Feeding Umi

I guess I never highlight “bad” places here. I mean, it’s not my intention to bomb places, especially since I don’t know who would listen to me. However, in light of the last entry, I need to point out that I’ve tried many places that bombed. Sometimes, it wasn’t even the food that did it.

Having such an excellent experience at this last place recommended by the NY Times, it’s a shame that the last time I tried a Under $25 Thai / Asian place recommended by the times, I had an awful experience.

Rhong Tiam
87 2nd Ave
New York, NY 10003

I tried to have dinner here shortly after the NY Times review. When I got to the restaurant, first of all, there was no front door. There was this ambiguous open side window/patio where people were waiting. There was a woman waiting there so we joined her. People came in and out and the host didn’t show up for a full 5 minutes. The woman rightfully stated, “I was waiting for 15 minutes without being acknowledged.” The host didn’t offer her any apology. The woman told him her name and that she had a reservation for three. He then replied that they didn’t have her reservation. They lost her reservation and offered her no apology, NOTHING! Then when I told them that I wanted a table for 3, all he said was “no.” No wait time, no apologies, just a shake of the head and a “no.”

What kind of behavior is this? This is ridiculous. There is a way to treat to people. I will never be coming back here again. I doubt the woman in front of me would ever patron this place again, either. This review (via yelp) basically sums up this experience. And yes, the host from that night had a fedora on, but no feather. LOLz

I tried to have lunch here.. We arrived around 1:30 to a restaurant that had 4 out of the 20 tables or so filled.. The place is nothing to look at and reminds me of your typical non-descript Ethnic Restaurant..

The only difference was, there was some jack-ass wearing a hat with a feather in it, obviously thinking he was running a night club..He thought he was hot shit but, he was like some 40 year old has been that might have been cool 20 years ago.. I commend his parents or the people at the orphanage for instilling such confidence in this man.. Despite being a 40 year old waiter trying to look like a young hipster, he still can get out of bed in the morning, nose turned up, head held high..


He sat us down and threw the menus at us.. We then proceeded to wait 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 20 minutes, with out being helped..

Mind you, the restaurant had 6 customers in it.. I seriously think this guy was in the back room practicing his Vogue dancing.. We left and went to the Italian restaurant next door.. We sat down for 2 hours and had a wonderful lunch drinking wine, negroni’s, and some good food..

I dont know how or why a restaurant would hire someone who is such an ass.. If this is the type of people they want dealing with there customers, I have no desire to return..

They should close down there restaurant and open a velvet rope style club from the 1990’s..

-daniel m.

I revisted some reviews about this place in light of writing this entry, and I was SHOCKED to find out that Rhong Tiam has a Michelin Star. What?!

What is that you see? Yes, that restaurant’s name is Umi Nom. As in, Umi Nom (nom nom nom nom mmmm munch…). Genevieve tipped me off to the place by emailing me the NY Times $25 and under article featuring none other than my namesake. Of course, we had to try it. So off we went on the mythical (and often none-existent) “G” train. You know we mean business if we brave the G train. It’s the short little train that even the times when it comes, you end up running towards the front, because you forget that it isn’t a “full” train.

Umi Nom
433 Dekalb Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11205

For most of you, this means that you need to get on the “G” train (most probably from Metropolitan/Lorimer) and get off at Classon Avenue. For us, this meant taking the L, going to prospect park, hanging out at Gen’s, then heading back out to Atlantic Ave, getting out of the subway, and going to the G train. (Otherwise, we would have go back into Manhattan to go back into Brooklyn, which is the craziest annoying aspect of traveling in Brooklyn in NYC. All trains head towards Manhattan.)

Ridiculous. I mean, you know I had to preface this entry with the “G” train rants. However, everyone take heart! THIS PLACE IS WORTH IT! I present to you, a delicious thai fusion place that is BYOB (we got a six-pack of hoegardens)

We started with a complimentary amuse bouche of fried cream crab dumplings. It was warm, light, and crispy, and gave us hope for rest of the meal. I should write about the last time I tried a NY Times $25 and under, where I was severely offended and disappointed.

