Kin'd Review - Queens

Fel and I love finding new little gems - and there was a new thai restaurant in the area, so we knew we had to check it out! Near us, there aren't many great thai restaurants (you have to go deeper into queens for that), so I can understand the buzz! We've been here twice now, and both times were packed (even though one time we came at 9pm ish!) 

Although the outside looks kinda cheesy... and slightly like a mini golf course, the inside is spacious and romantically lit. It's a super cute restaurant -- and great date night spot. This restaurant is managed by a group of friends from Thailand, so what you are getting are authentic meals that they used to eat in Thailand! (thought that was a cool tidbit that I found off of yelp lmao!) 

Although many of the servers seem very nice, we had very mixed feelings about them with both of the times we went. The first time we went, the servers seemed stand-offish and didn't seem to care about us, whereas the second time, our server was very attentive and kind. I'm sure they are all very kind, but it was just something to note. 

Anyway, I usually don't opt to get any drinks because its usually SO expensive.. but they have extremely great value for their drinks! Their thai iced tea, which comes in a generous moscow mule portion is only $3! :D YAS!!! The taste was perfection and wasn't too sweet (which is what I always worry about!) 

This was the one and only appetizer we've gotten both times because it's SO GOOD. These are the chive pancakes. They look questionable, but I promise, you won't regret this! They are glorious triangular chive "pancakes" which are deep fried. The outside is crisp, but the inside is chewy goodness. Not even sure how to explain how it tastes, but my best explanation is a really soft mochi with chive flavor. The sweet soy sauce is the perfect compliment to these fried treats! 

Now onto the entree! Fel got the Garlic noodles with chicken. SO good. This is very similar to pad see ew, but without so much soy sauce and more garlicky. Although it was a bit on the greasy side, it wasn't any more greasy than any other pad see ew I've eaten elsewhere. The flavor of this dish was really standout. 

My friend got the Pad See Ew with Crispy Duck. Now I LOVED the crispy duck the first time because it  had a very crispy outside with a juicy duck flavor on the inside. This time, however, it wasn't as crispy, leaving it a bit more like duck with skin. However, the Pad See Ew was very flavorful and filling. 

Then I got the Pad Woon Sen - it's one of my favorite thai dishes that they don't usually have in all thai restaurants! It's glass noodles with lots of veggies and the meat (or protein) of your choice. It has a great peppery flavor and it was so delicious - I got this dish both times I was here! -will definitely be my go to! lol! 

So would I recommend Kin'd? Absolutely! I am actually looking forward to going back soon to try some other products (really want to try their curries!). Their extensive menu has something for everyone. Their price point is rather standard (noodles with chicken are $12) for a thai restaurant here. (They also have a lunch special: $10-$14 for a salad, app and entree.) We ended up paying around 20/pp with our appetizer, meal and drink. 

You can find Kin'd: 
192-03 Union Tpke
Fresh Meadows, NY 11366

Public Kitchen Review - NYC Lower East Side

Hey everyone!!! Wow, talk about it's been a long time, huh? However, thanks to the generosity of Garnier-- Felix, my girlfriends and I were able to enjoy an awesome brunch at the Public Kitchen.. and I wanted to share the experience with you. 

The Public Kitchen is actually inside to the back of the Public Hotel located in the lower east side (near Chinatown) at 215 Chrystie Street. It serves American food but describes itself as "the best of 'New York' food, 'World Food' and all the cultures that make up the eclectic mix and melting pot that is NYC.' They serve delicious brunch as well as dinner foods. Cost of brunch meals are between high teens to mid twenties. Cost of dinner I believe is slightly more expensive. 

At first walk in, I loved the modern, rustic look of the place. Everything is so beautifully wooden and bright. It also has a stunning smoker, wood-burning oven and grill by the bar where you can watch them putting finishing touches on their pizzas! 

They had a pretty unique cocktails list, so I got the Kumquat Mojito and my friend got the Raspberry Lychee Bellini (while my other friend got black coffee and hubs got coke). They were all deliciously fragrant and had the perfect ratio of alcohol and sweetness. Serious great start to the meal. 

lol, my friend wanting to photobomb ;) -- the left is the kumquat mojito, right is coke.. LOL

We ordered 3 appetizers (and fries), 4 entrees and 2 desserts. It was quite aggressive of us, but we tackled it with determination lol. 

