South India trip: Kerala: Lotus Restaurant

Lotus Restaurant
Located at the courtyard of Rossitta Wood Castle

We were so beat after our transAtlantic, transArabian flight. After clearing customs in Mumbai, we were off on another flight, this one to the province of Kerala (South Mumbai). From Kochi airport, it was an hour-and-a half cab ride to the island of Fort Cochin.

So on our first night, for our first real meal (excluding airport snacks), we decided on Lotus Restaurant, which is also run by our hotel, Rossitta Wood Castle. As the waterfront/fishing area was a mere two blocks away, we were guaranteed superfresh seafood. After taking our order, the cook went off and shortly returned with the fresh catch of the day.

Pan-grilled calamari, with boiled veggies and french fries. You could taste the squid ink too. Yum.

Fish molly. They had kingfish this day. It is a Keralan specialty, where the seafood is cooked in a coconut curry sauce. The sauce was rather thin and could have used more spice. OVerall, it went great with the chapati, which we ordered separately.

Final bill. The USD exchange rate is roughly 50 rupees to the dollar.

South India: Qatar Airways

Qatar Airways

UFC has taken a little holiday to South India these last few weeks, hence the lack of blogging activity. We were too busy having fun-fun-fun! We scored super-duper cheap fares on Qatar Airways, which is launching new routes to India from New York (with stops to Doha). I booked tickets via their online site and it was very easy to use.

Refreshing towel and candies

Travel kit (socks, earplugs, eye cover, earbuds).

Complimentary papers. I like how regional the news is... you can learn a lot just by looking at the pictures, even if you can't read the script.

There were two stand-out features of flying with Qatar that we really enjoyed. DJKung was impressed with their entertainment system. Their library of music, movies and games is accessed via individual touch-screen monitors. It seems that the channels for web surfing and satellite tv are still in the works, though. Movies, of course, are your friend during these long cramped hours in coach class. Besides the usual Hollywood fare, they had some classic stuff. Their foreign movie selection was also pretty good (they even had Filipino movies!)

The food was also better compared with the usual airplane food. I liked that my special request tray was never neglected.

Lacto-ovo dinner. Clockwise from top left: chickpea salad, fresh fruit, water, entree (paneer with green sauce, rice, carrot and green pea curry), chocolate, cheese, dinner roll.

DJKung's dinner tray. His came with pasta salad, raspberry cheesecake, and a beef entree.

Lacto-ovo breakfast tray. Came with raspberry yogurt and more fresh fruit. Entree was sauteed spinach, chickpeas and roti.

With all the time zone differences at this point, I was not sure anymore if this was a lunch or dinner tray. I think the veggies were spinach and squash.

Theivery Corporation at Terminal 5

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Theivery Corporation

Terminal 5
Midtown



The last time we were at Terminal 5 was last fall for the Hot Chip show. This venue is huge... there are three levels from where you can see the stage. It does have a weird setup---more like a club than a music venue, since they have quiet spots and you can get to sit down.



DJKung is an avid Theivery fan. He saw their last big show with his cousin. We also saw them last summer for a Summerstage fundraiser.



Here is why I was truly disappointed in the show; for $45 a pop, it was THE SAME EXACT SHOW that we saw last summer, from the lineup of the songs, to all the performers (special mention goes to the annoying bassist who prances all around the stage DURING EVERY SONG and who may not even be reaally playing) to one of the singers who does laps around the stage while singing the spaceship song, to most of their visuals.



Do not get me wrong; it was a good show with a very talented lineup. It was just very disappointing to see the same exact thing.



As for the audio in Terminal 5, be warned that it can get thumpingly and bone-shakingly loud. Which is great for a live show. Theivery did sound much better this time than their show in the park, but the sound was not as crisp as we would have liked (could not hear some of the instruments).

Chanpen Thai

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Chanpen Thai
Hell's Kitchen



We stopped by this thai joint because it was in the vicinity of Terminal 5, where the Thievery show was held last week. It looked pretty crowded, which is always a good sign.

Mixed apps: clockwise from top: fried veggie spring rolls, potato curry puff, veggie dumpling (I like how it looked like a little goldfish), fried shrimp roll, veggie side.

Chanpen offered Chang beer, which was a smooth, flowery pilsner that went well with the food.

For our main, DJKung got the pad ped (of course) and I had the red veggie curry. We thought it was such a crime that rice was extra. I think it was $3 for a small cup, which was just too much.

Red veggie curry. I do not remember what it was exactly called. Nice spice mix, but nonetheless, it was not satisfying. I think I was expecting a coconut curry.




Pad ped (duck salad). It came on a nice bed of beans and veggies. DJKung said it was pretty good (although I've never heard him nix any pad ped yet).

