A Passion For Food: Interview with Barney's

A Passion For Food: Interview with Barney's: "I recently did an interview with Kate Sung of Barney's, and it was just posted it on B-Sides, the Barney's blog. The theme for their 2010 ho..."

Flashback of the Summer: lots of sweets and shopping...and shoes!

Gosh I need to imagine in how bright and sunny NYC used to be a few months back...the sun was still out till 9pm then! Now it gets pitch black at 5pm...very sad. I need more summer flashbacks to keep me sane...

To think of all the cupcakes I had this summer, its pretty shameful, cheeks were getting chubbier day by day! My friend and I went shopping one day, I don't think we got anything in the end but it was fun checking out stores. Our first stop was Bloomies and had brunch at David Burke cafe. But I have to say, FLiP and forty carrots is much much better inside Bloomies than David Burke.

Then we went to the Noho/Soho area, then of course we need a break at a cafe. We went into a tiny cafe. To be honest it wasn't amazing, but then again, I'm pretty picky on what I consider to be a good or bad cafe/restaurant.

But really the highlight of the day was United Nude, a shoe shop I discovered. The shoes are designed by the architect Rem Koolhaas, as mentioned in another entry. I fell in love with a certain shoe but it was just too pricey for me.

It's so comfortable and light, simple and just black, that it really be worn every day. I had to say goodbye but hopefully I'll be able to own it some day in the future.

A place to dine in Soho

I've been to so many good restaurants lately, usually for dinner and very dim-lit, so never could take good pictures...unil this weekend at La Esquina! Finally I find a gooood place to eat in Soho that is still relatively cheap. Perfect for pre, in between, or post shopping in the area. It's Mexican and I think my dish was the best out of the three of us - the Mollettes.

But everything was pretty good (except for service...the food took a bit too long. we thought maybe they were catching a cow in the kitchen for the steak tacos or something.)

The Stanton Social

Last night I had dinner at Stanton Social, and just thought I would blog about it. My impression was: the Manhattan's response to the Cheesecake factory. Full house, high energy, dark but upbeat music. But the NYC twist is the tapas idea - smaller portions and more dishes to taste. How brilliant!

Between the four, we ordered 8 dishes:
Potato and Goat Cheese Pierogies
French Onion Soup Dumplings
Duck Confit Empanadas
Nori Spiced Tuna Tartare Rolls
Butter Poached Lobster Pizzetta
'Chicken N Waffles'
Social Mac & Cheese
Warm Doughnuts

I don't have pictures...I also got the Cucumber and Vanilla Cosmopolitan, yum!

Labor Day Weekend

Finally saw the September Issue. There are so many things I could say but am still thinking over how much of my thoughts to be spreading online. But overall, good movie to watch!





Went to a restaurant called Cabana afterwards, it was pretty good and I would def. go again when I'm shopping in the UES near Bloomies.



Sangria, beef empanadas, and seafood paella. All delish.



Park Avenue


Then visited a few shops on Madison. A shot of my crazy shoes I got two years ago.

Exploring the Wonders of Chinatown

I visited Chinatown two days in a row this week (and also stopping by Soho both days to check out the Acne and Opening Ceremony shoes, putting myself on the waitlist for both...oof) and cannot get over how awesome it is. Its like I took a 10 minute plane ride to China...although I've nver been to China I don't know how it actually is...but I'm thinking it would be somewhat similar. There are so many fruit stands of exotic fruits you can't get at regular grocery stores; dried food ranging from fruit to fish; Chinese people who can't speak English; loads of cheap restaurants, bakeries, and bubble tea places.

I had dim sum for brunch at a restaurant called Golden Unicorn. There was a 20 minute waiting line, and carts passed us by to choose what we wanted. I used to frequent a great dim sum house in San Francisco when I lived in NorCal, and this reminded me alot of it. There are probably more great dim sum places, but this one was good enough to visit again - I was happily full. My favorite was this dish I forgot to take a picture of, it has shrimp in it and is drenched in this soy sauce-like liquid.

Then I went to a bubble tea place called Ten Ren and got the Taro Milk Iced Tapioca for only three bucks. My friend took me and she says its the best bubble tea in the city, I trust her because I thoroughly enjoyed my drink and would want to go back to try more flavors.

Walked all the way in the beating sun to Soho to look around again, and we took photos of each other a la Sartorialist to end the day.

NYC restaurant week wrap-up

Twice every year, NYC has restaurant week where a bunch of nice restaurants to promote their 3-course menu for $35. They are mostly upscale restaurants that serve a pricier tasting menu when its not restaurant week. I think its still going on, but I am not planning to go to more for this summer. Here is a review of 5 that I visited over last summer and this summer:

Riingo (so-so): The food was quite plain and the place was empty. I think this might be so because we went for lunch, but even so it was just so ordinary. If I want Japanese fusion I would go to Morimoto instead.

JoJo (do not recommend): It's a French restaurant on the UES, the ambience was very nice and quiet, but the food was horrible. The fish had a weird spice, the chicken was very salty, and everything else was less than mediocre.

Vong (do not recommend): It's supposed to be fusion Thai, but I don't remember any of the dishes using Thai spices or even tasting similar to Thai food. The place was pretty but we were seated in wobbly chairs, which made the dining experience even more uncomfortable. I would recommend Kittichai to anyone who wants fusion Thai.

Crema (recommend): When you think of Mexican food, you usually think of tacos and cheap eats, but Crema is like an upscale Mexican restaurant, and I loved the appetizer and entree. All the portions were big, had the element of Mexican in every dish, and was good! I especially liked the appetizer because it was kind of like a tortilla wrap filled with soft duck meat, and it foie gras on top with a cheese-based sauce. The main course was hangar steak with a mix of corn, chips, black beans on the side.

Telepan (recommend): This UWS restaurant serves French cuisine, and they had a variety of dishes to choose from, and we got many dishes with small portions. So I felt like I had a well-rounded meal without feeling stuffed. Everything tasted great and the place was packed, but still quiet enough to enjoy a good conversation.