NEW YORK 2019 | Day 1: Arrival, Golden Unicorn Restaurant, Taiyaki NYC, etc

I go to New York almost every year and this year we spent it more in K-town. Our schedule was packed with all these restaurants and foodie places we wanted to try. #FOODISLIFE

The start of our day was not eventful. We arrived early morning around 6AM and we were just trying to find a place to chill until we were able to make contact with the airbnb host. Check in was at 3pm but wanted to see if we were able to to check in earlier like at noon. Luckily, we found this Starbucks that didn't have a time limit for their customers to stay. There were 8 of us; we each got a drink, and we took up about a third of the space along with our bags. We honestly had no where to go because the stores and shops didn't open until later and it was cold and dreary outside. After spending about about two hours there and trying to get a reply from the host, my cousins and brother went to the actual airbnb to see if we were able to contact the host from there. The rest of us went and tried to chill somewhere else since we felt bad for staying so long at the starbucks. Plus, they were starting to get busy. We ended up at Target which was perfect since we needed to buy some toiletries. Also, there were other things to look at so it wasn't as boring.

The other group had no luck contacting the host so they went off on their own, but when it reach around 10am we met up again at our first destination.

GOLDEN UNICORN RESTAURANT

We arrived just as they opened so we were the first customers. The experience was meh. I felt like because we were the first customers, all looked young, and non-locals, they didn't really respect us compared to the other people that came in. It was a bunch of uncles and aunties serving us. We did speak Chinese to them, but they seemed annoyed because we were ordering a few dishes at a time like 3-4. In my defense, it's because the things we had wanted to eat, they didn't really have. There were only like three different carts going around and their dim sum selection was really basic. They had a traditional dim sum one like the har gow and suimai, the dessert one with the sweeter pastries like custard buns, and then another one with meats like the chicken feet and spare ribs. That's it. I don't think I'll ever go back. I think what made this place popular is the name - actual food was just basic.

LING KEE
[ forgot to take pic ]
After dimsum, we went to get beef jerky at Ling Kee. It was SO good. The jerky was really fresh and tender. The flavor was great, too! My brother and boyfriend got the pork and beef ones.

WAH FUNG

Since we were in the area, we also stopped by Wah Fung before heading to the airbnb. We found this place through a Food Insider video or maybe Buzzfeed video. It's a quick little char sui place. We decided to get it to bring back to the airbnb as a snack later. It smelled and tasted pretty good. They use the fat oils as a sauce which was flavorful, but I couldn't eat the whole thing. It was too greasy for me and I was afraid to overeat because I didn't want to feel sick. OUR TRIP JUST STARTED haha. Need to be in good shape for other foods.

99 FAVOR TASTE

We made reservations for this korean bbq and hot pot place that was highly recommended by my friend. My group all wanted to just do the kbbq so to make it easier on our server I did the same. Their kbbq was okay. Apparently, their hot pot is a lot better so maybe I'll revisit this place another time. I forgot to take pictures here so I only have this one with these mushrooms and mussels. It was actually really good - it took a while to cook though.

TAIYAKI NYC

Of course we managed to still have room for dessert. I got the custard filled fish cone and the matcha and black sesame ice cream swirl with sprinkles and condense milk. The ice cream part was okay. I could barely taste the matcha since the black sesame overpowered it. The custard cone though - it was GOOD. I definitely enjoyed the cone part more.

We also stopped my Best Fren which is the Korean beauty store. I only got some pimple patches since I was running out, but overall a pretty cute store.