Christmas in the Big Apple

I never imagined that I would ever get the chance to spend Christmas in New York but thanks to my good friend Bona, my dream came true. I spent about a week in the Big Apple and realized how naive I was to think that I could see everything in a week. You need to be there at least a month just to cover all the 'must-sees' and dos. Since my time there was merely 5 days to be exact (2 days were lost traveling to & from the airport), I barely had time to squeeze in any good dining opportunity. Also, surprisingly my appetite could not keep up with the physical strain of sight-seeing. I fell ill on Day 3. I keep forgetting that I am no longer a spring chicken, unable to withstand long hours of physical activity. After an ambitious day of ice skating at Central Park, walking to ESB on foot, and the rest of the night spent LOST, roaming the subway stations and streets of NYC, I immediatley got sick the very next day. I must've walked like 50+ blocks. Of course my body couldn't bear it! I couldn't even eat. A strong girl that I am, my stomach never malfunctions. But no, in NYC, it malfunctioned big time, where I had indigestion and upset stomach which kept me in bed all day. Thankfully, I got better in a day, but my appetite was not back in time for me to enjoy a gourmet dining experience that I imagined before the trip. However, I was able to squeeze in some good eats in the earlier and latter part of my travel. In the sequence of events, here it is, my food excursion story in New York City.

Dim Sum in Chinatown
Jingfong Restaurant in Chinatown

This was one of the largest Chinese restaurant that I've visited so far. We had to take an escalator up to the second floor and was greeted to a large ballroom size restaurant. Service was fairly good, considering it was at a peak lunch time. But the best part was the food and the price. Four of us went and the bill only came out to $25. That's unheard of! I usually pay about $30-35 for 2 people. So I left here as a very happy girl on a full tummy at a small cost. What more can a girl ask for?

Pretzel, Hotdog & Churros in Battery Park

You will find many carts selling this combo and I definitely recommend the hotdog! Pretzel and churros was not that impressive.

Gray's Papaya

Famous hotdog restaurant. Apparently there are multiple locations in NYC. Had the recession special, 2 hotdogs and a drink for $4.45. I wonder how much it was before the recession....hmmm... A lot of options for drinks and of course hotdog.

Junior's Bakery

When you come to NY, you gotta try New York cheesecake right? But did you know, in NY, they don't call it New York Cheesecake? Instead, they call it the 'original' cheesecake. Is this commonsense? Was I the only one in the dark about this? Anyway, NY or 'original' cheesecake was just melt-in-your-mouth delicious. I tried the blueberry, too but couldn't compare to the 'original.' Yum-yum!