Lately, I’ve been quietly reviving a regular blogging / writing ritual over on Substack. I feel like I’m finally finding my stride again, and want to bring some of that writing back over here, too. I’ve made a bit of Sunday ritual out of it - where I write the post the morning / day of (while listening to a cozy jazz playlist on Spotify). While the goal is to write every Sunday - sometimes my schedule doesn’t allow for it, and I’m giving myself grace on those days. Last Sunday, for example, I skipped writing because I was in the city.

Anyways, today’s post is all about the fun that was had on that day! It’s probably one of my favorite days in a long time, coming off of a very long and cold winter. If you’ve been following along over on Instagram this week, none of this is new - but it’s everything in one place. 🙂

I started off with a long overdue frolic through Chinatown. I had wanted to get out here for some of the Lunar New Year events, but it didn’t quite pan out. Despite missing the festivities, I still got to stop by some old favorite spots (and keep my eye out for cute snakes 🐍).

Po Wing Hong (49 Elizabeth St) - Chinese grocery store where I picked up some nostalgic snacks & a bottle of sriracha; it’s always bustling on the weekend!

Cheong Fun Cart (159 Hester St) - I used to come here all the time with my mom (who grew up in Chinatown). They serve the perfect fresh steamed rice noodle rolls at a great price w/ the filling of your choice.
Manna House Bakery (125 Mott St) - the quintessential Chinatown bakery! They have the best egg custard tarts (“dan tat”), sweet topping buns (“bolo bao”), & vanilla sponge cake rolls.
Uni 28 (28 Bowery) - I was devastated to see the gate down and “retirement sale” posted on the door but took photos of what I could through the gate. 🥺 I’ve always loved coming here to see the LNY decorations and red envelope designs over the years. 🧧

After Chinatown, I met up with my friend and her friend (who was visiting from out of town) for brunch / dim sum at Spicy Moon (Bowery location). Everything on the menu is fully vegan! We ordered (and shared):

dan dan noodles (really good, so bouncy, one of their most popular dishes)
fried veggie dumplings (we all loved these)
vegan duck wrap (tofu based, tasted very duck-like imo)
char siu shitake bao (was so intrigued to try this as someone who grew up eating pork based char siu baos; I wished it was bigger lol)
spicy tofu bao (also wished this was bigger, but again this is coming from someone who grew up eating the baos of Chinatown 😅)
Thai iced tea (pictured), matcha latte (pictured), cappuccino; (my matcha latte sadly had some clumps in it, but it was very pretty)

Overall, it was a fun dining experience, and I loved the ambiance of the place. (The bathroom was selfie worthy; first photo) 😉. I’d love to go back and try more things off their menu sometime. 😋

Next, we took the subway into Williamsburg (Brooklyn) to a magical literal dream world called Haricot Vert. I could have spent all day ogling over all the tiny adorable things. They are best known for their handmade picto charms (pictured above). You can DIY your own jewelry (necklace, bracelet, earrings, keychains, etc), enjoy a cozy drink or pastry from their cafe, try your luck at their $1 trinket vending machine, and take a polaroid selfie for their community collage. They also host a number of events and workshops in their craft nook. I had just missed their sticker swap with art gurl the day before. 😅

We ended the day with a couple sweet treats starting with Taiyaki. My friend and her friend ordered the “Straight Out Japan” matcha hojicha swirl, and I opted for the “beach please” mango strawberry swirl (for ✨variety✨).

We ate and took photos in front of this nearby colorful wall. Enjoying ice cream outside when the first signs of spring start to hit?? So satisfying. A couple groups of people asked us “where did you get that?” and we happily directed them “just across the street.” I guess you can call us *unofficial Taiyaki ambassadors.* 🙃

Our last stop of the day was Martha’s Country Bakery. 🍰 Being that we had just eaten ice cream, we didn’t get anything from their pastry cases - but it was still fun to do a drive by (for an instant serotonin boost). A part of me kinda regrets not getting a slice of cake or a cupcake to take home, but I also already had some goodies from Chinatown in my bag. 😂 We all got drinks, though. I ordered my second matcha latte of the day - which at 5 pm was probably a little bit of an oops, but that’s okay.