Breeze
661 9th Avenue, New York
Ph: 212-262-7777
Of all the restaurants I have eaten at on this trip, this turned out to be the best surprise.
I was meeting a friend for a light Sunday lunch before going to see a new play, Emily at Theater Row. I left it to him to pick an eatery nearby the theatre and he liked what he read about this Thai-French fusion restaurant. So we agreed to meet there shortly after noon.
Walking down the west side of 9 th Ave., on my way to met my friend, I noted a number of eateries in a row. It was a warm day and several of the restaurants, including Breeze, were open to the exterior. From the outside, Breeze looked to me more like a casual cafe than the type of establishment that would serve "fine" food but appearances are often deceiving, as I found out.
We decided to share two of their appetizer dishes and a large salad. When the first dish arrived I sat up in surprise at the artistry of the presentation. And indeed each succeeding dish was so beautifully presented that I could not resist showing pictures of all of them.
We started with the creamy wild mushroom and caramelized onion filling served in a crisp dumpling. It had a extra touch of sweetness from the use of sweet soy sauce with a black truffle foam.
Next, the crab and mango summer roll was also absolutely delicious. Chunks of crab claw meat, slices of mango and scallions were served with glass noodles and a sriracha (Thai hot chili sauce) lemon emulsion that gave a subtle kick to this delicate roll.
Finally we enjoyed a large salad of crispy roasted duck with pineapple, cashews and orange slices in a spicy lemon sauce on greens.
I wished I had the space to order more dishes just to see how beautifully they would be prepared. I would definitely visit this place again on my next visit to New York.
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