Chinatown #2 – Long Sang

When we walked out of China Court, Ron said that next time we will go to a better Chinese restaurant. I was quite happy with China Court, but Ron said that he eat there with his Japanese girlfriend and she was amazed from their Fish. Three weeks later we found ourselves in Long Sang, located in Allenby Street. With no hesitations, Ron asked for the “Black menu” and our journey began.

Wonton Dumplings

We have started with Wonton dumplings filed with meat and Chinese salad. The dumplings, escorted by tasty sauce, melted in our mouth. The sweet salad wasn’t very interesting but it was there just to add some vegetables to the dinner.

Peking Duck

Peking Duck

Shahar, didn’t eat with us on our previews Chinese experience, decide to check the “Peking Duck” dish. Ron and I have shared a dish from the black menu – Seafood and noodles soup. I must admit that although I liked the dish on China Court, it was much better here. The duck was sliced to thicker pieces was much juicy. The sauce, pancakes and vegetables that were severed with it were quite similar.

Seafood and noodles soup

The soup was amazing. and spicy. I usually don’t eat soup in the hot and humid summer of Tel Aviv, but this dish was perfect for me. The soup includes Shrimps, Calamari and noodles cocked in a spicy broth. Ron said that was a bit to spacy for him but I thought it was good amount.

We didn’t ordered any desert but we were served complimentary Watermelon and Melon that were just the right fit or desert after the hot soup.

The next time we will have eager for Chinese food – we will definitely come back to here.

The Check Please (3 people) 

Salad – 30NIS
Wonton Dumplings – 28NIS
Peking Duck – 98 NIS
Soup – 78NIS
2 X Tsingtao Beer – 66NIS

All in all 300 NIS

The Cizer Kobrinsky Scale

3.5 Forks

Summary

Food: Chinese
Price: Medium
Location: Allenby

Contact Details: Long Sang

Allebny 15, Tel Aviv | +972-57-9438886| Monday- Saturday 12:30-23:00

An Eye of a Tiger – Tiger Lilly

Authentic Thai. The immediate reaction of such a statement is of contempt. Real authentic Asian flavors are really rare to find west of the South Pacific. In most cases, you would find an adoption of local flavors that remind, in one way or another, the original one. In the past we have written about the only true Thai restaurant in town, Thai House. Now, along with the renaissance of the Asian cuisine that flooded the streets lately (Taizu, Popina, Vong, Ang Sue and others), Tiger Lilly aims to rise as a fierce competitor in this field.

Som Tam (Spicy Green Papaya Salad)

Yum Kong (Thai Shrimp Salad with Mint Leaves and Onions)

As other Thai restaurants around town are really just a mix of noodles and rice dishes, you would be pleasantly surprised immediately as you glance at the menu. Classic Thai salads are really the favorites here. The classic Som Tam (Spicy Green Papaya Salad) is superb (Though Thai House’s is better), the Yum Kong (Thai Shrimp Salad with Mint Leaves and Onions) is spot on with flavors, the Larb Gai (Chopped Chicken Salad with Mint Leaves, Cilantro and Chili) will make you demand some sticky rice to soak what is left of the amazing sauce, but the salad which was our favorite is definitely the spicy Nam Tok Salad. The thin slices of beef along with the spicy Chili and Mint leaves were nothing but perfect.

Beef Massaman Curry

Pad See Ew (Rice Noodles with Chicken, Broccoli and Bok Choy)

After the starters that brought us back to the hot and humid Islands of Thailand, the main dishes mission was a hard one. Even though, they made it as well. Though the salads were the real highlight, the main courses still provided quite good Thai experience. Beef Massaman Curry dish had very good tastes but was a little undersized in our opinion. Pad See Ew (Rice Noodles with Chicken, Broccoli and Bok Choy) was again, very good.

Tapioca

The dessert reminded us our weakness for Tapioca, which along with the Tel Aviv heat, is probably the most refreshing dessert you can find (don’t miss it here). The Banana Loti was just OK, maybe it was the condensed milk that was just missing a little bit to resemble the street Loti. Maybe it was just its high price.

