Saturday, April 11, 2009

New York City Part II - More food porn, the Met and Madame X.

Food! Food! Food!

If there's one thing that you'll definitely be spoilt for choice for in New York City, it's definitely food! From Zagat rankings to celebrity endorsements, most eating places in New York are plastered with such endorsements all over. For a foodie like me and KL, New York City is definitely an eating heaven.. a far cry from the heavily populated franchise restaurant scene in Orange County.

One of my favourite finds during this New York trip is A Salt & Battery.

A Salt and Battery shop front


It's essentially a fish and chips place, but the fish and chips is absolutely one of the best I have ever tasted! The owners were even involved in a throw-down with celebrity chef Bobby Flay and they won! And after eating at this place it's easy to see why:

A Salt and Battery fish combo


KL and I got the seafood combo, which consists of fried fish and shrimp. (Sides or chips are a separate order.) The fried seafood is crispy, yet not oily at all, in fact the batter is so light but oh so-very-crunchy! And you taste the natural sweetness and freshness of the seafood through the batter.. I don't know how these guys do it but I didn't walk away with the oily, bloated feeling that I usually get from eating fried food. Seating is limited at A Salt & Battery though, so it's best to get there before the lunch/dinner crowds come in.

And literally by accident, KL and I found this hot dog store named Papaya King:

papaya king store


KL and I remembered seeing a feature on it on Food Network before, so we had to try the papaya drink that the signs plastered all over the store were hawking:

papaya king


And you know what, the drink lived up to its hype! It's sweet and creamy, yet not overly so. We could taste the papaya in the drink and it was very refreshing. The hot dogs were good too, better than most I had tasted, but I personally preferred it without the onions which were hmmm, a little overpowering to me. One thing to note though, KL and I first tasted this at the Greenwich Village store and we ordered the same papaya drink again when we came across Papaya King a few streets away from the Met. It seems like the quality varies from store to store as the papaya drink at the Met location was really watered down and not at all like the manna that we had tasted the night before.

Did I mention the Met (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)?

metropolitan museum of art


I wanted so badly to see the exhibitions at the Costume Institute when I was there but it was closed. Nevertheless the Met was a great visit, even for the second time, as there was plenty of stuff to occupy my and KL's time!

Ancient jewellery:

met snake cuffs


I'll gladly wear these cuffs!
Some serious bling:

met jewellery


I don't know what is it about me and ancient sculpture, but I am always tempted to do some cheeky (no pun intended) poses of the butt-pinching variety among them. Maybe it was just a desire in me to offset all the seriousness of the crowd brought on by the history of the pieces. Or the nudity was getting to my brain ;) I'm not too sure how my well my antics would have gone down with the stern security personnel nor the crowd, but nevertheless I managed to sneak a couple in:

met4met5


Say meow!

met6


One of my favourite permanent exhibits at the Met is the Arms & Amor collection:

met7


The intricate details on all the armor and weapons are amazing, not to mention the skils it must have taken to produce them. What I find intrigung though is how small most of the suits of armor are...even to me. I guess people were really smaller back then!
A close-up of a burgonet in the shape of a lion's head. I believe it's Italian in origin...note the attempts at mimicking the texture of fur and hair using metal:

met8


And for first-time visitors, the Temple of Dendur is a most see. It's a Nubian temple that was phyiscally relocated (yes, building, gates and all!) to the US and subsequently the Met in the 60s'.

met9


This was a perfect opportunity to break out my "Walk like an Egyptian" pose, but the security personnel there was so tense and stern that he quickly dampened any enthusiaism that I had. He was always anxiously scanning anyone who approached the structure..hmm, first day on the job perhaps?

The painting collection of the Met is definitely impressive and I didn't have time to take it all in at my leisure. Yes, even on my second visit. I knew that there was one painting that I had to see again:

met10


Madame X. The original It girl maybe? Once again another painting which I had studied in school that fascinated me then and still, today.

And here's a random outfit shot of what I wore that day.

met11

Zara military jacket, helmut lang top, ksubi jeans, ann demeulemeester boots, miu miu coffer.

