Category: USA

My Wonderland

If I lived in San Francisco, I’d be hanging out a lot here, spending all my hard-earned money on everything on display.  This is my wonderland.

Located at the foot of Market Street is Ferry Building Marketplace.  Shops in all sizes offer everything from frozen yogurt to artisan cheeses.

Acme Breads — giving Boudin a run for their money

Superb cheeses from Cowgirl Creamery — I went all gaga with the selections!

On the day we were there, stalls of fruits, vegetables, flowers and a wealth of other products,

which include artisan specialties like ice creams, cheeses and honey occupied the front of the building along the Embarcadero.

On the other side are food trucks and stalls where many from near and far would trek to enjoy good, affordable food.

Taken from the back… stall owners busy preparing orders.

Food trucks and stalls from the front

A really good food truck is Roli Roti that served a mean Porchetta sandwich — they wanted to go home and was selling the last slab at a very good price.  We obviously bought it to have for dinner that night.  Lip-smacking good!

At the back of the building, one could sit back and enjoy the goodies purchased perhaps from one of the stores or stalls while marveling at a beautiful view of the bay bridge.

As luck would have it, I will be back sooner than I ever expected but that’s a tale for another day.   😀

Posted on by Jenn 5

Brunch at Marseille

Brunch never fails to give me the warm fuzzies because I love breakfast and I love the idea of having my favorite breakfast fare for lunch on a lazy Sunday morning.  Brunch also means that waking up early is never in the equation (unless it’s some 100 kilometers or more away).  So yay for R who made reservations at Marseilles for BRUNCH before the matinée showing of Green Day’s American Idiots at St. James Theatre on 44th St.

Marseille at the Theatre district is the quintessential  brasserie, the menu predominantly French with some Italian, Greek and Moroccan influence thrown in.

The group shared 2 starters.  The duck liver mousse topped with a rhubarb gelee was heavenly when spread on grilled bread.

For some reason, I can’t remember how the goat cheese tarte fared – must be ordinary.

The breads however were wonderful.

I chose Portobello Tartine mainly because I just cannot resist Portobello mushrooms and I’d always hear about Swiss chard but am not really sure what they are and if I can find them in my neck of the woods.  Despite how it looked, which was kind of a mess, I was happy with my choice.  All the flavors were a great harmonious blend.

I also liked the Jumbo lump crabmeat dish of J.  Endives has always been a top choice because it never fails to liven up a dish with its refreshing, crunchy leaves while the mustard vinaigrette gave a wonderful kick to the dish.

Not a knock out was C’s Poached Egg’s Provencal.  The ratatouille didn’t blow me away, it was not a total failure, it just seemed average.  I wasn’t sure if the poached eggs were able to elevate the dish or not.  I didn’t get that far into the dish because it wasn’t mine to start with.   🙂

The restaurant, being a top fave of many in the theater district, was busy that the service was quite slow.  We were getting anxious waiting for our food as we do have a show to catch.

To make up for the slow service, the staff gave everyone a glass of Cava Mimosa on the house.  Nice touch… now how do you give a bad rating for that?  I’m not sure though if that was enough to make up for not having our dessert.  Probably not, if you ask someone with a sweet tooth like me.

Useful Info:

Marseille
630 Ninth Avenue at 44th Street
NYC, NY 10036
Tel:  (212) 333-2323
http://www.marseillenyc.com
Posted on by Jenn 0

Eating Our Way Through NYC: Grand Sichuan and Amy’s Bread

We were in the mood for hot and spicy and Grand Sichuan seemed to be the popular choice that evening.  Noted for its fine Sichuan and Hunan food, they have several branches in NYC and we walked to one of their branch in Hell’s Kitchen.  It is said to be one of a handful of real Sichuan restaurants in the city.  A contrast to the contemporary feel and look of the restaurant, the menu was pretty extensive featuring many of the region’s favorites.  The staff were very friendly, also so unlike the typical.  The food was, without a doubt, smashing.

We started with some Sichuan cold noodles coated with a nice spicy peanut sauce.

We were there too for their Pork Soup Dumplings (or xiao long bao), which I think was not bad but quite forgettable compared to the ones I had here.

Mapo Tofu will always be part of a Sichuan meal and this one was pretty good.

We ordered Lotus Roots with Baby Shrimps out of curiosity, the shrimps were fresh and crunchy while the lotus roots uninteresting.

The baby shanghai bok choy, sautéed ever so lightly leaving the stalks crunchy and the flavor clean with only the right amount of wonderful fresh garlic.

