Ferragamo L'Icona

Patience is not my biggest virtue. So it should surprise you (and me) that I waited over 2 months to receive shoes I ordered for my birthday.  

I was a woman on a mission as soon as I found out in May, about customisable Ferragamo Varas. In the age of sexy Louboutins, Ferragamos may be considered a little old-fashioned and conservative for some, but they are fantastic for work (alas never seen on the blog since they live permanently in the office). I rarely buy designer shoes at full price but being able to put my own spin to a pair of classics - from the bow and heel colour to the choice of hardware - was a good enough reason to break that streak. But who am I kidding, it's more likely because I tend to lose all sense of self-control when it comes to birthday shopping.

Therefore, I seek forgiveness twofold: firstly, because I am still talking about the day I turned a year older. But most importantly because this post is nothing more than a showing off of these new lovelies:

Mara Hoffman to the Met

We have more visitors from Australia in town, so last week we ventured out to the Met Museum. First stop: the Punk: Chaos to Couture exhibit. This installation is not quite the crowd pleaser like past Costume Institute showings but still interesting nevertheless, and an obvious testament that everything, everywhere can inspire fashion fashion and style.

I mean, my choice of music is far from the likes of Sex Pistols or The Ramones but teenage me must have been influenced by the genre somehow - the tank top I DIY-ed with a ton of safety pins at 15 was an subconscious artistic interpretation of punk for sure?

Ippudo and Maxi Skirts

If you follow me on Instagram,  you would have found out that I spent date night Friday with two other men I like so much - Justin Timberlake and Jay Z. And boy was it the best thing that has happened this summer yet. It was INCREDIBLE and MARVELOUS and AWESOME and every other superlative you can think of. If they are touring your city, PLEASE GO. If it wasn't so financially irresponsible of me to attend the same concert twice, I would go again in a heartbeat.

We had a slightly quieter Saturday, coming down from the high from the night before. Too lazy to cook, S and I went to the new Ippudo in Midtown for dinner. We've only ever been to the the one in Tokyo previously and we've always been too hungry to bear the wait whenever we've been in the vicinity of the original New York Ippudo location in the East Village. 

I liked it while S thought it wasn't worth $15/bowl. You be the judge:

Pork buns that put Momofuku ones to shame.

Karaka-men - tasty but all you could taste was the heat from the chili. Not what I was quite in the mood for.

Shiromaru Hakata Classic - if you can only order one thing, this is it. 

Green tea ice cream with mochi, red beans, and almond and coconut milk - I am not usually a fan of matcha ice cream but the milk was the perfect softener slash sweetener. We gobbled this one up good.

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The maxi skirt below was a late-summer buy last year. As a fan of instant gratification, it was painful to have to wait an entire year to finally wear it out:

Hair of the Dog

It was a wonderful Friday night. The kind like the ones had many moons ago. With old friends so kindred, they are considered family. Where you dance the night away, shutting down one club after another. And finally getting home just shy of sunrise. Yup, that kind of night. 

Which meant Saturday morning was just a teensy bit rough - but nothing a bit of grease couldn't take care of. So a few hours sleep later, the party reconvened at Cafe Habana:

Michelada with extra spice

Mexican corn cut to share

Who ordered the freaking salad?

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At least I tried to look more put together than I actually felt:

First Week of July

Happy belated fourth of July! 

Hope everyone had a great holiday and is continuing to enjoy the wonderful weekend. This week was not only a 2-half-day kind of week for us but also a two-date-night one. Lucky me!

On Wednesday (half-day numero uno), S and I had dinner at Alder, Wylie Dufresne's latest endeavour in the East Village. Here, food and drink come in smaller portions - which I most definitely prefer to large format meals. Even the cocktails come in half serves, like the rhubard pimm's cup below: 

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The dishes are adventurous, akin to Dufresne's successful first restaurant, WD-50 (which was one of the first nice meals S and I had when we moved here three years ago).  At Alder, we ordered "pigs in a blanket" which were done with lap cheong; pickled beets that were served with coconut ricotta; and a generous portion of pink pub cheese below, so coloured from the cheddar, cream cheese and red wine mix:

Anniversary Date Night

[Note: this post was originally published in April 2013. A glitch with blogger has resulted in this article unintentionally posting in July] 


Thank you so much for the lovely wishes on our anniversary!

We splurged on an intimate dinner at Ichimura at Brushstroke. It was an amazing experience - which Pete Wells, the current NYT food critic, describes more eloquently that I would ever be able to in his review here. 

It's funny that it was only a few months back that we shunned any thought of having an entire meal of near-raw fish. It all changed on our trip to Japan last November when we dined at Daiwa Sushi in Tsukiji Market (home of the famous tuna auctions). The chefs at that countertop restaurant spoke limited English, while we spoke limited Japanese. Not wanting to come across rude, we ate everything placed in front of us - initially with apprehension, but later on with gusto. Everything was so tasty and very fresh - rightfully so since they were quite likely swimming in the ocean not long ago - but interestingly and most importantly, smelled nothing like the sea (the underlying source of my initial apprehension against seafood of the non-fried/curried variety) 

NYC Social - July

July begins with plenty of Independence day celebrations. With summer in full swing, outdoor fetes dominate the rest of the month. Which is perfect, since all I want to do is bask in the sunshine. While I will add the following to my list of things to do, my social calendar is already packed from May and June events that continue to run through the rest of the month. Here's what's taking place in July:

1. Macy's Fourth of July Fireworks: July 4

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To celebrate the nation's independence, Macy's will put on a fireworks display that it boasts as being the largest in the country. At 9pm along the Hudson River, over 40,000 fireworks will light up the sky for about half an hour. Since all Hudson River Piers (apart from Pier 84) will be closed off, prime viewing spots are on 12th avenue between 23rd and 42nd streets and aim to be there many many hours before. Or better yet, get thee to an apartment rooftop with a view of the Hudson.  Whatever way you choose to watch the fireworks, make sure you pay attention to the Empire State Building during the last few minutes for a specially choreographed ESB light show.

2 . New York Musical Theatre Festival: July 8 - 28

Considered " the Sundance for Musical Theatre", the New York Musical Theatre Festival will showcase over 30 new musicals and concerts over the course of 3 weeks. Over the course of decade the festival has been in existence, it has become the launching pad of various shows that have gone on to Broadway and Off-Broadway success. This year, there will be more traditional musical comedies, hip hop concerts and dance dramas. Tickets are $20 and you can see the lineup here.

3. Broadway in Bryant Park: July 11 - August 15

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If you are lucky to be in the vicinity of Bryant Park over lunch, have your meal outdoors while being serenaded by the best on Broadway. Each concert lasts from 12.30 - 1.30pm and will include performances of award-winning productions like Pippin, Wicked, Phantom of the Opera and Avenue Q. See the entire programme here and plan your picnic!