1/13-1/15 Weekend Recap

This weekend Jordan and I did some culinary exploring and found two great spots.  One was Zinneken’s in Cambridge and the other is Luna’s Restaurant in East Boston.

Zinneken’s

Zinneken’s is an adorable cafe that specializes in Belgian waffles.  They serve their signature Liege waffle and their a thinner, crispier waffle, the Brussels waffle. They make all of their waffles fresh, and import many of their ingredients from Europe.  I ordered the Oreo Freakin’ Party and was not disappointed.  My waffle came with Oreos, raspberries and a ton of whipped cream, plus a little scoop of ice cream.  The space is intimate and cozy with lights strung around the ceiling and Frank Sinatra playing in the background.  If you’re looking for a cute date spot, I highly recommend Zinneken’s!

Zinneken’s menu.

The Oreo Freakin’ Party.

 Luna’s Restaurant

This brand new spot just opened last Friday.  It specializes in both Latin and Italian dishes, staying true to the cultural background of East Boston.  Jordan and I started with the Tuscan Calamari, I ordered the Luna’s Montañero and Jordan got the Luna’s Airline Chicken.  All three dishes were delicious!  After we finished our meal, the owner and chef came over and introduced themselves, asked our feedback and told us all about the restaurant.  It was obvious that they were excited and took pride in their work; it took them a year and a half to create the menu.  So if you’re in the area stop by Luna’s Restaurant for dinner.

The Tuscan Calamari and Luna’s Montañero.

Smorgasburg

Williamsburg highlights local restaurants with Smorgasburg, it’s weekly food festival. An estimated 10,000 visitors pass through daily, and I don’t blame them because the food is worth it. There are tons of high-quality vendors with unique food options galore. It’s hard not to try them all, but you can only eat so much. So, my friend decided to divide and conquer. To start, we tried Ramen Burger’s Original Burger, Momo Dressing’s Chicken Teriyaki Wrap and Fruit Tea, and Carnal’s Pork Jowl Sandwich.

 

After, we went to Rubyzaar Bakery and ordered Watermelonade, Peanut butter Chocolate Frozen Cheesecake Pop and a homemade Ricecrispy Roll Up. The people working the stand were so sweet and fun, plus the treats were both tasty and refreshing. Ideal for the 95+ degree weather that we were in.

I highly suggest planning a trip to Smorgasburg, your tastebuds will thank you!

Travel/Taste: Bites of Stone Harbor

Stone Harbor is a quiet town towards the tip of New Jersey, known for it’s beautiful beaches.  It’s a typical laid back beach town, but on the higher end.  The houses are beautiful and you can bike for hours admiring them.  Stone Harbor is part of the seven mile island, so everything is easily accessible by foot or bike.

Stone Harbor is filled with delicious food and restaurants, so I chose to write about a few of my favorites.

Farmers Markets:

Be sure to stop by the farmers market on the way onto the island.  There are two, but we usually stop at Clinton Conover Farm Market, it’s the first one you’ll pass.  They sell flowers, condiments and fresh produce and honey.  Their fruits and vegetables always look so lush, and taste just as good.

Sunday’s are another great time for fresh finds.  Stone Harbor hosts a farmers market every Sunday.  The market is located in the center of town on a big lot.  They have fresh produce, flowers, and other great stands like Giass’ Market that sells bacon on a stick.  And like you would imagine, the bacon is phenomenal.

Breakfast:

My favorite place to walk to in the morning is Coffee Talk, an adorable coffee shop/bakery and juice bar.  They have unique coffee flavors like Sugar Cookie or Chocolate Covered Pretzel.  The atmosphere is cozy and comfortable, and if you’re lucky enough to get a spot; a great place to hang out with friends.  Be sure to bring cash because it’s cash only and try to avoid peak hours because this place does get crowded.

If you’re looking for a quick bite or a breakfast treat to bring home, Bread and Cheese Cupboard is a wonderful place for pastries.  The smell alone will lure you in, but once you taste them, you’ll be hooked.  I recommend their sticky buns or crumb buns, they will change your life.

Lunch:

Fred’s Tavern is a casual place that specializes in tasty pub food.  I recommend getting a burger or fish sandwich from there because they do a great job preparing them.  Fred’s also hosts a trivia night during the week.  They’re challenging, but a lot of fun!

