Day 05 - A picture of your favorite memory

Union Square in NYC

The picture I chose for Day 5 is one I took of Union Square in New York while I interned there last year.  It is not the most interesting picture, and it is definitely not one that resembles the New York we usually see on tv, but this photo is the epitome of my experience there, which was one of the best experiences of my life.

My time in New York helped me grow so much, learn to be more independent, and make me want to experience as much as I can during this lifetime.  I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to live in the city for a few months and enjoy this great place to its fullest.  It would take forever to list all of the things you can do in NY, but I've listed some of the places that I enjoyed most and would recommend for people to visit if they ever came to NY:


Places to Eat

1. Halal Cart on 53rd & 6th - My favorite food in New York was the chicken and rice from this cart.  The white sauce on top was really spicy, so I only asked for a little bit.  If I had lived closer to this cart, I would have probably had it 2 times a week.
2. Shake Shack - Burgers and fries are so good.  Good enough to wait an hour for, although I prefer it when there's no line!  Burger Joint, which is located in Le Parker Meridien Hotel, is also a good place to go, but I would still recommend Shake Shack first.
3. Crumbs - There's a cupcake place called Crumbs located on the SE corner of Union Square.   I lived about half a mile from Union Square, so I would walk there at least twice a week and stop by and get a cupcake.  My favorite was the Black Forest cupcake.  The inside was moist, and the chocolate was heavenly when I had milk to drink on the side.
4. Magnolia's Bakery - People rave about their cupcakes here.  While I still prefer Crumbs' cupcakes, I do agree that people should try Magnolia's cupcakes as well and make their own decisions.  I do, however, love Magnolia's banana pudding.  It's one dessert I would go out of my way for.
5. Mamoun's - This place has been around for decades, and I can see why.  The falafel and the chicken kebob with hummus were my favorites to get here.
6. Crif Dogs - New York hot dogs are famous, and this was the place to go to get one.  I remember I was craving a hot dog once so I bought it from a vendor when I was walking near Grand Central.  Such a disappointment.  After that, I would only go to Crif Dogs if I ever had a craving for hot dogs.
7. Ramen - I ate at a few different ramen places while in New York, like Momofuku, Men Kui Tei, and Ramen Setagaya.  The most popular place is Ippudo, but I never got around to making it there.  The ramen at these restaurants are much different than the instant ones I'm used to making at school.  The noodles are thicker, and the ingredients are a lot heartier in terms of meat and vegetables.  I am still partial to my instant Nong Shim Shin Ramyun, though.
8. Artichoke - This pizza place was only three blocks from my apartment, so it was really convenient.  I love the thin crust New York style pizza.  This place only has 3 or 4 varieties of pizza, but I usually got the margherita pizza.  There were also more well known pizza places, John's Pizzeria and Grimaldi's, which I tried to go to, but the lines were so long at both of them that I gave up and ate somewhere else.
9. Banh Mi Saigon & Paris Sandwich Bakery - When I was craving Vietnamese food, I would go to Chinatown with my cousin and get banh mi from Banh Mi Saigon.  This little shop had a jewelry counter in the front and a banh mi counter in the back.  Then, we would go to Paris Sandwich Bakery and get $1 green tea waffles and sit at the tables there and eat.  I miss those waffles.
10. Kun Jip & Wonjo - I loved the Korean food I ate while in NY.  It was probably one of my favorite types of food to eat while I was there.  The restaurants were always busy, so I always made a reservation beforehand.  Kun Jip was a smaller place that I ate at with one of my friends who was attending NYU Law at the time.  It was good and reasonably priced.  I also ate at Wonjo with my mom and cousins when I first moved up to NY.  It's a Korean barbecue place, and I remember the sauce on the pork being so tasty.  This place was a little pricier, but I think it's worth it.  It makes me hungry just thinking about it.
11. Ellen's Stardust Diner - This diner is located on Broadway, closer to the theater district.  The waiters and waitresses all sing and perform while you eat.  It's a very family-oriented and touristy type of restaurant, which is not a bad thing.  The atmosphere is fun, and it's a good place to try at least once.
12. Ashiya - We paid $35 on a Saturday night for all you can eat sushi and sake bombs.  We had to make a reservation, and while the sushi was pretty good, I enjoyed the upbeat, energetic atmosphere the most.  I remember people throughout the restaurant having a good time hitting the tables to make the sake shots fall into the cups, laughing and talking loudly.  It might not be for everyone, but if you know what you're getting into, it's a pretty good deal.
13. Russ & Daughter's - I walked 15 blocks to get their bagel and lox a few times.  The salmon is extremely fresh, and the simple meal left me feeling satisfied.
14. Devon & Blakely - I worked at Two World Financial Center, and if I ever bought my lunch, it was usually downstairs at D&B.  It's a normal soup, salad, sandwich shop, but I've never seen this chain down in Texas.  Anyway, my go-to meal would be the Blackened Chicken Panini, toasted, with chips.  This is more of a recommendation for a quick meal for regulars, and not so much for tourists.
15. Lula's - This place in East Village serves vegan ice cream and desserts that actually taste good.  I went here a lot with my cousin because he's allergic to dairy products.  Although I probably wouldn't come back here if I were only visiting NY for a short time (it's out of the way), I have really good memories of spending time with my cousin here, eating cold ice cream sundaes on cold nights.

