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Back From NYC
Well, I managed to make it out alive, and with some crazy experiences,
and hopefully great tea. First off, I wanted to extend a big thank you to DogMa, Michael Plant, and the rest of the guys who were hanging out at The Tea Gallery for the invite... however, regretfully, by the time we made our initial trip into Chinatown on Thurs. it was getting late and on top of that we never found it. :( NYC is big, and can be damn confusing. Also, in my infinite wisdom I forgot my cellphone charger, and having a bleeding edge new cell phone means no buying a new one - even in Chinatown - so I couldn't even call to figure out where the hell it was or if I was close. On to the tea. Ten Ren was pretty cool, I thought that they were waaaay overpriced and the staff was not very knowledgable or helpful. It was very slow and they could easily see I was spending some dough... yet, still no mentionable service. And after dropping far too much money on far to little tea, they still charged me $1 for a small cup of plum iced tea to head out with. Overall, I'd say a big thumbs down from me. I bought: Spring 2006 Lung Ching, upper grade Jasmine Green, Ti Kuan Yin, some lower end Pu-Erh Tuo Cha, some ginseng black tea, and the plum iced tea. Kam Man. A Chinese grocery on steroids. I really liked this place. This is more like what I am used to in PGH but on a bigger scale. The selection was limited but they had some unique stuff and the prices were right where they should be. I bought: 1lb. of a Jasmine Oolong that was phenomenally good and $4/lb.! Some green jasmine mini-tuocha, A Yunnan Pu-Erh, Kelly bought some rose tea, a handful of artistic Lychee shaped jasmine green tea, dried hawthorne berries, and some Kings Tea. I also bought a very nice Gaiwan here for under $4. Thumbs up from me, I'd like to spend a lot more time in this store... but the actual tea was somewhat limited. Teany. Moby, the musician, owns this little out-of-the-way tea/vegan shop. I have been a Moby fan for some time and while my interest in his work has waned I did want to check out his tea shop. I have the Teany book written by Moby and his ex-GF and it is a funny book filled with Moby's energy and sense of humor. Also, the DVD titled "Play" is a must watch for some laughs... however, Teany not so much. The staff was useless. They were slow, slightly off-putting attitudes, and a touch of specialness I think. Plus the place is rediculous expensive for nothing. They have no idea about tea or much else, I was reduced to ordering by a number since the woman stated they didn't have Pi Lo Chun, but they did when I said #29. Ugh. Tepid water topped off my $6 miniature pot of tea. Their tea prices are actually funnier than the Moby DVD, $16 for less than a teaspoon of 5 different common teas in little containers bundled together. What a joke. I had a few bubble teas, I actually liked the milk tea taste, but not the bubbles so much. There was a bakery that had iced tea and iced green tea with a fruit jelly in it that looked great though. Sadly, this was about it for teas... I couldn't find any other tea shops. I tried like crazy, but no luck. I never found The Tea Gallery, even after a second attempt, and missed out on Takashima (sp?) which was on 5th ave. I believe, due to time. I did find a great little store though called: Jade Garden Arts & Crafts Co. on Mulberry st. An absolute delight! Great people, great wares, and a wonderful selection of all kinds of pottery including some amazing Yixing teapots and mugs. Bonsai Pots, Orchid pots, Chinese brush painting supplies... and more. all tucked away from the busy streets. A+ I also really liked Pearl Paint, an art supply shop along Canal st. that was like 5 stories of supplies. They seemed a bit overpriced and nothing overwhelmingly unique, but they did have some cool stuff and it was a nice stop. The Empire State building failed to really impress me with the view, Times Square was OK but not that amazing, the Statue of Liberty was pretty neat to see in person but there isn't a whole lot going on there to get into it. Central Park was very nice, and I liked it a lot, it was one of the highlights. I finally got the hang of the subways the day I was leaving, and I probably walked 50-60 miles in 4 days, honestly. Rockefeler sq. was small, but there was a really cool Japanese book store that also sold Yokan which goes great with green tea... which was much better than the Carribean/*** parade that was happening there... not my cup of tea. ;) As I go through the teas, I'll be sure to mention any outstanding ones.. but as it stands I really didn't end up with any real amazing finds beyond the Spring '06 Lung Ching from Ten Ren which seemed very high-quality. The Jasmine Oolong from Kam Man is GREAT, I'm drinking it now... happily back in good old Pittsburgh. Not even being biased, but I would believe you could find just about everything in NYC in PGH more condensed and easily accessible. The Strip District here rivals chinatown/little Italy, and most of the rest can be found here too... with the addition of trees and open spaces and at a much lower cost. I really thought I was not going to want to leave and it would make me want to live there.. and it would be cool for maybe a year, but that would be tops for me. - Dominic Drinking: Jasmine Oolong |
