The Cube

Alright... last post of USA travel log :)



(1) Manhattan Chillies 
Grand Central Terminal
Lower Level Dining Concourse
New York, NY 10017
(212) 682-6644

Texas Chain Gang: All natural coarse ground beef, kidney beans, plum tomatoes, fresh jalapeños and chipotles

The Real McCoy - "No beans, no tomatoes, no bull." Chilli the way they made it in the Lone Star State: Chunks of all natural beef and 5 kinds of chilli powder

side dish of mini corn muffin

We had it on two different occasions - both times for lunch. The first time I had it with rice, not the second time though. However I do find it weird to have it as it is.. not accompanied with rice.


(2) T.G.I. Friday's
We went to the one in Times Square area.

Jack Daniel's burger

I read somewhere that Jack Daniel's sauce is the signature sauce of TGIF, so I thought I'll give it a go... but the calories were at some alarming numbers.


(3) Magnolia Bakery
Grand Central Terminal
Lower Level Dining Concourse

Magic cookie bar with graham cracker crust

My bad. So apparently Magnolia Bakery is famous for their cupcakes, not for this cookie. We saw a long queue and thought it would be promising. Maybe, just maybe if I had a cupcake I might say differently but this magic bar - sickly sweet, even for my sweet tooth.


(4) Avra
141 East 48th Street
New York, NY 10017
212 759-8550
fax: 751-0894

Grilled fillet of wild Pacific salmon served with marinated grilled vegatables

This was good, fresh fish and nicely cooked. Thanks to N and husband for buying dinner.


(5) Junior's Cheesecake
Restaurant
Lower Level
Dining Concourse
(212) 983-5257

Raspberry swirl cheesecake

I love this. Nice, dense cheesecake. Not sweet, just nice with complement of raspberry. We did a takeaway.


(6) Sweet Grass Grill
24 Main Street
Tarrytown, NY 10591
914.631.0000

Sweet Grass Grill - Pancake suzette style

This cafe is located in Tarrytown. It was the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and we were told it would be safer to avoid going into the city, hence we had our brunch in Tarrytown. Very generous portion of food.


(7) BBQ at home ^_^
We bought some sausages, yakitori and corns, there was also salad...




(8) Hotdog
Street food. I had this while shopping in Woodbury Common Premium Outlet. Um.. streak of shopaholic in making? LOL. I won't post up any further on Woodbury Common as friend drove us there, and the only activity we did was of course, shopping :P



Side note: I wish Saturdays are longer...

If there was uptown, then there was downtown. The first day with bright blue sky in New York - we seized the opportunity to tick off the places we wanted to see. Also, the first time I get to at the roof of the bus. There were reminders after reminders of sitting down and beware of head hitting the traffic lights and trees.

So, despite all the friendly reminders, we got lucky! The bus stopped at the traffic light and I got to stand up for a picture of this beautiful piece of architecture - the Flatiron Building.


Here's another picture of the building... Just because :P


Another skyscapper - Empire State Building. Probably also made famous by the movie King Kong and Sleepless in Seattle... and no, I did not embark on some movie themed tour or something. Just so happen a lot of Hollywood productions were filmed in United States itself, and I believe many movies shot in the Big Apple itself.


The bus actually went for quite a big loop and we got off at a stop nearest to Statue of Liberty. There are 2 ways to see the famous icon, the first one via the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island tour. There were a few options on offer, some allows to go up to the crown, but most includes access to Ellis Island Immigration Museum (read: Hitch). If you decide to pursue this option, I was advised by my friend to purchase the ticket in advance.


Anyway, the second option - free of charge ferry to Staten Island. That was our option, consideration taken into we were not a big fan of museums... (don't throw rotten eggs at me). That being said, I was aware of great reviews given on the Ellis Island Immigration Museum but we decided to proceed with option number two. Ferry to Staten Island is free of charge (as of my travel in 8th Sept 2011), but please be aware that there was no stop made to Liberty Island.


However one was not allowed to remain on the ferry once reached Staten Island. Also by the time one got off the ferry, you won't be able to make the direct trip back. Instead would have to wait for the next ferry trip.


From where we took the Staten Island Ferry to Wall Street was a short walk.


Speaking of Wall Street, here's a picture of the Wall Street icon - the famous Charging Bull. I said it was famous because there were a lot of people stood around to take a picture with the bull. Some sat on the head, some stand at the side, there were also some who squat down and held the testicles and posed for a picture, or two.



