bigfoodjournal

Address:
142 Sullivan St, New York,
NY 10012 (b/t Houston St & Prince St)
in South Village

It's a very cute little cafe that me and Dave stumbled upon for lunch one afternoon. The place is a little on the smaller scale, so I wouldn't recommend large groups. One of the server there was extremely sweet and nice. We decided to try "The Jerk" sandwich,  which is known to be one of their more popular sandwiches. It consists of shredded chicken with a kick of spice to it. We also ordered the BBQ Chicken Nachos which I thought was interesting, as well as the Fresh Cut Fries. The fries could be some of the best that I've ever had. It was just a perfect combination of saltiness and crisp. Like I told my fellow Yelpers, I would definitely like to revisit one day and maybe try some of their other sandwiches as well as other items on the menu such as their breakfast, burgers and Smoothies.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Recommend: Yes, give this place a try if you're by the neighborhood !

Address:
136-11 38th Ave,
Flushing, NY 11354

Whoa, I've been to the bar here before but for some reason I was not aware that they also have a little hot pot section to the left of the place. I love the seating; there are regulars seats but then there's also seat along the counter. I felt very cozy and comfortable. The food appears very fresh, I ordered the Lamb meat, and Dave ordered the Beef. You can also get other side orders with the meat such as extra fish balls, tofu, and even noodles. We got the udon noodles. I must add that I was very satisfied with the sauce I created at the little sauce bar. I thought it taste amazing. It's basically a lot of spicy chili oil, peanut sauce, sesame oil, and scallions. The sauce is very important! Also, the server was very attentive and friendly! I would definitely come back and visit this hot pot spot again in the future.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Recommend: Yes!

Address:
136-28 39th  Ave,
Flushing, NY 11355

Allow me to keep this review short and simple: This is one of my TO-GO Dim Sum places in Flushing. Must I add that the service here is just very attentive and appreciated. The dim sums are just great here. One of my favorite dim sum dish is the Marinated chicken feet. A new one I had tried west the shrimp balls fried with Bacon and dipped in mayonnaise sauce..boy was it amazing.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Recommend: YES!

Address:
41-28 Main St,
Flushing, NY 11355

The Golden Shopping Mall is one of my favorite quick-lunch-on-the-go areas to dine in. One of my favorite and most frequently visited restaurant in the mall is the one the serves the dry peanuts noodles, wontons, dumplings, and so forth. This place is always packed with hungry people, and most of them will order the peanut noodles.

The peanuts noodles are so simple but yet..so amazingly delicious! I very often find myself craving them. I go way back with these noodles; I recall my very first time trying them when I was younger in China, and ever since then..I was in love. I remember a couple of years ago when I visited China, I would look forward to eating them there. Every time I eat them, I think of old memories and my grandma because she knows how much I love the noodles, as she would often try to make them herself for me. I love her very much!

Prices are very decent as well, although prices for most items on the menu have now increased by a quarter. Its called inflation! The last time I was there, I heard quite some people talking about it like it was the end of the world. Nonetheless, food is still on blast and I will continue to come by here!

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Recommend: Yes

Address:
248 E 52nd St,
New York, NY 10022
(b/t 3rd Ave & 2nd Ave)
in Midtown East

 This Ramen restaurant opens from noon to 3, and 5:30-11:30pm on a weekday. The servers were really friendly. As appetizers, me and Dave ordered the Char Siu Pork Buns, which are one piece for $3.25, and two for $6. You must try them! The buns are simply amazing, I could probably eat three.  I ordered the Miso Ramen with Chicken, while Dave ordered the Mega Ramen with Char Siu Pork . The Ramen includes bean sprouts, scallions, and onions. The broth for the Ramen soup was great. I would say this place would be my favorite Ramen plus thus far.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Recommend: YES!

Address:
40-24 College Point Blvd,
Flushing, NY 11354
(Inside the Skyview Mall)

I've always wanted to give this place a try since I heard of the grand opening, and today I got a chance to finally try this place with Dave. I read mixed reviews on Yelp, but nonetheless I wanted to see for myself. The interior looks great but seems a bit tight as with the seatings.

