Seriously am I the last one to blog about this place? I have no idea how much I don’t know about the city that I call home home until I started to call another city my home. Everytime I go back to LA Mo would tell me to go eat at Zankou Chicken. He’s a big fan and so are a lot of the food bloggers that had been to Zankou Chicken.

My friend, Sandy, and I were actually hunting down taco trucks. We were on Colorado Blvd looking for tacos but instead we found Zankou Chicken. I quickly told her to turn around because I had to try it. It was probably not the best thing to do while on the hunt for tacos but I wasn’t sure when I’ll get a chance like that again.

We walked into a not-so-fancy looking place but it sure damn smelled great. Sandy and I decided to just share a 1/4 chicken platter for $6.99 that came with a piece of chicken, hummus, salad and 2 pitas. I stabbed the chicken with the fork and took a bite. The chicken was super tender, flavorful and the skin was crispy. The 2 sides and the pitas were all pretty good too. I can see why people love it. The chicken was so so good, I can eat just the skin forever.

I just love anything thats Japanese. Anime, crazy tv shows, culture, technology, and of course food. Japanese chicken wings or tebasaki is pretty famous in Nagoya, Japan. My first exposure to these tasty chicken wings was at Furabio. They were sticky, sweet and covered in sesame seeds.

Few years ago, I had lunch with a friend. She brought me to Tebaya, a tiny shop that specializes in tebasaki. They also sell yummie sandwiches. I remember it being quite good so last last Friday I had lunch with my friend, Steph. She works close to Tebaya so that was another reason why I wanted to go there.

I was excited to go there because I wanted to try the cream crab croquette sandwich. When I walked up to the counter I was ready to order that sandwich in a combo that came with 2 wings, a salad and a drink. Sadly the lady told me they don’t make that anymore so I ended up get the same combo but with a fried fish sandwich.

We had to wait a bit for our lunches. The salad was just your typical Japanese salad and it was a bit sad looking. The sandwich looked pretty big but it was mostly bun. The piece of fried fish was a little too thin. But the bread was great. I really love Asian bread, they tend to be on the chewier side. The wings were pretty good as well.

Overall it seemed everything was okay. I remembered loving the place the first time. I’ll probably go back again for their sandwiches, love love the bread.

- Tebaya 144 W. 19th St New York

This past Sunday night, I was craving for chicken green curry from Joya, a Thai restaurant near my apartment. I usually get Pad Thai or Pad-See-Ew but my apartment mate, Mo, got me hooked on the curry. So that night we ordered 2 chicken green curries and 2 Thai iced tea. Mo loves spicy so he asked for his to be extra spicy.

CHECK OUT HOW FREAKIN SPICY LOOKING THAT IS!! It was so spicy Mo had to go buy himself another chicken green curry to dilute the spicier one. Hahahaaa.

- Joya 215 Court Street Brooklyn

During the days of living in East Harlem, my friend and I would always walk from the east side, through Central Park and over to the west side for Flor De Mayo. I never had Peruvian food before and Flor De Mayo was Chinese and Peruvian cuisine, awesome! Seems like all the Peruvian restaurants I have been to serve chicken as their specialty. Why is that? Anyways, now that I have moved out of East Harlem and into Brooklyn, I’m glad I live right by Coco Roco.

Last night I really wanted some Peruvian food and I was meeting up with my friend, Anh, for dinner. Luckily I found La Cuarta in Sunset Park that was close to Park Slope. So what brought this crave for Peruvian food? Mr. Zach Brooks of Midtown Lunch! Yesterday I read his post on a new hidden gem he found in a freight elevator hallway and saw the link for another hidden gem, El Sabroso. There in that post I saw the picture of a plate of yummy looking spaghetti! Peruvian and spaghetti? Never thought of those 2 together before but damn those looked good! After that I was on a mission to find a Peruvian restaurant around 5th Ave and 20th St and spaghetti. And that was how Anh and I ended up at La Cuarta.
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Chicken pot pie is such an American classic like apple pies at least to me. My first introduction to chicken pot pie was from those $1 Swanson frozen pies from the sueprmarkets. Those were sooooo good. My favorite part had always been the cookie-like crust at the edge. They acted like spoons, perfect for getting the last bit of yumminess inside the tin bowl. Too bad they are no longer $1 but good thing my apartmentmate, Mo, is in love with chicken pot pies…and pizzas and also makes awesome Indian food. It’s good to be around fellow foodies. Recently he got his hands on a copy of “New Classic Family Dinner” by Mark Peel. On the cover is a beautiful photo of the classic chicken pot pie.

One random night I found Mo in the kitchen, around 11pm, making the filling for the chicken pot pie. Yeah he’s a hardcore foodie. Once he had a chicken pot pie party. That’s how serious he is about it.

Finally last week we were able to try one. Cutting into the chicken pot pie was like opening presents on Christmas morning. The filling was just packed with great stuff! Corn, peas, carrots, chicken…etc. Also really appreciate the patient he took to wrap the inside of the ramekin with dough as well. I think the hardest part of making chicken pot pie is the crust. Do you go with flaky or cookie-like? I think he was trying for the flaky kind but it ended more in the middle of flaky and cookie. What’s the secret to flaky crust? I also liked the addition of dill. I asked him if he had followed Mark Peel’s recipe he said no. I guess since the book was about modernizing the classic Mark Peel added asparagus and took out potatoes. Mo had also increased the amount of corn, celery and peas compare to the recipe. I am curious to how my chicken pot pie will turn out if I decide to make some but I’m just too damn lazy. HA!

I think Menkui Tei in the East Village deserves more press. They might not have the best ramen in town or have an extensive menu or a drunken happy atmosphere but you know what, does that matter? They do churn out consistently good dishes. I have not had one single bad meal there nor bad experience. A lot of things change in the East Village. Over the 6 years that I’ve been here in NYC I have seen bars come and go, what was once a dominant Japanese dining area is now half Japan town and half Korea town. It’s comforting to know that whenever I go to Menkui Tei, I’ll get a good meal. Though Minca is still my to-go spot for ramen, Menkui Tei is Steph’s, my friend, favorite place for ramen.
My favorite dish to eat from here is the Oyakodon. Chicken and egg cooked in dashi over steamy rice! Add a dash of hot pepper and you’re set. Such a great cold winter night dish.

- Menkui Tei 63 Cooper Sq, New York