Top chef « JeNycEats

So I turned 24 years old on June 28th. I don’t like to make a big deal out of my birthdays, so I tend to have small quiet celebrations with people I care about. I’ve been meaning to try “KinShop,” Top Chef Winner Harold Dieterle’s thai restaurant. I have heard amazing things, so I figured why not go there for my birthday with my boyfriend? My friend also had a belly dancing show in the Lower East Side that night and we wanted to support her, so we figured going out to eat in the city would be even more convenient. Thai food is so good and if Harold cooked the way he did on Top Chef, I would have no doubt the food would be no less than amazing.

KinShop is in such a convenient area. We walked in and it seemed so casual, relaxed, and so unpretentious. I noticed Harold in the back by the bar right away. I was definitely going to try to get a pic with him at the end of dinner. I started off with a Thai Iced Tea (so good and refreshing on such a humid night). We went out for lunch with my family, so we were still stuffed from that meal. Since we were so full, we didn’t order appetizers.

For our entrees, I ordered the stir fried rice flakes and Danny ordered the thin egg noodles and dry aged broth. My stir fried rice flakes consisted of rock shrimp, cauliflower, sawtooth herb & fried garlic. This was absolutely delicious! I love thick noodles, shrimp, and cauliflower. This dish reminded me of what my parents would make us at home. My boyfriend’s noodle dish was the best dish of the night! The short ribs were flavorful and the noodle soup was just so comforting. The broth flavor was so developed and so rich. Danny loves asian noodle soup and this was definitely high up on his list of faves.

After finishing dinner, I just wanted to look at the dessert menu and had no intentions on ordering anything because I was so stuffed. I saw the lychee sorbet and just had to have it (I love lychee and I love cold desserts on a hot night). It was pretty good and lychee’y. I wish there were more scoops of it and maybe some fresh lychees on top but that’s just my opinion.

After dinner, I asked the hostess if I could get a picture with Harold and she said she would find out if he was busy or not. He was but he said I could get a pic. I told him how much of a fan I am of his, wanted to try KinShop so bad, how great the food was, etc… Being the klutz I am, I dropped my digital camera on the floor and it was on the fritz, so Danny used his HTC phone camera to take all of the pictures. While Danny was getting to the camera, Harold showed 1 of his line cooks who was the boss. All I heard was Harold saying something along the lines of “you know how to cook that? If not, I’ll show you, etc…” I just thought that was pretty cool and authoritative. So finally I got a picture and left a really long review. We are definitely going back to KinShop for some more amazing Thai food.

KinShop

469 6th Avenue

New York, NY 10011

http://www.kinshopnyc.com/

I recently got a part-time job doing food tasting for a well-known marketing company. I get to do 1 of my favorite things (eat) and still have a flexible schedule. Doing food tasting in the morning really works up an appetite. I found out via twitter that Top Chef Angelo Sosa was collaborating with Kati Roll on a new menu item, a shrimp masala roll. Also, Sosa was going to be at the midtown location the same day as Grand Central’s “Super Bowl Bash”, so I might as kill 2 birds with 1 stone.

The shrimp masala roll features shrimp that’s been marinated in coconut milk and spices which is placed in a warm partha and topped with marinated red onions and bird’s eye chiles. I, of course, love any seafood, so I had obviously had to try it out. Plus, it helps that Top Chef Angelo Sosa was going to be at Kati Roll himself.

I got out of my food tasting gig at 12:30 and arrived at Kati Roll at 1. By the time I entered the store, I saw a huge line (it kind of looked like a double line) by the register. That was just the line to pick up their order. I get on a short line to order the shrimp roll but by the time I get to the counter, the cashier said they weren’t taking any more of shrimp orders. I was kind of upset just because I love shrimp but I settled for a unda chicken roll. What was great was seeing Angelo on the stations cooking with the other line cooks, triaging the orders, answering phones, something you wouldn’t expect a celebrity chef to do. But that still didn’t distract from the fact that there were no more shrimp or that it took 20 minutes to pick up my order. Though the cashier was nice to give everyone that was waiting a while for their food, a cup of free tea (chai?).

Angelo’s handing out orders as they’re put together and I got to meet the Top Chef himself. I told him I follow him on twitter and have my own blog yada yada and got a picture with him. I also said how I was disappointed they didn’t have any more shrimp (or so they say). But anywho, I still got my food.

The chicken roll consisted of red onions, an omelette, and chunks of chicken with curry on a paratha, a type of Indian flat bread. I like mildly spicy food but I’ve never had ubber spicy food. The roll had great flavor but I felt as if my mouth was burning. Though I had to fan my mouth with every bite, it was something I’ve never experienced before. I actually think I like spicy food now! The tea didn’t help because that was scorching hot but it came in handy when I had to bear the cold afterwards. Overall, I would love to come back again and try the shrimp masala roll (if they don’t run out.)

Kati Roll

49 West 39th Street (between 5th and 6th Avenues)

New York, NY 10018

http://www.thekatirollcompany.com/

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My 24th Birthday Dinner at KinShop

Top Chef Lunch

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