Travel | fabliss

Sundaes & Cones | New York City

this was our friend lauren’s favorite ice cream place in manhattan…and now it’s our favorite too!

we got a single scoop of the lychee and the thai tea ice cream. best lychee ice cream we have ever had!! the thai tea was so a great, great choice! go us!

we enjoyed our ice cream while flipping through old magazines they had lying around. note that this place is pretty spacious. however, there are only a few seats at the window and a few outside. cute part is that there were a lot of people just hanging around and enjoying an ice cream cone. a nice pause from the hectic.

lychee ice cream, we will meet again.

95 E 10th St
(at 3rd Ave)
New York, NY 10003
Neighborhood: East Village

By vivilinh | June 13th, 2013 | Coffee, Tea, & Bakeries, Dessert, Food, New York, Travel | 2 Comments

Tea & Dessert @ Cha-An | New York City

we came here because kyle’s cousin had it on her list (due to schedule conflicts she didn’t even end up going with us). this place is very cute. the tea house is located in east village (note that it is on the second floor). decor is traditional japanese. dim lighting with barely any natural night.

we came here for the tea ceremony. it was our fault that we didn’t look into it more. this ceremony is only available on sundays. we put our name and cellphone down (this is the second place in nyc that offered to call us when the table was ready! i love it! los angeles needs to step it up). it took us 25 minutes to get a table.

they have a set of rules listed on the first page of their menu. the main one to know is that each person in the party has to order one item. we decided to get some tea and the dessert everyone raves about: black sesame creme brule.

the menu here is pretty extensive…a little overwhelming actually. if you love tea, you should come here… so many different kinds of tea. we are in no way tea experts so i don’t think we appreciated it as much as others.

the tea comes in individual small pots. additional hot water is complementary. i thought the hostess was going to describe the tea or recommend a pairing. she just politely poured our tea and barely talked. good thing there are pretty good descriptions of the teas.

black sesame creme brule… eh. to be honest it just tasted like peanut brittle. i think i was expecting more. a plus: it wasn’t too sweet. i give this 3/5 stars.

atmosphere: i give this 4.5/5 stars. very cute. loved just sitting in our small corner enjoying cups of tea…a perfect place to unwind.
service: things came out quick. no complaints.
overall: next time i come here, i want to try their food. good place quiet place to get away in the city.

ps. there is a high tech bidet in the women’s bathroom. this will distract you for a good 5 minutes.

Cha-An
230 E 9th St
2nd Fl
(between Stuyvesant St & 3rd Ave)
New York, NY 10003
Neighborhood: East Village

By vivilinh | June 13th, 2013 | Coffee, Tea, & Bakeries, Dessert, Food, New York, Travel | 0 Comments

Junior’s Cheesecake | New York City

i don’t have to say much about this place because it is famous (it has been around forever, it was on bobby flay’s throwdown, it was featured in one of p.diddy’s mtv shows, etc). whenever i go to nyc, i always have to get a slice of the plain cheesecake ($6.50).

Junior's Cheesecake | New York

i cant speak to the food they serve in their restaurant since i only go to the little bakery on the left side. since i’m usually in nyc for business i need to grab and go. cheesecake here is on the dense side but i wouldn’t say as dense as the cheesecake factory but definitely not as fluffy as zanze’s in san francisco (still my number one). my favorite thing about this cheesecake is that it is not a graham cracker crust. it’s different and i appreciate that.

anyway, if you’re in nyc (specifically in times square and staying at the marriott marque), hop on over and get a slice. you have a few options: sit right outside (weather permitting) of the bakery or grab a small table in times square and just people watch. enjoy!

Junior’s Cheesecake
1515 Broadway
(between 44th St & 7th Ave)
New York, NY 10036
Neighborhoods: Midtown West, Theater District

By vivilinh | June 12th, 2013 | Coffee, Tea, & Bakeries, Dessert, Food, New York, Travel | 0 Comments

Momofuku Noodle Bar | New York City

we went to nyc last week for a few days. obviously before we went, we made a list of places we had to try on our second food adventure in nyc. momofuku was one of the places. two things we were excited about: pork buns and the ramen.

made it over to the east village for lunch. lucky for us, we only waited 10 minutes to get seated. we talked to the hostess who told us that dinner time gets extremely hectic. good thing they take your cell phone number and just call you when your table is ready. efficiency.

since we had a long, long day of eating ahead of us, we only ordered the staples. pork bun ($10). momofuku ramen ($16).

no wonder people rave about the pork buns. they are fantastic. absolutely fantastic. the pork belly melts in your mouth. i get it now. so we have had ippudo’s pork bun too. i think they go head-to-head. i cant say one is definitely better than the other. both are delicious.

the ramen was good. we got the momofuku ramen (had to go with the original since it was our first time). it has pork belly, pork shoulder, a poached egg, scallions, cabbage, and kamaboko. don’t be fooled. this will definitely fill you us. i cant put my finger on it but the noodles are different. more al dente? is that it? we enjoyed it.

atmosphere: long communal table in the front of the restaurant with high chairs. it gets pretty loud in there. loved sitting near the window…i cant get enough of natural light. seating in the back is for bigger parties.
price: a tad on the pricey side. but i would say worth it.
service: food comes out fast. good thing because there is always a line of people waiting to be seated.
overall: loved our meal. pork bun, i will dream about you and await the day we meet again.

Momofuku Noodle Bar
171 1st Ave
(between 10th St & 11th St)
New York, NY 10003
Neighborhood: East Village

By vivilinh | June 10th, 2013 | Food, New York, Restaurants, Travel | 9 Comments

Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Cafe | Los Olivos, CA

after our full day of vineyard adventures in santa barbara, we decided to have dinner at los olivos wine merchant & cafe (after reading a bunch of reviews). immediately fell in love with the place just from the outside! we had to wait 15 minutes for our table so we roamed the streets and found awesome lawn chairs.

i ordered the ravioli, which they make in-house. mushrooms, ricotta, cream and parmesan ($16, a steal!). it was delicious! it’s on the hardy side given the creamy sauce but it hit the spot after a long day. this was the best thing we ordered. you have to get this.

skuna bay salmon – grilled, ricotta-butternut pot stickers, shiitake mushrooms, roasted brussel sprouts. the fish was very well cooked. $27 though? not worth it.

kyle and goldman got the orecchiette with roasted garlic, house-made chicken sausage, oven dried tomato, parmesan, fresh herbs. this was good but nothing out of this world. i wish it had stronger flavors. in my opinion, $18 was a little on the high side but this dish is large. i’d go with the ravioli.

food: food is middle to high price range.
atmosphere: very nice, classy restaurant. white table cloth. large wine selection although we didnt order any.
service: pretty good. attentive
parking: ample street parking on a very quaint street
overall: i would come back. it was a lovely place to end a wonderful day at the vineyards.

Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Café
2879 Grand Avenue
Los Olivos, CA 93441

By vivilinh | March 22nd, 2013 | California, Food, Restaurants, Santa Barbara, Travel | 0 Comments

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