Monica "Lobese" L.'s Profile

Just had pretty good meal at Talde. At first I didn't know this was a new restaurant by a former Top Chef contestant, Dale Talde. I heard 'Bacon & Fried Oyster Pad Thai' and that was what got me excited. My friends and I stopped in on a saturday night without reservations - huge mistake. The wait was 2.5 hours long! We finally got in sunday night (with reservations, of course) and decided that we would go big and order virtually everything on the menu and family-style the meal.

PLUM WINE BELLINI - a sweet & bubbly concoction made from Choya plum wine and prosecco

PERILLA LEAF - Shiso leaf wraps topped with toasted shrimp, coconut, bacon-tamarind caramel and peanuts. So many complex flavors blowing my mind on that tiny little leaf. Amazing.

OCTOPUS A LA PLANCA - Not too tough and grilled to perfection.

PRETZEL PORK & CHIVE DUMPLINGS - Interesting combo of pretzel skin filled with typical pork dumpling filling - with a side of spicy mustard. It was a little too greasy and salty for my taste.

WHOLE ROASTED BRANZINO - The Branzino was wrapped in banana leaf and roasted with a variety of herbs, turmeric and tomato. They give you a side of mini tortillas so you can make DIY fish tacos. Loved this dish.

CRISPY OYSTER & BACON PAD THAI - I was so excited about this dish but ended up completely underwhelmed. It utilizes two of my favorite ingredients (bacon & oysters) but somehow it came out tasting like every other pad thai I've ever had... just greasier. It was disappointing.

KOREAN FRIED CHICKEN - This dish is virtually half a chicken fried up Bon Chon style and covered with a spicy kimchee yogurt, blanched grapes and crushed mint. The crisp of the skin was perfect, the sauce was spicy enough, and surprisingly the grapes & mint worked with the dish. We had four people eating this and I ended up with the chicken breast. I hate white meat but I didn't hate this white meat.

SHORTRIBS KARE-KARE - This was my favorite entree of the evening. Tender braised short ribs that fell apart at the touch of your fork. It was drenched in this rich, spicy coconut sauce and topped with coconut pieces, peanuts and pickled chilies. So dreamy. I only wish we had more, especially for the price.

CAP'N CRUNCH HALO HALO - I would come back over and over again, just for this dessert. It's a traditional Halo-Halo with a twist. Talde makes shaved-ice with fresh coconut, mango, bananas, condensed milk, jackfruit and tapioca... but tops it all off with Cap'n Crunch! So freaking good.

Food coma ensued.

My buddy and I have been talking about trying balut for about a year or so. Getting excited, then psyching ourselves out, then getting all excited again. I did some research on restaurants that serve balut and after several dead ends, I wound up emailing Nicole, the owner of Maharlika. They serve it, it sells out quick but she promised to reserve a few for me. I was ECSTATIC.

When the balut arrived, we took a deep breath, cracked open the hot egg and drank the liquid inside. It was a warm and savory chicken soup flavor - quite pleasant. We peeled a bit more and scooped out the yolk & dipped it in some salt and vinegar. It was smooth and creamy - just a normal hard boiled egg. Then we got to the "egg whites" where the fetus was was just beginning to form. It was a little off-putting but we took it like champs. It didn't taste bad at all, I imagine it's like eating a normal duck or chicken... just nugget-sized.

After the balut, Nicole brought us shots of Weng Weng to wash it down. Maharlika's Weng Weng is actually a shot of warm gin with a special house-made cherry vinegar chaser that's been brewing for 4 months. It was really nice and unexpected. Sour, sweet, savory and garlicky.

After that I was ready for my Fried Chicken & Ube Waffles with Macapuno Syrup & Bagoong Butter. I'm a hardcore lover of chicken and waffles but I've never had any quite like this! I love the Filipino take on this deep south dish. The chicken was perfectly seasoned, skin fried crispy, but the inside was so so juicy. My ube waffle was a nice lavender purple, fluffy and sweet. I went wild with the macapuno (coconut) syrup and the bagoong (femented fish/anchovy) butter was really something special. It was the perfect balance of sweet and savory - my tastebuds were going out of control. This was easily a two person dish, but of course, I cleaned the plate with not a scrap to be found.

