Shake Shack

Let's talk Shake Shack, shall we?

Well, what's there to say? It's just absolutely fantastic! I don't eat much red meat, but I definitely cannot resist an amazing burger from this beautiful, happy, delicious, fun, cool burger joint in New York City.

For those of you who have never been to Shake Shack and argue that Five Guys or In-N-Out have the best burgers, please do me a favor and try Shake Shack. The burgers are less greasy than Five Guys, and their meat taste more fresh than In-N-Out. (I don't want to piss off any Five Guys/In-N-Out fans out there, I like those burgers too, but I just think Shake Shack tastes better!)

Anyway, let's let the pictures do the talking, shall we?

This is the ultimate feast at Shake Shack- Shack Stack, cheese fries, and coke.

Shack Stack burger (cheeseburger and shroomburger topped with lettuce, tomato, and ShackSauce). So that thing in there that you see, yeah, that's just a fried ball of Portabella filled with muenster and cheddar...

Cheese fries. Somehow, these shoe string cheese fries go soooo well with the burger.

So far, there aren't that many Shake Shacks around right now. They are mostly in the New York area. To find one, visit here!

Num Pang

Ah, I am finally talking about one of my favorite joints in NYC, Num Pang.

Num Pang (Cambodian term for bread/sandwich) has perhaps the tastiest sandwiches in NYC; my family and I are obsessed with all of their Asian-influenced sandwiches. From skirt steak, catfish, to even cauliflower, the place has won our hearts over and over again.

Over the weekend, we ventured downtown to indulge in these sandwiches once again :)

This was the Peppercorn Catfish, my favorite sandwich at the shop. The fish is tender and the sauce just goes absolutely perfect with the fish. The pickled veggies and cilantro adds on the freshness of the sandwich. As always, the bread is toasted to perfection. Ah, amazing.

This is the Grilled Skirt Steak. Yums, the steak is cooked perfectly- smokey and very juicy. The sauce adds on another layer of flavor, so delicious.

And this one, is the Roasted Cauliflower sandwich. It was my first time ordering, and it did not disappoint. The cauliflower were crunchy yet smokey, and the sauce, the sauce had a resemblance of a lighter hoisin sauce... and who doesn't love hoisin sauce. Come on.

And here comes the corn. The amazing grilled corn on the cob that is drizzled in chili mayo and dusted with coconut flakes. Seriously, so good.

Ah, I love this place. I would seriously consider attending NYU just so I can be closer to these sandwiches. They also have another store in mid-town, however, I was informed by my cousin that she has tried the location three times, and the experience is just not the same as the one downtown.

If you are ever in the area, you must stop by and try one of their delicious sandwiches!

Max Brenner

I finally got a chance to visit Max Brenner in NYC this past week. This chocolate based restaurant is fun enough for a chit-chaty girls date, or a romantic after-dinner dessert date.

We did not order their restaurant menu since we just had lunch. Everything on their dessert menu looked scrumptious, the decision was very very difficult...

We finally decided on trying the Chrystal Sugar Churro Fondue as well as the Banana Split Waffles. OH MY GOD I am drooling just thinking about it... WARNING- the pictures below are dangerous...

 Cinnamon sugar churros with 3 warm dipping sauces- caramel, milk chocolate, and dark chocolate.

This, was heaven. Perfect buttery waffles topped with sugar-crusted banana, then topped with caramelized rice krispies, THEN topped with vanilla bourbon ice cream. Served with milk chocolate covered rice krispies and a chocolate-carmamel sauce.

God, I think the pictures did enough convincing... just go there people, just go there.

Ramen

Alright, besides the Asian sandwich place that I mentioned below, I also had really yummy ramen this week. Ippudo in the East Village.

This famous ramen place is fairly hard to get into- they don't take reservations and the waits are often over an hour long. If you are a hungry boob, then you are out of luck. (I am not sure why I chose "hungry boob", it's the first thing I thought of, leave me alone, you boob).

They sat us at the bar, and this is what it looks like-

Nam Peng

God I had the most amazing sandwich this week. Nam Peng in Union Square... hells to the MF yeah.

It is a Cambodian-American sandwich joint- tiny, quick, and really really really delicious. Here is my catfish sandwich-

And the delicious grilled corn with chili mayo, chili powder, and coconut flakes...

The seasoning and pickled veggies were just perfect and the buns were perfectly toasted. Gah, go there.

NYC Food Adventure

This past weekend I ventured to NYC and enjoyed a beautiful breezy day with my cousin, FC (don't ask, and it's not Fried Chicken). Now, I know there are a million yummy eateries in NYC, and I am not going to claim places I went this weekend were the best of the best, but hey, they are pretty darn good...

Before going in to the city, the only place that I really wanted to go to was Pho Grand in Chinatown. Ever since the little pho restaurant in my neighborhood closed down, I have been in a pho withdrawal. I recently have heard a lot of great things about Pho Grand, so I have been cravingggg to go.

Pho Grand 

We ordered the Vietnamese spring rolls as appetizers, they were really hot when they came out (perfect!). Wrapped in a leaf of fresh lettuce and stuffed with couple of mint leaves, cannot complain.

Here is Tai Nam Gan Sach (#2)- Combination rice noodle beef soup with fresh eye of round, brisket, tendon and omosa. Whatever those ingredients are, they are banging.

After our yummy lunch, we roamed around Chinatown for a bit. FC got a passion fruit green tea with jelly from Quickly- sweet and tart with a bit of a bite from the jelly, perfect!

FC and I decided to walk to Soho and shop. On the way there, I found Amy's Bread. I have gotten goodies from here before, but every time I went, they are always out of their famous PB&J sandwich. And guess what? WE GOT THE LAST SANDWICH!!

Natural peanut butter with homemade strawberry preserves in between two slices of sourdough bread. Excellent!

After FC and I walked through Soho, we decided to walk further to 23rd street and visit the newly opened Eataly! I have heard a lot about this place and oh boy, was it packed!

This was just the gelato door. This market was huge with a gazillion import goodies from Italy. I must admit that it was a bit touristy but all the food that we got was great, especially the hazelnut gelato. ahhh...

Silky, thin yet smooth, creamy, and rich flavor in hazelnut... I have never had better gelato... it was beyond heavenly.

We also got fresh penne al pomodoro and a pesto-mozzarella sandwich to go, but everyone started eating before I got to take pictures :( It's okay, you just gotta check it out yourself. Make a trip to Eataly, it's worth it!

Alright folks, there was my half day food adventure in NYC. More to come once the weather gets nicer!