Uniqlo and Muji

In many Asian cities like Singapore, Hong Kong, and of course, Tokyo, the mega-stores Uniqlo and Muji are old news. In the United States, however, Uniqlo is relatively new in the land of cheap retailers such as H&M, Forever 21, Walmart, etc. Uniqlo and Muji are located in SoHo, New York City. Muji can also be found in Chelsea, Times Square and the JFK Airport. You can also purchase items online (See the links above). Uniqlo and Muji are part of the same company, one that values good service and reasonably priced but good quality products.

At Uniqlo, you can find puffy winter jackets for $50, a handsome wool coat with faux fur trim on the hood for less than $100, corduroy pants for $30, darling hoodies that have faux fur lining the hoods, inexpensive men and women's cashmere sweaters for $30.

Muji is the ultimate simplistic and modern home store. They cary many things such as organizing compartments, snacks, robes, and just about anything you would want for your home. My absolute favorite things from Muji, however, are their pens and other stationary. I adore their black erasers, refillable pens, and multi-colored (and we are talking a rainbow of colors) pens. Muji is a tad more expensive in the US, but I think most of their things are worth it. The word on the street is that their snacks are delicious!

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.