Candytopia - NYC Pop up

Warning: this post is photo heavy.

Much like the Museum of Ice Cream, here's another wacky, yet perfect for photo op place to visit.

As soon as I heard that Candytopia was going to be New York, I was over the moon.

First, New York Taxi cab covered with yellow gumball paper - but that ain't nothing yet.

At first, they have to bring you to this very theatrical presentation to give you the rules and what nots.  But don't forget to check out the decor.  Yes, that fox is made out of candy corn, bless their hearts.

This deer head is made out of cola gummy, and you see every exhibit has a sign next to it to tell you how many of what candy comprise the sculpture.

Then, you walk thru a 'tunnel', and arrived to the heart of it... 

Dragon made with many kinds of red toned candy to create the shade and what nots.

So very Wonka-esque, everything is made out of candy, but trust me, after so many people visited, you don't want to try to take a bite.  Sorry Augusta Goop!

Since this is a New York exhibit, it has lots of NY signature items, such as this portrait of Statue of Liberty made with jelly beans, licorice, some tic-tac looking candy and more.

Of course, they present a few classics through time, such as the Mona Lisa.  Who needs to go to the Louvre?!

The Scream by Munch - no time to go to Norway to see the Masterpiece?  Here you go!

Van Gogh's Starry Night - very nice detail, and very well done.

If it's not Wonka himself - the original, of course!  No offense to Johnny Depp.

What is Art in NY if they don't feature Warhol?!  Soup, anybody?

Marilyn Diptych in candy, because, why not?!

Pop Art homage is a must, too easy!

Now, more up to this decade - emoji's

One of my fav, made out of chiclets, DOPE!

On to other stuff: Statue of Liberty, for scale, that's about as tall as a human.

Now to the Under the Sea room: pull out all the Jelly Belly for this Seahorse.

Awesome sea star, again, just cola gummy takes more than 4 packs here, please little yellow mints to highlight the shimmer parts.

Baby Shark anybody?  I just love the shading is done so well, and yes, still all made out of candy (and shellac, we're told).

Awesome Stingray!  

There are several rooms, perfect for Instagram.  Most notable, also last room is the Marshmallow Room.  Much like the Sprinkle Pool, the Marshmallow aren't real.  However, once you jump in, it's very hard to get out.  So, you've been warned.

This is just too cute...

There were a few more rooms I didn't show, since they were perfect for selfies, we just did selfies.  It was very thoughtful of them to have staff almost in every corner of every room, knowing that you will need help taking pictures or boomerangs.  On top of that, they have you sign up and assign you QR quotes, then you go to different stations for a specific photo.  They have staff's job is to sweep up the confetti and blow it at you.  It's great to grab your girlfriends and have a good time.

The New York showing is going thru November 15th.  They are currently also in San Francisco thru November 30th.  No more dates has been announced.   By the way, basically each room you visit, they do give you candy.  Some offer you one piece, some tells you to take several pieces, one gave us a full size pack.  It was so much candy coming home, talk about a sugar high.

Candytopia

http://www.candytopia.com

https://www.instagram.com/thecandytopia/

Laduree

Que the angelic music: here is my sanctuary.

Laduree is a MUST every time I'm in NY.  Just to be reminded of what a high quality macaron should be like.

Looking at these just makes my heart skip a beat!

We got there just in time for the end of Summer's promotional box.  Their boxes are just so kitchy and cute.

That small little box comes in 6, there were 3 of us, 2 per person was just perfect.

Left to right: Chocolate, Pistachio, Vanilla, Coffee, Lavender, and Lemon.  I just love their shell is soft, not easily broken, but you can easily feel the decadence of it.  The filling is fresh and you can taste they spare no change on making the cookie.  LOVE!

Besides macarons, they also sell pastries and finger sandwiches.

And by finger sandwiches, they are truly dainty.  We had Ham Pickles (I couldn't taste the pickle on this), Chicken Caesar, Tuna Cucumber, Comte' Cheese, and Smoked Salmon.  I bet if you come here for afternoon tea, this is what you get.  Plus, when you get these at the counter, they come wrapped like a precious candy.  How can you resist?  

