Category Archives: New York

Joe’s Shanghai Restaurant in Chinatown NYC

I was craving some good Chinese food while in NYC, which was a little odd because I seldom crave it. Chinese food is not particularly my favorite cuisine and it’s only when I’m lazy and don’t want to cook that I turn to my neighborhood Chinese delivery place for a quick bite. Maybe it was because it was dark and raining outside on this particular day. There’s nothing more appropriate than comfort food in weather like this.

Shannon and I ventured out to Chinatown for some soup dumplings at Joe’s Shanghai Restaurant, a mere 10-minute walk from the hotel in SoHo. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to us when we left the hotel, that it was pouring outside and we literally had to swim to get there! We were so glad that the soup dumplings were good enough to make us feel that the swim was worth it.

Happy and dry Shannon!

Joe’s Shanghai Restaurant
9 Pell Street
New York, New York 10013
★★★★☆

Eataly NYC

Shannon and I had an amazing lunch at Eataly. The food here is so amazing, I salivate just thinking about it. We ended up at the pasta restaurant and had dream-like Italian delights.　It was worth the long walk we endured in a super humid NYC afternoon.

One of the best Caprese salads I’ve ever tasted.  These little heirloom tomatoes tasted like a ray of Tuscan sunshine.

I came out of meat retirement to have a few pieces of prosciutto and salami from Salumi Misti … and it was worth it.

I was a bit disappointed that my favorite spaghetti dish was not on the menu. We were told that the pasta machine was broken, and they were very limited in pasta dishes. Paparadelli was still very delicious but I would have loved to revisit the amazing pasta dish that I had on my last visit to Eataly.

Here’s Shannon’s Fru Fru, special oval-shaped 3-season pizza of ricotta cheese and ham; mozzarella and tomato sauce, and parma ham, arugula and Parmigiano Reggiano shavings.  She didn’t get her pizza until I was almost done with my pasta dish so by the time she got her meal, she was already full.  That was a bummer … but the pizza was pretty amazing.

This Ginger Ale was CRAZY good!

And of course, Gelato to top off the amazing dining experience! I can’t wait for this place to open up in Los Angeles!

Eataly
200 5th Avenue, NY, NY 10010
(Entrances on 5th Avenue and 23rd Street)
★★★★★

Mondrian SoHo

Shannon and I made Mondrian SoHo our home during our stay in the Big Apple. We really wanted to fall in love with this hotel. The hotel was absolutely breathtaking, the room was tiny but comfortable, and the view from the room was out of this world. But the customer service we received completely turned us off from this place.

I took a red-eye to NYC and got to the hotel around 6:30 a.m. I knew that the check in would be around 3:00 p.m. but the guy at the front desk promised me a room in the next two hours. So I stayed in the hotel until I get the call from him. Otherwise, I would have gone over to Carmen’s place where Shannon was staying for the night, and kicked it there until the room was ready.

Shannon met me at the hotel, and we had an overpriced breakfast at the hotel to kill some more time. After about two hours, we went up to the front desk to find out the status of the room. The guy who promised the room has already left for the day, and this Asian guy was absolutely no help. I told him about the situation but all he kept telling us is that the check in is at 3:00 p.m. (he didn’t even check the computer or anything).

We got tired of him so we went to the other guy for help, who actually made an effort to find out the status of the room. He wasn’t able to get us the room but at least he tried. We were so appalled by the way that Asian a-hole treated us, that our experience here was completely ruined. He and the hotel can expect many negative reviews from me in the next few days.  (I think I should note here that most of the staff at the hotel were very friendly and helpful.  It was just that one guy who ruined our entire experience!)

Okay, enough of venting. Just thinking about that guy makes me upset.

Aside from the horrible customer service, the room was nice. Extremely small but the bed was comfortable.

This was our view from the shower. It felt strange at first (we felt like we were on display for the entire Lower East Side to see) but we got used to it after a while. The view at night was extraordinary.

A little outdoor area to relax.

Mondrian in Soho
9 Crosby, New York, NY 10012
Customer Service：　★★☆☆☆
Atmosphere: ★★★★★
Cleanliness: 　★★★★★

Would I stay here again? Probably not because it’s too pricey and the customer service sucked.

Balthazar Restaurant

Shannon and I spent the last four days in NYC and had a wonderful time. All we wanted to do on this trip was to relax, eat good food and drink, and that’s precisely what we did. We stayed in SoHo and we pretty much didn’t leave the area! Some may think that we missed out on a great opportunity to explore the city, but being lazy was what we needed to unwind … and escape from the real world!

