JeNycEats

For D’s birthday, he decided on Ippudo for lunch but unfortunately, the wait was insane and they even closed early for lunch. We walked around the Village and stumbled upon a new Ramen shop called “Saint’s Alp Teahouse.” The menu looked promising and we love bubble tea, so you can’t go wrong with Ramen and bubble tea. Plus, this restaurant looked just like the bubble tea place we always went to in Chinatown.

The first things we ordered was the bubble tea. When we went to Chinatown, we always ordered bubble tea from “Green Tea Cafe” but unfortunately, they closed a while ago. When we went to Flushing, we always ordered bubble tea from “Sago”, but unfortunately, they closed as well. We were sad when they closed our sources for good bubble tea. Saint’s Alp Teahouse did not disappoint with their bubble tea. We ordered the coconut milk tea with bubbles and lychee with nata de coco. The bubble tea was amazing and so similar to where we used to have bubble tea. The coconut milk tea was so coconuty and you could taste the black milk. The lychee with nata de coco was reminiscent of “Green Tea Cafe” but with a spin. There was lychee slush on top!

We didn’t order an appetizer since we had Japadogearlier. D ordered the Spicy Ramen with Chicken Wings. D loves ramen and we haven’t been able to find a good Ramen place since our favorite ones have closed. Ippudo was the best choice for Ramen but they closed early for lunch. The Ramen was VERY spicy. I warned D since there was a pepper next to this on the menu but he told them to make it not as spicy. Whatever they did, the ramen was still pretty spicy. The chicken wings were nice and moist and the ramen was, well…ramen. I thought the ramen was mildly spicy but D couldn’t stand it. I let him have most of my noodle soup, because I’m a good girlfriend.

I ordered the Beef Stew with Rice Noodles. This was way better than D’s spicy ramen. The beef was nice and tender. The noodles were great (I am biased. I love all noodles!). The egg was cooked nicely but I could have done without it. My only complaint were the giant pieces of ginger in the broth. I am not a huge fan of ginger but I can do with tiny pieces of ginger, not huge chunks of them. I just picked out the ginger but the broth was rich and full of flavor.

Saint’s Alp Teahouse

39 3rd Ave

New York, NY 100033

http://www.saintsalpusa.com/

For D’s birthday, he decided that he wanted to have a Ramen lunch at Ippudo. Unfortunately, Ippudo was packed as usual and lunch was closed early. Fortunately, we walked around the Village and a new Ramen shop by the name of “Saint’s Alp Teahouse” caught our attention. But before we passed by the Ramen shop, Japadog grabbed our attention. Japadog started out as a street food vendor in Vancouver, Canada. They have since spread to New York. We were a little hungry and Japadog seemed intriguing. We decided to have a Japadog before our Ramen lunch.

The menu is filled with a variety of meats, toppings, condiments, and sauces. You could order a typical plain hot dog but why do that when you can have daikon toppings, plum sauce, or a deep fried bun with ice cream? D and I decided to share the Negimoso. The Negimoso included a juicy turkey sausage and Miso sauce, topped with shredded cabbage. The turkey sausage was nice and crispy on the outside and very juicy inside. The miso sauce was mild and the shredded cabbage was slightly fried. I topped the hot dog off with saurkraut and wasabi mayo. The wasabi mayo was spicy but the cabbage and miso sauce evened out the spiciness and made the hot dog only mildly spicy. Next time, D and I are going to get our own hot dogs because Japadog hot dogs are awesome!

Japadog

30 St Marks PL

New York, NY 10003

http://www.japadog.com

On our last night in Vegas, we wanted to have dinner at Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill at Caesar’s Palace but they were all booked up, so    when we turned the corner, we found Beijing Noodle Bar. D and I love chinese food (I am chinese after all), so we decided to have dinner here. The atmosphere was so cute and reminded me of all of the modern restaurants in China. I love Thai iced tea and will get it as often as I can, even if it’s in a non-Thai restaurant. The thai iced tea here was pretty good. I really love the beany flavor in thai iced tea.

For an appetizer, D got the beef noodle soup. D LOVES noodle soup and even though it was the middle of July, he would still order hot noodle soup. The noodles were nice and thick. They were homemade and so tender (we saw them making it in the back!). The beef was tender and the broth was just so rich and delicious. The beef flavor was very developed and meaty. We haven’t had a great noodle soup in a while but this sure made up for it!

Our entrees were chicken and vegetables (I like to be healthy and eat non-red meat once in a while) and shrimp lo mein. I have recently noticed that I eat a lot (almost too much) red meat and I need to eat healthier, so when I go out to eat, I try to order at least 1 chicken dish and some kind of vegetable. The chicken was nice and juicy and the vegetables (chinese broccoli and bok choy) were nice and crunchy. The shirmp lo mein is a typical fast chinese dish but I love seafood and noodles.

Beijing Noodle Bar

4130 S Sandhill Rd

Las Vegas, NV 89121

http://www.caesarspalace.com

On our last full day in Vegas, D and I ordered brunch at the Sports Deli at the Rio (where we were staying). I ordered a pulled pork sandwich and D ordered the triple decker sandwich. This included pastrami, a fried egg, lettuce, tomato, and a whole lot more. My pulled pork sandwich was nice and juicy. The triple decker sandwich was jus t big and delicious, so much food in this 1 sandwich! This was a great brunch because the service was fast and the food tasty and super filling.

