Saturday, September 20, 2008

New York, New York

I imagined a little as I read the headline today.

"Stocks soar on plan for US$500b lifeboat".

The cider of the Big Apple seemed to have sweetened a bit, I sniggered at my bad joke.

Wall Street has become the centre of attraction yet again, after a recent lacklustre trading season which lasted quite a number of months. Well, in fact, NYC has been quite quiet after Godzilla stampeded the city, hasn’t it?

Oh yes, NYC. Madison Square Garden, Central Park, Ground Zero, the Statue of Liberty, big yellow taxis and Carrie Bradshaw’s endless complaints (someone stop her, please) of the mathematically derivable relationship equation. We all have a memorable slice of the Big Apple pie, don’t we?

But do we really remember munching anything distinctively New York? No, McDonald’s and Subway don’t count.

If it was true, then I must have had a taste of New York the day I paid my annual e-pilgrimage to Comex. Yes, gadgets turn me on. So do words. And food.

Hoping to be serenaded by Sinatra’s New York, New York and Billy Joel’s New York State of Mind, I got lots of Rihanna, Ne-Yo and Chris Brown instead. Not that it was a bad thing though. That got me wondered if modernity is the food of New York.

The Meat Platter for 2 was a serious affair. We are talking about pork ribs, roast chicken, chicken cigars, baked beans, corn on cobs, coleslaw and potato wedges on a platter that could fit a whole cow’s head. Do not attempt this if your eating partner is the type that can’t even finish half a plate of chicken rice (I believe some children can do better).

The golden hue of the assorted meat was appetizing while the taste did not totally disappoint. Biting into the pork ribs was a flavoursome affair with tender meat absorbing all the salt, I mean spices. To wallop half a chicken each was quite a challenge when beneath the aromatic skin was nothing but bland white meat. The keywords to success were determination and ketchup. Cooked to the right moment of tenderness though. Billy Joel, get outta my mind now! Whatever batang-like object you call it, KFC to me, still tops when it comes to crispy strips. The crunch, the taste, the aroma, the stroke. Ahhh.. This version, though flavourful (with chili dipping), was rather hard. Despite the generality, for S$36.90, it was definitely value-for-money. No doubt about that.

Now I remember vaguely that New York is famous for its cheesecake. Or is it mudpie? Though I enjoyed the warmness of the chocolate fudge drenching the chocolate pie (S$7.90), I didn’t quite like the dryness of the pie. Give it a bit more butter for that smoothness and I’ll be humming Moon River. The scoop of vanilla ice-cream was a nice touch though, giving the dessert a bit of that ‘yin and yang’ness.

Fastfood chains have been proclaiming the healthiness of their meals but I don't believe that constipation can be prevented with the amount of fiber I’m getting from them two slices of green. Nor can I prevent a runny nose from the amount Vitamin C in the dessert. So, when a peach jello glacier (which the menu claimed was diet friendly) was ordered, I kind of knew what to expect. And I was right. Crushed ice with syrup and some fruits at S$6.90. By the way, I didn’t order that. So, yeah.

If New York, New York was really New York, then I guess New York is all about magnitude, convenience, complex carbohydrate and immensity of taste.

I’m a not diggin’ it too much, but it’s kinda cool.

Sometimes.

*Munching fries and chips while typing this and watching business news*

New York, New York
No. 1, Raffles Link
#B1-47A
CITYLINK
Singapore 039393
Tel: (+65) 63419695

25 comments:

choi yen said...

All those meats look so dry~~ will feel like chewing a tree bark?

Jun said...

hehe i met up with a friend at the same NYNY too! i din think the food was THAT great tho :/

backStreetGluttons said...

new york ? their time is up we are afraid...

its now called beijing shanghai

Precious Pea said...

Chocolate pie sure does look rich and sinful, sadly, didn't fare that high huh?

ai wei said...

haha, i really tot u were in new york

@.@

Simon Seow said...

Batang thing? lol

nikmatnya... said...

http://lh6.ggpht.com/avanzakubiru/Rv58ipfhyOI/AAAAAAAAA04/Op6v6oa5_IA/s800/bbqland_map.JPG but still don't have their phone no, lah! hehe... how about u r other friend, they know?

HairyBerry said...

mimi, hahaha! yeah, i thought of that also. but the spare ribs were tender. the white chicken as well. but the chicken cigar was a bit like that tree bark lor.. :(

jun, yupe, definitely not THAT great. i thought the ribs were nice though. but that's it lor. hehe...i saw lotsa ppl ordering the salad. what u ordered ar?

backstreetgluttons, i hafta agree on that lar. china is rising with Gbps as we speak. beijing, shanghai, shenzhen, dalian, xiamen, etc etc etc!!! woah, salivating...hehehe

precious pea, i thought the warm fudge was kinda nice but the pie really not nice lar. dry and crumbly. so sad....perhaps they should put more butter lar, me thinks. ;D

ai wei, hahaha! i wish i could be in new york! that's one of the places i would love to go to. such happenin' place!

simon, lol! that came out of nowhere...haha! oh, i love KFC's hot and spicy as well. not batang-like but definitely aromatic and crunch and shiok! haha!

mal, thanks for the map. that's cool. will let ya know if i find anything lar. must look for bloggers staying in that area already...haha!