Banana Loti

The check please (4 people)
Som Tam – 32 NIS
Yum Kong – 39 NIS
Larb Gai – 32 NIS
Nam Tok – 43 NIS
Massaman Curry – 64 NIS
Pad See Ew – 58 NIS
Tapioca – 31 NIS
Banana Loti – 35 NIS

All in all – 334 NIS

The Cizer Kobrinsky Scale:

4 Forks

Forks

Contact Details: Tiget Lilly
32 Habarzel St, Ramat HaChayal,  Tel Aviv | 1700707097 | Sun – Sat 12:00 – 00:00 | http://tigerlily.co.il/index.htm

Quick Jump to Chinatown – China Court

For my birthday, Ron bought me original chopsticks from Japan. For a while we were planning to use them somewhere and we were looking for an occasion and a location. The occasion was end of school year for Ron and the location was China Court – a place that we heard a lot of from Shelly, our manager at Microsoft.

When you enter the place you feel the 80’s at their best. The pink napkin on the plates, the green tablecloth and a family restaurant make you understand that you are in right place for some authentic food.

Tsingtao Beer

We decided to escort the meal with a Chinese beer named Tsingtao. Then we started with corn soup which was very rich and thick. In addition we ordered Wonton Dumplings. The dumplings were fried and felt tasteless and therefore our least favourite dish in the meal.

Corn Soup

Wonton dumplings

Until now, we were just playing. The real reason we came to this place was the Peking duck that was highly recommended by Shelly (and for a good reason). The duck is cooked and taken out of its bones. It is severed with thin pancakes, cucumber & spring onion and an amazing sauce. In order to eat the duck at its best you need to take a pancake, put some duck on it, cucumber & spring onion, top it with the sauce and roll the pancake. Each of us ate several of these pancake, although we were feeling full, we still had some leftovers.

Peking duck

The roll

At the end of our meal, we felt as we did a quick jump to China (though there was no use of the chopsticks).

The Check Please (2 People)

2 X Corn Soup – 32 NIS
Wonton dumplings – 20NIS
Peking duck – 118NIS
2 X Tsingtao Beer – 50NIS

All in all – 220 NIS

Summary:

Food: Chinese
Price: Medium
Location: Ben Yehuda

The Cizer Kobrinsky Scale

3.5 Forks

Contact Details:
Shalom Alichem 14, Tel Aviv | +972-3-5178454|http://www.rol.co.il/sites/china-court/

Spring is coming – Popina

Popina

The spring of 2013 is probably one of the more exciting times to be a restaurant lover in Tel-Aviv. Restaurants are opening up in such a rate even we cannot follow. One after the other, like mushrooms after the rain, promising restaurants such as Hannoi, Taizu, Tiger Lili open up and give us the great opportunities eating some fabulous food. It is definitely the Asian cuisine that having its renaissance around town. Popina, on the other hand, a brand new Chef restaurant, is trying to give a different, unique experience. Oh and it does.

The setting, inside a beautiful classic old building, is combining well with early 20’s century village-like Neve Tzedek atmosphere with its exposed stone walls and interesting wine cellar. Nevertheless, its setting is probably the only “classic” or “old” around. Popina is a modern chef restaurant, focusing on innovative kitchen full of techniques and presentations. And it seems like they really know what they’re doing.

Shrimp “Burger”

Starters were somewhat Asian, and probably some of the best we ever had. A Shrimp Burger which came inside steamed bun with aioli sauce was a delicate, perfect dish, and was the star of the dinner. Goose spring rolls in steamed rice rolls and demi glaze weren’t any worse actually and kept a cohesive line of fabulous delicacy. Two other starters of Grilled Calamari with Root vegetables as well as Gin and Tonic Tartar made us feel we are having a really unique and original dinner.

Goose Spring Rolls

Grilled Calamari

The two main courses that came after were really exceptional. Braised Veal Check, a dish rarely seen in chef restaurants, was extremely tender and full of deep tastes, while Sea Drum and Scallop Cannelloni did not disappoint at all.

