Some of my favorite spots to visit are Mei Lai Wah and Super Taste.
I love the lavender green milk tea at Prince Tea House.
As a New York City local, Chinatown is one of my favorite neighborhoods to visit, and I often find myself there alone or with friends for quick and inexpensive bites to eat.
The neighborhood is exceptionally walkable, and has many great restaurants, bakeries, grocery stores, and trinket shops to explore.
If you're planning a visit, I recommend bringing cash, allowing time for a stroll to see which places speak to your stomach, and, of course, coming hungry β restaurants in Chinatown are known for serving generous portions.
With all this in mind, here's everything I ordered around town for $25.
Mei Lai Wah is a viral spot that lives up to the hype.
My favorite thing to order at Mei Lai Wah is the barbecue pork bun.
Alison Van Glad
Mei Lai Wah's extensive menu has more than 40 dishes under $10.
However, don't be deterred by the long line. Ordering is simple (there are two automated kiosks outside the bakery's storefront), and employees are efficient, so the line moves quickly. Trust me, the wait is worth it.
Just be mindful of the weather during your visit. There is no seating available, so many customers perch on nearby sidewalks to enjoy their food.
What I order: I always get a barbecue pork bun. The baked one has a golden crust and soft inside, with generous amounts of sweet and chewy pork filing. Each one costs $2.50.
Super Taste gives me the best bang for my buck and never sacrifices quality.
I ordered 10 steamed pork and chive dumplings for just over $5.
Alison Van Glad
I love the complimentary house sauces available to dress up the dumplings at Super Taste.
The restaurant has the best crunchy chili oil I've come across; it's full-bodied in flavor and has just the right amount of heat. I also like the house dumpling sauce.
Super Taste has a small indoor seating area with a handful of two and four-person tables that are first come, first served.
What I order: You can't go wrong with the steamed pork and chive dumplings doused in the complimentary house sauces. Ten dumplings costs about $5.
Shu Jiao Fu Zhou is a hot spot for New York City locals and tourists alike.
Shu Jiao Fu Zhou serves a generous portion of peanut noodles.
Alison Van Glad
New York City locals and tourists flock to Shu Jiao Fu Zhou for its selection of soups, noodles, and dumplings β many items on the "hot menu" are $6 or less.
In my opinion, the peanut noodles are more than just a simple, vegetarian-friendly dish. The peanut sauce is silky and has the perfect combination of sweet and tangy flavors to complement the chewy noodles.
Shu Jiao Fu Zhao has family-style seating, so any open seat is fair game.
What I order: For just over $3, you get a heaping plate of whole wheat noodles with peanut butter sauce.
Prince Tea House is the perfect place to kick back with a friend.
I love the relaxing atmosphere at Prince Tea House.
Alison Van Glad
Prince Tea House was the most expensive stop on my food crawl, but I cannot recommend it enough. The atmosphere is relaxing, providing the perfect place for a solo date with a good book or for conversation among friends.
Each teapot sits on top of a platform with a lit tea light underneath so that every pour is nice and hot. The menu also offers a number of brunch items, snacks, and desserts to satisfy a sweet tooth.
What I order: A pot of lavender green milk tea, which has the perfect level of sweetness and is a beautiful, creamy shade of purple. For $11 (plus tip), each pot of tea is served beautifully with a set of matching teacups and saucers.
The company is dealing with a slowdown in its vehicle sales.
Information about Tesla's financials is released on a quarterly basis, with Tesla CEO Elon Musk reporting progress to shareholders during earnings calls β and often facing tough questions from investors while doing so.
Here's a quick guide to recent earnings from Tesla.
Tesla Q4 earnings 2024
Tesla reported its fourth-quarter earnings on January 29 after the closing bell. The EV giant failed to meet Wall Street's estimates and reported an annual decline in vehicle deliveries.
