Shanghai Cafe - Chinatown, NYC

After walking around Little Italy for a couple of hours, we decided to head over to Chinatown to get some groceries from the Malaysian grocery store (just a short walk away) before heading home. When we arrived in Chinatown, checked my watch and realized that it was almost dinnertime! Oh how convenient, we can have an early dinner in Chinatown before heading home (I love eating in Chinatown, you can get really cheap and yummy food there) :P

I felt like eating some xiao long bao but I didn't know of any good Shanghainese restaurants around. So, we went to our most trusted source of information, the Chinatown Information Center (yeah, the red colored booth with the golden dragon on top) and asked them to recommend a good Shanghainese restaurant. He told us to check out Shanghai Cafe in Mott St (between Canal and Hester). So, off to Shanghai Cafe we went! :D

It was almost empty (there were only a couple of customers) when we arrive. I guess it was still a little early for dinner. The decor was pretty modern, nice and clean, compared to some of the other Chinatown restaurants. They had this funky looking ambient lights on the ceiling...kinda hip for a Chinese restaurant...hahaha. As I sat down and looked around, I began to remember reading up reviews about this place. They had very high ratings in Yelp, Zagat, Boo Rah and a few other websites. Looks like we made a good choice by coming here!

I remember reading in the reviews that they serve really good Scallion Pancakes ($2.25) so I ordered a piece to try. Yes! The reviews were right, it is good! Unlike most scallion pancakes, this wass light, flaky and the best part, not greasy at all. Very very nice.

Another thing they are popular for is their Xiao Long Bao (steamed pork soup dumplings). It's supposed to be so good that one guy said that he would go in and order 3 portions just for himself. This I gotta try!! We had a choice between the regular Pork Xiao Long Bao ($4.95 for 8 pieces) or their speciality, Crab and Pork Xiao Long Bao ($6.95 for 8 pieces). Since it's their speciality, we decided to go with the Crab and Pork. We knew that it would be good when it was brought out not by our server but by the chef herself!! :P So, were they good? You bet they were! The soup inside was just sooooooo sweet and yummy. There were also large clumps of crab meat inside the dumpling (maybe that's the secret to really sweet soup, lotsa crab?). No wonder that guy orders 3 portion just for himself....I don't blame him at all. I have eaten quite a lot of xiao long bao's in my lifetime and I must say, this is one of the better ones! Two thumbs up!

For our mains, I ordered the Shanghai La Mian Soup with Smoked Fish ($4.95). I was wondering if I made a wrong choice, cause the server asked me if I knew that the fish was served cold. I was like err sure, bring it on :P I was glad I ordered that. I have never tried Shanghai style smoked fish before but I like it! It was sweet (which made the soup sweet too...iLike!) and was smoked with some fermented black beans. The noodles were also good, springy and not too chewy.

Kevin ordered the Shanghai La Mian Soup with Pork Chop ($4.50). They were very generous with the pork chop and it looked pretty good. It was served with regular vegetables as well as some preserved vegetables. I tasted a little of the soup and it was good too!

We ordered bubble tea ($2.95 each) as our drink/dessert. Kevin had Red Apple and I ordered the Passion fruit. I like how they seal the top of cups, so that we can take along with us after our meal. Very good idea :D Overall, we had a great dinner. Affordable good food, at it's best. The only bad thing I can say about Shanghai Cafe is that they do not accept credit cards, so remember to bring cash! I read that their Sticky Rice in Bamboo Leaves as well as their Pan Fried Rice Cakes are really good too. Good, that gives us another reason to return and check them out in the near future!

Shanghai Cafe
100 Mott Street,
New York, NY 10013
Tel: (212) 966 3988
Fax: (212) 996 8856

Give Something Healthy to the Lil' Monsters

Wow, summer just went by in a blink of an eye. Soon, the leaves will begin to change it's color and fall will be here. Fall is my favorite season, with the beautiful fall foliage, nice cool weather and Halloween!! Yup, I just love Halloween, don't you? Halloween is just so much fun but it was be really unhealthy too. Imagine your kids coming home with tons of candy from their trick or treating. How unhealthy can that be?? Isn't there a healthier alternative?

I recently came to know of the Trick Or Treat Me blog. This site aims not only to provide good nutritious alternatives to keep your kids healthy but also the environment 'healthy'. It's a wonderful site and a resource that parents can use by getting resourceful tips for healthy living, while still having some fun this Halloween season. Isn't that cool? They understand, you are busy and most kids can be picky, when it comes to healthy eating. Therefore, this site aims to be a hub for all things tasty, healthy and easy – and hopefully they can provide you with some great trick or treat ideas too!