Braised Veal Cheek

Sea Drum

As it seemed the chef sat right by us on the bar, he noticed we are taking pictures. After asking us what we thought about the food, he did promise a surprising dessert. He actually added two desserts for the two we already ordered, and they were all really wonderful. Strawberries soup with tapioca, tiny lemon tarts, steamed mascarpone cake with berry foam and white chocolate with truffle (!) mushrooms ice cream were all amazing, no other word.

Strawberries soup with tapioca

White Chocolate & Truffles Ice Cream

So yes, we did get two free desserts and no, none of these praises are because of that. Popina is a truly unique place, an oasis of original food at a chef level. Yes, it is expensive for the size of the dishes, but sometimes it is just worth it.

Popina

The Check Please (4 people)

Gin & Tonic Tartar – 64 NIS
Grilled Calamari – 56 NIS
Shrimp Burger – 48 NIS
Goose Spring Rolls – 58 NIS
Braised Veal Cheek – 98 NIS
Sea Drum and Scallop Cannelloni – 115 NIS
Alaska – 44 NIS
Lemon Tart – 42 NIS
White Chocolate & Truffles – 0
Steamed Mascarpone Cake – 0
Coke – 12 NIS
Soda Water – 12 NIS
Tonic – 12 NIS
Water – 12 NIS
Coke X2 – 24 NIS

All in all: 585 NIS

Summary:

Food: Chef Restaurant
Price: Expensive
Location: Neve Tzedek

The Cizer-Kobrinsky Scale:

5 Forks

Contact Details: Popina

Address:  3 Achad Ha’am, Tel Aviv | Phone: 035757477
Opening Hours: Daily 18:00-01:00
http://www.rol.co.il/images/sites/popina/menu/english.html

Longing for Thailand – Thai House

A short while after our wedding, we decided we cannot rest on our laurels, and continued with our dedicated work – writing this blog.
Three years ago we took our first trip abroad together and had five dreamy weeks in Thailand. We fell in love with the spicy food and ate it all day long. Once we came back we have searched for something that will remind us the wonderful holiday – so we found the Thai house.

Unfortunately, it was too good to be true. Our first visit in Thai house left us with bad taste in our mouth (literally). It took us about two more years until we had the guts to come back, and we weren’t sorry at all.

Yam-Wun-Sen Goung (Shrimp Salad with Glass Noodles).

Thai house is located at the top 10 restaurants in Tel Aviv according to Trip Advisor. Not surprisingly as it is located right is in the middle of the tourist area – Bugrashov and Ben Yehuda.

Papaya Salad

For starters we had two salads – Papaya Salad and Yam-Wun-Sen Goung (Shrimp Salad with Glass Noodles). Both of them were refreshing and included memories from the far east. In Thai house every dish is marked with a spicy scale; the shrimps salad was rated, accurately, as mildly spiced.

Naam Tuk Neua "As Asian as it gets"

We shared the main course – Naam Tuk Neua (or as described at the menu “As Asian as it gets”) – Sliced beef roasted in traditional ”I-San” seasoning with mint leaves, purple onion, coriander, dry hot peppers & lime juice. Turns out that sharing the course was a smart move as it was very big and very spicy, which made it a little hard for us to eat. Nevertheless, the course that was served at the room temperature, was a wonderful choice. We took the bartender’s advice and replaced the fried rice with sticky rise – which made it easier for us to digest the spiciness of the beef.

We decided to skip dessert and go home and dream a little bit more about Thailand.

