Tag: japanese

Categories
asian bar/drinking

Sake Bar Decibel

Shonali invited me to come with her to see The Joy Formidable at Webster Hall. So I asked her if she wanted get free sake before. She suggested Sake Bar Decibel, NYC’s first sake bar. Turned out to be the opposite of free sake. It’s pretty pricey. Small bottles start at around $18. But I guess better quality than free sake.

I brought Sam along. We all ordered some small plates of food, two small $22 bottles of sake and a $9 glass from a $99 bottle. I was whoa, $99? But then I saw how huge the bottle was. Okay $99 is actually a good deal.

I made sure to get a Nigori, unfiltered milky/cloudy sake. I liked it. Sweet.

My favorite thing was the Wasabi Shumai. They packed a punch up my nose. Sam and Shonali thought it was too hot. That’s weird thinking that it’s hot/spicy. I feel like Wasabi, Horseradish, and Hot Mustard should have a different term for their type of spiciness. Because I don’t think it’s spicy. It just fucks up your nose.

They forgot to get give us our edamame. So we asked about it, but made sure to let them know we already ordered as the guy was writing it down like it was a new order. Dang it. I just noticed they charged us twice from looking at the photo of the bill. I was too drunk to notice. Cry to my mommy about the edamame.

Other than the Edamame mishap, it was a pretty cool bar. Fun drinking and wasn’t so super expensive, for Pete’s sake.

Sake Bar Decibel – 240 E 9th St (btwn Stuyvesant St & 2nd Ave) New York, NY 10003

Categories
asian

Sapporo Haru – Free Unlimited Hot Sake

We went out to Sapporo Haru for sushi and their free unlimited hot sake. You just have to buy a minimum of $10 of food per person to get the deal. That’s pretty easy.

While waiting for Todd and Elissa, they asked us if we wanted something to drink while we waited. We said, nah, that’s fine… We were going to get the free sake. And they brought it out while we waited.

Then we ordered a Sapporo Haru specialty roll. It’s their namesake. Shrimp tempura fish roe cucumber inside eel avocado on top $12.95. I liked it a lot.

When the whole party got there, we decided on the Love Boat Sushi for Four $75 –A huge boat with lots of different sushi, sashimi and rolls (see pics!). It came with miso soup or salad. Even though we were five, it was a lot of food. Well I guess we also had that roll earlier too.

And we did get plenty of free hot sake. It came out to $25 per person after tax and tip. Such a good deal. And I guess you can even get cheaper as long as you hit the $10 minimum. It’s like why do people go to bars when they can do this? You also get free oranges for dessert.

Afterwards, we went home and drank free unlimited soju and then went to a party where there was unlimited tequila. That’s a good deal too.

Sapporo Haru – 622 Manhattan Ave (between Driggs & Nassau) Brooklyn, NY 11222

Categories
asian

Sushi Park – 50% off Dollar Menu Sushi

I’ve been craving wasabi so much lately. I’ve been talking about going to one of those All-You-Can-Eat Sushi places with my friends. It never happened, but I still wanted sushi. So I went by myself to try the 50% off Dollar Menu sushi at Sushi Park. Not 50% off a dollar, but either 50% off the regular menu or a special dollar menu (Mondays through Thursdays).

I went on a Wednesday night and it was pretty packed full of people. I got seated at the sushi counter with a menu. But I couldn’t find where the dollar menu was. I figured I was there at the wrong time or maybe even the wrong place. So I just went with the 50% off Chirashi sushi bowl. It was freakin’ $28. Good thing that really meant $14. Apparently 50% off the regular menu is all the time, so it’s more like a trick. It was good, but not worth $28.

Right after I finished eating, the person that was seated next to me had the dollar menu. Why didn’t I get that? Fuck. I asked to see it. There was a decent selection of stuff you could get for a $1 each. Plus the back had dinner sets that included a free beer or sake. Fuck. I definitely would have gotten one of those sets if I knew.

I got a few dollar menu items. Smelt Fish Roe, Spicy Tuna sushi and Takoyaki octopus balls. They were alright. Made sense for a dollar. The Spicy Tuna was made up of mashed meat. I noticed they were using mashed fish for a lot of sushi and rolls. Looks really gross, but it wasn’t that bad.

I don’t know about this place. I feel sort of cheated. One for it not really be a true 50% off. Two for not getting the dollar and dinner set menus to begin with. And third for paying about the same price I would have if I had gone to the All-You-Can-Eat and Drink Sushi place. Oh well. At least I got my wasabi fix.

Sushi Park - 121 E 2nd Ave (btwn 7th St & St Marks Pl) New York, NY 10003

Categories
asian

Gyu-Kaku Japanese Restaurant

Every Tuesday for the past few weeks, I’ve been going to Gyu-Kaku in Hell’s Kitchen for a quick beer before my acting class. They have a $6 Mega Beer (25oz of Kirin Draft sometimes in a icy cold mug). I’ve learned that one of those big beers is the perfect amount before a class. Anything more is like “whoa, what’s going on?” Although my teacher has asked me twice if I was drunk or on drugs.

The happy hour at the bar is until 7pm. You pretty much get everything 50% off. So most other regular sized beers are $3 or a Lychee Martini is $5.

