New York Nom Noms

After reviewing everything I've eaten this summer through pictures and blog posts, I think it's pretty safe to say I'm in need of a detox soon. I mean...I have no regrets about anything this summer, but I think its time to cut down on all the delicious red meat and cheese, no?

Meatball Sliders @ The Meatball Shop on Allen Street

Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Sandwich 

Pork Belly Bun @ Momofuku Noodle Bar

Momofuku Ramen

Mixed Rasberry Wine + Soju Shot @ Korea Town

Sausage, Pepperoni and Mushroom Pizza @ Merilu

(BOMB thin crust pizza)

Beef, Chicken and Fish Tacos @ Hells Kitchen

Burger and California Roll @ 5 Napkins

Artichoke + Spinach Pizza @ Artichoke Pizza on 14th St. 

Jewelry from Catbird

I was browsing the Brandy Melville site and I found this arrow ring for $4, which looks exactly like the one below that I bought from Catbird in Williamsburg.

I'm in love with all the pretty, delicate rings and jewelry from this store. I plan on buying out the entire store when I become super rich one day. For now, I can just look and admire everything.

Kung Fu Tea

images courtesy of http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kung-Fu-Tea/

I visited Kung Fu Tea for the first time in Flushing about a month ago and loved their bubble milk green tea. I was sad that they were in Flushing because it is so far from me. But last night, to my surprise, my friend Priscilla walked me down from St. Marks onto 2nd avenue to a Kung Fu Tea store.

I am SO delighted! Not only is the tea really good, but you can choose a variety of teas such as jasmine, green, black, and you can choose the percentage of sugar you want from 0%, 30%, 50%, 70% to 100%. I chose 50% for my milk green tea and it was the perfect amount of sweet along with the boba. The ability to chose the amount of sugar you want is the reason why I would rather go to this store than other boba joints in the area.

images courtesy of http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kung-Fu-Tea/

You can go to their store in the East Village on 10th street, between first and second avenue. Or, you can go to one of their stores in Flushing like the one on 37-14 Main Street.

Here is their facebook page.

Ten things I want to do this summer

http://www.inetours.com/New_York/Images/Brklyn/Brooklyn-Bridge_8837.jpg

1.) Cross the Brooklyn Bridge
2.) Explore Williamsburg
3.) Visit BaoHaus, Momofuku and other cheap Asian eateries
4.) Get a facial from Candy in Chinatown
5.) Concerts- first one is on Thursday
6.) Go to a decent beach
7.) Make soba noodles and curry dishes
8.) Hit up some sample sales
9.) Hip-hop classes downtown
10.) Visit the MoMA to cross off some of my monuments list

Downtown Asian Delights

For a nice, inexpensive haircut that may come with the type of criticism that your mother would dish out, go to 22 Pell Street Hair salon in Chinatown. My friend Dani took me to this place and I like it because they give good haircuts for less than $30.

My main man is Nelson, a hairdresser from Hong Kong who does not hold back when it comes to hair advice. Don't be offended if he tells you your hair is "SO oirrrllly, SO greeesy", he will suggest an excellent shampoo and cut your hair so that it looks voluminous and neat. If he tells you to get the shampoo, buy the shampoo because he really knows his stuff. His remarks are truly for your benefit because he really does want the best for your tresses.

After you get your hair cut, go to Shanghai Cafe on 100 Mott street in Chinatown. I went here last night and I was very happy. We ordered the pan-fried shanghai noodle which was like crispy cantonese noodles, the beef and onion dish, the cold tofu and vegetable appetizer, and cong you bing (scallion pancake). You MUST order the pork xiaolongbao (soup dumplings). For four people, the bill came to a very student-friendly $50.

Sunrise Mart is a Japanese supermarket by St. Marks street. They stock all sorts of things like miso soup packets, sushi ingredients, bento boxes, Japanese cosmetics and magazines. It is a tiny place that you wouldn't find randomly because you have to go upstairs to get there. Definitely worth checking out if you like to cook Japanese food. I like it better than M2M, the overpriced Asian supermarket down the street.

Saigon Market on University Place between 11th and 12th is a charming and surprisingly spacious restaurant. All I have to say is that their grilled porkchop is to die for. Check out their lunch special. I feel like this would be a great place to go with a large group because they have big tables.

Discounts

I have made some great purchases over the last three days in the city. On the first day, I found an delightful Alice + Olivia brown plaid skirt for $25 at Vintage Thrift Store. Even though it's a wool skirt for fall, I had to get it because of the price and since it seemed so perfect for London.