The check please (2 people)
Papaya Salad – 28NIS
Yam-Wun-Sen Goung (Shrimp Salad with Glass Noodles) – 32NIS
Naam Tuk Neua (“As Asian as it gets”) – 68NIS
Sticky Rise – 9NIS
2X Singha beer – 50NIS
All in all: 187 NIS

The Cizer-Kobrinsky Scale:

3.5 Forks

Summary:
Food: Thai
Price: Medium
Location: Bugrashov / Ben Yehuda

Contact details: Thai House
Address: 8th Bugrashov St., corner with Ben Yehuda, Tel Aviv| 03-5178568|
Opening Hours: Sunday –Saturday 12:00-23:00
http://www.2eat.co.il/eng/thai/

Step into my office – The Officer’s Club (Moadon HaKtzinim)

Once again, Adi called to invite to a spontaneous dinner. At first we wanted to come back to the Coffee Bar since it has just updated its menu lately, but thinking about our blog readers we agreed to go somewhere else we haven’t covered yet. We had a desire for Asian food and the chosen place was Moadon HaKtzinim (The Officer’s Club).

The Officer’s Club’s owners are the same owners of the respectful Tel Aviv institute – Giraffe. This place is the flagship of the Giraffe brand – Asian food with a fusion twist.

We shared truffles Har Gow Dim Sum – three steamed dumpling filled with chopped mushrooms in truffles sauce. The delicate wrapping dough that lay upon a tasteful sauce made this an amazing starter.

No, thats not a jellyfish, thats a Dim Sum

From that point we split up – Adi took the VEG VEG wide noodles with mashed mushroom paste, asparagus and green beans – a classic Giraffe dish that you can never go wrong with. I (Inbar) decided to stay with the starters section of the menu and took Thai Salad & Tuna fish Ceviche. The Salad was refreshing and tasty thanks to a good combination of herbs, cherry tomatoes and tender chicken. As appose to that, the Ceviche, which included fresh Tuna fish, cucumbers and (for some mysterious reason) some kind of noodles, was disappointing.

Tuna Fish Ceviche

Ending this spontaneous dinner we took a great light dessert – Tapioca pudding that was served together with small bowls of Sorbet, fruits salad & hot cinnamon topped with banana.

VEG VEG

As I was writing the post and going through the check once more I have noticed that we were charged 1.5 NIS per person for security. Charging for security was a common manner in Israel about 10 years ago, and took place in order to help restaurants reinforce their security due to the bad security situation in Israel. I was surprised to see it in the check since I did not see any security guard & this manner has almost disappeared from the restaurants scene.

The Cizer-Kobrinsky Scale:

3 Forks

The Check please (2 people):
Truffles Har Gow – 47NIS
Tuna fish Ceviche – 48NIS
Thai Salad – 38NIS
VEG VEG – 49NIS
2X Binymina Gewurztraminer Wine – 52NIS
Tapioca – 39NIS
Security – 3 NIS

All in all: 276 NIS
Summary:

Food:  Asian & Fusion
Price:  Medium-expensive
Location: Ha’Arbaa

Contact details: Moadon HaKtzinim (The Officer’s Club)
Address:  21 Haarbaa St., Tel Aviv | Phone: 03-6851154
Opening Hours:  Sunday- Saturday – 12:00-24:00
http://www.giraffe.co.il/about-the-restaurant/giraffe-ktzinim

It’s a Zebra? It’s a Bird? No, It’s Zepra

Let’s start with the bottom line. Wow. That is the one word which describes best our fabulous visit at Zepra (Herbew combination of the words Zebra and Bird) – a Southern Tel Aviv restaurant owned by Avi Conforti, who owned the mythic Chimichanga restaurant, just a few hundred meters away. Conforti opened this Asian style restaurant back in 2007. This was the first time (and definitely not our last) we have been there, with the invitation of Shahar’s parents.

Zepra

It starts with the setting of the place. A great décor gives the place a feeling of hanging out in a mega-lounge bar somewhere between Paris & LA. It keeps the same level when it comes to the music. It is simply outstanding – a combination of lounge music with a lot of electronic & drums rhythms.

