Monday, May 11, 2009

09 May 2009 - Albany Tulip Festival 2009

yeah...it's Tulip Fest again!
one of my favourite flowers blooming...
i was so upset last year...
cos i had no camera to capture their beauty...
this year i cant missed it!! haha~
now that i'm living nearer to Washington Park,
i went there a few times for a walk in the evenings...
watched those tulip patches turned from green leaves...
to pretty colourful flowers~
this year the weather in Albany got warm faster...
some tulip patches already bloomed and died...
i remembered it was colder last year during Tulip Fest...
now it's a real Spring season...
i had my fair share of American junk food...
fried dough, ribbon chips, gyros, cinnamon bun...
and cherry Italian ice!
it's bad eating those fried food but they tasted so GOOD!
especially when you go to a fair or festival...
never ever miss them!!! haha~
the one and only not-so-cool thing happened...
when we are watching the concert at the lawn area,
some crazy, drunk, young and stupid Americans
started lifting their friends up and tossed them around...
my friends and i got hit twice which made us so pissed!
we walked out of the concert...to avoid getting hurt~
*stupid party-poopers!*
******
pre-festival link:
flower link:

Sunday, May 10, 2009

08 May 2009 - Yves's farewell dinner

two more months for us - the girls...
but two more weeks for Yves (a.k.a. ex-housemate)
just in time for the downtown restaurant week!!
dinner in Marche @ 74 State
one of those fine restaurants in Albany,
well-known in my department too...
cos the executive chef is my director's son!
how can you not heard about the restaurant??
it's the time to go when they offer a 3-course dinner
for only $20.09... it's a steal!
(excluding taxes & tips)
still it's worth it...
nice dining ambiance....yummy food...
and it's been a while the whole group got together...
this should be /is our last gathering in US!
*sob sob*
Yves will be the 1st working in AMRI Singapore!
from being one of the pioneer STRAT trainees...
to the pioneer employee in M&B department!!
while the rest of us are still waiting on a verdict...
******



the girls...
waiting at the lobby for our table to be ready
*hungry*
the bar dining area at 2nd level...
not-too-bad view looking out to the streets...

the menu...everything looks good!

my drink...Midori with Sierra Mist!

Starter: Wild ramps and Mushrooms Risotto

Entree: Grilled Salmon with Spring Pea Risotto

Dessert: Banana Bread Pudding with Caramel sauce

Finally...a group pic as usual!

02-03 May 2009 - New Jersey and NYC

i braved the risk of swine flu....
made my way down to the city!
haha...not that i don't care~
actually i'm already in the affected area!
it's all good and under control here...
1st time exploring around New Jersey area!
it's really fun meeting up a friend over a weekend...
in somewhere both of us know very little or nothing about!
the drivers in New Jersey are simply crazy!!!
fast...aggressive...impatient...dangerous...
an eye-opener for me...
still an inexperience driver compared to them...
found some interesting places in NJ...
one of them is a huge Japanese marketplace
of course...which i spent quite abit of time...
eating...shopping...it's like Meidi-ya or Isetan...
yet a different name and location!
i realised how much i missed having those food!
ohhh...the best thing was...
i found my favourite peach water from Japan too!!!
"JT Momo no Tennesui"
it's so much like a small Japanese town there...
makes me realised there's alot of Japanese in US....
especially in NJ~
or maybe it's just the place....
where they can get stuffs like home
i think if there's a Singapore eatery around,
there will be a lot of Singaporean too!
it's just not happening in Albany...
******
in NYC, with the swine flu alert...
nothing is stopping tourists going around!!
it's still packed with people...
things are still up and going...
only the weather was bad for us....
raining...raining...raining...
i guess i can never get bored with NYC~
everytime i just feel everything's new or changed...
having not enough time to explore...
don't mind doing the same things again...
there always something i have to go back to NYC for!!
AND....surprise~surprise~ i find new things EVERYTIME~
well, if only Orchard Road could be the same...
it would be so boring....
easier to find things to do or places to go!
******