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Midori Matsu Hibachi Japanese Restaurant Review - Forest Hills, NY

4.0/5 Stars.

I always wanted to try the Hibachi restaurant ever nice I moved to Forest Hills last year, I heard through my friend that Midori Matsu's food was delicious, so I decided to walked few blocks down from my apartment to tried out the hibachi grill.

The decor is not what I expected to find at a sushi bar or hibachi grill. I had the impression that Midori Matsu was a teppanyaki style restaurant, or a cook-it-yourself hibachi at the table like those found in many Korean restaurants. Midori Matsu is a highly decorated japanese restaurant with the modern bar seating, water fountain and nicely decorated table. I almost forgot to mention: they have an indoor pond with live goldfish!

There was sushi, sashimi, tempura, udon, teriyaki/hibachi, soup, and seaweed or seafood salad on the hibachi menu. I started with the tempura shrimp appetizer, which was more than enough food. The tempura was cooked perfectly in a golden yet crispy crust that made me wanted to reorder, it came with clear miso soup along with a dinner salad and house ginger dressing. Also I ordered sushi!

By the time my entrée arrived, I was close to full. Still, when the beautifully prepared salmon and shrimp arrived, I couldn’t resist. It was made teppanyaki style along with a side of the “white” sauce and "brown" sauce that completed the aroma. The salmon was cooked well in a glazed teriyaki sauce.

The service was on point. Any time i needed a drink refill or more sauce, they were on the ball. Midori Matsu is a little pricy but the food is certainly worth a trip come to Forest Hills, Queens to take a bite.

Overall I gave it 4/5 stars.

Midori Matsu
111-16 Queens Blvd
Forest Hills, NY 11375
(718) 263-4110

Nearest Transit: 75 Av (E, F), Forest Hills - 71 Av (E, F, M, R)

GROSCHE INDIGO Heatproof Glass Kettle / Teapot

So I bought this really cute GROSCHE INDIGO heatproof glass kettle from Amazon, I can't help but have to write a review about it! Gosh, one of my best buy ever with a smiley face ^.^

When I had my tea party few weeks ago, this little thing was the life saver! I put my teavana loose tea into the tea infuser, bring it to boil on the stove top, within few minutes then my mango coconut tea was ready to serve.

INDIGO tea pot are sturdy enough to not break if I accidentally hit the cabinet, but elegant enough to keep out and look nice out. Kettle and tea pot two in one, as a tea lover who drinks tea everyday, this product is second to none and I just love it, in fact I bought few of these as Christmas gifts for my family, they've been using it to boil water on a daily basic, they love it too! Can't wait for my next tea party.

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day 2012

My Virgin Stone Crab Recipe

2 fresh stone crab for $5! Such a great deal right? I'm gonna share my virgin stone crab cooking recipe!

Pour 5 litres of water into a large saucepan and add around 5 tablespoons of sea salt. Bring to a rapid boil.

Grasp the live crab by the back legs and drop it into the water headfirst. For a more humane method, as you grasp the crab by the legs, stroke the top of its head until it falls asleep and then slowly drop it into the boiling water.

Bring the water back to the boil and only then start timing. You should cook large crabs (about 2lb) for around 15 - 20 minutes, whilst smaller crabs will only need around 8 - 10 minutes.

Once the water has started to boil again, reduce the heat and simmer for the required time. The crab's shell should turn a bright orange when done.

When the crabs are done, immerse them for a few seconds in cold water so that cooking stops and they do not overcook.

When cutting open the crabs, remember to remove the limbs and discard them

Serve immediately with hot melted butter or let the crabs cool down in their shell until they are cool enough for you to remove the meat and refrigerate it until further use.
Crabs are also delicious cold.

Ho Wan Chinese Restaurant Review - Richmond Hill NY

4.0/5 Stars

Ho Wan Chinese Restaurant! At least that's what I think they're shouting at us after a long search for the restaurant's location.

40 years old Ho Wan Restaurant was hidden under the A train station. Nothing special to look at from the outside, but this restaurant was rather big and appealing on the inside.

I come to this restaurant because of the good reviews we found online, so I told myself, why not give it a try. When we walked in, the service was good, we were escorted to our table, sat down, and my waiter was nice enough to do a briefing of allege menu and kind enough to tell us what to order and what not to order because it might taste less than ideal.

I ordered some food while we enjoyed the (complimentary) olong tea. Our drinks arrived quickly as did 2 complimentary hot soup with green onion. Bonus! Satisfaction!

Finished with the healthy stuff for the moment, I ordered the deep-fried fish with sweet and sour sauce. Arriving a lovely golden brown and piping hot, I immediately put the fish sauce in my mouth! It wasn't greasy aftertaste, the fish was fresh and tasty.

And we had a combination veggie plate, It was “fresh, fresh, fresh.” The veggies were cooked to perfection, with a crisp snap indicating freshness as we ate them.

Lingering over our last dish, our complimentary homemade ice cream arrived. Green tea with almond crunch ice cream, I was surprised by the taste of it, refreshing and fulfilling!

The service was excellent and clean bathroom (that matters a lot to me) I'll come back again for the fish and try something new.

Overall I give it 4/5 stars.

Ho Wan Restaurant
111-05 Liberty Ave
Richmond Hill, NY 11419
Neighborhood: Ozone Park
(718) 843-3288

www.howanrestaurant.com

Nearest Transit: 111 St (A) Ozone Park - Lefferts Blvd (A) 104 St (A)

The Winter City

Wintertime has been a breeze so far here in New York City. It has been a mild one with little snow for the season, despite I hope for another snow storm will come .....

Summer in Washington D.C and Maryland

Over the summer I went down to Washington DC to spent the July 4th weekend with Elena and Vic. Vic had been to Washington a number of times, but it been at least a few years and he hadn’t actually looked around in a while. So we took the car and drove down in the morning and we spent the better part of Friday afternoon from lunch in DC Chinatown, Ford's Theatre, Spy Museum and hotel in Maryland.

Monuments, museums and statues, oh my! The thought of Washington, DC probably brings images of one of these to mind. The District of Columbia is all about politics and power. History, too, plays a big role in why visitors choose the area as a travel destination every year.
Along the way we made a number of stops along the way at places like the White House, Washington Monument, downtown D.C, Treasury Building, Lincoln Memorial and the Jefferson Memorial as well.

We took some time to visit the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. While there I saw the Hope Diamond and amazing displays on dinosaurs, gems, and planetary evolution. Of course another great museum would be the Air Space Craft Museum! Awesome!

The trip to Washington D.C left me inspired and motivated, especially most of the memorials seemed to reach out to me. I know we can do more to help shape our great nation for generations to come if we only follow the example set by our forefathers, and in particular these two great men! Kudos to Lincoln!