Joe's Stone Crabs

   Special of the Day - King Crab Leg grilled with garlic and Aioli

    View of the table

       Star of the meal... Jumbo Stone Crab Claws!

       Joe's Stone Crab
       We were in Miami recently to attend one of my good friend's wedding. While you're in Miami,
        you have to try Joe's Stone Crab. It's a Miami institution and the oldest restaurant in Miami. We
        went for lunch before the Wedding Ceremony and there were people already waiting for
        the door to open. Since it's a huge restaurant, we were seated promptly and we ordered right
        away! The waiter highly recommended their special of the day, which was the King Crab Leg
        grilled with garlic and aioli. So we decided to get jumbo Stone Crabs and their special.  Jumbo
        Stone Crabs were so meaty and the King Crab Leg was probably the largest crab leg that I ever
        saw yet so delicious! They were both pricey, but definitely worth the price!

Chef Yu's brunch

 
    Smoked Alaskan Red Salmon Brunch
    Our good friends Peter and Su are excellent cooks and often invites us for dinners and brunches.
    A couple of weeks ago, they prepared an amazing spread with Alaskan Red Salmon from his
    hometown. This was probably the best smoked salmon I've ever tasted. It'll be hard to go back to
    packaged ones. To finish the brunch, we brought over a few slices of heaven from
    Lady M.

   

Simple desserts in a cozy cafe

    Chocolate Velvet Cake

    Double Chocolate Chip Cookie (very chewy)

   Cafe Minerva
   Yesterday, I braved the blizzard to get a haircut in Chelsea. While I'm down there, I decided to
   spend the afternoon at Cafe Minerva in West Village. We live in Upper East side so I rarely come
   all the way down to West Village, but when I do, I like to hang out in this Cafe. They have great
   menu offering small bites to good sized entrees. I often come just for a cup of coffee and sweets.
   This time, I ordered a chocolate velvet cake and chewy double-chocolate chip cookie. Both
   delicious, of course!
  

A perfect meal in the blizzard

  
    Hakata TonTon
    We stumbled upon Hakata Tonton a couple of months ago in West Village. It's a very small
    Japanese Hotpot restaurant in West Village area, but since it's very popular, either you have to
    make a reservation in advance or wait in a long line. I made a reservation about 3 weeks in
    advance, and finally we got to try their HotPot! We had the spicy one, and it was as delicious as we
    expected. At the end of the meal, you can order a bibimbap where they mix in white rice with an
    egg in the left over broth... That was a perfect way to end a great meal~

Back to back brunch date

 

    A fresh cup of Coffee and Croissant

    French onion soup

    Salad with roasted butternut squash, feta cheese and lemon vinaigrette

    Croque Madame

    2 scrambled eggs and smoked ham

    Maison Kayser
    The French bakery, Maison Kayser opened it's first NYC based bakery/cafe in Upper East side this
    past Summer. There are two sections, the full service cafe and the bakery where you can purchase
    freshly baked breads, pastries and cakes. When we got there, there were lots people waiting to be
    seated, but the wait wasn't too bad. The tables are quite small and very close to each other, but the
    service is great and the food is excellent! We liked it so much that we went back for another brunch
    the next day. Above is a compilation of food that we had in both days.

One of our favorite sushi spot!

    Squid Tempura

    Kobucha Squash Tempura

    Special sushi

    Salmon with warm tomato and onion sauce

    Toro with daikon

    Seared toro

    Sushi of Gari
    This is one of our favorite go-to Sushi restaurant in NYC. There are number of excellent Sushi
    spots in NYC, but I think Gari does it the way we like to eat our Sushi - traditional with a twist. I
    think this is a great place to do Omakase (chef's choice), but for tonight, we just wanted to order a
    few pieces that we love and then we ordered a la carte. I'm not a huge fan of salmon, but their
    salmon with warm tomato and onion sauce sushi just melts in your mouth... and of course, Toro
    with daikon and seared Toro is a must! I have to say that it's definitely pricey for just a everyday
    dinner, but if you have a special occasion and want to try good sushi, I would recommend
    Omakase from Sushi of Gari.

A lovely Sunday Brunch

    JoJo
    I had such a lovely Sunday Brunch with my girlfriend L, who was in town for the weekend. Jojo
    is a cute and elegant spot in the Upper East Side which is also chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten's
    first NYC restaurant. They offered, Brunch Pri-Fixe or a la carte on the menu. We decided to order
    something from their a la carte options. I had Smoked Salmon with Potato Cakes and L had the
   Eggs Benedict with Smoked Salmon. To finish off the brunch, we shared a Warm Chocolate Cake
   with Vanilla ice cream. Overall, the food was delicious and we had a great service. This would be a
   nice place to come for a romantic dinner or leisurely brunch with your girlfriend on a lazy Sunday.