Restaurant Health Inspection Info
My mom keeps telling me that Golden Unicorn is the dirtiest restaurant in chinatown. So I went to do a little investigation for myself and look what I found:
GOLDEN UNICORN RESTAURANT
18 EAST BROADWAY, MANHATTAN 10002
Current violation points: 0
Inspection Date: 11/17/2005
No violations were recorded at the time of this inspection.
http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/rii/index.shtml
This site is really useful in telling you which restaurants are considered to be clean and which are not.
Oh I didn’t stop there. I decided to check softrice’s claim about how disgusting Ping’s Seafood restaurant on Mott is, and here are the results:
PING’S SEAFOOD
22 MOTT STREET, MANHATTAN 10013
212-602-9988
Current violation points: 17
Violations were cited in the following area(s) and those requiring immediate action were addressed.
- Non-food contact surface improperly constructed.
- Unacceptable material used.
- Non-food contact surface or equipment improperly maintained.
- Pesticide use not in accordance with label or applicable laws.
- Prohibited chemical used/stored. Open bait station used.
- Sanitized equipment or utensil, including in-use food dispensing utensil,
improperly used or stored.
- Personal cleanliness inadequate. Clean outer garments, effective hair
restraint not worn.
And he is right! Disgusting!! I would never go there ever again. Thank goodness I went there only once.
So there was only one more thing to check and that was on Golden Bridge restaurant because today me and the gang debated whether or not we should go there instead. Let’s check out the findings:
GOLDEN BRIDGE RESTAURANT
52 BOWERY, MANHATTAN 10013
Current violation points: 24
Inspection Date: 06/29/2006
Violations were cited in the following area(s) and those requiring immediate action were addressed.
- Non-food contact surface improperly constructed.
- Unacceptable material used.
- Non-food contact surface or equipment improperly maintained.
- Plumbing not properly installed or maintained; anti-siphonage or
backflow prevention device not provided where required; equipment or
floor not properly drained; sewage disposal system in disrepair or not
functioning properly.
- Facility not vermin proof.
- Harborage or conditions conducive to vermin exist.
- Evidence of flying insects or live flying insects present in facility’s food
and/or non-food areas.
- Evidence of roaches or live roaches present in facility’s food and/or
non-food areas.
- Cooked or prepared food is cross-contaminated.
Verdict: GOLDEN BRIDGE IS EVEN WORSE. I WOULD NEVER EVER EAT THERE AND THANK GOODNESS I DON’T. Guys, today we did good in selecting Golden Unicorn. Never again.
And one more just for softrice.
DIM SUM GO GO
5 EAST BROADWAY, MANHATTAN 10038
Current violation points: 10
Inspection Date: 10/11/2006
Violations were cited in the following area(s) and those requiring immediate action were addressed.
- Facility not vermin proof.
- Harborage or conditions conducive to vermin exist.
- Evidence of flying insects or live flying insects present in facility’s food
and/or non-food
areas.
- Evidence of roaches or live roaches present in facility’s food and/or
non-food areas.
- Evidence of rats or live rats present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas.
We did the right thing.
Btw before I freak some people out, I would like to say that 27 points is the maximum amount of points to pass inspection. Man, to me, any amount of points is still not good at all. You all would be surprised to find out that your favorite restaurant can be one of the dirtiest!
Li Hua
Li Hua (Korean Cuisine)
171 Grand St
(at Baxter St)
New York, NY
(212) 343-0090
(Sorry about the rain drops, apparently my camera picks everything in the air. Wicked cool?)
Reservations: No
This restaurant belongs to my list of cheap eats in NYC. This is probably the only Korean restaurant that I can think of in chinatown so don’t expect anything spectacular like the ones in K-town in midtown but don’t think that it’s disappointing.
So when I went here with Griever and the place looks:
Look, kinda desolate? Maybe because this was at 6:30pm and that it was drizzling outside. But, but later on there will be more customers.
Anyways, this restaurant is literally located right next to Little Italy, a block away, and it’s located in a nice quiet location, which is why the place is not packed to the max. The decor is alright and the restaurant is — cozy, literally. This restaurant is not bad for chinatown!
