Malls & Meals in Mong Kok • 1 comments • While mass market consumerism encourages a sort of monotonous uniformity, malls themselves are often given character by the people who patronize them, and sometimes by the products and stores. Foreign is always fascinating but the familiarity of being in such a common setting with slight variations has always been appealing to us. These differences might be something as simple as the phenomenon of Engrish which baffles us more today than it did 10 years ago. It’s very likely that google translate won’t convey the intention of a message, but if you’re a business owner who doesn’t have one friend whose native language is English, surely you can find someone on the internet to give you advice before this happens (or maybe their one English speaking friend thought this would be a hilarious prank at the potential expense of this sign maker's livelihood)? But I digress…. We briefly escaped the signal 3 typhoon and traded the streets of Mong Kok for the polished floors in Langham Place. As with all Asian countries we’ve visited, they had the most popular clothing chains and coffee shops. It’s oddly comforting to know that you can be on the other side of the world and find the things you enjoy at home. Who has time to think about cultural assimilation when you’re scoring sweet deals at H&M? We worked up an appetite with our strenuous window-shopping cardio and found a Thai restaurant near the movie theatre. It was our first time eating Larb Gai. We’ve since prepared it at home so many times. Finding new-to-us recipes when we travel is one of our favourite things… even if the discovery is made in a mall food court. Speaking of Engrish, we had dessert while people watching at Awfully Chocolate (which, lived up to its name in that it was very chocolatey… and not dreadful or diabolical at all).
north pole, ny • 5 comments • Did you know that the North Pole is in New York? Me neither. On our way home from the Ice House, we had to follow the signs that said "To Santa's Workshop". Unfortunately, for us, this was back in October and the North Pole wasn't open. Lament. Good thing we don't have kids. Can you imagine driving by these signs and telling children that the North Pole is closed? Check out the website, it's adorable. (Warning: Old time-y Christmas music... I loathe music on websites but if you don't like x-mas songs, you're a monster). I'm in California and will not be having a white Christmas this year, so please visit this place and report back to me! It probably looks a lot more festive now with all of the snow on the east coast. It wasn't all bad news though. We saw a rainbow and the Candyman Homemade Chocolate Shop was open for business so we got our fill of malt balls and fudge. - Mina
churros + chocolate • 25 comments • Churros con chocolate are a popular breakfast food in Malaga. The churros are usually accompanied by a cup of thick Spanish hot chocolate. I found the hot chocolate to be far too thick to drink on it's own - but perfect for dipping. Apparently, it's not uncommon for people in Spain to eat churros throughout the day and late into the evening, as whenever we walked by Casa Aranda, there wasn't one empty seat... and there were a lot of seats. In fact, the entire street is reserved for a restaurant that, by the looks of it, only serves churros, "hot chocolate", and cafe con leche. Every single building on the little road was full of completely occupied tables for this one cafe. The road itself was also so full of tables that it was hard to just walk through let alone grab a seat for ourselves.This was our second time trying churros. The first was in Mexico City where they were sweeter (covered in cinamon and sugar). Since I have a sugar addiction, I preferred those ones and Alex liked the Andalusian version better. Update: Alex has informed me that I am a liar and that he also prefers the "Mexican" churros. I am sure that you guys will forgive me seeing as Alex's churro preference will likely never be of any use to you. -Mina {Christine, thanks so much for the list of churro restaurants!}
serendipity • 23 comments • Remember the 2001 romantic comedy starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale, where they meet serendipitously in New York? Aptly titled, Serendipity, it was a saccharine movie that I kinda loved (don't judge, I was still in high school). Bad reviews aside, it definitely made me want to visit NYC even more and go to some of the places that were featured. Although we couldn't rationalize staying at the Waldorf Astoria, we did make our way to the restaurant that the movie was named after. Known for their frozen hot chocolates, Serendipity in the Upper East Side is always busy and filled with tourists. There was a pretty long wait when we went, so we perused the menu, chatted with other travelers outside, and took photos. We each ordered a frozen hot chocolate. I just searched for the clip from the movie and the drinks don't look as gigantic on film as they did in real life. We really should have shared one ...but it gave us the opportunity to try the original and the peanut butter. I preferred the PB. Brain-freezes and good times ensued.
bye brussels • 10 comments • {a bust in the museum of fine art} We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Brussels. It was a charming city and we are hoping that we'll be able to go back soon to see Magritte's house, have some more waffles, and to explore the rest of Belgium. Some highlights: {the art} {fleurs} {this old lady with bright pink hair} {peculiar vandalism} {these dudes} {chocolate shoppes} {this man dressed as a baby} {waffle and ice cream vans} Later, Brussels.
