{snow it your way}

{Yeti tracks with strawberries, fruity pebbles, grass jelly, and condensed milk.}

I think it's about time I write a full-on post about my unhealthy obsession with Snowdays Shavery. Ever since it opened in the summer, Snowdays has been one of my main destinations when I head to the city on the weekends, even on these cold winter days. Cold snacks taste better when it's colder outside, right? (RIGHT.)

On hot summer days, I like to (somewhat) enjoy patbingsoo, a Korean shaved ice dessert with ice cream, red bean paste, condensed milk, fruits, and whatever else your heart desires (or rather, what each differing cafe has to offer). The problem I have with patbingsoo is that the ice is just, well, ice. There's no taste and the dessert is essentially tasteless if you take away all the toppings. And come on, you're just eating ice with some fruits. Let that sink in for a moment.

Let me just say that LA trumps NY when it comes to desserts, hands down. The first I've heard of any kind of "shaved snow" was from my West Coast friends. So naturally, when I came across pictures of what looked like delightful, fluffy folds of flavored ice in NYC, I immediately set my mind to visiting Snowdays.

I visited Snowdays for the first time on a hot summer day, just two weeks after their opening. We had just finished brunch, and with some gentle nudging by yours truly, we found ourselves at Snowdays. The sizes go from regular (which is still pretty large), large (huge), and yeti (speaks for itself). Since it was our first time, Kevin and I went for the regular size Yeti Tracks snow cream, which is the blueberry x oreo flavor, with mochi, fruity pebbles, and pocky sticks topped off with a generous drizzle of condensed milk. The dessert was a huge hit, and we were instantly hooked. We devoured the shaved snow in a matter of minutes. It didn't take us long to decide on a second serving. Unfortunately, the Yeti Tracks flavor was sold out, so we were treated to the last bit of the off-menu mango flavor.

Since then, it's been love at first sight. Kevin and I make trips downtown just for this fluffy goodness. Even when the toppings end, the shaved ice itself has enough flavor to survive on its own. Thank you based Tony Quach for bringing this delicious treat to NYC.

{Snowdays Shavery is located on 10th St. between 1st and 2nd Ave. in NYC}

{Picture via Kevin's IG @kevin_m_lin}

{Mango shaved ice with the works.}

{Graduated to the yeti size. Devoured in minutes.}

{foodventure pt. 1}

There's nothing better than an impromptu adventure, especially when there are various food destinations involved. I've admittedly been paying a little too much attention to my double chin and have been feeding it obsessively over the last month or so — I'm slowly turning into Jabba the Hut.

With three hours to kill before I had to head over Brooklyn for Fashion Rocks, courtesy of my company, naturally the first thing we needed to do was grab some food. And by some food, I mean six different joints in the span of two and a half hours: Ippudo, Pommes Frites, San Loco, Snowdays Shavery, Sunny & Annie's, and Big Gay Ice Cream.

1: Ippudo {pictured below} — special menu popsicle cocktail {didn't catch the name of it, but it was delicious; it tasted like a Japanese soda pop}, pork buns, and miso ramen. Ippudo is overrated and overrpriced, but always a solid meal. 

2: Pommes Frites {pictured below} — regular with Mango Chutney {always a must}, Especial sauce {ketchup, European mayo, and chopped onion pieces}, and Mexican Ketchup {ketchup with a chimchurri-like sauce layered on top}.

3: San Loco — Guaco Loco taco {a soft torilla spread with guacamole wrapped around a hard-shell taco}. Simple, yet satisfying.

4: Snowdays Shavery {pictured below} — to be honest, the photo below is from a different time that I went there, but the green tea and black sesame shaved ice were sold out. We were lucky enough to catch the two flavors this time around! Best discovery of the last few days of summer.

5: Sunny & Annie's {pictured below} — the Pho Real sandwich. Yes, it's exactly what it sounds like. Roast beef, bean sprouts, basil, cilantro {none on our sammy because I HATE cilantro}, avocado, tomato, onion, hoisin sauce, and Sriracha sauce.

6: Big Gay Ice Cream - our last stop! Bea Arthur never disappoints and you can never go wrong with the Salty Pimp. There's just something about the soft serve at BGIC that keeps you going back...

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We amazed ourselves with the amount of food that we consumed that day. It's becoming somewhat of a regular occurrence that we go on these foodventures. This wasn't the first nor will it be the last foodventure.

.... Welcome back, my beautiful double chin.

{tacos el gordo}

{Carne asada fries, al pastor taco, lengua taco, & carne asada tacos}

What's a trip to the West Coast without some authentic Mexican tacos? No where in New York {to my knowledge} has tacos as authentic as the ones I've had in California, notably El Chato Taco Truck and El Taurino in Los Angeles.

So naturally, during our week in Vegas, we needed to hunt down the best tacos. With glowing recommendations from friends, we trekked to Tacos El Gordo. Ordering was intimidating at first with Spanish flying across the room. Each meat was sectioned off, so if you wanted to order Carne Asada tacos, you'd have to go to a specific section, and so on. I wanted to try them all, so I went from right to left, with my al pastor {pork} taco first, a lengua {beef tongue} taco, and then finally my two carne asada {steak} tacos accompanied by my small {but still relatively large} helping of carne asada fries.

Tacos El Gordo was well worth the hype surrounding it. There was always a generous amount of meat in each taco, which was balanced out with the onions, cilantro, salsas, and of course, a warm tortilla. I wish I took some more pictures, but I was too excited about my carne asada fries, eep! Lastly, I got a guava juice pop, the perfect ending to my meal and perfect for combating the dry Vegas heat.

As one of my last meals in Sin City, Tacos El Gordo was the cherry on top of my perfect vacation. I'll be back for more al pastor tacos.