Met up with Catherine when she was in town for work and we spent an afternoon eating ice cream, buying too much stuff, and being sushi babies.

I had the chance to meet one of Catherine’s friends who suggested we get some ice cream at Sundaes & Cones in the East Village. They had such a great collection of flavors including some unique ones like Thai ice tea, lychee (!!), sweet corn, honeydew, taro & black sesame. I had the Thai ice tea, but I’ve gotta go back for the lychee! Heads up that the portions were huge, which is great for ice cream lovers. So remember to ask for samples first to pick out something you really like.

After watching Catherine devour like 5 scoops of ice cream (HOW?!), we headed back to Union Square to Nature Republic and spent far far far too much money. I only got 3 things (please clap), but our basket had a accumulation of so many products, that a staff member basically helped us hold our stuff U_U.

Shout out to Diana L. at the Union Square Nature Republic for being so kind and helpful! She hooked us up with so many samples ^~^ There was a great promotion so I got the Argan Essential Deep Cleansing Hair Pack, a Real Nature Honey Ampoule, and one of the new creamy lipsticks.

By the time we were finished, we each had a big bag – Catherine got the SUPER huge promo gift set with a water bottle!! lmao – and it was already dark out. We headed over to meet up with some more of Catherine’s friends at dinner at Marumi.

(Along the way, we stepped into Aesop and overheard a customer who was not only dismissive to the staff, but who also pronounced masque as “MOSQUE” lmao ok)

At Marumi, I chickened out and skipped out on sushi after explaining to everyone how thicker cuts are too flesh-chunky for me and went with the takosu (octopus salad in vinegar sauce) and kake udon with duck.

Catherine had to get to her hotel, which was legit upstate, so we said early goodbyes, but it was so nice to see her even if it was for a short while!!

↑↑ THIS ONE ↑↑ (and also the one topped with crabmeat)

Erica’s always up for sushi and when your lunch date gets started before you’ve got your jacket off, you know you’re in for something crazy. I’m not a sushi person (mainly because I’m a babychild and I don’t like raw foods – I’m Cantonese!!) so it didn’t ever apply to me, but damn sushi is REALLY expensive. I haven’t leveled-up enough to eat the good stuff, but there’s one plate I especially love and I wish I could just eat 400 off without the guilt of it probably costing me $600 dollars!!!

After lunch, I indulged Erica in a pitstop at Bleecher’s, and she returned the favor by putting up with me smelling 402934088 perfumes at the Fresh Union Square shop. I debated a full-size lip balm, but realized I had 7 opened tins of lip products and hastily backed away.

Our destination was originally the NARS Bleeker Street store, but since it was out of the way, we ended up at the SoHo location where I picked up an eyeshadow for Erica & a pencil sharpener for myself (I know…) I spent way too much time swatching every lipstick and foundation in sight, and honestly, if we weren’t running late for our dinner reservation, I could have stayed there until closing. I really wanted to get properly matched to their foundation, but my makeup looked Good and I didn’t want to waste it HAHahA. I did end up picking out a lip pencil to treat myself with next so fingers crossed that day comes soon.

And finally it was time for the main event!

My mouth is watering just recalling how good this food tasted. Oh my god. I love salty savory sour food and every single one of these dishes punched me right in the mouth. The green papaya salad and grilled pork jowl were INCREDIBLE – I think I let out a few groans and moans. The salad was just the right amount of fresh and crunchy with the added acidity of the vinaigrette while the pork jowl was slick with pork fat and the brussel sprouts soaked up the lime-chili sauce. I have to confess… that we didn’t end up ordering from the Restaurant Week menu because we HAD to try the Sizzling Sisig and it just wasn’t on the dinner menu! I’m not weirded out by unusual meats so this was just delicious; I think I identified some snout and ear (MMMMM) mixed in there.

We sat in the back patio of the restaurant which had the coolest red lighting from the heat lamps and while I was comfortable before dinner, I was lowkey sweating from just shoveling all this perfect food in my face. Fortunately soon afterwards, dessert was served and it was this rich creamy milky shaved ice with huge chunks of flan and rice crisps. SO GOOD.

My only regret is that we missed out on dishes that had more solid meat we could bite into since head meat and jowl tends to be more fatty meat. The fried pork rinds were also a bit of a disappointment since they were so airy (but crisp). Still, the other dishes won the night and if I get the energy to I would definitely return to try the entire menu.

Heads up, get coconut rice. Always get coconut rice!

Rosemary & Pickled Lemon Soda and Ginger-Mint Lemonade

The food was so good. My selections included the ginger-mint lemonade, the pecorino risotto balls, the Spanish octopus entree, and for dessert, the flourless cake with ice cream. Erica and I also shared a small order of the grits which were heavenly. The risotto balls are one of their best-selling starters and they really were delicious – crispy on the outside with a creamy risotto and cheese filling. I really liked my octopus dish (which was so tender), but have to admit that I was disappointed with the size of the dish. I think I had just about 5 small pieces of octopus, which paled in comparison to Erica’s mouthwatering pork dish that had at two huge fistfuls of shredded pork. I was most surprised by the carrot cake, which sounded pretty basic until I tasted how unique the caramel sauce was. My chocolate cake was a little heavy, but the combination of cold ice cream and warm cake was to die for.

So delicious! The food was amazing and the service and vibe of the whole place was super comfortable as well. Tom Colicchio’s repertoire of restaurants include some very chic and elegant dining experiences, but Craftbar was so casual and cozy. Taking food photos was totally okay and even encouraged! The staff, as well, were so accommodating especially when we had to move our reservation because someone was late (ahemericaahem). I told Erica afterwards that I’d definitely come back for lunch at regular prices because I had such a great time – restaurant week mission accomplished!

