day we left nyc - jan 2, 2010

before heading back home, I wanted to pick up some souvenirs for our family. we drive into the city and headed to murray’s bagels where I read serves some of the best bagels in NYC. the place was jammed pack, which I always take as an indication of a good place to eat, and we dutifully waited in line for ten minutes before ordering a dozen bagels to go and an extra pumpernickel one with cream cheese to try right away. the result was a relatively large bagel filled with creamy goodness- they sure do not skimp on the cream cheese. I am no bagel expert by any means but it was a good one, chewier than the tim horton variety that I am so used to. the thought of that cream cheese makes me salivate.

there were no seats at murray’s bagels, so we hopped on next door to a thai restaurant for lunch. and after that, we walked to billy’s bakery for desserts and to pick up some new york cupcakes. daniel and I shared a piece of banana cake, which was yummy, but we both agreed that the banana cake at dufflets is better. the red velvet cupcake was eaten a day and later, and it was still moist and delicious. my favourite part was the cream cheese icing, which topped the cupcake ever so generously. But of the two cupcake places I tried during this trip, I prefer crumbs; I had a dream about them last night.

we drove by the famed magnolia bakery (of sex and the city) on the way out of the island and there was very long line-up; people waiting outside the and even around the corner. Daniel suggested stopping to try, but since I was stuffed with food and eager to go home, opted not to. I shall have a magnolia cupcake next time.

and then, with bagels and cupcakes in the car, we embarked a long trip home.

this is the end of my lengthy recount of my nyc trip. more pictures to be posted on my flickr.

day of the new year - jan 1, 2010

daniel was sick on new years day, probably from the prior night's reveling. he had an upset stomache and a fever. 

I was a little bored. I ate cheese (from murray’s cheese- so good) and leftover (amy’s) bread. I watched old episodes of the office and gossip girl on our laptop. I took naps- yes, multiple ones. we both stepped out of the room for an hour and half to go eat dinner. then, because I still had all the time in the world and nothing to do, I recapped our little trip. didn’t want to read all the nitty gritty details about what I ate, what I did? too bad. I needed something to kill time.

day before the new year - dec 31, 2009

okay, found another favourite place to visit in nyc: chelsea market. chelsea market is a building that houses retail/restaurant space and offices/studios for the food network. a very neat thing about chelsea market is that a lot of the businesses there combine their manufacturing and retail assets and you can watch how the food is made before enter the retail space to buy/eat the food.

danil and I had lunch at freidman's lunch at the market. I ordered a reuben sandwich and we were pleasantly surprised at the amount. had a turkey meatloaf with a side of sweet potato fries. the fries were very good, but then, we love sweet potatoes. lunch was decidedly a hit, nothing overly spectacular, but good food for a good price.

for dessert, we went to fat witch bakery where it boasts of the best brownie in nyc. the brownies were rich and moist and all together solid, but at $2.50 for small square block it was overpriced.

we wandered around the market for a little wihle. I loved watching the ongoings of the lobster place, which was a fish retailer and obviously reeked of fish. there were so many different kinds of fish and it was bustling with people and in one corner, there were sushi chefs making rolls. I read really good reviews about the place, but unfortunately, I had no need to buy fish and was too full to try their seafood soups or sushi.

before leaving the market, we bought some bread from amy's bread to snack on later in the day. I am not exactly sure what daniel ordered, but it was delicious, even after being in the cold for a few hours and the day after.

(moments into the new year)

(people behind us)

(view of times square from where we stood)

and now brings me to new years eve at times square, which was the main reason for coming down to nyc this week: standing seven hours or so to ring in the new year with a million strangers in a matter of ten seconds. we made our way to times square at around 4pm, only to find all the roads to time square were closed off. by the time we found a street that enabled us to approach times square it was 52nd st. there was a big sea of people, 12 blocks worth, between us and the new years ball. eventually we weaseled our way to 48th st, moving an inch at a time- literally. we stood for about seven and half hours, altogether, meeting people all around the world but none of whom were actually from the city. it rained. it took more than an hour to use the washroom at a corner pizza stop. it was cold. and then the new year came, making the long wait all worth while.

day of lots of walking - dec 30, 2009

(bloomingdales)

(bloomingdales)

(berfdorg goodman)

(berfdorg goodman)

there was lots of site seeing today. we started off with a walking tour of the christmas window display of the big department stores (made it to most of then but macy's and lord taylors). bergdorf goodman's displays blew all the other ones of the water. they were so beautiful and I was in awe of the craftsmanship and creativity that went into each display. we also hit up bloomingdales and saks and barneys displays; they were nice, much more impressive than the hudson bay ones on queen street.

the couple from the previous night had mentioned dylan's candybar which was around the corner of bloomingdales, so we made a visit. dylans candybar is the world's largest candystore and owned by ralph lauren's daughter. it is three stories high and sells all sorts candy, chocolate, sugar related goods, like handcreams in candied flavours and cupcake mixes and a dylans candystore version of candyland. I wanted to try some of their desserts at the cafe and buy candy for my sister, but it was such chaotic place. there were a million kids, some crying, some screaming, some laughing, all of which were high from the mere smell of the place (the moment you walked in, you are welcomed with the aroma of sweet, which after awhile becomes quite nauseating). it was very amusing fighting through the crowds of children with their outstretched pawing at the sweets and I would definitely bring my own children there.

something at the candystore must have opposite-of-aged us because we spent a good part of the day at f.a.o schwarz... perhaps one of my favourite places in nyc.

we also visited st. patrick's cathedral (breathtaking), grand central terminal (busy), times square (bright), and the chrysler building (only allowed in the lobby).