DJKung's friends got the fish with curry sauce, which we liked. You could taste the kaffir lime in the curry... very nice. They also ordered a noodle dish in a hot pot which we did not get to try.

It appears that Chanpen Thai gets a lot of foot traffic from Times Square.

Brookside Thai

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Brookside Thai
Bloomfield, NJ



Brookside Thai is one of the joints that we used to go to back then. We decided to check it out recently. One of the things we noticed is that they have undergone a significant redo of the interior---it looks more polished now.

Illustration of songkran, the water festival. Getting splashed looks like fun!

There was a time we liked coming here a lot. It fell out of our rotation when the food kept turning out too much on the sweet side.

We got a nice selection of apps.

Papaya salad. This was excellent---crunchy green papaya with a salty-spicy-sweet sauce.


Curry puffs. The filling is potato curry. Amazingly, this was very light, despite being deep-fried.

DJKung's poppa got the chicken soup. He was nice and full after this.

Pad ped (duck salad). This is always DJKung's fave. The fried duck slices are crispy on the outside, succulent on the inside. Comes with loads of veggies: carrots, lettuce, onions, scallions, and even some sliced apple.

For our mains, we got seafood fried rice and noodle soup (guay tieu gai). The waitress steered us to the fried snapper, which she said was fresh that day.

The seafood fried rice was excellent, with that nice wok taste.

Noodle soup (guay tieu gai?). I call it "pink soup." It was sweet, spicy and salty, with emphasis on the first element. We did not like it; it tasted very unbalanced and rather harsh. DJKung and his pops actually poured their soup bowls back into the main bowl.

Fried red snapper. It was prepared well--- deep-fried and crispy. However, we all agreed that it was not the fresh; the flesh just did not have that firm, clean taste.

I am quite 50-50 as to whether we should put this back on the rotation. On my more generous moods, there are not really a lot of Thai places around, so it seems that we should. On the other hand, I can count the few dishes here that I actually enjoy. DJKung felt that it doesn't quite make the cut.

Superb fare at Stamna's

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Stamna

1045 Broad Street

Bloomfield, NJ 07003





The UFC Headquarters has officially moved back to Passaic County! We have been very busy with moving out and settling into our new digs. To celebrate, we headed to Stamna in Bloomfield.


Stamna has caught our eye before; it always looks busy and from what NY Times says, it's pretty dang good. Even on a Tuesday night, it was hoppin' in there!





The bar for Greek food for us is Cyclades Restaurant in Astoria, which is the best seafood joint we have ever tried. Seriously, Stamna is up there, too!





We ordered the following:





DJKung's poppa: spaghetti with meat sauce. (I dunno, he was on a pasta kick the past few days. DJKung liked it, said the meat was on the gamy side.








Superfatty: Tzatziki. Yogurt and cucumber dip. Always good; I could eat gallons of this stuff. The bread was also pretty good. Karpathian pasta. Like gnocci. This is a local type of pasta, and one that I never tried before. It was simple boiled buds of pasta, with chalky-type of cheese (goat?) and caramelized onions sprinkled on top. Overall very simple dish. It was a nice side for the seafood that DJKung got. The portion was huge, and the next day tasted reaally good.





DJKung: Chicken soup. This tasted generic to me, but DJKung finished it. Seafood platter. This was no joke. It was phenomenal. The octopus legs and calamari were sweet and super-tender. The prawns were sliced on the bias, and also super fresh. The kitchen obviously mastered how to treat good seafood---- everything had a nice char taste, you could taste the sea and the succulent flesh, and nothing was over- or under-cooked. Deeelish. DJKung got a side of horta (dandelion greens), which went well with the dish. For the price, this platter is a bargain.





We were all very full afterwards. DJKung got the Greek coffee, which tasted a lot like turkish coffee to me (but not good for fortune-telling, however). We also got the fried dough with honey and sesame seeds. They were light and airy.





Stamna felt like a family-owned joint. The service was warm, and the vibe was very festive. You can tell that the locals love this spot. Also, BYOB, and it looks like reservations are recommended. From what the owner/manager tells us, the chef is from Astoria, that's why the kitchen is awesome!

Komegashi

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Komegashi
Jersey City

DJKung's cousin was visiting last Valentine's. We went to check out one of his former haunts in Jersey City. Komegashi is a Japanese joint that is very close to Exchange Place.

Eel hand roll. It hit all the right spots.

Sashimi appetizer. This serving was pretty generous. The salmon and tuna were pretty fresh, but I was disappointed with the white tuna, which was pretty bland.

Hamachi kama. Yellowtail collar. DJKung said that this was good---big piece, very meaty. I had fun gnawing on the bones.

With the hot sake, the apps got us nice and mellow. DJKung got the tempura soba, and I got the ten don.

Tempura soba. DJKung liked the portions. The tempura was light and crrunchy.

