Craving Dessert?? Martha's Country Bakery has anything and everything that you are craving. From cupcakes to cannolis. Martha has it all!!! Everything is baked on location, so you know that its FRESH! 

I definitely felt like I was walking into a warm, country bakery. I wanted to try all that Martha had to offer but of course, I couldn't. So, I ordered 2 cupcakes: oreo and red velvet, fruit tart and a tiramisu cake. 
They were all delicious. The cupcakes and tiramisu were not too sweet and very light. The cake was moist this time as opposed to the cupcakes that Ting brought me last year. (sorry!! haha) The fruit tart almond crust was delicious (my favorite part!). A nice crunch with the fruit. 

Overall, I will definitely be back to Martha's Country Bakery. I have to try them all =)

What better way to spend a gorgeous day in NYC, than going to the #1 area to live in NY: Park Slope, Brooklyn. A wonderful town away from the city where you can find great food, boutiques, and book stores. I decided to yelp my options around Park Slope. Moutarde was #1 brunch restaurant around Park Slope but when we got there, it was CLOSED! Like the "shutdown for business" closed. It would be nice if Yelp didn't include this on their list. *ahem*
Anyways, we stumbled upon a cute french restaurant with outdoor seating. The prices weren't too bad and they had eggs benedict. So, I knew that this place would be perfect. 
Service was ok, kinda rude. But I didn't care, I was STARVING. 
I ordered the Feuilles de Brique, which is a wrapped phyllo pastry with ham and cheese over ratatouille topped with a poached egg. 
It was DELICIOUS. I love the saltiness from the ham, the crispness of the phyllo dough and the gooey cheese, and blend all that with a poached egg and ratatouille, it definitely hit the spot. And I'm not going to lie, I ordered this dish because it had ratatouille and because I love the Disney movie Ratatouille. =)

AND NOW FOR THE BAD PART =(


I love eggs benedict. Its a staple brunch dish at every restaurant. How hard can you mess this dish up? Well... by having a NASTY A$$ roach in the salad! This picture was taken prior to eating the salad. I spat out the salad so fast when I saw the creepy crawler. The manager tried to FORCE us to get another plate which I thought was rude. She said that it probably fell from the sky... Regardless, we both had lost our appetite. It's a shame because I thought this restaurant was a keeper. 


Boo to you. 

AOC Bistro
259 5th Avenue
Brookyln, NY 11215
WEBSITE: http://www.aocbistro.com

I believe what separates New York from any other state is the Chicken and Rice (Halal food). For those of you who don't know, Halal is the equivalent of Kosher. You can't go around New York without seeing these Halal carts dispersed across the 5 bureaus. 
The name says it all, this dish consists of just chicken and rice. Well also with the softest gyro bread ever and lettuce. You can also get a Lamb and rice as well but chicken is wayyy better. 
But what separates this cart from the thousands of carts in NYC...?EVERYTHING. I've tried other carts and it does not compare to the one on 53rd and 6th. The rice is more fluffy, the chicken is fresh, and the white sauce and hot sauce is spiced perfectly. But be careful with the hot sauce. Its not like sriracha. 
If you are big foodie, this place is the #1 place to go in NYC. Its even better at 4 am in the morning when you are intoxicated. 
The one on 53rd and 6th is open from 7pm to 5am and the line is usually ridiculously long. But the secret is that there is another cart owned by the same people that opens at noon to 5am across the street from the original cart, the south-east corner of 6th ave and 53rd. 
The cart that is there during the day at 53rd and 6th avenue is an IMPOSTER. 
It's not the good stuff. 


Price: 
Chicken or Lamb Gyro: $4
Chicken or Lamb Plate: $6

Are you looking for Italian cuisine, cheap, and homey ambiance? Lili and I were simply looking for some salad around Greenpoint, Brooklyn but we stumbled upon this friendly Italian restaurant. Even if you quickly scan their menu, you will instantly know that any dish will be so exquisite. We were outside by the menu and had already decided to venture in but then the owner, Papa Gino, was very friendly and further encouraged us to dine. This is the beginning of a long relationship.

Hmmmm..everything dish seemed soo light. We started off with fried artichoke with olives, garlic bread with fresh garlic!...They provide guests with complimentary minestrone soup. Typically, this soup comes with strips of potato but here, they integrate cubed potatoes! Way to be unique or maybe I've never had minestrone soup like that. Overall, you will leave full but not with a heavy stomach at all. Lili and I say this and we ate quiet a good amount here. 

I had Papa Gino's signature dish: stuffed pork chop. Umm, when you normally imagine a pork chop, this is not what you will get. You will be served with something special. You need to order this if you are a carnivore.

