Day 5: A day to eat and shop....

Last full day of our trip... all touristy things has been seen and done... what's left? eat somemore la.. and shop even more... hehe!! Went all the way to Hong Kong island to try out this recommended place from a book...

Nai Cha = milk tea... damn sweet... yucks...

This was what I came for... beef and egg sandwich... it was damn good... for such a simple dish.. it just tasted so good.. beef was nice and tender and the egg was just cooked enough but still fluffy... yum yum...

Another dish recommended in their claypot beef and egg rice... unfortunately due to the greediness of me... forgot to take picture before ruining the egg yolk so I replace with a picture from the book ya... it looks exactly like that...

And after we scramble it all up...

So after some yummy breakfast we walked far and wide.... in search of a supposedly good biscuit shop...see see cannot find... I think we walked 2 streets away... and still cant find... after that we realised we were in a totally different area which we planned to take a train to... yes... we walked that far... so tired already what else? Lunch lor... hehe!!

This time... it's Roast goose!!! most famous in hong kong... but firstly... some chinese wine, drank warm with a slice of dried preserved plum...

Now this was the main reason we came to this restaurant in the first place... THE ROAST GOOSE!!!

It tasted really really good... no wonder they are the best... now to wash it down lets have some winter melon seafood soup...

Boiled for over 6 hours... the soup was really good too....

Then we had normal toufu and vege.....

The meal was overally really good.. and REALLY EXPENSIVE... 5 person...4 dishes and a wine... RM600... crazy right?

So after eat... we shop... and shop somemore... Esprit, G2000, Marks & Spencer, Club Monaco...

Then after spending way way way too much money... what else? Eat la somemore... but this time eat cheap la.. only chee cheong fun... funky ones though..seafood... duck...fish.. all sorts la... but one terrible thing about it is the chinese parsley that they so generously sprinkle in... eww... oily somemore... haha!!

Last stop of the day... which I got dragged to I might add... Elaine insisted... and I mean insisted.. upon recommendation by her sis somemore... The 'Avenue of Stars' is a must go.... so as mum and sis headed home.. me and elaine trudged our way to the Avenue of Stars with high hopes.. .I repeat myself.. I was dragged.. :( and what did we see when we got there?!!!

*drum roll*

Waalah!! Nothing!!! hahah!! it was just a paved street along the habour with stars on the ground.. no lights, no shops... some stars had handprints.. most didnt... and we got the view like so...

Now doesnt that look eerily similar to the view from our living room... hmm... let me think... why of course... it's the same view!!! I am still wondering why is the Avenue of Stars highly recommended... elaine owes me one now... hahaha!! Even she did not see what was so great...

Day 4 - Lantau Island and Raw Food

It's another early morning... left the apartment at 9am to catch the bus... We are going to lantau island to see Mr Buddha on the hill... Check height first see whether can get free train ticket... alamak... too tall... have to pay... isk...

Took the train to Tung Chung and hopped onto the Ngong Ping 360 cable car... prices are not cheap everywhere in hong kong huh?

Cute little cable car... not much different between the normal and crystal one since only the floor is see through....

Up up and away!!! wait... look down there...yikes... there are ppl who walk? holy cow... it's super duper far leh.. plus uphill...and ppl do this as a morning exercise? me is shock-ed....

Look over there!!! A glimpse of the buddha....
Finally we are there... had to pay HKD60 for vegetarian or else they dont let you into the temple... jeez... and it's an uphill climb from here... Mr Sun was being particularly frenly that day so it was hot hot hot!!!

A bit more only... gambate!!!

Tadaa!!! Hi Mr Buddha... *Waves*

Next stop... temple for elaine to light some incense... unfortunately aichin had to help... *cough cough* so much smoke.... Made a little prayer for everyone in the family.. :)

After the sweltering heat... off we were to the Tung Chong outlet mall!! All shops are outlets!! Woohoo!! spent many hours there... haha!! but didnt really buy that much la... Elaine was the biggest spender here...

After all that shopping it is time for food!!! Went to Itacho which was highly recommended by the person who owns the apartment we tumpang.. even told us to mention his name to get a fast seat...unfortunately the line was so long that giving his name also not effective coz it was just too obvious to squeeze us in... so we waited patiently... tick tock tick tock... after almost an hour... finally.. a seat.... Dinner was ordered for us without us knowing what was coming... Our menu...

All ready to dig in...

First platter out... it was sushi with loads of raw stuff...

Next platter up... also sushi with even more raw stuff...

Finally the highlight of the nite!!! Just plain raw stuff... sashimi clam to be specific....

Verdict? Sushis were damn fresh.... but the clam was damn fishy... ewww... but after the meal... all our mouths tasted raw... hahaha!! sashimi overload... but the meal was good...

