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Road trip to New York City

An important PSA:

The devastation of Hurricane Sandy is still fresh in mind. There’s still no electricity, food, fuel for many. And for some, lost of loved ones and homes.

As a community, we have to come together during thick and thin. This is where, every small contribution would be a step towards rebuilding lives once again.

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I’ve done quite a few travels this past two months and have been struggling with time to blog about everything. This post is to cover our August trip to NYC and then would follow an adventurous trip to Chicago and Los Angeles.

Phew! I hope we’d be in one piece by the time we return to Orlando.

You know how big of a cheese-ball I am when it comes to anything and everything that is remotely related to New York City.

Right?

This is the place that I’m willing to withstand hours upon hours of road tripping with the Husband.

No complains whatsoever.

Speaking of road trip — anything that falls below 1 hour of driving doesn’t count as a road-trip in my opinion. And just so you know, most of the photos here were taken from iphone. Don’t tell me you weren’t warned 😀

A major set back of road-tripping to NYC all the way from Orlando is TIME. I mean, how am I suppose to withstand hours and hours of driving without countless time check?

Enter’s manicure and license plate game. You’d never know what personalized license tag you might come across on the road. Just make sure your camera is on standby.

Know your maps.

Be familiar with the states that you are crossing in your journey. Your husband would thank you for NOT annoying him with endless questioning, “are we there yet? how much longer? have we crossed? why is it taking so long?”

And when you arrived at your destination — all tired and weary– toast it with a nice glass of champagne and a warm dinner with friends. Best way to erase tiredness from a very long journey.

Wake up the next day and begin exploring the BIG APPLE. Did I say, bright and early?

With a list of must-see, must-eat, and must-experience — go all out to experience what New York City has to offer.

And this time around, our trip was all about good eats!

And it all started at The Meatball Shop.

Located at a few locations around New York City, what’s not to love a meatball shop that opens at noon and closes in the AM?

If you’ve never tasted meatballs before, this is the place I would personally recommend as a start. There’s nothing complicated about the menu — and to top if off? It offers chicken meatballs!!

Bet you sensed the excitement here.

I opted for Everything but the Kitchen Sink Salad, with 3 chicken meatballs topped with mushroom gravy and served with seasonal veggies.

Rookie mistake.

Always.. always.. go for classic tomato sauce, at least for the very first taste.

Don’t get me wrong. The mushroom gravy was so delicious. Perhaps much more appropriate at your Thanksgiving table. But on a meatball, go for the tomato sauce.

You’ll thank me later 🙂

Since meatballs are traditionally made with combinations of pork, beefs and different cuts of meats, this definitely was a winner.

The Husband did good on his order, that also included a chicken meatball slider. Oh so good, that I forgot to take a photo. Well, there’s only so much you can do in the midst of stuffing your face.

Let’s move onto sweets. And while in New York City, it’s definitely a MUST to indulge in sweets!

There’s nothing better than macarons in my opinion. If you haven’t tried it, Bouchon Bakery would be the best place to devour this French delicate and delight pastry. Our favorite flavor was definitely pistachio. It’s hard to like a dessert that is made with pistachio and this one kicks the ball out of the park.

Seriously too good.

Mmmmm…. just writing about it has me salivating.

 

New York is also very famous for street foods. From carts to food trucks — each one offers different palates to choose from, considering the diversity of its population.

After a quick search on Yelp, we decided to try the well known Biryani Cart. Located at 46th St and 6th Ave, Biryani Cart offers whiffs of delicious aroma that entices many to make a beeline for its menu.

We ordered a chicken biryani and a chicken kati roll to share. The atmosphere was nostalgic as to how street foods are commonly devoured on the streets of Malaysia and India.

Everything was mouth-wateringly delicious! Including the biryani, which yet again, is without a photo.

Well, a girl has to eat 🙂

Some of the eateries featured here may or may not be from a high-end New York City restaurant, but we definitely enjoyed delicious morsels and are looking forward for more eating adventures in the future.

I just had to end this post with the photo below. No pun intended. And always… always have a camera ready to capture moments as such 😉

Next up: Chicago. And this, I can’t wait to share!!

Do you love road-trips? Are you a meatball fan? What is your favorite eatery in New York City?

 

{ 19 comments }

1 Angela November 13, 2012 at 10:47 AM

Mmmmmmm….now I am hungry! Beautiful photos.
Angela recently posted..Support for Sandy Blogger Event: Green Beans with Sherried Mushrooms and Fried Shallots

2 Chung-Ah | Damn Delicious November 13, 2012 at 11:31 AM

Wow, it looks like you had such a wonderful time! I actually grew up in NY but haven’t been back in over a decade. But seeing these photos really makes me want to go back there!
Chung-Ah | Damn Delicious recently posted..Gourmet Garden Review and a Giveaway!