after lots of walking, we settled ourselves in line to skate at the rockefeller center skating rink. the line was about an hour long and it cost a ridiculous amount of money, but it was the epitomy of a nyc moment in the winter. there we were, beneath that beautiful rockefeller christmas tree and skating hand and hand to lovely christmas-y melodies. awfully romantic... especially when we witnessed a proposal!! all the skaters were ushered off ice to allow for the zamboni come on when this one guy gets down on one knee and the girl starts crying while the crowd cheered and clapped.

while I wasn't the one being proposed to, I felt like the luckiest girl there... because I was already married to my beloved.

day of lots of eating - dec 29, 2009

we started off the day at the B&H Photo Video Superstore which is kinda like best buy, but unlike the big box store, it is a family owned business focused on photography and videography and has a selection of electronics much more extensive than best buy’s. they also serve pretzels and coke, the drink and not the drug, to costumers, probably so they don’t dehydrate from spending hours and hours there. like how daniel and I did (not on my own accord). we were there for two hours- two hours of wandering around aisles of cameras and laptops and hard drives. I was bored out of my mind, but daniel walked around all wide eyed and excited. it was very cute of him, but I do not wish to repeat the experience.

after b&h, we stopped by the macaron cafe midtown because I needed to be rewarded for being such a dutiful and patient wife at B&H. we ordered a few macarons, complimented by a very yummy hot dark chocolate drink. I read somewhere that the macaron café has the best macarons in nyc in 2009— they weren’t bad but definitely not the melt-in-your-mouth goodness as those of ladurees. the restaurant is adorable, run by real parisian frenchies, dressed in stereotypical french clothing too!

then, we went for lunch. we headed to the upper east side to papaya king which, apparently, is the hotdog place to go in nyc... since 1931. it has been rumoured to be a favorite of sjp and much admired by julia child. in himym, ted cites papaya king to be one of the greatest things of nyc. pretty impressive, eh? well, when we arrived at the restaurant- and I say restaurant only because I do not know what else to call it- we were much surprised at how tiny it was! I thought such a famous restaurant would be bigger and less gaudy but it was about the length of four hot dog stands and had practically no standing room (well, it was also overflowing with costumers). daniel and I ordered two frankfurters and a beef sausage and curly fries and a mango drink. oh boy, the mango drink was sooooooooooo good. while the frankfurters and beef sausage were also good, they do not compare with toronto street meat… but the hot mustard is a hundred times better than toronto street meat hot mustard. I liked it so much; it was the condiment to the fries instead of ketchup. lunch cost us less than $10 so I was definitely satisfied with the meal.

both the macaron cafe and the papaya king had been researched, meaning I had read reviews and articles, visited the websites, and looked at menus before deciding on dining there. I had intended on doing dinner at yet another well researched eatery but on our way to the subway from the MET (where we spent the afternoon and I made daniel take pictures of me sitting “on the steps of the MET”), we needed refuge from the bitter cold and unanimously decided on dining at the restaurant with soup it in its name. what is better than soup on such a cold day? but it turned out, the soup burg is not a soup place, much to my disappointed, but great burgers said the patron sitting at the table next to us. both daniel and I ordered burgers and yes they were great. possibly the greatest burger I’ve ever had. and apparently, the third best burger in all of nyc (time out ny). not bad for some unresearched random restaurant we entered because of its deceiving restaurant name.

during dinner we starting chatting with the man who recommended the burger and his lady friend who happens to be a shoe designer for kate spade and diane von furstenberg, among many others and lives in the upper east side (how like eleanor waldorf!) and when asked where to have dessert, recommended crumbs, a cupcake place a block away from the soup burg. since the first recommendation was such a success, we took the second as well and went to crumbs after dinner. daniel and I shared a chocolate cupcake with a vanilla butter cream filling and icing on top and it was deliciously decadent. I loved the cupcake and my mouth is watering as I write about it. had it not been so cold outside, I would have bought more and carried it 'round town with me (but alas, my gloved hands needed to be hidden in pockets from the wind and not exposed while holding a bag).

we ended the day with a trip up the empire state building. the view of the city at night was spectacular!

day of being jack kerouac - dec 28, 2009

we intended on leaving toronto in the morning but encountered a few hiccups, such as, ahem my unwillingness to wake up. when I finally did, we realized that my passport was missing. we scoured the entire condo and just when I thought someone had stolen my identity (because where else could my passport be), Daniel comes up from our storage locker with it in hand. whoops. apparently I had not put it away the last time I travelled.

but we did hit the road eventually and drove eight hours to the big apple. being the great road trip companion I am, I slept for most of the trip, only awaking to eat and inform daniel that I need to pee.

we stayed in jersey city because all the affordable hotels were booked for the week and all the non-afordable hotels were, like, a million dollars a night. our hotel was 15 minute walk/train from the financial district of manhattan and it was a very easy commute to and from.

prior to the trip, I had compiled a list of places to eat for less than $20 for two; so upon arriving in new jersey, we boarded the train and headed to nyc’s chinatown for some dumplings at the dumpling house. it was about 9pm at the time and most of chinatown was surprisingly closed, though you could hear the clicking of mahjong tiles as you walked past doors. and so we wandered the dark streets aimlessly until we came across the dumpling house, the only lit storefront on the street.

the dumpling house deserves a space on a list of “cheap eats nyc” as daniel and I did dinner for $25. out of budget, but we ordered enough food for four people and took home two barely touched noodle dishes. daniel vows to make the dumpling house a new york tradition and each time we’re in the city, we are to make a trip there.