HARBS Coffee and Cake Restaurant

198 Ninth Avenue

(corner of 22nd Street)

Open 11am to 11 pm, daily.

HARBS is an amazing experience—both TAKEOUT and EATING IN. A staple in Japan for over thirty years, it has opened its first U.S. location in Chelsea, New York City.

Pricing is expensive. An average price for a slice is $10, and a whole cake goes for $100. The cakes though are gorgeous and delicious! And they are baked daily. They offer such exotic offerings as Green Tea Mousse Cake, Sakura Cake (Sakura-flavored mousse with Dainagon red beans), and a Strawberry Chocolate Cake.

The store has a policy to not allow customers to take photos of the cake display showcase. I was able to sneak a quick-pic of their famed Mille Crepes Cake!

RESTAURANT EXPERIENCE

The restaurant is located in the back of the store and was quite busy on a Sunday late afternoon. However, the restaurant has a policy to not rush out their customers. They encourage customers to relax and escape from the rush of the city life. So this is not a place if you want fast service. The pace of service is purposely slow. The experience of HARBS is if a cake shop were a spa.

Not only has HARBS brought over their cake recipes, they’ve also furnished the restaurant with their signature wicker furniture!

We ordered the Green Tea Mousse cake, which is bittersweet green tea sponge cake and mousse with Dainagon red beans covered with fresh-whipped cream. If you love green tea, you’ll love this dessert. I really liked the sponge cake/mousse combination as the sponge cake gave the mousse more substance as opposed to a traditional mousse.

We also ordered a slice of the Mille Crepes Cake, which is six layers of thin crepes filled with fresh fruits and mixed cream. The fuss over this cake is justified. The fruits are comprised of thick slices of bananas, strawberry, kiwi, and melon, and you can absolutely taste the freshness. And the cream is light and airy. A must try, and it is hard to go back to other fruit cakes after sampling this offering.

For drinks, we ordered tea that the restaurant promotes, as “every tea is a perfect pair with our HARBS cakes.” They request that each diner orders at least one pot of tea per person. Teas go for an average of $8 a pot. And refills are free.

So, we ordered a pot of the Sakura Tea, which is their seasonal tea. It Darjeeling tea blended with the leaves of Japanese sakura.

We also ordered a pot of the Yuzu Sencha Tea, which is green tea topped with Japanese Yuzu citron.

When they bring the pot of the Sakura Tea, there’s a bud on the bottom of the cup, which blossoms after you pour in the tea.

Each beautifully designed glass teapot also contains a filter, which prevents the leaves from escaping into your cup. Brilliant!

Side Note:

The bathrooms have tricky air dryers. The dryers are an odd triangle shape and it’s hard to figure out how and where to place your hands to operate the dryer. There is an unhelpful illustration on the top of the dryer that only causes additional confusion. The hot air seems to appear randomly and magically.

Cons:

Pricing is steep.

No alcohol.

No dinner menu; they do offer sandwiches at lunch (and a $19 lunch special)

TAKEOUT EXPERIENCE

Ordered a Mille Crepes Cake to go, and the takeout experience is as beautifully presented as the dining experience in the restaurant!

From the durable takeout bag.

Which is lined with a cooling metallic material.

To the thank-you note to the customer printed on the bottom of the takeout bag.

To the origami-styled box.

To the complimentary ice packs, to add additional cooling protection.

To the metallic cooling material to protect the cake itself.

To the beauty of the cake (which the photo does not do justice AT ALL from my fear of having the crepes topple if I had removed the metallic sheet covering), added all to the joy of eating a HARBS cake!

Final Thoughts

Go! For either takeout or eating in!

City Crab and Seafood Company

235 Park Avenue South

(corner of 19th Street)

Great place to have a birthday celebration dinner; especially if you like seafood! And the restaurant is not subtle about it being a shellfish-lovers’ haven, either, as customers are greeted with a lobster hovering over their heads as they enter the establishment!

And it also doesn’t hurt if you have a City Crab birthday coupon (which offers a free entrée up to $40), as it can by pricey with an average appetizer costing around $15 and entrees at around $30.

Service was excellent. We had two servers as the restaurant was just switching from their Sunday brunch service to dinner. Both of our servers’ recommendations were thoughtful and honest.

We started off with ordering a bottle of wine. We knew we wanted a white or a rosé and we didn’t want something dry. Our server was kind enough to let us have a tasting of three types of wine. We also especially appreciated that she did not guide us to the most expensive items on the wine list.

We knew from one sip that the Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling from Washington that she had us sample was the clear and easy choice. It had a smooth buttery peach taste. Absolutely four stars!!!

When our official server arrived, we were not sure of what to order for our appetizer. We initially ordered shrimp wonton, but then were informed by the host that it was a misprint and that it was not available for dinner. (He kindly offered us a free coffee/dessert for the error. We ended up going for the coffee, no dessert.) Once the new correct menus were printed, we hemmed and hawed over what to order. Our server was spot on with pushing us toward the Ahi Tuna “Tostada,” which was ahi tuna mixed with avocado, grilled corn, and black bean mango salsa over a tostada. As our server had promised, it was a delicious mix of complex flavors, and the grilled corn was perfection. It tasted like spring/early summer.

For our entrées, we ordered the 2-pound Maine lobster stuffed with crab cake, the shrimp scampi, and a side of lobster mashed potatoes.

The lobster was beautiful and meaty. Definitely worth all the hard work of all the crackin’ to get at the last piece of meat!!

