Dance like no one's watching

Went to HK for a quick weekend trip with Azure and we really fleshed out the HK Tourism Board ad – Eat, Shop, Eat, Shop, Eat Shop.  I was so focused on the above I didn’t even bring a digicam.  Haha.  Figured if I needed to take any really good photos, I could always get Azure to snap them for me since we have the same digicam.  So here’re the photos from our eating & shopping trip.  We visited some of our favourite eating places more than once but I grouped the photos together anyway.

1. CHE’S CANTONESE RESTAURANT

Add: 4/F, The Broadway, 54-62 Lockhart Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong

Tel: 852 2528 1123

This has gotta be the best char siew pau ever!  The buttery bun is absolutely light & crisp and goes unbelievably well with the sweet char siew inside.  Iceman and I first tried this in 2007 and I made Azure go back to the restaurant on this trip just for the char siew pau!

The egg tart is also marvellous.  The pastry is light and texture flaky.  The egg custard is a little wobbly in the centre and melts in the mouth.

The har gow was also delicious.  The prawns were fresh and crunchy and the filling was so well marinated they were heavenly – and coming from someone who usually skips eating prawns ‘cos I don’t like them, you gotta believe me when I say they’re GOOD!

This is Che’s special meat dumpling with bamboo shoot.  I can’t remember the official name for it but it’s the first item on the dimsum menu.  The outer layer of the dumpling is very thin and crispy.  The inner layer of the skin is a little sticky, mildly sweet and chewy.  The pork and bamboo filling was wonderfully savoury and the combination was great.

This is the char siew cheong fun.  The cheong fun is silky and thin while the char siew is lean.  It was good, but not as yummy as the prawn cheong fun.  Once again, I was surprised at how delicious the prawn cheong fun was ‘cos I usually hate prawn.  It was so good… we walloped it before I remembered I was suppose to take a photo…

This is the pau with sweet custard filling and bits of salted egg.  The caramelised custard was quite good but it could probably do with a few more bits of salted egg as the overly sweet pau got a bit jelat (è…» – a little too cloying).

We also had the siu mai and their golden pan cake – both were ok but nothing to shout about.

2. TONG TAI SEA FOOD RESTAURANT (along Temple Street)

We originally wanted to check out this noodle place that Azure got from some guide book but didn’t quite make it there – we got distracted by this seafood place which Iceman and I ate at in 2007 and decided to have dinner here instead.  Heh.  We didn’t manage to order a lot as there were only 2 of us but food is about the quality… not quantity!!

We had the squid (aka sotong) fried with salt and pepper and this was soooooooooo sedap!  I suspect there was a dash of curry powder in the dish but whatever it was, the sotong was terrific especially when dipped in the vinegar that came with the dish.

We also had razor clams stir fried with black beans & a bit of chilli.  This was tasty but I would’ve preferred it if it were a bit spicier.

To ease our guilt from pigging out, we also ordered a plate of chye sim cooked with garlic – it was good too!

This is a pic of a very satisifed Azure.  Haha.  We took a short walk at the night market after that and that’s when I saw the fake iPhones from China.  Was very tempted to buy one given how it has more functions than the real iPhone.  Haha.  It was cheap you know – only HKD500.  That’s like SGD90!!

3. KAM MOON KOK (opposite BP International House along Austin Road, near Jordan MTR)

This is my favourite cha chan teng (茶餐厅) in the whole of HK.  Azure and I first chanced upon it on our first trip together in 2002 and I’ve returned to eat here every time I visit HK.  The milk tea is so smooth!!  Even if you leave it sitting untouched for a period of time, the milk remains well blended in the tea. 

The spicy pork cube noodles (五香肉丁面) is also fabulous.  After you’ve tried it, you can never step into a HK cafe in Singapore for the same dish.  The pork cubes are spicy and salty and they retain the taste even after being submerged in the soup.  *Slurp*!  Iceman loved it when we had it back in 2007… and Azure is fan now too!  (She had it twice on this trip).  Hehe.

