Today I was chatting with Robyn online when I should have been working. But what's work without chat? Hehe. We were talking about food. As usual. We were talking about Korean food, because I was suffering from an sudden Korean plate lunch craving. It occurred to me on the subway ride this morning that it has been THREE MONTHS since I've had a proper Korean plate lunch. Oh, how I've taken places like Palama Market and Yummy's back home in Hawaii for granted! Sigh, you never know a good thing till you lose it.
So to make things better and satisfy such demanding cravings, we met up for a quick lunch at Woorijip on 32nd St. It was my first time here, and I was so overjoyed with the options (and low prices!) when I walked in. Why, it almost felt like Hawaii for a (very brief) second! A Korean buffet by the pound, cases along the wall filled with a variety of kim bap, chap chae, kimchee fried rice, eggs, and Spam (if that doesn't scream Hawaii, I don't know what does!), tofu stews, and oh man, just so much stuff all over the place. Even pumpkin dduk!! The options were so overwhelming that I finally decided on the Veggie Plate ($5) after seeing Robyn's Pork version ($5.50) - this way we could sample a bit of everything.
We took out boxes up to the register to pay, and then to the back of the shop to sit and eat. It's exactly like my favourite Korean plate lunch place back home!!! Only. They don't have bibim kook soo...but I'll try go find that elsewhere :) This is a great bargain for $5. Generous portions of brown rice, a tofu and carrot stuffed mandoo, veggie pancake, eggplant and tofu fried in a mildy spicy sauce. But just because it's veggie don't go thinking it's healthy. This was slightly greasy and will pack you up nice and perhaps a little more full than you'd like. But it's deeply satisfying, this combination of everything I miss from Hawaii.
Take note of the long roll on the front left of Robyn's lunch. It looks like sushi yeah? Or some kind of roll with rice? Deep fried? Well guess what?! It's CRAZY. Okay. So you know chap chae. It's a DEEP FRIED CHAP CHAE ROLL!!!! Bwhahaha. I took a bite, it was greasy, but I liked it! It's seriously just chap chae rolled up in nori and then deep fried...Ahhhh I love creative minds!
On the way back to the office, I conveniently walked passed the Treats Truck, prominently parked on the corner of 38th Street and 5th Avenue. There was a decent sized crowd of well dressed businessmen and women surrounding the truck, dollars bills in hand and eager expressions on their faces. It really was a strange sight. After hearing so much about Treats Truck via blogs, I figured I could satisfy my curiosity now or...later. But why do something later when you can do it now? ;) So I hopped into line, and before I even look at the options, the guy in front me turned right around and started gushing about how good everything was! Crispy squares, cookies, brownies...it seemed as if they could do no wrong.
A quick discussion with the owner about brownie choices, and I happily opted for the Mexican Chocolate Brownie ($3) - always good to try something new!
I took the brownie back to the office and dug in...Oh wait! I forgot to tell you! I got a good window seat in the office today! Check out the view, hehe :)
Okay, sorry. Back to the brownie. It sucked. It's extremely dense and fudgey with a milk chocolate chip studded surface. Sickly sweet, somewhat plastic-ky in texture (with odd chewy bits, like paper) and not chocolately enough. What I did like was the faint dash of cinnamon, a slight whiff, a taste in every bite. There is no flaky shattering crust a la Betty Crocker mixes, but you will find a thicker, crunchy chocolate shell posing as a rock hard shield to the fudgey innards. This ranks low on the list of brownies to love, but I'm glad I gave it a try...cause curiosity really does kill Kathy!
But!
But this post will not end on a negative food note. Because there was a saving grace. And we will call that saving grace 'Robyn'.
Or more specifically, Robyn's Macarons! =)
Robyn baked macarons this weekend, and was kind enough to bring me one during lunch today. Isn't she an awesome friend? :) This macaron more than made up for the horrible brownie. A plain macaron with more crunch than chew, filled with dark chocolate ganache - and yes, she was very generous with the smooth ganache, always a plus in my books!! And because we all know how scary/intimidating this whole macaron-making business is: *Hooray to Robyn for successful results!*
And thus, we end on a very happy note!
Woorijip
12 W 32nd St
NY, NY 10001
(212) 244-1115
Treats Truck
Location Varies...
today it was on 38th St & 5th Ave
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