NEW ASIAN Food You Can ONLY Find in NEW YORK! (Lobster Ramen)

The best egg bun mia I've ever had. Been doing it before everybody else was doing it. Kind of wonder what like a blue collar Bostonian might think about this. This is some good lobster ramen. It's my favorite ramen. We're looking at Hokkaido style Mongolian grill. Here are 15 unique Asian foods that you can only find in New York City. Whether these are rare fusions like lobster ramen and Italian bun mias or just some cheap grab and go foods like Peking duck sandwiches. I have never seen these crazy mixes in any other city. Our first new Asian concept is drunken dumpling. Lee is blending his authentic Beijing dumpling roots with flavors that you've never seen before. We have the gigantic shrimp and bacon jiaozi. Let's check it out. Oh, my goodness. You guys, there's a ton of shrimp in there. Bacon. There's actually a little bit of a mandarin orange, guys. This is actually one of the best fusion bao I ever had, and they made it XL size, just like everything else here at Drunken. Got the classic Shen Jin Bao here at Drunken Dumpling. They're extra big, extra crispy. They got the little crispies on the side. I'm going to break these off. And he glazed them with honey. So Lee, the head chef and owner, he is from Beijing, and this dish is from Shanghai. So when he's cooking these Shanghainese baos, it's a little bit different. That little honey glaze on top is adding sweetness into the already super fatty and savory pork juice. Without a doubt, that was the juiciest Shen Jin Bao I've ever had. You got to try this one at Drunken Dumpling. We got the XXLXLB. If you thought those Shaolin baos earlier were big, this is like triple or quadruple the size. And this thing trying to conquer the world right now. All right. This is this is like the Mongolian empire right here. I'm going to make this incision here. Shout out mom and dad. I made it. I'm a surgeon now. Oh, there's crab. There's shrimp. Huge pork patty right here. Lots of soup looking like some Vietnamese bun rieu. I'm not going to lie. When you eat gigantic dumplings or just big versions of food, you tend to think that the flavor is not going to be there. This might have the most flavor because it has crab and shrimp in it. Drunken Dumpling is coming in there under the radar. It's a super low key spot. I have to say they are ranking up there. And this is a must try for any foodies out there because they are doing it right. The chef owner Lee, straight from Beijing. So, you know, Beijing people, they know their dumplings, guys. All right. Next up, we have a very, very unique dish here at Ed's Lobster Bar. This dish is called Lobster Ramen. Now, as you guys know, the ramen game has expanded. There's all these types of chefs that have been trained in making ramen. And now they're putting all these other things into it. Makes sense, though, because it's near Chinatown, you know, kind of a lot of Asians out here. So let's go check it out. Our lobster ramen has arrived and it is actually a dashi chicken broth. OK, so it's like a tori broth, which I actually really like chicken ramen. We got a little kelp on top. You have a super soft fried egg or is this like poached? I don't know, but it's not like your usual poached egg right here. And let's peep the lobster on the inside. You still got a little of the egg part. And I think it's really cool to see how like Asian food is so popular now that even traditional like lobster spots are thinking like, hey, man, can we put out a decent lobster ramen? Let's try it. Oh, the broth ain't bad. Wow. It's pretty light. It's not too fatty. I'm really liking the noodles, actually. It's really eggy. They're very chewy. For a lobster spot to release its own type of ramen. I think this might work better than lobster pho because lobster pho, you don't really get a lot of lobster flavor, but in the lobster ramen, I feel like it infuses with the broth better. That's really not bad for Ed's Lobster Bar. Kind of wonder what like a blue collar Bostonian might think about this. Hey, this is some good lobster ramen. It's my favorite ramen. All right, you guys, this is a custard and chocolate xiaolongbao. Like we said, it's very small. It's very uniquely shaped, very different than the chocolate xiaolongbaos at, say, a Din Tai Fung. Let's check it out. For me, I actually prefer this over the chocolate xiaolongbaos at Din Tai Fung because those tend to be a little bit overboard. But I have never, ever seen a wasabi one. I don't even know how this is going to taste. But I do like