Tag: Food Pics

And last of the appetizers was Agedashi Buttermilk with fuji apple dashi and white sesame.  This sounded interesting but we weren’t exactly sure what Agedashi Buttermilk was.  But we were sold when the waiter explained that it was like agedashi tofu (tofu lightly dusted with potato or cornstarch before being deep fried) but with buttermilk fried instead of tofu.

But we weren’t done.  We also ordered Long Island Crescent Duck (me) and Bev Eggleston’s Pork Shoulder Steak (him).  That duck was the most delicious duck I’ve ever had.  And hidden amongst the other condiments on the plate were little bits of fried foie gras.  Yum!

Location: Momofuku Ssam Bar in NYC

Next up was Honeycrisp Apple Kimchi with jowl bacon, maple labne (that mayo looking thing at the top), and arugula.

Um… WOW.  I was a little skeptical of this at first.  I mean, I like kim chi, I like apples… but together?  But it was wonderful and basically tasted like apple slices dipped in li hing powder, with bacon and a creamy sauce.

Li hing mui, by the way in case you didn’t know, is a salty dried plum.  The actual plum as well as the powder topped on fruits and candy can be found in any snack store in Hawaii.  Supposedly it’s an acquired taste, but it’s what I munched on all day long growing up.  Also in high school err… after turning 21 I mean, we would use it instead of salt when doing tequila shots.  Actually, I no longer do tequila shots anymore due to this… but that’s the fault of the tequila not the li hing powder.

Location: Momofuku Ssam Bar in NYC

We decided to share everything, and started with Santa Barbara Uni with tiger’s milk (not sure what that is – tasted like cucumber juice to me), fennel, and nori.  I know that my iphone camera did not do it justice – but this was heavenly.

Okay, it’s official.  I am OBSESSED with Uni (sea urchin) and will add it to my oh-so-expensive tastebuds “obsessed” list along with foie gras, caviar, and truffles.  (Ugh – this list is why I always don’t understand what happens to my paycheck.)

However, because I had such a bad experience with uni during my first go-round in Hawaii – which not to be a snotty/snobby local ex-local (who am I kidding – I’m so snobby about Hawaii having “the best” of such and such) but I figure if you want good sushi (and can’t muster up a ticket to Japan), Hawaii is the place to have it, I am shying away from getting uni at any ole restaurant – sticking to ordering it in restaurants of chefs I know stalk.

I am obsessed with Momofuku Noodle Bar after eating there this past weekend.  Another one of David Chang’s restaurants (whom I’m now obsessed with after eating at Momofuku Ko).  These pork belly buns were seriously heaven on earth.  We sat at the counter and watched one of the cooks make hundreds of these little guys.  As opposed to his other restaurants which are hard (or impossible) to get into without reservations, this no reservations place had a quick turnaround and we were seated within 15 minutes of putting down our name even though the place was packed and there were some pretty large groups ahead of us that were seated first.

Also yummy in my tummy was the HUGE and wonderful Momofuku Ramen, which was the reason we came here in the first place, for the noodles.  The Momofuku Ramen included a perfected cooked poached egg, bamboo shoots, scallions, pork belly, shredded braised pork shoulder (tasted exactly like Hawaii-style kalua pig), ramen noodles, and bacon broth.  I want to go back right now.

It’s places like this that make me think about moving out of Connecticut for NYC, giving up my bought condo for a very expensive and much smaller rental and giving up my awesome commute to work for public transportation.  Needless to say, if I won the lottery I would buy an apartment in the city to get the best of both worlds.

photo via

Lucky’s overstuffed sandwich, and my possible submission to This is why you’re fat.  After seeing Adam successfully finish Lucky’s food challege on Man versus Food he made us stop by so that he could try one of these sandwiches for himself.

The overstuffed sandwich includes your choice of meat, cheese, fresh cut french fries, coleslaw and tomatos.  Since I don’t like my coleslaw and fries in my sandwich, I passed on this adventure.

And you thought I was done with food posts from Chicago.

But I couldn’t leave without having an authentic deep dish pizza.  After much research I decided that Lou Malnati’s was the best place to go.  We each ordered an individual pizza and when mine came I was disappointed with how small it was and I wish we had ordered larger pizzas.  But I was pretty full by my last bite.