Babička’s Makovec (Czech Poppy Seed Roll)

Date Published: Nov 11th, 2025 | Last Updated: Nov 11th, 2025
Author: Abby | Category: breads, Czech, dessert, pastry, snacks, vegetarian
Makes: 3 loaves (enough for a party or one Toby 😂) | Prep time: 1.5 hours | Cook time: 1 hour

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This is Toby’s all time favourite food that his babička (grandmother) makes when he visits her in Czech (next to Svíčková, of course!). We’ve been trying to learn this recipe for years, but true to OG-style grandma cooking, she measures nothing and everything is done by eyeballing it. I can usually get away by guessing the amounts she puts in when it comes to savoury cooking but baking requires precise measurements, so finally during our visit this past summer, we bought her some measuring spoons (which was surprisingly quite difficult to find to Czech) and whipped out the kitchen scale. Thanks to Toby’s translating and our diligent watchful eye on her every step (this lady moves fast in the kitchen!), I’m happy to report that we FINALLY learned her secrets and I’m very excited to add her recipe to my collection and share it with you all! 😊

Toby & a fresh tray of makovec that babi has just made for him ❤️

What is Makovec?

Makovec (pronounced: Mah-ko-vets) is a traditional Czech poppy seed roll pastry. It’s made of a light and fluffy bread-like pastry that’s rolled around a sweet filling made of freshly ground poppy seeds.

(Note: Some people use the term Makovec to describe a square poppy seed cake rather than the roll. According to Toby and babi, they’ve always referred to makovec as the roll.)

What makes this recipe so special from the others?

There are many variations of makovec around. Some people make it with raisins in the mixture, others put a lemon icing overtop. The neighbouring countries of Poland call it makowiec and Slovakia calls it maková štrúdla. This recipe is specifically Toby’s grandmother’s version. Call it nostalgic bias, but Toby and I have travelled quite a bit and he always gets super excited when he sees someone selling poppy seed cake, but no matter how many farmers markets and European bakeries we visit, nothing compares to babi’s version. Her version is made with strawberry jam mixed in the poppy seed filling for that extra strawberry flavour, and she finishes it off with a streusel crumb topping (which I’ve never seen anyone else do!). The ratio of bread to filling is also on point 👌 – too many times we find that there’s too much bread and not enough filling – poppy seed is not a robust flavour on its own so if there’s too much bread it drowns out the filling.

Toby & his babička making makovec (May 2025)

Grinding Poppy Seeds – Is it necessary?

Yes! Poppy seeds are the star of this dessert and it is imperative to grind down the seeds for a few reasons:

Flavour: Grinding the seeds releases their natural rich oils and flavours. Eating unground poppy seed on its own is quite flavourless.
Forming a paste: Ground seeds absorb moisture and is essential to form a paste when we’re cooking down the filling. You won’t get the texture we’re looking for unless the seeds are ground.
Texture: Ground seeds are less gritty and provides a smoother texture when eating.

How to Grind Poppy Seeds

The best way to grind down poppy seeds is to use a dedicated poppy seed grinder. It’s usually about $40-$50 and is worth the investment if you’re into poppy seed desserts. We use this one from Tescoma: https://a.co/d/iUgRhGq. We found it to be reasonably priced with good reliability.

If you don’t have a poppy seed grinder, you can use a clean coffee grinder, spice grinder, mortar and pestle, or a food processor.

If you’re lucky and live near a European grocer, check if they have pre-ground poppy seeds for sale. I see it everywhere sold in Czech grocery stores due to the sheer popularity of poppy seed food items, but rarely outside of central Europe. Pre-ground poppy seeds can spoil quickly so sometimes it’s sold out of the refrigerated section.

Some Myths and Truths About Poppy Seeds

Poppy seeds have the notorious reputation of causing people to test falsely positive for opiates on urine drug tests (remember that episode of Seinfeld where Elaine tested positive after eating a poppy seed bagel?). I always thought that you needed to ingest very large amounts of it to test positive, but on an episode of Mythbusters, Adam tested positive within half an hour of eating a large slice of poppy seed cake and Jamie tested positive 2 hours after eating 3 poppy seed bagels! So if you’re in a situation where they do routine urine testing, you might want to hold off on making this or ask for a blood test instead. 😅

Despite possibly testing false positive for opiates, you won’t actually feel any opiate-related effects or “highs” from eating poppy seeds. Toby has eaten TRAYS of makovec (which is a LOT Of poppy seeds) and seen no ill effects.

How does this happen, you ask? Poppy seeds themselves have no opium content, however the milky white fluid that comes from the seed pod of the poppy called the “latex” is what contains the opium content. There is a possibility of contamination of the latex onto the seeds during the harvesting process, but don’t worry, poppy seeds sold for general use/foods are all washed prior to sale. In fact, there are actually legalities around buying unwashed poppy seeds. In the United States, at least 12 deaths have been reported in association with the use of tea made from unwashed poppy seeds causing lethal opiate overdose! (Here’s a pdf from the DEA if you want to learn more about poppy seeds: https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_chem_info/unwashed_poppy_seed.pdf)

Anyways, if you’re a fan of poppy seed pastries, give this recipe a try! It looks like a long recipe, but it’s not all that difficult, just very wordy to describe.

I’ve had to tweak her recipe a little due to difficulty of obtaining certain ingredients outside of Europe (I’m looking at you, coarse flour 😒), but after multiple taste tests, Toby gave the stamp of approval that it’s just like babi’s! The photos in this post are a mix of photos from when she taught us how to make this dish in Czech and me re-making them in our apartment back in Brooklyn.

Note: To make the most accurate version of this recipe, I would recommend using the grams/mls measurements as this was what I used to measure her recipes, however I’ve also included a cup conversion as well.

I’d love to hear from you in the comment section! You can follow me on instagram, youtube and facebook to see all the recipes I post!

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

*I recommend to use the metric measurements (grams/mls) for accuracy of the ingredients to have it as close to babička’s version as possible.

Poppy seed filling:
- 500ml (2 cups) whole milk
- 250g (1.75 cups) poppy seeds, ground
- 120g (1.25 cups) granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 175g (1/2 cup) strawberry jam (or more to taste)
- 4g (1/2 Tbsp) ground cinnamon
- 28g (2 Tbsps) cocoa powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Dough:
- Yeast prep:
  - 60ml (1/4 cup) milk
  - 7g (1 packet) of active dry yeast
  - 1 tsp granulated sugar
- 50g (1/4 cup) granulated sugar
- 50g (3.5 Tbsps) butter, softened
- 1 large egg, divided into yolk and egg white
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 350g (2.75 cups) all-purpose flour, sifted (+ more for dusting and rolling)
- 175ml (3/4 cup) + 1/2 Tbsp whole milk, room temperature
Streusel:
- 50g (1/4 cup) granulated sugar
- 50g (3.5 Tbsps) butter, softened
- 70g (1/2 cup) all-purpose flour

Directions:

A) Make the poppy seed filling:

In a wide-based pan on MED heat, add in 500ml of milk. When the milk boils, add in 250g ground poppy seeds and mix together. It will thicken as you mix. Once the mixture boils again, turn down the heat to LOW and continue to stir until you get a dry crumbly mixture without any liquid left (see photo) – this can take up to 20 minutes.

Pro-tips:

You can use any type of pan or pot, but a wide-based pan will increase your surface area and quicken the process.
Make sure you don’t have any liquid left in your mixture or else your filling will be too wet.

When you get a dry mixture, turn the heat OFF and take the pan off of the heat. Add in 120g of sugar and 1/2 tsp salt and stir until combined. Set aside to cool completely.

While you’re waiting for the filling to cool, you can start making the dough in the next section.

Once the mixture fully cools, add in 175g strawberry jam, 1/2 Tbsp ground cinnamon, 2 Tbsps cocoa powder, and 1 tsp of vanilla extract. Mix well and set aside.

B) Make the dough while the poppy seed filling cools:

Activate the yeast:

In a small bowl, add in 1/4 cup of milk and microwave for 10 seconds at a time until it’s warmed (make sure it’s not too hot or it will cook the yeast). Add in 7g (1 packet) active dry yeast and 1 tsp sugar. Mix until well-combined, cover and set aside. The yeast is activated once it gets frothy (5-10mins).

