Don't know what to call this

This past weekend...September 15 and 16th to be exact...was spent eating out. How come? Because Angela (my girlfriend) came to visit me, and I wanted treat her to a nice weekend of eating out. So where did I take her?

MCDONALD'S!!!!

Ok, that was a joke, but we did eat out this past weekend...

Saturday
To preface this, Angela really wanted to check out the sweet lunch deal from Sura Thai Restaurant. For those of ya'll who don't remember what it is, read my other post. I'm not going to repeat myself -___-.  ( <------ that's my favorite face! ) Well, we spent the rest of the day checking out Union Square, which is technically in the center of Manhattan. After walking for a while and spending a good chunk of our time in Barnes and Nobe (because we bend the rules like that), we decided to check out a very popular Japanese restaurant: Ippudo! And yes, I did post about this restaurant earlier...so if you don't recall what type of food it serves, check it out as well.

Now, unfortunately, the line was ridiculously long at Ippudo, so we decided to check out a neighborhood restaurant. Wanna venture a guess as to what kind of restaurant it was???

Answer: THAI!!!!

Yep, that's right; Angela and I overdosed on Thai food on Saturday. However, despite having just eaten the cuisine, both Angela and I really enjoyed our dinner selections. We ventured away from our usual order (spicy basil fried rice with chicken) and both got noodles!

* Angela's dish: the "drunk man's" special. I don't know why it's called that, but it was delicious. And it was served in a silver bowl, so you know it's made with real skills.

* my dish: the "fisherman's noodle bowl" special. It contains a lot of calamari, shrimp, bak choy, spicy sweet sauce, and my favorite, GARLIC! I don't know if this is what fishermen eat, but if it is, I want to become a fisherman! IT WAS THAT DELICIOUS! :P


So after dinner, Angela and I went to a Bubble tea place for dessert. I had heard about this from my coworker, so I wanted to give it a shot! The place was super clean and "upscale," which means it was built with the idea of people sitting around and chatting. It was called "St. Alp's Tea house." I have no idea what they were thinking when they named this place.

 * My drink: Milk green tea. Simple, frothy, delicious.

* Angela's drink: Matcha milk green tea w/ green tea jelly. Basically, this was a green tea special. For those of ya'll who don't know, matcha is a green tea power used in baking, to give desserts a "green tea" taste. It was delicious...but powdery. Still worth a try. Obviously, Angela is more adventurous than I am!

Sunday 
I like to call this day "Lazy Sunday." In other words, it's a wake up and do nothing type of day haha. However, I will muster up the energy to walk to dinner. We went to an Italian place called "Carmine's." It's a family style Italian restaurant, which means that the portions are HUGE and meant to be shared. Really delicious, fairly priced...what's not to love?

* This is a Meat  Bolougnese w/ Angel Hair. It was delicious. I really enjoyed how the waiter served us our food....he made the whole "fork/spoon" combo work. I finally understand why Italian restaurants always serve a spoon with pasta dishes. Unfortunately, I couldn't make my food look as nice as this when I tried using a fork and spoon.

Well, that's it for my food pictures. Stay tuned for more exciting posts!

Labor Day Weekend Continued

More Photos from this past weekend:

We went to FAO Schwartz, the most magical toyplace in all of New York...and the world! I wish I would've gone as a kid; definitely would've been a huge chunk of my childhood!

 * Lookout, it's Spiderman! Or shall I say, your "Friendly Neighborhood Spider-WOMAN!!!"

 * Oh wait! Now it's the impenetrable, super scary, ultra angry SHE-Hulk!!! RAAAWWWRRRR!!!!

 * This is not outside FAO Schwartz...I don't remember where this was taken actually :). Ooops.

*** Update: this is at Carnegie Hall, where accomplished artists perform.

 * Spiderwoman wants more attention! She's needy!

 * This is Batman...made entirely out of legos! Imagine how many individual Lego blocks there are....not to mention how skilled whoever built this "testament to mankind" must be.