Back From NYC
Dominic T. > wrote:
>close. > >On to the tea. Ten Ren was pretty cool, I thought that they were waaaay >overpriced and the staff was not very knowledgable or helpful. It was >very slow and they could easily see I was spending some dough... yet, >still no mentionable service. And after dropping far too much money on >far to little tea, they still charged me $1 for a small cup of plum >iced tea to head out with. Overall, I'd say a big thumbs down from me. >I bought: Spring 2006 Lung Ching, upper grade Jasmine Green, Ti Kuan >Yin, some lower end Pu-Erh Tuo Cha, some ginseng black tea, and the >plum iced tea. Did you try the Oriental Beauty? You gotta try it. It's worth the trip, and I don't think the other teas are. Their ginseng blacks smell like latex to me, too. >Kam Man. A Chinese grocery on steroids. I really liked this place. This >is more like what I am used to in PGH but on a bigger scale. The >selection was limited but they had some unique stuff and the prices >were right where they should be. I bought: 1lb. of a Jasmine Oolong >that was phenomenally good and $4/lb.! Some green jasmine mini-tuocha, >A Yunnan Pu-Erh, Kelly bought some rose tea, a handful of artistic >Lychee shaped jasmine green tea, dried hawthorne berries, and some >Kings Tea. I also bought a very nice Gaiwan here for under $4. Thumbs >up from me, I'd like to spend a lot more time in this store... but the >actual tea was somewhat limited. These guys have a lot of stuff in tins, and it's always different on each trip, and a lot of it is stale. If you find something you like, you can never get it there again. Still, the first time I ever tried panyong congou was a tin that I got there, and it was a wonderful introduction to the stuff. >Teany. Moby, the musician, owns this little out-of-the-way tea/vegan >shop. I have been a Moby fan for some time and while my interest in his >work has waned I did want to check out his tea shop. I have the Teany >book written by Moby and his ex-GF and it is a funny book filled with >Moby's energy and sense of humor. Also, the DVD titled "Play" is a must >watch for some laughs... however, Teany not so much. The staff was >useless. They were slow, slightly off-putting attitudes, and a touch of >specialness I think. Plus the place is rediculous expensive for >nothing. They have no idea about tea or much else, I was reduced to >ordering by a number since the woman stated they didn't have Pi Lo >Chun, but they did when I said #29. Ugh. Tepid water topped off my $6 >miniature pot of tea. Their tea prices are actually funnier than the >Moby DVD, $16 for less than a teaspoon of 5 different common teas in >little containers bundled together. What a joke. Tepid water is my #1 complaint about tea in the US, with coffee contamination being #2, I'd never heard of Teany before, but I have had similar experiences in too many places. >I had a few bubble teas, I actually liked the milk tea taste, but not >the bubbles so much. There was a bakery that had iced tea and iced >green tea with a fruit jelly in it that looked great though. You can get the stuff without the bubbles, if you want. I find the stuff really nasty and the bubbles don't help it. I think if I could get some that wasn't so sweet it might help. >As I go through the teas, I'll be sure to mention any outstanding >ones.. but as it stands I really didn't end up with any real amazing >finds beyond the Spring '06 Lung Ching from Ten Ren which seemed very >high-quality. The Jasmine Oolong from Kam Man is GREAT, I'm drinking it >now... happily back in good old Pittsburgh. Not even being biased, but >I would believe you could find just about everything in NYC in PGH more >condensed and easily accessible. The Strip District here rivals >chinatown/little Italy, and most of the rest can be found here too... >with the addition of trees and open spaces and at a much lower cost. I >really thought I was not going to want to leave and it would make me >want to live there.. and it would be cool for maybe a year, but that >would be tops for me. I remember Pittsburgh when I was a little kid and all the streetlights came on around noon... my grandfather ran a pizzaria and an Italian cheese factory there. It's a totally different town than it was back then. And all of my relatives are out of work and still complaining about the steel mills having closed and all these yuppies having moved in. --scott -- "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." |
Back From NYC
"Dominic T." > writes:
