China Update.

A little over a week ago, I wrote about my upcoming trip to China and about all the things I would post. I was going to try all sorts of new things in China. Scary food was definitely one of them. But I have come to the point where I must say that I didn’t do a lot of these things; posting about my trip being the first thing I failed at. Okay so let me explain what happened.

It took me about a day until I realized that it is not as easy to stay in touch with the other side of the world when you are in China as it is in Europe or America. Things are censored here. And yes, I suppose I knew that it was going to be difficult, but it hadn’t crossed my mind until I tried to open Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, or load any photo on the Internet. It just doesn’t work.
Okay, so that still isn’t any reason as to why I didn’t post anything on the blog, I know. But between the flights, 12 hour train rides, mountains, 20m+ cities, ancient cities, 3 restaurants a day, rafting, the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, light shows, snakes, floating dead pigs, massive thunder storms and taking a million pictures, all the time I had left I tried to stay in touch with my love on the other side of the world 12 time zones away.
So no real post just yet, but all the material is there. When I’m home next week I’m going to try and write a nice piece on the experience.

Wân’ān

Job

Brunch on Broadway

On Saturday, I had the pleasure of having brunch with my good friend Steven before a headshot shoot for which I was styling his hair. He gave me the option to pick any place I wanted.

Now normally, my go to brunch place is Julian’s. I was really gunning to go there. We drove up, shimmied into a parking spot on busy Broadway, and walked up to the restaurant. Now, if you know Julian’s, you know that brunch on Saturday there is super busy. As we walked up, we saw people waiting outside at tables, people standing up against the building and people just loitering…waiting for their name to be called. We went inside to check to see if there were seats at the bar… It was jam packed. The concierge came up to us to check in. The wait time? 40 minutes!!! Well, that wasn’t going to work. Now, there are a few really good places to eat on Broadway.

My next choice? Nick’s on Broadway.

We drove about 5 blocks up the street to Nick’s. Wait time? 20 minutes. Okay. That was doable. So we waited… Requesting to sit wherever was next available.. Which ended up being the bar.

And that was totally cool. Now side note… If you’ve never been here, you should go! The ambiance is nice… Very cool vibe inside. It looks modern, yet has a kind of kitschy feel. Everything is really well organized, tables are neat and clean… Even the silverware looks modern. They use and iPad to connect to their sound system… It’s really great.

They also have specific duties, like the hostess, who only hosts, the wait staff, which just take your orders, and then bus people, who deliver meals and clear the table, and they are ON POINT. Super great service even on a busy day. If you are in a hurry, let them know. They will accommodate you. You can see the rest of the restaurant from the bar through the “windows” which are just open panels. And the kitchen is viewable from there as well… Basically you can see all of what is going on… Which I think is awesome. Anyways.. Back to the meal… We started off with drinks.. Like normal people. Steven got a Harvey Wallbanger which consisted of orange juice, 4Orange All Natural Florida Vodka and Galliano. I ordered two drinks… Because I’m sassy. I got a Sun Tea, which was an iced tea with hibiscus and lemongrass, and also a Grapefruit Sangria… Pretty standard… A house blend of white wine and spirits, and fresh squeezed grapefruit juice as well as some other citrus juices. All of the drinks were amazing.

On to the meals. Steven was once again simple, ordering a frittata with Italian toast.

I ordered a side of two scrambled eggs, a side of bacon and their Warm Caramel Oat Bread Pudding with Caramel and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. Now I really can’t speak to what Steven ate… But I can show you a picture. As for me… The scrambled eggs were perfect and piping hot when they came out. They weren’t slimy or freakishly jiggly either. Presentation there is divine. The bacon was perfect too. It was crispy and tasteful. It wasn’t greasy or chewy. I was in heaven with each bite I consumed. Then came my bread pudding. Bread pudding is probably one of my favorite foods. I will eat it any time of day. It’s always a plus when it’s caramel bread pudding, and an even bigger plus when it’s warm…and comes with ice cream. It was just as advertised. Warm. It could have been warmer. I’ve had it here before and it was the perfect temperature… But I literally had to wolf it down, so it was good that it wasn’t piping hot. The texture was smooth and the caramel hit the spot. Mixed with the ice cream, it’s probably the best bread pudding I’ve had. Also, it has oats in it… Which in my mind, means it’s healthier.. Even if it isn’t. The oats also added to the texture which I really liked. It made the bread pudding more breakfast-y to me.

This time around the service seemed slower. I’m not sure if it is just because last time I went, I said I was in a hurry… Or maybe it was busy.. Or it was just a slow day, but all in all, was a great experience. And I highly recommend Nick’s on Broadway. They also have specials which are out of this world. Anything you order will definitely be delicious!

