Puma City NY @ The Seaport

After walking around the Great 4th of July Festival on Water St for what seemed like forever, we decided that enough is enough. It was wayyyy too hot to be walking around under the blazing sun. It was so humid and hot, I actually felt physically sick. Kevin suggested that we should head over to the South Street Seaport area to hangout. With it being on the waterfront, the breeze might help us feel a little cooler. If all else fails, we could walk around the Pier 17 mall and enjoy the air con for a bit. Also, he remembered that Puma is having some sort of World Cup event all month long at the Seaport and said that we could check that out too. Air con at the mall? World Cup stuff? Sounds good to me..let's go!From the moment we walked into the South Street Seaport area, we saw red colored themed tents everywhere. I went up to the site map and found out that it was a pretty big event and that there were quite a number of things going. The whole event is sponsored by Puma and it's on daily from June 11 to July 11, in conjunction with the World Cup. Apart from being able to watch live World Cup matches on big screens, there are also other things that you could do.

I guess the one thing that really stood out was the Puma Football Pitch. They have tournaments and football clinics going on daily through out the whole month. In between those 'official' events, everybody is invited to just go in and kick the ball around. They have short matches where you can just team up with strangers, form teams and play a game. I think that is an absolutely brilliant idea, since football is a game that brings people from all over the world together.

There wasn't any tournament or clinics going on while we were there. However, there were kids in the Puma Football Pitch, playing a game. It was really fun to watch how this game just brings everybody together. Those kids didn't know each other before they stepped into the pitch but once they started playing, they all became friends. I could gage from their accents that they were probably tourist, hailing from different parts of the world, but because of this event, they had the chance to play football with total strangers, right in the heart of NYC. How cool is that? Good job Puma for coming up with this idea!

There were also small stalls all over that sold supporter jerseys/t shirts for the various World Cup teams and other World Cup souvenirs too. I tried looking for a vuvuzela but I couldn't find any. Hmmm, maybe you can only get it in Africa :P

If you are not looking for a particular team jersey, you could also go to one of the two Puma Retail Containers to pick up some Puma merchandise. I didn't go in to check the retail outlets out (I'm not really a big Puma fan, sorry...) but I saw many people coming out of those containers with bags and bags of merchandise. I guess they must have some sort of good deals in there.

Here is another cool thing you could do at Puma City NY. If you were to buy a jersey or t shirt at the event, you could bring it over to this booth and they will personalized it for you there and then! You could also add in Puma graphics to make it a one of a kind souvenirs. For those of you who doesn't really want to spend a lot of money for a souvenir, Puma has a free Photo Booth, where you can enter and get a souvenir photo for FREE! We were too lazy to line up just to get our photos taken, so we decided to pass up on that.

From Puma City, we headed over to the Mall at Pier 17 to hang out. It felt so good to escape the heat for a bit and we enjoyed ourselves just walking around in the nice air con mall. We knew that we could get a great view of the East River, Brooklyn Heights and the bridges from the top floor of the mall, so we headed outside to check it out. Look at all the comfortable deck chairs! Too bad they were all taken. If not, it would have been pretty relaxing to just sit there in the breeze and shade, just enjoying the view of the waterfront.

Check out the awesome view! No, not of my sun burnt face! :P I was referring to the view of the East River as well as the three bridges that connects Manhattan to Brooklyn. The one closest to me is the famous Brooklyn Bridge, followed by the Manhattan Bridge and the furthest one of all is the Williamsburg Bridge. You can also see the ever so popular Water Taxi Beach in the foreground. We initially wanted to head down there for a drink and maybe some snacks but it was just way too hot. The best time to go hangout at the Water Taxi Beach is after sunset. That's right...when the sun goes down, things begin to heat up at the Water Taxi Beach! From what I hear, it's an awesome place to party - with reasonably priced drinks and pub food.
Here is another photo of the 'BMW' bridges (Brooklyn, Manhattan, Williamsburg) and the East River. You can also see the Circle Line River Cruise ferry just under the Brooklyn Bridge. Jumping on the Circle Line Cruise is one of the best ways to see Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty. You can buy the tickets and board the ferry right here on Pier 17. After all the walking and stuff, it was already time for dinner. We decided to hail a cab and head over to Little Italy to search for a yummy 'road side' restaurant. More about that in my next post!!

