Trip to the City of Brotherly Love

City Hall

Every year the company I work for organizes a conference trip where employees are invited to attend workshops, mingle with our vendors and get to know the rest of the company a little better. This year, our conference trip took us to Philadelphia, PA.

I have been to this city a few times before but never actually stayed for more than a day. Most of my trips had been day trips at best, sometimes even just a few hours long at most when I needed to make a drive down for some work stuff at Philadelphia Airport.

I got in via Amtrak at 30th St Station in the evening on Tuesday and the company had arranged for us to stay at a hotel in downtown. The Amtrak train station is really nice in Philly, definitely something I noticed as I got off the train.

Another Thai Halal Foodventure: Khao Thai Kitchen

Thai Authentic Duck Noodle Soup

You would think that I have an obsession with Thai food at this rate but can you blame me if many of the new spots that my friends are talking about are Thai?

NYU campus area is known for its small quick bite restaurants and hole in the wall kind of places for students to stop by and grab a bite to eat. However, there are many other restaurants in the area that are proper sit down places where one can expect good service and good food. This also means higher prices. But not all places have to be like that.

Checking out a new spot: Nur Thai

Chocolate Lava Cake
w/Green Tea Ice Cream

As evident from some of my posts, I have a passion for food, especially unique cuisines. However, a lot of times it is hard to explore when many cuisines are not available with Halal options. That is why whenever I get a chance to eat at a new halal restaurant, I jump at it.

Today my family and I were in Queens and we decided to check out this spot that recently opened up called Nur Thai. It is location on woodhaven blvd in Queens, NY. As we drove to it, I have to say that memories of when we used to live in Queens came flooding back while we drove through Jamaica and the our old stomping grounds.

Bistro Truck Grows Up

As most of NY'ers know, the food scene is all about the street carts. There are the Halal Guys on 53rd st and 6th ave, there is the Samy's Halal carts all over NYC, and then there are various other Halal cart vendors all over the boroughs. Recently, a halal cart vendor opened shop in Staten Island near my parent's house, how crazy is that?

Since the success of the halal cart vendors, there has been a surge of a different kind of food venue, Food Trucks. The surge in these food trucks has been remarkable and the variety in the food they offer is deliciously incredible. There are trucks that server Korean BBQ, Moroccan, Indian, Chinese, and all types of other lunch options. Then there are the trucks that server dessert, from cupcakes to ice cream.

Grubbing at Madison Square Eats

Beautiful day for a food festival

It is that time of the year again, when food festivals are abound and streets are filled with food trucks that were on hiatus during the chilly days of winter. I am still waiting for my favorite food trucks to hit the streets but until then I will have to settle for the lesser liked but equally tasty food from Madison Square Eats.

Hiking in Breakneck Ridge

This past Saturday, I was invited to go hiking with a few friends of mine. Having done some hiking before, I agreed to go thinking that it would be a lot of fun. Well, the hike turned out to be as much fun as I thought I would have and then some.

Rainy Quepos, Costa Rica (Nov 23, 2010)

After a good night's rest, we got up early in the morning and left the hotel from Monteverde to drive to Quepos. Our drive took us through some beautiful mountains and clouds. We arrived in Quepos around evening time and settled into our hotel to get some rest.