In a separate mixing bowl, add in 50g sugar, 50g softened butter, and 1 large egg yolk. Mix on HIGH speed for 2-3 minutes until the mixture is well-combined and a little fluffy.

To the sugar/butter mixture, add in 1 tsp salt, and the frothed yeast mixture (from step 1).

Mix well then alternate adding in 1/3 amount at a time the 350g sifted flour and the 175ml room temperature milk. Once the mixture gets too thick for the mixer, either use a dough hook attachment (if you’re using an electric mixer) or knead by hand. The dough is complete when you get a formed but sticky dough (see photo below) – this took about 5-7 minutes on an electric mixer.

Once the dough forms, scrape it all together, add a dusting of flour on top then cover with a tea towel and let it rest in a warm place until doubled in size (~45 mins – 1 hour).

If you don’t have a warm place, use my fail-proof oven proofing method here.

You can finish off the poppy seed filling (if cooled) while you wait and make the streusel in the next step.

C) Make the streusel:

In a small bowl, add in 50g of sugar, 50g of butter, and 70g of flour.

Mix/pinch/squish it by hand for 2-3 minutes until you get a crumbly mixture (see photo). Set aside.

D) Roll out the dough & assemble:

Prepare a greased or lined 9×13” baking tray.

Preheat the oven to 180˚C/350˚F.

Once the dough has risen, scrape out the dough onto a floured surface and knead it a few times to remove the bubbles. Weigh the dough and divide it evenly into 3 portions.

Dump the dough out onto a floured surface

Take one dough ball (keep the other two covered with a tea towel to prevent it from drying out) and roll it out onto a floured surface. Flip the dough and roll it out a couple times on the floured surface until you get a rectangle shape about 0.5cm thick (see photo) and roughly the length of your baking tray. Evenly spread 1/3 of the finished poppy seed/jam mixture onto the rolled dough, leaving 1-2cm from the edge of the dough.

To form the roll: Grab the bottom edge and fold the dough up by 1/4, then roll up by 1/4 again, then fold the upper 1/4 edge down over the roll and pinch the edges to seal in the poppy seed mixture (see photos). Gently pick up the roll and place this onto the prepared baking tray. Don’t worry if you have some areas of thinner dough or where some poppy seed filling sticks out.

Repeat steps 4-6 with the other two dough balls. Leave about a 2cm space between each roll on the baking tray so they don’t stick together when they bake.

E) Make the egg wash and add the streusel:

In a small bowl, beat the remaining egg white with 1/2 Tbsp of milk and brush this mixture over the top and sides of each roll.

This step creates a moist sticky surface for the streusel to stick better. Babicka actually uses rum but to limit the number of ingredients and to use up the egg white, I’ve elected to use the egg wash method. There is no difference in taste if you use rum or an egg/milk mixture.

Evenly sprinkle 1/3 of the streusel on top of each roll. Gently push it into the dough if it seems to be rolling off.

Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown (~25-30 minutes), turning the pan halfway through the cook time to bake evenly. DONE! Let it cool slightly before slicing then serve immediately.

Storage:

Store in an air-tight container and eat within 2 days at room temperature or up to 5 days in the refrigerator.
To freeze: slice the makovec and freeze in an air-tight container – mine’s still in the freezer from 3 months ago and still going strong! To reheat: microwave from frozen for 30 seconds at a time until warmed.
Note: once you refrigerate or freeze it, the bread firms up slightly.

Summarized Recipe:

Babička’s Makovec (Czech Poppy Seed Roll)

Ingredients: I recommend to use the metric measurements (grams/mls) for accuracy of the ingredients to have it as close to babička’s version as possible.

Poppy seed filling:
- 500ml (2 cups) whole milk
- 250g (1.75 cups) poppy seeds, ground
- 120g (1.25 cups) granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 175g (1/2 cup) strawberry jam (or more to taste)
- 4g (1/2 Tbsp) ground cinnamon
- 28g (2 Tbsps) cocoa powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Dough:
- Yeast prep:
  - 60ml (1/4 cup) milk
  - 7g (1 packet) of active dry yeast
  - 1 tsp granulated sugar
- 50g (1/4 cup) granulated sugar
- 50g (3.5 Tbsps) butter, softened
- 1 large egg, divided into yolk and egg white
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 350g (2.75 cups) all-purpose flour, sifted (+ more for dusting and rolling)
- 175ml (3/4 cup) + 1/2 Tbsp whole milk, room temperature
Streusel:
- 50g (1/4 cup) granulated sugar
- 50g (3.5 Tbsps) butter, softened
- 70g (1/2 cup) all-purpose flour

Directions:

Make the poppy seed filling:
1. In a wide-based pan on MED heat, add in 500ml of milk. When the milk boils, add in 250g ground poppy seeds and mix together. It will thicken as you mix. Once the mixture boils again, turn down the heat to LOW and continue to stir until you get a dry crumbly mixture without any liquid left (see photo) – this can take up to 20 minutes.
  - Pro-tips:
    - You can use any type of pan or pot, but a wide-based pan will increase your surface area and quicken the process.
    - Make sure you don’t have any liquid left in your mixture or else your filling will be too wet.
2. When you get a dry mixture, turn the heat OFF and take the pan off of the heat. Add in 120g of sugar and 1/2 tsp salt and stir until combined. Set aside to cool completely.
  - You can skip ahead and make the dough in this time while you wait for it to cool.
3. Once the mixture fully cools, add in 175g strawberry jam, 1/2 Tbsp ground cinnamon, 2 Tbsps cocoa powder, and 1 tsp of vanilla extract. Mix well and set aside.
Make the dough while the poppy seed filling cools:
1. Activate the yeast:
  - In a small bowl, add in 1/4 cup of milk and microwave for 10 seconds at a time until it’s warmed (make sure it’s not too hot or it will cook the yeast).
  - Add in 7g (1 packet) active dry yeast and 1 tsp sugar. Mix until well-combined, cover and set aside. The yeast is activated once it gets frothy (5-10mins).
2. In a separate mixing bowl, add in 50g sugar, 50g softened butter, and 1 large egg yolk. Mix on HIGH speed for 2-3 minutes until the mixture is well-combined and a little fluffy.
3. To the sugar/butter mixture, add in 1 tsp salt, and the frothed yeast mixture (from step 1). Mix well then alternate adding in 1/3 amount at a time the 350g sifted flour and the 175ml room temperature milk. Once the mixture gets too thick for the stand mixer, either use a dough hook attachment (if you’re using an electric mixer) or knead by hand. The dough is complete when you get a formed but sticky dough (see photo above) – this took about 5-7 minutes on an electric mixer.
4. Once the dough forms, scrape it all together, add a dusting of flour on top then cover and let it rest in a warm place until doubled in size (~45 mins – 1 hour).
  - If you don’t have a warm place, use my fail-proof oven proofing method here.
  - You can finish off the poppy seed filling (if cooled) while you wait and make the streusel in the next step.
Make the streusel:
1. In a small bowl, add in 50g of sugar, 50g of butter, and 70g of flour.
2. Mix/pinch/squish it by hand for 2-3 minutes until you get a crumbly mixture (see photo). Set aside.
Roll out the dough & assemble:
1. Prepare a greased or lined 9×13” baking tray.
2. Preheat the oven to 180˚C/350˚F.
3. Once the dough has risen, scrape out the dough onto a floured surface and knead it a few times to remove the bubbles. Weigh the dough and divide it evenly into 3 portions.
4. Take one dough ball (keep the other two covered with a tea towel to prevent it from drying out) and roll it out onto a floured surface. Flip the dough and roll it out a couple times on the floured surface until you get a rectangle shape about 0.5cm thick (see photo) and roughly the length of your baking tray.
5. Evenly spread 1/3 of the finished poppy seed/jam mixture onto the rolled dough, leaving 1-2cm from the edge of the dough.
6. To form the roll: Grab the bottom edge and fold the dough up by 1/4, then roll up by 1/4 again, then fold the upper 1/4 edge down over the roll and pinch the edges to seal in the poppy seed mixture (see photos). Gently pick up the roll and place this onto the prepared baking tray.
7. Repeat steps 4-6 with the other two dough balls. Leave about a 2cm space between each roll on the baking tray so they don’t stick together when they bake.
Make the egg wash and add the streusel:
1. In a small bowl, beat the remaining egg white with 1/2 Tbsp of milk and brush this mixture over the top and sides of each roll.
  - This step creates a moist sticky surface for the streusel to stick better. Babicka actually uses rum but to limit the number of ingredients and to use up the egg white, I’ve elected to use the egg wash method. There is no difference in taste if you use rum or egg/milk mixture.
2. Evenly sprinkle 1/3 of the streusel on top of each roll. Gently push it into the dough if it seems to be rolling off.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown (~25-30 minutes), turning the pan halfway through the cook time to bake evenly. DONE! Let it cool slightly before slicing then serve immediately.