Upon looking at the menu, a lot of dishes did really pop up to us. Such as the roasted duck, (which you can order the whole or half) for a very decent price. Although, at about 8pm on a weekday, it was sold out. Me and Dave ordered the Tofu with stewed Chicken over Casserole, Lamb Chops, and the Grandma's style special Fried Rice. (Which is not on the menu) My favorite dish would have to be the lamp chops..they were amazing. The sauce has a sweet tingly favor to it that will just win your heart. Me and Dave definitely plan on coming backing here and trying the whole duck, as well as the delicious looking crab dish they have on the menu.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Recommend:  Yes

Address:
53 W 35th St, Basement,
New York, NY 10001

Ran into this place with Dave, while on Yelp checking for near-by Japanese restaurants on the phone. This place was crowded with people and people waiting for seats. Although, the wait wasn't too long for a weekday out in the city for two. (30 minutes)

We ordered the Aged Tofu, which is deep fried tofu in a very tasteful sweet soy sauce. The tofu is very soft, and was one of my favorite dishes. We also order the New Special Roll, which consists of Spicy Tuna with Avocado wrapped with Salmon, and the Spam Oshizushi, which is pressed spam sushi. Both the rolls were delicious, but it was my first time hearing about the spam rolls..and they were delicious! I kind of had a feeling they would be though, because afterall..spam tastes great with everything, right? Along with that, we also ordered the Yakitori Set A and B, which consists on meats and vegetables such as a meat ball, chicken wing, asparagus, thigh meat, baby onion, zucchini, and tomatoes. My favorites would have to be the meatball and chicken with, particularly because of it's flavor, which has a savory sweet taste to it. Lastly for dessert, we ordered 2 orders of the Ice Mochas, in which they have almost every in every flavor! 

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Recommend: Yes, if you're looking for a great Japanese cuisine and you love Japanese food...Check it out!

Address: 
38-13 Union St,
Flushing, NY 11354

One of my favorite Korean restaurants..and I LOVE Korean food! This particular Korean restaurant has a great interior and is pretty spacious. The appetizers are always great. Me and Dave ordered Spicy Seafood Jigae. Let me tell you, that is by far my favorite Korean dish! I love everything about it, the spice, the tofu, the broth...it's great. Along with that, we also ordered the Seafood Pancakes..which was also great! But do yourself a favor, and eat the pancakes while they're hot because they taste so much more amazing when it's warm.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Recommend: Yes! (If you're into great Korean food?)

Address:
4107 Kissena Blvd,
Flushing, NY 11355

This is a Vietnamese restaurant located in Kissena right next to another Vietnamese restaurant along the busy streets of Flushing. It was super busy inside, but the waiters were very quick. In fact, the waiter asked us of we're ready to order before we even got a chance to open the menu.

Me and Dave ordered the Cho Gio, which is Vietnamese spring roll deep-fried with pork, craft meat and mushroom. (As listed on the menu.) The eggrolls were among our favorites. They had just the right amount of crisp and went really well with some lettuce wrapped around it, as well as some sauce. We also order The Chicken Lemongrass, which is mixed with plenty of onions and some peppers to give it that extra flavor. Along with that, were also ordered the Bun Thit Heo Nuong, which translates to grilled pork on rice vermicelli. Overall, the food was just decent. Although, I would complain that even though they were quick with trying to get our orders in as soon as possible when we sat down, it took literally half an hour for them to get us just a cup of coffee and coke.

Rating: ★ ★ ★
Recommend: Sure

Address:
133-35 Roosevelt Ave,
Flushing, NY 11354

Dumplings. Who does not love them? Fu Zi Dumplings is among the two handmade dumpling stalls in the New York Food Court. Upon ordering the Pork Dumplings, me and Dave waited for about 15 minutes for our Dumplings as for I couldn't understand Why because we were the only customers. Okay, so the dumplings had to be amazing then..that's What I was thinking. The Dumplings were place in a nice steam bowl plate, and Yes it was steamy! Looks delicious! I took one bite and notice something very, very strange. Why was the dumpling skin so thick and soggy and why did the pork meat taste so soft..I've had Dumplings many times before, and never had I had Dumplings like the one I had here. I concluded that also, the pork meat inside the dumpling should of taste harder and be separated from the skin when you bite into it. Obviously, they were not cooked very well..at all! Me and Dave, just decided to eat them..but you should always give it back to them and complain! This pisses me off, but we'll just remember to never come back. Take a look at the second picture and judge for yourself.

Rating: ★
Recommend: No!
For goodness sake, for the well-being for yourself, it's not healthy to eat almost raw dumpling dough skin, and pork meat

Address:
133-35 Roosevelt Ave,
Flushing, NY 11354

This restaurant will temporary be called #24, because it is located inside the New York Food Court and I am insured if they have an English name. (Chinese) The place appears to be one of the more popular stalls in the court. It appears to to me as a Asian fusion type of restaurant, are it's very modern-looking.

I ordered the Chicken Steak, while Dave ordered the Premium Steak. The sizzling steaks include a side of soup, noodles and a side of salad. The steaks are top with what appears to be steak sauce and bean sprouts on the bottom along with a sunny-side-up egg. Food is great. Only exception is that they didn't ask how we wanted the steak to new cooked. Dave's steak appears to be very well-cooked. Another popular dish on their menu is the Peppered Fried Chicken. Just the sound of it makes me hungry. I'll definitely com back another time and try some other dishes.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Recommend: Yes
You'll love the food.