Tokyo Travel

Whilst my lovely boyfriend ventures to China with his mom, I thought it fitting to go to Tokyo with mine. Unfortunately for me, my visit to Tokyo was less of a whirlwind traveling experience and really just a trip to dinner for sushi in Providence. (388 Wickenden St, Providence, RI 02903) 

Tokyo has to be one of my favorite sushi places in the state… It didn’t always have the best reputation (see Yelp and TripAdvisor reviews here). The place used to look a little run down and service wasn’t always the best… I can’t say for myself that I’ve really ever had bad experiences…maybe just one time, the time I brought Job there.They seemed to be extremely understaffed and our waiter was also a bus boy and the chef… or a kitchen person… and he couldn’t say enough bad things about the owner… but enough of that. The restaurant has been going under renovations for the last year.  Booths have been reupholstered, the flooring has been redone, they have a new counter and a new POS system. It really is turning around, not to mention a whole new staff.. and not just a few new people, they hired a whole bunch of nice young waitresses. There is even a traditional style room that you can sit in where you have to take off your shoes before you enter, and seating at the “sushi bar” where you can watch everyone’s sushi orders materialize. 

It’s a nice spot for lunch, and is usually pretty quiet throughout the week during the afternoon, but when dinner hits, especially on a friday night, it gets pretty busy. Tonight almost every table was filled! (I can’t really remember another time it was that busy, and I’ve been coming here for three years. They have a large menu of appetizers and entrees and have a huge selection of sushi, both traditional and new agey-fusion.  

What I really love about their sushi is that the rolls are a good size, filled with their ingredients. They don’t skimp, and the roll isn’t primarily rice (which you tend to find at mall sushi places)  They’re full of flavor and pizzaz and the restaurant has gotten presentation down. (sometimes they put the sushi in boats (this was from a separate visit…

(Gared and I went right after I returned from Amsterdam and our sushi was brought to us in this sweet boat!)

Tonight, I started with a house salad, and my mom with a miso soup. (I’m sorry, I didn’t take a picture of her soup.)

We then ordered 5 rolls of sushi. We split the Cranston Roll (mango tempura, asparagus and plum sauce) an Ocean Roll (tuna, salmon and yellowtail (I think…)) a California Roll, a Spicy Tekka (tuna) Roll, and a Spicy Yellowtail Roll.

Everything tastes extremely fresh and the service was exceptionally quick (which I always appreciate… I’ve got stuff to do after dinner… like write this blog!!)

The rolls were very nicely arranged. I took some close ups of each roll as well.

After all of that sushi, I was sufficiently stuffed. But boy oh boy did it hit the spot!

Lots and lots of Chinese

Tomorrow I’m about to go on one of the most exciting trips I’ve taken so far. I’m going to travel with my lovely mom to this very far and very different country. We are starting in Beijing and traveling down to Hong Kong in 14 days. And even though I’m sure is going to be amazing it will also be hard to be six more timezones away from my already far away love. But one thing is certain, I will be eating more Chinese food than ever before. And I’m going to do my very best to keep you guys updated on all the new things we try. 

You’ll hear from me soon. 

Job

Cinco De Mayo Celebration

As many Americans are off drinking tequila and Margaritas and Coronas and getting drunk, I sit in my bed and think… how am I going to celebrate this festive day? 

I sat in my bed for a while thinking how I could celebrate… It being Sunday, I thought that maybe the MadMen group would want to celebrate with some Margaritas as our cocktail, but we are doing some other festivities for that tonight. 

Still pondering, I started to get cravings and thought to myself, “Who is around today??”

Well.. the answer was Job. Today is also his day off. When asked if he was doing anything for Cinco De Mayo, he asked what it was… Then I remembered that I probably needed a history lesson… and I did.. because all I knew was that it was a Mexican holiday. Obviously, the best source of information online is wikipedia, so I searched for the origins of the holiday to explain a little more to Job what Cinco De Mayo was… besides being the 5th of May and a day a lot of people get drunk and wear sombreros. 

I grew increasingly hungry doing this research seeing a few Cinco De Mayo posts on BuzzFeed. I saw one for Guacamole, and one for fresh tortilla chips… and then I knew what I needed… I needed me a burrito bowl and some chips and guac from Chipotle. 

I tell Job that I have to get food because all I had eaten was a small piece of cheese this morning at 11.  He reluctantly agreed and I was off! I went to my local Chipotle, which believe it or not was a ghost town.. I should have taken a picture. Anyways, before I’m even half way to the counter to order, the girl asks me what I’m having. “Burrito Bowl with Chicken Please!”