Time to head home and sleep again.. think it's my turn on the floor... :(

Day 3 - Kowloon - Hong Kong Island - Kowloon

Day 3... Rise and shine... shared a single bed with Elaine last nite and was plastered to the wall... Now arm ache... need to refigure tonite's sleeping arrangements... or else my left arm will be useless by the end of the trip... hehe!!

First stop... Esprit outlet!!! :D ahaha!! the main reason we are in Hong Kong under such sweltering heat right? Shopping!!! Managed to get quite a bit of stuff... was so busy shopping that we forgot breakfast... and it was 1 plus when we realised we skipped a meal and we were all damn hungry already... time to look for food!!!

Next stop... this shop in this little book of recommended food... Beef noodles stir-fry was the recommended dish... gosh... I tell you all these books have directions issues... last nite we were brought to this place under constructions... today it was along this road with so many shops and unclear signboards.. luckily didnt take too long to find the shop.. Hungry liao!!!

Beef noodles were good.. :) Beef for tender and tasty... but for the rest of the things we ordered... hmmm... lets just say there is a reason why they only recommended this one dish... hehe!! I was persuaded to give up my beef noodles for Elaine's curried rice coz she looked so 'cham' looking at the curried rice.. the things I do to keep Elaine happy... *shakes head* ;)

Okay... we were done shopping in Kowloon.. where else to go? Decided to go up Victoria's Peak on the Hong Kong island.... Took the MTR then shopped at Central.... bought nothing except some really expensive shoes for mummy coz her feet hurt.... then off we were to sit the tram...

Tram ahead!!! Stand behind the yellow line!!! :D Tram was pretty quaint althought it looked quite new... probably recently refurbished... the slope up was surprisingly steep!!! yikes!! but there was some really nice view on the way up... like this one....

Taken from inside the tram looking out.... and then this next one is taken right outside Burger King which was what we had for dinner.... Jeez... RM40 for burger king.. who would have thought!! and the burger was sure miniscule....

We had to hang around til nite fall to catch the nite lights which of course we had to pay more for just to go to the top of the observation deck... Blood suckers... isk isk isk... Then nite came and the lights came up... This is the time when you curse yourself for not carrying a tripod... couldnt get a nice shot and the settings on the camera was a bit off... so this was the best shot... haiz... Camera ran out of batteries after one shot so took Ai May's camera instead.. think I got some better shots there but photos are not with me.. :(

And this was a shot of a professional shot which we paid to be taken... they refused to give the soft copy so I took a picture of the hard copy...

That is it for day 3... all went home very tired.. oh ya... the lights show? Nothing great... a few strobes of spot lights and they call it a show... cheh!!!

Stay tuned for day 4....

Day 2 - Senado Square - St Paul - Some Fort - Some Lane - Hong Kong

Rise and shine on day 2... left the hotel by 9.00am... target is to eat some portugese egg tarts... got our maps in hand... directions asked... apparently this place is secluded... got some semblance of a direction though the roads dont seem to match... hehe!! but first... take picture with moo moo outside of hotel coz last nite too dark... hehe!! Dont ask why they are there... they just are...


Following instructions we walked... and walked and walked... and walked and walked and walked... damn far la... along the way we passed Senado Square... not sure what is suppose to be so special except that the tiles are quite unique.... Macau is very much paved with tiles especially at the older areas....

And after a really long walk... we arrived at our destination.... Margaret's Cafe @ Nata... famous for its Portugese egg tarts....

But first... let me prelude you with my breakfast sandwich that a very rude aunty made... haiz.. ppl in macau arent very polite.. apparently I was too slow in ordering and was hampering her morning work crowd business.. at 930 in the morning.. ppl in Macau sure worked late... Anyway... I got my egg and curry chicken sandwich which was not too bad but a tad cold for my liking....

Next up.... the portugese egg tarts... the crust was really flaky to the bite and the filing was just nice... for a non portugese egg tart fan I sure enjoyed this one... :) even packed 3 more to go...

Then we started walking towards St Paul's cathedral and came across this peculiar lane which we later found out was supposely a very famous shopping and eating street but we were too early so they were all still closed..... The doors were all red on this lane.... Quite quaint....

Then we headed to St Paul finally... and like the bane of all photographers... the shot taken for ppl is always nicer than the shot taken for you by ppl... so here is elaine with the ruins..... and some pretty lotus at the top of the ruins...

As if that was not enough... she gave me a very sad look when I didnt want to climb the fort with her... so I did... sweating like a pig by the time we got up... eww.. icky....

Cannon shoot me out so I dont have to climb the stairs down back!!! hehe!! Just fooling around... even squeezed myself into a hole in the wall meant for a cannon I presume....

Had a little time to pose.... took so long to get this shot right.. we it still wasnt perfect but okay la... Ask Elaine how many times she took the shot... hehe!!

