MY RECIPE for THE FRUITY GREEK-YOGURT FRENCH TOAST!
Really, you’ll be salivating in no time. Click to read the recipe and see pictures of the oh-so-delicious FRENCH TOAST :) This blog is a Beauty & Lifestyle blog but I haven’t been posting too many lifestyle posts. So check this out. I’m super excited! :))
My lunch at The Smith was a disappointment. I heard so much about the vibe of the restaurants and the unbelievable dishes. I ended up at the one in Midtown, although the vibe down in Greenwich Village is said to be much more vibrant.
The day I went, at that very hour, there was an inspection going on. We arrived at around 4pm. We were almost turned back until we mentioned that we had a reservation. And then they gave us a seat. We had a bit of a wait, but it wasn’t a big deal.
I ordered a Pot of Mussels and my friend ordered Grilled Shrimp. As an appetizer we ordered Crispy Fried Calamari. We both weren’t much of a seafood person but somehow we ended up ordering seafood.
The portion is definitely worth the price. There was a lot to eat. My personal favorite was the Calamari which was perfectly fried with really delicious sauce.
The Pot of Mussels is literally for people who obsessed with mussels. You get so much mussels, it was too much for me. It’s really buttery and I enjoyed the first five and after I felt it too much. The Grilled Shrimp had a similar sauce on it, buttery with grits and tomato. You get three or four big, jumbo shrimps. Again, unless you are a seafood shrimp maniac, it might get a bit too much.
The service was nice.
I really waited for the “vibe” but perhaps it was because we were too early but I never got to see the “vibe”. Half of the restaurant was empty, and we left the restaurant around 5:30pm. Bad timing, so if you ever want the true vibe go to the one in Greenwich Village at 6pm or after.
Nothing too memorable unfortunately… x
FAVORITE TEA AT THE MOMENT
I’ve discovered a new favorite tea! There are things about one’s “favorites” that becomes a favorite not by trial and error but by an instant attraction to it. Ha! I usually know something is going to be my “favorite” by an instant attraction the first time, then by the second and third I think, “yupp, this is it. You’re on my favorites list!”
Okay, so what’s my new favorite tea at the moment? I told you about my last two favorites, and they still are on my list but I found a newbie. It’s the “Blueberry Green Tea” from The Republic of Tea. I’ve always liked The Republic of Tea because of their famous circular pocketed tea bags. But amongst all of their flavors, I absolutely love the “Blueberry Green Tea”. It smells of blueberries the moment you open the cap and it’s divine. I think what I really like about it is the combo of blueberries, a highly antioxidant fruit in combination with green tea!
Drank it, and loved it so much! And loved it even more when I felt an instant effect of the tea. Those with slight digestive problems or guilt of having eaten too much or just unhealthy food, simply pop one of these tea bags into a lukewarm/hot water and sip it in. You’ll feel your digestive system working out, detoxing, and helping you feel healthy!
Try it for yourselves and tell me if I’m wrong :)
xx
New York City is known for many things, but of one is the amazing burger house/shack called Shake Shack. They have many branches, but the original started in Madison Square Park on 23rd street and the other that I’ve personally been to is the one on 77th street near Central Park, which is indoor.
Okay, they are so…….. good! You know, I don’t even know how to describe how good they are. And their cheese fries and milkshakes are just… (speechless). They are decently priced and if you eat at the one in the park, it’s just so lovely. But be prepared to wait especially long since every time I go, the lines are extremely long. That doesn’t mean though that the food isn’t worth it at all! Everything will be worth the wait for these goodies.
Here are the pictures. I think they’ll speak for themselves :)
I personally love the Shack burger!
Hungry yet?
Lunch at Lupa
Lupa is an Italian Restaurant located in Greenwich Village, right around NYU. I found this restaurant through GOOP and it was the first place I tried out through this app. It recommended the Spaghetti Aglio e Olio, which is spaghetti with olive oil and garlic. First off, I had no clue what half of the things on the menu were but the waiter was nice enough to explain and the menu has a glossary on the back!
We ordered the Spaghetti con Pomodoro (spicy tomato sauce) instead of the olive oil and garlic for preference reasons, and I personally ordered the Spaghetti Alla Carbonara— which is a cream sauce pasta. We also ordered a salad called Mozarella di Bufala which was the only salad that they had with mozarella cheese!
