Unexpected Chinatown views!

For the first time, I found myself in China Town and decided to stop by Joe's Shanghai. There was a line, but because I was part of one, I was seated in approximately 15 minutes. I had the house glazed crispy chicken, which came in a large quantity, as well as the wonton soup, which came in a GIANT PORTION. Because I was alone, I only ate about half of the chicken and a quarter of the wonton soup. I'm not sure what's in that chicken glaze, but it's quite tasty. It's not too rich to be overbearing, but it's just the proper amount of sweet and savory. There were also a lot of vegetables, which was a plus for me. The breading was crunchy, not soggy like so many other breaded chicken dishes in the sauce I've had outside of China Town. The chicken was moist and flavorful, and the meal was hot and freshly prepared. The wonton soup was all a wonton soup should be: the dumplings were stuffed to the brim with filling, and the broth had a strong flavor. There will be no watery soup here! My only regret is that I wish I could have carried the rest with me, but I wouldn't have been able to carry it for the rest of the day. Side note: This is a cash-only restaurant, so bring cash or plan on using the ATM in the lobby.

The Imagination Playground is a fantastic play area! It inspires so much imagination and play that it kept my two-year-old and her friends, ages three and six, quite occupied without our help. The playground is guarded and overlooks the ships across the street. There's a covered deck area with umbrellas where we parents could sit and watch our children play in the water section. However, bear in mind that there isn't much shade for the kids, so sunscreen is a must!! There's chalk available for the kids to draw on the walls, and there's a giant sandbox on the other side that we didn't even go to because the kids were too busy playing in the water. Large foam blocks in various forms are available to make a variety of unusual and unique structures, with carts to transport them in. In the water section, there are brooms to sweep the water with - clever! The area was mostly clean, and park rangers were present to assist with the children. However, given the large number of people present, I'm not sure how long they'll be able to keep the place clean. There was only one bathroom, which was similarly very clean (and partly used as storage), but had poor lighting. Waiting for the bathroom was a major concern for me and my tiny toddler because of the sheer number of adults and children in there.

Blair Nails provided me with the most amazing nail salon experience I've ever had! The Paragel is well worth the money. It's considerably more durable than any other manicure I've tried, and it lasts a very long time. It costs $55 for the para—which seemed excessive to me before doing the math, but it's actually a lot more cost-effective and time-consuming because it lasts over a month (as opposed to $25-35 every a week for normal gel gloss, which tbh rarely last for the 2 weeks... and isn't good for your nails). My nails used to split so quickly and I could never grown them out, but they're now the healthiest they've ever been since I started using paragel. This salon also provides a variety of teas and wines, as well as pedicures and lash extensions if you're interested in those services. They also offer more appointment openings than other salons of this class that I've visited. Another piece of advice: If you do have paragel, don't even go to any old nail shop to have it removed! They aren't qualified to do so, in my experience, and it wreaked havoc on my nails. They were asking if I had acrylics on (since the gel is so strong). Thank you Blair nails!!!