Seoul Salon was a great experience from start to finish. The ambiance is fantastic, and the decor…read moreis genuinely cool - they have an interactive art installation that changes as people walk by, which was a really fun touch. The service was also excellent. The staff were attentive throughout the meal, and when there was an issue with a dish at the table next to us, they apologized immediately and resolved it quickly. It was nice to see how proactively they handled the situation. Food-wise, the scallop dish was my favorite. It comes with a generous amount of scallops for the price, and it was absolutely delicious. The spicy octopus with risotto was another standout, definitely worth the pain if you're not great with spice! We also enjoyed the jokbal platter, which was really flavorful and perfect for sharing. My only small complaint is that I wish it came with a bit more vegetables to balance out all the meat. Overall, it was an incredible value. We spent around $90 for two people, ordered multiple dishes, and left very full. I'd absolutely come back.

4.6/5 Cheap and affordable Korean fusion in the heart of…read moremidtown Manhattan, Seoul Salon is truly a hidden gem. The interior design is stunning, the vibes are amazing. The rose tteokbokki with gimmari, stracciatella cheese, and basil was the best Korean fusion dish that I have ever put inside my mouth! The sauce hit all the right notes, it packed some real heat, creaminess, sweet, and savory. Tteokbokki as a vehicle is truly underrated, it soaks up the sauce, and it's so fun to eat when cooked properly. The gimmari adds contrasting texture with the crunch and different kind of umami to the dish, wish there were more of it. Soy scallop with gim rice, simple, fresh, and savory. Korean beef tartare was creamy, spicy, and meaty. Octopus jeotgal gimbap with aged white kimchi was spicy, savory, and smoky. So filling, delicious, and doesn't break the bank. What more can you ask for?

angela was such a great server. she took care of us and gave us good service. i would definitely…read morecome back. soju haus is the best! i love soju haus becuz of angela. angela is the best server in the world. 5/5 service.

Classic place to go before going out for the night! To get here you'd have to take an elevator and…read moreonce you come in it looks a lot more fancier than you'd think! There's tables on either side and lots of Asian people. Everything is shareable and pretty yummy. We ordered the watermelon soju to share, pork intestine, omelette roll, pork belly, oxtail and the cold noodle to share amongst three. That was a good amount for us as we don't eat that much. Everything was brought out to us fairly quick and easy. The garlic chips were really yummy on the beef intestine and the cold noodle was surprisingly pretty spicy. The omelette was super soft and tasty as well! I definitely prefer the beef intestine and oxtail here the most and will be back to eat it again with other things. Definitely can see why this is people's go-to spot during the night as we came here around 10/11.

Grandma's Home is undoubtedly the most authentic spot for Hangzhou cuisine in NYC. The space is…read moremodern and upscale, and I've enjoyed every meal I've had here. My only complaint is that the portions are on the smaller side, almost tapas-style for the price. To celebrate Dragon Boat Festival, they're serving a special Zongzi ($14). Each one is packed with seasoned sticky rice, lap cheong, pork belly, salted egg yolk, and shiitake mushrooms. It tasted so nostalgic and is perfect for sharing with friends and family. ＊Lotus Root with Sticky Rice 桂花糯米藕 $12 * A starter that tastes more like a dessert! The lotus root was stuffed with sticky rice and lightly infused with sweet, floral osmanthus syrup. ＊You Tiao Shrimp 招牌油條蝦 $18 * Shrimp paste stuffed inside crispy fried dough, then drizzled with mayo and topped with pineapple. The sweet and savory combo worked surprisingly well. ＊Salt and Pepper Soft Shell Crab 椒鹽軟殼蟹 $34 ** The soft shell crab came in huge, meaty whole pieces! Super crispy with a salt and pepper coating that packed quite a spicy kick. I coughed a few times lol. ＊Sweet and Sour Pork 糖醋里脊 $26 The deep-fried pork was crispy and coated in a sticky sweet and sour glaze. It had a subtle osmanthus fragrance. ＊Seafood Braised Udon 海鲜滷烏冬 $20 Loaded with shrimp, scallops, century egg, minced pork, and pork floss. It was nice and saucy, but the flavors didn't stand out much, and the portion felt pretty small. ＊Guava Coconut Shaved Ice 番石榴椰子冰 $18 ** The shaved ice was HUGE it could easily feed 3-4 people! Every bite was bursting with guava and creamy coconut, topped with coconut jelly, coconut flakes, mochi, and mandarin. I might even come back just for it.

