Sugar Sugar - Korean Bbopki

Photo by Bionic Bites.

Bionic Bites posted an excellent review on bbopki (Korean sugar candy) and traditional Korean breakfast. Makes me want to take the next flight to Seoul!

Wedded to Cupcakes

Sugar Sweet Sunshine.

Last time, some of my friends went to Sugar Sweet Sunshine without me. But I heard such tantalizing tales of the tiny morsels that I was hooked - cupcakes are definitely going back on my agenda.

Sexy Red Velvet Cupcake.

I chose the Sexy Red Velvet Cupcake, red velvet cake with "The Moose," as it's called here. Rather than cream cheese icing, Sugar Sweet Sunshine uses a rich, smooth vanilla buttercream. Right after I took a bite, I wanted seconds (the guy smushed my mousse a bit in the bag, but no biggie). Cake so soft without being sugar rush sweet. But it's the buttery whipped cream that deserves top honors. The mousse was the moistest I have ever tasted. Whipped to a fluffy, light texture. For just $1.75, you can get a half a dozen to sample.

Other delectable choices include: pumpkin (pumpkin cake with cream cheese icing), sunshine (yellow cake with vanilla buttercream), ooey gooey (chocolate cake with chocolate almond buttercream) and black and white (chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream). I am so coming back!

It's a ring thing.

Saturday, I went to my friends' wedding in the West Village. It was a beautiful ceremony, small but intimate. We all snapped the obligatory family pics and 'paparazzi' shots. I remembered to take one of the rings. Since it also happened to be Halloween, random people on the street kept asking us what we were dressed up as:

"I love your costume! It's so elegant. But - what are you supposed to be?"

"Uh....we just got married?"

Yerp. We would be the wedding party. Or more aptly described as The Mafia, what with our black dresses and vintage heels, waistcoats and fitted suits.

Vegan cupcakes.

We bypassed the Halloween parade (and the 100-strong police force in uniform) for some refreshments back at the newlyweds' apartment.

I don't know about you, but when I imagine vegan cupcakes, I didn't expect them to taste this, well...good. I was pleasantly surprised by this batch, made with coconut oil instead of butter. My favorite (and Calla's mom agrees) were the brownie cupcakes, which tasted rich and smacked of chocolate gobs. As I recall, these were some expensive cupcakes. But oh so tasty.

Let's toast!

Ear Candy

"Heaven" - Epik High

This song is aloe vera lotion for a sunburned heart. Don't know how else to describe it, but when I listen to this song I literally feel like I'm drifting away on Cloud 9. "My heaven...is you."




Hula Girls theme song - Jake Shimabukuro

Jake, best known as the ukelele virtuoso for his stirring cover of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," composed this song for the Japanese movie, Hula Girls. A heartwarming tale of what people can create when they work together in community for a common cause and pursue their passions. And you get to see cute girls dancing the hula!




"The Girl Who Can't Break Up, the Boy Who Can't Leave" - Leessang

Leessang consists of rap duo Kang Hee-gun ("Gary") and Gill Seong-joon ("Gill"). The female singer here is Jung In. This music video stars Korean singer Hyori Lee, and actor Ryu Seung Beom (Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance).

A classic love story-gone-haywire, but done up with some clever costumes and a creative narrative thread. You see their relationship progress through the cars they drive and the behavior of the couples around them. And all those masks! I wonder how many people they hired for this video...

Ippudo: Where Ramen Reigns Supreme

Ippudo.

This review originally appeared on The Gotham Palate.

College students, take note: Ippudo is not your MSG-laden instant ramen packet. In fact, it's a far cry from the run-of-the-mill supermarket variety, taking ramen to another level.

My friend and I were in the area for a Susie Suh / Big Phony show later that night at Joe's Pub. It was a teaser of a fall to come: Brisk, chilly and decidedly ramen-worthy weather. What better way to warm up than with ramen?

Ippudo is considered high-end ramen. In Japan, it is among the most famous ramen chains selling Hakata-style tonkatsu ramen from the southern island of Kyushu. There are 34 branches throughout the country, with this one being its first international branch. The restaurant's founder, Shigemi Kawahara, is hailed in Japan as "The Ramen King." And with good reason: Ippudo puts the 'soul' in Japanese soul food.

Witness how palatial it is. Dark chocolate walls are covered by a collection of Japanese scrolls, indecipherable to the non-Japanese reading population. Save for flickering tea candles here and there, the restaurant is so dimly lit that I almost had to squint to see in front of me. A giant rectangle mirror at our communal table allowed me to feast my eyes on the sumptuous ramen before me (or inconspicuously check my hair...). I kept sliding out of the cream chairs, which were alternately missing a left or a right arm. Then I noticed that the seats convert into loveseat mode. Genius! Perfect for a date: Slurping ramen noodles side by side. The romantic candle inset added an earthy, let's-roast-marshmallows-by-the-fireside touch.

A bar in the front entrance resembles the laid-back, non-fussy izakayas in downtown Tokyo. Three hostesses took over the foyer, one of whom led us through a set of Japanese curtains to the main dining area. Ippudo doesn't take reservations, so we arrived just before 6 p.m. and were seated promptly.

As if on cue, a chorus of loud voices exclaimed together: "Irasshaimase!!" ('Welcome,' in Japanese), along with a long string of greetings in Japanese. It was the staff, and they sure have a knack for putting you at ease. If I hadn't known better, I would've thought it was a happy birthday song. My meager comprehension of Japanese couldn't pick up the words quickly enough. On the right-hand side, Japanese chefs tossed and turned their pork, stirring thick broths and chopping up mushrooms and other vegetables to go in the ramen. You could watch them in action, done up in hakatas (traditional Japanese kimonos), their hair rakishly held back with coordinating bandanas.

