{Out & About) Girls in the City - Day 3

Continuing from Days 1 & 2, here are photos from Day 3 of my girls' weekend in New York!

The view from Michelle and Cera's room. They even had a nice view of a sunbather on the neighbouring rooftop. Mandie, Fiona, and I got a nice view of some office.

Pancakes from Clinton St. Baking Company. There was an hour and a half wait for a table so we opted for some takeout.

Fun on Brooklyn Bridge.

Manhattan Bridge.

Brooklyn Bridge and lower Manhattan.

Lower Manhattan from Brooklyn Bridge Park.

On the High Line. The popsicles are Mango Chile and Coconut - definitely needed on a hot day. (I love that popsicles are making a comeback!)

Some of the food we had at Marea. Pickled cucumber (?), Hawaiian Blue Prawn Tartare, Charred Calamari, Grilled Octopus, East & West Coast Oysters, Braised Octopus & Bone Marrow Fusilli, Lobster Ravioli, Crab & Sea Urchin Spaghetti, Seared Sea Scallops, Roasted Guinea Hen, Grapefruit gelee (? I think I'm making this one up), Affogato with Brown Butter Gelato, Bomboloni, Carrot Sponge with Carrot Ginger Sorbet, Hazelnut & Dark Chocolate, Mignardises to end the night.

The girls at Marea.

My home away from home - Times Square.

Hanging out on the steps of TKTS in Times Square on our last night.

It seemed like forever from the time we booked our tickets to actually flying, but once we were in New York, it was over in the blink of an eye! I wish the trip could've been longer, especially since it's our last group trip as single girls!

{Eat} Sassafraz & Crêpes à GoGo

After this past weekend, I am 90% done painting my dresser but I still need to apply some poly in a couple areas and spray the hardware once more before I can reveal the final product, which will essentially look like the tall boy. I also realized I have to go around the house and take photos for some updates, so maybe later this month when I have some time!

After all the gruelling housework on Saturday, I headed down to Yorkville with the girls for some lunch and window shopping! Sassafraz is one of those restaurants I've always wanted to try despite hearing mixed reviews and after this visit, I would try it again.

Sassafraz is located in an array of Victorian rowhouses. (Source)

Summerlicious is happening right now so we took advantage of the prix fixe menu.

Vichysoisse with lobster and truffle essence.

Roasted chicken breast with doubled smoked bacon and red onion quinoa, braised leeks in
natural reduction.

Pork tenderloin with roasted garlic sweet potato mash, asparagus, sweet apple cider glaze.

Pappardelle with roasted tomato, artichoke, goat cheese and basil pesto.

Apparently the pork tenderloin was not enjoyed as much as the chicken and pappardelle were! The smoked bacon in the quinoa was soooo good.

Inside the restaurant. There's a water feature in the back and I forgot to take a picture of the gorgeous bar area at the entrance.

Banana cream tart, toasted coconut mousse and mango sherbet. YUM.

Chocolate brownie with brandied cherry, Chantilly cream and amaretto reduction.

Giant paper flowers at Anthropologie. 

Pardon the reflection - it was super sunny!

After we did some window shopping (well, I did pick up a skirt from FCUK...), we walked to the re-located Crêpes à GoGo for some Parisian-style crêpes.

I had heard to try the Limonana, which is made of lemon juice, mint leaves, and organic cane juice. It's definitely not for everyone, but I liked it! It reminds me of the mint tea I always had in Turkey.

From the Sweet & Savoury menu, the Big Ben - mozzarella & raspberry jam. The crepes are served in a paper bag for you to eat in the cafe or to take to go.

And from the Sweet menu, the Tartinade - their version of Nutella.

Anytime I have authentic Parisian-style crêpes, the first one I have to try is with the chocolate-hazelnut spread. If you mess that up, I can't be bothered to try your other options!

Can you tell I love food? Does anyone else love when their city has restaurant week? Especially when it happens twice a year (Winterlicious and Summerlicious)!

{Eat} Shiso Tree Café

Hooo boy! I have not logged into Blogger in forever and I would like to say that my absence was due to all the progress I've made on projects, but that is definitely not the case! Just busy with work and life I suppose.

And that definitely doesn't stop me from eating! A few weeks ago I tried Shiso Tree Café for a second time and it was just as delicious as the first. Located in J-Town, it serves wafu pasta. That is, Japanese-style Italian pasta.

 All pastas come with a salad with wafu dressing.

 Soup of the day, Cream of Potato (I think).

 The remaining bits of the Okonomiyaki Fries. Completely forgot about taking a picture since we dug right into the deliciousness!

 Smoked Salmon Rosé.

Shrimp and Corn in Cream Sauce. This was good but I think I prefer the Shrimp Okonomiyaki from my first visit instead.

Green Tea Créme Brûlée. Why yes, this did taste as good as it looks/sounds! For reals, it was amazeballs.

Looking at these photos, it's no wonder my belly was so stuffed afterwards! But it was worth it! I'd go back just for the Green Tea Créme Brûlée!