wasabi. I do like xiaolongbaos. Let's check it out. Oh, the soup's coming out. Is that the wasabi xiaolongbao or the wake me up xiaolongbao? Because that is hitting my senses, opening my passageways. It's actually pretty good. So it has like that classic pork flavor of a xiaolongbao. But just with a hint of wasabi on the inside. So here you got your extra spicy, super spicy xiaolongbao coming in the red. This one's keeping together pretty well. I'm just going to bite the top. Oh, guys, right off the bat, that is super spicy because it has a ball of chili right in the middle of the pork. And I'm really glad I tried this. I don't think this is a xiaolongbao I can eat a lot of. But if you're really into spicy food, this is it. Between the wasabi and the extra spicy xiaolongbao, I don't think there's another city that's going to deliver these extreme soup dumplings and xiaolongbaos being such a decadent kind of delicate dish. I think it's really, really interesting to have that mixture between rugged, crazy flavors and kind of a delicate format. As eating these spicy xiaolongbaos was like being on an episode of Hot Ones. And guess what city Hot Ones is based out of? New York. Whoo! After eating that spicy one, I got to chase it down with the chocolate one. And surprisingly, all the skin on these seems pretty authentic. Really thin and delicate. All right, guys, our next item, we had to hit Casena Boulevard. I'm here at U Best Bakery. They really do have the white rabbit candy cake. Guys, this is the most popular item here. Of course, it's selling out. Whoa, whoa, whoa. This is the white rabbit cake roll. Here's what's interesting about white rabbit. They've been around for over 100 years as a company. So they're very old school. They are doing a lot more collaborations in the modern day. Maybe, who knows, the second or third generation took over. So I'm just going to go in and bite it. That's pretty good. I got to say, the white rabbit flavor, it's pretty light, but you know, it's in there. Man, that cream is super light and fluffy. I remember eating the 100-year-old version growing up. My dentist hated it, but it's dope to see it come back. Because listen, if you don't modernize the old ways, they have a tendency to disappear forever. All right, our next spot on, you know, Asian food that you can only find in New York City, we're at Haas. It's a new bun meat shop. Here, they are serving some different bun meats. You have the egg bun meat, and then you have the pate bun meat. Oh, so we're not going with French bread. We're going with Italian bread. All right, okay. There's a lot of trial and error. For those pate lovers out here, what's different about this pate? It's got cognac in it, it's all cooked out. Five-spice, we make our own five-spice blend in-house. Cognac and five-spice. All right, say no more. I think we got it going. This is a very elevated bun meat. I have cognac in my pate. Yeah. Oh my God, that's good. Mmm. Pate is often thought of, at least in America, as just an add-on to the bun meat, and so is the egg. But they just made the pate and the egg sort of like the main show. We're not the biggest pate fans, as you guys know, but this has no other meat, just the pate. It's really easy to eat. Might be the best egg-only sandwich I ever had. Wow, all right. I second that. This is one of the best egg sandwiches I've ever had in my entire life, and the best egg bun meat I've ever had. Definitely check it out. It's bursting with a lot of flavor. Got a little bit of like sweetness coming out. Is there a lot of like nuoc mam in here too? Yep, there's nuoc mam. I can feel the nuoc mam, the fish sauce coming out of the egg. Guys, if you guys come to Haas and get the egg bun meat, you are not gonna regret it. One of the most unique things about the Asian food scene in New York City is that it has the opportunity to be affected by other megacities. There are only like five or six megacities in the entire world. Two of them are New York and Hong Kong. The owner here, Michelle, is half Hong Kongese, half Irish, and she decided to bring a lot of stuff that she saw in Ceylon and Lan Kwai Fong and bring it over here. So it's gluten-free, it's fusion, it's elevated. Let's check it out. Well, I grew up in downtown Manhattan and my mom's from Hong Kong and my dad's Irish and I actually lived in Hong Kong for a little bit. And so I just thought, there's nothing like this here. Why don't I bring something different? Hong Kong's like New York on steroids. It's awesome. Guys, these are foods that you would probably find in