Food Feast in HK: Yat Tung Heen

Naturally, dimsum has got to be on the table when one is in HK, right? We hied off to YAT TUNG HEEN, known as the home to authentic Cantonese Cuisine.   We headed to their Great Eagle Centre branch, the building adjacent to my sister's office.

They served the hot Jasmine tea right away along with some appetizer which looks like fried dilis to me.

  

You'd have to pardon me as I don't really list down the names of our orders. I will try my best to describe the dishes as far as my memory can recall.

Steamed sweet pork

 

Sweet Pork Buns

Shrimps Dumplings with Vinegar Sauce

Crab Cakes

Chicken Feet

"Asado Siopao"

Salt & Pepper Fried Squid

Steamed Pork Ribs

Steamed Prawns with Quail Eggs 

Salted Fish Fried Rice

Little Surprises

This weekend, I decided to sort out the mess in our bedroom. Days before our trip (back in December) I ransacked our closets for our winter clothes. Set aside the ones to air, the ones for drycleaning, the ones that no longer fit. Then just threw the rest into a big pile and by some miracle was able to close the closet without them spilling out. 

It was just today I finally found time to rearrange them. As I was going through the pockets of each item, I discovered long forgotten cash as well as some hair accessories I thought I lost eons ago. So now I got extra cash to pay off my credit card bill. Yes it is quite a substantial amount since I'm the type of person who keeps cash in her pockets, in case I lose my wallet or worst my bag gets snatch or something like that.

But the biggest surprise I discovered is the gift wrapped item at the bottom of all the heap of winhter clothes. The card was  dated October 19, 2013. Inside was this novel still wrapped with plastic.

You see this was my birthday gift given to me by my parents way back in the month of October! 

I honestly cannot remember how I misplaced it and totally forgot about it for several months now. It is a good thing I decided to stop postponing and really paced myself to sort our closet! 

Food Feast in HK: Frites Belgium on Tap

This post starts off my series on the various restaurants we dined in during our stay in HK. 

FRITES: Belgium on Tap is obviously an eatery that offers Belgian cuisine. Its main dishes are the Moules or Mussels. They are served in a bucket along with a piece of rye bread and fries. 

 

We ordered the house mussels which is cooked with tomato, onions, garlic, white cream and fresh chives. As well as the Marinere Mussels - it has white wine, celery, garlic and mixed herbs.

For Belgian Fries the potato cut is fatter than your average French fries. It is also crunchy on the outside yet quite tender inside. It always comes with a mayo dip which is yummy.

 

We also ordered the Pork Schnitzel - Fried golden brown parmesan crusted Pork Loin with Fries.

The Scallop and Crab Risotto

Pappardelle (Ribbon Shaped Pasta) with Shrimps and Mussels

For dessert - Belgian Waffles with cream and chocolate.

Dining in FRITES always bring back fondly pleasant memories for my family. 

My sister and I grew up eating Belgian fries on a daily basis during our elementary school lunches.

The ubiquitous post about the weather

The foremost reason we spend our Yuletide holidays in HK (aside from the fact that my sister now lives there) is the cold winter weather.  I thrive in cold climate. I can go around with my hair down and not tie it in a ponytail as is my SOP here in Pinas. I don't mind walking far distances as long as there are pavements to safely walk on and I don't sweat up a storm.  I can take public transport without perspiring buckets and not feel tired once I reach my destination.  Lastly, I can channel my inner fashionista vibe and roam around town looking fabulous, if I may say so myself.

So this current spell of 'cold' climate enveloping the Metro is a much welcome treat for me.  The temperatures dropped to a low of 17 degrees Celsius, early morning Monday.  It was quite pleasant. Although it isn't cold enough for me to don my winter clothing just yet, the mere fact I don't sweat is putting a big smile on my face.  It also makes me sleep in far later than I have to so I have been neglecting D as I haven't been preparing his breakfast.  But he is a big boy and can manage on his own, bless him!

Festive HK

I noticed there were fewer Yuletide decors in HK this year. But naturally there were still some establishments which went all out to be festive. Here are some pictures that captured the merriment of the season. 

