紐約跟香港, 台北，東京及很多其他大城市一樣，到處都可以找到美食。好吃的食物數之不盡，但我在此挑選了三款到紐約必吃的食物。排第三是龍蝦卷，雖然沒有亞洲的龍蝦刺身或蒜蓉蒸龍蝦般鮮味，但龍蝦分量很足，每一口都是大大塊的龍蝦肉。排第二的是日式千層班戟蛋糕，連OPRAH也大力推薦，蛋糕充滿奶油香，口感非常豐富。第一名的美食是街頭賣的烤雞飯，雞肉肉質甜美，飯吸收了鮮雞味，最惹味的是自製微辣的”白汁”，我和朋友開玩笑說白汁可能是下了藥，因為真的會令人停不了口, 一吃便上癮 (不要說我沒有事先提醒你哦)!

Out of the dozens of kinds of food I have had in New York, I have picked the Top 3 Must-Try Snacks in this city. Ranked number 3 are lobster rolls, which are scrumptious and satisfying as each roll is piled with strands of lobster meat. Ranked number 2 are the Mille Crêpes which have been recommended by Oprah; the layering of the cake is an art, and the cake is utterly creamy and decadent. Ranked number 1 on my list is the chicken and rice sold at a food stall on 6th Avenue & W 53rd Street, which is considered by many as the best street food in New York. The chicken is spectacularly grilled, the rice is bursting with flavours and the “white sauce” is an instant addiction – there is no turning back once you’ve tried it!

Top 3 – Lobster Rolls

I’m not the biggest fan of American lobster rolls as I think that we have better steamed lobsters or lobster sashimi in Asia; having said that, the lobster rolls in New York have copious amounts of lobster meat in them and are truly satisfying to eat. There are quite a few decent places for lobster rolls, and I will briefly introduce two of them below.

Pearl Lobster Bar

Rating: ★★★★☆

Address: 18 Cornelia Street, New York. NY 10014

Telephone: 212.691.8211

https://www.pearloysterbar.com/

Pearl Lobster Bar is a down-to-earth restaurant in the West Village, which is renowned for their traditional lobster roll served in a soft bun. At US$27, the Lobster Roll with Shoestring Fries was very generous in size, with large chunks of lobster meat mounding over a Pepperidge Farm bun. My complaint, though, was that there was too much mayonnaise in it which masked the taste of the lobster. Their shoestring fries are known to be tasty, but I don’t like eating them so I asked for some salad on the side instead.

Luke’s Lobster

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Address: Plaza Food Hall, 1 W. 59th Street, New York, NY

https://lukeslobster.com/

There are various outlets for Luke’s Lobster and we went to the one in Plaza Food Hall, in the basement of The Plaza Hotel. Luke’s Lobster prides itself on its pristine Maine lobsters that it directly sources from lobstermen, and claim that their lobsters do not need to be “drowned in mayo and diluted with celery”. 

I ordered a Taste of Maine (US$20), so that I could try the half lobster roll, the half crab roll and the half shrimp roll. The crab roll and shrimp roll were not particularly memorable, but the lobster claw in the lobster roll tasted joyfully fresh. The lobster was minimalistically dressed and was merely drizzled with melted butter and sprinkled with a bit of white pepper.

Top 2 – Lady M® Mille Crêpes 

Lady M Confections

Rating: ★★★★★

Address: Plaza Food Hall, 1 W. 59th Street, New York, NY

https://www.ladym.com/portfolio/lady-m-mille-crepe/

Lady M® Confections is renowned for their fine and delicate desserts and cakes. Their Mille Crêpes, in particular, are an utter indulgence. You can find the locations of their various outlets on their website, and we went to the one in Plaza Food Hall.

The signature Lady M® Mille Crêpes, recommended by Oprah Winfrey, is famous worldwide. The Mille Crêpes had no less than twenty paper-thin crêpes layered with velvety pastry cream in it. The alternating layers of crêpe and cream layers gave the cake a heavenly texture, and the cake felt very light and almost melted in the mouth. It was the ultimate indulgence.

The Green Tea Mille Crêpes had a refined taste of matcha, as premium green tea powder was used to make the crêpes and the pastry cream. The level of sweetness was perfect, and the cake left a subtle aftertaste of matcha in the mouth. Every bite of the cake was an unforgettable sensation.

Top 1 – Chicken & Rice

The Halal Guys – Gyro and Chicken

Rating: ★★★★★

Address: 6th Ave & W 53rd St, New York, NY 10019

https://53rdand6th.com/

When we heard about the must-try chicken and rice in New York, my friend and I each had something different in mind: I thought it would be a Singaporean-style Hainanese chicken rice, while my friend thought it was a Western-style roasted chicken with rice. Both of us were wrong, and it was a Halal chicken rice.

This food stall is located at the corner of New York Hilton Midtown. There are a few food stalls near the hotel, but you are unlikely to get this wrong as there is always a line or a flock of people surrounding this stall. People have come from all over to try this chicken and rice, and it is completely worth the hype!

A box of chicken and rice was only sold at US$6, the portion was huge (or, shall I say, normal for American standards) – it was so big that we shared it amongst the three of us! Each box of chicken and rice was freshly made and piping hot. The chicken was exquisitely juicy and firm, and the rice tasted absolutely marvellous.

The best thing about the chicken and rice, though, was the food stall’s famous homemade “white sauce“. There was a “red sauce”, which was a slightly spicy sauce, as well as the “white sauce”, and usually people would go for both of these sauce. The white sauce seemed to be mayonnaise-based, and was a tad spicy and was bursting with flavours (to be fair, it was probably infused with MSG or something). As unappealing as this sounds though, the “white sauce” tasted magically delicious – it was so tasty and utterly addictive that my friends wondered if there were illicit substances in it! Just sit back and let its yummyness smack you in the face! You’ll be begging for more after your first bite, I promise.