On our way home, we passed Amy’s Bread and couldn’t resist the warm and cozy smell of bread and coffee,

we entered despite the line and sampled their hot chocolate made of thick Choco paste stirred into hot milk and finished off with a piece of homemade marshmallow.  The result was a drink with just the right richness.

The sticky buns, which to me looked like ordinary cinnamon roll and would otherwise just walk pass it were it not highly recommended by both friend and staff.  It was sticky and moist and does taste like a better version of a cinnamon roll, I still couldn’t tell the difference between the two, however.

Posted on by Jenn 0

Not Your Ordinary Ice Cream Truck

Sea Salt on your ice cream?  Or maybe some vanilla ice cream topped with balsamic syrup?

Check out The Big Gay Ice Cream Truck and you’ll soon find out that they are remarkable flavors that will blow your mind.  The truck roams the streets of NYC – a brainchild of musician Douglas Quint who announces the truck’s locations on Twitter and on his blog.

And that was what brought us to Broadway and 17th on Union Square one sunny day in October last year.  The truck is all about fun and unique toppings that brightens up an otherwise plain soft serve.

Novel and experimental toppings one would not think of pairing with ice cream, from the best-loved crushed graham crackers and nutella, to the innovative sea salt, olive oil, and elderflower syrup to the more radical wasabi and cayenne pepper to name a few.

Manned by no other than Quint himself, the truck was still closed when we arrived and not long after, a line of eager customers ensued.

I ordered their most popular regular – The Salty Pimp, which is vanilla ice cream injected with dulce de leche (something like caramel) sprinkled with sea salt and then dipped in chocolate.  The sweetness of the ice cream and dulce de leche fused with bursts of sea salt is a new marriage my taste buds easily took to.

My friend M got the simpler Bea Arthur, which was dulce de leche injected vanilla ice cream and sprinkled with crushed Nilla Wafers – which she says is her favorite.

There were daring concoctions that I wasn’t brave enough to try like the Cococone, vanilla ice cream and curried coconut flakes. –  my palate couldn’t marry that just yet.  There are however still an army of interesting blends that caught my fancy if only I can handle more ice cream that day… if given more days in New York, I’d probably be lining up again the next day to sample the peppermint syrup and cacao bits topping or its olive oil and sea salt combo or…  do you think I should pack up and transfer residence?   😀

 

Posted on by Jenn 3

Eating Our Way Through NYC: Dimsum et al

Credits:  Templates by Crystal Wilkerson, Paper by LivEdesigns (SSunFun Deep Sea).

Manhattan’s Chinatown is home to one of the largest concentration of Chinese people in the US, and guess where we went for lunch after our morning walk / run at Central Park?

My friends felt that after running 6 miles around the park, they deserved a scrumptious meal of dim sum at 27 Sunshine —

the popular dim sum place at 46 Bowery.  So packed they were, we had to share a table with (friendly) strangers.  J, before we stopped him, almost feasted on their dumplings!   😀  And they were so kind not to say anything… needless to say, J or maybe we (more than he) were so embarrassed.

Ambling around the area after a hearty lunch, we stumbled on more food on the street.

One interesting stall is Yao’s Dragon Beard Candy.

We were among many curious individuals lined up on his stall figuring out what this guy was making,

which turned out to be a sweet peanut and coconut filling wrapped in cotton candy. Watching the making of the candy was more interesting than it actually tasted (in my opinion).

Mr. Yao — the man behind the beard candy

Not far ahead on the same street was Fong Inn Too.  They serve yummy taho sans the sago (sweet soybean curd sans the tapioca).

Living in the US for some time now, my friends hanker after this sweet soybean dessert so ubiquitous in the Philippines.

Useful Info:

27 Sunshine
46 Bowery
(between Bayard St & Canal St)
New York, NY 10013
Neighborhood: Chinatown
(212) 374-1319

Fong Inn Too
46 Mott St
New York, NY 10013
Neighborhoods: Chinatown, Civic Center

(212) 962-5196

Posted on by Jenn 3

A Glimpse of Central Park

I am not a runner.  Ever since I joined track and field in high school, I hated running.  I excel more on the field – high jump, javelin… but I digress.  Marathons are cool, but my lack of enthusiasm and my bum knee kind of decided for me that I am most likely not joining a marathon soon.  Yeah.  So why am I up early one Friday morning in October dragging myself to Central Park with 3 runners?  1) I’ve never been to Central Park 2) I didn’t want to sleep in on a beautiful day 3) They promised me coffee.  Yeah I’m cheap.