If you like to keep up on the latest and the greatest, check out this new “milk box” campaign (http://www.trickortreatmeblog.com/). It’s fun, it’s silly and it’s for a good cause – every time you play, they donate to World Wildlife Fund. Sound good? We’re just getting started! Hershey’s and Organic Valley want to spread the word about milk in single serve, shelf stable cartons.

To do so, they have created applications on Facebook, Twitter and the Web. On the social networking sites, you can choose whether your friends deserve to be treated or tricked – all the while supporting World Wildlife Fund. How? Check out Trick Or Treat Me on Twitter. A donation is made to the World Wildlife Fund for each click on Twitter, where users can opt to “trick” or “treat” their friends, depending on what they deserve. And on the Web, you can upload headshots of yourself and your friends, only to have them appear atop the dancing bodies of monsters, ready to trick or treat at your friends’ doors.

These applications are easy to do and easy to become addicted to! It’s easy to get swept up in the Halloween spirit. So take part in this all-around great campaign and share it with your friends today! Remember: while you’re sharing a laugh with your friends, you are also helping protect the future of nature with the World Wildlife Fund.

82nd Annual Feast of San Gennaro

After the disappointment of not getting into Oktoberfest in Central Park, we decided to head over to Little Italy to check out the Feast of San Gennaro - New York City’s longest-running, biggest and most revered religious outdoor festival in the United States! Originally started to keep alive the spirit and faith of the early Italian immigrants to America, the Feast today is expected to attract more than one million people from all over the world to the streets of Little Italy to participate in this annual Salute to the Patron Saint of Naples. Check out the amount of people at the Feast. We had trouble even trying to get in!!

Eventhough this was originally known as an annual celebration of faith, the Feast of San Gennaro is now better known for its festive atmosphere. An 11-day event featuring religious processions and colorful parades, free musical entertainment, a wide variety of Italian delicacies, charming restaurants and cafes and the a world-famous cannoli-eating competition!

Kevin's colleague told him (even printed out the history of this feast, location as well as it's daily events for us) that we MUST go to the Feast for the food! She is Italian and without fail, she and her family would be there every year for the food. If an Italian tells us that the food is good there, I know she is not lying :P So yeah, we were there for the food! With that as motivation, we took a deep breath and pushed thru the sea of people to get in (thank god the people thinned out as we navigated thru the inner streets).

Mmmm mmmm mmmmm, the smell of Hot Italian Sausages, Cheese Steaks, Rib Eye Steaks...all kinds of grilled meat just filled the air. There were so many meat stalls to choose from, we didn't know where to begin!

We then saw something that we have never seen before. It looked like pancakes but way thicker. It smelled pretty good too. It's actually two corn patties with loads of mozzarella stuffed inside. We bought one for $5, just to try something new. I didn't really quite like it because it was way too greasy but Kevin liked it. Sooooo, he had to finish it by himself. No problem there :P

Apart from all the sausages, meats, pizzas, strombolis, calzones, pastas...ect, there also all kinds of yummy desserts! Various types of cannolis, lobster tails, tiramisu, cream puffs and gelati. Oh so yummy yummy!! I can actually feel my waistline expanding just by typing all this.

This is one of the more popular stalls during the Feast. It seems that they have the best biscotti and nougats around. Too bad we didn't know of their fame until we came back home. If not, I would have bought some just to sample it.

Ahhhhhh one of my all time favorite carnival food..Zeppoles! Since it's an Italian festival, I would imagine them having great Zeppoles. Guess what? I was right!! They are the best...ever!! Oh I love Zeppoles, oh yes I do!

If you are not a fan of street food or walking around while eating, there are also over 35 different Italian restaurants featuring some of the best food Italy has to offer. Many of them have pre fixe menus as well as regional favorites. Of course you can also sample some of the finest Italian wines available. I just love how they converted part of the street to al fresco sitting in front of each restaurant, it gives it an European feel, doesn't it? :P

So, apart from food (which constitutes about 80% of the stalls), what else was there? Well, there were also a few stalls selling "Italian pride" apparel - from Italia jerseys to baby rompers.

There were also stalls selling all kinds of knick knacks and this stall. I have never seen so many different types of cigars before. I was told that they carry cigars from all over the world and also make some of the finest cigars on Mulberry St.

