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A recap for the first half of my Taiwan trip. It’s been...

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 20:23:00 -0400

A recap for the first half of my Taiwan trip. It’s been almost half a year since then. Time flies when you are having fun I guess. There were just so many things I couldn’t fit into 10 photos. From the bottom of Kaohsiung up to the top in Taipei, there were just so many wonderful things. It was a super rough start for me from losing a travel companion to almost missing my flight, but that’s what made this trip so much more to tell. I LOVED IT! Taiwan will never be the same.

I started in Kaohsiung and went to Sensation White, which is the biggest house party in Europe. It was pretty awesome and I met a lot of great people. Kaohsiung was more fun than I expected, I think I may even like it more than Taipei. Especially because of the night markets. Things were definitely cheaper in Kaohsiung. Then from Kaohsiung I headed to Alishan, a national scenic park at the top of a mountain. I saw my first sunrise ever in Alishan, it was totally worth waking up at 4am and freeze in hot pants with a under 10°C weather. From Alishan, I went with the tour to Sun Moon Lake. Supposedly one of the most beautiful lakes. Sadly, when I arrived I was so disappointed because there were so any tourist and it is not like what it used to be *or according to the locals*.

Finally after a few days in the wilderness, I headed for the big cities.

PS Why does tumblr rotate my photos!

Had this amazing okonomiyaki in Tokyo. Makes me miss Japan so...

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 12:52:38 -0500

Had this amazing okonomiyaki in Tokyo. Makes me miss Japan so much, I am so hungry!

lazycreations:

#Okonomiyaki win

foodfuckery: stroopwafel sandwich with strawberries, mascarpone...

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 04:12:06 -0400

foodfuckery:

stroopwafel sandwich with strawberries, mascarpone cheese and chocolate

Recipe

Love this.

Momokawa, Kips Bay157 E 28th St Star rating: ★★★★☆ I...

Tue, 15 May 2012 23:30:41 -0400

Momokawa, Kips Bay
157 E 28th St

Star rating: ★★★★☆

I learned about this from a friend and decided to try it out. I haven’t really had authentic Japanese shabu shabu, but this was really good! Make sure you make reservations because I almost made that mistake, but luckily my friend was smart enough to make reservation last minute.

The place is small and it gets packed. We had the Berkshire Pork Shabu-Shabu with the Golden Soup and ramen. The golden soup is A MUST! It gave the meat more flavor and the vegetables as well. We had one of their today’s special which was a cold duck dish, it was good but maybe should have tried something else because it was somewhat plain in my opinion, also had their sashimi and it was really fresh!

So to conclude, this is not JUST a shabu shabu place, they have other japanese dishes on their menu as well. Overall I would come here again to try the prefix menu, I think it’s more value for your money, don’t know why I didn’t get that instead. The negative things about this place is the fact that it is on the expensive side so you cannot come here often, and their serving time is really slow. I guess it cannot be avoided, after all it is such a small place with limited amount of waiters/waitresses. But definitely recommend trying if you are into japanese cuisine.

Totto Ramen, Hell’s Kitchen366 W 52nd St Star...

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 23:01:00 -0400

Totto Ramen, Hell’s Kitchen
366 W 52nd St

Star rating: ★★★☆☆

After much anticipation, I finally decided to try this place out. Compared to the likes of Ippudo and Minca, this place was just OK. I was expecting quite a lot from the great reviews and hype, but after this, I think I want to go back to Ippudo and have their ramen instead. Me and my friend basically had to wait for an hour and half, we were starving so we went to eat dessert beforehand. I did not want to sit on the stairs next to the place like a lot of other people. I feel kind of bad for those people living there always having people block their entrance haha. Not that I am dissing those people who do sit there since I know the wait is horrible.

Anyways, so after the long wait, we were seated by the bar table. My friend laughed about how we waited for so long and we only took about 20 minutes to finish our meal. I ordered the miso ramen, while my friend ordered the spicy ramen and we ordered some extra pork (I actually did not know it was the same meat from the ramen). I liked how they flare the pork with the fire gun! But the taste was just ok, a bit fatty for my taste. The portion of the ramen was big and I was fulfilled, however, the taste of the broth was just ok. It was thick, but not it did not have as much flavor as the one in Ippudo or Minca. My friend’s spicy noodle was ok, surely it was spicy, but I think that is all. The pork meat was a bit fatty and my friend couldn’t even finish it. Overall, it was a good try, I would not go back there for a while.

On the side note, the japanese waitress was really cute haha. And it was interesting to sit at the bar table to see them cook.

The Chocolate Room, Park Slope86 5th Av, Brooklyn, NY...