Address:
133-35 Roosevelt Ave,
Flushing, NY 11354

There is ALWAYS room for desserts! This is a cute looking little restaurant located inside the New York Food Court. It looks like it could potentially be my next favorite dessert hotspots.

Me and Dave ordered the Waffles with a Scoop of Vanilla. This place along with most of the other restaurants had a promotion going on, because of the grand opening, so we received 20% off the entire order and we also got a free scoop of Green Tea ice cream.

Presentation was very nice and quite fancy, I must say. Although, I must say that the Green tea ice cream with the waffles was not my favorite at all. The vanilla ice cream had a unique rosy color to it, but nonetheless it was delicious. I would definitely come back and try some of the other variety of desserts they have on their menu!

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Recommend: Yes!

Address:
13335 Roosevelt Ave,
Flushing, NY 11354

This restaurant is located inside a new food court in flushing called the "New York Food Court." Among all the other restaurants in the food court, we ended up choosing this one, and I was really happy that we did. The gentlemen serving us was exceptionally polite and quick.

They have a variety of different kinds of meats and vegetables in which you can choose from. Everything looks very fresh and the gentlemen is quite generous with the portions in the large red bowl. It is very customizable, which is great for picky eaters and just people who know What they want. You can also add on a ramen to your bowl for just an extra dollar. The price of the bowl was very reasonable as well for the good portions. Our bowl ends up looking very meaty, and lacking the vegetables. In which, we will keep in mind next time. Everything about bowl was amazing, I especially love the flavor and sauce. It has a bit of sweetness and spice. It was overall just an Incredibowl experience.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Recommend: YES!
It's a must try! Bring your family, friends,  girlfriend or boyfriend!

Address:

40-26 Union St, 

Flushing, NY 11354

I was brought here all by the wonderful reviews on Yelp. I like the atmosphere of the restaurant, it appears to be a great causal Chinese place to bring your family and friends.

Our waiter was very polite and welcoming to us. Me and Dave ordered the Sauteed Pig Meat, which includes 8 buns and the Shredded Lamb with Cumin Sauce. The pig meat was very tasty and goes along great with the buns. Some added spice to it would make it perfect. The sauce seems pretty oily, but nonetheless, it was great with the pig meat. The shredded Lamb has a great flavor, and goes great along with a bowl of rice or maybe just about anything. 

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Recommend: Yeah
I'm thinking of trying some of the other tasty dishes on the menu next time!

Address:
42-47 Main St,
Flushing, NY 11355

This Chinese restaurant has a large selections of dishes to choose from. It has some pretty interesting things on the menu, such as the hot and sour spicy frog. Note that mostly everything is spicy! Perfect for you crazy spicy food enthusiasts.

Me and Dave ordered the Hot and Sour Soup, Hunan Fried Rice and the Smoked Duck Hunan Style. Being a big fan of hot and sour soup, I thought this Hunan hot and sour soup had a very interesting flavor and spice to it..but it has no tofu! Much better to eat while hot. The smoked duck was good, again it has an interesting spice to it. My favorite would have to be the Hunan fried rice, which has some Chinese sausage mixed with it, vegetables, and of course the spice. I really like the flavor. Would say that it would be one of my favorite fried rice places to go.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
I would love to try some of the other popular dishes they have on the menu.
Recommend: Yes
Great and family-friendly place  for eating with your family or friends.

Address:
200 W 44th St, New York,
NY 10036(b/t Shubert Aly & 8th Ave)
in Theater District

This Italian restaurant is just as packed on a weekday as for a weekend. Although it has a huge interior, this place was just packed with hungry people. Make reservations ahead of time! Me and Dave had to wait an hour and a half for a seating for two. Restaurant feels very cozy and welcoming.

Our waiter was extremely friendly and seems pretty enthusiastic. Bonus points. He also did let us know that the portions are in fact quite large. The waiter starts us off with a basket of different kinds of bread. I really like the sliced bread with marinara sauce on top of it. Me and Dave ordered the Spaghetti with Meatballs, as well as the Spinach Salad, which is sauteed with garlic and olive oil. The Spaghetti with meatballs comes with 6 large meatballs, very tasty. The tomato sauce itself seems like it has a nice kick to it. Overall, we were pretty satisfied with the food.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Recommend: Yeah!
Come in groups because the food is meant for sharing!  If you're looking for a great Italian restaurant, Check it out!

Address:
135-40 39th Ave,
Flushing, NY 11354

Located in the heart of Flushing, this family-owned Taiwanese restaurant is a go to for great authentic Taiwanese food. Tasty prices, good food, cool customer service..what's not to like about this place?