* She-Hulk is angry because you're more enamored with Lego-Batman than her. Never make the same mistake again...or else!

* Now it's the Sultan of NYC and his Queen. The Sultan has a huge brain, hence the massive turban.

* Biiig fluffly doggies. Angela and I are very ecstatic!


Me madre also wanted to check out the famous Apple store on 59th and 5th ave. What makes this so unique is that there's a glass encasing of a huge "Apple" logo, but the actual store is underneath the ground. Very ingenius. Very smart.

* Mooooom...so happy with her Jamba Juice and Apple picture. I know it's her because of those bright teal shoes...

In addition, we also checked out the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The building is so gigantic, that we only got a chance to check out 2 exhibits. We'll definitely be back for sure. I also realized that I'm growing old in that after 2 exhibits, I was super sore and tired. Craptastic.

 * Mom, standing next to a naked statue of a majestic sumo wrestler....
Ok, it's not a sumo wrestler, but it's massive! 

 * Angela and I outside the Met!

* My mom and I outside the Met. I'm a very popular person to take pictures with...obviously.

* I'm standing next to wonderful statue ;) I'm clearly happy in this picture.

And now, for some pictures from the roof of Hudson Park aka my apartment:

 * Angela and me.

* Mommy and Angela

 * The beautiful view of the Hudson...and New Jersey. My old apartment is located in the foliage somewhere....

And finally....the most epic picture of the entire weekend:

* Yes, that is the bbq outside my backyard. Notice the happy expressions on my mother's and my face. Clearly, as native Texans, we appreciate a nice, BLUE, old fashioned grill.

Hope ya'll enjoyed the pictures!

Mom's Labor Weekend Visit Days 2 and 3

And we're back....so I just dropped my mom off at her hotel. It's been a very busy two days since the last time I've blogged, as this is the first chance I've gotten to actually sit down, upload my pictures, and create a post! So without further ado:

Saturday
Saturday was a very long and tiring day. My mom and I woke up at around 9 am and proceeded to explore lower Manhattan, seeing as it was her first time in the area. We then had brunch around 1 pm at a Thai fusion place called "Sura." It was amazing because they were having this lunch special: appetizer and entree for only $8!!! That's right, 8 buckarooos!!!!

* Appetizers: my mom's appetizer was chicken and shrimp dumplings.
my appetizer was a nice chilled lemongrass soup with basil and cilantro. It had nice flavor and the right amount of spiciness. Bueno!

* Both my mom and I got the chicken with spicy basil and peppers. It was cooked deliciously! The great thing about this lunch was that I gave my mom my egg (since I don't like the egg yolk), and she gave me about a third of her chicken! Great success!!!

For dinner, we went to a very delicious restaurant at South Street Seaport. For those who haven't been there, the place is along includes renovated original mercantile buildings, renovated sailing ships, the former Fulton Fish Market, and modern tourist malls featuring food, shopping and nightlife, with a view of the Brooklyn Bridge. It overlooks the East River...and creates such a beautiful imagery that you can't help but get caught up in the moment. In lay men's terms, it's pretty much paradise...for New Yorkers.

* Such a beautiful view!!!

 * calamari! Definitely fresh, succulent, one of the better calamaris I've had in a long long time!

 * my dinner: seafood spaghetti with herbs and garlic in a white wine sauce. Note that it had garlic...so of course the dish was AMAZING!!!

* mom's dinner: fish and chips. Now, I'm not too fond of the dish, basically because many of the other variations I've had tend to over fry the fish...thereby allowing the fish to lose its flavor! But not this one. This one was very tender and delicious! I'd definitely order this in the future!

Sunday
On Sunday, I took my mom for brunch...seeing as Manhattan is famous for its numerous brunches. I took my mother to a Mediterranean joint called "Bodrum." And no, it definitely did not disappoint! They served us one of the most delicious breads I've ever tasted. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of it...but never fear, the next time I go, I'll take one for sure!

