Mexicue Truck

So I went to the Tribeca area for a doctor's appointment during lunch and happened to pass by this food truck. For some reason, it really caught my eye. I think it was a combination of the bright color, fairly new truck and what I thought said "Mexican" on it. I love me some Mexican food! Anyways, I decided to try it out.

I was really confused when I ordered the food. They didn't have that many items on their menu but I just couldn't decide what to get. Should I stick to my usual and get a chicken item? Should I try the beef items? No.... I ended up getting a Chorizo Taco. Not sure why I got that...I didn't even know what a chorizo was. I kinda thought it was sausage but I wasn't 100% sure. Took a risk...

Chorizo Taco - $4

So this was interesting. I can tell you this definitely had a distinct/slightly strong smell. I smelled it the whole way back to my office. It wasn't a good smell imo.

As for the taste, it was decent. Better than I expected actually. I'm trying to think how I would describe it and I can't really think of anything...I do remember it being tad spicy though. That was a nice surprise. In the end, I ate it all. But would I get it again? Probably not.

So...while I was eating, I was checking out their website, their menu and some reviews. After I was done, I got mad at myself for ordering that chorizo. I really wanted another chance to try their other menu items...and as it turned out, they sometimes park near my work place !

And that day was today! 

I got two items this time...a pulled pork slider and a grilled chicken slider.

Pulled Pork Slider & Grilled Chicken Slider - $3 each

This was good for me. It was sweet but not overly sweet. The pork was tender and moist. I think it had a tad of spice in it too. My only complaint was the bread. They didn't do anything special with it. They just took it out of the bag and placed the meats on it. It was kinda cold and tasted kinda stale.

This was good too. Not super good but good. The chicken didn't have that much flavor but it was tender. They put salsa verde sauce (green sauce) on it and that was good! It made it pretty spicy. 

So I'm definitely going to go back when they are in my area again. I think I'll get the pulled pork slider again and then try something else. Stay tuned!

Mexicue Truck
www.mexicueny.com

Imperial Palace

Dinner with the family. This place is pretty popular in flushing. Every time I pass by, there's always a crowd of people waiting in the front. I think I waited about 30 mins that day before we were seated.

Warning: I don't know the exact name of some of the dishes. I ordered my usual dishes and my siblings ordered the rest.

Sis ordered this soup. I'm not really sure what was in it. H would probably know but I'm too lazy to go ask him. From what I remember, I didn't really like it. Not my kind of soup. I think it's some sort of seafood...

I think this is cold jelly. It's a pretty popular dish for Asian people. I've never been a big fan though so I didn't eat this. The plate was empty at the end of the meal so I'm guessing they liked it.

Yea, I'm not really sure what this was. Sis ordered this one too. I ate a piece and I didn't really care for it. It was as bit chewy and tasteless for me..

Beef Chow Fun - $8.50

I was craving this for some reason so I asked my bro to ordered it. I guess he forgot to tell them to make it dry. It didn't come out the way I like it. A bit too wet for me. The taste was also okay. I've had better.

There's usually a veggie dish when I eat out with my family. I'm not really sure what kind of vegetable this is (ya, it doesn't seem like I know much right?). Even though I don't know what it is, I can tell you that I liked it though. It's your typical Chinese style veggie. I should really order more greens when I eat out...

Ahh, my fish...This was good as usual. The outside was nice and crisp. The inside tender and the overall flavor was good. Sorry, but I forgot what the name of this dish is (in this restaurant). I think it's some sort of fried fish fillet.

Peking Style Pork Chops - $11.50

This is also another favorite of mine. Although, I gotta say that I was a tad disappointed with this dish. The pork chops had quite a good amount of fat in them. I'm not crazy about that. I still think Canton Gourmet makes these the best. Their fried fish fillet is good too.

Steamed Dungeness Crab over rice. I think this is the most popular dish here. Every table had one order of this. I personally don't care for it. It's not because it's not good but mainly because eating crabs is just too much damn work (and messy!). I took a piece thinking I would have the energy to break the shell but after looking at it on my plate, I picked it up and placed it on my brother's plate. It just wasn't worth it.

Anyway, so food was decent this time. The prices are a tad higher than your typical Chinese restaurant but the portions are slightly bigger so I guess it's good if you're eating with several people.

Oh, and this place has a picture menu which is awesome.

Imperial Palace
136-13 37th Avenue
Flushing, NY 11354

Maoz Vegetarian

I had been wanting to try this place for awhile now. I was finally able to.

I got a Meal Deal. It comes with a sandwich, fries and a drink.

Maoz Sandwich + Eggplant & Hummus

You can kinda see the Falafel (the green ball). The eggplant is pretty obvious. The sandwich was decent. There's a salad bar where you can have unlimited toppings but I didn't make good use of it. It was hard to eat w/o the toppings. I can't imagine how I would have been able to eat it with the toppings I wanted. I guess I could have but I would have made a huge mess.

Belgian Fries

I can't really remember what the fries tasted like. I think it was your typical fries.

Here's my friend's sandwich.

My friend made better use of that salad bar ;)

So to sum it up, I don't think I'm a falafel person. I've heard so much about it and so I became very curious as to what it was. This was my second time eating falafel and it was alright for me. I just don't think it's my thing.

