Last Minute Sight Seeing

Our final day in NYC was spent ticking off two tourist sites which Smee and I had never really explored properly on our previous trip.  The first was Grand Central Station, which was always within walking distance to our hotels. 

Outside the station. 

The main concourse was a little smaller inside than I imagined, but that's not to say it is a small station or unimpressive.... just that the movies and TV makes things look so much bigger! 

Very nice lighting fixtures indeed.  Yes it's easy to forget we are in a train station. 

Another view of the main concourse.  The north end I think.

There's plenty of restaurants and eateries to fill you up including an oyster bar.  It seemed very popular with people already queuing before opening hours.  I was also suprised to see that the Magnolia Bakery also had a little store in the basement food court. 

Mmmmmm .... those long train rides are just so much better if taken with a cupcake. 

There's even a produce market.  You know, where you can pick up your European cheeses. 

For someone who has been to NYC twice before, I hadn't actually walked IN Central Park, only near it and past it.  I know, I know *hangs head in shame*  There was just too much shopping and eating to do!   Smee and I walked the 15 blocks or so down to finally see the 'lungs of NYC'. 

 I'm loving the contrast of the greenery with the skyscrapers.  It's like I'm living in an metropolitan-ecological utopia!!! (Nerd)

 Baseball in the park.  Smee wanted to join!  I wanted to bat a few balls too!  One of the many bridges found in the park. 

The park is the perfect oasis to get away from the hustle and bustle of the Manhattan mayhem.  Despite being quite 'busy' for a park - runners, doggy walkers, team sports, tourists abound - it is quite tranquil in places.  I would so enjoy walking my dog here!  Um.... if I only had a dog.... and er.... if I only lived here.

 We also visited Strawberry Fields which is the site of John Lennon's memorial.  Smee did not appreciate this but then again, he's not much of a Beatles fan. 

Well, we finally had to end our day in NYC and make our way to the airport.  Boo hoo hoo :(  Neither of us got upgraded this time and the only notable thing about our journey back to London was the inflight entertainment wasn't working!

Bubbai NYC!  Don't worry, I'll return again someday!

Chicken, Museum, Ramen

Smee had told me all about his dreamy relationship with Korean style fried chicken and after seeing an outlet in Koreatown the other night, I really wanted to get my paws on some. Our diet hasn't been the most balanced over the past week but we're on holiday so I figure it's ok to continue poisoning our bodies.  Smee was in disbelief that I insisted on having fried chicken for lunch which puzzled me a bit because he usually is quite the fried chicken lover.

The difference between 'fried chicken' and 'fried chicken Korean style' is that it is twice fried, making it less oily and more crispy. Also, you can get it marinated in the Korean hot sauce which makes it taste unlike your typical KFC. Mmmmm "healthy" fried chicken? What more could I ask for?!?!? It just so happened that we were only a few blocks away from one of these chicken stores - BonChon Chicken on 38th St. It's a sign! I must eat this chicken!!

So happy to be outside a fried chicken store.

It just after midday but there was already a short queue inside and a few customers waiting for their chicken but by no means was it crowded. This was a little misleading because it did not truly demonstrate how terribly inefficient their kitchen was. Despite having a counter, it took about 15 minutes to place our order. While waiting to place our order, two customers demanded their money back, stating that they'd been waiting 30 minutes. Oooooh not good, not good for business at all. Finally the staff had to be realistic and stated that any new orders would have a 20 minute waiting time. That didn't deter me, I still wanted my fried chicken and if I have to wait for it, I will.

The wait paid off! I got my chicken bucket.

 We got the mix pack of hot sauce chicken and garlic/soy chicken. Spicy coleslaw and pickled radish on the side. Healthy takeway food! *looks side to side*

Mmm yes, yes enjoying my chicken indeed.

Overall I would still return to eat more BonChon chicken. However, the ordering/kitchen situation really needs to be addressed because you can't market yourselves as a takeaway fried chicken outlet and have a 30 minute wait time. I understand you gotta fry the chicken twice, but maybe they should make it clear that the chicken is cooked to order.   Customers will be more forgiving if they realise it is not the case of KFC where the chicken is ready-fried-sitting-under-the heater.

