Kin Shop - NYC

I'm a big fan of Top Chef, so Perilla (Top Chef Harold Dieterle) has always been on the top of my restaurants that I would like to try in NYC. It's one of the favorite restaurants of some of my friends in the city and it's gotten really good Yelp reviews. ...I still haven't been there yet, BUT I did get to go to his newer restaurant Kin Shop which is Thai fusion. One of my friends always insists on Asian food whenever we go out to eat, so I chose Kin Shop for her birthday dinner!

I really liked the understated decor of Kin Shop - it feels relaxed and doesn't try too hard. There is a green motif throughout and the marble-top bar area has gilted gold accents that gives the restaurant a bit of understated glamour.

I loved that the menu had a mini "glossary" explaining many of the menu items on the back page:

The food definitely did not disappoint either. The noodles were good, but paled in comparison to the red snapper in green curry. The red snapper was perfectly tender and the sauce was so good that both my friend and I used our roti (which we ordered as a side) to soak up all the leftover sauce. This was definitely one of the more memorable and unique fish dishes that I've had in a while.

Fresh Egg Noodle & Maitake Mushroom Broth poached duck egg, green onions & spinach ($14)

Green Steamed Red Snapper cashews, bok choy & kabocha squash ($27)

The restaurant's dessert menu was extremely limited but we decided to go with the passionfruit pudding with buttermilk sherbet, topped with candied cashews. My friend thought the pudding was a little too tart for her taste - which was perfect for me because I prefer tart desserts nowadays and I actually thought the buttermilk sherbet was too sweet for me.

For those that live in the West Village/NYU area, this is the perfect neighborhood restaurant. Amazing food and it doesn't feel like it's trying too hard. (Lately, I've been feeling like a lot of restaurants in NYC are just too high maintenance!) Perfect for when you can't think of a restaurant to go to (although given its popularity and rave reviews, you might end up with a long wait...).

Annisa - NYC

Living in NYC means always having friends visiting from out of town. One of my college friends really likes Top Chef, and liked Anito Lo on Top Chef Masters - so last time she was in town, she really wanted to try Annisa. Unfortunately, the timing was off and Annisa was closed for renovations at the time. However, my friend was here this weekend again and the first thing I thought of was that we could now go to Annisa, which reopened to a lot of praise from critics.

First off, walking into the dining room at Annisa, I have to comment on how extremely awkward the dining room is. We were a party of three and seated at one of two tables in the middle of the tiny dining room - it really felt like we were in the spotlight and everyone was just staring at us. The people at the tables of two on the side were actually seated right next to each other (no seats were placed on the opposite side of the table), so they were staring out at the middle of the dining room. The seating made it seem like this would be a pretty awkward spot to bring a date, despite the nice subdued decor. I think this is a spot where people come for the food alone.

Starting off, the kitchen sent out an amuse bouche - we didn't quite catch what the server described it as - it was some sort of crab tart.

It was good, but not particularly notable.

Barbecued Squid with Thai Basil and Fresh Peanuts.

I am a big fan of squid and calamari, and I had heard good things about this appetizer so we ordered this appetizer to share. It was good paired with the Thai sauce and sriracha on the side - although I didn't feel like it was the best squid I've had. I guess since Sam Sifton called it a "marvelous dish" in the NYTimes, I was just expecting something more.

Seared Foie Gras with Soup Dumplings and Jicama.

I heard that this was one of their specialties - so despite the fact that none of us were particular fans of foie gras, we ordered this and all 3 of us loved it. It was definitely the most special and unique dish we had. It had a surprisingly sweet note and the "soup" in the dumpling was completely not what I expected it to taste like. My friend noted that it was a little on the salty side though - which I would have to agree with.

Miso Marinated Sable With Crispy Silken Tofu in a Bonito

Broth.

For my entree, I got the sable fish which was amazing. First off, it was a huge chunk of fish. The fish by itself, dipped in the broth was delicate and very tender. However, after having lots of the bonito broth, I got a little tired of how salty it was - although that made it a good pairing with the crispy tofu.

If you are going to dine at Annisa, you should take note that the food takes a long time though. I think my friends and I were at dinner for about 1.5 hours - which compared to some other dinners I've had, isn't bad at all - but something about the quiet setting at Annisa, made it feel like our wait was forever. The timing was definitely off because there was at least a good 30 minute gap between our appetizers and entree.

Millefeuille of Strawberries with Ricotta, Pink Peppercorns and

Aged Balsamic.

After having Lady M's green tea mille feuille at my friend's engagement dinner (see below), I was excited to try another variation of mille feuille. I also had never heard of pink peppercorns so I wanted to check it out. I was a little disappointed when it came out to the table. It was not the type of cake I expected, although I guess there are different variations of mille feuille. I really wanted crepes, not crunchy puff pastry I got instead. But it was a light dessert, which I am always a fan of.

Pecan and Salted Butterscotch Beignets with Bourbon Milk Ice

I liked my friends' dessert better (although one of my friends liked mine better!). I love desserts where there is something hot paired with something cold - and I guess you can't really go wrong with a fried dessert.

Along with the check came some palate cleansers - from the top, mini pineapple popsicles (very refreshing!), candied ginger (intense ginger flavor - my first time having candied ginger), and mint chocolate truffles (the clear winner of the group).

It might have been the rain or the long day I had, but I think the expectations I had for Annisa were just too high. Or maybe it was the extremely awkward seating arrangement...