New York: Our Food Adventure

Nadia: Sup guys, Nadia and Tara here.  We’re back and well…ill… First of all, I’d like to say fuck all those assholes who fly/ travel sick!!!! You inconsiderate jack asses, an’ now I’m stuck with a bloody head cold. FUCK YOOOOOOOU

Tara: Eh…..that’s practically standard procedure. I always seem to end up with a cold after a plane journey. But hey, at least we got it when we came back, rather than while we were in America?

Nadia: I’m not happy about it. Next time, we’re traveling with surgical masks -.-’

Tara: I’ll bear that in mind when I’m packing. It’ll go in the essentials. But cold wise, I’m so used to them at this point that I sort of just force myself through them. Ah well, we’ll recover, even if we’d rather we didn’t get it in the first place. So, guys, if we sound more weird than normal, we’re probably just dosed up on cold meds. Lol

Nadia: Dosed up? Humph, I’m injecting this shit into my fucking veins just to breath for five minutes…. But anywaz, the title on this blog is ‘Our Food Adventure’, so let’s get on with it. Tara, would you like to go first?

Tara: Sure! :) So, as you probably gathered if you guys have been following us on our blog, twitter or Facebook, Nadia and I had gone to America (for the first time in my case!) - New York, to be precise. First thing I got to say is, next time we go, it’ll have to be longer than five days - there is just so much there to do, see, eat, etc, and half of the time I was doing my hardest to not fail miserably at navigating. I’m practically a country bumpkin, with only a little experience in big cities from the few times I’ve been to London for Cons and the like, so…..yeah…..had a few mess ups, there *blushes*

Nadia: Awww *pet pet, cough cough, dies of coughing* You did ok, my little navigator. Plus when we did get lost, we did my approach and just asked for directions. For the most part people were helpful we got the occasional asshole but yea everything worked out.

Tara: It kinda surprised me a bit, actually. I always thought that people in big cities would be busy and wouldn’t want to help out - you know, since they’d be in a rush or something - but some of them were really kind. I’m glad, cause they really did help a lot. It’s a time when I’m very glad to be wrong, you know?

Nadia: Eeeeeh, you realise I’m from London, right? What does that say about me? My little bumpkin. We're not all like the movies :P

Tara: Well, I’m mainly thinking that people round my area can be a bit like ‘who the heck is this’ sometimes too if you ask directions, so it’s not really a jab. Lol. Though to be fair, considering how many times I get jumped in town by people trying to talk to me about religion, or donating to charity, or getting a credit card, most people probably think you’d be trying to sell them something. Lol. But old thoughts aside, they really were quite friendly. Though….in some cases a bit too friendly. Like the Flute guy we met on the subway that one time while trying to navigate?

Nadia: OMG, that fucking flute guy who can’t even play, looked at me (the only black person on the fucking train at the time) and telling me about how many times he’s been arrested and never gone to jail. Good for fuckin- FOCUS!!!!! We’re here to talk about the food. Foood Tara!!!!!

Tara: Woops! Well, true, that was one of the main things we did our best to try out while in the US, other than to go to the ComicCon, was the various kinds of food that we couldn’t get over here in the UK. Seriously, it was the first time I’ve tried some of the stuff we had there! So, yes, While I played Navigator, Nadia, our resident Foodie, had researched some places for us to try out :)

Nadia: Yes, we did and unfortunately, apart from a few of the restaurants, I’ve lost some of the names so I’m gonna do the best that I can to remember most of them. Since Tara and I love East Asian food, I’ll focus on that.  

Tara: If I recall, the first place we went to was on our first night. We were tired and hungry (cause the plane food was…..nightmarish, and I’m not even a person with varied palette), so Nadia and I, along with our good friend Hansel, ended up making our way to a restaurant called Yupduck, which is a chain that I’ve never seen before. It was actually really nice, I have to say. :) I’ll admit, my favorite thing I had there was probably the giant rice ball you could get. The chicken over rice was really nice too! We ended up going there a second time on our last night, too.

Nadia: Now, that was one restaurant I do remember! The waiters were amazingly funny and charming, the atmosphere was chill and the food was delicious. Truly, a hidden gem… literally, we walked passed it the first time we went there. The food was amazing and spicy the way I like it. I was definitely a happy bunny and would love to recreate some of there dishes.

Tara: If nothing else, I’d definitely go back there, when we go to New York again in the future. 

Now, the next place we went was the next morning, since we wanted pancakes. I can’t fully recall the name - something like Joeys….something. But me not recalling the name was no fault of the place itself (I just suck at names. lol), but I did get my first taste of actual American pancakes. Chocolate and banana ones for me. I liked it, either way, though I think that if I was to go again, I might try just banana, or maybe try the blueberry ones as, with the amount, the chocolate part was a tiny bit too sickly for first thing. But I liked it, either way :)

Nadia:.... You’re kidding me, right? Next time we go back, we’re going to a proper pancake house. I could literally taste the grease and baking soda -.-’ The blueberries weren’t fresh and the tea was awful. No real sugar either just chemical sweeteners. Also it was claustrophobic as hell in that tight ass strip of a building.

