A NYC classic - Nom Wah Tea Parlour (and some dodgy deserts)

Another day in New York, and there was much more exploring to be done. On the only really sunny day of the holiday, we decided to walk around Manhattan with my Mum's friend Jess and her daughter Emma, both who know the city like the back of their hands. Starting off the lovely park Washington Square, we soaked up some April rays and people-watched as many chose to lunch al fresco in the park. We, however, had our own lunch agenda and headed off to Chinatown to Nom Wah Tea Parlour - New York city's oldest dim sum house.

It may not look grand, but here lies the finest dim sum in all the land...

Outside it doesn't look like much, and you get the feeling it hasn't seen much redecoration in its 95 years of existence. But that, along with the less than friendly wait staff, is all part of the charm of this Chinatown institution. Arriving hungry and excited to try as much as we could, we fired off the orders.

Steamed Chinese vegetables in oyster sauce, aubergines stuffed with shrimp paste, snow pea and shrimp dumplings and salt & pepper prawns

Dumplings were a must, and we opted for an array of fish, meat and veggie. The shrimp & snow pea dumplings were potentially my favorite, although they were all pretty damn tasty. The salt and pepper squid was another stand out dish for me. And no picking off the skin or head- I ate every part and loved it. One thing I liked less were the taro balls we had ordered, but more on taro later.

Steamed taro balls and my personal order of chicken feet

Being the offal lover I am, I ordered a portion of chicken feet for the table to share. Turned out they were just for me, as no one actually fancied giving them a go. It's a shame, as my mum even said they smelt really good, but I think the idea of eating a chicken's extremities isn't for everyone. I, on the other hand, really enjoyed them - they came steamed in a black bean sauce and were delicious!

Sucking on ma chicken feet

This lunch was one of my stand-out favorite meals of the trip. The restaurant had a great atmosphere, and I liked that it wasn't in the least bit fancy or pretentious, despite how highly praised it is. In the past I've never been keen on Chinese food, always winding up feeling quite ill after eating it. However now I have learnt the difference between a dodgy chicken chow mein from a chippie in Leeds and an authentic, traditional dim sum meal, I'll be sure to eat it again.

Not quite finished eating just yet, we glanced at the dessert options: fried sesame balls and some almond cookies. We passed this up, and headed to the traditional Chinese bakery Fay Da, which was recommended on one of my favorite websites, Serious Eats. 

Now the thing is...I already knew I didn't like Chinese pastries. In my humble opinion, red bean curd has never seemed like an appealing filling for cakes or pastries. I'm also not so keen on taro, the root vegetable which was in my pork dumpling at lunch, and also seems to worm its way into a lot of Chinese sweets. 

Taro Puff, we will not be meeting again.

Therefore why I would feel enticed to buy myself a taro puff, which is just sweet taro puree in a flaky puff pastry casing, is a good question. It is also, perhaps, unsurprising that I did not like it. It's just not a cake as I know it. I'm not quite sure what it is. Good to have tried it, but I think next time I'll just order an extra dim sum and skip the sweet.

Chinatown was a brilliant trip, and I highly recommend the Now Wah Tea Parlour to anyone in NYC. By no means is this the end of my Big Apple bites, so keep reading for what's yet to come - yogurt bars and a goat curry anyone?

New York - I'll take my fried chicken smothered in gravy, with a waffle on the side please

I just got back from the most wonderful holiday. Over the Easter break, the Bidmead girls (myself, my mum and my sister) were drawn to the city the never sleeps for a weeks stay. We explored New York to our heart's content, visiting the many fascinating things the city has to offer, as well as catching up with my mum's childhood friend and her two daughters who live there. It goes without saying that eating an immense amount of delicious, incredible and exciting food formed a large part of our time spent in the big apple too!

Big Yellow taxi in the back, Pretzels to the left...I've landed in NY!

There is no way I could squeeze all the food NY has to offer into one post (let alone my jeans. Yes, I am returning from this holiday slightly larger than I arrived - but that, my friends, is the sign of a holiday well spent). So, here is the first of a few posts on my trip to the Big Apple.

For for our night eating out in the States, we thought we'd do it in traditional, southern-style. We hit up Miss Maude's Spoonbread Too in Harlem, which serves American soul food. Think fried chicken, mac 'n' cheese, cornbread, candied yams... it's hardly healthy, but then who on earth goes on holiday to eat healthy food?

The Sampler- fried chicken, ribs, mac and cheese, collard greens, candied yams, fried shrimp and tartar sauce. I apologise for the bad quality photos! I aim to improve them with a better camera in time.

I went for the Miss Maude's Sampler, described as "A smorgasbord of Southern delights, including shrimp, ribs, chicken and vegetables". It came with collard greens (basically cooked chard), candied yams and mac and cheese. I loved the sweet, cinnamon-y yams with the rich, dark meat, and really enjoyed being able to sample a little bit of each classic dish.

Chicken and Waffles...no I don't get it either. 

I was pleased when our friend Emma ordered the Chicken and Waffles as I'd always wanted to try this, but feared it might not be actually something I really liked. And it turns out I was right. Waffles? Yes. Fried chicken? Absabloodylutely. Put together? Not so much. Next time I'll stick to chicken for my main and waffles for my dessert.

In case these mammoth portions aren't filling you up...try a half price dessert on top of your smothered chicken!

Do you know what smothered chicken is? Perhaps you'd guess it's chicken covered in some kind of sauce. Well...make that sauce gravy, and try deep frying that chicken first. I didn't get any of this in my sampler platter, but my mum's friend Jess ordered a plate, meaning I got to try it. Think of all the flavor of fried chicken, with it's soft tender meat and addictively crispy skin, topped off with spoonfuls of salty, meaty gravy - quite the combination.

Note the scale of this slice of red velvet cake. About 2/3rds the size of my head.

You may be surprised (and impressed) to learn we even managed dessert. We shared a peach cobbler, which is some kind of mix between a pie and a crumble, and a slice of red velvet cake. Both were exceptionally good and I particularly liked the cobbler, with its sweet stewed fruit on the bottom and cakey-buttery crust on top. I always argue that even if you are full from your main, desert is a whole different compartment of the stomach waiting to be fed. It would appear my dinner companions agreed, as we managed to finish both the deserts!
This meal was a hit with everybody, and also very good value considering all the food we managed to consume. I could only imagine what other foodie delights were in store...this truly was only the beginning! Stay posted for some classic New York deli food, dim sum at Chinatown's oldest restaurant, food markets and Trinidadian food in Brooklyn, and a very non-traditional Passover dinner.