Jean-Georges

Brooklyn Bridge

Visited another borough of New York City, Brooklyn! 

I enjoyed brooklyn cos it's more spacious than Manhattan and its quieter as well. 

I didn't travel far off, we basically went to downtown Brooklyn then head back to Manhattan walking across the bridge.  

First, before the long walk, lunch! I used to have five guys while I was on exchange in Kingston (post here) dining at five guys again brings back fond memories! I love the bacon cheeseburger with most of the black toppings. 

Must have Cajun Fries

These are fantastic! No one does Cajun fries better than Five Guys really. Five guys usually has a board which tells you which farm they get their potatoes from. :) How cool is that, you get to know the origin of these fries.

These cajun fries are.. I wanted to say soggy, but they're not cold and wet. They are indeed soft, but really hot inside, like you can taste the flesh of the potatoes. And you can see the skin fried with the potato that give the fries a lot more flavour! Speaking of flavour, they have just the right amount of seasoning. A&W has awesome fries but this is seasoned just nice, doesn't leave your tastebuds cringing from all the MSG. 

BEST FRIES EVER!

Starting with only 3 flavours vanilla, chocolate & coffee, this ice cream brand first started at this store on November 15, 1976 in downtown Brooklyn. Check out the sign on the left!

View from Brooklyn Heights Promenade

If you walk along this linear park, it brings you to the Brooklyn Bridge Park where you get a much closer view of the Brooklyn Bridge. It was such a warm day I almost died out there. 

Yeah. So we literally just took the sub to Brooklyn just to walk across the bridge back to Manhattan. Its like a tourist must do kinda thing. But was it worth it? 

I'd say, if you have more than a week in Manhattan and you've got time for this then do it. Otherwise.. Don't. Maybe this is a case of when reality doesn't meet expectation. 

Expectation: Romantic Bridge you can get a view of Manhattan/ Brooklyn from. 

Reality: 

1. Not Romantic: Tonnes of tourists there

2. Super packed: On the bridge are two lanes, one for people to walk on, the other only for bicycles. Means, people walking in different directions have got to share one lane. x.x + Those baby prams x.x Also cyclists get really annoyed when people walk on their lane. But the 'people lane' is just so way packed its almost unreasonable that both lanes are the same width. 

3. Exposed to the elements: on the day I was there it was a crazy hot summer day, got off the bridge with a sunburn and the day later my scalp was peeling, how gross :/. In winter, you can just imagine the wind :O

4. Well, there is a view, but its not really a place to stop and take a photo cos annoyed people will stare at you and/or jostle to get around you/get in your picture. Evidently, I didn't manage to take photos on the bridge. 

So I'd say. Nah. Don't do it. Else the reality was your expectation and its still on your bucket list, then. Go for it o.o

Sushi Nakazawa

The sister managed to get a booking for 5 at Sushi Nakazawa to celebrate my parents' wedding anniversary. It's fortunate that we were able to get a spot as this Sushi-ya usually requires reservation weeks or even months in advance. 

Right: Cherry Salmon with lemon and salt

Left : Hay smoked Coho Salmon

What was interesting here is that, the waiters will suggest the order of eating the fish after they've explained each sushi. In this case, it is from right to left because the salmon on the left is heavier in flavour compared to the salmon on the right. 

From Right to Left:
Plump, cold Hotate served with a yuzu pepper sake sauce
Firm Cuttlefish with Shiso
Sea Bass
Cutlass Fish with Sea Salt

Spotted prawn with Caviar: sweet and firm, not powdery or slimy.

Japanese horse mackerel (Aji) with ginger

Spanish Horse Mackerel cured black pepper. This looks like a slice of fatty tuna but it wasn't.

Sweet flesh of the Snow Crab served with an (I think) avocado sauce.

Tuna Platter: Black fin tuna, bluefin tuna

Meant to eat it in order of increasing fattiness. The Otoro, fattiest cut of tuna was heavenly, the rice warms the Otoro up causing it to melt in the mouth. So good, so sinful.

Soy marinated ikura

Uni with black truffle salt

Anagi - salt water eel with a light brush of sweet sauce. I always have a small fear of eels because sometimes they taste really fishy, but this wasn't at all fishy. For a second I wondered if it was eel at all. 

Tamagoyaki this custards egg dish is the one that Chef Nakazawa spent 3 months perfecting under the tutelage of Chef Jiro in the film Jiro dreams of sushi. 

Omakase at Nakazawa was a very pleasant experience and if I could have another chance to dine here, I would! But I would sit in front of the Chef. 

I previously had Omakases at Shinji by Kanesaka (SG), Hashida (SG), (Tokyo) and these had something in common - the decor, it's bright and the table's made of light wood. Sushi Nakazawa was on the contrary dark (as seen from

the noisy photos) and made me feel slightly claustrophobic. 

Having said that, I'd still love to go back and relieve the experience tasting the delectable seasonings Nakazawa chose to match his fish.

Anyways, I found a youtube vid that has the full movie of Jiro Dreams of Sushi watch it here. One day I'd want to eat at Jiro's restaurant in Tokyo :)