Drinks:
Nothing special, just ginger ale and coke.
Price: $2
Free Appetizers
Yeahh free appetizers, but they look pretty skimpy. I had a review on other korean restaurants on Xanga, but I will bring them back and re-review it.
Clockwise from top left: Kimchi, spicy pickled cucumbers, korean pancakes, last one I don’t know what it is but it tastes like either tofu or noodles. It tastes pretty good. Of course they’re all cold except for the pancake.
Verdict: It didn’t taste anything special, but it’s good to munch on. It’s for free so you definitely cannot go wrong. This is a sample taste of what korean food can be.
Appetizers
Goon Mandoo Lightly pan-fried dumplings filled with pork and vegetables
Price: $3.95
Verdict: I actually like this, I really do. I’ve never seen a dumpling like this and it’s very crispy on the outside and the pork is tender and juicy on the inside. I loved it. Drools, I want more of it. It was very fun to eat.
Recommended: Yes!
Duk- Bok- Ki Korean rice cake, fishcake, and vegetables, sauteed in a sweet and spicy sauce
Price: $4.95
Verdict: As I chewed on the soft ricecake, I can taste a hint of sweetness followed by a strong lingering spiciness; this is the same for the fishcake and vegetables. I’ve had this dish before in other korean restaurants, and this one is pretty skimpy compared to that, but for the price of it, it’s not too bad. I can’t eat too much spiciness anyways, so this suited me well.
Recommended: Yes.
Entrees
Bulgogi Hot Stone Bibimbab Sliced beef and vegetables over rice in a hot stone bowl. (Red pepper paste or house special soy sauce recommended)
Price: $11.95
Oh man, it’s 1:15am and I am getting hungry looking at my pictures. Ha, softrice mentioned that I need to be more objective and mention that I am hungry on my blog. Well I am certainly getting there and of course this means some dishes gets more points. Don’t worry I’ll give the necessary changes when I’m not hungry or full if there needs to be.
Verdict: Sorry about not taking a picture before it was mixed in. The waiter offered to mix in my hot scorching bowl because I’m scared that I will be burned, plus he can do it fast enough so that the bottom part of my rice will not burn. He mixed in the house special soy sauce that I requested to have, you can add hot sauce if you want too, which intensified the smell of the bowl. This is a smaller bowl than the korean restaurant in K-town and by St Mark’s place, but it is one gorgeous bowl.
Recommended: Yes. I did like the crispiness of my rice from the bottom of my bowl that was burned. You might need to add the soy sauce to this because it gets pretty dried. I really liked this, I highly recommend this dish for you to try.
Chicken Hot Stone Bibimbab Sliced chicken and vegetables over rice in a hot stone bowl. (Red pepper paste or house special soy sauce recommended)
Price: $11.95
See, this is how my dish would have looked like this instead of the chicken. Looks better if it’s not mixed. But it tastes better if it’s mixed. MM…. Because I chose all of Wing’s dishes, the Goon Mandoo and the Bulgogi Bibimbab, he had to choose the dumplings, which I liked too and the Chicken Bulgogi.
Verdict: The chicken is pretty dried and isn’t as flavorful as my beef. Griever poured all of his soy sauce to give the chicken more moisture.
Recommended: No, try the beef instead. Griever, you can prove me wrong about this.
So overall it was a tasty night. The waiter was nice, but he’s so impatient so I minus-ed some points for that. I hate being rushed. Let that be known for the rest of your waiters, never rush your customers. Pretty soon they’ll come to you.
Rating: 3.8/5
I’ve tried some crappy korean restaurants around St Mark’s place that was more expensive and definitely not worth the money. For the price, Li Hua do give you a good portion. This is the best korean restaurant in chinatown, maybe cause it’s the only, but I got a good impression already. You guys should try it out when you’re out in chinatown.
Pommes Frites
Pommes Frites
123 2nd Ave
btw E 6th & E 7th St
New York, NY
(212) 674-1234
Reservations: There’s no such thing. It’s a fast food joint.
