I was supposed to post these pictures around Christmas time (when they are relevant) but you know all the things with holiday season, I was busy doing nothing...I mean it's still holiday for the school kids I am not that far off.
Holiday lights outside of Coach store
A particularly flashy house here (New Jersey are pretty serious about their light)
Noodle I had the first weekend I was back from Japan. The broth is too rich but I had to get the plum soda
Limited eyelid glue from Koji, I thought the packaging is cute
After thinking about it for a year, I finally tried Cha Cha matcha (it was totally meh/I could totally make that at home) At least the place is perfect for Instagram.
Every big holiday, I like to visit Chinatown with friends (because it's the only place that stays open) and since I visited the one in Flushing during Thanksgiving, I picked Sunset Park at Brooklyn for Christmas...
The produce are much fresher here (compared to Manhattan Chinatown) but also more expensive
Everybody likes plump fruits
They even have fresh eel (too bad I don't want to butcher them myself). This picture also shows that koi is just carp/invasive species.
The fruit are expensive but the food cart is totally affordable
Look at those food on stick!
This was 1.25 buck! We also got sausage and fish ball.
Spotted glazed hawthorn 冰糖葫芦 but they are so short. This particular one doesn't look that fresh but I want to try it next time I get a chance.
Gudao Green Tea - Must buy if you see it at Chinese supermarket. It's refreshing and lightly sweetened (neither sickeningly sweet like American Sweet tea nor totally bland like Japanese one) and should only be a dollar. Some Brooklyn bakery sells it for 2 though, ripoff...
(I didn't tell my friend) but my main goal of visiting Sunset Park was to look for this pickled plum to make my own salty plum soda...
I tried this at home, it's similar to umeboshi from Japanese grocery store and not as yummy as the one from Pho Bang (I guess I will keep going back for their own version of the soda). At least it makes a comforting salty drink.
Quick snack at food court. Chinese pancake 煎饼果子 with egg (when you ask for egg they use two for the whole pancake) and beef.
So single serving ended up being huge and I had to take home the other half. The matcha milk tea from Chinatown was really good (forgot to take picture), way better than chacha matcha. Since Sunset Park is mostly grocery and street vendors, we headed back via train
Back to last day of Union Square holiday market
Now I have a major (didn't buy it) buyers regret for that green double hoop on top.
Manhattan Sunset - on our way to Trader Joe (friends wanted macarons I craved dried mango...The mango was nasty though, as I found out they switched manufacturer from Philippine to Mexico).
At least I got my matcha from TJmaxx - both are brands I tried and love.
Muji got new bedding!
I got a green towel while I was in Japan - Turns out that they have them in New York as well.
And they imported the light skincare...Now if they bring the makeup here I will be so happy.
Quick stop at kinokuniya to browse craft books. I will probably go back later (the line was pretty long right before Christmas) for that book for pants.
Sometime I feel like while Japan has all sorts of cool things (and it's easy to get lost in a sea of products), the best, most worthy ones get imported to New York anyway so I can find the stuff I want more easily in Kinokuniya than going through multiple Tsutaya in Tokyo.
Whimsical embroidery
More really fashionable sewing book (probably not good for my body type)
Tsumori Chisato mook
Cute mini tie pin - I want one for my own suit jacket but these are probably really expensive...
Dinner was mentoku Ramen at Hells Kitchen. We want Totto but hate to line up for food. The ramen at Mentoku is pretty good and (Unlike Totto soup that gives you a month supply of sodium in one sip) I can actually finish the soup completely! Next time I will try their evil looking matcha ramen.
Their gyoza are good!
Takoyaki was yummy and fresh
Dessert was gelato from Amorino - Chocolate, mango and passionfruit (I like all three flavors!)
My friends. For a place near Times Square, the interior is pretty roomy that you can sit pretty comfortably. That's it for today, I shall go back to sorting/resizing all the Tokyo pictures.
Ahhh you make me want to move to NYC (not really, the rent is stupid crazy there, just like SF...). All the fresh fruits and the foods!!!
ReplyDeleteAre those matcha from The Mighty Leaf and Hyleys sweetened?
Ask Pho Bang and see if they'd tell how you what they put in their salty plum soda ^.^
And eeek, those ramen broths are chock full of sodium whether or not they taste salty!
I haven't tried the Powdered one from mightyleaf yet but it's only matcha mixed with Cocoa powder (back in November I saw bunch of tea bag at Marshalls for 2.50 a box and I hoarded most of the green tea on the shelf / only less than 15 bucks) the hyley is unsweetened, I already have a box of regular and ginger flavored at home, they are better than itoen to say the least. Yeah maybe I should ask what pho Bang uses, it's a thicker plum jam suspended in syrup.
ReplyDeleteThe best ramen I had was one in asakusa shotengai, I went there three times and cleared the plate each time.
Any pics of that ramen in Asakusa shotengai? Name of shop?
DeleteI think it was Asakusa ramen toriyansen. I like the one with really boney broth and I have pictures too, just need to dig it out from phone. And to be honest I don't miss Japanese food that much because New York kind of has everything then more... (But Toronto has the best Cantonese food though).
DeleteAnd I like the nice (and passive agressive towards some oblivious tourists) waitress too....