Eat your Bitterness Away!

If you want to travel to someplace exotic and new, you don’t have to even leave your own city. In NYC, it’s a matter of going to a different neighborhood. Ever since I came back from Atlanta 3 weeks ago, I have been battling a cold. Antibiotics from the doctor didn’t do much. My Doctor told me "It's a virus, you just have to let it run its course".

When I am sick, I want comfort food. For me, that is Asian food specifically a chicken soup recipe my mom makes using something called Bitter Melon-- a long green bumpy pod that has a very bitter taste but chock full of vitamins and antioxidents. The Chinese call it Vukwa, the Hindu’s call it Bitter Gourd, and Filipinos like me call it Paria. It always makes me feel better.



It’s an acquired taste, and all of my friends who have tasted it, immediately spit it out saying that it is too bitter. I LOVE it, especially when cooked into chicken soup (chicken soup will cure a cold). Whole Foods Market sometimes carries it, but not consistently. So I asked Herbelicious to come with me to the one place in NYC that I knew I would find it amongst the other interesting and different things—Grand Street, CHINATOWN.


Chinatown is a place worth exploring. Not only will you find knock-offs of Gucci and Prada bags (from shady people holding pictures on street corners who lead you in to back alley sweatshops whre old women are sewing), but you will find great deals on almost anything, and great food too. As soon as we got off the D Train at the Grand Street stop, we were greeted with exotic items. Strange fruits like Rambutan and Dragon Fruit (I know of Dragon Fruit only from some iced tea drink that I bought that had a picture of it on the bottle), and items you would probably never find in your local grocery store like salted duck eggs, or jellyfish (I think it was jellyfish, it could have been some sort of mushroom growing in water).

The seafood here is so fresh, that it is still swimming in the tanks; Or if you prefer, dried fish of every kind including eels.


How about a fresh roasted chicken or duck? YUM!

Herbelicious and I enjoyed stopping at several shops, looking at different kinds of jade and beaded jewelry.

In Chinatown, you also have to look for the “hidden doors”. There is so much going on in the streets that you walk past tons of doors that lead to underground arcades and even more shops. Herbelicious and I found such a door that led to shops with cool anime action figures (too sexy for children),
and unique jewelry very similar to those you might find on Chokerz4Men.com (Gay Boy Jewelry!). There were also tons of mini trinkets for cell phone antennas such as mini action figures and Mini shoes.

All the shoes in the picture here,can fit into a single regular sized shoe box! There were even Asian brand condoms in fun flavors! (Mini??)

We also found an herbalist who I decided to tell about my cold. She sold us some chinese capsules for $2.95 that contained acetaminophen, caffeine, and a bunch of herbs. They cleared my nose, gave me energy, and took away my aches!

As we continued south towards City Hall, we came across a park full of elderly Chinese People. Herbelicious commented how beautiful Chinese culture is to revere their elderly. Here they all were, in a park listening to live Chinese music, playing Chinese Board games, or participating in some sort of Martial arts. They were having a great time.

On the other side of the park we found a whole street of Chinese Funeral homes and Funeral Products. These stores specialize in creating items out paper called Joss Paper items--paper houses, cars, or money called Hell Bank Notes. In one Chinese custom (believed to be a mix of Buddhism and Taosim), Burning these items would send the items to heaven where the dead relative could access them.

Since paper is cheaper than the actual items, in theory, you could send your relatives things they never owned in their lifetime. cool! I did think it was shady however, that all these funeral shops popped up on the side of a park where elderly people congregate- like AMBULANCE CHASERS! HEARSE CHASERS!

It was in the park that we saw a little Chinese boy eating a bowl of noodles. It smelled so good, and looked so good, that Herbelicious and I had to have some. It totally hit the spot!

After lunch we stopped by another interesting store with a giant welcoming Buddha in their lobby. The store’s shelves were lined with religious figurines and other knick knack statues such as Bruce Lee. In the Back of the store, was another giant statue.

The store also sold stone penises... yes you heard me, penises made of stone. We tried to ask the clerk what they were for, if they were for fertility beliefs but all he could say was “stone”.

Also on one of the shelves, cute naked baby figurines, except......someone had posed them into OBSCENE poses!! (NOT US!)



Before heading to the train, I stopped and bought some rice cakes for the ride home, and the item that I came to Chinatown for : Bitter Melon!

Learn Spanish: Bitter- Amargo

Chinese Proverb: acido, dulce, amargo, acre todo debe probarse

(sour, sweet, bitter, pungent all must be tasted)