> [...joys and sorrows of New York...] > > Not even being biased, but I would believe you could find just about > everything in NYC in PGH more condensed and easily accessible. That's a pretty strong conclusion to derive from spending a few days in New York. /Lew --- Lew Perin / http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html |
Back From NYC
Lewis Perin wrote: > "Dominic T." > writes: > > > [...joys and sorrows of New York...] > > > > Not even being biased, but I would believe you could find just about > > everything in NYC in PGH more condensed and easily accessible. > > That's a pretty strong conclusion to derive from spending a few days > in New York. > > /Lew > --- > Lew Perin / > http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html It's no offense, or slight on NYC, it is just my opinion. If you have never experienced the Strip District on a Saturday morning then it is a worthwhile trip to PGH. It is lively and filled with ethnic groceries of all kinds, fresh produce, and seafood, as well as a few decent tea shops and a number of Chinese and Thai groceries. NYC has the same, but more of them. For the most part though they are one after another all selling the same items. So you have 6 blocks of stores that are exactly the same, we have 4 stores in 3 blocks all with different stuff. We have a whole Jewish area of town, Korean, etc. A cultural district, Market Square, small boutique shops, etc. Don't get me wrong I liked it, it just seemed like a lot of the same I see here... I was expecting all new sights/sounds/smells (well you got us on smells, at every turn there is a new scent reminiscent of some form of armpit or foot to assault your senses :) I really enjoyed it there, and we had a good time all around, it just didn't wow me like I thought it would. To be fair, it is just a city, a really big city... so it makes sense that it is similar in most ways to most other cities. I found a few really cool small shops and restaraunts and I'm sure there are hundreds more if you know the right places and have the inside scoop... but as a tourist and a fairly adventurous one it was just a bit less awe-inspiring than I thought it would be. - Dominic |
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Scott Dorsey wrote: > Did you try the Oriental Beauty? You gotta try it. It's worth the trip, > and I don't think the other teas are. Their ginseng blacks smell like latex > to me, too. They didn't have any oriental beauty loose, just canisters, which I don't really buy and I was surprised to find that a number of their teas seemed a bit low quality at high prices. The woman working had no real clue about tea which didn't help either, it was a bit frustrating... and she didn;t want to bring down the big gold urns of tea for me to inspect so she made it seem like a chore to help out even a little. I wasn't going to buy $100+/lb. tea sight unseen. I really think they could have tried at least a bit to offer some service for the money I spent. Also the only other customer was buying ginseng and he got barely any service and he spent over $200... so I just gave up hope. > These guys have a lot of stuff in tins, and it's always different on each > trip, and a lot of it is stale. If you find something you like, you can > never get it there again. Still, the first time I ever tried panyong congou > was a tin that I got there, and it was a wonderful introduction to the stuff. Like I stated above I'm not really one for tea in tins for the same reason you stated. The quality is suspect and it is generally older/stale. They did have some very good loose teas available by the pound though and some of them were extremely high quality at very reasonable prices... it was just that the selection was limited. > I remember Pittsburgh when I was a little kid and all the streetlights > came on around noon... my grandfather ran a pizzaria and an Italian cheese > factory there. It's a totally different town than it was back then. > And all of my relatives are out of work and still complaining about the > steel mills having closed and all these yuppies having moved in. > --scott Cool. Yeah back in the day a lot of this area was still run by Mafia, which was actually a good thing. The streets were busy, it was safe, clean, and bustling... ever since it has been a downward slide. There are still some really cool places and good jobs, but only in certain fields and areas. It is a dying area and the politicians are the cause, in a city with nothing but waterfronts and the most bridges in the world it wouldn;t take much to market this city and get it hopping... but instead they want the quick buck from gambling and want to turn it into a dive. It will be totally dead in 5-10 years, all I can see is crime continuing to skyrocket and jobs continue to diminish. A real shame. It could be like Venice, Italy with all the water, or endless waterfront shops and boardwalks, or any number of things if only someone would step up and make it happen. - Dominic |
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"Dominic T." > writes:
