ROKUMON TRAIN EXPERIENCE

​after learning about Rokumon - the special train in Nagano which runs from Friday to Sunday as a restaurant train, I wanted to experience this to celebrate a birthday in our family.

They have retrofitted the train with chairs and tables resembling like a restaurant.  It starts from Nagano Train station and ends at Karuizawa.

Along the way it stops at 2 places where we got off briefly to see what to buy. 

The next stop was a town with some music going.

The last stop is at Karuizawa where we saw the area where the Emperor waits for his train.  The nice room has beautiful Japanese paintings.  Then it goes back.  But we decided to stay on so we could shop a little at the Outlet.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CyxCRblNTDe/?igsh=ZGxoOHZ2MDluNHli

#DOMODOMO - Japanese Restaurant

I was dubious about this restaurant at first. I have it a chance because of the review.  Amazing is an over used word - it's beginning to annoy me.  Therefore, I will simply say outstanding!

The yuzu foam on my oyster lent a perfect mild citrus touch to my oysters that I saved some for the other 4 on my plate.

My salad with shrimp was alright but I think next time, I would rather have the cucumber salad our friend had.

The chawanmushi said my friends was excellent.

Uni pasta - this is so far a better version I have had.  Maybe because I like the soupy sauce with cheese taste but it was very light.  It really did not need the uni.  However, it complimented each other since uni tends to be milky in taste when I eat it.  It is served with a little black caviar on top - not the cheap kind. 

They had Hojicha pudding which is like a green tea cream in a cup (little amount) with some gel on top - maybe just to sweeten a bit as you spoon the dessert garnished with some seeds on top.  Not too sweet.

Oyster sampler below had yuzu foam in the biggest oyster. It was so good I asked for more foam and she gave us more for my other oysters.

Black ink pasta with cheese sauce (you only taste a hint of it in the beginning and then it goes away) with black caviar on top of the uni.

Megu Toro Hand Roll - the toro inside is chopped and not very generous.

Deasert: Hojicha Pudding.  It is macha tea base with some gelee on top so it sweetens the matcha mixture below which is like a panacotta.

BUGS (no bugs)

This is a small restaurant which seats probably no more than 20 at a time.  I sat by the bar counter where 2 lady chefs behind the counter that prepare the food.  One makes most of the sushi-based food and the other the cooked and sautéed dishes.

My kale salad with mushroom was so delicious with butter slightly browned flavor coming through. (I think that is butter is taste).

I got tempted to order the fried chicken pieces coated with a spicy sweet sauce and something I dip in creamy sauce. (Answer to buffalo wings). The chicken pieces are tender and crisp outside.

I had to try the Risotto with soft shell shrimp, scallops, uni and oyster.  This was a big dinner. It came with thin slices of pickled cucumber.

BUGS

Bugs Restaurant - New York, NY | OpenTable

OpenTable › restaurants › bugs

 Rating: 4.4 - 32 reviews - Price range: $30 and under

SUCKLING ROAST PIG #1 for me!

http://www.elnortedecastilla.es/segovia/201504/09/jose-maria-patenta-cuchillo-20150409173850.html

Hands down! After 15 years, I recently went back to Jose Maria and their roast suckling pig called cuchinillo in Spanish has stayed as good as I remember!

It's moist inside and the skin is perfectly crisp at any part you get.

Their plate emblem above

I will miss this until the next time if ever.

DIRTY FRENCH #RESTAURANT

TThis is my 2nd time to come to this restaurant.  I love the food here because it is not predictable.  They always do a twist on what the we really know of it.

For instance, tonight, I had the Duck L'Orange.  The duck breasts are done to a perfection presented like 2 thick slices of pork belly without being fatty.  The sauce has a morrocan flavor in the orange sauce. It is just perfect!  I would highly recommend this dish!

Another highlight is their special flavored "nan" type bread or is it again similar to a Morrocan flat bread served with a spread.  This is complimentary and so delicious.

Next favorite of ours was the foie gras.  It's fresh foie gras wrapped in a delicate crepe-like super thin dough with minced chives on top and served on a bed of fruit purée.

Another highlight of the dinner was the dish with slices of mushroom made to look like millefeuille.  Absolutely to die for served with a purée of scallion and chives with some snap pease and slices of pepper for a hint of spice. Just loved it!  I could consider this a fabulous vegetarian dish.

The haricot verte was served in a sizzling plate prepared so deliciously, I loved it as well.

Above, the sea bass with coconut milk sauce was not extra-ordinary.  Although well prepared, we did not find it strikingly original.  It reminded me of an Americanized Thai dish. 

