Master BBQ & Grill - Belleville, NJ

It was another lazy Sunday night for us and we couldn't decide on what to have for dinner. We didn't feel like going out, so the only other option was to order in (yesssss, I'm too lazy to cook on weekends :P). After going through our stash of countless take out/delivery menus, I found the menu for Master BBQ & Grill. We actually picked that menu up from our apartment lobby quite some time back and have been meaning to check that place out but we never got around to doing so. It's been a while since we last had Portuguese BBQ (I know, it's hard to believe...considering the fact that we live in the Portuguese /Colombian BBQ mecca of NJ!), so Portuguese BBQ for dinner it is!
From our past experiences of ordering delivery with other Portuguese BBQ places, we were all ready for a long 'conversation' on the phone. Usually, when they find out that we don't speak Spanish, our call would be passed from one person to another. THEN, after finally getting to somebody who speaks English, he would most probably mess up our order or misunderstand we were are trying to say. Same goes for Chinese delivery places. However, none of that happened here. They spoke English and we managed to place our order without any problems. Yay! Another thing that surprised us was how fast the food arrived. I swear, it took them less than half an hour to get the food to our doorstep! Two huge party trays of piping hot food! Don't ask me why there was only ONE bun, we actually didn't even know that we are going to get a free bun :P
Before I say anything else, I must tell you guys that the amount of food that we got for the price we paid was crazy! There was just soooooooo much food! We ordered the Master BBQ Combo ($26) and that came with half a chicken, six huge pork ribs, four pieces of steak and slices Portuguese sausages. Look at the amount of food! It was enough for feed at least 6-8 people! All that for only $26! Not only was it affordable, it tasted awesome too! I dare say that this is the best Portuguese BBQ that I have had, to date! Since we live in Newark, there are a lot of Portuguese BBQ places here and trust me, we have gone through quite a lot of them. The BBQ from Masters definitely stood out. All the meat was marinated to perfection, really really delicious. They were also cooked just right, cos we all know, nothing is more sucky than overcooked or under cooked BBQ!
We also got a huge party tray of yellow rice and fries. We also had the option to swap either the rice or fries for black beans. Look at the amount of rice and fries! It's like enough to feed a small village in Asia! :P The fries wasn't soggy but really, there was nothing much to shout about. The rice on the other hand was simply awesome. There is this smoky taste to it, very very yummy! Overall, we had an awesome dinner! Good service, fast delivery, affordable prices, big portions and most importantly, uber yummy food. What more could a person ask for? We will definitely be ordering more food from Master BBQ & Grill in the very near future!

Master BBQ & Grill - Belleville, NJ
198 Union Ave
Belleville NJ 07109
Tel: (973)759 9200
Web: http://www.masterbbqgrill.com/