First up were the apps. We ordered the smoked salmon over latkes (2), proscuitto wrapped broccoli rabe (2) and fontina cheese and the butternut squash (4) and basil dumplings. They were all in the mid to high teen price range and were all relatively small appetizers (thankfully since we ordered so much). 

The Smoked Salmon over latkes was by far my favorite as it had just the perfect blend of salty, crunchy, hearty, yet fresh. It was topped with some sour cream and caviar (?) which made it such a savory treat. 

The Butternut Squash and Basil Dumplings totally met my expectation. I was hoping it would have the perfect blend of savory and sweet.. and it totally did. It was crispy and creamy. I kind of wish it came with more than four... or that I ordered it myself because I totally didnt want to share them! 

The proscuitto wrapped broccoli rabe and fontina cheese was just okay for me. They were heavy on the proscuitto which made the actual appetizer very salty for me. Hubs and girlfriends still enjoyed it, but it wasnt incredibly unique or special to me. 

We shared the rest of the entrees because we have a friend that is obsessed with sharing food.. lol! First up came the black truffle pizza with three cheese and a farm egg. I am pretty sure we all died and went to heaven eating this pizza. The pizza was light but chewy and they did not skimp on the truffle. The fragrance was strong and perfect. Usually I dont like a lot of cheese on my pizza, but it didnt overpower any of the flavors, but complimented them nicely... and of course the best part of it all - the farm egg with the runny yolk which moved the pizza from delicious --> to perfection. The only thing that could make it more perfect was if there were an extra two eggs!! 

The other entrees that came out were the rigatoni pasta with basil-pistachio pesto with caramelized brussel sprouts, eggs benedict with smoked salmon and hollandaise, and the cinnamon spiced brioche french toast with caramelized apples and crispy bacon. So first up, the rigatoni was amazing. I actually applaud myself for choosing that one! If you like pesto, you will love this! It had such a lovely blend of creamy pesto with crunchy pistachios and the mustardy taste of brussel sprouts. You dont usually see these items mixed together, but it was seriously eye opening! this chef is quite the flavor master!

The eggs benedict was honestly just standard. Don't get me wrong, it was good, but wasnt the best or worst I've ever eaten. The potatoes were also disappointingly bland.. but they did have a nice crunch! 

Lastly that french toast was thick and custardy!!!! It almost had a crispy outer layer of cinammon goodness and the inside was a thick custardy layer of brioche. My girlfriends and I were obsessed with the almost bread pudding like texture of it, whereas my husband wished it was slightly drier! However, it was delicious and came with the cutest little bottle of maple syrup!

So... you thought we were done? So did we, until the waitress brough over the dessert menu! LOL! We ended up getting the tartufo and the carrot cake. 

The tartufo had a great blend of tarte and sweet and the tarte cherry sorbet mixed perfectly with the pistachio ice cream and the crispy chocolate shell. I thought I might not enjoy it, but when I blended all the flavors together - it was quite delicious! 

The carrot cake which came with a cream cheese frosting and coconut ice cream was also very normal for me. The carrot cake was slightly dry but made better with the frosting and ice cream... but I mean, it didnt stop us from finishing it... LOL. 

At the end if it, we left with great memories, full bellies and a new place to eat at! If we're ever in the area, we would definitely eat here again! Overall, I think the 'unique' sounding items on the menu are worth trying. You can tell that each of those menu items' ingredients were carefully chosen to create a party on your palette. I wouldn't reorder 'typical' items that you can order at other restaurants (ie. eggs benedict). Although they weren't bad, there are so many other delicious items on the menu that are worth a shot. 

My faves by far were: salmon over latkes, rigatoni with basil-pistachio pesto and of course the black truffle pizza with farm egg. Oh and don't forget to try out some of their cocktails! Mine was delicious! 

Public Kitchen
215 Chrystie Street
NY, NY 10002

If you're interested, please see our 'real time' vlog of the restaurant! :) 
 

Han Dynasty NYC - East Village

Our good friends, Sandra and Will introduced us to Han Dynasty ages ago by saying it was "some of the best Szechuan food in NYC!" Now, being Asian American, we tend to judge asian food - in particular - Chinese food a bit harsher than other since both of us grew up in the heart of asian food: Flushing. So when Sandra told us we had to go try this place, we were quite skeptical. 

