Dimsum at Golden Unicorn

Under food:

Golden Unicorn
18 East Broadway
New York, NY10002

To be honest, we did not really know of any dimsum joints in Chinatown. We did know that we wanted to try some new places below the Mott Street/East Broadway section, which always seemed "more authentic" to us. After some online searching, we found Golden Unicorn. This restaurant was on the third floor. The setup looks a lot like that of a Chinese restaurant hall, with drapes all around the perimeter, big round tables that sit eight or more, and a center dance floor which also had some tables.

We managed to skip the wait by agreeing to split our table with another group. We ordered the following:

Shrimp and chive dumplings. This was pretty good, juicy and scrumptious. Too bad it did not make another appearance in the carts later on.

Chinese broccoli. My personal fave. Lightly cooked, it was sweet and crunchy.

Veggie dumplings. I think they had mushrooms in them. Also juicy, was gone in a flash.

Chicken feet in chili sauce and peanuts. This was pretty good for snacking and the flesh was tender.

Shrimp in noodles with sweet soy sauce, UFC's personal fave. The noodles are almost gelatinous and just slides down your throat.

Congee (they forgot to put the scallions). Very mild in flavor, great for this spring day.

This is the dimsum cart with the congee.

Clams in black bean sauce. This was excellent; the clams were briny and sweet, with just enough of the black bean sauce to bring out the flavor.

Scallops wrapped in bacon, served with mayonnaise and Pringles potato chips.

Pan-fried pork dumplings. DJKung said that this was ok.

Not pictured was the soft tofu, which we had for dessert. It was warm, silky and satisfying.

Golden Unicorn was a fun excursion. It was great trying the many dishes they have. The carts are helpfully labelled with pictures and names of the dishes they carry, and you can always ask the wait staff about them too. It was too bad that they did not carry some of the dishes that they advertised on the carts; we weren't sure if the kitchen ran out of certain items or if it just stopped carrying them altogether. Other crowd pleasers that we like (crystal shrimp dumplings, fried squid) were not served either.

And one word on the carts--- some of them meander about in no particular fashion, so if you are seated in one corner of the room, some carts may not get to you at all. It is a good strategy to have the most assertive person in your group seated closest to the traffic

Tea at Teariffic

Under food:

Teariffic
51 Mott Street
New York, NY


Teariffic is among the little teashops in Chinatown that is just oh-so-popular among the kiddies these days, what with the bubble tea craze that sprung up some years ago. We stopped by for a quick drink as we were about sightseeing with DJKung's cousin.

Cold matcha au lait. I can't really say that you could taste the matcha (green tea). It tasted strongly of jasmine tea, or some other floral-type tea. The little agar (gelatin) cubes were fun to slurp down.

DKung got black tea with milk. It is served without ceremony, which is great when all you want is a nice cuppa.

Teariffic has pretty satisfying teas and coffees. They also serve quick bites. The prices are very reasonable too!

As we were headed to a dimsum joint, we were lucky enough to catch a small parade by a Chinese Buddhist group. The dragon smiled at us, so this will certainly bring us lots of luck!

Sakura Matsuri at Brooklyn Botanical Garden

Under funs:

Sakura Matsuri (Cherry Blossom Festival)

Brooklyn Botanical Garden

One drizzly Saturday this May, we journeyed to Brooklyn Botanical Garden to take out DJKung's cousin and her boyfriend for some sightseeing. They are both huge fans of martial arts and bonsai gardening. Luckily, the Sakura Matsuri was being held during the weekend. It ties perfectly with the Japanese-themed holdings that Brooklyn Garden has. The event was very well-attended.

DJKung amidst the pretty cherry blossoms. The damp weather lifted by midday, and we had gorgeous sunshine to enjoy.

What we find particularly interesting was that there was quite a collection of kids in cosplay outfits. Some of the Lolita outfits were quite impressive. There were several photographers too, out taking portrait shots.

Japanese garden.

The calendar for the day was action-packed. We stayed for the Kodo drums and the sword exhibition. We were also fortunate to enjoy the rest of the park too. The Brooklyn Botanical Garden has an impressive Japanese garden, a lush Spanish bluebell walkway, a huge tree peony selection (it was not in bloom yet when we visited), and a huge conservatory with bonsai and plantings of desert, tropical and temperate flora.

