{ Few more hours till the clock hits 12. I almost felt like Cinderella }

I took an extra 10 days off during Christmas and thought I could use this time to hibernate somewhere warm. And then I found out the ticket and hotel package cost way over the budget I've planned for. At the end, I could only afford to revisit New York City on a bus tour for another food excursion. Good thing is that I could watch the ball drop at Times Square for count down. I was quite excited about that part.

After first two days of shopping at the Outlet and Woodbury, I finally got the chance to relax and walk around the city. It was freezing cold during the three days in New York. I had to go indoor every 10 minutes.



I went to have breakfast at Cafeteria early in the morning at 8 a.m. Too early that the restaurant was pretty much empty. I ordered a smoked salmon egg benedict. I enjoyed their poached eggs, perfect soft runny yolk inside. Instead of regular english muffins, the dish consists of homemade potato pancakes topped with hollandaise sauce.

{ Cafeteria - early in the morning on New Year's Eve}

{ Smoked Salmon Egg Benedict at Cafeteria }

{ Minamoto Kitchoan on 5th avenue }

{ Sakuramochi - Sweet red beans wrapped in rice cake, salted cherry blossom and leaf }

{ With my victory items at 5th Avenue }

When I go to the States, I'd always have the craving for classic American eats. So I searched online and found this specialty diner, called S'mac. In Canada, poutine is a must try. Macaroni and cheese seems to be the equivalent in America. It was pretty packed when I arrived but the wait wasn't that long (lucky!). The thing I especially like about this place is that they offer four different sizes that satisfy almost all stomach capacity in a reasonable price range. I tried the Cheeseburger and Napoletana Nosh. They are a good size for a mid-day snack and can be quite heavy with bigger portion. I'd always like to go for smaller size but more dishes so I could try more variety. The Cheeseburger Nosh was super salty, perhaps because there were only 2 types of cheese and ground beef. I enjoyed the Napoletana much better, the flavour of mozzarella, fresh basil with tomatoes and roasted garlic and a to-die-for crust on top, reminded me of a pizza!

{ Nosh is perfect size for a mid-day snack }

{ Cheeseburger - pretty salty}

{ Napoletana - just like pizza! }

{ S'mac - Macaroni and Cheese }

{ Devouring tapas set at Spot Dessert Bar }

{ Sweet Potate Cake with Sautéed Apples at Spot Dessert Bar}

The Chocolate Green Tea Lava Cake as the most popular item on the menu was fantastic. Chocolate cake was really moist and rich, a good balance of sweetness together with the green tea ice cream. The warm green tea white chocolate ganache actually bursts out like lava once you slice the cake open.

{ Chocolate Green Tea Lava Cake at Spot Dessert Bar }

{ Green tea lava }

The Green Tearamisu, for me personally was the least favourable of the desserts I've tried at Spot. It was refreshing but a bit bland in flavour. Although I appreciate the creative Asian twist but I much prefer the traditional Italian tiramisu. On top of the discounted tapas set, their Thai iced bubble tea and Green Tea Latte are worth to try, but their tapiocas could have been a lot chewier and sweeter.

{ Green Tearamisu at Spot Dessert Bar }

{ Thai Iced Bubble Tea at Spot Dessert Bar }

{Green Tea Latte }

{ Pork belly bun at Jum Mum }

A good walk was very much needed after all the food and I did. I don't really know if it was a fortunate thing or not. I walked around Time Square hoping to get near the "ball" for a few hours and could not get anywhere near at all. I got there at around 8 pm to find out the roads have already been blocked. I was pushed around numerous times by the police and the crowd. At the end, all I could see was an ocean of heads and some confetti flying above in a distance.

{ That was as close as I could get at TImes Square}

{ Count down at Time Square }

I was so lucky that I did not end up getting sick from staying outside in the cold. It was a memorable count down experience but I enjoyed the food and shopping more than anything else in the trip.

Although, my count down towards 2013 wasn't a good one (there were more things involved as well) but I do look forward to another fabulous year and hope everyone does as well.

Happy New Year!