Totto Ramen Visited 5/14/2012 3 Forks

Totto Ramen 366 W 52nd St., (between 9th Ave & 8th Ave), New York, NY 10019

You'd think with my impending trip to Asia that I would lay off the Asian food, but instead I've had pho, sushi, bimbimbop, and dim sum in the past 4 days.  And now I've rounded off the food tour of Asia with a ramen dinner last night.  My good friend Neera was in town and she was coming from Long Island City, so I wanted to find a place that was easy to get to for all of us.  I ended up picking Totto Ramen since it was close to the E train and easy to get to for all of the dinner guests.

I knew that there would be a line but when I got there at 8:30pm, there was huge crowd that you could see a block away.  They have a self-sign in system and there were about 14 names ahead of us by then.  They also have a policy of only seating max 4 people at once.  There are only 2 tables that seat 4 people and the entire size of the rest of the restaurant is the size of a shoebox, so whatever your party size is, be prepared to wait but if you have 4 people be prepared to wait an especially long time.  In the end, we waited about an hour to get seated.  The inside of the restaurant transported me back to Japan with a very authentic look and feel and an all Japanese staff busily running around and yelling.


The menu has 6 different kinds of ramen, lots of topping options (corn, extra meat, scallion, bean sprout, avocado, egg, seaweed and spicy sesame oil),  and then there are a few specials on the board next to your table.  I chose the Totto Miso Ramen ($10.25) and the spicy tuna don ($6).  I clearly didn't need to order the tuna don but I am a sucker for anything that has raw fish on top of rice.  The tuna don was served with chopped tuna sashimi, onion, scallion, and flying fish roe in chefs special sauce served over rice, cucumber and kombu seaweed.  I didn't really see or taste the fish roe and there was this weird almost rice crispy like ingredient to the dish which definitely added an interesting texture and twist to the dish.  It was a bit hard to mix and eat the rice and sashimi together with chopsticks so that made the overall eating experience was a bit annoying but it was a nice way to start a meal.  Next came the ramen and it was steaming hot.  I literally felt like I was in a spa getting a steam facial.  The ramen was tender and I actually didn't think there was enough noodles in the bowl (although it could have been that I just ate really quickly).  The one thing that looked a bit different from other ramen I've had was this huge scoop of miso and ground pork on top of the noodles.  It kind of looked like pate and that was kind of weird to me and it didn't really taste like anything.  So I didn't really get the point of it.  There were two pieces of pork that looked a bit dry but upon biting into them were soft and tender and very tasty.  The rest of the bowl was served with a hardboiled egg, LOTS of scallion (almost too much), bean sprouts and onion.  While the ramen and broth were both good, I have to say that Ippudo's ramen is better.   It just didn't have the intense flavor and addictive nature of Ippudo's ramen (maybe that's actually better for my health?).  At Ippudo I practically lapped the broth but here, I just ate the noodles and didn't really touch the broth.  It could be because I had the tuna don before and wasn't as hungry.  I would come back here but definitely not if the wait is still an hour plus.  Total bill: $78 total for 4 people, includes 2 beers, 2 appetizers and 4 bowls of ramen.

Photo Credit: Yelp

Woo Lae Oak Visited 5/12/2012 3 Forks

Woo Lae Oak 8240 Leesburg Pike, Vienna, VA 22182

Usually when I come home to MD, my eating patterns are super consistent: Pho 75, Tachibana, and dim sum at New Fortune.  That's usually all I have time for when I come home for just a weekend.  But since this weekend was Mother's Day, I figured I would let my mom pick some place different since she was saying how she never really gets to try a lot of new places these days. 


We were originally going to try this Spanish Tapas place but they weren't open for lunch and after hemming and hawing, we did end up back at Tachibana for lunch (still one of the better sushi places I've been to in MD) but for dinner she decided that she wanted Korean food.  She had been to Woo Lae Oak for lunch but never dinner and thought it would be too expensive, but since I was paying I told her it wasn't a big deal.  Strangely enough, Woo Lae Oak was the name of this fancy Korean place that used to be in NYC that I always wanted to try but never did.  I'm not sure if these are related or not, but none the less I was glad to try it.  The inside is definitely fancier than your typical Asian restaurant and the waitstaff is very formal and serious.  The menu consists of the appetizers, Korean BBQ, soup dishes, rice dishes, noodle dishes, and then what they call All Time Favorite entrees.  To be honest, the prices weren't that bad unless you were ordering the BBQ, but that's expected when you order BBQ at any Korean place (or at least the places I've been to).   We thought that BBQ would be too much for 2 people, so we ordered the Haemul Pajeon (seafood and scallion pancake -$10), the Soon Tofu Jigae (tofu stew with seafood - $13) and the seafood bimbimbop ($16).  