Sushi at Sachi

Under food:



Sachi

Upper East Side



Sachi has been one of our lunch spots close to work; they have hearty lunch specials (soup + entree + unlimited hot green tea) from $12 to $14. DJKung met up with me one time and we decided to have lunch here.

Futomaki. These were nice big pieces, good for filling you up.


Tempura lunch special. The picture does not do it justice; this serving is big enough to share for two. It comes with about two pieces of big shrimp and some fried veggies, tempura sauce (foreground) and your choice of white or brown rice. The tempura was nicely breaded and fried.

Toro. I like the little boat with the salmon eggs in it. This was just one order, and the chef divided it into two slices so we could share. We did not like it---too lean and lacking in that buttery mouthfeel you get with the good stuff. Also not as superfresh as we'd like.

South India: Mumbai: Bademiya

Bademiya Seekh Kababs
Colaba, Mumbai

On our last night in South Mumbai, DJKung was daring enough to try some street fare. Bademiya is a well-oiled joint that is actually based on a single food cart, but nevertheless, it manages to serve quite a few tables set up on the sidewalks and has a number of busy waiters ready to take your order. It is a popular late night joint.

DJKung ordered three different kebabs to try: chicken, special kebab and beef. As well as a side of freshly made roti. The kebabs were like the Turkish kofta, where the ground seasoned meat is shaped onto metal skewers. They were all tasty and definitely gamy.

It was nice hanging out in the sidewalk and feasting on these juicy meaty morsels.

Here's another shot of the kebabs.

Here's the view of the street.

And guess what--- DJKung was relatively unscathed with the street food! So much or the infamous Bombay belly! It is just really unfair that I got stuck with the diarrhea and fevers on the way back home despite avoiding the street food. I think next time, I will take DJKung's approach and get for street eats.


Let's not forget the other half of the UFC, who eagerly awaited our return:

Chibby and Babams obviously cannot contain themselves upon seeing us return home.

South India: Mumbai: Shiv Sagar

Shiv Sagar

Nagin Mahal, 82 Veer Nariman Road

Churchgate, Mumbai



Our friend Varum from Siolim House recommended Shiv Sagar as a not-to-be-missed pure veg place. Shiv Sagar was pretty packed on some nights that we passed by, so we knew that the had serious food here.

Fried baby corn with chili sauce. The corn was crunchy, fresh and sweet.

Dosa paneer tikka masala. This dosa was massive and just lip-smackingly good.



DJKung taking a slice of the paper-thin dosa. (I wonder where we can get it back home.)

Veggie lollipops. These are cauliflower florets with a masala mix, breaded and deep-fried. It was ok, but not comparable to the chicken lollipops according to DJKung.

Chili garlic potato. French fries with loads of garlic and pepper. This was a spice explosion in your mouth.

Kulfi falooda. Kulfi ice cream layered with yellow rice noodles, cashews and almonds and drizzled with rose syrup. Deeelish.

Three-in-one falooda. I think the other two flavors were mango and pistachio.

Shiv Sagar was definitely a veggie lover's place. It was too bad that we only checked it out once; the menu was vast enough that we could have eaten several times here.

South India: Mumbai: Naval Restaurant

Naval Restaurant


Colaba, Mumbai





Naval Restaurant is a no-frills eatery close to our hotel. It is frequented by locals and the prices are very reasonable. We actually went here twice.

Prawn fried rice.


Vegetable chop suey. This was a very interesting interpretation of this faux Chinese dish. There was a layer of bright yellow noodles at the bottom. The handful of veg that they did put in was swimming in a thick cornstarch-based sauce, as you can see. Nevertheless, the sauce went well with the rice.

Veggie fried rice.

Roasted chicken. DJKung said that this was excellent.

Like with most other no-frills places, some of Naval Restaurant's items (mostly the little snacks) are only available at lunch time.

South India: Mumbai: Indian Classical Concert in the 'Burbs

Indian Classical Concert


DV Paluskar Hall


Sharda Sangeet Vidyalaya


Kala Nagar, Bandra (E)





We saw an advertisement of this program in The Times of India. DJKung was hankering for traditional live music, so this looked like a good bet. We took a cab to Bandra, a suburban enclave about an thirty minutes from Colaba and got dropped off at a school/community center. This was deeeep, and we were amply rewarded.