My dish (Lili) was the most AMAZING dish I have had in a long long long time. Presenting to you ladies and gentleman, Gnocchi alla bava. It's gnocchi with a creamy mushroom sauce. This dish is so simple but yet so satisfying (for those of you who don't know, gnocchi is small italian dumplings). I could definitely tell that the gnocchi was homemade. It was so light and fluffy. After I was finished, I wanted more! Even at this very moment, I'm craving the ever so light gnocchi... mmmm*

Overall, you will leave full but not with a heavy stomach at all. Lili and I say this and we ate quite a good amount here. I also recommend their cafe latte. Ask for Gino and tell him Lili and John sent you! We normally do not want to return to restaurants more than once. However, La Taverna is truly an exception. FYI, they accept credit.


Oh and by the way: Let's reiterate what we had here: Fried artichoke, garlic bread, 2 bowls of minestrone soup, cafe latte, stuffed porkchop with potatoes and veggies, and gnocchi alla bava...total $34.16. SUCK IT SHORTY'S 32! (please refer to our entry for Shorty's 32 and you will understand) 
You cannot beat the prices here and the hospitality! 

If you are ever in the city and happen to be in Korea town, check this place out for dessert and coffee. This place has everything from specialty Korean desserts to cupcakes! The cupcakes here were pretty good buuuutttt the #1 thing get here is the Bing Soo a.k.a. shaved ice. This baby has everything that you want in it and its HUGE! Its about the size of my head...and my head is pretty big lol so you get the idea! There is about 5 flavors to choose from; strawberry, coffee, green tea, vanilla, and chocolate. I opted to choose strawberry both times I was there. 

From the bottom to the top: shaved ice, sweet red beans, strawberry ice cream, mochi, blueberries, corn flakes, pineapple, strawberries, grapes, another scoop of strawberry ice cream with whip cream and chocolate pixie sticks on the side. 

Atmosphere: It is really chill in here. House music is usually playing in the background and its not usually too crowded, so you will usually get seated right away. 
Price: The Bing Soo is $12, but this can be split among 2 to 4 people. 
They do not have a website but trust me, this place is good! ^^


*PLEASE NOTE: THE BING SOO IS ONLY AVAILABLE IN THE SUMMER*


Cafe Ele
43 West 32nd St. 
NY, NY 10001
212-290-1414

Alice's Tea Cup!!!! Alright so I really did not know what to expect when Peggy kept raving and salivating over its scones. Omg! I can now bestow upon her "foodie credibility." We had a table of five but really seated at a four person table upstairs. This is a place for parents to bring their kids because there are several costume wings that the kiddos can wear while eating away at their scones and feel like they are flying away into heaven or whatever world they think they're in. I am already missing the scones with its preserves. We were seated adjacent to a table of mothers and their playful yet screaming kids. We were getting irritated but when our entrees and scones were served, nothing else mattered. Scone me! To give some background on the following posts, Ann, Gwan, and Melanie visited from Texas..Dallas, Tx. I put their friendship to a test when we went to at least seven different spots to eat in one day. This post happened the be the last place they ate at.  

I'm sorry there's been so much chatter about the scones. We ate other things also. I ordered the Light fare at $13 that includes half a salad or half sandwich and choice soup. I nibbled on the curried chicken salad sandwich.The curry was light and covered the chicken yet there was no curry dripping everywhere. However, there were itty-bitty pieces of chicken that would fall out, so unless you can eat half a sandwich in one ultimate bite, then I advise to cut it up. I had the chili and bean soup. It was good but there was too much chili and not enough actual soup and there was no spice to capture my attention like the scones. Scones = our love.

Brunch times. I haven't had this but Peggy said the Smoked salmon & scones is the breakfast item to die for. With that beind said, breakfast is served M-F 8 am - 11:30 am and brunch is served Sat and Sunday from 8 am - 3 pm.

Locations. There are three total locations in Manhattan: 156 E. 64th St. and Lexington, 220 East 81st and  between 2nd and 3rd aves., 102 W. 73rd St. and between Amsterdam and Columbus Aves.
We went to Chapter II off 64th. 

