All You Can Eat in New York City

I went to New York during the Civic Holiday long weekend with 4 of my closest friends and our significant others. I didn't realize we hadvnever been on a trip together after 15 long years of friendship! Geez... Although, I had been to New York when I was a child but my memory of this city was quite a blur. We travelled by Megabus for 14 hours long, which regretfully wasted most of our first day in New York. It was like I left my bum on the bus after we got off. It was so numb that I could barely feel a thing. On the bright side, we rented a pretty awesome penthouse apartment through airbnb.com on Queens. It was only a 5-minute walk to the nearest subway station, which minimized our travelling time each day.

Our trip mainly focused on food, shopping, some sightseeing and more food.

{ Day 1 } Shake Shack

On our first day, after 5 hours delay of our arrival time, we skipped breakfast and immediately went to Shake Shack for lunch. When we got there, we were shocked by the amount of people lining up for it at Madison Square. We lined up for their roadside burgers and some concrete custard that they are famous for.

{ Shack Attack concrete custard }

{ ShackBurger and SmokeShack }

The burgers were alright. I think it was overrated in my opinion. Not too sure why such a long line up. I  would probably enjoy my friend's ShackStack more than my ShackBurger. But then, again, people's food seem to be always better, right? The concrete custard was actually very smooth. I would recommend trying the custard if the line up doesn't take up to 30 minutes long.

{ Nails: Sprinkles by Nails Inc. }

After eating, we browsed around Time Square like all tourists do. Thanks to the awesome Metro Card, we were able to go everywhere by subway. We got the 7-day unlimited travelling pass for $29 USD, which was well worth it considering the amount of rides we took.

{ My outfit for the first day: White crochet top, red skirt with similar crochet detailing from Forever21 and a brown woven belt.
Shoes: Brown Towle sandles form Spring, similar here } 

Aged Restaurant and Bar

During planning, us as a group have decided we are going to have one fancy meal at NYC. So, one of them suggested to revisit a restaurant that she has previously went to 2 years ago, called the Aged at Broadway.

{ Mussels Luciano - in a white wine sauce }

 { 22 oz Prime Dry Aged Rib Eye }

{ Atlantic Salmon }

 { Comes with variety of sauces to go with your steaks - Bordelaise, Bearniase, Mushroom Jus, Au Poivre, Creamy Gorgonzola, Chimichurri }

{ Bread pudding with ice cream }

{ New York Cheesecake }

The experience at Aged was quite amusing, maybe all because of our server being a bit too overly friendly with jokes that most of us do not know how to respond. The food was average. Nothing really special in my opinion. But I do love the atmosphere of the restaurant, very antique and stylish decor. A matter of fact, they were using electric fans instead of air conditioning when it was 30 something degrees outside! 

{ Day 2 } Lic Market

Because of the trip delay, a lot of our pre-planned schedules have been moved back. We randomly searched up a restaurant in Urbanspoon and found this LIC Market within 10 minutes walking distance from our apartment. We got there a little bit before 10 in the morning, the restaurant hasn't opened yet. We waited outside for a bit but the next thing we noticed is that there was already a few others behind us also waiting for the restaurant to open.

{ Assorted pastries on the house with fresh blueberry jam! - We could not stop eating and were already quite stuffed before we even get to the food we ordered }

{ More bread to serve! }

 { Roasted duck hash }

{ Frittata of the Day with home fries }

{ Sausage & onions burger sandwich }

Their menu is seasonal and has their own traditional flare than your normal American style breakfast. We love it so much that we actually came back on our last day before we depart. Feeling satisfied and well rested, we went to visit the Hell's kitchen flea market next. But it was a boiling hot Sunday afternoon, we only ended up staying out for around 10 minutes without buying anything from there. Insert sad face here. 

Since it was too hot, we stayed indoor at Century 21 to shop a bit. After we had all cooled off, we visited the 911 Memorial with pre-reserved tickets that we ordered online for free.

Momofuku Noodle Bar

At night, we visited what I think was a Japanese district because the street was filled with so many Japanese cuisines and izakayas. We were actually a bit tempted to ignore what we have planned and just pick one from there. But alas, we still made it to Momofuku Noodle Bar despite all the temptations.

No surprise at all, we had to wait in line. It was quite strange to me that their management team made the 8 of us wait for 30 minutes for a long table. The only reason for that table to be occupied was because the couple next to it was just chatting and flirting with their eyes after they had paid their bills. The team thought it was rude if we just started ordering food beside them before they leave…. The staff did not even bother to let us sit on those empty stools while we waited. But in the end, we asked if we could just "sit there" and not order food. And we did while giving the couple "hints". Insert the sound of evil laughter here.

