B brought me to Kiku at Landmark for lunch on Monday. Kiku is his supposed canteen or fave hangout for business lunches, and since I love all things Jap so naturally I made him bring me there!! :)

Apparently, this place is always fully booked and since we didn't make reservations, we were pretty lucky to get a table (provided if we can finish our food within the hour).

Our food for the day...special vegetable salad with onion shavings and seared toro, yumz... Next was the prawn tempura, B also ordered the teapot soup and our last dish was the beef roll with vegetables! It was a super filling yummy Japanese lunch...

Oh, B also brought me to Roka..he still owe me the pictures ... will post them once I have them.

rolling good times...

Little update having come back from HK:
Met up with galfren over drinks in HK. She bought me to this quite cool pub just off TST in Kowloon. Drinks are really very cheap, we had like 8 beers (Hoegarden), 2 frozen Daiquiris, and like 3 types of finger food and it all cost only like 500 plus HKD. That's like 100 Sing... really cheap right? After that, we met up with Grateful and adjorned to the Hong Kong side to drink some more and to play darts. Quite fun, but its not that easy, had a hard time trying to aim bulls-eye.

Saturday evening, we were simply too lazy to move our butts to go anywhere... so we decided to just go downstairs and have dinner at Ye Shanghai. It was my second time there and I had to 'control' B from over-ordering (the last time we went there, B went overboard and ordered too much!).

For starters, we had the drunken chicken, followed by the winter melon and crab meat soup. For the mains, B ordered the small prawns that tasted simply divine with loads of vinegar!!! My fave!! Then we had the long beans and no Shanghainese meal would be complete with the signature Xiao Long Bao! B ordered the Dan-Dan mian, but it was not very nice.. don't order next time. And we still had space for dessert!! :) Rice dumplings ... I liked the soup though.. reminded me of あまん　さけ。

Factory outlet shopping..

B had to be 'xiong di' for Colin's wedding and I got the day off, so decided to drag galfren down to Tung Chung with me to check out the factory outlets there! Go only if you have the time, otherwise downtown shopping in Hong Kong is good enough. The array of shops at the City Gate outlets are not too bad, with a couple of major brands to boot!

Of course, my eyes widened when I reached there.. IT shops with Prada/Miu Miu shoes going at 70% off.. and not to mention the Club 21 boutique with CK and DKNY going at 70% off as well. Walked down abit further and we arrived at the Pedder Warehouse (shoes and bags GALORE!!). We spent an hour at the Pedder boutique to search for past-season's shoes. The sales assistant gave us the wrong infor and we thought all the shoes were on 50% off from the discounted price. So after picking out 3 pairs of shoes, I went off with just a Pedro Garcia black pumps that were 90% off (orginal price was HKD10,500).. pretty pleased!!! Went to the Polo Ralph boutique but too bad, the polo that I liked didn't have my size..damnit...

Next, we headed back to IT where I eventually decided to buy a grey pair of ankled boots. I paid like HKD399! Going to pair the boots for my OZ trip! :) So that about ends my trip to Tung Chung... where I scored shoes!

blissfully glowing?

I was supposed to just go over to the Bliss counter and help my colleagues get their body lotion. What happened in the end? Me and galfren started chatting with their beauty supervisor for an hour and she painstakingly went through all their best-selling products whilst making the effort to try the products on us. So in the end, the both of us ended with Bliss products in tow to try out.

This 'Triple Oxygen Instant Energizing Mask' is one of Bliss's star-products. Its a super-quick-fix for dull, tired, swallow skin. I tried it on one of my hands at the counter and this stuff seriously works, my hand was visibly glowing and it was soft and supple! AMAZING... going to try it on my face later and give it that much-needed boost of vitality!