The Frying Pan Bar & Grill - Chelsea, NYC

When Chai Yuet and her friend Kheng Leng visited NYC over the Memorial Day weekend, we knew that we had to bring them to go check out and have dinner at one of our favorite bars in the city. Located on Pier 66 (just 3 blocks north of Chelsea Piers), The Frying Pan is definitely the place to be if you want to catch the sunset over the Hudson, while kicking back with a Corona or Sangria in hand.What's so cool about The Frying Pan anyways? Well, apart from the awesome views and sunsets, there is quite a history behind this lightship. Built in 1929, The Frying Pan is a historic lightship that was salvaged after spending 3 years at the bottom of Chesapeake Bay. It was then brought to Chelsea Piers and it has become a bar ever since. The Frying Pan is docked to Pier 66 (which is actually an old railroad barge) and it's neighbor, the the John J. Harvey fireboat is docked beside it. There is also a caboose right in the middle of Pier 66.

The Frying Pan is open everyday starting from May up til October (or when it starts to get cold). They start serving drinks at noon and they stay open all the way til midnight. The best time to go would be just before sunset but be warned, it gets really packed during the weekends. So, you might want to get there early if you want a table and/or seat. Oh, and they do card after 6pm or so. Yeah, that's right. You must be above 21 to enter.

Ahhh, there you go. This is the Frying Pan. As you can see, you are allowed to go on board and just chill anywhere. The engine room is also open for you to check out. Also, when the sun goes down, the Frying Pan starts to heat up. There is a dance floor inside this lightship!

Look at the amount of people there that day. I believe it was so packed because it was the Memorial Day weekend as well as Fleet Week in NYC. The whole of Pier 66 was just packed with people (both on the bottom and top floors!). It can get pretty wild with all the 'frat boy partying' at times, especially on weekends and holidays. Oh, check out the background of this pic. You can also see part the John J. Harvey fireboat in the background. Occasionally, there will be a water salute coming from the fireboat.

We were really lucky to get to seat down, let alone a table to ourselves that day. Can you see the stage behidn us? It was so packed until they had to set up tables on the stage! There would be live bands performing on stage during lunchtime as well as later on in the day.

So, hows the food and drinks there? Well, the food served there is your typical bar food but I would say that the taste is above bar food standards. Everything is self serve at the Frying Pan. What you would do is go up to the bar to order your food, pay and you would be given a ticket with a number. Then you just have to wait until your number is called, then you can go pick up your food and drinks. They accept both cash and credit cards but on the day that we were there, their credit card machine was down. So, we had to pay cash. For those of you who do not like to carry around much cash, there is also an ATM machine in the bar itself.

I ordered the Lemon Herb Chicken Breast Wrap ($9.23). The chicken was very nicely marinated and juicy. It came with tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, tzatziki, some greens, all wrapped up in a grilled flatbread. It also came with a nice side salad. A really refreshing dish on a hot summers day. Kevin and Kheng Leng got the Grilled 8oz Sirloin Burger ($9.22). Kevin said that it was really good. Heck, even I can see that it was good, with yummy juices flowing out each time he took a bite :P The burgers was served on a sesame seed brioche roll with cheese, lettuce, onions, tomatoes and pickles. You can add on bacon, avocado or mushrooms for an additional $1.84 each. The two best sellers at The Frying Pan when it comes to drinks is their White Sangria ($35 per pitcher....I think) and their Corona buckets ($35 per bucket). The sangria was really refreshing, all loaded up with fruits. Definitely my choice of beverage on a super hot summers day. The Corona bucket is a really good deal too. 5 bottles of Corona for $35. It also comes with a small cup of lime wedges. Kheng Leng also bought all of us a pitcher of Long Island Iced Tea (I do not know the price) to share. However, Kevin said that it tasted a little bit watered down. I think I kinda agree with him. We polished off the whole pitcher and we didn't even get a buzz. Definitely watered down.

Ahhh, this is the reason why most people come to The Frying Pan. Check out the view. You can get a superb view of the Manhattan skyline from almost any part of the bar. Also, it's pretty near the ever so busy West 30th St Heliport. So, you can check out all the different types of helicopters that are heading towards or leaving the heliport.