Anyway, the food was a little bit on the pricier side for ramen, averaging $14 a bowl. However, they did not disappoint. The egg noodles are springy to the teeth. I would love to have the soup base a little bit more, it was just slightly covering the noodles. Perhaps we had all exhausted our energies from walking, our appetizers were finished in a split second. Then again, the portion wasn’t large enough for each one of us to consume another piece anyway.

 { Soju slushies! Tiny but refreshing} 

 { Roasted rice cakes with melons - very interesting combo} 

{ Momofuku Ramen - pork belly, pork shoulder and poached egg } 

{ Grilled Octopus } 

{ Spicy Miso Ramen}

 { Cold noodles with mango and coconut }

 { Fattening pork buns }

 { Yummy ramen } 

{ Day 3 } Katz's Deli

Our breakfast on our third day was unlike other fusion and modern eateries we've been to. Katz's Deli has a traditional and retro decor and a long history of serving quality pastrami, corned beef and other meats, which might be a bit too much meat to start the day.

 { Katz's Brisket Sandwich - must try! the brisket is super tender }

{ My friend's boring egg salad sandwich }

{ Also a must try. Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich }

The price per dish was around $15 USD, quite expensive considering it was for breakfast. So most of us shared the sandwich in half with our significant other. However, my beloved was still not full and decided to immediately go to what was supposed to be our afternoon tea destination, Japadog for a second round.

Japadog

{ So many variety to choose from! }

 { At last, my bf and I decided on the Meat lovers Japadog }

{ Of course, I can never leave without having the dessert! Black sesame ice cream dog )

I wish we have Japadog in Toronto. Their buns are deep fried and the ice cream buns are even sugar coated!  The Meat Lover is infused with their special meat sauce with a lot of melted cheese. I was a bit full after my first meal at Katz's Deli but was still able to consume most of these with my bf... ha!

We spent our whole afternoon shopping at Soho District. I got myself a Marc Jacobs gold watch from Bloomingdale's and some fabulous comfortable wear from Uniqlo. I was super happy that I was able to purchase a pair of jeans that elongates my legs. They even offer hemming service on the spot for $5 USD!

Here are my victory items at a glance.

Pants (Uniqlo) $20 each | Blue sheer cardigan (Uniqlo) $14 | Michael Kors Wallet (Century 21) $50 | Coral nail polish (Sephora) $9 | Strip tank with bow (Forever 21) $10 | Gel Heel Cups (Century 21) $7 | Coloured Tanks (Forever 21) $4 each | Marc by Marc Jacobs $200+ (Bloomingdale's) | Necklace and earring set (Century 21) $13 | Guess Sunglasses (Century 21) $12

{Found out about my love at first sight experience with this Marc Jacobs watch here}

{Chain necklace and earring set for $13 (Century 21)}

Spot Dessert Bar

For afternoon tea, my boyfriend and I decided to leave the group and explored our own little dessert adventure instead of following others to another Japanese ramen at St. Mark's place. We soon realized it was a wise decision because we found a hidden gem for desserts, Spot Dessert Bar. The location is definitely very hidden, it is underground. We only noticed this place because of the interesting menu they put out on the street. 
Some of the stuffs they have include, Thai tea creme brulee, green tea lava cake, green tea tiramisu, and many more dessert tapas with a spin. We ordered this Champagne mango crepe soufle and it was so soft and sweet like it was made from Heaven. We also ordered a Kabocha Brulee cake that was a warm Japanese pumpkin cake with a condensed milk ice cream and walnuts.
We couldn't have enough of their desserts and we wished we could have this in Toronto. We would probably try every single thing on their menu in that case.

{Must try! Champagne mango crepe souflee}

{Kabocha brule cake - a warm Japanese pumpkin cake with a condensed milk ice cream and walnut soil}

Veselka Ukrainian Restaurant

Now, for dinner time we went to try a Ukrainian cuisine called Veselka. It was my first time eating Ukrainian dishes so I didn't really know what to expect. All I could say is, it was different.

{Beef strognaff with egg noodles}

{Stuffed cabbage with meat and rice}

{Refreshing beet salad}

 We decided a walk is needed after a gluttinous day of good food so we toured around the beautiful High Line and took some tourist photos to mark the end of our trip.

{Outfit on the third day: Chiffon top with leopard sequins tank (Hong Kong) | Denim shorts (Zara) | Snake print flats with peacock feathers (Hong Kong)}

High Line is such a romantic and relaxing walkway, perfect for a night walk. It was especially beautiful at night with the night lamps aside. I was impressed with the environmental design of this once old railway tracks.

This sort of sums up our entire trip at NYC. Now, time for a diet.