This program was in three parts. The first part consisted of tabla drum performance with traditional song. It reminded us a lot of Middle Eastern prayer chants, but the notes were more sustained and meditative.



The crowd really liked the latter performance by this trio of young musicians playing fusion music, where they tried to meld musical traditions with electronic music/Western drums.

Musician on sitar.

One of the traditional dances. We did not catch whether the performances were Maharashtran or were shaped by a different regional area.

Rhymin' it, Mumbai-style.

The dancer here is wearing anklets with lots of tiny bells and stamps her feet to the rhythm. It was very nice.

South India: Mumbai: Indigo Deli

Indigo Deli

Colaba, Mumbai



Bombay belly finally struck Superfatty!!! For our foray to Indigo Deli, DJKung had a solo flight with trying the food. Fellow travellers we've met at Green Palms recommended the cheesesteak here for those who are undergoing serious beef withdrawal.



Indigo Deli feels a tad like the French delicatessens that offer cheeses, sausages, jellies, etc. It felt like a motherlode for all the expats in Mumbai because there were a lot of foreigners. Probably everyone here was jonesing for some red meat like DJKung.

Cheesesteak. DJKung could not identify the type of cheese used. He liked how the bread was toasted and the way the beef was prepared, with a masala spice thing goin' on.

ZIngy mustard and ketchup.



THis was all Superfatty could have--- a restorative cuppa (yes, I was feeling sorry for myself; the menu looked quite tempting).

South India: Mumbai: Royal China

Royal China


Mumbai





After a wonderful experience at Trishna, we wanted to try out a "great" Chinese restaurant specializing in seafood. I also had a serious craving for dimsum. Time Out Mumbai recommended this restaurant, and we were game to try their menu.

Fried seaweed. I am not sure what the point of this was--- it tasted like the dried green seaweed snack that comes lightly salted and sugared. Frying does make it somewhat crunchy, but it also absorbed a lot of oil. It wasn't much of an appetizer, but rather, stunted our tastebuds.

Fried calamari. These were good---tender on the inside and tasted like squid.



Scallop dumplings. These were ok. We did note that Royal China, though specializing in dimsum, does not have the little carts that visit each table. Instead, you order a la carte from their dimsum menu.

Shrimp dumplings. These were a disappointment, considering that we've had a lot of fresh prawns throughout the trip. These dumplings were rather bland and dry.

Fried grouper in soya-chili-ginger sauce. Though impressive in size, it was not superfresh.

So in conclusion, Royal China did not satisfy our yen for seafood and dimsum that day. We also felt that it was too pish-posh for us, and definitely did not give too much bang for the rupee.

South India: Mumbai: Elephanta Island

Elephanta Island

(accessible by ferry from Gateway of India)

Mumbai



After a hard night of partying, we woke up early, breakfasted, and went to get tickets for the 9am ferry to Elephanta Island. Elephanta has about five caves open to the public with Hindu carvings dating back to 450 to 750 AD.

DJKung was very excited to see more ruins. The trip by ferry took roughly an hour each way.

Gateway of India. This structure was created to welcome King George the fifth in 1911. It is a popular tourist spot for locals and foreigners alike, and gets crowded especially at sunset. On its left one side of the Taj Hotel. More recently, this area is known as the ground zero for the 11/7 terrorist attacks.

Ferry boats.

DJKung dozing off during the ferry ride.

Once you get to the island, there is a kiddie train that takes you from the piers to the island (~5 minute walk). The train is good to take on an especially scorching day. The stairway up to the caves takes about a fifteen to thirty-minute hike, but at least it is shaded by awnings set up by the souvenir stalls all along the way.

I love how dynamic and three-dimensional this sculpture of Shiva the Destroyer is. You can almost feel the wrath burning out from the eyes and mouth! The posture is also very aggressive--- you can see the remaining right arm holding a sword, and the two left hands hold a bell and another object I cannot identify.

These are some sculptures guarding the stupa inside. You need to take your shoes off before entering.

Three-faced Shiva. This sculpture is very breathtaking in its size and detail. From this piocture, you can make out the destroyer face on the left. The cave where it lies, Cave 1, is a massive temple that contained the stupa, several larger-than-life images of Shiva and fat pillars. Unfortunately, they are not as well-preserved as those in the Kalehri caves. The restoration work done is also very noticeable and kinda detracts from the overall flow of the place.