Five Guys - West 42nd Street , New York

Five Guys originates from Virginia and President Obama counts as one of their fans .

Yet somehow , there's always a lame joker who will repeat  this universal , cross border , reeeeally lameeeeeee joke 

" Where are the 5 guys ....I only see 3 guys ? "

especially when you simply snap a picture without counting the number of people in it .

* Rolls eyes *

Chick-fil-A - Burger Whisperer on the Avenue of the Americas

Seriously , I don't know why some people think fastfood joints are beneath them .

When you're in the USA don't skip this man . After all , you are in the cradle that brought fastfood civilization worldwide , so before you go book a swanky meal in Michelin star restaurant where it's so hard to breathe , do the good old American sloppy burgers first !

You know , the places where you eat holding it with your bare hands ?Instead of cutting it up daintily with a shiny silver knife , you know ?

KFC ( seems the Americans prefer Colonel Sanders to KFC but I didn't see none , KFC yes , Colonel Sanders nope ) and Mc D's are shockingly all passe but these 3 giants I've covered so far are all the rage ....

They are totally relevant and in demand today , Right Now .

So while Shake Shack has its roots in NYC and In-N-Out is firmly entrenched on the West Coast , Chick-fil-A was born in Atlanta . And yet it is so wildly popular , right smack in the middle of NYC , you'd never have guessed it !

( they're ranked the number 1 fastfood joint in America so errrr...you'd better believe it )

In-N-Out Burger - Fisherman ' s Wharf , San Francisco

Heard soooo much about In-N-Out Burger and how good it was ( even from people who didn't eat beef ? my goodness )

They ( the non beef eaters ) would tell you how they regret not being able to eat there first , then show you the thumbs up sign and declare it's the best burger ...... period . 

How ridiculous is that huh ?

And when you ask them where the nearest one was , they'd tell you 

" you have to drive there "

Thus while wandering around Fisherman's Wharf , when I came across this outlet , I almost screamed ( inside - laaa ) . Though I was going to try the famous Boudin bread bowl clam chowder afterwards , my tum would have to make extra space for one In-N-Out .

Shake Shack - 8th Avenue , New York

First time I saw a Shake Shack was in Vegas but I didn't go in because I wanted to try the Earl of Sandwich .

When I walked a little way off Times Square and saw this amazingly looooooong line , that did it....I was gonna give it a go .

Daiso - Cats from there , Owls from here

For the sake of getting this collection , I was determined to hunt down the local outlet on Day 1 of my arrival , just to scoop these precious babies up .

They survived all the hotels I checked into and eventual connecting flights and journeyed all the way home....intact , with not a corner chipped . 

It was impervious to get them in L.A. as NYC does not have any outlet yet ( closest is Washington D.C. ) and Tokyo is just known for the Sanrio and My Melody collection .

Maybe one day , they will head to our shores ....

...just like this Owl set which was originally spotted in Seoul , Korea .

Best Western - Palm Court Inn , Modesto

We were occasional patrons of an establishment with the same namesake eons ago in KL so, I never imagined I would actually have the chance to come stay in the city itself one fine day. 

Marriot Courtyard - Newark

By the 8th of May , this nomad  spent one night here .

Marriot Courtyard in Newark , Silicone Valley 

Sheraton Garden Grove - Anaheim

The affable driver who picked me up from the airport was perplexed over this choice of hotel which he considered to be out of the way and inconvenient .

Planet Hollywood - Las Vegas

There used to be a Planet Hollywood cafe right smack in the middle of Bukit Bintang . Went in once or twice and got gobsmacked seeing how it was teeming more with curious sightseers during the day and packed like sardines by those Hard Rock Cafe types at night . Fast forward , the Kuala Lumpur establishment is now no more ,so you can imagine how fantastic it felt to be able to experiencing staying the hotel itself eventually .....and in Vegas , for 2 nights too at that !

May travel diary

Once again, I used the instaweather app to record the places I'd been to  .

Here's what went .

Because I flew with ANA , I caught the connecting flight in Narita Airport

5 hours in the freezing cold

This is THE highlight of my entire trip to the USA . 

AA

Another first time flight experience on yet another airline .

After ANA , I'm gonna board my first AA . 

American Airlines.