Tuome In NYC’s Alphabet City Serves An Eclectic Menu With Asian Influences

Located in the heart of Alphabet City, Tuome offers an eclectic, contemporary American menu with Asian influences that is bound to please your palate.

Crispy Deviled Eggs with Chili Oils

The panko-crusted egg whites are deep fried to give off the ultimate crispiness, and topped with smooth, mousse-like yolk with chili oils and micro greens.

Creamy Noodles Topped with Snow Crab

The Snow Crab dish is an absolute must. The perfectly al dante curly noodles, topped with fresh snow crab, crunches, and chopped chives, are flavored with rich, creamy squash and dashi butter sauce that melts in your mouth.

Fluffy Kabocha Squash Mash with Granola

The fluffy, mashed kabocha squash has cloud-like texture. The squash is mixed in with crunchy and sweet vadouvan granola and chive.

Steak Tartare

Made with high quality wagyu beef, the steak tartare is flavored with lemongrass and topped with three hour yolk and micro greens. The dish is served with crispy taro chips on the side.

NYC Red Farm's Asian Food, Too Cute to Consume

Because I live and work in Midtown, I haven't had much chance to explore other parts of NYC. Yet people have been telling me about all these great restaurants in the "southern" part of the city, so I decided to venture out one day after work to Red Farm, which serves an "innovative, inspired Chinese cuisine with Greenmarket sensibility," according to its website.

It was my first time at this cute West Village restaurant, so I asked the waiter for recommendation. Right off the bat, he suggested the Pac-Man Shrimp Dumplings ($12.50). I couldn't believe my eyes when the dish came to the table because the presentation was stunning and, quite frankly, too cute to eat!

As the name of the dish suggests, it had sweet potato tempura carved in the shape of Pac Man with blueberries for its eyes. Underneath the "Pac Man" was a generous serving of guacamole and two slices of cucumber.

There were a total of 4 dumplings in the shape of ghosts in the game. They were filled with juicy shrimps, and each dumpling were infused with flavors that ranged from lobster to leek to crab. My only wish was that the servings were bigger because my party and I gobbled up these "ghosts" within seconds.

Another dimsum that we ordered was Pork & Crab Dumplings ($12). We got four pieces of pretty large-sized soup dumplings with a side of ginger & soy sauce.

Perhaps it's because I had such phenomenal soup dumplings in Chinatown, but the ones in Red Farm did not live up to the expectation. The skin of the dumplings were a bit too thick, while the inside didn't contain as much juice and flavors as I would have liked.

The final appetizer we ordered was Kowloon Filet Mignon Tarts ($10). I must preface by saying that these petite tarts were the highlight of the night! We each got to taste one tart that was full of rich flavors.

On top of the crispy (and not fatty!) tart with corns and slightly creamy sauce was well-seasoned and marinated filet mignon with garlic flakes. I wanted to savor the tart without finishing it up in one bite. The filet mignon wasn't too tough and it was very juicy! I could probably eat this all the time.

After our three appetizers, the waiter brought the entree:  Lobster & Long Life Noodles ($39). I was really curious what long life noodles were, but they are basically chow mein noodles. The serving, as well as the plate it was served in, was quite large. It contained one whole lobster over a bed of noodles with mushroom and scallions.

I have to say that the main dish wasn't as good as the appetizers. Visually, the food didn't look that presentable as well. The lobster had lots of meat, but I sort of wished the meat had been taken out already so that I didn't have to deal with cracking up the shellfish. The lobster was also really starchy for some reason...

The noodle tasted really overcooked. It just disappeared in my mouth! If I could, I would just rename the dish "Lobster Chow Mein."

We were quite full by now and was about to pay for the food when the waiter told us that we have a FREE dessert on the house because we were asked to move to a different table during the meal. Even though we were stuffed, why not? We ordered Key Lime Pie & Lemon Sorbet.

The one scoop of sorbet had a little mint garnish on top. The sorbet melted too quickly while I was trying to pace it because it was too sour.

The key lime pie was really sweet, especially the graham cracker crust. It had rich key lime flavors, and on top were swirls of meringue and three berries (raspberry, blueberry, blackberry).

Overall, I enjoyed my fusion-y experience at Red Farm. I loved that they offered us complementary dessert too...definitely giving it kudos for its service! Next time I visit, I will probably just stick to the
appetizers and some dimsums though!