If you’re craving a mid-day Margherita, Buckets is the place for you.  They specialize in small, Mexican dishes and refreshing margaritas.  They are on the bay, so you can still get sunshine and a view while eating.  Below is the cucumber jalapeño margarita, it is delicious.

Peace A Pizza is just as  eclectic as it’s name.  This pizza joint has dozens of unique toppings that you have to try, like Bacon Cheeseburger.

Dinner:

If you’re looking for a hidden gem, Ristorante Lucciano is it, their homemade Italian recipes are out of this world.  Their menu consists of dishes passed down from generations.  The food is always made to order with the highest quality ingredients.  It’s BYOB, so bring a nice bottle of wine and enjoy, everything on the menu is good.

Quahog’s is another casual spot for tacos and seafood.  Their menu consists of fresh seafood and, like you guessed Quahogs. Their hours are short, so try to get there right at 5 when they open because it gets crowded quickly .

The Windrift Beach Bar is great for modern fare; it’s a popular beach bar known for it’s sushi and American dishes.  It’s located in the more casual second floor of the building and boasts beautiful views of the ocean.  If you’re looking for food and nightlife, this is a great spot because they have live bands play weekly.  Posted below is my sister and I enjoying a cocktail there, in addition to their Island Sushi Roll with Seaweed Salad (my favorite).

A great new spot in town is The Watering Hull.  It’s nestled between the shops in town, and located on the second floor.  The atmosphere is beachy-chic and is totally open to the elements.  It specializes in fresh seafood, but also has some delicious cocktails.  It’s great for nightlife and has a DJ during the weekend.  Below was the Snapper Special, it tastes as good as it looks.

 

Let me know what you think, or if there are any you would recommend!

xo,

Amy

 

 

City Style

I spent the day exploring the South End of Back Bay.  It was a great day to walk around the city because the weather was so nice.  I kept my outfit simple and comfortable to make sure I was ready for anything.

  On the way to brunch at Five Horses!

 I got their brunch burger.

One of the pictures I took while exploring the city.  The architecture in Boston is beautiful!

This picture was taken in the Boston Public Library.  I can’t believe I’ve never been here before! It is such a beautiful building, the interior has is full of historic decor.

  This is the base of my outfit.  A turtleneck from Nordstrom BP, under a leather jacket by Bar3, denim and leopard belt from JCrew, bag from LF, and shoes from Lord and Taylor and by Sam Edelman.  The cuccoon coat I wore over the look is also from JCrew.

Whenever I am in the city, I like to wear simple outfits that easily transition from day to night.  I never know where I’ll end up, so I like my outfits to feel put together.

-Amy

Travel Tuesday: Beijing Day 2, Last Day

The last full day in Beijing was filled with sight seeing and traveling.  We visited historic landmarks and learned a lot about the city and it’s culture.

Tiananmen Square

 

The Forbidden City

In order to enter The Forbidden City, we had to go through 9 gates.

The inside of each area was massive and full of people.

Within different sections of The Forbidden City there were buildings where the emperor would do his work.  There were thrones in most of them and this was one of the pictures I took.

This Rock Wall was built entirely of different sections of river rocks.  The rocks were stacked together so that the formation looked natural.

Lunch on the way to The Great Wall

This was the lunch we had, sautéed eggplant, chicken and vegetables and rice.

In the beginning section of The Great Wall, there were different venders and restaurants.  I saw these two dogs walking around the grounds begging for scraps of food.

My dad and I on the chair lifts to The Great Wall.

This is the view from the chairlifts.

All of us on The Great Wall.

The view of the wall.  The stairs were extremely narrow and close together.

This was the view from the top of one of the guard towers.

  We tobogganed down to the ground from the wall.  It was a long and curvy ride, but extremely fun!

On the drive back we found out that the smog conditions were hazardous.  The air was noticeably foggy smoggy and had a yellow tint to it.

 This was my accessory for the evening.

Before dinner, my dad and I had some Honey Grapefruit Tea and it was delicious!

This was my dinner outfit.  A Zara button down with JCrew denim, Urban Outfitter sweater wrapped around my waist and Audrey Brooke pointed toe heels from DSW.  This was a simple, but polished look that took many of my go-to’s from my travel wardrobe.

Hot Pot

For dinner we went to Hot Pot which is a popular Chinese style dinner.  The dinner starts with a choice of broth/soup, then meat and vegetables.

This was my steaming broth, and beef form New Zealand.

