October 2018 Weekend Rundown

luv2eat my greens
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jade noodles
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pad krapow gai
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moo ping
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Tacos and Sopes yesterday at Taqueria Los Anaya for #nationaltacoday

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Some vanilla ice cream, strawberry syrup, and sour snow thingy on a stick

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YOU ate all of that?!?!?! WOW!

Quick bang bang at Cha-An NYC after that strawberry stick thingy…

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Some raindrop bull crap

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Green tea parfait


Quick bang-bang-bang at Chikalicious NYC

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Black pepper sorbet with tomato gelee

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Black truffle ice cream on cognac creme brulee with warm biscuits and duo raisins

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Coconut marshmallow, butter cookie, chocolate brownie

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Emp didn’t satisfy?

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Bang bang bang bang post EMP at Momofuku Noodle Bar :joy:

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Busy as heck at 12AM

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Bing bread with chickpea hozon & eggplant

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Pork ramen, pork belly, scallion, poached egg - meh. Bland.

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Just had dinner at Shunji. No superstar seasonal items to mention but the omakase was wonderful just the same. Why can’t we eat like this all the time? Cuz I’m not @PorkyBelly, @Chowseeker1999 it @J_L - #dontneednostinkingbudget!

We usually order Shunji’s house sake, but opted for the sake pairing instead - MIND BLOWN! $100 a head might be a deal breaker for some, but given one to two sake pairings per dish/course, a ton of sake territory is covered, not to mention it’s
A pleasant way to get hammered. Considering that some serious quality and quantity are covered here, that’s impressive enough. But the thoughtful insisive pairings with each course elevated the whole experience.

The lime sorbet WAS amazing. But the diva of desserts was the mixed berry sorbet - crazy good. The yuzu shochu pairing went well with the various sorbets and ice creams, but went surprisingly well with the mushroom truffle ice cream. I know all this speak sounds crazy so I’m done.

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Glad you ate well there, but not at all surprised. Shunji rocks. In fact I just omakase’ed with @CiaoBob there earlier this week! The matsutake mushroom dobinmushi was phenomenal, as was each frickin’ piece of the hikarimono, the steamed bafun uni nigiri. Oh, and their newest ice cream flavor - ginger & honey - maybe the best in the city right now.

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Hi @bulavinaka,

Nice! So glad you enjoyed your visit to Shunji. :blush:

Did you remember any Sake in particular that you enjoyed the most for the evening?

Putting this here even though We ate at the end of September.

Shunji- just pictures since I don’t remember the names and descriptions

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One on the left was aged 7 days I believe
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His cooked dishes are so good!
We ended our sushi course meal with a tamago but he made a special one for my wife and I. It was tamago, ume paste, shiso and sushi rice. No picture cuz we devoured it. He was saying when in Japan and drinking he likes eating tamago with ume and shiso with rice

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Okay, so thank you for politely nudging my sake-soaked grey matter for any memory lapses.

The matsutake dobinmushi was not only phenomenal, I think Shunji-san was extremely generous with the matsutake. I kept savoring slice after slice thinking I’d surely reached near the bottom of the vessel, and more slices were there to be enjoyed. This dish brought back to my youth, where only a mother would be so generous with something so precious.

The kohada was beautifully presented and so complex. One has to appreciate the amount of effort that goes into the sourcing and preparation of this fish. My only regret is not asking for more. We were also served beltfish - another amazing taste that might be overlooked and scarce but at a few other places serving seafood. I always walk away from Shunji thinking that, had they not served many of the particular neta, I most likely wouldn’t have ordered it. Omakase is defined here.

We liked the honey ginger ice cream (I guess what’s not to like about any of those frozen treats). But the mixed berries just kept wowing us. My impressions may have been influenced as this was the one flavor I was least curious about, was the standout in appearance with the most intense flavor.