3 Jen L | Tartine and Apron Strings November 14, 2012 at 12:55 AM

I <3 NYC!!! Thanks for sharing your food shots! Nom-nom-nom…
Jen L | Tartine and Apron Strings recently posted..Curried Shrimps with Yuzu-Scented Turmeric Rice

4 carolinaheartstrings November 14, 2012 at 5:56 PM

Love this post! Your take great pics.

5 Bikramjit Singh Mann November 16, 2012 at 5:13 AM

EXcelllent.. . yes I love road trips .. next time take me with you.. I promise to be quiet and not say a word 🙂
Bikramjit Singh Mann recently posted..The night Before and After

6 Marta @ What should I eat for breakfast today November 20, 2012 at 5:48 AM

Looks like a great trip, and all this food 🙂 And you’re right, even a small thing helps.
Marta @ What should I eat for breakfast today recently posted..Goat cheese almonds and roasted grapes bruschette

7 ChopinandMysaucepan December 1, 2012 at 5:29 PM

Dear Kiran,

I love a good home-made meatballs. I take your word for that biryani and that is another dish I love to cook at home with extra raisins and cashew nuts. The food trucks have hit Sydney streets now … finally! 🙂

8 Llabona December 10, 2012 at 2:10 PM

Looks like you had a pretty amazing time in New York. I recently went there and also visited the meatball shop. I have to agree that it was fantastic. I’d go back to New York, just for the meatballs!
Llabona recently posted..Rotating Child Custody

9 Monica March 21, 2013 at 8:22 AM

Hi! What a lovely blog you have here. I *love* Bouchon Bakery – their macarons are especially perfect, aren’t they?! : )

10 Shumaila April 7, 2013 at 10:30 PM

I am so jealous of you!! I love NYC! Your iPhone photographs are fun! Love the ring! 🙂 Next time I am in NYC will go to the meatball place, sounds delish!
Shumaila recently posted..March Daring Bakers’ Challenge

11 Ash- foodfashionparty@blogspot.com May 12, 2013 at 11:28 AM

NYC-BEAUTY captured…
love the french macaroons..
Ash- foodfashionparty@blogspot.com recently posted..BREAD – slighly spiced up.

12 rika@veganmiam.com August 14, 2013 at 9:40 AM

Thanks for stopping by! Looks like you had a great feast in NYC. I haven’t been there for ages. Nice to know that you’re also from Malaysia, I was there a few times and loved the vegetarian foods there.

13 Anil August 18, 2013 at 1:23 PM

I wonder if people really attempt to live up to the labels they give themselves on their vehicles, like the one with ‘I’m Crazy’?

Nice pictures. Has ‘On the Road’ stamped all over them.
Anil recently posted..The Keeper Of Memories

14 Denise Browning@From Brazil To You October 1, 2013 at 6:42 PM

I am glad that you had such fun in NYC, Kiran! I love all the pics, especially yours and the ring one. I am crazy over jewelry and your ring is absolutely gorgeous!
Denise Browning@From Brazil To You recently posted..Brazilian Cheese Rolls with Kalamata, Basil, and Feta…Get Yours!

15 Sophie February 8, 2014 at 3:28 AM

What a great & fun roasdtip to New York, lucky you! 🙂 We also have a famous young chef in Belgium, who has many restaurants were meatballs are the main ingredient! His restaurant is called Balls & glory! Ha!

Great & fun pics! We can only dream about great food trucks! deep sigh! 🙁
Sophie recently posted..Vegan GF veggie tofu scramble and my favourite foodie product of the month!

16 Syam March 6, 2014 at 1:11 AM

lovely post. Nice picts too.

17 Anna Johnston June 12, 2014 at 8:43 AM

Love road trips, something about being on the road, I always have wonderful ideas when I am on the road. Hmmm… Jamie Oliver just released a range of easy to cook meals, one of them being meatballs, holy bajinkas they are tasty. So yep, Im a fan of meatballs. I’ve never been to NYC, I am sooooo jealous. NYC is top of my travel bucket list. BOOM, you are living my dream. It seems like such an amazing city, the food, the culture, the fashion… All of it!
Thanks for sharing, your pics are cool. Looking forward to following your adventures and reading your other posts too. 🙂
Anna Johnston recently posted..Like a Meerkat that got the Cream

18 shreya November 24, 2014 at 11:58 PM

The article is just splendid. The road trip including the delicious food snaps. I just loved it. Thank u for sharing your road trip experience. keep posting with lots more.

19 Smitha Haridasan June 7, 2016 at 11:12 AM

Great trip and seems you enjoyed well. Meatballs again. We just finished a bowl of meatballs and you show a diff version of meatball recipe. Still drooling over
Smitha Haridasan recently posted..Spaghetti aglio e olio – Quick weeknight Dinner

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