Sport Deli

3700 West Flamingo Road

Las Vegas, NV 89103

http://www.riolasvegas.com

The trip to Vegas would not have been complete if we didn’t have dinner at Scott Conant’s “Scarpetta.” During the day, we visited the casino/hotels on the strip and my favorite one by far is The Cosmopolitan. We noticed Scarpetta at The Cosmopolitan, so we decided to have dinner there that night.

The ambiance of Scarpetta is dim, romantic, and sexy…just the way I like a restaurant. We had a great view of the Bellagio’s water show. It was a nice sight during dinner. The focaccia bread and the spread was great. There was also stromboli (basically bread filled with Italian meats and mozzarella). The spreads were butter mascarpone, eggplant caponata, and lemony olive oil. I normally don’t like eggplant but the caponata had such flavor, with the salty capers and the sweet tomatoes. I just love a variety of spreads.

For an appetizer, D and I shared the short ribs. The short ribs came on a bed of sauteed vegetables and farro risotto. The short ribs were amazing! They were braised well and just fell apart so gently. The ribs were so tender and just so flavorful. The risotto was creamy and the shaved paremesan cheese added a nice salty flavor to the dish. The vegetables, though few, were nice and soft, and were great when mixed with the salty cheese, the tender ribs, and the creamy risotto. Overall, the short ribs was a great segue into the entrees.

For D’s entree, he ordered the tortellini with english peas. He had no idea what this dish entailed…I guess he didn’t expect the dish to not have much protein in it. Well, tortellini has cheese in it and no meat. The peas were really fresh and green. I’m not a huge fan of tortellini but the pasta was fresh and nicely cooked. D love tortellini but wasn’t feeling the dish. I think it was the peas he didn’t really like. The dish wasn’t too creamy and just tasted a little flat.

For my entree, I ordered the Mediterranean Branzino. The Branzino was oven baked and when brought to the table, our server poured this hot rich fish stock over everything but careful not to pour over the Branzino skin. The skin was so crispy and the fish itself was so tender and buttery. The sauce was so delicious and rich. I think under the fish was some kind of pasta or vegetable. All I remember was almost licking my plate up!

For dessert, D and I shared the Nutella and Vanilla creme bombolini. The bombolini was filled with a nutella ganache and vanilla cream and came with caramelized bananas and nutella powder. I had never had bombolini before but basically it is a filled donut hole. I absolutely LOVE nutella! The bombolini was nice and soft and the filling (either nutella or vanilla cream) were so delicious. The nutella powder was whimsical and tasted just like nutella (although I prefer nutella in its natural state). The caramelized bananas were nice and crispy but didn’t really make sense to me but the dessert was just great and well rounded.

Scarpetta

3708 S Las Vegas Blvd

Las Vegas, NV 89103

http://www.cosmopolitanlasvegas.com/taste/restaurant-collection/scarpetta.aspx

Happy New Year! Here’s to an even bigger and better year!

I absolutely love macaroons and when I saw the recipe for sugar-dusted macaroon trees in the December issue of Martha Stewart’s Living, I knew I had to make it. The macaroons came out so crunchy and coconuty. I just wish the macaroons were not as crunchy, so next time I just have to under bake them by a minute. The recipe can be found here.

Sugar-dusted Macaroon Trees

• Prep Time 15 minutes
• Total Time 40 minutes
• Yield Makes 18

Ingredients

I haven’t baked or cooked anything in so long and since D had a Christmas party to go to, I decided to have a night alone filled with baking. After the devastating news from Connecticut, I had to get things off of my mind, so baking helped a little bit. I originally wanted to make wine brownies…I even bought a bottle of red wine! My co-worker made wine brownies in the past and they were so moist and gooey. But I just wasn’t feeling up to it, so I decided to use the recipe for Cocoa Brownies in the December issue of Bon Appetite.

The brownies came out so moist inside and crunchy on top! The only thing I would change would be to take the brownies out of the oven a little earlier, that way they can continue to cook in the pan but other than that, the brownies were delicious!

The recipe can be found here.

Cocoa Brownies

Ever since Sandy, everything has been so hectic. My basement had to be renovated since it was flooded. My car was flooded, so I am now in the process of buying a new car. Thankfully, my home is still here and all of my loved ones are safe. I have been really busy with work, so this has kept my mind off of this. I try to blog at least a few times a month but with the stress of replacing everything, I haven’t been able to. Blogging is also a way to remember the meals I have with the people I care about. Writing is also a way for me to release. With the renovations, I haven’t been motivated to write or go out to eat, as I am busy with work and fixing things up. But I am hoping to get over this creative block and get back to being excited and motivated to go out to eat and write about it!

For breakfast on the second day in Vegas, we strolled downstairs and ate at Carnival World Buffet. D ordered a plain belgian waffle and syrup. The waffle was slightly crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside. The waffle was just simple and tasted like a regular waffle.

I’m normally not a breakfast person and the times I do have breakfast, I love a big hearty breakfast with some sort of protein (meat!). A meal doesn’t satisfy me unless there’s some kind of meat (sorry to vegetarians!). I ordered a plain omelet on a bed of home fries with a potato pancake. A muffin and toast came with the dish. The omelet was nice and runny and the home fries had corn beef mixed in. The potato pancake was nice and crispy on the outside. Ketchup made this dish even better (I love ketchup so much, I put ketchup on ketchup). This was the perfect savory breakfast for me!

Buzios Seafood Restaurant

3700 West Flamingo Road

Las Vegas, NV 89103

http://www.riolasvegas.com