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New York Visit

I've been back in New York for a week already. How quickly time flies! So far, I'm still keeping up with my daily workouts. Although today, I'm supposed to do arms, but I'm still super sore from my leg day workout that I did on Monday.  I'm thinking I'll do my arm workout tomorrow and count LISS as today. For those of you who don't know, I'm following the BBG program which I'll post a review in about three more weeks.


I'm staying with my parents and I actually have some workout equipment there. I'm borrowing my sister's 8 lb dumb bells and I have an 18 lb kettlebell that I left behind. 

This photo was taken after leg day. Lots of core exercises.

(BBG stands for Bikini Body Guide, which a lot of people find offensive so the new name is Sweat With Kayla which is much better.  LISS stands for Low Intensity Steady State cardio.)


When I'm back in New York, one of the first things I do is visit my hair stylist. I've tried going to new places in Boston and Atlanta but they just can't seem to cut it right. I go to Tops Salon and always ask for Joseph.  He's located in Chinatown and it only cost $30. The places I've been to in Boston and Atlanta charge about $45 and I'm never happy with the results.


Chinatown is the best place for dim sum. Jing Fong is my go to whenever I visit. If you're looking for a super fast meal and have 15 minutes to spare, Big Wong is the place to go. It's a no frills restaurant. Do not expect anything except super fast service. It's fast even by New York City standards. I went with my sister and within 5 minutes of placing our order with the waiter, the food was served. 

Granted we both ordered congee, but it's still amazing to us how fast the food comes out! 


For ice cream lovers, Chinatown Ice Cream Factory is a must. They have exotic flavors like lychee, black sesame, don tot, red bean, ginger and of course green tea which is one of my favorites. It's pretty cold here in New York so I haven't really been in the mood for ice cream. 


This is where I went to learn Chinese when I was a child. I don't really have good memories of this place because I always had this super mean teacher that would hit the back of your hand if you didn't know the right answer. This was back in the 80s and this teacher was straight in from China where that sort of thing was allowed. 


One of the best things about coming back besides seeing all my family and friends is my grandma's cooking. Being away from my grandma is probably the worst thing about moving to Atlanta. She raised me since I was a newborn. The relationship we have is what most mother and daughter relationships would wish for. 


This photo is three photographs in one. The group photo shows my grandma on the right of my father. My father in this photo was four years old. My grandma was in her mid twenties. Maybe around twenty five. The portrait where she's wearing her scarf, was taken in 2003. She was about seventy nine. This photo was taken a few days ago and now she's ninety two or three. I don't know how much longer she'll be around for but I know I'm extremely lucky to have her in my life still.

Grandma's famous noodle soups for lunch.

One night we did hot pot so she didn't have to cook.

Another night I had dinner at my brother's house and we ordered Thai food which is something I haven't found in Atlanta just yet.


This soup is called Tong Yoon. It's only made once a year for winter solstice. Since I moved away, I missed it. I asked my grandma to make it as a special request and she taught me how to make this. There is no recipe written down anywhere, it's all in her head. So I took videos and photos and documented the entire process. I hope to make this when I get back to Atlanta. The balls are hand rolled into the size of a large marble. There are shiitake mushrooms. Lean cuts of pork and chicken. Lots of cabbage with small pieces of dried scallops. It's so good. 


I don't think I've mentioned this but I also love to read. I just finished Stephen King's Mr Mercedes and let me tell you, it's one of the best books I've read in a long time. This book is part of a trilogy and I'm already loving the second book Finders Keepers. 

Smoke and fire at Flushing Main Street.

Today I went to see my dentist for my regular cleaning. I still haven't found new doctor's in Atlanta just yet. On my way home I smelled smoke when the 7 train pulled into Main Street station. Apparently a restaurant was on fire and all the streets around it were blocked off. This of course caused major problems for everybody. The buses were all diverted except no one knew where. I ended up calling my dad to come pick me up and had to walk a bit to try and avoid the traffic but it was pretty futile. This is a really good example of what I don't miss about New York!

On Friday my husband flies into New York just in time for Chinese New Year's Eve dinner. This year it's the year of the Rooster, which is my year! I hope it's a good one. We fly back to Atlanta on Sunday night. The very next day I start my new job. EEEPS! I'm going to enjoy my last few days of freedom and waking up late! 





 Hope you're all having a good week so far!














Comments

  1. Thanks for sharing your trip! I love New York. Your hair looks great! I am currently growing out my fringe so I can cut my hair like that. Your grandma is adorable ☺ enjoy the rest of the time off and happy Chinese new year ��

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much! I'm actually trying to grow my hair out a little bit longer so that I can actually use a straightening iron. It's so short that I can't use anything to fix it when it's flipped out in the back.
      She is super cute! I hope I'm as cute when I'm that old!

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  2. omg Grandma's make the best food :) plus shes adorable! :D Hope you have a good time and Happy Chinese New Year!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! I actually have a ton of pics of all her dishes. Grandma's cooking is the best.

      Delete
  3. Yummy food and your grandma sounds awesome! Still cooking and everything, wow! I read the bill Hodges's trilogy, it's so good! They're making a miniseries from it, I can't wait. Hope it's better adaption than 11/22/63. I'm halfway through The Stand right now, which seems like a "read at least once in your lifetime" book, especially for a Stephen king fan. I love his books, I get excited when I see someone reading anything by him. Disturbjng Twisted parts and all... Brady is one sick man. Lol a hard to forget character for sure

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm not a huge Stephen King fan since I only ready a few of his books, but wow Mr Mercedes blew me away and I'm already almost halfway into Finders Keepers and I can't wait to see how Mr Hodges gets involved with Brady. I almost wish this Jimmy Gold series really existed too so I can read it. haha! I did not know they are making it into a mini series! I hope it's a Netflix show.

      Delete
  4. NYC is my favorite place to visit. I have also been struggling finding a hair stylist who understands my thick, straight, unforgiving Asian hair. I have to give Joseph a try when I am there next. Food looks sooo yummy. It is incredible that your grandma still cooks at her age. She looks amazing! Oh, I am a rooster too =). Happy Chinese New Year and Good Luck in the year of rooster!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Another rooster! Nice! Joseph is really good, just make sure you book an appointment. And he's off on Wednesdays! Happy Chinese New Year!!
      My grandma is the strongest woman I know. Don't know how she does it at 92-93. She's so amazing.

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  5. Sounds like you are having a great time! That picture of your grandma is priceless. I grew up with no GP on both sides of the family (all dead) but my daughter has both sets of GP and one full set of great GP. Now I know how much I missed, I am living vicariously through her eyes. We are having beautiful weather in ATL, welcome back😊

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow you're daughter is very lucky! She must be doted on. I definitely can't wait to get back to the weather in Atlanta! It's cold and windy here. I miss the sun too. It's been raining a lot in NYC.

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  6. Wow you're grandma is amazing!! Thanks for the food recommendations! That ice cream place sounds amazing!

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