Akamaru Modern Ramen.

I already knew what I wanted: the Akamaru Modern ($13). After reading countless reviews about how amazing this dish is, I thought it would be foolish to pass it up. The Akamaru Modern, dubbed 'the original tonkatsu' (pork cutlet), contains soup noodles with Ippudo's special sauce, spicy miso paste, fragrant garlic oil, slabs of simmered Berkshire pork, onions, scallions, cabbage and kikurage. The milky, light brown broth had a distinct pork flavor containing nutty, roasted notes, and the fatty pork slices were the epitome of melt-in-your-mouth, effortless eating. Not too greasy, though definitely on the salty side (but what's ramen without salt?). The noodles were cooked firm and al dente - perfection. Ask for extra crushed ninniku (garlic) to mix in with your ramen.

Musashi Ramen.

My friend had the Musashi Ramen ($14) with pork. His was good, but I still liked mine better.

Hirata Buns.

For appetizer, we ordered the Hirata steamed pork buns, filled with Ippudo's original spicy buns sauce and garnished with scallion. The pork was oh-so-tender and marinated seamlessly to the right texture, as if the pork and Japanese mayo sauce were truly one. At $4 a bite, these are some upscale buns - but definitely worth the price tag. The presenation reminded me of the Chinese Peking duck-in-a-bun that is served at Cantonese banquets (and is also available at the local Chinese meat market).

Next time I'll be sure to grind some toasted sesame seeds on top of my ramen to enhance the nutty taste. Even though we bypassed dinner rush hour, I would be down with waiting upwards of an hour for another bowl. The ramen's just that good. Craving sated.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars. I enjoyed this dining experience so much that it's hard to be nit-picky. Maybe the saltiness of the broth, but sodium didn't kill the ramen for me. However, the dim lighting could work against less-romantic pairings, making it awkward for first dates. Check out more menu options here.

Location:
Ippudo
65 4th Ave
New York, NY 10003
212.388.0088
www.ippudo.com/ny

Not Terrible, But Not So Teariffic

Teariffic.

This review originally appeared on The Gotham Palate.

Fresh from a weekend trip to Boston, my friend and I arrived back in the brusque city streets of Chinatown where the scents of fish markets, dumplings and automobile exhaust accosts you from every angle and the food is plentiful. Famished (notice how most of my entries mention acute hunger pangs), we trudged along to Mott Street, my wheeled luggage jolting up and down over crooked sidewalk cracks.

Destination: Teariffic.

Squid Balls & Shrimp Balls Noodle Soup.

I had the Squid Balls & Shrimp Balls Noodle Soup ($4.85) and small hot Honey Green Tea ($2.55). I like the squid balls, which had a chewy give, but for some reason I couldn't get into the shrimp flavor. It was off-tasting. Perhaps this was a subtle hint to me that shrimp should stay in its original form and not morph into a ball. Ever.

The udon noodles were overcooked and lacked any al dente buoyancy. Lucky for me, I was too hungry to obsess over the texture, so long as I had sustenance in my belly. Also, the hot broth worked wonders in clearing up my nasal congestion. For brisk fall and winter nights, hot stews and soups are just what the doctor ordered.

Hot Honey Green Tea.

The green tea was steeped too long and had a bitter, acidic quality, despite tasting like a sugar pill - no shortage of honey in here! Generally, for green tea, the tea leaves should remain in the pot for no longer than two minutes.

Service lagged, and the waitstaff seemed inattentive and unenthusiastic. Our waiter looked indifferent - or maybe just tired. I think the restaurant was short on staff. Luckily, we didn't have to wait too long for our food. As for the decor, it was very much like Saint's Alp, except transported in a Chinatown setting. Small wooden tables matched with low, square stools. Each party sat in close proximity to one another, enhancing the convivial atmosphere.

Steamed White Rice with Marinated Pork.

My friend had Steamed White Rice with Marinated Pork ($4.85). As always, Taiwanese cafes serve boiled tea eggs with their hot meals. I happily chomped on mine, but my dining companion does not enjoy boiled eggs. The pork was plentiful, however, and a sufficient amount of sauce covered the hot rice.

Prices were very affordable, as are most of the restaurants on this strip of Chinatown (Mott St). The cafe was 80% full, which, on a weekday at 5 p.m., is saying a lot. It seems people aren't cutting back on their bubble tea anytime soon. I didn't try the boba, but I hear the ginger black tea and mango with green apple and aloe vera are a thumb's up.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars. While the food is decent, the spotty service and ultra-sweet tea detracted from the tea-drinking experience.

Location:
Teariffic
51 Mott St.
New York, NY 10013
212.393.9009

MOCA Presents: The Chinatown Film Project

This is kind of off-kilter, but really rocks. It's the Chinatown Film Project, a short film exhibit produced for the Museum of Chinese in America. Video by Rich Wong.

As a result of watching this video, I have a newfound appreciation for the melodica (showing up at 1:18). And that chick playing the red drums is nothing short of awesome.

Chinatown's got spunk!

Curry in a Can

Photo by WIRED.

Canned Japanese curry. I'm not sure what to think about this.

Sure, Japan has vending machines for almost anything you can think of - from batteries to booze. At one vending machine in Shibuya, actual humans dispense umbrellas (that's right - a live jack-in-the-box).

But back to the curry: WIRED's Daniel Feit reports that the liquid concoction is little more than bland soup. Everything tastes the same, and the fake rice is especially disappointing. This is one curry-in-a-hurry not worth trying.