This delicious Belgian Fries shop was featured on food network as one of the best french fries places. If you might not have learned, Belgium claims that they are the country that invented the french fry, not the French. Their countries are really close together so who really knows.
So let’s see if the Belgians do it better than the French! =)
I went into the shop without knowing anything even though I’ve been on their website, and was speechless when it came to ordering a sauce because there were so many. The man who worked behind the counter asked if it was my first time and gave me samples of mango chutney, which was their #1 selling sauce, rosemany garlic, garlic, peanut butter, and spicy mayo. I first tried the sample belgian fry without any sauce and my god, it tastes unbelievable. I can taste the salt, the oil, the fried up potato skin. “Mmmmmm I cried in front of the guy.” So I picked rosemary garlic one because I didn’t like the rest. So Kim was so kind to buy me the fries, a regular which was a small but don’t call it that because the guy get tick off, which was about $6.50
Price: $6.50
Size: Regular
The belgian fries are so delicious. Very crispy and flavorful. You must try this at least once before you die, it is just so good.
Jeff here ordered the mango chutney (right), which I’m not too much of a fan of:
But it turns out my rosemary garlic tastes like crap and the mango chutney has the smoothness I like. But I prefer ketchup straight up.
Guys any recommendations?
And here’s a shot by the lovely Kim of the restaurant:
It got extremely packed as we were leaving. So guys, you know what to do, give this place a try!
And yes, in my eyes, Belgium wins!
SEA Thai Bistro
S.E.A (Southeast asian cuisine)
75 2nd Ave
Bet E. 4th & 5th St
New York, NY
(212) 228-5505
Reservations: Not necessary. First come first serve because of the size of the restaurant.
One of the many SEA thai bistro restaurants in NYC, I chose this one because it’s in the village which is where I wanted to go. I’ve heard many good things about SEA, well the brooklyn restaurant anyways, and I thought to try it myself. I’ve always wanted to go to a thai restaurant that is trendy and chic with a friendly atmosphere and SEA is definitely the place to go. The location that I went to isn’t that big really, and it gets pack real quick, look:
Courtesy of Kimberly who has the guts to flash my camera over her head. Of course we were sitting by the front of the restaurant.
As we came into the restaurant, we were greeted by a very cute and friendly maitre’d who accompanied us to our seats. I didn’t that spot because I felt really cramped and claustrophobic so I asked him to change our seats and he was very nice about it and let us do so which was very nice of him.
So we got the menus and was in no rush to order, which I like as well. More points more points! For drinks we started off with:
Drinks:
Lychee Thai Ice Tea
Price: $2.00
Verdict: This is a very sweet decadent drink with coconut milk, tea, sugar and lychee. There’s only a hint of lychee flavor, but it’s good enough. For $2, you can’t lose! Plus the sodas are the same price too, so you might as well give this a try.
Recommended: Yes
Pomegranate Mojito
Price: $5.75
Verdict: A very bitter drink, but it also has the crisp minty after taste from the leaves. Kimberly had one sip and she was instantly buzzed.
Recommended: If you want that buzz, take a sip. Pome is too bitter and thick for me, but if you’re a fan of pome, give it a whirl.
Appetizers
Summer Roll with tamarind sauce, peanut and smoked tofu
Price: $4
This dish was actually recommended on SEA’s website so I decided to give it a whirl since I wanted the thai version of the summer roll since I’ve tried the vietnamese one. The difference between the thai and the viet rolls is that this roll is smaller and that the material inside is completely different.
Verdict: As Jeff and I said, it tastes interesting, we just can’t phrase it into words. It is not the best tasting roll I’ve had nor is it the worse tasting roll I had. The peanut sauce was good to go with, but it did not taste anything special, it has a very calm healthy taste.
Recommended: I can’t say I loved it but I urge you guys to try it and tell me how it taste.
