NYC Purina One Cat Cafe Experience (with video!)

The baby kitty I really loved~

From my previous post, you may already tell I love cats! So when my friends started posting news about Cat Cafe coming to NYC, I immediately asked around seeing if anyone would go with me to check it out. Hearing from people that went already that the wait is about 2 hours, many declined or they really did have work. 

Going solo didn't faze me, so I arrived at 10 AM (I planned to come at 9:30 latest but I was having too much fun editing a lookbook video for YouTube), and the line already looped around twice. The first hour went by quickly and I was halfway there. However, after that I was stuck there for an hour and a half with little progress. I also realized, that on the other side of the door was ANOTHER line. That's how popular this pop up cafe was. The employee even mention how the weekend would be even more hectic. 

He slept at the top so no one can get to him :P

Hello~

He has such cute round eyes, like a cartoon~

Finally after a total of 3 hour wait, I made it in! To get into the actual cat cafe, I went through another set of door that separates the food area from the play area. Once inside, cats were dashing around with humans right at their heels, trying to play with them or pet them. There were also lots of cat toys placed around to let people entertain the cats. While some played, some slept under coffee tables or on top of their play tower.

Don't touch my eyebrows!

What's great is, the North Shore Animal League rescue workers are standing around, giving us tips, advice and facts about the cats. They told me the cats names, their personalities, age, if they have been adopted yet or not. They also educated me on some cat health facts and such. That's what made this experience so unique, it's not just for us to come relax and play with the cats, we actually learn about them in case we decide to adopt one. It also shows how healthy cats are like - playful, energetic, beautiful and soft fur and bright eyes which I noticed all the cats to have.

They explained that there were sixteen cats, but they rotate it so it's a few cats out at a time to allow the cats to rest. Which explains why people had appointment time to come in, it's when the cat they were interested in would be out. The cats they chose for this pop up shop were selected based on how social and people friendly they were. All the cats loved to be petted, scratched and LOVED the camera! It was really cute how they would run their faces towards are camera.

It's only been the second day, and they told me so many of the cats were adopted they had to bring out more cat photos on the table of new cats available for adoption. I'm really glad that many of the cats will get to go to a new loving home after this four day event. Unfortunately for me, the one I really loved was adopted right there, but I'm glad for her. She was a 6 month old beauty!

To give everyone a chance to get in, they ask us to limit ourselves to one hour each, but no one was really living. I thought that as a bit unfair, but when I was in there I really understand why. It was cat heaven, where you can play with so many cats with different personalities and was just so relaxing. However, it was times up for me when my memory card was maxed out with videos and photos of the cats.

Before leaving, I wanted to try out their cat'acchino or latte as I heard they would draw cat faces on it. However, the machine was down so I just tried out their drip coffee and got a banana walnut muffin. The cafe area is nice and cozy with wooden chairs and tables, and chalkboard wall where they wrote the menu with cat drawing running along the border.

Thee dining area is separate from the play area, not only for sanitary and human health reason, but for the cats' wellbeing as well. If the coffee trips, and the cat starts licking it, it can be poisonous and fatal. So I'm glad that did that, for both species sake. I think it would also burn the cat if someone knocks it over by accident!

Overall, it's a really relaxing and enjoyable event, if you can stand the 2-3 hour wait. I would say it's more worth it for those that really wants to adopt one of the cats since you can play with them for an hour to see if it's personality suits you. Or if you want to learn about cats from the rescue workers. They also had different demos, lectures and events each day to further your knowledge on cats. It also made me realize I really want to do pet photography! :) So if anyone has any pets I may photograph, please let me know!!!

I really hope they will one day make it a permanent cafe. Doing it as food is hard with the health department, so instead they should make it a pet food shop or maybe a bookstore (but choose cats that don't scratch to be played with or they'll never have any books for sale :P)

EXO-K & EXO-M "Overdose" MV Teaser Released

Waking up the best comeback (to me anyways haha) is awesome! 8D See my previous post with teaser photos here and here.

Despite all the problems with leaked dance practice and song, SM released their MV teasers for EXO-K and EXO-M.

EXO-K_중독(Overdose)

EXO-M 上瘾(Overdose)

I am sooo addicted to their new song, I can't stop replaying it and can't wait for their full MV and comeback stage performances.  I don't mind an overdose of EXO ;)

What I like about the styling is it shows both sides of EXO - the street, casual side that they also do a lot of clothing ads for, and the handsome, suited up side they wear for performances at times. Then some of the members have hair changes, Suho looks really awesome with blonde hair!! And I'm surprised he's at the top of the "O" of EXO in beginning. From watching their shows, he was always afraid of everything, and height was one of them. Maybe that Chinese variety show that had him fall down and into his members arm helped overcome his fear? I also like Tao's new hair (hey.. I'm his bias ok...), although I wish he will stop bleaching it for health sake, the short hair is a nice change. I never would've imagined him with short hair!

Tao with baby growl~

The dancing is really cool, and the filming style is similar to how Growl was, the members played with cameras, it will switch from side to side, etc. The part where half the members are kneeling and the other half is kind of controlling them from the back is different from their other types of dances, and is really cool, fitting the song's name.

What I liked most is the shots outside of the dance sequences. The maze scene is really dark but really shows the "overdose" idea of being stuck in that world. I especially liked the part for Kris and they zoomed out, showing a HUGE maze. Although the setting for the dance sequences can be seizure inducing with all the flashing lights, again the pattern on the wall and lights is kind of how one might feel and see when they have too much of something. So I like how they used the settings to create this feeling for their new concept.

So now we will just have to wait impatiently for the release of the actual MVs!!!

EXO 2014 "Overdose" Comeback - Kris, Chanyeol, Chen, Suho, Baekyhyun, Xiumin Teaser Photos

Their new track title has been released! It's titled "중독/中毒 Overdose". The name already has a nice ring to! Good choice ;) The song will be an urban hip-hop and R&B dance song by The Underdogs and Kenzie. So now I'm wondering how the photo teasers and concept will relate to the song itself. I can see that the blurriness, reflections, and switch between black and white can be how we see things when we are overdosed.

Here's part two of teasers, my first post was here if you missed.

My favorite is definitely Kris' photo, and no it's not because he is one of my bias. But I just really like the mood they captured him in!

They will also be having concerts in April, looking forward to their new activities, but hope they get enough rest! Which member's teaser is your favorite? :)

Hinomaru Lucky Cat Izakaya Ramen - Midtown East Japanese Restaurant Review

Photo credit Alex Chen

Nyah nyah nyah~ or meow meow meow if you're American. Recently I have been obsessed with looking at cat photos (no I don't think hope I won't become a cat lady). So when when my friend decided to go to Lucky Cat Ramen for her birthday party, I was psyched.

It's located at a very convenient location in Midtown East, right near the E, M or 6 train's Lexington and 63rd street station. The exterior was already very Japanese style with hanging paper x wood lamps across the top, and a red sign with their mascot on it so you can't miss it. Stepping inside, you can already tell it's an izakaya styled restaurant with the way it's set up and all the photos and posters plastered on the walls. Whats special is a HUGE version of their lucky cat mascot by the door, it's super cute!!

I didn't realize it was opened by the same people that created Hinomaru until I saw some waiter's shirt had a I (monkey mascot) NY instead of the I (cat mascot) NY. That's why the wooden interior, chalkboard filled with drawings and specials, and whole mood was similar to Hinomaru's. The difference is the cat related photos and paper lanterns strung across the ceiling.

To start, we ordered some oolong and jasmine tea. Since my friend has been here, he was in charge of the appetizers. They have some interesting appetizers such as spicy edamame and stingray fin with wasabi mayo, and lots of grilled skewers to choose from. Ranging from cow's tongue, intestines and salmon, my favorite was the grilled eel.

Yuzu Shio Ramen

Seeing as it was one of their specials, I decided to try the Yuzu Shio Ramen, which had actual slices of yuzu paired with leek and skinny noodles. The soup was very light and refreshing with a hint of saltiness and tangy yuzu. The tender and soft meat was lightly seasoned. The superstar of any ramen for me is the egg, and this one was slightly runny and flavored, just the way I liked it to be.

Lucky Cat Ramen

The complete opposite is their signature Lucky Cat Ramen, a much creamier soup base with spicy miso and chili oil. Additional toppings to this ramen were the kikurage (black wood ear, a type of mushroom like vegetable), spinach and supposedly menma (dried bamboo shoots) but I didn't see it. The charshu meat in this one was a bit more grilled and thicker. This was definitely a heavier ramen, great for those that likes more flavor.

What's awesome is, like Hinomaru, they offered kaidama, which is a refill on noodles if you still have soup left. You can choose between the thick or thin noodles.

My favorite sesame ice cream~

Happy mochi face :) photo credit Alex Li/AXL Photography

For dessert, they had ice cream choices such as pistachio, and yuzu. However, the texture was more sherbet like making it more refreshing. And of course my favorite, sesame, which had actual sesame making it rich in flavor. Want a more chewier dessert? There's also the mochi vanilla ice cream. Which can turn your frown upside down ;)

The waiters are all very friendly and helpful, and the appetizers arrived promptly, giving us something to chew on while we waited for our ramen. 

Batman loves his cat friend~

photo credit Alex Chen

Overall, it's quite good (though I do prefer the Hinomaru special over the Lucky Cat's special), a good place to try if you're in the area. It's great that they have choices between lighter and heavier type of soup bases, as well as two types of noodles. Don't forget to take a photo with the big cat mascot before leaving! Even batman approves of his new cat friend! 

EXO 2014 Comeback - Tao, Sehun, Luhan & Kai Teaser Photos

OH EM GEE~ I was going to post about something else this week, but before I finish it I threw my hands up when I saw EXO's newest teasers for their April comeback!! It's so shinyy... and pretty.. ok maybe not, but it looks awesome 8D

I really like the blue and purple lights over their white shirts, it kind of reminds me of the colors in Girls' Generation's "Mr.Mr." photos and music video. There isn't much information about their new mini album's concept, but they will be promoting as EXO-K and EXO-M in Korea and China again. This time they partnered up with Samsung Music, so the app's subscribers has a chance to win tickets to their showcase from April 1-9. So lucky... Even if I win, I can't go :( Also, their show "EXO Comeback Show" can be watched live through the Samsung Music app on April 15.

So far, only four member's photos has been released. The photos look more like from magazine cover shoots - i love the high contrast. Interestingly, the member's photos interchanged from black and white with a colored reflection, or sharp with a blurred reflection. The mysterious expressions and moods along with the vignette edges really draws me in (well their handsome face is the main magnetic force...)

Unlike previous concepts where they all had coordinating outfits, it seems like half has the white suit outfit, and the other two had street style which makes me more curious what their concept will be like. What do you guys think of their teasers? Who are you looking forward to see for the next set? For me, since my top 3 is Tao, Luhan and Kris, I'm hoping Kris is next ;)