Maoz Vegetarian
38 Union Square East
New York, NY  10003
www.maozusa.com

Ferrara Bakery & Cake

Sister had a birthday last week and someone got a cake from Ferrara.

 My 2 year old niece got this cake ;)
 

 I think my sister said this was a "Traditional Italian Cake".

Now anyone who knows me knows that I'm not a cake lover. I'll eat some but I don't really care for them. So when I saw this particular cake, I wasn't too excited about it.

This cake was okay. Not a really big fan. I thought it was too moist. I didn't even know that was even possible. Some people said they tasted alcohol but I didn't taste it at all. Not sure what they were talking about. Most of the people did think it was a good cake though. I guess you have to be a cake/sweet fan to appreciate good cakes?

Ferrara Bakery & Cake
195 Grand Street
b/w Mulberry & Mott St
New York City, NY 10013
www.ferraracafe.com

Breakfast on a Sunday morning

I think it's been like 6+ months since I made breakfast at home. Since I woke up kinda early (10:30), I decided to make congee and eggs. Actually, here's the real reason I cooked the below dish today. I went to my mom's last week and saw my brother eating these eggs. He ate the last serving of it and I was slightly sadden when I saw the empty bowl. Okay, I was a little more than slightly sad. I've been thinking about these eggs since...

So just to warn you guys, these aren't your typical fried eggs. The ingredients are somewhat different. H didn't know I was making them and when he saw it on the table, he was like "crap". :) You can say, this is not his favorite eggs.

So, this is my salted soy beans & ginger fried eggs. It's not as bad as it sounds. The soy beans isn't as salty as you think either. I put sugar in it so it tones down the saltiness.

I messed up on the congee a little. It got a bit mushy. I guess I overcooked it. It was still edible though! For me at least ;) H wasn't too crazy about it.

So this was a really yummy breakfast for me. I ate the leftovers for a late lunch/early dinner too. Too bad I can't say the same for H. He came prepared to the table by bringing his preserved tofu and shredded pork ;)

Baluchi's

Finally, a post on my favorite Indian restaurant. Now, the reviews for this place is mixed. I know some people who love it and some people who think it's alright. I for one, love it! I mean, I've had bad experiences with this place but I've had more good than bad ones. I always order the same dishes so I can only vouch for those. Maybe they suck at other dishes and that's why people don't like it? Either way, here are the pics!

The 50% lunch special is the best thing...the place is kinda expensive without it. I took the prices off the website. It should be similar if not the same as the ones in the restaurant. Prices below are before the 50% discount.

Mango Lassi - $4

H's drink. I'm not a big fan of Mango Lassi but H likes it.

Vegetable Samosas - $6.95

These two pics were taken on two different trips. I do find that sometimes the food isn't always consistent. You can see the difference between the samosas above. But like I said earlier, I have had more good experiences than bad ones!

So when the samosas are good, they are good! It has good flavor and the red and green chutney goes great with it.

Garlic Nan - $3.95

I love their nan too. It comes warm and the garlic/butter on it is just delicious.

Chicken Biryani - $13.95

Another yummy dish. The biryani is moist but not wet. Just good flavor overall.

Chicken Vindaloo - $13.95

And the main course...this is the main reason I go here. The vindaloo is spicy yet still flavorful. The chicken is white meat and if you cut it up into pieces, it absorbs the vindaloo favor really well. I love it.

Shrimp Vindaloo - $14.95

We like vindaloo so much, we always get another one. H's shrimp vindaloo. I'm usually focus on my chicken vindaloo so I don't really pay this one much attention. H eats all of it though (at least all the shrimp).

And that's how I eat my nan and vindaloo. I think I need to visit this place again soon...

Baluchi's
113-30 Queens Blvd at 76th Road
Queens, NY 11375
www.baluchis.com

Masker Orchards - Apple Picking

Out on an apple picking adventure with family....what did I end up doing though? I mostly sat on the picnic blanket and ate. I was too lazy to pick any apples. I did play tag with the kids though!

Anyways, here are some pics.

If you go and plan on having a picnic, you gotta bring your own food. Or else, you'll have to settle for the hot dog stand and this place here. I got myself a hot dog so I didn't really look to see what was here. My sis got these though...

 

I believe these are apple cider donuts. To tell you the truth, I had no idea what it was. They tasted like regular donuts to me. I'm only guessing these are apple cider donuts based on the big sign in front of that refreshments place. The donut wasn't too bad. I remember it being sweet. Not overly sweet though.

Here's a pic of the orchard. We had a really good spot. We were at the end of the line of trees so we kinda had the place to ourselves. It was a nice spot for our picnic.

Apples! So glad sis brought this apple slicer thingy. It was great! If you did it right, it would slice the apples in pieces without any of the crap (seeds) from the inside.You gotta be strong to use it though. I had to get someone to do it for me every time...I think I'm just not doing it right.

As for the apple itself, it was pretty good. It was sweet and a tad sour. Very crisp.

And last but not least, our salt/hot pepper concoction! This is the best part of eating apples. The salt/pepper adds a great kick. All you non-asians out there, don't judge! It's yummy!

Masker Orchards
45 Ball Road
Warwick, NY 10990
www.maskers.com