Minca, New York

There are two things that I've been hunting around New York City since I came here, ramen and steak. Don't ask me why, it just happened. Ramen was the quickest and most convenient meal option, it works for both day and night. In fact, I just went to another ramen shop before I settle down here in Starbucks.

Well, so far I've been to 4 ramen shops since I came here and I think I could pick my favorite to share with you all. Minca that is located in the East Village is my favorite spot for ramen. They also have a sister restaurant, called the Kambi Ramen House. Both of them are just a few blocks away from each other and they have the exact same menu, funny aye?

Anyway I've been to both and they taste exactly the same. Twice, I had their Spicy Miso Ramen. Love love love it to bits! The broth is creamy and the spiciness level is just right, it doesn't leave your taste buds numb! The pork slices were kinda large and not too fatty.

I'm not really a vege eater, but when I have their ramen, I chomped down their bean sprouts. That says something, everything is just perfect together that you can't leave out any of the ingredients in it to have a full taste of the ramen.

Butao in Hong Kong isn't as good as how it used to be, guess I'll have to hunt for a new, good ramen place when I get back home.

Baohaus, New York

Just yesterday I was all over the Lobster Benedict I had for brunch and couldn't wait to blog about it. Then, I had these two little bundle of happiness, which I just finished gobbling it a few minutes ago, and I jumped onto my computer right away and made a gif. for the pictures! Lobster benedict can wait for now.

Thanks to Vincent's Cheap Eat article on Facebook, I manage to get my butt off the chair after a solid 4 hours of Photoshop and Illustrator work and head to Baohaus for a quick takeout. Since I hate being lost and not knowing what to order, Yelp-ing always helps. I quickly took note of the favorites that people mentioned and decided on the Chairman Bao and Birdhaus Bao.

It's been long since I last made a gif. The baos came in this super cute takeout box and I instantly thought of making the gif. As you can see, the one with a thick layer of pork belly fat would be the Chairman Bao and the other one stuffed with fried chicken is the Birdhaus. Both were sprinkled with crushed peanuts, which made the taste more hippie!

When my friend first told me that I'm lucky to be living in where I am living right now, I couldn't agree with her. Now, after two weeks of exploration, I find that there are plenty of good food places that are just a few minutes walk away. I am totally spoilt by the choices that I get around here and that makes me a happy girl! *rubs tummy*

And now, after a quick yet satisfying meal, I gotta get back to work.

Another Friday Night in NYC

Last Friday night I was out till 3am on the streets, first time wandering around Times Square and was in awe to find out that the Forever 21 there closes only at 2am! Yesterday, I went to another must-go in NYC, the Empire State Building.

Though the price to get up the 86th floor observatory was a whooping $25, it is still something not to be missed! As dumb as this may sound, the experience of enjoying NYC on the streets and on top of ESB is just incompatible. You'll get a glimpse of 4 different views from each side of the building, each having their own attractions to it.

Me and my friend, Julie were up there around 8.30pm, just when the buildings and streets were starting to light up. My favorite part of the view was the moving yellow cabs in the neatly arranged grid-like streets.

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To me, a Friday night is not to be wasted without good food and company. Me and Julie had a splendid yet simple dinner at Cask Bar + Kitchen. The bill only came up to $25 including tax for the two of us! Considering the type of restaurant Cask was, I can only say I did a good job in not overeating this time.

Top: Wild Mushroom Flatbread; Bottom: Philly Cheese Steak Spring Rolls

Both dishes were the top recommendations on Yelp for Cask. I love love love the flatbread though I only had a bite of it! The taste of truffle oil still lingered in my mouth while I was on the ESB. As for the spring rolls, I think that the kitchen missed out putting cheese in it. Either that or the amount of it was too little for me to even realised!

Anyway, can't wait to turn 21 so that I can have Sangria with all the good food I'll have. Teehee!

Life's good in New York City

Trust me, I've been wanting to update this blog earlier but I always ended up being distracted by something else. There is just so much to do, see and eat in this city! Other than acting up as a tourist, occasionally I must stress, I've been buried by the amount of work from my summer school. By the way I forgot to mention that I'm doing Graphic Design in Parsons. Nothing related to fashion, too bad. But I am still glad that I came here!

The dorm that I'm living during the course of my summer school. After that I'll be staying back for an extra two weeks, homeless.

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One of the awesome restaurants that I've been to so far. Indulged myself in a sort of fancy dinner with Jessica at Social Eatz.

Can't get any more Asian with the napkin.

Jess had their legendary Bulgogi burger while I gave their spare ribs a try. I liked my dish but I just wish there was a side, for their Bulgogi burger it came with Kimchi fries, which was superb by the way.

Food aside, loved the interior and the ambience of the restaurant.

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Thanks to Jess, I was able to get out of Manhattan even on a weekday. We walked over to Brooklyn with the infamous Brooklyn bridge while watching the sun set. Since I landed in NYC, I've seen countless beautiful sunset views. Though it's different from experiencing it on the beach, the colour of the sky is still stunning each and every time.

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Just in case you've been missing my style shot posts, here's one to make it up for now.

