Events in June & July in and around New York

Here are few events that caught my eyes in June & July:


June 3rd - 6th
Umai Gourmet Food Fair at Mitsuwa

June 6th
Japan Day at Central Park

July 12th
2010 Metropolitan Opera Summer Recital in Central Park

July 13th
Free New York Philharmonic and Shanghai Symphony Concert


Enjoy your summer, everyone!!!

BUCATINI ALL'AMATRICIANA

This was Chris's first Bucatini...
After eating at Lupa, he's been obsessed with Bucatini. We had Bucatini at Lupa and it was really good. So he found Bucatini recipe on Babbo's website and made it at home... After this, I can't go back to regular pastas...

Here is the link to recipe.

Enjoy...

Happy Birthday

Chris's birthday is around Mother's Day, so it's always hard to make reservations at restaurants. We wanted to go back to one of Mario Batali's restaurants, but the only place that we were able to get a reservation at was Lupa at 10PM.

So before dinner, we ate at Salt - the above picture is from Salt.
Salt serves everything organic, so it was very refreshing. We had appetizers there.
Plus it was nice to get a table without a reservation on a Saturday night, which is very unusual for Manhattan. It was very cozy inside and casual, which we enjoyed very much.

Then we were off to Lupa. We weren't that impressed with entrees, but were extremely happy with pasta dishes. We would definitely go back to Lupa for pastas.

http://www.saltnyc.com/
58 MacDougal Street
new york, NY 10012


http://www.luparestaurant.com/
170 Thompson Street
New York, NY 10012-2575

By the way, there was a Japanese restaurant next to Lupa, and people were lined up.
If you are in that neighborhood, check that out... Sorry, I can't remember the name...

Monsanto

I am writing a paper on Monsanto. I knew a bit about Monsanto but now I am finding more and more about Monsanto and it's very disturbing.

Here is a helpful link on what I am writing about.

You need to know. You know how much I love to eat and how much I love to talk about food, but it's important to know what we put in our mouths.

It seems like Europeans care... But it doesn't seem that we give a crap... Maybe we should!!!

Happy Cinco de Mayo

To celebrate Cinco de Mayo, Chris made:

Chorizo and Vermont White Cheddar Tostada
with red wine vinegar infused red onion herb slaw in an avocado ring /
truffle, tomato, and English cucumber salad

Taverna Kyclades

I still keep in touch with a few ladies that I used to work with from my airline days. I can't believe that I left there almost 4 years ago. I still travel, but am definitely paying a lot for it these days.

This time we went to Taverna Kyclades in Astoria. A few friends told me about this place for a long time, and this time I was determined.

It definitely lived up to its hype. Greek salad (as shown above) was great. We also had grilled octopus, sea bass, and stuffed shrimp, and they were all really good and fresh.
But then what's there not to like!!! Fresh seafood, good weather, and great friends!!!
This time Chris joined as well.

Make sure to get there early. We were there by 6PM and got a table right away.
They don't take reservations, because they don't have to. If you don't get there early, be prepared to wait for an hour or more.


Taverna Kyclades

www.tavernakyclades.com
33-07 Ditmars Blvd
Queens, New York 11105

Highlights from Egypt - Antiquities

Of course, we went to Egypt see pyramids and temples. So here are a few photos.
First two are from Giza and the last two are from Luxor.

Highlights from Egypt - FOOD

Here are some highlights from Egypt - FOOD!!!

This was our first stop - Grocery Market. First time around, it took us 3 hours to find one (this is after asking about 7 - 8 people), but when we went back for the second time, we loaded up the cart.

Strawberry juice!!! Michelle's friend recommended it and it was the best thing in Egypt.

Koshary - unofficial national dish of Egypt
This particular one was from Abou Tarek - the most well-known Koshary restaurant

All the flavors that we don't have in the States... We tried a few different flavors / different brands, and Pringles Prawn Cocktail flavor won!!!

Michelle told me Todo saved her life in Luxor, so Todo makes it to the list

Sabaya at Intercontinental Cairo Semiramis

OK, by this point, I had already left Cairo, but the rest of crew went to Lebanese restaurant, Sabaya at Intercontinental.

Too bad, I missed it. They told me it was really good.

Intercontinental Cairo Semiramis
Corniche El Nil
PO Box 60
Cairo, 11511
Egypt
Front Desk: +++2-02-27957171 • Fax: ++2-02-27963020

Abou El Sid, Cairo

I had read about Abou El Sid in few different sources, but when Michelle's friend who used to live in Cairo recommended, it was a destination we couldn't miss.

Reservation is definitely recommended, even though we still had to wait for a while.
I have to say, it represented the best part of Egyptian cuisine. And prices were pretty reasonable.

Sorry for dark photos. The restaurant was pretty dark inside.






Abou El Sid
157, 26th of July Street, Zamalek, Cairo

Telephone: 73 59 640

Alexandria, Egypt

After a few days in crazy Cairo, we decided to head to Alexandria for a day. I read about this restaurant called "Fish Market," so we had to check that out too.

Fish Market was definitely a good choice. You get to choose your own seafood, and they cook it for you. Fish Market also had their own oven for bread. The best!!!

Appetizer set came with more than what you can ask for.