> Lewis Perin wrote: > > "Dominic T." > writes: > > > > > [...joys and sorrows of New York...] > > > > > > Not even being biased, but I would believe you could find just about > > > everything in NYC in PGH more condensed and easily accessible. > > > > That's a pretty strong conclusion to derive from spending a few days > > in New York. > > [...what Pittsburgh has...] > > NYC has the same, but more of them. For the most part though they are > one after another all selling the same items. So you have 6 blocks of > stores that are exactly the same, we have 4 stores in 3 blocks all with > different stuff. We have a whole Jewish area of town, Korean, etc. A > cultural district, Market Square, small boutique shops, etc. But it's not all the same. New York has three Chinatowns these days, and by your account you seem to have walked around less than half of one of them. Even within the Chinatown you walked around, there's a lot of variation, e.g. a Fujianese part, an area dominated by ethnic Chinese from Indochina, ... I'm not trying to run Pittsburgh down, but Chinese New York these days is a big and varied place. /Lew --- Lew Perin / http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html |
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Lewis Perin wrote: > "Dominic T." > writes: > > > Lewis Perin wrote: > > > "Dominic T." > writes: > > > > > > > [...joys and sorrows of New York...] > > > > > > > > Not even being biased, but I would believe you could find just about > > > > everything in NYC in PGH more condensed and easily accessible. > > > > > > That's a pretty strong conclusion to derive from spending a few days > > > in New York. > > > > [...what Pittsburgh has...] > > > > NYC has the same, but more of them. For the most part though they are > > one after another all selling the same items. So you have 6 blocks of > > stores that are exactly the same, we have 4 stores in 3 blocks all with > > different stuff. We have a whole Jewish area of town, Korean, etc. A > > cultural district, Market Square, small boutique shops, etc. > > But it's not all the same. New York has three Chinatowns these days, > and by your account you seem to have walked around less than half of > one of them. Even within the Chinatown you walked around, there's a > lot of variation, e.g. a Fujianese part, an area dominated by ethnic > Chinese from Indochina, ... > > I'm not trying to run Pittsburgh down, but Chinese New York these days > is a big and varied place. > > /Lew > --- > Lew Perin / > http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html Dom, glad to hear you had fun in New York. Chinese New York is indeed stunningly large and diverse, as Lew said. Walking into certain restaurants in Midtown on a Friday night is like being out on the town in the nice part of Shenzhen - Chinese yuppies sitting ten to a table, everyone speaking Mandarin. On the other hand, to get to Flushing (Chinatown #2) from my place in Brooklyn using public transportation takes upwards of an hour, much more on weekends. So, I would definitely take issue with the "everything" in Dom's original post, but certainly not the "more condensed and easily accesible." It sounds like you can get to the Korean part of Pittsburgh without taking the G train or driving at ten miles an hour on the BQE, and that to me is the appeal of all other cities, as opposed to New York. Also, Lew, which area is dominated by ethnic Chinese from Indochina? I am really only familiar with Flushing and Sunset Park, the latter being mostly (I believe) people from around Fuzhou. |
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Back From NYC
A well stocked Chinatown is another well stocked Chinatown as far as
retail. However each Chinatown is inscrutable and the more you think you know the more you don't know. One of my favorite pastimes observing the coming and going of beauty salons. As far as I can tell the guys and gals frequent the same place. I like to discover what the locals do on Friday nights. Jim Dominic T. wrote: > Lewis Perin wrote: > > "Dominic T." > writes: > > > > > [...joys and sorrows of New York...] > > > > > > Not even being biased, but I would believe you could find just about > > > everything in NYC in PGH more condensed and easily accessible. > > > > That's a pretty strong conclusion to derive from spending a few days > > in New York. > > > > /Lew > > --- > > Lew Perin / > > http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html > > It's no offense, or slight on NYC, it is just my opinion. If you have > never experienced the Strip District on a Saturday morning then it is a > worthwhile trip to PGH. It is lively and filled with ethnic groceries > of all kinds, fresh produce, and seafood, as well as a few decent tea > shops and a number of Chinese and Thai groceries. > > NYC has the same, but more of them. For the most part though they are > one after another all selling the same items. So you have 6 blocks of > stores that are exactly the same, we have 4 stores in 3 blocks all with > different stuff. We have a whole Jewish area of town, Korean, etc. A > cultural district, Market