USA 🇺🇸
New York City
Tips
- Out of the Broadway shows I’ve seen, I’d recommend Maybe Happy Ending for emotional impact, & Juliet for amusement, and Lion King for grandeur.
- I’ve also seen Hadestown, Schmigadoon, and Operation Mincemeat.
- Almost all of the food and drink establishments that I’ve listed require reservations. Book right when they become available, or line up well in advance for walk-ins.
- Note the minimum spend for bars (e.g. Overstory is $100/pp as of Aug 2025).
- If you’re doing an observation deck, pick one other than the Empire State Building so that you can see the iconic building itself.
- Katz’s Delicatessen is worth it, but one sandwich is absolutely massive, split if possible.
- Ellen’s Stardust Diner is passable diner fare, but the twist is that the servers are aspiring Broadway stars who take turns performing songs. Touristy, but it’s an enjoyable, unique experience.
- Washington Square Park and Brooklyn Bridge Park are my favourite parks in the city, for people-watching and skyline-viewing respectively.
Attractions
Quaint elevated coastline park with flowers and occasional live music!
Iconic framing of the Manhattan Bridge from the “Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass” (DUMBO) neighbourhood.
Quaint but lovely community-run garden. Not large enough to escape the surrounding urbanity, but it’s a nice pocket to relax on a bench. Note that you cannot eat or sit on the grass.
Such a charming jewelry shop; they recycle, reshape, and combine antique pieces into rings, necklaces, and earrings. They have pre-made pieces, or you can also have them make one on the spot from your own chosen “ingredients”.
Thoroughly enjoyed trying the different pencils, markers, pens, stamps, clips, tapes, and more at this Japanese stationery store.
Food
I firmly believe that Adel’s Famous Halal Food is overrated, and there are far better stalls nearby. My favourite is the chicken tikka masala from Royal Grill, but the mixed chapli kebab from Shawarma Bay was also great.
Mama’s TOO! Pizzeria West Village
Everyone has wildly different opinions on what’s considered the best New York pizza, but Mama’s was my favourite. Close second is Joe’s Pizza, for a more traditional thin-crust, no-frills slice.
Flaky Israeli pastry paired with crushed tomato, tahini, and a spicy, herbaceous sauce. I had mine filled with creamy spinach, artichoke, garlic confit, and melted cheese.
The fluffiest blueberry pancakes you will ever have.
Bagel chain that illuminated to me how good fresh, boiled bagels could be. Every time I came here in the morning, the bagels were from the oven to my mouth in less than a minute. Fluffy inside with a toasty outside, then even further heightened with sesame seeds. Genuinely good enough to have plain, but their scallion and brown sugar schmears are nice.
Fresh tomato bagel with cream cheese. Simple, but thoughtful seasoning makes it stand out. Beats out my previous favourite, Broad Nosh Bagels Deli & Catering 58th Street, for the best topped bagel in the city.
Enjoyed their udon noodles infused with matcha powder; the quality is comparable to the cold noodles I had in Japan.
Standout dish here was the steamed branzino in chili, lime, and cilantro broth. Quintessential Thai mixture of salt, fat, acid, and heat. Be aware that the coconut crab curry is good, but incredibly spicy.
Great food, excellent view, and complimentary access to The Edge. I particularly enjoyed the Spanish octopus and the filet au poivre. As of Sep 2026, it’s $68/pp for a two-course lunch with interior seating. However, since general admission to The Edge is $34-42, the package’s reasonably well-priced.
The best kind of Szechuan food; mouth-numbing spice yet so addictively tasty.
The gospel brunch was an incredibly memorable experience. The Southern food buffet was decent; my highlights were the fried chicken and mac and cheese. However, the gospel choir entertainment that followed was awesome. Each singer was talented, energetic, and passionate. It’s expensive, but the entertainment experience is on par with seeing a Broadway show.
The best South Indian cuisine I’ve had. The scallops with pineapple chutney, goanese oxtail curry, and lobster tail broadened my gastronomic perception of what Indian food could be. The custom-brewed mango saison beer was also excellent. Only disappointment was the gunpowder dosas, very skippable. Worth the stress of reserving.
Cozy cafe famous for their hazelnut, pineapple, and lime linzer cookie. Good place to decompress with authentic Taiwanese tea and relaxing ambient music.
Standout dish was the duck lychee curry; perfectly tender duck on a red coconut curry balanced with sweet lychee and crunchy okra. The crab and duck noodles are passable, but that dish is good enough for me to recommend the restaurant.
Intimate atmosphere, open kitchen; smoked dashi ramen and mango kakigori were excellent.
Hot honey popcorn chicken and cold sesame noodles were so, so good. Even in Taiwan, I would be very pleased if I had food of this quality. I’ve always wanted to go for their deboned fried chicken and fried tangyuan for dinner, please let me know how it is!
