Chinese New Year 4710

Happy Year of the Dragon!

Chinese New Year Dinner

The snow from yesterday was pretty limited. It stopped shortly after noon and left maybe about 4 inches total. So it didn't affect the roads... not even the small streets that don't get the plowing. So Auntie Day and Uncle Hal were able to get here from upstate.

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Knowing Tung Yi Fung gets packed on holidays, we went at our usual 5pm. It seems like people are catching on to this strategy though as there were already several tables populated when we walked in. I'd say the restaurant was full by 5:30! We finished before 6pm and there was a line at the entrance!

1st Snow of 2012

We made it through December and most of January without snow, but finally got some today. I actually thought the forecast would be wrong and it would end up being slushy rain, so I was a little surprised to wake up to this. It's below freezing and not rain, so the snow came out light and fluffy. It's supposed to continue throughout the afternoon and accumulate to 5 inches, which means it'll be a little higher in Queens.

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Holiday Food Fest

After traveling to the Dominican Republic, Philippines and Singapore this year, it's hard to imagine that holiday week was the best week of my year. But I really enjoyed not traveling and just catching up with friends for lunch or dinner. Here's the complete list in one spot because I posted late and back-dated a few:

- Happy Buddha
- Green Papaya
- Christmas Dinner
- BCD Tofu House
- Picnic Garden
- Palace Diner
- Blue Smoke

Happy New Year

Blue Smoke

Location: 116 E. 27th St., New York, NY
Cuisine: American
Hours: SUN-MON (11:30am-10pm); TUE-THU (11:30am-11pm); FRI-SAT (11:30am-1am)
Phone: (212) 447-7733
Website: www.bluesmoke.com
Prices: $30/person
Credit Cards: All major

Food: 8
Service: 8
Value: 4
Environment: 7

Frequency: Unique

The last restaurant of my holiday food fest was Blue Smoke with Kelly. New Year's Eve was unusually warm. As I walked out there, it started to feel hot with my light jacket on. So it was a nice day to be out. This place also had a good menu with healthy options. I wasn't going to order any steaks or burgers after all the eating from the rest of the week. I went with something light this time... a veggie burger.

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The service was OK. I think the staff checked back a little too often though. The environment was roomy with the help of a high ceiling. We were seated in the back, which had a refreshing view of the garden. I can't say the portions match up to the price of the meal though. I had a Coke and veggie burger. Kelly had a pulled pork sandwich and iced tea. We both had a slice of banana cream pie. That added up to $60... as if we both had a steak dinner! I'd say it was around $15 over what I thought it was worth. Maybe we paid for the nice window seat!

Palace Diner

Note: Palace Diner will be closed permanently after tonight. So these are the final stats:

Location: formerly 60-15 Main St., Flushing, NY
Cuisine: Diner, Greek, American
Hours: DAILY (24 Hours)
Phone: n/a
Prices: $15/person
Credit Cards: All major

Food: 8
Service: 8
Value: 8
Environment: 5

Frequency: Common

We were finally able to schedule a group dinner tonight and I read erlier in the week that Place Diner was going to be closing after 30 years of business. So we all headed there for a farewell dinner. It was sort of a neighborhood hangout when we were in high school and college. I lived in its neighborhood for a few years, but only ate there a few times. Everything was just as it was decades ago... same interior, menu and staff!

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Palace Diner will be replaced by a Chinese Restaurant, which can't be a surprise to anyone. Flushing's Chinatown is rapidly expanding and has now made it all the way up to Horace Harding. A few years ago, a Key Food across the street from the diner was replaced by a Chinese supermarket. It's early impossible to get Western food that's not a chain restaurant now.

Related: Daily News, Queens Tribune, Times Ledger, NY1

Picnic Garden

Location: 147-42 Northern Blvd. Flushing, NY 11354
Cuisine: Korean, Buffet, BBQ
Hours: DAILY (11am-11pm)
Phone: (718) 358-5959
Prices: $16/person (Lunch)
Credit Cards: All major

Food: 9
Service: 8
Value: 8
Environment: 7

Frequency: Common

The holiday food fest continued today at Picnic Garden with my parents, Auntie Kim and Uncle Bock. I first went to this place years ago with my parents after they tried it out with friends. Even though it's outside of the downtown area, it still gets agood crowd at around 12:30. We got there at 12 and by 1 it was packed.

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The buffet counters have a good variety of appetizers and main courses. The appetizers consist of various kim chee and cooked foods (dumplings, soup, chicken wings, etc.). Main courses are all uncooked since the BBQ takes place at the individual table.

The service is constantly at work as staff members made rounds to cut meat and check on the grills. The restaurant space is not that big, but all employees are on a walkie talkie system. Some people don't tip at buffets, but you should definitely do so here because the staff works harder than the typical restaurant waiters.

The food was great as with all Korean BBQ places. The space was a bit small, but still clean and comfortable.

MoMA II

After lunch, we went to Starbucks and ended up talking about MoMA. Since neither of us had plans, we headed out there. For a regular weekday, the museum was more crowded than I had ever seen. It took us forever to get tickets even though I was able to get us on the members' line. Then the bag check took even longer. But it was nice to go there again even though the Talk to Me exhibit is gone.

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Note: Photos from today were added to the end of the album I started in September.

It was a good thing we went too because I just learned that my Wiley benefit to MoMA will be cut slightly for 2012. This year, I can get myself + 2 guests in for free. Next year, I can only get myself in, but up to guests at $5 per person.

BCD Tofu House

Location: 17 W. 32nd St. (between 5th Ave & Broadway)
Cuisine: Korean
Hours: DAILY (24 Hours)
Phone: (212) 967-1900
Website: www.bcdtofu.com
Prices: $16/person
Credit Cards: All major

Food: 8
Service: 8
Value: 8
Environment: 7

Frequency: Unique

There was the big Christmas meal on the 25th and then 2 days of leftovers. Today, it was back to the restaurants again. This time, I was catching up with James in Koreatown. That was what we were looking at a couple of weeks ago, but our schedules conflicted and we had to put it off. I don't have a lot oif experience with that area, but James had eaten at BCD Tofu House before and it was a good choice because they serve organic tofu. So it was nice to eat something healthy after the Christmas buffet.


Their appetizers were a little bit less than most Korean restaurants, but that was totally fine with me. I didn't want to overeat for another meal! All dishes included their specialty tofu. I ordered the bulgogi (BBQ Sliced Rib Eye). I thought it was a soup based on description, but the bulgogi was served on a plate and the tofu soup on the side. I had some pieces plain and other I mixed into the soup. Either way, it was good.