$10 BUCKS LOBSTER SPECIAL

Three Oceans restaurant; formerly known as East Ocean restaurant is a few doors down from CICF. For their Grand Opening Celebration, they have been advertising $10 lobster. The news of the $10 lobster special has traveled far and wide. The Foodie Meet Up Groups have already taken advantage of this delicious and good deal.

The restaurant scene here is more of a formal sit down rather than a to go joint. It's perfect for family dinners.

Seafood dishes here are their specialty. Among their food selection are the shrimp with walnuts and mayonnaise, fried squid and grilled pork chops. All dishes were excellent and more than affordable.

Catch the deal while you can!

THREE OCEAN RESTAURANT

53 BAYARD STREET

NEW YORK, NY 10013

The Five Points Variety Hour returns!

After a two-month hiatus, the Five Points Variety Hour will return on a day and new venue starting TOMORROW!

Shows will be on Thursdays at Asia Roma (a block away from Silk Road) in Chinatown from 7-9. I think the change of space will be awesome. Asia Roma has a full bar and good food! I'm not talking about bar food, but steaks, pasta, and all the good stuff. YUM! Food, drinks and entertainment is what I'm all about!

So glad the open mic has found a new home!

Check out the site for more details: www.fivepointsvarietyhour.com.

ASIA ROMA

40 Mulberry Street

212-385-1133

AIJSEN NOODLE

Aijsen Noodle "AKA the Noodle Girl" is a chain that has been very popular in Asia. They have one location in Chinatown next to Chinatown Fair.

It's a great place to get some fast Japanese food for a reasonable price. I recommend their grilled crab yakatori and chicken teryiaki ramen. I find their broth for their noodles particularly tasty!

They also have sushi available! YUM!

14 MOTT STREET

NEW YORK, NY 10013

212-267-9680

CLOSED STORE FRONTS IN CHINATOWN

Doing business in a bad economy is bad! I've been seeing closed gates on some of my favorite places.

Kung Fu Bing which opened about a year ago already has a closed gate with a "For Rent" sign. They had forecasted opening multiple stores throughout Manhattan. I'm already missing their mint bubble tea and breakfast sandwiches.

Komba which has been one of my favorite places to eat and chit chat with my friends is also closed and is for rent. I feel nostalgic for their club sandwiches and Portuguese rice!

The Mulberry Hotel is the new posh place being constructed across from Columbus Park. It now has a "for sale" sign in it's window. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing.

The gates of Green Tea House have been down for at least a week . They have awesome tea and sell our ice cream! It would be a shame if they were closed for good! No sign has been posted yet, so stay tuned....

BP LUNAR NEW YEAR EVENT

The Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer had his Lunar New Year Event at the YMCA Beacon Theater in Chinatown.

Honorees inclueded Julie Azuma, David Chen, and May Chen.

CON EDISON

So about a week and a half ago after all of this snow, Con Edison blows out half of our power. My Dad calls me on my off day because there is a CRISIS! You can't run a business without power.

Luckily they blew out the the electrical that wasn't crucial to our business. We were able to run extension chords throughout our store to help solve the problem temporarily.

Eventually they came and gave us back power. Some of our machinery had been permanently blown out and needed to be replaced. Apparently, Con Edison doesn't have to pay us back for this and is not crediting us any money toward our electric bill. This is terrible!

Right now they are still running lines through our basement to the middle of the street until the problem is fixed. I included some picture above. Everyday I trip over that mound when I go to work. As I look out the window, I see all the delivery people struggle and all the old women trip.

It's hard to make a living as a small business in NY. The stores are run by real people who have real expenses and families. Most businesses in Chinatown would need to struggle to make back this money in an event like this.

Con Edison is a publicly traded company. I think when these things happen, they should take in to account how this affects the people in our community. I hope they finish repairs soon.

CON EDISON

OLD SHANGHAI DELUXE

The Old Shanghai Deluxe now occupies the space that used to be Mr. Tang's. The food here is almost the same as the New Yeah Shanghai Deluxe which recently closed. Half the restaurant group stayed in the old 65 Bayard Street location under a new name and the other half went to start this venture.

I like this place because there is a lot of seating and has a prime location. The big glass windows let you look onto the busy street as you eat. The wait staff is also dressed up in traditional Chinese attire which is a nice touch.

I was surprised to see that this place is often packed during lunch and dinner. Mr Tang's had struggled a long time in this economy. This new restaurant was a good touch to Chinatown because it is moderately priced and looks more fancy.

Glad to see a new business striving!

OLD SHANGHAI DELUXE

50 MOTT STREET

NEW YORK, NY 10013

212-566-4884

FUNERAL FLOWERS

I used to depend on my family to take care of sending flowers for funerals. That was a grown up thing. Going to the florists that line Mulberry street was foreign to me. Not knowing Chinese, I would not know how to order flowers and how to explain who to send them to.

Good piece of information to know: if you are sending flowers to a funeral anywhere in Chinatown or Flushing, the people at these florists will help you find them. These florists are interlinked with the funeral homes and have their names. They realize the importance of getting their arrangements there. Don't be intimidated by going if you're not Chinese or if you're Chinese is poor. If you can just write the name of the person and the funeral home, they will help you get it there.

I guess it's part of being a grown up; experiencing loss and learning how to do these things...

I write about this today because my friend passed away. He never had the chance to try my ice cream and I feel sad that he won't be able to now ... Perhaps this is my simple way of saying he was way too young. It pains me today to have to send flowers to him. My condolences go out to his friends and family.

FUNERAL FLOWERS

Florists along Mulberry Street, across from Columbus Park

CHINATOWN SUPPORTS ACS

Friends in Chinatown come together to attend the American Cancer Society (ACS) Asian Initiatives Fundraising Soiree.

In this picture: Darren Wan (Owner Red Egg), Rosemary Yu (ACS Benefit Committee, Daughter of CCBA President), Christina Seid (ACS Benefit Committee, CICF), Yanna Luo (Owner Peony Red)