Traveling like a consultant

Perhaps it was pure coincidence that I watched Up in the Air last night... pretty good movie which I highly recommend, by the way.

As a former consultant, I maximize efficiency. At the airport, that means minimize the time I spend waiting for others. So when I switched a 5pm flight to a 10pm flight because a meeting ran overtime, I've already planned how to leisurely stroll into my seat a minute after the gates close. Game plan: leave office at 740pm, arrive at boat terminal at 8pm for a 815pm 30 minute boat ride to arrive at 845pm, giving me more than enough time to enjoy the lounge and have dinner there.

Instead, here's what transpired...

Actually, perhaps the seeds were planted even earlier...

140pm: Meeting ran overtime... going to miss my flight... checking flight scheds... email travel agent to switch me to a later flight...
230pm: Travel agent emailed "no flight at 1010pm"
240pm: WTF are you talking about (No, I didn't say that...), it's CX 709
241pm: Oh... you are flying from HK, not Bangkok!
242pm: OMG, you are a fucking idiot (No, I didn't say that...)
.
.
.
740pm: Leaving the office...
750pm: uh oh, the main road to the terminal is blocked for no apparent reason
803pm: 12 minutes to get a ticket, go thru customs and immigration
804pm: Sorry, we accept cash only for boat tickets
804pm: WTF... (No, I didn't say that...)
805pm: Bought ticket... with cash
805pm: Sir, you have to check in your flight over there
805pm: Sir, we can't see your reservation
808pm: (Fiddling with my Blackberry) Here's my reservation number, flight number... and my previous flight number
811pm: Sir, here's your reservation. But... we can't let you on the boat unless you have a ticket... and we can't give you a ticket unless you've paid the fee for changing your ticket...
811pm: Urrr... here's my credit card
812pm: And we can't accept payments here...
812pm: WTF... (I did say that...) let me find my travel agent at 812pm. WTF... (I did say that) Sorry, I'm not swearing at you, I'm swearing at my idiot travel agent...
813pm: (Annoying customer waiting behind me) Excuse me, can you guys open another line to serve us?
815pm: (After some phone calls...) Sir, we can let you on the boat. We've held it for you. Please run.
(WTF... couldn't you guys have done that at 810pm?)
816pm: running... running... immigration... running... other dude running after me... I have to sign a waiver in case I miss my flight... running... running...
818pm: On the boat! It's leaving 3 minutes late thanks to me!
848pm: Hong Kong Airport! Full hour before my flight... just have to pay my fine and check in...
851pm: Sir, our credit card machine isn't working... Sir, there is no ATM in this section...
900pm: Sir, sorry to keep you waiting... we've found a credit card machine...
911pm: Woohoo... finally at the lounge
941pm: (Announcement) Mr. Lam, please go to your gate!
949pm: In my seat
955pm: Gate closed! I got there a couple minutes early. Must make it tighter next time.
1208am: Finishing this blog entry
112am: Arrive at hotel lobby... fudge, I'm SPG Gold now... I miss complimentary breakfast and Internet!

World News

I'm sure we all feel the same way: the world is coming to an end, and it has all ironically started with Egypt (it being an ancient civilization and all), continued with chaos in Libya and other Middle Eastern / African countries, then concluded with earthquakes in China, Japan, and Burma / Thailand.

I remember reading a great BBC article about how the media will soon get over the "Facebook and Twitter - American innovations - helped the lower class Egyptians overthrow their dictator" angle and the only way you'll learn about what is happening in Egypt is through Al Jazeera (Their website which has Lybia on the cover but also their site on Egypt). Well, that's exactly what happened. Perhaps right now is when the Egyptians actually NEED our attention... but, alas, watching bombs drop in Libya is clearly more interesting. Just as a reminder, I came across this CNN article... food for thought.

Kindle changes my life... so far

I got a Kindle for Valentines Day... and so far, it has changed my life.

Instead of eating and watching movies, I now do three things: eating, watching movies, and reading on my Kindle!

In a month, I've read:

• What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell: the only reason I didn't buy the book was that it's basically a collection of his articles from way back and I thought why would I shell out US$15 for this? Oh, but it is $3 on the Kindle! Awesome book, especially the chapters on the Discovery Space Shuttle disaster and Enron. Highly recommended.
• Lost Symbol: the first time I tried the "highlight function" on the Kindle... more on this at the end of the post. Sigh. Anyway, horrible book, and I got all the twists. Dan Brown, how have I read all your novels. Arg. Not recommended.
• Too Big to Fail by Andrew Ross Sorkin: I can't believe that the author is only 32 years old. His account of how the US government and other Wall Street big boys raced to save their buddies is one of the most captivating stories I have ever read. Dare I say he is better than Michael Lewis (I read the Big Short on my way from HK to Brazil - and I just realized I never wrote about that... highly recommended book on how people made unbelievably easy money from the 2008 financial tsunami). The whole thing is a gripping ride. Highly highly highly recommended.
• 大江大海1949 by 龍應台: I've been reading about 4-5 chapters a day on my commute to Shenzhen. And not one day have I not welled up on my trip. 龍老師's detailed description on how lives were eternally altered during the war years in China were all so moving. I remember meeting her once and asking her if she regretted leaving out any stories. She replied by saying all of it - all stories that were told but not published deserved to be published. 

Well, I wanted to share a sentence in the Lost Symbol that has to do with bad writing and a penis. Why am I not sharing this now...? Cus my Kindle seems to be stolen at work. Mother fucker, I have 86 hours of CCTV to see who might have stolen it... or if I just left it on the bus.

But... it has changed my life... so far.

Movie - Adjustment Bureau

I swear I've seen more movies... but somehow never recorded them.

Adjustment Bureau (IMDB): In a story about fate and free will, I thought the movie was pretty good until the last 5 minutes. Matt Damon runs a lot in this movie, and I kept thinking that he'd turn into Jason Bourne and actually change his fate with fists and guns. Anyway, he didn't. I suppose the message of the movie is that you got to grab the bull by the horns and control it. I'm cool with that message. I can't stand movies that worked so well along and keeps the audience on its toes and screws it up at the last moment (Somewhat like State of Play, but Adjustment Bureau only screws up the last 5 minutes) When Matt Damon stops running, that's when you should leave the theater and call it a night. Slightly recommended without the last 5 minutes.

Inception: I think the last time I watched a movie three times in a year was The Mission (Canto). Well, I did my third Inception and it was better than the first two. And I think I figured out where Leo is physically and also in his dream state. In fact, it kind of reminded me of Momento, another one of my all time favs.

Skiing in China

Skeptically, I went skiing in China last weekend. Turned out I was the fool - the ski resort I went to was comparable to mid-sized American ski resorts in the NE and everything exceeded my expectations. The only thing I really wanted more was more grooming on the tougher slopes.

Anyway... seeing that most of the workers on the lifts were villagers from the originally deserted town, I wondered out loud whether they knew how to ski and how they would get back down the slopes. If they don't ski down, they'll just take the lift down of course.