They also have a happy hour food menu at the bar until 6pm. A lot of small plates to share. The Sukiyaki Bibimbap is pretty big though ($6). I didn’t finish it, but I was full on beer. They bring out a super hot stone clay bowl and mix up your Bibimbap. It got crispy. It was pretty decent. I love the presentation …although, I think I like my rice softer rather than crispy and stuck in my teeth.

Another time, I got a Ginger Chicken ($5). Pretty good pieces of fried breaded chicken cutlet with some ginger flavor.

I regret never have gotten the Gyu-Sliders. Those look good on the menu.

I’ve been here when it was crazy at the bar and other times when it was easy. But it’s a good place to get a happy hour drink and not be at a real bar. It helps me think I’m not an alcoholic.

Gyu-Kaku – 321 W 44th St (btw 9th & 8th Ave) New York, NY 10036

Categories
treats

Crazy Japanese Kit Kat Flavors

I came to work today and at the front desk was this big variety gift box of Japanese Kit Kats –courtesy of Sam’s business trip to Japan. The flavors were:

  • Edamame-Soybean
  • Pear
  • Blueberry Cheese Cake
  • Shinshu Apple
  • Hot Japanese Chili
  • Brown Sugar Syrup
  • Strawberry Cheese Cake
  • Wasabi
  • Red Bean Sandwich
  • Cinnamon Cookie
  • Matcha-Green Tea
  • Hojicha-Roasted Tea
  • Citrus Golden Blend
  • Strawberry
  • Purple Sweet Potato

Wow crazy flavors …or maybe more that they’re uniquely Asian.

I stood around there with a few of my co-workers trying a bunch of them. They were interesting. A lot of them you’d think would be insane and weird like the Red Bean Sandwich or the Hot Japanese Chili, but the flavors weren’t overpowering. So they weren’t that bad. Still very much a Kit Kat, but a hint of whatever flavor they are.

I kind of liked the Hot Japanese Chili Flavor. It tasted like chili dark chocolate, where the heat kicked in a bit later in the back of your throat.

Green Tea flavor was good. Might sound weird if you never had Green Tea Ice Cream. But if you have, you know it’s a pretty good flavor in sweets.

Categories
asian concert/event

The Kills at Converse City Carnage Pier 63 NYC

Last night we saw Black Banana and The Kills at Pier 63, where Rusty takes care of the flowers. Drank too much and ate peanuts. I forgot to pay attention to the show.

We stumbled off to the train and bought a Lamb Doner Platter at Istanbul Grill on 14th St. I was thinking it would be better than a pita sandwich, because no bread. Todd and I are trying to cut the carbs. Took it on the train and we got so pissed when we found out they gave us pita bread on the side and the whole bottom of the platter was rice. I was about to go all the way back to complain. I was so pissed and drunk.

I’m not sure if the platter is worth $12.45. Seems expensive. Probably because most of it we didn’t eat because of the carbs. A halal cart would have been cheaper. It wasn’t bad tasting though.

Instanbul Grill – 310 W 14th St (btwn 8th & 9th Ave) New York, NY 10014

We headed off to Williamsburg to meet Elissa and co. I don’t remember what we were doing, but we ended up at Supercore on Bedford and drank sake. Elissa ordered the Beni-Tori with rice (simmered chicken in dark soy sauce, ginger, onion, sugar with soft boiled egg). It tasted pretty good.

Todd was trying to order food and I tried to stop him. We need to get serious with our bodies. I remember rambling on about Brad Pitt’s diet and workouts. There are actually websites about it –Bradpittdiet.com and Bradpittworkout.com. Okay, now that I got the carb cutting down, I need to work on cutting the drinking. I’d probably look like Brad Pitt by now.

Supercore – 305 Bedford Ave (btwn Grand St & S 1st) Brooklyn, NY 11211

Categories
burger

Japanese Powder Mini Hamburger Kit

Marcellus just emailed me this.

“this is so retarded that i thought you might like it.
a friend of mine ordered some of these from japan and said they were disgusting.
m”

Dang. I’m out of the loop.

Categories
ramen

Menkui Tei Noodle Restaurant

Killing time with Sam at this ramen spot, before I went back to my place for my roommate’s birthday. Unfortunately, I’m getting really lazy with bringing my camera with me. It’s just too bulgy in my tight jeans in the summertime. I did have my phone with the Camera360 app. It has a filter called “Japanese Style” which was very appropriate for the cuisine. It brings up the brightness, lessens the contrast and gives it a purple-ish tint. It’s so dark in Menkui-Tei, I don’t know how these people on Yelp got their bright photos.

The best thing was the Age Platter special –fried squid legs, fried octopus balls, and fried octopus. I could eat a whole plate of the fried octopus.

Tan Tan Men noodles was too soupy for me, but the flavor was right.

Afterwards, I brought home a cake from Grand Morelos. I’ve wanted to get the naked girl with the see-thru night gown topper, but I didn’t know how to ask for it. So I just got a dinosaur. Then things got crazy when I pulled out the guitar and cranked it up with the Happy Birthday song. Some dude called out for me to play Stairway to Heaven and ACDC. I freaked out and screamed “FUCK YOU!!!” then stormed off. He thought I was being funny and laughed.

Menkui Tei Noodle Restaurant – 63 Cooper Sq (btwn 7th St & Astor Pl) New York 10003