I work in grand central station and they have a variation of foods in the dining concourse. I decided to get food from “Spice Cafe” they sell Indian food which I’ve never tried. I decided to try a plate of vegetable Biryani ( spiced mixed vegetables cooked with basmati rice) and two sides Dal Makhani (black lentils and kidney beans) Channa Masala (Chick peas cooked in spiced onion gravy) . It was a really flavorful plate. The rice was freshly made; I had never tried a spicy rice before, I really enjoyed it. The only thing I didn’t like about the rice was that it had about 5-6 really big chili Peppers, I don’t know if people usually eat them or they’re for flavor but I just left them on the plate. The plate was a lot for me maybe less carbs next time since I had to go back to work and felt too full.

It was my friends birthday back in September and she wanted to go to a sushi restaurant “Zuma”.  Going into this restaurant I was wondering and hoping they had vegetarian options, and they did. I tried their vegetarian sushi which was ok. The sushi roll had carrots, asparagus, mushrooms and arugula the veggies weren’t seasoned but they were fresh and crunchy which gave it a nice texture. I would of liked something with more exciting flavors maybe some some spice to it. I’ll try to stay away from sushi restaurants since there aren’t much options for me.

This little Colombian ball called bunuelo was delicious. It was surprisingly soft on the inside while the outward is a deep fried shell. This pastry reminded me of something called fried bakes from my country of Trinidad. Just goes to show even though we have our own cultures and cuisines, there are similarities in food dishes. I wanted to buy more of these but then I remembered starch goes right to the hips..lol

Soup Dumplings and Pork Buns

Today for my International Cuisine class, my Chef decided that the class explore 8 Ave and go on a scavenger hunt to find great Dumplings. It was because of this that I tried Soup Dumplings for the first time. I didn’t know what they were but I was curious because I love regular dumplings so I decided to give them a try. The order came with 6 dumplings and as I bit into them a smooth broth came gushing out that lit up my taste buds. It was also filled with Pork and scallions that were very well seasoned, perfectly cooked and tender.The broth itself, the seasoning wasn’t great as it was a little too salty for my taste .  dumplings wrapper was a bit too doughy which made it really chewy. All in all I loved the concept of the Soup dumplings and I would definitely try it again someplace else.

We tried pickled herring in a cream sauce on our walking tour of the lower east side. Russ and Daughters is a place I would like to eventually go and eat at, but herring in a cream sauce won’t be one of the items I get. It was interesting to try for the first time but the herring was a little to fishy for my liking. The cream sauce did cover the fishy taste up a bit but it was a little to much for me.

On October 16th when we visited Mast Brothers Chocolate in Williamsburg. When we took the tour, they had 4 different and unusual flavor of chocolate for the class to try. The one that stood out to me and I actually was most fond of was the Olive oil chocolate . This was actually my first time trying something like that but it wasn’t as bad as it sounds. When I tasted it, the sweetness of the chocolate was countered by a slight bitterness. The olive oil flavor was very subtle but it complemented the chocolate very well without being overpowering. The texture of the change chocolate was very smooth on the count of the coco butter they use to make it.

Fresh pomegranates are hard work. The little fleshy pink and magenta seeds look like cluster of gems embed in a off-white membrane of the fruit. The fruit in that picture was not tree ripened so it took a while to get the little slippery seeds out and really it was a lot of work that yield very little of the sweet seeds. It too me and my sister half an hour of tapping and digging to get all the seed out of one fruit, but it was a nice little sweet treat. It isn’t very sweet, kind of like a cross between an under-ripe pear and a greengage, the pink flesh around the seed remind me of little bits of firm plum in texture but the crunch of seeds under the flesh was quite satisfying to me. Maybe if I got a riper pomegranate than I would have it again but I didn’t enjoy the process of preparing the fruit and I’m not sure if the work was worth it.

Young ginger from Union Square Greenmarket was a surprise for my sister. I know what it was just from the smell but I’ve never really seen them or had them, too expansive according to my grandmother. I brought mines with the stem and leaves which can be made into a tea if the plant was younger but mines was pass that point but my grandmother insist that it could be boiled and the infusion would used for bathing away arthritis and other bone or joint ailments. However, the root is good eating and that is all I care about when I bought it. After a quick rinse the thin delicate pale cream skin and pink hues showing just how young and tender it was. The fibers were tender enough to give a juicy crunch, like a fresh apple, under the knife. The root is sweet and less spicy then the older roots, sliced thin was a tasty fresh treat.

My grandmother is convinced that yellow eels over rice is good for the health and honestly when the ceramic lid was taken off the fire blacken clay pot I didn’t need much convincing to dig in. The fluffy long grain rice was cooked just right to still be firm enough to be chewy and smelled strongly of the spices that seasoned the eel meat. The deboned meat with the rich oily skin was seasoned heavily in cloves, dried citrus peel, and star anise to take most of the muddy pond scum flavor out but still leave just enough fishiness that there is no illusion that the meat was from some bottom feeder from some murky pond. The crisp fresh green onions on top gives some contrast to the pungent spices and give some green for the eyes, but the real gem of the dish is found at the bottom of the pot. The crunchy crusted rice at the bottom of the pot takes the dish one step farther, the soft crunch of little grans of charred rice gives a texture contrast like no other with the soft chewy rice on top and soft oily chunks of eel. This is a texture sensation that is a must try, the cute little clay pot is just a bonus.