Some things that are a MUST HAVE while visiting New York City:
Good manners and a no bullshit attitude,
A very robust metabolism to deal with all the food you’ll be eating,
And don’t forget to dress for the weather and do it in a stylish way! You’ll meet more interesting people that way!
Peter Luger’s at last!
Peter Luger Steakhouse is an icon for those of us meat-a-tarians who eat meat. It’s one of the best steakhouses in the US and has been a mainstay in everyone’s “best steakhouse” listings since Fred and Barney ate there. I SMSed one of my buds who made it here before I did about a year ago that I was having lunch there. His reply? “You bitch“. Then he asked for a doggie bag. WAHAHAHAH
It looks old school because it is!
Well, maybe they’re not THAT old, but they’ve been around for a long time.
Anyway, I’ve been to New York three times since I was tipped off about the existence of Peter Luger’s but haven’t been able to go. Until today. I finally made it to the promised land of meat! Now where is the promised land of meat? It’s in Williamsburg which is a part of Brooklyn. Take the N or the R to Marcy Street and then follow the signs. It’s a good 6 minute walk from the Marcy Street station. Easy.
Peter Luger’s doesn’t take credit cards. Bring lots of cash. If you need cash, there’s a big HSBC across the street. They have a bar that you can wait at while you wait for your table. You will be drinking a lot of booze waiting. If you plan to come here for dinner, make reservations months in advance. You’ll have better luck at lunch where the wait was only an hour.
Even the steak sauce was good (and I dun usually use da stuff)
I decided to go full-on for lunch since A: This was my first time here and I wanted to see if the steak was all that, and B: I was flying home on UA that night and running around beforehand. UA = NO FOOD, even on its “Premium Service” flights. I asked the waiter what was good for a Peter Luger virgin and he asked me “how do you like your steak”?
I like it like this!
Well, it wound up being a medium rare porterhouse and the best US$50 lunch I’ve ever had. I couldn’t finish it all, it was such a meal. What I mean is that I couldn’t finish the meal. I devoured the steak but couldn’t finish the token greens that came along with it.
Go here. Eat. Revel in the “old school” that this place is and that it still exists. Be content.
Peter Luger Steakhouse
178 Broadway
Brooklyn NY 11211
718-387-7400
www.peterluger.com
It’s art, I tell ya, ART!
The last time I made a trek to THE Museum of Modern Art was in 2003 when it temporarily moved to Queens while its Manhattan digs were being rebuilt. I’ve not been back since the MOMA reopened, so I figured it was time for a visit. Art should be accessible so it can be appreciated, but entry to the MOMA is a steep US$20. Still accessible? I guess that the new building has to be paid by someone…and there were a lot of people there on a Monday morning so they won’t have any worries about paying for it.
Art should be accessible and what’s more accessible than having Starry Night on your HP?
Great wallpaper
Art should make you go “hmmmmm, it DOES work!” Sometimes it’s great to have a guide to walk you through it.
this is how you fly around, by flapping your arms!
Whew. Tired now.
Detail of Water Lilies by Monet
I’ve made some critical comments on the state of “modern art” and what passes for it in past entries. I still stand by what I wrote before. There are some things out there that make you think, “art, how can?” For example:
How is this art? It’s not that unique, nor is it a breakthrough in concept. People do this a lot! Just walk around San Francisco during Clean-Up day and you’ll see lots of “art”. What was the artist trying to convey with three basketballs in a half filled fishtank? How about: “$ucker$$$!”
On the other hand, the MOMA is one of the few museums that showcases Architectural and Industrial Design and many breakthroughs in these fields, we take for granted because we see them in everyday life (such as the first iPod or the tablelamp iMac) are rightfully showcased. The Design section for some reason, feels smaller than it was in the old building.
how about this beeeyoutiful E-Type?
Imagine the size of the desk that this lamp usually sits on!
Good looking mobile phones are very rare in the states. This is a Japan-only model.
It’s good design, but we see it everyday so it’s part of the norm, rather than being seen as outstanding, which they are.
In fact, when I left the MOMA several hours later, I made the trek to accessible design. It’s on W57th next to the FAO Schwarz…
Now THIS is art, even the stuff that they sell inside!
Don’t let United and American read this…
…lest they get any ideas. Come to think of it, UA and AA are ALREADY doing most of these things. No blankies and pillows on AA and no magazines (cuz they get stolen) on UA. Are the toilet restrictions next?