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 23:18:00 -0400

The Chocolate Room, Park Slope
86 5th Av, Brooklyn, NY 11217

Star rating: ★★★★☆

My friend and I were around the area after Brooklyn Flea and was just looking for a place to chill. The lady told us there was a 15 minute wait, so we decided to shop around. After we came back we still had to wait a bit more because we did not want to sit by the bar. Their service was not all that great but acceptable.

I ordered the spice chocolate drink while my friend ordered the regular chocolate drink. For dessert, we ordered the black bottom butterscotch and chocolate layered cake (all thanks to fellow yelper’s suggestion) I made a huge mistake by order the spice chocolate. I am usually not a fan, but I thought I would try something different, I guess I thought wrong. My friend’s chocolate was good, but it was way too heavy for her and she was not able to finish it. “It’s like drinking a chocolate bar,” she said.

I absolutely LOVED the butterscotch, it was amazing! Wish I had more of it. The chocolate layer cake was chocolate goodness! I am usually a fan of chocolate, but this was too intense, I wasn’t ready for it. Overall good experience, but unless I am craving for another chocolate overloadedness *which is not often*, I will not make my way to go all the way there.

Bosie’s Tea Parlor, West Village10 Morton St, New York, NY...

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 11:26:00 -0400

Bosie’s Tea Parlor, West Village
10 Morton St, New York, NY 10014

Star rating: ★★★☆☆

Ok I’m not going to lie, I like this place but the likeliness that I will go back? Highly unlikely. There are so many other choices to choose from instead. This place is a great chill out spot. I think me and my friend sat there for about 3-4 hours and nobody ever pestered us. Really local friendly, the waitress is super nice.

But the food there? We ordered the tea set for 2 and it was just so-so. Their scones are plain, their macarons are way too sweet, so are their cakes. The sandwiches were also very dry. I would rather go uptown to Alice’s teacup. But I guess that’s me because I care a lot for the food. The tea was really good though, I got a coconut tea so it was something different. I actually shouldn’t complain about the sweetness of the desserts because I love sweet stuff, but their sweetness was a bit over that it covers the flavor or the dessert itself. My friend thought so as well. Though they had a variety of flavors of macarons displayed inside a fridge. Looking at so many flavors made it hard for me to choose!

On the other hand, their pricing is quite good for the quantity that we got.

Pearl Oyster Bar, West Village18 Cornelia St, New York, NY...

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 00:11:00 -0400

Pearl Oyster Bar, West Village
18 Cornelia St, New York, NY 10014

Star rating: ★★★★★

Downside: they do not take reservations so make sure you are ready to wait or come on a quiet day, which is rare. Finally, I was sitting by the bar and the guy tells me as the weather gets better, the place only gets busier. One thing I love about this place is how the environment is like a local spot where the waiters and waitresses know some of the regular customer’s name.

For the appetizer we ordered the mix platter with shrimps, oyster and lobster. It was amazing, so fresh, only thing was the oyster was squished in the bottom of the glass (yes it comes in a glass), I was not happy with my oyster being squished haha. Then we had the famous lobster roll and scallops. The lobster roll was so good! Just so much lobster meat, and the bread that accompanied it was amazing as well. Maybe there was a bit too much sauce, but it was still good. My friend had the scallops and it was like a butter that melted in your mouth. It was so good. Oh my god, talking about it makes me crave for some now too.

They also served Delirium beer which I had when I was in Brussels AT DELIRIUM BREWERY. Made me really nostalgic about my EuroTrip.

No doubt, I will definitely be back. But I will make sure I am ready to wait.

Murano, Venezia, Italia I am getting a bit sentimental. I want...

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 22:50:13 -0500

Murano, Venezia, Italia

I am getting a bit sentimental. I want to remind myself that I was actually there myself. Sadly my photography skills are not yet very developed.

I love how the CEO at where I intern (5WPR) is also talking...

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 22:42:31 -0500

I love how the CEO at where I intern (5WPR) is also talking about Jeremy Lin. I agree and think he is very relatable too. A true ‘Linderella’ story. To be honest, more than half of the support is coming from Asian Americans, or generally Asians around the world. Jeremy got people to watch basketball who never even knew what ESPN is. Therefore, that just shows how big of a market Asian-Americans are. Ronn is right, he is lucky to be playing in New York City because that is where it’s at! I must watch a Knicks game soon too! Go linsanity!

ronntorossian:

Jeremy Lin Marketing: Ronn Torossian, 5WPR on NBC Sports

ronntorossian: What people think PR people do?

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 22:35:56 -0500

ronntorossian:

What people think PR people do?

allthingseurope: Santorini, Greece (by ucmediaproducties) Oh...

