Christmas in Macau (Dec. 24 - 26, 2013)

Due to the whole brouhaha over the visa issue, our plan B was to spend Christmas in Macau for 3D/2N. 
So I was really anxious if we could still get flight tickets at the very last moment.  Considering that the frequency of flights from Manila to Macau was rather limited. They only fly there twice a week.   But as luck was on our side, visa wasn't an issue so it was all systems go. 

Fortunately, my sister was able to purchase some ferry tickets even though it was very last minute.  I'd tell you the huge amount of stress I was under before our trip pushed through was insurmountable. I only felt relaxed when I was finally seated in my window seat as the Cebu Pacific plane took off from the NAIA Terminal 3. 

Anyway, here's our Macau adventure in picture form.

We took the 10 am ferry from HK and by 11am we were in Macau.

Our suite at THE VENETIAN MACAO wasn't ready yet so we decided to have an early lunch.

The OLD NEPTUNE RESTAURANT, located within the massive hotel serves some really odd delicacies so we merely ordered some noodle soups, congee (porridge) and crab cakes just to fill our grumbling stomachs.

 

The view from our 19th floor suite is of the adjacent hotel casino, THE GALAXY MACAU

 

So we took the free shuttle bus service and went to explore the GALAXY Macau.

By this point, we were exhausted so Mom, my sister and I decided to go try our luck in the casino slot machines just so we could sit down and rest a bit.  As you know picture taking isn't allowed inside casinos. 

Ergo, the following pictures are c/o the hubby who went through two fully charged batteries 

of our digital camera as he clicked away to his heart's content.  

 

By night fall, it was time to head back to the Venetian Macao for a sound sleep on a nice wide bed.

End of Part 1

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.