Next: Last night in New York City and all that jazz!

22 comments:

Girl Interrupted said...

I'm loving your posts! They're the next best thing to actually being there myself.

The fish and chips looked fab! And that's coming from a Brit and therefore a connoissuer :P But the hot dogs and papaya juice sounded great too ... and now I'm hungry again!!!!

The Met pics were great ... and it's obligatory to pull silly poses! The sillier the better imo.

I've always loved the Madame X painting too ... she's so elegant and distant looking.

So glad you're having a great time :) looking forward to the next post already.

diane said...

Looks like you're having a good time in the Big Apple.
I love it when old buildings, like the Fish and Chips place, have tin ceilings.
I've never had a papaya drink, but I'll try one.
Loved your Met pics. I had an ancient ring once, that cute hubby thought would be a good present for me. It gave off an evil vibe, no kidding. I sold it.
Nice review! Happy Easter. xo

Dominica said...

You are just like me in a big city ...and if ever I get to visit NYC - I'm having those chilli hot-dogs too ! LOL
Love the pics you took in this exhibition ; the lion's head is my face too and don't those knights look awesome ?
Love a bit of a 'malienkolder' too ...haha

More of these girl ! Doin' just great !

Egle Z. said...

Love it! I am seriously in love with NYC although I've never been there. I only started reading twilight a couple of days ago, it's okay. Clearly teenage-orientated but quite interesting nonetheless.

Chekka Cuomova said...

reading this post makes me jealous! I always wanted to go there *sobs*.. ;') but seriously, you must go to costume gallery. take loads of pictures and give us a virtual tour :D
and, OMG super cool outfit! I looove every single thing you wore! esp. those boots....I'm drooling.. ;D

FASHION CHALET said...

Y O U R
B O O T S
A R E
E P I C.

One for me please? :)

I love going to
M U S E U M S...
wishing I could be in
N E W YORK
C I T Y now, too!

xo!

Rosanna said...

hi! sure, we would love to exchange links!
added you to our blog roll already

also i'm lusting over your boots!

www.littlemissdressup.com

Hanh, Life-in-Travel said...

I want some that fish and chip, yum..... love your Ann D boots.

The Little Fashion Treasury said...

Thanks for your lovely comment ;)

Ahh, I wish I could get my hands on these fabulous Ann D boots, too!
They look beyond beauty!

Stay Beauty in NYC!!!

Zaina said...

NewYork looks amazinng!!
great post
xo zee

Kay said...

I love the jewellery!
Also very jealous of your bag

evita nuh said...

love love your blog!


anddd awww that fish and chips! they looks yummi!!!

Brook and Lyn said...

I think I once had fried oreos or some sort of fried candy bar at salt and battery...yum. What's next in NYC?

Hanh, Life-in-Travel said...

Thanks for sweet comments, you sound like the person who understand about complexity of food, it's a art of cooking.
Hanh

Maria said...

those ancient gold cuffs are so bad!
OMG, I want one.

Unknown said...

if my shots are making you miss South East Asia, your shots are making me drool for the NY experience! it's always my dream to live the sights and sounds there. the Met has always been a beacon for art.. wow, those sculptures are divine! and i love your food critiques. i'm noting them if in case that dream vacay happens, hahaha.

missed visiting your blog!


much love




eden
http://chicinthetropics.blogspot.com

Joey said...

cute cute... i do love the coffer. i have it in brown :3 yay coffer love

hehe

Nina (Femme Rationale) said...

i love fish & chips - def. must try this place. and now i have mean cravings for gray's papaya. never tried papaya king, tho, but i hear it's the same thing.

and the pics w/the statues are hilariously cute. haha

chauss said...

great pix! did you make it to little italy?

Belowen said...

Tee hee, I LOVE those pictures of you! Yayalicious! :P These posts are great, you're giving me lots of ideas for my trip in May! <33

phamzy said...

great photos! the food porn made me hungry! huh!

http://ckuf-info.blogspot.com/

glamourgirl said...

I love that miu miu coffer on you. I am 5'2 and I find the strap on my miu miu bow to be too long. They usually end near my KNEES!