From the unlinkable South China Morning Post, 1 December 2006, Lai See Column:
AIRLINE FLUSH WITH IDEAS ON HOW TO LIGHTEN COSTS BURDEN
All right, enough of this flushing profits down the toilet. Go do it in the bushes! China Southern has calculated that it takes one litre of fuel to flush an airplane (toilet) at 30,000 feet, according to the Xinhua news agency. Which explains that really loud sucking noise airline toilets make. So, in order to save a few yuan, the airline is kindly requesting passengers to use the bathroom before they board. We dare not ask for extra peanuts.
A survey by the company’s logistics department found that filling the water tank only 60 percent will save the airline another 47 million yuan. It failed to mention by how much this step would shorten the bathroom queue.
Another easy weight loss trick is to toss the pillows and blankets, as each kilogram of such creature comforts uses 0.2 kg of fuel per hour. “This means the blankets and pillows on board the aircraft eat up 60 tonnes of fuel every day. If each seat is loaded with three 450-gram magazines, another 60 tonnes will be consumed,” explained Captain Liu Zhiyuan who flies regularly between Hangzhou and Beijing.
The last time we flew on China Southern it was near impossible to get the trolley dolly to hand over a second beer. Perhaps that was two expenses cut with one, er, flush.
And you know what’s truly disturbing? I can see UA and AA doing this! Except for the first class passengers and the flight crew of course…
back in SF
Mucking about in Asia is nice, but it’s always a pleasure to sleep in your own bed…
Memories of an icon
On 1 December, between my flights arriving from Taipei and going out to San Francisco, I paid the old Star Ferry Central Piers a final visit. They’re being demolished to make way for reclaimed land. Their replacement, the new Central Piers are a good 300 meters and 15 minutes away (I timed it!). They shouldn’t even call it “Central” as the out of the way location of the piers will deter many regular commuters from riding the Star Ferry. For the longest time, the Star Ferry was the only way across the harbour. I’ll bet that most of the people in Hong Kong have ridden the Star Ferry and more than a few have a story or two about it.
Remembering an old friend…
Delayed in TPE
This has been a hard travel day so far.
Of course, this day will involve close to 20 hours of flying/flying related time and involves time travel (arriving earlier than I left on the same day!), that makes it even more difficult.
So here is how the first leg of this latest “Longest Day” began:
First off, I had to cross the street to catch the “express basi” that goes to Taipei Taoyuan Airport (the airport formerly known as CKS). Dun sound too bad, right? Wrong! Signage is scarce, but after 20 minutes of stress and searching, I find the exit from the Taipei Railway Station MRT that brings me to the basi terminal (it’s exit 9 out of the mall, in case any of you were wondering). Take the lift to the surface before you hit exit 9 because it’s all stairs.
And then I promptly pass out on the basi, waking up in time when we arrive at Terminal 1. Check in, passport control and duty free shopping pass as usual. Then I walk onto the plane and take my seat. Routine flight, right?
WRONG AGAIN. Our departure time comes and goes while we have the flight crew AND the ground staff running up and down the aisles with clickers, noting seats and clicking away. It seems that we have a missing passenger who checked bags.
You may now begin paranoid thoughts about bad guys and explosions.
The CX crew does a head count again. One missing. They identify the missing passenger and pull its bags off the plane. Sure enough the moment they finish that, the cow shows up, claiming that she got “lost” on her way to the gate.
Now a clarification on my use of the word “cow” in the last sentence. Imagine a taai-taai gone bad. Very bad. In both taste and in weight. Well, that’s how our errant passenger looked like. And as she hustled on the plane, escorted by three CX staff, the amount of dirty looks she got from the now-delayed passengers who were staring daggers would have seriously wounded her. I think the CX staff were there to protect her; if she strolled in by herself, she would have been beaten up by most of the plane.
We finally go wheels up enroute to HKG 1.5 hours late. In other words, we leave TPE when we were supposed to be landing in HKG. I’ve got stuff to do on my layover and losing close to two hours ain’t gonna help!
Din Tai Fung #1
Christine and I, after our adventures in the country (which ended with me drinking a lot of moonshine, passing out and snoring loudly) made it back safely to Taipei straight to the open doors of Din Tai Fung #1. This is THE original shop which, due to a very busy November with lots of guests, Christine has been to FIVE times this month.
“This is the fifth time I’ve been here this month”
Because of the late lunch (or early dinner because of the quantity of food), we had supper as I tried to snap out of my moonshine induced blurness. We found out that we could order half servings which fit us perfectly.
Gotta have xiaolongbao! And I even remembered how to eat it correctly!
What else can I say? This is a Din Tai Fung, the soup inside was at just the right temperature, the skins were not too thick and had the prerequisite number of folds on them. In short, heaven!