Just before leaving the Feast, we headed over to the carnival games section. There were all kinds of carnival games, mostly for kids though :P

Also, I was quite amused that they had carnival rides right in the middle of the narrow streets of Little Italy. Imagine opening up your apartment window and seeing some stranger go by on the Ferris Wheel!! Anyways, we had a great time just walking around and eating some really good Italian street food. Kevin's colleague was right, everybody should head over to Little Italy during the Feast to check out the food. We will most definitely be there again next year!!!

German-American Steuben Parade in NYC

We have been going to the city almost every weekend since last month (we would usually only head over there maybe once a month or so). This weekend was no different. There were so many big festivals going on at the same time that we had some trouble deciding which one to go to. There was the ever so popular 52nd Annual German-American Steuben Parade along 5th Ave & Oktoberfest in Central Park, the Italian Feast of San Gennaro in Little Italy, the Great Irish Fair in Coney Island as well as some other smaller Greek and Indian festivals all over NY/NJ. I just love living in the big city, there is always something happening, no matter when or what time of the day it is. After giving it some thought, we decided to checkout the Steuben Parade. After all, Kevin is part German (mother's side), so we must celebrate the German pride by drinking a few beers and maybe eating a bratwurst or two :P

The German-American Steuben Parade is an annual parade that is held in various cities across America. Founded in 1957 by German-American immigrants who, being part of the largest ethnic group in the United States, wanted to keep the traditions of their homeland alive. The parade in New York City is the largest one out of all and it's usually held on the 3rd Saturday in September.

The parade starts at 64st St, moving uptown along 5th Avenue and ends on 86th St. 86th Street holds a special meaning for German-Americans, as that street and the entire Yorkville neighborhood was home to many German immigrants between the first half of the 20th century until the 1970s. The neighborhood's most important street (86th St) was lovingly called "Sauerkraut Boulevard" and hosted many German-American establishments, ranging from coffee shops and restaurants to dance halls.

The three hour long parade features traditional German brass music groups and marching bands, all kinds of floats, members from German clubs and organization wearing traditional costumes, as well as carnival groups, marksmen or representatives of other traditions. Here is a video that we took of one of the marching bands and as well as a video of a float from the parade.

There was a festive atmosphere along 5th Ave that day. A lot of people were dressed in traditional German costumes (spectators, not those in the parade) and many people were also spotted holding tiny German and American flags. A lot of German companies were also actively involved in the parade. Here is Kevin with Mercedes-Benz's new 2010 line up. Of course Volkswagen, BMW, Audi and Porsche were also there with their line up.

Below are more photos from the parade. All the kids were just so cute, all decked out in their traditional costumes, looking like Hansel and Gretel :P Look at the little guys in the photos, that's what Kevin looked like as a kid (I should post up some pics to show you folks).

We didn't stay for the whole 3 hours (how much floats, marching bands and people marching by in traditional costumes can one take? :P). We headed to Central Park to check out the Oktoberfest celebration at the Summer Stage area. Before we headed out there, we managed to just walk around the park and take some photos. It was such a nice day and the park was just filled with people, relaxing and enjoying the day.

When we arrived at the Summer Stage area, we were told that there were no more tickets available and that we should have pre-booked online! Man...what a bummer. Of course we could wait in line and as the crowd thins, we will be able to get some tickets later on. At that point, there were about 200 people in line, just waiting to get in. As much as we would like to get in, we decided that it's not worth the wait (even though we were pretty bummed that we couldn't get into the largest beerfest in NYC!). I guess the beer, bratwurst, pork knuckles, pretzels and sauerkraut will just have to with til next year! Since we didn't get a chance to eat some good German food, we decided to head downtown to Little Italy to the San Gennaro Festival for some Italian street food! More about that in the next post!! :D

Marlboro's Crazy Mountain Ranch in Montana

It's been almost a month since we got back from Marlboro's Crazy Mountain Ranch in Montana. I have finally posted the final post about the trip last night. However, I noticed that more than 70% of the traffic visiting this blog these days is here to read about the ranch as well as ranch related posts and also to look at pictures of the ranch. I know that all of my posts related this trip is scattered all over the blog, so I am going to compile all them here - in one post. This is everything you would need to know about the ranch, from the time we won the trip up til when we actually went and all the stuff that we did there. Enjoy!

We won the 4 days 3 nights trip, fully sponsored by Marlboro sometime in May, 2009. Here are all the links to all the pre trip preparation and the stuff we got before we left for the ranch.

The Pre Trip Documents

Getting the Driving Records from DMV

We got our Ranch Dates!