The Wood Pit BBQ - Montclair, NJ

This is a wayyyy overdue post. We actually checked out this restaurant like way back in March but I just never got around to blogging about it. I was contemplating to myself earlier if I should even blog about this now (since it was so long ago) but decided to do so because this place is just simply awesome! For those of you who don't know, Kevin is a huge BBQ fan. Of course, with us living in NJ, there aren't many Southern style BBQ joints, let alone good Southern style BBQ joints! I went online to try and find a decent BBQ place near us and found The Wood Pit in Montclair. There were so many positive reviews about this place, we just had to go check it out for ourselves!
When we first arrived, the exterior of the restaurant didn't really impress us at all. It was just a small hole in the wall kinda place, nothing really fancy. Since it's located along the super busy Bloomfield Ave and only street parking was available, you can imagine the headache we had, when we were trying to get a parking spot. We actually had to drive around for quite a while before finding a spot, a few blocks away.
The moment we walked into The Wood Pit, all the parking headaches that we had earlier immediately disappeared! The lovely smell of smoked wood chips just hits you the moment you open the main door. It was intoxicating! It felt like walking into a real BBQ joint, somewhere in the south. The place wasn't really all that big but boy, were the people there friendly! The owner was making his rounds, talking to everybody, with a big smile plastered on his face. That was definitely southern hospitality, at its best. Another awesome thing about The Wood Pit is that it's a BYOB! Just bring along your favorite beer to wash down all that yummy food. We didn't bring along any booze, so we ordered some iced tea (there was a huge selection of Joe's iced tea in their refrigerator!).
Now, the yummy part. What did we eat? Everything on the menu looked so good (smelled good too!), so we each ordered a BBQ sampler ($13.95 each). This way, we can sample a little bit of everything. Each sampler comes with two huge ribs, two smoked wings, sliced brisket and a choice of two sides. The meat might look a tad bit burnt in the picture, but trust me, they tasted sooooooooo good! Not only were they perfectly marinated, tender and juicy but it was smoked/BBQed just right. The meat was literally dropping off from the bone! Boy, it cannot get any better than this :D
For our sides, we tried the macaroni & cheese, collard greens and a piece of corn bread each. Kevin loved his mac & cheese and said that it was very good. I have never tried collard greens before, so I figured, why not, let's give this a try. I do not know if it's really good or if it was just alrite (since it's my first time trying it) but I can say that I truly enjoyed it! It was really flavorful and it had small pieces of smoked meats in it. Very very yummy.
The cornbread that our server initially brought out for us looked kinda dry and bad. It had a weird color to it too. You can see it in the picture behind the collard greens. When it owner saw our cornbread, he was shocked and immediately took it away! He said it looked bad and he returned with two pieces of freshly made cornbread, just out of the oven! Boy, those two pieces looked so yummy! Guess what? They tasted yummy too! Really moist, with a whole lot of corn inside. So, would we return to The Wood Pit? Of course, without a doubt! We have been living in NJ for about 4 years now and I must say, this is definitely the best Southern style BBQ we had, to date. Two thumbs up!

The Wood Pit BBQ - Montclair, NJ
108 Bloomfield Ave
Montclair, NJ 07042
Tel: (973) 954 4679
Web: http://www.thewoodpit.com

Famous Dave's - Times Square, NYC

My good friend Chai Yuet came to visit NYC over the Memorial Day weekend. After so many years in the States, it's hard to believe that it was her first trip to NYC. Her friend Kheng Leng was also in town, on his way home to Malaysia, after spending about a week in Houston working. So, we picked them up at the airport and spent the whole day taking them to various tourist spots around town. I will blog about that later on. Anyways, it was dinner time and we were in Times Square. Now, apart from it being a long holiday weekend, it was also Fleet Week and Times Square was just packed with people! We tried getting a table at Planet Hollywood but we were told that the wait was about an hour. No way were we gonna wait that long. We knew that it will be almost impossible to get a table on the main strip, so we tried one of the smaller streets off Times Square and found Famous Dave's!

Now, I've always wanted to try Famous Dave's (heard a lot of good things about that place) and it looked like it was a good day to do so. Many people have raved that they have the best Southern BBQ ever, with award winning sauces and slow cooked pit meat. Since it wasn't located on the main Times Square strip, it wasn't full at all and we managed to get a table the moment we walked in.

The restaurant itself was pretty big, with a huge bar as well as some tables on the ground floor and more booths and tables on the second floor. Our server brought us to one of the booths on the second floor. Just right next to us was a big display of all the awards and trophies that Famous Dave's won over the years for their BBQ. Wow, with so many awards and trophies, I bet we were going to to have an awesome dinner that night.

Both Kevin and I started off the night with some icy cold Sweet Tea. This, after all was a Southern BBQ place, so of course we had to order some Sweet Tea. I believe Kheng Leng had some Lemonade and CY was fine with just water.

Apart from their mouth watering BBQ, Famous Dave's is famous for their sauces! Check out the whole line up. We got CY to try the Devil's Spit and initially she said it wasn't all that hot. After a while, the heat started to build up and Woowee! It was hot!! She said it was hot but goood. You could also buy their famous sauces from the gift shop downstairs.

CY ordered the Barbeque Chicken Sandwich ($13.99). Moist hand pulled chicken tossed in BBQ sauce and topped with melted Jack cheese on a bun. Doesn't it look yummy? It comes with a pickle spear. She added on a side of creamy coleslaw for $1.50. I asked her if the sandwich was any good and she said that seriously, it was the best BBQ Chicken Sandwich she has ever eaten. Wow! You know what? I believe her, since she finished everything on her plate. It must be realllly good!