The beignet had an outstanding caramel sauce but a funny tasting doughnut or beignet because I did not know what chicory tasted like and I believe they added chicory in the batter. It tasted like Chinese potpourri that you put in a camphor chest to keep clothes from being eaten up by insects. Hence, we changed our order to the Paris Brest (a firmer version of the puff pastry dough), with peanuts and other filling and a spooned ice cream on top.  It was okay, but we were hoping we could have the Baked Alaska which they did not have tonight.

This dessert seems more American to me than Dirty French.  But maybe that is why it is called Dirty French.

The Manager was so accommodating and very nice to us.  He carefully paid attention to us.  He even stopped the fan from blowing directly onto us which was making us quite cold.  I wish all Restaurant Managers were like him.

We love this restaurant and definitely will be back!

He mentioned their new restaurant near the High Line.  Did you know that they just opened a new restaurant by the High Line called Santina?

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=21&ved=0CAsQFjAU&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.santinanyc.com%2F&ei=IQdxVdzMHIa2sAXj3YHIDw&usg=AFQjCNFzhtwJf7HgDuYgAG-QWxoEitPmog&sig2=jy8BDxjIRh1MH6AujCYvrw

I'm definitely trying that one too!

http://www.yelp.com/biz/dirty-french-new-york

At Ludlow Hotel

180 Ludlow St.,

New York, NY 10002

http://www.dirtyfrench.com/

THE CLAM - Restaurant

Located somewhere in the West Village bordering TriBeCa is this neighborhood restaurant serving such good dishes mostly with clams.  But his recipes are beyond the norm because he uses high quality ingredients and has refined the usual dish we know.

Co-Owner/Chef Mike Price was here today so I decided to have a photo with him!

For starters: the clams were so fresh and the lightly crumbed crumbs on the baked clams has parsley and other herbs in it. My sister said, next time she'll have 2 orders of this as a main course.

The clam pizza is studded with clams, it can be your full meal.  The crust is thin and crisp.

We also ordered the ravioli. It was so delicious!

My spaghetti with fresh Al-dente cooked pasta is another dish. The sauce is not your ordinary tomato sauce. I will come back for more.  It had a different taste to it.  He told me the secret - which I will keep.

One of us ordered their Pat La Frieda burger with their own sauce and herbed  fries!

I also had The Clam chowder which I forgot to take a photo of.  It's not your ordinary clam chowder.  It also had big pieces of meaty cubed bacon-like or pancetta pieces.

This is my new favorite restaurant in the city. They've only been here for about 8-9 months.

The Clam

420 Hudson at., NYC, NY

m.theclamnyc.com/

Subway: Take the 1 train to the Houston Street stop. Walk one block west on Houston to Hudson Street. Continue north on Hudson Street for two blocks.

Hours

Dinner is served Monday - Thursday 4:00pm to 11:00pm, Friday & Saturday 4:00pm to 12:00am, & Sunday 4:00pm - 10:00pm.

Lunch is served daily from 11:30am to 4pm.

NY RESTAURANT WEEK #LeCirq

I've been here a few times but there are other restaurants that participate in this event and for me to go again is because a friend of mine chose it.  This is when company takes priority over food.

The selection to choose from the special deal were all not my favorite (Other restaurants put their best foot forward).  If I stick to the choices for the set deal, the more I won't enjoy.  So, you guessed right, I opted for the almost twice the price of the special deal less $1.  This way, I get my appetizer of choice and dessert of choice. 

This is not the menu I chose. And the appetizer below was an extra cost our friend ordered from the Restaurant Week Menu.

Above was one of the appetizers served with "foamed" sauce.

I ordered the house Foie Gras with a puree and slice of pear. 

Seabass for my main course which I think was also in the menu about 4 years ago is what I picked again.  It's funny that I did mention this to my sister prior to my being at this restaurant; only to actually get served the same fish!

Away from the set menu for Restaurant Week, I got a bigger Foie gras and my choice of dessert.  And my choice was hot Chocolate Souffle!

The souffle saved my meal!

I think this place is a little over-rated.  I personally prefer some others that participate at Restaurant Week.  Restaurants should actually put out their best that could Wow me for the money. I was expecting a more haute cuisine than what I experienced.  And I knew this would be my experience as before. And that means not very impressive.

Let me try once more as my friend said I should have picked the shrimp dish.  I will tell you after next week - as we plan to return for the prix-fixed lunch menu. (No longer Restaurant Week)

Le Cirq

• 151 E 58th St, New York 10022
• (Btwn Lexington & 3rd Ave)
• http://www.lecirque.com/
• 
  

Pies-N-Thighs

For me, this is so far the best fried chicken in the city.  Lightly battered which pulls out easily with the most juicy chicken inside.

I ordered the fried chicken box. It comes with 3 pieces of fried chicken of your choice, a large homemade biscuit served with maple butter and a choice of side - mine was Collard green salad with tangy dressing, avocado, (cooked or is it pickled) onion, and roasted coconut.