This is a very solid restaurant. While it is on the expensive side, the dishes we ordered were…read morequite good. My favorites were the fried eggplant and the pork belly bao buns. Both were packed with flavor. The crispy eggplant had a great texture and was seasoned beautifully, while the pork bao buns featured juicy, tender pork paired with a delicious sweet-and-sour sauce. The clay pot chicken and soft-shell crab were also very good, though the eggplant and bao buns were the standouts for me. The ambiance is excellent, and the service was attentive and friendly throughout the meal. Overall, a great dining experience and a place I would happily return to.

I stopped in at this restaurant for lunch. When I arrived I parked on the street nearby. I walked…read moreinto a small cute restaurant. I was greeted and sat amd served by Koo and he was nice. I ordered: Chamisul So Ju Shumai (shrimp and vegetable dumplings) Grilled Beef Short Rib Gondola Bi Bin Bab ( Rice with Kimchi in hot stone pot with shrimp) Noodles with Spicy Seafood Soup The food was good! My favorite was the Noodles! I had a great experience!

This was not authentic. Pretty like mid…read more The seafood pancake was wayyy too chewy, they used tapioca starch instead of regular corn starch so it was like mochi consistency? The soondubu was okay, it was the best thing out of the three The pork was just not great. It was fine, but way too salty and sweet. Not hot enough. Also they put bell peppers and carrots in it... The one thing that they had going was there was a lot of inside seating and there was no wait. Food came out fast too.

I'm usually a bit skeptical about fancy cantonese spots, since the traditional ones feel more…read moreauthentic and affordable. But I've been telling my friends how much I loved the clay pot rice and yuen yeung ice cream here! While they position themselves as cantonese american, the food menu is straight up cantonese/chinese to me, with classics like chicken pot, lobster yee mein, and har kow. To my surprise, the prices are actually pretty reasonable, and the place looks elevated with vintage posters and neon signs. ＊Roast Duck Clay Pot $26 *** Totally blown away by how good this clay pot rice was! Packed with crispy roast duck (燒鴨), chinese sausage (臘腸), cured bacon (臘肉), and quail eggs. So saucy and flavorful. If I had to nitpick, the bottom could've been a bit crispier. We shared it among three and still had leftovers for days lol. ＊Kowloon Black Pepper Beef $28 * First, can someone explain how this relates to "Kowloon" LOL. Despite the mysterious name, we really enjoyed it. The angus beef cubes were tender and saucy, just like an elevated dai pai dong style black pepper beef stir fry. ＊XO Beef Chow Fun $24 Once again, you can tell the beef is high quality. Though this was more like 濕炒牛河 ("wet" beef chow fun) rather than 乾炒牛河 ("dry" beef chow fun). ＊Satay Snow Pea Sprouts $19 I couldn't really taste the satay, but the garlicky flavor and shrimp paste really stood out. I enjoyed this a lot. ＊Yuen Yeung Ice Cream $9 *** I was most hyped about their 鴛鴦 flavored ice cream, inspired by HK style coffee milk tea and served in the iconic black & white milk tea mug. So nostalgic.

Came here for dinner with my sister on a Saturday night with a 6 PM reservation. It didn't seem too…read morepacked at the time. To start, they give you some shrimp chips, which was a nice snack - and reminded me of my childhood. It was also still happy hour at the time (I believe until 7) and they had select cocktails, beer, and wine at a discounted price. I always appreciate a weekend HH menu (and especially since the food menu here is so expensive) We ordered: -Roast Duck (steamed pancakes, sweet and savory duck sauce, scallion, chili oil, cucumber) - this was just okay. It was only duck breast, so it was a little bit dry. A mix of dark/white meat would have been nice -XO Beef Chow Fun (beef, thing rice rolls, XO sauce) - pretty basic. Not sure I tasted much XO sauce -Garlic Sauce Eggplant (bell peppers, oyster & soy garlic sauce) - this was the best dish of the night. The colors were vibrant, and it was flavorful without being too oily or salty Overall, I would say you're really just coming here for the vibes of the restaurant. Obviously, you can get all of these dishes for a fraction of the price in Chinatown, and it will taste much better. I also felt there wasn't really anything innovative about the food menu for them to charge what they're charging. But I will say that the cocktail menu is pretty unique, featuring a lot of different tea cocktails. If you really want to check this place out, I would recommend sitting at the bar for a couple of drinks, and then going elsewhere for food.