What a great meal & a great experience. Another dish checked off my bucket list!

I've died and gone to heaven.

I'm just sad I never had the chance to experience this omakase while Chef Yasuda was still here. This is no Americanized sushi. You can actually taste and see the difference in the quality and skills. The rice was perfectly seasoned and the fish - incredibly fresh. You eat with your hands, the traditional way. No soy sauce needed - it's already been brushed with the appropriate amount. Wasabi used sparingly.

Notable bites:
* Tempura Matcha Prawns - very tender. suck the heads!
* Oyster sushi - Freshly shucked, plump & juicy, with coarse salt sprinkled on top.
* Toro - Melts on contact. Seriously.
* Uni hand roll - Soft and sweet. I wish I could have had this on sushi as well.
* Rock crab sushi - Sweet, flaky, and a bit briny.
* Sweet shrimp - Ama ebi is quickly becoming one of my faves. The flavor is mellow with a sweet aftertaste.

I'm drooling just thinking back on that meal.

Taro is a game-changer. We strolled in with a couple friends this weekend and the place was packed - a very good sign. The specials were posted outside the door - Uni Special, a taste test between California sea urchin and Maine sea urchin, $9.50. It's like they knew I was coming! I could not contain my excitement.

We were seated 30 mins later and the food & service was impeccable from start to finish. Our waitress was efficient and never missed a beat - even with a full house to deal with.

All the seafood here is incredibly fresh and you can really taste the difference. It was especially apparent when I ordered the Uni Special. I've never tried two different sea urchins in one sitting but I noticed that the Californian uni was more dense and creamier in texture while the Maine uni was more plump, juicy and sweet. I don't discriminate, they were both amazing.

We shared a bottle of sake and enjoyed some toro tartare as well. The toro was buttery soft and melted on the tongue. MELTED.

The toro tartare was so fresh that I ordered a toro scallion hand roll as well as a deep-fried oyster hand roll.  It wasn't the most beautiful presentation but man, they sure made my tastebuds happy. My mind exploded right after the oyster roll, it was pure perfection; plump, fresh oysters breaded in crispy panko, lightly fried then rolled in shredded cabbage, kewpie mayo and katsu sauce.

I usually have to prepare to spend top dollar at Morimoto's or Blue Ribbon Sushi to get this quality of fish and service. The prices here are extremely reasonable, the fish selection was impressive, it's completely unpretentious and the service rocked. I'll be back for the omakase for sure.

I've recently discovered the glories of hallaca here. Hallaca is pretty much a gigantic Venezuelan tamale. It's typically made from a delicious mixture of slow-cooked beef, pork, chicken, capers, raisins, and green olives in a cornmeal mixture. Then they wrap that in banana leaves before the steamer. Epic fiesta in my mouth.

I'm so happy to have found a legit Szechuan place in the neighborhood. Szechuan cuisine calls for everything to be doused in tons of mouth and body-numbing Szechuan peppercorns. I ordered the beef noodle soup and it did not fail to satisfy. It's like getting high while you're eating - your mouth is the first thing to go numb, then your body, and your nose begins to run. That means it's damn good. And it's perfect for a cold day. I will definitely be coming back more often.

They're famous for their whole shrimp wontons. Grab a bowl of shrimp wonton noodle soup for less than $5 and you're set for a cheap and delicious lunch.

Artichoke's Artichoke pizza is currently my favorite in NYC - it's got artichoke hearts, spinach, savory cream sauce, mozzarella & pecorino romano on hot crispy dough. It's pretty much spinach-artichoke dip on top of a thin crust. It's perfect for a chilly day out in the city.

Incredible Asian-inspired dogs. I'm pretty obsessed with 'The Vinh', which is a Vietnamese banh-mi style dog with aioli, pate, cucumbers, pickled carrot and daikon, cilantro, jalapeno. My 2nd favorite is 'The WangDing', which has Chinese slow-cooked BBQ PORK BELLY on top. PORK ON PORK ACTION!

Adorable space. Stumptown coffee. Lots of crepes. Need I say more?