My trip to Jersey City via Instagram - Starbucks on the way (Matcha green tea latte) - Kogemashi Too's Chirashi Royale - Complementary Miso soup & Edamame from Kogemashi Too plus a glass of plum wine - Getting my nails done at Polish Me Spa in Newport - a highlight of my dinners from Michael Anthony, Komegashi Too and Fire & Oak
Hello everyone!
I realized that it's been a LONG time since I last blogged - I am seriously sorry about the lack of updates, but when a new job comes and I just haven't had time to really take photos and properly review products, I just don't bother writing some random filler material. Some people might think this is a bit of filler (it's all to do with my business trip...) but seeing that I had done a similar post for my business trips to Toronto and Halifax, I figured this would be appropriate nonetheless.
I ended up going to Jersey City in the state of New Jersey by myself rather than with my team because I got hired about a month after my team. The North American head office is switching over to Canada instead so the knowledge transfer is taking place now. Anyways that bit of background aside, I went there for two weeks though I had to come back the weekend because I had some prior appointments on the weekend I couldn't get out of (bummer)
On my first day in Jersey City, I hit the food court with my co-worker/trainer for lunch. Nothing special there, although the portions were HUGE. I guess that's what you get in America vs. Canada.
For dinner I was not very adventurous and didn't want to venture too far. At the end of the day, my stay at Jersey City meant that dinner time was usually either at one of three fancy restaurants (plus on dinner where I really didn't feel like busting the budget for the third night in a row lol...so I ended up going to a cafe to get my dinner to go).
I ate dinner three times at Komegashi Too...and I have to say it was the best sushi I had eaten (since my time in Hong Kong and Japan of course). It's hard to find really good sushi where I live without busting the bank!
On my first night at Komegashi Too, I decided to go easy and all I had was a glass of Reisling (one of my favourite Whites next to Pinot Grigio), and get the Chirikashi Royale ($35.00). This was basically daily fish picked by the chef on a bed of seasoned rice. There was way too much rice in my opinion, but the fish was super fresh and it was a great assortment, including fatty tuna (toro). I was so full afterwards and I hadn't even finished the rice.
The second time I went to Komegashi Too was because I was craving sea urchin - the first time I had it was when I went back to Hong Kong to visit in Christmas (2011). So I ended up ordering the Sushi & Sashimi Combo ($29.50) 7 pieces sashimi, 7 pieces sushi and a choice of California or tuna roll (I picked tuna), along with two orders of Hotate (scallop), two orders of sea urchin and two orders of grilled eel nigiri.
Yummy yummy in my tummy!
Yes I was massively full afterwards...hahaha but I still wanted to try the fried green tea ice cream!
I was disappointed in this despite the fact that it looked really delicious. The ice cream tasted very good (a lot of matcha flavour) but it was so cold that it was hard to push the spoon through, and as a result it also pulled away from the fried exterior so it was hard to have a bite of everything at the same time.
My last time eating at Komegashi Too (and at this point...one of the waiters recognized me lol), I went easy and just ordered to same sushi/sashimi combo, along with the Agedashi tofu because I love this stuff.
Overall, my meals with wine and extras usually got capped at $65 (because that was my budget) but I went over by a lot when I had both dessert, extras and wine. The prices are reasonable for the quality of fish you are getting. So even though it will set you back a bit, the taste is totally worth it!
My second night I ate out by the Newport marina/pier at Michael Anthony's. It's not a super fancy restaurant but the view of the water and the various boats is really something.
The gorgeous views of the pier from the restaurant - these ones were taken the evening of the company summer party at the same restaurant
I started off with crab cakes. I've had my love for crab cakes ever since I went to Big Daddy's Crab Shack in Toronto with my brother almost 5 years ago. These crab cakes were the perfect appetizer size and came with a nice dipping sauce (chipotle mayo). There was a lot of crab in there and the little arugula salad and vinaigrette was a nice touch.
I then got the seafood fra diavolo, which was a generous mix of seafood (lobster, clams, mussels, shrimp, calamari and giant scallops) in a spicy marinara sauce with linguine. The sauce wasn't very spicy (which was okay for me but might be weak for others), and there was so much seafood that I honestly could not finish it.
The sweet tooth in me decided to order a Tiramisu, which I decided to take it to go so I could eat it in the hotel room while I watched TV. It was nothing mindblowing, and did not have the liqueur soaked lady fingers base, which I always love to bite into. One of the best Tiramisus I have eaten is at Fat Angelo's in Hong Kong.
