“Congee” on Bowery
I was in chinatown when I suddenly remembered I’d been craving congee–and how convenient, there was a place across the street from where I was standing called: Congee (well, congee city in chinese: 粥城). and though it didn’t look like the most elegant juk I’ve ever had, it tasted good! I had the fish and thousand-year-old egg congee (魚片皮蛋粥, “yu … Read More
lincoln center
I remember the first time I biked past here (I was going south on Broadway), how this building just stunned me. Alice Tully hall–one of the main concert halls of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts–just re-opened this year, while the rest of the Center is still undergoing its facelift after 50 years in the city. You can read … Read More
GHG billboard
I recently took a continuing legal education course at the hotel pennsylvania, and noticed this greenhouse gas billboard next to madison square garden. you can read about this ‘carbon counter’ (installed by Deutsche Bank) here.
general grant’s tomb
one of the notable sights in my neighbourhood is General Grant’s tomb. built in 1897, it’s a massive structure made just to house Grant’s and his wife’s body–there’s not much else inside aside from a few photos and medals and busts. it’s generally pretty empty, except for the occasional stray tourist. but on Wednesday nights in the summer, jazzmobile holds its … Read More
picnik
… is a nice little website application that I found, when trying to figure out how to isolate a single colour in a photo. here is the result: -some pomelo vendors on my street in Hanoi -common traffic scene on Ton Duc Thang street, Hanoi (you should see it live) It’s pretty easy to use picnik, though it is a … Read More
purchasing power across cities
as a follow up–when comparing the price of public transport, a friend duly noted that it would be more interesting to see the relative purchasing power of people in these cities. conveniently, UBS has published a 2009 report on Prices and Earnings in 73 cities. using New York as the benchmark, here are the relative purchasing powers (income / price … Read More
costliest cities for public transport
New graphic from the Economist. The cost for Hong Kong is interesting, given that its MTR was completely privatised in 2000. Compare with New York’s MTA, which is a (government owned) public-benefit corporation. To be fair, the way trips are priced is different for the two cities: in Hong Kong your fare varies by distance (paid for using your trusty … Read More
fudge cake
I made a fudge cake yesterday that was so good I had to share the recipe. It’s from Joy of Cooking. I pared down the amount of sugar (as I usually do with this book) and it turned out great! Here is my edited version: 1 3/4 cup flour 1 cup sugar 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 1 … Read More
west harlem piers park
I do most of my grocery shopping at fairway market, this huge grocery store just past 125th that offers a gigantic selection of organic, non-organic, and otherwise edible produce–and all at high prices. (to be fair, everywhere in new york has high prices so this is not a distinguishing factor in itself.) anyway, despite the chaos of going to fairway, … Read More