Through the Looking Glass Exhibit and Kobeyaki

Weather was warm and it was still light out. Probably the perfect day to go out and stay late into the night. I had nothing to do at home anyways and it was a good time to see my two friends after 2 months. The Metropolitan Museum of Art had a free event going on from 6-9pm. The museum is free to browse around except for paintings because there was just too many people going there. I really wanted to see 19th century European paintings, but that entire gallery was locked. But the star of the night was the China: Through the Looking Glass exhibit.

It is an exhibit that showcases fashion reinterpreted from Qing dynasty imperial robes and other Chinese fashion. Many of the dresses were made into chic party dresses or night gowns fitting for a royal gala. The original artifact would be placed alongside the modern interpretation. The entire place was reconstructed so that it had large screens playing excerpts from movies like House of Flying Daggers, The Last Emperor, and Hero to provide a background overview of Chinese dress. The newly interpreted pieces of clothing oftentimes replicated the original fabric by retaining a particular pattern. The trimmings and cuts were then up to the respective designers. There were also perfume bottle designs and snuff bottle designs based on traditional Chinese objects. We moved through the show very quickly because there was a lot of people. I think it was a lot of fun seeing Chinese culture in a modern setting. The placement of modern clothing alongside museum pieces was also an interesting juxtaposition. For instance, some models were placed in the room of Buddhist statues.

It was still bright outside, but we were getting hungry. As we walked we couldn't pinpoint an exact location of where to eat. We had settled for Chipotle, but there was a huge line in there. McDonald's wasn't exactly our desired choice. We did a lot of walking and looked onto yelp for suitable places. I joked to them, just don't find a place with five dollar signs next to their review. I think we can only settle with two dollar signs. One of my friends then yelped a place called Kobeyaki that was nearby. We thought since it's within walking distance, let's give this place a try. Lo and behold, a very good place to have that night's dinner.

When you walk in you will notice that Kobeyaki is a lot like a Chipotle. They do Japanese cuisine in the style of fast food. After looking at the menu, it appeared that all three of us chose the udon noodle soup. One of us also ordered sweet potato fries to share. Those fries are to die for. They're not overly salted or overly sweet. The udon noodle soup has tofu, scallion, udon, and fish cake in a spicy miso base. For some reason two of us including myself did not get fish cake at all. The soup has the right amount of spiciness, but I think they can lessen the salt in it. They also give you two pieces of shrimp tempura for the udon. My friends enjoyed the sauces that you can get at the sauce station, mainly the wasabi mayo. It was very filling and I refilled my drink because it was a very warm day.  If you are ever near 86th St, give Kobeyaki for a try. It's very clean and food comes very quickly.