Smee and I can't eat all day long - one could disagree - so we headed off to the Museum of Natural History near Central Park. Smee really really wanted to go here because of Ben Stiller's Night at the Museum.

We had already been to the Smithsonian Natural History Museum in DC where the sequel was based and needed to check out the original movie's museum in NYC. I didn't mention it, but we were a little disappointed with the Smithsonian. We both thought that it would be bigger and have more exhibits. We were surely not let down today! This museum is HUGE and had heaps more exhibits than either the Smithosonian and London Natural History museums. Fun times peeps, fun times.

The dinosaur in the main entrance hall.

So many animals, so much effort to re-create believable scenes. It was all pretty cool and more cool if they came alive at night! I'm not going to post more photos because it all just looks like pics from a National Geographic magazine.

It's a little unfortunate that people have come to know the Easter Island statue as Dum-Dum. Kids scream 'DUM-DUUUUM!!!' when they see it. But hey, at least it makes the kiddies somewhat excited about history (a most underrated high school subject).

Me re-creating my seagull punching episode.

Smee and the whale. Mmmmm triceratops bones...

Dinner time has to come around sooner or later and keeping with our ramen theme, Smee and I debated whether to return to Ippudo or to try somewhere else. We ended up returing to East Village but went to Kambi Ramen House instead.  The more you try, the more you know is my attitude!

The good thing about Kambi is that we got a seat immediately instead of waiting around for 40 minutes.  It wasn't decked out like Ippudo but was more of a traditional ramen bar with high chairs, small tables and efficient turnarounds. 

I took a photo of the menu as a keepsake.

For entree Smee and I settled on the prawn gyoza, complete with an entire prawn inside.

I can not remember what we ordered, but here are the yummy ramen bowls.  I think the left is the pork/chicken mixed broth Kambi sio and I think the right one is pork broth shoyu.  I think.  I really can't remember.  You might note that the egg is hard boiled.  A bit of a boohoo given how I like them with a soft yolk but at least it was marinated in soy/mirin.

A bit of extra cha shu on the side thanks.

Anyway, both Smee and I were pretty impressed with our bowls.  It is because of our recent experience at Ippudo and Kambi that we no longer rank Men Kui Tei and the other ramen bars from our 2007 trip worthy of returning.  So many more ramen bars to visit, so little time!

Between Ippudo and Kambi, it is a tough choice.  Smee and I made our analysis and pitted the two against each other.  Smee rates Ippudo over Kambi, whereas I'm the opposite.  Smee says that Ippudo's broth inches out past Kambi, whereas I thought they were pretty much on par.  It could very well be that Smee just has a more discernible palate than I.  However, I justify my decision to rate Kambi above Ippudo for a number of reasons.  The broth I've already mentioned, the relatively cheaper price (though I guess in the scheme of things $5 extra can be overlooked) and also the lack of a 40 minute queue.  If I wanna eat ramen, hang out in a bar, be with beautiful, sexy uni students then head out to Ippudo.  But if all I want is a quick and tasty bowl of ramen, without the fuss and won't dent the purse, then Kambi is your place.  Either way, both Ippudo and Kambi are on my hit list! 

Our bowls hanging out by the ramen kitchen.

Smee and I were seated at the bar in full view of the kitchen and couldn't help but admire the chefs awesome noodle-straining style. Watch on to see them construct our bowls!  Num nums! 

Tomorrow, our final day in NYC.  Boo hoo!

Chinatown *thumbs down* .... East Village *thumbs up*

Despite having a reputation for having unfriendly folk, Smee and I had yet to encounter any form of rudeness in NYC or the US for that matter.  London by far shits all over NYC in that department.  I guess if we were ever to experience such behaviour, it would naturally occur in the enclave universally acknowledged as the Epicentre of No Manners a.k.a Chinatown.  No matter which city you reside, there is a global rule that "you don't go to Chinatown for service".

Smee and I are used to being barked at, urged to order, told to sit - you know it comes part and parcel with the usually quick service.  I don't really care if you abruptly scream dim sum dishes at me, just bring the food quicksmart.  We  learnt from a very young age that you don't need to fawned over in a Chinese restaurant.  However, a bit of fawning wouldn't frigging hurt at Jing Fong restaurant in NYC's Chinatown.  I don't usually print the exact location of my eating venues, but I have a personal vendetta with Jing Fong and I am out to DESTROY this restaurant even if it is just in the cyberworld.

