going home

*
there are a few canadian stores that i miss and aritzia is certainly one of them.


there are a handful of aritzia stores in the american west coast... but nothing in the east coast.

cheers for being home during boxing day (ie. equivalent of the american black friday).
^_^

meh, snowstorm

*
when i got out of the hospital this morning, i expected snowstorm aftermath.

view from my apartment

back in the canadian city where i did my residency, this would have been called a light dusting.

and it was already starting to melt!

meh, snow

*
possibly the best combination ever:

threat of snowstorm
+
on-call

=
potentially empty urgent care center.

(here's hoping...)

view of death

*
i need a brief shopping hiatus after my malandrino spree.

so, i entertain you with the death-defying view from the 5th ring koch theater seats at the lincoln center.

it's scarier than it looks. O_o

barbie silly-ness

*
when my friend from boston was visiting this weekend, we walked around midtown looking at all the holiday windows. (btw, bergdorf's alice in wonderland windows were phenomenal). we also stopped into fao schwartz.

the barbie department was entertaining. besides the christian louboutin barbie, there were other stand-outs.

twilight's edward and belle barbies

chuckle, chuckle. the edward doll is kinda looking like james-dean-meets-zoolander.

i nearly died with laughter when i saw this barbie.

can you read that bottom part?

that's right, it's newborn baby doctor barbie.

i think anyone in the medical field would find this barbie most amusing. let's start with the obvious. why is newborn baby doctor barbie dressed as a candy striper? those open-toed sandal wedges are also a definite no-no in clinical areas. and lastly, newborn baby doctor?

that's a neonatologist, peoples.

^-^

catherine malandrino sale

*
things i like from catherine malandrino...

dresses

and sweaters.

catherine malandrino sale
dec 14 - 16th, (mon 10-9pm, tues & wed 8-8pm)
123 w 18th st (metropolitan pavilion, 4th flr)

lots of merchandise... the size 0 dress racks are starting to thin. lots of size small sweaters still left. no size 0 skirts (smallest size i saw was 2).

because of the large space, the sale didn't seem that crowded at all...and no line to get in.
^_^

weekend food round-up

*
obao delivers:

lao yellow rice (duck confit, golden chives)

i'm not sure what is so laotian about this rice... i don't say this flippantly (i am part-laotian)... nonetheless, it was pretty good.

pad see iew

this time, i do see the green mango kimchee in the dish (top left corner).

crispy spring rolls

love that these springs rolls are wrapped (and deep fried) in rice paper. much prefer rice paper wrapped spring rolls...just adds that extra crunch and much tastier. most places don't use the rice paper wrap. i'm thinking because the rice paper wrapping doesn't freeze very well...therefore, you have to wrap it daily.

*

random sushi place in midtown east:

which also offered free sake for all orders over $15. and by free sake, i mean approximately 750ml of sake. (so, between the 2 of us, we were offered 1.5L of sake...which we did not finish, for fear of passing out).

*

there are few restaurants in the city that i've been to more than 2-3 times. ippudo is one exception.

miso ramen

*

spot dessert bar added a few new plated desserts. tried the ovaltine cake and the banana pudding.

chocolate banana pudding

i don't know what those tiny-round-crunchy things are, but they are good.

breaking out the puffy

*
ok, uniqlo jacket, you just aren't cutting it anymore in this colder weather.


time for the bcbg white puffy jacket this weekend.

i hate you winter. (but only a little bit).

for the love of FDG PET-CT interpretation...

*
what's worse than measuring SUV's (standardized uptake values) on FDG PET-CT studies?

comparing SUV's on different FDG PET-CT studies. gawd.

i'm starting to like the alternative definition for the SUV acronym...

Silly.
Useless.
Value.

ugh.

happening this week

*
hayden-harnett sale (the collective showroom)
dec 8 - 10th, 11-7pm
16 w 36th st, suite 501, (b/t 5&6th ave)

alice + olivia
dec 8 - 11th, 8-8pm
80 w 40th st, 2nd flr, (b/t 5&6th ave)

dvf sample sale
dec 8 - 11th, (tues 9-6:30pm, wed 10-8pm, thurs 10-7pm, fri 9-3pm)
260 fifth ave, (b/t 28&29th st)

eugenia kim
dec 8 - 12th, 10-7pm (sat 12-6pm)
347 w 36th st, ste 502

*

weekend food roundup

*
first stop: obao noodles & grill. conveniently within walking distance.

decided to play it safe and got the pad see iew (flat rice noodles, kalbi short rib, farm egg, green mango kimchi), caramelized pork belly, and lamb satay. the pad see iew was pretty good, especially the kalbi short rib. can't say that the kimchi really was present in the dish, nor the farm egg. but good, nonetheless. lamb satay was a total pass.

