Ruby's Cafe

Ruby's Cafe has grown to be one of my favorite spots in NYC – an Australian restaurant just as Dudley's but without the bad service.  Yes, Dudley's has horrible service, so I'd recommend Ruby's over Dudley's. 

This was only my second time at Ruby's but I fell in love after my first visit and am still in love after my second.  The first time, my friend and I ordered the Creamy Chicken Pasta – rigatoni, sun dried tomatoes & cream for $13.50 and the Chicken Schnitzel Salad – bibb lettuce, sweet chilli & mustard dressing for $14.  I am a huge pasta fanatic (if I had to pick only one food to eat for the rest of my life I would choose pasta) and this pasta was BOMB. It was so damn good. The chicken schnitzel was also super tasty. We also ordered a side of truffle fries because you can't go to an Australian restaurant without ordering a side of truffle fries because they are scrumptious as hell.  I've tried it at Dudley's and there it's a bit more sour + mustard-y but at Ruby's the mustard flavor is a bit more subtle, which is more to my liking. The piece of chicken they give is also quite generous.

My second time here we ordered the Spicy Italian Sausage Pasta – rigatoni, baby peas, tomato sauce for $13.50 and their crispy rice dish (not sure of the name because I don't see it on the website).  I think crispy rice is an Australian thing because I've tried it at Dudley's as well. It's a bit sour because of the sauce used but it's a very light dish, minus the enormous block of (halloumi?) cheese that I mistaken for a piece of chicken.  The spicy sausage pasta was not as good as the creamy chicken one but it was still delicious. I can't wait to go back to try new dishes because they haven't let me down!

The set-up of the restaurant is super simple yet cute and the service is great. I think a requirement to work at Ruby's is to be Australian because all the hosts/waiters I've encountered have an awesome Australian accent! I highly recommend this restaurant, mates! ;)

australia dairy company

Two macaroni + ham in soup combo with egg + toast

One HK style french toast

Pretty much every Hong Kong style cafe/restaurant will offer different sets for breakfast, we call it A-chaan, B-chaan, etc. which will come with a main dish and a side of eggs or toast or both!

Australia Dairy Company is a well-known food spot in Hong Kong; I've seen food blogs about it and friends' social media posts.  When I posted my photo on Instagram, several people left comments with enthusiasm.  On google it says that the place opens at 7:30AM. With Hong Kong being our first stop on our Asia adventure, we were super jetlagged waking up at <6:00am every day.  On the day we decided to go to Australia Dairy Company, we were up and ready by 7.  The restaurant was roughly a ten minute walk from our hotel.  With our long journey from our hotel room to the streets and then crossing the infamous Hong Kong pedestrian tunnels, we made it to Australia Dairy Co. at around 7:15.  We thought we would be waiting for it to open, but as we approached it, the gate was half open but the restaurant was already almost full. So I highly suggest going there even before opening time because they will be opened. When we got seated, there were still several tables left, but by 7:30 the whole place was completely full.

We ordered our macaroni with ham and within 30 seconds, the dishes came out. Our waiter didn't even relay the order to the kitchen.. We were amazed and shocked. It was awesome though.  The efficiency and speed of Asians was honestly so amazing, not only in Hong Kong but throughout our whole trip. I'm a fan of macaroni in soup and the one here was SOOOO good; the broth was creamier than any I've tasted. There were a lot of positive reviews about their egg, but to me it was too runny, I like my eggs more cooked. Hong Kong french toast. Amazing. I've never tried it before I got there and we had it every time we had breakfast. The one at Australia Dairy Co. was definitely my favorite though and I tried four or five different ones! (If you live in NYC, specifically Queens, teashop near Francis Lewis High School serves HK style french toast and it's obviously not as good as HK but it's still delicious. I'm sure places in Chinatown have but I haven't tried any yet.) Hong Kong style french toast >> American french toast, sorry America.  Our meal was also very inexpensive; when converted everything was probably $13-$15 (we also ordered 2 egg puddings and 3 drinks not shown.)

eats | kang ho dong baekjoung

This is hands down my favorite korean BBQ spot. As of 2015, I've been there about 10 times and it's only April.. who knows how many times I'll eat there in the upcoming months.  

When I come I usually get the small beef combo, which includes thinly sliced brisket, marinated boneless short rib & prime boneless short rib or prime rib eye. My favorite is their galbi (marinated boneless short rib, shown in the first photo) it is bomb dot com. They give a universal dipping sauce, the bowl with the onions in it and wasabi on the edge, which you can dip every type of meat in. They give you a medium sized bowl with bean sprouts and some green veggie, chives? green onion? and I'm not a fan of either but mixed with the red paste, the dipping sauce, and the beef.. oh my, it's delicious. Writing about it is making me salivate. They also give you a choice of a free side and we always get soy bean paste stew, doesn't sound too appealing, but I tried it here for the first time and I've been getting it every time since! Steamed egg, corn + cheese, and peppers are given with your meal!

