2 day trips from NYC

Beacon, Hudson Valley

The DIA gallery is just over 1 hour away on the Metro North railroad. Once you arrive everything is within walking distance from the DIA, to the Main Street and all the hiking trails you could want. The gallery is housed in a former Nabisco factory so it's huge and perfect to showcase the mostly, large-scale works including over 60 of the 100+ Andy Warhol shadows prints (seen below).

Jenkinson's Boardwalk, New Jersey

This boardwalk and beach were just over one hours' drive from Midtown. It was a rather overcast day when we visited but you can see how wide the boardwalk is. There's plenty to do aside from the beach including sampling fair food like funnel cakes, all the usual fast food but also a sushi bar hidden inside an arcade, a bar at the end of a pier, a young kids' fun park and a video games arcade.

Or you could always just stay in the city and head to Central Park. You never know who you might see there...

Momofuku Ssam

Where would you take friends who are visiting New York from out of town? Well, it has to fit certain criteria. It must dazzle, overwhelm, excite and be quintessentially New York without being overly-touristy. Answer: a branch of Momofuku, i.e. either the impossibly-difficult to reserve, Ko, the more refined, European taste of Ma Peche, the cheap, fun and noisy Noodle Bar or the less cheap but still fun and noisy, Ssam.

Originally, I wanted to try Momofuku Ssam's PORK BUTT (yes, this meal deserves to be written in upper case!) meal for 6-10 people that needs to be booked in advance but even week night reservations were hard to come by with less than a week's notice. However, a table was not too long a wait on a Tuesday night even for 5.

We made our way through the following dishes:

1. Fuji Apple Kimchi - Big wedges of skinless apple were tossed with chilli powder, seasoning, crispy jowl bacon, arugula leaves and served with a smear of maple labne. Not a soaked cabbage leaf in sight!

2. Pork buns and BBQ Buns - I've previously raved about the pork buns that come with hoisin sauce, pickled cucumbers and scallions but they now have a bbq version that consists of crispy pork belly, coleslaw and smoked mayo. I preferred the original compared the the bigger and richer flavors of the BBQ one but neither lasted long-enough for a photo!

3. Duck Sandwich - Imagine a perfectly fresh baguette, doused in olive oil and toasted then layered with duck prosciutto, shredded iceberg lettuce and peppadews (or roasted sweet peppers). It was better than it sounds, but again, awfully rich.

4. Grilled Flat Iron Steak - High-quality steak cooked medium-rare was sliced and served with bulgur, romanesco and onion soubise. It still just tasted like steak to me and was the least inventive dish of the night.

5. Charred Spanish Octopus - Juicy and tender tentacles had been cut into segments, charred and plated up with pine nuts, tiny bits of celery, black olive and crispy rice. Squeakingly fresh and moreish.

6. Spicy Pork Sausage and Rice Cakes - This dish was a favorite for most of us. It came in a big bowl and the sausage and rice cakes had been cut up into equal sized chunks and mixed with this amazing sauce that was spicy, salty and sweet at the same time. Chinese broccoli and Sichuan peppercorn added extra elements. A must-order even if you don't normally like sausage.

7. Chevre Sorbet - This dish was like a dessert cheese plate. The sorbet was creamy with that hint of sourness you get from chevre and served with beetroot sorbet, crunchy granola and stewed lime. It was the least popular dessert given the confusion of flavors on the plate.

8. Lemon Meringue Pie - Their take on this classic dessert was thicker and heavier than what we expected but that's just what David Chang does - surprises you! There was no fluffy meringue atop lemon curd here but a condensed lemon meringue filling in a pie crust studded with pistachio and served with a lemon curd that tasted very almond-like on the side. It's a rather good dessert but too heavy after all that food and would be better if you had it for afternoon tea with a strong black tea or something.

9. Seasonal dessert special: Pancakes with raspberry jam, served with crispy bacon and black pepper butter sauce. My overseas visitors could not resist the allure of ordering this especially since we had a bacon-lover in our presence. The short and thick stack of pancakes was cute and dense. They were sweet and cake-like with layers of jam inbetween that had been conveniently cut into 5 for each of us. The crispy-bacon served on the side was not dissimilar to that which accompanied the apple kimchi dish and the black pepper butter sauce was rich and creamy. The result was a sweet, salty and sour dish that was intriguing and creative but not something that you want to eat a lot of or even finish after all that filling food. Only order this if you are feeling adventurous!