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If I had the wherewithal of a @Chowseeker1999 record my eating/drinking experiences in great detail for posterity…

The first sake served was Born Gold. So smooth, easy to drink, great with delicate fare. Beyond that, the names were sliding off my mind very quickly. I just kept commenting on how well each sake served complemented each course.

The last tasting we were served was very memorable. We were served a shochu enhanced with yuzu. This shochu has a sweet fruity profile (I know - huh?) with lots of yuzu in the nose. This was so unusual to me that it really stood out. I think shochu traditionalists might not go for this. But in this particular case, I think our sommelier found at least one particular niche for this unique shochu.

I think you’d enjoy the sake pairing. The sommelier presents each bottle along with a description of its origins, the style, flavor profile, and how she feels it fits in the upcoming course. Your meticulous efforts and photo taking were meant for this.

My one caveat would be to consider how much alcohol is consumed over the meal. I can consume at least half a bottle of sake with little affect. This sake pairing is very generous in the number of nihonshu and moreover the amount. I was considerably buzzed by the end of the meal. I don’t know your tolerance to alcohol, but I am guessing the amount we were served might impinge on your critique process. Then again, considering the number of bottles you had with meals, it might be just right.

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We had the same dishes included in our meal last night. The housemade tofu mixed with a touch of miso, topped with marinated shrimp, eggplant and caviar was like eating perfectly prepared shrimp set on a delicate cloud.

What a great way to end the meal. We will have to ask for that one next time. “A certain Hungrydrunk highly recommended this. No really - his name is Hungrydrunk!”

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Looking at your photos once more, I have to correct myself - we did not have the aged maguro (?). We did have a bonito that was memorable though. Deep dark color, rich substantial, almost beefy.

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Yeah that’s aged maguro, he gave us a regular one and the aged one to try side by side so we can taste the difference. We also had had the bonito that you had.
We go every year for the wife’s birthday and imho sitting with Shunji-San made a difference in the sense that when having conversation with him, he will adjust and make certain things to your preference. My wife initially asked for a yamaimo handroll with ume and shiso leaf and this led to talks about natto and stuff they eat at home or when traveling in Japan. This led to a “custom” tamago for us.
For us it’s definitely a special occasion dinner so Shunji is always the easy choice since they are always so consistently good. His kitchen food is just as strong as his nigiri in our opinion.

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Hi @bulavinaka,

Ah, Born Gold! Yes that is a great way to start a meal. :wink: Just remember the name “Born” and if you see any of the other Born Nihonshu on a menu in the future, it’s safe to order. :slight_smile: My favorite from them might be Nihon no Tsubasa (Wings of Japan), so give that one a try next time.

Totally understandable about not remembering the rest. If our great, veteran FTC’er @bulavinaka’s memory got hazy and can’t remember any of the other Sake, you know they must’ve been generous with the Sake pourings that night! :grin:

Thanks for the recommendation on the Sake Tasting as well; we might try that next time. Then again we kinda got 6 bottles of Sake during our last visit (with 2 other couples), so we were able to do an impromptu “Sake Tasting” ourselves. :sweat_smile:

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Shake Shack NYC

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It’s a madhouse here :rage:

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Pretty bad burger like the ones from the Vegas location. Soggy and squished buns. Sloppily put together. Nothing special. Very $$ at about $5.5 for a basic burger.


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Lady M NYC

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Original crepe cake. Eggy in a fantastic way. The layers give it a great texture and mouthfeel. Pastry cream was light and not too sweet. It’s significantly better than what I remember from the BH location.

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Strawberry mille feuille. A-okay. Certain layers weren’t crispy since it’s been sitting but with good flavors.Very difficult to eat without completely breaking it apart due to its size.

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I know the “mass produced” curry at Curry House isn’t that popular on these boards, but I love it and eat at the Torrance location multiple times a week. :smile: The “super hot” hamburger curry with spinach added is comfort food to me and boy have I needed it these last couple of days…

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That looks great! And I could have used a plateful the last couple of days also. :frowning:

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