My new Greece travel blog post is now up! Please check it out at my new website: Carmenhaideeleung.com!
Category: Food
Laundré – Unique SF Coffeeshop
I visited this extremely unique coffee shop in San Francisco last week! Check it out:
carmenhaideeleung.com/blog/laundre
Tartine Manufactory – New Blog Post!
Now that I’m done with finals I finally have time to explore San Francisco! Check out this new aesthetic spot, filled with natural light, friendly service, and BEAUTIFUL and FLAVOR EXPLODING dishes/pastries!
Check more out at HERE <- (pssssst please CLICK ME)
Here’s a few photos to entice you:
Copenhagen Places to Visit!
New blog post is up! Copenhagen unexpectedly became one of my favorite cities to visit in Europe! Read about all the different places to visit: https://www.carmenhaideeleung.com/blog/
Now here’s a few photos to convince ya to click on the link to see more (;
iPhone Wonders Pt 2
I decided to do another iPhone series! All these pictures in this post are taken on my newly fixed (’cause I kind of cracked the screen earlier while playing Pokemon Go…) iPhone 6! As much as I love my camera, it can’t seem to beat the convenience and ease of the very capable iPhone camera!
This summer, I decided that I, a Biochemistry and Molecular Biology major, would give into her love of pretty things and intern with an inspiring and talented florist. What about flowers is not captivating? Their smells (I’m happy to announce that my new favorite smell comes from the Patience Garden Rose if anyone felt like buying me flowers or somethin’), their soft touch, their unique coloring, their all encompassing representations of love, celebration, or a mere thoughtful gesture. I was so honored that my new boss, Allie from Bloomwell & Co, decided to give me a shot and allow me to volunteer for her. She’s so bubbly, funny, and inspiring that it makes me feel so shy to be around her! I’ll warm up though! So many moments in my life did I just wish I could drop this medical field stuff and go into something creative. Somewhere deep in my heart, I’m questioning pharmacy school, I’m questioning not taking advantage of the freedom (no family obligations, career obligations, etc. ) I have while I’m only 22.
Allie asked me twice why I wanted to intern for her, and honestly I didn’t have a good answer, because I totally emailed her on a whim and I’ve never done anything like this at all! I want to explore, to taste, for the first time, a part of the life part of me wishes I could live. Running your own company at 23, that’s crazy! I’m really excited to continue to learn from her. Eek! She’s so sweet, she even gave me a little bouquet she made in a mason jar below! I was so surprised and so happy!!
Also, having traveled back and forth between Davis and San Francisco all summer, I’ve found my new favorite coffee shop: Reveille Coffee. I’ve been going to the location in SOMA. It’s beautiful, huge windows that provide natural lighting, minimalistic, and has the most DELICIOUS matcha lattes! I’ve been going there to study (free wifi only on weekdays though).
New York Day 4
B i b b l e
&
S i p
Our first stop this day was Bibble & Sip, a really cute coffee and pastry shop that’s crazily obsessed with Llamas. Starting at 12PM, they also serve these amazing amazing cream puffs. We ordered a match green tea and then an earl grey flavored one. They were crunchy on the outside and creamily delicious on the inside. A must taste!
T h e M e t r o p o l i t a n M u s e u m
R o o f t o p G a r d e n
E u r o p e a n S c u l p t u r e & A r t s E x h i b i t s
T e m p l e
o f
D e n d u r
S a c k l e r W i n g
This New York trip would not be complete with a visit to one of the largest and most beautiful museums in the country! There was a wide array of displays, from American art, to European Sculpture art, all the way to Medieval art. My favorite room in the museum was the Sackler Wing with huge windows, a wide fountain where people have been throwing coins inside, and a display of ruins and sculptures. The museum was so big we couldn’t walk through the entire place. We would have needed an entire day!
T h e M e t r o T r a i n
The metro was extremely easy to use. Google maps has each route mapped out and it easy to follow. We bought the unlimited rides for 7 days ticket for $31, which ended up being totally worth the deal. The metro tunnels were filled with beautiful works of mosaic art all over the place as well. Everything was so creative and really reminded me of the Paris metro tunnels as well.
Korea Town: F i v e S e n s e s
D i n n e r
T i m e 
We stopped by Korea town to eat at the Five Senses restaurant we had heard so much about! The restaurant filled up really quick and we felt so lucky to have been able to grab a seat when we did. I ordered the Dol Pan Kimchi Bokum Bap and my sister ordered the normal Bi Bim Bap. Both were delicious and pretty popular choices! Korea Town is actually extremely fun to walk around, with delicious little food stands and fun shops to walk around in! It’s a fun area to explore!
New York Day 3
B e l l o c q
T e a
A t l i e r
Through the many brunch spots we visited in New York, we found Bellocq Tea Atlier‘s name all over. Their teas are apparently very popular and well loved, so seeing as this was the case, we decided to go visit the shop! Amidst all the construction in the area around it, we walked up to the cute sign and store to find a little note telling us to ring the doorbell. We paused for a second, rang the doorbell, and walked into one of the most serene and beautifully decorated tea shops ever! They put out little dishes of each of the tea leaf sets, in a gradient of colors! They even prepared a couple samples of iced tea that they served in glass tasting cups. GLASS! Fancy huh? The back had a cute spot with couches and plants that the shopkeeper explained might become a tea tasting room as they continue to remodel. We grabbed an armful of leaves to take with us on the way out.
Lunch:
R e y n a r d
For lunch in Brooklyn, we stopped at Reynard for lunch at the Wythe Hotel. Service was really really good and the dutch pancake was BOMB. The hotel even has a rooftop bar at the top! That’s definitely on my list for next time.
