HK Adventure : The 2 Must-Do's

There are two things that one must do when in Hong Kong. One is a very cheap way to soak in the true Hong Kong skyline. Simply spend a dollar or two by taking the Star Ferry from Kowloon to Hong Kong Island or the other way round.

This ferry has been in operation for many years. Before the MTR was in place to transport the crowd, this was the way for commuter to travel between the two lands. Here's the ferry we boarded that day, Twinkling Star.

Here's a photo of Puffyrazzi, looking back at Kowloon going towards Hong Kong. These days, most people who take the boat are tourists. Most of the seats were actually taken up by camera-holding Caucasians.

The other must-do is to take the Peak Tram up to Victoria's Peak. The tram retains its famous red colour and it is recommended that one sits on the right of the tram during the trip up for better view.

The ride takes about 10 minutes up to the peak and the passengers have to endure a 45 deg angle at scaling the peak.

One is recommended to get onto Victoria's Peak at night. Several of our HK friends actually said we should go up ONLY at night, or it won't be worth it. Boy, it was dazzling, to say the least. We stood at the Sky Terrace for almost an hour, staring at the hypnotizing lights.

Charlie Brown Cafe

After the Plaza Singapura Snoopyworld went bust, we had nowhere to go to remind us of the cutest beagle in the world. That was until we stumbled upon a website that recommended Charlie Brown Cafe in Tsim Sha Tsui.

The theme restaurant was situated on the second floor. Everything was decked with the characters from the comic strip, Peanuts.

The walls were brightly painted with the lovable characters. Just opposite from our seat, there was a huge screen playing a continuous clips of Charlie Brown and Friends.

There were so many nice things on display i didn't know what to eat. Look at this adorable cheesecake, called Lucy Light, featuring Charlie Brown's friend Lucy.

Check out the 3-D Woodstock on this Woodstock Cake.

Finally decided to have this Charlie Brown Mousse Cake. It was so pretty i didn't have the heart to start eating. Nevertheless, we attacked his ears first, followed by his brains, all the way down to the chin!

The two girls ordered this Dessert Sampler, which had 3 desserts served in a set. Charlie Brown's face was nicely outlined in the mousse.

Soo Sun has the habit of collecting plastic containers of drinks. For that reason, she ordered a Strawberry Yoghurt Milkshake. Later she brought the empty container back to hotel, rinsed it clean and stuffed it into her luggage bag.

This pancake set came with 4 flapjacks, each featuring a picture of a different character, namely : Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy and Woodstock. The food wasn't special but the feeling of dining and being surrounded by comic characters which grew up with you was enough to make this a pleasant dining experience.

Finally, a savoury dish! On the menu, this is officially called the Snoopy Wings, but i ain't see no Snoopy! Actually, this was one of the better dishes of the night. The wings were nicely marinated and the meat was moist and tender.

And to end the meal is this Molten Chocolate Cake. It came intact, but due to wanting to get an aesthetic picture of a molten cake, we sliced it open carefully but the molten chocolate didn't flow out the way we wanted it to. Looks like a piece of shit hahaha....

Mom's Honest-to-Goodness Spread

My mum is an active cook who always comes up with tasty dishes. This time around at home, whenever she whipped up some dishes, i will try to get the photo down ( if i'm not already too hungry). This is a plate of very ordinary green leafy vegetables, except that those are planted in our own backyard, minus all the pesticides and chemicals.

My mom rolls up some spring rolls. I caught a whiff of yummy odour from the kitchen and followed my senses to the kitchen where my mom was frying these. I managed to get a pic of the last raw piece.

She cut them into bite-size pieces before serving. This is the first time i've sampled these. The fillings are soft and moist while the outer layer is crispy ( the texture, not my sister Crispy).

I'm a big fan of soups and my mom's the top of the rank! She cooked a pot of chicken soup for the family. Kampong Chicken, with their tough meat is perfect because they can be brewed for long hours and the meat remains intact.

My mom doesn't normally put flavourings in the soup, so what we taste is the real ingredient in the soup! I'm already craving for more as i look at this pic!

One lunch, after my sister left for KL, my mother cooked this bowl of multi-grain porridge. Despite looking like an ordinary bowl of porridge, it was actually concocted from multi-grains instead of rice. Beat in an egg just before serving...

Pup in Boots

Today marked a special milestone in QQ's book of achievement. He put on his nice little shoes for the first time. Despite the initial resistance, he relented and was taking very tentative steps. He was sauntering around like a clown and induced so much laughter in the family.

After warming up, we brought QQ out to the car porch and garden. Here, he received a kiss from sister, Puffy....awwwww isn't that sweet?

The next level was to walk out on public roads. After mastering the act of walking on shoes, QQ became his naughty self again and was pulling on the leash like a crazed monster.

Mama decided that ENOUGH was ENOUGH and promptly carried him home.

Alamak...holes in his new shoes! Mama fixed them by sewing the loose bits back. The family decided that QQ should only be wearing shoes in the garden and has been forbidden to go out ever again !