Square, small boutique shops, etc. > > Don't get me wrong I liked it, it just seemed like a lot of the same I > see here... I was expecting all new sights/sounds/smells (well you got > us on smells, at every turn there is a new scent reminiscent of some > form of armpit or foot to assault your senses :) > > I really enjoyed it there, and we had a good time all around, it just > didn't wow me like I thought it would. To be fair, it is just a city, a > really big city... so it makes sense that it is similar in most ways to > most other cities. I found a few really cool small shops and > restaraunts and I'm sure there are hundreds more if you know the right > places and have the inside scoop... but as a tourist and a fairly > adventurous one it was just a bit less awe-inspiring than I thought it > would be. > > - Dominic |
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Michael Plant wrote: > For your future reference, police officers usually, > and subway station attendants nearly always, have > little books that tell them exactly where an address > is located and how to get there. Sorry you didn't > make it to TTG, but hope you had a wonderful time > in New York City. Oh, believe me I asked about 4 cops and even at two tea shops... no one knew of it. I even got fed up and hailed a cab and the cab driver said he didn't know where it was so I gave up. I really wanted to check it out, I was a bit bummed out in not finding it. > If the tea you bought was in heavy plastic transparent > bags on the counter, you probably did well enough. I > can't recommend them either for all the reasons you > mentioned. One was from the transparent bas and some was loose. > It's a fun store. There are others. Lew knows them all. Yeah Kam Man was a good time, If only I hadn't had to lug the bags around I would have walked away with half of the downstairs. > We are on the same page. It's a lousy place. Yeah, Teany was a huge letdown. Moby is actually very into tea and is very knowledgable and creative... that is why it is even more of a shame. > Bubble tea is great. You missed the point, which is this: > Draw a "bubble" into the straw, raise the straw, aim at > a passing car, and blow hard. You'll find your aim improves > with time and practice. Try not to hit anyone. That would > spoil the fun. Damn it! I never even thought of that. Those buggers would be hella fun to shoot, and I'd imagine that they would dry hard and be a pain in the arse to get off things. I'm slipping, years back that thought would have never escaped me. > Well, don't worry. The experience you had is the > experience that counts Yes, and we had a good time. I really meant no disrespect, and there were some really cool things... it was just that the actual "wow" factor wasn't there for me. It was neat and big, and I'm sure there are tons of things I didn;t see and places to go... but I did hit a lot in four days and like I said I'd probablyhave a blast living there for a year but not much more. > > The Empire State building failed to really impress me with the view, > > Times Square was OK but not that amazing, > > Oh, man, I've completely lost faith in you! Really? Maybe it is because I used to work in the USX tower in Pittsburgh and it is almost as tall as the observation deck. Times Square is big and bright, but Target is Target, and Toys R us is Toys R us, and Foot Locker is Foot Locker, and Planet Hollywood is... etc. I must be missing something about it, because it did next to nothing for me. > Rockefeller Center -- or Plaza or whatever -- was the private > domaine of the R family, but it has since been sold, I think, > to a Japanese company. Probably now in the hands of the Saudis. > Every year for one day they close down the center cross street > to maintain their It was just small, we have an area called Market Square in PGH and outside the PPG building they have a big ice rink with a huge Christmas tree and it is actually bigger than Rockefeller Center. Like I said, the Japanese Book Store Kinoyusha (or something like that) was a highlight and much better than the Lacoste store with $90 T-shirts and $125 polo's. > I can certainly understand your feelings on this, east > or west home is best, and zu hause ist su hause, but > we don't roll out our seedy underside for just anybody, > Dominic, and you can be glad we have stuff going on > in NYC that you will *not* find on the streets of PGH, > praise God. Unfortunately, the Black Fat Pussy Cat is > no more. It actually is not a bias for my "home" I have been to many cities and areas across this country and Canada and I have many favorites and places I would leave home for in a minute. Bar Harbor, Maine. Toronto, Canada. Chincoteague, VA. would be on my short list. It is just that truly Pittsburgh has a ton of things to see and do and a huge diverse makeup that offers most of the same things as NYC just on a smaller scale. I have to also state though, that fancy restaraunts, $10 cocktails, high-end shops, and designer clothing/names mean