Not. As I looked down the black diamond run and considered how to end my last run of the day, I saw a bunch of dots in a straight line going down... curious, I caught up. So this is how they get home...

Yup, put your ass on a shovel and head down. I'll be back, China ski resorts!

The problem with Facebook...

Much like how Google promotes the use of the Internet to strengthen its commercial interests, Facebook promotes the lack of privacy to strengthen its.

I received the following email from Facebook after painstakingly going through it's privacy settings (PC, then mobile, then back to PC) trying to remove my phone number from Facebook.

Hi Josekin,

As you requested, your imported contacts have been removed. Please note: if some of your friends choose to share their email or phone numbers with friends on Facebook, you'll still see their contact information in your phonebook.

Thanks,
The Facebook Team

And herein lies the danger with Facebook:

• First of all, I'm not sure if I removed MY number at all. And I can't figure it out. 
• Second of all, now I am aware that others have their number that I can see. I'm no stalker, but this strikes me as dangerous especially for younger folks who have less concern for their own privacy (because they haven't realized the harm). 
• The second sentence... "if some of your friends choose to share". Look, let's be honest, nobody knows that they just did, because Facebook has made privacy such a convoluted process to set and un-set.

Ugh... everything Facebook does makes me want to quit it, but I can't. Doesn that make me sound like an addict? My god it does!

Movies, again.

Yup, apprently I only eat and watch movies.

Middle seat coach on United from SFO to HKG - it doesn't get any worse than this, except that I'm paying a fraction of the price, so I guess I do deserve whatever they give me. Btw, DO NOT get the breakfast option that is Japanese Teriyaki Vegetables and Tofu with Rice: by far the worst ever airplane meal I have ever had.

Even though it was a shared movie screen for the entire coach, I managed to catch 2 pretty good movies. In fact, the flight was overall enjoyable, no doubt because I didn't have to play the elbow game with my neighbors. You see, life is much better if we all stick to our personal space.

Anyway...

Morning glory - Rachel McAdams stars in this girly comedy along with... wait for it... wait for it... Harrison Ford! And I'm not ashamed to say that it was surprisingly good with a lot of funny moments! Harrison's serious face (a.k.a. the Jack Ryan or "I'm the President of the United States of America" face) is still fun to watch. Recommended to watch on an airplane - the couple across the aisle kept LOLing.

Megamind - fun cartoon featuring voices of Will Farrel, Brad Pitt, Tina Fey, and the fat kid from Super Bad. haha... just thinking of Super Bad makes Megamind worth it. Fun cartoon from start to finish. Brad Pitt does an awesome job as the voice of one of the heroes. I couldn't really tell that Megamind's voice was Will Farrel's. Recommended.

Nobu in Hong Kong

For those who love Japanese food, Hong Kong is a pretty nice city that blends the very affordable sushi belt restaurants as well as independent high end ones. Nobu, while not independent, was one of the first Nobus opened outside of the US. Located in the harbor-front Intercontinental Hotel, it actually is one of the best dining spots you can find in Hong Kong, offering a close and unobstructed view of Hong Kong island.

Before I delve in... here's my experience at Nobu NY for restaurant week. Also wanted to mention Gwyneth Paltrow's restaurant rec Zuma (my review)... do not go unless you don't know anything about Japanese food and want to "give it a try". Funny I never mentioned it in my original post, but the server didn't know what omakase was! And when the-PNGF and I asked where the salt was from (you know, cus it was actually tasty, the server told us "sea salt". Ugh. Zuma also ranked in top 20 restaurants in Asia for Michelin, I think. Double Ugh.


Back to Nobu Hong Kong. We ordered the Omakase and I think the pictures cover all 8 dishes. I have the menu at home so will have to recheck later.

Chilled tuna tartar with caviar kicks off a great meal; the combination was wonderful and really prepared me for the next few courses.

The next appetizer was somewhat disappointing. I can't remember all the ingredients, but I do remember the tuna that was soaked in some sweet wasabi sauce (background) - too much.

Lobster salad was very good. Slightly warm but not undercooked and still flavorful.

Unfortunately, the seafood entree was not the black cod. The seabass was nonetheless masterfully prepared and was cooked just right. The sauce complemented the tenderness very well.

The fatty tuna was the star of the meal - balanced, fresh, and full of flavors - and made the whole meal worth it

Uni sushi was among the best I've had in Hong Kong

Ebi had the subtle sweetness to it - nice piece of sushi that leads to dessert

Flan/Cheesecake was balanced and okay - nothing surprising though.

Overall, at HKD 1188, I thought Nobu Hong Kong was of great value and even greater taste. Combined with a unbeatable view and ambiance, it was a great dining experience. The servers, similar to those at Robuchon, however, still need better training. Otherwise, my only wish was that they had more of their signiture dishes on the Omakase!

Flying to US means watching movies

United's business class video on demand system is still one of the best I've seen for all long haul fights. See my review from almost TWO years ago! Oddly, however, the selection seems to be less...

Especially strange was the TV series. I ended up watching 3 episodes of The Wire Season 1... even though it was episode 2, 6 and 11. Yup, those were the only 3 on VOD...

Back to the movies.

Due Date: Robert Downing Jr and the hilarious fat kid from The Hangover (who now seems to be in a lot of movies...) make a funny pair as they road trip back from Atlanta to LA. It's okay funny most of the time and I think it kept me entertained for the most part. Not really recommended.

127 Hours: I really wanted to see this movie for some reason. Something about the story about a man being literally stuck in the wilderness that is fascinating. And the part where he has to saw off his arm. In fact, when I first read the incredible story quite a few years ago, I thought to myself that it would make a really good movie and that the hiker would gain fame and fortune from his unfortunate encounter - else he'd just be another hippie hiker. Anyway, I liked the movie although it isn't for anyone. You have to watch a good 90 minutes of James Franco struggling with hallucinations and reality - there's no real point to the movie other than our hero realized he should have told the ones he loves what he was up to when he goes on solo adventures. Oh, and there's a good 5 minutes of him hacking off his arm. Again, not for anyone. Recommended.

Black Swan: this was a theater in LA, not the flight TV. I think the first word that comes to mind is "disturbing"... then "fantastic"... then "disturbing" again. I think I need to watch the movie again to truly appreciate it. My first thought after the screening was that damn she actually had to go through all that shit to become perfect. It wasn't until the next morning that I thought... hmmm, maybe she did imagine all of it deliberately so that she can grow into the role. Maybe she wasn't crazy. Anyway, I think the point was that perfection can always be achieved if you push hard enough... right? Natalie Portman does a masterful job in the movie and certainly deserves all the credit (she's the favorite for the ultimate prize, an Oscar). Still, a disturbing movie. (Made me think of Tiger moms for a minute actually) Recommended.

Wanna watch porn?

Food porn, that is. Met up with some high school classmates for a wedding and someone mentioned my blog. Shame on me since I've been making a lot of food porn but not really sharing them. Here are four pictures, two from my birthday lunch at Bo Innovation and two from PNW's birthday lunch at Rubuchon (Macao). Both meals were fantastic (Robuchon still needs a better main cource... same as my last visit) and quite memorable... should go to Bo again even though PNW doesn't really like fusion.