There are 8 different locations - but we've only been to the one in East Village. It's on 3rd avenue between 12th and 13th street which is an extremely convenient location to get to. In the evening, it does get quite crowded, so we always opt to head in before 6 (which there's never usually a wait for that). In the past (a year ago or so), when we would arrive at 8 something - we would have to wait, so we would hop across the street to a local bar and grab a happy hour drink first! 

The menu itself has a wide range of Szechuan foods and doesnt stray away from what it knows. I love how it also labels how spicy each food will be with a number from 1-10. When we first came to this place, the 9 and 10 were so extremely hot, I couldn't eat it, but I believe that after some time, the spiciness has calmed down. If a food is at a 9 or 10, it's still spicy, but for me its bearable, where as Felix is disappointed its not spicier! 

In true NYC fashion, the place is quite tight. It fits a lot of people, but if you are sitting in the booth (like I am in this photo) and have a bit of a wide load (like I do lol), you'll have trouble getting between the tables. Often, I saw the waiters moving tables back and forth to allow customers to sit into the booths. If you reach our your arm to the sides of you, you can probably reach the guests next to you that are enjoying your meal lol. 

Fel and I also appreciated that they had hot tea in a kettle, just like traditional Chinese restaurants. Although it proved to be slightly more annoying than not since there wasn't enough room to have that and the food we ordered! :P 

We have three items we religiously get at Han Dynasty and then have a wild card where we just pick something random off the menu. The first item is (don't judge us!) the CUCUMBERS! As simple as it sounds, it has the perfect blend of sweet, savory and spicy... and then when you feel like the flavors may start to feel overwhelming, the cool crunch of the cucumber kicks in and it makes this such a refreshing treat. 

The dan dan noodles used to be way more spicy when we first came, but has definitely mellowed out to be easier to eat. Dandan noodles is a delicious dish that has noodles (obviously lol) and some sort of spicy meat sauce. Generally speaking, it has minced meat, and sesame paste. It's a delicious staple in Szechuan meal and this one doesn't disappoint! Don't forget to stir well, or else you will get very plain noodles on top and very salty toppings on the bottom! lol! 

I mean, can we just look at this pic LOL!. So good right? This is one of Fel's favorite dishes - the spicy wings. When we first ate these a year or two back, I could hardly down a bite because it was a 9 on the spicy scale and it was way too spicy. Now because the spice has cooled off a bit, I'm actually able to eat these and they are so delicious. Reminiscent of Korean fried chicken, it has a slightly sweet but spicy taste. The skin is super crispy, but has a sticky sauce on it that makes you feel addicted once you eat it! 

Other choices that we've eaten and loved are their wontons in chili oil, three cup chicken and their crispy rice! 

Definitely worth a try if you're in the mood for Chinese food and want some of that spice! 

The location we went to was: 
Han Dynasty
90 3rd Avenue
New York, NY 10003

Osakana Ramen Class

So ages ago - there was a gilt city deal for Osakana Ramen class! I took the opportunity to purchase it for Felix's birthday? anniversary? christmas gift? who knows now at this point LOL! If you don't know Felix, he is the HUGEST Ramen fan [please let us know if you need recs!] so I thought it'd be a perfect little treat for him to know how to make it. 

Osakana is a cute little, unassuming fish market in brooklyn. When you first walk in, there is a small store front with delicious fish. When you walk into the back, there is a bar with people making fish based ramen in the back. It's quite a small space - up to maybe 8 people can fit at one time. 

haha - I wanted to make a note first of the extremely teeny tiny bathroom! It's very clean, but very japaneseque with how incredibly small it is! 

In any case, the class was literally just me and fel. We had a great instructor (I wanna say his name is... Jonathan?) who gave us a lot of history of Ramen and how it is prepared and cut. Although coming straight out of work to do this, it was a bit difficult for me to actually focus to answer his questions LOL! We learned about the different bases, broths, how to prepare the noodles, the toppings that go on it, etc. We were even able to go behind the counter to do the preparing! 

Of course, Felix's part was learning how to make a perfect egg and mine was putting the whole bowl of ramen together in a couple of minutes! It was a super fun learning experience! At the end, we got to enjoy our two bowls of Ramen! 

At the end of it all, we had such a blast making our Fish Ramen! It was super fun and rewarding to eat your creation! Our class lasted about 1.5 hours, so just know that each class differs according to how long you as a group may take. We thoroughly enjoyed this experience and I would definitely come back here to enjoy some ramen! Thank you Osakana for the fun date night experience!