Christine ordered dumplings with greens inside. Healthy…
These are itty bitty red bean dessert-type dumplings.
Unlike the Din Tai Fung branches I’ve run into in Singapore, which are more fancy and swish, Din Tai Fung #1 feels more like a modern yum cha place. Seems appropriate considering the cuisine served which is unpretentious and down to earth.
This is where the good xiaolongbaos are!
Of course, after eating various dumplings and downing at least a liter’s worth of tea, it was now time for dessert. Down the street from Din Tai Fung is a neat little place called Ice Monster.
This is the original shop…
They have a silly website (watch with the sound on) but the mango was very fresh and the desserts were hella refreshing. It was a perfect end to a busy day, sitting with dessert while watching the people walk/drive/ride scooters by. After this, it was time to head home. One of us had to work at 0800 the next day and the other had to leave for TPE for a long flight back to SFO via HKG. You figure out who had to do what the next day…
Mmmmm…dessert!
Din Tai Fung
194 Xinyi Road Sec. 2
Da-an District
Taipei City, Taiwan
(02) 2321-8928
Ice Monster
15 Yongkang Street
Da-an District
Taipei City, Taiwan
(02) 2394-8279
A ride in the Country, the world’s biggest lunch
On my last day in Taipei, my friend and Taipei native Christine invited me for a drive outside of the city for lunch at a “bed and breakfast near the beach”. I thought, sure why not? It would be nice to see how the countryside looks since Taiwan is supposed to be pretty scenic. And from what “scenery” I saw in Taipei, I thought that outside should be just as amazing.
So we drove up with a bunch of Christine’s friends, one of who was a magazine writer and our contact with the establishment that we were driving up to. We were the third car in a three car convoy that wound up driving out of Taipei and (eventually) up a mountain. The people in front were using the Force to navigate instead of one of those handy dandy GPS units, which would had been more appropriate, I think.
Eventually we found the place. It wasn’t really a bed and breakfast, but rather an organic farm/restaurant in the countryside. Of course, Christine came dressed for a “bed and breakfast” meal and I came in sandals appropriate for the beach.
Stylish but not really weather wise
Of course, all this was moot, since it was RAINING! Clouds all around. Wind whipped storm. And the like. And lunch wasn’t ready. So the owner of the restaurant suggested that we check out the nearby peak where you could get a view of the ocean. Keep in mind that it’s raining and a storm front was going through quickly. So we drove up single lane roads. Scary drops and no guardrails. Before we reached the end of the road and hiked up a hill, umbrellas in tow to the top.
The clouds broke just enough for us to catch a glimpse of the ocean
It almost looks like a painting. It was hella windy and wet, I tell ya!
This is how it looks like when you remove the rain and clouds
Eventually it was time to go back because lunch was ready. So how to go back? Naturally, you go back the way you came. On one lane roads.
Right click here for 13 MB video because it won’t upload right to YouTube (not ready yet)
Imagine 25 minutes of this. And this was coming DOWN the mountain. In the rain. In some spots, the rain cleared up enough so that some of the local wildlife came out. We drove past this big fellas’ friend so we slowed down, rolled down the window and took his picture.
Bloody tourists…
Eventually, we made it back to the compound where, at 1545 or so, we sat down to a full Chinese banquet, although we didn’t know it at the time. We thought it would just be “lunch”. The meal began with toasts and drinking of wine coolers, beer and some homemade witches’ brew that was allegedly “good for you”.
Last time I heard an explanation like that, my grandmother was trying to get me to drink some mystery soup that was black like an oil spill and had mysterious bits in it.
Christine theorized that it was a liquor (yup) with a rice base, like sake. However, what gave it its amber color? What else was in it? No one was telling. I can tell you that we went through (in no particular order): two veggie dishes, a very fresh chicken, little crispy shrimp, fish cakes and a fresh fish. Also more beer and moonshine. A lot more. When the part of the meal came for KTV, Christine and I beat retreat by pointing to the sky (it was dark now) and telling our hosts that we had to head back to the city.
Now I do remember climbing into Christine’s truck and her lowering the seat back for me. I don’t remember the next 90 minutes as we drove back to Taipei. She said I was out like a light, snoring all the way back. I don’t recall that…but I do remember waking up about 6 minutes out from Din Tai Fung. Wah, what timing!
Guess what? More advertising!
Generally, I dislike advertising, unless it’s done right, like in Taipei. Like this!
Now what are they selling? Some hair product, I think.
UPDATE: Here’s a site featuring Moe, the model in the advert! Just click on the kana in the middle of the page! And here’s her official website! Waaaaah…