Pejam celik pejam celik, I am already halfway through my NYC blog posts, you guysssss. 

You can read my entries on Day 1, Day 2, Day 3 and Day 4 (if you haven't) before you continue to Day 5.

On our fifth day in NYC, we decided to visit the major tourist attractions that are listed in every single Top 10 lists you can find on the city; and by that I really mean the Empire State Building and the Top of the Rock hehehe.

10 May 2015 (Day 5)
[New York Pass activated]

- Empire State Building
- Green Fleamarket
- Shake Shack
- Central Park
- American Museum of Natural History
- Top of the Rock (Rockefeller Centre)
- Magnolia Bakery

Read online that the crowd for Empire State Building can get reaaaaally massive after 11.00am so we arrived at the building very early in the morning to avoid long queues! We arrived at the deck pretty quickly but the downside of this is that mornings seem to be very foggy while we were in NYC so we had to squint through the fog to see the view. Maybe that's why orang berpusu pusu datang at a later time? We'd really rather have a fuzzy dream-like view from the deck instead of queueing for hours and getting squashed by inconsiderate tourists, though. Hahaha.

We only went up to their 86th floor observation deck by the way, which was offered under the New York Pass, since that was sufficient for us. Kalau nak naik their 102th floor observation deck, nak kena top up.

Some friends told us that Empire State Building actually not much to look at, and that it looks and feels macam Peninsula Plaza hahahahahaha bastard sak. We didn't think so bila kita in the building ok! The architecture is very art deco, yes, but we thought that was the charming part seh! The building was built and completed in 1931 after all.

We dropped by Green Fleamarket after that but didn't buy anything except for a small bag of yummy Turkish puff pastries. Luckily that didn't spoil our appetites! We wanted to go to Shake Shack for lunch, you see, and the outlet we wanted to go to was just beside the flea market setup.

It wasn't our first time eating food from Shake Shack actually, we've tried the ones in Dubai International Airport before - we think their food is pretty good, just that their insanely long queues in NYC were a little unjustified because we've tasted better burgers elsewhere. Still, worth a trip if you ever have some spare time in NYC. 

Ordered our Shake Shack lunch as takeaway so we can makan sambil lepak at Central Park (also because their dining area dah takde tempat duduk kwa kwa kwa). Central Park is as bustling and as vibrant and as full of character as I imagined it to be, by the way!!!!! I loved strolling down Central Park, loved it even more when I laid down my picnic mat to have lunch and lepak. So many people to see, so much beautiful greenery to appreciate, and we didn't even have to break out much of a sweat macam kalau kat Singapore parks. So what if Botanic Gardens is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, kalau baru masuk 5 minute je ketiak dah banjir!!!

Thank God we chose to go NYC during spring/summertime! Have I mentioned that all the flowers around the city were ga-ga-ga-gggorgeous?!?! One of our couple-friends travelled to NYC in winter and they said Central Park looked miserable and dead, so kesian. Anywaaaaaay, we packed up after that and headed towards the American Museum of Natural History, which was within walking distance from our spot in Central Park.

Post-visit verdict: we were not impressed at all by the American Museum of Natural History sehhhhh. Ni semua hype Night at the Museum aje ah ni! Hahaha. Saliheen and I love museum visits and can take very long to finish rounding one museum but we both agreed that the nature of most exhibits in this museum were probably not our thing, and we thought the trip was so-so. I did quite like the dinosaur exhibits and human origins and culture halls, though.

It was late in the afternoon when we left the American Museum of Natural History, so we decided to take a train down to Top of the Rock. Friends have told me that I will enjoy the Top of the Rock more than the Empire State Building and this turned out to be very true!

If you're ever in NYC and can only choose one observation deck due to time and/or budget restrictions, I recommend opting for the Top of the Rock, even though their 67th and 69th floor observation deck is lower than the Empire State Building's 86th floor deck - mainly because it is modern, has transparent glass panels to peer out from, has more space for you to walk around AND you can see Central Park and the Empire State Building from Top of the Rock.

