Browse Month: April 2009

Noodley Day

sharing

On Monday, we spent lunchtime in Flushing and had the spiciest noodle soup ever.  Jason and Jia took us into a swap meet-looking basement that was stuffy and hot.  Luckily, the Chinese lady was nice enough to send us to the back dining area where it was air-conditioned and cleaner-looking.  The noodles were really tasty and I got some crazy chili coughs and sniffs that cleared up the stuffy nose that I had all morning.

next stop

Immediately afterward, we went to a dumpling house that we found two years ago on our last trip.  It was like a savory dessert to our noodle lunch.  We then took the subway back to Astoria for a quick hour and a half break before heading out to Manhattan for dinner.

fatties

This is a fatty pose in front of the restaurant.  It had only been 3.5 hours since our last meal.

j&j

j&n

The only reservation that I could get at Babbo was at 5:30 so we were in store for a continuation of our feasting marathon.  This is one of Mario Batali’s restaurants and was highly recommended by numerous people I talked to prior to our trip.  The space was beautiful on the second floor with a vaulted ceiling and natural light pouring into the room.  I want my next house to look like this.  🙂

tasting menu

We got the Pasta Tasting Menu that included 5 pasta courses, 1 cheese course, and 2 dessert courses.  On top of that, for our last dessert course, instead of bring 4 of the same, we got 4 different desserts!!

Here are the photos of the dishes and my lame translation of the menu items:

pasta_01

squid ink pasta with fresh peas – so flavorful and the peas had a nice snap to them

pasta_02

ravioli stuffed with beets – sounds weird but it was really good

pasta_03

pasta with wild mushrooms – savory and complex

pasta_04

pasta purses stuffed with braised beef – insides seasoned perfectly

pasta_05

pappardelle bolognese – mmmm…I love homemade pasta

cheese

fried sheep’s milk cheese with warm honey

cheese open

It was like a cheesy donut!

dessert_01

toasted sesame panna cotta – rich and creamy with a mouth-watering sesame flavor

dessert_02

chocolate cake with vanilla cream – probably not the most creative dessert on the menu

This was a crazy yummy dinner that left us full and very fat.  Fantastic!

Old Skool Steak

brooklyn sunset

On Sunday night, we had dinner at Peter Luger in Brooklyn.  Reservations are usually hard to get but Jason managed to get them just a week in advance.

peter luger steak

The steak comes sliced and cooked to perfection with a yummy crust and tender inside.  The decor was really old and rustic.  I mean, take a look at our table…unfinished wood that looks like it’s been out in the backyard for years.  The servers are gruff but efficient and the restaurant doesn’t take credit cards!!

laos

bar

After dinner we hopped on the subway and hung out at a rooftop bar with a view of the Empire State Building.

view on fifth

It was a warm but pleasant night and I got a neato shot of the Chrysler Building and the city lights.

subway

The subway ride back to Queens felt pretty long considering that over 12 hours earlier I had run 13.1 miles.  This is a photo I took from down below as I was kimchee squatting and waiting for the train.

Half Marathon Hotness

3 running ladies

Haha, I know we were awesomely sweaty but I’m referring to the temperature on Sunday morning.  Jia, Vyl, and I ran the more|fitness Half Marathon on Sunday, which took us around Central Park twice.  I had always wanted to run around CP and finally got to do it!

squatting for shade

At 6:30 in the morning, Jia and I headed out to the subway station in 70-degree weather.  It was really eerie how warm it was so early in the morning.  By the time we met up with Vyl at the park around 7:45, it was about 74 degrees.  In fact, as we stood waiting for the start gun, Vyl and I ducked behind the people in front of us for some shade.  Ah…much cooler.