the hipster neighborhood of Sheung Wan in Hong Kong. Right here, I have Bali-inspired skate wing on some coconut rice. Let me try this. You know, in America, they don't really, it's not as popular, but in Asia, they love to eat it, especially at the hawker stalls and stuff like that. This is the traditional gai lan. This is actually gonna come with a lot of fermented black bean, kind of like this creamy sauce on top. And man, let's just try it out. I actually really like the way of eating this because all the broccoli stems are sliced up and they were grilled a little bit longer than the leaves were, so they're all really tender. This is a way to serve Chinese broccoli to maybe people who didn't grow up eating it. Now, this dish is really interesting because this is kind of a pad thai, Fujianese ban mian, kind of an Americanized version. So obviously, it kind of looks like some peanut buttery pad thai, but it's not supposed to be just Americanized pad thai. It is based off of the Chinatown favorite, ban mian. All right, let's check this out. Mm. I think this dish is really cool because I would say it's probably 65 to 70% pad thai and then 30% ban mian. Remember, everything here is gluten-free. That's what makes this spot special and that's what makes this spot really come from New York because in New York, you have vegan restaurants, you have just meat restaurants, you have gluten-free restaurants. This spot is really introducing like authentic Chinese flavors and Southeast Asian flavors, you know, to the gluten-free crowd and I think that's really interesting. So if you're thinking about coming to TLK, my top two favorite would definitely be the lemongrass grilled wings. I thought the marinade was deep into the meat and the Chinese broccoli, the gai lan because this has just got that really strong black bean flavor and I loved how authentic this dish tasted, you know, especially here at a spot where maybe you have the range of little bit more authentic to more fusion style. Our next spot that you won't find anywhere but New York City is Land to Sea. Now, this almost seems like something that you would find more in like Koon Tong, Hong Kong, which is like the hipster arts district. I mean, listen, the front is almost like a hipster coffee shop slash like Hong Kong Cantonese bun shop and the back is just completely psychedelic. You guys just got to see for yourself. So they have some Asian fusion coffees here, guys. This is a five spice mocha. You know, trust me, it looked better when I first got it. Like chai, nutmeg, but obviously it has the five spice. From the shioyu flavor, we've got kaya toast. This honestly tastes like the mix between Hong Kong butter toast and then the kaya toast. And of course, last but not least, we're looking at a smash bolo bao, which is a pineapple bun with chili crisp, cheese and ham and butter. That is really interesting. I've never seen a convergence of HK and like hipster Brooklyn, other than like Koon Tong, Hong Kong. So kudos to you guys. All right, you guys, our next Asian concept that you can only find in New York City is called Mimi Cheng's Dumpling. Now, this is a fusion dumpling chain. Now, I know a lot of cities in America in 2021, they might have one chain in the city that serves like non-traditional dumplings, but this is an entire chain with like seven locations run by two Taiwanese sisters. Let's check it out. Aglionati is a dish I'm not too familiar with within the Italian lexicon. You know, it could have initially been based off wontons. I know the theory of Marco Polo getting, you know, pasta from China is a 50-50, it's debated. Let's try it out, aglionati wonton. Aglionati is actually red braised beef in wine, and you really taste that in the meat. It does taste like it's been braised in red wine. Honestly, guys, I don't think it takes that much effort to make Chinese-Italian fusion work. I'm surprised more people haven't done it. Straight up, this is good. I'd say this is probably 60% Italian, 40% Chinese. The most interesting thing about this wonton aglionati is that aglionati is actually made a lot like a dumpling with one piece of dough versus ravioli, which is two pieces of dough laid on top of each other and then cut out. Mm, wow. Man, I think this is one of their most unique dishes here. If I'm gonna come to Mimi Chang's and pay this much for dumplings, I'm gonna get the aglionati, because that's just a whole different experience. The skin is silky, you got a little bit of Parmesan shredded on top of it. The red wine beef is busting through with lots