How We Ate Our Way Through NYC: Koi Restaurant | Lounge

We were fortunate enough to have found some great restaurants around Midtown NYC.  Just before we left, we had a set plan (and reservations) as to where we were going to eat and when.  Things changed when we got there.  The reality of how much traffic there was around the area was just insane.  This was Christmas weekend after all and after dealing with the crowds all day, the last thing you want to do is sit in traffic just to get to dinner or walk in dress shoes and heels.  By the end of it all, we only kept one of the four reservations we initially made, but in the process, found some excellent ones.

Restaurant Name:
Koi Restaurant | Lounge
Located @ Bryant Park Hotel
40 West 40th Street
(212) 921-3330
 
Cuisine: Japanese
Price Rating: $$$
Beach Junkies Rating (based out of 5 stars):
Food: 4.5 / Service: 5 / Drinks: 4 / Atmosphere: 4

www.koirestaurant.com

This wasn't the first time we've eaten at Koi. I first ate at this restaurant three years ago on a trip to NYC with my friends.  We then went to Las Vegas the same year and that was when "A" tried it so we knew what to expect.

We have recommended this restaurant to a few people and all came back with glowing reviews BUT we all tell them to keep it light and share all the dishes.  Koi's hot dishes can be very savory and it can be too much sometimes just to eat that one dish yourself.  Trust us, this is the 3rd time we have eaten at this restaurant and our last visit there was our best experience yet.  Practice makes perfect.

Koi-Tini and Ginger Mojito

Cocktails: Koi-Tini & Ginger Mojito - Three years ago was the first time I tasted the Ginger Mojito. In that one sitting, I ordered four of them.  That's how good they are. Unfortunately, our visits after in Vegas was Ginger Mojito free. They didn't have them on the menu there and when we ate dinner this night, they didn't have it on the menu as well.  I asked the waiter if they served it and he said no.  However, a few minutes later, he came back and said that the bartender that has been at this location since day 1 and said he would make it for me. It was even better than I remembered it. As for the Koi-Tini, it wasn't anything spectacular. It basically was a cosmo but with sparkling wine.

Koi Crispy Rice topped w/ Spicy Tuna

First course: Koi Crispy Rice topped w/ Spicy Tuna - A must order!  Our first introduction to Koi's food was this and it should be everyone else's. An explosion of soft, crispy, juicy and spicy runs through the course of your palate once you take a bite of this goodness. We swear we can go to Koi and just eat this, but of course that won't be fun at all. If there is one thing you must order from their menu, it is this.

Rock Shrimp Ceviche and Yellowtail Sashimi

Second Course: Rock Shrimp Ceviche and Yellowtail Sashimi - We had always seen this on the menu but never opted to order it until now and we're glad we did.  The yellowtail sashimi at the bottom was fresh and delicious, and the rock shrimp was just right, not too soft and not too chewy.  Eating this though can be tricky but "A" figured out a way where you slide the chopsticks at both ends of the yellowtail and as you raise it, close the ends so that the rock shrimp is being cradled by the fish. I know it seems silly, but these dishes are meant to be eaten all at once so that all the flavors combine which makes the dish.

Baked Crab Roll

Third Course: Baked Crab Roll - Tthis was the one dish of the night that we could have done with out.  It didn't have that mix of flavors and textures we were looking for but it was still delicious none the less.

Miso Bronzed Black Cod

Fourth Course: Miso Bronzed Black Cod - Remember what I said that their hot dishes were savory. Well, this is one dish well worth sharing.  The cod is cooked to perfection and the skin was just absolutely wonderful.  It was a great mix of salty, sweet and savory.  This was our favorite meal of the night and having three light dishes before this meal balanced really well.

Japanese Mochi (pistachio and peanut butter/chocolate)

Dessert: Japanese Mochi - I absolutely love mochi.  Any flavor will do it for me. "A" on the other hand hates it and it was surprising to see how much she loved her peanut butter/chocolate mochi.