I can't remember what this was; another point I will try to improve on... should be fried shrimp balls.

Bo Innovation is known for its twist on Chinese food... this is the 蝦餃 Har Gau, shirmp dumpling

Generous portions of Foie Gras at Rubuchon

One of the best Napaleons I've ever had

 

More food porn will come, I promise. Yesterday, I've edited pictures up to September of last year. Almost back to the present!

Emirates A380 - How big is it really?

Side note for Emirates from my consultant mind: when I checked in at Emirates,they simply put me in zone F, which means zones A-E board first, then in zone G for the Dubai-Sao Paulo... and I had such high expectations of their services. The flight was good, the entertainment system was good, the service was very nice, and the food was horrendous. But I thought they missed a great chance to convert me from Cathay though.

Imagine if all gate agents asked "Sir/Madam, are you a frequent flier member on any other airlines?" If they find some Silver/Gold/Platinum/Diamond/Other exotic metal members, they immediately offer a new mileage card (fill in contact info first) and first time user privilege (upgrade, use of lounge, board first... all if available). Wouldn't you capture some new loyal-to-other-airlines customers right away? Instead, I get dumped to zone F and spent 20 minutes in line wondering why I didn't take the Cathay flight.

All in all, the Emirate experience was still a pretty good one. I also had the chance to ride on the A380... the bigness of it can only be appreciated by pictures... and unfortunately, I wasn't flying during the day so there really wasn't an opportunity to have the A380 against a 747 or 777 to get a good perspective on its size. I shall try anyway.

Here's one of the wing of a regular aircraft (Airplane nerds please tell me the model):

And this is the A380... I can't even get a picture of the whole wing of the A380! And it covers the whole Kenyan Airline AIRPLANE!

Otherwise, the inside is a bit of an anti-climax: it looks like all the Airbus internals, although it comes in 2 floors (I didn't get to go up...). The stairs, in case that would interest you.

 

 

Movies on Emirates

It may seem that I am only watching movies on the plane or on pirated DVDs... perhaps true. I did see Harry Potter 7 the other day. I was lost most of the time cus I had no idea what muggles was. Not recommended? (The question mark is intentional)

One thing Emirates got right: movies that can play once you board the flight! How has no airline done this before? You get on the plane, sit down, hit a few bottons (or touch the not-very-reliable screen), and start your movie! I can sit on the tarmac for hours watching a movie without getting jittery because we haven't taken off yet. Which is exactly what happened in Dubai when a passenger had a heart attack on the tarmac and the plane headed back to the terminal. I was watching The Expendables and never made a fuss... anyway, on to the movies:

The Expendables: Watching a bunch of macho old men run around killing people and dismantling buildings is fun. Not really... but if you want to see some ass kicking, I think this movie might do it for you. Okay, I'll admit, I've already forgotten what this movie was about except that there were some gun fires and sticky bombs and kung fu kicks. Not recommended.

Wall Street: The classic one. Now that I've seen the original, I wonder why didn't someone make the sequel to Charlie Sheen's character... like what happens to whistle blowers against high power folks. Anyway, Michael Douglas is masterful and the whole movie just nailed New York perfectly. Also loved the music and sound effects. Highly recommended.

Freakenomics: I remember reading on their blog that there was some documentary thing. Each section of the documentary deals with a chapter in Freakenomics and uses a different director. So you get several interpretations/illustrations of economic research plus a whole lot of background information. In fact, they deal with a lot more of the background than the actual analysis, which is good. I highly recommend the Sumo Wrestling and Incentives chapters. Recommended.

Knight and Day: I knew it was going to be bad. I just didn't know how bad. Cameron Diaz is too old to try to look beautiful. And Tom Cruise... is just old. He didn't even need make up this time to look like the Cruise in Vanilla Sky. Actually, that might be worth the price of admission to see his face - it barely twitches the whole movie and when it does it takes us back to Vanilla Sky Cruise. Good times. Not recommended.

Killers: You know, after watching Knight and Day, I had no choice to watch another "spy" movie... this time with Ashton Kutcher and Catherine Heigl, whom for all we know might easily morph into Cruise and Diaz when all is said and done. Anyway, here are the plot keywords courtesy of IMDB: marriage, neighbor, assassin, birthday, hired killer. They missed "atrocious" and "unbelievable... plot". Not recommended.

Triple Tap: Chinese movie that is a sequel to Double Tap. Decent movie overall but with some fatal flaws, one of which is to try to try to mix in the financial crisis into it. It does nothing for the movie. Can we stick with people with guns trying to outwit each other? Instead, it spirals into some psychological warfare that involves offfices and women. Not recommended.

Grown Ups: Feel good comedy with Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, Rob Schneider, and David Spade. Individually, each of them have made some pretty funny stuff, and together they string together some funny lines for about an hour and a half. Slightly recommended.

Megamind: well, I didn't exactly watch it. but since it was on like 20 screens for like 50 hours (of flight time), I think I got the gist of it. In fact, this probably happened for Avatar, Inception, The American (presumably, to fall asleep), Toy Story 3... but I want to go see Megaman when I am back in Hong Kong.

More movies - thanks Cathay for the upgrade! (Blast from the past)

Hmmm... found a blog draft saved in November but never posted.... here goes. Not much of a post anyway.

Thankfully, I was upgraded to Cathay's business class (2009 review stands). Flat bed was awesome of course, but the On-Demand movie on 19-inch (I think) TVs are the best long haul invention ever.

(These four movies might have been one of the best 4 on a flight)

I watched Prince of Persia (okay), Cyrus (kind of funny), Inception (2nd time is freaking awesome), and Dinner with Schmucks (horrible).

Why Chinese Mothers are Superior...!?

I read this WSJ article a while ago about why Asian parenting is better than Western parenting. At the time, I didn't make much of it. I simply brushed it away (reason below). Then it kept being posted on Facebook... so I felt compelled to offer an opinion.

In a nutshell, I felt that the article was all bull shit. Ms. Chua (Or is it Mrs. Chua, I'm going on a limb here and say that she's a Ms Chua) has this article to promote her new book. It needed a controversial article on a major newspaper and this is the end result. All bull shit marketing to sell more books. Thanks but no thanks.

I also felt that there is only one type of person who would write this kind of article: an Americanized Asian woman. A real Chinese parent would never go out and boast how much they forced their child to succeed and the child succeeded. A real American parent would be horrified to see any different type of parenting done in other families.

As for the point of the article... well, look, different parents have different ways of parenting. If "forcing your child do acquire skills" was the only way to go, supply and demand would dictate that all children being forced to work like crazy. And what if the kid just doesn't respond, or isn't good enough, or plainly hates what is being shoved down his or her throat? Do you disown him or her to prove that you are right and you are doing what is best for them?

Give me a break. People are wired differently and that's that. Raise your own child your way and be proud that your kid turned out great. No need to go tell how others should follow your lead.