*
kyotofu. whenever i'm in hell's kitchen and don't know where to go to eat, this seems to be the place. typically after a show at the lincoln center.

[sliders]

always get the same thing...otsumami sampler, consisting of pigs in a duvet, bbq'd unagi, chicken & tofu sliders, and arancini. for dessert, warm sweet potato cake (satsumaimo, vanilla bean ice cream, pecan tuile). faves.

*
still having cravings for korean fried chicken, so, tried bbny. definitely more of a pub-feel, (versus lounge-feel, compared to mad for chicken).

chicken verdict? hands down, chicken is better at mad for chicken.

however, the fries are better at bbny.

fries and mozzarella sticks.

*
re-visit to the doughnut plant. the pomengranate doughnut sounded promising.


but, it kinda sucked. had i not just eaten a creme brulee doughnut just 30 seconds prior, i may have been more peeved.

*
this may have been my favourite meal of the weekend.


bo ky's curry chicken flat rice noodle soup. so good. special beef flat noodle soup was delectable as well. and with prices at $5.50...what a deal.

*
last stop: gramercy tavern.

another danny meyer restaurant, yes. we just kept comparing everything to eleven madison park...which was much better. even down to the take-away...much preferred the jellies versus this cake thing. meh.

botkier sample sale

*
loves. it.

schnitzel & things

*
a few weeks ago i stalked the schnitzel & things truck (the same truck airing on current t-mobile commercials) for lunch, trying to find it when it would be at a convenient midtown location.

when i found the truck, i joined the midtown suits in line, and got a pork schnitzel sandwich.

'k. this is only half the sandwich.

because, well, i ate the other half already.

it was pretty good.
the only problem is trying to find a convenient time to find the truck at lunch. meh.

thread social & botkier this week

*

botkier sample sale
dec 3 - 6, (thurs & fri 11-7pm, sat 11-6pm, sun 12-5pm)
195 lafayette st (b/t broome & kenmare st)
*

thread social holiday sample sale
december 3 -4, 9-7pm
26 w 17th st, suite 303 (b/t 5&6th ave)
*

eleven madison park

*
ah, yes. another fine dining event.

no photos...was too busy eating and drinking.

the amuse-bouches were fabulous. for mains, between the 4 of us, we had the duck, venison and suckling pig. venison won hands down.

the only slight disappointment were the desserts. or perhaps, the selection of desserts we made...we tried 5 (one on the house). none were amazing.

our waitress also gave each of us the full compliment of macarons for petits fours. 8 different flavors. each. that was a lot of macarons.

and to-go, cute and tastey jelly candies.

eleven madison park verdict? definitely recommended.

weekend weather wonder

*
so nice.

tonight's reservation: eleven madison park.
review to follow...

american thanksgiving!

*
definitely not an american thanksgiving without the macy's parade!

hello kitty!

generic smurf!

snoopy!

dora o_O

horton!

mickey!

spongebob!

ronald!

toy story dog!

shrek!

pikachu!

kermit!

abby cadabby!

energizer bunny!

this photo's for sams.

recognize??

and the best for last...

pillsbury doughboy!

so chubby, he got caught in the tree branches trying to enter the parade. much maneuvering ensued and cheering when he finally got free.


^_^

uniqlo: my very own heat tech collection (en noir)

*
at a recent visit to uniqlo, i picked up more heat tech items (black turtle neck and black t-shirt). while i was there, i noticed the addition of leggings and half leggings in the heat tech collection. i didn't purchase them at that time, but kept thinking about them. i distinctly remember my friend asking me, "why would anyone purchase half leggings?"

i didn't have a good answer to that question.

it didn't stop me from picking up the heat tech leggings and half leggings this past week though.

i also picked up a black heat tech scoop neck shirt as well. yes, obsessed.

the leggings are made of the same light weight material as the shirts, and are stretchy (but not tight-stretchy) enough to wear over tights. they pretty much have the same function as long johns, but with a sheer-like material. magic, i say.

even more incentive to buy heat tech, the current promotion: