Alex Eats World

Tiny hole in the wall?  Slightly dirty and filthy? Cheap? Check, check and check!  All the markings of some great Chinese food.  Walk in, choose your seat and make your way through the simple menu posted on the walls.  Then gawk at the man making hand pulled noodles right near your table.  He’s used to being stared at but was slightly taken aback when I pulled out my obtrusive SLR.  Luckily I have no shame and snapped away.

The noodles are good but the soup takes the crown.  It is rich and full of flavor.  The only complaint is that they don’t give you much meat.  Considering the sub $5 price, I guess its understandable.

What makes this place a keeper however are the fried dumplings.  These delicious bags of meat and juices are easily the BEST dumplings in New York City, and at 12 for $3 it is a no brainer.  The skin is so thin its translucent.  You can see the pork and chives nestled inside the golden crispy skin.  Don’t you just want at it?  This picture is making me hungry.  Luckily I have 100 frozen ones stashed inside my freezer… just sitting there…waiting for me…

Oh, and don’t get this place confused with Lan Zhou Hand Pulled Noodles which is 2 blocks away. No, pay attention. Lan Zhou Handmade Noodles is the place to scarf down dumplings.  Happy New Years! Go, be full!

Lan Zhou Handmade Noodle
144 E. Broadway
New York, NY

I never had the chance to explore food in south bay but after my experience at Alana’s, maybe I should make some time. Not knowing what to expect, I choose Alana’s based off of, yes Yelp. Guys, this is the perfect brunch date place. It has its own parking lot and from there you walk through a beautiful garden complete with white benches some small waterfalls. You then walk up a porch into a historic building and feel like you’re walked into somebody’s dining room.

All this would be pointless without great food and Alana’s serves up some tasty treats. I got the Alaska Scramble, three eggs tossed with smoked salmon, tender spinach and bits of soft cream cheese. The eggs were silky and the ratio of salmon, spinach and cream cheese were perfection. Bits of salty smoked salmon paired great with the creaminess of the cream cheese and the spinach helped clean your palate after every bite. Added some tabasco to the tasty homefries and it was good to go.

I also got a side of their famous Swedish oatmeal pancakes with ligonberries. If you like oatmeal, this is a good pancake. It is a bit on the thin side but it was moist and had great texture.

A friend ordered the thick-sliced french toast made with housemade raisin focaccia. I was too engrossed in my scramble and the discussion on how to ask a girl out to try a bite but it was very well liked. Definitely get one for the table if you enjoy French toast.

Hope everyone is having a merry christmas!

Alana’s Cafe
1020 Main Street
Redwood City, California

Forget black ice…there’s yellow ice on the ground in NYC. Frozen dog piss…or homeless man piss = NYC winter. It’s cold out.  Maybe this will warm you up.

Hot chocolate at Naked Chocolate in Philly. Rather, its really just molten dark chocolate masquerading as a drink.  Sit back.  Enjoy. It’s the holidays.

Naked Chocolate
Various Locations
Philadelphia, PA

House Special Chicken: It’s what they are known for…get it

Everyone knows that good Chinese food is a bit lacking here in Manhattan. However, Congee Village goes a long way in making up for that. The place is large and clean, the prices are right and most importantly, the food is great. I don’t think I’ve tried a dish here that I haven’t liked yet and I’ve been making my way through the 100+ item menu. Since that’s the case, this will be a large picture montage and little writing. Go in a large group to try a bit of everything.

Blue Crabs with Ginger and Scallions: Good but not alot of meat in these crabs

Razor Clams: This place has some great seafood

Fu Zhou Fried Rice: My all time favorite style of fried rice

Snow Pea Leaves: My favorite veggie dish to order at any restaurant

Pan Cooked Tofu: With the sauce, awesomely delicious

Tofu and Mushroom Medley: If you like those two ingredients, which I love, this is your dish

Congee Village
100 Allen Street
New York, NY

I was trying to grab brunch at Balthazar, was told the guestlist was over 2 hrs long and thus closed and was then pooped on by a pigeon before I decided to move on. Some say being pooped on by a bird is good luck, I say its wet. Anyways, we walked around aimlessly for awhile and looked at multiple menus before eying Zoe. The house smoked canadian salmon with crispy potato latkes, horseradish creme fraiche and chive scrambled eggs instantly caught my eye. Behold the beautifully colored and presented smoked salmon. I love tall dishes. Not to by outdone by its visual, this thing was amazing to eat. Perfectly crisp and season potatoes, some of the fluffiest scrambled eggs I’ve ever had and fresh smoked salmon made for the perfect savory brunch.

Caramelized apple brioche french toast with brown sugar glazed apples and vanilla-mascarpone cream

I don’t usually eat sweets but this came highly recommended and now rivals Clinton Street Bakery’s blueberry pancakes as my favorite sweet brunch item.  I’ll try to describe this divine creation.  The brioche bread had the consistency of thick, sticky sponge cake (like mochi mixed into bread if that were at all possible).  This helped it both soak up the cream and stay airy and firm.  I could have eaten an entire loaf of this bread by itself.  Both the glazed apples and the mascarpone creame helped make this as delicateble a sweet dish as I’ve ever had.

Horribly, I just learned that this place has closed.

Zoe Restaurant
90 Prince Street
New York, NY 10012

Apologies for my long absence and the deafening silence on this site.   Food marks my life and apparently life has been on a standstill as I deal with work and applications.  Anyways, this post actually took place on Oct 10, yes, right after my DeBragga tour 2 posts down.  After some steak and wine, my partner in crime decided we were still hungry/gluttonous enough for a full blown brunch.  We strolled down the west side and stumbled across Dell’Anima on the corner of 8th Ave and Jane Street.  After a short wait, we sat at the bar and decided to try a bit of everything.

When they served their bread basket with butter topped with honey, I knew I was in for something special.  Butter and honey is a magical combination. If you haven’t tried it already, please please do yourself a favor and go to KFC, grab a biscuit (I mean buy when I say grab…) ask for a pack of butter and honey, and indulge.  Bring me some too. Thanks.

Their coffee cake was good, moist and not too sweet.  Not particularly special.  Same goes with the corn bread above.

The olive oil cake was better. Probably top 3 in NY but not the best.  Super moist, fresh and spongy and a clean olive oil taste.  I’d get it again if I were here, but go get it at Abraço’s in East Village.

The star of the night, rather…noon was their Tajarin “alla Carbonara”, pasta with speck (SMOKED procuitto!), pecorino cheese and a poached egg.  It was like a reconstructed deconstructed carbonara that hit the spot. Oh, that smoked, cured and spiced leg of pork meat they call speck.  Just look at the marbled fat… I had first tried speck in Italy a few years ago and had totally forgotten about this delicacy.  Finding it here felt like finding that stray 20$ bill in your winter coat you had stored away since last year.  Awesome.

Dell’Anima
38 8th Ave
New York, NY 10014