Shenzhen bi-products

Working in Shenzhen has its bi-products:

• Better reflexes: I fear for my life every time I get on a car... nobody respects a stop sign and no one uses their turning lights. So one tends to develop really good reflexes on the road even though one isn't the driver.
• Stronger abs: suspecting that every single person is trying to cut in line, all people in Shenzhen line up right behind each other. Makes me a bit homophobic sometimes, actually.Anyway, as a result, I constantly swing my backpack to create personal space. If I don't have a backpack, I'll swing my hips. Works like a charm.
• DVDs... at USD$1 a piece, you tend to just resort to pirated DVDs for all your entertainment. Here goes...

Lie to Me: Loved the end of season 1 with an undeniable dark turn. It lost some steam in the middle as every episode started to feel like CSI. Anyway, good TV but I have one big question... if actors can fake all the truth- and lie-telling faces, how can you detect them in real life? Recommended.

True Blood: I swear, my wife made me watch it. So much nudity that sometimes I thought I was watching soft porn... not that I know what soft porn is...

The Town: When the ending credits rolled out, I was shocked to see Ben Affleck directed! Not a bad effort by him. Shadows of The Heat in some of the bank robbery scenes, right down to the demise of each robber. And Ashley Judd's hand slide. It is, however, not The Heat. Affleck can try to be Michael Mann... but he can't try to be De Niro. And the guy from Mad Men is certainly no Al Pacino either. Good action flick that would have been much better if it was the first of its kind. Recommended.

The American: This is Michael Clayton, assassin version, gone bad. I fell asleep twice and finally finished the movie on the 3rd night. The Italian town is beautiful though - always liked those narrow stone paved European small towns where everybody knows everybody. Except for the new killer in town, apparently. Not recommended.

Eat Pray Love: I thought this would be a boring chick flick. Chick flick it is. Boring it is not. Thank god that Julia Roberts is in this movie as she nailed the role of midldle age divorcee unsure of herself. Negative points for making Bali a tourist madhouse (Our October honeymoon coincided with a book club gathering in Ubud). Recommended.

Oh, and happy new year!

Dispicable Me

Well, Despicable Me is a kid's movie. And that's that. Not recommended for adults.

Social Network

Apparently Social Network won some early film award... I'm too lazy to even look that up.

Saw the movie last week and didn't like the whole movie at all. As PNW said, "why did they make all the characters so un-likable in that movie"? Well, perhaps it's because all of them are filthy rich and we are not.

The movie starts with Mark Zuckerberg being dumped by his BU girlfriend and then he runs across the Harvard campus to his dorm room so he can blog his revenge and start Facemash. That 3 minute sequence alone lost me. Why did we need to see him run through the campus? What was that awful techno-like music in the background? Why is he still running?

Aviator, by contrast, is a much better fantasy biography movie. There was a constant struggle to judge Howard Hughs throughout the movie.

The Social Network didn't have any of that struggle. Mark Zuckerberg was obsessed with making himself part of an elite... and nothing else. Maybe he cared about people being able to connect with each other? Help people find long lost friends? No such mention in the movie. It was one man on one mission only...

Ultimately, did I feel that I learned anything about the characters in the movie? No. It lacked depth and I think there will be a much better movie about these Internet founders when everything is said and done. I do believe that Zuckerberg is a douche to his friend Eduardo (who himself is quite a douche too), and that's about it. Just couldn't take any of the other fantasy themes seriously. Anyway, a movie on Jobs, for example, would be sensational since he has done the ups and the downs and his personality is strong (Mark Zucherberg, on the other hand, only has a strong personality... for now).

Not recommended.

A trip down food memory lane

I've been on a surprise US recruiting trip for my company the last 12 days or so... all on a carry on suit case. And no camera. Needless to say, I am in pain.


But, it does give me a chance to chase food memories in Chicago (I just reread my post... good times!)... In four days, here's what transpired:

Arrived in Chicago on Tuesday morning. Went to Gibson's for steak. The 22 ounce Chicago Cut was a bit too much so I settled for the 10 ounce Filet Mignon. The surface was way too crusty and it seemed that the meat was simply sub-par. And the $14 Turtle pie for 10 people only came in one size. Arg!

Tuesday dinner, met up with b-school friends at new restaurant Gilt. Great restaurant with great food (Bone Marrow toast, pork belly, roast chicken, and some spicy pasta were all memorable and worth another try)... see? You want to see pictures, right? Me too.

Wed lunch. I was hoping to have Apple Pancakes at the Original Pancake House to honor 2R. It was not to be - I had lunch at the GSB cafeteria.

Wed dinner. Planned to meat up with Bainees at Frontera Grill. Wait was too long, so we walked pass Michelin 2 star restaurant NAHA, and ended up in Italian chain Maggianos. At least the lobster pasta was really good.

Wed night. After Maggianos, I met up with BSLW and PP at the Wit Bar. Drinks were okay. Conversations were great (I miss b school so much). And the best was the making out couple sitting across from us. Actually, not sure if they are a couple, if you know what I mean.

Thur lunch. Fogo de Chao with GSB friend. I had 10 pieces of bread, at least. Good times. Meat was great, but why do they insist of giving you double portions? I want to sample more meat. And more bread. Did I mention I ate 10 of those at least?

Fri lunch. Planned to pass by Hot Doug on my way to Kellogg. It was not to be with the super long line outside the restaurant. I had some left over turkey sandwich after my presentation.

Fri dinner. Joy Yee in Evanston. Nuff said... (not in the most complimentary way... it is Evanston afterall).

At least I caught a good movie in The Next three Days.

Red,Waiting for Superman

Oh, I forgot the best reason for going to theaters in the US of A: 2fers!!!

My only regret for this 2fer is that I paid for Red and didn't contribute to the box office of Waiting for Superman.

RED: As a rule, when Morgan Freeman and John Malkovich (and Helen Mirren!) are in the same movie, you should go see it. I had no idea this was a DC Comic movie. Bruce Willis is still Bruce Willis, doing his squinting routine and "I need to look both surprised and confident at the same time" look. Malkovich is absolutely off the hook funny. Oh, and there's that hot housewife from Weeds (she can't act - but the role she got was perfect for her... in fact, I'm pretty sure she's still playing the drug dealing house mom role in this movie, awed by all the acting talent that has surrounded her). Anyway, a rule is a rule. Recommended.

Waiting for Superman: Thankfully Red was actually funny. Waiting for Superman is a depressing documentary about the education system in the US of A. It is broken, and it doesn't want to fix itself. Thankfully the director offers a glimmer of hope with all the new types of schools that greatly expose the deficiencies of the US public schools. The only problem: there aren't enough of these new schools. Nonetheless, I hope public school administrators and teachers see this movie... they will become obsolete unless they start to address the problem: that education is about the kids and not about the adults.

The Next Three Days

I do miss theaters in the US of A. In Hong Kong, movie watching is complicated - you must first reserve tickets ahead of time. Who plans to watch a movie a week before it is released!?

