Momofuku NYC

As a continuation of our farewell to Manhattan, Javi and I decided to go to one of our favorite Asian restaurants one Sunday. The weather was gorgeous, and this restaurant was only a walk away from our current apartment, so off we went to order our favorite chicken buns at Momofuku!

Now before I talk about Momofuku's chicken buns, let me tell you why these are so important to Javi and me. Pork buns, chicken buns, even beef buns, are really originally from China, but the Philippines adopted it as its own and called it the Siopao. (In Chinese: Sio=Hot, Pao=Bun).

Most Chinese take-out places will sell you the American version of the pork bun (using bread as the outer shell), while only a few will sell you the kind with authentic dough.

Momofuku, on the other hand, gives you the yummy nummy dough, with an Americanized twist to the stuffing that goes inside it - instead of just shredded beef or chicken with sauce, Momfuku adds (in this case), fried chicken skin and cucumber slices - making it a refreshing, yet sumptuous dish!

This restaurant, which name actually means "lucky peach" in Japanese, aims to cater to a wider audience by adding special dishes, such as the ravioli, below:

There are also several branches within the city, such as the Momofuku Milk Bar a few blocks away from where we finished our pork bun + ravioli lunch (they actually went well together!).

At this milk bar are the most delicious deserts - and they taste like they just came straight from Mom's oven!

Above: the Banana Crunch cookie - it gets more banana-er in the middle of the cookie! YUM!

Javi and I will definitely miss enjoying the Village on weekends. Just take a look at the view outside the Momfuku Milk Bar - what a building with character! There are so many buildings like this around Manhattan. Still, I am also excited to move to the 'burbs... no more ambulance sirens in the middle of the night, or rushing to the subway to get away from the strong gusts of wind coming from the river during winter.

And as long as Momofuku stays in town, Javi and I will always have a reason to come back to NYC - for those steamed buns!

The Time Traveler's Wife

By Audrey Niffeneger

First of all, credit is due to my other future sister-in-law, Celine, for sending me the link to one of the most anticipated movies by those of us who love romantic narratives. Thanks, Celine! After a crazy day at work and an even crazier evening taking care of personal items, seeing this trailer lifted my mood!!! *I'm so excited!*

I wrote a short book review about The Time Traveler's Wife back when I was still using my Multiply account, so here's an excerpt:

The two main reasons why I like this book: there are so many themes to analyze, and the book is so awesome to study from a narratological standpoint.

The novel is based upon the premise that some humans, such as its protagonist, Henry, have a chronological disorder that causes them to time travel in (or, to) times of stress or despair.

To be honest, I am only halfway through this narrative, but I find it extremely intriguing as to how the author has managed to spin the tale of Henry's two different lives (his present self and his self as a time traveler), along with that of his wife, Clare. Henry, at around 40, travels back in time to when Clare is 6, where she meets him for the first time. Does her meeting him at such a young age change her future completely in such a way that 40 year-old Henry predetermined the fact that they would later on get married? If 6 year-old Clare had not accidentally seen 40 year-old Henry, would she have been as keen to see him when she was 20 and he was 28?

It's an interesting premise, and I'm sure Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana will do the novel justice in their movie. Check out the trailer here:

Batter-Up!

Yankees vs Orioles 5.21.09

Since Javi and I will be moving to NJ soon, I requested that he take me to a Yankees game while we're still official New Yorkers. Thanks to the help of his friend Michelle, who is a BIG Yankees fan, Javi was able to get us reasonably-priced seats at a really good spot... especially for someone who has never been to a baseball game before!

I never thought green grass could be so breathtaking!

And in this stadium, as long as you're a Yankees fan, you're considered part of the family.

Above: I think this was taken right before Swisher hit one of the two home runs in the same inning. It was definitely an exciting game! 3 homers in one game!!! Go Yankees!!!!

We stayed for the whole game because I didn't want to miss a second of it! Now I understand why baseball is called "America's favorite pasttime" - more than the actual sport itself, ball games are a venue for people to get together to root for the same team, and for families to spend time together while eating peanuts and cracker jacks. And if their team wins... well, that's certainly a bonus ;)