Dining Out : Congee Village NYC - Allen Street

Sharing one of our favorite cantonese restaurant in Chinatown, NYC.

Congee Village 

100 Allen St, New York, NY 10002

(212) 941-1818

Manila Clams with Black bean garlic sauce

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 Garlicky Chinese Broccoli..great greens and to freshen up the palette .. 

only if you can avoid the whole fried garlic..

Crispy wonton noodle with soy sauce, chives and bean sprout ...excellent with hot sauce

Ginger Scallions stir fry whole lobster .. so good!

Salt and pepper calamari .... very good tender squid ..wish it was less oily. 

Along with these dishes we all shared steamed rice and crab congee.

Will be back with some more next time...

Spaghetti Limone' with Roasted Tomato & Duck Liver Sausage

Spaghetti al limone! Spaghetti al limone!

You won't be able to put down your fork, chopsticks or hands until it is all consumed!

Spaghetti Limone has been on my mind with thoughts on how to spice it up. Went to check out what I had in the fridge that will go well with this dish....

butter, cheese, chinese sausage( duck liver - can be found in most Asian markets)

sweet peas, cherry tomatoes, garlic , lemon

cherry tomatoes cut in half and roasted with salt, pepper and oregano

In a pan heat some butter and olive oil, add garlic and saute until fragrant. Add sausage, peas and the roasted tomatoes, stir for a few minutes ( I added a dash of chicken stock ). Oil will be released from the sausages when heated so be gentle with the olive oil & butter.

When pasta is done, drain and add directly to the pan of sauce, toss with cheese and add the lemon zest and juice, finally top it off with more cheese!

Here we have a nice bowl of spaghetti limone with many lovely flavors. There's the tangy sweetness from the roasted tomatoes/peas/lemon, and a mild saltiness with a hint of wine from the chinese duck liver sausage... .mmmmmmmm slurp!

Pasta Lovers ...you know this is one of your favorites!

Vietnamese Weekend Lunch !

When eating out....
do you have those still moments you feel the warm excitment when your order arrives and want to share with the people that will understand ... well this is especially for you girls who loves vietnemese cooking

Pho with Pig's Trotters and paper thin Brisket and super light rice noodle (not vermicelli)with a side of mint , some greens (shaved fiddle head), bean sprouts , and basil
Serve only on Weekends










Tender Squid with vietnamese lemongrass chili sauce over rice

For starters we had the famous fried spring roll. Summer rolls and Pho noodle soup # 5 is my usual order but this time wanted a change and I am glad i did, you would too..
they are perfect here and you know where......
  Nha Trang One ( 87 Baxter St. Chinatown NY)
Click here for full MENU*

Chinese Pasta Bolognese with Soft Fried Egg

One of my favorite seasons......
I know ( there's only four)
Fall has finally arrived...time to enjoy the crisp autumn air and the warm colors of the fall foliage to come...
And of course ....get out your favorite cardigan , boots , hats and recipes!

Spaghetti Bolognese....one of the world best comfort food especially on a chilly evening. And it is fun putting this dish together, you can recreate this wonderful traditional sauce in a snap!
By keeping the traditional base sauce/ ingredients and if you're not in the mood for beef you can just simply replace it with vegetables, any meat of choice, seafood, shellfish or just the sauce alone and of course top it of with your favorite sharp cheese - parmagiano reggiano and parsley
Buon Appetito!

Here's My Twist - Chinese Bolognese
Ingredients:

• ground turkey + pork ( mix together and marinate with soy sauce , oyster sauce, seasame oil, worchestershire sauce, chinese cooking rice wine )
• asian eggplant + carrot -chopped
• dried shitaki mushroom - soak in water then slice
• crush tomato and paste
• garlic - minced
• onion - chopped
• brown sugar
• milk
• udon noodle
• egg
• parsley

Sauce -
Heat pan, add oil until heated, add onion let it sweat then the garlic until fragrant ( dont let it burn)
add the meat , stir until in bits , remove and put to the side.
Keep the oil and juice in the pan , add the carrots, mushroom and the crush tomato with juice
let it simmer until carrots are cooked.
Time to put the meat back in to the pan, stir in the eggplant, brown sugar,tomato paste and milk. Let it simmer on low flame for a few minutes. Sauce is done!
Noodle -
Japanese udon noodles is what I used for this dish, I like the rice noodle with the savory sauce.
Bring a pot of water to boil add noodles , cook until done ( instruction on the package)
Take your favorite bowl (as it will keep everything together nice and warm)
First put noodle then the bolognese sauce.
You gonna like this one ,topped it off with a nice soft fried egg! ( i think it's a traditional Ng topping) and sprinkle with parsley...
slowly place the fork thru the soft egg and mmmmmm...let it just drown into the lovely bowl of goodness with hints of mushroom, eggplant and the lightness of the rice noodle, .....went for seconds ;)

Nice Soft Fried Egg- heat small pan with oil - medium heat , add egg, when you start seeing the bottom whitening add alittle water and lower the flame , cover ,and let it steam. There ! enjoy.....  

( care to share your recipe...pretty please)