Nanxiang Bun Shop (南翔馒头店／南翔饅頭店).

One of the most memorable food experiences (and one of the few that I recorded) from China was getting Shanghainese soup dumplings, called xiaolongbao, while at the City God Temple in Shanghai, during a trip outside of Nanjing on my study abroad. We waited almost 30 minutes for these little dumplings, but it was well worth the wait.

They sell them in multiples of 16 for about 8 RMB, equivalent to less than $2 USD. We got 32, for a total of 16 RMB, about $2.50 USD. Food in China is so cheap! And what's really great about this is that it is of utmost quality most of the time. This restaurant is the place to get xiaolongbao. Probably the most authentic that you can get in the world.

The dumplings were so fresh, coming from the almost ceiling-high stacks of bamboo steamers. The dumplings were piping hot and we had to be cautious both to not burn ourselves nor loose any of the precious soup on the inside. The skin was so perfect, light in comparison to the heavy wrapping that is used here in the States. The meat inside was perfectly cooked and seasoned. It was such an enjoyable lunch!

I highly encourage you to endure the wait if you ever go to Shanghai. This is a must-have food because this is the origin of xiaolongbao. This is the first place that made it. It was definitely the best soup dumpling I have ever had.

Price: <3<3<3<3<3

Taste: <3<3<3<3<3

Atmosphere: <3<3<3<3<3

Opinion: MUST GO

Nanxiang Bun Shop

85 Yuyuan Road

Huangpu District

Shanghai, China

南翔馒头店

中国，上海，黄浦区，豫园路，85号

Petite Abeille.

Unfortunately, our stay in the city was drawing to a close. Mic was leaving New York to head home to Hong Kong for the summer and from there, she would return to the United States to transfer to Indiana University. To celebrate this bittersweet moment, we had a going away dinner at one of our favorite little spots, Petite Abeille, which is situated right on the edge of the Gramercy neighborhood.

To start our meal off, we ordered two appetizers. Above is the Petite Abeille Crab Cake. It was a very light crab cake, the meat very tender and not chopped, with an excellent crispy crust. The saffron-aioli sauce was tangy, a French twist on tartar sauce, and it complemented the crab cake very well.

The other appetizer that we ordered was the Croquettes de Fromage. The gooey cheese in the middle wrapped in a lightly breaded crust was like a mozzarella stick for grown ups and sophisticated folks. It was simply luxurious.

Roomie, who was feeling dietary, ordered a Salade Mesclun, a salad of mixed seasonal greens, with balsamic vinegar dressing. This was nothing out of the ordinary.

Kitty wanted to try the Petite Salade de Betteraves et Fromage de Chevre, a roasted beets salad with goat cheese and watercress. She complained that it was small, but said that it tasted good.

H wanted to try the Petite Abeille, a cheeseburger with the restaurant's namesake. H was very unhappy about the size of the burger, but that's what you get at some of these higher end restaurants. He didn't complain about the taste, but was also unhappy about the price of the "tiny" burger.

Roomie also got Le Potage du Jour, the soup of the day, which was a chilled gespacho. He seemed indifferent to the soup, but he did say it was refreshing in the warming weather.

Squishy and I shared the Grand-Mère Moules, the steamed pei mussels in a cream beer sauce with essence of bacon. It came in a small pot and we ate out of the pot. The mussels were delicious and tender. The sauce was not as salty as I had expected it to be and it did not overpower the taste of the mussels. It was a well-balanced dish and wins great approval for me for presentation. I must go back there to try their other flavors.

The mussels come with a side of pommes frites, Belgian fries. These were probably some of the best french fries that I have ever eaten in my life. Period. They were so crisp, but were not dry on the inside. They were perfectly sized and had just the right amount of salt. I would go back to this restaurant just to have the fries! That's how good they were.

Dessert soon rolled by after a great meal and we indulged. I got the Crême Brulée. Though good, I actually think that the crême brulée from the Dessert Truck was better. This one was not creamy enough. Even though the taste was good, the texture was off this time.