of flavor. Look at that soup right there. I think it's really unique to have an accessible franchise do Italian-Chinese fusion. If it was gonna happen anywhere, I think it'd be New York City. The next Asian concept that you can only find in New York is this oshizushi spot. A lot of us in America, we're only familiar with one or two types of sushi. There's actually a ton. One of them is pressed inside of a box. I don't know, it's difficult to describe, guys. Let's go in there and check it out. Oshizushi was originally developed in Japan as a to-go style that did not require a sushi chef. Here, they elevate it a little bit more because they press it down and then they add the topping on top, but they don't compress that. So here we have the eel with the avocado. We've got a tuna tartare. We've got a uni with caviar on a scallop. Of course, you've got the ikura on salmon with the also pressed sushi. Very cool. First one first, of course, I'm gonna go with the uni scallop. You guys, the rice has been compacted to the point where it's almost like a sticky rice here at the bottom. Ultra strong block. I couldn't cut it with my chopsticks even if I tried to. Let's go ahead and try this fatty tuna. Very hearty. Here, I got the eel with avocado on top. I just love how it stacks up and it's really holding together. You know what I'm saying? The construction and architecture of this sushi is impeccable. If you imagine kind of like a tuna salad with the eel flavoring because the eel was minced up into small pieces and kind of made into like a paste on top, it was pretty good. Looking at how this is constructed, you have the dense block of rice on the bottom. You have your thin slice of salmon right here and then you got your ikura on top with the seaweed shreddings. I don't really like popping boba pearls but when it comes to ikura, they're almost like popping fish pearls that come from nature and that to me is delicious. So do I think that Oshizushi will make it in New York City? I certainly think it has a chance. Is the sushi as good as if a master chef made it? Probably not, but that's the whole key. You don't need to rely on one. This is pretty easy to make and it's about eight out of 10. I mean, we're talking about bringing cool sushi out of that ultra serious omakase type environment and I do think it blends with where New York is headed. People want more accessible, high-end things but brought down to their level and their price point. Our next concept, I believe, is something that got popularized in New York City in the past 10 years but it is still pretty unique here. It's the prevalence of Western Chinese noodles, Xi'an food. I don't really know much about Xi'an food. I used to call it zhai back in the day but I think I met you guys. I mean, you guys, we are looking at very authentic foods from the Xi'an region of China. I mean, you've got steamed lamb dumplings, you've got cumin potatoes, you've got cumin hand-torn wide noodles, you've got a pork burger with also cumin, I'm sure, because that is like, you know, just what they do over there. Immediately, what are you looking at, man? Right now, I'm looking at those noodles. I never had wide noodles like that before but it just smells so good. I got the lamb noodles right here. Trying to get better with the chopsticks. There we go. Look at this. Wow, look at that. Is that a part right there? Yeah, right? That's one noodle right there. Look at that. Wow, okay. So I definitely think that hipsters love this because they also have the Xi'an famous foods in Williamsburg and also in Chinatown. A lot of hipsters in Chinatown lately. You know what this kind of reminds me of is like Somalian pasta. Oh, absolutely. That's the first thing that I thought of when I seen this was Somali pasta, but you got the lamb. Love this. There's so many flavors in that and it's very spicy. Very, very good. I like that. If you've ever had Somalian pasta, it tastes very similar and they are both fire. Legit fire. Like, there's gonna be fire burning out of my mouth right now, it's so spicy. Jumping in for David, I got the pork stew roujiamo and this is essentially the closest thing you're gonna get to a pork Chinese hamburger, right? It kind of looks like it. That was like such a unique taste. I never had a lamb dumpling before. Definitely won't be my last time getting that. That is good. All flavors all around and I love that hot sauce. Always liked the roujiamo, but I always thought that it could use a little bit more flavor. So what I did is I packed it with some of these potatoes