New York City Eats

I really enjoyed my week's holiday in New York, and as one might expect the food played a large part in that. Rather than do loads of blog posts (I really can't be arsed nowadays) here's a round-up of some of my favourite eats in the Big Apple.

The dimly-lit dining room at Minetta Tavern, while terrible for food photography, is one of the most buzzy, atmospheric ones I've eaten in. And I've eaten in a lot. I kicked off with a generous portion of roasted bone marrow served with shallot confit and baguette soldiers while my friend went with roast baby beets. Both got the thumbs up. For mains, we both ordered the legendary Black Label burger. Made with prime cuts of dry-aged beef, topped with caramelized onions and served in a sesame-topped brioche bun, this was without doubt the best burger I've ever eaten. Oh, and the big mountain of fries were bloody amazing, too. Overall, Minetta Tavern was probably my favourite out of all the restaurants I visited in New York. This begs the question whether Keith McNally opened the wrong restaurant in London.



Minetta Tavern, 113 MacDougal St (btwn Bleecker & 3rd St), Greenwich Village, New York, NY 10012
(Tel: +1-212-475-3850)

Kesté Pizza & Vino serves pizza the Neapolitan way with a wood-fired brick oven taking pride of place at the back of the shop. My diavola pizza was pretty much perfect with its blistered chewy crust and quality toppings of homemade mozzarella, spicy soppressata and fresh basil. My friend enjoyed his pistacchio a salsiccia pizza with its subtle pistachio pesto topping and moreish sausage meat. As the name of the restaurant suggests wine is of equal importance to the pizza and this is reflected by the excellent wine list. Along with Biang! and the Minetta Tavern, this small pizzeria is on my A-list of New York eateries.



Kesté Pizza & Vino, 271 Bleecker St (btwn Cornelia & Jones St), West Village, New York, NY 10014
(Tel: +1-212-243-1500)

Choosing where to eat in Manhattan's Chinatown is a risky business. One false move and you could end up in a tourist trap. So I was thankful that I had some local knowledge to fall back on in the form of coolcookstyle's recommendation of Shanghai Café Deluxe. Being a caff specialising in Shanghainese food, both 小籠包 xiao long bao (soup-filled pork dumplings) as well as the less well known 生煎包 sheng jian bao (pan-fried soup-filled pork buns) were ordered. Of the two I preferred the latter; I think this might be to do with the fact that sheng jian bao, with their juicy pork filling and crispy bottoms, are nigh on impossible to find in London. Incidentally, these two dishes are listed on the English language-menu as steamed tiny buns with pork and fried tiny buns with pork.



Shanghai Café Deluxe, 100 Mott St (btwn Canal & Hester St), Chinatown, New York, NY 10013
(Tel: +1-212-966-3988)

Fette Sau may not be the best barbecue joint in New York (the twitterverse told me as much) but it is ideally located to kick off an afternoon out in Williamsburg. I know sod-all about proper American barbecue and have precious little experience of it. So for what it's worth, I thought the pulled pork shoulder, beef short rib and beef brisket were decent enough but that the pork ribs and pork sausages were better. I liked the casual fun vibe of this converted auto repair shop so it was a shame that our lunch was slightly spoiled by rude and inattentive bar service (by the way, the food counter service was just fine).



Fette Sau, 354 Metropolitan Ave (btwn Havemeyer & Roebling), Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY 11211
(Tel: +1-718-963-3404)

I'm pleased to report that there were no such service fails at the excellent Black Brick. Some haters may dwell on the overtly hipster interior design, but quite frankly who cares when the coffee is so damn good. The barista's attention-to-detail was a sight to behold and he also found time to have a friendly chat whilst making my brew. This coffee shop is an ideal pit-stop when strolling along Bedford Avenue, the main drag in Williamsburg. All power to hipsters!



Black Brick, 300 Bedford Ave (btwn Grand & S 1st St), Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY 11211
(Tel: +1-718-384-0075)

Tribeca Grill may no longer be the place to be seen, but I enjoyed my Sunday brunch at this glamorous restaurant famous for being part-owned by Robert De Niro (I had a good look around but Bobby was nowhere to be seen). I adored my jumbo lump crab cake, which as promised had jumbo lumps of sweet white crabmeat. This was perfectly paired with chipotle roasted corn and cilantro avocado mousse. My mate enjoyed his scrambled eggs, country gravy & buttermilk biscuit so much, he didn't offer me any. And do remember to order the basket of bread & pastries if only for the amazing banana bread. This was a fine last meal before heading off to the airport.



