Charred Octopus, Lamb Shank, Beautiful Dessert, and Much More at NYC's Kat & Theo

A plate half full or half empty? While the portion sizes at Kat & Theo left much more to be desired, each plate had mouthwatering morsels of innovative, flavorful bites that I was positively satisfied after my meal. 

Located in the heart of New York's Flatiron District, Kat & Theo specializes in New American cuisine with a Mediterranean twist. The restaurant boasts an all-star lineup of culinary team, from the executive chef Paras Shah - who has worked in places like El Bulli, Per Se, and Momofuku Noodle Bar - to the pastry chef Serena Chow, formerly of Eleven Madison Park and Pearl & Ash.

Start the meal with the signature Charred Octopus ($18). On the plate are cut pieces of lightly fried octopus that are crispy on the outside, soft and moist on the inside. The plump octopus maintains its chewy texture. The creamy white bean puree, oregano, and the small orange cubes add interesting texture and flavor to complement the octopus.

Another highlight from the appetizer menu is the Quail ($18). Similar to the Octopus, the Quail dish contains four bite-sized, lightly fried quail legs that are much more tender than other winged birds. I loved the sweet kabocha squash puree, butternut squash cubes, as well as the savory oats and red cardamom on the plate. 

The portion sizes for the main entrees are more satisfying. The Guinea Hen ($34) includes two lean, tender chunks of white meat on top of juicier and slightly fattier dark meat and smoked skin. In addition to the meat, I loved the maitake mushroom and halved cippolini.

One of the most frequently ordered entree, the Lamb Shank ($34) has a whole, bone-in shank with braised meat that is so tender that it just falls right off the bone. The lamb shank is beautifully glazed in rich, balsamic-like sauce. Underneat the shank is a savory hash of toasted farro, fig, smoked lamb belly, and roasted vegetables.

Kat & Theo features an outstanding selection of unique desserts. The Carrot ($14) is a beautiful, deconstructed carrot cake. Enjoy sweet bites of moist carrot cake with grinded pistachio and a scoop each of rich white chocolate and espresso ice cream. You will also find bright orange carrot puree and dried carrot chunks. 

The Pumpkin ($14) is another standout that is too pretty to eat. There are four pate a choux filled with pumpkin-flavored cream, which lie on top of the smooth pumpkin cream, crunchy pumpkin seeds, pomegranate, and sorrel. It's like seeing - and then eating - a sweet pumpkin patch. 

Carrot Cake at Ceci Cela

There is a saying that girls always leave room in their stomachs for dessert. By my friend's recommendation, we went to a cute little cafe called Ceci Cela that apparently serves Korea's best carrot cake. No dilemma in choosing what to get this time!

When the waitress brought us the piece of cake, she said, "Congratulations! You got today's last piece." It was only 1:30pm and the cake already sold out? It must be good then, right? The cake was served with a heaping load of fresh whipped cream with almond slices on top.

The three-layered cake had cream cheese frosting in between. Well, cream cheese, according to the menu, but it just tasted like regular cream. It was way too thick compared to the whipped cream next to it.

The sprinkles of cinnamon on the top added a nice touch to the otherwise too creamy frosting, but because the frosting was overwhelmingly thick, I couldn't taste any hint of cinnamon.

Look how thick the frosting is!

The cake was extremely dense. Unlike a typical carrot cake, this one just had carrot bits and no raisins or nuts. I was glad that the cake wasn't too sweet, but it didn't matter because the frosting was very sweet and buttery.

The edges were too coarse and not moist enough. I certainly don't understand why people would consider this piece of cake to be the best carrot cake in Korea...well, I am not a huge fan of carrot cake in the first place.