Ma*Ya has a few tables on the first floor, and a bunch more downstairs. I sat upstairs, and I felt as if i were in a hut on the outskirts of Bangkok, as I watched the rain pour down.
As I perused the menu I was given a complimentary basket of shrimp chips with peanut dipping sauce. I always love free snacks and food. And I loved this snack, with its delicious tasting sauce. What a great start!
The menu is made up of tapas, appetizers and entrees. I tried a tapas of stir-fried panang curry peanut with beef ($7.50) (which I believe is actually Malaysian). It was very good, and I enjoyed the vegetables that came with it as well.
I asked both waiters what their favorite dish was, and both told me it was the appetizer of crispy ribs in spicy tamarind glaze ($8.95)-so I ordered it. They were really good too. It was very sweet, but also had a nice kick of spiciness to it. It was cooked perfectly, the meat fell off the bone.
I really enjoyed the food and atmosphere here. The place is cool and hip, with a real homey feeling though. In fact, I enjoyed my experience so much, I went again with my family on Sunday.
I was very excited to try more of Ma*ya's dishes, and they didn't disappoint. We asked Kevin, my waiter from Friday night for recommendations, and we heeded his advice. We started with the Malaysian flat breads with chicken curry dipping sauce, the spicy thai chicken lettuce cup, and the Asian crusted Ahi Tuna.
The flatbreads ($4.95) were excellent. Warm, crispy, and the dipping sauce was addictively tasty. The chicken lettuce cups ($7.95), were refreshing, flavorful, light, and also tasty. The tuna ($7.95) was rare and simple, but very nice.
For entrees we had Grilled skirt steak with Thai chili dipping sauce, Jumbo Shrimp and Japanese eggplant in red curry coconut sauce, and the Crispy filet whole fish with Thai long bean basil spicy three flavor sauce.
The steak ($16.95) was perfectly cook, tender, and didn't even need the sauce, which was too tangy for me. The Jumbo shrimp ($16.00) was excellent. The red curry sauce had the perfect balance of sweetness and spiciness and I loved the dish. The standout of the night was the Crispy whole fish ($18.95). The meat just fell of the bone and the flavors were powerful and amazing; it was truly a great dish.
I really love this place and recommend it for anybody in the neighborhood, or if you want to go on a cool date with your signifcant other, family, or by yourself, it's worth the trip to the East Village. The prices are great, and it truly is a great bang for your buck. So for great flavors in a great atomosphere Ma*ya hits the spot.
Ma*Ya (Hurupan Kitchen)
234 E 4th St, New York 10009
Btwn Ave A & Ave B
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( 2.9 / 585 )Last Saturday I decided to head downtown to one of my favorite restaurants in NYC; Fatty Crab. It's a Malaysian restaurant in the West Village helmed by chef/owner Zak Palaccio (who also helms 5 Ninth and is creating a Malaysian menu at a spot on the roof at 230 Fifth Avenue. I actually partied with Zak a few months ago too).
Fatty Crab is very casual and makes you feel as if you are dining in a hut in Kuala Lampur. I like the lack of superficiality the restaurant exumes unlike many of it's nearby neighbors, a stones throw away in the Meatpacking District.
I've been here on many occasions and each time all the dishes are extremely flavorful. The one big setback I will say about the food here, is that although flavorful, many dishes are extremely spicy too. I am a fan of spicy food, but I prefer a balance between hottness and sweetness, and hate it when spiciness is overpowering, takes over the dish, and lingers in my mouth after each bite. I've had many dishes here where this lingering of spice occurs, and Saturday was no exception. I would assume that this is probably typical of Malaysian cooking, where Mr. Palaccio spent some years studying and cooking. There are also dishes that you can order that aren't as spicy, which is a good thing. So, despite this setback, I am always drawn back to the Fatty Crab for the flavors, the ambiance, and the inexpensive prices.
On this occasion, I started with a dish that won the 2006 Eat Out award for "Most deliciously unhealthy salad" from Time Out NY, which was the Watermelon pickle and crispy pork salad ($7). Now, I'm not a huge fan of watermelon, but this dish actually works splendidly. The watermelon is such a refreshing balance to the crispy tender pork. It also had some greens to make it more salad-like. It is a delicious and tasty salad.
For my entree I tried the Fatty Duck ($9). The duck was very tender, very flavorful, but of course very spicy, and the spice did linger around my mouth for a while.
They have a nice selection of Asian beers at the Fatty Crab and I decided to accompany my meal with a large Morimoto Soba Ale. It was excellent.
So if you are looking for flavorful food, with a huge kick of spiciness, and for a good price, the Fatty Crab is a perfect place to go. Sit back, grab a large beer, let the spices flow and remember to have a fun time. I always do.
Fatty Crab
643 Hudson St (Btwn Horatio & Gansevoort St)
New York, NY 10014
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( 3 / 575 )Thomas Keller's Per Se is said to be one of the best restaurants in NYC, maybe in the entire U.S., and even in the world. So when I heard he was opening up a bakery one floor below his restaurant in the Time Warner Center I got excited. Now common folk who cannot land a reservation at one of his 16 tables, or afford his cooking, would be able to taste some of his culinary delights.