The lobster mashed potatoes were rather lumpy and cold by the time we got to truly eating it as we were so focused on our mains.

The shrimp scampi came with a half-dozen jumbo-sized shrimp, along with a head-on prawn, chili, leeks, tomato, over herb-crunch linguini. Delicious and surprisingly spicy! So good that it’s definitely a dish I would order every time I come back.

Pros:

The food.

The wine.

The servers.

Cons:

Do not go on a Sunday night for dinner, as they were out of many menu items. Not only were we not able to go with our original appetizer order, we also had initially wanted the Lobster Bake entrée and they were also out of that dish.

Pricing is steep.

They do not offer wet wipes, unless you request them (and then the busboy only gives you two per person, which is not enough when eating two (2!) pounds of lobster. Luckily when we spoke to our server, he actually gave us warm towels at the end of our meal.

Final Thoughts

Overall, unbelievably good food and will return next year for another birthday celebration!

Nongshim Shin Black Noodle Soup

Nothing can beat spicy Korean noodle soups on cold, winter days!

I usually stick with Nongshim’s Neoguri Udon Type Spicy Seafood Noodles. However, after reading rave reviews on the Black Noodle Soup, I knew that I had to try at least once, even though the Black Noodle Soup costs twice as much as other Korean instant noodles. Is it worth the price?

Yes, as the soup is heartier than the cheaper-priced instant noodles. I usually have to cook two packages to sate my appetite, but I am full after one package of the Black Noodle Soup.

The soup comes with three packets: a vegetable packet, spice seasoning, and bone marrow broth seasoning. So it could be the bone marrow broth that fills me up faster. The soup broth is very tasty as I drank it to its very last drop!

The soup reminds me a bit of the ramen noodle soup from Ippudo (my favorite ramen noodle restauarant!), so next time I’ll definitely try it with a soft-boiled egg and maybe even some slices of roast pork.

ROYCE' Chocolate

253 Bleecker Street

(between Leroy Street and Cornelia Street)

If you’re looking for unique, exceptional gifts for a chocolate lover, you must go to Royce’ Chocolate. There are two other locations in NYC, but the one in the West Village is the one I’m reviewing.

First, the shop is beautiful. It looks like a museum to chocolates.

The chocolates also are temperature controlled!

The packaging is gorgeous, and they offer samples of their famous nama chocolates (which are kept refrigerated and literally melt in your mouth as if you were having mousse) as well as their chocolate-coated potato chips (amazing!).

They also offer free gift-wrapping (at the time of my purchase, they were offering a special Valentine’s Day wrapping).

The sea-salt, almond chocolate-covered popcorn ($13) satisfied my craving for something sweet and something salty. I would have went with the potato chips ($17), but thought in regards to quantity there would be more to share per person with the family.

Cons:

It is important to know that their stock sells out quickly. The first time I went, the store shelves were nearly empty.

Final Thoughts

Will definitely be a frequent return customer, but have to time it to go when I know that they will be getting their monthly shipment.

Murray's Cheese Bar

264 Bleecker Street

(between Cornelia Street and Morton Street)

Cheesemongers everywhere love Murray’s Cheese—the famed cheese shop in West Village. Many times when I have gone to stock up on meats and cheeses for holiday get-togethers, I have run into guided tours so it must be a required tourist stop.

So it would make sense that Murray’s Cheese would open a bar and restaurant a few doors down. The establishment is rather small; it’s actually a long hallway. The tables for two are small, so I strongly recommend sitting at the bar if you have parties less than three.

The bar is extraordinarily comfortable as the bar’s marble counter gives more than enough distance so that the bartender/waiter is not on top of your conversation. The chairs are solid and easy for persons of shorter stature to climb onto (hence my dislike of sitting on many a barstool!) and they have strong purse hooks underneath the counter.

The service at the bar is also very friendly. My friend and I must have been attended to by at least four different waitstaff: all of whom were up for conversation and fun, but knew when to allow my friend and I time to have our private gossip sessions. It might also have been due to the time of our arrival: around 3 p.m., between brunch and dinner.

We knew that we wanted to start off with a tasting of two cheeses ($6 each): Epoisses (left) and Perseille de Rambouillet (right); the latter of which was their most exotic cheese. If you are a fan of decadent, creamy cheeses this is a must-try duo. Absolutely gooey goodness!

We had also requested a side of mean: lamb coppa, which unfortunately was sold out. So they comped us a duck salami that was not listed on the menu. It was spicy and peppery and could almost be confused with chorizo in its appearance.

And you can’t go wrong with pairing them with a glass of their Artesa Pinot Noir. But at $16 a glass, sip slow.

We then decided to order the Raclette for two. It’s sort of like a mashup between a fondue and a Korean barbecue where you melt cheese slices on a grill. They offer three cheeses, which go from “mild to wild” starting with the Raclette cheese on the left. I sadly can’t recall the other two cheeses. If I were to order this dish again, I would request that they go from “wild to wildin’ out” as mild cheeses are rather lost on me. It also came with two meats: pepperoni and speck, along with cornichon pickles and caramelized onions.

Pros:

The service.

The Epoisses and Perseille de Rambouillet.

Cons:

Wish the table seating for two were larger and not on top of the next table.

Pricing is a bit steep.

Final Thoughts

Did return for their $25 prix-fixe lunch the following week, but was not as impressed with either the service or the food. So experience might be highly dependent on who your servers are and the time/day you arrive.