The small order of pancake (you can order the larger one for $15) had 4 pieces which was perfect for us.  I usually find these pancakes very greasy and oily but this one was strangely not so.  I did fine the batter a little bit too thick and would have preferred it to be a bit crispier.  The inside had scallion, oyster, squid and shrimp, but to be honest I didn't really see or taste most of them. I know they were in there but it wasn't like they were prominently featured in the pancake.  Next came the tofu stew and bimbimbop.  I started with the tofu stew which was basically super soft silky tofu with spices and the same seafood combination that was in the pancake.  At least here, I definitely could tell that there was scallop and there were 2 medium sized tiger shrimp with the shells on.  While I liked the dish, it did look like something I could probably make myself.  Even though the dish was not huge, served with white rice, I was pretty full by the end of it.  I forced myself to eat 2 spoonfuls of the bimbimbop.  Of course this one had seafood in it too (clearly my mom and I are cut from the same cloth).  I did notice that I didn't see a fried egg on this which was a bit disappointing because that's the best part of bimbimbop but when I thought about it, it might have been weird with the seafood.  The two bites I had were pretty good, the chili paste had flavor and heat but was still sweet.  There was lots of pickled veggies and kimchi in it which just added to the intense flavors of the dish.  I really wish I had more room for it so that I could give it a better assessment.  Even though we were full, since it was a "holiday" we did order dessert as well.  I will still stand by the fact that I don't think Asian dessert are good.  Their dessert menu was clearly more Westernized, which was totally fine by me.  We ordered the blood orange mousse cake ($8).  It was a very light orange mousse with a layer of almost orange rinds (I don't think that's what they were but it was almost a tough/hard layer of orange that wasn't the fleshy part) and light vanilla cake.  It was totally fine and I loved the fact that it was super super light but again, it wasn't anything to write home about.    


The one huge disappointment of this restaurant was the service.  Our waitress never checked on us after she took our order and I constantly had to ask for a re-fill of water.  By the time we wanted to order dessert, we had to flag down a hostess to help place the order and to get our bimbimbop boxed up (and when I say boxed up, they had you a container for you to box yourself).  I don't always like waitstaff that is too attentive, but you should come by at least once or twice to ask if there's anything else we want, especially if you notice that we have finished our main meal.  I'm glad I tried a new place in MD and I would come back here again but I wouldn't say that it gets a spot on the permanent rotation. Total bill: $59 with tax and tip. 

Note, I know I'm listing this under MD when it's really in VA, but I'm just too lazy to create a new tag. 


Photo Credit: Yelp

Kimchi Taco Truck Visited 5/7/2012 4 Forks

Kimchi Taco Truck

With the World Financial Center undergoing massive changes, there is seriously a lack food options (not that they were great to begin with) in the building.  So it was a seriously welcomed change when they brought together a bunch of different food trucks during lunch time starting this spring.  The line-up changes everyday but I had only been going to the Taim truck because I love their food there so much.  But Allison and I figured that it was time to try something different today.   I had seen the Kimchi Taco truck there but I had an allegiance to Korilla and wasn't sure if it would be as good.  But I figured it was worth a try.