Tara: Well, I did say it was the first I tried. *Shrugs* So I will have to take your word for it. Though to be fair I don’t drink too much tea, either (shock horror). I can’t argue with you about the room, though. It was long and thin - you could barely move around in there. It was as if someone stretched out the room or something. It was a really odd feeling. But either way, if we do go to a proper pancake house when we go again, I’ll be happy to give them a go! Speaking of not to good places, we did have a bit of a bad time at this place called The Bao…*Puts fingers in ear and waits for Nadia-miggedon*

Nadia: OMG DON'T LET ME START WITH THAT SHITTY ASS PLACE!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Tara: *Uncovers ears* As you can see, it really didn’t go down well. Now, considering my variety of foods that I’ve ever tried, and that I could pick out things that were bad too, goes to show that big foodies would have similar reactions to Nadia, here. An example was that the squid was like rubber - you really had to chew to get through it. Plus (and note we weren’t dawdling, either) the food (we had hot pot, by the way) was cold half way through. Not to ‘hot’ pot, you know?

Nadia: Ok, I’ll tell you why we were there at that piece of shit establishment that had the ever loving nerve to charge us $69.00 plus tip. Someone please tell me how the hell do you fuck up spice? Now, I believe in the philosophy of ‘if it ain’t got spice, it ain’t got flavor’, but someone tell me HOW THE EVER LOVING FUCK DO YOU FUCK UP SPICE THAT BAD that it has no heat, but the numbness of chilly? The potato was, like, way under cooked, the fish cakes were not al dente, but like rubber and the rice what was supposed to be like flavorful was like rice for old people - MUSH! Last I remember, I had teeth! I wouldn’t give that shit to a stray dog, let alone a human and the only redeeming factor was the chocolate dumplings. The dimsum was the reason why we were there in the first place. The waiter managed to convince us in getting a hot pot dish instead, saying that it was better and then we were given week ass tea that wasn’t even brewed properly. It was slightly coloured water and, yes, I looked in the pot, there was a teaspoon of tea leaves -.-’  Do you think that just because I’m a foreigner, I don’t know how food is supposed to be cooked? No sir, no sir, no sir. I know what good food is supposed to taste like. I know what authentic food is supposed to taste like. I may be a self taught cook, but even I know how to make better shit that that! Then you have the gall, the audacity, to charge as much as you did and ask for 15% tip? FUCK YOU and your piss poor service!

Tara: Uh…..yeah…..see? I didn’t need to say much here. But I have to admit that they did demand a tip, rather than anything else. In the previous places we gave one cause we wanted to, so demanding one kind of ruins the point of a tip. We tip because we like things after all, not because we’re forced to. So….yeah, all in all, we really didn’t enjoy that place. On a slightly better note, we went to a different chain restaurant in the evening, called ‘Red Lobster’ - first time I ever had Lobster, too.

Nadia: *Sigh* I think that you’re gonna have to take that over from here. All I’m gonna say is that I don’t understand the hype. All I’m gona out right complement is the drinks…..

Tara: Well, I more meant ‘on a better note’ as in, ‘in comparison to the last place’. Though I’m glad you enjoyed my drink recommendation! - a drink called Frangelico, by the way - if you like hazelnut, or things like ferrero rocher, then you’d like it - but honestly, I’ll admit while the Lobster was ok - kinda like eating a giant prawn - the vegetables were….well….overdone. I couldn’t actually eat the potatoes, though the corn on the cob was ok. I liked the starters that we had too. But overall….yeah, it was ok, minus the potatoes, but true, the ‘hype’ wasn’t something I was overly feeling either. But it was still better than the previous place. At least a tip wasn’t demanded of us.

Nadia: No they didn’t, it was included in the VAT, *sigh* for a while i honestly thought we weren't going to get a good meal. Since we came, all I wanted was bubble tea.

Tara: Well, we did get that :) We went to a place called Vivi Bubble Tea, though admittedly that was after our convention day - it’s a shame we couldn’t get there before then. And we even had ramen and sushi there, too.

Nadia: I know right -.-’ *Pouting* Not the best place i’ve ever been to, but the bubble tea is a very close second. The ramen  itself was good. Wish I had a spoon for it though. The ramen noodles were atrocious - it was like interwoven together. I got splashed several times just trying to separate it and I wasn't prepared for that in the slightest. BUT, I will say the sushi was on point, and the bubble tea was good too. I just wish they had a visible bathroom. We had to go to another establishment just to get one *Sigh*. But, all in all, it was a good meal we even took a little pick me up to go.

Tara: Indeed, we always have Bubble Tea. :) lol. Oh, before we went there, we did have breakfast that day, too, though we had to go out of our way a bit and travel to Fletching. I unfortunately don’t remember the name of this place, though, so I apologize. My brain seems to dislike longer names.

Nadia: Don’t bother, we’re never going there ever again. The service was rush rush, like they didn’t want to be there, the food was lackluster and the oil is real in these streets! Not to mention the stares, my god, the way the whole restaurant was staring at us was horrible! It made me lose my appetite and made me more than uncomfortable. I may not expect service with a smile, but I damn well don’t want to wait 30 minutes for breakfast and a comfortable atmosphere. DONE!

