I spent eight days in New York City checking off bucket list items.

New York City is a place I’m always quick to say I hate, but deep down, I love it so much. Not only is my part-time and freelance work there, giving me an excuse to go up and see great theatre whenever I’m in town. It all started when I moved to New York from Baltimore in college to attend the Fashion Institute of Technology.

Having just studied abroad in Seoul that summer to bounce to the energy of New York was wild, but I only got a year and a half of it before COVID hit. I graduated college early during COVID to avoid the rent prices in the city, as I live at home and save a lot of my money that way, but back in the day I used to go up once a month.

When the Megabus was a thing I used to get $5 tickets roundtrip, so I’d literally go up to just see a show and then go home later that night sometimes. Nowadays the Peter Pan Bus is about $80, so I have to plan around that to get my money’s worth when I need to be in the city for work.

However, this trip was also special for me because I knew it was the last time I would be going up for a week. I signed a full time job offer right before going up, and had a start date of August 25 (way before this blog post will come out), so I knew going into this trip that I was going to live it up and enjoy the city one last time. Things didn’t entirely go as planned, but that’s okay!

Please note in this blog post I won’t be including a lot of food entries like I usually do. That’s because I ended up eating out at so many incredible places that I want to make an entirely separate food diary blog post for this trip. Keep an eye out on the blog for that in the coming days.

Anyways, let’s get into the blog post and itinerary of what I did. I don’t want to keep going on and on forever!

Day One: A Day of Work at the Theatre

I caught an early morning bus out of Baltimore to New York City. During the weekdays I always try to get an early bus (~8:30 AM) because by the time we hit NYC, the traffic isn’t bad at all. I’ve never had a problem with these time slots and traffic. We got into the city at 11:10 AM (which was actually early), then I dropped my stuff off at the theatre I work at in Midtown.

We run an annual Short Play Festival for women who write plays, which is why I was in town actually. When I arrived was the opening, so I planned to work this day and have fun the rest of the days (minus when I was running the box office). I ran to YGF Malatang on 34th Street for lunch.

So I became obsessed with malatang when I was in Korea, and YGF has been my go-to ever since it opened and whenever I’m in the city. I usually fill my bowl to the max and pay less than $20 each time, and they have free water cups and a sauce station. This time I enjoyed my malatang a lot—except when a random man stumbled in and called me a slur when I was slurping my noodles.

After that I ran an errand for my boss, then worked the box office for the first two shows that night. I then headed into Brooklyn, where I was staying this time, and then caught up with my friend I was staying with.

Day Two: Lunch in Koreatown, Top of the Rock, and Oh, Mary!

I left the house around 11:30 on the second day because I had plans to meet two friends at Cho Dang Gol in Koreatown. Cho Dang Gol is my favorite Korean restaurant in Manhattan, as I love their banchan and tofu dishes, and I was specifically meeting two friends I studied abroad with in Busan, South Korea, a year prior.

Unfortunately, one friend couldn’t make it, but the other friend and I caught up for a few hours and walked around. We stopped by the Korean Cultural Center and walked all the way up to the Fifth Avenue section of stores in Midtown, then parted ways. It was lovely to see her, and I headed to McNally Jackson because it was in the same area.

McNally is my favorite bookstore, as I love their poetry selection and how they sort their fiction by region. I picked up a copy of a Korean novel and a Chinese poet in translation, then sat by the ice skating rink for a bit and people watched. Then I changed locations and decided to people watch by Avenue of the Americas until it was time for my Top of the Rock ticket slot.

I had never been to any of the observation decks in New York until now—they’re simply too expensive. But because I had a job lined up and decided to go all out, this was what I chose to do with the money. I would say it was really cool to see both Central Park and the Midtown skyline, but I don’t know if I would do this again. Maybe sunset would be nice, but I didn’t have time for that this trip.