On Monday's the popularity contest is usually between the Taim and Kimchi Taco truck.  Today was no different.  Luckily, we got there relatively early (11:45AM) so the line was still bearable.  Any time after noon, expect to wait at least 20 minutes for your food.  I took a peek in the truck and was a bit concerned that there wasn't a single Asian person working the truck.  Now don't get me wrong, that by no means guarantees that the food is good or authentic but kimchi is a pretty specific type of Asian food that isn't seen in many places outside of traditional Korean restaurants and takes a serious cook to know what they are doing.  The menu is a mix of tacos, kimchi bowl, kim cheesesteak (with Cheez Whiz!) and a few sides.  I opted for the kimchi bowl with multigrain rice and Korean BBQ short rib ($8).   This was pretty much a burrito bowl served with lettuce, fresh kimchi, pico de gallo, pickled daikon, green onion and lots of short rib.  I was impressed with the quantity of food and the quality wasn't bad either.  The multigrain rice was unique.  I can't quite explain what the rice was but I've actually bought it before in Asian supermarkets.  It's got a thicker texture and it's purple and has other grains in it.  It's super healthy and much heartier than regular brown rice.  The kimchi was fresh and had strong flavors although it could have used a bit more cabbage.  I did ask for it medium spicy but to be honest it wasn't spicy at all so that was a bit disappointing.  The short rib was tender and you could definitely taste the marinate that it was soaking in.   This was a great cafeteria alternative and I would definitely come back to try the other proteins they offered: spicy seared pork, spicy pulled chicken, and tofu edamame falafel.  However,  Korilla is better and more authentic tasting and their sauces are definitely what sets them apart of Kimchi Taco.  But since they are not an option, I will still gladly choose Kimchi Taco over a turkey burger from the cafeteria any day of the week.

Photo Credit: Yelp    

Eatery Visited 5/5/2012 2.5 Forks

Eatery 798 9th Ave., (between 52nd St & 53rd St), New York, NY 10019

I know it's been a while since I've written here since I've been trying to be good with my food budget recently.  So I wished my first entry in two weeks could be a great one.  This is just eh. 

I often get asked "where should I go to eat?" and I usually have a few good suggestions.  But I realize that most of my suggestions are downtown or in Brooklyn.  So when my friend from high school asked for a suggestion of a nice-ish place in Hell's Kitchen I was actually stumped.  I know a few divey good Thai places like Pam's Real Thai, Wodee Siam, or Pure Thai Shophouse.  But that's all I got in that area.  Unfortunately we were supposed to have dinner at Print in the Ink48 Hotel but they screwed up our reservation so we were left walking around 9th Ave looking for a place to eat at 9pm on Saturday.  Somehow we ended up at Eatery which looked nice enough from the outside. 

From the outside I assumed that the menu would be all-American, it pretty much was with lots of salads, pasta and burgers.  But then it also had this weird Pan-Asian and Mexican vibe to it with dumplings, tofu stir-fry, and quesadillas.  Weird right? It's generally not a great sign when a restaurant has got an identity crisis.  In honor of Cino de Mayo they were offering a Mahi Mahi special with tostadas and a chipotle cream.  The waiter was raving about it so I decided go for it.  My friend got the quesadilla and the fish tacos while his friend got the burger.  Instead of bread, they offer you these Asian-like shrimp chips with sesame seeds.  It was actually pretty good and a nice alternative to bread.  The quesadilla came out first and was also pretty decent.  Nothing spectacular but the tortilla was nice and soft and the grilled chicken was juicy.  While I wasn't expecting the Mahi Mahi dish to be a real homage to Cinco de Mayo, I thought it would be more "Mexican".  Instead it was a decently cooked piece of fish on top of essentially what was a bunch of corn chips, lettuce and tomato.  The chipotle cream didn't have a lot of flavor to it and I would have preferred actual sour cream.  The dish was fine, it just seemed like something I probably could have made myself.  There wasn't a whole lot of finesse to the dish.   I took a look at my friend's fish tacos they also seemed to lack any real sophistication to it.  I'm not saying my food has to be fancy but it should at least look like something I can't re-create so easily at home.  When the waiter came around to offer dessert, we got convinced by his raving description of the fruit tart (I really need to learn that it's a waiter's job to convince people to order stuff they may not want).  The tart also wasn't very impressive.  The fruit it in was actually fresh and big but the custard in it was way too sweet.      


All in all, I wasn't super impressed with The Eatery food-wise.  But the decor is nicer than your usual Hell's Kitchen dive and the waitstaff was sweet.  Next time I'm in Hell's Kitchen I"ll probably still stick to the Thai hole in the walls.  Total price: $43/pp with tax, tip and cocktails. 

Photo Credit: Yelp