Tag Archives: bubble tea

Yelp’s Holiday Cruise 2016

This year’s Yelp Holiday Cruise aboard the Hornblower Infinity was off the hook amazing!

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The Hornblower Infinity was a beautiful, spacious yacht with 3 levels. “Recently remodeled with a bold design, this vessel is the largest in the New York fleet and matches the uniqueness of New York.”

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Upon entering, my group of friends and I headed downstairs to the first floor, where all the savory food vendors were. After a bit of noshing on yummy savory bites, I headed up to the 2nd level for some sweet treats. There was also CandyTwisted Balloons, where they make balloon hats of your choice… They were gorgeous! On the third floor, where there was an oxygen bar, massage area, painting and a magician.

                   MY FAVORITE TREATS OF THE NIGHT

Between the Bread
They presented us with a scallop on top of a tortilla chip, which was delicious. I really enjoyed the pan seared scallop and the flavorful pesto sauce on top.

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Otto’s Tacos
This pulled pork taco was quite large and chock full of wonderful tasting seasoning! The meat was juicy, tender and so yummy!

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City Cakes
I am a chocolate chip cookie girl (which I also tried of course), but one bite of the red velvet cake cookie and I was hooked… It was perfectly soft, had a mix of red velvet and white cream, just the right amount of sweetness and the definition of delicious. The chocolate chip cookie was also mouthwatering good.

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Tea & Milk
Cute bubble tea business. The folks making and serving the bubble tea were friendly and bubbly! I couldn’t decide between the regular black tea or the green jasmine tea so they let me try both! They were quite tasty, especially the jasmine tea. I liked the bit of cream they put on top and the tapioca balls were exactly the right texture and size.

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Oficina Latina
This booth had both savory and sweet… Gorgonzola gnocchi with greens which were great and for dessert, I chose the chocolate and nutella which was absolutely delectable: Very rich, creamy, chocolate-y smooth and decadent!

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Dough
Perfectly adorable mini donuts of quite a few different flavors. Each one moist and delightful, with sweet icing! Pictured below: Passionfruit and Chocolate.

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One vendor I didn’t really care for was Chickpea, though I loved their beautiful, colorful, unique and creative presentation of flowers, along with the meats. Beyond that, I thought the naan, chicken and falafel were quite bland and dry. Another that didn’t meet my expectations was Coppelia’s chicken fried rice, especially since I love the restaurant Coppelia. It might have benefited from more seasoning and fresh ingredients.

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The dance floor was super fun, with great songs and lots of characters, such as Elmo, Unicorns, dinosaurs, entertainers in glittery bedazzled costumes, dancers in white with masks and so on. The boat docked around 9pm, but the DJ and Hornblower Cruises staff stuck around for an extra hour so we could continue having a blast and dance the night away!

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Brooklyn Night Bazaar

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It’s not often that I venture into Brooklyn, but when I heard about the Brooklyn Night Bazaar “A night market and concert space that brings together independent vendors, musicians, chefs and artists,” I knew I had to experience it for myself. The Bazaar is located in a warehouse in Greenpoint, open on Friday and Saturday nights from 6pm to midnight. Admission is free, but it’s a good idea to get there a little early because there will be a line and they stagger entry. There was still quite a decent sized line when I left around 9pm.

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Upon entering the Brooklyn Night Bazaar, you’re hit with an array of lights, color, hip and cool clothes, jewelry and other merchandise. We headed in toward the back where we were met with a barrage of food vendors, such as The Morris Truck (grilled cheese), The Lobster Joint, Oaxaca Taqueria, and Arancini Bros (rice balls). The first thing I had to try was the only $5 lobster slider from The Lobster Joint and it was delicious. I’m usually not a huge fan of lobster rolls because I dislike cold lobster, but this slider was not super chilled. The lobster was fresh and tasted full of flavor, with the perfect amount of mayo and accompanying coleslaw.

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I also had to get myself a bubble tea drink from Tea n’ Milk. I chose the iced Chai House Special with tapioca pearls. The tea was brewed fresh and tasted wonderful. I enjoyed it with the thick, sweet condensed milk and the sprinkling of cinnamon.

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Then I got to try some mac and cheese with truffle that was pan fried and then breaded & fried on top of that! This was a heaping dish of pure yummyness, along with the sauce they added to it. It was perfectly crispy, juicy, cheesy and completely fattening and indulgent.

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I couldn’t resist trying the lamb bun after seeing the lamb roasting slowly in front of my eyes. It came with sweet dark brown sauce, pomegranate seeds, parsley. It unfortunately did not taste as wonderfully as I had expected and ended up liking the pork bun quite a bit more.

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I was able to taste a few other items: Thin crust sausage pizza (tasty), risotto rice ball (decent), truffle grilled cheese sandwich (divine), and much later, some ice cream. I chose two flavors: Vanilla caramel and tres leches. Both turned out to be delightful, smooth, sweet, rich and complimented one another. The tres leches even had pieces of tres leches cake swirled in, which took it to the next level of deliciousness.

I spent some time checking out the vendors, which were all wonderful and unique in their own way. Some of my favorites were BlissfulCASE (pale pink glitter for your cell phone, anyone?), Milly & Earl (nautical-themed and other gorgeously designed jewelry), Strumpet (sassy retro-style apparel) and more.

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There was one vendor that had cool books that were transformed into clocks.

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Besides all the food and shopping, there was an area for live performances. Several different bands performed throughout the evening, adding an awesome element to the whole experience. Also, there’s a section for mini golf, complete with neon lights, disco balls, a huge cut out of Glinda the Good Witch, a zebra, and more!  There’s even table tennis!

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The Brooklyn Night Bazaar is something new, creative, full of life with trendy vendors, art, food, music and more! It’s great to go with a group of friends or just your bestie and can be an adventure that doesn’t break the bank, as it is easy to share the small bites, mini golf is only $5 and you’re able to choose how much you spend.  Well worth the trip!

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Brooklyn Night Bazaar
165 Banker St
Brooklyn, NY
Brooklyn Night Bazaar

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