Tag: ramen and friends

Categories
chinese indian

Tangra Masala – Indian Style Chinese Cuisine

This Ramen and Friends outing took us to Tangra Masala in Elmhurst, Queens for Indian Style Chinese, which I guess is the style of Chinese food served in India. The serving staff was Indian. I wonder if there were Chinese in the back cooking. Or Indian-born Chinese? I’m confused.

The menu is a hybrid of Chinese food with Indian flavors. It tasted really good and spicy. My favorites were the Lollypop Chicken appetizers with the chipotle-mayo style dipping sauce, Tangra Masala Goat and Fish with Chili Sauce. A lot of the dishes ask if you want it wet (sauce) or dry. The consensus was that dry was the way to go. More flavorful and not drowned in gravy.

Tangra Masala was filling and made me sweat. Downside is that there is no alcohol and you can’t bring it in. Dang. Just trying to get my Tangra Masala on.

Check out Ramen and Friends and Kika Eats‘ review.

Tangra Masala – 8709 Grand Ave. Queens, NY 11373

Categories
chinese

Noodle Village

Yes! Yoshie set up a Chinese New Year dinner for Ramen and Friends. I think I was the only Chinese person, so I had to represent. I really wanted try some interesting stuff like the Pig liver, kidneys and stomach over noodles. No one really wanted to help me try. So I just got the Beef Brisket and Tendons Lo Mein. Really good tender beef chunks, but I didn’t see any tendons. Maybe a turnip. But I do believe the beef was cut next to the tendons and stomach.

I did manage to talk Trish into getting the Pig Hocks over noodles. She walked in late and didn’t know what it was. I didn’t really tell her.

Overall a good cheap meal. I liked the soup dumplings.

At the end, Richard asks me if I want to go meet sixty single Jewish ladies right now. So I jumped in a cab with him and ended up at this speed dating event —Date My Jewish Friend. Wow, I didn’t know was going on, but I thought I was really awesome. Two and half years of studying pickup really prepped me at yelling at 60 girls in a loud bar for 3 minutes each.

At one point, I went to the bathroom and overheard two girls laughing that all the guys were total douche bags. I was wondering if they were talking about me. When I came back, I found out that they were our next table and I was drinking the tequila that the guys in front of us tried to buy them. I really thought someone handed me a free drink. I wonder if that counts as a neg.

Noodle Village – 13 Mott St (Btwn Bowery & Bayard St) New York, NY 10013

Categories
restauranting

Ayada Thai’s Basil Frog Legs are Yummy

Yoshie got us to go to Woodside/Elmhurst for this Ramen and Friends dinner to try Ayada Thai. There’s a lot of comparisons of this place to Sripraphai in the Yelp universe. This place was pretty empty though.

Rich and I shared the Basil Frog Leg and one of the whole fishes. The Basil Frog Leg was really good. A lot of spices in that sauce. You probably could put any meat or nothing and I’d still be happy. It’s more about the sauce. As for our fish, there seemed to be some confusion and they ended up bringing us the Kang Som Sour Curry soup with omelet. There was a photo of it on the wall in a press clipping, so I’m assuming it’s one of the better dishes. It had an interesting sour taste, but I’m thinking I would’ve liked the fish we ordered better.

Margaret and Adam ordered the best. Chinese Broccoli with Crispy Pork and Sautéed Sa-Tor Bean with Ground Chicken were the tastiest of the bunch. However they think those beans made their pee smell like skunk. Yoshie’s pink seafood soup was pink and tangy. She didn’t say anything about her pee.

I enjoyed this meal more than the time we went to Sripraphai. Maybe it’s because my expectations were too high that time.

Ayada Thai – 77-08 Woodside Ave. Queens, NY 11373
Ramen and Friend’s review

Categories
brunch

Building on Bond Brunch

I met up with Yoshie, Rob and Baby Cormac for brunch at Building on Bond. I haven’t had a traditional brunch in so long. Pulled Pork Hash Benedict was good. The oozing poached egg yolk running over my pork. I want more though.

Building on Bond – 112 Bond St (@ Pacific St) Brooklyn, NY 11217
Ramen and Friends’ cross-post

Categories
ramen restauranting

Hide-Chan’s Mega Ton Ramen

First Ramen and Friends dinner since baby Cormac. We went to Hide-Chan Ramen in Midtown. I got the Mega Ton (extra noodle, extra thick char siu, a lot vegetables $15). They weren’t kidding. It was a mega ton of food. I barely made a dent even with a little help from my friends. There is a lot of vegetables/cabbage though. I really had to dig around for the noodles.