We were rewarded for our trek, since this place was amazing. I liked everything we got, although some dishes more than others. We started with a cured beef dish, which resembled beef jerky. It was tough and smokey, but when you chewed it exuded flavor. Yes, I would recommend it. Next up, we shared a grilled sardine, that was done really lovely! One of my favorites from the night. It was topped with julienned daikon in a papaya salad-esque Thai/Vietnamese dressing. Surprisingly, this restaurant didn’t glaze their food with too many flavors, they let the ingredients stand for themselves. The fish was grilled with salt and subtle flavors with a side of pickled salad.

The real surprise was the rice I ordered. The boys went for a traditional “sticky rice.” I wanted garlic rice, since anything with garlic in it is a WIN for me. AND IT WAS AMAZING. They must have roasted the garlic, creamed it, and mixed it with the cooked rice. It was delicious and INFUSED with garlic. THIS wasn’t a subtle flavored and I LOVED it! For 2-3 dollars, the portion was SO generous. It was amazing. Get it. Order the garlic rice, NOT the sticky rice. (Which was executed fine. You know, fluffy and comforting… but rather normal and plain. I eat sticky rice at home regularly, so it’s not a treat for me. Oftentimes I prefer unsticky rice… coconut rice… jasmine rice, which is exotic for me, and pilafs.)

We also ordered prawns, which was large and cooked excellently. The plate came with 3 and there was 4 of us. I feel like dishes like that are objectionable and I would like to see the restaurant go the extra mile and tell us that this is the case, or in our case where it wouldnt make sense to order an extra plate… throw an extra shrimp in. The texture was great and the head is always flavorful. However, it doesn’t beat the prawns from Pok Pok, which is flavorful (and perfect), and these babies were cooked well but rather bland. They were cooked in a hearty broth, but I think prawns do well with something a little stronger.

Next, we got chinese sausage, which presentation wise left more to be desired. However, it worked for the dish and surprisingly this was spicy, sweet, and delicious. This was Chris and Ryan’s favorite dish. The dip offered in this dish was great with the prawns, too.

We were dying to try their fried chicken, which came topped with jalapenos, curiously. Ryan has a high standard for wings and/or chicken, but this was a different animal all together from other chicken I have tried. The chicken was DRY. Or rather, it was a dry fried chicken, the breading being something similar to what my mother uses, which is not oily, but gives you a nice crunch. Inside, the chicken was incredibly juicy. But, for fried chicken, which is wet with glaze, the dryness was different. It also had a good amount of heat and although it wasn’t my favorite thing I had that night, it was damn good. I can’t even say that “it doesn’t bear Pok Pok’s wings,” because it was just different. It’s not trying to be a glazed wing like every other Asian fusion. The execution is really well done that I wonder how they did it. Dry fried chicken itself isn’t quite my thing, but this was delicious. Anticipating us not wanting to share too much, we got two separate plates for four of us, which we polished off.

Genevieve and I ordered this molten chocolate cake. Decadent and amazing with thick cream and warmed cherries on the side. You know, there is no need to go on about it. Just go. Definitely get the sausage, garlic rice, fish, and everything else that follows should taste delicious. GET THE CHOCOLATE CHERRY CAKE.

At the end of the day, ALL this (we got like 2 side orders of sticky rice) cost around $80 and filled us up. (This doesn’t include alcohol. This place is a BTOB and we picked up a six pack of Hoegaardens to drink. Always a plus in my book.) There were 4 of us, so that’s around $20 a person. Not bad, huh? TRULY $25 a person. Good call NY TIMES!

