When it comes to Michelin stars, I have mixed feelings. On one hand, the few 3 star restaurants I’ve dined at have been truly unforgettable meals. On the other, I struggle with how geographically concentrated the guides are and the inconsistency of 1 star restaurants. Nonetheless I respect the Michelin rating system and still seek out their recommendations when visiting a city they cover. While in New York City, home to five 3 Michelin star restaurants, I was lucky enough to add one more to my list of memorable meals.

Atmosphere: Le Bernardin by Eric Ripert was located in the heart of Manhattan, blocks from Rockefeller centre, between Central Park and Times Square. Stephen and I sat in The Lounge to take advantage of their City Harvest Menu, 3 courses for $57 USD/person, an incredible steal to get a taste of Chef Ripert’s French cuisine and supporting a great cause. $5 from each order is donated to City Harvest, the world’s first food rescue organization. The menu is offered only at lunch in the Lounge and no reservations are taken. We arrived 10 minutes before lunch service began and had no issues securing a spot.

The Lounge had about 20 table seats and a row of stools at the expansive bar, showcasing an impressive display of bottles. Modern leather benches and armchairs provided comfortable seating around white square tables. Jackets were required in the dining room and only (strongly) recommended in the lounge.

A 3 course menu is also offered in the dining room for $90/person with a wider selection of dishes.

Service: Service was impeccable from the table side bread basket loaded with treats to the main course being sauced when served. I love when dishes are finished at the table, giving a sense that the dish was just plated and fresh. We were well taken care of throughout our meal and had seconds from the bread basket. I wanted to try everything but restrained myself to just (ha!) 4 rolls. I really liked how diners were seated spaced away from each other, offering privacy even in the tight space.

Near the end of the meal, Chef Ripert came into the lounge to chat with the diners sitting a few tables away from us. We didn’t stay to see if he knew the couple or was making his way to every table but it’s always lovely to see the Chef in person.

Food: Each course of the City Harvest menu had two choices. To start, I opted for the Hamachi Tartare with cucumber and a lemon-citrus emulsion while Stephen chose the Lobster, Saffron-Mussel Potato soup. My hamachi was plated with cucumber slices atop the disc of tartare, surrounded by beads of the emulsion and a side of crostini. Each bite had crunchy, crispy and soft elements with sweetness, acidity and savoury flavour. Stephen’s soup was rich and creamy while being light and incredibly slurpable.

We both ordered the Barely Cooked Organic Salmon with Pea Puree and a Yuzu Butter Sauce. For me, the dish was excellent, Stephen did not agree. The thick rectangular column of salmon was true to the name and just barely opaque up the sides maintaining a perfect silky centre. The peas were sweet and tender while the yuzu butter sauce added acidity and richness. Stephen wasn’t a fan of the combination of dairy and citrus, which unfortunately threw off the entire dish for him. Fortunately for me, this meant I had double. This did affect my overall rating for this post.

Dessert was a selection of Ice Creams or “Tres Leches”, a Crispy Cashew Sponge Cake Sphere with Caramelized Goat’s Milk Mousse and Clementine Sorbet. Ice cream quenelles, heavenly. The clementine sorbet, wonderfully refreshing and concentrated flavour.

Overall lunch at Le Bernardin was a delight and I now look forward to a return visit in their main dining room.

Dim Sum in Hong Kong is as ubiquitous as burgers in North American. One difference would be the breadth in quality and calibre of restaurants, there are hole-in-walls serving some of the best traditional dim sum in the city, to 5 star hotel restaurants exploring the definition a shrimp dumpling. Tim Ho wan falls closer to the former and is often lauded as the cheapest Michelin star restaurant in the world. Dishes range in price from $2.75 CAD to $4.50 (less than some dim sum places in Toronto!).

The original Mongkok location opened in 2009 and earned their one Michelin star the year after. With only 20-30 seats, locals and tourists alike would line up outside in the Hong Kong heat for hours. Today, there are multiple branches of Tim Ho Wan in Hong Kong (including one indoors at IFC Mall, which makes lining up more comfortable) and they are expanding throughout Asia.

I visited the Sham Shui Po location this summer with The Hubby and his family while we were in Hong Kong. Since the original Mongkok location closed, this is now “the” Tim Ho Wan to visit. We arrived 15 minutes before the restaurant opened on a Wednesday morning and lucky enough to get a table in the first seating.

Compared to my experiences at other one Michelin star restaurants, I found Tim Ho Wan underwhelming in terms of service and atmosphere. The small, unassuming shop was efficient and tidy but didn’t have any aspects that stood out from other dim sum shops or restaurants. Servers hustled around the shop and lone diners were directed to shared tables. The acclaim and draw must be for the food?

We handed in our order sheet, which included dim sum classics like shrimp dumplings (har gow), shrimp rice roll, sticky rice, turnip cake, siew mai and the famous baked bbq buns. Dishes began to arrive quickly and our table was soon filled with plates and steamers. As I bit into juicy dumplings and spooned up sticky rice, I was enjoying the meal but confused. Each dish was consistently good and excellently crafted but nothing was wow-ing, that was until the plate of baked cha siu buns arrived.

Each order came with 3 buns and I would highly recommend ordering enough for each person to enjoy their own. After the five of us split one plate, we quickly ordered a second. These buns were pretty spectacular. Each bun was filled with saucey bbq pork and topped with a mixture of butter, flour, egg and sugar before being baked. This resulted in a crumbly topping, similar to a pineapple bun. Each bite was sweet and savoury.

While Tim Ho Wan may not warrant a 2 hour wait, 30 minutes would be worthwhile. The price was affordable for even the most budget-conscious traveller and the dim sum, while no frills, was authentic and tasty. If stopping by the Sham Shui Po location, I would recommend going early, otherwise, if it’s summer, the IFC Mall location in Central would be the most comfortable to queue up for. Menus and order sheets were available in Chinese and English.

My first time in New York City was back in 2011 for a weekend of food and theater. I didn’t get to hit all of the stops on my wishlist but for two days, we fit in a lot of stops.

These were my top 5 eats from this trip:

1. Pizza @ Patsy’s Pizza: 318 West 23rd St 
   • Amazing thin crust, choose your own fresh toppings
2. Katz’s Pastrami Sandwich @ Katz’s Delicatessen: 205 East Houston Street
   • Thick layers of fatty pastrami on rye with mustard, straightforward and delicious
3. Ramen @ Totto Ramen: 366 W 52nd St
   • Amazing creamy broth, savoury garlic paste, generous toppings and great noodles
4. Dinner @ Dovetail: 103 West 77th St
   • $52 set 3 course meal, every Sunday
   • Michelin star meal of the trip, amazing ambiance, service and food
   • Right by Central Park
5. Lunch @ Maze by Gordon Ramsey: 151 West 54th St
   • $29 set 3 course meal, French based cuisine with a hint of Asian flare
   • Great price for a memorable meal