Tribeca Grill, 375 Greenwich St (btwn Franklin & North Moore St), Tribeca, New York, NY 10013
(Tel: +1-212-941-3900)

To conclude my round-up, here are a few places where I enjoyed drinks and snacks. Eataly, Mario Batali's gastro-shrine to all things Italian, has no less than seven restaurants. Being a sunny day I popped up to the rooftop beer garden, Birreria, and enjoyed a fine platter of salumi. To top-up my Britisher points I spent an enjoyable Friday night at April Bloomfield's gastropub, The Spotted Pig. Next time I'll save some space to eat more than just my share of pork rillette and some shoestring fries. Happy Hour is a great time of the day to take a breather from sightseeing whilst plotting where to go out at night. I found this was best done over drinks, some truffle fries and half a dozen littleneck clams from the raw bar at McCoy in Greenwich Village.



Birreria @ Eataly, 200 5th Ave (btwn 23rd & 24th St), Flatiron District, New York, NY 10010
(Tel: +1-212-937-8910)



The Spotted Pig, 314 W 11th St (at Greenwich St), West Village, New York, NY 10014
(Tel: +1-212-620-0393)



McCoy, 89 MacDougal St (at Bleecker St), Greenwich Village, New York, NY 10012
(Tel: +1-212-460-0900)

[NYC Postscript – updated August 2013] After having a great holiday in New York in May, it was a pleasant surprise to return so soon after for a business trip. This, of course, meant more eats and here's a quick round-up of some more places worth checking out.

There are two very good reasons to visit the Standard Hotel in the Meatpacking district even if you're not a guest: the Standard Biergarten and the Standard Grill. Enjoy German beer in the former before going to the latter to tuck into seafood from the raw bar followed by treats such as seared scallops. A short distance from the Standard Hotel is Fatty Crab in the West Village. I'm not entirely sure what my Malaysian friends might think about this take on their cuisine, but I was a big fan of the signature chilli crab as well as snacks such as coconutty chicken wings and seasonal salad.

Taiwanese-style gua bao seem to be taking over the world at the moment and New York is no exception. Of the bao I tried I liked the belly pork-filled Chairman Bao at Baohaus but preferred the pork buns over at Momofuku Noodle Bar, although they were so amply-filled with pork belly it left little room for the slightly-lacklustre Momofuku ramen. My last tip is an example of what the Big Apple does best: ambience. I have no doubt there is better Japanese food in New York but for a good time vibe, there's no beating the Blue Ribbon Sushi Izakaya.

Neptune Oyster - Boston's Finest

I was going to do a round-up of the eats on my recent visit to Boston, but in the end I couldn't be arsed. It's not that the places where I ate were bad; in fact they were pretty decent. It's just that they weren't Neptune Oyster. This intimate seafood joint is a truly special place that really captures the essence of Boston.

We kicked off with the steamed Wellfleet littlenecks, an Iberian-inspired dish and one of the best things I have eaten in a long, long time. A perfect marriage between juicy littleneck clams, freshly caught off Cape Cod, and a sharp, tangy Albarino-based broth full of flavour from chorizo and roasted garlic finished off with parsley and lemon. A side order of bread is obligatory to mop up the broth. This dish was so good we ordered a second helping!

Our other appetizer was Neptunes on Piggyback - crispy fried oysters on top of pulled Berkshire pork with golden raisin confiture and pistachio aioli on toast. It sounds a bit ambitious but all the components worked well together. In addition to a second helping of littlenecks, we ordered Cioppino, an Italian-American fish stew served with saffron rice for our mains (or entrees as the Americans weirdly insist on calling main courses). This was good but it seemed a little monochrome when compared to the technicolor littlenecks.

As American portion sizes are that much bigger, we were full after sharing three starters and a main between two. In fact, I think the way to go at Neptune is to order a spread of starters and maybe something from the raw bar as opposed to the traditional starter-main combo. For those weirdos that dislike seafood, I spied burger and steak on the menu but if you're a veggie then you're pretty much screwed.

