Another tour around Central Park

Before leaving New York, we had about an hour and a half to spare.  Not sure what to do within that short span of time, we decided to just head back to Central Park and spend the rest of the sunny afternoon there.  I was really tempted to take the horse ride around the Park (just like in the movies) BUT I knew that it probably ain’t as romantic as it looked.

While heading towards the park, we got stopped by a guy who urged us to take a tour around the Park on his set of wheels.  It was a slow day so he offered us a discount for a 45minute ride with commentary on Central Park.  Well, we decided since we were tourists in the City, we might as well pay the fee and hop on.

Here were some of the sights that I captured around the Park:

A lovely finale to the end of our New York – Boston holiday!

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Boston eats

Before going to Boston, Crystal for Expat Bostonians kindly shared a long list of things to do and places to eat in Boston.  We did make it to most of her recommendations given that we were only in Boston for about 4 days.  Wished I had more time to eat our way around Boston but I think we did fairly well:

Everyone told us that we have to have oysters and lobsters in Boston so that’s what we did when we arrived in Boston.  For seafood that’s fresh and won’t burn a hole in your pocket, Legal Sea Foods is the place to go!  According to Crystal, if you like seafood, this is a local tradition.

The oysters were so fresh and good that on top of the dozen that we ordered, we added more of our favourites in the next order.

And the highlight of the meal?  Fresh steamed lobsters!  Portion was huge so we ordered 2 of these babies to be shared among 4 people.  It made for a very fulfilling meal I’d say.

I’ve been warned by Crystal that I should not leave Boston without making a trip to Finale Desserterie & Bakery.  She also recommended that I should have the Molten Chocolate Cake paired along with a glass of Moscato and to thank her after that.  So  in the 3 odd days that we were in Boston, I became obsessed with hunting down Finale.  My concierge was actually amazed when I specifically asked for Finale for it’s a place where locals go to most of the time.

I guess unfortunately for us, we arrived at Finale during tea-time and couldn’t order anything from the menu.  Since we were there, I made it a point for the group to order some cakes to be shared.  After all, I couldn’t make a wasted trip to this place.

I call this the Death-by-Chocolate Cake.. sinfully good and rich.  Best shared with friends if you are not a big dessert person.

And for the mens’ victory dinner after the Boston Marathon, we headed to Ruth’s Chris Steak House to get a bite of the yummy steak.  Lighting was really dim at the place so I couldn’t get a clear shot of our steak.  Again, be warned that portions for the steak run quite large so if you are a relatively small-eater, you could always order one steak and ask the server to portion it into two for you and a friend.  Be sure to order a couple of sides to share if you are doing that.

While dining, we saw a couple of people proudly wearing their Boston Marathon finisher’s medal.  Puzzled, we asked our server what the significance was (actually we also wanted to know if there was going to be some privileges for the runners).  Turned out, there was nothing of that sort, our server laughed and said that the runners are probably proud to wear their medal for completing such a grueling race.  Fair enough.  But as we finished our dinner, our server placed two congratulatory dessert for the Man and his friend compliments from the restaurant.  I thought that was a really sweet gesture.  It’s no wonder why people are proud to wear their finishers’ medals.  They get the star treatment for that day! 

Another must-go according to Crystal is Mike’s Pastry.  She wrote this:

Mike’s Pastry is on Hanover street–Line is always out the door, and it’s worth the wait, no matter how long.  I need a moment just thinking about their cannoli. it is also the reason I consent to eating Italian.   http://www.mikespastry.com/  This place is famous for a reason.  You really need to go there even if you throw the rest of my list out.

Does making to the door of the place count?

Well, she’s right.  The queue was extremely long.  It was the ‘out of the restaurant’ type of long.  With 2 men having to rest early and prep for the all-important race the next day, no one was interested in queuing.  So I had no choice but to give this a miss.  Well, I know Y from lil’Snooze will be heading to Boston soon. If you do get your hands on the cannoli, please tell me what I missed!

Lastly, if you are visiting Boston and are pressed for time, then perhaps a trip down to Quincy Market might be ideal for you.  We were there two days in a row simply because it was such a fun place to head to and the food choices that you can get there?  You’ll be spoilt for choice.

There you have it – my little guide on eating around Boston thanks to Crystal!!  If you do make it to any of these places, do give a shout-out and let me know how you find them.

Times Square

If you want to get in on a piece of action, I guess there’s no other place in New York quite like Times Square especially when dark falls.  There always seem to be loads of people at every corner that I happen to wander into.

And despite being pushed by people if you don’t walk on fast enough, I kinda enjoy the vibe that Times Square brings.

We even got to catch a Broadway muscial – Priscilla Queen of the Desert!  Tickets were purchased on the day itself at a discounted price.  The mom and sister helped to get the tickets.  Click here for more infor on how and where to purchase the discounted tickets for Broadway shows.

New York Food Rave #1: Totto Ramen

After about a week of having Western food, I was really craving for something Asian. You guessed it! Japanese! The Man was suffering from a minor dehydration after the Boston Marathon and wasn’t in the mood to eat much so upon a recommendation by his friend, we went in search for a steaming bowl of Ramen.

Totto Ramen is a little hole-in-the-wall eatery that serves up extremely ‘Oishii’ (yummy) ramen. They do not take any reservations so we had to wait in line for our turn.

Be patient. The wait can take anyway between 15minutes to an hour. But trust me, it’s worth it so don’t give up!

Ordered an Avo Tuna Salad to share.

And the highlight of the meal? This awesome bowl of spicy ramen! Just the thing I needed to warm my tummy on a slightly chilly night.

Totto Ramen

Address: 366 West 52nd Street New York, NY 10019

Telephone: (212) 582-0052

New York, New York

Day 2 in New York saw us on foot, here are some memorable highlights from the day:

> Quick breakie with fluffy pancakes that the sis loved.

> NYPD vehicle : spotted!

> A walk down the famed Financial District

> Ground Zero

> Just because it’s cute..

> For the coffee lover.

> Fleet of yellow school buses.

> Me? Jet-lagged and tired on day 2 while cruising.. Hehe