Heckscher Ballfield was where they left me.  While they started their 6-mile run, I sat in one of those picnic tables overlooking the ball field, sipped my Grande non-fat latte, and read some.  Not too long after, I felt the itch to go wandering around the area but not too far because I just might not find my way back.  I soon realized that one could easily get lost in the park because of the various confusing paths and turn-offs.

I was in the company of dog walkers,

photography enthusiasts and

some ordinary people just wanting to get away.

The portion of the park I was in had some beautiful view of the skyscrapers of Manhattan.

After their run, we walked to what is considered as the heart of Central Park,

the Bathesda Terrace and the fountain.  Gorgeous.

Posing for a keepsake with my dear, dear friens with the Loeb Boathouse in the background.

We then headed to the most photographed area of Central Park,

the Mall and Liberty Walk – still is the place to see and to be seen.

And this sums up my morning walk around Central Park.  Located in the center of Manhattan, this 843 acre green rectangle that stretches 51 blocks is indeed one of those places that make New York City a great place to live.

Posted on by Jenn 2

New York, New York

Credits:  All papers and elements from JSprague’s Dig in Deep Lesson 1 supplies

I woke up to the city that doesn’t sleep, the home of Broadway and many fine cuisines.  After a looong and roundabout trip to New York from San Francisco, I woke up to the announcement that we had landed at La Guardia – finally.  This long weekend getaway with my High School buddies may have started with a bump surely ended with a BANG!  We bunked at R & C’s apartment, taking over their living/dining room area,

– watched Green Day’s American Idiot on Broadway,

Yao’s Dragon Beard Candy

– had a feast of all things edible,

– shopped at every Lululemon Athletica we passed just because my friends are work-out addicts!!

47 Wellness Co.

– had a wonderful “Tuina” head and shoulder massage at an unassuming Chinese Qigong Tuina Center found at the basement,

– got introduced to a really good cuppa Joe

– and learned to make scones!

A truly wicked 4 days of fun, laughter and overindulgence… coming up soon.   😉

Useful Info:

Best Massage Ever! (in my humble opinion)

47 Wellness Co.
670 9th Ave., the basement
(between 46th & 47th St)
New York, NY 10036
Tel:  (212)265-2788
Opens from 11am-10pm (Sun-Thur) / 11am-11pm (Fri- Sat)
Posted on by Jenn 2

Kind Words Costs Little But Worth Much

Have you ever spent the night at the airport involuntarily?  I had my Amazing Race moment except that I didn’t have a partner to share this horrible moment with me.  I don’t rant a lot, at least not about my travels because I believe that every experience (pleasant or not) is an experience to tell and learn from.  Even our mishap in Uganda was such a disaster but we chose to take it as it is.   I have eventually learned to laugh about this new mishap but not without a rant.

Barely an hour before my flight, my childhood friend M finally picked me up at my best friend’s house in San Carlos.  We were to embark on an extended weekend of fun with some high school buddies in NYC.  I made it through check-in, at least my baggage did.  I, on the other hand, was on stand-by.  It turned out, Delta overbooked the flight by 8 passengers, 6 volunteered to give up their seats, leaving 4 passengers fighting for the 2 available seats.  Since I was practically the last one in, I and another guy was the first one out.  Unbelievable!  I was dumbfounded as I hardly get bumped off.  I really wanted to raise hell but to whom?  My friend whom I hitched a ride with?  (We weren’t on the same flight as she was using her mileage, which was horrifically expensive).  Or perhaps to the Delta ground staff for overbooking?   It really wasn’t their fault… ok, it was partly M‘s fault but she more than made up for it in the end.   🙂  Anyway, Delta offered me a $400 voucher, which I have no use for because, “I don’t come to the US very often”, I told them.  I could give it to friends, they suggested.  I wanted a room but “all their affiliated hotels were booked due to a convention that week”, so they say.

I was really tired so I conceded and accepted the voucher.  I bared and grinned because at the end of the day, it was all my choice.  I took the red-eye flight because I wanted to arrive in the morning so I can make the most of my days in NYC.  I took Delta because it was the cheapest that I could find.  M was able to fly despite the lateness, was it because her ticket was 3x higher than mine?  As I always believe, you get what you pay for… and did I pay!!   😦

I wandered around the airport until everything started to close.  A nice Delta staff was kind enough to offer me blankets, at least.  It was getting cold as the passengers get on their respective flights.  Soon after, I was alone except for the security staff and the cleaners.  With the uncomfortable bucket seats, the noisy vacuum cleaner and crew talking sometimes even shouting at each other, sleep was a struggle.  It was the longest 5 hours I ever had.  But I wasn’t ranting (yet).