Kheng Leng ordered the Georgia Chopped Pork ($19.99). The BBQ slathered pork is smoked over sweet hickory fire for up to 8 hours and then chopped to order. It comes with corn bread muffin, corn on cob and two sides. He chose some mashed sweet potatoes and wedges for his side. He said that it tasted good overall but certain parts of the meat is a tad bit dry.

Since we knew that the portions will be huge, Kevin and I decided to share an appetizer and one main meal. We ordered one dozen of their award winning chicken wings ($12.99), tossed in their Rich and Sassy BBQ sauce. Now I know why they won so many awards for this wings. They were soo mmmm mmm good! Not only were they large, they were really juicy too. The sauce? Oh, don't get me started on the sauce. It was very very very good!

Apart from the wings, I read somewhere that their ribs won many awards too. Sooo, we just had to try them! We shared the Halvin' My Baby, Half Slab ($22.99). It was half a slab of baby back ribs served with corn bread muffin, corn on a cob and two sides. We tried the potato salad and cream spinach. We had an option of how we wanted our slow cooked baby back ribs. We can either have the Original, which is baby backs seasoned with their four alarm rib rub and then sauced with their honeyed Sweet & Zesty or Memphis style - baby backs rubbed with their secret recipe of herbs and spices, and then served naked (with no sauce). We went with the Original. Were they good? Hmm, don't get me wrong, they were good ribs. However, I feel that it didn't really live up to all the hype that comes along with Famous Dave's award winning ribs. They were good but not spectacular. Overall, it was a good meal. We had a great time just hanging out and catching up with CY as well as getting to know Kheng Leng better. The total bill come up to around $85, not too bad for a meal for four people, in Times Square. Nice ambiance, good food and great friends...what more could a person ask for? :D

Famous Dave's Legendary Pit Bar-B-Que
171 West 47th Street
New York, NY 10036-1503
Tel: (212) 764-1899
Fax: (212) 764-1888
Web: http://www.famousdaves.com/

Jersey BBQ Pit & Grill - Newark, NJ

It was almost dinner time last Sunday and we were getting pretty hungry. As usual, we were too lazy to get all dressed up to go out for dinner (also, we didn't have time to eat out and make it home in time for Amazing Race!), so we decided to either take out some food or order in. I remembered seeing this new BBQ place by McCarter Highway while we were driving by a few days ago, so I said we should go check it out.

I'm not exactly sure how new Jersey BBQ Pit & Grill is but I think I can safely say that it's been opened for less than two months. The whole plaza is less than half a year old, so there are many new shops that just recently opened there (mental note: must check out the new pizza place as well as the seafood shop too). Parking is no problem, there are ample parking lots in front of the restaurant.

Being a new place, everything was clean and nice. We found out that it's actually a self service restaurant. So, you walk up to the counter and place your order, no matter if you are taking out or eating in. The menu was pretty extensive, from individual value meals to family meals. They also had sandwiches, salads, soups and finger food. You could also order party trays that comes in various sizes (can feed between 15-50 people).

We ordered our food to go but if you like, there is also a section where you can dine in. You get a choice of bar stools, booths or regular tables. There were also quite a number of large screen TVs located all over the restaurant. At that time, they were showing some HBO movie but I guess it can be a good place to watch the game too.

Ahhhh, here is our food. Look at how neatly they packed it for us. Most of the food is made to order, so we had to wait for about 20 mins to get our food. That's fine, at least we know that the food is fresh. We'll probably call ahead to place our order first the next time we do order from there. That way, we can just drive down there and pick up the food, instead of sitting there and waiting. Oh, we also found out that they do deliver. However, there is a $20 minimum order and a $2 delivery charge.

Check out our big tray of food. We ordered the Family Meal Combo #2 ($19.75). We got a whole flame grilled BBQ chicken (cut into 8 pieces), 1/2 rack of BBQ pork ribs, 4 pieces of Pork Tenderloin and 2 sticks of Steak Skewers. That is sure a lot of food! Kevin loved the ribs and I really like the pork tenderloin. It was so juicy and tender...mmm mmm mmm. Actually, everything was really good, it was kinda hard to pick a favorite.