To go, I bought a studded pecan yeast donut with maple:

And sour dough donut which is very different:

This certainly is my new place for the traditional fried chicken.  They also have chicken and waffles - will try that next time.

PIES-N-THIGHS

43 Canal St, New York, NY 10002

www.piesnthighs.com/

VILLAGE TAVERNA

A rainy cold night in Greenwich Village looking for somewhere to dine is not easy. But we lucked out and the place looked crowded which is a sign of a successful tasty restaurant.  The only accommodation was at the bar - but as long as we can order our dinner and eat at the bar, we really don't mind.

Above is the bar area we sat down to order.

About 30 minutes later, my order arrived. This is the shrimp kabob which comes with a salad a a choice of your side order.

My side order was the vegetable rice below.

This is plenty of food. But you can take it back home. I'm having mine for lunch or make some lamb chops with my rice and left over vegetable. I can't wait!

1. Village Taverna
   $$ • Greek Restaurant • 1.9 mi
2. 81 University Pl, New York, NY 10003
3. (212) 982-3457
4. Open today · 11:00 am – 11:00 pm

PIZZA ROLLIO #pizzarollio

This is a new restaurant at The Plaza Hotel's Food Court in the Plaza Hotel's basement by Centrak Park in Nee York City.

This is not your ordinary pizza.  It's like a cracker that has crisp edge and soft by the center. They serve their pizza sliced diagonally to make rectangles about an inch wide so you can roll them when you eat it. Hence Pizza Rollio.

Their most popular order is the Big Bang Supreme which has pancetta, ham, pepperoni, onion, mushroom and mozzarella.  This order comes with a little bit of arugula and greens you assemble on top of each slice then roll to eat. It reminds me of a fresh Philippine egg roll using a thin dough similar to an Italian Piadina - a very thin Italian bread that you heat in very hot oven or toaster oven  to put cold cuts on and eat.

Since I can already visualize the flavor, I opted for Imeldific - their pizza version with mentaiko (spicy cod roe) which is not really that spicy. It just has a little spike. This pizza Rollio has some dab of secret cream they first bake in their hot oven and then some mentaiko spread here and there which creates the flavor.  It also has some peeled slices of cucumbers, and sparingly sprinkled with minced or chopped chives.  You roll each slice to eat it but it doesn't come with greens.  To me this was more like an appetizer portion but it tasted very good.

They added a new salad in the me in this afternoon which is arugula with  some slices of smoked salmon served with a mustard dressing which reminded me of the Scandinavian gravlax sauce , only less thick.

The place is innovative using existing ingredients modified to create a new look and it works!  Perhaps, I could rate this with 1 more star if not for the hefty price considering the fact that I am not being waited on. 

At least if you are staying away from carbs, this may be your answer to the usual pizza.  But to me this is more of a cracker than a thin pizza with a softer center. It's a melting pot or fusion of fresh Asian roll, Italian pizza and other ideas from other nations like the gravlax dressing instead of a sauce on one's salad mixed into one dish.

THE PLAZA FOOD COURT #theplazafoodhall

One East 59th Street, New York, NY 10019

Market Hours:

10:00AM-9:30PM

Sun 11AM-6PM

EXCELLENT INDIAN FOOD INTRO

I recently went to Mumbai, India and was glad to have stayed at the Taj Land's End Hotel in BANDRA with beautiful views if the Arabian Sea.

This large hotel had several restaurants.  I tried 3 of them. 

At this modern designed restaurant inside the Taj Land's End Hotel in Mumbai, one may not realize it but this restaurant has so much to offer. Both in flavor and quantity.

I decided to have a light lunch ordering the appetizer plate that is non-vegetarian.

The above assortment also came with delicious spiced potatoes in a small bowl. And some onions with pepper below:

I also had an assortment of crispy "chips"  and dip.  This reminds me partially of the potato chip family and the Asian kropek.

You may also choose vegetarian appetizer:

At the end of my lunch, they brought me homemade "end if meal" digestives to try. Below are dates in special mixture wrapped in leaves garnished with grated fresh coconut and saffron on some

When you open it, inside is a mixture of spices with a very distinct taste.

Above is inside the leaf garnished with coconut.  One has to eat everything including the leaf.

At the end of the meal, they also gave me 3 bowls of different sweets to munch to help your digestion.  The ones in the left and right are a little similar - candy coated fennel and other spices. In the center are dates that they have prepared a special way.

The ambience is sleek modern.

Above is their floral arrangement at the bar area where I ate so I could watch their chef cook as shown below:

Masala Bay is this hotel's Indian food restaurant. The others are Chinese, Italian and one other where they serve a variety of dishes and offer buffet-style dinner or ala-carte.

Masala Bay

www.tajhotels.com

Band Stand, Lobby Level, The Taj Lands End, Mumbai, 400050

+91 22 6668 1346