 

Italian Food Is No Good in Mexico

We met a couple and their family from Atlanta who were also staying at the village. We decided to have a dinner with them at an Italian restaurant called Frascati. Excluding the adults, there were four of them (son, daughter, daughter's friend, son's girlfriend) and the three of us. We ordered a glass of sangria for everyone, which tasted artifically sweet rather than fruity.

We ordered Parma Pizza: tomato sauce, mozzarella and prosciutto di parma, for the table to share. I don't eat pork or cheese, so this was possibly the worst dish to order for me personally.

The pizza was extremely thin and didn't look too greasy at the bottom, but the top portion is obviously greasy.

The appetizer bread came with two sauce: olive oil and spicy mayo. The bread was rather plain and dry.

Some kind of tuna bruschetta appetizer? It could have passed off as a main course because the two pieces of tuna were huge!

Grilled Red Snapper and Fettuccine in Balsamic Vinegar. This was the special of the day.

Again, the red snapper was huge! Italian food is all about huge portion, especially family Italian restaurants. Honestly though I much prefer smaller portion and quality food. It's about quality, not quantity!

The homemade pasta noodle was quite tangy and chewy, but the balsamic vinegar ruined it all because it was way too overpowering! I just felt like I was eating plain noodle while sipping soy sauce.

Also the dish was visually unattractive. It was basically some fettucini on a pool of balsamic vinegar with a chunk of red snapper on top.

Arrabiata Capelli D'Angelo: Freshm tomato, garlic, anchovies, and spicy pepper. Apparently the pasta was really spicy.

Tortellini Fatti in Casa: Fresh pasta stuffed with ricotta cheese, spinach, goat cheese with sage butter. Four people in our party got this dish, but the word 'butter' immediately turned me off.

This was the night's biggest disappointment. The corn brownie that I had at the beach club was so delicate with lots of texture, but this "brownie" was so stale and dry and...just NO GOOD! Lesson learned: get Mexican food when you are in Mexico.

Short Rib and Chow Mein from United Airline to Puerto Vallarta

Although I am not a fan of long flights, I do enjoy flying internationally because it usually means I am going somewhere exciting or going home sweet home. On our 5.5-hour flight to Puerto Vallarta, we were served lunch: a choice of short rib and chow mein or pasta in creamy tomato sauce. I was still half-asleep when the stewardess asked for my preference, so I blurted out short rib because I don't like anything creamy.

The salad had romaine lettuce, cucumber, olives, and tomatoes. The greens were surprisingly fresh and crisp. It was refreshing to eat the salad after having drank only coffee all day.

The appetizer was two cocktail shrimp on a leaf of lettuce. I would have liked a little bit more of the cocktail on the top, but the shrimp was quite plump.

The chow mein had three pieces of red bell pepper and broccoli on top. It needed a bit more seasoning (I eat everything too salty...) so I added a packet of salt and pepper. The chow mein noodle tasted really dry and flimsy.

The broccoli was steamed long enough to taste mushy (just the way I like it). I didn't like how the greasy sauce from the short rib was mixing with the chow mein.

Now I fork into the short rib. As soon as I cut into it, I knew I wouldn't enjoy it very much because the meat had so much fat throughout.

The meat was tender, probably because of the fattiness. I felt like I was stripping into pulled pork.

The sauce was pretty salty. I am guessing they put lots of sodium/msg.

For dessert, we got two scoops of vanilla ice cream with a choice of toppings ranging from chocolate sauce, caramel, strawberries, nuts, and whipped cream. I simply went for the strawberry sauce, which reminded me of the strawberry sauce from Harvard. It was too syrupy for my liking and the ice cream didn't have enough vanilla flavor.

Hidden Jewel in Midtown East: Sakagura Sake Bar

Sakagura--located in the basement of a Midtown East office building with no cell phone reception--is one of the top sake bars in the United States. Founded in 1996, the restaurant has the nickname "hidden jewel" and, according to the website, the customers say that walking into Sakagura is “like walking into Tokyo.”

We ordered a bunch of appetizers to start off the meal. The first dish that came to the table was Hirame Ponzu ($9), or Thinly Sliced Fluke Sashimi Topped with Grated Dikon Radish and Salmon Roe Dressed with a Citrus Vinaigrette.

The filet of fluke was melt-in-your-mouth fresh. The citrus vinaigrette gave a little tang to the tongue, while the salmon roe added salty flavor.