Our first stop was lunch at Balthazar, located two blocks from where we were staying. I’ve seen this restaurant before but didn’t realize that this was a New York hot spot, with celebrity frequenting this French bistro. We got really lucky and got seated right away. By the time we ordered our food, this place was jammed packed with locals and tourists, looking to enjoy the French flare.

Salad Nicoise and French Fries for me, and Mac and Cheese for Shannon.

Amazing bread!

Creme Brulee — a perfect finish to a great lunch.

Balthazar Restaurant
80 Spring Street, New York, NY 10012
(on Spring, between Broadway and Crosby)
★★★★☆

Day 4: I Heart Brooklyn

Maya and I welcomed Day 4 of our NYC adventures with mixed emotions. While we were excited that we had another good afternoon ahead of us, we were so sad that this was going be our last day in NYC.

We spent our final afternoon sightseeing in Brooklyn. Our first stop was DUMBO (shortened for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass), where we got to be at the foot of Manhattan Bridge. I actually think Brooklyn Bridge is 10 times prettier than the neighboring Manhattan Bridge.

We stumbled upon a wonderful restaurant called Al Mar (thanks to Maya and her handy Android), where we enjoyed a fabulous lunch. The place was cozy and very Brooklyn.  I can totally see myself spending hours here with a good book.

Maya had Eggs in the Cloud (baked egg yolk floating on whipped egg whites, Fontina cheese, smoked ham, toasted Brioche, served with saute spinach) and I had smoked salmon sandwich (with avocado, cucumbers, beets, and creme fraiche, on pumpernickel breads). We split the tart. Everything here was absolutely amazing!

After lunch, we strolled over to the Brooklyn Height neighborhood and took in the picturesque Downtown skylines. I am absolutely in love with Brooklyn and this is perhaps my favorite spot in this borough. I get a rush of energy whenever I stand here.

It still feels a little strange that the World Trade Centers are no longer standing proudly among these buildings in Lower Manhattan. I’ve been to NYC many times in the last several years, but I still haven’t made the visit to Ground Zero. I don’t think I’ll ever be ready to go there.

What I love so much about this magnificent city is that each neighborhood has its own, unique charms. Brooklyn doesn’t feel, at all, like Manhattan. You feel like you were transported to another state when you get off the subway. Brooklyn feels slower paced, greener, and a lot more relaxed, than Manhattan.

After the visit to Brooklyn, we hurried back to our hotel in Times Square to collect our luggage (we stopped by at Pie Face for some cute savory pies for the road). We took a cab to JFK, to get ready to board our flights home. We ate an early dinner at Le Vie in the jetBlue terminal – our last supper together on the trip. Maya and I toasted our Chardonnay and Espresso Martini to short but a wonderful four days together, and enjoyed delicious meals of escargot (for her), Salad Nicoise and Pomme Frites (for me).

Now, it’s time to find a destination for our next adventures! (Oh, and to unpack and resume the real world.)

Day 3: All Things Jo

Maya and Hirono’s NYC adventures are not complete until we go on a shopping spree, so we headed over to the famous Fifth Avenue for some much-needed retail therapy. We checked out Tiffany and Co, Louis Vuitton, Henri Bendel, Bergdorf Goodman, Longchamp, and other fancy shops, and although most of our time was spent window shopping, we did do a fair amount of damage along the way.redface

Maya found this French restaurant called JoJo on the Upper East Side online with raving reviews, so we decided to give the place a try for lunch. It was a cozy restaurant with wonderful service and even better food.

We started with cocktails (Maya had Manhattan and I had Rhubarb Cosmopolitan), followed by warm asparagus salad. For entrée, Maya had the sirloin steak and I had the grilled salmon.

The food in NYC is seriously fantastic (which is one of the reasons why I love this city so much). You just can’t go wrong, wherever you are. This place reminded us of the restaurant we loved in Paris and the food also took us back to the little bistro we frequented during our stay in the City of Light year and a half ago. The pound cake with rhubarb sorbet that was had for dessert was out of this world.  All this for $32 prix fix … not bad at all!

We stopped at Central Park on our way back. We didn’t have a chance to explore the park much, but we did climb the rock and took pictures of the Upper West Side neighborhood.

We’re not sure if it was the buzz from the curiously strong cocktails we enjoyed over lunch, but we had this BRILLIANT idea of having our portrait drawn by a street artist … which, we quickly realized, was a horrible idea.

