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| Shot on iPhone 6S |
You might be asking yourself...besides Halal Guys, what other foods should I experience in NYC? Well, I've got the answers for you in today's post.
Sometimes pictures are better than words. Today's post will be full of food pictures that will speak for themselves. This is an accumulation of my past 3 trips to NYC (and only the best made it to this list). Since I prefer sweet over savory, we'll begin our hipster food journey through sweet, then savory and, finally, drinks. ;)
(Some photos are shot on Canon 70D DSLR, but most are shot on iPhone 6S/7 Plus because #convenience.)
SWEET
- Taiyaki NYC - I tried one of their favorites, Straight Outta Japan, which consists of matcha & black sesame swirl soft serve in a fresh hot taiyaki cone (red bean-filled fish cake). It's the perfect after-dinner dessert.
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| Straight Outta Japan |
- Cha-An - This place is classy and beautiful. Great for catchup dates! You'll find lots of pretty Japanese desserts here. I tried the hojicha anmitsu (hojicha ice cream with mochi, red bean and tea jelly). The hojicha ice cream is on point. I can't wait to come back and try all their other gorgeous desserts.
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| Hojicha Anmitsu |
- Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream - Unique flavors, like black sesame/ash/chocolate cake and passion fruit layer cake, made with natural and high-quality ingredients that you can taste.
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| Vegan Cookie Crumble Strawberry Jam |
- Bar Pa Tea - Hellaaa good. Strong tea flavors in both the soft serve and latte. 10/10 would come back here with every visit to NYC.
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| Black and Oolong Tea Swirl Soft Serve w/ Small Bubbles + Matcha Latte w/ Small Bubbles |
- Soft Swerve - Ube on top and black sesame on bottom. Both are excellent. Mochi + wafer cookie = cherry on top.
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| Ube and Black Sesame Soft Swerve |
- Stax Ice Cream - Unique ice cream flavors that you can't find anywhere else in NYC (except probably at Chinatown Ice Cream factory--more below). Earl Grey was my favorite.
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| Earl Grey and Jasmine Milk Tea Ice Cream |
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| Black Sesame and Toasted Almond |
- Morgenstern's Finest Ice Cream - Unique ice cream flavors, but most importantly, BLACK COCONUT ASH. Not only is it damn good, but it will also make your mouth black. WOO! :D
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| Black Coconut Ash |
- Maison Kayser - Get the almond croissant! It is soooooo gooood. This chain is all over Manhattan.
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| Almond Croissant |
- Snowdays - Fluffy shaved ice + fresh toppings + cute cup?! This place has high-quality stuff! They have five stores: East Village, West Village, Flushing, Forest Hills, Brooklyn.
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| Green Tea Shaved Ice with Mochi, Strawberry Slices and Strawberry Drizzle |
- Mango Mango Dessert - You need to get your butt in this shop ASAP. This mango dessert thing is off-the-charts good! Chewy mochi balls and fresh mango pieces on top of frozen mango juice with a scoop of heavenly mango ice cream smack-dab in the middle?! YAAAS.
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| Mango Juice with Glutinous Rice Balls & Ice Cream |
- Takahachi Bakery - Cute little Japanese bakery shop with tons of baked goodies! My favorite items here are the soy matcha latte and mochi an pan (matcha-dusted bun filled with red bean and mochi). Make sure to eat your mochi an pan warm because, if it's not, your mochi will be hard (I learned this the hard way as I tried to enjoy my mochi an pan at the airport and the mochi wasn't chewy anymore T__T).
SAVORY
- Nakamura - OMG. The creamy tonkatsu ramen is AMAZING. It's equal to or better than Ippudo ramen. Plus, you don't have to wait forever to get your meal (*cough* Ippudo) and water is served in cute beaker glasses! (Ignore the other non-creamy ramen. It wasn't that great.)
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| Tonkatsu Ramen (bottom of pic) |
- Basta Pasta - Cheese wheel pasta?! It's rich with parmesan-y pasta goodness. Thanks Lily for introducing this to me and thanks Liz for coming to try it with me! :)
- Bep Ga - If pho ga could have a millennial vibe, this is it. The pho is light yet rich in herbs and spices. Yum!!! Definitely a hole in the wall you need to check out.
- Five Senses - The Aumnim Dae Gu Maewoon Tang (mother's favorite spicy boneless fresh black cod soup) is what you need to get here. I'm not someone who usually orders fish soups, but holy cow, this soup was lit. The Yangnyeom Galbi was also great!
- The MasalaWala - Phenomenal Indian food + service (and I've eaten a lot of Indian food in my life). For my extended MasalaWala story, check out my jambalaya post. Don't ask for Indian Spicy unless you can handle the hottest stuff on the planet.
