Category Archives: Travel

Falling in Love with Columbia University

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I’d like to mention that this post definitely goes over key parts of Columbia University, partly because I want to share what I learned with all of you AND so I can actually remember everything when college admissions season rolls around.

I’ll be honest, I think I fell in love with Columbia University.

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And how can you not fall in love with this Ivy League school in New York City? When I was in New York in July, Columbia University was my second stop—after Times Square the night before. Since college is on the horizon (sort of) and most people my age aren’t thinking about it yet, I might as well get a jump on it, right? Most people don’t realize this, but I’m going into my sophomore year of high school in about one week.

So there I was, sitting in Low Library and listening to people from the admissions department talk about Columbia University—their different programs, their engineering school, stories, and anecdotes—while surrounded by people who were actually going to start the application process this year! Um, whoa, just whoa. Continue reading

Times Square

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DSC_0037Sunday was my first day—well, more like “night”—in New York. And, despite only going from about 7pm to 11pm, it was actually very eventful!

I got the chance to meet my aunts, uncle, and cousin, all while looking over Times Square! It was beautiful, and I couldn’t have asked for any better way to start off my trip!

Times Square was absolutely breathtaking. I can’t even begin to describe how crazy it is. But it’s a good kind of crazy, and I love the hustle-and-bustle of the area… even if its only tourists like me who are hustling-and-bustling.

What’s absolutely crazy is that you don’t even realize it’s nighttime when you’re there. All of the flashing lights and advertisements fool you into thinking it’s daytime!

And there’s got to be an ad for everything imaginable. With so many ads flashing around me, I almost want to just pull out my wallet and wave my credit card in the air and just let the consumerism, well, consume me. It’s capitalism at its finest. Lots of photos after the jump!

San Antonio Market Square: A Fiesta

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Last month, I spent a weekend in San Antonio. Only about an hour away from the capital of Texas: Austin—the city known for its eccentricity and vegetarianism, and more recently its fight to protect women’s autonomy from (an arguably) crazy governor. San Antonio, however, is an area with a heavy Mexican influence, in case the name “San Antonio” didn’t already tell you that! The entire city brims with that Latin flair, that excitement and passion that Latin cultures always have.

Even though that weekend was supposed to be my break, I felt the itching need to do something. Really ANYTHING outside of the hotel! But my curse of not being able to sit down and rest turned out to be a blessing, since the San Antonio Market Square turned out to be an incredibly vibrant place! From live music to street vendors to indoor stores selling art with a Mexican flair, how can you go wrong?

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Jollibee and Red Ribbon in Carson

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Whether we have one, small difference or are polar opposites, we can agree on one thing: there is halo-halo in heaven.

Tagalog word of the day: Sarap.
Meaning, “delicious.”

There are only a few desserts I really enjoy and crave: French macarons and halo-halo. Of course, living in Dallas means you don’t get halo-halo often—actually, not at all—and now that I think about it, even French macarons aren’t super easy to come by. That’s probably one of the downsides of living in the Dallas suburbs—a certain lack of culture that is found in places like New York City or Los Angeles.

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Austin’s South Congress Street: a (short) photo journey

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While in Austin for a few days in December, I had the chance to eat at some great food trucks! Austin, the most eccentric city in Texas, is known as the live music capital of the world, but it also has a growing food truck population! South Congress Street in downtown Austin is another food truck hub within the city, with food truck “parks” dotted down the street, selling everything from Indian dosas to Texan barbecue. Austin has definitely been growing in its foodie status.

(The area we went to is extremely close to the Hyatt Regency Austin.)

To celebrate another Foodie Friday as well as Phoneography Month, I decided to share my photos of the food trucks and restaurants we stopped at! I took a few photos with my dad’s Nikon D5000, but the rest were from my iPhone 5 since I didn’t want to lug around a big camera with me all day. Either way, enjoy!

Austin is an incredibly exciting place, especially if you don’t consider yourself part of the mainstream. Austin is very dog-friendly, as well as vegetarian- and vegan-friendly. Nearly every single food truck and restaurant in downtown Austin offered vegetarian or vegan options—not just one, but normally an entire menu! Nomad Dosa, one of the best food trucks on Congress Street, didn’t even offer meat! (It’s like a vegetarian/vegan heaven!)

Austin proudly proclaims its slogan of “Keep Austin Weird,” standing as the major center for liberal politics in Texas and a safe-haven for the nontraditional, including the artistic, LGBT, naturalist, environmentalist, and intellectual communities. It holds a desire to protect independent and local businesses (as opposed to large corporations).

Austin is actually a really cool place, and if you’re ever in Texas or even the southern half of the United States (yes, the crazy part), then be sure to stop by! You won’t regret it—as long as you’re willing to keep Austin weird!

Morimoto

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Who doesn’t love sushi?

I ate my last meal in New York at Morimoto — a Japanese restaurant on 10th Avenue. I definitely didn’t want to leave New York City without having great sushi, and luckily, Morimoto delivered.

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Our meal began with the toro tartare.

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Our waitress served us the raw, chopped toro, topped with domestic caviar, in a large bowl filled with ice. Inside the bowl was a tray filled with dashes of sauces — wasabi, sour cream,  nori paste, chopped chives, guacamole, and rice crackers — and a cup of dashi soy. To eat the tartare, you use the metal spatula-like spoon to scoop out toro, add condiments, and dip in the dashi soy.

