spicy ramen

Spicy ramen is one of the best ways to finish a night after an evening of drinking. I especially love it the way they served the noodles al dente. It's too bad I gave the cabbie $11 fare when I meant to ask for $11 change. That's what happens when you ride a cab slightly tipsy.

CONSUMED: Minka; W 5th St, East Village (Manhattan)

Korean bbq

I've eaten Korean barbecue several times before now. But never with Koreans at the table. (And never in Flushing!) And so I realised during my most recent foray into this savoury carnivore's wet dream that I had been doing it all wrong all along. The bottomless pickled and spiced banchan/sides (I think we counted up to 15?) were not solely for snacking. Nor were the soya sauce-dipped scallions reserved for garnishing the lettuce wrap. As my friend said: "It's make-your-own." Anything goes.

Pictured here was just one of the many many lettuce wraps that I made, each slightly different. What you can see are the scallions, rice and lettuce. What you can't see (or at least can't make out) is the pickled radish, the dried spicy radish root, and the fattiest piece of duck I've ever eaten. Topped off with some mighty addictive soya-ginger concoction, my taste buds were screaming thank yous all the way to the bank.

CONSUMED: Ham Ji Bach Restaurant‎; 4108 149th Pl, Flushing (Queens)

terimayo dog

Surely it's been blogged to death. But I couldn't pass up the opportunity to speak from personal experience. I had heard about Japadog long before my trip to Vancouver, the city of proud Asian ex-pats. The simplicity of the whole concept boggles the mind: Japanese toppings on an all-American beef hot dog.

I arrived on my bike at Burrard and Robson, just as I was instructed. I approached both hot dog stands on the corners of that intersection, only to be rebuffed by the (now) pedestrian menus containing polish sausages and veggie dogs. Where was the Japadog stand? My eyes scanned the other corners, only to confirm that the Japadog man must have already packed up and gone home, after a sold-out day on Burrard. Duly stowing my discontent, I jumped back on my bike and pedalled for the Burrard Street Bridge.

!!

I braked and turned my bike onto the sidewalk of Smithe. There he was at the corner of Smithe and Burrard: Mr. Japadog, smiling widely. Within 5 minutes, I had a secured myself a tastebud-twisting terimayo dog ("the classic," I was told). Two more minutes, it was gone, down the pipes. Who knew seaweed, teriyaki-simmered onions and a good ol' wiener could work so well together? (The wasabi mayo was an added treat.)

CONSUMED: Japadog; north-west corner of Burrard and Smithe, Vancouver