Scene in Tokyo

All photos by Tokyo Times.

Northern Manor: Dim Sum Dujour

Beef Tripe, Preserved Duck Egg Congee, BBQ'd Pork Bun.

This review originally appeared on The Gotham Palate.

"Dim sum taught me Chinese."

As a kid, I learned the bulk of my Cantonese Chinese food words from simply hearing the ladies who strolled past me hawking their carts' wares. I never cease to marvel at the sweet, salty, spicy, fried and steamed aromas and textures wafting by me every time I'm out to yum cha. In Cantonese, 'yum cha' literally means 'drinking tea' but has become synonymous with the dim sum we know today (eating small servings of different foods). Most traditional Chinese restaurants that sell dim sum have a sit-down menu in addition to the carts of steaming hot plate-sized Chinese delicacies. Wash it all down with jasmine or oolong tea, and you're good to go.

There's a reason why dim sum has become so popular: It's quick, tasty and cheap.

Northern Manor fits the bill. It's located on the border of Queens and Long Island, which is great because that means I don't have to trek out to Flushing every time I'm in the mood for dim sum. I tend to go with my family - the bigger the group, the better! I once had dim sum with just two other people, but it wasn't quite the same experience. Especially when you calculate the amount of food you're eating (count on a minimum of six or eight dishes). If you want to sample other things, it just makes more sense to go with a crowd.

Dim sum dining.

Here's a breakdown of the popular dim sum eats we feasted on:
-pay dahn sow yook jook (preserved duck egg congee - my preferred congee)
-law bahk go (white turnip cake with hoisin sauce)
-siu mai (pork dumplings)
-ha gow (shrimp dumplings)
-ngow pahk yeep (beef tripe)
-pie gwat (spareribs)
-ngow toe (beef stomach)
-ha chong fun (shrimp rice roll)
-ngow yook chong fun (beef rice roll)
-cha siu bao (barbecued pork bun)

Jasmine Tea, Joong, Shrimp Rice Roll.

After all these years, Mom's favorite dim sum dish is still shrimp dumplings - I think because her grandma used to make them from scratch. Of course, nothing can compare to homemade, but when you can't be bothered to cook, dim sum is where it's at.

Personally, my cousin's auntie in California makes the best joong (sticky rice wrapped in bamboo leaves), but Northern Manor's isn't bad. The Chinese sausage is sharp and aromatic; salted eggs, mung beans, chestnuts, dried shrimp, dried black mushrooms, pork and rice are rolled into a tight hot mess (the good kind).

Turnip cake.

I also like the don tat (egg custard tart) and law my gai (rustic lotus-leaf wrapped sticky rice) here. It's a tough call, but my hands-down favorite dim sum dish is the turnip cake (which is actually made of Chinese radish and rice flour, not turnip). Taro cake is it's nearly identical, denser cousin. But given a choice between turnip and taro, I'd choose turnip every time.

Downside: No sesame balls or mong gwor bo deen (mango pudding) to be found. What gives!

Although dim sum allows you to try a variety of dishes, it can also turn out to be an MSG-laden grease fest. Luckily, Northern Manor shuns the overly processed gook in favor of fresh ingredients and healthier methods of food preparation. This means that the congee is seasoned correctly and utilizes a finer grain of rice that isn't just mush on the table, barbecued pork buns have a just-baked, golden sheen and the shrimp dumplings haven't been dragged through a vat of oil.

Final consensus? Northern Manor is a dim sum restaurant that even Grandma would approve! (Just don't come here if you're on a diet.)

Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars. Northern Manor does a solid dim sum, but something's not quite allowing me to give it 4 stars - could be the tight quarters, the wait (try to avoid prime time lunch hours between 12 - 2pm) or the lack of some aforementioned dishes. Be aware that it may take several tries before you master of art of not overeating. Good luck to you.

Location:
Northern Manor
251-15 Northern Blvd
Little Neck, NY 11362
718.281.1500

Tokyo, Land of Cocktails

Photo by Tony Law.