The stock rose slightly following the earnings miss, as investor held out hope for the company's AI, robotic, and self-driving initiatives. But the stock reversed shortly after as investors grew concerned about falling profit margins and how Elon Musk's polarization could negatively impact demand for its vehicles.
The company said its refreshed Model Y vehicle should help jolt sales higher.
Tesla also said in the fourth-quarter earnings press release that the cybercarb is "scheduled for volume production starting in 2026."
"Our purpose-built Robotaxi product β Cybercab β will continue to pursue a revolutionary 'unboxed' manufacturing strategy," Tesla says in the report.
That's in line with Musk's previous estimate. The CEO said in the company's third-quarter earnings that Cybercab will reach volume production in 2026 and aimed for at least 2 million units anually in multiple factories.
4th Quarter Results
Adjusted earnings per share: $0.73 vs. estimate of $0.75
Revenue: $25.71 billion vs. estimate of $27.21 billion
Gross margin: 16.3% vs. estimate of 18.9%
Operating income: $1.58 billion vs. estimate of $2.68 billion
Tesla Q3 earnings 2024
Tesla reported its third-quarter earnings on October 23, 2024 after the closing bell. The EV giant reported mixed results, beating on earnings per share and gross margins, but missing slightly on revenue.
The stock surged 12% after the results were announced, as it teased the production of "more affordable" models in the first half of 2025 and said vehicle sales could surge 20% to 30% in 2025.
Elon Musk said on the earnings call that Tesla's energy business has been doing great, saying that the opportunity ahead is "gigantic" for enterprise-focused energy businesses.
To point to that success, Musk said that Tesla's Megapack factory production had reached 200 Megapacks per week in the third quarter.
Questions on the earnings call then turned to Tesla's self-driving ambitions.
Musk said he expects Tesla to gain regulatory approval for fully autonomous rides in Texas and California next year and called for a pathway to national approval for fully driverless cars. Musk referenced Trump's proposed government-efficiency commission, saying, "if there's a department of government efficiency, I'll try to help make that happen."
3rd Quarter Results
Adjusted earnings per share: $0.72 vs. estimate of $0.60
Revenue: $25.18 billion vs. estimate of $25.43 billion
Gross margin: 19.8% vs. estimate of 16.8%
Operating income: $2.72 billion vs. estimate of $1.96 billion
Tesla Q2 earnings 2024
Tesla reported its second-quarter earnings on July 23, 2024 after the closing bell. The EV giant largely failed to meet Wall Street's estimates, although it reported better-than-expected revenue and record high profits in the company's energy storage business.Β
In the analyst call following the report's release, Elon Musk fielded questions about Tesla's future lineup, including the updated Roadster and next-generation lower-cost vehicle. The CEO said the company would start production on a lower-cost EV in the first half of 2025 but didn't elaborate on specifics.Β
Analysts also asked about Tesla's Robotaxi event, which Musk confirmed is delayed from August to October 10. The delay is due to a design change to the front of the vehicle, the CEO said.
Musk said in the call he was optimistic Tesla's Robotaxi and the unsupervised FSD it comes with would receive regulatory approval. He also said he would be "shocked" if the first ride wasn't possible by next year. However, he didn't provide a definitive timeline and admitted he tends to lean optimistic.
Musk also faced questions about how he makes resource-allocation decisions with his companies. The inquiries come after news broke that Musk redirected $500 million in AI processors from Tesla to X, although the billionaire claims it was due to Tesla not having the space to store the chips at the time. Musk said in the call that the move benefited Tesla since it didn't have the infrastructure for the chips at the time.
Musk's optimism that the EV maker would solve autonomous driving and hit a $5 trillion valuation failed to soothe investors and by the end of the call, Tesla's stock fell by over 7% in after-hours trading.