~ come to think of it, I think I saw a lot of US flags everywhere, much more than in Australia and Malaysia.


U.S flags at Ground Zero, the red and blue stripes were people's name.


South Street Seaport... took some pictures while we were waiting for the bus. Luckily we were right in front of the bus door or we would have to wait for the next bus, or the one after.. till there was one with seats available.


We got off at the United Nations Headquarters ... but it was already closed for the day.




Side note: Good weather today but I spent the way indoors having my own movie day :)

Yellow cabs outside of Dakota Apartment

Weather still not great the next day, and the ticket for Hop On/Hop Off bus was still valid. So we decided to do the Uptown Loop that day. Pictures were not great due to rain and we were in the bus, with photos taken from window.

The Dakota Apartment in the picture above is best known as the place where former Beatle John Lennon was gunned down in December 1980. I reckon it would be a nice place to stay (if you are rich and do not mind the obvious history of killing) as it overlooks greenery - Central Park.

Also in the loop was Harlem.


Harlem is a neighbourhood in the New York City. Since 1920s, it has been a major African-American residential. I read that it was originally a Dutch Village and name after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands. Now.. that kind of explains the Amsterdam Av then :P

Nestled in Harlem, one can find the Apollo Theatre, said to be one of the most famous music halls in the United States, especially for blacks. Appears that the late Michael Jackson had performances in this theatre previously.


We did got off the bus after this and walked, a good 40 blocks at least, and unfortunately in the rain. New York is not prettiest when wet, in my humble opinion. Anyway, walks do good in building up appetite :P


We went to see the Rockefeller Center before dinner, while waiting for friend's friend, N's husband (now my friend too!) to finish work.

Rockefeller Center is actually a commercial building, founded by Mr John D Rockefeller Jr and placed right in Midtown Manhattan, spanning the area between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1987.

One of the many shops was this.




Side note: Ohh.. Inside Man is a good movie ^_^

Not sure if it was intentional or purely coincidental, the flight to USA from Sydney via United Airlines showed this movie called Arthur. There were no individual inflight entertainment but a shared screen. So, there wasn't any option to pick movies myself. So, back to this movie.

The reason as to why I brought this up is this...

At night

Inside

So, yes, before Little P comment on what movie is being filmed here, I'll shall put up this one up. The main character of the show - Arthur met one of the main female character of the show, Naomi in this Grand Central Terminal.


The movie also showed the "whispering gallery" which was located in the dining concurse near the Oyster Bar & Restaurant. Grand Central Terminal is a fully operational train station, equipped with shops and dining area. You can also find MTA - Transit Museum there.

Another thing - do look up the ceilings ya :)


It was pouring cats and dogs during the first day of our NY trip. In fact, it rained since morning, didn't stop at all. Aftermath of the storm I heard.

I finally succumb to the Hop On/Hop Off bus. Personally, I am not a fan of those buses but I am not against it, especially considering the weather. That was the first time I took the Hop On/Hop Off bus. 3 things I learnt about the bus.

1. It was horrible during rainy days. It is only glorious to ride on the bus on good days, otherwise, not only you can sit on the open roof top, rubbish flowed down from the rooftop in "waterfall". It was dirty and wet. I would've thought they could have done something about that staircase leading to the roof of the bus.

2. Still have to queue to wait for the bus and if the bus is full, will have to wait for the next bus. I used to have wishful thought that there would be buses all the time, no waiting time :P

3. The bus did not stop if there were no seat available. Not on it didn't stop, no indication were given to people waiting for the bus at the stop. We saw people waving and flagging down the bus, thinking that the bus didn't see them :-S
Anyway, we did a night tour and saw Brooklyn, on a rainy night before and after braving the rain in Times Square. Despite the rain, Times Square was still vibrant and bustling... the best word to describe I can think of is にぎやか :)



Just because we are talking about Times Square. We did, of course went back to Times Square another day, when the weather was better.

where the New Year Eve Ball descends...

Side note: I've discovered the best and effective recovery walk - with 小さな恋の歌 blasting in ears.

Uncle K and Aunty L shouted us for all the meals. I feel bad. It was understandable for them to buy their niece lunches and dinners, but I was the random stranger who went holidays with their niece. After much persuasion, Uncle K and Aunty L allowed us to buy brunch before we left for New York.