here, this tudozi, this spicy one, and then I'm gonna sprinkle on just a little bit of chili oil. Mm. Man, I just packed this roujiamo with like a bunch of different dishes and I know the recipes are really old. Who knows? It could be like a 3,000 year old dish right here. Tells a lot of stories. But Marco, you actually have a good story here. I did come here before, but I didn't know it because I argued with my ex-girlfriend right over there for about 15 minutes. About what? Who knows? But I'm glad I'm back here again because listen, the food's really good. Were you guys eating food or no? We had a soup. Yo, do you think the spices of the soup had anything to do with spicing up the argument? I'm gonna say 100% because I do remember my blood boiling even more because of this hot sauce right here. So it definitely, definitely did the trick. You guys, as Japanese food just gets deeper and deeper in New York City, you see regional cuisines arise that you can't even find easy in America, North America at all. And we're looking at Hokkaido-style Mongolian grill. Listen, everybody knows Hokkaido for the seafood and they here at Dr. Clark's, they definitely serve their fair share of Hokkaido seafood, but they also have this Mongolian-inspired Hokkaido grill. This place is so Hokkaido. We are sitting at a kotatsu table that's heated. Guys, I can turn up the heater and it's heated underneath me right now. Hokkaido is really cold, famous for milk, but also this dish right here, most traditionally served with tons of lamb, Genghis Khan Hokkaido grill. This is a brand new concept to North America. That is so good. The garlic, the ginger, the soy sauce base, and a little bit of kick from like, I think cumin spices, definitely does remind me of a true Mongolian grill that I had in China. This is a fascinating version because like we said, guys, during the Yuan dynasty, the Mongolians came down, took over China, influenced Beijing, and then from Beijing went to Japan. It is a crazy trifecta. Marinade is perfect. The cooking time is perfect. The lamb is high quality. There's actually a lot of lamb in Hokkaido too. That's why they serve lamb here. Because usually, at a lot of Japanese restaurants, you wouldn't get that much lamb. Here at Dr. Clark's, you do. Amongst other dishes here, they have uni fries, which uni is one of the biggest exports of Hokkaido. I never had uni sauce on fries before. Whoa. At a lot of fusion spots, you see people try to do uni fries or okonomiyaki fries. I have to say, here at Dr. Clark's, these are probably some of the best ones I've ever had. Wow. All right, here we have their house smoked salmon jerky. This is a snack over in Hokkaido, salmon jerky. That is juicy, it's sweet, and it's smoky. Yo, Andrew, we have never been to Hokkaido, Japan. We have been to Tokyo. You've been to Yokohama. I think it's cool to find regional cuisines that I've never had before for the first time in America. David, you know, when it comes to cuisines, I think Hokkaido is kind of considered like the Sichuan, where Sichuan is a food haven, just like Hokkaido is. Regional Japanese food coming to America. 2021, baby. Listen, guys, you guys know the boba game is going crazy right now in 2022. A mogi tea, which is, I believe, from Shenzhen, China. And they have doufu fa or doufu hua, which is a tofu pudding in there. Oh, that's really good. Oh my goodness. Andrew, you know, growing up, I was a big fan of the doufu fa in the pink container. This is like this mixed with a taro drink. This is the hot one. This is the hongdao, hongdao, red bean. Oh, it's good too. Dude, I think that next time I come back, I'm definitely getting the tofu pudding joint. You guys, I have not been to a Beard Papa's in a few years. This is an eclair ube joint. Pretty cool, man. It looks like they made them bigger. I don't know. This is all types of crazy right here. Got some Chinatown hooligans behind me. What up? See, I'm gonna take this side, dip it into this side. This is the honey butter one. It's a little bit based off the honey butter chip from Korea. Subtle and sophisticated. I have the honors of trying the strawberry shortcake one. I would definitely recommend getting this one right here. I'm really glad Beard Papa's is coming out with all different flavors, like Oreos, strawberry shortcake, everything like that, because they were due for some new flavors. I'm not gonna lie. I've been eating this thing for like 10 years now, so I'm glad they updated. Behold, the Oreo one with matcha filling inside. Oh, shit. What just happened? Just a cane.