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Written by Judie Dweck

Published: 02 May 2016

Created: 02 May 2016

Last Updated: 02 May 2016

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Are you indecisive about whether to dine on Chinese, Japanese or Thai cuisine? I suggest you visit one of the newest Asian bistros in the area, Ku Asian Bistro is in the Chester Heights section of Bronxville. It recently opened in the space that was Oriental Palace and before that, A Taste of China. The space has been completely renovated and the interior has a sushi bar, a regular bar and a private dining room in addition to the large main dining room. Soft multicolored lighting adds atmosphere to the 100 seat space.

Ku is owned by Eason Wang, Nathan Qiu and Kelvin Chen. The general manager is Sean Wu. Wu explained that Chef Wang specializes in the Chinese dishes and Chef Qiu is the Japanese area of the menu. Wang learned his craft from his father, Wei Cai Wang, a master chef in China and The United States, who is in Ku's kitchen, as well. Manager Wu indicated," Our dishes range from classic to creative, from traditional to fusion. Our goal is to cater to our customer's tastes and be a family friendly neighborhood restaurant. Many of our guests allow us to design their meal and leave the ordering to us."

Nicely salted warm edamame were offered as we decided upon our choices. Thai flavored hoisin sauce enveloped diced chicken, long beans, bell peppers, jicama and pine nuts, lending a crunchy texture to the chicken lettuce wraps. The warm tangy filling contrasted with the crisp chilled iceberg lettuce for a fine dish. Sushi pizza has become a popular item on Asian menus. Here a rice cake is the base for very fresh sliced tuna, salmon, yellowtail and white fish. Guacamole was the finishing touch on this tasty starter. From the innovative to the classic, we tried some exceptional barbecued spareribs. Meaty and marinated in a honey infused sauce, all fat removed, they were finger licking good. The hefty ribs were served on a fresh flower garnished plate for a lovely effect. I look forward to trying curry glazed rock shrimp and boneless short rib with a spicy tangerine miso glaze.

Of the many signature rolls, we chose "hot girl". Lobster tempura, lobster salad, jalapeno, avocado were among the treats wrapped in soy bean paper, which resulted in a fine mingling of flavors. A wine glass filled with fresh flowers added some visual beauty to this dish. The Post Roll wrapped in seaweed paper with salmon, eel. sweet shrimp, blackened tuna and mango was excellent, as well. The large selection of signature rolls brought out the creative talent of the chef. Ku Asian tartar of tuna and salmon arrived on a sectional dish with avocado and fried wonton chips and each was delicious in its simplicity. Among the starters, don't miss the pepper salmon carpaccio. Thinly sliced salmon is wrapped around a julienne of cucumber and crabmeat for a light and refreshing dish.

A very special entrée, which appeared on both the regular and Chinese New Year menus was the Crispy Duck. Here the boned duck breast and leg on the bone, were perfectly cooked for a tender result. Accompanied by baby bok choy and carrots and dressed with a hoisin flavored sauce it was truly elegant. From the Thai offerings, jumbo shrimp with the tail on in a mango sauce with green and red bell peppers, and fresh mango, perfectly ripened, was a nicely spiced choice, as well. Singapore rice vermicelli chock full of shrimp and Szechwan crispy beef were a couple of other favorites. Yet to be tried are wok basil chicken, Ku duck Asian fajitas, seafood curried hot pot and surf and turf bird's nest. The diet conscious diner in not overlooked with several steamed dishes offered.

Lunch here offers Japanese lunch boxes, sushi, sashimi and rolls, and entrees from Southeast Asia and China. A fine feature at Ku is their Sunday Brunch. It includes many dishes from the regular menu. They are prepared to order {no steam table here} and you can have as many portions as you wish at a reasonable price. It is a great value and a nice choice for a family outing.

Not to be forgotten is the parking area next to Ku, no need to concern yourself with meters.

