magic168

Last minute trip to NYC this weekend (arrive evening on Friday, leave late afternoon on Monday). I've always turned to eGullet for some solid recommendations, so any help would be appreciated. Staying near Times Square, so public transportation is a must: Friday evening: Luke's Lobster (based on a recommendation from a friend) -- thoughts? I don't see it mentioned at all on here...basically, looking for something easy, casual, not too taxing. Saturday: Morning, probably taking a visit to the Donut Plant early morning, then looking for recommendations on Farmer's Market type places to visit? Maybe visit Chinatown for soup dumplings. Dinner is undecided -- maybe Japanese? It seems uber pricey, though, in NYC... Sunday: Mainly looking for recommendations for pre-theatre dining (show is at 6:30) Any/all recommendations welcome! Monday: looking for breakfasty recommendations... Thanks!!

Thanks everyone for the replies -- I will keep all these in mind. How much does yumcha cost in one of the fancy places in a fancy hotel? I'm staying at the intercontinental grand stanford...do you guys think the concierge there will be able to get me a spot at the China Club? Keep the ideas coming!

I have 3 days in Hong Kong, staying in TST area...what're some "must haves" in these categories: - Dim Sum - Snacks/Desserts (Egg Custard Tarts, etc.) - Dinner? I'd like to stay mainly with Cantonese style food, including a keen interest in Peking Duck. - Lunch and PERHAPS dinners in Macau? Looking forward to recommendations! Thanks!

Re: Farmer's Market The farmer's market is only in "full blast" on Saturday mornings/early afternoons. Tuesday around lunchtime/Thursday nights, there is a MUCH smaller version available. I didn't even know they put out stands on Fridays. So, the "farmer's market" is not fully a misnomer...only on certain days.

Both times we arrived at around 12PM on a weekday (I know, not prime time, but both places still seemed to be full of people.)

I hope it was a fluke too about the food, but the price is certainly indicative. We left hungry as we had to rush back to the hotel to check out, but there was no indication more food was about to come (and we weren't really hopeful og getting any good food anyway at that point).

I was in NY 6/26-6/29 Had dim sum based on recommendations here at two different places. Jin Fong was awesome -- food was fresh, variety was good, and it was CHEAP, even by my standards (and I'm pretty frugal). Decidedly different experience at Golden Unicorn. Food wasn't fresh. Chicken glutinous rice wrapped in leaves was SPOILED inside. It was sour and clearly past its prime. Variety was not there ( we had maybe 10 different items pass us) and we paid the same price we did at Jin Fong even though we ate about 1/2 the amount of food. Awful.

I've been reading this thread trying to compile a list of non-spicy dishes that are recommended...and I'm just getting lost. Would GS be worth it to try if everyone in my party can't eat spicy foods?

By the way, I would love some simple recipes for mountain yams, if possible! I'd love to try cooking with it.

Funny you mention that....in San Francisco, they just started popping up at the Chinese grocery stores. Around $3 a pound. I would imagine the same in New York's Chinatown.

Anyone been recently? I'd love to hear about your experiences, what you ate, the tab, etc.

Jason, that sounds like an idea. What dim sum have you tried? I saw the beef traingles, which looked good. Not a big fan of the chive dumplings in general. Do you remember what else was there? By the way, I realized my phrasing might have been overly harsh in the my reply above...I'm not saying the stuff is overpriced or bad (especially knowing NYC prices these days), it's just not exactly what I want right now, especially since I basically have a limited number of meals during my visit.

Thanks for the pics. After seeing them, I've crossed CB off my list of possible restaurant choices for my trip later this month. Don't get me wrong; the dishes look nicely made, but truthfully, don't look all that different or inventive enough to get half the portion sizes at three times the price.

Can't wait to hear your thoughts. I wish there was some way we could see the menu.

raji, You've probably had one while having dim sum! Char siu = Chinese bbq pork (in varying degrees of redness!) and bao = bun. BBQ Pork Buns!

Hmmm, you've intrigued me. I'm planning out my trip for my parent's 30th anniversary, and we might pay a visit to your new place. Do eGulleters get special treatment?

OOO, sounds good. Can you tell me how big the portion sizes are? I'm planning a party of four, and we want to sample a lot of stuff, especially the apps and dim sum...will we be able to "split" an app (for example, the spring rolls or dumplings...were there 2 or 4 or ? )

I wonder how many people saw the Food Network special that followed Batali's opening of Del Posto, and at one point one of his main chef's asks him how they could possibly charge $19 for a dish served elsewhere for $9...and Batali's surprising (and brutally honest) answer.."It's Del Posto!" Also, an interesting question -- being Batali, Morimoto, Emeril, et al are all very public figures, they convey a certain personality on their shows and appearances. How much of this affects your dining experience? For example, I've eaten at Emeril's Del Monicos in Vegas, and thought it nothing special, especially for the price. But I wonder if this "review" is tainted by the fact that I personally do not admire Emeril as a chef and find him pretty incompetent when it comes down to cooking skills displayed. And another bias goes for Batali...I waiver between "nice guy" and "really arrogant."

an 8 oz filetActually that plate of food is spread out visually to make it huge. Its an 8oz filet cut into several pieces. A huge pile of shoestring potatoes which cost like 5 cents and some spinach, it's reflective of the fact that many of the dishes at buddakan philly have useless fillers to increase portion size. You should see the chocolate pagoda. ← Wow, is that really an 8oz fillet spread out to that huge fan? I wonder what the amount of meat is in the NY filet app...1 oz?

Just an update. That pic was from Buddakan Philly, and that particular dish is not available in NYC's menu. However, he did reply and say he has tried Buddakan in NY and the filet (although only a few strips of meat rather than the platter full as in Philly) was excellent. I believe augieland has pics of the filet dish. So is anyone planning on going? I think I'm going at the end of June with my parents, so I'd really like more pics of the apps/dim sum before I go! Along with opinions of course! Also, anyone find it curious --- from reading accounts of Philly's Buddakan --- it seems much like a "Cheesecake Factory" portion size (I mean, look at that entree above), while in NY, it's clearly much more "upscale small bites."

Anyone who's been there...how many orders of the beef filet is this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kidwei/59890222/in/set-1294667/

Take them to Sugiyama! Lie and tell them he won Iron Chef Japan. ← Better yet - take them to Sushi Yasuda! Lie and tell them he's Morimoto's father!! u.e. ← All this lying! Does this reflect the values of egullet? ;)

Would it safe to say they won't even seat you near Yasuda unless you plan to spend $100+/person? Wow, NY really skews my price points. Living in San Francisco, which I think is considered an "expensive town to live in" I still don't consider dinners > $30-40/person often. And now, I am considering places for $100/person when I visit NY with my parents. Am I going crazy?

I am disappointed. I wa thinking about the SLIGHT possibility of scrimping and saving to treat my parents for their 30th anniversary to the omakase, since we are all iron chef fans (and even if the food were only ok/good, at least we'll get a seat close to Morimoto), but if I read this correctly, the $120 I was planning for is not even a coveted seat at the chef's table??? I always thought augieland's blog posts were all for the $120...not $500+ I think it'll be many, many, many, mnay years, if ever, I will be able to afford that.

Oh man, this thread has been one of the highlights of my day. Much better than the Daily Show these days.