Website. http://alicesteacup.com/

Located in SoHo near the E and R trains. It is called 32 because it only seats 32 people. For some reason, it's packed! I recommend that if you do want to come here to make reservations. The regular patrons must know what to order. I came here with three others. I ordered braised short ribs. Hmmmm, I love it when the meat slides right off. It had a sprinkle of vegetables on top that had a Chinese flavor (fine with me!). The entree also had a side of mac n cheese, which is a total failure but I can't blame them because I'm sure they don't focus their energy on perfecting that. However, upon reflection, I would not come back to this place for a $29 dish. Although the braised short ribs tasted good, I was not satiated because I left hungry. I'm not a terribly huge guy but there is something wrong when I leave still hungry!  I picked this place originally because I read reviews that it had great burgers, but for some reason, I did not even order it - probably because the ambiance of this restaurant was sophisticated to the extent that it deterred me from eating a burger. I should never let that happen again. Lesson to stay true to yourself.

To add to John's entry, I (Lili) ordered the Roasted Cod fish, caramelized onions, swiss chard with a Gruyere Broth. Say whaaaaa?? I only recognized 2 out of the 4 items from my dish so I was in for a surprise. I'm always up for the challenge of trying new flavors and food, so I couldn't wait! When the dish came out, they poured the hot gruyere broth over the cod fish, the swiss chard (which taste like spinach! now I know...haha) and this brown toast thing with caramelized onions... I thought that was odd.
The cod was good but lacked flavor. I couldn't comprehend how a toasted piece of bread with caramelized onions would tie well with the cod fish and swiss chard. The broth just soaked the toast and made it completely soggy. I was literally eating wet bread with fish. How appetizing? Not! If I was a judge on Top Chef, I would have sent this dish RIGHT BACK and slap the chef for creating an awful dish! Grant it, I did finish the whole damn thing because 1) I was hungry 2) the portion was small and 3) this was $25! It was the Asian in me... I had to finish every last bite. LOL 

WEBSITE: 
http://www.shortys32.com

If you are asking where Flushing is and you feel that it is so distant from the city, I hope this entry quells your fear of getting over here. From the city, take the purple 7 train to the last stop: Main St. - Flushing. 

Kym and I adventured to the famous Flushing Mall. It met our expectations. Cheap food. And real good Chinese food. Kym has never tasted the true essence of stinky tofu. Today, she did get a taste and it did smell as expected but it was not those sold on the streets of Taiwan. We had one order of "three kinds of dumpling" meaning that it consists of pork, chives, and something else good! Menu listed shrimp also but I'm sure they substituted something else that day because there was definitely no shrimp in there. The next dish was fried pork chops with egg settled on top and white rice. If you are not of Asian descent, you will realize  that Asians eat and love our eggs and pork and fried substance. So why not combine them all! 

Alright for some logistics: Look for the kid with the mohawk! He said, "where's my dumplings?" No, but there are two entrances to this place that either leads you upstairs or downstairs. So if you see the dumpling place owned by Koreans and Chinese ladies, then there is also a downstairs to find a gallery of Chinese and Taiwanese eateries. There is plenty of eating space except if you come on the weekend, then watch out for the masses. There is one shop that is second from the right that has its own lil register stand that is a separate place from picking up your food. This may be due to space constraints. I state this, so you will not be confused on how and where to pay because I was confused my first time here. The other shops have its register at the place to pick up your orders. And bring cash. 

Egg is a brunch joint in Williamsburg. It so happens that this place is a tiny spot for brunch. Therefore, there was a long wait. We waited for at least an hour around 12:30 pm on a Sunday. Yeah probably not a good idea because of wait and seating arrangements. If you are ok with sitting immediately next to a stranger as if in a subway train, then this is your place. Overall, it was pretty tasty! but there are a bunch of brunch spots in NY so no need to be waiting for a sparse number of tables. Neat fact: Egg grows its own produce since 1997 out on a farm to include: eggs, milk, meat, greens, tomatoes, beans, peas, and fruit. 
The grits plate. The grits wereeeee okay. There was nothing special about the grits here but don't worry there is better. The country ham and biscuit is pretty tasty. The sweetness of the fig jam and the savory taste of the ham made a unique combination.

You don't even need the syrup! Well, yes you do but you certainly don't need the butta on it. This french toast just about knocked me unconscious as if I got hit by Ray Lewis. So, it's a bit over the top if you are looking for something moderately healthy? but overall, I'm glad I ordered it! 

I couldn't say I was too excited about the grits after I ate them but I was preparing to demolish them; however, I took my time and suffered thru it. Yes, I finished it but what can I say. The sausage was flavorful with tiny specs of chili pepper ingrained it it. eggs were eggs. I was hoping that since the place is called "Egg," then I was expecting some kind of exquisite egg display/taste. Naw, I'll stick to the french toast once more..

Payment. Cash only
Reservations. Only for dinner (for past 5 pm)
Website. http://www.pigandegg.com/