November 11, 2025

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The Ultimate Guide to a Manhattan Chinatown Food Crawl – bring cash!

Date Published: Sept 2nd, 2025 | Last Updated: Sept 11th, 2025
Author: Abby | Category: Travel, USA

Manhattan Chinatown is full of amazing authentic Asian food but in a neighbourhood full of Chinese signage and shop keepers that barely speak English, it can be daunting to find the best food spots amongst the literal hundreds of restaurants in this neighbourhood. This food guide highlights some of my favourite places to eat in Chinatown including local must-have items! Many of these places are known for only 1 or 2 items on their menu, so we often like to jump from restaurant to restaurant, ordering only a couple things at each place to sample our way through Chinatown. Come hungry as you journey through this food crawl with me!

Before you head to Chinatown, here are a few tips to follow to ensure a good time:

Always bring cash. Many of these hole-in-the-wall joints only take cash and most won’t have ATMs on site. Even if they do take card, often there’ll be a discount if you pay in cash!
Don’t hold up the line. Chinatown operates like many hustle and bustle places in Asia. It’s often about speed and high turnover in many of these OG places. Try and figure out what you want before you get in line (the lines can move very quickly!) or take a photo of the menu and step to the side to take your time deciding what you want to avoid holding up the line.
Don’t expect good service. Time and time again so many fantastic authentic Chinese food joints get poor ratings due to poor service. In Asia, many of these authentic hole-in-the-wall eateries and old school joints are about serving up food quick and cheap and turning over as many tables as they can, street-style. Don’t expect table service, don’t expect niceties, just go in and expect good food and the rest is a bonus. Don’t take it personally, it’s just a way of life that has been ingrained in our cultures. If you prefer a good sit down service, then I’d recommend finding a larger fancy Chinese restaurant – but I have none in the recommendations below, this post is all about quick, cheap, delicious food.
Be prepared to stand or take away. Not exclusive to Chinatown, many food shops in NYC are standing room only or takeaway only, so be prepared to do either. Keep this in mind especially if you’re coming from a day of walking or exploring the city and you’re looking for a place to sit for lunch.

Where is Manhattan Chinatown?

There are a few Chinatowns around NYC (ie Flushing and Bay Ridge), but there’s only one in Manhattan. A quick Google search will show you the outline of this neighbourhood that borders Little Italy. I’ve highlighted the neighbourhood in the maps below.

If you’re feeling like exploring the city and working up an appetite before lunch, my favourite morning route that we take visiting guests is to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge from DUMBO in Brooklyn, walk around the Financial District/Wall Street area, then head up towards Chinatown for lunch. Afterwards you could walk through Little Italy then up to SOHO. You can also consider doing a day of exploring the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island then have dinner in Chinatown afterwards.

Zoomed out map of Chinatown in Manhattan

Although Chinatown spans a relatively large area, many of the popular eateries are concentrated around Grand Street, Bayard Street, and Bowery. I’ve mapped out the eateries in this post below to give you an idea of where these places are located (I’m a visual learner – I like maps to orient myself when planning 😊).

My favourite Manhattan Chinatown eateries:

Without further ado, here’s a list of my favourite Chinatown eateries in Manhattan. Let me know in the comments if I’ve missed something you think should be included here!

Matcha Cafe Maiko (the best matcha soft serve we’ve ever had)

Address: 132 Bowery, New York, NY 10013 (multiple locations)
Hours: 12pm-10pm, daily
Website: https://www.matchacafe-maiko.com/eng/
Average spend per person: $5-$15
What to order: matcha and hojicha soft serve

When we first moved to New York, we stayed at an AirBnb for a few weeks until we were able to find an apartment. Matcha Cafe Maiko just happened to be right below our AirBnb. They have some of the best matcha and hojicha soft serves we’ve ever had! Matcha Cafe Maiko uses high quality matcha that allows the strong flavours to come through in all of their desserts. Highly recommend! (Although not a “Chinatown eatery”, this place is so good that I just had to include it in this post!)

Sanmiwago (a Taiwanese spot with great dumplings)

Address: 90 Bowery, New York, NY 10013
Hours: 9am-2am, daily
Website: https://sanmiwagomeals.com/menu
Average spend per person: $10-$20
What to order: signature pork and chives pan-fried dumplings

We found this place randomly because we were super hungry and it was around the corner from our AirBnb at the time. They advertise themselves as Taiwanese food which was what attracted me to them in the first place, but there are items on the menu that can be from other areas of Asia. It was a small shop and food came out quickly, I honestly can’t even remember everything we ordered, but I remembered that their signature pan-friend pork and chive dumplings were really good!

Xi’an Famous Foods (great spot for cumin lamb and noodles)

Address: 45 Bayard St, New York, NY 10013 (multiple locations)
Hours: 11am-9pm, daily
Website: http://xianfoods.com/
Average spend per person: $10-$20
What to order: spicy cumin lamb noodles, cumin lamb burger

Xi’an Famous Foods serves up delicious food with unique flavours from the Xi’an province of China (read: spicy & lots of cumin). They originally started off in a tiny hole in the wall shop and grew such a large following that they now have 16 locations across the city! A large part of their success can be attributed to a visit from Anthony Bourdain in an episode of No Reservations. Xi’an Famous Foods is known for their spicy cumin lamb noodles and the spicy cumin lamb burger. Both dishes are similar in flavour (one has the cumin lamb served over noodles and the other has the lamb stuffed inside a bun). The noodles are fresh and hand-pulled with the perfect texture so I prefer it over the burger. There’s also a side table with self-serve sauces – I would HIGHLY recommend slapping on their chilli oil and then buy a couple jars to take home. It has a great smokey flavour without being too spicy.

I first came here about 10 years ago and I’m happy to report that although their meat portions in the burger have gotten much smaller, the flavour of the food is just as delicious.

ChiCha San Chen (the best bubble tea we’ve had)

Address: 72-74 Bayard St, New York, NY 10013
Hours: 11:30am-9:30pm daily
Website: https://chichasanchenny.com/
Average spend per person: $8-$12
What to order: bubble milk tea, dong ding oolong tea latte

This is a pretty new spot in Chinatown that only opened in May 2024. It’s a Taiwanese bubble tea company known for their high quality teas and strong flavours and they have a pretty strong fan base. As a Taiwanese person from the land of bubble teas, I’ve had more than my fair share of bubble tea so I’ve got some pretty high standards. At first glance, it’s a fancy looking shop decorated with the theme of marketing high quality Taiwanese tea. The menu is small compared to many bubble tea shops but I didn’t mind because it helps to avoid choice paralysis. We ordered the ding dong oolong tea latte and the bubble milk tea. It was pretty expensive, at about $10 per drink and only comes in the medium size. It took a while for us to get our drink but as we sat there waiting, you can appreciate how much care they take into brewing each cup of tea. The end result paid off. It was indeed one of the most tea-heavy flavourful bubble teas we’ve ever had. If you’re into quality tea, I’d highly recommend checking this place out, but be prepared to wait (it was about 15-20 minutes before we got our drink) and spend $10 per drink.