Choose your own seafood

Fish Market
Corniche, Bahari
Alexandria
+20 3 480 5119

Turn off your light for an hour!!!

Turn off your light for an hour today for an hour at 8:30PM to take part in this global movement to bring attention to climate change!!!



https://www.earthhour.org/

Life on Discovery at 8PM tonight

Amanpour Leaves CNN

The saddest news this week for me to find out that Christiane Amanpour was leaving CNN.
As my hero, she's been on CNN for over twenty years. She's covered most of major events in my lifetime. Plus I enjoy her current show, Amanpour, very much (Podcast is a great thing).

But I can understand why she's decided to make a move to ABC. Although "This Week" is currently more focused on Washington politics, ABC is willing to change the format to cover more foreign affairs. Plus she will be a major contributor on ABC World News and will be given chances to create documentaries. This will give her a chance to be in front of broader audience and more options to use different channels of sharing foreign affairs.

Good for her! Even though I am sad to see her leave CNN, maybe this will give me more chances to see the Great Amanpour!!!


From Los Angeles Times:

By turning to Christiane Amanpour -- one of the world’s most recognized journalists -- as host of “This Week,” ABC hopes to send the message that Peter Jennings’ legacy endures even as the network is slashing its news staff and scaling back foreign operations.

Jennings, who died in 2005, projected a sophisticated worldview developed during extensive overseas reporting assignments. Amanpour brings with her similar international sensibilities.

Amanpour, who was born in London and grew up in Iran, has worked at CNN for 27 years, including the last 20 as a foreign correspondent, traveling to such strife-torn countries as Rwanda, Iraq and Afghanistan. Amanpour, in an interview, said she intended to increase the focus on foreign affairs on the Sunday-morning program. Previous host George Stephanopoulos made his insider's knowledge of Washington the show's hallmark.

Continued

Harper Gives Beer From Obama Olympic Bet to Hockey Hall of Fame

March 19 (Bloomberg) -- Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper will donate to the Hockey Hall of Fame two cases of beer he won from U.S. President Barack Obama as payment for an Olympic bet.

David Jacobson, the U.S. ambassador in Ottawa, delivered a case of Yuengling Lager from closely held Yuengling Beer Co. Inc. and a case of Molson Canadian from Molson Coors Brewing Co. to Harper’s official residence, as settlement for the wager.

Obama had bet Harper the U.S. men’s hockey team would beat Canada in the gold medal game at the Vancouver Olympics. The U.S. lost to Canada 3-2 in overtime.

The Canadian women’s hockey team also beat the U.S. 2-0 to win a gold medal. U.S. press secretary Robert Gibbs wore a Team Canada jersey to his daily briefing on March 12 as a settlement for a side bet with Dimitri Soudas, Harper’s chief spokesman.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601082&sid=av9mHsZsDZgk

Mango with Sticky Rice!!!

Who knew that I could find Mango with Sticky Rice in a box.
But I found it at Trader Joe's.

Because I didn't know how it was going to taste, I only bought one box. Now I regret it... I should have bought more.

You just have to defrost in a microwave for 5 minutes.

Now I can have my favorite Thai dessert everyday!!!




Trader Joe's
142 East 14th Street
New York, NY 10003-4170
(212) 529-4612

http://www.traderjoes.com/

Artichoke Pizza

I was told Artichoke had the best pizza in New York. I don't know about being the best but I have to say, it was pretty good. But don't expect to get a table, there are none. There are few benches outside.


We ordered Margarita, Artichoke, and Crab. Highly recommend all three of them.


http://www.artichokepizza.com/

328 East 14th Street
New York, NY 10003
(212) 228-2004

Good bye, Facebook

I decided to close my Facebook account.

I was spending too much time on Facebook and not spending enough time on doing something productive - such as studying...

I would like to spend more time on studying, reading, and catching up on current events.
And of course, I would like to spend more time on this blog as well.

Good bye, Facebook...

New Noodle Soup Option

I enjoy things that are cooked for 5- 6 hours, but I am also all about something quick and easy.
After work and school, sometimes I just want to eat something in 10 minutes. Most of the nights, Chris takes care of dinner and I appreciate that, but when my blood sugar goes down, there is no cure!!!

So, when my mom was here over Christmas, she recommended this noodle soup. My knowledge of Korean snack and packaged food stopped in the early/mid 90's, so it's good that someone is telling me what's good and what's not good. Apparently this brand called "Pulmuone" puts out good products.

This particular noodle was really good on a cold day.
It's not your $1 top ramen - this was almost $9 and there were two servings inside. And it took about 5-6 minutes, but it was worth it.

Chris said it was a bit bland... but I am Korean after all. I can always add Kimchee.



You can find this at:

Hanareum Supermarket
25 West, 32nd Street
New York, NY 10001
Tel: 212. 695. 3238

Okonomiyaki Friday!!!

As we were missing Okonomiyaki restaurants in Tokyo, we decided to make Okonomiyaki at home.

This was mine - with squid

This one is Chris's - pork, cheese & corn

You can buy all your ingredients from any Japanese market -

• Okonomiyaki powder
• Japanese mayo
• Fish flakes
• Okonomiyaki sauce

and other ingredients that you would like to put it in