Har Gau

The starters were very unique and didn’t resemble any other Asian restaurant around. We took a fresh tuna fish pizza – an amazing combination of western & eastern food, “Har Gau” – 3 Dim sums filled with shrimps in an amazing mushroom sauce, “Chop Sashimi” – 5 types of raw fish chopped together (kind of tartar) with Tobiko – one of the most original courses we saw around, “New Style Salmon Sashimi” – sliced of raw salmon with sesame oil – some happy reactions were heard about that as well. We also took a “Healthy Buddha” salad – a fresh Asian salad with red cabbage, vegetables mint & coriander, which stood out because of its good sauce.

Chop Sashimi

The Entrees were just a continuation of the starters. A “Bo Luk Lak” (two were taken) – Slices of fillet of beef, grilled with caramelized onions in a Vietnamese sauce, was the best of the best. An excellent cooked beef was juicy and fitted perfectly to the great unique sauce. A “Noah Pad Paric” – Sirloin pieces with sweet red chili, onion, coriander and cashew nuts, was nice as well but couldn’t keep with the “Bo Luk Lak” standards.

New Style Salmon Sashimi

The desserts on Zepra didn’t let down also. A Tapioca Malabi was one of the best Malabi’s we ever had. An apricot Crème brûlée was fantastic, as well as beautiful to look at and a Chocolate Soufflé with Indian Chai-Masala ice cream and aroma, given on the house, was a sugar-rush ending to an extra ordinary dinner.

Apricot Crème brûlée

The check please (4 people)

Chop Sashimi – 55 NIS
New Style Salmon Sashimi – 52 NIS
Tuna Pizza – 59 NIS
Healthy Buddha Salad – 38 NIS
Har Gau – 42 NIS
Bo Luk Lak – 2 X 108 NIS
Noah Pad Paric – 88 NIS
Tapioca Malabi – 39 NIS

Value for Money

After a lot of suggestions we decided to add this section to our blog.

4.5 Forks

Summary:

Food:  Asian
Price:  Expensive
Location: Yigal Alon

Contact details: Zepra
Address:  96 Yigal Alon St., Tel Aviv | Phone: 03-6240044|
Opening Hours:  12:00-00:00
http://zepra.pionetsv.co.il/ (English webpage unavailable)

Kong FU

Just one week after the good sushi experience in the Moon, my friend Adi suggested we go to eat sushi. Adi is my sushi expert friend, so when she suggested me sushi plus added a ride on her bike, I just couldn’t say no.

After a short ride we arrived to Fu Sushi, which is located near the north of Dizingoff Street. It is a quite small place with a sitting area and a bar. We were lucky to catch the last seats available in the sitting area, without waiting on the line (though the bar was probably more exciting).

When we sat down the waiter made the table with chopsticks which were put on a black stone. In addition we got the “traditional” sauces – Spicy mayonnaise, Teriyaki & Watercress with coriander. We started with a Miso Soup and Wakame Salad which were quite good. The salad came with “Chicken Crumbs” which were actually small slices of chicken which tasted, strangely, like pastrami.

Each one of us took a combination of sushi.  Adi took the vegetarian and I preferred the fish. The vegetarian combination included vegetables Maki Foto (4 pieces), Inside-out vegetables (4 pieces), Vegetables Maki (6 pieces) & vegetables Skewer (3 pieces).  The fish combination included an inside-out spicy tuna (4 pieces) – which were the best of this combination, Avocado & Salmon Maki (6 pieces) –nice but very average, 1 Tuna Nigiri & 1 Salmon Nigiri – I didn’t like the Tuna and didn’t get to the Salmon.

All in all Fu is a casual sushi place if you’re nearby. Don’t make an effort to get there but if you’re around you can definitely find a decent sushi there.

