It’s been 3 years: I’ve been to lots of places (mostly for munches and gulps), but I’d like to commemorate my favorites in a post because coming up with this list certainly wasn’t easy or cheap. It is a reflection of my personal preferences and tastes, and I hope to expand and curate this list very selectively in the future. The numbers in no way reflect my choice of one venue over another; they are all equally awesome to one another.

1. Ace Hotel — Breslin Bar, Stumptown Coffee, & John Dory Oysters

3 delicious venues all in one place. The Breslin Bar serves up a lot of American/British fare; Stumptown Coffee has the most amazing biscotti – fresh, aromatic, hints of ginger and spices with each bite, that pairs well with any of their famous coffees; Have yet to try John Dory but I have only heard good things about it!

2. Meatpacking District (at night)

The area looks very different in the day — posh and family-friendly with close vicinity to TriBeCa. However, at night the are just lights up with a very different sort of energy. It is where all the expensive and posh nightclubs as well as lounges are located, and as you walk through the partially lit cobblestone streets at night you feel like you are forever young and invincible.

3. Eataly

It’s always fun to visit Eataly and have a quick espresso, a cup of sinful gelato, indulge in a good glass of wine, or reminisce Italy by savoring one of their signature bufala mozzarella pizzas. The place feels like a departmental store meets marketplace. The restaurants are divided into sections for Vegetables, Seafood, Meats, Pizza & Pasta and there is also a rooftopbar that opens during warmer weather. You always eat well in Eataly, and if you want to learn how to cook Italian food, their cooking school/restaurant La Scuola can help you.

4. Doyers St. — Sanur, Nom Wah Tea Parlor, Apothéke

This is Doyer’s Street. I like all 3 places above, but it is more of the odd juxtaposition that makes this street stand out to me and not the individual places. Sanur is one of the cheapest Malaysian joints in Manhattan that serves a few decent Malaysian Chinese dishes. It also happens to be very ghetto as you have to walk down this dingy little staircase to reach the restaurant, which in my opinion only adds to its charm. Nom Wah to me is a Hong Kong dim sum parlor with a British colonial feel, that serves decent dimsum and is interesting because it has a lot more White visitors than actual Asians. Apothéke is an apothecary themed speakeasy/mixology bar that serves up some interesting cocktails. The bartenders are dressed in lab coats and there are some laboratory apparatus on the bar counter, which makes the place feel all the more experimental with your drinks. I would recommend the Jumanji and the Bees Knees. 

FYI, the pic above is the outside of Doyer’s Street; the pic below is what’s inside. It was a huge shocker to me to realize that Apothéke was right next door to Nom Wah and just a few doors down from Sanur. And that’s why I like this street — it is simply full of surprises and located in a very interesting location in Chinatown. In fact it is only 200 feet long and feels very much enclosed and isolated from the rest of Chinatown.

Fancy right?

5. World Financial Center

The WFC area is absolutely stunning with its see-through glass facade that houses 16 45-feet palm trees in the middle of this corporate office cluster. It’s a great place to grab a cup of coffee and enjoy the views. If you step outside you will be greeted by the sight of boats, and and an amazing view of the waterfront. You can learn to sail here, as well as cycle and walk about Battery Park, which is arguably one of the most scenic parks in NYC.

Absolutely breathtaking feeling to walk into this place. They call this spot the Winter Garden. God knows why…. Scratch that. Not even God.

6. Smorgasburg DUMBO

For all the foodies out there, Smorgasburg is the ultimate food fair! There are lots of Smorgas events going on in both Manhattan and Brooklyn. But the particular one I like best is the one by DUMBO, because it is housed in this old tobacco warehouse (the walls surrounding the booths) and the eclectic mix of food is sure to tickle your tastebuds. Among my favorites here are the chicken and waffle, the lobster rolls/seafood, Grady’s coffee, Mighty Quinn’s BBQ etc etc etc. You will never go hungry… with the right amount of money. After purchasing your meal, make sure to sit by the waterfront or under a grassy patch under the Brooklyn Bridge. Don’t forget that the Brooklyn Bridge Ice Cream Factory is right next door, so make sure to stop by and try some of that good stuff.

7. South Street Seaport (in the Summer)

So this spot may look familiar to most tourists in the day, but at night is when the real magic happens. Because on summer nights the salseros come out to dance Salsa. And when I say Salsa, I don’t necessarily mean the Salsa on1/on2 you learn in a dance class. These people are from Spanish-speaking countries like Chile, Argentina etc. that dance in the most confusing yet natural looking way possible that I just can’t keep up with. It feels magical and surreal to just stand and watch South America unfurl before your eyes. Their dance moves are raw and unstructured, but all the more real and culturally significant.

8. Washington Square Park

Perks of the park: music, sun, grass, ice cream. Washington Square Park is the unofficial park of NYU. It has a fountain in the middle and the famous Washington arch that marks the start of 5th avenue. 5th Avenue runs north and divides the island of Manhattan in half. Right of 5th ave is the East side, and West on the other. I think that the best part of the park is the free music/shows. People come here to sing, dance, perform, for money or for leisure. The amazing piano player (there is only one of him) is there almost everyday with the exception of winter. Believe it or not, he plays a portable piano on wheels so he could be playing in various spots throughout the seasons. Jazz music and other sorts of parades/riots/protests are held here on an ad-hoc basis which makes it a very eventful spot throughout the year. Make sure you visit the dog park and drool over the cute doggies too!

9. Housing Works Bookstore Cafe

2nd hand books Bookstore + Cafe + Charity = Win. They also hold poetry/story slams here on weeknights, as well as lots of weddings during the summer.

10. Eugene O’Neill Theater – Book of Mormon

If you think that saying “Oh God” out loud in vain is disrespectful then you need not watch what the creators of South Park have in store for the world to see. IMO this is the best Broadway show out there. Fuck Lion King (I thought it was overrated). Fuck Phantom (Phantom was not bad actually). Fuck Wicked  Wicked is awesome. But not as awesome as the Book of Mormon!

11. Brooklyn Art Library

This is probably one of the coolest concepts I have come across, besides Brooklyn Brainery/Skillshare (will talk about them later).  This ‘library’ houses sketchbooks that have been submitted by people from all around the world. You come in, sign up for a free library card, pick what kind of sketchbooks you would like to read, and sit down and wait for the person in charge to bring you a few. Once you are done with them, you can trade up with people sitting around you, or you can ask to read some more. It’s a great place to spend the time away admiring art and ideas of everyday people from every corner of the globe. You never have to pay for this service, as they make money from every sketchbook that is submitted to the project.

12. Brooklyn Academy of Music

bam.org — For all the art/film/theater lovers out there. They show lots of new independent films, recuts or cleaned up versions of old classics etc. It’s a refreshing break from some of the silly Hollywood films that plague the other cinemas.

13. Brooklyn Brainery

In the case of this place, it’s more of the concept and trend that I’m trying to represent and not really the venue. So, in the past few years (since the 2008 economic crisis really — that we are still feeling to this day) there have a been a lot of innovations going on. People have been trying to rethink education and learning, because frankly college doesn’t give us the education to succeed in life anymore, and there are a lot of skills that we need/want to pick up but are not taught in school. This is where places like Brooklyn Brainery/Skillshare/Udemy etc. come into play. Take a class you want either online or in-person. It could be any class, it could be anything. The spirit of life long learning lives on with these institutions, and the classes are usually really fun and taught by.. just the average Joe who happened to hone a particular skill/specialization really.