DJKung's buddy got the sushi deluxe.

I got the ten don (shrimp tempura over rice). It was hearty and filling.

In general, Komegashi gets point from us for being in a very central location, with a nice local vibe. The fish was ok, but was not super-fresh.

Everybody's still rushin' to Flushing!

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Flushing Chinatown

Main Street, Flushing

We wanted to take out DJKung's poppa for some dimsum. He's been curious about our first sojourn to Flushing and we just had to go back there. We parked our car at the municipal lot (free on Sundays!) and walked towards Ocean Jewels Seafood (across from Flushing Mall).

DJKung's pops was really impressed at how crowded Main Street was. We passed by my fave cream puff joint, Happy Lemon (38-40 Main St) so I took a pix from across the street.

There were a lot of cars whizzing by, so it was hard to get a clean picture. If you look closely, Happy Lemon is the yellow stand to the left. Besides cream puffs, they also sell bubble tea and other pastries.

Unfortunately, Ocean Jewels was mobbed (one hour wait at 1pm on Sunday), so we walked back to Main Street. We passed by Corner 28, a slick buffet joint with mouthwatering posters. So we went in.

Corner 28. The crowd outside is just the sidewalk traffic.

The layout inside Corner 28 was a bit confusing. On the left side, they have dumplings and soups, and a cashier machine. The right side is where the buffet is; you fall in line and when it is your turn, you indicate which dishes you want. You then get a printed receipt which you go to the cashier to pay, and then give the stamped receipt back to the buffet side.

The prices were very reasonable. It was a bit harrowing making a snap decision when there were a lot to pick from, and a lot of the dishes looked pretty good (i.e., Chinatown-quality fare and not your typical por quilo joint in the city). My advice is to not fall on line and stand a bit apart, and do a thorough canvas of the ~40 dishes they have, before you fall in line and place your order.

We all opted for the four dishes with rice for $4.99. This also comes with your choice of soda or water, and a small bowl of seaweed soup.

DJKung's picks. Peking pork chops, sauteed bok choy, fried squid legs (buried). I have to ask him what his fourth dish was.

Superfatty's picks. Sauteed greens, stewed tofu, curry squid and sweet and sour fried fish (it is buried). DJKUng's pops was starving, and I was not able to get a shot of his dish.

So what we thought of the place? Not bad for $4.99, and the quantities they gave were massive. The food was pretty good by buffet standards; it was fresh and they had a big selection, from fish/shellfish, to meats, and veggies. We watched the other customers, and it seemed that the dumplings on the left side were part of the selection too. On the other hand, it was not too appetizing having your carefully selected dishes all lumped on each other in a styrofoam tray. The favors and sauces all got mixed up, so it felt like you were eating slop after a while.

Next, we went to Fay Da, the old Chinese bakery standby, for coffee and dessert. We were done after that.

Sweet bun and cheese roll from Fay Da.

Of course I had to swing by Happy Lemon to get my cream puffs. I got 6 for $5 (it is $1.25 each, but you get one free if you buy five). At home, Chibs and Babams split one, and you can tell by the way their eyes got reaalllly big that they liked the cream puffs as much as I do! Gotta get a dozen next time!

The Fried Chicken Shootout!

Hey everyone! A couple of months back a friend of mine suggested doing a Korean fried chicken comparison from places like Boom Boom and Bon Chon. Well that time has come and I wanted to extend the comparisons to fried chickens any where, from Popeye's to your local chinese takeout. Also, I can't do this alone, so please share your opinions and photos and post them up. If you have any questions, let us know. Let the fried festivities begin.

Thanks,
Djkung

Bread Bar

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Bread Bar

Flatiron District

Superfatty went out to lunch with some coworkers to Bread Bar. This outing came about when Restaurant Week was extended this month. Tabla, the dressier sister of Bread Bar, was part of this promo, but when we arrived all rushed and famished, everyone in the group opted for the downstairs Bread Bar instead.

Air-popped popcorn with spices. This was ok, the spice was sprinkled on top but did not warm enough that the aromas were released.

Our friend, V, was our de facto guide to the menu, since she grew up on Indian fare. She steered us towards the thali, which is an assortment of various items. Thali is a typical lunch dish in their cuisine. Depending on the restaurant, it can be a simple assortment or an all-out, full-blown feast with a whole lot of dishes.

Vegetable thali. (Blogger insists on displaying the picture sideways.) Clockwise, from top: sauteed greens, chickpea and pear chaat, green mango chutney, mungbean ussal and basmati rice. Whole wheat naan in the middle. This looked like a very filling dish. The chickpea chaat was very pleasant, and I kind liked the ussal because I just like mungbeanss. The chutney was super sweet.