I went to Keller's Bouchon Bakery for lunch today. I got a roast pork sandwich with tonnado aioli on a Frech Bread, a GUS's Meyer Lemon Soda, and finished with a homemade Nutter Butter. The sandwich ($8.75) was fine, but I was expecting to be wowed. I was not. It was quite boring and I have had similar sandwiches at other establishments not helmed by top chefs. This was a total disappointment. The lemon soda was very good, not too sweet. The Nutter Butter was also very good, two peanut butter cookies with peanut butter in the middle. The peanut butter was creamy and smooth, and not overpowering. I'd say the best part of my lunch was the soda, which was not made on the premises. In fact, I do not intend to go back to try the other sandwiches or desserts offered.
Bouchon Bakery
10 Columbus Circle (Time Warner Center)
New York, NY 10019
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( 3 / 591 )Last night I went to crash the Taste of NY event, like i did last year. I was inside, and then some security dude asked to see my wristband, which i didnt have. I talked to someone in charge telling them i was there to do magic, but he said the event was ending. So a bit upset, I decided to cheer myself up by checking out two "hot spots" I've been meaning to try; Morimoto and Buddakan. I stopped by Morimoto just for a "wasabatini" and then made my way to Buddakan, which is on the opposite end of the block.
Buddakan is HUGE! I had a 10:45 reservation, and was seated at 10:55. The service was slow though. In fact, it didnt seem too packed at that time, but my waiter was taking a long time. He did apologize which was ok, but, it was annoying. I started with the edamame dumplings, recommended by the hostess and the waiter. They were good. They came in a shark fin broth which was soothing. I devoured them quickly. The waiter talked me into trying a cocktail as well. It was called "heat", which had tequila, cointreau and chilied cucumbers. It was excellent. For my entree I went with the charred filet of beef with wanton potatoes and mustard sauce. When a server brought it over, he poured some soy infused butter onto my meat. The potatoes were actually potato chips; crispy, tasty, but disappointing, considering the dish cost me 27 bucks! I felt ripped off. The meat was cooked perfectly medium rare, except it was lukewarm. After eating three slices, I felt it needed something else; the sauce on it was fine, but I was bored. I decided to order the house special rice with scallop congee. It was excellent (at the time). I was too full for dessert. At the end of the meal, I was trying to see which was the best part of the meal; the cocktail or the rice. I was totally unimpressed and disappointed. I had higher expectations. After trying to figure out which was better, I thought about the dishes some more, and realized something. The rice, which 10 minutes ago i thought was excellent, was in fact just like rice with shrimp and lobster sauce that u can get at any take-out joint, only a tad sweeter. The cocktail, with its spicy kick to it, which i thought was excellent 24 minutes ago, was in fact, similar to a cocktail with jalapenos I had at the Stanton Social a while back-not as original as i thought. So, was the environment and "scene" playing with my emotions? Was I trying to enjoy the food more because of my high expectations and all the positive reviews i have read? YES! For a good chinese meal, for like 3 times less, I may as well go to Chinatown. Will I go back, and do i want to try the other dishes? YES. I want to give Buddakan another try- but, my first try was a let down.
Buddakan
75 Ninth Ave., at 16th St.
New York, NY 10011
Morimoto
88 10th Ave
New York, NY 10011
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( 3 / 558 )Friday night my two sisters and I went to Victor's cafe, a popular Cuban restaurant in midtown. I knew this as a tourist spot, with decent food. And that is exactly what I encountered on this visit.
It was very crowded and very loud, which made for a festive atmosphere, but you did need to talk loudly to your dining companions in order to be heard. We all shared the empanada filled with lobster, served with sweet Cachucha pepper pesto. Although this savory turnover was tasty, it was cold in the middle, and needed to be baked a little longer.
For an entree I ordered the Filet Mignon Criollo, which is a prime beef tenderloin marinated with Cuban adobo and served with fire-roasted peppers, onions and sweet plantains. The meat was perfectly cooked and tender, but I found the dish quite boring and would have enjoyed some sort of sauce, or anything to liven it up a bit. The peppers and onions just made the dish more dull, and the sweet plantains were non-existent.
My younger sister fared much better with a great red snapper dish, which was cloaked in a crunchy green plantain crust, and served with Cuban sofrito sauce and Afro-Cuban plantain mash. This was a great dish. The snapper was crunchy and flavorful, and everything on the plate worked well and balanced each other beautifully. It was also very colorful to look at.
My older sister went with the Paella, brimming with an assortment of lobster, mussels, clams, shrimp, and meats. Although the dish didn't amaze me, it was fine, but I did feel it could have used some more spice, for it was slightly bland.
Also, all dishes (except rice dishes) came with white rice and black beans, which I enjoyed. The black beans had the perfect balance of saltiness to them.
For dessert we tried the Bonbon Cubano, molten chocolate lava cake served with coconut ice cream. This dessert was fine, although it was hard to love, cause all I could do was fantasize about that chocolate molten cake I had eaten the previous week at Oga Japanese Tapas.
So, if you are looking for Cuban fare before a show in a Times Square theater, that sometimes hits, but sometimes misses, Victor's Cafe is a fine choice, considering there is not much competition in the area. .
Victor's Cafe
236 W 52nd St
New York, NY 10019
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