Cash is King – But I don’t Carry Cash!

The Mr Credit Card family was in New York over the weekend. The kids had a great time in the Museum of Natural History, visiting the Statue of Liberty, Toys R Us and the M&M Outlet at 48th at Broadway.

On Sunday (April Fools Day) after visiting the Statue of Liberty, we made our way to Little Italy and Chinatown. We ended up walking along Mott street and having lunch at a Chinese restaurant.

Unlike many Chinese Restaurants, this one looked like a franchise. Its’ interior was yellow and orange and the waitresses were also dressed in orange uniforms.

I can’t really remember the name, but this was what we ordered. My three kids shared a Wonton Noodle Soup and another bowl of Wonton Soup. Mrs Credit Card and myself has a bowl of Hot and Sour Soup, Chicken and Mushroom Rice in a Claypot, and a Pork Liver with Ginger Porridge. We also got some Rice Roll with BBQ Pork. The Wonton Soup was quite good and so was the Pork Liver Porridge. The Hot and Sour soup was only OK and th Rice Roll with BBQ Pork was not too great (though the kids enjoyed it!).

(Topleft) – Wonton Noodle Soup, (Top Right) – Chicken Mushroom Claypot Rice, (Bottom Left) – Hot and Sour Soup, (Bottom Right) – Ork Liver Porridge

When it was all over, I asked for the bill and then found out that they did not accept any credit cards! Well, I thought that there was a chance of this happening in Chinatown but certainly not in nice restaurant like this one. I am not the type of person who carries a lot of cash. But fortunately for me, Mrs Credit Card came to the rescue. The bill turned out to be only $19.50, which was very cheap and reasonable in my opinion.

Part 2

The hotel that we stayed at was the Hampton Inn Chelsea at 24th street between 6th and 7th Ave.

The Hotel recommended us to a 24 hour car park on 25th street and said we would get a discount as we were staying at the hampton Inn. It turned out that we would be charged $36 a day. On the day that we were leaving, I went to collect the car, and was told I needed the hotel to “stamp” on the ticket to prove that I had stayed at the Hampton Inn. So I went to get my stamp from the hotel. I went back to the parking lot and as I was about to pay, I asked if they accepted credit cards? “No” was the answer. So as usual, there wasn’t any cash in my pockets. The parking attendant told me that there was a Chase bank just across the street.

Carpark that only accepts cash!

Off I went again back to the hotel. Once again, Mrs Credit Card came to the rescue with two fifty dollar bills! I finally got my car out, stuffed our bags in and left New York City. It was a great trip and weekend away, but it was interesting to find places that still only accept cash! What a great business.