During my 8-day trip, I got to frequent a number of different places and restaurants. Whenever I go to another city, I like to research the best spots for food and for sightseeing. I also enjoy spontaneously going into places to see what I can find.
My official first day in New York, my boyfriend and I went to a local Chinese restaurant in Chinatown for dim sum. It was the first meal of the day so we decided to order a lot. Since we went in the late afternoon, I deemed this our brunch. We ordered various types of dishes such as:
Dim sum at this restaurant was so cheap. It came up to be around $17 USD including tax. We got our money’s worth on this meal! What I found so amusing was that they steamed their dim sum in metal steamers instead of the typical wooden ones that I usually see in Canada. My boyfriend mentioned that it was a lot more sanitary and easier to clean if they used the metal steamers.
Since we were so full from brunch, we decided to stay indoors until our nightly adventure. First stop was the movie theatres to watch Mission Impossible 5. If you have not seen the movie, I highly recommend it. I find it unbelievable that Tom Cruise is in his 50’s and still able to perform his own scenes whilst in good shape. You’ll understand once you watch the movie. The airplane scene apparently took only 8 takes to be completed. Simply jaw-dropping!
After the movies, we decided to have a stroll around the area. We passed by Madison Square Garden. It was lovely to just see the lights of New York. I understand completely as to why it is known to be the city of lights because it was bright enough to make me want to wear sunglasses during the night!
Second stop was a rooftop bar lounge called Monarch Rooftop Lounge. My boyfriend knew an acquaintance who was attending an event at this venue so we decided to check it out. The view was extraordinary.
I felt I was on top of the city at this rooftop lounge. One of my fears is heights but funny enough I was not scared overlooking the city (the metal barriers might have to do with it!) What this lounge was known for was the view of the Empire State Building. Unfortunately I was not able to take a very good nightlife shot of it but definitely a bar worth going to if you come into the city. We picked two seats near the side facing Herald Square. Herald Square is also a great place to visit if you want to get some serious shopping done. It has shops such as Victoria Secret, Macy’s, H&M to name a couple.
Miss Happy Penguin 