Anyway, it's a lovely feeling when you can just walk up to the movies and have no idea what might happen in the next 2 hours. When the theater was filled with Wizard dressing Harry Potter fans on its first night of release, I chose to watch The Next Three Days starring Russell Crowe.

The story: Russell Crowe, a middle school teacher, insists that his wife is innocent of a murder that has put her behind bars for life. He is on a mission to break her out of prison. That's right, Wentworth Miller is replaced by Russell Crowe in Prison Break.

But it is a surprisingly good Prison Break on the movie screens. Instead of focusing on HOW Crowe is going to break his wife out, the movie follows Crowe's struggle to make ends meet and his commitment to the cause. The first hour is in fact rather slow as you can imagine... but quickly builds amazing tension entering the last half and hour or so. Does he do it? Does he not do it? How far is he willing to go? How is he going to pull this off? Is he going to make it?

Forget how realistic that a middle school teacher can break out his wife from prison. It doesn't matter. I enjoy movies like this one - more on the person and peoples involved and less on actions (See Unstoppable). Highly recommended.

Salt, Blind Side, Unstoppable

Now here is a trio of forgettable movies:

Salt: At the start, you see a naked Jolie being tortured by some North Korean agents. Well, you don't actually see it, cus she's in a very dark room (why does torture always happen in a dark room?). Anyway, she's released and 3 years later she is a Russian spy killing Russian presidents and US presidents and trying to launch nuclear missiles to wipe out the US... or was that Russia, I can't tell. WHAT!? Not recommended.

Blind Side: Arg, I had such hope to see a great Sandra Bulluck performance. I saw an average performance of a role that she should master. Otherwise, it was a simple feel good story that just felt okay with me. At some point, I want to see some real Oscar worthy movies! (Hurt Locker, An Education did not meet expectations). If you like predictable feel good stories, recommended.

Unstoppable: Well, classic Denzel movie. He's a 28 year railroad veteran trying to stop a train with dangerous chemicals running straight towards a populated town. The only thing missing is his drinking problem and family struggles and his angry side. Oh wait, he was asked to retire early at half benefits - yup, that's gotta be his fuel. Actually, forget about this movie. Not recommended.

You know, I really enjoy taking pictures and writing... it's too bad that I haven't done either for such a long time. Let me try to extend this.

Inception; A-Team; Robin Hood

I was a bit disappointed with the highly anticipated Inception. I guess therein lies the problem: highly anticipated always leads to disappointment.

Anyway, the premise is quite simple: Leo is a dream hacker and can plant viruses into one's brain. The planting virus business can be quite dangerous and has led to the death of his late wife... which has in turn, from time to time, interfered with his projects. Leo needs to overcome his own created problem, team with some other hackers, and finish the next big task. My head is spinning already. Maybe I should watch it twice... Slightly recommended.

A-Team: it's so ridiculous it is awesome. Since when did Liam Neeson do movies like this...? The guy from Hangover can now just make any movie, I guess. Recommended.

Robin Hood: Russel Crowe in Gladiator 2! Little John is played by Keamy in Lost. I can never forgive Keamy. Why is Kate Blanchett in this movie? How did the British army just go from one place to another in a blink of the eye? Why would the King be in the front lines? Who are the orphans running around? Arg. Not recommended.

Oh yeah, I got married (twice!) and then went on my honeymoon.... must be back on this blogging business.

Circle of Life

Today is Oct 9, 2010, a Saturday that I had to spend at the office because of China's ridiculous holiday schedule. My G1 made a ping sound and vibrated once. I ignore it. After 10 minutes, it does it again. I ignore it. 20 minutes later, after finishing some of my work, I pick it up to see what emails I get.

The first was my friend Eddy and his wife Emily welcoming a beautiful little baby girl to this world.

The second was my grandmother leaving this world.

And there you have it, the amazing Circle of Life in back-to-back emails...

I need to blog again

Just because I haven't blogged in a month doesn't mean I didn't do anything... in sequence of the last few months.

An Education: I thought this would be better than The Hurt Locker. It was not. Now I have to turn my attention to Precious to see if there was indeed an Oscar worthy film. An Education is a classic "too much expectation" movie for me. At the core, the movie was a fun but simple depiction of when the poor meet the rich. The poor will always be "too simple, too naive" because they weren't exposed to the life of the rich. On the other hand, the rich will always be taking advantage of its inherent advantage. The girl in the movie is quite refreshing. Recommended.

Iron Man 2: not bad for a robot vs. robot blow it all up movie. Barely recommended.

Lost: I admit, it got a little dusty at home during the finale. It's too bad the series had to end like this... I felt there was still a lot of potential in it and it had a very loyal following. Unfortunately, it wrapped up in a very rushed fashion. Recommended.

Flashforward: I think I said I would boycott the show because the whole story line was just stupid to me. Well, TF convinced me to keep watching it with her. Let's just say I'm glad it is canceled after 1 season. Shouldn't they offer an alternative ending for season 1 when there is only season 1?? Anyway, the acting was horrible for the most part and the story just didn't have any punch to it. Not recommended, although the idea was great.

The Cove: this is what documentaries should be about. Facts and more facts and not opinionated pieces like Michael Moore. Don't get me wrong - I really do enjoy Moore's documentaries - it's just that sometimes his facts seem a bit far fetched to be making a political point. The Cove, on the other hand, is black and white. You may disagree on how dolphins think about being in captive, but you cannot argue with the slaughter. The Cove is a powerful documentary and I prefer it over all the so called OScar films this year. Highly recommended!

Liar Poke: Yeah, I'm about 10 years behind the time line. Awesome book with a strange similarity to the current financial crisis. Can we all agree that capitalism breeds greed and greed breeds financial crisis? And can we also all agree that this is not a bad thing? Highly recommended. And I need to read the Big Short.

Green Zone: Matt Damon is a soldier on a mission to uncover state secrets! Sounds familiar? That's cus it is. Okay, I think we all know now that there were no weapons of mass destruction. Let's just move on. Recommended if you like Matt Damon. Else, not recommended.

Shrek Ever After: Sure, it was fun. Poor Shrek. Sometimes men just need some space to be men. Recommended.


大兵小将： a surprisingly good Jackie Chan feature where he plays a deserting soldier and not his usual general figure. This small potato runs into a bit of luck and takes the opposing general, played by an inspired pretty boy Wong Lee Hom, prisoner. He tries to take his new found luck home to claim the prize of 5 acres of land so he can be a farmer again. Evil forces have other ideas. Recommended... tho don't expect any Jackie Chan stunts.


International: Clive Owens and Naomi Watts in conspiracy theory investigation on a bank that helps bad guys deal arms and fudge with money. Awful premise still mastered by Clive Owen's crunched face and Naomi Watt's partially stare down. Not recommended.


Oh yeah, I'm getting married in 5 days!

Lazy blogger

Holy xxx I haven't had a single thought in a month... er... I mean I haven't had time to blog. Between preparing for a wedding, job, move, it seems that I cannot spare even the slightest time to blog.

Must change.

