ABC vs OBC - on the subject of tipping

I'll provide a link to the guideline on tipping in the USA further below but for now , let's dwell on the ABC vs OBC understanding of what it means to tip or not to tip while we are in the US .

By the way , ABC stands for American Born Chinese , whereas OBC stands for Overseas Born Chinese .

Both are Chinese but when you put us both in one room there could be a big culture shock to grapple with .

Snooping around the Fishermen ' s Grotto

As it is , I'm thinking of crabs .

 No . Lusting for it .

Especially after seeing some folks polish a gigantic pile at Henry Restaurant in Bukit Panchor the other day . 

Triggered a sudden craving for long legged King Crab in particular which I enjoyed on 3 separate occasions ( it was soooo good ) at one buffet outside Garden Grove . 

A craving which made me evetually dig out my stash of dependable creamy spaghetti sauce with crab bits from Daiso . 

Pathetic eh ? It did help stave off the desire just a little .

Pink is to Candy

She is nothing like you have ever seen before . The mere mention of her name will elicit an immediate sort of response from those involved in the West Coast tourism industry . Everyone knows who she is . 

Except me at the time .

Honestly , I was so shocked when I first met her . From the hair to her choice of togs ( at her age ! ) to her flower petalled clogs and her bag , plus her nail colour oh wow .... I was really in a daze even though I myself like the colour Pink and Hello Kitty stuff .

USS Pampanito - Pier 45

 The USS Pampanito has sunk 6 Japanese Imperial ships in the past world war .

Down Lombard Street with two offended guides

When the guide took us to Lombard Street , I was not prepared for the slope nor her eventual slide afterwards .

Castro - queer town where the rainbow flag stands proud

As we approached Castro , nobody in the bus knew what to say .

Even though the guide had earlier given us a heads up as to what the town stands for , we looked on in silence while the free and happy souls pranced and strutted freely down the streets .

Vintage trams , trolleys and streetcars - the cutest part of San Francisco

Streetcars and trams are all part and parcel of San Francisco . 

They are such bona fide vintage , working antiques , my heart skipped a beat , each time one after the next whizzed past me .

Felt as if time had stopped and I was in a warped bubble straight out of the 50s .

Cathedral of St.Mary of the Assumption - Cathedral Hill

Would you believe it if I told you that this was a Roman Catholic church ?

When the tour bus stopped , I seriously thought that maybe we were at some sort of planetarium or a site dedicated to extra terrestrial beings .

Bethel Gospel Assembly - Harlem

Wasn't going to leave American soil without seeing a gospel choir in action .

Had a few places to pick from , but because of the timing , I finally decided to make my way towards the Bethel Gospel Assembly , a Pentecoastal church , located in Harlem .

Making my way here was a test in faith . On the map , it seemed fairly easy , when it wasn't that simple to locate .

 From the Grand Central Terminal , I managed to purchase a subway pass from the super unhelpful old Indian man behind the counter . 

When I asked two local cops for directions they told me this 

" there is a church around here ? "

Gosh . Move on gurl . Move on .

After asking yet another clueless passerby , a nice Latina lady showed me where she thought it most probably was ( after an underpass  )

A Mennonite reaction to muah at Bryant Park

Update 1.5.2017 : 

I'd like to thank blog reader Emi Girlcrafter for correcting me and bringing to my attention that these people are not Amish as I had earlier ignorantly presumed . They are Mennonites according to her . 

We learn something new everyday don't we ? 

_________

I whooped with joy when I chanced upon this group of Mennonite people singing hymns at Bryant Park . 

It's unbelievable ! 

I'm actually seeing them right in the middle of busy New York ! 

Deli Delicious - Fresno

While the rest headed to a Chinese buffet down the block , one bad experience at a similar place just outside of Vegas , was enough to make me break away from what I considered a mediocre tourist trap . 

Think I made the right choice because as I was walking round the corner , one kid was muttering 

" these people are being taken for a ride. There's so many other better places to eat ! "

That's when I decided to ask the locals for recommendations . 

A bunch of teens directed me towards a fastfood outlet upstairs . To which I actually went to take a look at but then decided against it . 

Then I stopped this golden girl in her tracks. We got chatting a bit whereby she mentioned that she was outposted here prior to her retirement . Was also she who said that she personally preferred Deli Delicious ....so yeah , that's what I'm having for a late lunch .

Have to agree with the old dear . She was right .

Chose the Dutch Crunch bread ( soft on inside , with a delightful golden crusty outside )  to go with the sinful Philly Cheese Steak , grilled peppers , onion and Jack .

Deli Delicious ....yes it is . Substantial portion . Only thing I did not like was the surly service . But then again maybe it's to do with the environment where Panda Express seems to sell more takeaways than the rest .

Verdict : you can't go wrong here . Food is quite yummy

Location : E Shields Ave , Fresno .

Famous Famiglia - 8th Avenue

 Had my first stromboli in this outlet and this is how it is served .

The tomato paste is placed in a small receptacle for you to dip the pizza in .

Coco ' s Bakery Restaurant

On and off , a total of 5 days was spent in Anaheim alone . 

Sounds so rich lol .

Because I was staying at the Sheraton  across the road , 

eventually I would wander in for a bite .

Hershey 's Indulgent Caramel Syrup

I used to have the occasional butterscotch sweets given to me as a treat . But that's beside the point on why I love caramel so much .....there's another reason why I picked this up just now from the supermart .

Anthony ' s Fish Grotto - San Diego

Had I known that I would find San Diego so endearing , I would have extended my stay there . But because I didn't know better , I left it up to the agency to arrange the itinerary which turned out to be so rushed , I left this lovely city with some amount of regret .

Boudin Bakery & Cafe - San Francisco Fisherman ' s Wharf

Everyone says this is a place you HAVE TO TRY . So in I went ,herded like a very obedient sheep with the rest of the flock .

Guano Cafe - Hualapai Nation

Formerly a guano mine tram station , and now converted into a restaurant , 

welcome to Guano Cafe 

TMNT2 - a few NYC movie locations

When we watched Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Out of the Shadows last night I gasped in disbelief ! 

Already knew that NYC would feature heavily in the flick , but I least expected the movie to be mostly filmed right smack in the area , where I treaded up and down  daily during my short sojourn there .

Felt like I'd hit the jackpot !!!

In case you're wondering why we're seeing it first in Malaysia , simple , doing so beats piracy to a certain extent . 

Here are the iconic locations I recognised so far . 

1. Chrysler Building

Of all the towers  , I found that although dwarfed , The Chrysler stood out most and woah what an epic rush of a background it proved to be indeed !

Hope you notice the all important manhole in the foreground . 

Del Taco - Harbor Boulevard

There was a Taco Bell around 8 minutes away on foot but since Del Taco was not only nearer to my hotel , there always seemed to be a steady stream of customers , of course I popped in for a try out .

Besides , after a few days in and out of Anaheim , I found that wherever Hispanic and Black people were eating in droves , that would be a good , hearty chow spot , my tastebuds would find most agreeable .

Little Italy Pizza - near the Empire State Tower

Other than burgers and more burgers , I also attempted 3 New York style pizza places . 

One in the middle of Nevada called Villa , a franchise outlet from NYC ( a huge , awful , obviously deep frozen crusted , horribly salty pizza )  , 

Famous Famiglia for Strombolli ( show you later , meh only but you ought to see the famous clients they've catered to ) and 

last of all Little Italy Pizza .

It's rather easy to find this pizza place .

Just look for the Empire State Tower .