China: Through the Looking Glass

One of our first stops in New York was the Met, even though we were just there in October. There was a special exhibit going on this time that I wanted to check out - China: Through the Looking Glass. My favorite part of the exhibit was the Chinese-inspired haute couture. The dresses were absolutely gorgeous - especially the blue and white ones designed by Chanel! If only I lived the sort of life where I could afford these dresses and have somewhere fabulous to wear them to...

New York Day 3: 911 Museum and Memorial

In between days 2 and 3 in New York, we spent a day out in New Jersey to attend our friend Mei's wedding. It was a beautiful wedding at the Mansion on Main St - I love how weddings are a great excuse for everyone to get together. We had so much fun catching up with college friends with good food and good music. 

The morning after the wedding, we drove back to New York to spend a few hours at the 9/11 Museum and Memorial with Bryan. We purchased tickets online beforehand but we still had to wait a a bit to get into the museum, as they were fairly strict with crowd control. We were an hour late for our reserved ticket time but they still let us in anyway.

I had already moved away from New York by the time 9/11 happened and thank God I don't have any friends or family that were hurt in the attacks. Because of that, a part of me has always felt like I didn't have the right to be as affected and grieved by the events of that day. This visit to the museum was probably the first time I felt deeply affected and emotional about 9/11.

We would have liked to spend more time at the museum but we had to catch a flight back home to SFO. We definitely cut it close, as we didn't make it to the gate until 6:11pm for our 6:24pm flight. While I don't recommend it, I think it shows that we're good at making the most of our time, even down to the last minute. I can't wait to go back to New York and visit another European destination "on the way"! 

New York Day 2: Old friends and the Met

Jeff and I woke up on Day 2 and headed straight to Come Buy Tea in the Flatiron district for our morning caffeine fix. I love how so many of these Taiwanese tea chains are aggressively expanding into the US - it means that we have more access to authentic tea! From 28th St, we made our way up to midtown for lunch. Jeff was wary about walking 15+ blocks but I reminded him that walking was our only form of exercise while we were on vacation. I'm so glad we didn't end up getting unlimited ride Metrocards. The weather was fantastic and it was fun to share bits and pieces of my New York past with Jeff as we walked. 

We met up with my dear friend Lulu from middle and high school (we go way back!) at Sakagura. I was eager to try their uni soba special - they only have 7 servings per day so I was worried that they would run out! I guess I didn't need to worry, as the dish was just okay. Their chocolate souffle and sesame creme brulee are fantastic though. It was so nice to catch up with Lulu - she just gave birth to an adorable baby girl so I appreciated her taking time out of her crazy schedule to meet us.

After lunch, Jeff and I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I have really fond memories of the Met, as it was a popular school trip destination when I was young. My favorite memory of the Met was when I came with a group of friends as part of a 7th grade art project. Ms. Rich sent us on a scavenger hunt to find various works of Japanese art throughout the Met. I was so bad at drawing that Ms. Rich couldn't identify my sketches of the art exhibits and gave me an A-. I had to do an extra credit assignment to earn my A for that class, as an A- just wasn't going to cut it for my tiger mom. 

Jeff and I spent quite a bit of time in the Japanese art exhibit as I reminisced about Ms. Rich's scavenger hunt through the Yamato-e period. It's only now that I appreciate what an awesome teacher she was and how I was able to learn art history at a world-class museum! We were also particularly interested in American art, as we see a lot of European and Asian art in our travels.

Once we finished up at the museum, we took the train to Flushing to Andrew and Laurie's to meet their new baby. After admiring their son, we walked over to Joe Shanghai to meet Jack for dinner. Jack, Andrew, and I were all violinists in an orchestra together in high school and have been friends since we were 14. It's crazy to think that we're now wives, husbands, and in some cases, parents!

In my biased opinion, Joe Shanghai has some of the best soup dumplings I've ever had in the US. I used to eat here all the time when I was younger, so I'm sure the familiarity and comfort contribute to my affinity for the food here. 

After dinner, we went to the Rose House for dessert. This place is clean, quiet, and fancy by Flushing standards so the prices are rather steep. The desserts were average but I did enjoy the tea, even if it was $12/pot. The company and conversation was silly, hilarious, and awesome and you can't put a price on that.

The older I am, the more I appreciate the people who knew me when I was younger. Does that just mean I'm getting older? :)