.hongkong.2013.(.part.2.).

http://youtu.be/A0GD3E4-Vvs
Rise & shine for Day 2 of Ving’s Hong Kong trip!!
(Check out Part 1 of the trip here.)

Initially we wanted to check out this Japanese restaurant called Nan Tei (that’s near our hotel) for lunch, but they were about to close for the afternoon by the time we got there.
So we wandered around the area that’s filled with restaurants, and stumbled upon this hidden gem called Cenacolo.

Address: 45-53 Graham Street, G/F, Shop F&H, Central
Station : Central (Exit D1/D2)
Contact: (852) 2525-2430

Their 3-course set lunches were very worth it and yummy-licious!!
For HKD108+ (approximately S$18+), you get a soup or salad + main course + dessert.

 

This is by far one of the most lip-smacking white wine based pastas I’ve ever tasted in my life.
I’m missing this sticky date pudding dessert too!!
Can you spot Ving??
After a satisfying lunch, we proceeded to Horizon Plaza for some outlet shopping.
It is a converted warehouse with about 150 shops selling all sorts of stuff spanning 28 floors. Few of the bigger retailers are eg. Lane Crawford, Joyce, Max Mara, and I.T, amidst many other branded labels’ outlet shops.
So for those who would like to get pieces of your favorite branded label(s) at up to 70-80% off, this is the place you should come when you visit Hong Kong!!
It was rather out of the way, hence we grabbed a taxi down from Central (journey took about 30mins for HKD100).
Alternatively, you can also take Bus 90 from Exchange Square Bus Station in Central to Ap Lei Chau Estate Bus Terminus, whereby from there you can take the free Horizon Plaza Shuttle Bus to the building.

Address: 2 Lee Wing Street, Ap Lei Chau, Aberdeen

We couldn’t take pictures when in the store, but here’s one which we secretly took.
Ving really, really, really fancies this pair of heels by Giuseppe Zanotti!!!
But they are still wayyy over my budget even after discount. =(
While waiting for a taxi to Causeway Bay, Ving had a really bad experience with some unreasonable human beings.
There was a big group of Caucasians + couple of Hongkongers in front of us in the taxi queue. Horizon Plaza’s kinda out of the way, hence not many taxis came into the area. Not long after, this big group went out of the queue to an area further down in order to see if they can get any taxis that were coming in. Since we were behind them, naturally we became the first in line after they left. Finally a taxi came in which the passenger on board alighted, so we stepped forward to ask the taxi driver if he was ok to drive us to Causeway Bay area. He said no, and just sped off.
Since we didn’t manage to get it, naturally we would step back into the queue at the first spot where we initially were. To our surprise, there were 2 Caucasian males and a Hong Kong lady at our spot. They were part of the big group that had left the queue earlier on, and insisted for us to queue behind them.
“We were here earlier, and have already waited for 40 minutes for the taxis. You should join the queue from the back”, they shouted at us.
WOW… They didn’t even flinch when saying such unreasonable words.

We didn’t want to argue with them, so we just walked quite a distance out onto the main road and hopped onto a bus that goes to Causeway Bay.
Surprisingly, it was a rather short bus ride and it took us straight to the heart of Causeway Bay. Just nice since we planned to go over to Times Square for some shopping as well as dinner.

While waiting for our table after taking a queue number, we went to shop around the restaurant area. I ended up getting a collaboration t-shirt with Lego for my younger brother from Aape by Bathing Ape shop.

Address: 1 Matheson Street, Times Square, B2/F, Shop B225, Causeway Bay
Station : Causeway Bay (Exit A)
Contact: (852) 2146-7801
Details : Collection of A Bathing Ape’s collaborations with other labels

Dinner time at Sen-Ryo! It is a Japanese sushi bar that is rather similar to Itacho Sushi.
They do sushi well too! *slurps*

Address: 1 Matheson Street, Times Square, B2/F, Shop B222, Causeway Bay
Station : Causeway Bay (Exit A)
Hours : Mon-Fri 1130am – 1030pm / Sat-Sun 1130am – 11pm
Contact: (852) 2506-9366


 

After dinner, we went back to the hotel to put down our shopping buys and freshen up a ‘lil, before heading out again to check out Lan Kwai Fong’s nightlife.
Here’s what Ving bought for the day!
— Black Leather Loafers by Mercibeaucoup
— Skull Cushion by Mastermind
— Aape by Bathing Ape x Lego T-shirt
Lan Kwai Fong on a Saturday night.
Wearing our new shoes!
Supper time at Tsui Wah Hong Kong Cafe!
Still one of my favorite Hong Kong cafes to date!