投不投票？

很多人问我，516投不投票。。。 

答投，一般就是“哦，好吧”

答不投，反应就是“嗯，我也不投，这次玩的太过分了”

无论结果（指投票率）如何，各位高官，政党，传媒，学者请不要多做无谓的解释。主流民意一直都没有变：香港人想要普选。

曾荫权，高官们，中央： 516我不投票，不等我不支持废除功能组别。不要因为投票率低你就自鸣得意。

我不投票，只是因为不支持公社两党的做法 （process）。但我跟他们追求的结果（results）是一致 的。我支持真普选，支持废除功能组别。

请不要曲解我的民意，并认真及真诚的对待像我这种选民，不然，你会把我推往公社两党那边的。

There will be Blood (Movie, don't worry)

Watched There will be Blood (IMDB) last night. I remember watching the 2007 Oscars and being totally bored because I didn't see much of the movies. But then the Oscars intrigued a little me so I watched "No Country for Old Men" on a plane ride (See review). I also wanted to watch There will be Blood so I waited three years to do that. haha.

Much less complicated than Old Man, Blood tells of a story of a the self-made man on his way to his fortunes, and the trail of bodies he left behind. On the surface, it's a story of the struggle between money and faith. Dig a bit deeper and I think it's really about the sacrifices one makes in pursuit of one's destiny, as in self made destiny (oxymoron?). The final 5 minutes is a classic must see and I couldn't have enjoyed it more... it was one of those moments where you watch a movie and you think, "ah, the world is right". Yup, now you have to watch it till the end! heh heh.

As usual, money wins over everything else.

Daniel Day-Lewis, by the way, came out of nowhere to give a classic performance as our "hero". Really mastered the role. His voice was especially good... somewhat close to (gasp) Sean Connery.

Dwayne from Little Miss Sunshine was the typical "I remember that face... where did I see him" actor that captures my mind for half the movie until I figured it out. He did okay as a over zealous priest.

Anyway, the movie was pretty good I thought, but for some strange sound editing. It is really odd that a good movie would be shadowed by its sound effects... maybe it was supposed to build some emotion for the audience. I just felt bothered and, frankly, annoyed at the sounds in the movie. Other than that, it is a good movie.

Recommended. Especially the last 5 minutes.

Shutter Island

I'm still confused about Shutter Island (IMDB). So is he crazy or what?

Just kidding. Was a bit disappointed with the whole set up. I love the point where they say that labeling a person crazy is the best way to make sure nobody believes the person, as the vicious cycle will continue with the person vehemently defending himself, further proving that he is crazy.

SPOILER ALERT.

So, Leo, at the end, is crazy... I guess as the audience, you just have to shoulder that suspicion all the way to the end. It's a decent movie, but I personally think there wasn't the need to keep going in circles to mark Leo's route from normal to crazy and back again. And all the "mental patients just need more help" talk during the movie were all categorically thrown out with Leo's execution. Or was that the irony of the movie (that Leo thinks they can't be saved)?

Oh well... not recommended, though I must say Martin Scorsese does a fine job in making thriller movies.

Sushi pictures... from Yasuda

Four people sent this NY Times article to me. So I thought I'd re-post some Yasuda pictures.

And I just made myself very hungry. There's a better picture for the Uni... but the other Uni wasn't as good as this one... and as a rule I cannot get myself to post good pictures of not the best food (or at least give you clear warning).

Bad entertainment...

I'm waiting for TFs call to see if she got on the plane to Hong Kong alright (WOOHOO! Finally!)... so I resorted to watching movies on TV to pass time.

Assault on Precinct 13: someone asked me the other day, why do good actors make bad movies? Well, I say cus they really aren't that good. Great actors and actresses look at the script and has the intellect to say no to bad ones. So count Laurence Fishburne, Ethan Hawk, and Gabriel Byrne out of the "good actor" list. How can a movie about 10-20 cops trying to storm an old police station in a snow storm to kill the mob boss who is going to rat them out and are deterred by a "I've made decisions that killed my team members so I'm going to drink and drug myself to oblivion" cop be successful? (Yes, that was all in one sentence)

Nope. Not successful at all. Highly not recommended.

Super Crunchers: say this about Freakenomics - they really pioneered the "let's put some interesting research on a book and dumb it down so people understand what academics/business people do" genre. Now there's a flood of books that say the similar things. Hey guess what? Data can tell you a lot of things! REALLY!? Noooo way. Yeah, really. It can.

And yet I'm still fascinated on how Harrah's comps a person their room when they loose a lot on the tables to keep the customer "happy". Yup, just that part. I'll recommend flipping through the book, finding a few headlines that interest you, and read those sections only.

(Hey, a book review, how about that!?)

Hurt Locker... It's Complicated...

I've always wanted to combine movie names into sentences... Hurt Locker, It's Complicated... actually, it's not. Quite a simple movie

Hurt Locker (IMDB): You know what I really really don't understand? Why is Avatar mentioned in the same sentence as Hurt Locker in Oscar talk? Actually, why is Avatar mentioned at all? Sure, it's a visually stunning movie, but it's really a pretty dumb one (my review).Taking this a step further, why is Hurt Locker mentioned in Oscar talks anyway? I liked the movie overall... much better than Avatar... but it's not Oscar worthy. Not that my opinion matters... didn't Titanic win an Oscar over As Good As it Gets, Good Will Hunting, LA Confidential, AND The Full Monty (I had to look that up: damn, how did he WORST movie win best picture!?).

Anyway, back to our war movie. In a nutshell, our hero's job is to disarm bombs in Iraq and he loves his job and can't get away from it. Yup, what you read will be what you see. To me, the last 10 minutes of the movie is the best part and may have been the make or break between award and not. Some people just love their jobs so much nothing else matters. For others, the priorities are different and they just care about other things more. Sure, loving the military job makes him like a cowboy, but isn't every other job the same? Why do bankers work till 4am every day? Why do consultants endure 5 days of hotel room over a night in his own? Money talks... but there's a passion that keeps people going as well. And our hero just loves the thrill of working in the battlefield over everything else. Nothing wrong with that.

Now I want to watch An Education... still in search of the true Oscar winning.

Oh, recommended movie, even though I was slightly disappointed.

It's Complicated (IMDB): a very fun movie with Meryl Streep leading the way. All around good performances by all - especially Alec Baldwin - and an enjoyable movie. Highly recommended for a good 2 hour laugh.

The Consultant Lifestyle

In order to avoid a potential 3 hour commute from HK to SZ during the long weekend (alas, it happened the day before, damn it), I stayed with my consulting friend in SZ for the night at the Futian Shangri-La.

And you know what... I miss that lifestyle immediately. Walking into the grand hotel lobby, with everybody smiling at you, nice room, nice shower, all the toiletries, the neatly tucked bed, all the TV channels, food at a touch of the button away. And the miles and starwood points....! Sick. Why would I think that?

Then again, I went to sleep at 1130pm, and I think my friend pulled an all nighter. Okay then. On with life.