Anyway, since we were at the Rockefeller Centre area, we decided to drop by at a nearby Magnolia Bakery to purchase their popular cupcakes and banana pudding!!!!! I had high expectations because having a cupcake from Magnolia Bakery macam dah jadi a quintessential NYC thing to do gitu. Also grabbed our takeaway platters from a nearby Halal Guys foodcart and walked back to the hotel to have our dinner in our room.

From left to right: Small tub of banana pudding, Hummingbird cupcake and the classic Red Velvet cupcake.

Sad to say Saliheen and I didn't really enjoy the cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery :( The cupcakes were dry, and their icing wasn't outstanding. I honestly feel like our local Fluff Bakery punya cupcakes lagi maut seh. Maybe locals in NYC prefer drier cupcakes? I don't know. What I do know is the history of Magnolia Bakery so I guess it's all just the hype of its history instead of their cupcakes actually being sedap gila or anything like that.

I must say we regretted buying their banana pudding in a small tub though, because *that* shitz is da bombz dot com!!!!! SEDAP GILA KE APE!!!!! Thanks to my pelacz friend Azrul for recommending that to me!!!!! Kau tengok ah berapa banyak exclamation marks aku dah pakai!!!!! Hahahahaha. Needless to say both of us made return trips to Magnolia Bakery to borong their banana pudding in large tubs, itu pun laki bini bergaduh nak makan sebab tak nak share HAHAHA. Maybe I should search for their recipe online and try to replicate eh...... 

NYC Planning (Part 3)

8 more weeks to New York City, you guys!!!!!

Draft itinerary is more or less complete, now we're just waiting for slots to open so we can confirm our bookings for some of our intended activities. We still have a few flexible evenings, which we will probably fill with different types of shows and/or random jalan jalan around Times Square.

I've also compiled a list of dessert places for us to visit, maaaybe a little too many sampai Saliheen started grumbling HAHAHA. He even asked me whether the only reason why I am excited to go NYC is because  I want to pig out on desserts! Eh eh orang tua ni..... ABURTHEN?! sampai hati accuse I macam tu tau.

Actually tak banyak sangat seh yang on my list, I had to eliminate a lottttt of candidates (fuh, macam nak choose jodoh lah) because there's just too many things to do in NYC. Anyway, here's my final shortlist!

Baked by Melissa

Had to include Baked by Melissa in my list because LOOK AT THEIR CUTE MINI CUPCAKES DON'T YOU JUST WANT SQUISH THEM WTF. These babies come with filing inside and each is about the size of a quarter!!! Have to admit their mini cupcakes look greasy and unappetizing on Trip Advisor and Yelp reviews though hahaha but one of their stores is 3 minutes walk away from my hotel so #YOLO

Crumbs 

We now go from mini cupcakes to colossal cupcakes! I know one of the signature offerings at Crumbs is their colossal cupcakes, and if you cannot understand how massive they truly are, then I should probably tell you each piece costs USD35 and you will need two hands to hold it proper, like this. I have no idea why people call this a cupcake though, isn't a huge cupcake essentially just a..... cake? Dun dun dun~

Cake Boss Cafe

I've heard of the TV show Cake Boss but haven't watched a single episode before so this trip to their store will be more of a curious touristy moment than it having actual significance for me haha. Who knows, if their cupcakes sedap nak mampos, I might just start watching their episodes? (Kalau sedap baru nak tengok ah)

Dominique Ansel Bakery

How can I visit NYC and not try cronuts from the original creator of cronuts kan!!!!! To be honest, I wasn't very impressed when I had a cronut at Brunetti in Singapore but it might just be because I don't enjoy eating flaky desserts anyway? Told myself if I don't even like the ones from the original creator himself then memang cronuts are just not for me. 

Their bakery also sells crazy cute cookie milk shots but they are only available from 3.00pm onwards daily. Meh. I think we'll be in their area earlier than 3.00pm seh so might have to give those a miss :(

Dough Doughnuts

Looking forward to having these glorious gedik babies because I am obsessed with Essie Button and this was one of the things she had when she visited New York! I watched her vlog at a time when I never even dreamed I'd ever step foot in NYC so I didn't give it much thought, but the minute my NYC plans firmed up I immediately knew I had to go to Dough for their doughnuts,  I kid you not!!!!!