Places to Visit
I made notes on when admissions were free to certain areas.  Can you tell that I love discounts/free stuff?

1. Times Square - Great view during the day,and amazing to see all the lights at night.
2. Statue of Liberty - Take the Staten Island Ferry for free
3. Brooklyn Bridge - It takes almost 30 minutes to walk the bridge, but most of the time when I went with friends, we only walked halfway, took pictures, then turned back.
4. Financial District - The area includes Wall Street, Ground Zero, Battery Park, Merrill Lynch Bull, etc. but you'll have to do some walking to see it all.  If you're going to the Brooklyn Bridge anyway, you're practically in the financial district, so I would recommend to visit both at the same time.
5. Central Park - I was so amazed by how green the grass was, especially after getting used to the urban landscape for a few months.  This park is huge and so lively with people walking around, playing, or sunbathing.  It was cool to recognize some of the locations, such as the fountain in Friends or the scene from Enchanted, that I've seen in movies and shows before.
6. Metropolitan Museum of Art - If I could only visit one museum, I would choose The Met.  I spent hours in here.
7. The Cloisters - The Cloisters is a museum and garden that focus on the medieval time period.  It is far north, up near the 200's, and the atmosphere is very peaceful and quiet around there.  Because The Cloisters is a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, I was able to pay to see The Cloisters in the morning and use the same pass to get into The Met in the afternoon.
8. Museum of Modern Art - Free on Fridays
9. Columbia & NYU Campuses - These two campuses are located on different sides of Manhattan, and they each have entirely different feels.  I personally liked Columbia more, but NYU was in the middle of everything.
10. Brooklyn Botanic Gardens - Free before noon on Saturdays
11. Lincoln Center - Free Thursday night performances
12. St. Patrick's Cathedral - Beautiful architecture.  I preferred going to a smaller church near my apartment, though, because there were too many people at St. Patrick's for me to feel like I was really going to mass.
13. Top of the Rock - You get to see NYC from high up on Rockefeller Center.  The Empire State Building is a popular building to go up in as well.  I don't know which one is better because I only went to Top of the Rock.
14. Macy's Flower Show - Only in April
15. Broadway Shows -  I love musicals.  So far, I've really enjoyed Phantom of the Opera (I saw twice), In the Heights (with Corbin Bleu), and Avenue Q (Off-Broadway now).
16. Shopping in SoHo - Although 5th Avenue is known for its fancy stores, which I think are worth seeing, too, my favorite area to actually shop in was SoHo.  There are a lot of boutiques that sell either special brands or off-brands at very affordable prices.  I went almost every weekend to SoHo just to window shop after the weather got a little warmer.
17. H&M - I seriously went to at least 6 different locations in Manhattan because anytime I was walking around and I saw an H&M, I had to go inside.  The largest location, and my favorite one, is on 51st & 5th.  It's right across the street from St. Patrick's Cathedral, and I remember going there after church!  This particular H&M is the largest one I saw with 3 stories.  Great selection for men's clothes as well.
18. Uniqlo - This Japanese brand store is located in SoHo.  They have smaller sized clothes that fit really well, and I tend to like the material they use.  I remember buying 3 shirts of the same style in 3 different colors from here because I liked it so much.  I never do that!

I've been writing for over an hour now, and I know there are many other places that I've forgotten to include on these lists.  Coincidentally, it's been exactly one year since I came back from New York.  I flew back on May 5th last year...I can't believe it.  I truly loved my time in New York, and I know I'll be back one day!