The food was incredibly flavorful, full of different textures and so delicious! The ingredients are…read morefresh and the dishes were thoughtfully plated. An elevated version of the food I grew up eating in Taipei. Our server was knowledgeable and described the dishes with excitement and passion. Chef Tony came out and chatted for a bit. I'm recommending JaBä to everyone. What we ordered: - Stinky Tofu: This was flavorful with chilis on top of garlic soy sauce. The 'stink' was turned down a little so as to not stink out the neighborhood. - Chilled FRESH bamboo: Fresh bamboo is hard to find. Very unique in how it was served on a thin layer of kewpie mayo and condensed milk topped with crushed peanuts. - Pig in Scuba Suit: Homemade whole Taiwanese sausage stuffed in baby calamari over a squid ink sauce. - Scallop Crudo: Super fresh scallop. Don't think I've had fresh lily bulbs before. Really special. - Garlic Basil Mussels: The mussels were also super fresh and very plump. So much flavor in the sauce. I brought it home and put it over rice the next day. - Berkshire Pork LBB: This is elevated lu rou fan. So much yum!! - Sautéed AA Choy: Because we need to eat our greens. I can't wait to go back and try other dishes. It looks like there are often rotating dishes based on what's seasonally fresh. Oh! The JaBä Negroni was like an iced tea had a baby with a Negroni. So good I had 2. I also want to try the other cocktails.

My friend and I decided to stop by this place for dinner since we were in the area. We were able to…read morewalk in on a Thursday for dinner - they have a nice quiet ambiance and the staff was very knowledgable about the menu and spent time giving us recommendations based on what we were in the mood for. We decided to do family style: -Saturated AA Choy: This was fine - nothing too special and the portion was slightly on the smaller size for the price -Berkshire Pork LBB: This was very yummy - the meat was flavorful and tasted pretty authentic -Sesame Oil Chicken en Papillote: This was our main dish and it was very interesting and uniquely prepared but it just fell short. The chicken was pretty tender and juicy but it was not that flavorful for us. Overall - it was a decent place for dinner but definitely not my favorite Taiwanese place in NY.

Came here with some girlfriends during their happy hour, which offered some discounted drinks and…read moreapps from their cocktail menu. The place is much bigger than expected. After you walk downstairs, you're greeted with a long bar that runs the length of a whole city block. The place is dim and minimally decorated, a perfect spot for a date night. We tried a variety of their cocktails, raw oysters and sashimi, and dessert. I honestly loved all the cocktails and especially the dessert. The shaved snow melted in my mouth as soon as I took a bite and it was not too sweet! I'd definitely come back but probably only during happy hour because the drinks were quite pricey. Unfortunately, none of their clarified cocktails are on the happy hour menu. Our 1st round of drinks: - Yuza & Seaweed (gin, Korean pear, lychee, milk) 9/10 - Tomato & White Kimchi (gin, fino sherry, caper, celery) 8/10 - Nok-Cha & Black Sesame (whiskey, chocolate, vanilla) 9/10 Our 2nd round of drinks: - Mango & Nurungji (gin, rum, coconut, lime) 10/10 - Korean Pear & Gochujang (tequila, Grand Marnier, bergamot, guava) 10/10 - Espresso & Pineapple (mezcal, averna, coconut) 10/10 Food: - Oyster (local half dozen oyster, hongcho mignonette) 9/10 - Jeju Fluke Hwe (fresh chef's selected cut of Jeju fluke) 9/10 Dessert: - Black Sesame Snowflake Bingsu 10/10

4.7/5 Mango Nurungi 4/5 Whisky Peach…read more4/5 Tomato Kimchi 5/5 Oysters Interior of this basement bar is very nice and feels upscale. Love their take on clarified cocktails, definitely worth a visit, especially during happy hour oysters!

There has been a handful of malatang spots that opened lately, including this one. After trying…read morethis spot out, this has become my top malatang spot. Even better that it's located in midtown. Their seating area is a lot more appealing and welcoming compared to the other spots in NYC. Must be all of the greenery they put up. We were seated by a staff member, then we went to pick our own ingredients for the malatang, which goes for $18 a pound. Affordable if you don't go overboard. I wan't feeling spicy, so I got one that wasn't spicy, don't remember which one that was. Tasted great and refreshing. Would come back again.

decent malatang spot with lots of meat and veggie options, a cute interior, and lots of freebies!…read morethe soup options were also interesting like there was tom yum and curry, which i've never seen before at a malatang place, but my friend said the curry soup wasn't that good :( the tomato soup was pretty yummy but it just tasted like standard tomato soup at a hotpot/malatang place. they have a free ice jelly dessert stand with toppings and give free soft serve ice cream! good value for the price! that being said if you do go try not to sit at the two seater on the booth side close to the "mixology" bar in the back because there was a guy sitting there and there was a surprise ledge above his head and he banged his head there and started bleeding 2 tables away from us very traumatizing i hope he's ok. definitely bad interior design on growl growl's part i hope management compensated that man cuz it looked pretty bad