Soba-tastic

Before we came to NYC, I never knew Japanese noodles extended beyond ramen and udon (and even udon I learned about just a few years before). The thick, ropey noodles at New Orleans joints like Kyoto and Sake were fantastic and a value, arriving with a healthy portion of tempura for under $15, generally. Then, spying something in the Times one day (is it clear how much I look forward to the back page of the Wednesday Food section?) I saw a $25 and under review of Soba Totto in East Midtown. We went there for the first time and tried the buckwheat noodles, which are thin like spaghetti and also have a nice nuttiness (not to mention being healthier than regular semolina noodles). They often come in a miso-soy type of broth, with green onion and any number of underwater delicacies resting on top, like uni, which adds a nice saltiness. At lunchtime, a combo meal often includes japanese pickles, a seaweed salad, fish or tempura and any number of other little side dishes. Best of all, soba is ubiquitous to the seasons and just as good cold as hot. Soba Totto also happens to be on an amazing block (East 43rd between 2nd and 3rd aves) populated by a number of amazingly authentic (I assume authentic...we haven't been to Japan yet) Japanese restaurants: Sakagura (where they have an amazing selection of sake, a fantastic array of non-sushi or noodle Japanese dishes, including something with squid liver that was ten times better than you'd think, not to mention a real Japanese toilet in the ladies' room, Alisa says) and Sushi Yasuda (last year ranked top sushi spot in the city by Zagat). Earlier today we learned it's possible to get great soba outside of that tiny strip, at Soba-Ya in the East Village, where not only is their soba equally good, but you can watch a dude make it right where it looks like they'd be running your credit card. Instead, he uses a variety of handle-less rollers to flatten out the dough and then chops off thin noodle strands. There's also a Japanese toilet (but, again, only for the ladies, although not quite as elaborate as Sakagura's, Alisa again says). For the record, there's also a recently-opened sake shop (the only one east of the Rockies, its owner says) a block east, Sakaya, that's definitely worth checking out (especially for the tiny cans that are like tasty little chocolaty flavor bombs).

