Spice Market

is locaged at 403 West 13th Street in NYC's Meatpacking District. This huge asian fusion restaurant is a 2 level combination between an asian bazaar and trendy lounge.

"J", "R" and I dined here for NYC 2010 Restaurant. We had 4 courses for $35.

"J" had Butternut Squash Soup with ginger pumpkin seeds, Salmon Tartar soy ginger dressing and avocado, Chicken Skewer Lime Dipping Sauce and Ovaltine Kulfi caramelized banana and spiced milk chocolate sauce .

"R" had Green Papaya Salad market apples and candied ginger, Spiced Chicken Samosa with Cilantro Yogurt, Ginger Fried Rice and Ovaltine Kulfi caramelized banana and spiced milk chocolate sauce .

I had the Salmon Tartar soy ginger dressing and avocado, Charred Chili Rubbed Beef Skewer thai basil dipping, Cod with malaysian chili sauce, thai basil and Ovaltine Kulfi caramelized banana and spiced milk chocolate sauce .

Shang, eh?

Shang is located at 187 Orchard Street in NYC's Lower East Side. If you walk by too quickly you might miss the front door. The building is so narrow on the street level that it's almost incognito.

But don't miss it! The food is excellent. The chef is Susur Lee who has a highly rated restaurant in Toronto, Canada.

The restaurant has a great lounge/bar even though it overlooks E. Houston Street and there is traffic noise. They do have heat lamps, but now that it's Fall it feels a little chilly to sit in the partially covered lounge.

And the main dining area is very stylish and modern with great light fixtures.

The dishes and flatwear have a Danish feel - very simple, clean lines.

But the star is the food! "C: and I shared the 3 apps and 1 entree (thanks to our waiter who recommended instead of a second entree to order the Singapore Slaw appetizer - the only dish that Chef Lee brought from his original Toronto restaurant to NYC):

Singapore Slaw with salted plum dressing - jicama, carrots, pickled veggies, taro strips and peanuts $18 - great texture and flavors
Almond Crusted Lobster & Shrimp Lettuce Wraps with Mandarin Orange-Chili Soya Dip $17 - served piping hot, a little messy once we added the dip, but finger licking good!
Fried Calamari with fried seaweed $15 - tender and lightly battered.
Caramelized Black Cod with Cantonese Preserved Vegetables and Miso Mustard $23 - melt in your mouth with a slightly sweet sauce. The veggies had a little spicy kick to them.

And for dessert:
Warm Nectarine and Blueberry Beggars Purse with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream $12
Fresh Mango Panna Cotta with Double Dark Chocolate Mousse, Asian Pear, Basil and Mango Compote $11

Thanks to our northern neighbors for sharing one of their own with us. Woot!

Rock Sugar

In LA's Century City Shopping mall is an impressive Asian fusion restuarant called Rock Sugar. It's owned by the Cheesecake Factory, but you would not know of the business connection based on the decor and menu.

It looks like an Asian lounge on steroids. This vast restaurant has two outdoor lounge/seating areas - one on the mall side with individual fireplaces at each table. And a second on the street side (afterall this is Southern California where it's warm most of the year).

Rock Sugar offers a great prix fixe lunch menu of 3 courses for the table $24.95. Add a 4th course and the price is $29.95. Courses are meant to be shared and are large enough to do so between 2 people.

Instead of a basket of bread they serve crispy rice crackers studded with black sesame to each table. These were light with great texture and would make a great snack substitute for chips any time!

For our three courses we selected:

Chicken pho with chicken breast, rice noodles, chicken broth and herbs.
Claypot beef with chayote, sugar snap peas and basil.

Thai noodlees with shrimp, tofu,crushed peanuts and egg.

Believe it or not, but we skipped dessert.