Enjoy this nice new addition to the Asian dining scene soon.

PORK AND VEGETABLE DUMPLINGS (100 DUMPLINGS)
100 square 3 by 5 inch dumpling wrappers*

1 pound finely ground pork
1 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger
4 teaspoons minced garlic
2 Tbsps. finely sliced green onion
4 Tbsps. soy sauce
2 Tbsps. sesame oil*
2 eggs
½ pound Chinese cabbage, finely shredded *

For the sauce
1 Tbsp. heavy cream
1 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsps. black vinegar*
Canola oil for frying
*Available in Asian markets

In a large bowl, place the ground pork, ginger, garlic, green onion, soy sauce, sesame oil one egg and shredded cabbage. Mix all very well. Place a teaspoon of the filling onto each dumpling skin. Moisten the edges with the second egg, beaten. Fold edges to form a triangle. Roll edges slightly to seal the dumplings. Place dumplings on a lightly floured pan until ready to cook. Fill a large pot with water. When it boils add the dumplings. As it boils add cold water. Repeat this process 3 times to be sure the filling is well cooked. Place cooked dumplings on a tray and let them rest until they are totally cold and dry. When they are cold and completely dry, fry them in canola oil for about 5 minutes or until lightly golden. Serve with sauce.

In a small pot, reduce the vinegar by half. Swirl in the cream and butter and simmer until smooth. Serve with the dumplings

If this sounds too labor intensive, take a trip to Ku Asian Bistro and allow the master chefs prepare them for you to enjoy.

Ku Asian Bistro
480 New Rochelle Road
Bronxville (Chester Heights Area)
(914) 668 8877

Judie Dweck has been writing about restaurants and food for many publications. She teaches creative cooking to children at Scarsdale elementary schools. Through the years, her articles have appeared in Jack and Jill Magazine, Spotlight, The Pleasure of Cooking and The Scarsdale Inquirer. She balances her restaurant tastings with daily ballet classes.

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Written by Judie Dweck

Published: 10 May 2016

Created: 10 May 2016

Last Updated: 11 May 2016

Hits: 12676

In the words of James Beard," There is nothing quite as wonderful as a freshly opened oyster with just a squirt of lemon juice. "It was in anticipation of this treat, that I visited the new Kee Oyster House in White Plains. Enter the beautifully designed sophisticated space into a comfortable bar area with its marble topped bar, high tables, white tile floor, and a display of fresh oysters that give the restaurant its name. A glass partition separates it from the main dining room with its black and white theme. Here, black tile flooring, banquettes and dark wood free standing tables and a working fireplace. With many windows looking out on the busy downtown area, Kee Oyster House boasts a true New York City look. They seat about 110 guests with a private dining room for about 25 guests... The attentive wait staff is impeccably outfitted in crisp white shirts, serviceable aprons and bright cheerful orange neckties, setting the mood for an upbeat dining experience.

Kee Oyster House is at the location that once housed Tango Grill and is owned by Kenan Neziraj, Ekrem Xhemaijli and Elvi Hoxhaj who are both friends and partners. Together, they have assembled a capable staff who keep Kee running like a well oiled machine. The kitchen is led by Executive Chef Lou Rexepehi whose resume includes Le Bernardin and Kitti Chai and Chef de Cuisine James McCue a CIA graduate with experience at Crabtree Kittle House and Harvest on Hudson. I spent time with the enthusiastic Elvi Hoxhaj, a veteran in the restaurant business with 13 years of experience at Sparks Steak House. He was inspired by his grandfather, an immigrant who taught him a good work ethic and who he is as a person. He and his partners worked hard to create a team that would execute their vision of a fine seafood restaurant. Elvi informed me that," New York, in the late 1800's and early 1900's is our inspiration, when the city was the oyster capital. "{Trinity Church was built on a foundation based on oyster mortar} "We are true to who we are and we use the freshest and highest quality ingredients and only fresh herbs. Our menu is small but great. We try to give our guests what they want. Our mantra is simple and fresh. Our technique is simple and our quality speaks for itself. We are hospitality driven and have a fine relationship with our suppliers and we serve a consistent product. Our goal is to be the best seafood restaurant in Westchester. One of the owners is always present. "