Now, this is what everybody is waiting for. The highlight of the evening. It was such an amazing feeling to just sit back, relax and watch the sun set over the Hudson River. The gentle breeze, the slight swaying of the boats, an icy cold Corona in hand...if not for the New Jersey skyline, you would sometimes even forget that you are smacked right in the middle of Manhattan.

We had a great time hanging out with Chai Yuet and Kheng Leng at The Frying Pan. So, the next time you are visiting Manhattan or if you are looking to get away from the crazy city life for a couple of hours, head over to The Frying Pan and get yourself a bucket of Corona. Hey, you might even see us there! :P

The Frying Pan Bar & Grill
Pier 66 Maritime,
W.26th Street and Hudson River Park,
New York, NY 10001
Tel: (212) 989-6363
Web: http://www.fryingpan.com/

Pacific Grill - South St. Seaport, NYC

After spending the whole morning and a good part of the afternoon walking around the South Street Seaport Museum, we decided to head over to Pier 17 to grab a late lunch. We knew that there was a food court inside the Pier 17 mall (which, by the way was the where they filmed Nirvana's In Bloom MTV back in the 90's :P) but we wanted to try one of the waterfront restaurants. After all, we were at the Seaport district, so we were looking for some seafood and nice harbour views. We walked down the boardwalk and noticed that there were so many waterfront restaurants! We didn't know which one to pick! There were also some on the second floor of the Pier 17 mall. Some were packed to the brim while others were totally empty.

We walked by Pacific Grill and saw that it had a decent crowd. Not too empty and there wasn't a line of people, waiting to be seated. They also had some good music playing, so we decided to give this place a try.

A quick look at the Specials menu as well as the Happy Hours menu sealed the deal. :P Looks like they have some relatively cheap drinks and pretty yummy seafood.

There is a large bar and a huge indoor sitting area but we chose to dine al fresco, since the weather was perfect and we wanted to enjoy the waterfront as well as the boardwalk view while eating :D

From our table, we had a great view of the boardwalk, with the view of lower Manhattan in the background.

We also had a great view of the East River, Brooklyn Bridge and Brooklyn Heights. A perfect place to just relax and have a nice weekend lunch with friends and family. We ordered from the lunch menu (less items compared to the dinner menu but cheaper) and we didn't have to wait too long before our meal was served.

Kevin ordered the Fish and Chips ($15.99). Two large fish fillets with lots of fries, served in a basket. It came with a small serving of tartar sauce and a lemon wedge. I asked Kevin if the fish was any good and he said it was alright (by know, you guys should have figured out that Kevin doesn't complain much, everything is good :P). So, for the sake of this blog, I took a bite. I felt that it wasn't all that great. I wouldn't say that it was bad but it was just alright. Nothing really to shout about at all. In fact, maybe a tad bit tasteless. I wouldn't really recommend it, I feel that its a little bit below par for a seafood restaurant.

I ordered the Crab Cake Burger ($13.99). Now, THIS was way better than the Fish & Chips. Two large crab cakes (crispy on the outside and juicy in the inside) with some sliced tomatoes, red onions, lettuce and special mayo sauce in a lightly toasted bun. It was served with a side of fries, coleslaw and a pickle. The crab cakes were pretty good, it had just the correct amount of seasoning and it wasn't dry at all.

Sooo, the big question. What's the damage? Well, we ended up just ordering a soda each (should have ordered the happy hour beer though, they charged us $3 for a soda and beer was $4) and with the two mains, our bill came up to $44.55! That's pretty steep for lunch. Also note that they have already added in 15% gratuity into the total bill (I hate it when they do that..it's like they are so afraid that we will not tip them? Sheeshhhh...). The food was really nothing to shout about and it's grossly overpriced. However, the service was pretty good and the view was amazing! I guess that's what we were paying for, the ambiance and view. Would I return? Well, probably not for the food but it would be a good place to go to for a $4 beer on a nice sunny afternoon.

Pacific Grill - South St. Seaport
89 South Street Seaport,
Pier 17 Mall,
New York, NY 10038
Tel: (212) 964.0707
Web: http://www.pacificgrillnyc.com/