It was a public holiday that day - Labor Day (I used the American spelling on purpose). Most of the eatery places that we tried were not open. The last option was Table Talk. It is a local, no fussed diner. Apparently, this place have big surge of customers from a nearby church after service.

I had an egg toast, bacon and grit. There was an option of substituting grit with home fries (or vice versa). I thought of giving grits a try. Grits are a food of American Indian origin common in the Southern United States and mainly eating at breakfast. Taste wise... chotto....
Tasted like a cross between of oatmeal and congee. Let's put it this way, I will stick to home fries if there were future option arises :P

We didn't do much that day, just chillax then off to Union Station, taking Amtrak train to NY.



Side note: Hungry and peckish.... :P

Itinerary of the day was to spend time at the National Mall & Memorial Parks. We were in Washington DC after all. The day started with brunch at Carlyle, which is one of the chain restaurant of Great American Restaurants. Next to it is Best Baked Bun Company (BBBC) which is also part of the same group. The brunch food there was absolutely scrumptious. It was at this place where I previously mentioned the waiters were dashing. Umm.. no picture of both - food or waiters. As mentioned earlier, nil food picture at all as I was dining with Uncle K and Aunty L and was trying to be at my best behaviour. Ahem. Though food pictures in DC would have been one of the best food picture. Selected meals were Mango Chicken & Spiced Pecans and BCCC Brioche French Toast smoked bacon, scrambled eggs and home fries.

Aunty L droved us to the area of National Mall & Memorial Parks and dropped us off. Uncle K was the appointed tour guide of the day. Our first stop - White House.


This is actually the main entrance of White House. I was standing outside of the gate, with the camer fitted between the grills. Not standing anywhere on the grass outside of the White House.

spot the secret service agent

The National Mall & Memorial Parks grounds is actually a very large area. According to the map, distance between Lincoln Memorial and U.S. Capital is of 30 minute brisk walk. So it is not an uncommon sight to see people cycling around the ground to get to places. We, instead of walking or cycling, were given a tour from an air-conditioner car.

National Gallery of Art

We were being spoiled, Aunty L came back to pick us up before dropping us off to somewhere nearer to the National Air and Space Museum. This museum is on the recommended 'list' of Uncle K.

From afar - Capital Hill.


Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, World War II Memorial and U.S Capital were all lined up in one straight line. Coincidentally (or intentionally, I don't know) New Parliament House, Old Parliament House and War Memorial in Canberra is also standing in one straight line.

Red arrow: Lincoln Memorial; Orange arrow: World War II Memorial; Pink arrow: Washington Monument; Brown arrow: U.S. Capitol Source: Map from here

Washington Monument

As the National Air and Space Museum is in the list of our 'tour guide' today, that was where we headed to. This museum is one of the 19 museums under the Smithsonian Museums.



Entrance to the museum is free, though special exhibit and 3D shows occur a fee. Uncle K bought us ticket to watch the 3D show as he have had watched a good one previously. The next available show was "Legends of Flight 3D".


I stupidly imagined they would show the Wright brothers' adventure in building the first successful airplane... but it was nothing near that. In fact, it was a paid 3D advertisement of Boeing 787. If I am part of the team who contributed or worked on the Boeing 787, I would be so proud of the flight. I can totally relate to that. Though that was all I could say. Otherwise, it was like an advertisement for Boeing 787, and we actually have to pay to watch the adv. Umm...

By the time we left the museum, it was time for dinner! On the way to dinner, we passed Thomas Jefferson Memorial.


And USA Air Force Memorial

It resembles the shape how Air Force planes fly... no?

Uncle K and Aunty L brought us to Indigo Landing Restaurant, strategically located on the Potomac River. I had Broiled Chesapeake Crab Cakes. It is said that crab cake is one of the local specialty.

After finishing dinner, we went back to The Mall for the World War II Memorial.



Uncle K said that it was one of those that you need to see at night as it was to be seen lighted up. If Uncle K had his way, we would hop off to see the Korean War Veterans Memorial and Vietnam Veterans Memorial as well. However Aunty L argued that it would be dangerous to wander around at night. So we only did the World War II Memorial returning retiring for the night.


Side note: I missed the volunteering registration for 15th Japanese Film Festival. *bonk self* :(