DO NOT EAT AT THIS RESTAURANT - Jing Fong, 20 Elizabeth St, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10013. Otherwise, abusive snail mail, prank calls to + 1 (212) 964-5256 and bad internet reviews are strongly encouraged. 

There is only one exception to this rule.  You can eat there if you are of non-Asian descent because if you weren't born with almond eyes and black hair, you have it lucky at Jing Fong.  Never in my life have I experienced such discrepancy in service levels based on racial appearance.  I mean, wtf is up with that? 

NYC is the home to one of the largest Chinatowns in the world.  We were a bit disappointed at our previous eating experience and wanted to give it another go.  Smee and I chose to eat here based on the positive reviews and to suss out yum cha in NYC. 

 The restaurant was massive.  Here is Smee getting excited at prospect of eating before our experience soured. 

It about 2pm by the time we were seated and okay fair enough, that is technically past the core yum cha time.  However, the restaurant wasn't empty and we could see they were still pushing carts around.  More pointedly, if you are not going to serve food, then you should not seat patrons down.  It took about 10 minutes for the first trolley come by which was a bit longer than usual but not unexpected because of the time of the day.  Smee and I settled on a few bamboo steamers to get us started.  

 The dumplings were bigger than any other restaurant I've been but this is typical of the 'bigger is better' culture that is the USA.  

It was after the first serving and single trolley that Smee and I started to get tetchy.  No more trolleys were making their way to us despite being in full view around parts of the restaurant.  The trolleys weren't moving because the waitress-pushers were standing around, trolleys in hand, chatting to each other.  If they weren't doing that, then they were pushing the trolleys to the few tables near the kitchen and then pushing them back inside.

Smee flagged down a waiter who was just standing around doing nothing and asked if anymore trolleys were coming.  He just nodded, brushing us off with a "Yeah, yeah"... not bothering to actually DO anything about it.  It wasn't like he was soooo busy that he couldn't walk over to re-direct the trolley ladies.

Ten minutes later, we asked another waiter and again no trolleys came near.  The waiter should have offered to take an a la carte order, but that didn't happen either.  We felt sorry for the table next to us.  It took them about 15 minutes to have tea served and NO trolleys reached them in the time we were there.  By now it was about 30 minutes since we arrived and in most yum cha restaurants you would be close, if not already finishing your meal. 

Then it so happened that a table of eight came in and were seated, oh I dunno, about five metres away.  I don't like highlighting this but in order to make my point clear, I have to state that they were Caucasian.  Lo and behold, miraculously all the trolley ladies decided to do their job and converged on the table like how seagulls would attack fried chips.  Five trolleys to that one table and many food offerings abound.

Smee and I (and the other table of two Asians) waited - surely they would now bring their trolleys to us.  No, they didn't.  They just continued to stand at that one table chatting to each other and then offering more dumplings to those patrons.  Did they look our way?  No.  The only way we would get food was if we walked over there and took it.  Were we going to do that?  No f**king way.  I was seething, SEETHING with anger at the blatant difference in service levels.  Could you be more obvious? 

We took our bill to the counter and paid.  We actually thought of walking out without paying but neither of us wanted a US criminal record.  Giving bad feedback to the cashier/'manager' made no difference.  To our comment that the service was bad, she just said 'Ok'.  DO NOT EAT AT THIS EFFED UP RESTAURANT!

Still hungry, Smee and I went to a nearby xiao long bao place.  Service was better but our day was ruined by the horrible Jing Fong. 

The restaurant was oddly decorated in a rustic Italian style complete with red and white tablecloths.  They served 'Fried Tiny Buns' but Smee wouldn't let me order them. 

Who knows what we did inbetween lunch and dinner.  I would have to assume it was shopping.  We were now staying at the Wingate by Wyndham which was around the corner from Macys.  You couldn't compare it to the W, but the location was about as good as it gets.

Me so happy outside Macys.

I mentioned that ramen was the theme on this trip and here were about to have our third sampling.  I was recommend by AW to check out Ippudo in East Village. Smee had also read some glowing reviews and was keen to check it out.  This ramen restaurant is one of several around the world and how I wish they would open several more. 

