New Orleans

I read about the place in books, seen it on TV, but still, I didn't know what to expect. I'm not sure if it was the company, but the moment I stepped onto Bourbon Street - you knew this place was something different. To be known as "The Big Easy" is one thing, but to have a street named after bourbon? These people must be really serious.

Seriously laid-back, is what they are. Being an Australian, it is hard to imagine anyone else friendlier, but the people here definitely are. And Bourbon Street parties like there is no tomorrow.

Aside from the alcohol-fueled shenanigan that is Bourbon Street, New Orleans (a.k.a. N.O.,LA; N'awlins) is also known for its jazz scene, arts, and seafood. Where else in the world can you stroll down the street and then jazz just happens? A block away and parallel to Bourbon Street, is Royal Street, which is littered with art galleries. And then the seafood. Half dozen of fresh oysters for $7; crawfish po-boy (my favourite), and more shrimp than you can get. Now I can say I tried gumbo, and jambalaya.

Having travelled around the last year has got me some what jaded - but NOLA renewed that enthusiasm, and reminded me how big and diverse the U.S. of A is. 2.5hour flight from New York, and what a different face! 

Oh, New Orleans... you're just like a drunken love.

Jazz on a street corner with dancers

Poetry to go on Frenchman Street

Spontaneous Jazz on Frenchman Street

Crawfish

Antique shop on Royal Street

Toy Soldiers, displayed at a Royal Street shopfront

Royal Street facade

Lucky Dogs - they don't taste bad either when one is drunk at 3am

Crawfish po-boy

Just another street in the French Quarter

Mississippi River

Bourbon Street at night

If you were wondering what a hand grenade is...

... these are the shots

Flushing, NY

Over a very cold, very wet New York week, the skies opened up on the day we decided to venture out yonder to Flushing to eat some Chinese food. Even the gods approved of an over-eating adventure. 

I was intrigued with Flushing - because I had read so much about it. There is a Chinatown in Manhattan - but this is Cantonese speaking Chinatown - where the cuisine is Southern Chinese, with a mix of South East Asian food thrown in. These were second or third or maybe even older, generation of Chinese. 

Flushing was newer. It is bigger, it is messier, it is more Mainland. For starters, people speak Mandarin. And the food is Mainland Chinese. We went to a semi-Taiwanese restaurant - and of course we over ate. The table next to us stared at us. I suppose it does warrant some eye popping when two girls at the table inhales four dishes. 

You probably don't see Flushing in the movies, as you do Central Park, West Village, Upper East Side, Brooklyn etc. But this is a very real part of New York. This is one of the things that make New York so interesting - the diversity. It's probably the reason why New Yorkers don't ever feel the need to leave the country. Why? When you take a one hour train ride but gets transported half a world away?

Suburban Flushing

Restaurant we dined at 台港小吃 

Fried tofu

Minced meat with shallots - AMAZING

Stir fry clams - can I use the word amazing again?

Tea cooked hot pot chicken

Yes, that is between two of us.

We found a skewer store - so authentic in fact, that they sold chicken heart!

Meat skewers 串儿 - almost as good as those in Beijing! (Though half the size)

Streets of Flushing

Cheapest groceries in New York