Tara: To be fair, it wasn’t much of an exaggeration - people did keep looking at us the entire time after we entered. So we sort of ended up rushing our food and leaving. And it wasn’t because we were doing anything particularly noisy or anything, either. We were on our best behaviour, so it felt really uncomfortable that we were stared at as if we were total outsiders or something. Ah well, as said, we’re unlikely to go there again. And that evening, after the bubble tea, we did get to go to Yupduck again, so the day wasn’t all bad, even if it was a bit of an uncomfortable start.

Nadia: *Sigh* And then there was our last meals the day we had to go home you be surprised at the crap you find in NYC

Tara: I don’t think the birds minded it. Lol. It was funny when you got food from those stalls though and the crowd of followers you ended up with!

Nadia: OMG, the ninja birds! Ok guys, so here’s how it went down! I bought these crappy caramelized cashews and almonds. They were so hard and stale that I thought they were gonna break my teeth! So I decided to feed the birds. At first, it was about one or two of them then 5-7, then a whole fucking flock of random and beautiful birds. I couldn’t reach some of the little guy in the back so i decided to throw a couple. And the first one I threw *swoop!* this little BIrd-Lee flew up in the air, quicker than a flash and caught it mid air and flew away in less the a blink of an eye.

Tara:It got so funny that I just kept watching it happen as Nadia kept testing this bird out. It was awesome! I have to wonder if it’s just naturally skilled or if that bird had been trained, but either way it was a freaking smart bird! So yes, we dubbed it ‘Ninja Bird’ :)

Nadia: Oh… Oh i almost forgot that hot dog…. I don't know if it was the vender I went to or what! But the NYC hot dog was disappointing it was a glorified frankfurter in a sweet bun and soggy ass onions. I was expecting this great thing and…. I could make better myself.

Tara: It might be just how things are in the UK, but to be fair I didn’t try the stall food, mostly because of how many bad ones there are in the UK. So I can’t really comment there. Still, it couldn’t have been as bad as the plane food we got on the way to and from home. Then again, even the worst of what we had in New York wasn’t quite that bad….

Nadia: To be fair, the majority of stall food in the UK are pretty good. The rule of thumb with that is, if it looks sketchy, don’t eat it. Also, if there’s a long ass cue, then go for it.

But dear lord, don’t get me started on that mess they call plane food.  T, you’re gonna have to take over here, then I’ll jump in. JaZuS!

Tara: Well…..First impressions on appearance was generally something someone just regurgitated. Which isn’t exactly a good first impression on food. I had this bread crumb chicken with a sauce in the middle - I forgot what it was actually called. As I said, not a foodie myself - but I could only manage a bite before I had to give up. The bread crumbs were soggy, the chicken was dry and the sauce just tasted really weird. It kinda smelt iffy too. I really didn’t want to risk it, so I think all I ate on the journey back was the single cracker with cheese and the pudding that went along with it. Oh, and a yogurt much later in the trip. I think next time I’ll just see if I can’t bring a packed lunch.

Nadia: You wanna talk about ‘regurgitated’, try the smell and taste of that ravoli. Oh my god! The most rubbery, cheap and vile thing that I have ever put in my mouth. N the shrimp cocktail was just inedible. It came with a sauce so far from it I didn’t even find it until after my meal. And, OMG, that fake ass bread that I found out was potato bread…. Listen, delta airlines, if you can’t afford normal bread, just don’t serve it, plain and simple. I rather go without than eat that shrill and if I’m paying £400+ for a plane ticket, I better get fucking service with a smile and a damn good meal. The only thing I can say was passable about that meal was the drinks. And even they were in piss poor quality. I had pepsi and JD and the pepsi was watered down to fuck! The JD that was poured was waaaaay too much! I’m a heavy drinker, but even I was like i need something to mix this. Thank god I brought a can on board with me from the terminals.

Tara: I was glad that drinks were included, though. Considering the flight was about….6 to 8 hours long, it probably would have cost a fortune to buy each drink separately. And most of the staff were quite nice, even though they were probably knackered at that point. Though I was a bit unhappy that we got passed over when it appeared that any of us were dozing at all. A couple of times I either saw it happen, or it happened to me. But I suppose that people would probably complain if someone kept waking them up, too, so I suppose I can’t fault them that bad. You can’t please everyone, after all.

Nadia: Are you serious? They’re paid to be awake at those hours! Listen, if you know you have a late night long hours, you sleep during the day. I know 5 family members that have the ‘graveyard shift’. It sucks, but you’re payed to do a service, so paste a smile on your damn face, get rid of that boshi attitude the majority of them had and pour my damn drink correctly.

Tara: Eh, well, at that point I was just tired, so I might have been miss-recalling. I only had one alcoholic drink on the plane and that time they just gave over the mini bottles and you could more or less mix it yourself, though I do remember one time they mixed it for you. Either way, I think our main plane issue was the fact that we both got colds from it as well as jetlag. Yay…?

Nadia: Oh, there’s more, but I think that will be all for today. The con was another thing and, by god, there’s more to tell. But, until next time, guys!

Tara: See ya!