Utada Hikaru, Shibuya street style, anime, drifting, scramble crossing, subways.

What isn't Tokyo known for?

While cocktails may not top your list, this article by Bon Appetit will have you considering Tokyo's other fine points. Writer Hugh Garvey conducts interviews with bartenders and notes some colorful observations concerning Tokyo's imbibers. The accompanying annotated map eagerly tempts you to dive into Tokyo's cocktail revolution.

Cucumber Croc

Image by Funky Lunch.

OK, I am a dork and I think this is cute. I'm still in awe of these culinary designs. Funky Lunch brings you whimsical food creations, including Pacman and Hello Kitty! Made with such skill, who could actually eat these?

Funky Monkey

Photo by RealMomsGuide.

Wish I had one of these lunch boxes when I was a kid. Frecklebox sells one-of-a-kind personalized lunch boxes, journals, coloring books and even growth charts. I think I would've enjoyed indulging my inner rockstar. Just think - my own monogrammed drum set!

Strange Birds.

Inspired by Theme Magazine's Issue 20.

Close your eyes and imagine a world in which:

Squirrels converse with HUMANS.

Shoplifting is the newest hipster FAD.

Upstanding citizens engage in random punch-outs in the name of LOVE.

Women take more than just a motherly interest in their CHILDREN.

Robots arrange walking marathons to proliferate the cause of BAGEL.

*

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Now open them.

The Biggest Food Coma: Woorijip

Lincoln Center. Upper West Side.

Russian Tea Room. Theater District.

Radio City Music Hall. Theater District.

Woorijip. Murray Hill.

It's 10 p.m: Do you know where your children are?

I don't, but I can tell you where my stomach is!

At Woorijip, where you can stock up on your fill of cheap and tasty buffet-style Korean food.

Above, clockwise from top: Kimchi, zucchini pajun (pancake), kimchi pajun, kimchi fried rice (gotta have my kimchi intake), egg roll with sauce, ddukbokki (spicy rice cake), rolled omelet, zaru soba, bok choy with shiitake mushrooms, fish.

I swished it down with Pomegranate Blue Honest Ade Tea, an organic thirst quencher that adds just a hint of sweetness without all of that artificial gunk.

It looks like a lot of food, but surprisingly it all went down without so much as a burp. I'm an animal.

Sticky nubs of rice awash in kochujang.

My sister [who asked me to take down that picture of her food coma] thoroughly enjoyed her share of hot Korean food. Promptly after the meal, she sat slumped down in a daze and refused to move. Methinks she had a rather severe bout of food coma. Woorijip's homestyle Korean food is so good that it makes you want to stay there forever listening to the jazzy jams of Clazziquai filtering through the restaurant. (Our friend Sarah is over there in the blue, checking out the desserts).

Get a plate to go! Woorijip also has a wide selection of foreign sake, soju and beers. I was entranced by all the shimmering colors and intricate bottle shapes...one of which resembled a stout perfume bottle, dressed up in pink. But it was sake. Go figure. Also on hand: Fizzy lemonades in blood orange and grapefruit flavors, $1 cups of citron tea, kimbap-in-a-box, red bean desserts.

It's fun to people-watch here. There's your pick of lanky Korean power couples dressed in coordinating swanky threads, hipster club kids, dress shirt-clad working people clinking Heinekens out of paper cups and, of course, the tourists who linger at the buffet for 20 minutes agonizing over what to get (AKA confused about what's on the menu).

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars. Pancakes were a bit on the mushy/soft side and could've used some crisping up, but I do appreciate how Woorijip keeps their dishes considerably reduced on the grease-o-meter. Even after I consumed the egg roll, I didn't automatically feel like I was sweating oil. The tender, salted fish (I wish I knew what kind it was) was the highlight of my night, along with the solid kimchi fried rice. The only thing missing was an egg on top!

Location:
Woorijip
12 W. 32nd St
New York, NY 10001
212.244.1115