Our tasting included selections from both the lunch and dinner menus. A Sunday brunch menu will be included in the near future. True to their name, we started with a variety of oysters. Kee offers 4 east coast and 2 west coast selections delivered fresh daily. Oysters pick up the flavor of their surroundings. Oysters that grow in cold waters have a briny flavor and those from warmer waters are usually milder and more buttery in texture. From Canada, French kiss and Beausoleil were my favorites. The Kumomoto and Blue Point oysters were delicious, as well. The Wellfleet variety was a bit too salty to my taste. They all arrived on a crushed ice lined metal plate with a scattering of seaweed to hold the shells in place. They were shucked immediately before serving. Cocktail sauce, freshly grated white horseradish and a delightful champagne mignonette sauce accompanied this wondrous course. The oysters here, as indicated by Elvi, are treated with care, like babies. Towers with a selection from the raw bar and a unique hot bar tower with grilled oysters and baked clams among its selections are a lovely way to start your meal. We chose several starters from the dinner menu. Outstanding was a mussel and chorizo stew. The plump moist mussels in their shells and the crumbled chorizo were bathed in a fragrant white wine broth enhanced by fresh herbs and slivers of garlic slice of grilled country bread was included for dipping. Baby bbq ribs followed. Brushed with a piquant whole grain mustard sauce and garnished with fresh herbs, they were a fall off the bone treat. Tuna tartare appears on many menus, often with an Asian flavor. Here, the chunks of tuna and avocado were dressed with a Dijon vinaigrette and rested on a carpaccio of cucumber slices. Crisp chips were added to the presentation. Other possible starters are calamari with chili aioli, clam chowder, and romaine with buffalo shrimp and a blue cheese drizzle.

Entrees from both land and sea are expertly prepared. We chose East Coast Roasted Halibut with a grape tomato stew. This healthy portion of fish was topped with a grape tomato and slivered onion combination, beautifully seasoned and cooked just until the tomatoes were soft with the skin still intact. The dish was excellent in its simplicity and freshness. Grilled whole fish, perhaps branzino is served whole or boned. Pan seared snapper with a roasted pepper coulis, and grilled organic salmon with lemon butter sauce are other options. If you prefer your entrees from land, steaks, pork chops, rack of lamb and grilled chicken are all of prime quality. The Kee surf and turf entrees for two come in a variety of pairings. Choose from beef tenderloin and lobster, chicken and pork sirloin, or rack of lamb and lobster. If you want to concentrate on lobster it is steamed to perfection and served with drawn butter. It will be deshelled tableside upon request. Side dishes of sour cream and chive mashed potatoes, roasted cauliflower and brie and seafood risotto are some of the nice accompaniments to order with your entrée.

We just couldn't resist the "on the bun "selections from the lunch menu. We loved the oyster po"boy with homemade Old Bay chips. The blue point oysters were breaded with flour and cornmeal and fried to a golden crisp and served on a bun with chili aioli. The lobster roll was among the best I've had. The toasted roll, brimming over with tender chunks of lobster meat, nicely dressed and well seasoned. A Kee lump crabmeat burger, a Kee burger and BBDQ pork roll are yet to be sampled.

Desserts are all house made. We indulged in a sensational individual key lime pie. The crisp crust encased a filling of fresh lime and lime zest. The crowning glory was freshly whipped cream and berries. A fresh sugar cookie and a touch of crème anglaise completed the picture. The classic pecan tart was not overly sweet and very tasty with a topping of vanilla ice cream.