"Joe" who is constantly craving said...

cheh..i thought some1 was sniggering at the lehman brothers employees last sunday (live at wall street)..

i suppose you could have done the same for the singapore branch rite?

fatboybakes said...

"The golden hue of the assorted meat was appetizing while the taste did not totally disappoint"

...i cant decide if that was a compliment or what!!! hahah. welcome back btw.

Unknown said...

Haha.. this place. I remember certain food's worth ordering, the rest, try to refrain, so you won't get disappointed.


p/s i agree certain things still taste best in KFC. LOL...

Christina Kim said...

Hahaha....those partner who can't finish half a plate(I belive children can do better)...gosh, I am so embarassed now(*blushes*)
I can never finish my food, and usually, the kids can...awwwwws, shucks:(

Anyway, that's a lot of meat there..hehee:p
And I agree with those fibre and healthy eating crap...yikes, don't even get me started on those so-called full of Vit C desserts....crap:p

Lyrical Lemongrass said...

Well, certainly NY2 would fail to impress. NY food must be eaten amidst smog, stretch limos, roasted chestnuts, rappers on sidewalks and Donald Trump.

Live2Talk said...

Did you encounter any New York babes along the way?

nikmatnya... said...

thx friend... dah jumpa via http://shaqura.blogspot.com/2008/09/makan-makan-lagi-bbq-land-kuang.html then dpt ni plk from d owner http://www.geocities.com/bbqland2003/

all d best!!!

Ciki said...

ya lar.. good to be back but bad to see my stocks plummet! I want mudpie!!! :D excellent shots of the desserts!

J2Kfm said...

read bout this from another blog. interesting concept, bringing NY food to cater to local palates. Or S'porean's for that matter.

Me digs platter platter stuff. even Manhattan FMarket's Platter got me going. hehe....maybe the secret lies in the portion?

Shell (貝殼) said...

Don't know when will it be openned in Malaysia?

Big Boys Oven said...

this is so evil . .. . . delicious!

HairyBerry said...

joe, oh, singapore is hot on the AIG (AIA) issue. many policy holders were at the building for enquiry and cancellation of policies...wah liao wei!

fatboybakes, thanks! well, i guess i can call that a compliment lar cos i was expecting a less than average "fried" taste, despite the nice colour..hehehehe...

keropokman, yupe, i agree! i should try the salad lar, the next time i pay a visit. seems to be a hit with many patrons.. ;D
yes, we cant live without finger lickin' goodness, right? yummy!!!

christy, hehehe, bring me along next time! i can sapu food for you like a big storm liddat one..hehehehe...
hahaha! you also agree on the healthy eating issue? great! i guess the only healhty, i mean really healthy food is hakka lui cha, hor? i lurve that stuff! :)

lyrical lemongrass, hehehe...perhaps that's what's memorable about NYC food lar hor. not so much on the food, but the surrounding itself...hehehe...

live2talk, hmmm, actually nope. but i did encounter lotsa tanned, singapore babes as they walk from suntec city to the city hall interchange..hehehe...

mal, congrats! you memang cekap lar! i'll go check out the website as well. and thanks for the info, dude! ;D

all d best!

cumi & ciki, thanks for the compliment. am glad you are back! well, when there's a fall, there'll always be a rise. so, be optimistic, ya! ;D

j2kfm, haha! i like platter stuff as well. cos got variety. it's like having a mini buffet liddat...haha! i think NYNY food is similar to TGIF, San Fran etc etc. with ribs and all lar, i guess. :D

Shell (貝殼), hmmm, interesting question. given the good business that they are doing, i think it might not take long before they decide to explore the malaysian market..it'll be fun! ;D

bigboysoven, hehehehe...where got evil wor?? hehehehe...maybe we'll go there when you are here. ;D

Xiu Long Bao said...

The pic reminds me of the horrifying experience. Unreasonable portion for 2, ok. And that pizza that was cancelled...haha

Btw, I can finish one plate of chicken rice.

Unknown said...

wow, the meat platter looks like you need a good work out after eating it. yeah i think if the partner can't eat a lot, den no point ordering this, waste food. haha. the mudpie not very good eh? i dunno, been to nyny twice but i didn't order their desserts

http://www.ladyironchef.com/2008/01/13/haato/

Unknown said...

eh sorry dude, accidentally paste that link there. den i click publish the button already. lol

ling239 said...

Nic ah Nic...
u finished the meat platter all on ur own ah ? :P

HairyBerry said...

xiu long bao, ya lor, actually we should hv omitted the desserts and go for the pizza hor?? hehehe..chicken rice on the way.........

brad, haha, i think the mains are huge enough to keep the desserts away, right? i think i will order the salad next time. apparently, everyone orders that! ;D

no prob on the link! ;D

ling239, haha! no lar..it was very, very big! haha! i shared that with xlb. good thing that we both could finish the whole plate! hahaha!