Hot pot is similar to fondu, but it cooks the meat and vegetables instead of adding a sauce to them.  The flavor is very clean!

These were the meats we chose.

The next morning we prepared for our long trip back to the US.

This was an interesting piece of art outside my window.  The distorted color of the picture is because of the smog.

This was my travel outfit for the day.  A Leith white button down underneath an Urban Outfitters sweater paired with Lululemon leggings and Baila creepers.  The cross body was a souvenir from a local market.

This is the shopping center that we went to before leaving for the airpot.  It is a huge mall filled with kiosk stores with different items to buy.

We left after shopping.

The flight took 12 hours and flew by, maybe because I slept a lot of it.

Looking back, I am amazed by all that I was able to accomplish.  I saw Tokyo, Shanghai, and Beijing in a week and experienced their culture first hand.  I saw historic landmarks, tasted my way through the towns and got to know some of the local people.  Asia is a truly beautiful country and I hope to visit again soon.

-Amy

Shanghai: Yu Garden, Dali Exhibit and Street Shopping

In the morning, there was a large itinerary planned out from morning until evening.  I was able to pick what I wanted to do during the day, so the focus was on exploring the local sites in the west side of the city.

This was the bridge that connects the east and west side of the city.

The most noticeable difference between the East and West side is the architecture.  The buildings on the west side are much older and more traditional.

This was the inside of a large market place that lead into the Yu Garden.

On the inner part of the market place, there was a large pond with coy fish.  It was a beautiful setting.

This is a panorama view of the inner market place.

The Yu Garden

The tour touched on the idea of beauty during the early Chinese times.  Water, decoration and a winding layout were considered beautiful during the time that the garden was built.

The garden had many different sections, one more beautiful than the last.  The buildings were made with extreme attention to detail, nothing was left untouched.

Traditional Chinese roofs lifted up and pointed towards the sky.  They also had many decorative sculptures sitting atop them to guard the house.

The buildings were put together without any nails, so the roof had to carefully fit together.  The builders did this by having notches that the wood would fit into holes and lay one on top of the other.

In China, the dragon is the most powerful figure, so it is shown in many parts of the house.  This particular detail is the dragon as the wall.  The dragon’s head is on the left and the wall is it’s body.

Here I am on a bridge over a coy pond.  This is in yet another section of the garden.

If you want to see the full layout, check out this map (the bottom right is the garden):

After the garden we went back to the market place.

French Section of Shanghai

In this small section of Shanghai, the architecture is heavily influenced by the French.  Here you can see the contrast between the buildings.

We came here for lunch and ordered a western lunch.  I got pumpkin soup with tea.

Dali Exhibit

The exhibit was held in the basement of a mall.  The mall consisted of high end stores decorated in contemporary art and design.

The outside of the mall had a Dali replica and metallic ants.

The exterior of the mall.

Dali Vogue cover.

Two original paintings by Dali.

Here is a replica of one of Dali’s pieces.  In order to see it, I had to climb stairs and look through a magnifying glass.

This look was another layering look.  I wore a Zara striped button down under a blue Trouve sweater from Nordstrom.  I paired it with black metallic jeans from JCrew and Nike sneakers.  I wore a JCrew jacket and handmade metallic bag to top the look off.

This look proved to be comfortable and versatile.  The button down added warmth and a pop of pattern against the blue sweater.

Local Shops

This was the entrance to the local shops; mopeds and bikes lined the walls.  Above the entrance was a screen showing how many people were inside at a time.  When we went in, the number was 2,300 and by the time we left it was cut in half.

Umbrellas hung above one of the walk ways adding pops of color and relief from the short rain shower.

The shops ranged from trinkets to clothing and everything in between.  I bought a bag, two shirts and some accessories.

 Here I am in front of the shops.

Traditional Shanghai Dinner

Once the busy day was over, I met my dad at a business dinner with 6 other people.  The table was filled with many different bites.

 

This picture shows small pieces of rib on the left and a large piece of curry spiced pork on the right.

This picture shoes dumplings on the left, vegetables and in front meat layered with vegetables and spicy dipping sauce.

My dad and I and our friend Joe, the feast that we tried.  Yum!

Shanghai’s food is known for it’s sweet and spicy flavors, so many of the dishes were spicy and sweet.

Our dessert was these adorable panda bear treats.  They consisted of sticky rice filled with an orange and covered in chocolate.  They were so good!

This concludes my first day in Shanghai!