Perhaps it was my lack of experience with “real” Italian food, but I found all three dishes to be too salty for my like! I loved the texture and quality of the pasta and cheese and whatnot, but the sauce itself was too salty. When I complained a bit about the saltiness the waiter explained that it was the cheese’s natural taste, such and such. So, either it was me being an idiot or the food was actually salty!
But he provided us with their bread with olive oil. That was good indeed! I loved the salad the most, then my carbonara, then the con Pomodoro.
For those with real Italian food knowledge, if you ever do try out there, do tell me what you think! xx
Tea gives you a sense of tranquility, being, and healthiness. I’m drinking tea much more than usual and days when I’m feeling icky and coffee is much too strong for my like, I resort to a hot cup of Tropical Green Tea or a Pomegranate Oolong Tea.
These are currently my two favorite teas! Harney & Sons have amazing quality tea, and what I mean by that in my sense of amateur tea-tasting is that 1) the texture of the tea does not leave a bitter taste, 2) the combination of tropical fruits and green tea, or the combination of the pomegranate and oolong is just superb, 3) the smell is delicious and so completely refreshening!
I go for the Pomegranate oolong whenever I’ve eaten oily or heavy food. Oolong does that job of breaking down the oils and helping you digest better. The tropical green tea is just, the smell is so fruity and fresh that you’ll want to grab for it several times a day!
I am a complete coffee lover, but even I would want a nice storage of quality tea that I can brew up any time I’m in the mood— which is quite often nowadays.
Why not take a break from the heavy coffee and try so refreshening tea? xx
Because when the days get warmer, it’s all about Ice Skinny Vanilla Latte for me :)
oh, and Happy Easter everyone!
In a recent TIME magazine article about chocolates, I have been quite made at peace to know that the consumption of chocolate can be very beneficial. It has lifted the guilt of eating them or even wanting to eat them in the first place!
I don’t think I’m too obsessed with chocolates as I have seen many a desperate hopeless chocolate lovers. However, I do have my days when without it, I find no meaning in life.
Okay, that’s overstated but the point is, girls need chocolate sometimes- and when she’s got them when she’s needing them, there’s nothing quite satisfying!
A recent chocolate discovery for me is the Milka Luflee (Alpine Milk) Aerated Chocolate. And this babe is so delicious. It’s aerated so there’s little bubbles in the chocolate giving it a fun smooth texture when chewing and melting that stuff in your mouth!
Yum! So good! They come in milk and white chocolate. I’m not a fan of white, so I’ve got to say the Alpine Milk is the go for this.
SOHO & Greenwich/WEST VILLAGE
Started out on Avenue of Americas to visit C.O. Bigleow, a Greenwich apothecary drugstore that sells anything from beauty products, perfumes, hair products, houseware like candles and tablecloths, real pharmaceutical essentials, and tinklings of jewelry and other miscellanies. It’s a nice drop-by place to pick up what you need and maybe try out new products. What’s catchy about this “drugstore” is that it looks vintage and effortless, but with hidden fineries and high-end products, mixed in with affordable things.
Then I thought, let’s just straddle along mindlessly on the streets of Greenwich village. Walked by boutiques, small space for ten people restaurants, and other gems in this town.
As I walked around, I made a mental note of places I’d like to visit again, especially the restaurants.
My final stop was in SOHO, where all the big brands are positioned all down Broadway. It really is a shopping gem in SOHO! But, what I wanted to get was the famous Rice to Riches rice pudding on Spring St. (That’s me walking back from an all-too-happy purchase!)
They are divine! If you haven’t tried them, you are missing out on way too much. The store’s interior is catchy and definitely reflective of the crazy, vibrant, modernity of Soho with funny signs about weight gain and dieting.
They have about twenty selections of different rice puddings, with an option of several toppings all in four sizes of which after the smallest size you can get a combination of flavors in one platter. Oh, have I mentioned the awesome cool packaging of their puddings and spoon?
My all-time favorites are Understanding Vanilla and I Gotta the Panna Cotta, of which I get in the epic size. They are actually a bit pricey but they take awhile to finish so it’ll be worth it.
