I travel to NYC a few times a year just to eat and watch Broadway shows, and here's where I ate with my husband back in late April during our last visit.
Pic 1: Kong Sihk Tong - I've been here before and loved the salted egg yolk lava toast. This time I got the mixed sauce rice rolls (nice but just okay), the sausage and egg sandwich (very meh) and the black sesame lava toast (still frozen inside). Not our best breakfast in Chinatown. 4/10
Pic 2-3: Katsu-hama - We needed a pre-show meal, and this was a convenient spot. The katsu was just okay. My seafood combo and my tuna poke appetizer didn't taste super fresh, while my husband's curry sauce was weirdly sweet compared to what we've had in Japan. Not memorable but it did the trick. 5/10
Pic 4: Red Gate Bakery - Came for the chocolate chip cookie but they were out, so I got a couple of bars instead. The pickled PB&J bar blew me away! Just packed with flavor. I snacked on this over the next few days, and it held up well too. When I go back in November, I'm leaving with a box of these. The brown butter blondie was good too but much less memorable. 10/10
Pic 5: Kolkata Chai Co - I walked in looking for a quick drink and got the matcha chai. I didn't think it would work but it was one of my favorite matchas I've ever had. The warmth and sweetness of the chai really tempers the bitterness of the matcha. 10/10
Pic 6: Thai Diner - I've been here before for brunch and was a huge fan of their Thai breakfast sandwich but wanted to come back for the Thai cheesesteak. It is a huge salt bomb, (borderline too salty even for me as a salt lover), but very flavorful. The herb and crispy rice salad it came with was the surprise hit for me. Service at the counter was top-notch and the vibes are always great. 8/10
Pic 7-8: Clinton St Baking Company - I've been trying to come here for years and finally got a res ahead of time. The pancakes were good but not amazing by our standards (but we have amazing pancakes at our diners back home in VT). The maple butter was tasty but nothing beats VT maple syrup for us, and my husband honestly thought the butter got in the way of the maple flavor. What actually blew me away was the goat cheese scone. I'll be coming back for those. 7/10
Pic 9: Kisa - I've heard a lot about this place being overrated but I loved it. Everything was cooked so well and tasted like good Korean comfort food. Our personal favorite was the dried pollock soup (not pictured) that came with our meal. Perhaps it's a little overpriced but we left stuffed and couldn't finish all of our food. 9/10
Pic 10-11: Nishaan - We had just finished watching the Great Food Truck Race and really wanted to try their food. It was all absolutely delicious. The birria tacos and Pakistani chopped cheese were both super flavorful, but my personal favorite was the elotes chaat (not pictured) which I couldn't stop eating. The owner came out and chatted with us, and he was just the nicest. 10/10 experience.
Pic 12: Librae Bakery - I've been here before and feel like their baked goods tend to be hit or miss. I randomly passed by and got a tahini chocolate chip cookie and this was so soft and bland that I ended up throwing it out. 3/10
Pic 13: 12 Matcha - Everything about this place was so over-the-top and ridiculous and I wanted to hate it, but the matcha was undeniably amazing. Probably the highest quality matcha I've had in the city, and I've tried a lot of well-known places. I will unfortunately return. 10/10
Pic 14-15: Win Son - I'm a defender of this place despite all the criticism it gets. I love their fan tuan. I love their millet mochi donut. My husband loved their pine nut cookie. It's not the most authentic food but it reminds me of Taiwan, and it's hard to find Taiwanese food in Manhattan. 9/10
Pic 16: Sushi W - We really enjoyed a lunch omakase here on our last trip. This time we came for their 5pm dinner special ($10 off their $68 premium omakase, no tipping policy). It's an amazing deal for 15 nigiri and 2 hand rolls. It's not the fanciest omakase place but every bite we had was solid, and we appreciate that they don't try to hide the flavor of the fish with a million toppings (my husband is more of a sushi purist). We also didn't feel as rushed here as we've felt at some other budget omakase places in the city. 8/10
Pic 17: Santo Taco - Came just to try the steak trompo taco as a small bite before dinner, and I really didn't get the hype. For $7, the taco is absolutely tiny, and nothing about the flavor really stood out. I'd rather walk a little further and go to Carnitas Ramirez which was much better. 6/10
Pic 18: Eileen's Special Cheesecake - I've passed this place many times without stepping in but my curiosity finally won out. The banana cheesecake was great. Not the most memorable but a good sweet treat with a reasonable portion size. 7/10
Pic 19-20: Ivan Ramen - We meant to go to Okiboru House of Tsukumen but they were unexpectedly closed so we pivoted. My chicken paitan was a solid bowl of ramen. My husband enjoyed his shoyu shrimp wontonmen. I found the bowls a little small for the price. I do want to come back for the small plates which looked more interesting to me than the ramen. 7/10
