Another Bubble Tea Place

I really don't think you can beat the bubble tea options in Chinatown and Flushing, so I thought I would make a post on Ten Ren, a Taiwanese tea company that has 74 stores in Taiwan and 61 international stores. I've gone back twice for the peach green tea with boba. Honestly, I'll call it perfection. It is just the right amount of tea and syrup- extremely refreshing on one of those hot summer days in chinatown.

Update

Just to let you guys know, I've altered the blog so that you can easily comment on posts without signing in with your email or username. Go ahead and comment :)

Samurai Mama in Williamsburg

Last night I went to a fantastic restaurant called Samurai Mama in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. I had appetizers and udon along with two little friends (all of us are under 5'3). Mind you, we devoured everything. I highly recommend the pork belly appetizer which is drenched in some sort of soy sauce and wine sauce. We also shared the fried beancurd balls which had a very interesting taste. I think I tasted mushroom more than beancurd. Finally, I ordered beancurd udon and my friends had tempura udon and udon with "japanese wild plants". All of us agreed: the udon was great, the texture of the noodles was perfect and the soup base was very tasty. I'm so happy I went down to Williamsburg! After spending months and months in Manhattan, it's nice to go to a different neighborhood.

Investments

1.)

Image from: http://www.allanjdenim.com/

The right fitting jeans are always worth more money. For me, a girl who is 5'2 and a little curvy, fit makes a big difference to me. I love brands that make jeans in short sizes that accentuate the butt rather than flatten the butt. I'm not usually a fan of skinny skinny jeans or really flared jeans on myself, so a comfortable straight cut is ideal. I used to wear Lucky Brand a lot until I was gifted with a pair of Allan J jeans.

Allan J is a Korean brand that gets their denim from Italy and their jeans made in Korea. My pair is so, so soft and the stitching is beautiful. The bottom of the legs have leather sewn around the foot of the jean that make for a nice detail. One of the great features of the jeans is the additional fabric added to the back, above your behind, to make sure no one sees er...too much of you when you bend down.

2.) Eyeliner

http://www.sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P202104&shouldPaginate=true&categoryId=5879

About a month ago, I decided I was fed up with my pencil eyeliner because it kept smudging in the heat and giving me an undesired punk rock/girl from The Ring look. So, I went in to Sephora eager to try a high-end, non-smudge pencil when this sassy, tall saleswoman with beautiful liquid-lined cat-eyes steered me away from the pencils and picked up Hourglass Script Precision Liquid Liner. I had never used liquid before, so I was a little bit skeptical, but she convinced me because of her own eyeliner and the fact (?) that Madonna uses it. (I know, I know, I'm ridiculous). The eyeliner has a tiny, tiny brush that allows for maximum control. It's kindof perfect. So perfect that I ran out of the liner and tried to substitute it with a cheaper Maybelline version. And the result? Wrong. So Wrong.

3.) Havaianas

http://www.zappos.com/havaianas-slim

After years or purchasing cheap flip flops from Old Navy, Target, and third-world countries in Asia, I decided enough was enough. What is the point of buying flip flops that will break after a month? I was initially reluctant to spend over $20 on sandals made out of rubber and I thought people were just buying them to be trendy, but Havaianas are actually quite well made and durable. So there's a good reason why they are so popular.

4.) Black Flats

http://www.zappos.com/cole-haan-air-bacara-ballet-black-patent

Good shoes are so important. My favorite pair come from Cole Haan. I bought them at Century 21 for about $80 and they are seriously worth every penny. My grandma always stresses the importance of good shoes because they will affect your feet when you are older. Also, you never want your shoes to fall apart while you are wearing them or be in so much pain that you would rather walk barefoot, so shoes are the most important investment.

5.) Winter coat

http://www.theoutnet.com/product/208413

The whole winter wear thing is pretty new for me, and therefore SUPER essential because I've frozen my ass off the last two winters in New York. My new coat is a little too snug when you want to wear layers and layers. So, I'm looking forward to finding a winter coat in London for next season. Hopefully I'll have better luck and it will last me a couple years.

Topshop Discount

I found out that Topshop gives a student discount and no tax on items under $55. It's nice to know about these things, right?

[From my friend Henry]

Pommes Frites

http://pommesfrites.ws/about.htm

The other night I went to Pommes Frites on 2nd Avenue and 7th street for the second time. The fries are to die for. The first time I went to this place was with some of my high school friends from Hong Kong at 2AM and it was the perfect late night snack. Hot, crispy, starchy fries with any sauce of your choice for less than five bucks. I got a regular size (definitely not regular sized) with roasted garlic mayo to share with a friend. Really yummy and a good choice for those Saturday nights when you chose to ignore your low-carb diet!