Last time we were here, we had lunch in the garden at the Soho location.  This time back at this location, weren't able to sit down for a meal because they were fully booked.  However, if you buy stuff at the counter, they do have a few salon seating the you can enjoy your goodies before heading out.  If you want a sit down meal and guaranteed seating, call ahead and make a reservation. 

Laduree - SOHO

398 W. Broadway

New York, NY 10012

646-392-7868

https://www.laduree.us

So we saw one of the Fashion Bloggers talking about Shoe-fies, that's selfie for your shoes.

That brought us down to L'Appartement Sezane.

It is a clothing store, but by the looks on the outside, they were ready to transport you to Paris.  Indeed, the clothing, shoes, accessory, home goods are from Paris.  And in there, is where you find the famous sign.  It is very pretty and while we were a bit embarrassed for coming in for the mosaic, their clothing is actually pretty nice, in terms of design and quality.  My only thing was that there was a very cute, very versatile shirt, except all the employees seems to be wearing it on that very same day.  So to avoid being view as an enthusiast and be a total fan-girl, I shy away from it.  I did see on their site that they have other version of the shirt, so that may be an option for me.  This is definitely an unique experience.

L'Appartement Sezane

254 Elizabeth St

New York, NY 10012

917-261-6190

http://www.sezane.com/us/nyc

Her Name is Han - NYC

We were by Hearld Square, so decided to walk over to Ktown for some lunch.

According to Yelp, this place has a high rating, figured can't hurt.

Cute and direct menu, no frills.  Self proclaimed hone away from home for Korean Nationals, this is a good home cooked comfort food for those who wanted a little bit of comfort food from home.

I started out with a Cucumber Limeaide, it is very refreshing, not too tangy and not too sugary.

For entree, I ordered the Bulgogi Bibimap.  I love the color and the side dishes, of course.  The Bulgogi itself had different kinds of vegetables and shredded egg.  Not to mention, we had side dishes that I've never seen before.  I know the soup and kimchee are given.  Surprisingly, the kimchee  (upper right corner) is not too spicy, and I can take that.  

The ones I've never seen before, was the Topping tofu (middle right), it has sesame seed sauce with dried fish on top, doesn't taste bad, just never had that before.  The pick scoop is potato salad with beet, that's why it's pink.  Taste-wise, nothing outstanding; visually, it's definitely different.  Of course you also get the turnip slices, cucumber, and spinach on top.

Her Name is Han
17 E. 31st St
New York, NY 10016
212-779-9990
http://www.hernameishan.com

Since we were talking about Korean cuisine, we also stopped at Line Friends pop up in Time Square.  If you don't know what Line is, that is their messaging system in S. Korea.  They have an app that not only lets you message, you have these cute characters for your emoji.  They also have the camera app that is very advance and allows for alot of customization.  

Not only do they have stamps, stickers, and frame virtually for your photos, they also partner up with various groups and designers to create new characters.  They are all available in emoji format within the Line app.  While they do have some sets of emoji for free (i.e. a lot of Cony, Brownie sets for free), they do charge anywhere between 0.99 to 1.99 for a set of emoji/designs.  There are so many sets and so many themes that the possibilities are truly endless.  Should you want to go, they are in the middle of Time Square.  Unfortunately, there's alot of constructions going on in the area, so it is congested.  More so than usual, so take it easy.

Line Friends Store

Time Square

1515 Broadway

44th & 7th 

New York, NY 10036

Kellogg's NYC

This is a fun pop-up I found on Instagram.

This space is just perfect for the occasion.

Down by Union Square, perfect for the students around the area.

You walk in and greeted by Toucan Sam...

... and Tony the Tiger, it's Grrrrreat!

As you walk upstairs, you recognize more of their other brands.

So, how does it work?  It is basically a walk up order, pay and sit type of cafe.  The seatings are unusual that there are a few tables, a few hammock chairs, and several seating living room style.  There are couches and chairs, made for conversation.  Don't worry, they have TV trays for your breakfast too.

