1. Village Yokocho $$
8 Stuyvestant St, NYC(btw 9th st and 3rd Ave), 2nd Floor
Tel: 212 598 3041
(advisable to make reservations in advance)
Introducing my fave Japanese Izakaya in Manhattan - Village Yokocho!!!
Their menu is very extensive featuring lots of yakitori dishes, D-I-Y BBQ and a long sake list to make anyone drunk with joy. Mostly Japanese or Asian clientele with Jap wait staff and cooks. Price is extremely reasonable considering they are near to NYU and in St. Mark's Place where competition is stiff among the many Japanese restaurants. Highlights:
* Unagi-don (one of the best ever, no bones and absolutely fatty fish!)
* Green Tea ice-cream(order 2 scoops at least to make ur trip worthwhile!)
* Mochi ice-cream(Tip: Do NOT share this dessert with anyone but yourself)* Braised pork and daikon
* Grilled cow's tongue
And in wintertime - try their Alaskan King Crab but don't get pinched like Emmanuel did! ;p
2. Zenkichi Modern Japanese Brasserie $$$
77 N. 6th St, Brooklyn, NY 11211
Tel: 718 388 8985 www.zenkichi.com
(reservations a must - very packed place!)
Zenkichi has elevated the notion of the omakase(food-tasting) menu to another level. The front entrance has no signs to indicate what exactly lies behind those wooden walls and one has to be brave(or curious) enough to venture into this unknowing restaurant. Once seated upstairs, the private dining atmosphere has each dining party obscured from the rest with a bamboo blind and quartered seating arrangements. Tip: Good for celebrities who wanna dine without too much recognition or interruptions.
Feeling very chi-chi as you slowly soak up the romance of the place, you can't help but start to feel a warm feeling of foodie anticipation seep into your tummy as you peruse the menu. Ah-hah! Finally! A menu worth risking everything in life for! Feeling adventurous, one can't help but order the omakase menu and just kick back with some sake and wait for the feast to begin.
Highlights:
* Ambience 9/10
* Service 10/10
* Home-made tofu(forget about those supermarket tofu, try this and roll it between your tongue for a sensory experience)
* Fried shrimp with Camembert cheese(can't get enough of this!)
* Sesame Mouse(I'm never a fan of any sesame desserts BUT this simply blew my tongue off)
* Seared beef sushi(as close to kobe beef as you can get in a morsel)
* Since I don't eat sashimi or raw anything, I can't comment on the seared tuna or octopus sashimi but everyone seemed impressed with them.Great to go in a group of 4 to try out the tasting menu. Party of 2 is also great for one of those "special" ocassions. =) Just order lots of sake to make it memorable and then swipe the sesame mousse under your partner's nose without him/her noticing.
3. Sri Praphai Thai Restaurant $
64-13 39th Avenue, Woodside, NY 11377
Tel: 718 899 9599 Open 11.30am - 9.30pm everyday except Wednesday.
If anyone can do Thai any better than these folks, call me. Most Thai restaurants outside of Thailand tend to be merciful to its native customers and usually keep their spices down to almost non-existential in Thai terms. To truly experience how the Thais eat their famously spicy food, Sri Praphai is the temple to go to. Good and fresh food, back-to-basics recipes, and a no pretense intended menu.
Highlights:
* Fried Catfish salad
* Any of their fresh vegetables
* Beef Hor Fun
* Cockle Salad
* I have to go back with a larger group so that we can order more dishes - have yet to sample everything there!
4. Green Papaya Vietnamese Pho & Grill $
Neighborhood: Pacific Beach
1820 Garnet Ave(between Kendall St & Lamont St)San Diego, CA 92109
(858) 273-1664
Hands-down, the BEST pho I have ever eaten(even compared to one of the most famous pho place in Hanoi) and the strongest Viet drip coffee that is guaranteed to wake up the dead. If ever you find yourself in San Diego near to Pacific Beach, this is one place you really shouldn't miss.
Highlights:
* Vietnamese spring rolls
* Beef Pho
* BBQ beef vermicelli
* Viet Drip Coffee with condensed milk
5. Dinosaur Bar-B-Que restaurant $
646 W. 131st St, NY 10027 (corner of 131st and 12th Ave)
Tel: 212 694 1777 www.dinosaurbarbeque.com
This place is ALL about the RIBS. Meat that has been grilled to perfection and literally falls off the bone when you poke it with your knife. The side dish of their BBQ fried rice is so goddamn good I kept swiping it from my husband's plate.
6. Richard Walker's World-Famous Pancake House $
Neighborhood: East Village
550 Front Street(between Island Ave & Market St), San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 231-7777 www.richardwalkers.com/san_diego/
Oh gosh. If you ever wake up feeling starved, you've gotta go here for their GIGANTIC pancakes. Not just any other pancakes, BUT their ridiculously ginormouse oven-baked Apple Pancake drenched in cinnamon glaze that can feed 4 NBA-sized adults. I must say their side order of bacon was absolutely delicious. The American coffee here is rather aromatic and strong too, not the usual weak fare you get everywhere else. I wish they will open a branch here in NYC.
7. Morimoto (Jap Iron Chef's restaurant) $$$
Neighborhood: Manhattan/Chelsea
88 10th Ave New York, NY 10024
(212) 989-8883 www.morimotonyc.com
If not for the to-die-for earl grey infused creme brule dessert, then you've gotta go to this chic restaurant at least once to visit their loos. Oh yes, you read it right. No need to fly to Japan to experience their state-of-the-art toilet bowls with in built ass dryer, music to block out undesirable toilet sounds and all sorts of buttons that will keep you busy for a while.
Dress up for this place - you will wanna look TALL and DELICIOUS here. Trust me.
8. Momofuku $$
171 First Ave, East Village
New York, NY 10003 (212) 475-7899
The pork buns here really kick-ass!!! Open faced steamed buns stuffed with tender, juicy braised pork that reminds me of those buns they serve at funerals back home - please dun be mistaken, I usually attend funerals because of the food they serve, it tastes really good despite the bleak situation. I came here cos I read that chefs around the city usually congregate at this little asian-fusion restaurant to slurp up their ramen. 
So, ramen we did try and my god, this bowl has gotta be one of the most generous ramen I've ever eaten! Usually, ramen served in Jap restaurants are so miserly with their ingredients that you end up with mainly soup and noodles after 3 mouthfuls. My only complaint? Their Momofuku ramen broth was only so-so. My husband's pork leg ramen(if I remember well) had a much more flavourful broth. Different ramen comes with different broth so try them all and tell me what is best! =)9. Bouchon $$$
3355 Las Vegas Blvd. South, Suite 10101, Venetian Resort, Venezia Tower
Las Vegas, NV 89109 Tel: (702) 414-6200
You can hear my gastro-orgasm all the way from Vegas to Australia on this one. Hands-down, one of the best restaurant we have ever been to. Thomas keller did well in his French rendition of Bouchon, serving award-winning French cuisine that won't leave you a bankrupt. We had the Joue de Boeuf(beef cheeks) that was slow braised with french green lentils, buttered rutabagas and button mushrooms that brought a gasp to my lips with each mouthful.
Emmanuel couldn't resist an old French tradition of Boudin Noir(blood sausage) that rose in perfect symphony with its potato puree and caramelized apples. The fresh and warm Goat Cheese salad and the escargots steeped in garlic oil was excellent and our finale was the creme brule which Emmanuel absolutely adored to death. The vanilla beans they used were scattered all over the creme brule and it might have been 2 pods worth they put in there at least? Well...we're not exactly complaining. ;) And Oh! How can I forget their freshly baked bread? Mmmm-mmm-mmm....
