Jing Fong Restaurant in Chinatown

A couple weekends ago, I took some out-of-town friends to Jing Fong Restaurant for some dim sum. If you never had dim sum, it is a traditional Cantonese brunch menu that includes Chinese (Jasmine and/or Chrysanthemum) tea, dumplings, cakes, pastries and congee (rice porridge). You can also get the more exotic dishes or cuts of meat like stew chicken feet, fish bladder soup and stewed pork stomach.

This photo shows the small room/section of the restaurant, which have been renovated recently. The dim sum menu here is vast and quite inexpensive. It is one of my favorite places to bring friends for brunch on weekends.

So what is the most exotic food/meat you have ever eaten?

Earl Grey MarTEAni at Pegu Club

Here is a photo of the bartender making an Earl Grey MarTEAni at Pegu Club, where I met with Eliane, Lori, Olivier and Amedée.

Since the light was kind of low at the bar, I balanced my camera on top of my glass and shot this image on a slow exposure setting. It gave the bartender's hand a blurry image while everything else remained clear.

So what are your favorite drinks?

Amedée in NYC

Amedée and Olivier from Evry Daily Photo are in town this week. Yesterday, they invited Eliane of NYC Daily Photo, Lori of Miss B in NY and I for drinks at Pegu Club, followed by dinner at L'Ulivo in SoHo. We had a great evening and everyone was enchanted with Amedée. We took turns taking photos of him at the bar. So expect to see more photos of Amedée appearing on our blogs in the next couple of days.

Here is a photo of Amedée with his drink at Pegu Club. He was a little bit tipsy because he had some white wine, some red wine and an Earl Grey martini before finishing up this Long Island Ice Tea.

So when was the last time you had a little too much to drink?

Middle Eastern Pastries

These delicious Middle Eastern pastries are from a bakery in Astoria next to a restaurant where I go to frequently for falafel and shawarma sandwiches, tabouleh and babaganoush. The food here are delicious and inexpensive. These pastries are made from filo, chopped pistachios, honey and butter.

So have you ever had these pastries before?

Hi Ho Silver, Away

This policeman kindly posed for me and a group of other tourists in SoHo this weekend. He looked super confident and yet friendly, which is what we like to see in our New York Police Department (NYPD). Eliane from (the other) NYC Daily Photo posted also a photo of the NYC Mounted Unit recently. I guess they are everywhere in the city.

Have you ever ridden a horse? How was it?

Fancy Pumpkins

I saw these fancy pumpkins at the Green Market this weekend at Union Square. I don't think they are not edible; they are purely for decorations only.

I love pumpkin ravioli with sage butter but not a fan of pumpkin pie. What about you? What is your favorite pumpkin recipe?

Gifts from Australia

Here are the gifts I received this weekend from my friends and fellow bloggers from Perth, Australia -- Carol of Oh! For the Love of Food and Belinda of Bel's Fish Bowl. Belinda is (still) in New York City for vacation and she brought along some gifts for me from Carol and herself as well. So I would like to thank them both for the generous and thoughtful presents.

In the photo, you will notice a small bottle of Vegemite. Can you guys tell me what is the best way to eat it? Spread over toasts like butter? Dissolved in soups like chicken bouillon?

Mid-Month Theme: Subway Day

This is the New York City subway map. On the left is Manhattan Island. On the right is Long Island, which houses Queens (n0rth) and Brooklyn (south) . On the top is the Bronx and on the south (tip showing) is Staten Island. These five boroughs make up New York City.

Subway day is a mid-month theme shared by the following blogs:
New York City Daily Photo - Stockholm by Pixels

Dog in Nolita

This cute dog was tied to a pole outside a cafe in Nolita (north of Little Italy) while its owner went inside to get some coffee. The dog must be used to this arrangement because it didn't look scared or nervous. Actually it just looked bored.

When I crouched down take this photo, the dog didn't get excited or wagged its tail. It merely looked at me as if to say, "What do you want?" Now, that is a New York dog. :-)

So when do you feel bored?

Puck Building

This little golden statue stands on top of the front entrance to the Puck Building in SoHo and Nolita. The red brick building is probably most famous for being the site of Grace Adler's office in the TV-series, Will & Grace.

We are experiencing our first fall (autumn) like weather this weekend after two weeks of hot humid temperatures. I am really excited about the cool weather coming because I like temperatures below 60 degrees.

So at what temperatures are you most comfortable?