HK Gastronomical Minute: Cheap and yummy fare

My last post of my HK food trails:

1. After touching down, B brought me to this happening 'Ma La' restaurant that he says its a must-try. So we had our super late night supper there. It was noodles, ginseng soup, french beans and the hightlight was the Ma La frog leg spicy concotion. But I guess we were too engrossed in eating and I forgot to take the pictures. Oopsy..
2. Next day, it was raining and we were simply too lazy to head out for food. So we went downstairs for yummy burgers at Admiralty. Must say, the burgers were really good. The patty was juicy thick and the beef was succulent. Every bite was sinfully yummy. I had to stop myself from gobbling down the calorie-busting burger.
3. The next day, we went for some local grub even though it was raining (again!!! ANGST!!). We headed back to Hollywood street and went for the 'Best Wan Ton Mee ever discovered' in HK (according to B). I was skeptical at first, as I was never a fan of wan ton mee. But the first bowl had litterally won me over. The bowl was tiny, but the broth was comforting and the noodles were done just right. B finished off his noodles in a gulp and went on to order the 'Zha Jang Mian' and another set of beef tripe noodles. All in all..great food... can't go wrong especially if Anthony Bourdain says so :)
   

Gastronomical Minute: Zuma

It was pouring on Sat..but instead of craving for steamboat (which we always had), we decided to have Japanese. So off to Zuma we went.

Zuma, a dynamic Japanese restaurant and bar concept in Hong Kong, has been acclaimed as one of the world’s best new restaurants by Conde Nast Traveler magazine.

Zuma was listed as one of the world’s most exciting new restaurants on Conde Nast Traveler’s ‘Hot Tables 2008’ - one of just 105 restaurants that opened worldwide last year to make the prestigious listing. Taken from www.asiatraveltips.com

The place kinda reminded me of Nobu..poshy with hints of modern Japanese influence. I liked the dishes that B ordered.

The Spicy Edamame starter was a crowd pleaser.. just imagine normal Edamame stir-fried with spicy chilli. Next up was the Zuma Tofu... it was silky smooth and just perfect with a pinch of sea-salt. Nothing too fancy and over the top. Ooh I loved the Meguro sashimi, it just melts in my mouth and the ponzu sauce is always my fave. We had the beef which was grilled to perfection. When the tempura came, we were too stuffed.. but of cos, there wasalways room for dessert, that's a separate compartment altogether..haha.

Labels I love

In the spirit of the Summer Sales in Hong Kong... here's a tribute to the lovely shopping that we done on a not so sunny day! It was raining when I was there! I must be the one that brings the rain to HK..anyway, the day I left, the sun was up shining brightly like never before...damn...

Here are some of the brands to 'drool' over.. and cos I miss Japan..here's a pretty Jap doll for old time's sake.

Travel Worthy Mention

My new shopping haunt in Hong Kong....

Island Beverly

Tip 1: Go after 3pm. Shops DO NOT open anytime earlier than 1pm. After 3pm, its a safer bet, as most shops are opened by then. This place closes late though, about 11pm.

This shopping haven house many tiny shops filled with fashionable finds, trendy footwear and charming accessories. Take time to plough through the many shops and you will be sure to find some stuff.

Tip 2: Here are some shops that I think are worth visiting:
a) Shop on the first right-hand corner when you come up the escalator. They sell Marni-ish necklace.
b) Check out the shop opposite it.
c) On the 3rd floor, 4-5 shops from the escalator, nice shoes to be found.
d) On the same floor, just round the bend, Image Code sells nice dresses and scarves. Oh, Marni-ish looking necklaces can be found here as well.

I will continue to update this list if I come across anymore worthy mention shops. :) Happy shopping!

Up and around HK

My last trip to Hong Kong. Walked back from LKF back to Pacific Place and whilst walking, we enjoyed the twinkling bright lights from the CBD of HK.

No trip to HK would be complete without FOOD I guess. So here is my contribution to the food journals I have been compiling:

After touching down on Friday and leaving the luggage back in the apartment. We went for late dinner. B wanted to bring me to HK's best wanton noodles place but it was closed. So had to settle for the 2nd best wanton best at LKF. The noodles were chewy and the wantons were huge! :) Satisfying for a late night supper.

The next day, lunch was settled at Pacific Place. This chi-chic Shanghainese restaurant on Level 4. The highlight of the meal was this fish dish where they 'extracted' the meat of the fish and made noodles out of it. B over-ordered (in my opinion). Thats alot of food for the 2 of us! Ooh, I just had to take the pic of the leetle chair they had in the restaurant for bags. We attempted a little shopping at Causeway Bay but the best intentions got misconstrued... In the end, we left empty-handed.