After Top of the Rock, I quickly stopped to grab a lemonade at a cafe, then went to the Lyceum Theatre in Times Square. I had a partial view seat for the Broadway production of Oh, Mary! because I had heard the hype about the show. I thought it was very entertaining and a good time, but not worth more than what I paid for the ticket. If I was wealthier then yeah sure I’d get an orchestra seat, but as someone kind of on a budget, I don’t know if I would go all out for this show particularly.

After that I went back to Brooklyn, wrote my blog post for the show, then passed out on the couch.

Day Three: Movie Day, Turkish Brunch, and Buena Vista Social Club

On this day, I really had nothing planned. I was going to go to Roosevelt Island, but then I checked the AMC app and discovered that I could make use of my AMC A List while I was in town and see some movies that my local theater would never show.

But first: I got brunch with the person I was staying with at a Turkish restaurant in Park Slope: Tavana. Get their lunch special! It comes with an appetizer and full meal, so we split a chicken adana, kabob, baba ganoush, and hummus. We were stuffed, but still ordered baklava anyway. After tip it only came out to $65 for a three course meal for two.

I then headed into Manhattan, where I went to UNIQLO specifically to purchase work clothes for my new job. I got these pants that look so professional but are basically sweatpants—I love them. Anyways, I then walked to the Times Square AMC to see the Indian movie Saiyaara, which was a time.

After that, I headed to the Gerald Schloenfeld theater to see Buena Vista Social Club. Full review is on my blog, but it was a good time, albeit very flimsy. I was expecting to go to another movie at the AMC, but then canceled my ticket when I realized it ended at 1 AM and got pizza instead. After chomping down on my slice, I headed back to Brooklyn in the rain.

Day Four: Eating Around Brighton Beach, Coney Island, Korea Society Makgeolli Event

I have always wanted to go to Brighton Beach and Coney Island, and decided today was the day. This was centered around the fact I wanted to eat at Laghman Express and visit Tashkent Supermarket. And man: laghman at that restaurant is certainly the star of the show. I was in heaven. Once I finished up my meal there, I walked for a bit, then caught the bus down to Brighton.

There, I was immediately stunned by the amount of Russian and Uzbek I was hearing. I headed down to the beach, taking photos and the sights in, then walked all the way down to Coney Island. It was a typical American boardwalk in New York City—I liked the Brighton side better for the culture. I turned around at the end and walked back to Brighton, as I wanted to go to Gulluoglu, a Turkish cafe named after the one in Istanbul.

I got a huge slice of a pistachio cake and chai for $11, and I downed them. I loved this cafe a lot—I wish we had something similar back home. After that, I went and braved the crowds at Tashkent Supermarket, grabbed some food for the hot meal section to eat throughout the rest of the week, and wished I could bring some Uzbek plates home.

I went home and took a brief nap, then headed to Manhattan to visit the Korea Society. They were having an event where you could sample makgeolli from local NYC vendors, and my friend and I met there. We drank each sample (my favorite were the cans from Hana Makgeolli), then headed to Chubby Skewers in Midtown to catch up. After that, I went home and passed out.

Day Five: More Theater Work and John Proctor is the Villain

Day four was not that exciting for me. I ate some of my Tashkent Supermarket food and was blown away by the beef shashlik. It was genuinely better than some restaurants I had been to in my brief lifetime. I then hopped on the 2/3 to head into Manhattan, as it was another workday for me.

I ran the box office this day, so I was at the theater I work at until 6 PM helping out and making sure everything that needed to be done was done. At 6 I wrapped up, grabbed some food from the Pollo Campero that opened up by 38th Street, then went to the Booth Theater to see John Proctor is the Villain.

Personally: this was my favorite show I’ve seen this trip. If it ever comes locally to you, I would recommend seeing it!

Day Six: Park Slope and Working on a Closing Night Theatre Event

This was the last day I was in the office for an extensive amount of time, so I made the most of my morning. I woke up around 7:30 AM, ate some of my Tashkent Supermarket leftovers, and then headed to the Grand Army Plaza Green Market with the person I was staying with. She loves the produce and cheese she can get there, so she’s there every weekend.

