A Bite of Downtown Brooklyn

a stacked burger with fries on a metal pan

Image by: Brianna Vasquez

I found myself aimlessly scrolling through the recent photographs that I had captured on my phone and I had stumbled across a bunch of food-themed pictures. I seem to always find myself captivating the delicious beauty and heavenly appearance of food every single time that I go out somewhere to feast on a tasty meal. I cannot help but to photograph these almost life-changing memories. Yes, I am one of those people that will take about a hundred photographs of my food before I viciously consume it and hope that by the time that I am done being a modern day and food version of Stieglitz for my meal that it hasn’t turned up cold at that point.  It is just something about food that just captivates me. It inspires me to see delicious food being displayed in an amazing manner so that it can be visually appealing before it is eaten. A little over a month ago, my family celebrated my older sister’s birthday which I blogged about her birthday cheesecake. It was a really fun and exciting weekend as it was a milestone birthday which is always great to have a celebration for.

 

three fried pasta balls with sauce

Image by: Brianna Vasquez

I am slightly obsessed with Downtown Brooklyn and all that this amazing part of Brooklyn has to offer. Whenever there is any event or get-together, I always gravitate toward this particular area as it is of great interest to me. You can literally find whatever you need in Downtown Brooklyn. There are movie theaters, coffee shops, cafes, bookstores, bubble tea spots, fast food restaurants, bakeries, antique shops, pet stores, bars, mom-and-pop restaurants, libraries, supermarkets and much more. I have never left this beautiful area of Brooklyn disappointed. I love it here. It has become a second home to me being that the college is located here so I have spent so much of my time discovering this enriched place. It is very diverse with varying cultures that are established into each place, acting as puzzle pieces in the masterpiece that is Downtown Brooklyn. It is truly a melting pot as it contributes to each culture suitably regardless of the variance along the streets. And you have seen this even in my past blogs when discussing this part of Brooklyn in terms of bubble tea which is Taiwanese and the restaurant, Lantern which offers an array of Thai food.

a burger with a basket of fries

Image by: Brianna Vasquez

So when Sabrina and I were trying to decide on the perfect restaurant to take our older sister, we were a tad bit overwhelmed with the unlimited amount of options to choose from. We were hoping to have a fun evening aside from the full family dinner that had already been planned for her birthday…a sister’s dinner dedicated to just us three, to laugh and eat while enjoying each other’s company. We finally decided on Mooburger which is a restaurant that sells burgers, hot dogs, and an assortment of sides to pair with your meal. The food was absolutely delicious. We started off with an appetizer of mac-n-cheese balls with marinara sauce. It was spectacular comfort food…who knew that mac-n-cheese could get any more delicious when fried in a crispy breadcrumb coating and dipped in a slightly spicy tomato sauce? I sure didn’t but I definitely do now. I would recommend this place for literally any occasion because you don’t really need a good excuse to have great tasting food.

Soup Dumplings make their mark in Downtown Brooklyn

the Yaso Tangbao food shop

Image Credit: Downtown Brooklyn

After going to school and working in Downtown Brooklyn for over three years, it’s hard to find good, authentic, and tasty Asian foods (in my opinion).  Approximately a month ago,  Yaso Tangbao made their print in Downtown Brooklyn located on a relatively quiet, but very commercial block between Fulton and Willoughby Street. Yaso Tangbao is a counter-serve, fast-casual dumpling restaurant.

I waited about a week after it opened to finally try it because I wanted to hear feedback from my colleagues and on Yelp first. I went on a Friday afternoon with my boyfriend for lunch and it was quite crowded! There are a few communal tables along with benches for you to sit and eat, as well as smaller tables ideal for two people, and counters with seats. The service is pretty quick and the staff here are very friendly and nice too.

dumplings

The main star of the restaurant are the soup dumplings or xiao long bao. Yaso Tangbao offers two types of xiao long bao – one with pork ($8.50) and one with a mixed blue crab and pork filling ($11.00). My boyfriend and I tried the pork xiao long bao and truth be told, I wasn’t expecting them to be as good as they. The soup dumplings were freshly-made, each one squirting out a rich and savory broth and a chunky pork filling. It was absolutely delicious and goes well with the soy and vinegar sauce.

a noodle dish

 

We also tried the chicken curry pan-fried noodles, but it wasn’t really what we expected. The noodles were on par and crunchy! The sauce and chicken on the other hand wasn’t on par. There wasn’t much taste to it and the sauce was watered down. I don’t think we would order this again.

All in all, we enjoyed our experience at Yaso Tangbao. The xiao long bao are phenomenal and I would definitely return just to try them again. I highly recommend Yaso Tangbao if your in the area and don’t know what to do for lunch. This is definitely a spot/restaurant worth checking out.

What new restaurant/cafe have you tried lately?