Chinese New Year fall in the middle of the week this year, so there are two weekends of celebration. We decided to do it this weekend because we figured most people will go for the next one. Sure enough, we did beat the crowd and the weather cooperated as well. It snowed last night, but there was no accumulation. It was also warm enough during the day to melt a little bit. Originally, we though many people were going to eat out today because there was heavy traffic in downtown Flushing. It turned out to be major construction on Main St. where they closed off a major intersection. We even had to walk all the way around the block and enter Tung Yi Fung from a back street. We got in at around 5:30pm and it was almost empty. It eventually filled up a bit, but not overpacked like it will be next weekend.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Pre-Chinese New Year Dinner
Chinese New Year fall in the middle of the week this year, so there are two weekends of celebration. We decided to do it this weekend because we figured most people will go for the next one. Sure enough, we did beat the crowd and the weather cooperated as well. It snowed last night, but there was no accumulation. It was also warm enough during the day to melt a little bit. Originally, we though many people were going to eat out today because there was heavy traffic in downtown Flushing. It turned out to be major construction on Main St. where they closed off a major intersection. We even had to walk all the way around the block and enter Tung Yi Fung from a back street. We got in at around 5:30pm and it was almost empty. It eventually filled up a bit, but not overpacked like it will be next weekend.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Konapun
Got this from Laura...
I remember when I was a kid, they had this oven for little girls that really worked, but that's nothing compared to the Konapun!
I remember when I was a kid, they had this oven for little girls that really worked, but that's nothing compared to the Konapun!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Snow Day II
We haven't even recovered fully from the holiday snowstorm and just got pounded with 2 medium sized ones + another big one last night. Another 2 feet accumulated from the most recent storm, shutting down the city for the 2nd time in a one month period. The office was closed and I couldn't make it to the JQuery class I had signed up for today.
At least the city did OK with the cleanup this time. Hopefully they cleared enough bus routes to make tomorrow's morning commute possible.
At least the city did OK with the cleanup this time. Hopefully they cleared enough bus routes to make tomorrow's morning commute possible.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Minado
The Ultimate Sushi BuffetLocation: 219 Glen Cove Rd., Carle Place, NY 11514
Cuisine: Asian, Buffet
Hours: SUN (11:45am-9pm); MON-THU (11:45am-9:30pm); FRI (11:45am-10pm); SAT (11:45am-10pm)
Phone: (516) 294-9541
Website: www.minado.com
Prices: * (see below)
Credit Cards: All major
Food: 9
Service: 9
Value: 8
Environment: 7
Frequency: Common
Cindy, Wil and Bradley all have January birthdays, so they did it all at once in Minado, a restaurant I haven't been in for years. The moment I stepped in, everything seemed familiar. Not a thing changed... layout, decor and menu. It's still as good as it was years ago. It's a few dollars higher than the average Chinese buffet, but I gave them a good rating for value because the quality of food is much higher. Half of the counter space is devoted to sushi. While the raw fish doesn't have the same craftsmanship as a specialty restaurant, Minado is very creative and has more variety than any other place I've been to. The non-sushi foods are fresh Japanese cuisine.
The service was a lot better than most buffets as the waitresses make rounds very often. Despite a busy night, our waitress was always available when we needed her. The environment was relatively clean except for the restrooms.
For more details, please visit the Picasa album and check out my comments.
*Prices:
- $17.50 for weekday lunch
- $29.50 for weekday dinner
- $21.50 for weekend or holiday lunch
- $31.50 for weekend or holiday dinner
- children under 5ft pay 1/2 price
- children under 4ft pay 1/5 price
- children under 3ft eat for FREE
Saturday, January 1, 2011
New Year 2011
Today is New Year's Day, but we combined it with Christmas since everyone was out of town last week. The Siews went skiing and Andy & Evelyn were with family in Texas. We all purposely kept our presents wrapped for one more week so we could do it together.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Tim Tam Slam Variations
I thought the Tim Tam Slams were a nice original snack and decided to try some variations. Some other things I've tried instead of hot chocolate were a Taiwanese multigrain drink and black coffee. I thought the original was too much of a chocolate rush, so replacing the hot cocoa with something else was natural. Both the multigrain drink and coffee are normally snack items that one would drink with a chocolate pastry, so they still went well together. Both drinks were also thin enough to get sucked through the Tim Tam. As with the cocoa, the drink must be very hot because the temperature will drop as soon as the first Tim Tam is dipped in. It must stay hot in order for the liquid to melt through the spongy middle.
Something else I tried was replacing the Tim Tam instead of the hot chocolate. I figured it should somewhat work with a Kit Kat. It doesn't have a fast melting spongy layer, but the wafers in the middle should act like a straw. Sure enough, it worked on my first try, but doesn't with every piece. There's also no collapsing effect. So we can't really call it a Kit Kat Slam.
Something else I tried was replacing the Tim Tam instead of the hot chocolate. I figured it should somewhat work with a Kit Kat. It doesn't have a fast melting spongy layer, but the wafers in the middle should act like a straw. Sure enough, it worked on my first try, but doesn't with every piece. There's also no collapsing effect. So we can't really call it a Kit Kat Slam.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Snow Day
Today is the start of my vacation week, but all my colleagues got the day off today as Wiley (and probably every other NY area company) closed due to the storm. So that means I won't get any emails for at least one vacation day!
The snow came mostly yesterday and overnight. It's probably the most accumulation I've seen since living in the city. This goes all the way back to 1999. I'd say we got about 24 inches. The bulk of it has stopped, but the strong winds are still blowing snow around.
The snow came mostly yesterday and overnight. It's probably the most accumulation I've seen since living in the city. This goes all the way back to 1999. I'd say we got about 24 inches. The bulk of it has stopped, but the strong winds are still blowing snow around.
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Tim Tam Slam!
Edith sent me a pack of Tim Tams from Australia a few months ago, but I was saving it for a family occasion. Christmas Eve was the perfect night to try it because it was just the 4 of us and it was a cold night for hot chocolate and Tim Tam Slams! After dinner at Ai Passion, Emily and I went to Rite Aid hoping to get some Swiss Miss hot chocolate. They were sold out, but luckily, there was a Dunkin Donuts on the way to my parents' house. So we had everything we needed for the Tim Tam Slams.
Here are the basic steps:
1) Prepare (or buy) some hot chocolate. Make sure it stays hot, otherwise you'll lose the melting/collapsing effect.
2) Bite off the ends of the Tim Tam so that the spongy layer in the middle is exposed. You want to bite carefully without collapsing the biscuit. It helps if the Tim Tams are stored in a relatively cool dry place.
3) Dip one end of the biscuit into the hot chocolate and use it as a straw by sucking on the other end. You have to do this for a few seconds before the hot chocolate makes its way up through the spongy layer, melting it and collapsing the biscuit into the ultimate chocolate implosion.
Enjoy!
Related: Arnott's, How To Video, Wikipedia
Here are the basic steps:
1) Prepare (or buy) some hot chocolate. Make sure it stays hot, otherwise you'll lose the melting/collapsing effect.
2) Bite off the ends of the Tim Tam so that the spongy layer in the middle is exposed. You want to bite carefully without collapsing the biscuit. It helps if the Tim Tams are stored in a relatively cool dry place.
3) Dip one end of the biscuit into the hot chocolate and use it as a straw by sucking on the other end. You have to do this for a few seconds before the hot chocolate makes its way up through the spongy layer, melting it and collapsing the biscuit into the ultimate chocolate implosion.
Enjoy!
Related: Arnott's, How To Video, Wikipedia
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