KyoChon - Korean Fried Chicken Closed for Retraining?

I was going to visit KyoChon, the most anticipated Korean Fried Chicken restaurant to open in NYC this year, but just recently found out via other "Yelpers" that its closed March 18th and March 19th due to improve its efficiency, aka "retraining" employees to work the food lines.

Some yelpers believe its because of the bad reviews it has been receiving. After reading some of the Yelp reviews -- 33 people have reviewed it thus far -- the 2 stars may be indicative of its recent two-day closing. WOW! For a much anticipated opening, and the craze of Korean Fried Chicken in NYC -- the 2 stars is a HUGE disappointment!

So what are people complaining about mostly?

- Size of chicken - tiny, small, minuscule -- I think I need a thesaurus to add any more words

- Price of chicken - ok, have people not had Korean food? In general, its just over-priced -- but for some reason, we all still go! Yes, we're just all that dumb, or crazed for Korean food (I personally, LOVE, Korean food -- so I pay the price :( ). But one yelp reviewer said this "At their take-out counter, a small order of their signature wings (5 pieces) costs $5.99, while a large order (20 pieces) will set you back $17.99. If you get a combo which includes a side and a soft drink, the price skyrockets. "

- Long wait times -- north of 30 minutes for wings! wow! that is long. How long do you think it takes to fry some wings? especially, if you know customers are coming -- that stuff should be deep frying all-day long -- especially if this is the much anticipated Korean Fried Chicken that all New Yorkers are waiting for...

Yikes, 30, 40, 50 minutes of waiting for Korean Fried Chicken? No wonder KyoChon is closed for two-days to retrain its employees and improve its processes! For their sake, and for the price of that prime-retail location, let's hope this place is only experiencing the "jitter bugs" of its new opening and will have all the kinks worked out by March 20th -- otherwise, it will be bad news for this well-established and well-known Korean brand.

p.s. there is hope for KyoChon, especially since their Springfield and Flushing locations are "said" to be much better! So, will the re-opening of KyoChon meet that of its sister chains? We will wait and see.

Visit KyoChon's website (slow to upload info).

NYC Chinatown Fruit Market Under the Manhattan Bridge

This is one of the many fruit stands in New York City Chinatown. Fruit and Vegetable markets can be found throughout Chinatown - on Canal, Mulberry, Elizabeth, Bowery and ... basically just about every street in Chinatown! But there is one fruit/vegetable market under the Manhattan Bridge that is enormous and sells a variety of items -- fruits, vegetables, man taus (white bread rolls), and even fish (yes, you'll find all sorts of random things). What I find interesting about this street is that -- its not just Chinese people selling these items, rather its a diverse community of individuals. If you wander down this street, don't be surprised to hear the non-Chinese individuals speaking Mandarin/Cantonese to their clients. If you are lucky, you'll also witness true "Darwinism" at its best with non-Chinese vendors yelling "catch phrases" that lure customers to their stands... which catch phrases you may ask -- "cheap/inexpensive", "very sweet", and "very fresh".

The prices you find here will be the same throughout the street, but most likely cheaper than other street vendors on other streets (i.e. Canal/Mulberry/Bower). Why? They've adapted the Costco/Walmart model of volume discounts! 10 plums for $1.00? A pound of cherries for $1.50. Need I say more? However, sometimes you do get what you pay for... So as far as the quality goes, be careful not to be duped. If you buy something, inspect the items before you leave (especially, if you didn't pick it out) because they may have also put in some "bad ones" (usually fruits) -- and you won't notice until your home!

So happy fruit and vegetable shopping down this street!

Here are some of my select photos from July 2009 shot with my Nikon D60 or you can visit the album to get more detailed info on the vendors.

Manhattan Bridge Chinatown Fruit and Vegetable Market: Under the Manhattan Bridge

The closest street I would say is -- its between E. Broadway and Division Street, near Forsyth and Market Street ... If you hit Eldridge, you've gone too far!

What to do when you're unable to sleep? Blog about being trapped in a pyramid!

I guess you can read to get your eyes tired... or you can count sheep (does that really work?) ... or you can write...

So I decided to write about my recent trip in Egypt ... about getting trapped in a pyramid ...

For an interesting story ...

click below ...


Trapped in the Red Pyramid of Dashur, Egypt

Rain, rain ... go away ... come back another day... Hurray! No More Rain!!!

As I am wide awake at an odd hour in the morning, I found this photo and it was taken on 09/11/09.

How many of these did you find on the streets over the past few days... Lucky for us ... we are free and clear of rain for the next week and maybe even longer! YES!!!!

But, sadly, there is a lot of clean-up work to be done in certain parts of New York and New Jersey.