The artist, who claimed that she was trained in New York and in Shanghai, successfully turned Maya into a 14-year-old non-Asian girl on paper, with absolutely no resemblance of her beautiful, Indonesian self.eekThe portrait was so awful that we crack up every time we look at it. So, any tourists out there … unless you’re doing it for a laugh, stay away from these “artists!”

Our Central Park portrait adventure was a total bust, but our dinner at Joe’s Shanghai Restaurant was definitely a hit. We didn’t get to go to the original one in Chinatown but ended up at the Midtown location, near Carnegie Hall. We ordered soups to warm up after a chilly walk and a subway ride, and shared an order of the famous soup dumplings (crab meat and pork meat) and not-so-famous Shanghai fried rice.

I am so lucky that I live near Alhambra and San Gabriel Valley where I can get some pretty darn good Xiao Long Bao, but if you don’t have an authentic dim sum place nearby or have never tasted these amazing dumplings, Joe’s is a must when you’re in NYC.

We took pictures at the famous Love sculpture on our way back to the hotel, and proceeded to Pie Face for dessert. I recently learned about this Australian chain and was very curious about it ever since, simply for the pies’ pure cuteness (they all have faces!). I picked up mini-size apple pie and vegetarian savory pie. I haven’t tired the veggie one yet but the apple pie was pretty yummy!

I can’t believe how quickly time flies when you’re having fun!  Tomorrow is our last day in NYC.  We’re planning to squeeze in as much fun as possible before we fly home at night!

Day 2: Anything Goes!

Day 2 of Maya and Hirono’s NYC adventures began with lunch at Eataly, in the lovely Gramercy neighborhood.

When you walk into this place — a food court meets grocery shop (on steroid) — you instantly feel like you have stepped into Italy. There are eateries stationed in each corner of the warehouse-like building, each serving up different dishes, from seafood, to steak, to pasta, to wine / cheese, to desserts.

Maya and I ended up at the Pasta section and had one the best. pasta. dishes. ever.  Our server was a handsome Italian guy with a full-on Italian accent … so we decided to call him Mossimo.  The place felt completely authentic (unless, of course, Mossimo was really from Nebraska).lol

This was spaghetti with simple tomato sauce. The menu had this dish served with penne but I changed it up to my favorite pasta. It was seriously amazing – simple but an absolute perfect meal.

Maya’s ravioli dish was pretty darn amazing too.

After lunch, we walked across 23rd Street to Chelsea Market. We walked by Shake Shack on the way, which has always been one of the places that I wanted go, but now that I don’t eat meat, the burger didn’t appealed to me all that much … but I took a picture of it anyway.

When we arrived to Chelsea Market, the home of Food Network, we made a beeline to Jacques Torres for a cup of hot chocolate. It was nice to relax a bit over a nice cup of Wicked (spicy hot chocolate, aka liquid crack). Maya and I shared a delicious piece of Earl Gray chocolate.

We weren’t particular hungry but we saw a bunch of people eating whole lobsters so we HAD to try it too (we are a total culinary ambulance chasers and we get so curious as to what others are eating) ! We got to choose our lobster from the fish monger who cooked it and cracked the shells for us.  We were glad that the lobsters were already dead … otherwise, we would have felt super guilty, knowing that we were directly responsible for the poor crustacean’s destiny.cry

We named the lobster Oscar … and he was delicious.

Chelsea Market was jam packed with a Saturday tourist crowd, with barely a room to walk, so we didn’t get to explore all that much, but we made sure to stop by Fat Witch for some yummy brownies.

We spent a few good hours shopping at SoHo, after we left Chelsea Market. We went to Purl SoHo (aka mecca) and picked up some new fabrics, and bought the entire Uniqlo store. After we dropped off our stuff and relaxed for a few minutes at the hotel, we were off to see the Broadway musical, Anything Goes, which turned to be one of the most entertaining shows I’ve seen, on Broadway AND elsewhere!  We seriously spent two hours laughing.  I was a bit disappointed at first that Sutton Foster was no longer on the show, but It was still amazing nonetheless.

Then, it was time for late dinner at Gam Mi Oak in Koreatown for some ox tail soup and kimchi. Maya ordered cow’s knees (yep, I guess they’re edible). I didn’t eat the knees but I had some vegetables in the dish and they were awesome.

Ready to go to sleep — it’s almost 3:00 a.m. and we have another busy day tomorrow!

Day 1: NYC Adventures

Hello from New York City! I’m here with Maya. This is our sequel to the Paris adventures in 2010, but this time, we decided to meet up in the Big Apple instead of crossing the ocean. I’m so glad that I get to spend the next four days with my BFF, in one of my favorite cities in the world!

