Reconnecting..

I didn't realize that it has been over a year since my last post! It seems like it has only been yesterday since my fascination of blogging started. I didn't realize that I have had a long hiatus from it. Well in hopes of preserving memories through the written world...I'll pick up on the events of this weekend. After a long stressful Week at work, Tom and I decided to have a date night on Friday. With Tom's Yelp obsession,he found a well rated restaurant in Williamsbugh called Traif. It's one of those plate sharing restaurants that seems to be the rave these days. Over price with small servings. We were served a complimentary watermelon gazpacho and decided on 4 plates to share. We had an order of Moulard duck confit, fois gras croquette, Baked muenster cheese, and seared fois. We finished it all off with a desert of bacon doughnuts. Everything was good and appetizing,though I must say, nothing beats classic cooking. Oh, I also had one of their signature cocktails which is very spicy..not a fan.

 Saturday was an eventful day. Tanya had her baby shower at the Marriott and after that, my friends and I decided to do an after party at Studio Square. I had such an amazing time catching up with friends I haven't seen in awhile. Talk of break ups abound and we ended the night playing a card game called "steal the old man's loot". Just before 1am we all head home. Who knew coming home before 2 am would leave me hang over for most of Sunday.

Tom and I had a quiet Sunday with a trip to Home depot for some plants and garden tools. His garden is becoming more and more impressive. I cannot wait until its harvest time :).

Pitchoff Mountain Winter Hike

To hike or not to hike.  That is the question on my mind after a bbm conversation that I had with my boyfriend Thursday night.  After our backpacking trip last September, I was not too keen on the idea of revisiting another mountain.  It was such a morale crusher to feel like you are letting everybody, including yourself down because your body is giving you all sorts of sign to not continue.

I slept and thought about it.  Did I really want to go?  Not at all.  All I wanted is to have a quiet weekend with my boyfriend.  I have no plans and I was not planning on being a third wheel on anyone's date this weekend, so, despite my internal struggles, I gave in and went on this trip.

And what a trip it was!  It was filled with laughter, hurdles, amazing scenery, and adventure that none of us expected.  We started our day at around 8am.  Everybody prepared themselves for this trip by packing their backpacks with food, water, and additional clothing for the unpredictable Adirondack weather.   By 8:30, we are on the road for an adventure.  We made a pit stop at Bean to Coffee at Saranac Lake for some caffeine boost.  This is where I have tasted the most amazing Chai Latte that I have ever had.

Adirondack Bean to Coffee

Another stop at a local Stewart's and we are on our way to Keene Valley to the Pitchoff mountain trail.

The trail started easy, very slight elevation with no snow on the ground whatsoever.  About 15 minutes of hiking, that's when the heavy breathing started, and it became somewhat of a struggle.  About 5-10 minutes later, we encountered our first puddle.  Little did we know, it was one of many.  The whole time we were all chit chatting and zig zagging our way on this trail.  The elevation started getting steeper as we reach the summit.  In no time at all, snow blanketed the grounds.  I don not even remember when all this started.  The place looked magical as we were surrounded by snow covered pines.

The hike got very tricky going from one summit to the next.  We climbed boulders, slipped and fall on ice that covered the rocks on our path, got a little lost, as the trail marks on the summit was covered in snow, but eventually found our way.  We climbed a total of five peaks on this trip.  And what an accomplishment it was going from one peak to the next.

Descending from this mountain was not a joke.  Every step that we made was very calculated as most of the snow turned into ice and our path became so slippery.  Part of the trail has a steep drop on one side and is definitely not for those who fear heights.  There's a few rock jumping and lots of tree hugging on this descend.

The descent from the fifth summit was not easy either.  I feel I like was going down an 85 degree angle drop just taking one step at a time on these clusters of rocks.  At some point, my knees were shaking to say the least.  After five miles of going up and down Pitchoff mountain, civilization is within our sights.  Not for long.  The two mile hike back to the car was the most tiring part of this hike.  Walking on hard pavement was not easy.  I have found a new found respect to distance runner.  How they do it, I could not even fathom.