One last thing, Neptune Oyster is a tiny, no reservations joint. That said, you can put your name on a list at the door and they'll give you a time to return. There's a nearby pub called Goody Glovers where you can savour a couple of pints while waiting.



Neptune Oyster, 63 Salem St, Boston, MA 02113, USA
(Tel : +1 617-742-3474) Nearest station: Haymarket

PS: OK then, you've twisted my arm, here are a couple of other tips for Boston. For lobster, try Atlantic Fish and for steak, try Abe & Louie's. Neither is particularly cutting edge, but they're both comfortable and serve good quality food and wine. Sometimes that's all you need when you're far from home and knackered after a hard day at work.

The Golden Noodle Awards 2011-12

Eat Noodles Love Noodles is three today, and there's no better way to celebrate than with The Golden Noodle Awards. The awards are a bit slimmed down this year, but to keep things interesting I've introduced a couple of new awards.

The Golden Noodle
Winner: Phở sốt vang by Phở Thinh, Hanoi
In common with last year's contenders, all of my favourite noodle dishes over the past year are from overseas, specifically China and Vietnam. And it's from the latter that the winner hails. Quite simply, the phở sốt vang from Phở Thinh in Hanoi is one of the best bowls of noodles I've ever eaten. The combination of anise-scented broth, slippery smooth broad rice noodles and stewed beef in wine with a side of fried dough sticks was simply amazing.

phở sốt vang @ Phở Thinh

But as much as I enjoyed the noodles in Vietnam, the silver and bronze medals go to Chinese dishes I sampled in Beijing. Din Tai Fung, better known for their xiao long bao, takes the silver for a rather special steamed chicken noodle soup. While taking bronze is a massive dish of belt noodles in spicy garlic sauce (originating from Shaanxi province) from Qin Tang Fu.

The Golden Dim Sum
Winner: Wasabi prawn dumplings by Phoenix Palace
This Golden Dim Sum is awarded to my favourite dim sum dish in London. There are many contenders for this accolade, but the award goes to an old favourite with a twist: wasabi prawn dumplings. These slightly plumper har gau (prawn dumplings) with a nasal passage-clearing wasabi hit are a must-order at Phoenix Palace. They're so good that I don't mind the £4.20 price-tag that their presence on the specials menu demands.

Wasabi prawn dumplings @ Phoenix Palace

Coming in a close second is Princess Garden's golden cuttlefish cheung fun. This triple textural delight consisting of springy cuttlefish paste, crispy tofu skin, and slippery smooth rice noodle is the best cheung fun dish in London. In bronze medal position is the capital's finest sweet dim sum dish: chrysanthemum custard buns by Pearl Liang – remember to order these deep-fried, not steamed.

The London Gold Award
Winner: Eat St
This award celebrates what I love best about London's food scene. However, it isn't the number of Michelin stars that I want to shout out about, it's the grassroots as represented by Eat St. To the uninitiated, this collective of street food traders most famous for its stalls on King's Boulevard (round the back of King's Cross station). My favourite vendors include The Rib Man, Banhmi11 and Eat My Pies. I visit Eat St most lunchtimes and it has improved my quality of life no end, which is why they win the inaugural London Gold award.

Rib Man @ Eat St

I'd also like to give a quick mention (and joint-silver medals) to Maltby St Market and Brixton Market/Village where the likes of Bea's Diner, Kaosarn and Mama Lan ply their trade. Sadly, there are some contrary voices deeming the various stalls and traders to be too hipster/middle class/gentrified. While we're all entitled to our opinions, I find much of the criticism to be lazy, shrill and self-loathing, and I think all of these places are a welcome addition to the capital's food scene.

Anyway, that's all folks! It's time for my blog to take its summer break - see you all in September!

Breakfast @ Bea's Diner

I've been busy lately, so I haven't quite got round to finishing the rest of my posts on Beijing. The thing is I have too many photos, too much to write to about, and not enough time. But they will see the light of day! In the meantime, here's a quick post on Bea's Diner (an offshoot of Bea's of Bloomsbury) at Maltby St Market.