It was a little funky joint, dimly lit with a bar at the front waiting area.  It bordered on being cool in a wanky way with the upmarket, clubby decor but hey it is in a student area and you gotta make cool so the students will wanna hang out there.  With a no reservations policy in place, they had a doorbitch manning the guest list and a queue at 10pm.  We waited about 40 minutes for our table and yep, it was sure worth the wait.

 Smee with all the bowls in Ippudo's front bar.

For starters we ordered the Hirata Buns.  Belly pork in Ippudo's spicy sauce with lettuce and mayo encased in a light, puffy steamed bun.  At $4 a bun, they weren't cheap by NYC standards, but so so so delicious! 

 So yummy, so tasty.  I want MORE!  I read someone else's review who likened the buns to Crack.  Yeah, I totally get that.

 
Up until now, we didn't have a clear winner in the Ramen Race but Ippudo's specialty tonkotsu base clearly has the heads up.  Smee liked it so much he nearly slurped the entire bowl!  I can't remember the exact ramens which we ordered (one of them was a special) but regardless, they were both so yummy!  You can check out part of the menu here. 

The broth was so tasty, so 'clean' and my egg was just how I expected it, marinated in soy sauce and mirin.  Yum yum.  The pork just melted in your mouth and it had obviously been nurtured through the cooking process *happy sniff*

 Smee I don't wanna pose, just lemme eat already!

Smee liked his ramen so much, he wants us to return for another bowl!  I don't think I can promise him that, there are too many other places to try but it would definitely be on my Hit List for anyone visiting NYC.

To summarise our day: East Village - uber cool, uber yummy places to eat.  Chinatown - meh.

Last Meal in DC...Another Meal in NYC

Having been quite impressed with last night's Viet fare, Smee and I returned to the Eden Centre for more.  Poor Smee has not had the best of Viet food in London, so we thought it be best he try and get his fill in DC.  The surprising thing about the Eden Centre is that for the relatively small number of restaurants, each seemed to have their own specialty. 

Smee and I settled on Thanh Tong, a restaurant which specialised in Bun Bo Hue.  There was an odd thing about this restaurant.  We only know this because a customer walked in, sat down, struggled with the English menu and requested a Spanish one.  The restaurant did not have a Spanish menu.  The customer then asked in broken English if any staff in the restaurant spoke Spanish.  The Viet granny then went out to the kitchen and brought back the Latino head chef.  Wtf?  That's not a complaint though!  The food was tasty and authentic!  We didn't get the usual MSG attacks after either! 

Banh Xeo.  It was the biggest frigging Banh Xeo I've ever had.  They sure didn't skimp on the accompanying herbs either.  My Bun Bo Hue - nice and lemongrassy without tasting instant.  Smee had the Com Tam.  The biggest ever Com Tam I've seen on the planet and included two fried eggs instead of the usual one.  Mmm cholesterol city...

Never mind that we couldn't finish our meal, I am one to make the most of an opportunity.  So off I trotted much to Smee's protest to get my Banh Mi fix. I just wanted a snack for the five hour drive back to NYC! 

Unfortunately, it was a little disappointing.  The filling was ok, but the bread wasn't as crusty as the Aussie Viet bakeries.  Or maybe I've just gotten to the Aussie version. 

The journey back to NYC wasn't anything exciting.  We got back alive, that's all that mattered.

Well, we had brunch in DC, a snack on the ride home.....there really is nothing else to do but to have dinner after a long drive.  Hehehe.  Smee and I settled on Le Relais De Venise given that it wasn't far from our car rental return location (good riddance to The Tank!).

Le Relais De Venise is a L'Entrecote restaurant of which there are several outposts including Paris, London and New York.  Smee had been to the London one and told me all about it and I was pretty eager to wolf some L'Entrecote-goodness down.  The restaurant does not have a menu as it specialises in only one dish.  You specify how you want your steak done and you can either eat it or leave. 

The salad starter.  The steak with frites.  Mmmmm saucy.  The steak is served in two stages - half of it is held back and kept warm until you are ready for it.  Nums!!

Enjoying the house red.  Enjoying the steak. Oh how can I not enjoy a restaurant where the waitresses adorn French Maid/Waitress uniforms?