The menu selections at Kee Oyster House have been carefully planned and tested resulting in perfectly executed dishes. As the name suggests, Kee Oyster House offers pristinely fresh oysters and much more.
Kee Oyster House
126- 128 East Post Road
White Plains
914-437-8535

Click here to access their website.

KEE TUNA TARTARE (SERVES 1)

I cup fresh tuna, in small cubes
8 very thin slices of cucumber
½ an avocado, cubed
Fresh microgreens for garnish
1 Tbsp. fresh orange juice
2 Tbsps. fresh lemon juice
1 cup vinegar
3 cups olive oil
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

In a blender or with a whisk, blend together the juices, vinegar, mustard and oil. In a bowl toss the tuna and avocado. Arrange the cucumber slices on a plate to form a circular base. Toss the tuna mixture with about 2 Tbsps. of the dressing Place the tuna mixture in a mound atop the cucumbers and top with microgreens. Serve. The remaining dressing can be refrigerated or frozen for future use.

Judie Dweck has been writing about restaurants and food for many publications. She teaches creative cooking to children at Scarsdale elementary schools. Through the years, her articles have appeared in Jack and Jill Magazine, Spotlight, The Pleasure of Cooking and The Scarsdale Inquirer. She balances her restaurant tastings with daily ballet classes.

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Written by Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 28 April 2016

Created: 28 April 2016

Last Updated: 28 April 2016

Hits: 7215

Here are comments on the tax revaluation submitted to Scarsdale10583 by resident Robert Berg and read at the Village Board meeting on April 26, 2016: As someone who has made revaluation in Scarsdale his second calling, I'm usually very cued in to what's going on in this process. That's why I was shocked to learn last Friday morning -- from reading an email I received from Hamlet Hub -- that a meeting of the Committee of the Whole was held last Thursday evening at which John Ryan provided a 2016 revaluation update.

Had I received timely notice, I would have appeared at this meeting, and I would have participated in the very important public discourse. Yet this meeting took place with no obvious advance publicity.

Indeed, the meeting probably would have occurred with no public participation at all had not resident Steve Rakoff serendipitously walked by Rutherford Hall on an unrelated matter, seen the microphones being set up, and asked what was about to take place.

Mr. Rakoff immediately sprang to action and lassoed about a dozen of his Heathcote/Murray Hill neighbors -- and the indomitable Bob Harrison -- to run down to Village Hall and join in.

The 2016 revaluation -- which I opposed, on multiple occasions last year -- is probably the most significant event in the Village this year. People are still traumatized by and recovering from the 2014 revaluation.

The 2016 revaluation will directly affect the property tax burden each and every property owner in the Village must bear and so, it's important to everyone in the Village.

Given the considerable public interest in this topic, I'm at a loss to understand why the Village failed to publicize Mr. Ryan's Revaluation Update in advance. Even if legal public notice of the meeting was issued, the effort was grossly deficient for such an important meeting.

I'm sure that had the meeting been properly publicized, Rutherford Hall would have been packed with residents. I'm sure that the Scarsdale Inquirer would have sent its reporter to the meeting. So after I finish my remarks, can someone explain what went wrong?

I spent the entire afternoon last Friday watching the meeting. While I disagree strongly with many of the comments made by the Heathcote/Murray Hill residents, I do agree that they raised many very valid concerns about the conduct of the ongoing revaluation.

When I hear John Ryan speak, it's like listening to Donald Trump!

Mr. Ryan simply is not capable of giving a straight answer to a direct question. He talks about how GREAT his model is; how TRANSPARENT the revaluation process is; how INTUITIVE his model is; how EVERYONE will easily be able to understand the model and the valuation of any property; how the model will account for ANY and ALL VARIABLES in a property.

Yet, here we are – just a month before the tentative assessment roll must be filed by law, and Mr. Ryan still won't let any member of the public see his model. He won't answer any specific questions about the model. He still plans on TWEAKING the model up until the very last day – June 1 – when he runs the model, and THEN, LIKE DONALD TRUMP'S AMERICA, everything will be GREAT again.

