Tuesday, January 31, 2012

2012 Hot Chocolate Festival at The City Bakery

Is there a doctor in the house? Specifically one that specializes in chocolate addiction
The best part of winter is of course is heading out of the cold and making a nice warm cup of hot chocolate.  And one of the best places in New York City is The City Bakery. I tend to like their hot chocolate because it's thick and frothy - not to mention they offer giant homemade marshmallows to put into it.

City Bakery knows it has one of the best hot chocolate around, which is why they've created their own Hot Chocolate Festival.

Starting tomorrow, City Bakery offers a special hot chocolate concoction each day for a month (in addition to their regular cups of milk and/or dark chocolate).  Go early for the special flavors, otherwise you'll have to settle for regular. Either way it's a win-win situation (it is chocolate afterall).

I'm looking forward to "Sunken Treasure", "Moulin Rouge", and "Ode to the Polar Bear." How about you?

The City Bakery's Hot Chocolate Festival
February 1st - 29th, 2012
3 18th Street
New York, NY 10011
212-366-1414


Monday, January 23, 2012

"KuaiLe and the Monster Nian"

Dragon Pillar - Jumbo Restaurant, Hong Kong
It's Lunar New Year for anyone of Asian descent. Which often means lots of good food, dancing dragons and lions, and of course, red envelopes. Unlike most holidays Lunar New Year lasts about 15 days. This year is particularly special because it's the year of the Dragon - the only the animal of the zodiac that is not real. Dragons are revered highly in Chinese culture, and use as a symbol of royalty.

During the Lunar New Year there are certain traditions that are send to bring good luck or ward off badluck (i.e. hang up bright red decorations, dress up in red/new clothes, clean the house days before, don't cut your hair, don't say bad things about people, etc.) The origin of these traditions are based of a common mythology of a beast terrorizing people and then people fighting back. There are several variations of this legend, but here was my take on it.

I wrote my take on this myth for a college Children's Literature class a few years ago. Enjoy!

新年快樂!

Monday, January 16, 2012

Cupcake of the Week: It's Automatic.

If you're not cut out to be a baker there's always one of these automatic cupcake makers. Whether these actually work - well you tell me.  Or it could be a nice conversation piece.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Ai Weiwei Sunflower Seeds 1/7 -2/4

Ai Weiwei's Sunflower Seeds in Tate Modern's Turbine Hall in London.
I discovered Ai Weiwei's work while in London at the Tate Modern. I was fascinated by the fact that it was a simple exhibit of porcelain beads painted to look like sunflower seeds.  What was also amazing was that an entire Chinese town in Jingdezhen individually painted all of them.

The original idea was that the exhibit was meant to be walked on, but after a few days the dust it created was declared a health hazard and penned off. Personally while it would've been interested walking along a bed of porcelain, it was still very Zen to look at it.


And now if you head over toe the Mary Boone Gallery in Chelsea, you'll be able to experience it too. While the exhibit in New York won't be as large it will certainly be impressive. 

Ai Weiwei Sunflower Seeds
January 7th - February 4th, 2012
541 W 24th Street
New York, NY 10001

Monday, January 9, 2012

Cupcake of the Week: Eat Just One

Ever worried about bringing a cupcake to work. Invest in one of these. I found this is a local Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Sunday Brunch: Petite Abeille

A place easy to remember by its signature bumblee.
I found this place by searching the best "moules frites" (mussels and fries) in NYC, but that's another story for another time (they were delicious!). Petite Abeille was one of those really popular bistros which you have to wait at least an hour for a table at brunch. It's a Belgian-French bistro with four locations scattered in lower Manhattan.

Monday, January 2, 2012

Cupcake of the Week: Baking Squinkies

Squinkies must be the latest thing nowadays? I found this in a toy aisle at Wal-Mart. Disturbing yet also delicious. Wonder if the shop smells like cupcakes....

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Sunday Brunch : Rose House

Rose House is popular go to place for Lolitas. It's statisfies the hankering for tea and cakes with a decent price without a wait. The waiting part is most important in New York City when everywhere you go there's a waiting list.

Located in the heart of Flushing in the Queens Crossing Mall, it's pretty easy to find - that is if you are familiar with Chinatown's bustling and crowded streets.

While majority Lolitas have found their comfort place to drink English tea and dine on tea cakes and sandwiches, this European style teahouse is a very uncommon in Asian metropolitans. There's a strange fascination with the pseudo-European style in Asian culture. The English teahouse being the most popular to replicate.