After dinner, we needed to walk off the binge-fest and doing so, had to bypass some lights.

Did I mention that we were in New York f**king City?!?

Of course, the cops have gotta have their station up in bright lights too.

Tomorrow is another day in NYC and no doubt there will be another eating adventure.

The President's City

For a still-officially-Spring day, it was pretty freaking hot - about 30-something degrees hot.  This was  unexpected but we were well prepared with some emergency Summer gear.  Our first task for the day was to park the Tank, which we managed with minimal fuss.

Smee and I then took a stroll down to the White House.  With the security overhaul, we were no longer permitted inside and had not been organised enough to arrange for the official guided tour.  Overall, Smee was a bit disappointed.  He thought the White House would be huge but it is a lot smaller than most would imagine.  It's still very 'white' though!

The back of the White House.  The front of the White House.

About as close as Smee will ever get to the White House.

Next, we walked down the National Mall and made our way to the Lincoln Memorial. Smee was adamant that he see 'the big Lincoln that Bart Simpson talks to' while in DC.  I don't actually recall that happening in the episode but I guaranteed him that we would indeed see the big Lincoln once we do the kilometre or so walk along the Reflecting Pool. 

At one end of the Reflecting Pool with the Lincon Memorial behind Smee.  At the other end of the pool, the Washington Monument.  So much history.... Martin Luther King made his 'I Have a Dream' speech here and and Forrest Gump errrr also did a speech here. 

Almost at the big ol' Lincoln, almost there Smee!

Smee finally meets Big Lincoln.

Yes, I am indeed in DC.

By now, the heat was really getting to us and I was getting a tan I didn't want.  We were hungry and really didn't want another fat-fuelled meal.  Smee had watched an episode of Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations which advised us that the Maine Avenue Fish Market was well within driving distance of the major DC sights.  That was enough to sell us and so off we went in search of Omega 3.   

It's nothing like the awesomnest that is the Sydney Fish Market but for what they lacked in variety they compensated with an abundance of Chesapeake Blue Crabs.  Crabs are sold by the bucket load and were dirt cheap.  The crabs (and any other seafood for that matter) could be cooked for you on the spot; steamed in a vat and then seasoned with some Cajun spice.  In humble opinion, I thought the spice was unnecessary because it is not as though it would penetrate the crab shell.  Also, it was too salty and I would have happily eaten the crab plain.  I was aghast that some people asked for extra spice in a separate bag. What would you do with all of that?  Dip the claw into the seasoning between bites?  Gross. 

Me with my crabby claws... or I could be doing a robot dance.

So much for healthy food.  Our seafood fisherman's basket was fried into oblivion.  We had didn't have any other choice! There wasn't any other way they would cook it!  I insisted on having some seafood chowder - nice but too salty after a while.  Our steamed crabbies in their brown paper bag home.  It took about 40 minutes to get the crab because there was only one guy manning the steaming vats! 

We returned to the other end of the National Mall to hang out at Capitol Hill.  Smee was pretty happy to see that this building did meet his size-imagination expectations.  It was while parking The Tank that we experienced some DC hospitality from a road cop.  Not knowing if were were allowed to park so close to a government building, we drove up to a standing cop to enquire. 

"Senate is over for the day, so you can park right here." 
"But it says we can't park here until after 4pm."
"Oh we have these restrictions in so that way Senate members can park here, but now that Senate is over, you can park here. I'll look after your car and let my colleague know."  FANKS DC COPPER! 

I tried to shield myself from the beating sun as we walked down to check out the Smithsonian National History Museum.  I still got a tan. 

Outside the museum.

Inside the main hall.  I'm not gonna bore you all with anymore photos than that.

By the time we decided what to have for dinner, it was kinda late.  We had a bit of a hankering for Viet and ended up driving to the Eden Centre.  After finding a shop with an open kitchen, Smee and I were mighty impressed with their pho and the general food.  A return trip beckons!

Yeah dat's right.  Don't loiter.  It's written in Viet too, so no excuse!  My three colour drink.  Nummies. 

Smee was also propositioned by a 'photographer' who takes 'glamour shots' offering technical advice.  Yeah thanks man.  He was being helpful enough though. 

Alas there ends our final night in DC.  Tomorrow - the drive back to NYC!