Sunday morning, we went for dim-sum with Andy around Happy Valley. It was really quite a lovely place, and it got really crowded at 11am with loads of tourists. After lunch at about 12pm,we took a long tram ride to Kennedy Town and started stocking up on our DVDs. There started our craze for Celebrity Apprentice. We spent about 10 hours clocking in Donald Trump's famed show. What dragged us out was coffee with Colin and then dinner at LKF. Me love the crispy wantons! :)

just my luck..

Today, I was looking forward to spending it scouring the streets of Mongkok and hopefully sniffing out good buys. I have only up to tomorrow left and will be heading back home on Wed. But unfortunately, grey skies greeted me when I woke up! Damn...

Headed to the Immigration Dept to get my ID Card and realised upon reaching the MTR station, I left my mobile at home...DAMN...felt lazy to walk back...time, 11.10am, I should be able to head to the Immigration Dept, get my card and if time permits, I will go back home to get my mobile. So that's what I did! Walked back home to get my mobile again. By then, the skies were abit clearer and I thought, yay, maybe I can get some shopping down.

Met up with galfren for lunch at this Vietnamese restaurant and then went for a little shopping at Harbour City. YESH.... TORY BURCH is available in Hong Kong!! And you can get it at Lane Crawford!! But it costs HKD2500!!! But this is rather pretty..the latest offering from Tory Burch, and its real comfy as well. Mental note.. I am a 7 1/2. So if Neiman Marcus is offering this on sale, please please let me know!

In the end, I bought this Beverly Feldman bling bling shoes. So pretty and bling!! Galfren kinda convinced me to get it cos Sista and her bought it. Since we are shoe buds, I decided what the heck, okay :)

After shopping at Harbour City, galfren recommended that I check out Granville Rise (how to get there: walk along Granville Street, at Granville Circuit, turn right and just walk straight, Granville Rise building is to your left). Granville Rise apparently house little shops selling different types of apparel, shoes and jewellery (kinda like Island Beverly). I was there at about 2plus and most of the shops are not opened (those lazy buggers...quote from Luxe Travel Guide). I didnt shop much, just bought a pretty necklace!

At that point in time, I was feeling faint and suffering from a major headache. Decided to just stop shopping and head for tea with Shann at her place.

Got home at about 6, ordered take-in from Tsui Wa with B and my headache is slowly subsiding... Now am just sitting on the couch and watching Celebrity Apprentice. I just hope tomorrow will be better!

That's the apartment that we are staying in HK. It's really nice..compared to the previous one that we stayed in. Pros, big/lush/clean and there is daily house-keeping service! Great shopping just right at your doorstep! :) Cons, there isn a 'cha chan tang' nearby, so I cant get my daily milk tea fix. But it is really a lovely place to be in.

On Sunday, we decided to start out cooking regime again... Bought tons of food at the Supermarket at Pacific Place and we literally cooked up a storm!

It was a yummy steak dinner, complete with soup and salad. But again, we over did it on the proportions... :p And after dinner, we had cheese with honey..yumz... this taste exceptionally good with blue cheese especially. The pungent smell of the blue cheese is covered up by sweet honely. Dunno where we learnt this trick, but we are glad that we learnt it!

Hong Kong Gastronomical Minute: Maxim's

It's almost a crime if you go to Hong Kong and not have dim sum! ;p And this trip, I was craving for egg tarts rather badly...Dun ask me why, its just a food fetish that I had at that point in time. So before I left to head back to Singapore, B decided to meet me for lunch at Maxim's restaurant at City Hall. I went there really early at 11.30 am to reserve seats. Apparently if you go after 12.30, the place is always jam packed and you have to wait for a very long time before you get your turn. But since I went there super early... I had plenty of time to get a table.

The dim sum was not that great to shout about.. it was normal to me, but I just loved to take in the nostalgia, I guess. You can spot the waitresses pushing their trolleys and shouting the food that they have in their carts. I just love that part! :)

Oh and my fave dim sum is this yummy dumpling in broth. Egg Tarts!! And last but not least, B introduced me to this soft beancurd that is topped with brown sugar.