With our stomachs full, we spent the rest of our afternoon in Union Square as we balked at sale prices at Aritzia, laughed at Anthropologie’s very unwelcoming wooden door (shout out if you’ve seen it), and Erica talked me into buying a dress at Zara. And finally, for dinner, we trotted down to St. Mark’s for a rice and noodle set at Udon West.

So instead, we decided we’d fast forward to the eating part our day and went food-hopping in Astoria and Sunnyside.

Elias took me to Omonia Cafe, which was founded in 1977 (!!!) and famous for their Greek pastries and coffee. The cafe takes up THREE storefronts – the cafe itself, a smaller spot to buy pre-made goods, and a huge event space for partying. There was an incredible selection of treats at the cafe and I let Elias pick out a few treats that he loved. If you love sweet stuff, you have to try Greek pastries. They are a tad sweet for my taste, but really delicious and absolutely hits the spot if you have a sweet tooth. My favorite was the kourambiedes, the dusty white cookie above, because the rosewater was such a surprise. There were so many items on the menu I’d love to visit again to try some more.

We spent a few hours in the open space seating area in the back of the cafe. The decor is so lovely and the walls are covered in faux grass which we laughed at and then proceeded to take 400 photos of ourselves against it HAHA Thank you for always indulging in vanity with me~

The rest of the afternoon was spent strolling through Astoria and dreaming about a cute apartment in the neighborhood. Before we knew it, night was setting in so we hopped on the train over to Sunnyside to grab dinner at Salt & Fat.

I’ve wanted to go to Salt & Fat for years CENTURIES. The issue was always that there isn’t much to do recreationally in Sunnyside so I always just took the 7 train past the 33rd street station in sadness. I was PUMPED for dinner and I was NOT WRONG. It was AMAZING.

Yellowtail tartare with yuzu, furikake, scallions, radish, spicy mayo, cassava

To start the night, we devoured a bag of bacon fat popcorn that every table gets for service … at one point we even asked for a refill. GLUTTONS. Elias had been before so he recommended the Yellowtail Tartar and … oh my god even if you don’t enjoy raw fish/food you have to try this. Zero fishy-ness, soft tender fragrant. It was so good it was so addicting. I loved the scallops and duck wings as well – all the proteins were flavored perfectly and tender with just enough chew/bit to them. The only dish I wasn’t fond of was the day’s special short ribs – the flavors didn’t come together and the potato pancake was an odd texture. Somewhere in there was also an herb that tasted straight up like dish detergent. I’m not a big fan of cilantro, but I recognize the flavor and tolerate it, but this was … Elias and I thought someone used a pan that had not been rinsed well enough. I’m relieved it’s not on the menu anymore.

Salt & Fat serves Asian and American fusion food served tapas style and oh MAN the food was so good. Plus, the service was impeccable! The only negative in the experience is that Salt & Fat is $$$$$. Usually I love tapas-style dining because encourages & enables the diner to try a lot of dishes on the menu (eat ALL the things), but the some dishes at Salt & Fat are too big to call appetizers, but not enough to be considered an entree so they come in at an odd price point which leaves you with a mouth-satisfied, but not stomach-satisfied feeling post dinner.

Which is why after our delicious meal, we went across the street and ordered sushi & seafood apps at Ariyoshi LMAO. It was also my first time at Ariyoshi and I didn’t get a full meal, but it hit the spot and Elias says it’s one of his favorite late night places so I’d be more than happy to do this restaurant dinner combo again.

Can’t say I wasn’t disappointed that the museum part of the day didn’t happen, but I got to spend time with one of my favorite people and ate some great things so it all worked out in the end!!

ㅠ_ㅠ Biang! recently closed in Flushing, which is a personal culinary tragedy since it was one of my favorite restaurants. I’m a big fan of salty/spicy/sour taste profiles (give me anything cured, fermented, preserved [drooling emoji]) and Biang! had all of it. When I stopped by in December, it was no more! :(

Actually…. the truth is that Biang! has moved to a new location in the city at 157 Second Avenue and while I lament the loss in my neighborhood, I’m excited to be be able to take my non-Queens friends for a bite without having them travel to an outer borough. I’m bummed that I won’t get to take my parents (who’ve wanted to try it for a while & not into traveling to the city), but I understand it from a business standpoint – why not move the restaurant that has a lways targeted a younger crowd to an area where there IS a younger crowd? Either way, I hope they do well and open up shop again in Flushing!

If you get a chance to try it, definitely DEFINITELY order the Fiddlehead Fern salad – alternatively, the above photographed cucumber salad isn’t bad either – the Chang’an Spicy Soft Tofu appetizer and the Stewed Oxtail Biang-biang Noodles with soup, and lots and lots of skewers! The Quail Eggs On Sausage & Toasted Mantou Slices is one of their big hits, but it wasn’t that impressive. The menu also has a very cool Sour Hawberry (Hawthorn) tea which is so refreshing & really cuts through the spice~

Post what I didn’t know to be my last Biang! meal, Victoria and I stopped by Mango Mango for a late night dessert. Mango Mango had been open for a few weeks and as a lover of mangoes, it was a SHAME that I hadn’t already eaten everything on the menu.

What a cute shop!!! For a dessert shop, their menu is packed and it’ll take you a good 10 minutes to look through and order. I love the inclusion of classic Chinese sweets like Black Sesame sweet soup, which you can’t really get anywhere other than a box mix. I really enjoyed my Mango Sundae although I think in retrospect it was A LOT OF MANGO. Mango’s my favorite fruit, but I probably could have substituted some other flavors.

In my second trip, I shared a crepe & a mango platter with Yaling and wow that platter takes the trophy. It was so refreshing and unique! I’ve tried multiple times to get a slice of the Mango Mille Crepe, but it always seems to be sold out – that’ll be my next challenge~