There's quite a bit of choice at Bea's, and I was torn between the buttermilk pancakes and the brioche French toast. In the end I decided to go with the latter, which came with caramel bananas and walnuts. Oh, and I decided to order a side of streaky bacon (it didn't seem right to have breakfast without bacon).

While I wouldn't describe what arrived as being the most aesthetically pleasing plate of food I've ever eaten, I wasn't that bothered as long as it tasted good. It did. In particular, I loved the caramel bananas, which went really well with the French toast. The walnuts gave the dish crunch, and I was also surprised how well the salty bacon went with what was essentially a largely sweet concoction.

The breakfast was also bloody good value, and I was proper stuffed. So much so, plans to eat my way round the market were shelved (perhaps this is part of an evil masterplan by Bea to take over Maltby St through the medium of breakfast). Anyway, it goes without saying that I'll be back. Next time, I think I might try the pancakes, or maybe the poached eggs and muffins.



Bea's Diner at Maltby Street Market Arch 76, Druid St, London SE1 2HQ
Nearest station: London Bridge
Open Saturdays 9am (until they run out)

The Lunchtime Legends of Eat St

[Update Oct 2012 - Eat St is no more, but in its place is Kerb. Pretty much the same traders are operating under this banner, and they continue to operate on King's Boulevard.]

Those of you that follow me on twitter or instagram are probably already fed up of me forever banging on about how great my lunch from Eat St is. For those not in the know, Eat St is a collective of street food traders that can be found on King's Boulevard (round the back of King's Cross station). It's quite a loose collective; the various stalls come and go, and don't necessarily always operate on the same day of the week. So it's best to check out their website to see who's on when.

I'm hard pushed to name a favourite, but I think Bánhmì11 just edges it. After all, I was pretty gutted when they took a break from Eat St earlier this year. Not only do these guys knock up great bánh mì (Vietnamese baguettes) but their beef pho noodle soup is pretty damn tasty, too. If you're going for bánh mì, I recommend either the Fish Q (grilled catfish marinated in turmeric and galangal), or the Imperial BBQ (grilled pork marinated in caramel and lemongrass).

On another day, I may have chosen The Ribman as my favourite. In a short time, this fella has become a bit of a legend with his ribmeat rolls (or wraps for the lightweights) topped with a bit of smokey BBQ sauce and/or the notorious Holy F**k hot sauce. Being a northerner, I like to playfully mock southern portion sizes, but The Ribman doesn't skimp. In fact, the only fault I can find with him is that he's a devoted West Ham fan.

I also like Homeslice, who knock up fantastic pizzas, despite coming from a small country located somewhere in the south Pacific called New Zealand. Seriously though, the ribmeat pizza (with ribmeat provided by The Ribman) is a must-order. Otherwise, the chorizo & rocket is a top choice. The pizza can be ordered by the slice or whole.

Recently, I've become a big fan of Eat My Pies, who knock up pies and pasties (both hot and cold) as well as a range of Scotch eggs. But as much as I like the occasional rabbit pie or smoked haddock Scotch egg, the custard tart eclipses all of their savouries.

Other stalls that I like include the much-underrated Tongue 'n Cheek whose ox cheek with polenta is a favourite of mine, and the new kid on the block: Mother Flipper with their signature double candy bacon burger. And if you have room for something sweet, the salted caramel whoopee pies from Kookybakes always hits the spot.

In fact, such is the diversity and quality of the food found on Eat St, I've only just remembered that the likes of Big Apple Hot Dogs and Yum Bun (both big names in the London street food scene) are Eat St regulars. And I have no doubt that there are other favourites that I haven't mentioned in this post!

I don't want to get too preachy, but in my opinion Eat St is far more important than the multitude of high-end Michelin-starred restaurants with big name, big bollocked chefs that operate in London. And that's because I believe that the richness of a food culture is defined by the quality of everyday food from the bottom-up rather than posh food from the top-down. And while the street food scene in London won't be troubling the likes of Hanoi anytime soon, we should treasure the lunchtime legends of Eat St.

PS: All of the traders mentioned in this post are not exclusive to Eat St's site on King's Boulevard. They also work other pitches across London such as Brick Lane Market, Broadway Market and Brockley Market.