Kong Sihk Tong (Hong Kong street food)

Address: 65 Bayard St, New York, NY 10013
Hours: 8am-9pm Sun-Thurs, 8am-10pm Fri-Sat
Website: https://kongsihktong.com/
Average spend per person: $10-$20
What to order: Golden lava French toast, beef chowfun in brown sauce, baked rice

Kong Sihk Tong is a place known for serving up Hong Kong style street/fast food. We came here for the first time based on online recommendations. Food was overall average (some fantastic, some just okay) but the prices were great and the service was fast (as you’d expect from a Chinatown joint). There’s a large menu and they take cash only. We went during winter around 11:30am and we were able to be seated right away. Some reviews say that there are often lines out the door in the summer!

We got a few dishes:

Curry fish balls: One of their most highly reviewed dishes. It was decent, but similar to the other curry fish balls you can find in Chinatown so I didn’t feel like it was anything special.
Golden lava French toast: Another popular item on the menu. It tasted great, but it was definitely on the sweet side. It’s better eaten as a dessert rather than breakfast.
Beef chow fun in brown sauce: Fantastic. Great wok hei flavour. It was Toby’s favourite dish of the meal.
Baked rice with pork chop: You have an option of 3 sauces: cream, tomato, or black pepper. I ordered the cream base for nostalgia, but was pretty disappointed. I’ve definitely had way better. The pork chop in it was pretty good though! I saw many people order the baked rice – perhaps I’ll try a different sauce base last time since the waitress said it was one of their more popular dishes.

Overall, some dishes were great, some were just okay, but they’ve got a huge menu and we’re open to coming back and trying some of their other dishes!

Bánh Mì Saigon (a damn good Banh Mi)

Address: 198 Grand St, New York, NY 10013
Hours: 10am -5:30pm, Tues – Sun (closed Mondays)
Website: https://banh-mi-saigon.restaurants-world.com/
Average spend per person: $6 – $10
What to order: Banh Mi Saigon (BBQ Pork sandwich)

If you’re looking for Banh Mi in NYC, you’ll be met with countless options. In the search to find the best Banh Mi NYC has to offer, two places kept popping up in my research time and time again: Bánh Mì Saigon and Saigon Vietnamese Sandwich Deli (see below).

For those that are unfamiliar what a Banh Mi is, it is a Vietnamese sandwich made with a French-style baguette-like crusty bread that is filled with a myriad of ingredients that include pickled vegetables, paté, and an option of different meats (no cilantro on mine please). This flavourful combination make it a staple in many Vietnamese restaurants in NYC.

Between the two shops, Bánh Mì Saigon is a larger shop that’s brightly lit with lots of standing room, but no place to sit. Their most popular is the “#1 Banh Mi Saigon” which includes BBQ Pork as the protein. It’s only $8 for a decent sized sandwich. They had by far the best Banh Mi bread I’ve ever had. It has such a perfect crust and texture. and there was a good balance of flavours. Highly recommend!

Saigon Vietnamese Sandwich Deli (another damn good Banh Mi)

Address: 369 Broome St, New York, NY 10013
Hours: 7am – 7pm Tues – Sat, 7am – 5pm Sun, closed Mon
Website: https://www.saigonvietnamesesandwichdeli.com/
Average spend per person: $10 – $12
What to order: #1 House Special (Grilled Pork, Vietnamese Salami, Vietnamese Ham)

Saigon Vietnamese Sandwich Deli is a much smaller shop compared to Banh Mi Saigon. This tiny shop has just enough room for their ordering counter and a large fridge with cold drinks and unlike most Chinatown shops, they actually have a small table by the window and 2 chairs for sitting. Their specialty sandwich is the “No. 1 House Special (grilled pork with Vietnamese ham and Vietnamese salami)”. Although the bread is not as perfect as the bread at Banh Mi Saigon, their filling was really flavourful. My favourite part was the Vietnamese ham 😋. Also highly recommend!

Tonii’s Fresh Rice Noodle (the best rice noodles I’ve ever had)

Address: 83 Bayard St, New York, NY 10013
Hours: 7:30am – 6:30pm
Website: none
Average spend per person:
What to order: Tonii’s special rice noodles (pork, chicken, and dry shrimp) with all the sauces

ChangFun or rice noodles are something I’ve only ever had at dim sum places. It’s usually a rolled up long white noodle dish with a protein wrapped inside and soy sauce drizzled overtop. I had never had fresh rice noodles until coming to New York and Tonii’s (yes, with 2 i’s) blew my mind! At first glance, this hole-in-the-wall shop has no seating and the inside looks a bit suss. There’s a crappy half-fallen down outdoor area with a couple of old chairs and tables that you can maybe clean off yourself if you want to sit and eat, but all the food is packaged as takeaway. I was skeptical, but upon first bite, I was in love! The fresh rice noodles here are so much softer than any dim sum place I’ve ever had. They offer a few different protein options, but their most popular (and my favourite) is the ‘Tonii’s special’ which has pork, chicken and dry shrimp. The rice noodles comes with 4 sauces that are packaged separately and you pour it on yourself: chili oil crisp, sweet soy sauce, hoisin sauce, and peanut sauce. I would highly recommend adding all 4 sauces and mix it all up. It’s seriously delicious and one of my favourite chinatown gems!

Mei Lai Wah (the best pineapple BBQ pork bun you’ll ever have)

Address: 41 Mott St, New York, NY 10013
Hours: 8:30am – 7:30pm
Website: http://meilaiwah.com/
Average spend per person: $3 – $10
What to order: Pineapple BBQ Pork Bun

Mei Lai Wah has hands down THE best BBQ pork buns (charsiu bao) in the city. They come in a regular bun or pineapple bun. The pineapple bun is a misnomer and is named due to the buttery crackled crust on top of the bun that resembles the pattern of the side of a pineapple, but has no pineapple flavour at all. I’d highly recommend getting the pineapple BBQ pork bun – it’s their number one seller. The sweet buttery topping paired with the fatty savoury charsiu pork filling is out of this world!

This place if often very busy with a line up out the door, but the line moves quickly. There’s usually 2 lines, one for cash only and the other for card payment. The cash line is usually much shorter and you can often walk right in to the counter. The shop is quite small, with very limited space and can fit about 5 or 6 people in the store at one time and it’s takeaway only. The buns are baked fresh and served right away, piping hot!

Chang Lai Fishballs Noodles (a place for fishballs and rice noodles)

Address: 55 Bayard St Store B, New York, NY 10013
Hours: 8am – 5:30pm, daily
Website: https://changlaifishballnoodles.dine.online/locations/6703032?fulfillment=pickup
Average spend per person: $10 – $15
What to order: A1. Curry fishballs with rice noodles

This fishballs and noodles shop started off as a food cart and operated on Grand Street for 30 years and only recently opened up this location in 2023. It’s run by a lovely husband and wife (?) team that are so proud of their food and so friendly. Their most popular item on the menu is the “A1 curry fishballs with rice noodles”. I thought the fishballs were just okay but Toby loved them. The rice noodles were my favourite. They’re rolled up and cut into small pieces and mixed with a combination of 4 or 5 sauces that’s a perfect portion for a snack. This is a small shop with limited seating, enough for about 3-4 people.

The Original Chinatown Ice Cream Factory (ice cream with Asian flavours)

Address: 65 Bayard St, New York, NY 10013
Hours: 11am – 10pm daily
Website: http://www.chinatownicecreamfactory.com/
Average spend per person: $8 – 16
What to order: anything! Free samples of their ice cream – popular flavours are pandan and black sesame

Chinatown Ice Cream Factory is a small shop on Bayard Street that serves, you guessed it, ice cream! There are a TON of ice cream shops throughout NYC but nowhere else will you find unique Asian ice cream flavours such as durian, black sesame, matcha, pandan, lychee, ginger, red bean – that’s just to name a few. There’s usually a small line out the door in the evenings, however it moves quickly. There’s only enough room for about 5-6 people in the shop at one time and there’s no seating available. You can sample as many flavours as you like but note that popular flavours can run out earlier in the evening, so I’d recommend coming earlier if you’ve got your eyes set on something. Although a bit pricey at $8 a scoop and $11.50 for two scoops, their portions are quite generous.

We’ve been here twice now and although there’s no doubt better quality ice cream elsewhere with a creamier texture, the flavours they infuse into their ice cream knocks it out of the park and keeps us coming back.

