A City to Love

Each time we're in NYC, I find one more reason to love this vibrant and oh-so-very-unique city. And among the top five on this list is definitely Chinatown!

And it's all about the food for me! :)


Here they are in no particular order ... fried dumplings and sticky rice cakes from sidewalk vendors, tasty noodle bowls and fragrant pastries from bakery shops, delicious dim sum treats, 10-course family meals from local restaraunts, and much much more which you'll have to discover for yourself.

And what fun you'll have trying to decipher the secret ingredients and treasures of Chinatown! The best part is ... everything is amazingly affordable! But don't forget to bargain when purchasing anything from street vendors and shops. You may get a surprisingly good deal if you're a little patient. Last but not least, bring a bit of cash since many places don't accept credit cards and street vendors definitely want only cash.


And if you're hungry at 2:00AM? Check these places out!

Are you ready?! Here's a map to help you navigate the streets of Chinatown, and below are directions on how to get there.

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How to Get to Chinatown from Anywhere in NYC (Directions from www.explorechinatown.com.)

By Subway
6, J, M, N, Q, R, W, Z to Canal St station
B, D to Grand St station
F to East Broadway station
Get subway directions from hopstop.com

By Bus
M1, M6, M9, M15, M22, M103, B39, B51

Walking
- From East Village (Cooper Square, below St. Marks/8th Street)- walk straight down 3rd Avenue, which becomes Bowery, to Chatham Square.
- From SoHo - walk downtown on Broadway, turn left on Canal to Mott Street.
- From TriBeCa - walk uptown on Broadway, turn right on Worth (to Chatham Sq.) or Canal Street (to Mott Street).
- From South Street Seaport - walk uptown on Pearl Street (which becomes St. James PL) to Chatham Square.
- From WTC memorial site (corner of Church Street & Vesey Street) - walk uptown on Church Street or Broadway to Canal Street. Turn right and walk east.
- From Jury Duty/Centre Street - walk east on Worth Street one block to Columbus Park.


I promise you'll find something to love in Chinatown! And most likely, it'll be something to do with FOOD!

into the wild

Since today is Friday ... let's feature a movie for movie night!

My pick for this week is Seam Penn's "Into The Wild", recommended by my friend Ngocster. Not sure if it's playing at a theater near you yet, if not and you still want to check it out, Into the Wild, the bookhas been a bestseller for a long time now. The movie itself has also gotten rave reviews.

Btw, I've stumbled upon this fun widget that can feature all my favorite books, movies, DVDs, products, etc. It's scrolling on the right hand side of the page ... see?

Don't you just love widgets?!

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Updates logged on Sunday, October 14, 2007

We saw the movie last weekend, and it's everything I expected plus more. Definitely a must see. Bring some kleenex though.

what a wonderful world

Sometimes you see something so touchingly beautiful, you just have to share it!

Thanks Will for sending me this amazing video! :)

something whimsical this way comes

I wonder if Peppa actually knew how happy she'd make us when she threw together these gorgeous whimsical bowls. I bought them intending to use the bowls mostly for food storage (as my favorite cereal bowl for example), but next thing I know ... they've made their way into our living room and turned our bookshelves into a mini art gallery!

It's quite neat to learn a new craft through the artist's eye, especially one who's so passionate about her work like Peppa! Visit Peppa Studio and you'll see what I mean. :)

Btw, I love her new "birdies" series! Super cute!

my sister's wisdom

My baby sister sent me a beautiful poem a while back. I have to blog it below just in case I lose the original pages one day.

We don't live close to each other now, but we dream of one day living down the street from one another so we can have more coffee dates like this one (on a summer afternoon in Raleigh).

[IF] ~ by Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise.

If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build'em up with worn-out tools.

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!

living life as you dream it

We got a chance to go to Maine for a mini-holiday again. It's my most favorite retreat on the East Coast. This year we even had the fun company of our friends from Houston. It was their first time in Maine and we couldn't have asked for lovelier weather to show them around. We woke up every morning to the sunrises over the ocean, walked the Marginal Way to gape at the amazing views at every turn, headed into town for some fresh steamy coffee and flaky croissants at Fancy That, browsed our favorite gift shops, picked up snacks and drinks at the Village Food Market, and munched on delicious lobsters in melted butter. Life is oh so good in Maine!

I found this beautiful art piece at Art & Soul, one of the cutest art galleries in Ogunquit. Every time we're in town, we make a stop at the colorful and gorgeous Art & Soul. This time, I asked one of the shopkeepers where these beautiful artworks came from, and she happily said they're by artists all over the U.S. and the New England area. This made me think immediately of my talented sister. She should sell her beautiful whimsical artworks to quaint galleries like this one! Mmmm ... mental note ... remember to tell my sister.

For a few more glimpses of the Art & Soul Galleries:

you can't get lost in waikiki

(Map found on discounthotelshawaii.com.)

Last May, I visited Waikiki for the first time! Talk about excited! I couldn't think about anything but Hawaii during those long months leading up to the trip! :)

In Waikiki, at first glance, I was a bit weary. It seems almost like a "Little NYC" with all the skyscrapers within a one square mile radius. But after a day or two of walking around and staring at my tourist map, I realized it's almost impossible to get lost in Waikiki. OK ... here's how I got my bearings. There are three main streets in Waikiki. Yep! Just three!

The one that almost everyone will find themselves on is Kalakaua Boulevard, the beautiful avenue running closest and parallel to the Pacific Ocean. Here are most of the hotels and resorts, restaurants and shops, markets and ABC stores, and of course the gazillion tourists from all over the world ... including me! One of the hotels we stayed in on this trip was right off of this street. An unbeatable location!

Then there's Kuhio Boulevard, running side by side to Kalakaua Boulevard, perhaps a block or so inland. Most hotels actually congregate between Kalakaua and Kuhio Boulevards. The famous outdoor International Market has an entrance off of Kuhio also. And yes, you have to visit this market! It's one of the few places where tourists can bargain until their hearts' content. Kuhio is not as crowded as Kalakaua, and so if you want to go out to dinner but don't feel like bumping into too many tourists, pick a restaurant off of Kuhio. There are plenty of good ones to choose from. I even spotted a Vietnamese restaurant!

Last but not least is Ala Wai Boulevard which for me stands for the end of Waikiki since beyond it is the serene Ala Wai Canal. I did a quick reading on the internet and found out the canal was built in 1922 to help drain rainwater coming down from the mountains above Waikiki. And so thanks to the Ala Wai Canal, Waikiki is no longer a swampland full of fish and duck ponds. It's funny that almost every local we talked to mentioned that they're from or live in the Ala Wai Canal area. I guess it's where the tourists drop off, and the real life begins.

Well, that's about it on our brief geography crash course of Waikiki! :) Here's our snapshot of Ala Wai Boulevard with the mountains beyond. We came upon this corner almost daily during our week-long stay on the island. :)

twirling

I've always wanted to do this ... press the shutter button and spin round and round just to see what magic would come out of it. And so this is it! It's amazing what a little point & shoot can do!

In case you're wondering where this was ... we were on a family reunion/vacation in Orlando, and on this particular day ... we had such a blast exploring Islands of Adventures. :)