Beijing Snapshots

Here are a few snapshots of the weird and wonderful food that caught my eye during my trip to Beijing.

The last thing you expect to see in Beijing is a churros stall. So it did come as a surprise to see a lengthy queue for these Spanish snacks when strolling along Nanluoguxiang Hutong (南锣鼓巷胡同). I gave these bad boys a miss, as I really couldn't squeeze them in. Proof if proof was needed that the Spanish and Chinese are kindred food spirits.

A Beijing must eat is the humble jiaozi dumpling (饺子). Simply boiled and served with vinegar, they come with a variety of fillings such as the everyday pork & chive, crab, and sanxian 三鲜 (pork, prawn & chives). Should you find yourself in the Xidan (西单) neighbourhood, pop into 天津百饺园 – there's no English signage but the name translates as Tianjin Garden of 100 Dumplings.

You always get more interesting dim sum in China like these baked bbq roast pork buns (cha siu bao 叉烧包) from Modern China (金满庭) in the Times Square mall. I've not seen baked cha siu bao served as dim sum in London but you can get a man-sized version at Chinatown bakeries like Wonderful Patisserie.

Mushroom 'pie' with dim sum? It's not a classic combo but one that you can put together at the Golden Jaguar (金钱豹) buffet restaurant located in The Place mall. In common with the rest of the Western selection, the 'pie' was no great shakes but the Chinese and other Asian food was of a decent standard with many dishes cooked to order.

Le Quai (有璟阁) has a stunning interior and this restaurant, located near the Workers' Stadium, offers a mix of classic and contemporary Chinese cuisine with a fusion touch. It sounds like a car crash waiting to happen but I needn't have worried; fusion dishes like tea eggs filled with foie gras worked just as well as traditional dishes like the steamed Mandarin fish (gui yu 鳜鱼).

Eating Sichuan food in Beijing is another must. We went to Yuxin Sichuan Dish (渝信川菜), which is found inside the Chang'an Grand Theatre. Our selection of old faves such as dry-fried green beans (si ji dou 四季豆) and more unusual dishes like bullfrog in chilli oil was all good. Be warned, Sichuan cuisine in Beijing is a lot more potent than its London counterpart.

Grand Steam (蒸) is a trendy Cantonese joint just off Financial St. As you might have guessed from its name, this restaurant serves mainly steamed food including dim sum and larger dishes. I adored dishes like the steamed cod & beans with garlic soy. Less successful were their wonton noodles (yuntun mian 云吞面), as they didn't use the proper fresh egg noodles (san mein 生面) – sacrilege!

As much as I liked the healthy concept of Grand Steam, it seemed the locals preferred the unhealthy TGI Friday's next door. I have no objections to Beijingers sampling Western food on a night out; I just wish that they had better options to choose from. Mind you, there's not much chance of that when Grand Steam's other neighbour is Pizza Hut with a KFC two doors down.

Searching for General Tso

General Shou's crispy chicken, No.10 Restaurant

General Tso's chicken is to American-Chinese cuisine, what chicken tikka masala is to Anglo-Indian cuisine. Whilst not exactly authentic, this combination of lightly battered fried chicken in a tangy spicy sauce with garlic, ginger, and chilli pepper is probably the best-known Chinese dish in America. However, like many things that are popular across the pond such as country music and NASCAR racing, it hasn't really caught on in this country.

I first became aware of this dish a little over ten years ago on a business trip to Hong Kong. My then boss, an American, complained that General Tso's chicken wasn't on the menu in the restaurant we were in. He was also quite incredulous that neither the guys in the HK office nor I had heard of this dish. When I did look this dish up on the internet, I can't say I was that interested in it but over the years my indifference has waned and I've found myself wanting to check it out.

So when meandering around Earl's Court one day, I got quite excited when I spotted the similarly named General Shou's crispy chicken at No.10 Restaurant. I would've tried it on the spot but for the fact that I was full. The other thing holding me back was that I wasn't 100% sure that it was the same dish as General Tso's. With that in mind, I made a note of the Chinese name, 左宗堂雞, and this matched when I checked it on the interweb.

I'm also glad I waited, as I realised having never eaten this dish, I had no idea how it should taste. That's when I decided to call in some expert help in the form of An American in London to organise a tasting of the General's chicken. Upping the North American contingent, Krista, Su-Lin and late substitute, Mr A-in-L also joined us.