very little to me... so many of the things that the average tourist fawns over go by un-noticed by me. We had some great meals at very nice places, and I had some great Peking Duck. I don't know about Black Fat Pussy Cats, but an Asian Massage would have been a good time... and yes, we definitely have those options here too ;) > Thanks for your candid thoughts and review. > > Michael Sure, I really mean no offense.. I was just stating my honest appraisal of what we saw and did. It was fun, and an adventure, it just didn't really stand out like I thought it would. I'd take the beach for a vacation any day, and a good solid Saturday in the Strip District for unique and exotic shops and tea, and Wegmanns Grocery Store in Penn State for high-end tea. As for the tea, the Jasmine Oolong from Kam Man is a new favorite. Great Stuff. I'm still a bit miffed that I couldn't find Gyokuro or Oriental Beauty or a shop that had some extensive Pu-Erh or a good solid glass gaiwan... but otherwise we had a good time. - Dominic |
Back From NYC
> Michael Plant wrote:
>> For your future reference, police officers usually, >> and subway station attendants nearly always, have >> little books that tell them exactly where an address >> is located and how to get there. Sorry you didn't >> make it to TTG, but hope you had a wonderful time >> in New York City. > > Oh, believe me I asked about 4 cops and even at two tea shops... no one > knew of it. I even got fed up and hailed a cab and the cab driver said > he didn't know where it was so I gave up. I really wanted to check it > out, I was a bit bummed out in not finding it. Sorry you didn't find it, but you would have needed to know the address or the cross streets to get there. I thought I had e-mailed the address to you. Cops would not know this shop, nor should they be expected to. [on Teany] >> We are on the same page. It's a lousy place. > > Yeah, Teany was a huge letdown. Moby is actually very into tea and is > very knowledgable and creative... that is why it is even more of a > shame. Perhaps Mr. Moby is more interested in the money tea can generate than in the tea itself, at least for the purpose of this exercise. >> Bubble tea is great. You missed the point, which is this: >> Draw a "bubble" into the straw, raise the straw, aim at >> a passing car, and blow hard. You'll find your aim improves >> with time and practice. Try not to hit anyone. That would >> spoil the fun. > > Damn it! I never even thought of that. Those buggers would be hella fun > to shoot, and I'd imagine that they would dry hard and be a pain in the > arse to get off things. I'm slipping, years back that thought would > have never escaped me. Yup, growing up is a real bitch. I advise against it. >> Well, don't worry. The experience you had is the >> experience that counts > > Yes, and we had a good time. I really meant no disrespect, and there > were some really cool things... it was just that the actual "wow" > factor wasn't there for me. It was neat and big, and I'm sure there are > tons of things I didn;t see and places to go... but I did hit a lot in > four days and like I said I'd probablyhave a blast living there for a > year but not much more. Wow factors are different for different people. I know plenty of places in the world I love to visit, but prefer not to live in. Sometimes I can't even say why. You're entitled. Don't sweat it. I will say this, though: New York is better experienced with locals, and we are still available for your return trip. > >>> The Empire State building failed to really impress me with the view, >>> Times Square was OK but not that amazing, >> >> Oh, man, I've completely lost faith in you! > > Really? Maybe it is because I used to work in the USX tower in > Pittsburgh and it is almost as tall as the observation deck. Times > Square is big and bright, but Target is Target, and Toys R us is Toys R > us, and Foot Locker is Foot Locker, and Planet Hollywood is... etc. I > must be missing something about it, because it did next to nothing for > me. In answer to your question, No *not* really. > >> Rockefeller Center -- or Plaza or whatever -- was the private >> domaine of the R family, but it has since been sold, I think, >> to a Japanese company. Probably now in the hands of the Saudis. >> Every year for one day they close down the center cross street >> to maintain their > > It was just small, we have an area called Market Square in PGH and > outside the PPG building they have a big ice rink with a huge Christmas > tree and it is actually bigger than Rockefeller Center. Like I said, > the Japanese Book Store Kinoyusha (or something like that) was a > highlight and much better than the Lacoste store with $90 T-shirts and > $125 polo's. Privately owned. Would you like to buy it? You most likely don't have as many dollars as that little area would cost in billions. BTW, I read in the paper this morning that the city, in order to raise much needed funds, has put the Brooklyn Bridge up for sale. I think it would look swell