The new blogspot

I love the new blogger user interface called blogger draft: user friendly, easy to use, all the options. As such, you see the new josekin blog page. Something I could definitely show my colleagues. It always amazes me how Google puts out free and good products all the time, and trusts that more Internet means more money for Google. Arrogance, perhaps? Or just simply too much cash?

Sadly, Google has left China after refusing to censor its searches in accordance with Chinese law. Even more sadly, my life becomes much more difficult when I cannot access Google in a timely fashion. Google maybe a distant #2 to China's Baidu, but for professionals, Google results are far far far better than Baidu's. Arg. Just have to patient with the on again off again Google pages.

I disagree with Google's decision. Their mere presence has helped many people find information they otherwise wouldn't have found. If "do no evil" is truly your purpose, by your leaving actually encourages evil. At the same time, I'm sad that the Chinese government still has to censor results. Can't trust the people to make their own judgments huh?

Taiwan Documentary

Watched the premiere of a Taiwan Documentary on an author's book - 龙应台‘s 目送一九四九。

I've heard that the book is really good. I will read it in the future. James got a signed copy, so I guess I'll grab that off him at some point.

The documentary, in my opinion, wasn't that good. It really just tried to record the writing of the book... I understand that a documentary should be recording the facts, but I also think that it should have a point of view. With many many heart-felt moments of people who have had their lives turned up-side-down by a invasion followed by a civil war, there were plenty of opportunities to tell a story. I don't buy the director's view that "we don't want to tell you what is right or wrong; we want to present you the facts and leave you to draw your own conclusions". The whole thing was just put together with no real theme or story.

What did impress me was the amount of Mainland students who turned out for the event. They all came ready: read all the books, had all the questions, and were very well spoken during the Q&A. As the author said herself, the most important is to have a critical mind and find your own answers. I hope these students at least took that away from the premiere.

I still would encourage people to watch the documentary. It has a lot of heart-felt and touching moments. Just don't expect too much. And read the book if you can.

Alice in Wonderland

Geez... tough weekend. First an awful experience at restaurant SML. Now Alice in Wonderland (IMDB).

Remember I wrote about movies in 3D before (plus a brief review on Avatar)? Basically, I thought the customer experience wasn't good enough - and probably best suited for kids and teenagers. Alice in Wonderland doesn't qualify for either.

Even if it were regular price for a 2D experience, I still wouldn't like the movie. It was all show and no substance, even with Tim Burton at the helm and Johnny Depp leading the charge. First, the show: the sets were stunning, depicting a Wonderland that is fantastic... from the different characters to the dreaming castles and woods. Then, the substance: not much of a story, and you can't blame the original short story either since Burton made this a continuation story (Alice is 18 or something). Not much of character development. Not much of anything really.

Somehow, I get the feeling that the studios figured they could ride the 3D wave a bit and push anything 3D with some big names down our throats. Damn. Very soon, audiences are going to wise up and reject paying this type of premium mediocre movies.

Not recommended.

Awful restaurant...

Okay, I found a restaurant that sank lower than Aquavit (see experience during restaurant week a while ago).

It's an establishment called SML in Times Square. SML stands for Small Medium Large, which are sizes available for all their dishes. I think the owners had this in mind:

• Shitty deal
  
• Medium shitty deal
• Large shitty deal

Anyway, the food was acceptable in general. It was my second visit (I knew I shouldn't have gone in... but I had a good reason, see below)

Mom and I arrived at SML at 9pm, after all other restaurants in Times Square had a line outside (9pm!). The server showed us an outdoor space that looked quite comfy... sure, we'll sit there. 1. I need food. 2. It has a nice breeze.

You have to place your order inside (they can't serve people in open space, which is not part of the restaurant). Fine. We ordered two pasta and a dessert. The dessert came within a minute. Doesn't make sense, but it can sit and wait for the pasta, I guess. Mom's pasta came (okay, a bit salty) first, and we waited for mine. And waited. And waited. I told mom to go ahead and eat hers first. Went back to the cashier to ask about the pasta. He said must have lost the order and went to the kitchen to hurry it up. 10 minutes later, I'm still waiting. So I canceled the order, wolfed down the dessert, and left. No real food in my stomach, I lost all my appetite.

It's Friday, and all I want is a decent meal with my mom, and SML ruined it. I will never go back there ever.

Late marriage

As I looked through the employee manual... if you "marry early," you are entitled to 3 days of vacation. If you have a "late marriage," you are entitled to 13 days of vacation. Naturally, I quickly look up what is the definition of "late marriage"...

After 25. Damn!

嵗月神偷

It's been a while since I've seen a really good Hong Kong movie. This award winning film (Crystal Bear at Berlin Film Fest) would qualify in the really good club. I love the simple story being manifested in the most simple and subtle ways. Simple, like how the family had to physically keep their home together through the typhoon (hurricane, for you Americans). Subtle, like the the communication of the whole street was through one phone in the garment shop, or like how the tree trunk is used as a table during dinner. Nothing over the top. Just life.

And so life keeps going on, and you just keep faith.

A special thanks to the actors who did a magnificent job, especially the mother and the younger son. Impeccable performances.

The movie almost died midway due to insufficient funds... and now it's going to make a lot of money due to the award and the curiosity caused. So my question is, why did it have to be an award for a movie to be recognized and rightfully profit from its hard work? Should the "goodness" of the movie be able to help it sell tickets in the first place?

Sigh, Hong Kong.

Squat toilets...

Something that continues to bring a smile to my face for no rational reason whatsoever is the squat toilets in my new office. For those who are unfamiliar with a squat toilet, just image the toilet seat on the ground. It's not that bad or disgusting... it's just different way of going.

Anyway, before my first day, during my interviews, I've used the standing toilets before and they are quite nice, with a large window that overlooks the entire Nanshan area (Shenzhen's version of Silicon Valley, if you will).

So on my first day of work, when I was ready for the stall, I was shocked to see a squat toilet upon opening the door. I opened another one: squat. And another: squat. And another: squat. That's 4 out of 5... arg... I was so disappointed that I just went back to my desk. I'm not squatting with my nice suit and shirt on.

Fast forward to my 7th day of work. We're meeting a foreign firm, and I went to the meeting floor - again, shocked to see that they have a sitting toilet!!!

Turns out the 5th stall I didn't open was the sitting toilet. Haha.

Starting a job at Tencent, Shenzhen

Well, if you've read this post about Bills Gates interviewing me and the actual disaster, then you might have figured out that I'm heading to some sort of tech firm. That firm is Tencent QQ, the MSN/Facebook/Twitter of China. You might laugh at Facebook's current valuation of $11B (see range), but Tencent is no laughing matter, publicly traded and valued at ~$35B.

