Aji Ichiban - 37 Mott Street, as well as four other locations in Chinatown (Japanese) Also called Munchies Paradise. Aji Ichiban is a Hong Kong based snack food store, specializing in Japanese goodies. What makes Aji Ichiban amazing is that the snacks have little sampler bowls and they encourage you to eat them. They have dried plums, wasabi peas, and Candied ginger is a must. It's a good marketing strategy. Once you're stuffed, guilt demands that you buy something. It's not hard to find something worth taking home...Four stars!
XO Kitchen - 148 Hester Street (Elizabeth and Bowery) and 96 Walker Street (Hong Kong)
An authentic Hong Kong diner - specializing in dishes from frog congee to pork chop over rice...as well as a range of tempting desserts (such as Tang Yuan, various Tong Sui and Mango Pudding.) Available in two convenient locations, XO Kitchen has a cheap, fun Hong Kong vibe - not too fancy - with menu specials pasted on colorful bits of paper on almost every wall space available.
The price is also awright, running about $6 for an entree and as little as $2.50 for a dessert. Recent excursions have focused exclusively on the sweet stuff: including Tang Yuan (peanut buttery delicious) and ginger milk (not bad, though not worth a second tasting.) But other desserts beckon - including double boiled milk, papaya sago with ice cream, and even odorous noshes as durian pancake and pudding. (God knows when I'll get to the savory stuff!)
But no matter the timeline, this is one location worthy of further exploration. Taipan Bakery, eat your heart out....
3/10/07 Update - Tried the durian pudding and double boiled milk. The verdict - both good, though not awe-inspiring. Topped with condensed milk, the pudding had a mild, slight durian tinge. The boiled milk was nice (though guilt inducing to my vegan principles...), laced with a light ginger flavor that really helped it along. Neither are worth a second trip. But there's plenty of other things worth trying at XO anyway...
3/11/07 Update - I can't stay away from this place! Today, the sample consisted of the honeydew sago dessert and the durian pancake. Both proved to be worthy...with the honeydew dessert a sweet compilation of black tapioca balls, coconut pudding and honeydew melon balls, bathed in either coconut or condensed milk. The durian pudding was even better - made from fried thin rice sheets, filled with durian flavored pudding. Mmmmmm.
Hong Kong Station - 128 Hester Street (Hong Kong/Chinese)
A nifty little joint - specializing in Hong Kong style diner cuisine (establishments known in HK as Cha Chaan Teng). The food is tasty and dirt cheap...ranging from "western style" spam and egg sandwiches to custom-made noodle dishes, with toppings such as curry fish balls (a street vendor favorite), beef tripe and veggies. Other classic options include condensed milk toast, Horlicks and Lemon Coffee. If you're interested in western food, done HK style (known as soy sauce western), then give this place a shot. With noodles costing only $1.00, how can you go wrong?
