Today KF and I did a lot of window and thrift shopping, also meant that we did a lot of walking and we found several hidden gems in NYC.
Please welcome…
1/ Casey Rubber Stamp (322 E 11th St, New York, NY 10003). This place is full of rubber stamps, pre-made and made-to-order all tailored to your needs. They also sell ink with diverse shades and colors – our personal favorite is the hunter green that KF bought. The video below recorded KF having fun with his new fat penguin stamp.
2/ Basement of Urban Outfitters (162 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10003). I have always loved urban outfitters because their stuff matches my style – happy, happy, and unique. This store has half a basement dedicated to items on sales and I copped a cute bodycon dress. KF insisted that I look like a burger from Burger King. Well – I guess perfect Halloween costume and I did buy the dress!
3/ Sao Mai (203 1st Ave., New York, NY 10003, United States)
Absolutely bomb calamari. Best I have ever had. Their bun bo hue was also quite decent, but don’t order seafood pho imo!
4/ L Train Vintage (204 1st Ave., New York, NY 10009). Great selection of jeans and leather jacket. I got a cute black champion crop top for $10. Within walkable distance from this thrift store were many other vintage and thrift stores that we checked out but didn’t have the energy to look through them carefully.
5/ Starbucks Reserve Roastery New York (61 9th Ave, New York, NY 10011). Make sure you stay for the coffee roasting machines because the staff will let you sniff the fresh coffee. I got lucky that they were roasting Da Lat coffee and got to chat with a Taiwanese staff there, who just moved to New York about 2 weeks ago.
6/ Bodhi (77 Mulberry St, New York, NY 10013). Vegan Chinese food. Their fake meat was super well made. My personal favorite is the steamed tofu skin, KF said that it’s a little too stretchy, but I am forever a tofu skin lover and I am always biased about this dish. But I have to admit that they make really good seitan (fake meat) and season them perfectly.
7/ Nintendo NY (10 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020, United States)
If you love video games, I highly recommend this place. I don’t even game, but I enjoyed walking around and checking out the puppy-eyed Pikachus, fluffy plushies, and video game stations. We also saw the oldest controller in the glass box. Check out the pictures below:
8/ Angelina Bakery (575 8th Ave, New York, NY 10018, United States)
Google reviews complimented them for their croissant, which I tried from Binti and I can’t say otherwise. However, I had the strawberry mousse and it was even more perfect for a hot day! Next time, I will try their lemon mousse because the cake is shaped like an actual lemon!
9/ Grand Central Terminal (89 E 42nd St, New York, NY 10017). The main terminal wasn’t the only attraction. While we were there, we checked out the bottom floor near the dining food course, where there was a dome and you could transfer sound across it. The secret is the arched structure of the dome, which allowed sound to move in a certain direction!
Then I want to tell this real story of patience and kindness that happened tonight. Long story short, KF and I wanted to electrically bike across the Brooklyn Bridge from the Manhattan side. However, all the e-bikes were taken or required membership that we didn’t have, except for 1 which KF took. So we tried to find other e-bikes in the stations nearby for me, but we tried 3 of them and all lucked out. The more station we checked, the more I lost my temper; eventually, I just got mad at everything on my way, including KF. I also refused to bike across the bridge, despite his offer to switch bikes. Eventually, we (more I) decided to just head back and call it a night. Tbh, I was just in bad mood… But when I take a step back, I realize how lucky I am to be with KF – he was calm and understanding the entire time. Not a single mean word, just all encouraging and questions to check in with me. And that was all I needed at the time – a good company.
Trang "Tee" Nguyen 