My First N.Y. Trip
I love it here
You’re reading The Gastro Digest, a place to feel, heal, and eat. This is the home of Tway’s recipes, recommendations and thoughts. Subscribe to Gastro World if that’s what you’re into.
I recently visited New York for the first time ever. Three and a half days of non-stop activities, it truly was so much fun and I actually considered moving there a few times but I remembered that my South East Asian ass does NOT do well in the cold 🥶. Here’s some fun tings I did in New York, in case you wanted to add it to your bucket list for your next New York visit.
Day 1 - Arrival
I touched down at around 7 pm so I thought that I was just going to take a shower and take it easy, but my manager had other plans. We stayed near Little Italy so we walked there and got Italian food, I don’t remember the name but that’s probably for the better because everyone’s food needed salt, but even though the food was mediocre, the vibes were immaculate. There was a live performer at the restaurant right next to us just killing with his Frank Sinatra covers.
Then we went to the subway and headed straight to Times Square
You can actually just scan your phone to get on the subway now but I had to get my very first Metro card.
Day 2 - Game Day
Woke up bright and early ready to conquer the day. I got a bagel with LOX spread and it was good but it wasn’t anything crazy, I didn’t get the name of the place but it’s a shop right next to the Sheraton on Canal street. Then we headed straight to the Giants game… yay sports lol. I am not a big sports person so if you were to ask me who they played against that day, I won’t be able to tell you BUT we were blessed with suite tickets so that was pretty sweeet!
then after an hour of traffic back to the city ps. there’s A LOT of traffic in New York, I don’t understand all the complaints about L.A. traffic? 😑
We went to explore Central Park and I got some Nuts 4 Nuts that I’ve been eyeing since I caught a whiff of them in Times Square. 10/10 would recommend. Then we checked in to another hotel near Central Park because I wanted to experience different parts of New York. The second hotel we stayed at was Le Méridien, it’s a really cute hotel, super convenient & I loved the decor. It’s just a bit older so the bed and bedding wasn’t comfy but the views were so cool! We had a view of Central Park & that was really cool.
For second night’s dinner I got to try the O.G. Halal Guys cart & it did not disappoint. Honestly, I didn’t taste a huge difference to the places that I’ve had over here in L.A. but Halal Guys always hit so it was 🔥 regardless.
Day 3 - We walked A LOT
We woke up and changed hotels again… I told you.. I wanted to explore the different parts of New York! lol this is our 3rd hotel in 3 days but it’s my final hotel though. We checked into the Arlo hotel in Midtown and this has to be my favorite hotel I stayed at during my visit. Everything was 10/10 from the scent as soon as I entered the lobby to the design and service. I would knock a point down for the room having little to no space but I was told that it’s normal for New York to have small hotel rooms 🥴 .
The best thing about this room was the shower, specifically the water pressure, it was able to be controlled so you know my ass cranked it to the highest level and took a shower and had a water massage at the same time 😌
For lunch we went to Joe’s Shanghai and met up with some friends. This place was highly recommended so I had to stop by and WOW.. I’m still thinking about the size of their XLB, it was amazing!! PS. CASH ONLY!!!
After lunch, our new friend Jaeki took us on a walk through Brooklyn. It was such a beautiful day that day, the sun was out the weather was around 75 degrees and I felt soooooo blessed. I actually got to experience Fall & it was soooo magical.
Then we took the Ferry back to Midtown? I think.. I’m still unsure of the areas that I was in so all I know is that we had to take a ferry back.
For dinner we grabbed…. Nobu.. LOL I know what you’re thinking… but hey it was a place to eat. No further comment 😅
Day 4 - Final Day
I definitely felt a way on my last day because I truly didn’t want to leave, this city really made me feel alive. I don’t know what it was, maybe it was the flow of the crowds and cars, or all the massive sky scrapers but every where I turned there was always something new, it was all very exciting and I was sad knowing that it was my last day here. I skipped breakfast because I had a lunch meeting, can’t tell you much about the meeting but where we ate at was a pleasant surprise.
We had food at Empellon in Midtown, it’s elevated Mexican food and it was a nice surprise to me because I was lowkey side eyeing this place from the very moment I sat down and started reading the menu. I don’t know much about New York, but I know that it’s not known for Mexican food… I mean I grew up in Oxnard, CA and currently living in Long Beach, CA so that’s my reasoning on being a little hesitant about this place.. but HOLY COW! everything was sooooo well seasoned, no sauce or salt needed & every single dish was perfect. My two faves from the menu was the Crab Nachos with Uni Queso & the Pastrami tacos!
Rested after lunch and lounged around in the hotel and waited until dinner. We met up with my LA friends Brandon & Remy aka @sadd_papi & @veggiekins for dinner at Madame Vo, another highly recommended spot.
We ordered soooo much food & half way through, Chef Jimmy owner of Madame Vo came out and gave us sooooo much more. I had a little bit of everything and the one thing that I really enjoyed the most was the pho broth, it was delicious. Thank you Chef Jimmy for the love.
After dinner we went to a Live Jazz show at Blue Note. Black Radio was playing with special guest P.J Morton & they killed it. I’ve been wanting to go to a listen to live jazz ever since I touched down in New York and this show was the perfect ending to my trip.
As you can tell over how much I’ve gushed over my time in New York that I am completely in love with this place. Hoping to come back soon 🤞🏼
I caught my afternoon flight & was back in LA by 3 pm pst.
Until next time NY ✌🏼
If you enjoyed this post, consider subscribing to Gastro World (: