NYC Bagel Factory

Mr Bear ate bagels everyday during our recent trip to New York. Yum !

To feed the bagel addiction back home, we tried frozen bagels from Cold Storage (small and non-chewy), Starbucks bagels (you're better off having a Breadtalk bun) and even contemplated making some of our own.

Finally, someone mentioned a bagel company in Bedok.

Huh ?

The NYC Bagel Factory produces its bagels at a Bedok North factory, and supplies them to various Jason's and Cold Storages around town. At Cold Storage Holland Village they were in a plastic display case atop the meat counter at only $1.50 per bagel. Easy to miss if you're not looking out for the them.

We bought 2 plain bagels and a cinnamon raisin one, halved and anointed each with generous layer of cream cheese, and chased them down with home-brewed Yakun coffee. That added up to a fabulous East-meets-West "tea".

Favourite Bar in New York: Flor de Sol

Unpretentious bar and restaurant in Tribeca. I'm going to make a pilgrimage there everytime I return to Manhattan.

I think its appeal has a lot to do with minor similarities to my favourite watering hole in Singapore: Que Pasa. It doesn't have the delicious chicken wings, but makes up for it with a lot of Spanish vibe.

When the 2Bears stopped by last month, there was a stomping flamenco session going on for entertainment as we sipped our red wine and port. Ole !

Review: Europa Cafe, New York (4 out of 5 bear paws)

This cafe chain beats any hands down.

It has a lively decor and wideranging menu (burritos on demand, full range of sweets, freshly made soups, good coffee) and if I lived in Manhattan I'd be making a beeline for it every day.

We certainly made our fair share of visits when we were staying around the corner at Times Square. It's a fiesta for your mouth ! :)

Review: Pearl Oyster Bar, New York (4.5 out of 5 bear paws)

Pearl Oyster Bar in New York's Greenwich Village outshines many of the San Francisco seafood eateries, and certainly the ones on Fisherman's Wharf.

It's seafood so fresh you wish you had it this way all the time. The only downside is the long wait when you don't get to the restaurant early.

The 2Bears perched our behinds on our barstools just after opening time at 12 pm, before the lunch crowd reared its ugly head, and snarfed down oysters and steamed mussels in a creamy sauce. Pearl Oyster Bar is reknowned for its Lobster Roll, but due to a recent hike in lobster prices, the dish retails at USD 27, and we thought we'd better spend that money shopping in Century 21 or Woodbury Common !

Review: Prawn Mee at Nyonya Restaurant, New York (4 out of 5 bear paws)

Nyonya
194 Grand Street, Manhattan


Just as you wouldn't expect a good bagel in Singapore, you wouldn't expect a good prawn noodle in New York.

Or would you ?

10 years ago, Ms Bear was a exchange student in New York, and came to know about what's probably the best prawn noodle in the city, and some would say the world.

The 2Bears went to see whether Ms Bear's recollection was tainted by any homesickness or Asian food deprivation, and I'm happy to say I wasn't hallucinating and the standard has held up for more than a decade.

It's a bigger better version of the best you can get in Singapore or Penang. The Hokkien noodles are springy, the broth is extremely rich, and makes you wonder whether prawns are a bargain in New York.

If only Singapore chefs could do the same about bagels ...

Don't Bahn Mi from having this sandwich ...

The 2Bears were recently in New York and I wanted to find the best Bahn Mi (Vietnamese sandwich) there.

All reviews pointed to Saigon Bakery at 138 Mott Street. Sounds a little posh, doesn't it ?

Picture this: nondescript sign, Asian jewelry counter on your left, benches on your right and a little counter at the end of the store.

It's a cheap jewelry store with a Vietnamese sandwich take-out counter. Or vice versa.

For those who became familar with Bahn Mi in Singapore, it's probably by way of the Vietnamese outlet at the basement of Raffles City. That's a TINY (and expensive) sandwich in comparison to Saigon Bakery's product where USD 3.50 gets you a 12 inch long baguette filled with cold cuts, tangy Vietnamese pickles, a hint of coriander, and lashings of mayo.

When you're eating on the run making the most of a few hours in NY's Chinatown, it doesn't get any more fulfilling.

Blooming Wonderful

Ms Bear tried in vain to re-create Tuscan fields of sunflowers in front of the 2Bears' house. After 2 months of tender loving care, and dozens of seeds, a sole sturdy plant emerged, which I am proudly displaying here.

Alas, the rest are fighting to keep up.

My yellow fever's passed, and I'm on the lookout for a more rewarding (and longer lasting) plant to get my greenthumbs on.