After the trip to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, it was a bit of rush as we were quite behind our schedule. We had to return the rental car to JFK and managed to return it in the nick of time before we were charged an extra day. Then we had to figure out how to get from JFK to Manhattan the fastest and cheapest (which was quite impossible!).

Another reason I wanted to get to Manhattan ASAP was I wanted to get to B&H before they closes for the Sabbath. My trusty Rebel XT time was about up and since I am here, I thought I might as well pick up a new camera. It is always cheaper buying cameras in the US compared to Canada. Coupled with the strong Canadian Dollar (then!), it was a no brainer. Also, it just happened that B&H had $200 off the Canon 40D which was about to be replaced with a newer model (the Canon 50D). The 40D was miles apart from the Rebel XT. I love this new camera.

We next went to Times Square because I wanted to show Suanne the excitement of this place. There is no better place to start the tour of NYC from Times Square. We were quite hungry because we had only snacked since the BK breakfast in the morning. There is no lack of choices of food here, no siree. We decided to go to the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co because it seems like a fun place.

We were quite taken aback to see such a large number of people waiting for a table. There must have been something like 30 people waiting for a table. We were told it will be at least 30-45 minutes wait … we said OK. Turned out that it took lesser time than that because they move the people upstairs pretty fast.

I am a fan of Forrest Gump movie. I absolutely love it. I must have watched it 5 times in all and never quite get bored with it. I bet many of you can remember the scenes and dialog in the show. So, it was fun for me to relate to many of the props they setup all throughout the restaurant. There are lots of goofy areas you could take pictures with.

Many of the tables had a great view of Times Square. We enjoyed it a lot … people watching and all. Service is exceptional and very cheerful.

We ordered two drinks to share between us, the Mango Sparkler and the Forrest Smoothie. We like the Mango Sparkler especially. It was made up of Mango, Lemonade, Orange Juice and Lemon Lime. Sourish-sweet but really nice and especially refreshing after such a long day.

The Cajun Shrimp costs $10 and was an excellent appy. It is hot and surprisingly really spicy, just like the way we like it. I had thought that the spiciness will be watered down to cater to milder American tastes. It came with the most buttery garlic bread we ever tried. A great start.

Suanne had the Bourbon Street Mahi Mahi. It had on it mashed potatoes, shrimps and what we like best was the crunchy fried potato strings — real nice. The Mahi Mahi were Cajun spiced (albeit milder than Cajun Shrimp) and and served over Bourbon Sauce. This one was good … 19 bucks.

My main was the Shrimp Scampi. It was a bit soury for my taste. It was not bad at all but it’s just that every time I see shrimp plus noodles, my Chinese brain clicked “salty”. The menu said it has “caper” but I have no idea what capers are — what is it anyway? There were lots of shrimps on the linguine for sure. 18 bucks … not too bad.

We had a good time at Bubba Gump. We sure took our time with the meal and me playing with the new camera.

After dinner we took a walk around Times Square before heading back to the hotel. Suanne actually hates New York now that she had seen it. It was too many people, too crowded, too noisy, too much traffic, too much running, and too overwhelming for her. I know what she meant … but … well … I like New York. *shrugs*