Culinary Digest

1. The Elk: Breakfast Burrito

Good tortilla, nicely seasoned eggs, with yummy bacon.

128 Charles St, New York, NY 10014

2. Daily Provisions: Kale Caesar 

Specially good with added avocado. Comes with crispy chickpeas and nice dressing

375 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY 10024

3. Isle of Us: Matcha

Recently, I’ve been getting it iced with ginger syrup and almond milk, it’s sooo good. Strong and balanced matcha flavor with a little depth

1481 3rd Ave, New York, NY 10028

4. Apollo Bagels: Tomato Bagel

Sourdough bagel with flavorful cream cheese and juicy seasoned tomato. Perfect bagel bite.

73 Greenwich Ave, New York, NY 10014

5. Elio’s: Pasta Dishes 

All pasta dishes are exceptional. All pasta and sauces are made in-house and never disappoint. Great spot for unique and authentic Italian food. 

1621 2nd Ave

Din Tai Fung

At the corner of 51st and Broadway, a protruding glass box bears the name “Din Tai Fung”. A fan favorite, Din Tai Fung has a whopping 5 Michelin stars at their Hong Kong branch, and is a household name among New Yorker families. My friend and I were lucky enough to score a reservation the day prior, but you often need to reserve a table much earlier. My first thoughts? “How good could it be? Everyone raves on and on about this place, but it just looks like any other dumpling place”. All I have to say now is that the hype is real, and if you haven't gone, this is your sign. After a quick look at the menu, I decided to stick to the most popular dishes. I got the Pork Xiaolongbao, Cucumber salad, Noodles with spicy sauce, the garlic stringbeans, and additionally decided to get the spare pork ribs. 

The ribs arrived first. By the looks of them, they looked very generously glazed, and I wasn’t excited to have to eat the same old overly sweet and otherwise bland pork ribs you would usually have. Needless to say I was pleasantly surprised. The glaze on the ribs was a shockingly perfect blend of savory and sweet, and the perfectly cooked meat came right off the bone. I felt a genuine feeling of sadness and emptiness after they had been finished, because I needed more of them.

Next up, the cucumber salad. This on the other hand looked very aesthetically pleasing, but was not worth the $10.00 price tag. Not much to say except for the fact that it was more of an instagram slideshow gimmick than a dish, and neither me or my friend enjoyed the experience.

 The noodles arrived before we finished the cucumber, and it definitely saved the meal thus far. The noodles were perfectly cooked, and the sauce was creamy and had a very satisfying level of spice. The presentation was also a 10/10. If you are too far away from the place, can't secure a reservation, or just want a smaller price tag for the same taste, I would recommend the Momofuku A’sha instant noodles in the chili oil flavor. They pretty much taste the same.

I would recommend Din Tai Fung more for their other dishes, but not as much the xiaolongbao. Don’t get me wrong, they were very good, however they weren’t much different from any other dumplings that you could get around the city. I found the whole 18 fold and 21 gram rule to just be a way to hype up the dumplings, but I do find it admirable that they manage to keep them so consistently sized and filled while still making around 1000 every day. Even though these weren't the most remarkable, I definitely think that you should order them because they are one of the restaurant’s staples.

For dessert, we ordered their chocolate mochi xiaolongbao, which has been doing numbers on the internet for a reason. Practically everyone and their mother has had this dessert, and if you still haven't, please do. I didn't get the mochi part, as the wrappers didn't exactly have that consistency, but the chocolate left me craving this for the rest of the day. It had this warm pop of delicious ganache that had the richest dark chocolate flavor. Unfortunately, there were only six small ones, so I would have gotten two orders if I had enough money. I recommend ordering this along with the sea salt milk foam, as it just adds the most interesting pop of saltiness to the already delicious dish. 

I left Din Tai Fung satisfied, finally understanding the hype (and the 5 michelin stars), and excited to share about my experience. I can't wait to go again, but the question is, will you ever go?