This restaurant has a great two dishes and a soup deal for only $20, in which includes a wide range of variety. Great selections to choose from, everything else is reasonably priced as well. Me and Dave ordered the Chicken with Basil Casserole, which was tender chicken marinated with this exceptional favor of just the right amount of sweetness. We also ordered the Fish with Scallion Sauce, which was..delicious! Not too oily and just great. For the soup, we ordered the Hot and Sour Soup, which includes tofu, mushrooms, eggs, and pork. I am a big fan of hot and sour soup, so let me tell you..this might be the most amazing hot and sour soup that my mouth has tasted. Everything about it was perfect. Just the right about of spice and they are very generous of the ingredients. Try for yourself! Our waitress was be very pleasant and friendly.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Recommend: YES YES YES!

Please give this restaurant a try, you will fall in love with food all over again.

Address:
13330 39th Ave,
Flushing, NY 11354

The Asian Jewels Seafood restaurant serves Dim Sum, lunch as well as dinner. This place is huge. A lot of seating, very busy on weekends. Although, me and Dave were able to grab a quick seating for two without waiting. 

I want to keep this review short and sweet. Me and Dave ordered nine dim sum dishes in total. My favorite would always have to be the marinated chicken feet as well as the shrimp dumplings. Dave recommended the beef balls, and I must say that it is quite a pick!  The food is not to oily, so that is a plus. The service was incredibly fast, as Dave would agree. The waitresses were very quick to pick up our finished  dishes and take orders. I literally blinked and they're gone. Needless to say, I was very impressed. Would like to say it is now one of my favorite dim sum places to go!

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Recommend: Yes!
If you're looking for a great Dim Sum restaurant with incredible customer service, look no further. Check it out!

Address: 

1451 Broadway, New York,
NY 10036 (b/t 42nd St & 41st St) 

in Theater District

On a busy Saturday night in Times Square with empty stomachs and no reservations, me and David decided to go to this burger restaurant which appears to be quite popular for their variety of different Burger combinations. Although the atmosphere was quite big, it felt really crowded probably people the seats are practically next to each other. The waiting time was only 10 minutes. Upon entering the restaurant, there was a lady greeting us by the door, and handing out a coupon for free fries for a purchase of a Burger. Good promotion.

Me and Dave ordered the Chili Cheese  Fries as an appetizer. It comes along with meat topped with cheese. The fries are very thin. Good for two people. Dave ordered a signature Burger called the Counter Burger, which is a 1/3lb beef burger with provolone, crispy onion strings, lettuce blend, sauteed mushrooms & tomato, sun-dried tomato vinaigrette. I ordered a Custom Burger. You must fill out a Burger form yourself which is in the menu. If I remembered mg, I ordered a 2/3 lb beef medium rare Burger on a pretzel bun with spicy jalapeño cheese, dill pickled chips, spinach, hard boiled eggs, and jalapeños. The Burger was actually pretty impressive I must say. Although, I did regret getting the jalapeños on there because it was just too spicy! Overall, everything tastes fresh and delightful. Waiter was very attentive even though he had quite some tables to take care of. 

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Recommend: Yes, if you're a Burger-kind-of-person..give this place a try! They also cater, and deliver. Prices are quite reasonable as well for a pretty good Burger place in NYC.

Address: 

83-25 Broadway,
Elmhurst, NY 11373

This place seemed awfully busy on a Monday night. The cashier was super cute and happy. Joju is a modern Vietnamese restaurant thats best known for its sandwiches and bubble tea.

Alot of different drinks to choose from, including some Vietnamese coffee drinks, but I ordered the Matcha Green Tea. Apparently they ran out of tapioca bubbles on a Monday night. Dave ordered the Lychee Slush. Not the best green tea I had. (Perhaps a tad bit too sweet) Me and Dave both ordered the Bulgogi "Bomb Me" which in the menu is described as "Beef Bulgogi kicked up a notch with extra kimchi and a runny fried egg." I was initially going to order the Lemongrass Chicken (Another of their top picks) but again..on a Monday night..seriously?! Anywho, it was okay because I did enjoy the beef sandwich that I ordered. Beef was the perfect amount of sweetness, although what I was not too crazy about was the pickled carrots because they were just much too sweet for my taste buds. Along with the sandwiches, we ordered the Joju Banh Mi Fries. It's described in the menu as "Seasoned & battered french fries topped with special house sauce, mild spicy mayo, spicy green sauce, pickled daikon & carrots, chopped cilantro & jalapenos." You can also get the fries with an egg. I thought that was pretty interesting and new. Fries had the perfect crisp and the kimchi went pretty well with it.

Rating: ★ ★ ★
-2 stars because they ran out of chicken on a Monday night as well as tapioca bubbles. Not a total big deal but c'mon..get it together. Also, everything seemed to taste so..sweet to me. But if you're a fan a sweet sandwiches, this is the place for you.
Recommend: Yes
Definitely bring your friends and give this place a try!