2nd quarter results:
Adjusted earnings per share: $0.52 vs. estimate of $0.60
Revenue:Β $25.50 billion vs. estimate of $24.63 billion
Gross margin: 18% vs. estimate of 17.4%
Operating income:Β $1.61 billion, -33% y/y, vs. estimate of $1.81 billion
While the carmaker missed expectations on earnings-per-share and revenue, it exceeded estimates on its gross margin. The carmaker also shared plans to speed up production of low-cost EVs ahead of the second half of 2025.
During the call, Musk went into greater detail about the Robotaxi concept, sharing that a number of cars would be owned and operated by the EV maker and others would be rented out by Tesla owners. The CEO also said he doesn't foresee "significant regulatory barriers" to Tesla's FSD software and shared a vision of "tens of millions of cars" in a self-driving fleet.
Tesla CFO Vaibhav Taneja addressed the company's layoffs in the call and said the 10% reduction would save it "in excess of $1 billion on an annual run rate basis."
One analyst asked Musk if he's spread too thin, to which Musk responded that Tesla makes up most of his work.
Negative free cash flow: $2.53 billion vs. positive $441 million y/y, estimate positive $653.6 million
Capital expenditure: $2.77 billion, +34% y/y, estimate $2.39 billion
Tesla Q4 earnings 2023
Tesla reported its fourth-quarter earnings on January 24, 2024 and its shares immediately dropped 4% in after-hours trading as the carmaker missed estimates on its revenue and earnings per share.
During the analyst call, the CEO boasted about Tesla's AI, saying it was "quite far ahead of any other company in the world" in regard to AI inference efficiency. The comments came after Musk recently asked for a 25% voting stake in the company and threatened to take AI efforts elsewhere.
Executives also mentioned that Tesla is working to expand its Nevada Gigafactory to build more electric semi-trucks. Musk also mentioned that Tesla may ship the first version of Optimus next year. He also noted the Cybertruck almost sold out for the year, clarifuing that it was a "production-constraint situation, not a demand-constrait situation."
4th quarter results:
Adjusted earnings per share: $0.71 vs. estimate $0.73
Revenue: $25.17 billion vs. estimate $25.87 billion
Gross margin: 17.6% vs. estimate 18.1%
Free cash flow: $2.06 billion vs. estimate $1.45 billion
Capital expenditure: $2.31 billion vs. estimate $2.32 billion
Tesla earnings history
Tesla's earnings are also a chance to hear from Elon Musk himself. The CEO tends to sprinkle in interesting snippets in earnings calls. In January 2023, for example, Musk used the Tesla earnings call to brag about his Twitter popularity.Β
He has also been known to comment on hot-button issues, such as COVID lockdowns or increasing competition for AI chips.
The earnings calls are also an opportunity to sometimes hear hints about Tesla's production timeline, with Musk giving updates in the past on Cybertruck launch and production ramp-up, unreleased models like the new Roadster, and other elements of the business, such as Dojo or the solar business.
Musk and Tesla's CFO field questions from analysts every quarter, and the focus of those questions varies depending on what's happening in the wider EV market or if there's a particular challenge facing the company.
The pressure has been high this year with EV demand slowing down and uncertainty about Musk's pay package looming for part of the year.
For example, while Tesla's stock surged following the company's first-quarter earnings, analysts expressed concerns during the call about Musk's ability to prioritize Tesla. The shareholder approval of his massive $55 billion compensation package raised expectations for a renewed focus on the company, and investors were awaiting results to see if it would translate into tangible benefits.
Tesla's next earnings report is scheduled for April 22, 2025, ahead of the company's anticipated launch of a robotaxi network in Austin, Texas.
The 2025 NFL Draft is right around the corner, and the New Orleans Saints are going to be an interesting team to watch. What direction will the team go?
We spent 11 hours in Las Olas and had a great time lounging on the beach, shopping, and eating.
My roundtrip flight was just $58, and I didn't need to pay for a hotel or tote around luggage.
Let's be honest, it is way too easy to spend $200 nowadays.
That money could be spent participating in one girls' night out or restocking just a few beauty staples at Sephora. However, that got me thinking: Why not spend the same amount of money on a memorable travel experience?