At the end, we were being silly and I paid with my credit card, wondering if they would notice that my name is “Umi.” I don’t think they did before Ryan couldn’t hold it in any longer and shouted, “HER NAME IS UMI!!!!!!!!!” He was very giddy. The server, who was a sweetheart all evening looked unimpressed. He just sort of nodded. Then we showed him my credit card and he went on his way … charging it. It was anticlimactic, I will admit. I think they should give me a Umi Nom t shirt. They are lucky that this blog isn’t called Umi Nom Nom nom nom! CAUSE THEN I WOULD TOTALLY HAVE STOLEN THEIR URL!

Kris suggested that we come over and Ryan make his famous green curry. It’s surprising how many people struggle with it, when all it is is fish sauce flavoring and palm sugar. That’s it. That’s the secret. Anyway, it was a great opportunity to see the latest addition. Little Lulu! Kris saved her from a local pipe outside of a hospital. She was a tiny thing mewling, he took her home and cleaned her up. I think she’s taken up residence here ever since.

She’s a bit shy, but really playful. She was a sweetheart and the boys cooed over her. Of course, this gave Ryan the opening to mention what a hellion my cat was. Well, I didn’t say this right then and there, but since I am a bitch, I will say it here. Kittens are cute. They are also quite harmless. My cat was a quiet kitten that ate, played, and slept. He slept with me at night and was an angel. This all changed once kitty adolescence hits. I think my cat’s issue was that he had too much energy for us. Either way, he quickly learned that nipping my mother’s ankles was a prime way of getting her to chase him. He trained my family well.

Not saying that Lulu will be a hellion, but you need to instill good habits in them now. I digress. And WE DID NOT EAT THE CAT. Mwa ha ha… err. Perhaps I should do a feature where I display the animals alive, then go through the steps of cooking, and TADA! Dead chicken! Anyway.

• 3 cans of coconut milk
• chopped green and red peppers
• can of bamboo shoots
• chicken breast cut into bite size pieces
• green curry paste
• palm sugar (brown sugar is an okay substitute, try to find palm sugar, though – available at wholefoods)
• fish sauce

Making green curry is EXTREMELY easy. EASY PEASY. Seriously. Now, if you were to go around shaving coconuts and squeezing out the milk, which Sophea’s mother does, that gets to be a bit labor intensive. Also, if you mix your spices, that gets to be a bit labor intensive, too. Still, for the regular folks out there that is fine with mixing his own paste with green curry mix and coconut milk, here it is!

Saute the peppers so that they retain their color, once thrown into the pot. You can toss them in the frying pan right before they start to get tender. Get a large saucepan and pour 2-3 cans of coconut milk. You should note that we used 3 cans of coconut milk to feed 4-5 people who had seconds. When Ryan and I make it, we usually make 2 cans, though. Spoon out 4 tablespoons of curry, mix, allow to boil, simmer for 5 minutes and add the chicken and allow to come to a boil. Add the peppers and bamboo shoots and allow to simmer for around 45 mins to an hour. To finish, taste the curry, and note the lack of taste. Add in around a tablespoon of palm sugar and fish sauce. Taste. Adjust taste to your liking by adding additional green curry, fish sauce, or palm sugar. The green curry adds fragrance. The fish sauce is the main taste/salt component. The sugar balances out the saltiness. We usually add an extra tablespoon of green curry and an extra tablespoon of fish sauce to taste. Simmer for an additional 2-3 minutes and you’re done!

Couple this with some custom home-made brewed beer, and it’s heaven! (Kris brews beer at home. Yes. And the IPAs are fucking delicious.)

For dessert, we were treated to Kris’s creme caramel. (We got into this discussion of the difference between flan and creme caramel. Kris claimed that they were not the same. There really isn’t any difference, I think, except the context of what is served. You can call it Leche Flan, Creme Caramel, or Custard Caramel Pudding, like the Japanese.) It was yummy, creamy, and decadent. Kris’s roommate cut us up some really sweet mango.

I love stews and soups. The funny thing is, I never thought Ryan was a fan, because he wouldn’t want to eat them when we go out. Little did I know that he was actually just quite particular. He made me 2 stews last week, both of which were delicious. The first batch he made, was a lentils soup, “like the one I grew up eating,” he said. The little twist is that he put some goat cheese in it. Yeah. I was a little surprised, but he’s such a big fan of cooking with goat cheese. And it made the whole thing creamy and a little tangy, and it played off the heartiness of it.

All it involved was a little bit of these ingredients all put together:

• Sauteed onions, garlic, and olives
• Boiled lentils and the lentil broth (saved)
• goat cheese (ours was garlic favored)

The flavor was surprisingly subtle, creamy, and hearty. It definitely fills you up.

This dish is a complete 180 for the gentle flavor of the lentils dish. This one is just as easy, and is tomato-y, VERY HOT, and vinegary (which is apparently how Ryan loves his chili – and I will attest that every time we go to Fette Sau, he pours vinegar into his beans).

This chilli lasts forever and tastes better after you let it sit in your fridge for a night and you reheat it. It’s a little too hot initially, and I told Ryan he over did it. However, later on, the endorphins came rushing in and it was kind of a drugged up experience. Seriously. That. Hot. The heat calms down after the second reheat. It’s hotter if you eat it as cold leftovers, which is still delicious (and I was LAZY and HUNGRY after a gym trip).

Originally, he was looking for ground pork, but in the absence of it, he got pork cuts for STEW! And really, I prefer this to grounded up pork and I recommend it over ground meat. (Our apt is a strictly no ground beef, except for burgers or meatballs, home. Not for any other reason other than it digusts Ry. I, on the other hand, will eat almost anything… tripe, etc, you name it. At least once. I also have no shame in eating “mystery meat.”)

• A can of crush tomatoes (large)
• A can of Sofrito
• A can of red kidney beans
• A can of roasted chipotle
• Sauteed onion (2 small ones/1 large one) & chopped cloves of garlic
• Dressed pork tenderloins cut into bite size pieces

Uh… and dump it all in together. (Yeah, we’ve kind of stopped searing the meat ahead of time, as long as you cook them in there slowly, they are neither undercooked or too dry) Ok, if you want to be meticulous, saute the chopped onions and garlic in olive oil or grape seed oil, put them in a large sauce pan and pour crushed tomato paste. Stir in red kidney beans and desired amount of chipotle peppers (he put… 1/4 of a large can and it was HOT!). Boil the contents under high heat and then add the pork tenderloins. Stir for a bit and then simmer on low heat until the pork is done. I would say, we simmered for at least 40 minutes to an hour.

So, we went to go visit my mother. We try to make the trip once a week and of course, we get fed. She puts out SO much food. It’s almost unbelievable. For example, this one particular time, she put out, from left to right: Oden with variety of fish cakes, konyaku (root noodles), bamboo shoots, and potatoes; Sashimi with uni, salmon, and hirame; Ozoni, which is a light broth with grilled mochi in it, accompanied by naruto fish cakes, hakusai (Japanese cabbage), shitake mushrooms, and chicken; and the main course of wagyu beef negi-maki. Oh yeah, and a desert of custard pound cake and milk tea. Always expect some milk tea, if you’re coming over to my Mom’s place. This doesn’t include salad, pickles, miso shiru (soup) and rice, my friend.

Yes, my mother really has no idea how much a normal person eats. This was probably due to my father’s influence. Apparently at some restaurant, he took the prize for eating the most bowls of curry rice, something in the double digits. I also have a HUGE appetite that can accommodate eating contests… and I obviously got that from him. Living with us, my mother has such a skewed idea on what a normal portion is. I think we finished the sashimi, and negi-make, and had some oden. I finished the ozoni, of course, because I didn’t have rice and I can’t say no to ozoni.

My mother, she can cook. And she appreciates variety. Now, if only she will learn what a proper portion is… and maybe scale it down a bit.