An's List - The May Edit

fashion study, thoughts on 5 years in NYC, best recent bites in NYC, my current bakery obsession, a clothing haul & recent screenshots for summer outfit inspo

This week, I participated in a fashion study, and yes, I did sign an NDA and wasn’t allowed to share much. Only in NYC would one be rewarded for shopping too much and being too opinionated.

I hope that comes off a bit more like a joke, but it really has come full circle for me. In the past, I’d get comments from people saying that I’m too opinionated or too assertive, I spend too much money (or more like I have an ‘expensive’ taste, and that somehow rubs people in a wrong way?), or I shop too much… Well, fashion is my passion, and I’ve always been out spoken about things that I care about and always will be. Over the years, I think I’ve manifested all of that into my career/jobs that I do now, and it’s not been an easy journey or a straight path. I love the life that I have built for myself and appreciate every job opportunity that comes my way, so other people’s opinions matter but not really because they’re not in my life. I get sent products (because I apply for it, and a lot of the time I do it for free for years!) and get paid to test, review, and make content about products or services. And do you know that it is a job and a lot of people are doing it?

This week, I think a lot about my past experiences and life happenings, and I think it’s so important to stick to who you are as a person. I fully believe in karma, and that I don’t ever owe anyone an explanation for anything that I choose to do. Over the years, all of the habits, hobbies, and interests in art, fashion, and design that I’ve developed do partly shape my personality, and I know for a very long time that my geographic location and people I’m surrounded with matter. Places I lived before and people I met didn’t fulfill many parts of me, and I never felt like I belonged anywhere until New York. Here, I love that I don’t feel alone, and I’ve even met people who dress like me and have the same interests like me. I’ve found my ‘niche,’ and it’s a cool feeling when we get to be in the same room together, talk about fashion, shopping, and brand building with so much care and passion.

So cheers to our 5th year in NYC!

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BEST BITES IN NYC

Not sure how May weather has been for you, but it’s been so rainy and cold in NYC. My partner and I have this rainy tradition that we would go get dim sum on the weekend in one of the NYC Chinatowns, then we would get some pastries and boba togo.

Last Saturday, we went back to our favorite, East Harbor Seafood Palace, and it was perfect. We’ve probably been there over ten times. It’s amazing that, regardless of how crowded the restaurant is on the weekends, they always manage to get everyone in and out so quickly. Well, except if you’re dining on the day where there’s a wedding, they’d shut down 90% of the restaurant to host a wedding banquet, unannounced. It happened to us once! My must-orders include the shumai (always because they make it the best here!), braised chicken feet, shrimp rolls with sweet soy, sticky rice in lotus leaf, Chinese chive dumplings, steamed or fried tofu skin rolls. I love that they do the mustard and chili as dipping sauce (not a traditional soy sauce, vinegar with chili combo).

East Harbor Seafood Palace in Brooklyn is my #1 dim sum spot in NYC! - left: dim sum at East Harbor Seafood Palace; middle: matcha coconut blue and kale tea from HEYTEA; right: Portuguese egg tarts from Xin Fa Bakery - Chinatown, Brooklyn

Instead of getting egg tarts or anything sweet as desserts at the dim sum place, I’d recommend getting Portuguese egg tarts at Xin Fa Bakery (I’d usually pick up 6 for today and save some for tomorrow, and they can be heated on a slightly oiled cast iron pan or oven 400°F for 3-5 minutes) and boba nearby at HEYTEA, Chun Yang Tea, Molly, or Yi Fang.

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