Have you heard of the Soup Nazi?

I'd been hearing a lot about the Soup Man (a.k.a Seinfeld's Soup Nazi) from my co-workers for a good while now. Apparently the Soup Man is known for quality, hearty soups. Not being a Jerry Seinfeld fan, I couldn't quite say that I shared the same excitement as my co-workers. But the idea that this was one of the best soups to get in NYC, I thought that it was worth a try anyway. Before we left the office, there were a few things I was warned about.

1. The Soup Nazi is called the Soup Nazi for a reason. He's not pleasant and can be pretty rude to customers.
   
2. Don't bother standing in line till you know what you are ordering. If it's your turn and you don't know what you want, back of the line you go.
   
3. Make sure you have your cash ready. Patience is not the soup man's virtue.
   
4. For your patience and cooperation, you get a free roll, fruit and a Lindt Chocolate!
   

So with that in mind, I stood outside the stall and decided what I wanted before even stepping into the line. The menu changes on a daily basis and basically the shop would have at least one vegetarian, one seafood and one clear broth soup. I'd been craving lobster bisque for a good while now and was REALLY excited to see that the Soup Man had it that day! I hardly even had to consider the rest of the menu options (which, of course, I still did). So I ordered my soup (with cheddar topping.. yum!) and moved aside to wait for my order in true conveyor belt style.

 
(On a side note, I have got to say that the Soup Man has a very profitable business. Not too large overhead because it's just a shop window taking orders and placing everything to-go. No need to waste space and money with furniture or eating in. The soups are pricier than your average soup joint so I'm guessing that the company is raking in the cash). No wonder he can afford to be a Nazi.

 
But anyway… I got back to the office in eager anticipation. I mean, my co-workers have been literally raving about this place for a good while now. Those were huge expectations placed on a very small bowl of soup. I opened my soup lid and was welcomed with the nice creamy and seafoodie aroma. I'm probably not exaggerating when I say that the office perked up when the smell wafted through the area. I have to say that the picture that greeted me when I lifted that soup lid was not how I had envisioned it.

Maybe it's because I was brought up with the notion that lobster bisques are really rich and creamy, and always expected my bisque everywhere else to have that same rich creamy consistency. And I also expected the bisque to have a hint of tomato, giving the soup a slight tomato cream color. Instead I was greeted with a more green pea-mixed-with-curry kind of greenish/yellowish bisque. "Well it's probably just not what you're used to… keep an open mind" was what I thought. So with my first mouthful, I realized that I needed to banish my pre-conceived notion of what lobster bisque would always be to me. Once I did that, and not thought of the soup as what I had originally expected, it was actually rather good. Though not as creamy as I had expected, it was still a really good soup! (if you can't already tell, I love creamy soups). I can understand how they price their soups a bit more because I had big chunks of fresh lobster with every spoonful! And some of the chunks were big enough that I could tell that they came from the claw!

 
The large portion was just right for lunch on a cold fall day. I think it definitely hit the spot. Throw in a thick slice of white baguette, some strawberries, grapes and a Lindt Lindor chocolate, and you've got yourself quite a hearty lunch. I won't deny that I was a bit skeptical about having just a soup for lunch. I thought I'd be hungry by 3pm. But no, that soup proved to be very satisfying. On a cold blustery day, nothing hits the spot like a rich hot soup that warms you from the inside.

The Deliciousness that is Shopsin's

For a long time now, I've heard of Shopsin's and its seriously ridonkulous menu. (It's so huge, it may or may not have crashed my friend's computer when he tried looking at it online.) I read somewhere that after Kenny Shopsin learned how to use Adobe from his daughter, he hasn't stopped trying to cram more items onto this already monstrous menu. Btw, I certainly don't have a problem with this. My expanding stomach might, but I'm definitely loving it.

Until recently, I hadn't had the chance to go down since the restaurant is apparently a fan of keeping the strangest hours: Tues - Sat, 9am - 2pm, but a bunch of us decided it was time to make this trip, and an epic trip it was.

Important note: this place is not for people 1) who don't like waiting to get seated, 2) like to ask for the waiter's opinion (or like their waiter to be polite, period - you'll get thrown out if you flout any of their rules), or 3) care about their waistlines.

First up, we ordered the mac and cheese pancakes with chorizo.


Can you say Holy Baby Jesus?! Mac & Cheese is already amazing on its own, but throw it into fluffy light pancakes and load it up with savory, hearty chorizo? It's a friicken party in your mouth, and I'm not talking about the party you tried throwing in the basement of your mom's house while she watched Jeopardy upstairs. I'm talking about the craziest frat party you've been to, that or the wildest knitting party you've attended, whichever floats your boat.

Up next was the Junior (bbq pork, mac & cheese, scrambled eggs and toast).


The bbq pork was so juicy, it was literally sitting in its own juices. The bread was thickly sliced and served warm (with a side of jam), the mac & cheese was gooey and the scrambled eggs were made just right. Lex made a sandwich with all the components, and it oddly worked. It was cheesy, meaty, juicy and crusty all at once. Yum!


Chris ordered Mr Mitra (lamb curry, chorizo-a-roni, eggs & toast). I didn't try a lot of it, but remember the lamb being tender and very succulent. The only thing I wasn't crazy about was the peas. After all, has it ever added any value to any dish?

... My point exactly.

My order was the last to arrive - the Ducky (poached eggs and sausage chunks over duck quesadillas).


I understand that eggs are easy to cook, but they're also easy to mess up (yea, I'm talking about myself - I tend to overcook the yolks), which is why I enjoyed Shopsin's. The center of the poached eggs were soft and oozy, and when it broke, it added a wonderful creaminess to the crispy quesadillas. And these quesadillas... they weren't the run-of-the-mill ones you get at every other mexican place - this one featured the cheese and duck wrapped in a flaky pastry shell.

We were stuffed by the time we were done with our entrees, but couldn't end the meal without something sweet. So we put in an order of chocolate chip ebelskivers - light puffy Danish pancakes.


Hello Gorgeous.

The ebelskivers were slightly crispy on the outside and completely dusted with warm cinnamon sugar. When I bit into it, I found it deliciously chewy and generously dotted with melted chocolate chips.

Man, talking about Shopsin's food makes me weep a little. Time to convince Lex to make another trip down.

Malaysia... Truly Asia!

Malaysian food is the BEST in the world! With the influence of Chinese, Indian and Malay cuisine, no food compares to that of Malaysian food! And so I wouldn't be doing my duty if I didn't share this exciting news that the Malaysian Kitchen Food Truck is in NYC!

I will definitely wax lyrical about this another time. Check out the link for the food truck's locations in Manhattan and Queens!

Whiskey... or Whisky?

So I never knew that there was a difference between Irish Whiskey and Scottish Whisky... Yes, the E really distinguishes them apart. I discovered this on a podcast that I recently subscribed to. The funny quote for the day "Ice is to whiskey the same way as ice is to the Titanic" haha I'll def keep that in mind and have my whiskey neat the next time I decide to drink a glass.