Going Green, Matcha-Style

Mango Bubble Tea.

Saint's Alp Teahouse in East Village for mango iced bubble tea and Matcha toast with my sugar daddy, JK (just kidding - JK, you know who you are!). I know this post is way overdue. Wish you could come visit more often...

Not pictured: my cute little teapot of hot honey green bubble tea. Suitable for blustery "spring" weather or a sore throat.

Matcha Green Tea Toast.

It was my first time having the Matcha toast - hot Matcha green tea spread over a soft loaf of thick white Hong Kong-style bread. For some reason, I don't ordinarily like Matcha...maybe because I don't dig the generic-tasting powdery versions at Starbucks and Jamba Juice. But good call, JK. Check out the height!

Panera to the Rescue

Panera goodies.

On one of those truly icky days when the humidity soars and your face is one hot mess, you could use a cooler or two. Try one of Panera's Frozen Mango Smoothies made with real mango chunks, ice and raspberry syrup swirl. I like to pair that with the Carrot Walnut Muffin, a sweet medley of carrots, walnuts pineapple and raisins.

Arriba! Arriba! Una dia en la Loisada

Outside East Side Community High School.

Walking east down 14th Street towards the Lower East Side, I had a peculiar feeling that I was crossing boundaries from the hipster, ultra-urban Union Square to another territory altogether. On the basketball court outside East Community High School, I heard the shuffle of sneakers, the thump thump thwack of elastic basketballs skimming the rim.

75 degrees. Mostly sunny, with a slight breeze.

An Asian mom and her toddler son watched enthralled behind the black fence as squeals and screams of glee filled the playground in front of them. These noises came from 20 or so students, lined up back-to-back in a row on a yellow mat with their legs spread wide forming tunnels. Their pants were rolled up, shirts drenched from water.

All of a sudden a human canonball burst threw the line, splashing bucketfulls of water in his wake.

It's slip-n-slide time, baby.

They looked like they were having so much fun...oh, to be young again.

"Slum of Providence."

Go watch City of God. It's only my favorite movie.

"Be cool stay in school."

Kool Bloo Express Eats is doing you a solid. Rachel thinks so, too.

Boombox biker.

I love this shot. An older Latino gentleman (or Abuelito, as I nicknamed him) rides leisurely through Avenue C, a veritable fiesta of Spanish tunes flooding through his boombox speakers. Something tells me he's got the longevity thing down pat. Check out those orange rims!

Cool-aid.

More orange, in the form of a mango ice. Waiting for my lunch date to arrive, I sat down on a green bench next to Ctown (the supermarket, not Chinatown). A little old man with some of his teeth missing gave me a gum-filled smile as he peddled around his ice cart.

"El coco, la cereza, el mango!" he hawked.

Since it was getting rather warm, I thought I'd give one a try. Mango's my favorite, of course. I asked him how much.

-Pardon, señor. ¿Cuánto cuesta?

-Un dolar, one dollar.

-Mango, por favor.

-Ah, un mango por una chica linda! (One mango for a pretty girl.)

A lovely ice from a lovely man. And for just one buck, a good way to keep your cool!

Day 7: In the Mood for Mango

This entry originally took place on March 25.

Wednesday, March 25: I took the 1 p.m. Fung Wah bus from Boston to New York. When I emerged from the heat-regulated bus, it was a sunny 50 degrees. I couldn't have picked a better day for arrival. The sun covered my back. Everywhere around me, friendly smiles greeted me. People's faces seemed to glow from the touch of spring. Boys played ball in the park and passersby reclined on benches in the nearby park, watching the children hoot 'n holler.

Back to Century Cafe. (I'll locate more local cafes/bakeries in Ctown next time I'm not loaded down with three big pieces of luggage...) I was in the mood for mango and pointed to the mango boba. The counter lady informed me that the cafe had run out of boba. RUN OUT OF BOBA??! How does a full-service cafe/bakery run out of boba? Beats me. In any case, I settled for the mango slushee instead, which only put me back $2.50.

Happily sucking mango icies through the tall straw, I am happy to report that the slushee was made of real mango and not...sickly sweet sugary syrup. I sat next to an uncle in a black puffy coat. Peeking below the table, I noticed he was wearing black-and-white checkered pants. The soaring strains of David Tao's "Melody" played softly in the background, followed by James Blunt's "You're Beautiful" and a smattering of Jay Chou ballads. Go Mandarin/Taiwanese Pop!

Oh how I love you, New York. Just when I think I've had enough of your windy 20-degree temps, spring comes and smacks me upside the head.




Then I headed underground. Pick-up point: Kew Gardens. After emerging back into the light, I was thirsty again. All that human contact in heavily congested subways while heaving around luggage had sucked the strength out of me. Enough weightlifting madness. As if I hadn't had enough of my mango quota (haha, you can never OD on that stuff, so says I), I ordered Starbucks' Vivanno banana-orange-mango smoothie. Almost too thick for a straw, but chock full of vitamin-infused fruit.

Nourishment.

Rachel gave me her special stash of tea from her spring break Hong Kong trip. Her aunt packed me all that berry goodness. Fortified. Now the only problem is finishing my already bountiful tea collection. I counted 25 varieties in the pantry last time...I only wish I was joking. Well, if all else fails, I'll open my own tea-pothecary. After all, sharing's caring!