HK Adventure : The Waterfront

From our hotel, we could walk to the Waterfront Area in Kowloon. This is the clock tower, right at the fringe of Victoria Harbour. It is the only remnant of the original site of the former Kowloon Railway Station. It does seem a little out of place, surrounded by modern buildings but this gave the tower a special aura.

Walking down along the waterfront, you'll stumble upon the long stretch of Avenue of Stars, a rip-off of the Hollywood version, only that this one features Hong Kong celebrities.

I took so many photos of the stars, but this one of Anita Mui evoked some emotion in visitors. There was no palm print on her star because of her passing before she had the chance to do so.

Photo taken at 6 pm...sun going down.

Photo taken at 7 pm... sundown ( awaiting the laser show )

Photo taken at nightfall, after the laser show.

Hong Kong Chow-down Part 4

Upon our return from Macau, we had a blast trying the famous local brands and food of Hong Kong. It started right after we alighted from our Turbo Jet. Right after the HK immigration gate was a stall of 許留山 (Hui Lau Shan ), a famous dessert brand. This is a bowl of mixed fruit with mango ice shavings. The fruits came in generous portions and were very fresh. Instead of plain ice shavings, the ice shavings was actually mango shavings with a appetizing yellow hue.

This is their famous Mango and Pomelo Dessert. It was slightly sourish, with a tinge of sweetness. One of the praise-worthy traits of HK dessert is that they are not overly sweet. The mango and pomelo combined to complement each other very well.

This set was ordered by Soo Sun to share with Sixian. It is a combo set which comprise of a Mango Pudding, Mango & Pomelo Dessert, Chicken Wings and Mixed Fruit with Coconut Ice Shaving. They both downed everything in a matter of minutes...it must be really good~

After checking in back into our hotel, we headed to Miramar Shopping Centre to get my sister's figurines. On the way, Sixian had marked down this famous snack stall 利強記北角雞蛋仔, which is very highly recommended and boasts long queues.

I was dying to try the 雞蛋仔, which i had never tried before. Here i am, in the queue and observing how they make them.

Here are my 雞蛋仔!! They look like they're made of styrofoam huh? No matter, they are the best tasting item i had during my 6 long days in both HK and Macau. Must-try...but of course don't just buy it from any stall, you need to pick the better stalls. These freshly made 雞蛋仔s are crunchy, and they have hollow centres. They ought to be eaten while it's still warm , while the crisp is still intact.

After enjoying that, i joined the queue again but this time to sample their 咖里鱼蛋. All sorts of balls ( cuttle fish, prawn, fish, beef, pork balls) are all soaked in curry sauce, simmering in this pot. Once an order is placed, the lady strings them into a bunch and pours the thick curry sauce ( in the center two compartments) over the fishballs.

Yumminess~

That night, on our way back from the Waterfront, we walked into a eatery and placed an order for 2 grilled pigeons. We had them on the go, and brought back to our hotel for supper. Pigeons are small, one can be shared by two for supper. It tastes somewhat like duck meat, though.

Macau : World Heritage Site

Monday morning was a day for us to explore the Historic Centre of Macau, which was inscribed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, my third Heritage Site visit in the past year ( after Penang and Bern ). The first place to explore is the most recognisable facade in Macau : Ruins of St Paul's. We were there very early ( about 8 am+), and it was a wise choice. Just look at my photos! Not many people can boast about capturing a photo of almost all the steps leading to the wall without tourists crowding.

This famous door was what remained of Church of Mater Dei, built back in the 1500's. After surviving a few bombings and fires, a kitchen fire back in 1835 destroyed the entire building, saved for the facade, foundation and the front steps ( the 3 F's...haha).

Looking down from the facade, you will see the skyline of Macau.

This is the front door of the Lou Kau Mansion. The mansion used to be the residence of a prominent Chinese businessman. The interior of this mansion was designed with both eastern and western influence, and incorporates feng shui in the placement of furnitures.

Within walking distance from Lou Kau Mansion is The Cathedral, dedicated to the Virgin Mary and built in 1622.

From what i read from the travel brochures, apparently before the handover of Macau's sovereignty to China, every new Governor of Macau would traditionally come to the Cathedral and place his sceptre next to the image of Virgin Mary, making this a very important Catholic Church in Macau.

We made a brief stop at Sam Kai Vui Kun, also known as Kuan Tai Temple. This temple is situated in the middle of the Macau Bazaar,and is always bustling with activity around it.

Just across the street from Senado Square is 'Leal Senado' Building, originally built as the municipal building. It possesses a distinct Southern European architectural design.

The exterior of the building is very nicely decorated with colourful plants, which blends well with its blue mosaic tiles.

We visited the meeting room on the first floor, which is elaborately decorated like a castle. Unfortunately, it was a Monday and the library was closed. We would've liked to see its collection of foreign texts and Macau's first copy of the 'Bee Newspaper'.