Anyway, today was the first day of work. And here comes the obligatory Good Bad and Ugly:

The Good

• I have to leave the company at 630 to catch the shuttle bus back to the HK border; so, yeah, I now have a natural time to get off work
• No lap top, no Blackberry
• The team seemed very nice, and things seemed efficient (the internal portal has so much info it's a bit overwhelming)
  

The Bad

• How can no Blackberry be good!?
• I don't understand why the wall of a cell has to be against the window. Can I saw off the cell wall?
• Food options are going to be extremely limited... unless I'm brave enough to eat on the streets
  

And the Ugly

• It's a 1.5 hour commute minimum
• And the most painful part is the immigration. Rule #1: don't be a foreigner. Rule #2: don't line up behind clueless old people
  

New York Restaurants

This is a long long long awaited long long long post. Epic. Food porn. I hope. I've spent 6 months eating in NYC. Here's the report card. I thought I'd quickly put the restaurants into categories to make it easy (Somewhat similar to Chicago Restaurants):

(Note: I can't afford some of the true top notch places... so there won't be the Alinea (yum yum yum) equivalents such as Per Se, Ko, L'Atelier, etc... and I'll try to include some better pictures from the meals)

Best food, best value for money, you must visit, etc etc

• $$$: Peter Lugar (Porterhouse for 2; see review)
  
• $$: Eleven Madison Park (lunch, lobster, why don't I have a review!?), Jean George (lunch, seafood; see review), Katz Deli (mmm... hot pastrami; see Deli face off 1, 2, and 3), Nobu (Restaurant Week menu, black cod; see review), The Modern (Restaurant Week menu, duck; see review), Cookshop (Calamari, food you shouldn't miss)
• $: Shake Shack (Burger), Di Fara (Pizza, see review), Bill's Bar (Burger, Milkshake), Artichoke (Pizza), Habana Cafe (Grilled corn)
  

If you want real steak, you go to Peter Luger

Jean George's lunch is a great deal with top notch seafoodEleven Madison Park served the best lobster I've had all my life

Also on the "the best" list from Eleven Madison Park - Caramel Chocolate Cake

Black Cod Miso, the bread and butter of Nobu (their sushi is good but not worth the price)

The Modern (In MOMA) makes excellent duckDessert was excellent as well

Katz's pastrami sandwich is really one of a kind... tho very expensive for a sandwich!

Cookshop had one of the best calamari I've ever had. It was unassuming at first, but really surprised me when I ate it. Nice little gem hid near High Line Park

Shake Shack has one of the best fast food burgers around the country... better than In 'n Out... tho their Black & White milkshake were suspect twiceNot sure why I have a soft spot for grilled corn from Habana Cafe... mmm... grilled corn

It is a true pleasure to watch Master Dom at work in Di FaraDi Fara pizza - where Italian food conquers TF

If someone else is paying, you're getting some of the best food around

• Yasuda (Yasuda's station, omakase of course; see review), 15 East (Uni on squid ink pasta needs more uni), Del Frisco's (any cut, really, but with foie gras butter... damn)

Much like watching Di Fara's master do his thing, you have to watch Yasuda do his

Yes, the uni fell off... but it gave me good orgasm

One of the high of high times at Yasuda: Toro

Yes, Yasuda deserves four pictures. Custard sushi was one of its kind: I have never had anything quite like this (and it was very very very good)

15 East is a hidden gem... the uni was way too small on the squid ink pasta, but oh was it so yummy

Good food

• Priced right: Junior (signature cheesecake), Nook (brunch or lunch), King's Papaya (iconic hot dog), La Esquina (Mexican), Dessert Truck (bye bye, sigh), Gascogne (one of the best creme brulees I've had, simple french), 26 Seats (duck, simple french), Clinton Street (to die for pancakes), 2nd Ave Deli (see review), Num Pang (SE Asia sandwiches, see review), Fivepoints (brunch, food you shouldn't miss), Yakitori Totto (Japanese BBQ, food you shouldn't miss), Tabla (Donut with trio sauce), Momofuku Noodle Bar (Chicken lunch), Hagi (Japanese bar food), Porchetta (Prochetta), Barney Greengrass (Sturgeon scramble... my goodness), Tartine (brunch), Gramercy Tavern (lunch; see review)
• Over priced: Norma (any sweet brunch dish is super super excellent), Grimaldi (pizza), Isabella (brunch), Fatty Crab (Asian fusion, crab), DBGB (brunch), Babbo (Italian that impressed TF), One if by Land Two if by Sea (Seafood), Sambuca (Tiramisu, best in NY)
  

Junior cheesecake... it's a landmark, a tourist trap... and it's goodA hot dog is a hot dog... but a Papaya King hot dog... now that's something else. Best bang for the buck meal in the city, perhaps!Gascogne's creme brulee... I almost forgot this gem. Absolutely perfectly done. And the french food (and wait staff) ain't bad either
Clinton Street Baking Company and its Blueberry pancakes have people waiting for hour(s): it's worth the waitThe donut at Tabla was out of this world... and its Asian fusion sandwiches aren't bad eitherChicken lunch at Momofuku may be a difficult reservation to get... but it's worth the trouble if you like moist and flavorful chicken

Hidden gem: porchetta at Porchetta is juicy and the meat is done impecably

Unfortunately, I only went to Gramercy Tavern once - the meatball was excellent
Sweet brunch from Norma's is great and overpriced; stay away from savory stuff

Who can say no to Sambuca's tiramisu?

Decent food

• Priced right: Smorgas chef (Swedish chain, sure why not), Ipuddo (Ramen, roasted peppers, not worth the 2 hour wait though), Kyotofu (Tofu-based dessert), Won Dee Siam (Thai), Van Leeuwen (Ice cream), Alta (Tapas), Caracas Arepas (S American sandwich), Jewel Bako (Sushi)
  
• Over priced: Le Pain Quotidien, Luxee (bye bye), Crumbs (cupcakes), Max Brenner (hot chocolate, dessert), Bubby's (pancake, brunch), Zaitzeff (burger), Ma Pache (Asian fusion)

Ippudo's wait is totally not worth it... but you can get the roasted peppers at the bar (I suggest leaving after you eat them... maybe add the pork bun)

TF likes Crumb's Red Velvet... and I think we probably had about 30 cupcakes in 6 months. It's yummy but a little steep at $3.5

I'm a sucker for good brunch

• Penelope, Prune, Balthazar (Bread basket!), Cafe Orlin, Petite Abeille (waffles look amazing, but the savory stuff is not to be missed), Stanton Social

Stanton Social had some nice little dishes... but very expensive, as are most brunch places in New York (thanks, Sex in the City)

Only if someone pays you (Just take my word for it)

• Serendipity 3 (Frozen chocolate... bleh), Magnolia Bakery (proves that Sex in the City girls don't have taste buds), Carnegie Deli (Size doesn't matter, dead last in any deli challenge), AJ Maxwell (The Half Cheesecake), Aquavit (He scored 16, see horrible review), Bar Boulud (Daniel Boulud may have had some good times, but the Bar ain't one of them), Sasabune (No sauce please... arg)

The totally overrate Carnegie Deli... and they dare charge a supplemental charge for shared sandwiches... I feel bad for the tourists. Go to Katz!

AJ Maxwell's "half cheesecake" for our restaurant menu... WTF

Sorry I had to end on a bad note for food, but I feel like you need to know these things. Probably missed quite a few restaurants I've been. Oh well, if I forget, it's probably not that good anyway. Hope you enjoyed this!