All posts filed under: Travel

Oh the Rain in Ha Long Bay

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At 630am, the phone in our hotel room rang. As a last minute request the night before, the front desk staff was able to get us two seats on a one day tour to Ha Long Bay. We were told to be downstairs in the lobby by 7:30am. After quickly tossing our belongings in our packs, we ran down to check out and grab a quick breakfast of Vietnamese sticky rice, roasted tomato, and fresh yogurt. By 8 o’clock, a car, sent by the tour company, Vietnam Open Tours, had arrived to bring us to meet the tour bus in the Old Quarter. We were dropped off in an alley way and became slightly skeptical about the whole thing. We walked up and down and couldn’t figure out where we were suppose to go. Finally we found the storefront and when we walked in, we were greeted by name. They were expecting us, as we had paid for the tour at the hotel in advance. We were told the bus would be arriving in approximately 10 …

Hong Kong Airport or Mall? 

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On our way in to Hong Kong we were so exhausted from traveling we did not realize the vastness and craziness of the airport. Little did we know that arriving super early for our flight to Hanoi would be one of the best decisions. When we arrived back at the airport, basically retracing our steps from the airport to our hotel (red line to yellow line to airport express), we were floored. The ceilings were so high you could probably fly a plane through the airport itself. Everything was very clean, keeping in line with most of the city, and there were masses of people everywhere. We had eaten a light breakfast of a butter bun and raisin bun and weren’t particularly looking forward to eating airport or airline food again.  We checked in, got seats together again, said goodbye to our bags and found some Chinese dragons that we desperately wanted to parade around in, but the signs said NO!    We went through security and customs (shout out to our friends from Mexico!) …

Exploring Hong Kong

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We had one full day in Hong Kong and since we were still attempting to adjust to the time difference, we decided we would just explore rather than run around doing too many touristy things.  As described by one of our family friends, Angie, Hong Kong is basically New York City and China Town on a much larger scale.  There are malls after malls after tailor shops after malls after electronic stores after street food after malls after electronic stores throughout the whole city.  The worst part about it is that everything is so much more expensive here, so Jess couldn’t even go shopping…not that we actually have room in our backpacks to acquire anything 10 hours into our trip. Thanks to suggestions from Amy and Co., a member of the Singer family, we decided to walk around and head towards the Star Ferry in the morning-ish (we slept in a bit).  On our way there we decided to walk through the park near the TST MTR station.  To our surprise there was a small …

Tim Ho Wan: Dim Sum

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The moment we heard about an inexpensive, Michelin Star rated Dim Sum restaurant, we knew we had to try it. Tim Ho Wan, which actually lost its Michelin Star this year, definitely did not dissapoint! We had originally planned to go to Tim Ho Wan for dinner, as a friend advised they would be packed during the lunch hours. Tucked away in the lower level of the IFC mall in the MTR Central Station, Tim Ho Wan was not easy to find. By the time we found it, after walking in circles for an hour and a half, the lunch rush was nearing its end and we only had to wait in line for ten minutes. Even though there was a short wait, the restaurant was still very crowded.  As people got up, seats were immediately filled and many of the tables were communal. As we waited to be seated, we were handed a pencil and a yellow card to place our order. We didn’t realize we were suppose to fill this out while we were waiting, …

Late Night Meal, Day 1: Hong Kong @ Kai Kee Restaurant

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When we arrived at The Perkin Hotel, it was around 11:30pm.  We settled into our room and knew we needed something to eat, since we had only had the sub-par airplane food for the last 30 hours.  We walked out of the lobby and realized we were smack in the middle of quite the nightlife, even for a Tuesday night.  The street that the hotel is on was closed down to pedestrian traffic only and lined with bars, clubs and restaurants. After roaming for a bit, we were approached by the owner of one of the restaurants.  He said, “Come on in for a drink and food! We have the BEST american food around.”  We immediately stopped him and said “We just landed from New York, american food is definitely not what we are looking for.”  He laughed and completely understood.  He told us to go back down to the main road and turn left.  There would be two restaurants: Relax for a While, and Kai Kee Restaurant.  To be honest, we couldn’t even find Relax for a While …

30 Hours of Travel

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Our trip started the minute we woke up. We tossed our bags on our backs and headed straight for Roslyn train station to catch the 6:19am train to Penn Station. Being that the train is the only morning train that we didn’t have to transfer in Jamaica, we decided to go with it. We transferred to the NJ Transit train to Newark Airport with 2 minutes to spare and arrived at the Newark Air Train, or monorail, a little before 8am. We decided that taking the train to the airport was so incredibly easy and stress free. We didn’t have to worry about traffic and we knew exactly when we would get there. It also was a lot less expensive than a car service or the torture of making one of our parents drive us. Well, 8am at Newark was apparently WAY too early. The ticketing counter for Air China did’t open until 8:25am, but they didn’t start ticketing until 8:45am. We wandered around and then made sure to be the first people on line to get …

Let the adventures begin!! 

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Originally Chasin’ Cravings started out as a way for me to get my home cooked meals down into real recipes, instead of trying to remember what I had done in the kitchen when friends or family asked about some of the photos I was posting of my food. Then, it turned into a great way for Steven and me to share experiences we were having at restaurants locally when we moved to NYC for my Master’s program at NYU. Now, it has transformed to providing advice for food and hotels during vacations. So, I was thinking about how Chasin’ Cravings could keep growing and fully encompass my life adventures. As most of you know, I will be starting dental school at NYU in August and although the slogan of Chasin’ Cravings is “Follow your tummy…”, I have begun to find ways to incorporate this into many aspects and events in my life. Part of this is because I am always thinking about food, and the other part is that this can also be interpreted as …

Mom’s Birthday Celebrations at Margaritaville, Hollywood Beach FL

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Our adventures began in the afternoon when we arrived at the brand new Margaritaville Resort in Hollywood Beach, Florida. We walked into the enormous lobby, where we were greeted by a giant royal blue flip flop and a lounge area with swings hanging from the super high ceilings. You knew at this moment you were in paradise and the next thing you heard was Jimmy Buffet’s “cheeseburger in paradise” playing in the background!!! We checked in at the front desk and were pleasantly surprised to be upgraded because it was my moms birthday and Christmas!  We originally had booked an intercostal view double room. When we went up to our room and walked in we were floored. We had been put into one of the two bedroom suites. One bedroom had a king bed with a makeup station and a full bathroom. The other room had two beds and another full bathroom. The living room had two couches, a table, fridge and minibar. The best part of the room was the view from the balcony …

Pittsburgh Brunch at Meat and Potatoes 

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After a day of skiing at Seven Springs Resort on Saturday with Stevens sister Liz and her boyfriend Jorge, we decided that Sunday would consist of lounging and brunching. What is better than the best place in Pittsburgh to build your own Bloody Mary for brunch?! So, we headed to Meat and Potatoes downtown. Luckily they were able to accommodate us today, but reservations are strongly encouraged, since this is one of the most sought after brunch spots in the city. Jorge had the Meat and Potatoes take on an old fashion made with bacon bourbon, orange vanilla infused maple syrup, and barrel aged bitters. The drink that took the stage was Steven’s morning manifesto, which we will all be dreaming about until next time. This “libation” includes cold brew coffee, myer’s rum, cereal cream, and orange zest. This was the best coffee cocktail that we have ever had. The girls went with the DIY Bloody Mary, one with honey siracha infused tequila and the other with Tito’s vodka. The waitress brought us our glasses …

For my Lehigh family! 

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The best thing happened today. We are driving to Pittsburgh, PA to visit Stevens sister Liz and her boyfriend Jorge for a fun filled weekend (more posts to come soon from Pitt). As we began driving I said to Steven “just go like you’re driving to Lehigh”, since that is the first part of the drive from NYC to Pitt. When we passed the Clinton diner, a phone call began on Bluetooth… “Hello, Bolete (‘Bo-leet’), how can I help you?” Says the voice on the other end. At this point, my face lit up like a child who was just told they were going to Disneyworld. “Hi, do you have availability for two in the tavern at 6:30?” Asked Steven. To our surprise, there was availability on a Friday night. We arrived about 30 minutes later and the place looked exactly as we left it. The restaurant is set on the first floor of a Stagecoach Inn with the most comforting yet simple decor. We have been dining here since we discovered them in 2010 …