The check please (2 people)

2 Sodas – 22 NIS
Miso soup – 15 NIS
Wakame salad – 29 NIS
Vegetarian combination – 53 NIS
Fish combination – 58 NIS

All in all: 177 NIS

Summary:

Food: Fast Food Sushi
Price: Medium
Location: North Dizngoff / Yirmiahu

The Cizer-Kobrinsky Scale

3 Forks

Contact details: Fu Sushi

Address:  Yirmiahu 32 street, Tel Aviv | Phone: 057-9443445
Opening Hours:  Sunday to Saturday 12:30-1:30
http://www.rest.co.il/sites/Default.asp?txtRestID=10769

The Bright Side of the Moon

Running Sushi

Looking at Tel Aviv’s Sushi scene, there are almost too many options to choose from. Nevertheless, one can categorize these into a few rough categories: The cheap to mid-level priced chains, the upper level places and the high-end expensive sushi. It is very much you-get-what-you-pay-for scene with very few exceptions. Moon, placed in the middle of the eclectic Bugrashov street has one of the most original sushi in Tel Aviv while still not a high-end priced sushi. Foie Gras, Tunna fish mousse, Salmon eggs & melted Gauda cheese are only some original ingredients running on a conveyor between Moon’s customers (4 price-level plates).

Last Saturday, right after the Israeli first season finale of Master-chef, we decided to take our late-night hunger to the Moon. We started off with a good Salmon Tartar (with Seaweeds & Avocado) and a Tuna fish Sashimi. A 3^rd level sushi plate (2 pieces of Rainbow sushi) wasn’t the best we had, but the Spicy Salmon Maki (4 pieces) was excellent.

Moon is quite an upbeat place and owns a large bar, in which also a drink-only night will be more than acceptable. Combine it with a semi-late-night kitchen (will serve hot plates until 00:30) and you have one of the best sushi places where no mortgage is needed in Tel Aviv.

The check please (2 people)

Moon

Salmon Tartar – 45 NIS
Tunna Sashimi – 41 NIS
Spicy Salmon Maki – 29 NIS
3^rd level sushi place – 14.5 NIS
Coke – 11 NIS
Soda – 13 NIS

All in all: 154 NIS

Summary:

Food: Sushi
Price: Medium-Expensive
Location: Bugrashov

The Cizer-Kobrinsky Scale

3.5 Forks

Contact details: Moon

Address:  58 Bugrashov Street, Tel Aviv | Phone: 036291155
Opening Hours:  Every day -12:00 – 00:30
http://www.rest.co.il/sites/default.asp?txtRestID=195

Tel Aviv Food Awards

This is the time to introduce you to our bible. If Tel Aviv is our religion and in food we trust then Time Out Tel Aviv is our bible. This week the magazine has published the winners in its annual food awards.  In this post we will not tell you about one place we love but rather introduce you to the winners. We hope, in the future, to document these places in our blog as well. If you’re looking for a place, this can be a good starting point. Please notice that not all the links here supply information in English.

The best restaurant: Herbert Samuel .

The best new restaurant: 1 Ha’am Tapas.

The chef of the year: Eyal Shani.

The best exclusive restaurant: Catit.

The bar with the best food: Messa.

The best Italian restaurant: Mel & Mishel .

The best meat restaurant: Yoezer Bar Yain (Yoezer wine bar).

The best Asian restaurant: Bait Tahilandi (Tahi House).

The best fish and sea food restaurant: Manta Ray.

The best tapas restaurant: Tapeo.

The best bistro: Brasserie.

The best kosher restaurant: Liliot.

The best ethnic restaurant: Edna.

The best healthy / vegetarian / vegan restaurant: 24 rupee.

The best “value for money” restaurant: Segev Express.

The best restaurant chain: Giraffe.

The best sandwich: Ruben.

The best children friendly restaurant: Moses.

The best pizzeria: Tony Vespa.

The best burger: Agadir.

The best ice cream / yogurt: Anita.

The best hummus: Ali Karavan (Abu Hassan).

The best café: Hatachtit.

The best upbeat restaurant: Nanuchka .

The best restaurant for a date: Nana Bar.

The best wine bar: Habasta.

The best beer bar in the city: Porter & Sons.

The best bakery / patisserie in the city: Dalel’s bakery.

The best delicatessen: Hinnawi butcher & meat delicacy.

The best breakfast: Benedict.

The best late night: Dixie.

The best restaurant bar: Social Club.

The best restaurant on the beach: Manta Ray.