The giant Swarovski Christmas tree at HK International airport.

This is located at terminal one of the airport.

The lobby at my sister's office building.

The Harbour City Mall in Kowloon had a Disneyland theme with Mickey and Minnie Mouse taking center stage.

The 1881 Heritage in TST is a popular destination to visit for its grand display of Christmas decors.

One of my fave malls is the Pacific Place located in Admiralty on Hong Kong island. A posh mall peppered with fine dining restos and branded boutiques. Its decors are always classy and elegant.

Lastly, the display at Hysan Place Lee Gardens had nothing to do with the Season yet I truly liked the giant strapless ballgown at its main lobby. I had to go to the second floor of the mall to snap the picture to capture its whole frame. So fabulous, isn't it? 

Back to reality

16 days of fun, loads of laughter as well as feasting on a smorgasbord of international cuisine - this would be an apt description of our Yuletide holidays.

Granted it was very last minute and I wasn't sure until 3 days before the trip whether it would push through or not ... we made every hour and every penny worth the stress and anxiety we experienced before the trip.

I notice that my parents were slower in their movements and got tired easily after just a couple of hours so naturally we had to adjust our itineraries to accommodate their 'weaknesses' for lack of a better word.

But nevertheless, we all had so much fun ... extremely enjoyed the cold climate ... ate too much (as usual) and simply bonded as a family.

We returned Sunday (Jan. 4, 2014) and Mom promptly fell sick with severe respiratory issues.  I'd blame the sudden shift in climate as well as her weak lungs.  So I had to put on my caregiver hat and take care of her. Of course, I'd do it without fail as I'd do ANYTHING for my parents. 

She feels better now so I'm now back in Q.C and it seems that I shouldn't relinquish my caregiver hat just yet as it is hubby's turn to get sick with colds and coughs.    Again, I'd do anything for him as well ... that goes without saying ... but I'd say it anyway.  

So photo editing, laundry sorting and longer blog entries will take a back seat for now as I need to nurse hubby back to good health.

Till then ... hope everyone is having a good and pleasant 2014 so far!  =)

The true essence

Well it seems that compared to my very first post on this blog ten long years ago, the only Christmas decor you'd find here in our lil apartment is the Manger.

This pop up Manger made of cardboard has apparently been with D's family for decades.

It is quite fitting as it seems these days with all the bright twinkling lights, the frenzy of last minute shopping and the  merrymaking during Christmas parties ... we often forget the real meaning of Christmas!

Plan B of our holiday plans is in full swing so I've been busy sorting all the last minute arrangements.

So let me take this opportunity to wish everyone Happy Holidays and loads of Yuletide cheers from D & D!!! 

A decade

On this date, 10 years ago this blog was born.

This was my very first entry.

December 08, 2003

Oh Christmas tree
Even though I have decorated the staircase with Yuletide garlands like 2 weeks ago - it didnt feel complete. So I finally got the little Christmas tree up yesterday. It was a fruitful weekend, since for once I didnt sit in front of the TV to watch gossip shows. Shows that make it their business to find out which actress is having an affair with a politician etc. Not really my business but for lack of entertainment, I sometimes amuse myself by watching them. Anyways, I cleaned the entire house with the help of my sister. It is amazing how two people can accumulate so much junk in such a short time. I tried my best to make the little tree perch itself straight and adorned it with blinking lights. But somehow despite my efforts, it still tilts like the leaning tower of Pisa. Hey as long as the lights twinkle and the vase that holds the tree doesn't topple down from the table, Im happy. At the end of the day when Im sitting in my living room with only the colorful lights of the tree and the green garland that snakes itself on the staircase sparkle with lights and decors - I feel peaceful and calm. 

I really don't know what else to say hehe except I am surprised it has endured 10 years.  It has been on a decline for the past 5 years now ... since I tied the knot ... it appears my life has been not blog worthy (for lack of a better word).

So do I see myself still blogging 10 years from now .... or even 5 years from now?  

Who knows?  

I already have a difficult time updating it every day so we will see how it goes!!!