Back on 5th Ave!

So, I finally passed all my exams yesterday! Woohoo, my life is back (for the moment), before I start work on Wednesday, hehe :)

It's back to the New York story, this time along 5th Ave in continuation of the (mostly window) shopping spree...

Here's the large Disney store along the street, filled with every imaginable kind of stuffed toys you want, yes, there's Mr Donald and Shrek in there too. It's about time I started growing up and out of these, :P

Any of you a 'The Apprentice' fan? Here's the exterior of Mr Trump's Tower. Had lunch inside too on the last day before I left. Definitely an air of sophistication which somehow leaves you in awe as you see the display of jewelry and other merchandises. Music at the bar was great too (it was Frank Sinatra's and other musical-y songs, suits a Sunday brunch for me!), though food wise wasn't that impressive, so let's not waste too much time on that...

More importantly, I managed to meet up with a good pal HH, who is working in Tokyo now, was there was training at the same time too! Yes, Japan! It was cool catching up with him in Little Tokyo, keeping each other updated of what has happened so far in the past 1-2 years since he left uni, and of course, life and work in the land of the samurais.

Dinner in Little Tokyo was even better! The place was near Aston Place on the green line, where Little Tokyo is situated. Humiliatingly, my Japanese reading skills has deteriorated that I can't read the name on the sign board as it's only written in Japanese. Nevertheless, that and the presence of many locals eating there is definitely a positive indication :)

And we were spot on! Can you believe this big mug of Asahi/Japanese beer just costs $3? HH was definitely a happy man munching and drinking away, haha

I had my first try of Oden, which according to Wikipedia, is a "winter dish consisting of several ingredients such as boiled eggs. daikon radish, konnyaku and processed fish cakes stewed in a light, soy-flavoured dashi broth." The yellow condiment you see by the side of the bowl is Karashi (Japanese mustard).

To me, that's the Japanese version of 'Yong Tau Foo', a common Malaysian dish consisting of various fish cakes or vegetables/tofu stuffed with fish cakes, boiled fish paste dumplings etc, in a flavorful broth. I loved the Japanese version too! It's the ultimate comfort food

And we had few other dishes too! The glutton in us resurfaced especially since everything was relatively cheap in US dollars, effectively 50% off compared to London! Stir fried yakisoba was good as well, not too oily or salty. The beer definitely made me regret stuffing myself silly, happens after the weeks of deprivation of Asian food :S

It was a friend Sasha's birthday a few days later too! Visited the Grand Central Terminal, a majestic looking subway station, which looks best at night with the beautiful chandeliers lighting the large hall, with many restaurants and shops in it too. Amongst them is the ever famous 'Oyster Bar', and (duh) as the name suggest, seemed famous for their seafood and oyster selection. We decided to go upper class, celebrating her birthday with a glass of champagne with a couple of fresh oysters.

Geez, you must be thinking, but its fun acting like a posh snob sometimes! What's life without a bit of fun and giving yourself a little treat?