My sister and I slept better last night than the night before. All that walking tired us out for sure! We finally got out of our hotel at like 11am ish to go eat some Chinese food in Chinatown. It was both of our first times in Chinatown. We watched some YouTube videos on cheap yummy eats in Chinatown to get an idea of where to go.

First we went to Shu Jiao Fuzhou to get some yummy dumplings. They’re known for very cheap yet good dumplings.

We got Pork and chive dumplings (10) for only $4!!! That is insanely cheap!!! It was good too! They provided soy sauce, vinegar and chili oil to dip with. Service came out fast too!

Wonton soup and Beef tripe soup were only $2.75 each!!! Our breakfast from here alone was just less than $10 between the two of us. Soooo cheap! The broth was good too! Wontons we’re teeny, tiny. I can barely get a taste of the meat before it was all gone in my mouth. The tripe was plentiful and good.

Then we immediately walked on over to Wah Fung No 1 where there was a short line right outside. They’re known for their pork over rice.

We shared the Roast pork, duck and chicken on a small rice ($5.75). The pork was very good and sweet. The duck was delicious. Even the chicken was good! They poured extra sauce over our rice bowl and it even came with basic boiled vegetables.

Afterwards, we hiked a little bit north to Coffee Project to try the very hipster deconstructed lattes.

From left to right, espresso, whole milk, latte, sparkling water, waffle cookie. The espresso shot was very strong and bitter. I personally did not like it. I did enjoy washing it down with the frothy milk afterwards. Then we were supposed to dip on our regular lattes and each sip is supposed to enhance a new or further more of the espresso. I think the sparkling water and waffle cookie is for hydration and fun snacking. It was a fun novelty we enjoyed doing once but will never do again. For the gram! Haha

Then we explored Little Island and the Albertine Bookstore. Little Island is a new floating park built over the ocean in 2013. It was a cute and short walk around the park. Truc just wanted to do the Albertine for the pretty blue star ceiling made of velvet.

We did a little walk across Central Park and then visited a smaller location for the famous Levain Bakery cookie! Truc never tried. She had the walnut chocolate chip cookie and I had the two chip chocolate chip cookie. The last time I was here they only had four types of cookies but now I see this new fifth type! Must be extra chocolate chips in it! It was warm, slightly crispy on the outside and just this full thickness of warm, doughy and soft gooey cookie dough with melted chocolate chips. It was sooooo good. Just as good as I remembered!

Then we took the subway back south to stop by Stick With Me for some special truffle chocolates for me to take home and for us to snack on tonight! I got a box of 12 truffles for Vince and me that came in a cute little box that looks like a book! How adorable! They even gave us two free truffles to sample! So nice of them! I’m so excited for these truffles! I’ve been wanting to try them for years but each time I’m in New York, it’s out of the way! Yay!

Each truffle I’ve tried so far did not disappoint. It was so good. There was a nice thin chocolate shell with a very soft interior. Worth $3.40 per truffle! From what I’ve tried (which is not all), black sesame, PB&J and pistachio stand out..

And yesss finally for dinner with a reservation for 2 is our Au Cheval at 6pm. My long awaited return to Au Cheval (not Chicago location though) and I will finally order my own cheeseburger!!!!!! It is just as good as I remembered and dreamed of.

I forgot to take a picture of the front of the entrance!!

Hemingway Punch. El dorado rum, grapefruit, lime. Sweet and tangy. Very strong on alcohol. I was already buzzed from 1/4 of my drink. My low tolerance.. Sad sad.

The fries were served really hot, crispy and soft on the inside. The garlic aioli was light and creamy. These were $12 if they weren’t for free!!

Classic Au Cheval Cheeseburger. Very delicious savory medium double Pattie’s with delicious cheese. The white sauce is so good. The pickles on pickles and diced raw onions.. the sunny side up egg! The runny egg yolk tied the burger together to deliver such a decadent and flavorful cheeseburger.

There is a nice bustling ambiance in the background.. The open kitchen concept gives the aroma of delicious cheese and Pattie’s everywhere.. and of course little sister as good company!

And now we’re going to end our night lounging in our hotel room, drinking hot tea and enjoying our truffle chocolates.

DAY 4 — I forgot my camera for our last meal and my phone pictures won’t upload onto WordPress..

This morning we woke up to our last day in New York. It wasn’t even a full day. Even though our flight doesn’t leave until 6pm, we didn’t have much planned because we had wheeled carry-on luggage that we did not want to lunge around in the subways and stairs and streets.

The rain stopped. Most of the snow melted The sun was out. But it felt even more cold! Maybe it was because we didn’t double layer to anticipate for the airport and plane ride.

When we checked out, we were greeted by one of the hosts named Randy. He offered to keep an eye on our luggage for us while we ate lunch. He also gave us a little bit of the building history. He was very friendly, kind and personable. BUT I FORGOT MY CAMERA!!!

We made a short walk to Xi’an Famous Foods in Chinatown. I’ve never heard of this place before but my sister said she went last time and it was very good. She knew exactly what she wanted to order.

Spicy cumin lamb hand-ripped noodles. The noodles are super fat! They were hand made noodles! Our order was made fresh to order so we waited a little bit even though we were the first customers there. The noodles were wide and slightly dough-y. They were chewy and soft. The spicy cumin sauce also had chili oil which definitely enhanced the dry noodle experience. Lamb was tender and plentiful. There was also some cabbage and onions which I avoided.

Spicy & sour lamb dumplings. These were so bomb! It came in an order of 6 dumplings, but Truc took one before waiting for me to take a picture. The dumpling shell was thick but there was a lot of filling. I loved that they were generous with the sauce. Meat was sooo tender and flavorful.

We tried to walk to a couple of coffee shops but none of them had indoor seating! We gave up and went back to our hotel to get our luggage. Randy returned our luggage for us, offered to find us a cheaper ride alternative to the airport and even walked us out to our Uber car. He said, “I need to make sure you girls get into the right car and safe. I am a father too.” That was very nice of him! I will never forget!

There was some traffic to the airport because there was a car accident. We kinda fell asleep for a bit. Our hand warmers flagged the security but we made it through!

We arrived to Alaska Lounge 4 hours before our flight. At first the host couldn’t let us in because my Priority Pass would only allow entry 2hr before flight departure, but since the lounge was empty, he made an exception for us. Thank you!!!!

This lounge is nice!! There was a lot of brown leather sofas with the stitching design that reminds me of Restoration Hardware. I know Vince would love this!

There is a “full bar.” As full as it can get for a lounge providing free alcohol. Plenty of comfortable seats. A pancake maker machine! Starbucks coffee! A little coffee barista bar! Salad and dessert bar! Yay! I’m so happy I finally get to show Truc a nice lounge after her first experience with a crappy one in Maui.