Day 3 in New York in Summer 2016: The Highline and Haus.

Our third day in New York was Jasiminne’s 30th birthday, and as we were in a different country and she was away from all of her family, friends, and her boyfriend, I made it my mission to give her the best 30th birthday possible.

After our night out at STK and Le Bain the night before, we got to sleep around 1am, and then I woke up at 3am to decorate the suite and give her the best NYC day/night possible…

 

Thankfully Jasiminne sleeps like a log, so despite the huge amount of noise I was making trying to blow up Disney princess balloons, scattering ’30’ confetti everywhere, stringing up a banner between two lamps, and piling her gifts on the coffee table, she didn’t stir once.

We woke up pretty early and I waited for her to open the sliding doors into the living room…as she went in I yelled ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAAAAY!’…and she came running back into the bedroom in hysterics and flung herself on the bed to hug me.

 

She opened her little pile of gifts (all terribly tacky/hilarious and so blogger-esque) from me, and then we got up and ready for brunch.

I’d booked a table at the The Standard Grill, after a lot of online research and chatting to some friends from NYC, I figured it would be the perfect place for Princess J’s 30th.

If you’ve read her review, you’ll see I made an excellent choice 😉 I even bought her a ’30’ candle to put in her breakfast, haha!

We had the most incredible brunch ever.

The restaurant was so gorgeous, and it was a beautiful sunny morning so we sat outside in the cute garden area.

Also obvs all photos of me in this post are by Jasiminne.

I had Avocado Toast with Poached Eggs, which was hands down the best avo toast I’ve ever had, and Jasiminne had the Steak Tartare.

We then shared the Almond-Crusted French Toast with cherry compote, and we put Jasiminne’s candle in it and lit it with her lighter…for the blog photos obvs.

The staff were super attentive and the loveliest waiting staff we had on our entire trip.

They noticed us celebrating Jasiminne’s birthday and really kindly brought out a slice of cake with a candle in it, singing Happy Birthday to her!

The cake was pistachio and lemon, and despite being rather full, we ate as much as we could and it was delish!

 

Sadly just as we were paying the heavens opened and a huge thunderstorm put a spanner in the works.

We were supposed to be walking over the Brooklyn bridge and exploring Brooklyn for the rest of the day, but after checking the weather forecast we realized the rain wasn’t going to disappear any time soon.

 

We decided to head up to Midtown where there were lots of things to do inside.

We did a bit of shopping (hello Sephora and Victoria’s Secret), and then had a peak inside the New York Public Library and Grand Central Station.

Instead of the Juliana’s pizza lunch I’d planned for Jasiminne down in Brooklyn, we ended up having Shakeshack – not such a bad swap really.

Finally the sun came out, so we jumped in a taxi down to the Highline. It looked SO different to when I was there in Winter! It was lush and flowers were in full bloom, it was just gorgeous. And much busier.

Neither Jasiminne or I are very good with large crowds of people, we both get a bit panicky and stressed, so we walked a little way along and then got a taxi back to our hotel to freshen up for dinner.

I’d only bought one outfit with me for clubbing (I wore my jumpsuit on the Thursday, but it was more ‘bar’ wear rather than club wear) so I wore the same dress I’d worn the night before.

 

I’d managed to get a reservation at Tao Downtown for the birthday girl’s birthday dinner, which had been a liiiiittle stressful.

I was determined to make sure we ate there for her 30th – if you don’t already know her/read her blog, Jasiminne is Malaysian and Chinese, and adores her Chinese and Pan-Asian food.

Tao Downtown is one of the coolest Pan-Asian restaurants in NYC, and was basically the perfect place for the occasion and a girls dinner in New York.

I tried to book a week beforehand, but they were already fully booked online, so a desperate email to the restaurant luckily resulted in us getting a table for two at 8pm. Perfect!

 

We weren’t disappointed, that’s for sure.

We’d been to the Tao Downtown Club on Thursday night, but the restaurant is completely separate and the entrance is round the corner.

We went in and the dark moody lighting instantly made you feel as though you were entering some secret underground party.

The restaurant itself had an atmosphere very similar to Sexy Fish in London; there was a DJ playing pumping tunes, an enormous space, and the trendiest people everywhere you looked. There was also a Giant Buddha (as ya do).

 

As it was Jasiminne’s big birthday we decided to go all out.