Next dish was Sanshoku Nasu Dengaku ($12), or Grilled Japanese Eggplants Served with Three Kinds of Miso (Eggyolk, Spinach, and Sweet Red).

Eggplants is a vegetable that I love almost as much as squash. Again, I could probably eat three plates of this dish alone all to myself. The eggplants were cooked in three different kinds of miso that were a bit sweet, but it wasn't the artificial "Splenda" sweetness, but tasted very natural.

This was the egg yolk miso eggplant with thin fish flakes on top. The eggplants were so mushy and sweet. I loved the slightly burnt part at the end with the sweet glaze. The black sesame seeds were a nice touch.

This was the spinach miso eggplant. Honestly, I couldn't really taste the difference between this and the egg yolk eggplant. The third kind--Sweet Red--was the only one with very distinct, melted chocolate-like texture and flavor on top of the eggplant.

Next was the dish that Preston raved about: Jidori Shioyaki ($14), or Grilled Organic Free Range Chicken Served with Sea Salt and "Yuzu" Citrus Pepper. According to Preston, "I don't care what else we order as long as we get that chicken!"

We squeezed lemon on top of the chicken for extra tanginess.

The chicken was grilled to perfection: slightly burnt on top and juicy inside.

Whereas some people said the skin was the best part, both Audrey and I took off the skin on top because it was too fatty. I prefer chicken breast, but the part they used was thigh so it had too much fat. The chicken tasted better when sprinkled with a little bit of sea salt.

The waitress then brought Kamo Roast ($10), Slices of Chilled Roasted Duck Wrapped Around Scallion Accented with Basil Sauce.

The thinly sliced duck tasted very similar to roast beef. I wished the scallions hadn't been cut so thinly because I wanted a bit more of the crunchiness from the vegetable.

Next was the physically heaviest dish: Beef on Hot Stone Pot ($??). The plate underneath was made with stone, as well as the hot stone pot, so the waiter seemed to be struggling as he brought the dish to the table.

After rubbing a piece of lard on the hot stone, we put strips of tender beef on top.

This is a dish you have to eat quickly before the stone pot cools down. For me, it wasn't a huge problem because I like my meat rare. Give me some blood!

The beef, which had no additional seasoning, was so tender and juicy. The best way to eat (good) beef is just plain and cooked on a grill.

As though we weren't already full with all the appetizers, we each ordered a main course.

I had Sake Oyako Don ($16), Fillets of Fresh Salmon Sashimi and Salmon Roe Steeped in Soy Sauce Served Atop a bowl of Rice and Served with Miso Soup.

Because the restaurant was dark, I didn't notice the silvery skin on the salmon while I was eating it. If I had known, I probably would have freaked out and peeled that part off.

The salmon roe on top was really salty, which balanced off the sushi rice underneath. The salmon was so soft and creamy (?), and perhaps a bit fatty.

I am a huge fan of seaweed and rice, so I liked that there were flakes of seaweed on top of the rice.

Looking at the photos again, I didn't realize how many salmon roes were in the bowl.

I scraped off all the seaweed on top of the rice. Yikes! The silver skin is giving me goosebumps again.

This is Ochazuke Rice Soup with Rosted Salmon ($7).

Basically a bowl of rice in soup with salmon, seasame seeds, and seaweed flakes on top with pickles on the side.

Inaniwa Udon Noodle from Akita with Hot soup and spinach ($12). Although a lot of people recommended udon noodle from Sakegura, I didn't get this because I had udon the night before.

The Sea Salt Chocolate Homemade Sorbet ($6) wasn't too sweet or creamy like a regular ice cream with still the same amount of indulgence. It always amazes me how sweet and salty go together so well.

The Chocolate Souffle with Vanilla Ice Cream and Raspberry Sauce ($9). My favorite moment when eating a souffle is breaking it with the spoon. The souffle had powdered sugar on top. It looked like there was matcha powder on the side.

We poured the raspberry sauce inside the souffle and voila! It cracked! A lava flow, anyone?

Waiting for the souffle to simmer down and the raspberry sauce to soak in...

My favorite moment! Swivling everything together with a spoon.

The souffle was quite decadent and had strong chocolate flavor. The raspberry sauce went well with the chocolate, and the vanilla ice cream gave cool flavors to the otherwise warm souffle.