Dinner was at
Sampan on 13th street. (I've heard NYC has a Sampan too, but they are not related.) My lovely companion and our friends and I ordered the tasting menu. At $45 per person, and 7 courses, you really can't beat it, and we had plenty of leftovers.
Hamachi ceviche and fried chicken bao buns were the starters. The ceviche was served in individual miso-soup-spoons and disappeared before I could take a photo. Truffle was the unexpected secret ingredient. Rice bao buns were fluffy inside, but strong enough to hold together contained crunchy edged chicken cutlets, Panko-fried and covered in a sticky sweet chili glaze. I could have made a meal out of just this.
Next we had lamb satay, mini lollipops with a spicy seasoning, and cold noodle salad with warm grilled beef tenderloin. Both meets had perfectly charred edges, but neither were standouts but they got the job done like Bacardi and Cola.
Threatening to drown ourselves in noodles, we also had the Korean BBQ short rib lo mein. This beef was so tender. It seriously fell apart at the touch of our chopsticks. So much flavor was packed into each caramelized bite that I don't think anyone noticed the noodles underneath. Kobe beef fried rice was sweet and tender and disappeared quickly.
Sea bass over roasted cauliflower was a standout. Topped in shredded apples and tossed with grapefruit, it was such a bright contrast to the smokey sweet favors of the fish. This is a must-eat. I mean it. Go there and order it and eat it and tell me how good it was so I can enjoy it again vicariously.
Lastly, tiny baby soft serve ice creams. Rice Krispy treats flavor, and Snickers bar flavor. They make 2 different favors every day, and we got a selection of both. Adorbs. And small enough to find room for after all that food.
If you can make it here during happy hour, they have some of the best food deals in the city. Just sayin.
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| Chicken bao buns |
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| Lamb satay |
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| Beef tenderloin over cold rice noodles |
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| Short rib lo mein |
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| Kobe beef fried rice |
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| Mini soft serves |
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| Rice Krispy treat mini cone |
Sigur Ros was ethereal. Perfect for an outdoor concert in the summertime. I hope a lot of you got to enjoy their show at the Prospect Park bandshell on Tuesday. Their opener, though, Perfume Genius, sounded too much like a sad bullying scene from Glee, and had a firm stance against songs over 2 minutes long, to the point that most of them seemed to cut off abruptly in mid verse at around 1:50. You could have made a drinking game out of it. Or, you know, whatever that smell was wafting in the air...
-SdJ
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| Perfume Genius. Feel their pain in two minutes or less. |
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