Professional Bull Riders @ Madison Square Garden

Like the true barbarian that i am, i went for a professional bull riders' competition at Madison Square Garden.




and saw the most handsome cowboys... the stuff of Marlboro Man dreams...

and irritating mascots...


I never knew that Madison Square Garden was a indoor stadium. It was stinky - l -

and old ... i guess that's why they are renovating it now.



But who cares? I want to see the cowboys !!!!

And the cowboys i saw in a spectacular opening with fire and smoke and really cute cowboys. They had me screaming & cheering like a redneck the moment the opening ended.

The danger & allure of the sport. The cowboys looked so daringly reckless and handsome. The bulls were big, strong and irritable. During the competition, they kept showing videos of an accident that happened the night before where an unfortunate bull rider did not manage to escape in time and was stomped by a bull. He had 2 broken legs -l -

The riders just had to hang on for 8 seconds and get evaluated for the control & balance they had on the bull. The world champions were also in this competition and really put on a good show. There was a part of me that cringed at this sport and another part that just wanted to cheer and cheer on the handsome cowboys.

To prove that i am not a barbarian. I show to you.

The performance that i caught in Brooklyn called Richard the Third staged by the Bridge Project, starring Kevin Spacey. I knew that the man could act, i never knew this well. Kudos to you ! The limping, the power, the human, the sexuality.

And snowing in Central Park ...


Parents with their children on sleds.

Ripley's Believe It Or Not

Thanks to a Groupon deal, i headed to Ripley's Believe it Or Not ~


The world's tallest man ...

The world's ugliest woman

The real Popeye





My only comment might be that the most interesting exhibits are all displayed outside anyway. - l -

Museum of American Finance

...Regretted going to the Museum the moment i stepped through the door. Instead of an interesting insightful visit on the history of money, it was more like a dummy's guide to money.

Give me back my admission fees !!













The museum was extremely small, showed some old money, photocopied stock and bonds, maybe a gold plated Monopoly... really not worth the time. BooooooOOOOoOOOOooOO

WD-50 January 2012 Tasting Menu

As part of my prolonged birthday / Chinese New Year celebrations, i decided to treat myself to the tasting menu at WD-50 after reading many rave reviews about the restaurant.


Attempting a booking about 2 weeks prior, i only managed to wangle out a time slot of Sunday, 830pm.


Arriving about 30 minutes earlier, they sat me down immediately with a smile and off to the tasting menu !



Bread crisps with sesame seed sprinkled on them. I could, and did snacked on them the whole night long.



As amuse bouche, i was served Pea soup, mussels, coconut water, curried granola. The curried granola was interesting but i wanted more ! 



This was one of my favorite courses ~ Everything bagel, smoked salmon threads, crispy cream cheese 
The bagel that you see on screen was actually bagel ice cream, made from the milk that bagels soak in. Salmon threads were full flavored fish floss and the crispy cream cheese could have been a bit more saltier. This dish brought a smile to my face.



Foie-lafel  - This dish was so fun to eat ! I was encouraged to pick it up with my hands. A foie gras terrine was wrapped in a crispy batter. When i bit into it, the mild spicy sauce exploded into the pita pocket. I licked the plate for this one.  



Poached egg in the shell, pumpernickel, caesar dressing, bean sprouts - was one of the moments where i started to question myself paying an insane amount of money to eat a poached egg? But easily, hands down, this was the best egg preparation i ever had. Cooked sous vide, the egg is presented with olive oil & a sprinkling of sea salt. Plated was the strong, creamy caesar dressing. The salt and sauce constrasted strongly with the egg. Yummy. 



Rock shrimp, miso noodles, chicory, yuzu - Pretty .... 



Monkfish, smoked barley, beet-mustard, nori - i personally thought that the beet-mustard constrasted too much from the rest of the ingredients and overwhelmed the presentation. Then i tasted the beet-mustard and wanted to bring it home in a jar. From the texture, monk fish was cooked in sous vide as well .. 



Quail, chartreuse yogurt, turnip, nutmeg - Everything tastes like fried chicken? It was yummy, quail was cooked sous vide and rolled in a batter and fried. Yes... i think you are beginning to see why i had a slight tinge of regret, there was just a lot of sous vide going on.. 



Lamb loin, ‘red beans & rice,’ chayote squash - I really like the white cracker that you see in the picture. It is actually compressed sushi rice. Very tasty. THe beans are actually pine nuts. Lamb loin was tender . and i half suspect.. sous vide. 



Menthol, ginger, pomelo, chamomile - Surrounded by the white sugary coating, there was a scope of menthol ice cream in the middle. Yummy.. 



Apricot, buckwheat, quince, green tea . Buckwheat dirt, apricot puree underneath, with a quince ice cream It was alright.. 



Milk chocolate, black bean, plantain, soy, peanut. If there was one thing to say about WD-50, this would have expressed it for me. What i thought was chocolate sauce, was black bean paste. What i thought was white choolate was soy. What i thought was peanut was dried soy beans. 



Rice krispy treats - On the right was a warm rice pudding, on the left was rice kripy coated ice cream. Yummy


If i were to describe my favorite dishes of the night, it would have been Foie Lafel, Poached Egg, the Bagel and the Menthol dessert dish. Interesting experience, would i do it again at 170 USD a pop - at the cost of another Cambridge satchel bag that i am eyeing? I will stick to my street carts.