Food City: Totto Ramen

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted a Food City entry in my blog. It’s about time I gush about the restaurants I’ve tried in New York City - It would be a sin not to! New York as you all know is one of the biggest foodie capitals in the world, if not, the BIGGEST. I mean, there are just so, so, soo many restaurants and foodie places with all genres of gastronomic delight cluttered in and around the city. Walking down either 8th or 9th avenue is already a display of a myriad of restaurants and delis offering anything from the festive to the familiar. And that’s only in the midtown area! So don’t blame me if I panicked at the thought of trying all these new and vibrant pot holes of deliciousness given the amount of time I have here. A year is not enough my friends, not even two.

Totto Ramen. I’ve lived in the midtown area during my first few weeks in the city. Totto Ramen is located along 52^nd street and 8^th avenue on this lower ground floor nook of an apartment. Every time I walk pass these streets, there always seem to be a huge line of people outside this small and narrow basement restaurant. I was curious enough to do my research and I eagerly discovered that this was in fact one of the top ramen spots in the city; Number 3 to be exact. So I had to check this one out. foodie buddies were: Jaime & Alessia.

After an hour of waiting (under the rain) we finally were called by the japanese dude in the black shirt. "Eprrol, Eprrrol!" - my name never sounded as sweet. lol

you know its authentic when everyone who works there has a strong Japanese accent.

for appetizers, a juicy and surprisingly tender grilled squid on a stick. you would think grilled squid is like chewing gum in the mouth, this one was clearly not. one word: YUMMM!

I have to say, this was quite amazing. This is the part where i say "The hour wait was worth it". i had the most amazing Miso Ramen with extra egg and meat. the soup was very flavorful and the noodles - oh the noodles were cooked perfectly! Now that fall is just around the corner, i'm going to need more of this when it starts getting cold again :)

TOTTO RAMEN:

366 West 52nd Street and 8th ave.
New York, NY 10019

check them out online: http://tottoramen.com/

Food City: Dining with Chef Tatung

I have been very excited about this restaurant since the day I discovered it! I instantly urged my food buddies (AL & Robert) to check this one out. They were both equally enticed by how I described Chef Tatung’s private dining experience and we came up with a better idea! We decided to make it more interesting by holding Al’s birthday blow out and my going away treat in the same night and have the whole gang join us! It’s a different turn for us since we usually dine at places within the popular central district (e.g. Greenbelt, Serendra, etc.) – it has only been, just recently that we opt to try the hush-hush places like this for instance. I am going to cut to the chase – first impressions?

the place is tucked around a corner along Matipid street. When I first saw it, I got chills.

the ambiance was very intimate and cozy, perfect for a romantic night out. They seated us alfresco side - just the way we wanted. Our table setting was put together so elegantly with the candle lights and champagne glasses, the works! they could not have been more thoughtful.

one of the most attracting features at Chef Tatung's would be the menu. for only a minimum of PhP500, you get an appetizer, a salad, the main course and (drum role please) a dessert! Very interestingly as well, the menu varies weekly depending on the Chef's mood. So you always get something different every time! That night Chef Tatung was incorporating an Asian flair to our dishes -so oriental!

As we waited, we were served with a delightful basket of freshly made bread by the Chef himself.

staying true to the Asian theme, we all started off enjoying a bowl of warm tom yam kung. The flavors were spot on, it kind of transported me back to Thailand!

Our salad was conveniently packaged by virtue of the Lumpiang Ubod - very Filipino eh? I personally have difficulty eating large servings of Lumpiang Ubod, I couldn't really finish even regular portions of it. This part was a bit of a "humm-hah", nothing out of the ordinary. Well, except maybe for the bits of shrimp I found in each bite.

I had the pan glazed pork chop for the main course, it was very tender and savory. It was comfort in each bite, if I could say so for myself. the combination of the pork and the sauce with the mashed potato on the side was very satisfying, I ate everything on my plate this time. I was probably compensating for the lumpiang ubod. LOL.

the Birthday girl AL went for the fish option, the maya-maya. It was a lovely plate of pasta topped with servings of the maya-maya fish. According to her though, there was nothing special in her plate. As she would put it, it was "OK LANG". For the record, Al is very hard to please when it comes to food - that in itself is a disclaimer for future reference.

my good friend JE tried the Nasi Goreng topped with fried egg served with stuffed chicken leg and pickled vegetables.We were joking him that he just ordered chicksilog (chicken and itlog) at a private dining restaurant. When asked if it was good, he as well said "OK LANG", he liked the stuffed chicken leg but could not say the same with the Nasi goreng . Khryss and Robert said the rice is something they've tasted at a Chinese restaurant, being that both of them are Chinese -I guess you have to have an acquired taste to appreciate it.

the pricy option would be the premium steer midloin grass fed beef steak with balsamic syrup - phew! that was a mouth full. when I grabbed a bite of it from Robert's plate, I thought it was a tad bit too sweet than the pork chops. Robert disagreed, she said the pork was too sweet. Either way, the steak was tender and savory just the way Robert likes it(I still preferred my pork chops over her beef steak).

At long last! DESSERT!! The Chef served us his interpretation of cassava cake. I was expecting a traditional slice on a plate but surely, this was far more exciting. It was really good! everyone was exclaiming, "Ang tamis, SARAAP!". If you know our gang,a dessert never fails to make us swoon. So as long as it's sweet, we're good!

smiley face!

the group with Chef Tatung himself, it was a delightFULL night indeed. Overall, the food was OK and the whole experience was very charming and different. I would say it was a good value for our money, everyone should try a private dining experience like this at least once in their lifetime (or from time to time even!).

The 411 on Chef Tatung's Private Dining:

address: 17 Matipid St., Sikatuna Village, Quezon City

RESERVATION is a must, contact them through: +632 352-6121

Or through facebook, type in: Chef tatung