All Family Meal Combos come with a huge serving of yellow rice, french fries, a tub of black beans, some BBQ sauce and two rolls. I like how the fries are those thin shoestring fries instead of those thick cut ones. It's really yummy and crispy, not soggy at all. For the price we paid, the portions were huge! It was enough to feed the both of us for three days (dinner, lunch the next day, supper and lunch the following day). I only wish they gave us more rolls. They were super yummy. I am not sure if they baked it in house or they buy it from somewhere but boy, were they good! We both give Jersey BBQ Pit & Grill two thumbs up and we will definitely return in the very near future.

Jersey BBQ Pit & Grill
1417-1419 McCarter Highway,
Newark, NJ 07104
Tel: (973) 497 1818
Web: http://www.jerseybbqpit.com/

Malaysian Bak Kwa in Chinatown, NYC

One of the things that I really miss since moving to the States is Malaysian style Bak Kwa (pork jerky). Yes, you can find some sort of pork or beef jerky in Asian grocery stores but it's not the Malaysian type. It's usually the ones imported from Taiwan or China, vacuum packed and not really that fresh (since it came all the way from Taiwan/China). Also, Malaysian bak kwa is usually soft and tender, where else, the ones you that you can find in Asian grocery stores are usually very hard and chewy.

I found out online that there is a Malaysian Bak Kwa shop in Chinatown and boy was I excited! After watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, we headed downtown to Chinatown, in search of this shop. With the help of the Chinatown Information center, we managed to locate this bak kwa shop. If you don't look hard enough, you might just miss it. It's just a tiny little shop, well, it's not even a full shop, it's just half a shop :P It looks kinda old and run down but the familiar smell of freshly BBQed bak kwa coming out from the shop was just intoxicating!

We checked out the old menu board outside the shop and saw that they had most of the stuff that bak kwa shops in Malaysia would have. They sold the bak kwa by weight, ranging from $17 to $18 per lbs. We can see from the board (old sticker marks) that it used to be between $15-$16 per lbs, but hey, I guess inflation happens everywhere :P

We walked in the shop and it looks like any of the bak kwa shops in SS2 or Petaling Street. Rows of different types of bak kwa in see through display cabinets. They had pork, beef and chicken jerky, available in spicy and regular. You can also choose between the sliced or minced version. They were also promoting their recently launched new flavor, shrimp flavored pork jerky. Too bad they didn't have the gold coins bak kwa or the gourmet bacon bak kwa, both my favorites (not to worry, two more months before we go back to Malaysia for CNY. That's when we can eat as much bacon bak kwa as we like!! :P).

Look at the guy behind the grill. He was BBQing the bak kwas non stop while we were there....smells so gooooood. We bought a lbs of regular pork jerky ($17), since I prefer the minced type to the sliced type. The lady was trying to push the shrimp flavored pork jerky to us but errr I think we'll give it a skip :P She also proudly told us that we can now buy the bak kwa online and they ship them all over America. How cool is that? :D

Check out our loot! They even have those yellow plastic bags with red letterings, just like all the bak kwa shops in Malaysia :D She also slipped in their menu as well as their business card, with their website url.

Here's how they pack the bak kwas. They would of course seal it air tight if they were shipping it cross country but for walk in customers, they would place it in a wax paper bag and then in a resealable plastic bag. This way, it keeps the bak kwa nice and fresh.

Mmm mmm mmmmm, doesn't that look good? One lbs of freshly BBQed pork jerky. It's so tender and nice, unlike the ones we can get from the Asian grocery store. Also, I just love the charcoal burnt sides, it just makes it even more authentic tasting. Of course we cannot compare the taste to the big time bak kwa companies like Kew Bros or Bee Cheng Hiang in Malaysia, but compared to the pork jerky that we can get here, it tasted like heaven. I think that it's as good as it can get. So, the next time you are in Chinatown and need a little dose of 'Malaysia', head over to Malaysia Beef Jerky Inc and get yourself a lbs of yummy jerky!!! :D

Malaysia Beef Jerky Inc
95A Elizabeth Street,
New York, NY 10013
Tel: (212) 965-0796
Web: http://www.malaysiabeefjerky.com/

Oven Bag BBQ Pork Ribs

I actually made this a couple of weeks ago but just never got around to blogging about it. Ribs were on sale at our local grocery store and we managed to buy a nice looking full rack of ribs for under $7! It was such a good deal.

