- A-Wah
5 Catherine Street, nr. E. Broadway 212-925-8308
For what one imagines may have been considered a mistake the first time someone discovered it at the bottom of the pot, burnt rice sure has come a long way. Korean bibimbap enthusiasts go crazy for it, paella aficionados consider it the whole point of the endeavor, and fans of the Hong Kong comfort food known as bo zai fan (or “clay pot rice”) swear by the stuff. Chinatown bo zai fan specialist A-Wah offers seventeen variously topped versions (no. 61, with pungent Chinese sausage, minced pork patties, and savory shards of roast pork, is the way to go). The clay pots take a good fifteen minutes to cook, and arrive piping hot. If you’ve never been, your waiter will coach you in the proper technique for maximizing the dish’s superb contrasts of texture and flavor: Drizzle the thickish soy sauce over the top, stir, and tuck into the soft grains from the center while the crust forms on the pot’s perimeter. You won’t need any encouragement to start scraping the vessel and excavating the caramelized crispy bits as they take shape.
Monday, November 7, 2011
I hate Jude the Obscure
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Fuck you Thomas Hardy, Sarah Grand, and CCNY for making me read this shit
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Friday, October 21, 2011
"Has China lost its morality and sense of compassion in its rush to modernity?"
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Thursday, October 13, 2011
There Are New Revelations Everyday!
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
I think I am going a little crazy
Friday, July 15, 2011
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Addicted to Hulu Plus
Sunday Dinner
Friday, June 10, 2011
Crap, wish I knew about this before I went to Shanghai
Getting the Belt
Every person’s wardrobe should have well-made, classic pieces. A trench coat, a pair of boots and the perfect white tee are just a few. Fortunately in Shanghai,if you know where to look (and read the right blogs!! eh heh hem), well-made doesn’t necessarily mean expensive. In the case of another wardrobe staple, the brown leather belt, this remains true.
I found a fantastic leather worker at 401 Jianguo Lu, a little bit east of Wulumuqi Lu. I picked out a sumptuous top-grain leather and a sturdy brass buckle (for buckles, nothing beats good ol’ brass!). And off the shifu went fixing it into our perfect belt that I can probably wear for decades. It only looks like an investment piece– all I had to invest was a little bit of ingenuity and hanging out with this sweet old Chinese man as he banged and chiseled away at his workstation. Oh, and it only cost me RMB200, which is about how much you’d pay for a plastic leather belt with a cheap metal buckle at any fast fashion store in Shanghai.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Give it up for LA
Osteria Mozza
6602 Melrose Ave.; 323-297-0100; $21
Served cold to the table with a base of a squid-ink pasta made in house with the titular chitarra, the noodles are boiled to order and dumped in water to cool. Decadent delicacies from the deep are added, with fat, pristine pieces of uni melting to coat the pasta strands and Dungeness crab providing a sweet essence of the ocean, all cut by a sharp jab of fresh jalapeño, a sprinkle of sea salt, and touch of olive oil.
Osteria Morini
218 Lafayette St., nr. Kenmare St.;
212-965-8777; $19
You might expect Alinea's Grant Achatz to gravitate toward some whiz-bang super-noodles, but instead, he tells us that his favorite is this plate of super-rich "pasta rags" served with braised porcinis that Michael White serves at his rustic, homey (and perpetually crowded) Soho restaurant.