After so much walking... obviously next destination was lunch!!!! :D We had portugese food.... Chicken curry and pork ribs... yum yum!!! :)

After lunch it was off to the fisherman's wharf which was nothing great so no pictures... then back to the island of Hong Kong... once again I had siu yok for dinner and once again it was so good that pictures were forgotten.... haha!! :D I took a picture of dessert though... some pretty little pink drink....

So after another long day... off we went back to our borrowed condo... So nice of my bro-in-law's friend to loan us his accomodations while he was out... his condo was Habourfront and the view was ichiban!!! haha!! Sitting on the couch... this is my view....
Day 3 coming up real soon.. stay tuned....

Day 1 : Singapore - Hong Kong - Macau

I went to Hong Kong!! I went to Macau!! I went to Hong Kong! I went to Macau!

Hehe!! Yeah.. just came back (well a week ago, I was too busy to blog) from my holiday.... It was a fun, tiring and pocket-emptying experience....

After a flight delay which essentially costs a half a day although the delay was only a couple of hours due to the Typhoon, we landed safely in Hong Kong International Airport... Initial plan was to take the ferry directly from the airport unfortunately kantoi... apparently you need to pre-direct ur luggages if you wanna do that.. so after some calculations... cheapest and fastest option is to take a bus to Hong Kong and take the ferry from there....

Just like that HK$40 for bus and KH$146 for ferry... money sure flies away fast in Hong Kong...

All ready for our macau adventure... The seats were comfy!! Better than the airplane ones.. Automatically we all dozed off.. hehe!! Upon arriving at Macau we had free shuttle transfer to our hotel... We passed many a gaudy looking hotels.. Gold ones... Gold,silver and bronze one, lotus looking ones (sorry ya no pics) but when u see them at nite... Fuh!! Damn UGLY!!!! hahah!! Luckily our hotel which was Sofitel Pointe 16 was really decent looking... not gaudy at all.. and our room... You gotta see it to believe it... Worth every single penny....

King size bed with an proper glass office table... LCD tv, and other normal amenities.. What was not so normal was....

Check out the bathroom!!!! Fuh!!! We had a full size bath tub, separate toilet and shower stall and the shower was a multi-point shower... Head got, back also got... hehe!! and all with full view of the bed... or the other way round.. Unfortunately with Elaine as my roommate that was my dilemma.. haha!! Or hers more than mine... Jakun as we were... we didnt know there would be a screen that is remote controlled to close that huge window... even in the bathroom there was a mini tv... :D

What else? Loccitane toiletries!!! Everything was Loccitane and the jakun the two of us were.. we both used our own toiletries and kapuk all the free ones.. siap tikam who wants what!! hahah!! I got hair and she got body... ;)

Next up was a 2 shuttle ride to The Venetian... supposedly the highlight of all Macau casinos...

Had noodles for dinner at The Venetian recommended by my uncle.. The noodles were not great but the Siu Yok!!! Yum Yum!!! (sorry..no pics..too hungry..it was all gone before I could get a shot)... and who would have known that siu yok taste good when dipped into sugar... the skin was crispy and the meat was tender and juicy.... Mmmmm... .the thought of it makes my mouth water... :D The restaurant name if you ever go there "Old Neptune Restaurant". But be warned... damn expensive... RM50 for a plate of wanton mee...

The outside of Venetian was too dark..couldnt take much of a nite shot but luckily enough it was also not gaudy... The insides was a different story...the roof of the insides were specially painted to look like actual skies so that you feel outdoors while you are in... Looks quite real huh? They even have gondola rides with real singing gondolier... Coolies... but we were too late so didnt get to ride in it.. .Haiz... Wasted... So what else after that? We of course hit the casino... haha!! not really la... We went to look see look see... mummy was so tired that we went back soon after....

Once we got back to the hotel me and elaine went gambling.. haha!! hey.. how can you go to Macau and not gamble? That is like going to Paris and missing the Eiffel Tower... And now I know that Elaine is a gambler at heart... No matter how 'languagely' challenged she was.. by golly she knew what those gambling table instructions said... haha!! That woman is a certified gambler.. the words were all in chinese!!! and she could still understand them.. Go figure... can teach me how they work somemore... poor innocent aichin got corrupted... :P

I decided to play roulette... simple enough.. bet by blocks of 12 numbers... :) I won my first few rounds and actually tripled by HK$20 to HK$80!! and I cashed it.. then Elaine played the slots... then she decided to play roulette.. and I decided to give it another go... and by the end of 15 minutes.. I lost HK$100... isk isk isk... :( sniff sniff.. should have left with the HK$80... I now know why mummy says dont gamble.. Wait got less money to shop.. :(

Good thing our room was a welcoming sight... Haaa..... After a nice relatively long shower... we both plonked into the comfy bed and called it a nite... Long day ahead... :)

Day 2 to be continued....