Graffiti or Art?

Is this graffiti or art? I found this scene in SoHo near some of the most expensive retail outlets in New York City. I think this is an entrance to one of the few artist studios that are still in SoHo.

Most of the original buildings here were warehouses (dangerous and undesirable) in the 1970s. Then struggling artists moved into the area (cheap rent, huge spaces) in the 1980s and gentrification began. In the 1990s, SoHo became a hip and chic area and today, it has some of the most expensive luxury retail stores and condos in the city.

So what was your neighborhood like 30 years ago?

N.B.: I have been really busy at work lately so if I haven't stopped by your site to say HI, please excuse my absence. I will try to drop by when I have some time.

Chimneys 2

A couple months ago, I posted a photo of rooftop chimneys from the Upper East Side. Then this past weekend, I found more chimneys on apartment buildings in Greenwich Village so I guess I'm starting a new series -- the chimneys of New York City.

These chimneys in the photo was located on the rooftop gardens (with wooden fences) above the 5th floor of the apartment building. But then again, are those onion dome shaped metal structures with circulating parts really chimneys or air circulation apparatus? Does anyone know?

Rats with Wings

Not everything in NYC is beautiful and exciting. It can be very noisy and crowded, super expensive and quite dirty, like this photo above. There are also more rats in New York City than there are people. It was reported in the news recently that for every person living in the city, there are 4 rats living UNDER the city.

Pigeons, like rats are a nuisance. They are essentially rats with wings because they feed on human garbage and spread diseases like psittacosis, cryptococcosis and histoplasmosis via their droppings. What's worst is that some people like to feed pigeons with their leftover bread and cakes, making them less afraid of humans.

So have you been guilty of feeding pigeons in your neighborhood?

Colorful Bicycle

I was in Greenwich Village this weekend and saw this colorful bicycle parked and secured to a sign post on the side of the street. Notice the missing seat from the bicycle; this is a common practice to discourage the bicycle from being stolen. It would make it very difficult to "ride" the bicycle without the seat if someone decide to steal it.

So do you know how to ride a bicycle? When as the last time you rode a bike?

Saturday Lunch at the Aubergine Cafe

I went to the Aubergine Cafe for lunch on Saturday because my favorite neighborhood restaurant went out of business recently. Since this was my first time here, I took out my camera and shot a dozen or so photos before my lunch arrived. Here is a macro shot of my meal -- honey mustard ham and brie on a baguette with a side salad with balsamic vinegarette and a large glass of iced coffee with milk.

So what did you have for lunch this weekend?

Apartment Stoop 6

Here is a beautiful apartment stoop in the East Village. I think the iron railing and gate here are new because they don't show any signs of wear and tear that are normally seen in older iron work. Also, the individual pieces are very thin and delicate. Notice the new paint job and the newly polish front door. I think the building just went through a thorough renovation or face lift.

What do you think? Does it look like a restored old gate or a refabricated piece mimicking the old design?

Fire Escape 8

Here is another fire escape photo and this one was taken in SoHo. Notice the vase shaped railings on the fire escape and the ornate moldings on the roof. This is fairly typical of the building built in that era.

Hope everyone has a great weekend. And Happy Columbus Day. Am so happy to have a three-day weekend.

Lamps at Union Square

Dozens of lamps like this one light up Union Square after the sun goes down. I thought they were interesting and beautiful and I'm glad the city is keep them instead of installing newer ones. But I don't think these are very "green" or efficient.

So what do you do to be more "green"?

Patisserie Menu

Last Sunday, I went to Ceci-Cela Patisserie in Nolita (North of Little Italy) for breakfast. I got a cup of cappuccino and an almond croissant, and sat outside on a bench in front of the cafe. While eating my breakfast, I saw this menu printed on the wall connecting the cafe to the store next door. I took a photo of it because I love the colors and typography. It reminds me very much of Provence, south of France.

To see a photo of me after I finished the croissant, click here to the Making of NYC DP.

So what would you order for breakfast if you were at this cafe?

Ring Dome by Minsuk Cho

This dome shape structure by Korean architect, Minsuk Cho almost encased the entire park south of Spring Street between Cleveland Place and Spring Street. The project entitled, Ring Dome was made out of hundreds of hula hoop-like tubes secured together by thousands of fabric straps to produce the dome.

To see the see from inside the Ring Dome, click on here to the Making of NYC DP.

So when was the last time you took a spin with a hula hoop?