The Kitchen Tool Odyssey

I found out that there are many kitchen supply stores along the Bowery from Houston Street, Soho to Canal Street in Chinatown. With not too many fine days left we walked the walk. I found baking utensils at good prices in these no-frills stores: a 6 cup muffin tin for $7.00, a pancake turner for $4.50, a spatula for $3.50, a bench scraper for $3.00, and a pie server for $2.50. Such good deals! You can see where we went today. Try moving the arrows on this little map I embedded below. It's interactive.

Wall with graffiti on the Bowery©AJ Wang

 Afterwards, AJ had a hankering for Vietnamese sub sandwiches. He said a good one was near Chambers Street in Lower Manhattan. It was only the next stop over on the #6 from Canal Street, so off we went. The shop is on Broadway between Chambers and Warren Streets. As is the custom with these sandwich shops, this little shop had no tables. We bought our sandwiches and went home. The bread was crusty on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. Perfect. You were expecting pictures, perhaps? These elusive sub sandwiches never last long enough to be photographed. Sigh.

City Hall©AJ Wang

City Hall Park©AJ Wang

Mangez Avec Moi©AJ Wang

My New Kitchen Tools

When Cousin Marcy Came to Visit New York City

Jing Fong Dim Sum

Food cart

Marcy took the Greyhound bus up from New Jersey to spend the day with us in Manhattan. She especially requested dim sum for lunch so, of course,  we went to Chinatown. We took the B train to Grand and Bowery and walked along the Bowery until we came to Jing Fong restaurant which the internet said was a good place. Eddie had said that there was a good dim sum restaurant on the Bowery that was near a bank, but he just couldn't remember the name. This one was book-ended by two banks, so it had to be good. It was also packed with Chinese (not a single farang in sight) so that was another indicator that the food was authentic. Every dish was served piping hot from steam carts.

Mickey D's

Making a point

Among all that good authentic Chinese food, McDonald's appears to be superfluous even redundant, but it is an American presence, so here it is. Looking like a Chinese temple with its red columns and curving roof, the façade reminds that this American identity is malleable. Of course, to some it is cause for resentment, a reminder of America's economic power. But here in Chinatown, it is McDonald's that is colonized. And happily so.

Monk napping

The courthouse in Federal Plaza

Laughing on the bus

We browsed around Chinatown a bit, walking down Henry Street and then Catherine Street, and buying cheap stuff for the kitchen. I found a set of melamine soup spoons and a teapot for under $10.00. We found our way back up Centre Street and Federal Plaza. Indomitable bargain hunters, we went into Lots-Less for more deals. I got an ice cream scoop and a silicone trivet for $5.00. Afterwards we still had time to spare so I suggested we go up to High Line Park. We took the #6 train to 14th Street where we got on the cross-town bus. The entrance to High Line Park is at 14th Street and Tenth Avenue. An elevator takes you from street level up to the park. Under a brilliant blue sky the park was a cool refreshing change from the hurly burly of the streets below. Here is a brief picture gallery of our day with Marcy.

Stocking the Kitchen

I'm on the lookout for cheap utensils for the kitchen. Today we went to Grand and Bowery in Chinatown, a block where there are four restaurant supply stores. I got an aluminum colander for $4.50, a pastry brush for $3.00, and a rolling pin for $2.00. It's actually a 1 1/4 inch dowel cut to 12 inches in length, but it will do. 

On Bayard Street  I went to look for a fresh daikon radish for tonight's supper. I remember Lorraine telling me to choose one that is firm and white, with leaf stalks still attached. The stalks should be bright green. I also got fresh cilantro, garlic, and a ginger root so fresh the skin was smooth and shiny, not wrinkled as it so often is at the supermarkets uptown. Tonight we are having Hainanese chicken rice.

We stopped at Banh Mi Saigon on Grand Street for a lunch of Vietnamese submarine sandwiches. My pork sandwich was $3.75 and AJ's chicken was $4.50. The bread was crusty but not soft on the inside as a baguette should. The whole thing lacked flavor. We still think the best banh mi is in Calgary Chinatown. 

Banh Mi Saigon