Ken Shung's Lighting for the Magazine Class -- #3 -- Octabank Light

Model: Laura Volapacchio

For our third class, we had our choice of setting up with a Octabank, Softbox or Foamcore... I decided to go with the Octabank since we were doing portraits and I wanted a soft feel ... And after 15 minutes of shooting, this is what I ended up with ... :D

Background: Laura Volapacchio is currently attending NYU Gallatin, pursuing her own major focusing on Visual Culture (which is all encompassing fashion, dance, art and beauty). She is quite a sensible young lady and I wanted to portray her as such. Additionally, she loves to dance and has a background in ballet, but would love to do jazz or modern tap dance -- so my thought was to capture two types of portraits -- a young, sensible and fashionable young adult and a dancer with her ballet shoes on.

Lesson of the Day: Don't be afraid to move your lights around. Sometimes the model can be 2 ft away from the light -- and its ok... Just play with it, test it and see if it is what you want your photo to be... and of course, always be creative!

sidenote: for those who don't know what a octabank is (because I didn't), its essentially an octagon shaped soft box. there are two brands that make it (that i know of) -- elinchrom and westcott -- and its great for portraits. its a great bank light to evenly distribute light (or so, that's what I found). The bank light is also put on a redwing studio boom stand, which allows you to swivel the octabank everywhere (above the head, to the left to the right, below)...

I wonder though --- if you can achieve the same evenly dispersed light via umbrellas? ... probably similar, but not exactly the same -- Ken mentioned that the Octabank manages highlights better in clothing, where other smaller light sources have fall off within a foot.

Chinatown Kids Playing with Party Snaps (Chinese New Year Celebration)

If you walked around Chinatown on Chinese New Years Day (February 14, 2010) you were bound to see kids walking around with their box of Party Snaps. Party Snaps are "noise makers" -- little sachets filled with some sort of fire-cracking powder that once thrown onto the ground makes a KA BOOM noise. Ok, not that drastic... but it does catch your attention. And kids love these things -- I know I did when I was young (and a little older... alright alright, I still enjoy the occasional surprise you POP ... its fun for all ages!). These things are about $1.00 for two, or if you're lucky and aggressive with the sales people, you can negotiate three for $1.00 (good luck though!). Any random knick knack store sells them in Chinatown and if you absolutely can't find them -- google it and you will be surprised that amazon.com sells it and a whole bunch of other online retailers!

Below are a few photos of this very animated young girl playing with her party snaps... you will love the expressions on her face! Click away on the photos if you can't see her face...

This is her digging DEEP into the box to get a good number of POPs to throw our way!

The ... "I'm going to get YOU sucker " face...
and "Just to show you I'm serious, I'm throwing one on the floor to demonstrate how scary I can get!

The "UTTERLY" annoyed face of "why didn't it pop!"

"Ok, I'll get you next time!"

SNAP away!

What did I learn from Ken Shung's Lighting Class Today?

"Forget the technical, be creative!" says Ken Shung...

and he may be right, considering there's only TEN three hour class sessions with him. So, with limited time in each class (less than two hours after instruction and set up), he says -- BE CREATIVE!

With 30 minutes on the clock ... I start to photograph .... I have to think creatively, I have to act decisively, and most importantly, when all the sh$t hits the fan, I still have to think positively!

So what did I learn from Ken Shung's Lighting Class today? Be Creative and let the technical part come later ... and I present to you my photograph of ...

"A Silent Wish ..."

Model: Ayana Barber

Note: Don't be misguided, the technical part is very important and it takes months/years to understand, so expecting to pick-it-up within a 3 hour 10 week session will be challenging! Thus, creativity with my photos will be at the forefront of this class... in addition to getting to use all the fabulous equipment at the School of Visual Arts. But so far, so good with Ken Shung's instruction of Lighting for the Magazine class!

Happy Valentine's Day

Just wanted to wish everyone a

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

and of course,

A Happy Chinese New Year!!!

Photo done with a 4x5 View Camera w/ a Phase One H25 Digital Back.

How Cold is TOO Cold?

Ok, really -- how cold is too cold in NYC? 30? 20? 10? Yesterday's low was 15 degrees F and its not going to be any better today. I don't know about you - but that's cold for this California girl! and, that's cold for my two California friends that are visiting as well!

Can you guess what the above picture is? Its a picture of Joy, Lye and me wearing long johns! haha. anything to keep us warm in this chilly weather -- and sadly, its still not enough! back out to the cold we go!