So, they have a few pre-designed cereal that you can order from the counter.  But, should you decided to make your own, you can walk up to the cereal bar and make your own.  Then, you grab your milk.

Last step is to choose your toppings.  They have marshmallow, peaches, apples, bananas, oatmeal, salt, sugar, and various syrups, broken pop-tarts, raisins, and coconut slivers.

Tons of Photo Ops, and of course the Merch specifically for this location.

Check out the giant cereal disco bowl.  Pretty awesome!

So, this is part of my complete breakfast, I had coco-krispie, which I haven't had in years, perhaps when I was single was the last time I had that.  Mixed with pretzel (by the way, they have gluten free topping but the cereals aren't necessary), peach and strawberry slices.  I got my milk and my coffee.

They actually have other food like waffle, pop-tart (warmed), pop-tart ice cream sandwich, and I think I read that they have corn-flaked chicken to go with that waffle.  In terms of drinks, they have latte, au lait, matcha latte, cappuccino, and tea in both iced or hot.

This place is truly made for Instagram, every corner you turn, you can snap a pic and -gram it.

Like the giant cereal box... I know Raisin Bran don't get the love.

This is one of my favorite, it's art of the old and new logos of the cereals, very cute.

Last but not least, the photo background, all made of Fruit Loops, how can you not love it!

The food, obviously is predictable.  If you come here, I highly, strongly suggest you order some of their 'designed' cereal dishes.  They not only looked good, the combo is pretty complimentary of each other.   Of course, if you want to do the tried and true, make it yourself, you can always do a little bit from each flavor too.

Cereal by itself is $1.50, but if you want unlimited toppings, that's additional $4.  So, go crazy!  By the way, they do not accept cash, so credit card only!  If you are going to visit, check first, they may have some kind of specials, some times they invite chefs to create a few dishes for limited of time.  

Kellogg's NYC

31 E. 17th Street

New York, NY 10003

https://kelloggsnyc.com

Peninsula Moon Cake

So I am exactly one week late on this.  To be honest, my shipment was late, so that'll be my excuse

 What is this???  I had Moon Cake shipped from Hong Kong for the Mid-Autum Festival.  Most Asian countries has the beautifully packaged moon cake packages, from the individual cake, to the box, to the gift back.

 As you can see above, the bag matches, the box.  Traditionally, they are to be stored in tin box, mainly because moon cake traditionally are made in the summer time, and in order for them to last from summer to late August/September in the heat, folks used tins to keep the freshness.  That's why so many Asian parents has all those tin boxes.  But, as technology advances, that is less and less, and allowed for more the look appeal.

 The hotel is very proud to tell you that they're the one who revolutionized the moon cake by putting a custard egg inside the moon cake.  Mainly because the yolk is very much like the moon, that's why.

The box comes in 8, and they're very dainty.  I love that they're individually wrapped and easy to take with you on the go.  That said, each cake is 150 cal which is pretty awesome, given that most moon cakes are pretty rich in the filling.  Many news stories had broke down the cal on the various combination of ingredients, fillings, and size.  

That said, the cake has very thin outer layer (aka the skin), and the filling inside, are usually lotus seed paste or red bean (adzuki) paste filling.  So, imagine the past plus a custard yolk, that's very very rich of a dessert.  This one in particular wasn't rich, since most of the filling was taken up by the yolk which is typically salty.  But, the salty taste wasn't over empowering, and as a matter of fact, it's pretty light in comparison of the traditional ones.  

These days and age, it is easier for people to make these at home, though it's still nice to buy with the nice packaging and what not.  That said, they do have the 'iced skin' which is a nice jelly texture to envelope the pastry instead of the baked dough ones.  There's alot more creativity into the process and ingredients.  That said, having a traditional one every once in a while it's nice too.

Apparently each Peninsula Hotels across US do accept orders for Moon Cakes, but since the season is over, better luck next year!

Peninsula Hotel

Chicago: https://www.peninsula.com/en/chicago/special-offers/dining/mooncakes

Boutique in Hong Kong: https://www.peninsulaboutique.com/hk/en/