New York - 9/11 Remembered

Visiting New York is not complete without visiting ground zero nor remembering those who were killed as well as those who so valiantly sacrificed their lives in saving others.....

I remembered 9/11 well....

That night (on the other side of the world), I had just finished my dinner and was having my usual Guinness Draft at the Bernard's (Center Point Bandar Utama). I was on the phone with my girl friend who was in Bangkok then and while chatting, both of us were actually watching the TV in front of us.

What I saw was nothing short of spectacular...the TV was playing a `movie' where a airliner was shown slamming right into the Twin Tower with a massive explosion. I was like `wow'...what an incredible stunt...That it hit me...I wasn't watching the HBO channel..I was actually watching CNN!!! This is NO made believe! This is as REAL as it can get! At the same instance, my girl friend on the other end of the line asked if I have seen what she is seeing on TV...Moments later, we saw the second plane ploughing into the second tower...I just could not believe my eyes...I remember disbelieve and at the same time, a sense of panic knowing something real big is unfolding before my eyes....I told my girl friend to get on the next plane the next morning to come home....

9 years later, I was at Ground Zero where a massive rebuilding is going on with a new hope and a much stronger determination from every parties for greater world peace ....
I took the picture of this sculpture known as the `The Sphere'. It used to sit proudly between the two towers and ironically was put there to promote world peace. When the twin tower collapsed, this structure was battered, and twisted and surprisingly remained almost intact...It is now located at Battery Park, a few blocks away from where she was originally located...Once a mere sculpture, she is now a monument to remember that fateful day where so many had died and the world's politically landscape was changed forever ...
As I took this shot, I was deeply touched, remembering those who was killed when the plane slammed into the building, those who jumped from the highest floors when hope seemed lost, those trapped within the collapsed building and the families who have to endure life without their loved ones, loosing them so suddenly in what seemed to be so senseless ....

Rest in peace and the good Lord bless and keeps you all close by HIS side ....

New York - Not a very good first impression to me

July 2010

Been busy with the arrival of our new baby girl last month. Hence got really tied up with changing nappies and night feed...Yawwwnnnnnn........(visit my other blog at http://babynme2008.blogspot.com) on our new baby girl and the pictures of our little princess...

Back to our travelling blog.

Leaving Washington, the capital of USA which is well organised, clean and where the pace was much much slower, arriving the JFK Airport was a totally different experience. Everything is moving at a much faster pace and sadly, the people are less friendly. In fact some are downright rude! (Is it because we are Asians or Chinese or Malaysian, coming from a Muslim country? Go figure!)

The taxi ride from the airport to our Park Central Hotel was a harrowing experience to say the least. I thought taxi drivers in Malaysia are `rude'. You should try taking a ride with NYC cabs. They are not exactly a courteous lot.

I was telling my wife that I prefer Washington anytime and was doubtful whether I would be enjoying my stay at New York for the next five days.

We were booked at the Park Central Hotel which is just 5 minutes walk away from Times Square and 5 minutes walk from the famous Central Park. Definitely a recommended hotel if you are thinking of staying in NYC.

Now that we have checked in, I was excited to see and explore NEW YORK!

First stop....the ever famous TIMES SQUARE !

La Tomatoe Bistro, Dupont Point, Washington DC - first date for Chelsea Clinton

Washington DC has excellent city tours. The one I particularly like was the Hop on and Hop off Old Town Trolley Tours. This quaint little trolley-like tram has three routes that basically take you to almost every visitor must-go sites in Washington DC. I took this for all the days that I need to travel in Washington DC.

One of the routes that take me to the National Cathedral passes by the famous Dupont Circle and one particular Italian bistro caught my attention…the La Tomate Bistro ….
Why? Because this was apparently the bistro where Chelsea Clinton has her very first date…Just can’t imagine the level of security and the number for special agents that must covered the area to secure it….. I just can’t imagine being the date, with dozens of security personnel covering every corner of the building….emmm…must be hell of an experience, and a pretty weird one too I assumed….

One of the drop-off point for the Old town Trolley is pretty near to this bistro. Hence, I just hop off and headed there for my lunch….

The restaurant setup is very comfortable. I was seated near the windows looking towards the street. Though the sun was shining in and was a little too bright, it was still nice to be able to see what’s happening outside….

I ordered a risotto and a bottle of Peak Organic Beer Nut Brown Ale, a beer brewed out of Portland, Maine. (www.peakbrewing.com). The risotto was good and the beer, excellent.

At least, while I was in Washington DC, I had lunch where Chelsea Clinton had her dinner while on her very first date. I read that she was married recently. Just wondering whether her first date turned out to be her husband ultimately…..

