Asian Elegance

Picture taken from the web because I forgot to take one.

Restaurant Name: Le Colonial

Location: 149 E 57th St, New York, NY

Website:  http://www.lecolonialnyc.com/menu.html 

Price Range: 40$ a person

JCL Rating: 7.5/10

JCL's Choice: Cha Gio Vit (roasted duck roll); Vit Quay (lacquered roast duck w/ tamarind ginger sauce)

This is the first time that I have heard of a Vietnamese French restaurant, so I had to try it. This restaurant has two floors. Dining area is on the first floor and bar/lounge on the second floor. The interior decor is very traditional with the black and white paintings. The dining room is very evenly spaced. The menu is traditional Vietnamese food but with a touch of French influence. 

The host was extremely welcoming and professional. We arrived at the restaurant at 5:30, so it was a bit empty. He gave us the option of which table we want to settle down on and asked if we would like to leave our coats at the coat check. The front servers and back servers were extremely attentive. Our water glasses were never empty. This quality service is fine dining service for sure, but at a much cheaper price. 

I had the Cha Gio Vit, which is the crispy 5 spice roast duck roll with taro, shiitake mushroom, and scallions. It is served with fresh lettuce leaves, cilantro and mint. You roll the spring roll with a piece of mint/cilantro on the lettuce leave and dip it in a sweet sour sauce. The freshness from the lettuce and herbs takes away the grease from the fried spring roll. What a perfect balance. 

Rigo had the Pho Soup which consists of oxtail broth, rice noodles, beef tenderloin, bean sprout and fresh herbs. The broth needed a bit more seasoning. But it was really flavorful. The rice noodles were al dente. It also comes with a spicy and savory dipping sauce for the beef. 

For entrees, I had the Bun So Diep. It is grilled lemongrass scallop and shrimp on top of a vermicelli salad, mint, lettuce and toasted peanuts in a ginger dressing. The scallops and shrimps were seasoned really well and cooked to the perfect tenderness. The ginger dressing that is on the cold vermicelli salad was a bit sweet with a hint of spiciness. I wasn't too crazy about this entree though.  

Rigo had the Vit Quay which is the lacquered duck with a tamarind ginger sauce. What does it mean by lacquered? Lacquer means the food is glazed with a condensed sauce that will give it a nice shine. Balsamic vinegar, sugar or honey is usually used as food lacquers. This duck was oven roasted. Honey was probably used to glaze the skin. The skin was so crispy. Underneath the crispy skin was a thin layer of fat. Ducks are usually very fatty, but it isn’t the case here. The sweet and sour ginger sauce takes away all the greasiness from the duck. Another combo that demonstrates the power of sweet and sour sauces!

This visit was definitely worth it. Great ambiance, very professional staff, excellent food. The plating is much more elegant than regular Vietnamese food. Oh, this restaurant was also rated two stars by New York Times. If you happen to be by 57th street, and you happen to be hungry, give this place a go! There aren't that many Vietnamese French fusion restaurants around!

Hit the "Spot"

Picture taken from the website

Restaurant Name: Spot Dessert Bar

Location: 13 St. Marks Place, New York

Website: http://www.spotdessertbar.com/

Price Range: Tapas are like $8.50 each (15% off with college I.D.)

JCL Rating: 9/10
JCL's Choice: Chocolate Green Tea Lava; Green Tea-ramisu


My friend had to review a dessert bar/bakery for his term paper. Spot was on the list, so here we were. The new pastry chef is Ian Chalermkittichai (Kittichai for short). Chef Ian Kittichai is a renowned chef that brought Thai cuisine to a new height. Spot is one of the few places in America that offers Classic American/French desserts with Asian twist. It is also a very "green" place. Most of their decors and packaging were made with recycled materials (Spot's Story, website). Spot offers a wide range of dessert tapas to ice creams/sorbets to pastries, brunch and beverages.


Spot is a small place, with maybe less than 25 seats, I have been here two times. As we enter, we were greeted warmly by the waitress. She was very professional and has an extensive knowledge about the menu. I asked her for recommendations on which desserts to order since it was my first time here. She asked if I liked more sweet or tart. I was never a fan of sweet stuff, so I said more tart than sweet. She recommended the Yuzu Eskimo. My friend had the Green tea-ramisu (tiramisu get it?). For drinks I had the black rose tea and he had a spicy hot chocolate. The second time I had the Chocolate Green Tea Lava cake and Jasmine green tea. 

The Yuzu Eskimo had the sweet and sour contrast. This dessert consisted of a very unique raspberry foam, fresh blackberries, chocolate pearls, oreo crumbs, yuzu ice cream with oreo crust and chocolate ganache. Yuzu is an Asian citrus fruit that is very similar to mandarin, very sour. But the oreo crust balanced out the tartness of the yuzu, it was a perfect marriage. The crunchiness from the oreo crumbs and chocolate pearls adds the extra texture to the dessert. As for the raspberry foam, it had a very interesting texture to the tongue. It goes great with the chocolate ganache. And the fresh blackberries adds on that extra refreshing feeling if you are not awaken by the yuzu ice cream yet. The plating was very contemporary as well. Perfectly executed. 

The Green Tea-ramisu was amazing. It also had a very interesting plating. It comes in a wooden cube with a small jug of green tea anglaise, matcha (green tea powder), and a wooden spoon. When they present you the dish, they will pour the green tea anglaise over the wooden cube then sift the matcha powder over it. I had a few spoons of it and I was amazed at how balanced the flavors were. This dessert consisted of the matcha, green tea anglaise, green tea madeleine (mini sponge cake), and white chocolate chunks. The green tea anglaise takes away the dryness of the sponge cake, and the powder adds a nice texture to the bite. The chunks of white chocolate gives you the crunchiness. There is a very strong of green tea flavor here but it was not bitter like the actual tea. Excellent dessert!

The black rose tea had a very nice floral scent. It is not your regular day tea, a very mild bitterness tea. Perfect tea to warm you up in a cold winter day! It goes great with the Yuzu Eskimo. 

As for the spicy hot chocolate, my friend said it was too overwhelming. The spices overpowered the chocolate. It was sweeter than the Green Tea-ramisu. I say he should have ordered the jasmine or green tea. He did say this spicy hot chocolate is great for a cold day though. 

The Chocolate Green Tea Lava cake was one of the most outstanding dessert I have ever tasted. It is accompanied by green tea ice cream, chocolate pearls, matcha powder and a thin cookie served on a black plate. The matcha powder high lights the lava cake on a black plate. Lava cake is a brownie with a runny inside. In this case, it is a mixture of green tea and chocolate ganache. What a perfect combo that is! Once you break the crust, the green tea and chocolate ganache pours out! It was so flavorful. It's like heaven in your mouth. A bite of the green tea ice cream cools you down  from the hot lava! What an incredible dessert. A sip of the jasmine tea sooth your palates and you will be ready for another bite of heaven!


What a wonderful place Spot is... and I am not even a dessert guy. Damn, this is such an amazing dessert bar. I highly recommend any person with a sweet tooth to go to Spot! From plating to flavors, they are on top of their game. Props to Chef Kittichai! This will be one dessert bar that I will repeatedly come back. Definitely.