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:46:37 -0500

allthingseurope:

Santorini, Greece (by ucmediaproducties)

Oh boy! Next time, definitely.

Reasons

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:51:12 -0500

Forget all the reasons why it will not work and believe in the one reason why it will.

Yes, I shall.

Marché de noël a Strasbourg

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 19:00:25 -0500

Marché de noël a Strasbourg

The End of My Eurotrip

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 18:52:50 -0500

I wanted to write an entry about my official last day traveling through out Europe. And the funny thing is that I came across a draft on my phone about Paris that I never posted. I can’t believe it. That was the beginning of my adventures and now it’s over. These four months flew by like the speed of light. As I am sitting here in my hostel in Berlin, Germany typing out this entry, I don’t know what to feel except the astonishment that this is actually over. Wow, when reality hits, it hit me like a tsunami. I didn’t expect it at all.

Overall, I am beyond glad that I took this opportunity to study abroad. I have seen places that I dreamt to see, seen places from photos to the real object, met amazing people, and had a lot of great food. I am so overwhelmed by all the things I have encountered that I don’t know what else there is. Currently I am experiencing a mixture of feelings. I am sad that I am leaving, but at the same time I am also excited to go home. Guess traveling always has to come to an end. Home is home. But I will never forget these past four months of my life, never ever.

10knotes: Submitted by ...

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 06:30:27 -0500

10knotes:

Submitted by thekaycho

Follow this blog, you will love it on your dashboard

Can’t wait for Christmas in Europe!

Non-stop traveling

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 06:29:23 -0500

All this traveling is totally wearing me out. But I’m loving it. I can’t believe it’s mid November already and I have been here for almost 3 months! Like they say, time flies when you are having fun. I know that in the future when I look back to this study abroad experience it will be like a dream. A very good dream.

However, of course there are ups and downs. I am going through life so fast right now that it is hard for me to keep up with myself. I may have been to a lot of places and seen a lot of things, but I can’t say that I have enjoyed everything. Nor do I remember everything. This is definitely due to the lack of time. But I am so glad that I am able to do this while I’m still young. I know this will be very hard for me in the future with both my schedules and physical issues haha. I have learned a lot throughout my travels. And I have came to understand the two most important things that I have always lacked: Spontaneity and relaxation.

I am a detail-oriented person and I would like to know exactly how my itinerary is before I travel. But since my schedule is so tight here, I have learned to be more spontaneous about my trips and the details. In another words, I will decide my itinerary as I arrive. I am not trying to push things off till last minute, but when you are always on-the-go, it’s hard. And this just confirms that I am ready for a type of job that needs me to be off my feet at all times. That’s just my way of life. And in the midst of all this chaos, I would still try to find time to relax. Before I was not a fan of taking long rest stops because I felt like I was wasting time to do more valuable things. I mean, it is fine to grab a sandwich for the go, but I don’t need to sit down and have coffee too. Then I realize how important relaxation is. If I don’t rest, all this exhaustion would build up and eventually I would collapse. And we definitely do not want that to happen. When you find time to sit down and think about things, you would come to appreciate life so much more, at least I do.

jmak: My response to the disputed originality of the...

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 12:27:13 -0400

jmak:

My response to the disputed originality of the Apple/Steve design:

I have broken the unspoken rule of how to reblog on Tumblr by putting my response on top, but I believe it’s necessary for people to see this:

I have indeed been informed by others earlier last night (perhaps even earlier, but I was too overwhelmed by emails to notice) of RAID71’s work.

People have accused me of ripping off photos such as this one, which I have already seen when I did the Google search after having the idea. Whether you take my word for it or not, the visual similarities of these images are irrelevant to the design concept, in my opinion, and do not merit the comparison.

RAID71’s design, on the other hand, does indeed contain the very same idea. Although it is impossible to verify it now that all this happened, I honestly did not come across his work while searching for terms such as “Apple, Steve Jobs, logo, silhouette”. I did my best to ensure that the idea had not been done before.

It probably does not help that I have expressed uncertainties about the originality of my work, but my paranoia stemmed from the apparent simplicity of the concept. The visual connection between Steve’s profile and the logo seemed too obvious to not have been picked up on yet. Turns out, I’m right.

I will not apologize for “ripping off” Mr. Thornley’s work, because like others who have created similar pieces at around the same time (blatant copies notwithstanding), I have arrived at this design on my own.

I do, however, wish to say sorry for not dealing with this as quickly as I probably should have, but I was struggling with how to word my response properly last night.

A final clarification: I have NOT made any money from this, and have only answered people who offered to donate all their proceedings to charities with the condition of receiving a receipt or other confirmation of the donation.