{Out & About} Las Vegas Quickie

Get your mind out of the gutter! At the end of February, I joined my parents for a few days in Las Vegas and managed to do some damage to my credit card and waistline.

I was only there for two full days and spent most of the first day at the outlet mall (I love you, J. Crew!). The second day was spent buying tickets for Cirque du Soleil's Mystere and then circling the mall for an hour to find my dad who had actually left to return to the hotel to meet my brother who was flying in, without telling us he left the mall! We toured around some of the newer hotels since my dad and brother hadn't been in at least 10 years, and I think both my mom and I last went in 2009 (the Cosmopolitan Hotel was totally new to me). We stuffed ourselves silly at the Buffet at the Bellagio and I wish I had left room for more creme brulee! Simply delicious!

I wouldn't mind seeing the registration area of the Paris Hotel every day.

At Mon Ami Gabi at the Paris Hotel: (clockwise) Onion Soup au Gratin (yum!), Beef Bourguignon, Seared Atlantic Salmon, Steak Bordelaise.

Paris and bits of Planet Hollywood and Bally's. I love my camera. Sometimes it makes it look like I know how to take pretty pictures when really I just point and shoot!

Caesar's Palace always freaks me out because it looks ginormous, but it's got about the same number of rooms as other hotels along the strip.

The Northern section of the strip.

Looking down the South section of the strip.

My favourite. Pendant lights at the Cosmopolitan Hotel.

Lots of pretty light fixtures at the Cosmopolitan.

These remind me of the light fixture at the BY_Lissoni Lounge.

Lighting over the casino floor at the Cosmopolitan.

The lobby of the Cosmopolitan was pretty amazing with its electronic art installation of moving elevators and a variety of guests on the large columns.

What's this big white space, you ask?

A freakin' pop-up wedding chapel! According to one website it was only up for January and February, and they even had a faux wedding option which would expire after 24 hours!

Part of the dining area at Mastro's Ocean Club is inside a 70-foot-tall sculptural tree house at the Crystals at CityCenter.

Flower child at the Chinese New Year themed Conservatory and Botanical Gardens at the Bellagio.

It's the year of the Dragon!

The Conservatory and Botanical Gardens at the Bellagio dressed up for Chinese New Year.

I think I lost $22 at the slots. For a while I was up, but then I started over thinking it when I got to the bonus rounds! When I left, my dad was up almost $200, but when he came home he was down $160! It always pains me to gamble though. I'd rather save my $20 since it always disappears so quickly! But you can't go to Vegas and not gamble!

{Eat} Sushi Kaji

Last week, two of my coworkers and I headed to Sushi Kaji for what may be the most expensive meal I've ever paid for (so far), but the whole experience was worth it!

We had reservations to sit at the bar, although we couldn't see most of the dishes being made since they were done at the back counter or behind the ice tray containing the fish. Nevertheless, the dishes were beautifully prepared and just kept on coming!

I didn't have sushi until I was about 17 and even then it was primarily California rolls since I was a little wary of raw fish. Over the years I've worked my way up but still get nervous about eating non-salmon/tuna sashimi, so I was worried about eating at Sushi Kaji, but there was a nice balance of cooked and raw foods, and there was nothing too "out there" for me.

Sushi Kaji is all about authenticity, as they say on their website: "Although we do not serve "popular Japanese food" like "California roll" and "Teriyaki", we will be pleased to introduce you to the real Japanese food culture." The fish that is served is flown in fresh from Tokyo bay within 24 hours of being out of the water, and the fish purchased in the morning is served that evening, never kept overnight. Even the rice, vinegar, vegetables, and condiments are imported from Japan, but the Chef makes his own (delicious) soy sauce.

I wish I could remember what everything was exactly. I have a photo of the menu (which changes daily due to the changing selection of fish), but they don't specify which fish they are for the sashimi and sushi, but you get the gist of it.

Simmered daikon and eggplant; Sauteed scallop with pumpkin puree; Grilled crab; Persimmon sunomono.

Tomato and kuzu cake; Trout and salmon roe, Lobster; Sweet Miso; And the rest is a little hazy.

Matsutake mushroom soup in tea pot; Lily bulb and sea urchin cake with crab sauce; Grilled shrimp and matsutake mushroom.

Sea urchin; Can't remember with ginger glaze; Some sort of fish; Udon noodles.

Sushi plates with Seared scallop, Crab with applesauce, Minced Tuna/Some other fish, etc...

Green tea macaron; Fruit jelly and green tea macaron; Fruit jelly and wasabi macaron; Peach consomme and glazed strawberry.

Even the fruit jelly dessert was nice and fresh, and all the fruits were perfectly ripe! The green tea and wasabi macarons were sooo good. One day I will attempt to make some - I've had a macaron book for over a year now but since I've never had one up to this point (despite having been to Paris three times) I wasn't sure how good they would be anyway since I'd have no comparisons for it.

Anyways, all in all, a satisfying meal! I'd go again but I would definitely need to save up for it.