Penelope's Brunch in Murray Hill

Penelope's on 159 Lexington Avenue at 30th Street is a quaint little cafe/bakery/restaurant that serves up one of the best Egg, Ham and Cheese English Muffin sandwiches, also known as Penny Egg Sandwich. What makes this sandwich different than many other food establishments is the PESTO that lines the english muffin and the fluffy scrambled egg that sits between the bread. Oh, so delicious. Though, the brunch menu says its made with american cheese, its not the typical yellow american cheese you are accustomed to, its white and has a milder flavor. If you order the Penny Egg Sandwich, you have the option of putting it on a croissant, which in my opinion is a travesty. If you place it on a croissant, the heat from the ingredients will make the sandwich greasy, or way tooo buttery. Also, you can have the sandwich prepared with its main ingredients - eggs, cheese & pesto sandwiched between your bread choice for $8 - but where is the fun in that? Among your meat choices are ham, sausage, bacon, soy sausage or fakin bacon and since I already gave away what my favorite sandwich is, you know the best is with HAM ($8.50). Plus, it makes the sandwich less greasy. If I can leave you with one other piece of knowledge about this sandwich -- it is to order extra PESTO on the side -- you will fall in love with the sauce and would likely want to add more of it. So, go and enjoy one of the best egg, ham and cheese english muffin sandwiches I've ever had! (see you later McDonald's!)

If you're not a fan of this type of sandwich (blasphemy!), there are other things on Penelope's brunch menu that I'd recommend (all $14 entrees and served with your choice of Apple Cider, Mimosa or Coffee/Tea and Juice) and of course others I'd tell you to pass on.

The Salmon Wrapped Poached Eggs -- two farm fresh eggs wrapped in smoked salmon on black toast with green goddess dressing, served with greens. A definite GO and order menu... Ample portions and good breakfast item.

Nutella French Toast - three slices of french toast filled with warm chocolate hazelnut filling, dusted with powdered sugar, served with a side of fresh fruit -- sounds better than it tastes; the french toast is made with a baguette, which comes out hard and is not to my liking. This is a personal preference, but I prefer my french toast to be soft, not hard or crunchy -- they should change it to challah bread.

Pumpkin Waffles - with apple butter, dried cranberries, toasted cinnamon-cardamon pecans and warm baked apples -- again, sounds better than it tastes. If you're a pumpkin pie lover and want that pumpkin/cinnamon taste, you are better off ordering something else. You can barely taste the pumpkin or the cinnamon (hmm, perhaps its a good thing?), so I'd much rather prefer the traditional waffles.

Desserts/Cakes -- You really can't go wrong with anything that you choose; its all very delicious - so treat yourself to something sweet!

Though, I've talked a lot about its brunch/breakfast menu, I've also been there for lunch/dinner. I'd highly recommend the Curried Chicken Salad ($9.25), Mac & Cheese ($6.50) and Chicken Meatballs ($8).

This place is notorious for long waits over the weekend, so if you plan to have breakfast/brunch with friends, I'd recommend going early (as in 8-10 am), and go with just ONE friend. If you're a popular cat and is desperately trying to get a table for four or six people -- you will be painstakingly waiting for a hour or more if you arrive later than 10 am. On the plus side, you can enjoy their free coffee while you wait (um, probably not worth it especially if you're standing outside in the cold!). You'd be better off getting your breakfast at Banc on 3rd avenue! If you don't want to wait (who does?) and are only a party of two, you can also try to sneak into the bar area in the back, which is first come first serve or order to go and eat at home. :D

Happy Eating and don't forget to order that Penny Egg Sandwich!

Penelope's
159 Lexington Avenue (at 30th street)
NY, NY 10016
(212) 481-3800

About Penelope's: Penelope's opened in 2003 and is created and operated by Jennifer Potenza and built by her partner Michael Tsoumpas. The restaurant's menu is loosely based off of all the places that Jen has worked at - individually picking out certain items that she has loved to eat/drink at her previous places of work - which has varied from working/serving in clam shacks in Cape Cod, deli sandwiches in Montauk, coffee shops in Chelsea, cocktail nights in the east village, and Italian wines near Soho.

No Plates - A new GastroPub in Williamsburg!

I just signed up on Yelp.com and wrote one of my first reviews... and here it is for "NO PLATES" in Williamsburg, Brooklyn!
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If you're in Williamsburg, do not miss this delectable new gastropub that opened a week ago! The food is absolutely amazing; everything you taste from the chicken wings to the pork duo sandwich to the country fried chicken has a sophisticated taste that you will undoubtedly love and will make you yearn for more!

The restaurant believes in high quality, all natural ingredients -- serving beef from "Pat La Frieda", chicken from "Bell & Evans", seafood from "Wild Edibles", and seasonal, locally sourced organic produce. No Plates touts itself as a simple restaurant that serves "bar food" w/ classical French and Asian techniques.