Richard mistakenly got someone else’s Hakata Grilled Pork Toro Ramen (cheek meat marinated with brown sugar and soy sauce $12) and I’m glad he did because I got to try it. The meat was so good.

Chicken wings were just okay.

Hide-Chan Ramen – 248 E 52nd St (btwn 2nd & 3rd Ave) New York 10022
Ramen and Friends’ cross post

Categories
mexican taco

Meeting Ramen & Friend’s Baby Cormac

We went out to see Ramen & Friends Yoshie & Rob’s new baby Cormac. He’s a little one. He sure likes to watch TV. Apparently he likes True Blood and White Chicks. I can’t wait until we food blog with him.

Sam, Laura and I stopped for tacos on the way out at California Taqueria. The sign says it’s been open for 20 years (since 1990). I keep thinking we’re still in the 90’s. Shit, I’m old. I got what I expected in the combination platter …a pile of slop. Sam noticed it weighed about half of baby Cormac. The food needs a lot of hot sauce to make it taste good. Luckily they have several kinds. Also Sam got to try his first TAB soda. TAB? We sure it still ain’t the 90’s?

I then ran over to Brooklyn Bowl to catch my friends Brendan and Jackson of the Playboys of the Western World, covering a bunch of yacht rock songs (Michael McDonald, Toto, Christopher Cross). I blown away. They’re twins, but one is playing leftie and the other rightie guitar. Then they’d rip the same identical Steely Dan lick. It was like there was a trippy mirror between them. Interestingly, I came back to Brooklyn Bowl the next night to see my friends in Class Actress. Sexy. And Chairlift played later, who have that iPod commercial. They were good, but outside of that one iPod song, they reminded me of Avatar.

Original California Taqueria – 187 Court St (btwn Congress St & Wyckoff St) Brooklyn, NY 11201

Jason Lam meets Baby Cormac

Categories
ramen restauranting

Totto Ramen

Met up with Yoshie, Sam and Rob at the new Totto Ramen a few weeks ago in Midtown. It’s a tiny little place and therefore long waits. Yoshie gave up our table a few times because we were late. Then as I got an important food blog related phone call when our table was ready. I ran out to talk and several minutes later Sam runs out to say we have to order or they’ll kick us out. Okay, I’ll have the chicken one! They have several chicken ones! Oh, get me the creamy one! I don’t know what the creamy one is! Dang, get me shio miso! …I thought I probably sounded food smart by saying “shio miso” over the phone, but turns out that “shio miso” is two different things.

They ordered me the creamy chicken one. It was alright. Better to read Yoshie’s review.

Totto Ramen – 366 W 52nd St (btwn 8th & 9th Ave) Manhattan, NY 10019

Categories
restauranting

Ramen and Friends: Taqueria Coatzingo in Jackson Heights

Out to Jackson Heights for some good Mexican food in the latest Ramen and Friends adventure. I like how the menu has pictures of the dishes. It’s just like Denny’s. I ordered the biggest platter, the Steak Norteño (broiled shell steak with a fried egg, roast chile, potatoes, rice, beans, guacamole, cheese – $15). I was second-guessing my order. Can a steak platter be that good at $15? Well I thought it tasted better than a Denny’s steak from what I remember as a kid. So not bad at all. I was plenty stuffed.

Yoshie saw my Duane Reade bag and asked what I bought. I pulled out a box of Clorox disposable toilet wands. She said, “What are you doing? Bringing home a girl?!” I was like “nah, just cleaning my toilet.” She said that the only time boys clean their toilet is when a girl comes over. Then I pulled out a bottle of mouthwash and Yoshie kept insisting I was bringing home a girl. Then next was a Glade scented plugin (Apple Cinnamon). And finally a big tub of Shea Body Butter cream, where everyone at the table collectively went “ewww.”

After dinner, Paul and I went to try to find the churro cart that he saw on Vendr.TV, but no luck. Instead we walked around looking at other restaurants. Then we sat on the train staring at a menu we picked up. It had pictures, just like Denny’s.

Taqueria Coatzingo – 7605 Roosevelt Ave. Jackson Heights, NY 11372