Birthday Bites with Hua – Finale

The main reason for New York was to catch Miss Saigon on Broadway.  The last time I saw this musical was in London and New York was the only place showcasing it.  It did not disappoint.  My bestie and I were holding back our tears by the end of the musical.  The actors were incredible with their performance. The soundtrack is a must buy.  Their voices were utterly beautiful and majestic.  We literally sat in the front row and could see the joy, happiness, love, sorrow, pain, sadness and anger displayed by each of the actors.  Their emotions were gut wrenching and tugged on my heart.  It was painstakingly sad but I will say no more and not spoil it just in case you would like to see it.  Lastly, the stage production was astounding.  Each different scene was magnificently staged which provided the ambiance of the time period of the Vietnam War.   I highly recommend it!

Make sure to also head over to Central Park and stroll around the park and take in the beautiful city landscape.  There are walking tours, horse and carriage ride tours, and bike rentals at your disposal.  We ended up walking to the ice rink area.  Yes, people were ice skating with the city skyline in the background.  The city skyline was breathtaking!

Don’t forget to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.  This is definitely a tourist attraction so expect a crowd of people.  For some reason I thought it would only be my friends and I on the Brooklyn Bridge exclusively reserved for us.  I  didn’t mind the crowd after all and quite enjoyed them.  It was nice seeing so many people from different parts of the world.  The Brooklyn Bridge looks over New York’s East River and is about 1.1 miles long.  Make sure to wear comfortable shoes, take in the view and enjoy the walk.

New York is fascinating!  I love the architecture of the buildings, the diverse cultures, people and most of all the food scene!  Korean BBQ was on my list of good eats!  I love grilled pork belly and bulgogi and the many banchans served on the side.  I was super excited to eat at Shila Korean BBQ because of its Captain America shield (grill).  Let’s just admire this beauty and take a moment.

I don’t know if it’s the Captain America shield that made the pork belly and bulgogi so tasting but it was mouth watering. We paired the BBQ with makgeolli, a Korean alcohol sweet beverage.  The kimchi and mung beans grilled on the edge soaked up all of the porky flavor and it was marvelous!  My favorite bachans were the sweet and salty fish cake and steam egg.

I couldn’t end my birthday trip without some more sweets.  Of course, we headed over to the Milk and Cream Cereal Bar.  That’s right! Pair up your favorite cereal and ice cream and go out of town with the toppings!  What I loved the most about this place was the throw back, novelty cereals.  One of my favorite cereals growing up as a kid was Cookie Crisps so I had to try their Cookie Crisp Carnival made of Cookie Crisp, Cookie Dough and Oreos and topped with Cookie Crunches and Cookie Dough.  It was creamy, milky and uber delicious!

If you’ve been reading “Birthday Bites with Hua” then you know I love Korean pastry and coffee shops.  In my opinion it’s not as sweet as American pastry shops hence I get to eat a lot more in one sitting.  And who doesn’t love an afternoon coffee break with some sweets?  You must check out Tous les Jours!  Their roasted coffee is delightful!  O-M-G! You must try their milk bread.  It’s super soft with a hint of sweetness and the texture feels like a soft fluffy cloud in your mouth.

Last but not least, we couldn’t end the trip without some birthday cake.  I’m a fan of the INSIDER’s YouTube channel and they featured Keki’s Modern Cakes.  Their cakes are made fresh and are known to be the bouncy cheesecake.  It’s light and airy and not dense like your normal cheesecake.  My friend Newland ordered two so she could bring one home with her.  Her cheesecake got stopped by TSA.  I wasn’t sure if her cake in the ziplock bag was going to make it on our flight but luckily the TSA in New York were tickled by it and let it through!  They even asked us where they could get it and we offered more recommendations of good eats, especially BBQ Olive Chicken.  I wish I had some Korean deep fried chicken right now.  That wraps up “Birthday Bites with Hua.”  I hope you enjoyed my New York birthday trip.