Asian – Page 2

Do Hwa
55 Carmine St
New York, NY 10014
(212) 414-1224
Official Site

Ask any person on the streets of New York City for a Korean restaurant and you would most likely be directed to Flushing Queens or Koreantown (aka K-Town) in Midtown Manhattan since these areas have the highest demographic of Korean population and businesses. I’ve never been to Flushing and quiet frankly the food at K-Town although not bad, just doesn’t do it for me. However there are a few Korean restaurants that have successfully ventured out from those areas. One such restaurant is Do Hwa in the West Village. Located on Carmine Street, this restaurant along with the neighborhood’s eclectic food scene makes the West Village a buffet of restaurants.

Do Hwa caught my eye while walking along Carmine Street after having dinner at a nearby restaurant. I was intrigued by the happy hour special on blackboard outside so I decided to take a peek. The place is dim, loud and caters mostly to the hip and trendy West Village crowd. Unlike restaurants in K-Town, there were very few Korean diners which lead me to question the authenticity of the cuisine. But other than the hot dog, pizza and the bagel, is there any niche food that’s a 100 percent authentic in NYC? Please let me know.

If one is into spicy food this the place to dine. One such spicy dish is the Dak Teegim crispy boneless fried chicken drizzled with jalapeno pepper sauce. Seasoned to perfection, it is juicy and soft while the jalapeno pepper sauce provided the right kick of spiciness. Starter dishes like the Dubu Junpan – seared organic tofu, scallion vinaigrette, and the Mak Gooksu cold buckwheat noodles topped with sesame kimchi, are pretty solid appetizers. The Dubu Jun seared tofu has a great soft texture and the Mak Gooksu has a sweetness that worked well with the kimchi. You are given 2 options with entrees – either with a grill, where guests can cook it on their own – served as a Ssam dish accompanied with chilli and miso sauces and other condiments like kimchi and vegetables; and the other option is already cooked by the kitchen. On one of my visits I went for the grill and had the Dak Gui chicken barbecue (thin breast slices) in sesame marinade; and the Seywoo Gui grill, peel and large shrimp with chili dipping sauces. The shrimps were fresh and so was the chicken. I also had the cooked in the kitchen Dak Gui which was very good with a very “far eastern” taste of mild sauces. Entrées are accompanied by condiments of cooked and pickled vegetables in small plates that can be a meal on its own.

The specialty drinks at Do Hwa is as good as the food. Such drinks were the Ginger Cinnamon Tea with Bourbon, where the bourbon dominated the taste while the flavor of the ginger tea complemented in the background; and the Jalapeno Margarita with pineapple and agave – which is spicy with the jalepeno and salt fusion and yet sweet with the agave and pineapple – a perfect combination.

The simple but chic décor along with its trendy staff of women gives the restaurant a hip setting. The dining room is dominated by black and white hollow block walls, concrete floors throughout and black wooden tables (some with a grill) partnered with black wooden chairs. While a white wall in the middle with Korean designs that plug the squarish cut out of the wall serves as a separator between the dining room and the bar area. At the bar guest can enjoy creative libations on the black wooden bar table where the paint is slowly chipping away showing the natural color of the wood. The happy hour menu is written on the wall and various movies are continuously showing in the bar area’s wall.

Before I began exploring the gastronomic beauty that this city has to offer I was a closed minded diner and would always think that if an ethnic restaurant is not in its own neighborhood, the food must not be good. Now, for me there are two types of foods, one that tastes good and one that tastes bad. Although Do Hwa may not serve the most authentic Korean cuisine and caters more to non-Korean diners, the food is still good and the atmosphere is enjoyable. Do Hwa is sure to offer a home cooked meal served family style that will leave you satisfied and more.

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LAUT
15 E 17th St
New York, NY 10003
(212) 206-8989
Official Site

I have passed by Laut restaurant on 17 Street between Broadway and 5th many evenings and there has always been a crowd. Based on the crowd my first thought was, the food must be amazing. But I thought I knew better having waited for an hour on line – in the cold -to eat at a trendy brunch spot that turned out to be just ok. However, curiosity got the better of me so I gave in and followed the crowd. Little did I know that Laut is a Michelin star restaurant and the cheapest one out of the group. As it turned out the food was worth the wait. This has become one of my favorite places for intensely flavor rich Malaysian food.

The dining room of Laut can be a bit loud, full of men and women in suits, love birds on a date and students from nearby NYU. At any given night the music of Jay-Z, Usher and Bruno Mars can be heard blasting through their speakers. If you prefer a quiet dinner or lunch, this is not it. The loudness of the place gives it the essence of an Asian street eatery. Unlike most restaurants, there is no separate bar for drinks, Laut is strictly for dining. The restaurant’s interior is designed with exposed red brick walls, art work created with colored chalk and paint, and high ceilings in patterned copper. The tables are topped with marble and are accompanied by unpadded wooden chairs. A burnished wooden 2 by 4 resting horizontally next to a wall serves as a bench. At the back of the restaurant is an unmanned sushi bar with a gong hanging above. I’ve been to this restaurant on multiple occasions and I’ve never seen a sushi chef nor diners at the sushi bar; maybe they served sushi there in the past? Who knows?

Though Laut serves Malaysian cuisine the menu has a Pan-Asian touch. The food here is flavor rich with the exotic accents Asian cuisine is known for. The spices, sweet and sour are all packed in the dishes creating an explosive taste that has earned them a Michelin Star for two consecutive years (2011 and 2012). Starter dishes like the Satay Chicken, marinated and grilled on a skewer (combined with peanut sauce dip) are deliciously bathed in spices. The Roti Cani crispy thin pancake, chicken and curry sauce was also very tasty. Savory entrées like the Pineapple Chicken made with lemongrass, galangal, turmeric, ginger, coriander, bell pepper, onion, chili, shrimp paste, tamarind juice; and the Nasi Lamak with chicken, made with coconut rice, chili shrimp, chicken curry, pickled, veggie, chili, onion, anchovies, peanut and cucumber packed an incredible combination of ingredients that complement each other well. The fried anchovies in the Nasi Lamak is reminiscent of Filipino food, for which I’m well acquainted. You will be overcome by the sublime taste of the Laut Nasi Kerabu, filleted fish served in banana leaf. Unfortunately that dish was only served during the Malaysian restaurant week event. Noodle soup dishes like the Asam Laksa with Malaysia traditional spicy sour, thick lemongrass, fish flake, gravy onion, cucumber, pineapple and shrimp paste is one to behold. The flavors from all the spices can be tasted from every angle and in each bite – this dish alone is worth the trip. If there was one negative about Laut it would be the dessert. Don’t get me wrong it’s good, but I would rather pass. Most Asian restaurants are not commonly known for their desserts; but with all the amazingly flavored food, who needs dessert?

Laut is not as fancy as the rest of its Michelin Starred counterparts but the draw is the cuisine’s exotic mix of rich flavors. I’ve dined here numerous times and every meal has always been great. So don’t get turned off when you see people outside the restaurant waiting to be seated, try it like I did and you might actually like this place. By the way did I mention that the food here is very affordable? You truly get more bang for your bucks.

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