Momofuku Ssam Bar (East Village, New York)

On Christmas Eve last year, it was our first day in New York City, after arriving the evening before. We traipsed around in the rain and around lunch time we started racking our brains for food ideas! Lo and behold we decided to head to one of David Chang's restaurants and this time we decided to go to the Ssam Bar. The last time I was in New York, I went to the Momofuku Noodle Bar so I was only to happy to check out the Ssam Bar! Yay!

Our timing was perfect, there was a table of 3 waiting for us. Not long after we walked in, the rest of the place was filled with diners!

We started with the very famous "Steamed Buns with Pork Belly" with hoisin sauce, cucumbers, scallions and a dash of sriracha. It was still as good as the first time I had them in June 2013 and I could have had more. The pork belly was so tender, and succulent. More please! That's what JN said anyway! :)

GK had the Rotisserie duck over rice with 'the lot'. This amounted to a plate full of duck scallion, ssam sauce, crispy shallot, lettuce, chive pancake, and pickles. The duck was perfectly cooked and let's just say GK was enjoying his dish at a leisurely pace. I couldn't help myself from eyeing the duck on his plate. They looked so succulent!

Moon Park (Redfern, Sydney)

Moon Park was one of the first modern Korean restaurants in Sydney which stirred up a whole hosts of interest in the Korean cuisine. When it first opened I recall reading many positive reviews of critics and food bloggers.

DD and I finally got a chance to dine there just before Christmas. I was a little worried that my expectations might be too high after reading so many positive reviews but no such thing happened! :)

Be aware of the nondescript black door which opens up to a short flight of stairs. I would have walked past it and not realised Moon Park was just up the flight of stairs! It opens up to a rather open space of tables filled with diners.

Not long after we were seated we were served a side of soy braised beans. At first bite I found it quite salty due to the strong soya taste but something about those beans became addictive and I kept going back for more.

We decided to go for the banquet menu as we had not been there before.

Cucumber kimchi with fresh nashi and perilla - great flavours and I was surprised that the cucumber was still very crunchy.

Deep fried rice cakes with gochujang and peanuts (Ddokbeokki) - interesting chewy rice cakes. I liked it.

Bulgogi beef short rib and anchovy in sweet cabbage (Ssam) - I enjoyed the savoury flavours of the tender ribs. Wrapping the beef in the cabbage reminded me of the Chinese sang choi bow.

Sea urchin and black garlic on seed biscuit - I was initially hesitant to try this as I didn't think I would like the taste of sea urchin. But it was surprisingly tender and delicately offset by the crunchy seed biscuit which had a strong sesame flavour. Such a clever dish and one I thoroughly enjoyed.

Koi Restaurant (SoHo, New York City)

Koi SoHo is located on the ground floor of the Trump SoHo hotel. I first saw it when I was staying at the Trump SoHo last summer but did not get a chance to check it out then.

It was not a planned dinner and we ended up here as a result of my tummy not feeling too well earlier in the day and I did not feel like venturing out too much. So JN and I met up and had a 'walk in' table at Koi.

After having a drink at the bar, we sat down and at the recommendation of the very friendly Gina, we chose the following as shared plates. Apologies in advance for the quality of the photos, some were rather grainy due to the low lights at the restaurant!

Lobster Tacos with mango salsa and yuzu guacamole. This was a delightful dish with the crunchy tacos offsetting the small bites of lobster with hints of the mango and guacamole in the taste buds.

Sunfire Roll - this is one of Koi's signature rolls. It was filled with lobster, snow crab, cucumber and cilantro roll topped with mango, avocado and ichimi. Beautifully plated and smack bang full of flavour. Delish!

Koi Crispy Rice topped with spicy tuna and yellowtail tartare. Very interesting texture of the crunchy and slightly chewy crispy rice as the base. The tuna and yellowtail tasted very fresh.