Junior's Cheesecake

A little ridiculous if I go to New York and not try one of their famous New York cheesecakes, amirite or amirite?

Magnolia Bakery

Now this one, my friends, is an ABSOLUTE MUST-GO!!! I know anyone who has been to NYC will tell you, "oh you must try Magnolia Bakery, it's just one of those things you must do when you are in NYC". When I first started planning, it was exactly the same thing for me! Go to Magnolia Bakery because their cupcakes and pudding sedap and it's just what people do when they go NYC, you know?

But earlier this month, I started reading The Tastemakers: Why We're Crazy for Cupcakes but Fed Up with Fondue by David Sax and HOLYYY SHIIIIIIITTTEEE, I couldn't have picked up the book at a better time - there is a whole section in there on the history of Magnolia Bakery and why it has become such an important cultural icon today! You can read the first few chapters here, which will (hopefully) make you understand why stepping foot into Magnolia Bakery will be a pretty significant moment for me.

(I hope to write a separate entry on the book once I've finished reading it! So far the other chapters are just as educational and captivating and my mind boggles at how food trends start and evolve, how powerful PR and marketing can be, and how it can influence what and how we consume food in different parts of the world)

MarieBelle

I'm not sure if we'll have the time to pop by MarieBelle but if we do, it'll be sweet! (Literally) Bookmarking this only 'cos Oprah included their hot chocolate powder as one of her favourite things in the world LOL

Momofuku Milk Bar

Sometimes when someone mentions NYC, another person will sambut with an enthusiastic "Momofuku!!!!!" (True story, this happened when I told my girlfriend I'm heading to NYC lolz) I've read a little about the Momofuku chain from The Tastemakers book and subsequently on the internet, and while I'm skipping their noodles bar because yang popular adalah their pork buns and their soup base probably ada babi, I am definitely not going to miss out on their milk bar, which serves sedap sounding shit like cereal milk soft serve, compost cookies and crack piesss.

Spot Dessert Bar

So many items on their menu yang I nak try!!! Their #1 seller chocolate green tea lava cake??? Their frozen Japanese citrus cream bar??? Their Thai tea creme brulee??? Their smoked coconut cheesecake??? Their glorious golden toast with condensed milk??? Which one am I going to gain calories for??? WHICH ONE?!?!?! T.T I don't even know which picture to share so I will leave you with the link to their Instagram account biar kau geram sendiri: www.instagram.com/spotdessertbar

Sprinkles Cupcake ATM Machine

This is another place that I will make time for!!! 24 hours cupcake ATM machine, genius or extremely genius??? I remember seeing this while watching a news channel sometime ago and thinking: Wtf I hope I get to try that one day. Lo and behold, there's one near Lexington (one of the areas I'll be at in NYC) so APE LAGI. Wait for mama, baby!!!!! Video clips on the cupcake ATM craze and how it works here and here.

Some of the other dessert places we're going to will be in Chelsea Market itself (we're heading there on one of the days): Bar Suzette for crepes, Doughnuttery for mini doughnuts wtf so cute for what, Fat Witch Bakery for brownies and blondies, People's Pop for ice pops and Sarabeth for ALL THEIR YUMMY LOOKING SHIT.

I've also marked a few coffee shops we can check out in NYC, thanks to our only (masih ah nak) hipster friend Ahmad, and the list includes La Colombe, Happy Bones, Cafe Grumpy, Blue Bottle Coffee and Culture Espresso. Not a big fan of coffee personally so this will be more of a kalau ada time / kalau kita lalu then baru kita akan masuk kind of thing. Saliheen drinks coffee lah but dude is neither a hipster nor a coffee snob so he won't die die want to try the different long blacks and lattes there lah.

Another makan-related place that I want to visit are food halls! I love food halls and think they are amazing in concept because you get to try and buy popular yummy food all in one place... talk about convenience! The ones I'm eyeing is The Plaza Food Hall for their cheesecakes, crepes and tarts as well as the City Kitchen Food Hall for their shaved snow, pretzels and lobster freaking rolls.

Now please excuse me while I lap my air liur off my keyboard.....