God has the most amazing, perfect timing. Just when I was starting to feel stifled in my home in Northern Virginia…just when I was starting to feel a bit lonely…just when I was starting to feel insignificant and unconfident…just when I was getting a bit annoyed by my lack of privacy…God sends me to New York City.
Ah. The Big Apple. I don’t think I can live here permanently…but NYC is just the perfect getaway to loosen up, to get that spark back into your life, to bolster up your freedom to laugh.
There is something about New York City. Your pace quickens. You talk a bit faster, you move a bit smoother. You feel more sophisticated and worldly—even if you look so out of place with a Korean haircut and a big-ass camera dangling around your neck.

Actually, right now I’m in Brooklyn. I’m crashing at my friend Alda’s place, who is an art student in NYC. Here’s the thing: I’ve never met her before. But we click—like soul mates.
Alda was actually a blog reader of mine. About 17 months ago, she sent me an email. I responded back. And she replied back. And I replied back. And then she replied back and then I—well, you get the idea. We emailed each other daily. And when she moved from Hong Kong to NYC, we started texting each other daily, too.

I don’t know what to say about Alda, except that we just…click. We’re so different, but somehow we just had so many things to talk about, and even though we’ve never met, she became one of my closest friends. It’s freaky, I know…but I believe friendships are matched by God, and this one is definitely it. It helps that Alda is incredibly fun, caring, smart, and lovable, too.
I thought the moment we finally met would be more thrilling. But when I first saw her face-to-face, we just immediately started chatting like old friends. I didn’t feel like I was meeting someone new. I felt like I was meeting a sister.

We went to the Times Square and Columbus Circle area. But we didn’t actually shop. Alda was more interested in showing me all the cool foodie places. God, she knows me so well. We went to take a look at Bouchon Bakery:

It was closing when we arrived, but I had enough time to poke my camera lens in between the closing doors to take a few pictures.
Look at that GIGANTIC macaron! You can’t really tell from here, but they were the size of your palm!
I saw a little girl munching on it happily, and it took all my will to resist snatching it from her hands. It would have been so easy…like taking candy from a baby. But I guess that would have been mean. Sigh.
I didn’t get anything because the place was closed and…well, it was pretty high-class. Aka expensive.

By then it was 10:30pm, so I was starting to feel pangs of hunger. By impromptu, Alda told me that there was a new burger store opened nearby…
New Yorkers, you know what I’m talking about. Shake Shack is a blooming burger stand that originated from Madison Square Garden in Manhattan. It is the In-N-Out of Manhattan. I first read about this from The Girl Who Ate Everything, and have been itching to try their famous burgers for a long time. Their menu isn’t just limited to burgers:
There’s frozen custard, with rather interesting flavors:
And even a little something for the poochies:
Hm…okay…Anyway. Shake Shack is big here. BIG. It used to be just a small roadside shack…but it’s boomed into a chain, opening stores all over Manhattan, with one in Miami, Florida, and Saratoga Springs, NY as well.
It was a really late Monday night, but it was still packed.
Full of hungry New Yorkers, waiting patiently for their grub.
The service was pretty friendly, too. Despite the long line of customers, the employees weren’t flustered at all, even taking the time to patiently explain the menu to us.
Shake Shack is a lot like In-N-Out in that they put their kitchen into full view, so that customers can see their food being prepared in hygienic and fresh conditions. 
What you do is you order, and then they call you out to pick up your order. Very fast food…but the prices ain’t.
I got the Shackburger, which is the original burger here:
100% Natural Black Angus burger, cooked medium rare. American cheese, lettuce, tomato and the famous ShackSauce. Served in potato bun.
It was awesome. It was smaller than I thought it would be considering that it was almost $5, but it was really, really good. The meat was tender and juicy, the potato bun buttery and soft and soaked with beef juices, and the sauce creamy and tangy and slightly sweet. Look at how happy I am!
Alda got the Second City Bird Dog:
Chicken sage sausage, with cucumber, tomato and pickle. Seasoned with sport pepper and celery salt.
It was supposed to come with relish and onions too, but Alda, asked them to leave that off because she’s crazy and does not like raw onions or relish. Since Alda is a graphic designer, we both marveled at the cool design of the hot dog holder:
One of the things I love about Alda is that she makes me view things differently. She’s very observant and has a sharp artist eye, and she  helps me to slow down and appreciate the small details, too.

After that we took a brief walk around East Village. We stopped by to look at the new Burger King Whopper Bar:
Interesting…Anyone ever tried this? I’m not sure if it’s worth it? This was worth it though:
It’s a fry station called Pommes Frites, and they sell fresh-cut, fresh-fried thick potato fries, topped with all sorts of funky mayonnaise you want. I had a sample, with the Roasted Garlic mayo and the Sweet Mango Chutney mayo.
Delicious. Hot and crispy in my mouth. I liked the Sweet Mango Chutney mayonnaise better though.

Question of the Day: If you eat meat, what is your favorite burger place? And ever had an experience in which you just click with a certain someone?

Related posts:

1. The $20 “Grown-Up” Burger
2. How to Make the Best of Hong Kong
3. HK Day Two: Sheltered and Stuffed
4. A Korean Education
5. Luckiest Brat in the World

Tagged as: American, beef, burger, cheese, chicken, fast food, fried, fries, hotdog, mayonnaise