ordering since David and I don’t read Chinese (except basic things like beef, pork, noodles) and I always trust what my mom orders. She ordered some Peking duck, which is prepared tableside:
The buns tasted light and fluffy (exactly like the pork buns you can buy at Momofuku) and were really delicious with the duck skin, juicy meat, hoison sauce, and green onion:
The buns were also a lot cheaper than the pork buns you buy at Momofuku (where they cost $9 for TWO BUNS!) AND you get a lot of duck, which is awesome.
In Taiwan, when you order Peking duck, you usually get some duck soup at the end of the meal (it’s the bones that are cooked for days so the broth is actually white and really flavorful). We asked if it was available at the restaurant and they whipped something together for us:
Not as good as something you’d get in Taiwan, but pretty close:
It actually ended up being really delicious because of the tofu in the soup (they make their tofu in the restaurant and it was really tender and flavorful).
For our main dishes, my mom ordered stuffed eggplant (stuffed with tofu):
The dish definitely had too much sauce, but the Japanese eggplant was pretty delicious (although not even close to how delicious my mom’s stuffed eggplant is).
We also ordered fish that was freshly cooked and presented with some vinegar, soy sauce, oil, and cilantro:
The fish was tender like the tofu we had and we were really happy with the dish.
My mom was pretty satisfied with the meal, although she agreed that the eggplant entree was too sweet because of the sauce. I definitely should venture out to more restaurants in Chinatown from now on so I can find a place to take my mom when she visits! Thanks so much for the recommendation!
Thanks for entering another Gracenotes NYC giveaway! The winner of the Ms. Pedicure kit is:
Richard!
Winner of the funniest comment might be Frank, who likes to have milk curdle in his stomach during the summer time. Richard, please e-mail me at gracenotesnyc@gmail.com to claim your prize!
The Pirate’s Booty giveaway just ended, but I have another great giveaway before the end of the month! Ms. Pedicure sent me a foot spa kit and I have an extra kit to give away to one lucky reader. The kit includes a pumice stone, exfoliating foot scrub, foot lotion, foot and leg rub, a massager, and a cute little tote bag:
The kit is really helpful, especially if you want to do at at home pedicure! My favorite is the exfoliating foot scrub (it smells really good) and David has used the kit, too, so guys, don’t feel left out and enter the contest, too!
To enter the contest, just answer the following question in the comments section of this post:
What do you love about the summer?
The contest ends on Tuesday, May 26th at 12pm EST and I鈥檒l announce the winner shortly after 馃檪
Thanks for entering the contest (Latifah, if I had an extra giveaway, you’d win it for most interesting comment). The winner is:
JUSTIN! Justin, please contact me at gracenotesnyc@gmail.com so I can send you the booty! A big thank you to everyone that entered and stay tuned for another giveaway!
There’s exactly a week left before I turn 25! To celebrate, I’ve come up with my birthday wishlist (just for fun…unless you’d like to make my day and buy me something!) My mom already purchased some of the gifts on my wishlist (my wonderful spring jacket that I’ve been lucky enough to wear the past couple of weeks because of the strange NYC weather) and I purchased some on my own (my new Christian Louboutin’s were a gift to myself). Here’s the rest of my wishlist:
1. Fountain Jet Seltzer Maker
I’ve been drinking seltzer since I was 14 (La Croix cans were always in my car). I still drink a crazy amount of seltzer and at one point this year, purchased 84 1-liter bottles of Vintage seltzer through FreshDirect. Seriously – here’s some evidence. This seltzer maker would be perfect for me (and David) because we love drinking seltzer AND we could make cool seltzer blends!
2. Puerto Rico Board Game
So if you’ve ever spent a Wednesday night with me, you know I love playing board games. I’m a huge fan of Ticket-to-Ride and Settlers of Catan (and more recently, Cranium), but after doing some research on boardgamegeek.com, I have decided that I WANT this board game. No, I NEED IT.
3. Dinner at the following places: Minetta Tavern, Sasabune, Daniel, wd-50, DBGB, and Alinea (Alinea would also involve a trip to Chicago…coincidentally, I’m going in September!).
4. Bike, Bike lock, and Helmet
I’m undecided what type of bike I want – either a Hello Kitty type bike with a basket and bell or a racing bike so I can ride with David.
5. Camera case for my Canon 770
I’ve been carrying around my camera (the one that I got for Christmas) in a little makeup bag. The makeup bag isn’t very sturdy and I’d like to take my camera outdoors more often, so this would be the perfect case for my adventures!
6. The following books: Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Herme, Patisserie of Pierre Herme, Tartine (by Elisabeth Prueitt and Chad Robertson), Baked: New Frontiers in Baking (by Matt Lewis, Renato Poliafito, and Tina Rupp), The Art of Simple Food (By Alice Waters).
I can’t think of anything else I really want (and if there is anything, I suppose there’s always Christmas!)