Double Crispy Bakery (great steam buns and egg tarts)

Address: 230 Grand St, New York, NY 10013
Hours: 7am – 7pm, every day
Website: none
Average spend per person: $5 – $10
What to order: egg tarts (2 kinds), pineapple bun, mooncakes

I’m always on the hunt for a great egg tart. Double Crispy Bakery was recommended by a coworker of mine who’s a born and bred local. This bakery offers egg tarts in two different types: a “Custard egg tart” which is more traditionally Chinese with a formed crumbly crust and an intact gelatin-like eggy center, and the other a “Macau style egg tart” which is similar to the Portuguese egg tart, pastel de nata, that has a flaky crispy crust with a softer creamier eggy center. Both were delicious. The custard filling had great flavour with a boost of vanilla, but the flaky crispy crust of the “Macau-style” was preferable for me. Although not my favourite egg tart shop (that’s in Bay Ridge), it’s still pretty good here!

They also have a good pineapple bun (a misnomer that’s named for its flaky sweet crust that resembles a pineapple, but actually has no pineapple flavour at all) and mooncakes year-round in a few flavours (I don’t love mooncakes, so you can be the judge). Their large steam buns behind the counter are also pretty decent and are filled with savoury pork, egg, and Chinese sausage.

Shu Jiao FuZhou Cuisine (cheap peanut noodles)

Address: 295 Grand St, New York, NY 10002
Hours: 8am-8pm, 7 days a week
Website: none
Average spend per person: $3-$10
What to order: No. 5 peanut noodles, fried dumplings, fish ball soup

If you’re looking for great cheap Asian food in Chinatown, look no further than Shu Jiao FuZhou Cuisine. This no-flare restaurant offers street food items served at lightning fast speeds (seriously, the food was literally ready within 1 minute of us paying!) and nothing was over $6. Their most popular dish is the “No. 5 peanut noodles 拌面” for $3.25. It’s a generous portion of well-cooked soft wheat noodles over a peanut sauce mixture – no meat, no toppings, just noodles and sauce. I had my reservations when I first walked in and every other person in the restaurant was not Asian, but I love a good peanut noodle dish so I couldn’t resist. The peanut noodles are simple but indeed delicious and worth the visit! The cashier also recommended the fried dumplings (I thought was just okay, but Toby loved it), and the fish ball soup (which I also thought was okay but Toby enjoyed the vinegar addition to this classic soup). If you’re looking for a seriously quick and cheap place for decent food, check this place out!

The ZongZi/Bah-Chang lady outside of Grand Street Station

Address: Outside of Grand Street subway station (intersection of Grand Street & Christie Street) – just listen for her call of “Baaaah-chang”!
Hours: Usually 2pm-5pm most days
Website: https://maps.app.goo.gl/pVKw4RUNyq7avchf8
Average spend per person: $2-$3
What to order: Taiwan-style zongzi/”rice dumpling”

If you’re unfamiliar with the classic Chinese staple food, Zongzi (or also known as Bah-chang in the hokkien dialect) is glutinous/sticky rice filled with a choice different ingredients all wrapped in bamboo leaves in the shape of a triangle prism. The fillings can be savoury (commonly pork belly, egg yolk, mushroom, peanuts) or sweet (commonly red bean or mung bean). The Zongzi should be warmed prior to eating – most commonly via steaming, but you can also unwrap it and microwave it if you’re feeling lazy to bust out the steamer.

Like a character from a studio Ghibli movie, the beloved elderly Zongzi/Bah-chang lady has been selling zongzi for over 2 decades outside of the Grand Street subway station at the intersection of Grand and Christie. Her husband and daughter in law makes the zongzi and she sells them. You can hear her siren call of “Baaaaah-chang!” rain or shine.

Her most popular savoury zongzi is the Taiwan style (represent!) and the most popular sweet zongzi is the red bean. She sells them at a great price at $3 per meat-filled zongi and $2 for the others. Cash only!

We first heard of this lady when we first moved to New York in early 2023 and stayed in an AirBnB a few blocks away from the Grand Street station and would often hear her “Baaah-Chang” call. Unfortunately our AirBnb wasn’t equipped with a kitchen so we never had a chance to try them until recently! I bought her two most popular types and they were indeed pretty good. There was a decent amount of filling and the texture of the sticky rice was perfect. Although I’ve had better, for the price she charges and the quality of the filling, it’s a pretty good Zongzi.

Here’s a Youtube interview I found if you want to find out more about her story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJCbypba4kM&t=386s

Mee Sum Cafe (a breakfast joint with reputable Zongzi)

Address: 26 Pell St, New York, NY 10013
Hours: 5:30am – 5pm, daily
Website: none
Average spend per person: $10-$20 per person
What to order: dim sum, zong zi

Mee Sum Cafe is known as an OG local breakfast spot, open at 5:30am every single day and serves up traditional Chinese dishes including dim sum. If you’re looking for more Zong Zi (glutinous rice dumplings wrapped in leaves) recommendations, Mee Sum Cafe has a reputation for some great ones, offering up 7 different fillings. Unfortunately when we went, they only had 3 of their 7 kinds left, with the most popular ones sold out 😔. We didn’t have time to eat here so I bought a few frozen ones to go and tried it at home – it was just okay. Perhaps the ones that were sold out are much more worthy of their reputation 🤷🏻‍♀️. I debated whether or not to include them in this post since all I had was their Zongzi and wasn’t blown away, but due to their long standing reputation as an old school breakfast spot, I decided to include it so the rest of you can make your own decision on Mee Sum Cafe and also as a place marker to remind me to go back 🙃.

Golden Diner (honey butter pancakes)

Address: 123 Madison St, New York, NY 10002
Hours: 10am – 10pm most days (10am – 3pm on Thursdays) – make reservations ahead!
Website: http://www.goldendinerny.com/
Average spend per person: $20-$30 per person
What to order: Honey Butter Pancakes

Tucked away deep into the non-touristy parts of Chinatown where you need to speak some type of Chinese dialect to order food, Golden Diner is an American-Asian fusion diner that adds a twist to classic comfort foods. You may have seen this diner featured on many Tik Tok and Instagram videos lately showcasing their viral Honey Butter Pancakes – a friend of mine from Canada actually sent me a video of this place which is how we came to find it. I’m not overly excited about pancakes in general, but I am OBSESSED with honey butter chips so of course we had to come and try it. It took two trains to get to this prickly part the lower east side and without reservations, it was a 1.5 hour wait for a table at the bar. I’m glad to report that their Honey Butter Pancakes were indeed worth it. The honey butter syrup really does taste just like the chips and the thick and fluffy pancakes was the perfect light texture to carry the heavy syrup. It comes in a single or double serving. I’d recommend the single – it’s quite heavy and after a while it can be a bit much if you don’t have a sweet tooth.

I’ve written up the recipe for these pancakes that you can check out below:

Golden Diner Honey Butter Pancakes

The Honey Butter Pancakes from Golden Diner in Manhattan are the latest viral sensation! This recipe shows you how to recreate these fluffy pancakes with the unique umami honey butter sauce and a berry compote. Be warned – these heavy but luxurious pancakes may send you into a food coma!

September 9, 2025September 9, 2025

We ordered a few other things here that unfortunately fell short. We had their special of the day which was a asian/cumin fried chicken wings with waffles – way too much cumin and the waffles were dry, and the matcha/hojicha coffee cake which had good flavour, but unfortunately was also very dry.

All-in-all, the pancakes were definitely worth it if you like honey-butter chips, but the rest of the things we ordered fell short. If you plan on visiting, make sure you make a booking, or else it could be over an hour wait for a table!

I hope you enjoyed my list of Chinatown eats! Let me know in the comments if there’s a place you think I should include on this list!