“For here or to go?”

“To go.” (I had to get back home to Job so we could continue spending our day off together…apart…together.)

“White or Brown Rice?”

“White.”

“Black or pinto beans?”

“Black.”

“Mild, Medium, Hot or Corn Salsa?”

“Mild and Corn, please. Oh, and you know what? Can I have a very little bit of hot?” (I decided I wanted a little extra kick!)

“Anything else?”

“A little bit of sour cream, some cheese and lettuce please. And can I please get chips and guac on the side?”

I rang up, ran back to my car, and drove back home (I got gas on the way because I was on E.)

Upon pulling up to my driveway, I realized that I had my iPad with me.  The weather was so nice, so I decided I wanted to sit out on the lawn and eat in the sunshine.  I called up Job on FaceTime and started to unpack my lunch. He answered and I showed him the goods. (my food… gosh you guys!) 

He of course asked me to save him some… which I replied wouldn’t last until he got here next.  He told me to freeze it… I said, how about we just go when you get here. So we sat in the sunlight and we talk and I ate and it was gorgeous.  I was really starting to crave my chips and guac though, so I put my burrito bowl aside and pulled out my chips…

They were crunchy, salty, and had just the right bit of lime, paired with some tasty fresh guacamole. i was in heaven. I continued to eat and we continued to enjoy each other’s company. 

It was a delicious lunch and a beautiful afternoon and I loved every minute of it.

Hannah

Chocolate Memories

When I was working in California, around 3PM every day, we would take a small break.  Right down stairs from the office we were working in was a small espresso bar.  I can tell you that I’m really not a big caffeine drinker… but that really didn’t matter. This espresso bar also had free tea and free fruits… and not so free italian chocolate.  

At first I didn’t really notice the chocolate.  I just thought to myself… “I really wish my body handled caffeine better…” It’s not that I don’t like coffee or espresso drinks. It’s really rather the opposite. I LOVE caffeine drinks like coffee and espresso… but my body really hates it. I get really shaky and jittery and it’s just not pleasant.  

One of the days, a colleague brought up some tea that smelled marvelous. I asked what they had, and they told me, “Ginger Twist.”

 The very next break I got, I ventured down to the espresso bar and asked for some Ginger Twist Tea. I received two bags… for FREE! And then I saw them… the Perugina Chocolate Bars…

It was a spread from heaven.  

I learned of these chocolates when I was in High School. I took Italian as my foreign language requirement and there we learned a lot about the culture…and well one day, my teacher brought these chocolates, Baci, in… and I was in heaven.

I guess I’m getting a little off track here…So what does this espresso bar.. these chocolates… some tea… what do they have to do with anything?

Well, ask Job about these things, and I’m sure the biggest smile will cross his face.  These things were the small things that brought us together and gave us a small time to separate from the group to hang out with each other.

During our breaks… we both got some tea.. sometimes Job also got an espresso… and I would buy a bar of chocolate…I tried a few. The chocolate with hazelnuts, cappuccino, and of course, Perugina’s Famous

So there we sat, stared into each other’s eyes, laughed, smiled, enjoyed the weather, and enjoyed each other’s company…

So where did all of this come from…

Well, as I was getting ready for work yesterday, i came across a cabinet in our pantry… I was honestly looking for a jar of tomato sauce to put on my pasta… and there out of the corner of my eyes, I see Perugina…

I honestly couldn’t believe it… I had no idea where these bars came from… But it just brought happiness to me. I took it with me to work and on my 15 minute break, I took our that chocolate bar… messaged Job… and reminded us both of our small breaks out in California.And Damn was that a good chocolate memory.

Hannah

The last day of the Queen.

Every year on April 30th my world turns orange. Orange balloons everywhere, orange flags, orange, orange orange…. Everything turns orange. 
But with good reason. For me as a Dutch citizen we have four colors that have meaning together, red, white, blue and orange. The first three make up our national flag, but the latter one is the color of our kingdom.

So every year we celebrate the birthday of our queen by dressing up in orange and party all day. For the last 33 years it has always been Queensday, but this year was the last. Three days ago the queen that I grew up with resigned. The throne went to her son, Willem Alexander, who is now the first male king since 1890.

I wanted to go find some great local food on the last Queensday but quickly I found out that a day like that probably isn’t the right one for quality food. So I just walked around in the city a little bit taking some pictures. Here are a couple that give some idea of the day. 

Next year, 2014, will be the first official Kingsday and I will go out and try to find good food once more. I probably won’t succeed but I’m sure it will be a fun day. 

Job

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