Squishy got the Fondue de Fraises et Marshmellow au Chocolat, a chocolate fondue with marshmallows and strawberries. This was a fun dessert and it was well presented. The chocolate was warm and rich.

Last, but not least, was the Belgian waffle with chocolate sauce and whipped cream. Mic was in heaven while she was eating this. It was warm and fluffy and the chocolate was decadent.

Overall, the experience in this restaurant is great. The staff is very friendly and the service is excellent. The entries were generally delicious, though I would not stay at the place for dessert. I really liked the ambience in this restaurant. It has really great atmosphere and a great soundtrack playing.

Price: <3<3<

Taste: <3<3<3<3<

Atmosphere: <3<3<3<3<3

Opinion: Highly Recommended

Balthazar.

As our semester living in Manhattan came closer to the end, we all wished to really make one of our food outings really special. Shortly after deciding this, we decided to go to Balthazar in Soho to sample some exquisite French food.

This exclusive restaurant is situated slightly off of Broadway and Lafayette St., but it is quite close to the hustle and bustle of the nearby shops. You can't miss the bright windows which provide you with a view of the warm room within.

We decided to start off with some appetizers. Above is the Chicken Liver and Foie Gras Mousse with red onion confit and grilled country bread. This was the first time that I have ever tried foie gras of any kind and was pleasantly surprised. It had a salty flavor, and you can definitely taste a meat flavor. When spread on the crisp toast, it was a nice match, the cold spread contrasting with the warm and toasty bread.

The other appetizer that we ordered was the Escargots in garlic butter. The snails were so tender and the flavor of the garlic was wonderful. I mean, what's not to like? The critters were sitting in butter and garlic. A great way to start the meal.

Mic's friend Al got the monkfish, which was wrapped in strips of bacon. Though small, Al said that the fish was tender and the bacon flavor permeated through the fish, though, not overpowering it. He approved of the dish.

M got the Steak au Poivre with spinach and pommes frites. The steak was very tender and the sauce complemented the flavor of the meat very well, according to M.

W got the grilled brook trout. The fish, with the crisp skin, was extremely moist and the warm potatoes beneath were tender and delicious.

Mic got the Roasted Cod with gigante beans, onions, tomato, and basil. Mic had meant to order something else, but picked the wrong thing on the menu. Likewise, though the fish tasted good, she felt that it was a little dry and needed a sauce of some kind.

Squishy and I both got the Steak Frites with béarnaise sauce. The steak was alright, but I felt that it was a little too charred, with the burnt parts taking away from the steak. Overall, it was tender, but the char was disappointing. The fries were crispy and yummy and the tart béarnaise sauce was a great accompaniment to the steak.

H got the Duck Confit with crispy potatoes, wild mushrooms, and frisée salad. H never had eaten duck before this moment and he praised the dish, stating that the crisp skin of the duck encased the moist flesh below. He enjoyed this dish very much.

Overall, this was our foray into fine French cuisine. It would be a rare occasion for us, so we savored the moment. The service in this restaurant was excellent and food was superb, for the most part. It is definitely a place to check out because you might even spot celebrities if you're lucky.

Price: <3

Taste: <3<3<3<3

Atmosphere: <3<3<3<3

Opinion: Recommended

Dessert @ Big Daddy's.

Following our hummus excursion, we still craved dessert. We wanted something simple, because we weren't that hungry. Diner dessert was thus conveniently located down the block at Big Daddy's.

I got the "She's My Cherry Pie," a la mode. The pie was tasty, but you could definitely tell that it was simple reheated. The crumbs on top were disappointingly soggy, but it still tasted great. The tartness of the cherries contrasted very well with the sweetness of the whipped cream and vanilla ice cream. The portion, here, was also perfect. As seen in some of my previous posts on Big Daddy's, there could be potential for huge portions at this popular New York City eatery.

Mic and Roomie wanted to experiment this time around. They contemplated intensely about what they could do. Waffles and ice cream came to mind. So they ordered a Belgian waffle, which is picture above. The waffle was fresh and fluffy, and Roomie proceeded to slather butter all over the face of the waffle.

The waffle would soon be combined with the "Big Daddy," a sundae of three scoops of ice cream, with marshmallow fluff, hot fudge, Oreo cookies, and whipped cream. They chose to have coffee ice cream. When combined with the warm and buttery waffle, it was sinful bliss. The contrast of warm and cold is always exciting and rewarding for our taste buds.

So we were finally able to sample the dessert at Big Daddy's. Usually, after a huge burger and tots, one could not fathom ordering dessert at Big Daddy's. Luckily, however, we were able to give it a try. As always, we were greatly satisfied.

Price: <3<3<

Taste: <3<3<3<3

Atmosphere: <3<3<3<3

Opinion: Now, Recommended for Dessert

Big Daddy's

in Upper East Side

1596 2nd Ave. (at 83rd St.)

(212) 717-2020

Hummus Kitchen.

On a surprisingly warm evening in early March, Mic, Volatile, Roomie, and I had a free evening to grab dinner, so we ventured out to further explore our new temporary home of the Upper East Side. We wanted to eat a place that had outdoor seating, so we looked at the various menus outside the restaurants along 2nd Ave. After very contented debate, we all agreed to go to Hummus Kitchen. After all, all four of us are pretty much well-versed in the tasting of hummus and this restaurant also opened up two weeks earlier. It was in need of a taste test!

We first started off with appetizers. This here is the Bureka, a puff pastry stuffed with feta cheese, eggplant, and dry tomato. It was very flaky and fresh with a very moist filling. It was buttery and crunchy. What's not to like, right?

Volatile loves feta cheese and is a vegetarian, so she had to order the Shredded Feta Cheese & Beets. The size of the dish was very disappointing because we all wanted a little bit, but overall, it was fresh and tasty.

Roomie, our resident health nut, got the Super Healthy Salad, a salad of quinoa, apricot, walnuts, and yogurt served on butternut squash. He said that it was really good and consumed it quite quickly.

Lastly, Mic wanted to try the falafels, so she ordered them. These were really good. They were really crisp and fresh and delicious.

For dinner entree, I ordered the Mushroom Hummus, fresh hummus with sauteed mushrooms finished off with olive oil drizzled over the plate. The hummus was warm and fresh, not too salty and combined very well with the spices from the mushrooms. It was nice to eat this, being that it was pretty cool outside.

You can't have hummus without warm pita bread to dip into the hummus. This regular bread was warm and refreshing, but I do believe that they charged us for extra bread. They do get points, however, for it coming to the table fast!

Overall, this was a very simple and healthy dinner. The food was fresh and the service was fast. The outdoor seating was beautiful on the wide street of 2nd Ave. I would say that the best place to have an outdoor restaurant experience would be in this area of the Upper East Side. Unfortunately, with the current construction of the 2nd Ave. Subway line, outdoor seating is no longer present along this stretch of 2nd Ave. In the future, hopefully we could all enjoy outdoor seating in this neighborhood again. For now, we'll just have to enjoy the food on the inside.

Price: <3<3<3

Taste: <3<3<3<3

Atmosphere: <3<3<3<3

Opinion: Recommended

Hummus Kitchen

in Upper East Side

1613 2nd Ave. (between 83rd & 84th Streets)

(212) 988-0090

Cafe Español.

Thanks to fellow foodies Roomie and AM, we were able to begin to sample some more expensive fare with the use of discount coupons! After dreaming about really good paella, we ventured on down to Cafe Español to sample there well-known paella.

We started off with fresh green olives. They were soaking in fresh olive oil and were very tasty. The flavor was smooth and slightly sour and salty, just how a good olive should be.

A very simple bread basket full of soft bread great with a smidgen of butter.