Cargo Jacket: Zara
Top: Topshop
Black Skinnies: Topshop
Brogues: Monki
Bag: Zara
Watch: Casio
Accessories: MBMJ & Urban Outfitters (wish I could show a close up shot)

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That's it for now! Can't believe I covered all fashion, food and fotography topics in one post.

Hero Sandwich, Tai Kok Tsui

After being back in this hustling city for almost a month, I finally made myself to go on a solo food hunt yesterday. Once I stepped foot out of the MTR station, I realised why I've been hesitating on going out. I was instantly choked by the polluted air and secondhand smoke, making me almost forgot the reason that I fell in love with this city in the first place.

While finding my way to Hero Sandwich, I got lost in the old buildings and night lightings around Prince Edward.

It is quite a distance to get to Hero Sandwich from the Prince Edward MTR Station but nonetheless, I can tell you that it was worth it.

I had the Rib Eye Steak Sandwich Combo, which comes with fries and a drink for $46. The bread was perfect! Crispy crust on the outside and soft on the inside, as everyone would love to have it. Its crispiness doesn't hurt the sides of my mouth, if you know what I mean. Fries were served sizzling hot and fresh. All in all, it was worth my bucks and the walk.

If you come in a pair to Hero Sandwich, they have a duo set meal for only $99, which I think is a bargain because they also throw in a dessert for you.


Hero Sandwich
Shop 7-8, G/F, Shining Heights,
83 Sycamore Street, Tai Kok Tsui
MTR Station: Prince Edward/Exit C2


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Can't believe I ditched my blog for more than a month, despite all the free time that I have rotting away in my summer crib. Right now I am counting down 3 days till I jet off to New York city and do what I am suppose to do this summer.

No more promises on future updates (because I barely keep it) but I am definitely working on something in the mean time.

Foooooooooood in Big Island

A super long overdue post since I haven't been updating much either. Spring break, intense scheduling for the trip and actual traveling actually made me felt like being a proper exchange. Before that, I almost lived like a regular student here, occasionally library cramming session, which is kinda lame I thought since my grades won't be transferred back anyways.

Anyway here goes, my first day in Big Island. It was an all girls trip but that does not mean that this is a shopping trip, just read on. This will be a blog post purely on the food I had in Big Island.

Kicked start the cold, rainy morning in Big Island at Ken's House of Pancakes. The place was only a 3-minute drive away from the airport, perfect distance since all of us were pretty famished at that time. Don't be fooled by the name of the diner, they have a loads of other stuff for you to pick from other than pancakes! Nothing much to rave about but dining at a place where the locals frequent will never go wrong.

Lunch was at Tex Drive In, had Loco Moco and Malasadas. Loco Moco is a local dish here in Hawaii, basically it's made up of rice, either brown or white of your choice, then you have a burger patty with the brown sauce and an egg, also cook they way you like it. As for the plain sugar-coated bun, it's called malasadas. Taste like doughnut but in a bun form, HEH! But just to mention, Tex Drive In has the best Malasadas I've ever had!

We got a visitor while we were having our lunch after snorkeling at Da Poke Shack. Poke bowl is one of my favorite local dished here too, it's basically raw fish salad and I always go for the Spicy Ahi (yellowfin tuna). So in my plate you'll see brown rice top with Furikake, spicy Ahi and potato salad. Major yums, but still can't beat my favorite poke place back in O'ahu.

Third day's lunch at Cafe 100. This is a place where I will go gaga over it, best Loco Moco ever! I used to think that there isn't any difference between the Loco Moco from different places until I had this! The sauce and meat patty, does make a difference. Paired with a large coke and fries, I lose my self-control when it comes to good food.

Grilled chicken with pita, pasta, shoyu ahi with sweet potato chips and crabcakes salad from Hilo Bay Cafe. Not too sure if the food was plain great or we all were just starving because the plates all ended up like below.

Squeaky clean! Everyone just started gobbling the food once it was served, no time for small talks. By the time we realise why the table was too quiet, all the food were already almost gone.

Always have room for desserts, Chocolate Lava Cake with Kona Coffee Ice Cream. *noms*

This is a major summary on the food research I made on Big Island, though I realise that I miss the famous shave ice place in Kona. That couldn't be help because by the time I knew it we were already back in Hilo, which is on the other side of the island.

Next blog post, more scenery pictures, no more tummy-torture ones.

Izakaya Nonbei, Honolulu

No doubt I've been complaining how good-food-deprived I am here in Hawai'i but mainly it's because I haven't been actively wandering around the island and also am a bit intimidated to do so. Seeing homeless people sleeping on the streets, walking around with a push carts was actually the only culture shock that I experienced here and this is also the reason that I've made myself stay in my room more often.

Then again, I won't deny that there are actually pretty impressive hole in the walls around the island. Izakaya Nonbei is one of it and dayumm, the variety of good Japanese places on the island does not stop here!

Sharing the same liking as the boy, this places serves incredible Tamagoyaki (egg sushi)! Blogging about these just makes me want to have another round of it again!

The other dishes, also fanta-licious! My favorite was the wafu steak, the tenderness of the meat was impeccable. If you know me well, you could probably imagine me saying SO GOOOOOOOD, right after having it.

I've decided to share some of my favorite places in Hawaii and my trips to other island and California! Till I get back to Hong Kong, this blog will lack some fashion updates.