A Day Trip to New York

Hello everyone! It's been quite hectic after co-op started for me, but I finally found some time to post!

Last month (September 2011), I had the chance to go to New York for a day trip, and here's what I was introduced to while I visited St. Marks in East Village. This particular area has lots of Japanese shops, so I was super excited to go and explore :]

1) Otafuku
236 E. 9th Street, New York, NY 10003
This place is famous for their takoyaki! They also sell yakisoba, okinomoyaki and edamane. There is no seating in the shop because it's basically a whole in the wall. The prices range from $5-8. In my opinion, it's as close as takoyaki can get in terms of street food. To learn more about what takoyaki is and how you can find it here in Philly, check out my previous blog here.

2) Sunrise Mart

29 3rd Avenue, New York, NY 10003

In Philadelphia, we have the Korean supermarket called Hmart, and I have yet to find a Japanese one. Hmart does sell some Japanese and Chinese food, but it's main target is Korean food. So when I heard there was one at St. Marks, I just had to go visit to buy snacks that I can't find here....yet! Below you can see what I brought. I brought 4 bags of chips, 3 chocolates (Meiji Black Chocolate, Meiji Milk Chocolate and Kitkat made with dark chocolate), 2 onigiris (chicken and salmon) and one Qoo drink (apple).

3) Panya Bakery
8 Stuyvesant Street, New York, NY 10003
This place is absolutely breathe taking! There are so many cakes, macarons, snacks and drinks to choose from! In addition to that, they also serve real meals, like their Japanese-style breakfast! This is definitely not something I found in Philly yet! I brought a tiramisu, cream puff and 3 mixed macarons (I ended up getting yuzu, white chocolate and rose). They were all delicious, except the rose macaron...I just don't eat flowers :( but it did have a pleasant smell :]

4) Whiskers Holistic Petcare
235 E. 9th Street, New York, NY 10003
While I was at Otafuku, I noticed a pet shop across from it. Of course I walked over after eating to look around for some goodies for my David (my pet cat). We've been trying to find some treats/food that were made of real chicken or some other real type of meat, since he didn't eat wet food. The lady at the shop introduced us to "Whole Life Freeze Dried Chicken." We only brought a small bag for David to try, and he absolutely loves it! So, if you have a cat (I think there's a dog one too), you might want to give it a try. I did a search online and it seems the only way to get this stuff is via Amazon.com. I haven't found any place in Philly that sells this yet.

As always, thanks to Regina at 903cafe for taking me around the area and introducing me to so many new things! I'll definitely be visiting New York again soon to buy these delicious snacks and treats for David. Look out for my next update! :]