Our paellas came with a complementary salad of fresh greens. It was very cool and refreshing. It was also a huge portion!

These are Champinones Rellenos, or stuffed mushrooms. It was presented to us in a cast-iron platter and it was sizzling hot. The mushrooms were fresh and the stuffing was not too salty, very good for a dish that too often salted too heavily.

Next we got sauteed octopus. It was very good. The meat was not chewy, as I had expected it to be, but was rather firm and tender. It was nicely accented with garlic.

This is the Paella Marinara, paella with mussels, shrimp, scallops, and clams. H and Mic split this dish and said that it was good, though salty.

Here is the Paella Valenciana, paella with scallops, mussels, shrimp, clams, sausage, and salmon. The rice was very moist and had sweet peas spread throughout. The seafood was fresh, though I am not a big fan of gritty shellfish, sometimes. The salmon, however, was quite dry and I did not finish it. I was hoping that the salmon would be as moist as the accompanying rice. The whole dish, in general, was extremely salty for my taste and was, in the end, very disappointing.

After suffering through over-salted entrees, we hoped that the dessert would save the meal. Thankfully, the dessert was actually quite good. Here is the flan, which came with dollops of fresh whipped cream. The flan was very smooth and creamy and the caramel sauce was perfect.

Here are churros, dusted with powdered sugar, with a chocolate fondue. The churros were crispy and, when dipped in rich chocolate, they were so good. A great combination of chewy, crunchy, and soft textures and sweet and salty tastes.

Last, but not least, was the Tres Leches, a cake that is soaked in three different kinds of milk. I thought that this was quite good, but H said that he has had better tres leches before.

Overall, I was quite disappointed by this meal. I was expecting the paella to be better than it turned out to be. The dessert save the meal, slightly, but I do not know if I'd return to this place. Their menu, however, is vast, with many other options besides paella. If another coupon were to arise, I will perhaps return to Cafe Español.

Price: <3<3<

Taste: <3<3<3

Atmosphere: <3<3<3<3

Opinion: OK to try

Picnic Garden.

Not too long after he consumed 5 pounds of curry rice, Roomie was craving a new food challenge. The food had to be good and it had to be worth the money. I forgot who it was that originally proposed to go to Picnic Garden, but whoever that was, I thank them so much for mentioning the place!

There is a wide range of selections that this buffet offers. Not only do they have trays of raw goodies waiting to be grilled, but they also have various Korean banchan specialties, such as kimchi and gimbap (seen above), as well as hot soups and steamed dumplings. On the plate above is kimchi, gimbag, korean potato salad, sauteed spinach, cucumber kimchi, and lettuce kimchi. All of the kimchi varieties were very fresh and well-spiced.

On the grill here is some bulgogi, or thinly sliced and marinated beef. it cooked pretty quickly and was excellent when wrapped in fresh romaine lettuce leaves with a grilled clove of garlic and some spicy sauce.

Here, we have some chicken cooking. The chicken, as with all of the other meat, was marinated. After cooked, it was very tender and with a sweet, yet slightly spicy taste to it.

Basket of freshly-washed romaine lettuce leaves. The staff diligently paid attention to our bowls and replenished them, as well as coming around with shears to cut our meat on the grill and place new meat on if the grill was empty.

This the bowl of dipping sauce that I was using. It was spicy and garlicky and I added some chilies to try to make it more spicy, but it didn't really have an affect in the end.

Lastly, here is a plate of raw meat, waiting for an open spot on the grill.

Overall, this place is great. The marinades that they use are very fresh and the service is attentive. The staff is helpful and watches your grill like a hawk. The only thing I can complain about is that you will come out smelling like barbeque after this experience. There are vents above the grills, but the amount of grilling that you are doing cannot be handled by the fans. Wear clothes you don't mind getting smelly on these days and bring a date that would want you to smell of meat.

Price: <3<3<3<

Taste: <3<3<3<3

Atmosphere: <3<3<3<

Opinion: Recommended