* This was a Turkish omlette...minus the cheese. It had a delicious Mediterranean sausage and diced up tomatoes. Healthy and tasty...a winning combo.

* Mom got poached eggs with home fries. It sits on top of SAUTEED SPINACH WITH GARLIC. My mom was very nice to me; she gave me half her spinach! What a nice woman!

* This was a mushroom omlette...>___<. Gross.

For dinner, my mother and I met up with angela's family at a place in Flushing....once again, I forgot the name...but it was delicious! I was soo hungry, and the food was so scrumptious, that I forgot to take pics of all the food. Here are the ones I managed to take:

 * Delicious fish.

 * Healthy shizzz

 * Beautiful fruit display. So pretty that I actually ate the fruit! I never eat fruit usually.

* Steeaaaaak!!! It was flown in from Australia, so you know it's Grade A Quality! Flushing does it no other way!

Now here are some random pics of everybody at the dinner:

 * From right to left (bottom to top): Angela's Mom, Angela's Dad, Angela's grandmother, me, Brian (Angela's brother) and Angela! We're good looking :)

 * From left to right: Mom, Angela, her mother, her grandmother, Mr. Lau, me, and Brian!

* The young guns...the future generation...the awesome wonders...you get the idea!

The dinner was a super fun event. I'm really glad my family gets along with Angela's family so well. I even ordered a lychee martini...so out of character for me. I'm not afraid to show my true self: the self that is actually in love with fruity, girly cocktails.

Today 
Brunch was at a place called "H Life Bar and Grill." What a cozy place. There were tvs lined up along the walls, comfy booster chairs, and let's not forget...the amazing fooooood!!!!

* That, my friends, is an egg-white omlette with ham and onions. It's accompanied with home fries and mixed greens. This omlette was delicious and fluffy. The home fries were very delicious. The only problem I had were with the mixed greens. I'm not a huge fan of salad dressing...nor wilted greens. Oh well, two out of three ain't that bad!

Dinner was at Loeb Boathouse, which is situated in Central Park. It was sooo tough to find! The three of us (mom, Angela, and myself) had to walk all the way from 82nd street to  72nd street. Seems easy right? Except in Central Park, there's no road that takes you straight down 10 blocks. Instead, you get taken on this Junamji meets Jurassic Park-esque type of journey, complete with winding paths, narrow paths, wildlife devoid of humans....and tired limbs! But fear not, the incredible trio eventually made it to their destination...with 2 minutes to spare for their reservation! And the great thing was that all the walking we did (about 30 minutes) was worth it in that the food was amazingly delicious!!!!

 * creamed spinach. For creamed spinach, it was edible. That's all I'm going to say about that.

 * Mom's rissotto. It smelled and tasted very good. Job well done, Mr. Chef.

 * Angela's Rigottoni with Bolognese sauce. For the uncultured, bolognese is an italian word for "Meat Sauce." What differentiated this was that the dish was spicy. Not too mild, but not too burning that the mouth was suffering; just a nice kick to the dish.

 * My dish: A bone-in ribeye with garlic basil butter. Sooo delicious! I'm soo glad I ordered this place....and walked all those miles...because I definitely needed the calories that only this dish could afford me.

And now, for some pretty pictures of the scenery:

 * view from our table. Soo romantic...just my mom, Angela, and me. You get the picture...

 * THAT WAS A VERY ADORABLE TURTLE. HE KEPT CREEPING HIS HEAD UP BECAUSE PEOPLE WERE FEEDING HIM. It was funny because the water was very still and seemed devoid of all life...and then BAM, all these wonderful creatures started appearing out of nowhere!

* TUUUUURTLE

 * Mama Lee and me

 * There was an orange fish! Sooo awesome! I think it was a salmon, based on my extensive travels.

* Evan and his girlfriend.

Whew, I'm actually really tired from the past few days, so I will update with more pictures later. Thanks for keeping up with me!