Asian Invasion (Yeah, I Said It)

Dinner, last night: Restaurant week prix fixe at BondSt. Started off with a glass of very mediocre sake (my fault for ordering the cheapest one) at the bar. Sat down, began with a perfectly dressed salad of greens and literally ONE, paper-thin slice of radish, topped with with these very fine, crispy noodles. Followed by steamed, salted edamame. Then, a bento box-like plate with: crispy tempura shrimp glazed in a spicy mayo. Good, but the flavor and bright orange color made reminded me of something I couldn't quite put my finger on--Doritos, perhaps? "Steamed Yuba dumpling" turned out to be chicken "dumpling,"which resembled a small, limp eggroll, and tasted of lukewarm mushed cabbage. Braised hijiki. Half of a salmon-avocado roll, half of a spicy tuna roll--very good. Sliced steak over steamed greens, drizzled with, supposedly, 12-year-old balsamic vinegar.

Elisa had elected for the sea bass, instead, which was out of this world. The most flavorful piece of fish I have ever had--it was positively infused with moisture and sweet miso. Dessert was lychee panna cotta, served with an elegant twist of edible gold and a strawberry-rhubard compote. All washed down with a "sake flight." Three half glasses of complex flavor: one cloudy and citrusy, one with distinct pear overtones, and one more traditional, less fruity, deftly twisting sharp and smooth as it sits in your mouth. I love the idea of a flight; franny's does one with three amaros (or amari, for those Italophiles among us).

Breakfast, this morning: Cornflakes with milk, blueberry green tea.

Snack: Aloha Recipe Early Bird granola

Lunch: Andrea and I hoofed it up to the Chambers Hotel on 56th Street, in which has recently opened a new Momofuku outpost called Ma Peche. They have a $10 lunch special, which includes an entree and a soda. My dish was exemplary: wide rice noodles, rolled up into little noodle-cigars, in a slightly soupy, rich pork ragu, with tender leaves of baby bok-choy, crispy fried onions, lots of saw leaf herb. Diet Coke in a glass with ice, which always makes it more exciting. Andrea got the squid salad, which I only had a tiny bite of, because I didn't want to share mine with her. We shared a Milk Bar peanut butter cookie.

Here's a picture I found on the interweb.


Dinner tonight can't possibly compare, but I am making cacio e pepe, from a recipe in the most recent issue of Cook's Illustrated.