This trip is definitely one for the books.  Amazing views and great company is what made this experience so memorable.  The irony of this is, all along, located directly across from Pitchoff mountain is the mountain that made me feel like giving up, Cascade Mountain, the last hike that we did last September.  As for now, mountain hiking is something I would definitely do over and over again :o)

Biryani Cart Experience

Last night I had the most ridiculous craving for Shish Kebob.  This is not just any other Shish Kebob, I was craving the juiciest most tender piece of meat on a stick from some cart next to a bar in Astoria.  I don't even know how to get there, but I know technology is on my side with this one.  Since this craving hit me at 7pm, I bbm Tom and asked him if he "wants to do something random tonight" and drive with me to Astoria to grab some of those deliciousness.  He flatly denied my request.  End of that...until he got to my apartment.  I then begged, pleaded, presented my case.  I described the mouth watering experience I had when I tasted this dish.  Well so much for that!  We ended up staying in :o(

Then comes today.  As I was contemplating what to get for lunch, I decided to browse the best eats street vendors can offer.  I searched for Vendy award (The Oscars of food for the real New York) winners.  Lo and behold the Biryani Cart which is located at 46th St. and 6th Avenue is the recipient of "People's Taste Award" 2 years in a row (2008 & 2009).  Now my craving for Halal food will be fully satisfied!

I walked the walk one block up and two blocks over from where I work in Times Square.  A co-worker and I got there a little after noon and a crowd of people were already gathered in front of the cart for the lunch rush.  The Biryani cart owns two carts in that corner.  The little cart on the left only serves chicken and lamb over rice.  Its counter part on the right got the good stuff, and the crowd.

I took position among men in suits and waited to be ask what I want.  The guy next to me told me to just yell it out when the man inside the cart says "next."  He said, "they don't have lines here".  Well then, say no more Mr. man, I moved my way in front of the cart and as soon as I heard "next" I proudly yelled back "One chicken biryani...spicy".  After five minutes of waiting, I was carrying that bad boy back to my desk!

This chicken Biryani is Uh-may-ZING!  The basmati rice was seasoned with all sorts of spices.  I found a whole stick of cinammon, cardamom seeds, and cloves swimming blissfully on this colorful rice.  Mixed with it are big chunks of dark meat chicken and an egg with salad on the side.  What I love about this dish is it does not have that heavy curry flavor that lingers in your mouth after 10 minutes.  The flavor between spices was so well balanced, that it is hard to distinguish one after another.  Only disappointment, they only add a touch of white sauce and hot sauce.  I prefer mine spicy, so next time I will definitely ask for extra hot sauce.  But for a $6 meal at midtown Manhattan, I'll complain about something else!

Below are photos of this little cart that packs in big flavor :o).

The Biryani Cart

Check out how much press they have gotten!

Menu

Chicken Biryani!

Something New to Try

I came across Blogs and blogging in late 2005 while working at an Online Marketing Company.  I always thought it is a ploy for Online Marketers to get traffic on their client's website and in return, profit from it.  I've seen plenty of blogs, all talking about technicalities of a specific trade.  I knew there are personal blogs lurking around the digital world, but as an intern in a very small Company, my online time revolved around scanning relevant blogs and websites that I can exchange links with.

Fast forward 5 years later.  While watching "Did You Hear About the Morgan's" at my boyfriend's living room with his siblings, I noticed Tom's sister, Kinga, intently looking at her mini laptop screen, I glanced at what she's looking at, saw a black screen, photos and texts.  I then asked her if it is her blog.  She said yes, and told me that she's had it for awhile, that she used to write on it often and is getting back to doing it again.  This intrigued me, so I asked her if she could share it with me.   Now, I'm here typing away, having a personal one sided conversation with a computer screen.  Liberating!!

I hope that this blog serves as a capsule for me to revisit the exciting and mundane events of my life.  I also wish for it to be a vehicle of self discovery, as sometimes we get lost in life's little clutter :o).