Happy eating!
Abby

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AbbyLeave a comment

Joons’ Dak Galbi – Korean Spicy Chicken Stir Fry with Cheese & Noodles

Date Published: Mar 7th, 2025 | Last Updated: Mar 7th, 2025
Author: Abby |Category: mains, easy, Asian
Serves: 4 | Prep time: overnight marinating + 20 mins | Cook time: 40 mins

Jump to recipe |

In my high school years when I lived in Canada, my friends and I would often hangout in downtown Toronto on the weekends, either perusing Kensington market, browsing through record shops, shopping on Queen Street, studying for finals at Robarts, or just grabbing a bite to eat at one of the many restaurant options in Toronto. One of my favourite Korean restaurants was Joons on Bloor St. in Koreatown. It was a small dingy restaurant that you had to take a few steps down from street level to get to the front door. The decor wasn’t anything impressive and the table water was served in scratched up refillable rubbermaid bottles. Despite its appearance, it was often relatively busy with nearly every other table ordering their AMAZING dak galbi, including me! I would religiously order this same dish every time – in fact, I don’t think I’ve ever ordered anything else at Joons 🤔. Dak galbi is a stir-fry chicken dish in a spicy sauce that’s seen on most Korean restaurant menus, but Joons did it differently. A portable cook top is brought out to the table and the whole dish is cooked in front of you. It usually took at least 15-20 minutes to cook which is excruciating when you’re starving and this amazing aroma in front of you keeps wafting in your face every time the waitress lifted the lid to give it a stir, but the wait was always worth it. You had options of add-ins to the dish, but most people would get everything in it which is usually cabbage, instant noodles, chicken, and cheese 🤤.

An image of Joon’s Dak Galbi from the Yelp archives, taken in 2015.

Sadly, Joons has been closed for about 4-5 years now and I mourn that loss every time I pass through the area 💔. This recipe is a tribute to Joons’ dak galbi. I’ve scoured the internet for people’s old photos and videos of the dish to try and recreate it exactly as it was. I had some help from My Korean Kitchen with the chicken marinade portion and included everything else from the instant noodles to the mozzarella cheese on top. Although mine didn’t quite come out as saucy and red as theirs, I’d say the flavours are pretty damn close! But of course, I haven’t had Joons since before vet school which is nearly a decade ago now, so I could also be remembering it a little differently. Either way, this is still a pretty tasty dish. If you’ve had the dak galbi at Joons before, let me know how close I am in the comments!

What is Dak Galbi?

Dak galbi or dakgalbi directly translates to “chicken rib”. No actual ribs are used in this dish – the origin of this word is thought to be due to using chicken as a cheaper source of meat compared to pork 🤷🏻‍♀️. It’s a dish that is essentially chicken and vegetables stir-fried in a gochujang-based sauce. The vegetables are usually cabbage, sweet potato, and green onions. You can serve it along side perilla leaves as a wrap. In my recipe I’ve used carrots instead of sweet potato because it’s already a pretty carb-heavy dish with the noodles and rice cakes, but feel free to substitute! This dish is mildly spicy. If you prefer spicier, you can buy the spicier versions of gochujang or add in more gochugaru (Korean chilli powder).

What is Gochujang?

Gochukang is Korean red chilli paste. It’s savoury, sweet, and spicy all together. It’s a very popular condiment used in Korean cooking and is used as a base to many sauces, including in this dak galbi recipe. There really is no substitute to gochujang. You can usually find this in the Asian section of most grocery stores. They come in a variety of levels of spiciness, so choose carefully! I usually go for the mild one and add in chilli powder if I want more of a kick.

What are Garaetteok/Tteok (Korean rice cakes)?

Garaetteok/tteok are Korean rice cakes that are made from non-glutinous rice flour and come in skinny long cylinders. On their own they don’t have much flavour so they’re often added to a flavourful saucy dish (such as this dak galbi recipe) or a soup. They have a soft and chewy texture once cooked and make a great textural addition to many dishes. You’ll most commonly see garaetteok/tteok served in a dish called tteokbokki which is a spicy rice cake dish.

You can find these vacuum-sealed in the refrigerated section of most Asian grocery stores. They will be very hard coming out of the package and need to be soaked for at least 10 minutes in warm water to slightly soften before cooking them. If you’re lucky and your Asian grocer have these fresh, you can put them directly into the dish without soaking.

Don’t worry if you can’t find any garaetteok/tteok. Simply omit them from the recipe altogether. It won’t change the flavour of the dish. It’s mainly to add an extra textural component.

A Quick Note on Gochugaru – Korean Chilli Powder

This recipe uses Gochugaru, a Korean chilli powder, which is not too spicy and it gives the dish a deeper orangey/red colour. It can be easily found in most Asian grocery stores, but if you don’t have any, a good substitute is Kashmiri chilli powder (an Indian variety). Do NOT substitute with cayenne pepper which is a MUCH spicier chilli powder. If you absolutely can’t find Gochugaru or Kashmiri chilli powder, then you can substitute with 1 part cayenne powder: 3 parts paprika, or consider skipping it altogether.

Anyways, without further ado, here’s the recipe! If you have any comments or suggestions, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section! You can follow me on instagram, youtube and facebook to see all the recipes I post!

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

Chicken Marinade:
- 600g chicken thighs, cut into 2.5cm pieces
- 7 Tbsps (160g) gochujang (Korean chili paste)
- 1/4 cup rice wine
- 1 Tbsp gochugaru (Korean chili flakes)
- 2 Tbsps soy sauce
- 2 Tbsps granulated sugar
- 2 tsps curry powder
- 4 large cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tsps minced ginger
- 2 green onions, sliced to 4cm pieces
1 medium carrot, julienned or grated on the large hole (optional)
250g mushrooms, sliced (optional)
1 medium brown onion, sliced
1/4 small (6 cups) cabbage, chopped
25 pieces (180g) Garaetteok/Tteok (Korean rice cakes)
2 cups (230g) mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 packets of instant noodles
Garnish: 1 green onion, chopped

Directions:

Marinate the chicken: In a mixing bowl, add in all the ingredients of the chicken marinade: diced chicken thighs, 7 Tbsps gochujang, 1/4 cup rice wine, 1 Tbsp gochugaru, 2 Tbsps soy sauce, 2 Tbsps sugar, 2 tsps curry powder, minced garlic, minced ginger, and sliced green onions. Mix thoroughly and transfer to a resealable bag or container and marinate in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours, or overnight.

Rinse and soak the garaetteok/tteok in warm water for 10 minutes (skip this step if you have freshly made garaetteok/tteok).

In a non-stick pan on MED-HIGH heat, add a drizzle of oil and add in the carrots, mushrooms, onion, and cabbage. Sauté for 5 minutes until the vegetables start to soften.

Next add in the garaetteok/tteok and the marinated chicken (from step 1) along with all of the marinade in the bag. Sauté for another 3-4 minutes, then turn the heat down to MED, put a lid on, and continue to cook until the chicken is nearly done (~10 minutes). Stir occasionally to ensure nothing sticks to the pan.

When the chicken is almost ready, add in the instant noodles and submerge it into the ingredients and sauce. Put the lid back on and let it steam for 3-4 minutes until the noodles are soft enough to separate with chopsticks.

Once the noodles, chicken, and garaetteok/tteok are cooked, turn off the heat and sprinkle the shredded mozzarella cheese on top. Garnish with chopped green onion. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

Mix it all togther, ensure everything is cooked and turn off heat

Summarized Recipe:

Joons’ Dak Galbi – Korean Spicy Chicken Stir Fry with Cheese & Noodles

Ingredients:

Chicken Marinade:
- 600g chicken thighs, cut into 2.5cm pieces
- 7 Tbsps (160g) gochujang (Korean chili paste)
- 1/4 cup rice wine
- 1 Tbsp gochugaru (Korean chili flakes)
- 2 Tbsps soy sauce
- 2 Tbsps granulated sugar
- 2 tsps curry powder
- 4 large cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tsps minced ginger
- 2 green onions, sliced to 4cm pieces
1 medium carrot, julienned or grated on the large hole
250g mushrooms, sliced
1 medium brown onion, sliced
1/4 small (6 cups) cabbage, chopped
25 pieces (180g) garaetteok/tteok (Korean rice cakes)
2 cups (230g) mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 packets of instant noodles
Garnish: 1 green onion, chopped

Directions:

