Cindy,
UWS = Upper West Side (I like Saigon Grill Restaurant there)
FAO is a toy store...I love it...it has all sorts of toys. think it's
www.fao.com
Chinatown...hmmm...I don't really go there for food. But when I do, I guess Nyonya isn't too bad. It's on Grand St between Mott and Mulberry Sts. It's Malaysian food. For Hong Kong/Cantonese, there's Big Wong (think it's on Mott St, north side). Oh yes, there's Joe's Shanghai for dumplings on Pell St. The xiao long bao there is good...as for the rest of the stuff, it's just pretty standard. Usually, I just go there for the dumpling.
When I want to eat chinese food, I usually go to Grand Sichuan at St. Mark's Place. I love their beef brisket noodles...it's under their mini-menu but the portion is more than what you get in Singapore. It's cleaner than in Chinatown and I like the style of cooking there better...which is why I don't go to chinatown to eat much.
On the Upper East Side, there's Shanghai Pavilion. I love their lunch specials (usually order the fish) but that's only Mon-Fri.
For Chinese food, I know some of the ministers/ambassador like Wu Liang Ye in the 40s near 5th ave.
When in NYC, I think you should try the Italian food. I don't know about Boston but NYC has very good Italian food, better than what you can find in SG. I recommend Pescatore (midtown east) or Carmine's (Times Sq) or Pepolino (Little Italy, next to Chinatown). A quick and cheap meal option would be to get a slice at a pizzaria (if it's crowded, it should be okay).
All the restaurants I mention (and more) can be found here:
www.menupages.com for more info.
Oh ya, forgot to say, if the weather is good, it's quite nice to walk across Brooklyn Bridge. Usually, I'd take a train (A or C) to Brooklyn (High St station) and walk back (in the evening, you have the sunset and the Manhattan skyline). It's really quite nice when the weather is in the 60s and low 70s.
that reminds me...read all travel advisories for the subway, it can be quite a mess on weekends.
I think it's still too early for markets...but if there are, it's usually on 6th Ave, can walk down from 57th st...on Sundays.