August 26, 2010 | Posted in Blog, Life, Photography, Travel

My 5 Favorites, Not-to-Miss East Village Bites

It’s always good to know where to go for great food in the city. To start off, head to the East Village on the lower east side. There are hundreds of place to sample a variety of different cuisines and drinks. The neighborhood contains the most varied group of ethnic restaurants in New York City. There’s every type of food you could think about wanting to eat and you can find it there.

1- Motorino
Motorino is one of my personal favorites on 12th street. It’s best known as a brick-oven pizza joint and was featured on Time Out Magazine. Their menu is robust and features much more than just pizza. I went though their appetizers section and it was hard to pick just one out. One of the appetizers that catch my attention was the Warm Spicy Octopus & Potato topped with Chili Oil and Lemon. It turned out to be very delicious. I also order the Cherry Stone Clams and the Prosciutto Di Parma pizza. The crust is crisp and puffy at the edge with fresh sauce that lingered in my mouth.

(Spicy Octopus & Potato)

(Ommegang Wittle Beer at Motorino)

(Cherry Stone Clams pizza)

(Prosciutto Di Parma)

(My Ice tea at Motorino)

(Motorino’s menu)

2- Veniero’s Pastry
After all the delicious pizzas, I had a huge craving for dessert and a cannoli seemed like the perfect fit. I headed to the famous Veniero’s Pastry on 11th Street. They have a wide selection of choices including cannolis, tiramisu and much more. There’s definitely something for everyone.

(Veniero’s Pastry)

(Veniero’s Pastry on Left and Rice to Riches on Right, these two photos are from Akito)

3- Japanese Restaurant in East Village
Next I headed down to St Marks Street. This is where you’ll encounter a much different atmosphere. Walking through the endless strip of restaurants from Japanese, Thai, to Middle Eastern, it certainly whetted my appetite.

4- Pommes Frites
Be sure to check out the Pommes Frites for some Belgian fries. A few more blocks away is the Astor Wine shop, a great place for variety of Italian wines. I bought two bottles of wine.

(Japanese Restaurant in East Village)

(Astor Wine)

5-Rice to Riche
Finally, my last food venture was rice pudding at Rice to Riches. This place is bright and cute. They have many unusual flavors and toppings for the rice pudding. It’s very tasty, however, the price is a bit high just for the pudding ($7.75). So I’ve covered some of my favorite eats in East Village. Do you have any suggestions on which one is your favorite pizza or dessert place?

August 16, 2010 | Posted in Blog, Life, Photography, Travel

Bungeoppang Pastry in Queens

I’ve lived in Queens for more than 20 years now, and I’ve fallen in love with this neighborhood. Yeah, it’s not as glamorous as Manhattan, but it is one of the most ethnically diverse areas of New York; let’s just say I can certainly experience the world and try its food in one day without leaving the city at all.

I can find food from Mexican and Chinese to Korean and Indian, Queens has it all. To get a sense of the borough take a drive to Union Street or Northern Boulevard in Flushing. I feel like I just arrived in Seoul. There are tons of Korean supermarkets and restaurants shops to pick from. H Mart Korean Supermarket, just on the right of Union Street, is a hidden gem for me. I stumbled on a video from New York Times about it and I decided to go for a visit. Although it is a Korean supermarket they also serve delicious Korean food inside the store.

I came across a stand inside selling fish shaped pastry filled with red bean paste and it was delicious. It’s called Bungeoppang similar to the Japanese Taiyaki. A bit of batter is poured into the fish mold, then the red bean paste is added followed by another pour of batter. The mold is then closed and roasted similar to a waffle maker. After about 4 minutes they’re done and ready for me to enjoy!

(Bungeoppang for sale)

(Bungeoppang Fish Mold)

(The Mold is Open)

(Batter is poured into the mold)

(Making the Bungeoppang)

(The mold is closed and turned)

(Is Bungeoppang ready?)

(It’s all done!)

(Fish Shaped Red Bean Cake)

(Bungeoppang Sign)

(Bungeoppang Stand)

(H Mart Korean Supermarket)

(Kimchee)

(Korean Instant Noodles)

(Korean Noodles)

(The supermarket)

(Namoodol)

(The variety of foods)

(Side dishes that came with the food)

(My food)

August 9, 2010 | Posted in Blog, Life, Photography, Travel

Discovering The High Line, Chelsea

In the trendy meatpacking district I took a stroll on the High Line promenade for the first time last weekend and it was great. The gardens with the beautiful flowers were so inviting. They were plenty of benches to relax on and all along the promenade there were views of the Hudson River and the West Side. It’s a brand new elevated park with a rich unique history.

( The High Line is elevated 30 feet above street level and has a beautiful view of the city)

(A view of the building looming hazily in the background)

(Tunnel)

(The remaining tracks)

(Us in the High Line Park)

The High Line was a former elevated freight railroad that was built in the 1930s to keep the trains off the street and out of the way of pedestrians and street cars. It was lifted 30 feet in the air due to so many accidents that occurred between freight trains and street level traffic between 1851-1929. The high line was built to connect directly to factories and warehouses, allowing trains to go through and drop off the goods. The railroad has not been in use since the 1980s due to the growth of interstate trucking. The High Line is now a new elevated public park on the West Side of Manhattan. With an interesting architecture and the beautiful garden, who would have guessed that an abandoned railroad could be turned into such a beautiful park?