Marinate the chicken: In a mixing bowl, add in all the ingredients of the chicken marinade: diced chicken thighs, 7 Tbsps gochujang, 1/4 cup rice wine, 1 Tbsp gochugaru, 2 Tbsps soy sauce, 2 Tbsps sugar, 2 tsps curry powder, minced garlic, minced ginger, and sliced green onions. Mix thoroughly and transfer to a resealable bag or container and marinate in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours, or overnight.
Rinse and soak the garaetteok/tteok in warm water for 10 minutes (skip this step if you have freshly made garaetteok/tteok).
In a non-stick pan on MED-HIGH heat, add a drizzle of oil and add in the carrots, mushrooms, onion, and cabbage. Sauté for 5 minutes until the vegetables start to soften.
Next add in the garaetteok/tteok and the marinated chicken (from step 1) along with all of the marinade in the bag. Sauté for another 3-4 minutes, then turn the heat down to MED, put a lid on, and continue to cook until the chicken is nearly done (~10 minutes). Stir occasionally to ensure nothing sticks to the pan.
When the chicken is almost ready, add in the instant noodles and submerge it into the ingredients and sauce. Put the lid back on and let it steam for 3-4 minutes until the noodles are soft enough to separate with chopsticks.
Once the noodles, chicken, and garaetteok/tteok are cooked, turn off the heat and sprinkle the shredded mozzarella cheese on top. Garnish with chopped green onion. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

March 7, 2025February 15, 2025

AbbyLeave a comment

Avocado Salsa Verde

Date Published: March 2nd, 2025 | Last Updated: March 2nd, 2025
Author: Abby |Category: dips, vegetarian, easy, healthy, snacks
Serves: 3 cups | Prep time: 15 mins | Cook time: 15 mins

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Since moving to the US 2 years ago, Toby and I have had a lot more exposure to Mexican/Latin cuisine. There’s a severe lack of good Mexican food in Melbourne and Toby’s mind has been blown away by all the amazing choices within arms reach. Our South Slope neighbourhood is full of so many authentic Mexican restaurants that sometimes we need a Spanish translator app just to order our food (seriously, once we asked one of our Spanish-speaking co-workers to order our food for us 😅). We joke that every new shop is either going to be a cannabis dispensary, bodega, or Mexican restaurant.

We have had more than our share of amazing burritos, tacos, and empanadas in this neighbourhood and it often comes with a red, green, and sometimes orange sauce. These sauces tend to be a house-made chilli salsa in varying degrees of spiciness and no two sauces are the same between restaurants. I usually gravitate towards the green sauce which is made with a green chilli but on one occasion the green sauce had hints of avocado flavour and took me by surprise. It was so good that I went right back and ordered a large container of it just to keep in the fridge. This avocado salsa verde recipe is a result of that sauce. Although I haven’t been able to recreate it to exactly the same sauce, this end result came out so good that I’ve decided to share it anyway. I hope you enjoy!

What are Tomatillos?

A tomatillo is also known as a Mexican husk tomato. To me it looks exactly like a green tomato, but with a papery shell/husk on the outside. You must remove the shell/husk before using them and the underlying skin can have a slightly sticky residue that comes off with a quick rinse. Tomatillos can be used raw or cooked. The flavour of a tomatillo is a bit unique in that in can have a tartness to it when eaten raw, but it mellows out when cooked.

Avoiding a bitter salsa verde

A common complaint when making salsa verde is that it can turn out a bit bitter. I came across this in my first few batches and it took a bit of research to figure out why – the tomatillos! Before this recipe, tomatillos were foreign to me and I had to learn how to use them. They are the most common cause for a bitter salsa verde due to a number of reasons:

Unripe tomatillos – a ripe tomatillo should be:
- Bright green under the husk
- Have a tight husk (the fruit fills up the husk rather than a small and shrunken fruit within which can indicate that it was harvested too early)
- Have some firmness but not too hard (under-ripe) nor mushy (over-ripe)
Overcooked tomatillos – tomatillos should be cooked until they just turn colour from a bright green to a more pale/army green colour. Overcooking your tomatillo is one of the most common causes for bitterness.
Remove the ribs and stem base – The stem base can be a cause of bitterness so I like to remove it before blending it in my salsa. Some people also claim that the seeds and ribs can also cause the bitter flavour and will scoop it out as well.
Taste! The best way to avoid a bitter salsa verde is to taste your tomatillos and its components after its cooked before blending it with the rest of your ingredients so you know if you need to make any corrections.

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

2-3 (200g) tomatillos
1 medium (100g) avocado, deseeded and peeled (weight is after deseeding and peeling)
1 large (90g) red shallot (or a quarter of a red onion)
7g cilantro, leaves and stem
1/2 (10g) fresh jalapeño, deseeded, for mildly spicy. Add more to your liking, you can also use serrano chili
2 large (7g) garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tsp salt, or more to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400˚F/200˚C.

Remove the outer husks of the tomatillos, rinse off the sticky residue, remove the rib/stem base, then place it on a baking tray. Add a drizzle of oil over the tomatillos and bake in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, or until soft with a light golden brown on top (the colour will turn from a bright green to a lighter/army green).

Not pictured: remember to remove the rib/stem base before using in your sauce

While the tomatillos are roasting, prepare and add the rest of the ingredients to a blender: avocado, red shallots, cilantro, jalapeño, garlic, lime juice, and salt.

Once the tomatillos are done roasting, add them to the blender with the rest of the ingredients and blend on HIGH until smooth. Taste and adjust salt, lime juice, and jalapeños to your liking. Done!

Tip: If it’s too spicy, add more avocado.

Summarized Recipe:

Avocado Salsa Verde

Ingredients:

2-3 (200g) tomatillos
1 medium (100g) avocado, deseeded and peeled (weight is after deseeding and peeling)
1 large (90g) red shallot (or a quarter of a red onion)
7g cilantro, leaves and stem
1/2 (10g) fresh jalapeño, deseeded, for mildly spicy. Add more to your liking, you can also use serrano chili
2 large (7g) garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tsp salt, or more to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400˚F/200˚C.
Remove the outer husks of the tomatillos, give it a rinse, then place it on a baking tray. Add a drizzle of oil over the tomatillos and bake in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, or until soft with a light golden brown on top (the colour will turn from a bright green to a lighter/army green).
While the tomatillos are roasting, prepare and add the rest of the ingredients to a blender: avocado, red shallots, cilantro, jalapeño, garlic, lime juice, and salt.
Once the tomatillos are done roasting, add them to the blender with the rest of the ingredients and blend on HIGH until smooth. Taste and adjust salt, lime juice, and jalapeños to your liking. Done!
- Tip: If it’s too spicy, add more avocado.

March 2, 2025December 24, 2024

AbbyLeave a comment

Chicken and Andouille Sausage Jambalaya

Date Published: Jan 21st, 2025 | Last Updated: Jan 21st, 2025
Author: Abby |Category: mains
Serves: 6 | Prep time: 30 mins | Cook time: 45 mins

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What is Jambalaya?

Jambalaya is a savoury rice dish often made with chicken and Andouille sausage, but can contain any variety of proteins. It’s a staple in Louisiana cuisine and is very similar to gumbo in terms of flavour (think of this as a rice version to the stew). The ingredients to both of these dishes are so similar that when I’m making one, I’ll usually make the other 😅. To best describe Jambalaya as a dish, I’d say it’s like an earthy rustic paella – which is not surprising since it has roots from both Spanish and French cuisines.

Special Southern Seasonings:

There are 2 special seasonings in this recipe that I had to order specifically to make this as authentic as possible.

Cajun Seasoning – This is a blend of spices that adds salt, spiciness, and smokiness to the dish. Common go-to brands are “Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning” or “Slap Ya Mama Cajun Seasoning“. If you can’t find either around you, a quick Google search will yield many recipes to make a spice blend of your own.

Gumbo Filé / Filé Powder – Filé powder, also known as gumbo filé, is a spice that is made from dried ground leaves of the sassafras tree. This powder has dual purpose as a thickening agent and also provides earthy flavours. The aroma is similar to that of sage and bay leaf. If you can’t find gumbo filé in a pinch, consider using cornstarch to thicken and some pinches of sage – it won’t be quite the same, but it’ll be similar enough.