Martini Crispy Shrimps w/basil tomato sauce
Price: $5
Verdict: Oh my god this tastes extremely good. I did not know it was shrimp until Jeff told me that that it was because it look like chicken tenders from a distance. This was sweet, like it had a hint of coconut and it was nice and crispy.
Recommended: Yes, absolutely. I cannot get enough of it.
Entrees
Grilled Thai Spice Salmon
grilled salmon marinated with chili, garlic, served with sauteed mixed vegetables
Price: $14
Verdict: Kim ordered this dish and I had a sample of hers. I didn’t like it too much because the salmon tasted pretty fishy, which unfortunately was not covered up by it’s surrounding vegetables. Need ginger I guess. But Kim seem to finish her plate within 5 minutes, so I figure it is a good sign.
Recommended: Kim says yes, but like me who’s not a fan of seafood, I wouldn’t really want it. Try it, it’s one of SEA’s specialty dishes.
Chu Chee Crispy Fish
crispy salmon with chu chee coconut sauce, zucchini, carrot, snow peas
Price: $11
Verdict: I’m not a fan of seafood and especially with curry so I can’t really say if this is good. I can say that this tastes better than the salmon one because the fish is fried.
Recommended: If you’re a seafood fan and you want a light meal, this is the thing for you.
Volcanic Chicken
with stir-fried napa cabbage, carrot, zucchini, snow peas
Price: $11
I love this dish, mainly because I chose it. Because of my slowness, I fail to capture the flame that engulfed my chicken, way cool. All my dinner neighbors were in oohs and ahhs. That’s right people oohs and ahhs all you want cause it is wayy cooler than your pad thais.
Verdict: The chicken tasted very succulent, tender, and has a hint of sweetness that makes me want to scream in pleasure. Never have I had a chicken this good in a thai place this good. BUT some of the vegetables tastes like crap cause it soaked up all the alcohol that contributed to the fire, hence making it bitter. See without the alcohol the veggies would have tasted pleasant.
Recommended: Yes!
This is what I didn’t like:
Such tiny riceballs of rice. Look like the size of my chest, kidding, but really I want separate bowls. Next time I’ll ask for it.
But all else aside, I loved this place and would highly recommend it. I had a lot of fun with my friends and my friend Kim wanted to pick up this waiter:
But, he told her that he was gay but he will still take a picture with her. How sweet.
Rating: 4/5
Moment of the night was when Kim said this while looking at the menu:
“What are these numbers that are next to the dishes?”
Ahh, I love this girl, hehe. The answer is, “They’re the price of the dish”
Elixir Juice
Elixir Juice
2 World Financial Center
(Lobby Level)
225 Liberty St
New York, NY
(212) 945-0400
After a long lunch at Chipotle, softrice and I waddled over to the world financial center to grab ourselves some smoothies since I was raving to him on how good it is. I’ve tried almost every single drink on the menu, except one or two, and I was excited to try the last two although I did not had such high expectations for those two. In softrice’s mind, he was bent on his apple pie smoothie, not the signature Elixir smoothies. If that’s what he wanted, that’s what he will get.
I ordered the Work Out boost that has apple cider, banana, orange juice, strawberries, spirulina, and muscle protein. The last two are active ingredients to give you an extra burst of energy, hence work out boost. I was disappointed when received it because it was brown! Look!
Price: $6.50 (small)
This looks like a chocolate shake except that this has traces of red specs on it because the strawberry. Yeee-uck. That’s right, it even tastes yeee-uck. But the texture was expected to be superb, it was nice and thick, not like the ones you’d see in Jamba Juice or Smoothie King. This is grade-A quality texture.
Verdict: This tastes horrible. For a boost of energy, try Smart Start instead. Check out the menu on the website.
Recommended: Of course not. Yuck.
And unfortunately softrice did not like his large Power Apple Pie smoothie. I tried it and it tastes fine, like a real apple pie. I thought it was good, but he thinks it’s too thick. Well it’s supposed to be thick. Next time, try the fruity ones! I higly recommend that.
Yes, these smoothies are very filling and can help you lose weight.
I love this place too much, but not everything tastes heavenly. I recommend you guys to go and give it a try.