The toro tartare tasted delicious! It’s one of those foods that I’ll want again if I go to New York, but not all the time — it costs $31 on the lunch menu. It’s definitely worth the price for a non-local, though.

Maki and nigiri sushi were next on the lunch agenda.

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The shrimp tempura roll, spicy salmon roll, and sake (salmon) nigiri created a triumvirate of flavor, headed by the sake nigiri.

The sake nigiri was absolutely phenomenal! The salmon practically melted in my mouth. The chef’s inclusion of wasabi in between the slice of cool, raw salmon and the sweet sushi rice made the sushi taste ten times better. In Japan, the sushi chef lightly smears a small bit of wasabi in between the fish and the rice, as wasabi should not be mixed in the soy sauce, which is commonly done in the West.

Taking a short break from sushi, I feasted into the crispy rock shrimp tempura.

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The rock shrimp tempura had both a green chile and a wasabi sauce. Our waitress gave a ranch dip along with the rock shrimp tempura, which added a cooling dimension to the spicy shrimp. Honestly, I think I should have started with the shrimp, as it’s quite filling. Plus, its hot properties clash with the coolness of the sushi I just ate.

I ended the meal with two more maki rolls.

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The spicy tuna roll and California roll were calm and somewhat “safe” endings to the meal.

The standout roll was definitely the California roll. What made it stand apart, especially from other California rolls, was the use of real snow crab meat — very different from the usual imitation crab found in most sushi restaurants and grocery stores.

The Verdict:

I definitely recommend trying out Morimoto if you visit New York. Would I go back to Morimoto if I take another trip to the Big Apple? Possibly, but probably not. I won’t lie — Morimoto is ridiculously pricy, even for lunch. Is the food worth it? I’d say yes, but it’s not the place for someone on a budget (unless you want to leave hungry and underfed). I’d say try it once, then decide to return if you think it’s worth it. Just watch how much you’re ordering.

J’aime les Macarons: An Ode to Ladurée

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I’m not much of a dessert person, but I have a special place in my heart for a certain French sweet… namely the macaron. (Not the coconut macaroon, the extra “o” makes a huge difference.)

It’s no secret that I love macarons; I think this is even my second post about the French confection. My love affair with macarons started a few years ago in Paris at Ladurée, which is famous for its luxury cakes and pastries, as well as inventing the “double-decker” macaron (its current form).

When we visited New York, one of the places on our list to visit was Ladurée’s only North American location on Madison Avenue. (Another Ladurée is supposed to open in SoHo in the near future.) Note: As of April 2014, the SoHo location is open.

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Mesa Grill

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Note: Mesa Grill’s New York location is closed. As of posting, the only open locations are in Las Vegas and the Bahamas

On Day Two in New York, the lunch destination was Mesa Grill, one of Bobby Flay’s restaurants.

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I’m from Texas, land of beef and all things meat. I was actually quite surprised that a restaurant owned by a man well-known for grilling (and Mexican food, which is something else I’m used to) excited me.

There are a few things that made my time at Mesa Grill very significant in my New York journey — first, Mesa Grill was the only restaurant where we, rather my mom, actually ordered from the Restaurant Week menu (which took place between July 16 through August 10, 2012). Second, Mesa Grill had the best service out of any restaurant I went to in New York. I’ll never forget the wonderful waiter we had — he was so personal and friendly, it was great!

On the restaurant week menu was a spicy salmon tartare as an appetizer, wild striped bass as the entrée, and a vanilla bean custard for dessert. I ordered the Mesa Burger — which had the usual lettuce, tomato, and cheese, but also included grilled Vidalia onion, horseradish mustard, and Southwestern fries.

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Click here and read more! (^_^)

Momofuku Made Me Love Ramen

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Back when I was younger, Naruto used to play on Cartoon Network. Every Monday and Tuesday night, I’d watch the show, obsessed with the ninjas’ many powers. I think Naruto started my ninja phase — the show made being a ninja look so fun! I think I hit my ninja peak in second or third grade, with my Halloween costume being a ninja for two years in a row.

Naruto, a twelve-year-old ninja and star of the show, had one recurring obsession: ramen. Especially in the earlier episodes, Naruto would be taken to a ramen-ya very frequently by one of his ninja instructors. I’d watch them sit in the ramen shop, slurping down their ramen as Naruto would keep going on about how good it tasted.

Whenever I saw them do that on TV, I’d suddenly want to have ramen too. I had no idea what ramen tasted like — was it salty? Sweet? Did it taste like udon noodles, or was it closer to a chicken noodle soup? By seventh grade, I was buying instant ramen from a Japanese specialty store. The ramen helped my reputation as the kid who brings foreign (i.e. non-American) lunches all the time. Even though I was eating “ramen,” it didn’t feel the same. Continue reading

Harney & Sons SoHo

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I’ve never really been a big fan of coffee. My dad says it’s an “acquired taste,” but I think I like tea more. My first day in New York was definitely a crazy day, filled with walking, eating, and jaywalking. The weirdest part was that it started raining. I’ve always been a fan of the rain, but I really did not want it to show up in my incredibly short trip to New York. My mom and I decided to go to Harney & Sons SoHo for tea, even though that meant running down the streets of SoHo in the rain.

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Harney & Sons is a tea company based in Connecticut with tasting rooms in New York City and Millerton (a small town in New York on the border of Connecticut). The New York City location is placed in the trendy SoHo area, surrounded by cast-ironarchitecture, artists’ lofts, and art galleries.

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