This is what I got: fishcake wrapped in banana leaf thali. Clockwise from top: naan, fish cake, basmati rice, mungbean ussal. The fish was flavored with a lot of spices, I think lemongrass and ginger among others. No banana leaf flavor, I'm afraid. Nevertheless, this was a pretty hearty dish too.

Saag paneer pizza. The "sauce" is creamed spinach and the "mozarella" is chevere. My coworker broke a tooth while eating this... I wonder what this means???! In any event, I was too busy tucking in my food that I did not want to try the pizza.

Overall, we all agreed that the food was not bad... we all had a good time outside of work V agreed with my assessment that the flavors were rather toned down for the western palate.

Whassamatta? Egg Plattah!!!

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The Egg Platter

159 Crooks Ave

Paterson, NJ 07503

(973) 684-3291

I like to think of this tiny diner as a time machine. It feels so 1950s inside, with the chrome, the tiny booths, the round stools by the formica counters, and the fake wood panelling. Its myspace page mentions that it has been around since 1977.

A lot of changes have passed the Paterson area in the decades past. I think this diner is one of the few leftovers from when Paterson was still a booming industrial city. You could easily envision the factory workers coming over here for breakfast or lunch way back. Nowadays, the clientele reflects the diverse community in this area, but still with that same blue-collar vibe. The prices here are unbeatable.

This place ain't called The Egg Platter for nothin'. They make 21 different kinds of egg platters. We tend to opt for the basic stuff.

That day's specials included beef sausage with eggs and home fries, steak and eggs and waffle with eggs.

Beef sausage wit home fries and two eggs. DJKung found the sausage a bit gamy.

Two eggs with a Belgian waffle. I love how sunny this picture is, with the glistening egg yolk, creamy pat of margarine, and the subtle yellow of the waffle.

The Egg Platter gives serious bang for its buck. For our breakfast, we spent about $12 in all (including drinks). Sure, you could have better breakfast fare elsewhere, but not in a time machine like this!

Shanawaz

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Shahnawaz Restaurant

1380 Oaktree Road

Iselin, NJ 08830

(732) 283-2257

Yay, we finally made it to Iselin! The Iselin-Edison area has a large Indian and Pakistani population. Over the years, this enclave has produced this bustling community of shops, stores, and of course, restaurants. This was UFC's first sojourn into the area (exit 131 on Garden State) and we were very excited.

The main strip, Oaktree Road, was congested (we went on a Sunday). Parking was not too easy, specially with the restaurants that only had street parking.

We picked Shanawaz because its lunch buffet was pretty crowded. The posted menu was pretty good too, but since we are pretty much novices when it comes to Indian food, we opted for the buffet ($7.99 per person).

Shanawaz has an odd layout. Basically, you go snag a table, then go up to the counter and place your order. You can flag a waiter if you need drinks and whatnot, but you will have to go back to the counter if you wish to order other dishes.

The lunch buffet was excellent, but had few veggie options. There's a nice selection of the sauces, fresh naan bread, chicken biryani, chicken and lamb korma, a lovely spiced chickpea dish, and a nice potato dish.

Fresh naan, great for sopping up the sauce.

Chicken korma. The spice blend was excellent. DJKung went back for seconds and thirds. DJKung's pops liked the lamb korma, which reminded him a lot of the Philippine-style caldereta. The lamb was gamy and likewise excellent.

Superfatty's plate. This was my second helping, so there was more overlap of the dishes on the plate.

DJKung's pops wanted some white rice, which no good meal can go without. I also wanted to try their other apps, and ended up ordering a samosa and a fried potato puff.

Foreground: Fried potato puff. This was very yummy. I forgot what the app in the background was. This was denser, and was also very good.

The food was overall, pretty excellent. My advice is to scope out the buffet before picking this option, because at most, there are about five or six main dishes. They have a decent a la carte section, and the prices are very reasonable.

We did not have room for dessert; there were some sweets shops and bakeries on the main strip. I guess we'll have to reserve the food crawl some other time!

Boozoo Bajou at Cielo

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Boozoo Bajou at Cielo

We were looking forward to seeing Boozoo Bajou after his awesome DJ set some time ago. I did miss his last party, which was very danceable.

Too bad the party was on a Monday night, a frigid one, at that. It seemed that the party was not well-promoted, because the turnout was pretty low.

DJKung hanging out by the speakers. I like how his face has a nice glow from his telephone.

The venue, Cielo, has one of the more diggable sound systems out there. The sound comes out very crisp and clean. The hardwood dance floor is minuscule, unfortunately. The walls, which look like an abstract log cabin, is starting to look outdated.

Boozoo's set started off very spare and meditative. . . a great listening experience. He was reaaally slow to warm up. By the time we left (12ish), it seemed like he was still warming up. Played great listening songs, as opposed to boogie-able songs.