As I said earlier, this sitting was our best dining experience at Koi to date.  There is much more that we want to try on the menu that we want to try so it definitely won't be our last visit. 

HOTEL REVIEW: Royalton Hotel

Trip Date: December 23-27, 2011
Location: New York City, New York

Beach Junkies Rating: (based of 5 stars)
Location: 5 / Service: 5 / Room: 5 / Ambiance: 5

Royalton Hotel NYC

First Impressions: We arrived at the hotel at 9:30 am after taking the train in from Newark Liberty Airport and walking from New York Penn Station (we will have a separate post of different ways you can commute to and from EWR. There were many different forum posts about this but I thought we would compile all our research into one post).  The one thing you have to remember is that Royalton does NOT have the red door that all the other travel sites show.  As you can see from the picture above, it is a sleek black door framed by beautiful columns supported by a gorgeous overhead with a tonal engraving of its name across it.  This is when you know you have booked at a boutique hotel. 


Location: The hotel is conveniently located on 44th between 5th and 6th avenue.  Steps away from tourist attractions such as Bryant Park, Rockerfeller Center, 5th Avenue, Times Square, Magnolia Bakery, MOMA, FAO Schwartz, Central Park and much much more.  It is close enough to all these locations but you don't get the noise, traffic and overall madness that a Midtown hotel normally gets.  The location is just perfect.

Royalton Hotel Lobby

Once we walked in, we were greeted with what we would call dramatics.  The lobby is just stunning.  This is one of the main reasons why we decided to go with this hotel.  To us, it was classic old New York with the dim lighting, fireplace, deep tones of brown and black leather seating accented with hyde and fur upholstered chairs.  Simply put, it was cozy, classy and sexy.

Sit by the cozy fire in the lobby after a long day

Two of the seating sections on the left was split by a huge fireplace (which came in handy after sitting on top of an open double decker tour bus) and just in front of it on your right hand side is the reception desk.

Check In: Since we arrived pretty early, we knew there was a 90% chance our room wouldn't be ready and we were right.  Royalton has a 12:00 pm check out and 3:00 pm check in.  Most travelers should be acquainted with those times since that is pretty much the standard times at most hotels and resorts.  We were quickly processed and asked for one of our cellphone numbers to notify us if our room would be ready earlier.  We handed off our luggage with the bell boy and off we went to explore NYC.

Room 602 King Loft Suite

Room: We were lucky enough to book a King Loft Suite at the Royalton.  Royalton has several room categories and we were probably at one of the bigger ones.  What many people might not know is that hotel rates in NYC during the Christmas Holidays are amazing and this room was also just that.  AMAZING! Once we walked in, we first noticed the extensive bar on our left hand side.  That is where you will find the electronic safe and iPod / iPhone dock.

Room 602 King Loft Suite

Room 602 King Loft Suite

Straight ahead was the King Size bed with a total of 6 down pillows and the most comfortable duvet we have ever slept with at a hotel.  Instead of night tables, Royalton had designed two tiered ports holes complete with a night light.  We found this most convenient since "A" loves to sleep with a light on and "M" doesn't.  This is where you will also find the phone and remote for the TV.

Room 602 King Loft Suite

Beside the bed is an extremely long sofa which was so comfortable to lie on after a day of walking.  We used this to relax, read or just to watch TV. Our room had a view of 44th street which wasn't that spectacular but the interior design of the Royalton actually made us forget there was an outside world.  At the end of the couch is the TV which can be pulled from the wall and you can angle it towards the bed if you wanted to watch TV there.

Royalton King Loft Suite Bathroom

The other stunner of this room was the bathroom.  The Loft King Suite came with a 5ft soaker tub with a rain shower head right in the middle.  The sink (left side of pic) and the vanity (right side of pic) was at either side of the tub.  We have to tell you.  This tub was definitely worth it.  Think about walking the streets of NYC all day during the winter.  This helped wear off the wear and tear of the day and made our transition from day to night a whole lot easier.  The only thing we wished was that there was bubble bath that we were able to use but we just bought some bath balms from the Lush store near Herald Square and we were good to go.  The one thing I loved about this bathroom was how they stored the hair dryer.  It was in a white garment bag, hung on a hook.  Simple and clean.  Robes can also be found in the closet and honestly were the most comfortable robes I have ever worn.  We wanted to buy two for us but forgot to ask how to during our stay.  The bathroom is stocked with Malin + Gotez products which were wonderful as well.

King Loft Suite Desk

Just outside the bathroom was the desk which had an iPad on it.  This is where you can browse Royaltons amenities and services that are available to you during your stay.  You can also use this to browse the internet and help you find directions on how to get to the places you want to go to.  On a side note internet is not included but can be purchased at $10/day for each device.

King Loft Suite fireplace at Royalton Hotel

Last but not least is the bedside fireplace.  Yes.  Bedside fireplace.  We highly recommend getting one when visiting NYC during the winter.  It made our nights so cozy.  Honestly we forgot we were in a hotel when it was lit.  A simple call to the front desk and they will bring up the engineer to bring up the log and light the fire for you.  The log lasts for about 3 hours so please don't call and have them light it when you are going to leave for dinner in an hour or two.  It's just a waste.  There is a glass barrier in front of the fire to protect any embers from flying out.

Thank you Royalton!

On our second day, we got a call from room service telling us that there was a plate of cookies that were being delivered to the room.  To our surprise it was a treat from Forty Four (the hotel restaurant) and it came with a note welcoming us to their property.  A simple gesture that went a LONG way with us.  "M" doesn't like cookies and he loved them.  That's how good they were.

Overall, we truly enjoyed our stay at the hotel.  This was the first time we ever stayed at a Morgans Hotel and it definitely won't be our last.  We are already planning a trip back to NYC and with no question, we want to return and stay at this hotel.  It felt like home for us and the staff is just wonderful.  They made our Christmas the most memorable one and for that, we would like to thank you.

Still not convinced?  See what others think here.

NYC Christmas

Here is a video montage on how we spent Christmas this past weekend in New York City.  We are currently working on a review of our AMAZING stay at Royalton Hotel and we will also cover all the restaurants we ate at. For now, please enjoy our  video.


A New York Christmas from BeachJunkies on Vimeo.

Article from More magazine

Back in the beginning of the summer, we were contacted by Camilla Cornell for a phone interview. She came across our blog and wanted to ask us some questions, more specificially, she wanted to ask me questions because More magazine is a Canadian women's magazine. In the article, I am quoted on travel insurance and tipping.

Here is a scanned copy of the article. Sorry for the poor quality of scanning but I am sure you will still be able to read it. Please click each image to enlarge.

Beach In The City

I have some exciting news! If you're a follower of our blog, you will know that we have gone to the Caribbean for Christmas twice in the last 3 years.  This year we thought we would change it up.  "A" has never been to New York City and I thought the most appropriate way to introduce her to NYC is during Christmas!  You've seen it in the movies, how wonderful and magical the city can be during the Holidays and this is what I want her to experience.

The most important decision of this trip was the hotel.  Location is everything in NYC.  Though they have a great public transit system, I find it best just to walk everywhere and experience what the city is all about. There is a certain energy you feel when you walk the streets of NYC and I wanted "A" to have that.

I want to share with you all how we decided on our hotel.  We found that it was a great way to narrow down your hotel options for a city vacation especially when there are so many wonderful hotels to choose from.

• Create a personal google map - you can do this if you have a gmail account.  Simply go to maps, then create maps.
• Mark all the sights, restaurants and shops you want to visit - this can give you an overview of how you want to plan your trip. It will also show you what the most convenient spot is to have your hotel.
• Search hotels - on the map you will find the most convenient hotels that is within the vicinity of your plans.  Once you've done that, go on tripadvisor and do your research.

Our map for Christmas 2011

I know it seems simple enough but it really helped us on narrowing down our options.

Royalton Lobby

With all that said, I am excited to let all of you know that we will be staying at the Royalton New York! This hotel to me SCREAMS New York.  It's a wonderful boutique hotel located right in Midtown Manhattan, steps away from Times Square, Rockerfeller Center, Central Park and 5th Avenue.  To us this was the perfect hotel.  

When we go on city vacations (which is rare) we love staying at boutique hotels mainly because it feels more intimate. I also find the interior decor of these hotels are just par to none.  Royalton is part of the Morgans Hotel Group which also offers the Hudson, Mondrian and Morgans in NYC as well as a few other wonderful looking properties in LA, San Francisco, South Beach and London.

We booked a Standard Room with a soaking tub. What is a Royalton soaking tub you ask?  See below

Royalton Soaking Tub

Isn't that just awesome?  I figured this was a great feature to have.  I mean who would not want to soak in this wonderful tub after a long day of trekking around the city in Winter?  

Another perk that sold us on this hotel other than the location was Forty-Four. Honestly we cannot wait to eat here and of course, have a cocktail or two.

So please stay tuned for our review of the Royalton, Forty-Four and all the other restaurants and sites that we will visit during our Christmas vacation NYC.  

If you can't wait for our review?  Check out this great review of the Royalton by Oyster

ADVICE: Room Categories

Often when you are searching for prices for an all-inclusive vacation, you come across something like this:

I will be using www.itravel2000.com for an example. This is a very popular Canadian travel site and it's one we use often when we are searching for prices. This info for a seven nights stay gives you the price, taxes, hotel and flight details. As you can see, there is a tab [+] you can open up to view all options. When you click to expand, you will see this:

It gives you the option of different tour operators (which means different possible flight times) and the most important, the room categories. If you are not picky with your room, then you probably don't care about this. If you like to have a room close to the beach with an oceanview or perhaps you would like a swim-up room, you need to either view these options if you use iTravel as your search engine or speak with your travel agent. Most room categories go up starting in increments of $20 and can start you off with the most basic room and go all the way up to the Presidential Suite. The travel agent we use is very good at letting us know what our options are and the price for each category.

Another option is to book at the lowest room category and upgrade when you arrive at the resort. It may be cheaper but with most resorts, it's better to upgrade at the time of your booking. Some resorts will charge anywhere between $20 to $60 per night. Before you book, it might be a good idea to email the resort to see how much they will charge and then weight out your options to see where you will get a better deal.

With the last trip we went on to Now Larimar, we found that many guests were disappointed and even unhappy with the room category they booked. They were under the impression they would be getting a certain room and when they arrived, there was some kind of confusion. I personally don't think it's the resort's fault, I think it's the lack of information provided by the travel agent or when you book online. Remember that if you are particular about your room, please try and find out what your options are by either speaking with your travel agent or booking the right room category online.

Iberostar Ensenachos & Grand Village Suites

Browsing around I just realized that one of our favorite resorts Royal Hideaway Cayo Ensenachos is being re-branded into Iberostar Ensenachos and Iberostar Grand Village Suites.

Iberostar Ensenachos will still welcome guests aged 13 and over exclusively until Oct. 31, 2011.  After that it will be a family resort.  Iberostar Ensenachos Grand Village Suites will be a resort that welcomes guests aged 14 and over.

This property is one of our favorite resorts.  The best beach we have ever been to is at this resort and it is amazing that families now can come and experience the beauty and snorkeling of this resort.  I'm still glad that Iberostar will be making an Adults Only section since the atmostphere of this property is meant for romance, relaxation and serenity.

Congratulations Iberostar on getting such a wonderful property.

I wonder if we should go back and do our second re-branding post, similar to the one we did for Now Larimar back in June.  I'm very interested to know what changes Iberostar will do to this wonderful property and I hope that they take immense measures to make sure that the beauty of the beaches are kept in pristine condition.  Only time will tell.