Unsurprisingly, I actually felt a bit sick after eating all this rich food. It's an overly-indulgent, sensory and stomach overload but hey, friends don't visit that often from out of town! 

Albany: New York's capital city

New York's capital city, Albany does not seem to be a place that many New Yorkers have ever been unless they have had a reason to visit. I had reason to recently, did the research and present to you my tasty travel tips in the event that you to have reason or not reason.

Megabus - I was lured by Megabus' ads for $1 trips. Online there were fares that started at $1 but it depends on your destination, time of day and when you book. I ended up paying $9 (including all taxes and fees) for a return trip from the city to Albany.

*TIP: Megabus advises that passengers arrive at least 15 minutes before departure. I arrived about 20 minutes earlier and there was already a line but I still managed to get the front seat on the top deck so head in earlier if you want your pick of seats or you're with a group and want to sit together.

Henry Kab - As soon as I disembarked at Albany, Renssalaer there were a few cabs around.  I got into a cab with another couple (which is not unusual to split fares in Albany) and a very friendly and knowledgeable cab driver who was a local. He worked for a company called Henry Kab and I would recommend them for value, service and restaurant tips (see Shogun below).

He did have this unusual sticker on the dashboard though!

The Egg - This is a theatre and venue for live music. I saw Conor Oberst here a few months ago and one of the first things he said on stage was, 'I've never played in an Egg before'. Check out their website for listings of performances. It's also just a great building to see from the outside and impossible to miss amongst the perpendicular buildings on Empire State Plaza.

Empire State Plaza - The Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza is a complex of several state government buildings in downtown Albany, New York. The complex was built between 1959 and 1976. It was too large to capture in one photo but you get the idea.

New York State Museum - This museum is at the South end of the Empire State Plaza and is a great free museum with a large range of displays.

Recently, they had these notable items on display: A fragment of moonrock collected by Apollo 17 from the moon:

A fossil of a mastodon;

The original set of Sesame Street (who knew it would up in Albany?); and

A huge collection of fire trucks used in NY including this old one:

Towne Place Suites by Marriot (Medical Center location) - This was a great hotel if you want larger rooms and an apartment style suite that included a fully-equipped kitchen. The hotel is fairly new and clean and the staff were friendly and welcoming. It's close to everything despite the description of its' location as 'Medical Center'. I recommend this hotel for value and location to restaurants and cafes on Lark Street (see below).

Hotel Albany - This hotel is older in terms of age and style. It's only 1 block from Empire State Plaza. It's more in the downtown area amongst offices.

RESTAURANT AND SHOPPING  AREAS:

Most of the restaurants that sounded interesting were on or around Lark Street including Shogun (corner Madison Street) and Caffe Vero (corner Hudson).

It's a long street and there are also a range of shops on it but they were mostly small ones. There are 3 big malls about 15 minutes away if you want chain stores and movies: Stuyvesant, Crossgates and Colonie Mall (newest). I did not go to these but just listing it here FYI.

Shogun - This place was recommended to me by Mr Henry Kab and he was right - it's great. The place is funky and modern. There's a bar where they serve saketinis and the menu has a range of Japanese and Thai dishes on it. Sushi was the star though as their sushi bar testified. I had the 3 maki combination with California, salmon and tuna rolls, which came with miso soup for $14. Awesome sushi but the miso was very watered down.

The Daily Grind - They sell freshly roasted and ground coffee here which lured me in. The cafe itself was very rundown, cramped and not a great spot to dine in. The menu listed a range of all day breakfast and lunch items that were mostly sandwiches. I ordered the house corned beef hash with peppers, served with 2 eggs and toast ($7.95). Let's just say I left most of it on the plate. I did not even order a coffee after that so it may be great coffee. Let me know!

As you can see there are cool things to check out if you're in the area and looking for some food and fun but you need to seek them out. Hopefully, I've made that a bit easier for you.

(Photo of the cobbled Lark Street with the sun beaming down)