After that, I went to The Gap because I had a coupon for buy 5 and get 1 free bra. Well I only had one stamp but for some reason the lady told me I had a 100% discount. I was really confused but decided it was best not to ask too many questions. Free (possibly unethical) loot!

Yesterday I went down to Century 21 after being rejected from the post office. You can't get a passport renewed at a post office FYI to anyone who has to do that soon. Oh well, I found a really cute and inexpensive dress from a brand called Lush that I can wear to work.

Today I walked to Union Square and stopped by Nordstrom's Rack. I knew that I should restrain myself from buying more clothes so I picked up a pair of Cole Haan sunnies for $20.

Lastly, I stopped at American Eagle and found a pair of boxers (pictured above) that I wanted to buy a while ago but were now even more on sale for $8. I didn't have my AE card on me, which never works anyway, but the cashier told me to tell her my info and I got 30% off my shorts! Yipee for more discounts. Lesson learned: even when you don't have your card, see if you can get the discount anyway.

I should probably stop shopping until I start work. I must must must start saving.

Chat 'n Chew + Max Brenner

On Wednesday, my lovely friend Ahilya came to visit me in the city. I decided to show her some urban hospitality since she has come all the way from L.A. We hung around Union Square, first stopping at the quirky Chat 'n Chew on 16th street. I had a bowl of chicken vegetable soup that tasted like my Jewish Grandma's chicken-noodle soup but it was nothing outrageous. My friend ordered a nice Asian salad with chicken, also good, but nothing special. The prices were more than I would like to pay for lunch but they give you big portions. The sweet potato fries we ordered were probably the most interesting since they tasted like your usual s.p. fry but crispier, lighter, and not as greasy as most s.p. fries. Delicious!

After spending about 5 hours in Forever 21-just kidding, it was about 2-we went to Max Brenner's chocolate cafe on 13th and Broadway. (By the way, F21 has some lovely designs for spring right now.)

I was initially skeptical about ordering dinner from a dessert restaurant, but their menu looked promising and we were already there, so why not? To my surprise, the food was really good! I ordered a Sliced and Diced Dream steak panini- thin slices of beef steak with crispy asiago cheese, tomatoes, caramelized onions, and baby spinach. The bread was a bit too thick, but everything was yummy. After stuffing ourselves with panini and pizza, we took a 10 minute intermission before ordering dessert. After much deliberation, we decided on getting the churros with two chocolate sauces and a raspberry sauce. Our waiter was nice enough to give us some slided strawberries on the side. Holy smokes was the chocolate sauce delicious... I felt like I was drinking Belgian milk chocolate but WAIT I was dipping a sugary, doughy stick of churros into it and then adding a raspberry flavor as well.

Free People

The other day my friend Shamira and I went to the Free People store near Union Square. To my delight, they were having SALES. I happily purchased a sequined vest (I will try to post pictures later) that was $70 but on sale for $30. Yay! Sequins have been so in over the past couple of seasons and I think my new vest will really dress up a plain black tank. Who doesn't need a little sparkle in their life? Shamira bought a lovely sweater with a beautiful lace crocheted back that was also about half off.

Food, food, and more food!

Today I went to New Jersey with my grandparents and two of of neighbors to buy lots of yummy treats. Our first stop was the Japanese supermarket Mitsuwa in Edgewater, NJ. I was nom-noming on free samples from practically every spotless and well-organized aisle in the market. I picked up some of my childhood favorites like Yakult and Japanese butterscotch along with some miso soup ($2) that will be easy to make at school. I also bought a fat piece of green tea red-bean mochi ($1) and a strawberry dessert that comes with Japanese instructions ($2).

Afterward we stopped at Balthazar's wholesale bakery in Englewood, it is the factory where they make the goods for Balthazar's in Soho, NYC. However the place in New Jersey is probably three times cheaper than the NYC franchise. At Balthazar's we picked up a whole slew of goodies including cinnamon buns, strudels, foccacia bread, cookies, and butter scones that are to DIE for. We probably ordered 15 pieces and it came out to around $30- not bad for top quality baked goods.

Next door to Balthazar's is an amazing Italian gourmet grocery called Jerry's Homemade. My grandparents have been coming here for years for their delicious cooked pasta, quiches, chicken fillets, and crab cakes. They also love to pick up Jerry's homemade tomato sauce for pastas and the like. The store is well stocked with all sorts of goodies from Italy like biscuits, chocolates, sauces, cheeses, salamis and there is an entire back section for wines. Jerry's is an absolute destination for the ultimate foodie and Italian cook!