Another must have for me is the French toast (西度斯 – sai tou xi – not sure how to spell the Cantonese words).  The slices of bread are buttered and dipped in egg before being fried.  The edges of the bread are crispy and the centre is soft.  The secret ingredient is the peanut butter in between!  Served with a splash of buter on top and a container of maple syrup for you to drown the toast in, this is fantastically delicious!

4. MAK’S NOODLE LTD

Add: G/F, 44 Jardine’s Bazaar, Causeway Bay, H.K

Tel: 852 2895 5310

I first tried the wanton noodles here with Azure back in 2002.  Am glad I had the chance to eat it again this trip.  I had the shui jiao soup this time.  The broth is tasty and the dumplings had a nice succulent bite.  Really yummy.  This place is going into my list of “must eats” for my next trip!

5. Jenny’s Bakery

I initially promised my colleagues I’ll buy a tin of cookies from Jenny’s Bakery but they were closed!  Twice!  Azure and I popped by the branch at Melbourne Plaza around 6pm+ on Friday and there was a notice saying that everything was sold out and so the shop was closed.  We returned hoping to buy the cookies on Sun but they were closed again!  Boohoohoo.  I really love the cookies here!

6. Xu Liu Shan / Fa Ji

We visited almost every Xu Liu Shan we saw.  We had dessert every lunch and dinner!  *Faints*.  At first I thought I was the OCD one… but now I think not. 

We had mango drinks / desserts so many times that I decided not to post any photos.  Ok… to be honest, I slurped everything down too fast so I didn’t get a chance to take any photos.  Haha.  But I did take some photos of other desserts available at Xu Liu Shan.

Left: Walnut & Sesame paste

Right: Boiled pear, dates and I can’t remember what else… hehe.

7. Cheung Hing Coffee House

This cha chan teng is supposed to be popular with celebrities.  I thought the breakfast was ok… but not fabulous.  Didn’t see any celebrities either.  Instead, we were treated to the fire alarm going off 3-4 times.  I sort of suspect it was a ploy to get customers out of the shop..

8. Shopping Haul!

Left: A belt from Esprit.

Right: (Top Row) – Top + slip from Giordano Ladies, boots from Island Beverly (really comfortable!  Love them!), purple mouse shoes from… some shop at Tsim Sha Tsui (a little tight for my right foot unfortunately), brown shoes from Argyle Centre, black top from ATO (another shop at TST area).

(Bottom Row) – 2 bandeaus / tubes from some dinky little store at I can’t remember where, leggings from the same store, DVDs for my mom and a bag from Esprit.

Didn’t manage to find anything I liked / fit me at H&M.  Looks like I’m still more of an Esprit & Giordano Ladies person.

Accessories from Times Square and Argyle Centre.  🙂

Now this is a totally random photo I took at the toilet at Che’s Restaurant.  Gosh!  Can you see how tiny the entrance to the loo is?  Hong Kongers are sooo slim.  I’m usually an XS / S size in Singapore but in HK, I’m easily an M!  Damnit.  If the weather wasn’t so hot and humid, I might consider walking up the 5 storeys of stairs to my flat just to be a HK size S!

I thought this was a cute “maintenance” notice.

Our Kia is on the way…

It’s ironic how when Singapore gained independence from the British and was subsequently kicked out of Malaysia, naysayers said we were doomed to fail because we were such a tiny country. Now that we’re successful, people say that success was only possible cos we’re so small – as if hard work and good governance don’t count for anything. Seriously!

Posted by Wordmobi

Had my department Chinese New Year dinner just now. Was seated next to our Chief Operating Officer.

During the dinner, the conversation somehow steered to the pressure cooker education system in Singapore. My COO who’s from Holland was very against it. He said that children should not be straddled with stressful exams. One of the comments he made was, “Look at the children in USA or Europe. Do they grow up to be any worse than Asians?”

To Bubbs’ credit, she said that Asians are definitely much stronger in Maths.

Her boss, who’s Australian, then said (in what I felt was a slightly condescending tone) that Singaporeans are only strong in technical subjects.