running

The race started at 8:00 am and we were off!  Fortunately for us, the route had pockets of shade along the way and they were spraying us with a firehouse at certain spots but it didn’t keep us cool the whole time.  There was an abundance of fluid stations at each mile marker and I forced myself to take a cup each time even when I didn’t feel like it.  As we finished the first lap and started the second, we started seeing girls one-by-one lying on the ground with ambulances pulled up alongside them.  Dude…I thought I was feeling hot but some people were hitting the wall pretty early.  Eventually, the heat got to me too and gave me a crazy nauseous feeling.  I had to take frequent walk breaks to cool off but I finished the race without passing out.  Woo!  Vyl and I kept wishing for SF weather and Jia was having a great time running her very first half marathon. The route also had some rolling hills but nothing as drastic as we were used to.  However, it was enough to make the heat even more unbearable.

medals

At the finish, we got our medals and last cup of Gatorade and were greeted by Jason and Jes.  I think our time was around 2:30 but I don’t actually know since we both forgot to turn off our Garmins at the finish.

tea brunch

We took the subway and then a cab to our brunch destination where Bang met up with us.  Brunch was at Alice’s Tea Cup, which was satisfying but they totally failed on the bacon…too bad.

subway

The subway trains were packed on our way back and at one point had to stradle some guy’s wheelchair and squish myself against the pole to keep me from falling.  Once we got back to Queens, I showered and took a deadly nap next to the A/C.  It was great.

13 Hours in Manhattan

nina and holly

On Saturday, I left the house early to meet up with Holly for brunch.  We ate at a place called The City Bakery, where we sat and got caught up for at least 2 hours.  By the time we got out, it was a scorchin’ 80 degrees outside.

expo

In the afternoon, I met up with Jia and the boys at the race expo to pick up our bibs, tshirts, and other shwag.  One of the items in the goodie bag was a sample bag of dog food.  I wasn’t about to bring it home with me so I started asking people on the street if they wanted to have it.  Out of the 4 dog owners that I asked, no one was willing to take it.  Oh boo…it was a fun little game while it lasted.  I ended up leaving it outside the subway station hoping that someone would want it.

momofuku

We then headed out to Momofuku for some noodles and fatty pork.  It was just as tasty as I remembered and Jes finally got to taste what I had been raving about since the first time I tried it with Brother a few years ago.

brooklyn bridge

To walk off lunch, we visited the Brooklyn Bridge.  On the way, we found a dance crew that was fun to watch.  The bridge itself was really cool.  This was something that I’d always wanted to do and it didn’t disappoint.  The breeze was also nice enough to cool us off a bit.

sevilla

In the evening, we walked down to Greenwich Village where we met up with the Bangs and Kwaks for dinner at Sevilla.  All 8 of us squished in a booth made to seat 4-6 people and we stuffed ourselves with paella and mussels.  By the time we got back to Queens it was midnight and I was exhausted.  I quickly prepared for the race on Sunday and went to bed.  That was a long day.

Friday Afternoon in Manhattan

Rizzo's

After a quick stop at Rizzo’s (still awesome), we hopped on the subway to Chinatown.

Dr. Jia

Jia was at work and Jes got his eyes checked (and dilated) by Dr. Jia Lao herself.

ice cream

Luckily the office was just down the street from the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory so I got to have a tasty treat.  Yay!

top of the rock

Afterward we went to MoMA, which was free from 4-8 pm but ridiculously crowded.  That was a bust so we went to 30 Rock for a 360-degree view of NYC.  A ticket to the top of the Rockefeller Center is pretty expensive ($20/person) but it was one of those experiences you’ve gotta have as a tourist.  I saw the Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, and Central Park with an unobstructed view (no glass or bars).  Dinner was at Sakagura, which was really yummy.  We were supposed to meet up with Holly and Roy afterward but I was so exhausted from the red-eye and a full day of walking around that I just had to call it a day and head back to Queens.  Beakatude needed to recharge her battery.

Good Morning, NYC!

sunrise

Jes and I took the red-eye to JFK last night and arrive at 6:15 am EST.  I actually slept some in the plane and woke up to a spectacular sunrise!

game time

The subway ride to Jason and Jia’s was easy and the brothers got a couple hours of game time while I took a quick snooze and hung out before our adventures for the day.  We already had a small sandwich at the airport and ordered eggs and corned beef hash that was delivered to the house.  Now it’s off to Rizzo’s and then a subway ride into Manhattan.  Woo!