We’re staying right smack in the middle of Times Square. We can see a part of the famous illuminations from our 41st floor hotel room. We’re on a FULL ON tourist mode, with maps and cameras and all.lol

After our red-eye flights landed in JFK (where we met up), we headed over to the hotel to check our luggage and walked over to the Rockefeller Center to watch the Today Show.

It was chilly outside so we went into Bouchon Bakery (formerly Dean and Deluca) to warm up, and to enjoy an amazing breakfast. We even got to watch Today Show from inside the bakery through the glass windows.

I had the Brioche bagel with Gruyere cheese spread, picked onion, and tomato slices, a cup of chocolate soy milk, and two macarons (chocolate and raspberry lemon). Definitely not a bad way to start out the vacation.

After we walked and shopped around the Rockefeller Center, we returned to the hotel and had our first drinks at the hotel bar, while we waited for the room to be available. The hotel staff informed us that the room would be ready in 15 minutes, but we ended up spending almost 2 hours at the bar talking and laughing!

We were getting a bit hungry after a few hours of walking, so we headed to the Grand Central Station for some oysters at the Grand Central Oyster Bar.

We had eight pieces of Kumamoto oysters each, and shared the order of fried oysters and broiled scallops. Everything was amazingly fresh. We opened a bottle of Chardonnay.

Grand Central Market made me wish that I had a kitchen nearby!

We had tickets to go on the NBC Studios Tour so we hurried back to the Rock, but not before taking in the beauty of Bryant Park. This is one of my favorite spots in NYC.

The NBC Studios Tour was a-okay, but we got to see the studios where Dr. Oz, Jimmy Fallon, and Saturday Night Live are taped so that was pretty neat.  I’m happy that I got to take a photo with my TV crush, Matt Lauer, even if he were a cardboard.

I was getting a bit fatigued and didn’t feel like going up the Rock so we headed to a nearby Italian restaurant for much needed rest. The restaurant was called Pasta Lovers but neither Maya nor I ordered a pasta dish.  Instead, we had Salad Nicoise (me) and Sea Bass with Risotto (Maya).

Okay, time to go to bed now. I’m looking forward to another exciting day with ma-ma-Maya!

How Time Has Changed: Brasserie Le Vive at JFK

An airport is not necessarily the first place people associate gourmet dining experience with, unless, of course, you’re at the Jet Blue terminal in New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.

If you’ve flown to NYC with this modern airline in recent years, you know what I’m talking about. Terminal 5 looks more like a spacious shopping mall with great restaurants and stores rather than an airport terminal.  There’s even a touch-screen monitor in the middle of the terminal where you can order food and drinks and a server will bring the food straight to your gate. I hope Los Angeles and / or Burbank airports would offer such service!  Oh, how time has changed.

I was able to resist the shopping temptation (well, sort of, if you don’t count the shopping bag full of stationary I picked up at Muji), but I could not stay away from walking in to one of the alluring restaurants that sit in the middle and around the circular terminal. Dining selections here include a casual cafeteria (with the usual selections of sandwiches, salads, pizzas and boxed sushi, etc.), a steak house, a sushi bar, and a seafood place, among many others.

Everything looked wonderful, but one place that caught my eyes in particular was a small French brasserie that sat on the very end of the restaurant row. I sat at a bar counter at Brasserie La Vie and treated myself to a glass of Chardonnay to celebrate the end of the work week in NYC.

The place is totally cute, offering seemingly authentic dishes like Escargot with Garlic Butter, Duck and Pistachio Terrine, and Moules Frites aux Pernod (mussels and French Fries) on the menu — something you’d expect to find at a brasserie / bristro in Paris, certainly not in a middle of the busy airport terminal in the states. There are more mainstream items on the menu as well, like French Onion Soup and Croque Monsieur / Madame. Particularly craving something light, I ordered Salad Nicoise (no surprise here as I am obsessed with this salad) with a side of Pommes Frites (the ultimate guilty pleasure).

The salad was pretty darn delicious, with vinegary anchovy fillets and seared tuna atop a bed of arugula, tomatoes, haricot verts, olives, boiled eggs, and roasted peppers tossed in vinaigrette. Each bite went incredibly well with the glass of chilled white wine, with a side of crispy French fries with a touch of ketchup and Tabasco.

I’m not sure if it was the atmosphere of the brasserie or the fact that I was finally coming home, but I was feeling very happy sitting at the counter at the restaurant. I had a few hours to kill before my flight, and while I usually get bored and antsy waiting, that was not the case this day. I caught up on my leisure magazine reading and just enjoyed the time passing by, while soaking up the energy of New York City.