Address: 15-19 Wellington Street, Central
Station : Central (Exit D2)
Hours : 24hrs
Contact: (852) 2525-6338
We couldn’t resist getting more stuff from 7-11 after supper!
Do come back here on next Monday for Part 3 of Ving’s Hong Kong trip! ^_^

.books.

Ving recently bought some new books from Prologue’s sale! Let me share them with you…

Finally owned my first illustration book from 幾米 (Jimmy Liao, Taiwanese)!
I have always liked his child-like drawings, which actually kind of give me a calm feeling whenever I see them.
Shall slowly collect the rest of the illustration books which he had published.
I have waited for long for the movie to be out, which it will finally be come end August.
Before the show which I had highly anticipated started screening, here are 2 books from the movie to keep me occupied for the time being!
(The ‘book’ in the second image is more of like a postcards collection for the movie.)
I super love the textured cover of this book!! Couldn’t resist from getting it.
It is a dark book though haha… (I am not called Dark Lord for nothing. *evil laughter*)
This series written by Haruki Murakami was not newly bought though.
Being not strong in my Japanese, I got the Mandarin-translated ones instead.
I usually prefer Japanese novels being translated into Mandarin to English, because I can still imagine a strong Japanese feel to the writings.
English-translated ones kind of lose this Japanese feel which I will look for in such books, and simply became “English style” instead.
Having said that, I have only read Book 1 of this 1Q84 series.
It took me a rather long time to finish it, as it was so intense I could not read past a certain number of pages each time.
Till now I still have yet to get started on Book 2.
I wonder when I will. >.<”
Have you read any books lately? Do start on one if you have not.
It is therapeutic!

.if.ving.can.cook.,.so.can.you.!.(.part.2.0.).

http://youtu.be/LEcN8kCUg2A

So Ving took up a challenge in preparing a potluck feast for 12 adults and 4 kids.
Time for grocery shopping!
You think that’s all??
There’s more!! (Looking like an overload of Enoki mushrooms.)
The dishes prepared are….. *drum roll*

1. Chilled Tofu Salad
(tofu + cherry tomatoes + japanese sauce)
2. Cabbage Soup
(cabbage + corn + baby carrots + white radish + enoki mushrooms + onions + white pepper + sea salt + sugar)
3. Honey Chicken Drumlets
(drumlets + honey + soy sauce + chinese wine)
** Too chaotic that day forgot to take pictures of this dish!!

4. Herb-spiced Mid-joints
(mid-joints + mixed fresh herbs + honey + black pepper + soy sauce + sea salt)
5. Stir-fry Vegetables
(broccoli + capsicums + fishballs + enoki mushrooms + garlic + onions + oyster sauce + sea salt + sugar)
6. Pan-seared Dory Fillets with Sauteed Mushrooms
(dory fillets + shimeji mushrooms + onions + garlic + olive oil + black pepper + sea salt)
7. Stir-fry Soba with Asparagus & Mushrooms
(dried soba noodles + asparagus + white button mushrooms + garlic + sesame oil + japanese soy sauce + sugar)
8. Stir-fry Angel’s Hair Pasta
(angel’s hair pasta + baby carrots + corn + garlic + olive oil + black pepper + sea salt)
9. Grass Jelly & Longans Dessert
(grass jelly + longans)
Conclusion:
It was totally not easy cooking for such a big group of people!
Kind of estimated the portions wrongly haha so there were quite a bit of leftovers, plus it can get real chaotic in the kitchen.
Also, the sequence in cooking the different dishes needed to be planned out proper.
Nonetheless, it was an awesome first time experience!
(Though after this, Ving stayed away from the kitchen for about two weeks, not wanting to lay hands on the pots and pans at all.)