NYC Wrap-Up: Shows & Restaurants
Got back to Hong Kong early Monday morning and headed straight to the office after a quick stop home to drop off bags and shower. Oddly enough, it doesn't feel like I've been away for 2 months. New releases of Little Cream Book: Architecture, Romance and Golf arrived on Tuesday and it's been crazy ever since. The last few weeks in New York, I was on the phone with the printer nearly every night. Orange, my mobile phone provider, finally called to tell me that I had exceeded my roaming quota and that I would have to pay my HK$8,000+ bill immediately to avoid suspension of my roaming privileges. Am still missing NYC though, so though I'd do a final wrap-up of all the things I missed in my previous posts.
Hotel
Mercer -- I got to check out one of the rooms at Mercer when I visited A&K. They have their own architectural practice, Naga Concepts, based out of Phuket and were in town working with Andre Balazs on his new resort/residential project in Anguilla. Interiors will be by Christian Liagre and there will be a John Pawson-designed spa. I was really excited for them, because it sounds like an awesome project to work on. And I had previously stayed at Hotel QT, and liked it very much -- it's great value for money in a very convenient Times Square location. The rooms, though not exactly spacious, are sensibly and practically thought out. And I love the bar pool (the major disappointment at Four Seasons was that it did not have a pool!). So I had high expectations when I visited Mercer, especially since I knew it was another Liagre-designed hotel. I was in for a disappointment though. While the room I saw was spacious by NYC standards, the decor looked much more bland than I had expected. The bathroom (without a tub) was standard-sized and looked like a bathroom in a medical clinic with its white tiles. All in all, not the level of luxe I was expecting, but its location in the heart of SoHo cannot be beat.
Shows
I managed to catch three shows this time around. But August is not really the best time for shows. I was so sad to read that my fave playwright, Tom Stoppard's trilogy, The Coast of Utopia, doesn't start until 17 October. I'm hoping I'll be able to schedule a trip to NYC to coincide with one of the marathon Saturdays next year so I can watch all 3 plays (Voyage, Shipwreck and Salvage) all in one go. And then there's Butley, starring Nathan Lane, which AD is designing the set for. That runs from 5 October (previews, opening on 25 October) to 14 January 2007 at the Booth Theatre, so it will definitely be hard for me to catch that one. Anyway, here's what I did get to see:
Kiki & Herb: Alive on Broadway -- On until 10 September 2006, this cabaret act is a riot! Kiki is absolutely outrageous: "I always thought, if you weren't molested as a child, you must not have been very attractive". It's a fun show though.
Absinthe -- On for the rest of September in the Spiegel Tent down in South Street Seaport. This is definitely one of the sexiest vaudeville acts I've seen. Make sure you see the finale! It's kind of a child-unfriendly Cirque du Soleil. Although the night I was there, there were at least 2 children in the first row. If you go, get there early, because it's free seating
The Lieutenant of Inishmore -- Ended 3 September. Could have skipped the first act, but the shocking and funny second act more than made up for the slow first act.
Restaurants
Wajima -- 134 East 61st Street (b/w Lex and Park) 212 813 9065. I had passed by this restaurant a couple of times and thought it looked interesting. Then MH told me that her mother had been for lunch and they had great lunch specials for US$10. I decided I had to go check it out and it was definitely worth it! For US$9.80, I got one rice bowl with sashimi, one rice bowl with 3 pieces of tempura (2 of which were shrimp), a bowl of cold soba, a bowl of miso soup and an egg custard! Definitely great value for money and the food was good. At lunch time, the place was packed with Japanese.
Raku -- CS and I paid Ray a visit after seeing Kiki & Herb. It's a great pre- or post-theatre joint since it's on 47th b/w Broadway and 8th. ML, Ray's wife, had told me that their specialty is rolls, with its multiple combination of fishes, are not that popular in Hong Kong. Raku comes up with roll combinations in honour of its best clients, Morgan Stanley being one of them.
Bar Masa -- This was the fall back option after I walked all the way down to Sushi Yasuda only to find out it was closed for lunch on Saturday. I had a sushi sampler. One of the few sushi places I've been in the US that actually serves up Japanese-sized sushi. All the fish was very fresh and tasty, but because I was on the phone with a friend, I didn't get a chance to ask what each fish was before finishing them off. A bit pricey, though certainly not as pricey as Masa.
A Voce -- SP who worked with Andrew Carmellini at Le Cirque took me there the first time around. I loved it so much that I booked dinner there for friends 3 nights later. We got to try a lot of dishes. All were light (worked for my diet, i.e. not heavy with butter and cream) and fresh Italian dishes. My absolute fave was the sweet corn ravioli. I had a dish all to myself the second time around. At dinner with S&A, both chefs, I learnt that a creme brulee at Le Cirque uses 6 egg yolks, shocking!
BLT Fish -- Had some very sweet clams there. Definitely prefer the less formal shack downstairs to the more formal upstairs dining. Others had all-you-can-eat mussels, but nobody asked for more after the first bowl. Everything was served with plenty of fries, which I did not touch.
Am really bummed I did not get a chance to check out Sushi Yasuda; that's going on the top of my list of restaurants to try next time! It was a S&A recommendation. MH, seconded it, but added that she no longer patronized the restaurant on principle. Apparently, the sushi chef is a real chauvanist.