As I've told this Board before, John Ryan's continuing inability to provide specific answers to questions about his methodology does not inspire any confidence that this new revaluation will be an improvement over the Tyler Technologies revaluation two years ago.

But what's really wrong here, and what's grossly unfair to Scarsdale property owners, is that the new tentative assessments won't be revealed until June 1, 2016, the very day that begins the annual three week period for property owners to file tax grievances. Because this is a townwide revaluation, every single property owner of the 5,941property parcels in Scarsdale will be receiving a completely new property tax assessment, using an entirely new methodology. Property owners will then have a mere three weeks to file a property tax grievance if they disagree with the new assessment.

What's especially wrong is that property owners will have no opportunity to discuss the new tentative assessment with the Assessor's Office beforehand. If in any doubt, a property owner will be obliged to file a tax grievance in order to protect his or her rights.

Moreover, taxpayers who decide to challenge their new assessments will have to obtain independent appraisals from licensed appraisers if they have any realistic shot of winning their grievances.

Having grieved my Scarsdale property taxes many times in the fourteen years I've lived here, I have incurred the considerable expense of obtaining an independent appraisal several times. An independent appraisal from a good appraiser costs around $750 or more for a Scarsdale residential property.

I have also spent a lot of time litigating/negotiating with the Village, as Wayne and Nanette know, before usually obtaining a reduction in our property taxes. (Nanette did beat me in trial a number of years ago; I still lose sleep over that one.).

The grievance process is both costly and time consuming, and Scarsdale property owners shouldn't be forced into this grievance process because John Ryan waits until the very last minute to finalize his model and there's no time for informal meetings to resolve any issues on the valuation with him or Nanette before the grievance filing deadline.

Further, how in the world will Scarsdale property owners be able to secure independent appraisals from good appraisers who know the Scarsdale market in a three week period at the beginning of June when many other property owners in Westchester have already booked these appraisers and are filing their tax grievances?

It's simply not going to be possible! And that inability will likely doom those property owners' chances to succeed in their tax grievances.

Now I heard Mayor Mark say in his remarks this evening that he understands that property owners will have until September 1, 2016 to submit appraisals to the Board of Assessment Review provided they file their grievances by June 21. The Board of Assessment Review is an independent Town Board which hears property tax grievances in the first instance. I happen to be a member of that Board. Speaking for myself, the Board has not met this year, and won't meet until Grievance Day. We haven't been asked to extend the deadline for receiving appraisals. Generally, as a matter of courtesy to Scarsdale property owners, we do accept appraisals submitted after Grievance Day, but normally our deadline is mid-July, though we have accepted a couple in August. However, we normally complete our grievance review by early August. This year, with a new revaluation, I expect the number of grievances filed to be close to the 950 or so filed in connection with the 2014 revaluation.

I simply don't see how we can possibly accept appraisals until September 1, 2016 since the assessment roll must be finalized and filed by September 15, 2016 by law. The burden on the BAR, whose members are all volunteers, is simply too great.

This entire revaluation project is a train wreck waiting to happen in just over one month's time. The Heathcote/Murray Hill residents who turned out for last Thursday night's meeting are rightly upset with the vacuous answers they were given, and they demonstrated a very real and appropriate lack of confidence engendered by Mr. Ryan's presentation.

I strongly urge the Village Board to delay the property tax revaluation until next year (using a valuation date of July 1, 2016).

Now that Mr. Ryan has developed what he believes to be a workable and wonderful model, he can disclose the inner workings of the model publicly and receive educated feedback from the community to improve the model, if needed.

He can run the model using this year's sales and release tentative assessments early next year. Then, the Village should allow an informal grievance process to occur in the Spring so that residents can receive a fair shake before having to incur the upset and expense of filing a tax grievance.

Thank you very much.