I only purchased a fresh peach apple juice for myself, then we walked along Prospect Park to go home. I then packed up my stuff and then headed to Manhattan a little early, as I wanted to go to Hudson Yards. I stopped in MUJI, where I bought a pencil case for my new job, and then I went into UNIQLO and found the Studio Ghibli tee I had been hunting down. I bought it and sighed at what my credit card bill was going to become, then bought a salad at Chopt on the way to work.

That salad was delicious, but it hurt to buy a $17 salad. I missed eating at home this trip, especially considering I never really eat out at home. This was the biggest part of my budget, and always the biggest expense for me when I come to New York because of how I stay with people.

I spent the rest of the day working on the closing of our festival. I usually buy all of our wines and prep the food for our closing party, which is exactly what I did. I ate a lot of meat and cheese during the party, helped myself to some seltzer, then headed out at 9 PM to go back home and get some sleep.

Day Seven: Gantry Plaza and Eating Around Flushing

My plans for this day were a little awry. I was supposed to meet two different friends this day, but they both cancelled on me, so I kind of went a little rogue and did whatever I wanted for the last time I’m around for a week.

I headed to the theater I work at around 10:30 AM, as I had an 11:30 meeting with the artistic director and a playwright for a grant we were going to try applying for. After that, I hopped on the 7 train and went to Gantry Plaza. Gantry is gorgeous at sunset, but I didn’t see that today.

It’s a state park at the edge of Queens, and it’s easily accessible. This Sunday people were lounging about, getting wine and beer at the restaurants near the water, going on runs by the water. I walked along for about thirty minutes, taking pictures here and there on my camera, then I quickly stopped at the Little Banchan Shop.

I’ve been meaning to go there, but I realized I couldn’t buy anything because I was headed to Flushing afterwards. I did like what I saw there, even though it was a little expensive. I then hopped on the packed 7 train to Flushing, and felt the familiar rush of people as I exited onto Main Street.

Flushing is my favorite neighborhood, but my objective today was to just wander and eat. I ended up at Woodam for lunch/dinner, and I loved it a lot. I’d go back there if I was in the neighborhood. I then took a little walk around to take photos, and ended up at YuanYang for dessert. I’d been eyeing their taro mochi, and it was quite good and refreshing for this hot day (although it was a bit expensive for one person in Flushing).

I walked around a bit more, taking photos, then went to Jmart to get my usual round of groceries. Jmart in New World Mall is my favorite Chinese grocery store, and it’s even cheaper than my local Asian stores back home. Once I got my goods and packed them away, I headed home.

I had AMC tickets for 10 PM to see My Daughter is a Zombie, but I was so tired from the day I ended up cancelling them and watching The Gilded Age finale with my friend. I passed out early that night, as I had walked almost six miles.

Day Eight: The Frick Collection and Central Park

In the morning on this final day, my friend walked me to the subway and hugged me goodbye, then I went to drop my stuff off at where I work. I hung out there for a bit, then headed to the Frick Collection on 70th Street because I’ve been meaning to go there, but they were closed for renovations.

I’ve been wanting to go there since reading The Magnolia Palace, and I was so surprised at how gorgeous the space was. I spent an hour there total though because there are no placards to read about the art, and it was a little too crowded for how small the mansion is. I didn’t like how I had to compete with strangers constantly for elbow room in a tiny room full of porcelain or paintings.

I would recommend going there when it’s not crowded though! I think it’s worth going to at least once. I then took an hour walk down Central Park to take photos here and there. I stopped at Junior’s to pick up cheesecakes for my family and friends, then a bagel shop to get a bacon/egg/cheese and a bagel for my friend back home.

I hung out at work until 5:10 PM, then it was time to go to Port Authority. My bus was on time, and I was happy to collapse on my bed. It was such a nice trip, but I’m always ready to be home after spending that much time in the city. New York gets to me after a while.

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