Verification Call from Marlboro

Marlboro Ranch Activity Forms

Flight Details Phone Call

Our Luggage For The Ranch!

Our Ranch Travel Info Pack!

After all those months of waiting, August 19th, 2009 finally came! At last, we were all set to leave for that trip of a lifetime! Here are all the links to write ups and pictures of the Crazy Mountain Ranch.

Our Journey To The Ranch

Our Room At the Ranch

Gifts From The Marlboro Ranch

Food At The Marlboro Ranch

The Town - Crazy Mountain Ranch

Now that we know all about the Crazy Mountain Ranch, here are some of the activities that we took part in while we were there.

• Ranch Activities: Fly Fishing
  
  
• Ranch Activities: Horse Basics
  
  
• Ranch Activities: Backcountry Jeep Tour
  
  
• Ranch Activities: The Town Party
  
  
• Ranch Activities: Adventure Trek
  
  
• Ranch Activities: Scenic Horseback Ride
  
  
• Ranch Activities: Lakeside Pavillion Party
  
  
• Ranch Activities: Nightlife

Alritey, with this post, I've concluded the series on our trip to the Marlboro's Crazy Mountain Ranch in Montana. I think I've pretty much covered everything there is to know about this ever exclusive (and some say extra secretive) ranch. If you have any questions, I would be more than happy to answer them. Just leave me a message or send me an email. Now, back to the regular programming of this blog :P

Thank you Marlboro for giving us this trip of a lifetime!!

Ranch Activities: Nightlife

This is the final part of the series I have started about the activities we took part in at Marlboro's Crazy Mountain Ranch in Montana. Many people have asked me about the nightlife at the ranch. Since there is no TV, Internet access, cell phone signals...heck, there isn't even a radio in the room....what do we do at night? Well, the answer is...LOTS! There are lots of stuff to do at the ranch after the sun goes down :D

On the first night, the party was at the Saloon. There wasn't any wild dancing or hardcore partying, it was just a relaxing laid back night.

Apart from ordering anything that you like from the bar, you could shoot some pool if you like. There are two pool tables at the Saloon. There is also a popcorn machine that makes fresh popcorn constantly next to the pool tables. Yummy!

If pool is not your thing, you can relax at the lounge area, by the fireplace. There will usually be a huge roaring fire going at night.

For those of you who like nature and stuff, you can sit outside at the patio and look at stars. It's amazing how bright and clear the stars are out there in Montana. Marlboro even gets some astronomers from the nearby university to come out with their high powered telescopes, so that you can check out the stars and planets. They will talk about and point out certain stars, galaxies as well as planets during those sessions.

We didn't go for that cos we were pretty busy hanging out with our new friends near the bar :P Most people just sat around with drinks and talked (since it was the first night and everybody was just getting acquainted).

The party on the second and third night was at the Livery. There are also lots to do there. There are dart boards at the back if you like to play darts.

Marlboro also had poker and blackjack tables all over the Livery. Of course it's all in good fun and no money is exchanged. Everybody is given some chips and you play til you run out.

As the night goes on and the alcohol begins to flow more freely, the party of course begins to heat up too! :P There were two different live bands playing on both the nights and also a DJ spinning. The staff taught us how to line dance and the dance floor was open all night long.

There was also the cha cha slide, party train line and limbo rock bar down at the dance floor.

The second night was karaoke night! Everybody had a great time going on stage and singing their hearts out! Of course, the free flow of alcohol helped a lot too ;P

There is something to do for everybody - you can just relax by the fireplace, chat and have a drink with your friends or party the night away. Anything goes. Heck, even Cowboy Cal was there to entertain us all night long!!

Of course, there wouldn't be a party without these people. Our amazing bartenders! You can order anything you want, from beer to wine to all kinds of liquor. I must add that it's all free and it's top shelf (nothing but the best, no cheap stuff around here!). We are not even allowed to tip the bartenders, Marlboro takes care of everything. How great is that?!?!? :D

We had a great time at the Crazy Mountain Ranch, indeed it was a trip of a lifetime! It wouldn't have been possible without all these lovely people - the Marlboro Guest Relation Staff! I have never met a more friendly bunch of people, very accommodating and they rank #1 when it comes to customer service! We would like to say thank you once again to Marlboro, for inviting us to your home, for giving us a chance to experience life out in the wild wild west and for giving us this trip of a lifetime!!

* Click here to be directed back to the Crazy Mountain Ranch Homepage. You can check out other ranch related posts as well as look at photos from the ranch during our Summer 2009 trip!