NYC, CHINATOWN: Jing Fong

If eating Dim Sum was a sporting event, Jing Fong would be the stadium at which it was held. Upon entering the unassuming Chinatown storefront on Elizabeth street, you immediately ascend two seemingly infinite escalators, which bring you to an ornate dining room the size of a football field. Carts whiz by you carrying shu mai, dumplings, noodles, bbq-ed pork and duck, chicken feet, sesame balls, sticky rice. One of everything please!

Only a portion of the football field-sized dining room

Deep fried chicken feet - Cantonese version of American wingsShrimp and scallion steamed dumplings

Soft, silky tofu

Chicken and vegetable wrapped in rice noodle

Sticky rice with pork and egg...served with a side of sugar! interestingly enough, the perfect compliment

Fried lotus root, rice noodle wrapped shrimp, scallion pancakeDim sum means "to touch the heart", and we all know why.

20 Elizabeth Street, NYC, NY (subway: Canal)

NYC: Doughnut Plant

The son of a baker moved to NYC and opened a doughnut shop. Not just any doughnut shop, but one that sources the best ingredients and magically transforms them into little circles of goodness. With choices including valrhona chocolate, carrot cake, blueberry, tres leches, peanut butter, and creme brulee...you might wanna consider ordering a dozen. After washing them down with a glass of perfectly refreshing but not overly sweet blueberry lemonade, you will surely contract type II diabetes, but at least you'll be on your way to doughnut heaven.

Located in the lower east side

Blackberry jam doughnutCarrot cake doughnutCream cheese frosting incorporated into the interior of the carrot cake doughnut. Pure genius.Blueberry doughnut

Peanut butter doughnuts and blackberry doughnuts

Valrhona chocolate doughnuts

This place is Dough NUTZ!

379 Grand Street NYC, NY (subway: Essex)

Century City: Gulfstream

Gulfstream, owned by Hillstone Restaurant Group (the company which I will begin working for next month!), is a nod to America's classic seafood houses. I could see Don and Betty Draper sliding into a booth here and digging into a plate of oysters, some peel n' eat shrimp, and sipping on a round or two of martinis. Tonight my mother and I were treated to dinner at Gulfstream. As my mother proclaimed: it was a slice of heaven!

A manageable menu with all the classics [Classic Caesar, Fried oysters, Rotisserie chicken, Cedar plank salmon], as well as some twists [Scallops with wild greens, beets, and tomatoes, Braised short rib pavé, and Seared ahi with ponzu]

French Sea Salt makes everything better

A Kettle One Martini + a Cucumber Hendrick's Gin Martini (delicious!)

Grilled artichokes with Creole remoulade:
smoky and charred to perfection, complimented by the creamy remoulade

Peel n' Eat Shrimp:
plump and firm, served with a classic cocktail and remoulade sauce

Classic Caesar:

DROOL. This salad was perfection. Romaine hearts dressed in a dressing bursting with anchovies and saturated (as any correct Caesar should be) with salty, satisfying parmigiano reggiano. Topped with torn ciabatta croutons and corn. So good.

Pork Ribs:

Fall off the bone tender. The ribs are so good because most of the fat has been cooked out, leaving sticky, chewy, tender meat. Slathered with mustardy carolina-style BBQ saucemmm

All behold the Hot Fudge Sundae:
sometimes you just gotta feel like a kid againServed with a literal VAT of chocolate sauce. Made in house.

The artwork perfectly compliments the restaurant's classic retro American feelThank you ^ all for a wonderful meal. And a special thanks to Tambi...what a wonderful evening!

Israel: The Land of Falafel + Shawarma

Some sexy pictures of the falafel and shawarma I sunk my teeth into in Israel...Unlike most falafel you come across in the states (with the exception of Maoz), this falafel's crispy golden fried surface perfectly contrasted its soft, creamy interiorChicken shawarma outfitted with all the fixin's: tomato, cucumber, pickled cabbage, tahini, onions, hummus, and spicy chili sauceAll behold the greatness that is shawarma: strips of meat (in this case, lamb) slowly roasted on a spit, then shaved off into your very own pita.
Remind you of something? Maybe the al pastor a few posts down?

Israel: Bedouin Hospitality

No, these are not stills from Sex and the City II. These are pictures of a Bedouin camp in Israel at which I was lucky enough to stay, complete with camels and tents thatched with palm fronds. Bedouins are a desert-dwelling, seminomadic Arab people who make their home in a multitude of Middle Eastern countries. As it happens, Bedouins make a really mean magluba (see below) and a cup of Turkish coffee that'll wake you right up after a strenuous camel ride through the desert.At the traditional bedouin meal, you eat on pillows as you sit around a large communal platter on which the food is served

Arabic flatbread with tehina (sesame paste), tomato and cucumber salad, and magluba

What is megluba you ask?: a mixture of lamb meatballs, saffron rice with chickpeas, veggies, and potatoesWatch out, they spit!

Jerusalem: Machane Yehuda Market

Yes, Israel is The Land of Milk and Honey, but it is also the land of falafel, shawarma, figs, dates, nuts, spices, turkish coffee, salty bulgarian cheese, creamy hummus, fluffy pita and laffa, flaky rugelach, buttery borek...In other words, the land of Israel is a militant gastronomic force armed with all the right mouth-watering culinary ammunition. Consequentially, this Middle Eastern culinary oasis stole my foodie heart. A man selling the freshest of fish at the bustling Machane Yehuda Market in the heart of Jerusalem.

Buttery, flaky, chocolaty, tender rugelach. SO. FREAKING. GOOD.

Orthodox jam sesh on a אבטיח

An assortment of Halva: sesame paste and sugar based confections

Beautiful loose leaf teas and spices sold at a spice shop near the market

Red and black peppercornsCinnamon sticks and dried mushrooms

Freshly baked Lafa (arabic flatbread)

Dried and cured whitefish