I agreed with him but I also clarified that this was inevitable. Given that Singapore was a 3rd world country in the 1960s, there was a very strong push for locals to be technically trained in engineering & other subjects. The government’s emphasis was to groom a generation of technically sound people to build the country.

In a mere 30 years, we’ve gone from a back water village to a 1st world nation. Without the hunger, drive and pressure cooker environment, would it have been possible?

Although still as competitive as ever, now that we’ve become a developed country, our schools are more open to grooming talents in the arts. We’re also slowly grooming athletes to excel in sports.

I did not mince my words when I told my COO that one has got to understand that without relentless drive, Singapore would not have gotten where we are today – stamping out corruption, eradicating secret societies and making the leap from itinerant blue collar workers to degree holders in 2 generations.

Apart from the practical push for meritocracy, one also has to understand the historical & cultural aspects. Most of the early migrants to Singapore came from China. In a country faced with poverty and where the vast majority were engaged in agricultural jobs, the only way to a better life was through education. It’s no surprise that parents often push their children to obtain good results in order to secure a better future. Coming from such a background, is it any surprise then that Singaporeans place such importance on education?

While I do not agree with parents taking their children to multiple tuition & enrichment classes from a young age, I do not see anything wrong with having an education system based on merits. If our ancestors didn’t stretch themselves, we could not have achieved so much in such a short time. We must not go soft now & fail our founding fathers.

Posted by Wordmobi

Have you seen the latest Windows OS for phones yet?  The Win Phone 7 looks good and perhaps my next phone might be a Windows OS one… except that I still can’t wrap my mind around typing on a tiny qwerty keyboard & not having user profiles.  Heh.  Perhaps one day…

http://www.windowsphone7series.com/

My stomach’s been working overtime since last Friday.  Sneezing non-stop the last hour… think it’s due to lack of rest, though Iceman says it’s the “going back to work after a long holiday” syndrome. 

Anyway, here’s wishing everyone a Happy Chinese New Year!

Despite the buzz surrounding Google’s latest product, the Google Buzz, I think I’m sticking to Twitter for now.  Here’s why:

• Well established communities based on interest groups – I follow Mashable, Nokia Conversation, Engadget Mobile, All About Symbian and a couple of other tech related lists and it’s a must every morning to read up on the overnight developments in the geek world. 
• Updates from celebrities – Hear it from the horses’ mouth.  Nothing gives you more instant updates on what your favourite singer / actor / public personality is doing.  What’s best, some of them may even answer questions you have.  It’s great being able to communicate with the person on the face of your CD cover. 
• Privacy – As I strive to maintain a pseudo anonymous identity on the Web, it helps that apart from my Twitter nick, nothing else about me is shown.  In order to follow me on Buzz, users need to know my e-mail address and the last thing I want to do is to create a new e-mail account just to maintain a Buzz following.  Besides, that would defeat the purpose of seeing all the Buzz appear in your inbox…
• Bugs – I suppose this will be resolved in time to come but there’re still some fundamental bugs in Buzz.  This morning, my friend requested that I add him on Buzz but Buzz kept giving me an error message saying “User not found”.  I don’t see any feedback / bug reporting mechanism in Buzz, which I think is important for any new product.
• Great support – Yesterday, I tweeted this question – is Seesmic or Tweetdeck better?  Almost immediately, someone from Seesmic dropped me a reply saying if I needed help, they were a tweet away.  Now how cool is that?

There you have it.  So if you want to see what a tweetaholic like me does every hour (or thereabouts), follow me on @uptowngal.

http://www.e-royce.com/items/potato/1200751_1708.php?index&tp=sc_potato

Upsize bought this from Manila (I think) and they’re really yummy!  The white package is white chocolate and the other is dark chocolate (really quite bitter).  Love the white chocolate potato chips.  Yums!

Wonder if they’re sold in Singapore…

SMRT shld put back the stickers telling people to stand on the left half of escalators so others can walk up/down the right half! So many morons around who no longer respect this and too many tourists who aren’t aware. Grr..

Posted by Wordmobi