Creole vs Cajun – adding tomatoes is optional

Both Creole and Cajun food are Louisiana cuisines from different areas. Think of Creole as city-style cooking with more variety of ingredients at their disposal, whereas Cajun food can be considered country-style cooking with ingredients that are more limited to what can be harvested and what is available. Tomatoes is one of those ingredients that is commonly seen in Creole food, but not Cajun. Across my hours of research, I found tomatoes incorporated into many recipes, but also just as equal number of comments omitting the tomatoes to tailor to the authenticity of cajun rustic flavours. I’ve chosen to exclude tomatoes in my recipe to bring out the earthy flavours more, but feel free to add a can of crushed tomatoes if you want it more tangy.

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

500g / 1lb chicken thighs, cut to 2.5cm pieces
1/2 Tbsp + 2 tsps Cajun seasoning (I use ‘Slap Ya Mama’ brand, find it here)
1 Tbsp of bacon fat (you can use vegetable oil or lard instead)
340g/12 oz (1 package) Andouille sausage, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 green bell pepper/capsicum, diced
1 stick of celery, diced small
1 + 0.5 tsps gumbo filé/filé powder
2 tsps Worcestershire sauce
1.25 cups of uncooked white rice, rinsed (a long-grain white rice is preferred, but you can also use basmati. Jasmine is okay but will be a little softer and mushier)
2.5 cups of chicken stock
Garnish: sliced spring onions

*Note: if you prefer a tomato-based jambalaya, add in one 16oz crushed can of tomatoes just after the vegetables have softened (between step 4 and 5).

Directions:

In a small mixing bowl, mix the diced chicken with 1/2 Tbsp of Cajun seasoning and let it marinate until ready to use.

In a deep pan on MED-HIGH heat, melt 1 Tbsp of bacon fat and sear the sliced Andouille sausages on both sides until browned (you may want to do this in batches if you can’t fit all the sausage in a single layer). Once browned, remove the sausage onto a plate and set aside.

In the same pan, add in the marinated diced chicken (from step 1) and sear both sides until lightly brown, about 1-2 minutes per side. You don’t want to fully cook the chicken at this time. When browned, remove from the pan and set aside.

Still in the same pan, add in the garlic, onion, green bell pepper, and celery. Sauté for 5-8 minutes until the vegetables are soft.

Add in 1 tsp gumbo filé, 2 tsps Cajun seasoning and 2 tsps Worcestershire sauce. Mix well, then add in the Andouille sausage (from step 2) and the chicken (from step 3). Cook for 5 minutes.

Add in 1.25 cups of white rice and 2.5 cups of chicken stock. Mix well, turn the heat down to LOW and put the lid on, checking on it every few minutes to give it a stir, ensuring nothing sticks to the bottom. Let the rice cook until all the liquid has been absorbed. If the rice is still undercooked once the liquid is gone, add a little more chicken stock to continue cooking.

Once the rice is cooked, turn off the heat, mix in another 0.5 tsp gumbo filé, taste and adjust salt as needed.

Garnish with sliced spring onions. Enjoy!

Summarized Recipe:

Chicken and Andouille Sausage Jambalaya

Date Published: Jan 21st, 2025 | Last Updated: Jan 21st, 2025
Author: Abby |Category: mains
Serves: 6 | Prep time: 30 mins | Cook time: 45 mins

Ingredients:

500g / 1lb chicken thighs, cut to 2.5cm pieces
1/2 Tbsp + 2 tsps Cajun seasoning (I use ‘Slap Ya Mama’ brand, find it here)
1 Tbsp of bacon fat (you can use vegetable oil or lard instead)
340g/12 oz (1 package) Andouille sausage, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 green bell pepper/capsicum, diced
1 stick of celery, diced small
1 + 0.5 tsps gumbo filé/filé powder
2 tsps Worcestershire sauce
1.25 cups of uncooked white rice, rinsed (a long-grain white rice is preferred, but you can also use basmati. Jasmine is okay but will be a little softer and mushier)
2.5 cups of chicken stock
Garnish: sliced spring onions

*Note: if you prefer a tomato-based jambalaya, add in one 16oz crushed can of tomatoes just after the vegetables have softened (between step 4 and 5).

Directions:

In a small mixing bowl, mix the diced chicken with 1/2 Tbsp of Cajun seasoning and let it marinate until ready to use.
In a deep pan on MED-HIGH heat, melt 1 Tbsp of bacon fat and sear the sliced Andouille sausages on both sides until browned (you may want to do this in batches if you can’t fit all the sausage in a single layer). Once browned, remove the sausage onto a plate and set aside.
In the same pan, add in the marinated diced chicken (from step 1) and sear both sides until lightly brown, about 1-2 minutes per side. You don’t want to fully cook the chicken at this time. When browned, remove from the pan and set aside.
Still in the same pan, add in the garlic, onion, green bell pepper, and celery. Sauté for 5-8 minutes until the vegetables are soft.
Add in 1 tsp gumbo filé, 2 tsps Cajun seasoning and 2 tsps Worcestershire sauce. Mix well, then add in the Andouille sausage (from step 2) and the chicken (from step 3). Cook for 5 minutes.
Add in 1.25 cups of white rice and 2.5 cups of chicken stock. Mix well, turn the heat down to LOW and put the lid on, checking on it every few minutes to give it a stir, ensuring nothing sticks to the bottom. Let the rice cook until all the liquid has been absorbed. If the rice is still undercooked once the liquid is gone, add a little more chicken stock to continue cooking.
Once the rice is cooked, turn off the heat, mix in another 0.5 tsp gumbo filé, taste and adjust salt as needed. Garnish with sliced spring onions. Enjoy!

January 21, 2025December 19, 2024

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What is Makovec?

What makes this recipe so special from the others?

Grinding Poppy Seeds – Is it necessary?

How to Grind Poppy Seeds

Some Myths and Truths About Poppy Seeds

A) Make the poppy seed filling:

B) Make the dough while the poppy seed filling cools:

C) Make the streusel:

D) Roll out the dough & assemble:

E) Make the egg wash and add the streusel:

Summarized Recipe:

Babička’s Makovec (Czech Poppy Seed Roll)

Ingredients: I recommend to use the metric measurements (grams/mls) for accuracy of the ingredients to have it as close to babička’s version as possible.

Directions:

Contents:

Before you head to Chinatown, here are a few tips to follow to ensure a good time:

Where is Manhattan Chinatown?

My favourite Manhattan Chinatown eateries:

Matcha Cafe Maiko (the best matcha soft serve we’ve ever had)

Sanmiwago (a Taiwanese spot with great dumplings)

Xi’an Famous Foods (great spot for cumin lamb and noodles)

ChiCha San Chen (the best bubble tea we’ve had)

Kong Sihk Tong (Hong Kong street food)

Bánh Mì Saigon (a damn good Banh Mi)

Saigon Vietnamese Sandwich Deli (another damn good Banh Mi)

Tonii’s Fresh Rice Noodle (the best rice noodles I’ve ever had)

Mei Lai Wah (the best pineapple BBQ pork bun you’ll ever have)

Chang Lai Fishballs Noodles (a place for fishballs and rice noodles)

The Original Chinatown Ice Cream Factory (ice cream with Asian flavours)

Double Crispy Bakery (great steam buns and egg tarts)

Shu Jiao FuZhou Cuisine (cheap peanut noodles)

The ZongZi/Bah-Chang lady outside of Grand Street Station

Mee Sum Cafe (a breakfast joint with reputable Zongzi)

Golden Diner (honey butter pancakes)

I’ve written up the recipe for these pancakes that you can check out below:

Looking For More Ultimate Food Guides? Check out these below!

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What is Dak Galbi?

What is Gochujang?

What are Garaetteok/Tteok (Korean rice cakes)?

A Quick Note on Gochugaru – Korean Chilli Powder

Summarized Recipe:

Joons’ Dak Galbi – Korean Spicy Chicken Stir Fry with Cheese & Noodles

Ingredients:

Directions:

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What are Tomatillos?

Avoiding a bitter salsa verde

Summarized Recipe:

Avocado Salsa Verde

Ingredients:

Directions:

Jump to recipe |

What is Jambalaya?

Special Southern Seasonings:

Creole vs Cajun – adding tomatoes is optional

Summarized Recipe:

Chicken and Andouille Sausage Jambalaya

Ingredients:

Directions: