Kin Shop- 469 Avenue of the Americas, NY

Kin Shop is the restaurant of the first Top Chef winner Harold Dieterle. It's a cute little spot with wooden furniture, a cozy bar, and nice bamboo plants in different corners of the restaurant. The menus were surprisingly small-- but I presume a great chef like him wants to have a small amount of options that are all delicious! To start, my parents and I shared a octopus salad with yellow bean aioli-- overall, it was pretty disappointing.  The charred octopus was fine and the faint soy/chili seasoning was nice. However, there weren't many pieces of octopus, and the greens were bland. I also did not enjoy the creaminess of the aioli. For my father's entree, he ordered the Roasted Duck Breast with Red Curry. Wow! What an amazing dish! The duck was already flavorful and tender on its own, and the red curry added a savory and fiery hot spice! There was also a yummy roti flatbread on the side that was perfect for dipping in the curry. My mom and I both ordered the Brisket Dok Choi- it's a curry with big pieces of melt in your mouth beef and springy, slippery noodles at the bottom. The curry was very thick and seasoned sweetly with coconut. The fat noodles were a bit annoying, as they were very difficult to get in your mouth. Or maybe that's just me. The brisket was EXTREMELY tender and perfectly salty. Extra toppings included bok choy, peanuts, bean sprouts, mint and wonton noodles, which added diversity to the dish. All in all, a well rounded and yummy entree. And it was huge! A never ending bowl of food! Overall, Kin Shop really impressed me-- besides the boring appetizer, the main courses were uniquely delicious. 4 pineapples! Till next time,

-tdg