Capitol City Brewing Company, Washington DC

Located just across the street from Grand Hyatt Washington DC is a restaurant called the Capitol City Brewing Company. I noticed that this place was always full during the lunch hours and even more so during dinners…..

So, I have decided to give this place a try and to find out for myself what she has to offer.

For one my dinners at Washington DC, I walked across the street and I made it a point to arrive early as I have not make any reservation. It is easier to find a seat when you are dining alone.

I was seated at a nice cosy corner. The restaurant was already about 40% full with many tables seemed to be reserved for the soon to arrived dinner crowd.

The menu selection was interesting and appetizing. Being a keen beer drinker and ever ready to try out new local brewed beers, I was looking forward to see the selection of local beers that the restaurant was offering.

They are a couple on the menu, namely the Pale Rider Ale, Capitol Kolsch, the sexy looking Amber Waves Ale and the mafia type Prohibition Porter. Being a foreigner, I have absolutely no idea what to order and hence I went with the waiter’s recommendation of having the Pale Rider Ale.

The Pale Rider Ale is n American style pale ale brewed with English pale and German Munich malts with American Simcoe and Amarillo varieties. It has a floral nose with a smooth finish.

It was good and I had two for the night.


For my main, I ordered the BBQ Pork Ribs and man, was I shock when it was served….IT WAS HUGE!!!!! And I’m Asian, a small eater and I’m all alone. The portion served could have easily served four where I come from….

The pork ribs were good though a little dry..

By 7:30pm, the dinner crowd was already pouring in and soon the place was packed. Soon the noise level became a little unbearable for a man drinking alone and it’s time to leave….

I walked across the street with a full and satisfied stomach…back the hotel lounge to have another couple of drinks before I drag myself to my comfortable bed…all ready for another day of exciting sights, sounds and taste of Washington DC…

Hard Rock Cafe Washington DC

We have always made it a point to shop at Hard Rock wherever we go and bought gifts for some of our friends and relatives. So Washington DC is no different. I have tasted great food at Hard Rock Cafe Hong Kong, Hard Rock Cafe Sentosa Island Singapore and the Hard Rock Cafe Penang.

So, on our first day, after all the walking about around Washington DC, we thought of having a drink as well as our dinner at Hard Rock Cafe.

Unfortunately, the experience that we had there were far from pleasant. Firstly, we were placed at a corner to cater for some other guests. Service is mediocre to say the least while the food we ordered were far from what we would have expected from an established restaurant.

The drinks we ordered fortunately did not let us down.

The Lincoln's Waffle Shop, Washington DC

About 5 minutes walk away from my hotel (The Grand Hyatt) in Washington DC, I found this little cute unpretentious local diner aptly called the Lincoln's Waffle Shop. It is located directly opposite the Washington DC Hard Rock Cafe and the Ford Theatre.

It was not at all impressive from the outside but I was drawn to the fact that I would love to try something very local in the States.

Operated by Chinese Vietnamese, the menu is straight forward and the price - local and affordable (please do even attempt to convert to Ringgit). For our first breakfast on the very first morning in Washington DC before we embarked on our city tour, we ordered a very typical American breakfast.

Verdict: The food is simple and GOOD and free flow aromatic freshly brewed coffee! Heavenly.

If it is local fare that you yearned for, I would strongly recommend this joint and you get to have your meals among the man and woman who live and work in Washington DC, right from blue collar workers, rough and massive construction workers to a few good old friendly Washington police officers...

I love this place so much that I had ALL my breakfast there for every morning I was in Washington DC ....

Fire & Sage, Marriott Hotel Washington DC

Before I move on to my next destination after Washington DC, I would love to share a little on the restaurants, food and diners that I have the privilege and opportunity to try out while I was in Washington DC.

On the day of our arrival, we were too tired to really walk about to look for food. After a short walk from the Grand Hyatt where we stayed, we came across this fine dining restaurant located at the Marriott Hotel called FIRE & SAGE.

The menu looked inviting and so, we stepped in to give it a try.

I'm not sure whether the food is expensive by US standards as I think they looked ok in USD. Of course, if you start converting them to Malaysian Ringgit, they will look exorbitant.

Starters and appertizers starts from USD10 which I thought was pretty reasonable considering that this is a restaurant located in Marriott Hotel.
The starters were superb and delicious and I in particular loved the fire roasted pear salad. The crab meat cake was also another succulent dish. Unlike some other places where crab meat cake is more cake with flour than meat, we can literrally taste and have crab meat here....
Being a meat person, I am always interested to try out steak dishes wherever I go. Happy to say, the steak that I ordered did not disappoint. The risotto with pan seared scallop was another yummy main course that did not disappoint. Overall, we had a great meal and I actually went back one more time before I left this great city.....