Magnolia Bakery -- 401 Bleeker Street 212 462 2572 Yes, I was on a low-fat, low-sugar diet, so cupcakes weren't exactly what I was supposed to be eating. But I got BL to buy one just so I could have a teeny, tiny bite. Absolute happy food! It would be awesome if they opened shop here, definitely beats Krispy Kreme (an outpost of which has just opened up downstairs from my office here in HK)!
Hotel
Mercer -- I got to check out one of the rooms at Mercer when I visited A&K. They have their own architectural practice, Naga Concepts, based out of Phuket and were in town working with Andre Balazs on his new resort/residential project in Anguilla. Interiors will be by Christian Liagre and there will be a John Pawson-designed spa. I was really excited for them, because it sounds like an awesome project to work on. And I had previously stayed at Hotel QT, and liked it very much -- it's great value for money in a very convenient Times Square location. The rooms, though not exactly spacious, are sensibly and practically thought out. And I love the bar pool (the major disappointment at Four Seasons was that it did not have a pool!). So I had high expectations when I visited Mercer, especially since I knew it was another Liagre-designed hotel. I was in for a disappointment though. While the room I saw was spacious by NYC standards, the decor looked much more bland than I had expected. The bathroom (without a tub) was standard-sized and looked like a bathroom in a medical clinic with its white tiles. All in all, not the level of luxe I was expecting, but its location in the heart of SoHo cannot be beat.
Shows
I managed to catch three shows this time around. But August is not really the best time for shows. I was so sad to read that my fave playwright, Tom Stoppard's trilogy, The Coast of Utopia, doesn't start until 17 October. I'm hoping I'll be able to schedule a trip to NYC to coincide with one of the marathon Saturdays next year so I can watch all 3 plays (Voyage, Shipwreck and Salvage) all in one go. And then there's Butley, starring Nathan Lane, which AD is designing the set for. That runs from 5 October (previews, opening on 25 October) to 14 January 2007 at the Booth Theatre, so it will definitely be hard for me to catch that one. Anyway, here's what I did get to see:
Kiki & Herb: Alive on Broadway -- On until 10 September 2006, this cabaret act is a riot! Kiki is absolutely outrageous: "I always thought, if you weren't molested as a child, you must not have been very attractive". It's a fun show though.
Absinthe -- On for the rest of September in the Spiegel Tent down in South Street Seaport. This is definitely one of the sexiest vaudeville acts I've seen. Make sure you see the finale! It's kind of a child-unfriendly Cirque du Soleil. Although the night I was there, there were at least 2 children in the first row. If you go, get there early, because it's free seating
The Lieutenant of Inishmore -- Ended 3 September. Could have skipped the first act, but the shocking and funny second act more than made up for the slow first act.
Restaurants
Wajima -- 134 East 61st Street (b/w Lex and Park) 212 813 9065. I had passed by this restaurant a couple of times and thought it looked interesting. Then MH told me that her mother had been for lunch and they had great lunch specials for US$10. I decided I had to go check it out and it was definitely worth it! For US$9.80, I got one rice bowl with sashimi, one rice bowl with 3 pieces of tempura (2 of which were shrimp), a bowl of cold soba, a bowl of miso soup and an egg custard! Definitely great value for money and the food was good. At lunch time, the place was packed with Japanese.
Raku -- CS and I paid Ray a visit after seeing Kiki & Herb. It's a great pre- or post-theatre joint since it's on 47th b/w Broadway and 8th. ML, Ray's wife, had told me that their specialty is rolls, with its multiple combination of fishes, are not that popular in Hong Kong. Raku comes up with roll combinations in honour of its best clients, Morgan Stanley being one of them.
Bar Masa -- This was the fall back option after I walked all the way down to Sushi Yasuda only to find out it was closed for lunch on Saturday. I had a sushi sampler. One of the few sushi places I've been in the US that actually serves up Japanese-sized sushi. All the fish was very fresh and tasty, but because I was on the phone with a friend, I didn't get a chance to ask what each fish was before finishing them off. A bit pricey, though certainly not as pricey as Masa.
A Voce -- SP who worked with Andrew Carmellini at Le Cirque took me there the first time around. I loved it so much that I booked dinner there for friends 3 nights later. We got to try a lot of dishes. All were light (worked for my diet, i.e. not heavy with butter and cream) and fresh Italian dishes. My absolute fave was the sweet corn ravioli. I had a dish all to myself the second time around. At dinner with S&A, both chefs, I learnt that a creme brulee at Le Cirque uses 6 egg yolks, shocking!
BLT Fish -- Had some very sweet clams there. Definitely prefer the less formal shack downstairs to the more formal upstairs dining. Others had all-you-can-eat mussels, but nobody asked for more after the first bowl. Everything was served with plenty of fries, which I did not touch.
Am really bummed I did not get a chance to check out Sushi Yasuda; that's going on the top of my list of restaurants to try next time! It was a S&A recommendation. MH, seconded it, but added that she no longer patronized the restaurant on principle. Apparently, the sushi chef is a real chauvanist.
Magnolia Bakery -- 401 Bleeker Street 212 462 2572 Yes, I was on a low-fat, low-sugar diet, so cupcakes weren't exactly what I was supposed to be eating. But I got BL to buy one just so I could have a teeny, tiny bite. Absolute happy food! It would be awesome if they opened shop here, definitely beats Krispy Kreme (an outpost of which has just opened up downstairs from my office here in HK)!
Labels: events, hotels, NYC, restaurants, US
posted by 10000miles at 13:19
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