in PGH. Would you like further information on that? >> I can certainly understand your feelings on this, east >> or west home is best, and zu hause ist su hause, but >> we don't roll out our seedy underside for just anybody, >> Dominic, and you can be glad we have stuff going on >> in NYC that you will *not* find on the streets of PGH, >> praise God. Unfortunately, the Black Fat Pussy Cat is >> no more. > > It actually is not a bias for my "home" I have been to many cities and > areas across this country and Canada and I have many favorites and > places I would leave home for in a minute. Bar Harbor, Maine. Toronto, > Canada. Chincoteague, VA. would be on my short list. It is just that > truly Pittsburgh has a ton of things to see and do and a huge diverse > makeup that offers most of the same things as NYC just on a smaller > scale. I have to also state though, that fancy restaraunts, $10 > cocktails, high-end shops, and designer clothing/names mean very little > to me... so many of the things that the average tourist fawns over go > by un-noticed by me. We had some great meals at very nice places, and I > had some great Peking Duck. I don't know about Black Fat Pussy Cats, > but an Asian Massage would have been a good time... and yes, we > definitely have those options here too ;) Asian massage, eh? Now you're really scaring me. > >> Thanks for your candid thoughts and review. >> >> Michael > > Sure, I really mean no offense.. I was just stating my honest appraisal > of what we saw and did. It was fun, and an adventure, it just didn't > really stand out like I thought it would. I'd take the beach for a > vacation any day, and a good solid Saturday in the Strip District for > unique and exotic shops and tea, and Wegmanns Grocery Store in Penn > State for high-end tea. To each his own, but wouldn't you like to consider changing the name to something other than The Strip Joint? It grates against our NYC sensitivities. > > As for the tea, the Jasmine Oolong from Kam Man is a new favorite. > Great Stuff. I'm still a bit miffed that I couldn't find Gyokuro or > Oriental Beauty or a shop that had some extensive Pu-Erh or a good > solid glass gaiwan... but otherwise we had a good time. Ito En for Gyokuro. The boxed Oriental Beauty from Ten Ren that you passed up is actually a fine tea, or at least was. Other than The Tea Gallery, we are not the Pu'erh capital of the world. Michael |
Back From NYC
"Alex" > writes:
> [...] > Also, Lew, which area is dominated by ethnic Chinese from Indochina? Where canonical Chinatown (i.e. below Canal) brushes up against the courts. /Lew --- Lew Perin / http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html |
Back From NYC
Michael Plant wrote: > Sorry you didn't find it, but you would have > needed to know the address or the cross streets > to get there. I thought I had e-mailed the address > to you. Cops would not know this shop, nor > should they be expected to. Actually the main problem was that I had the address, phone #, and info in my cell phone... and as I stated before went dead on me on day 1 driving up there and try as I might had no luck in finding a charger for it that first day... and had nowhere to use it even if I had bought one. I had thought someone would have seen it or known about it, but no such luck. I'll find it next time. > Perhaps Mr. Moby is more interested in the money > tea can generate than in the tea itself, at least for > the purpose of this exercise. The thing is that Moby is not really like that, which is why I was more let down than normal. He really is into tea, so I thought it would be reflected better. Especially since the entire restaraunt is smaller than my living room, and holds about 8 people max, you'd think service would be their hallmark. Oh well, exactly why I don't put much stock in any celebrity joint. > Wow factors are different for different people. I know > plenty of places in the world I love to visit, but > prefer not to live in. Sometimes I can't even say > why. You're entitled. Don't sweat it. I will say this, > though: New York is better experienced with locals, > and we are still available for your return trip. I'm absolutely certain that is true. Having a local or a few to save you time and effort would be invaluable and while my overall opinion wouldn't change much of the city as a whole, it would allow me to maximize my time and energy into specific areas. I really did want to just half-dumbly explore NYC and enjoy finding things and the adventure, but a second trip would be much more expertly planned and tied in with locals. I actually have a cousin and an uncle who live in NYC and offered to take us around, but we passed in favor of just exploring this time. > > Really? Maybe it is because I used to work in the USX tower in > > Pittsburgh and it is almost as tall as the observation deck. Times > > Square is big and bright, but Target is Target, and Toys R us is Toys R > > us, and Foot Locker is Foot Locker, and Planet Hollywood is... etc. I > > must be