Drink
The best, most creative cocktails in NYC. The “Japanese Cold Noodle” cocktail is a must-try.
Fantastic Old Fashioned cocktails, but the true highlight is the wrap-around views of the financial district.
Lillie’s Victorian Establishment
Intimate bar, fantastic gin and tonics. I recommend the “How Soon is Now” cocktail.
Excellent chocolate negroni, even as someone who’s not a fan of chocolate oranges, and the best tiramisu I’ve had.
Chicago
Attractions
Chicago Architecture Center’s River Cruise
Lovely river cruise that was eye-opening to how Chicago’s architecture has evolved over aesthetic eras.
Chicago’s shoreline is gorgeous, this area by the Gold Coast was perfect for running.
Food
This was my favourite place for Chicago-style pizza, characterized by a depth of toppings and a thick, pie-like crust. Be warned that it is heavy, as in we could’ve probably comfortably shared one pizza amongst my family of four.
Intimate renovated house for upscale French-Vietnamese fare. I have since forgotten what I liked from here, but I rated it a two thumbs up with a lifted foot, so it must’ve been excellent.
Great food, simply such a pleasant restaurant to be in on a sunny day with the amount of natural light let in by the glass roofing.
Loved the spanish tapas and red sangria for Happy Hour here. Highlights were the deviled eggs, iberico ham croquetas, roasted dates wrapped in bacon, and fried shishito peppers.
Very tasty sweet soy, chili, and garlic glazed lollipop chicken wings.
Philadelphia
Attractions
Massive historic mural created by a local Pennsylvanian and fabricated by Tiffany. 100,000 pieces of glass in over 260 colours combine to make a truly awesome piece.
Food
My favourite Philly cheesesteak; hit all of the notes that I think the dish should and you could taste the quality of the beef. Aggressively friendly owner too.
This sandwich single-handedly made me believe that turkey can add, not detract, from a sandwich. Juicy slabs of roasted turkey, fresh tomato, and crisp lettuce with mayo to coat the palette.
Pizza was so good I forgot to take a picture. My family says that the Philly cheesesteak was also excellent here, but I didn’t have it fresh so I can’t confirm.
Excellent Amish donuts. My favourite was the blueberry fritter.
Day Trips
Beautifully-decorated thousand acres of indoor and outdoor gardens. We went for A Longwood Christmas, which made it extra special, but they have seasonal events year-round. A highlight was the Christmas carol performance on one of the largest residential pipe organs.
Washington DC
Attractions
Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
Neat gallery that showcases the best crafts from state fairs over the years. A good mix of traditional mediums, such as woodworking and quilting, done exceptionally well, and some more unique pieces like a life-sized cow made entirely of butter.
Genuinely such a whimsical museum about linguistics. Favourite parts were the books that, once opened, told you about their significance, the secret poetry nook, and the recording booth where you could recite famous speeches. If you want lunch, I’d recommend visiting the connecting Immigrant Food at Planet Word for their West African Gumbo.
Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream
A well-designed museum highlighting the hope of American culture and technology. My personal favourite was the Unsung Heroes exhibition, featuring work by young artists highlighting American heroes, and their oft-overlooked contributions.
Food
Creative high-end Vietnamese cuisine. We had the tasting menu; standouts were the bo la lot with fermented honey, lemongrass pork, and durian mousse with passionfruit granita.
Enjoyable happy hour for Korean cuisine. Banchan, soju shandy, fried chicken, and pistachio, misugaru, and plum doughnuts were all solid and well-worth the price.
Baltimore
New Orleans
Tips
- The Court of Two Sisters and Commander’s Palace were two jazz Creole brunches that we tried. I very much enjoyed the music so I’m glad we did them, but I didn’t find the food memorable enough itself to recommend for the price point.
- New Orleans has world-class jazz bars and street performers. You can find buskers anywhere and anytime, but the bands that walk Frenchmen St during the evening were especially talented.
- I also would recommend seeing if your visit lines up with a public jam session by Doreen’s Jazz. She performed in one of my favourite jazz videos.
Attractions
I loved taking the antique streetcars on the St. Charles Line and watching the New Orleans architecture and greenery pass by, especially around St Charles and Napoleon. It’s the world’s oldest continuously operating street car line, open since 1835.
Food
Great chain for beignets, deep fried choux pastry with powdered sugar. This was aesthetically my favourite location.
We took a chance on this convenience store because it was near our hotel, and it was genuinely excellent fried chicken at a ridiculous price point (as of Oct 2026, it’s ~$1.50 per piece).
Another unassuming convenience store, this time with messy yet delicious sandwiches. My favourite was The Bam-Bam, a spicy muffaletta.
