Rhian Ramos's hiatus from showbiz is well-spent in New York City, U.S.A.
The actress took up Improv courses at the Upright Citizens Brigade, the group behind UCB Theater, which "hosts the best and most innovative improv, sketch, stand-up comedy, variety shows, and cool/weird stuff that defies categorization."
In between flying back to Manila for quick breaks and attending her classes, the Kapuso actress and self-confessed "sweetheart with a blackbelt in sarcasm" is painting the Big Apple red, eating in restaurants recommended by the late Anthony Bourdain, and posing amid famous NYC backdrops in collaborative photo shoots and perfectly-styled outfits.
She is basically living her best life so far.
PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) lists down the exciting details of Rhian's New York City jaunt.
WHAT TO WEAR IN NEW YORK? PHIAN GOES FOR BLACK AND RED OUTFITS.
Rhian left Manila back in October, dressed in an all-black outfit matching her luggage.
She posed beside her "alis-bayan box" containing her essentials for six months, the duration of her stay in the Big Apple.
Wasn't she a light packer?
Her subsequent photos and selfies showed that her OOTDs were mostly in black and red.
Here she was, clad in a black leather jacket, professing her love for the New York subway system in a photo shoot with female photographer Ariel Roberson.
She strolled along Times Square in black knee-high patent stilletto boots, Prada sling, and a red long-sleeved turtleneck.
When she asked "Donald Trump" for a visa, under different lighting, Rhian's top looked brown.
The Kapuso star made sweet love to a Nathan's hotdog sandwich for her birthday dinner. She turned 28 on October 3.
In her black jacket over dark gray turtleneck long-sleeved top, black skirt, and a pair of shiny black boots, she was standout beauty.
In this sleek-but-comfy OOTD, Rhian channeled Grammy winner Dua Lipa.
Her caption however was about how to properly tip in New York City.
She wrote, "Okay, so dahil wala akong ma-caption, magkukuwento na lang ako. Everywhere I went, nagtatanong o google ako kung magkano kailangang i-tip sa server, bilang iba yan for every city. 15% ng bill mo sa waiter/driver. 20% kung date or kung nagalingan ka kay waiter. $1 per drink kung nasa bar ka. Pag nakalimutan mo I.D. mo at ayaw kang papasukin, $100 kaya na, pero di yan tip ha."
In NYC, Rhian temporarily dropped her celebrity status, and learned how to wear her black backpack the wrong way, much like the exhausted commuters back here at home.
She also "ran" on NYC concrete dressed in a trench coat, red turtleneck, and black pants.
Fashionably dressed in her black trench coat and gloves, with a slice of cheese as part of her accessories.
Strutting on the city's concrete jungle with a red-wine colored Longchamp Amazone slung across her body.
Rhian also fell in line at two Levain Bakery branches to prove that the chunky-cookie hype is real, while carrying a Marc Jacobs Snapshot crossbody bag and a black-and-red turtleneck.
A few days before Christmas, she therapeutically cleaned her apartment after an upsetting day, showing her followers how much hair was in her apartment's carpet.
WHERE TO EAT IN NEW YORK?
In December, Rhian also took a cheese and wine pairing class at French Cheese Board...
...and walked down the elevated linear park The High Line on West 20th Street, Manhattan.
She experienced and enjoyed anti-social ramen-eating at a NYC Ichiran branch...
...and gorged on rainbow-themed cakes and cake balls at Flour Shop.
We're guessing she burned the cake calories by having a casual photo shoot with the Brooklyn Bridge and the Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass (a.k.a. DUMBO) in the background.
Of course, she made time for workouts.
RHIAN RAMOS FOLLOWS ANTHONY BOURDAIN'S FOOTSTEPS
For her Anthony Bourdain-inspired food trip, her first stop was Lhasa Fast Food in Jackson Heights, Queens.
Google lists it down as a "Compact dining room decorated with Himalayan items & serving a range of typical Tibetan cuisine."
She followed it with a visit to Yu Garden Dumpling House on Kissena Boulevard, in the Flushing neighborhood in Queens.
Rhian also got her first taste of Nigerian cuisine via Africana Soul Food Restaurant. When the late chef Anthony visited the said resto, he ate "everything," according to the ladies who run the place.
Africana is along Liberty Avenue in Jamaica, also in Queens.
The GMA-7 star also sampled Hop Kee in NYC's Chinatown, "Everyone's little drunken fave," according to her caption, perhaps for its late-night Chinese offerings.
And that's all before she graduated her Improv 101 class, if we're basing it on her Instagram timeline!
RHIAN'S POST-GRAD FOOD ITINERARY
Perhaps to celebrate her graduation, Rhian paid a visit to Patek Philippe-lover Nusret Gökçe a.k.a. Salt Bae, the Turkish owner of Nusr-Et Steakhouse New York on West 53rd Street in midtown Manhattan.
She also ate a humongous slice of Prince St. Pizza, which she has dubbed "Best slice in the city (so far)."
For her penultimate NYC meal before heading back to Manila again, based on her Instagram posts, Rhian went upscale and ate at Chefs Table at Brooklyn Fare, which offers a 20-course tasting menu of French-Japanese fusion dishes.
Before going back home again for a short vacation, Rhian dined with film director Ryan Willard, whom she credits as the one who "single-handedly convinced me to move away from my comfort zone for a few months," and describes as a "guy version of me."
They ate at Keens Steakhouse, an Anthony Bourdain-approved old school steakhouse, and ordered Vermont Blue Cheese Puff, Lettuce Wedges w/ Bacon, Lump Crab Cakes, Prime Filet Mignon, and
Prime Rib King's Cut.
Are you full yet?
Rhian Ramos's stay in New York City is until May 2019. #WheresWhian