missing something about it, because it did next to nothing for > > me. > > In answer to your question, No *not* really. I kinda figured that was meant sarcastically. I really thought that it would somehow be special... but then once the glitz and glitter wears away and it is just regular store after regular store and tourist trap after tourist trap. > Ito En for Gyokuro. The boxed Oriental Beauty from Ten Ren > that you passed up is actually a fine tea, or at least was. Other > than The Tea Gallery, we are not the Pu'erh capital of the world. I figured Ito En would have been my place, and I was a bit ****ed that I passed on a few Japanese greens at other places waiting for Ito En... only to never find it. The only Oriental Beauty at Ten Ren was a $10 tin canister that was nothing special and pretty basic stuff. I have real top-shelf Oriental Beauty loose at home, so I was looking for similar quality stuff or it wasn't worth it for me. They didn't have any in the actual Ten Ren boxes, just that one tin. As far as Pu-erh, yeah I knew I wouldn't find a massive amount of it but when the best selection of Pu was at Kam Man I was a bit disappointed. I have yet to try the Yunnan big leaf Pu that I bought there, I did try the cheaper Yunnan tuocha and it is pretty good... on par with the Maiden Pu-Erh from Upton's which is much more expensive. Thanks for the conversation Michael, and Lew really I meant no offense, we had fun. I bought some good tea. I got an Italian Soccer Jersey. Kelly Got her Prada and Gucci and Dolce and Gabana. I even ended up with a very nice Swiss made Rolex replica Submariner (I got the guy down to $30 and it is a nice watch). Some Chinese brush painting supplies, a gaiwan, some bonsai pots, a travel "Go" board, ate Peking Duck in Chinatown as well as a big bowl of noodle soup at the Dumpling House (which flooded halfway through our meal - Canal st. is aptly named :), saw the Statue of Liberty, Tossed a penny off the Empire State Building, and a bunch more... we had a great time. We'll be back for sure, I had just expected to be more in awe, that was all. - Dominic |
Back From NYC
Dominic T. wrote: > As I go through the teas, I'll be sure to mention any outstanding > ones.. but as it stands I really didn't end up with any real amazing > finds beyond the Spring '06 Lung Ching from Ten Ren which seemed very > high-quality. The Jasmine Oolong from Kam Man is GREAT, I'm drinking it > now... happily back in good old Pittsburgh. Wow, the Spring 2006 Lung Ching Dragonwell from Ten Ren is amazingly good! Much better than I had even thought it would be. Very nice subtle Lung Ching aroma and instant flavor with a full mouth feel that turns to a pleasantly sweet vegetal flavor almost instantly. The vegetal flavor is very light though, and not at all harsh or "fishy" as I like in my Senchas. The leaves are nice and long and a most beatuiful fresh bright green which only gets prettier after steeping. I bought around a quarter pound @ $80/lb. and it was a fine purchase. I have had one other online vendor's '06 Dragonwell and it is no comparison at all. A++ I'm very happy with this one, and look forward to many more cups of it. So far the other surprise has been the White Crane Green Pu-Erh Tuo Cha also from Ten Ren. They were $1.50 each and I bought the 4 they had out, and I am only upset they didn't have more. It is as good or better than the three or four green Pu-Erh's I hae tried from various online vendors that were much more expensive. While lacking the high-end quality and subleties of some real solid Green Pu-Erh, it holds its own and is now my pick for lower end daily green Pu-Erh for sure until I find something comparable at such a bargain price. The Jasmine Oolong from the loose tea jars at Kam Man, as I stated above, is an excellent tea. It is a break from standard Jasmine Green for me and the actual quality of the Oolong is outstanding as well as an abundance of real full Jasmine flowers throughout. All this for $4.80/lb.!! A steal. Next on my list to try are some more from Kam Man. I found some Jasmine Green Pu-Erh Mini Tuo Chas that I want to try, and the artisan Lychee shaped Jasmine green. If it seems like a lot of Jasmine flavored teas, it is, I had been expecting to hit one or two Japanese tea shops for some Gyokuro, Sencha, Fukamushi Sencha... but I never made it to them unfortunately so my bounty is a little unbalanced. I'm heading to the Strip District this weekend for my birthday and State College in two weeks so I'll be rounding it out there and at Wegmanns with the items I missed in NYC. Also, FWIW, in PA we have grocery stores called "Giant Eagle" and they have a new branding and line of stores catering to upscale foods called "Market District" which I'm hoping will have some fine loose teas locally. Plus I hear Trader Joe's is coming, so I may have a few outlets for tea outside the Strip District for once. - Dominic Happily Drinking: Ten Ren Loose 2006 Spring Lung Ching |
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