S t a t u e
o f
L i b e r t y
Breakfast: E g g S h o p
New York Day 2
First Stop: B l u e s t o n e L a n e C a f e
T i m e
F o r
B r u n c h
Bluestone Lane is an Australian style inspired cafe with locations all over New York. They really sealed in the Australian feel deal with Australian accents ringing from the mouths of every waiter and waitress in the cafe! We heard great things about the Avocado smash, so we made sure to order that with a beautiful egg with a runny yolk on top. Never have I been offered such a generous share of avocado with my share of breakfast! The place was beautifully open and lit, with seating outside in the warm sunshine as well.
Second Stop: D o m i n i q u e A n s e l ‘ s B a k e r y 
S w e e t s & M o r e S w e e t s
We stopped by Dominique Ansel‘s Bakery in South Village to fulfill that sweet tooth craving! My sister, Katie, make sure to order in the infamous and flaky DKA (Dominique’s Kouign Amann). I grabbed the hazelnut purple thing (I forget what it’s called) and my mother ordered the one she just thought was the prettiest. My only regret is not having a bottomless stomach because I really wished I could have downed the frozen s’more. It looked flippin’ heavenly! We took our beautiful pastries and brought them to the back beautiful back room of the bakery, it was so cute! They even had a garden area in the back with tables and everything! New York is doing a good job winning me over so far.
Third Stop: N e w Y o r k P u b l i c L i b r a r y
The New York Public Library , at times, seemed more like a museum than a library! There were definitely people studying and working in the quiet rooms, but I wonder how difficult it must be to focus with the bajillions of tourists walking in and out. However, the architecture was absolutely breathtaking, and it reminded me a lot of the architecture I saw while traveling in Europe. From the beautiful carving filled arches and tall grand doorways to the ceiling murals, I was having joyful flashbacks to the glamorous and history filled European architecture.
We packed so much into this day, while still recovering from our redeye flight. Our feet were tired and sore, but all the walking really did us some good. We walked over 24,000 steps (thank you iPhone Health App) and burned a significant amount of calories, a good way to balance the enormous amount of calories that we ingested day by day heh. When in New York, gotta eat good right?
Welcome to New York
Brunch: T w o H a n d s
Upon waking up, we visited a popular brunch spot, Two Hands Cafe around 9am. We quickly nabbed a spot, only to find the wait line grow exponentially longer behind us. We certainly dodged a bullet! The Acai Bowl, beautifully sprinkled with gluten-free granola, chia seeds, coconut flakes, cacao nibs, hemp, raspberries, and blueberries, is a MUST. The service was quick and friendly, the cafe lined with local art, adorable lights, and little fluff balls of clouds. I must say, hands DOWN one of my favorite brunch spots yet.
Ice Cream: M o r g e n s t e n ‘ s I c e C r e a m e r y
C o c o n u t
A s h
Morgenstern‘s line was crazy long, and we waited for 30-45 minutes on this warm Friday afternoon, but can I just say that good ice cream is totally worth it? We sprung for this intriguing black colored ice cream. I have absolutely never seen that before, but if you know me, you know I love weird ice cream flavors (my “fun fact” is always that my favorite ice cream flavor is Goat Cheese). I was super enticed by this odd colored ice cream, and ordered the Coconut Ash flavored scoop. As I took my cone out onto the street, a total of 6 groups of people approached me within the first 4-5 minutes (as I was trying to take a picture of my scoop) to gasp in awe and ask what in the WORLD was the flavor of my black scoop. It was surprisingly delicious and coconut-y. It does drip and stain though, beware!
M
O
M
A
Did you know that the New York Museum of Modern Art is free for everyone 4-8PM on Friday evenings? I strongly believe that everyone should take advantage of that! The picture and sculpture sections were extremely captivating, and the only regret I had was not going earlier to see more of the museum! The outside garden with the huge huge rose, fountains, and sculptures were beautiful as well.
M u s e u m
o f
M o d e r n
A r t
“Clothedwith” Hip-ness
I have had many thoughts lately.
In all of middle school and high school, my number one priority was to study and get A’s. I spent a majority of my time studying at home, getting cranky when someone or something would come up and interrupt my work flow. I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning just to make sure I memorized every little detail to ensure that A. That’s the way I was raised, and sadly it was what filled me with joy and what proved to everyone else that I was worth something. Grades came first, nothing else.
I came to college and met people who pushed me, who believed in me, and one of my most significant memories was looking through an encouraging note that my friend (who had known me since my first year of college) that had written, “It’s been amazing witnessing how you’ve transformed from putting school first, to making people your priority.” That warmed my heart, and was how I decided I wanted to continue to line my priorities up.
Because this is the most packed and heavy course load I have had my entire college career, it has been tempting for me to fall back to where I was before. But I continue to remind myself that I love others because God’s love overflowed in my life. It’s really great having this no pressure, lean on God, and letting this natural overflow of love seep into my friendships.
These thoughts were going willy nilly through my head during my coffee / study date with Amy. We set up weekly hang outs! Whether it’s to take pictures for our blogs (hers is at clothedwith.com) , to try baking new foods, or to just study because I had four midterm days in a row. Sigh. But I am glad that still we make time for each other every week hehe.
We did manage to find an amazingly cute little coffee shop at Davis’ next door neighbor, Sacramento. This particular coffee shop is called The Mill, and it had the minimalistic, white walled coffee shop vibe that we both just loved. The latte was delicious, but the foam on top died really quick.. haha. The vibe was so chill. I absolutely adored the hipster little reefs that they hung around the place. I want one!
Chill coffee vibes – check
Deep contemplations about life – check
Delicious latte – check
Quality time with Amy – check
I’d say it was a productive day.
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