So, I recently challenged myself to take a same-day trip from New Jersey to Florida for under $200. Not only was my itinerary perfect, but also I didn't need to pay for a hotel or deal with toting around luggage.
Here's how I did it β and why you should try a quick turnaround trip on your next day off.
A cheap flight was the key to keeping trip costs low.
Cheap flights are out there, you just need to spend some time searching for them.
I needed one that left early in the morning and returned late at night so I'd have a full day to enjoy Florida.
So, I used the travel site Expedia to track prices and scored a round-trip ticket from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) for $58 on a budget airline.
I didn't need to pay to add bags since I got a free personal item, and I packed light for this day trip.
My flight left EWR at 5:45 a.m. and arrived in FLL at 8:51 a.m. My return flight left at 9:06 p.m. With this schedule, I had about 11 hours to explore the area.
I'm not a morning person β until I'm at the airport at 4 a.m. for a trip.
Our flight departed from Newark Liberty International Airport.
quiggyt4/Shutterstock
My best friend agreed to join me on the trip, and we woke up at 3:30 a.m. for our flight. Fortunately, the adrenaline of our spontaneous trip was enough to have us feeling wide awake.
By 4 a.m., we were out the door and on our way to the Newark airport.
Once we landed, our priorities were finding carbs and caffeine.
We had a quick breakfast at Village Cafe.
Amanda Shammas
By 9 a.m., we were officially in Florida, ready to make the most of the day.
To skip the hassle of a rental car, I ordered a $24 rideshare from the airport straight to Las Olas Beach β an area in Fort Lauderdale known for its beaches and lively boardwalk filled with restaurants, shops, and bars.
We planned to stay on the Las Olas strip for the whole day, so we didn't need any other transportation.
Our first stop was Archibalds Village Bakery for iced vanilla lattes. (Our trip was on a Wednesday, but I heard they have killer cinnamon rolls on weekends.)
Fortunately, there was plenty to do and see in Las Olas.
: Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Although New Jersey can get nice and warm, there's nothing like Florida sun. During our visit, the UV index was a 9, so we used lots of sunscreen and took frequent dips in the ocean to stay cool.
The beach had stunning views, and I even took a quick power nap.
We spent some time on the Las Olas strip.
We had chips, guac, and margaritas for lunch.
Amanda Shammas
When the sun became a little too much to handle, we walked up to Lona Cocina Tequileria for lunch. Nothing says "beach day" like chips, guac, and margaritas.
After refueling, we walked down the Las Olas strip, where we shopped, grabbed some fresh produce and juice, and popped into the Elbo Room bar for live music.
We then made our way to Quarterdeck, which had an outdoor setup with yard games, like cornhole, and a van serving drinks.
All good things must come to an end.
Around 7 p.m., we started getting ready to go to the airport.
Amanda Shammas
Before we knew it, it was 7 p.m., and we wanted to start getting ready to go to the airport. Again, we stopped by the bathroom in a nearby hotel lobby to freshen up and get changed.
Feeling tan and relaxed, we ordered an Uber to the airport (my friend paid for this one). I don't normally rest on planes, but on that flight home, I've never slept more soundly.
We landed in Newark at 11:59 p.m. and got picked up from the airport at around 12:15 a.m. I was in my own bed by 12:45.
I would absolutely do this again.
We had a blast spending just a few hours in Florida.
majaiva/Getty Images
In total, I spent about $178 β $58 for my flight, $24 for a rideshare, and about $96 on food and drinks.
To me, this experience proved that you don't need a huge budget or multiple days to scratch a travel itch.
For others looking to take a quick day trip, start by looking for cheap flights to places you'd like to visit. I had a lot of luck routinely checking Expedia and playing with different combinations of dates and times.
If you can find a cheap flight, plan a solid itinerary, and embrace spontaneity, a fulfilling one-day adventure may be in your future.
