littlemsamanda: New York City

I just got back from a week in NYC, so of course here's another travel post! As you can tell, I love traveling, and this is my 3rd time in New York. I have family there, so I just stayed with them and travelled by the metro. Here are some highlights from my trip, including shows, sight-seeing, and last but definitely not least, food.

Day 1

The first plan we had was to go see NYC ballet's Coppélia at the David H. Koch Theater in Lincoln Center. I'm a ballerina and a dance freak, so I've been waiting to see a NYCB show for the longest time. If you are a dancer like myself, I recommend at least seeing one dance show in NYC. There are so many dance companies to choose from, and you'll definitely find one that fits your dance style!

Day 2

Soho was a neat little area that is basically lined with all kinds of shops. I didn't intend on shopping much during this trip, but it is definitely worth a visit. There are well-known brand names mixed with some lesser known brands. This is a great place for the shopaholics out there.

Apparently it was hot chocolate festival for the month of February in The City Bakery. They are famous for their, obviously, hot chocolate. The day I was there, the special flavour was caramel hot chocolate, one of my favourites. I did not know what to expect really, but just to have a cup of hot chocolate because they seem to be quite well-known. It was USD 7.50 for a cup with an ENORMOUS marshmallow. The taste? Let's just say I've never had such rich and thick hot chocolate before. Ever. It's literally melted chocolate. It's that rich and thick. It was a little too sweet, but it much just have been the caramel in it. Ridiculously heavy, but ridiculously good. The system in the store is chaotic. They don't have a lot of space for the amount of customers they have, and the cashier lines are just all over the place. Make sure when you get there to figure out where to line up and pay.

The Shake Shack is a famous burger and milkshake place. I was talking to my friend about it before I got to NYC, so I decided I had to try this. The hypes don't lie. I never really liked burgers much, but this burger may be one of my favourites. I actually had it twice throughout my trip. The bun is so soft and buttery. I had the Shack Burger (cheeseburger), and I think the proportions of patty, tomato, lettuce and sauce is just perfect. Loved it!

Day 3
Although I wasn't planning on shopping much on this trip, Century 21 is a must-go for me. C21 is basically a department store that sells designer items at very low prices. Almost all my Seven for All Mankind jeans are from C21 because they're so much cheaper than retail prices. I'm a girl who hunts for deals and never likes buying things at their full price if I can avoid it. Every time I'm in New York, I have to pay a visit, not matter what. Shopaholics, there's another shop to stop by!

I reverted into my childhood days when I went to the Nintendo World in Rockefeller centre, and FAO Schwarz toy store. Yes, I do game, and Nintendo is my childhood, though I have to admit I still love playing Nintendo games. So Nintendo World was like a trip down memory lane, now I wanna go play some games on my DS. FAO Schwarz is huge and contains so many different toys. It was like a playground and just fun to walk around and look at the new things kids play these days.

If you are a fan of the movie You've Got Mail, Gray's Papaya is the place to be. They have really good hot dogs. The shop looks old and a little run-down, but has its character. Again, usually not a fan of hot dogs, but these are good.

Cafe Lalo is another place featured in You've Got Mail. There are so many place in New York that is featured in movies and it's fun to go around looking for them, just to say you've been there. I have been eating a lot of junk, so I decided to get "Lalo's Favorite Salad", which combines some of my favorite food, just some grilled veggies with balsamic vinaigrette. They also have so many different kinds of cake. It took us forever to decide what cakes we wanted to try. We ended up getting the blueberry cheesecake and the triple chocolate truffle cake. Both quite rich and tasty.

Day 4

I've been sight-seeing and ice skating in Central Park before, but never to the zoo. And it was actually perfect time to go to the zoo, since it was raining a tiny bit and the snow was annoying to walk in, there was virtually no one at the zoo. I was able to see everything without the crowd. I'm not sure if they have different animals for different seasons, but I love snow leopards, so my heart melted seeing the new twin cubs! It's not a huge zoo, so we walked the entirety of it in around an hour or so.

Serendipity 3 is another very well-known restaurants in New York. We went for tea, so I just ordered their most famous "Frrrozen Hot Chocolate". The portion seems huge, but really if you think about it, the hot chocolate portion is just a regular sized frozen drink. The wiped cream makes it look ginormous. I did not finish all the cream, but I did finish the drink. It's basically a chocolate frappé, not that special, but not bad at all. They also have actual food, I just didn't order them.

Another show I was looking forward to seeing was The Lion King on Broadway. The movie is of course everyone's favorite, and it was spectacular on stage. Yes, I do consider myself a performer and kind of a theater person, so I was a happy girl coming out of the theater. But even if you're not a theater person, watching a Broadway show is a must when you're in New York, any Broadway show.

Day 5

Lobsters. Enough said. Chelsea Market is cute and has its own character and perks. The restaurants and stores are adorable. But my goal was to have lobster, since I didn't get to do that last time. So we had lunch at The Lobster Place. They do sell whole, steamed lobsters, but that's too much of a hassle to eat. So I ordered a lobster roll. The meat is so fresh and the roll was good. The whole shop has various booths that sell different things, like sushi, ready-made salads/sandwiches, and seafood etc.

Fifth Ave is another famous shopping place. It's lined with brand name retail stores, and quite fun to walk around.

Day 6

Museum of Natural History is HUGE. Five hours is barely enough. The general museum is fascinating and contains so many exhibits. I did go to a special exhibition on poison, which just took me 1 hour to go through because everything was just so intriguing to me. Yes, I'm a nerd, I know. I had to pick and choose which exhibits to see in the general area because of the limited time and massiveness of the place. The museum closes at 6pm, so plan ahead, depending on how in depth you want to go and if you want to see all the exhibits.

My friend recommended Levain Bakery to me, saying they have the best cookies in the world. They do have amazing cookies. I had a dark chocolate chip one, and it's basically a brownie in a form of a cookie if that makes sense. The cookies are huge and rich, so I recommend sharing one with someone. It was so much but so good at the same time. It's a little to the sweet side (as in a little too sweet for my liking), but it is generally a very good cookie.