(This became the Death Avenue Between 1851-1929)

(The Railroad by 11Avenue, Photo Credit: www.thehighline.org)

(The Railroad Between 1851-1929, Photo Credit: www.thehighline.org)

(For safety, men on horses, called the West Side Cowboys, ride in front of trains waving red flags, Photo Credit: www.thehighline.org)

(The High Line, Photo Credit: www.thehighline.org)

(The High Line, Photo Credit: www.thehighline.org)

(Heading to Chelsea Market)

A nearby High Line staircase leads me to the Chelsea Market. It was a former Nabsisco factory complex where the Oreo cookies were invented and produced in 1912. Nabisco left the complex in the mid 1940s, but the building is intact and has been renovated over the years for commercial stores. Now with an assortment of small boutique bakeries and food shops, it’s another interesting place to wander though. You might want to pick up some yummy brownies from the Fat Witch while you’re there.

(The Chelsea Market)

(The Oreo Cookie History)

(Fat Witch)

(Fat Witch Brownies)

(I brought some home)

(Cup Cakes that looks so yummy)

(Kitchen supply store in Chelsea Market)

(A display window that talks about the history)

August 2, 2010 | Posted in Blog, Life, Photography, Travel

Pier 66: The Frying Pan

I’ve been living in NYC for many years, but somehow I haven’t come across this popular outdoor bar + grill on the Hudson called the Frying Pan. But what’s so special about this place? Formally a lightship based off the coast of North Carolina between 1929 and 1964, it sank while docked in Maryland and spent three years underwater. Later it was salvaged and brought to New York in 1989. She is now a floating bar docked at Pier 66 Maritime by the Hudson. While the outside of the ship has been restored, the inside retains the sunken ship motif that speaks of her past.

(The Frying Pan at Pier 66 Maritime)

(Artwork by the entrance)

(In front Of The Frying Pan at Pier 66 Maritime)

(The Frying Pan Deck)

(The Frying Pan)

Also, the location of this pier is a former car float (railroad barge). It was used for Delaware, Lackawanna and Western railroad car floats. It was later purchased to be a permanent home for the historic lightship Frying Pan. And this is why I love this place, because of it’s history.

I would say this is definitely a great place to go when the weather is good in New York. Just grab a bucket of beer, a crab cake and head to the upper deck to watch the sunset on the Hudson. What could be better then this?

(The Train)

(The Railroad Barge)

(The Lighthouse Passport History)

(The Frying Pan Crab Cake)

(The Frying Pan Beers)

(I’m enjoying my crab cake)

(The Frying Pan Crowd)

(The Frying Pan Crowd)

(I love how they have the “Bar” sign on the ship)

(It’s past)

(My best friend trying to turn it…)

(Our Table view)

(Our Table View – watching people doing water sports)

(That is one big pan)

( The Water Sport Center’s Pug, Adorable!)

July 25, 2010 | Posted in Blog, Life, Photography, Travel

Historic Château Tours In Montreal

As a designer, I have always loved and appreciated different types of architectural styles. One of the first things I will pay extreme attention to in a new city is the architecture. Located near Rue Notre-Dame is the famous Château Ramezay. It is one of the most charming and well preserved historic buildings that I had visited. This building was built in 1705 as the the residence of Claude de Ramezay, the Governor of Montréal. It’s distinctive and simple architecture includes a sloping roof, stone wall and beautiful garden. Today the building has been converted into a historical museum and features a collection of 18th and early 19th century furniture and other historic artifacts.

(Château Ramezay Entrance)

(A miniature of Château Ramezay)

One of the highlights of this visit was the English guided tour of the Museum. I got to walk through all of the rooms with our guide. Each room has a historic story and artifacts relating to Montreal. The first room exhibits the first inhabitants of the Island of Montreal. The guide explained that when Jacques Cartier first arrived, he was greeted by nearby native American villagers. Jacques misunderstood the villages and thought the village name was “Hochelaga.” What he actually heard was “Oshahaka” which means “people of the hand.”

(The story of the “Oshahaka” which means “people of the hand,” photo by Akito)

In the next room, I saw more paintings, models, maps and historic artifacts. One of my favorite is the first car of Quebec with the license plate of Q1. Across form the car there is a photo on the wall dating back to 1884 from the Montreal Winter Carnival. I guess Canadians were trying to make winter as fun as possible. On the right side of that wall there is the Montreal Coat of Arms, Concordia Salus. It was made by Jacques Viger in 1933. The idea is to express the desire for the harmonious coexistence between French, English, Scots and Irish. He used the beaver as the cultural symbol for French, which is no longer in use in the modern days.

(Fashion for the upper class)

(Items belong to the upper class)

(The first car in Quebec)

(Standing next to the Q1 car)

(Montreal Coat of Arms, Concordia Salus)

We followed the guide to the basement area where we saw how the French colonists used to live. The guide explained that they have one big room similar to our studio apartment (all in one). The roller on the upper right allowed them to grill their food. It’s connected by a string to the fireplace. They put a dog and a bone inside the roller to let the dog run for it. This helps them grill the food without having to turn it.

(The roller and the fire place as described above)

(A folded chair/table used by the family, could it be the 1st Ikea invention?)

(They need to go out to get the water everytime so they made the sink very low to save the water usage)

(The worker posing for me outside the garden area)

Château Dufresne one of my other favorite architectures. It’s the former residence of the Dufresne brothers. They were wealthy French Canadian business men who asked Jules Renard to design their mansion. The interior of the mansion was decorated with murals and ceiling paintings by Guido Nincheri in the 1920s. On the ground floor there is an exhibition that explained more of the history and featured objects from that period. Overall it’s a fun tour that takes you back to the 19th century period.

(Left is the furniture photo and the right is photo before renovation)

(The ground floor exhibition)

(The ground floor exhibition)

(The beautiful plates own by them)

(Interior design)

(Cups from that historic period)