Birthday Adventure

Hey Guys! So last Wednesday, I turned 21 years old and I wanted to share with you how the day went and the cool places I went so you can check them out too!

I started with a nice dinner at Bangkok Cuisine UES because it is close to where I live and if you read my previous post (which you can find here), you will see why I needed to return and bring my family with me.

I had the same thing I ordered last time, which was the Massaman Curry, and it was delicious. However, maybe not the best thing to get in preparation for a night of drinking. LOL

My family all really enjoyed the meal as well, and my mom even mentioned that she, too, wanted to return to this restaurant in the future. This is a HUGE deal because my mother is a very picky eater and usually will not go to a restaurant that isn't basic Italian cuisine.

My next destination was Ziggy's Mexican Bar with two of my best friends, which is located on 2nd Ave between 77th and 78th street. We decided on Ziggy's for one very important reason. Ladies drink for FREE on Wednesday nights. So there you have it.

I have also eaten at Ziggy's before and have to say that their tacos are pretty delicious along with some of their other menu items. On Saturday and Sundays, they offer $10 bottomless drinks as long as you buy a $15 entree (which is three tacos). Totally worth it.

After Ziggy's my friends and I decided to take a stroll uptown to Insomnia Cookies. If you have never had an Insomnia cookie, stop whatever you are doing right now and go get one. (And then eat it while reading my blog).

They are served warm and fresh until 3am. AND they deliver. It's pure perfection.

Last, we ended up at Iggy's New York. Located on 2nd ave between 76th and 75th, it is a NYC staple that is open 7 days a week, 365 days a year from noon-4am. It also has karaoke at 7:30pm every.single.day. How can you go wrong?

So guys, all in all, my birthday went well. Be sure to check out one or more of these places for your next birthday (or just because you can...)

Bangkok Cuisine UES

Hey so I'm back with another restaurant recommendation. It is called Bangkok Cuisine and you must go asap. I found this place on Yelp after having an extreme craving for some good Asian food and this place certainly lived up to its high reviews and my high expectations. Here is what I ordered:

To start, I ordered a Thai Iced Tea, which is an awesome drink to have with spicy food because it cools down your taste buds due to the heavy cream. It was served in a tall glass which I think added to the atmosphere of the place, which you can also kinda see from this picture. Not to mention it was only $3! It was very clean and felt very southeast Asian. To top off the aesthetic of the restaurant, pictured below you will see a golden decoration. Guess who? Buddha.

As an appetizer, I had the Thai Style Pork BBQ. It was insanely good and came with a sweet and spicy dipping sauce that complemented the pork perfectly. It comes with 5 skewers, not three like pictured below. I ate two before remembering I needed to take pictures for my blog. They were THAT irresistible. $13.

Next, I had the Pad Prig Khing with beef. The picture is a little dark, but this dish includes veggies like carrots, string beans and red peppers all sautéed in a delicious curry paste. A perfect combination of flavor, which leaves me with nothing to critique.  $15. 

Finally, the Massaman Curry with chicken. A massaman curry includes coconut milk, butter beans, sweet onions and potatoes. Paired with chicken, this dish is irresistible. I probably could have eaten two, and I will definitely be returning to Bangkok Cuisine for this dish. If you have read my post on Up Thai, you might remember that I had this same curry, however, in comparison, Bangkok Cuisine wins, hands-down. $14. 

I have really no complaints about this restaurant, except one. On my bill, I was charged $3.50 for the Thai Iced Tea instead of $3 like it said on the menu. Although it is only $.50, it displays either a careless mistake, or the restaurant being sneaky and trying to make a few extra dollars. So watch out for things like this at any restaurant you go to! 

Please go here. I promise you won't regret it!! 

Up Thai

The next restaurant I want to suggest is called Up Thai. It is a more upscale thai place than you would expect, with prices that coincide with its atmosphere. The food was average in my opinion, except the Massaman Curry with beef ($14). This was phenomenal and I would return to this restaurant specifically for this curry. I also ordered the Pad Thai Woonsen ($12), which is a cold glass noodle dish and the Moo Dang ($12) which is Roasted BBQ pork, pork belly and Chinese sausage over rice.

The one thing that I feel is important to mention is the service was slow. I finished my meal and sat waiting for the check for at least 15 minutes. Then I waited another 15 minutes for the waitress to take my credit card and 10 more minutes for her to bring it back. The perfect way to ruin an already average meal.





My Rating: $$$ ***       (see sidebar for further explanation) 

Find the menu here: http://www.upthainyc.com/front/menu