We also bought a bottle of Stubb's Smokey Mesquite Bar-B-Q Sauce to be used as a marinade. Stubb's originated from Austin, TX and it's really really good. A sweet sauce with just the right combination of molasses and mesquite.

I cut the full rack of ribs into half (it's too large to fit into a large Ziploc bag), placed them in a large Ziploc bag and poured in the BBQ sauce to marinade the ribs. I left it to marinade for about 24 hours in the refrigerator.

When it's time to cook the ribs, place some flour into the oven bag, shake it and make sure that it evenly coats the bag. This is to ensure that the ribs doesn't stick to the bag while cooking.

Put the bag in a large baking dish and place the ribs it.

Tie up the bag and make sure you poke some holes in it with a knife (it's to allow steam to escape while cooking).

Pop it in a 350F oven for about 45 minutes.

Now it's time to prepare the sauce to baste the ribs later on. Scoop some dark brown sugar into a bowl.

Add in some BBQ sauce.

Pour in some Ginger Ale and mix all the ingredients together.

After 45 minutes, remove the ribs from the oven and cut open the bag. Baste the ribs with the sauce. Put it back into the oven for about 10 minutes. Continue to baste the ribs at 10 minute intervals for another 2 times.

Here it is! Tender and juicy BBQ ribs that just falls off the bones. Cooking it in an oven bag is the best way to ensure that you have juicy ribs that just falls of the bones.

I served the ribs with Mashed Potatoes and Italian Green Beans with Bacon. It's really easy to make. Just brown the bacon, remove it and drain away some of the oil from the pan. Add in the Italian green beans, stir fry it for a bit and return the bacon to the pan. Sprinkle on some black pepper, garlic salt and Parmesan cheese. Just continue to stir fry everything together for couple more minutes and it's done! There you go. A simple but yummy Southern style dinner.

Kim's Birthday Celebration

We went over to Kim and Ron's (Kevin's sister and BIL) house last Saturday to celebrate Kim's 40th birthday. It wasn't the actual day but since we were in Pittsburgh for Nick's confirmation, they decided to have a small celebration while we were there. Before we went over, our niece Kristen told her grandma (my MIL) to remind us that we still owe her her birthday present (her bday was in April) and we must remember to bring it to her mom's party :P Soooo, we went out to the mall to pick up some stuff from Justice/Limited Too for her.

A t-shirt, hat, body mist, bath confetti and shower gel. I guess you can never go wrong with stuff from Justice when it comes to gifts for 10 year old girls! :D We then headed to the liquor store to pick up a bottle of champagne and a bottle of Niagara wine (according to Kevin, that's his sister's fav wine) for Kim.

We then drove up north to Kim and Ron's house in Butler with Kevin's mom. We even took Abby along for the party! Guess who rushed out to greet us when we arrived? Yup, Kristen of course! I think it was more of her being excited cos she knew that we were bringing her a present instead of being excited cos her uncle and aunt was visiting (we haven't seen her since Christmas) :P

Here is Kristen (with her new hat) and Abby. Kristen had a friend over and they were running around with super soakers and getting all wet and stuff. They also had loads of fun jumping around on the trampoline. I guess everybody is happy that summer is finally here at last!

Ron was busy grilling up some burgers for dinner. They tasted really good, especially the ones with mushrooms. He grilled up some mushrooms and placed it on the beef patties, then he covered them with cheese. Really yummmy. Hats off to the chef! :D

We had a great time just chillin' in the backyard, enjoying the sun, good food and great company. Even Abby was glad to be out on such a nice day.

Ron, Nick and two of Nick's friends were trying to set up a basketball hoop all afternoon. I guess it wasn't as easy and straightforward as what is shown on the manual. They continued working on that after dinner and managed to get it up just before the Penguins game. I think it's not 100% done yet but I'm pretty sure Nick will get it done soon :D

Now it's time for the birthday cake! Check out Kim's yummy ice cream birthday cake. I just love this picture. Mother, daughter and grandma with big smiles. Nice! We all headed to the basement to watch the Penguins vs Red Wings game after we finished our ice cream cake.

Even though the Penguins lost, we still had a great time hanging out with the family that day. We must definitely do this more often (it's hard when we are living in different states). And to Kim...

We wish you a very

Happy Birthday!!