Food I ate in New York over 9 days

Went on a work trip to the big apple earlier this month. This is what we ate and why it was so good...

Eating in New York feels similar to London in the sense that you can get any type of cuisine; some place at some time. We decided to eat a different cuisine for every mealtime while we were there. It was not difficult and it was definitely not a chore.

We only broke the rule twice as we ate Chinese food twice (being in Chinatown much of the time). We also ate pizza twice. But China is also a very large country and the cuisine largely varied from the two meals. Also breakfast does not count. Apart from one meal we ate whatever offerings Bowery Citizen M had to offer – bagels, pastries, turkey bacon and the likes.

The reason I love New York isn’t to fulfil a Gossip Girl fantasy. Nor is it to traipse around the Upper East Side like Carrie or embrace a meet cue like in the rom coms. It’s not for the sarcy ironicness of being a Girl in her mid 20s trying to find her way either. For me, the beauty in New York is its multiculturalism. Chinatown in Manhattan is my favourite place in the world. Its bustling communities of Poh Pohs and Gong Gong’s going about their mahjong and tai chi. Chinatown feels like gentrification has not touched it unlike in the sterile London version which is about 1/20th the size of the sprawling streets of Buddhist temples, discount stores, restaurants galore, banking and jewellery districts, and so much more.

In Astoria, we observed the Latinx community and the strips of Central and South American eateries filled with families watching the Spanish telly above, while we asked the chatty servers for what their favourite dish of the day is. We ate Southern Fried Chicken from Nashville recipes, Greek food served out of a restaurant still bearing the old Chinatown printing shop front, Arepas, Ramen, Vietnamese, Moroccan, Pizza, Mexican, hot pot, Xian, Oysters, Sushi, Turkish. It’s safe to say we were very lucky to go on this work trip. Also because if you have been to New York, you know it is unbelievably expensive and there is no way in hell I would eat out this many times on my own dime.

Much like London, New York is special because you can walk down the street and feel like you are somewhere on the other side of the world. Boris would tell you that’s a horrible thing but diversity is in fact the spice of life. It makes everything better. It is the reason why I’ll never get bored of London and though it feels rubbish a lot of the time (need I explain more), it’s why I know I could never live anywhere else in the UK. And why I feel so lucky to be born here in the first place.

Thank you New York. I <3 you.

So here we go! *Please note I didn’t take pictures of all meals, and I may have forgotten some bits. It is not wholly accurate.

A dough stick from Chinatown.

Arepas Cafe – Astoria, Queens.

Everyone in the restaurant was speaking Spanish (sign it was a good place to eat of course and I ordered what the waitress said was her favourite.) The whole high street was in Spanish too. I felt very lucky to be able to experience this neighbourhood as there is not a large Latinx community in London.

Cellrose – Lower East Side, Manhattan

Delightful place with banging tunes and a disco ball whirring as we ate. The oysters in NY are hella small and definitely weren’t as flavoursome as ones from the south coast of the UK. The boys ordered Mezcal cocktails which drowned out the taste of the oysters.

Ix – Crown Heights, Brooklyn

We meant to go to this Guatemalan place but we went through the wrong door and ended up eating this Mexican food. Probably the most average meal we ate on the trip. Still good though. We ordered Mexican cokes which apparently have an illegal amount of sugar in them lol.

Spicy Village – Chinatown, Manhattan

This was unreal. Incredibly spicy. Dylan only ate a few mouthfuls because it was too hot and starting sweating profusely at the brow. Adam said he looks like the type of guy who find mayonnaise spicy and we called him mayonnaise for as a pet name for the rest of the trip. Great murger hans too.

Van Da – East Village, Manhattan

Not your most authentic Vietnamese meal but a delightful interpretation of small plates. Just looked it up and it is of course, labelled “modern Vietnamese food”. We ordered a set menu and it was a lot of food. Like most food in America, the portions were massive and we had to be rolled home. I don’t know how people eat so much there.

Hou Yi Hot Pot – Chinatown, Manhattan

The Chinese restaurant experience you want as a Chinese person. Straight to the point staff, slightly grubby on the inside, all you can eat food and drink (including ice cream with a tonne of mad American flavours), a sauce station with every kind of sauce you could want. Including MSG!

Peaches Hothouse – Bed Stuy, Brooklyn

This was highly recommended by a lot of people. It was absolutely delicious and succulent but too much food if you are on the go and have a full day of work ahead of you. We were told it was very spicy. The waitress said she had seen grown men crying. But were all hardened by Spicy Village earlier that week and the spice barely touched the sides ngl. It was too much food again. I got my leftover to takeaway and was hoping to find a homeless person to give it to. Later that day we discovered community fridges where you can leave surplus food for people in the community. Such a lovely idea that we should bring to London.

*See part 2 for more food envy*