The company's summer party was at Michael Anthony's as well...but it wasn't really Michael Anthony's food. We had Coldstone cater ice cream for us, as well as a cotton candy stall and popcorn. There were various little stations for DIY burgers, crepes and other good comfort food.
The other restaurant I ventured to in my second week in Jersey was Fire & Oak. It's the Westin's restaurant, and reminded me of The Keg in Canada. I decided to hit there on Monday because they had a $1 oyster special - so I ordered myself 6 oysters to start.
The oysters were alright - they were a decent size for the price, but I don't think any oysters (at this price) will beat what I had at Five Fisherman in Halifax.
I decided to get the seared Tuna with five spice crust for dinner. I ordered it done rare because any hotter than rare and well, it just ends up dry. I liked the accompanying soba noodles and vegetables, which were in an Asian terriyaki-like sauce.
And of course I decided to get some dessert - I'm a sucker for Tiramisu
My only qualm with this tiramisu was that it was way too dense for a Tiramisu...I don't even think it should be a Tiramisu...it was more like a lighter cheesecake with a chocolate cake base and cocoa powder dusted on top. A good cake but not a Tiramisu in my opinion.
The next time I went to Fire & Oak was on a Thursday when they had their Whole Fish special, but I didn't end up going with that. Instead I went with one of the daily specials of stuffed trout with crab. I started with a sweet potato and corn chowder first.
The chowder was alright, nothing to write home about. I think the sweet potato was a bit bland and did not have the very strong sweet potato taste. I think I'll stick to carrot or pumpkin/squash soup for my orange soups next time - they tend to impart more flavour.
On to the main course...
This was definitely a different dish, but was very filling due to the white wine butter sauce - it wasn't greasy but it definitely makes you feel fuller faster. The flavours were excellent and the crab flavour still came through all the mix of things that were in there. The trout was thin but it was perfectly cooked and flaky. I love fish so maybe I'm biased.
I ended off dinner with an Oreo crusted cheesecake...to go with the remainder of the Reisling I ordered. Once again, finished half the dessert, got the other half to go.
This was actually a really good size and the cheesecake was nice and dense, but not too sweet. Yum.
My lunch haunts for the week started with the Newport Mall food court...but quickly changed to the downstairs Cosi because it just seemed like a healthier alternative. I hit the Starbucks almost every morning for my daily Matcha Green Tea Latte (half sweet), since I had gone to the nearby ShopRite to buy yogurt and Naked fruit smoothies (those were my daily fix of fruit).
Aside from all the good food during the trip, I was lucky to encounter a new nail salon that just opened nearby! Polish Me Nail Spa opened recently when I got there, and was having a $28 mani-pedi promotion. In about an hour after work, I managed to get my fingers and toes perfectly polished in Essie's Bachellorette Bash (described as a "creamy, juicy fuschia"). I loved the colour so much that I ended up buying it at Kohl's when they had a 15% discount coupon (for my NJ haul entry, click *here* - link to update once entry up).
The nail salon is new, but it's definitely a great place to go for your manicures and pedicures - the staff are super friendly and the owner (a petite Asian lady) is very kind. She's super talkative and always checks up on her clients. The tools are all disinfected in alcohol as they are being used (the girls put them in pots of rubbing alcohol), and there's also waxing and massages available. The specials are really good and if I was going back again soon, I would definitely get my nails done again. They were very nice and fixed my index finger when I screwed it up - I think I must have hit something and dented it, and they redid my polish for free.
So that is it for this travel blog...I won't be going anywhere out of town soon since my boyfriend is moving out soon and I will be helping out with the condo payments (since next year I'll be moving in there too). Maybe we'll vacation somewhere that's a little less expensive...hopefully! Going to Ottawa is always an option since we have my married friends there who we always stay with :)
Komegashi Too
99 Town Square Pl Jersey City, NJ +1 201-533-8888
(Also - Komegashi @ 103 Montgomery St Jersey City, NJ +1 201-433-4567)
Michael Anthony's
502 Washington Blvd Jersey City, NJ 07310, United States +1 201-798-1798
Fire & Oak
479 Washington Blvd Jersey City, NJ 07310, United States +1 201-610-9610
Polish Me Nail Spa
117 Town Sq Pl Jersey City, NJ 07310 (201) 653-1100
http://www.polishmenailspa.com/
Readers: Where are your favourite eats in New Jersey/Jersey City? What places do you recommend I go to next time I go (which won't be on business!)
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