- Sushi Nakazawa - High-end and fancy, but wow, freshest sushi I've ever had. This is a once-in-a-lifetime type of deal (because you'll be crying at your wallet after). For me, the otoro (the fattest part of the tuna) was the most memorable. Must reserve 1 month in advance.
- Cheeky Sandwiches - Tasty po' boy sandwiches! The cashier even hooked us up with free ben-yays! :)
- Bluestone Lane - This chain is all over Manhattan, so you'll easily find it. The Aussie Iced Latte is where it's at (psst...they add a scoop of vanilla ice cream ;)). Also, they have a solid avocado toast - make sure you add an egg.
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| Spicy Beef Hand-Pulled Noodle Soup. (Sorry, I can't recall the restaurant name!) |
- Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao - WOW. Best xiao long bao I've had outside of Shanghai (not exaggerating). Lots of soup will come out of your dumpling, so make sure you have your soup spoon ready - you don't want to lose any of it! And, the scallion pancakes were fried to crispy perfection.
DRINKS
- Coffee Project New York - Nicest barista I've ever had in a coffee shop. I ordered the deconstructed latte and she explained every piece of it to me with patience and a smile. For $7, you get: 1) one shot of espresso 2) one shot milk - pasteurized at a lower temperature for a longer period of time to taste similar to raw milk 3) latte with a waffle cookie. You'll also get a small cup of sparkling water to cleanse your palate before you start tasting your deconstructed latte. Worth every penny!!
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| Deconstructed Latte |
- 5ive Spice - Dying from tiredness? You need to get this sweet and creamy Vietnamese iced coffee that is SUPER SUPER strong. They also have a very dope *hidden* bathroom.
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| Vietnamese Iced Coffee |
- Matcha Cafe Wabi - Cute, little hidden gem in East Village. They have a variety of matcha green tea drinks, but when I saw black sesame + soybean, I had to get that! I never had macadamia nut milk before this place, so the barista gave me a sample and it was slightly sweet, nutty, creamy gooooood. This place is a must try for every matcha and black sesame lover out there!
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| Goma Kinako (Black Sesame & Soybean) Latte |
- Boba Guys - We have this in the SF Bay Area, but I had to put this on here because Boba Guys is always good. I never had oat milk before this, so the barista gave me a sample. Oat milk has a very light flavor of oats and the consistency is thin like water/almond milk. My jasmine oat milk tea was a great mid-day boost.
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| Jasmine Oat Milk Tea w/ Boba |
- Grace Street - If you like lattes, pat bing soos (Korean shaved ice) and a big space to hangout with friends, you need to come here! I tried the coconut ube latte, which was slightly sweet & creamy and packed with yummy coconut & ube flavors.
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| Coconut Ube Iced Latte |
ALCOHOLIC DRINKS
- Verlaine - $6 lychee martinis, sangrias and more from 5 pm to 10 pm everyday.
- Apothéke - This speakeasy takes on an apothecary theme. The bartenders are dressed as pharmacists. How dope is that?! The Sitting Buddha was very delicious with fresh cilantro, ginger and lime.
- Botanic Lab - Small, cute and cozy speakeasy. Bartender is very entertaining here. Ask for the matcha whiskey!
- Top Hops - Huge selection of beer on tap and in their cold cases. Very cool place to chill and free pretzels!
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| Top Hops |
BONUS: LOCATIONS
- Nintendo - Let your inner gamer out and play with the latest Nintendo products to your heart's content (or until you feel bad for hogging).
- Koneko - Cat cafe!!! Lots of cute nekos to play with. Must reserve tickets to visit the cattery in advance. You can usually book it day of or one day before. $20 for 1 hour.
- National September 11 Memorial Museum - This is a must-visit, but prepare yourself for a heavy day ahead. This is a beautifully done and thought out memorial. I was very young when this tragic event happened, but coming here and learning the details of the event touched my heart deeply. My thoughts go out to all of the victims, survivors, first responders and family and friends of the deceased.
- Washington Square Park - Best park in Manhattan IMO. Great place to just chill. Lots of awesome street performers!
- Top of the Rock - Awesome view of the Empire State Building. Better than going up the ESB since you can actually see it.
- 9/11 Memorial - A must-see while in NYC. Words can't describe how powerful this place is.
- Chinatown - Cheap produce, cheap food, cheap touristy goods. Yaaaaaaas~
I hope you enjoyed my curated post on the most hipster food spots in NYC. Honestly, this is just a taste of the city that never sleeps. There's an endless amount of things to do here! I can't wait for my next visit! :)
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