Yesterday, I got my fix of Kang Ho Dong, and we decided to try something new: the pork combo which consists of premium pork jowl, premium seared pork belly & marinated pork cellar or thinly sliced spicy pork belly.  We all had absolutely no clue what a jowl was, but with Google, we found out it was the cheek of a pig. I felt a little uncomfortable eating it knowing it was a cheek. It was alright, but I don't know, I wouldn't eat it again. The premium seared pork belly, better known as sam gyup sal, was obviously delicious. Then they cooked our thinly sliced spicy pork belly in the kitchen, and it was pretty tasty!  It was nice to try something new, but I think I'm going to stick to the beef combo or order the meats separately because I would not want to eat pork jowl again.

I highly recommend this place, although it's on the pricier side, it's delicious and it's always important to splurge every once in a while for some good food! The one I always go to is on Northern Blvd in Queens; there's also one in K-town but I have never been, or even seen that location. 

food | eggs, potatoes, and fish tacos

Not only do I look forward to the weekends because of no school, but I also get to indulge in delicious food, especially brunch.  Thought I would share some pictures of what I ate this weekend because I don't go a meal without taking a picture (unless I'm home).  I love yelping, and I love going on food adventures with my friends.  

1. Cafeteria [located in Chelsea]: I've been wanting to try this spot for a while now but never got the chance until Evelyn and I found an art exhibit in Chelsea so I thought why not!  Originally, I wanted to try the Mac Attack, which is a sampler with three different types of mac n' cheese, because I love mac n' cheese.  Then I found out they had eggs benedict, and let's be real.. eggs benedict over everything.  I was a little disappointed at first because they only had smoked salmon or florentine benedict; I was expecting canadian bacon or some type of meat.  I settled for the smoked salmon, and I didn't regret it one bit.  I've tried smoked salmon from Clinton St. Baking Co. and I wasn't really a fan so I was a little skeptical, but this one was actually really delicious.  I also ordered the blackberry lemonade, it was good, but a little too sour for my liking.

2. Le Peep [located in Edison, NJ]: Two days in a row of eggs benedict, my tastebuds sure were happy this weekend!  However, this dish didn't have as much flavor as an eggs benedict dish should so I wasn't as satisfied since I ate such a delicious brunch the day before.  The hollandaise sauce was a bit less flavorful than any benedict I've eaten.  I probably should have stuck to the classic eggs benedict instead of getting the crab cake one.  

3. Potatopia:  I've passed by this multiple times due to its location near Umami Burger (yum) and I've never thought to go in until Saturday while in Jersey.  On the menu is a list of the form of potatoes you wish to have, tater tots, curly fries, smashed, baked, etc.  You can customize your order from scratch, but there are also pre-made menu options, while still customizing to your particular liking.  We got the Curly Sue and it was so. good.  If you're ever around one I suggest you try it! Their sauces are super flavorful and they have a good variety. 

4. The Grey Dog [located in multiple NYC locations]: Fish tacos are usually my go-to type of tacos, and I've read good reviews about the baja fish tacos from this spot.  The dish comes with three fish tacos, each having two pieces of fish, a small salad, and sauce for the tacos (tastes a bit like chipotle mayo? which I love.)  The portion size is pretty generous and I get full off of two tacos, but then again I don't eat a lot in one sitting.  While some places have 20% fish and 80% batter, I would say The Grey Dog's fish to batter ratio is maybe 60% fish 40% batter, still a lot of batter but it works and isn't overwhelming.  The taco + the sauce = party in your mouth especially if you love chipotle mayo.  

Food is life.

food | happy thanksgiving!

b r u s s e l  s p r o u t s

s t r i n g  b e a n  c a s s e r o l e

c o r n

h a s s l e  p o t a t o e s

t u r k e y

t u r k e y ✕ p l a t a n o s ✕ y u c a  f r i e s

s p a n i s h  s p a g h e t t i

m y  p l a t e

d e s s e r t  s h o o t e r s

p i l l s b u r y  c o o k i e s

c h i n e s e  d e s s e r t s

I hope all of you are super stuffed from your Thanksgiving dinners, I sure am!  The one day where it's okay to stuff your face.  There was way too much food tonight, but everything was so good.  My family has some Dominican background so that's why we have platanos, yuca, and spanish-style spaghetti (which is one of my fave dishes ever).  My mom preordered the turkey from Popeyes, yeah I didn't know they sold turkeys either, but once a year on Thanksgiving they do.  My grandpa and my great-uncle are both chefs, so they cooked most of the food.  We had our turkey "peking duck" style, so we had the white bread, put a slice of turkey in it, put some cucumber, and then hoisin sauce.  The turkey was too dry for my liking, I don't think we're ever gonna have turkey for Thanksgiving again.  For dessert we had shooters from a nearby bakery called Teaspoon, pillsbury holiday cookies, and some fried chinese desserts -- some filled with peanuts, some filled with vegetables, and yeah I don't really know what else but anything fried is always good. 

Super stuffed right now, but I'll probably be hungry in two hours.

Thankful for my family, friends, and everything positive in my life.

Happy Thanksgiving!