If this is bar food -- then the nearby restaurants are going to have their draw drop and their cash register empty simply because this place is JUST THAT GOOD and AFFORDABLE!

So, lets get to the heart of this review:

Food. As you can tell, I'm a BIG FAN of this place. Here are the food items that my six friends and I ordered (yes, we were a bit indulgent!)

Fried Calamari w/ Wasabi Mayo and Popcorn Shrimp w/ Spicy Mayo ($7, $9, respectively) - both extremely tasty and you can't go wrong with these appetizers.

Classic Cobb Salad ($13) - produce is extremely fresh, so much so, that you do not even need to use the blue cheese dressing (definitely put it on the side) -- the crunchiness from the romaine lettuce and bacon combined w/ a thinly sliced hard-boiled egg w/ chunks of avocado are amazing!

Chicken Wings ($8 for six, $15 for twelve) -- if you do not order this dish, you will be regretting it! The Super Spicy Thai wings are deep-fried to perfection and are bursting with intense flavors. If you can't eat spicy, then I'd recommend ordering the Honey BBQ wings -- which were equally as good, w/o the spicy kick!

Pork Duo ($14) - Tender braised pulled pork and pork belly w/ pickled daikon, greens and spicy mayo served with extremely crunchy fries. Can I say the meat was absolutely divine and mouth watering? Yum. The whole-grain/7 grain baguette could be a bit softer, but still -- this dish was a huge hit at our table!

Country Fried Chicken ($15) - meat brined and marinated for one day, served w/ mashed potatoes and gravy - D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S and S-U-C-C-U-L-E-N-T. Chicken was crunchy and juicy... and couldn't get enough of the mashed potatoes!

Full yet? Oh, yeah, there is still more to come -- yes, you'll get your dose of food coma here!

Hangar Steak ($17) - garlic herb marinated and char-grilled beef served w/ glazed carrots and those delicious french fries that I love! Steak was juicy and flavorful.

Three Cheese Lasagna ($13) - mozzarella, fontina, parmesan and fresh basil served with garlic toast. This dish takes 20 minutes to prepare, so order this when you sit down! Why? Its incredible. Usually lasagnas have this tangy or too sweet taste, but this lasagna -- which I'm not surprised since everything else on this menu is absolutely fantastic - had once again, the perfect balance between sweet and sour. Lets just say, after we finished all our foods, we just had to have another bite of this dish... and then another and another...

and finally...

DESSERT -- Order the chocolate cake topped with the chef's 'specially' prepared vanilla whipped cream. You would think we couldn't put another spoonful of anything into our mouths/stomachs -- but, we could and did -- This was an extremely decadent dessert.

If you eat here, besides having one of the largest smiles on your face, expect to have your belly double in size. Yes, wear your spandex pants that you've been hiding in the back of your closet (jk).

Drinks. BYOB for now. No Plates is still waiting for its liquor license,

Price. You seen it above. In NYC standards, its affordable and comparable to other food establishments.

Space. Can accommodate parties of 6 or more, probably would say 10 max since you want other patrons to eat here too. There is a bar seating area as well.

Executive Chef. Hooni Kim, who previously worked at Daniel and Masa, is a culinary genius! Akin to how people pair wine with food, Hooni Kim has by a stroke of ingenuity paired his food with beer! Ask him his thoughts on salt, citrus and other seasonings and you'll hear how "in love" and how much "joy" he receives from cooking -- its enough to make you want to become his apprentice, or sous chef! Expect to see his own restaurant opening sometime later this year/or next year! so we hope his sous chefs learn how to cook as well as he does!

Service. Good. Jeff is the general manager and moonlighting as a waiter at the moment. One of our food items was a bit undercooked and they replaced it w/o any hesitation and gave us a free entree to try!

Negatives. With all this good, there has to be some negatives -- though this is painstaking for me to say this -- its a bit chilly in here, so bring your jackets. The gastropub is housed in an old building, which surprisingly, didn't have a functioning heater! BRRR.

Happy Eating!!!

No Plates
280 Bedford Avenue
(between Grand St & 1st St)
Brooklyn, NY 11211
(718) 302-2002

On Vacation -- Check out my Travel Blog!

I've been dual posting on www.simplyMEinNYC.blogspot.com and my other travel blog that I recently started www.simplyEVERYWHERE.blogspot.com (do you like the "simply" continuation? haha; click on link here or on the link to the right under "fun links").

I haven't set up the automatic mail feeds for the new travel blog yet (and probably won't do it until I am back in the states -- so just bear with me and go directly to the travel blog for updates - thank you thank you thank you)

anyhow, its been difficult posting blogs while traveling, especially with the slow internet speeds... but be patient and you will receive. :D

happy travels and happy eating in the meantime!