Tiger Box — Restaurant in New York

There’s that saying about some restaurants, “a hole in the wall”, right? That’s usually referring to the appearance of the restaurant, which rarely plays a part in the experience and the food itself (based on my experience, anyway). Tiger Box is totally a hole in the wall. It’s small, not fancy at all, not a bunch of hype and frills, but the experience….man, the experience.

I arrived to be welcomed by the owner, Sy (spellcheck, please). She.is.phenomenal. We chatted for a bit before I ordered. There’s no seating inside, so I went outside to sit and wait for my food. I had no idea what I was in store for. I tried several different dishes. The spicy pork bowl being one of them. Rice and pork, marinated in gochujang, ginger and other flavorful components, really got me in my feelings almost instantly. You taste the warmth, and the experience, and the love right away. I also tried the kimchi jjigae, which is a hot stew with kimchi, pork, onions, green onions, rice, and more. I’d say this was one of the most special dishes. The kimchi soaking in that stew, the tofu absorbing all of those flavors….ugh. Cooking is an art. This was cooking from a deeply rooted cultural background. The history was in every bite. I also tried the spicy pork ssam wraps, which were delightful. More of that yummy spicy pork, but with the freshness of the lettuce. Such a bright, Spring-y dish! The seafood scallion pancakes were one of my faves! Savory pancakes, packed with flavor, and seafood! I also tried the steamed meat kimchi mandu, which appear as dumplings, but owner Sy says, “no, it’s mandu”. And listen, I wasn’t about to argue with her! She KNOWS, ok?! The mandu was divine. They were stuffed with kimchi and pork. After speaking with Sy, I have so much more of an appreciation for kimchi. She says the process is tedious, that it takes time. The more steps you add to your kimchi, the better it tastes. The more flavor you develop. She says it’s a lot of work, but that she doesn’t regret it. The kimchi is a top seller because it’s served in so many dishes.

Sy is special. She really does love running Tiger Box. That is inspiring and you can taste her love in the food. This is homestyle authentic Korean cuisine, and I am still blown away by it all. I cannot wait to get back! Please, please do yourself a favor and visit Tiger Box...

The old pictures are definitely misleading, judging by how dingy the interior was, Intake it they haven’t served dine-in for awhile. There’s an iPad in front where you put the order in yourself. Kind of confusing if you’re not used to using a POS system. They do allow dine-in but the tables are rickety and the ambiance leaves much to be desired. Besides that, the food tastes ok. I ordered soondubu which was tasty and kimchi dumplings which were good but on the small side. The person I was with ordered the pork ssam set which was on the small side for the price. The food also took awhile...

I ordered on Seamless, order took a little longer so the food arrived a slightly cold, but it was not the restaurants fault but the delivery driver taking a longer route. Even though it was cold, it was still delicious! Only objectives would be that more dipping sauce was needed for the Mandoo, barely any in the ramekin, enough for two dumplings. Also, the Pajeon could have been a bit crisper, but the flavors in both were great and the Bulgogi Taco was amazing! Perhaps you can have an individual add on cause I could have eaten 4!!! Thank you, will order again.. Never knew...