To be honest, I was a bit disappointed when I finally sampled this dish in that it was like a bog standard sweet & sour with some chilli. I'm also not sure what the hell peanuts were doing in there either. It was as if General Tso had started a fight with Kung Pao and won custody of the peanuts. My fellow diners agreed that this faux-General was a bit of a let down. The search for the real General Tso in London goes on.

Spicy shredded chicken cold noodles (before and after)

What about the rest of the meal ? To be honest, it was a mixed bag. My tip would be to stick to the Sichuan specials at the front of the menu. The boiled beef aka shui zhu niu rou, spicy shredded chicken cold noodles, and sea spicy aubergines aka yuxiang qiezi were amongst the better dishes of the evening. On the downside, we were a tad miffed that the dry fried green beans were off the menu.

Less successful was the Cantonese twin platter of siu yuk (crispy belly pork) and cha siu (honey roast pork). The siu yuk was obviously reheated and too dry whilst the cha siu was tired looking and had far too much red food colouring. That said the gai lan stir-fried w/garlic was well cooked.

Together with rice, drinks, and service, the bill clocked in at around £75 or £15/head - pretty good value. For a similar price, Chilli Cool is superior but still it's good to know that there's a restaurant in Earl's Court that knocks out competent Sichuan.



Postscript: There are conflicting claims as to who invented General Tso's chicken. Whilst it is often described as a Hunan dish, it was actually invented in either Taiwan or New York by chefs with Hunan ancestry. For a recipe and a bit more history about the dish, click here and if you're still intrigued, further reading can be found here. 

The Compulsory Goodman Post

I wasn't going to write a review until I received the following e-mail....

From: thebloginspectors@londonblogpolice.co.uk

To: eatlovenoodles@googlemail.com

Subject: Blog Code Violation

Dear Mr Noodles,

It has come to our attention that your blog Eat Noodles Love Noodles violates several statutes of the London food blog code, in particular the absence of any reviews of Bob Bob Ricard, Goodman and Hawksmoor.

As your blog is now older than six months, you are no longer in the probation period for which we may turn a blind eye to such lapses. Moreover, any defence based on your blog concentrating on Chinese food and noodles cannot be used as you haven't got round to reviewing either Leong's Legends or Pearl Liang.

Frankly, we've always had you down as a troublemaker what with you being one of the few bloggers not to write about Pierre Koffman at Selfridges last autumn. That and the lack of coverage on burgers – save one perfunctory post – mark you out as someone we need to bring into line.

Given that we know that you've eaten at Goodman, we just cannot understand why you still haven't posted a review. You didn't really think you could get away without writing anything especially as you had dinner there with other bloggers (that Grubworm chap blew your cover with a mention in his review).

We know for example that you started with the pâté, chicken liver & foie gras w/onion jam & brioche toast and that you moaned about the lack of toast. We know that you wilfully refused the burger in favour of an equally excellent 400g USDA ribeye steak. We even know that you thought it weird that one end of the steak was medium, the other end rare and with only the middle being medium rare as requested.

Word is you liked the chips and that you dipped them in the moreish béarnaise. We also hear that you were in your own little world as you didn't pay much attention to what other people had as starters and that you spurned desserts after overdosing on steak.

We also cannot comprehend why you haven't shouted from the rooftops that you had a great night out. Notwithstanding the excellent company, we do know you were impressed by the classy elegant dining room and that you thought the service was unobtrusive and professional. Was it due to your embarrassment that the Argentine 2007 Salentein Reserve Pinot Noir from Mendoza you ordered was too sweet?

Consider this your first and final warning – you have until the end of the week to post on Goodman. Otherwise, we'll seize your blog, rename it Eat Burgers Love Burgers and forcibly insert multiple posts on why you can't get a decent burger in London.

Yours sincerely,

The Blog Inspectors

PS: Ever thought of taking photography lessons? The photos from your Casio can be a bit crap.



If you want to know about the starters, burgers and desserts then Grubworm and Catty have reviews up. At time of writing, The London Foodie, Kavey and Uyen have yet to post but keep your eyes open as I'm sure The Blog Police are on to them.