I have yet to hear back from Apple and do not know how they view the issue, but for the time being, please support RAID71’s cause.

bentheillustrator:

THIS GRAPHIC IS A RIP-OFF.

This image has been all over the internet for the passed few days, however this graphic is a rip-off, it was produced earlier this year by Chris Thornley aka RAID71 for an editorial piece, you can see it featured on Creative Review here » http://www.creativereview.co.uk

Sadly Raid71 is currently going through cancer treatment himself right now. An online store has been set-up selling his artwork and raising funds for the hospital’s cancer charity that is caring for him » http://www.raid71.bigcartel.com

I do appreciate that the designer who is getting all the attention for this image actually said that it may have been done before, and to let him know if it has (his post is below) but people have posted on his blog and he’s not referenced it. If some of the people who have praised this image could credit the originator, RAID71, and help to promote his online print shop in aid of Royal Manchester’s cancer charity then that would be brilliant, thanks.

As he is the actual originator of this image please support Raid71’s online store » http://www.raid71.bigcartel.com

jmak:

Thanks, Steve.

Posting designs like this one makes me paranoid, because I can’t shake the feeling that it’s not original. I enjoyed the process regardless, but please let me know if somebody else beat me to the idea!

Thoughts?

The irony of life. Why does it always take one man’s fall...

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 18:51:10 -0400

The irony of life. Why does it always take one man’s fall for another man’s success? I guess that is just the way of life. Jonathan Mak, a Hong Kong local is now famous because of his design for the Apple logo with Steve Job’s silhouette. Thoughts? I am proud because he is a fellow hk-er, but at the same time, feel bad because he is not yet realized by the general public he was the original designer. Everybody is using it without credit! But I am hopeful that words will get around if people like me reblog the news haha! Oh, the power of the internet!

http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/steve-jobs/Hong+Kong+teen+sombre+design+Jobs+Internet/5512490/story.html

jmak:

Thanks, Steve.

Posting designs like this one makes me paranoid, because I can’t shake the feeling that it’s not original. I enjoyed the process regardless, but please let me know if somebody else beat me to the idea!

Thoughts?

Paris! Finally, my dream came true and I visited Paris. My...

Sat, 01 Oct 2011 11:40:39 -0400

Paris!

Finally, my dream came true and I visited Paris. My opinion? It was definitely a very big city. To be honest, traveling to all these different places just make me realize how small New York really is. A long weekend in Paris was definitely not enough. I packed my itinerary as much as I can and I feel like I still didn’t get to see everything. Not to mention everything was simply too rush. I guess that’s what happens when you don’t have a lot of time and there are so many things to see. But I am glad that I am so close, so I will be able to visit it again. Everybody said that it’s a very expensive city, but actually I feel like it’s not much different than Lyon. Maybe the rent is higher, but regular spending is quite cheap. I can’t believe they sold sandwiches for less than 3€ in a tourist area. We rarely find sandwiches for less than 3€ anywhere!

Transportation in Paris, I must say, lacked just a bit. Of course, it was very convenient to go everywhere because there are metro, trains and buses. But damn, let’s say you have to transfer from A line to B line in a station, sometimes you need to walk up to 15 minutes to get to that line. It’s suppose to be a simple transfer! I am pretty sure if I was above ground, I could have been much more closer to my destination. But besides from that I love how it closes at 2am unlike here in Lyon where it closes at 12am. Although it would make more sense for it to be 24 hours like New York. But since it’s such a big city, with gazillion lines, I guess it is hard to maintain such a big system 24 hours a day.

If you think about it Paris is just like another New York/London except everyone speaks French. Ok actually I think the architecture and the buildings are prettier haha. There are so many Asians, especially Japanese people! And of course Chinese people too, but there are lots of Chinese people everywhere. When I went to the Uniqlo near Galeries Lafayette, I think most people who worked there were Japanese. And there were lots of tourists from Hong Kong too. I was surprised to hear so many Cantonese on the street. Since I am so used to meeting lots of Mandarin speaker here in Lyon.

In a way, I am happy that I live in Lyon and not Paris. Since Paris is such a big metropolitan city, and a huge tourist attraction, a lot of people speak English. Therefore, it would be harder to learn French. But in Lyon, you are lucky if you find English speakers that are not students. But then again, I am hanging out with the foreign student crowd because my program is in English and it’s not like I am learning much French now. I seriously need to make some French friends! But that is also hard because I barely know the basic of French and we will probably communicate in English. *sigh* I wonder what will become of my French level as the semester comes to an end. Will I still not be able to understand them at all and rely on body language, or will I finally be able to understand the basic. Well, no doubt I want the second option.

P.S. Paris got me sick! French weather reports are never right! I always learn it the hard way.