When morning (finally) came, the guy who also got bumped off told me his story after I left the counter.  They couldn’t print his voucher and a supervisor stepped in, it turned out that those who were involuntarily denied a flight had two options — cash or voucher.  Because they couldn’t print his voucher, they gave him CASH!  He told me to give it a try so I waited, and waited, and waited for a supervisor to appear and when he finally did, I asked him about it and he smugly looked at me and had the gall to suggest that I volunteered and didn’t have the right to ask for cash.  Can you believe that old guy?  I was (again) dumbfounded.  I told him that I definitely did not volunteer to give up my seat so I can spend the night at the airport, he looked at me (smugly still) and said that he couldn’t possibly give me what I wanted and I when I asked him why, he replied condescendingly, “because I do not carry that much cash with me”.  I was just too disgusted with this rude old guy and lest I miss my flight again, I felt it was pointless to argue this out.   He told me to try again in Detroit.  A sorry would have been more appropriate, I believe.  That’s customer service for you.

So dear readers, if you were involuntarily denied a seat, for some reason – ASK FOR OPTIONS –some airlines may have cash options.  If the ground staff can’t give you an answer, ask to speak to a supervisor.  Most of the time, the ground staff are not informed of these options too, as I learned.  Or better yet, avoid taking Delta if you can — their staff are downright rude.

But all is not lost, my best friend may be taking a trip somewhere in the US soon courtesy of my $400 voucher.  NYC was incredible (more than a few posts is definitely coming up sometime in the future).  And my pantry is stuffed with these loots from San Francisco.

Glorious Figs!!

All my favorite things…

All’s well that ends well but as the saying goes… Acts of kindness may soon be forgotten, but the memory of an offense remains.

 

Posted on by Jenn 4

The Great Land That is Alaska

Credits:  Template by Crystal Wilkerson; Paper by Jessica Sprague.

“Alyeska” to the Aleut people means the great land and those who have visited would likely agree.  It is a vacation paradise, America’s last frontier, if you will.   Raw with a touch of exotic, Alaska is magnificent sceneries one after the other.  Our trip was rugged yet luxurious – thanks to our cruise ship extravagance, which balanced everything out.  Although more than half of the tourists came through a cruise ship, if I were to do it again, I would explore traveling by land to allow for longer stays in each town.  But if you are pressed for time and have constraints in budget, contrary to popular belief, taking a cruise is an economical way to cover Alaska.  Consider this:  you hit 3 birds in one stone, your means of transport, your accommodation and let’s not forget the overflowing sustenance offered on board.

My allure with Alaska started with the TV series, Northern Exposure.  Shown in the early to mid 90’s, it actually aroused my fascination to charming quaint towns such as Sagada and Banaue – closer to home rugged towns that I frequent.  Alaska was a far-fetched dream that came true.

Wildlife.  Humpback whales and bald eagles to be more specific thrive in Alaska.  This is an area full of wildlife as evidence in the wildlife and whale watching tours available in many towns.  Alaska is a perfect archetype of the great outdoors.  And if you are no stranger to this blog, you already know that I love the great outdoors, and the great wildlife.  Charming towns + great outdoors + wildlife galore = money and time well spent.

Posted on by Jenn 9

Feast to My Senses

Winding through stretches of wilderness, passing through primeval forests of Sitka spruce and aqua colored river and lakes surrounded by towering mountains in slow-mo with Ennio Morricone scoring in the background is a scene that still plays in my mind 8 months after.  Yes, the stunning and equally dramatic scenery deserves no less than an Ennio Morricone score.

Here’s one of my favorite Morricone score:  Love Theme from Cinema Paradiso

From the moment our journey started in Seward, it quickly began its climb through stunning forests, a string of massive glacier to lakes and river sceneries that only seem to escalate as the sun gets more golden on our approach to Anchorage.  Hands down, one of the finest voyages I’ve ever taken, a real feast to my senses.  The late Alaskan sunset (luckily) also meant good light for most of the trip, which resulted to this.

At some point, the tracks made a perfect U, which allowed for these shots:

Yeah, it rained at one point too.

And last but not the least!  Some shots taken as we approached Anchorage at 10pm!

If you ever find yourself in Seward, Alaska, don’t think twice… book yourself a ticket at Alaska Railroad Corporation for the best scenic ride of your life.

Click icon below for more scenes from around the globe.

Scenic Sunday

Posted on by Jenn 9