The Weekend We Ate Our Trip

Intentionally, we set out to eat the cuisine of every country we'll be visiting later this summer and unintentionally we ate it in the order we'd be visiting those places. First off, there was Sakae Sushi, the Singapore-based international chain which just opened its second outpost outside of Asia last month here in NYC's Greenwich Village (the second is in Midtown). The gimmick is conveyor belt sushi, similar to numerous places in Tokyo, or so I'm told. And it's worth going to just for the experience, but once may be enough. You sit in a long row of booths as a conveyor belt with various types of Japanese fare passing by...there's rolls of all kinds, some bright red octopus, squid salad and the occasional nigiri. Each rests on a color-coded plate that denotes price and under a plastic cover. We grabbed a few plates of sushi and it was fine, although nothing memorable. We even took a plate of puffy doughy things that passed by but upon realizing they were miniature cream puffs and being nowhere near ready for dessert, we clandestinely replaced the cover and put them back into circulation. Therein lies one of the potential issues with such a setup: who's to know another patron hasn't previously pulled a dish from the belt, examined it, perhaps sneezed on it, and then replaced it? True, one has to have faith in the honor system, but here's a more vexing issue with the arrangement: I swear I saw the same plate of krabstick nigiri pass at least 8-9 times over the course of an hour -- same with that octopus -- all of which makes me wonder how long it's allowed to loop the booths before it's taken out of circulation? Seafood left out room temperature can only last so long. Anyway. For those who don't want to leave their entire dining experience to chance, there is a monitor and mouse at each booth, from which you can order any number of tempura, sashimi, sushi and various other entrees...we had better luck with that, except for the fact that the system was somewhat on the fritz, listing some items they weren't carrying that day (uni, for example) and did not register our table number, so the orders went to the kitchen without telling them exactly who had ordered them. A waiter tracked us down, fortunately, since it was pretty slow when we got there near the end of the lunch hour. Those were all good: highlights being a roll with cheese of all things, wrapped in a black sesame breading and some deep-fried rolls...more because they were interesting than anything else. In short, it was fun once. I don't think I'd return again. Next in our journey, we followed advice of the NYT and ventured downtown again to Rhong-Tiam, a relatively new Thai joint specializing in authentic Bangkok cooking, or so it said in its slogan. We started with Crispy Catfish with Green Mango Salad -- a dish our friend Julie, who lives in Bangkok, has raved about -- that's essentially shredded catfish pieces deep fried. What arrived was a plate covered with what looked like random bits from the bottom of the deep frier that were crispy and tasty bits of fish, made all the better when scooped up with the mango, lime and pepper salad in the accompanying bowl. A true hit. For entrees, we shared a plate of blue crab fried rice (tasty, although a bit fishy -- Alisa knows from her time in D.C. that blue crab is something of an acquired taste and actually top quality, but I'm not quite there yet). I got something called Pork on Fire, which that same Times article called a "contender for spiciest dish in the city." That line led me to ask if they could make it less "on fire." The waitress politely replied that she'd been asked that question before and the chef could not, believing compromising the heat would also compromise "the integrity of the dish." I absolutely respect that answer: cater do your customer's wishes when you can, but go too far and you actually end up misleading a customer into thinking the altered dish will be fine and thereby only compromising yourself when it's not. Keep it hot, then, I said and asked for a second glass of water. It arrived and although I confess to avoiding the whole chilis mixed in, it wasn't terribly hot at all. Nowhere near the four-alarm, almost inedible dishes we had at the much ballyhooed Land in our neighborhood last year. The pork was tasty, as promised, sprinkled with fried kaffir lime and thai basil leaves on top. It was a hit, although not so sublime that it wouldn't stand up against a tasty tender pork dish at a good neighborhood Chinese place. Alisa got the Tropical Mango Shrimp, which arrived with plump shrimp and peppers resting inside a beautiful mango bowl. Too bad it was all covered in a sickly sweet, bright red glaze. After one bite, Alisa pushed it to the side. The waitress, without even being asked, promptly took it back and removed it from our bill. She was fantastic and we let her know it by tipping her the entire cost of the dish. To finish up, we got mango with sticky rice -- perhaps the most simple southeast Asian dessert and arguably the best -- fresh, soft mango with porridge-like rice and a bit of creamy vanillia-like sauce with black sesame seeds on top. Alisa slightly favors the version at Cafe Asia in Arlington, which comes with a bit of honey, but we both agreed it capped off a great lunch, leaving us with three favorites in the city: Sookk, Thai Market and here. Sookk, however, appears to be the most economical. Finally, we closed out the culinary preview journey with a trip to the very recently-opened Cambodian Cuisine. Not the most interesting name, I admit, but in a city with only two Cambodian restaurants, it doesn't hurt to clearly impart your unique offering (the other is Kampuchea downtown, which we stumbled into last year and was good, but more focused on Cambodian street food and catering to a hipper downtown crowd, with its selection of interesting sandwiches and savory crepes). It turns out the restaurant has had quite a journey to opening, with the owner plunging deep into debt and facing numerous hardships in a two-year attempt to open on the Upper East Side after closing his smaller Brooklyn outpost years ago. It was well worth the effort. The decor is minimalist at best, not in a sleek, hip sort of way, but more in the haven't-had-time-to-decorate sort of way. But no matter. We started with Prawhet Kroeurng, which was four fried fish patties filled with lemongrass and basil, which were tasty and a good starter. I also got a Cambodian Iced Tea, which was a dead ringer for Thai Iced Tea, but still delish. For entrees, we shared Nom Bonchok Tuek Kary, a lemongrass curry with potatoes, bean curd, onions and water chestnuts that included vermicelli. We also got Tonle Saap Fish Chop, which was a beautifully steamed piece of tilapia in its own curry (you can also get it fried, or opt for salmon, but I feared a crispy crust may not allow it to absorb the sauce as well) atop perfectly cooked broccoli florets. Both were dishes delish, especially after they were gone and we used steamed rice to absorb all the remaining sauce. To finish, we had Songkhya, which was egg coconut pudding on brown rice served in a martini glass. Also delish. We'll be back and are hoping Cambodian Cuisine makes it.