We had; Dim Sum Dumpling Platter, Yellowtail Sashimi, Crispy Crab Sushi Rolls, and Miso Roasted Black Cod.

We sadly couldn’t fit in a dessert as it was just too much, and I was still on antibiotics and therefore couldn’t eat a huge amount before feeling super full.

The sashimi was my favourite, and the Dim Dum platter was Jasiminne’s fave. We sent the Sushi Rolls back as the combinations of flavours just didn’t taste right, however the restaurant didn’t remove them from the bill.

With drinks, tax, and tip, we paid around $180 for our meal, and despite it being an insane price to pay for frankly not a lot of food (why do we always choose the most expensive dishes!?), I honestly think it was worth every cent (aside from the sushi), the whole experience was incredible and it’s such a special place.

It was perfect for our last night in NYC and J’s big 30th.

After dinner and feeling very full, we still had about an hour before we needed to be at the club, so we went back to The Standard Grill for a cocktail or two.

The vibe at this place at night was awesome, and we loved how The Standard Grill has different rooms and areas.

We sat in the French Bistro area, but there’s also a Viennese looking restaurant area, and a German outside area serving beer etc. After our cocktails we got in a taxi and headed to Marquee.

 

Marquee was FREEZING. It was literally the coldest club I’ve ever been to! It was a cool place and super nice inside with a huge dance floor, but it wasn’t really our sort of music…so we stayed for half an hour or so and then got a taxi over to Haus.

Haus is without a doubt my favourite club in NYC. I first went back in February, and it’s just epic.

My friend Nii sorted us out with entry and a table, and Dami joined us too. It was great to see them both again, and they looked after us and made sure Jasiminne was enjoying her birthday!

Two girls that Jasiminne had met the previous day at breakfast on our ‘individual morning’ came along too, and they were so much fun! It was really funny coz I was dancing on the podium with them, while Jasiminne was sat down playing Pokemon inside the club…Nii thought it was hilarious and snapchatted her haha!

The music in Haus is hip-hop, and as I was now officially off antibiotics as of dinner-time, I went wild with the alcohol. Jasiminne and I are both total lightweights!!

Get a drink or two inside me and I will literally go all out on the dance floor.

Think Beyonce but with no talent.

So on the podium booty-shaking to 2 Chainz Birthday Song it was. Thankfully this is one of Jasiminne’s fave songs, and we’d both been singing it all day “When I die bury me inside the Gucci store…”, so as soon as it came on she threw herself onto the podium and joined us in dancing.

It. Was. Epic.

 

We rolled into our suite around 3am, and set our alarm to make sure we didn’t miss our flight to Orlando the next day.

The following day we literally just had brunch at Bubby’s, got on a plane to Orlando, and went to Red Lobster (literally just to see what all the fuss is about and why Bey loves it so much…”when he f*** me good I take his arse to red lobster” – it was OK but not amaze), and then got an early night.

So imma leave you here with my pancakes from brunch at Bubby’s the next day…

 

Read my Perfect 4-Day Summer Itinerary for NYC!

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Catherine Lux
Catherine Lux

Catherine Lux is a veteran travel blogger by night and the Head of Content Marketing at Amazon by day. Originally from Surrey, she spent four years living in Australia (2007-2009, and 2016-2018), and now lives in London. An ex-party girl sometimes prone to relapses, she loves nothing more than sharing her fine dining and luxury travel experiences with her loyal readers.

Find me on: Web | Instagram

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5 Comments

  1. Sophie
    September 17, 2016 / 7:43 pm

    Gosh I last went to NYC two years ago and am desperately due another trip. Looks like you had such an incredible time!
    Sophie
    x
    A Story of a Girl

  2. Angie SilverSpoon
    September 18, 2016 / 3:05 pm

    What a fabulous thirtieth birthday and you're such a lovely friend to decorate the room for her like that! You're making me miss New York so much and Tao Downtown!

  3. Suze @LuxuryColumnist
    September 20, 2016 / 12:56 pm

    How sweet that you celebrated Jasiminne's birthday in such style, and I love your off the shoulder dress. The Highline is one of my fave NYC spots

  4. Angharad
    September 20, 2016 / 6:23 pm

    Wow, you certainly organised a great birthday celebration for Jasiminne! This really makes me want to jump on a plane to NYC 🙂 Angharad x

    welshandwonderful.com

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