Writes of Passage

1614 3rd Ave
New York

Love the duca and 98 years old Glenstove cook top and food warmer. Will return to this South African bar.
The elk meat is tender. The house wine are good esp the white. The only complain I’ve is the bread is too sweet. Good service. The bar looks bit thin. One hour street parking free after 7pm.

39-13 Bell Blvd
Bayside, NY 11361

Will return. A modern deco (not too crazy) but wine (shiraz Chianti and merlot) and food, service are great. The Optus is tender, eggplant is delicious, so is the bass. Street parking, free after 7pm.

133-35 Roosevelt Ave
Flushing, NY 11354

The dining hall is pleasant, and they’ve a small parking lot on site. I purchased from two vendors today.

Kelai Qin 客来勤 #15 at the back of the room.
– Spicy Fish head 剁椒鱼头 – very good
– Spicy fish filet 水煮活鱼 – ok
– Beef and green pepper 角椒牛肉丝 – a little below ok
– Yuxiang Rosi 鱼香肉丝 – terrible -> too sweet

Lanzhou Handpulled noodle 兰州拉面

The cumin lamb pancake is great; the beef (?) pancake is so so. And I’m so bright to order a Yunnan Mixiang with beef, not too good.

88-44 Sutphin Blvd
Jamaica, NY 11435

Love love their hot milk! Don’t see this little thing dispenser often. Most places put milk/2%/low fat/Half n half in thermo to keep them chilled. I like my coffee latte style: 90% hot milk and 10% coffee -:) ha ha ha I don’t really know coffee. Once I asked for the geisha coffee but couldn’t remember the name … so I asked for concubine. ha ha ha. It took the guy a few seconds to realize what this little old Chinese woman is asking -:)))

Good Columbian coffee!

8 Bond St, Ste 3
Great Neck, NY 11021
(516) 829-8883

It’s been a long time since I last visited it. In 1990s it was Red Camellia (红山茶) run by a lady from Kunming. Before her it was Chopstick (?). Not sure Elaine’s was immediately after her. It recently changed hand and their liquor license is pending approval. Tonight, we dined without wine, which sucks. An elder couple left upon learning no liquor situation. BYOB is allowed but we only learned after sat down. Their service and food are good. The decor is fine. On a Sunday evening, they’re doing pretty good business.

They’re perhaps, one of the handful few in New York uses thin crepe for Beijing Duck – as I despise, really despise all others that use bread for the duck – they should be shot. Call ahead because it needs an hour to prepare.

The fish head is really good. The pickled veggie fish soup although is not bad but I found it a bit too sweet for my taste – maybe it’s just my brain is too sugared up, ha ha ha. The bacon and bean-curd is too plain.  The appetizer sweet ribs (I got it for to-go) is ok. They’ve two sets of menu, one for Chinese. The mango sherbet is good – they sell bindi desserts, which is for a change, a good change! The bird’s nest soup (sweet) is good too.

Street parking or the parking lot which is diagonally on the opposite of street.

12 Housatonic St # 201,
Lenox, MA 01240

Rocking chair, decent food, nice wine glass, but SLOW service. Oh boy. It’s Saturday and they have only one girl working outside. We were thinking to go to Cork n’ Hearth again didn’t want to spend a lot of time, so picked this one.

Many restaurants close after 2:30 in Lenox, even on Saturday. Oh well.

45 N Main St
Kent, CT 06757
(860) 927-1445

Like it a LOT.

I was in the mood of ice cream – someone who doesn’t like sweet.

It has an outdoor and indoor seating, with a HUGE bathroom. It’s small and welcoming. The menu board looks a little intimidating – too many stuff to choose from. Their chocolate is pretty good. I got the sea salt almond bark … and brought them home. Guess I’m not a sweet eater -:(

The town Kent is quaint, on Route 7.

60 Main St,
Lenox, MA 01240

My favorite wine store in Tanglewood. The food they offer is more suitable for picnic. The $39.99 for 4 bottle of World Wide Stout beer. Oh boy.

The Applewood smoke duck is really good. So it the Rosali cracker and salmon.

136-93 37th Ave
Flushing, NY 11354
(718) 359-2188

It’s a pretty good noodle shop. 3.5 star I’d say. Small, casual and quick. The hand-pull noodles have different sizes: from almost hair thin to wide as a finger. The taste is fine. The seaweed salad is delicious: tender and juicy.

I would return if in the mood of noodle. They are opposite from the huge public parking lot.

75 9th Ave
New York, NY 10011

By far the better Chinese food among the high end/Asian fusion restaurants in the big apple – New York. The interior decor is wonderful – more photos on their web site.

The molten chocolate cake maybe slightly less desirable to Tao‘s (and there is a Tao across the street) but other dishes are hands down better. Oh you can have a heart to heart talk with your soul mate here too.

I enjoyed all the dishes we ordered. Except perhaps the broccoli. The oxtail dumplings are awesome – very oxtail = meaty. Black cod is so good we ordered the second helping – I know … can’t take Irene anywhere.

The bathroom has no maiden. Great.

Their service is super. Attentive and no bothering/pestering at all. The only complain perhaps is the Jade dumplings’ sauce spilling over the small plate. Their Argentina’s Malbec is pretty delicious. The Molten chocolate cake is good but not as good as Tao’s.

What did Buddakan do to earn such … double jeopardy? I’m a little late and don’t want to use my little brain. So as soon as the cab dropped me off at entrance to the Chelsea Market, I asked for direction (showed how long ago I went!) – Giovanni Rana Pastificio & Cucina is immediately next door and they share the same address, and the waiter replied: “I don’t know.” Oh well. Next, the cops. I’ve always love the cops except when they issued me a parking tickets wrongly – like no parking on Wednesdays and yet I got a ticket on a Wednesday. So there came out two cops from the Chelsea Market, one was white and one African American. The white cop replied, “Buddakan? Oh it’s just around corner” and pointed me to the opposite direction. Actually as I am waking I feel it isn’t right. Anyway it is totally wrong. Not cool dude. Shame on you whoever you’re on the Sunday 7.16 at 6:35pm at Chelsea market.

Ok, to be sure and precise: it’s the black exterior corner building at the corner of 9th and 16th. If you see the Chelsea market entrance on 9th you’ve passed it.