Lobster on a Budget (for 汉娜)

For the average college student, we can only dream of sipping champagne, tasting caviar, and

eating lobster...until now.

After a productive night at the Met, my good friend Henry and his boyfriend Adam, took me to a place called Luke's Lobster. Luke's Lobster is located on 81st and 2nd avenue and they have another location on 7th street and 1st avenue. The ambience is a cross between a casual New England sandwich shop and a take-out place. You feel like you are by the water somewhere in Maine when you walk in.

I ordered the Lobster Roll ($14), with an organic, fair trade root-beer and chips (came out to around $16). Henry and Adam ordered the Lobster Bisque and a taster platter that included a sample lobster roll, shrimp roll and crab roll with crab appetizers.

The bread is toasted in a special machine that makes it perfectly crisp, the lobster tastes like

it was caught in Maine that day, and the seasoning is quite tasty. The polite staff also enhances the experience.

I would definitely make a trip back for the lobster.

Not exactly thrifty...

but Cafe Habana in SoHo has some pretty delicious food.
The corn appetizer was awesome because it was dipped in butter, then parmesan cheese. I would suggest getting it without pepper for those, like myself, who can't handle spice. My steak salad was really yummy with great dressing, vegetables, and crunchy bits. My pal Henry had something wrapped in a tortilla that had goat cheese and sun-dried tomatoes with beans and rice. I don't know what the name of it was, but it should be called YUM!

Bianca

Last night I went with my Grandparents to an Italian Place between Elizabeth Street and Bowery on Bleeker and it was fantastic! The pasta with meat sauce was divine, as was the apple tart we shared. The spinach salad with apples was nice and different from a regular salad. The salmon was also cooked well and fresh.

Most of their dishes cost a mere $10 even for dinner, but the food is good quality. The only catch is you have to get to the place before 7 pm because the place was already crowded by 6:30 at night. The ambiance is charming and the wait staff is polite and patient.

Oxford Heels

Scored some beautiful oxford style shoes with thick heels at Screaming Mimi's on Lafayette street last night. They were $65 bucks, but well worth it. It is worth it to spend more on heels you can actually wear to parties and dance in!

Screaming Mimi's is a funky vintage store with some very nice finds.

My favorite vintage places include the Thrift Store on 3rd and 23rd street.
They have some really amazing deals sometimes.

I haven't been in a while, but Marble Thrift shop on 3rd between
27th and 28th has done me some good. E.g. 10 dollar Hudson jeans.

The City Opera Housing Works thrift stores are not bad either, there is one on the corner of 3rd avenue and 23rd street, and one down between 3rd and 2nd avenue.

Metro North

I am pretty upset at myself because I only found out today that you can purchase 10 metro north rides in/out of NYC so that it comes out to 11 dollars per ride.

Argh money that could have been saved!

Props to Hen for the info.

Yoga Mats

Whole Foods is selling Gaiam yoga mats for around $21 bucks right now.

The mat was pretty good, it smelled a little like plastic, but
it was pretty sticky during class. More importantly, I bought
a cute purple one with a flower design :)

Also, Lululemon is having free classes at their Union Square store,
as well as in Bryant Park and Union Square park this summer.

St. Marks

What wonderful things St. Marks (8th street downtown) has to offer:

Yoga To The People is a yoga place between 2nd and 3rd ave that is a donation-based studio, you can rent
a mat for $2 and you pay as much as you like for the donation.

Pretty much all the Asian spots in the area are very cheap for lunch,
Udon West, Yakitori Taisho, Zen Restaurant all have good menus.
Zen even has a lunch special that allows you to order up to $16 worth of sushi,
but they divide the price in half for lunch!

(Thanks to KChen and Nicole for the aforementioned info)

It's not on St. Marks, but nearby Rai Rai Ken makes a big, yummy bowl
of ramen for less than $10, even for dinner. --> Scratch that, went last night
and the ramen was super salty and peppery. Bleh.

I've heard you can get a tasty falafel for about $3 at Mamoun's Falafel.

My ONE guilty pleasure on this street is the bubble tea at TKettle
for about $3.25 for a small cup. I feel like I'm paying for a gourmet
boba compared to the $2.25 cup I can get at Quickly's in Chinatown or Flushing.
But it is more convenient this way...