China Pearl Seafood Restaurant

Friends and I were craving good Cantonese style seafood and decided to satisfy that craving here.

We ordered 5 dishes...

Let's start off with the only non-seafood dish. I hope I'm remembering this vegetable right...I believe it's snow peas leaves? It was good simple stir fry. I think it's hard to mess this up.

Clams with Black Bean Sauce

In my opinion, this one was the worst of the batch. It was salty and when it came out, it looked a little weird too me. Something was off with consistency of the sauce. It looked like an "old dish" if that makes any sense.

I only ate a few of these clams.

Fried Flounder

I don't know why I don't order more fish when I go out. I like it but I'm not ready to cook it at home (I'm not over the slimy part yet). This dish was great. It was nicely fried so it had a nice crunch. The only bad thing was that it had some sort of soy sauce underneath it which made the areas that were on top of the sauce a bit salty. Next time, I will definitely tell them to put the sauce on the side.

Stir Fry Lobster - ~$29

This was great as well. It wasn't too bland or salty. The only bad thing was that there weren't a lot of pieces that had a lot of meat. It was good but I'm not sure if it's worth $29.

Salt and Pepper Fried Squid

The dish that others have raved about. It sure didn't disappoint. The batter was light, the seasoning was just right and it didn't taste oily at all. One of the best fried squid dish I've had in awhile.

Overall, good seafood place and I would go back. The bill came out to be ~$102 before tip. Not a cheap meal but I guess you would expect that considering the majority of the dishes were seafood.

China Pearl Seafood Restaurant
8222 45th Ave
Elmhurst, NY 11373

Casa Villa

I know it's crazy but I was addicted to this taco truck in CT awhile back. I've calm down since then but the last time I went to CT, I tried out another Mexican place. This time it was an actual restaurant.

Complimentary Chips and Salsa

The salsa was great. It had a nice kick and was flavorful. It also wasn't water down like some salsas I've had in the past.

Sangria - I think it was $8?

Decent but I still like Pio Pio's white win sangria better (the one on Northern Blvd in Queens)

Hot sauces - I forget which one was the spicy and which one was mild but both were decent hot sauces.

Cocktail De Camarones - $10 - Shrimp with onions, tomatoes, cilantro in a citrus cocktail sauce

It had a good amount of small shrimp in this cup. I didn't eat this so I'm not sure how it tastes.

Sopa De Mariscos - $8 or $15 -- Seafood medley and vegetables in a red seafood broth.

The person that ordered this enjoyed this. It had all sorts of seafood and the broth was good.

Flautas De Pollo - $6 -- Two crispy corn taguitos filled with chicken and spices. Served on a bed of shredded lettuce, black beans, onions, with tomatillo sauce and crema mexicana.

This was disappointing. The chicken was bland and the garnish on top of it didn't do much. Overall, if it was for the hot sauce, I don't think I would have enjoyed it one bit.

Chicken Burrito with Rice and Beans - $10

I think the picture speaks for itself. The burrito was quite disappointing. The chicken just didn't have any flavor and there was nothing inside of it to make up for the tasteless chicken. It looks like the chicken wasn't even grilled properly.

Overall, I'm not sure I would ever go back here. It just isn't worth the trip to CT.

Casa Villa
866 E Main St
Stamford, CT 06902

Phone number (203) 348-0622
casavillarestaurant.com

Prosperity Dumpling

So this place has 1671 reviews with a 4.5 rating on Yelp. That was enough to drive to chinatown to try them out. I ended up getting there around 1-2pm on a weekday.

The place is a small and tight shop with about 4 stools for seating. There were about 4 people ahead of me. Ordered 5 orders of the Chives and Pork Fried Dumplings and it was ready in about 10 to 15 minutes.

5 for $1

End result? Eh..it was alright. It was good thoroughly cooked dumplings. Not sure if it warranted the 1671 reviews/4.5 rating on Yelp though. It's definitely not worthy of going out of your way to get it.

Prosperity Dumpling
46 Eldridge St (between Canal St & Hester St)
New York, NY 10002

(212) 343-0683
prosperitydumpling.com

Hyderabadi Biryani & Chat

Decent Indian takeout near me. I've tried a few of their chicken dishes including their chicken vindaloo and I think their Pepper Chicken is the best.

Naan

The sucky thing about this place is that it is inconsistent. Sometimes, the pepper chicken is awesome, sometimes it is okay and sometimes it just plain sucks. I will say that it is usually good than bad.

This dish is spicy and has a good medium "thick" sauce. I hate watery curry as it just spills all over your plate and naan.

Hyderabadi Biryani & Chat
44-27 Kissena Blvd
Flushing, NY 11355

(718) 353-5577
biryaniandchat.com

Spicy Honey Chicken

Tried a new chicken recipe the other week and this one has some potential.

The skin of this was awesome. Slightly sweet and spicy. The inside though didn't have as much flavor as I wanted. I think it was because I didn't let the meat marinate overnight. The next time I make this, I'm going to let it sit overnight and add in a bit more cayenne pepper. 

Recipe: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/spicy-honey-brushed-chicken-thighs-10000001591042/

Yeh's Bakery / Red Leaf Bakery

A friend told me that my favorite green tea cake bakery also makes good curry beef puffs. I love me a good curry beef puff so I decided to check it out one day.

I wanna say these were $1 each? They were good except that it had one major flaw. The meat to pastry was off. There was just not enough meat for the thickness of the puff. I felt like I was eating more of the outside than the filling which left my mouth feeling dry and wanting more. I guess Fay Da Bakery will still be my go to place for my curry beef puff cravings.

Yeh's Bakery / Red Leaf Bakery
5725 Main St
Flushing, NY 11355

Stir Fry Lemongrass Shrimp with Onions

Another shrimp dish just for you J!

Stir fry shrimp with lemongrass and onions. This is one of my favorite family dishes (bro cooks it the best) so I had to try to master it myself. My first attempt? Good but not great. I didn't get the flavor right and I overcooked the shrimp.

Will try this again soon though!