Monthly Archive for February, 2008

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Hong Kong Food – Mi-Ne Sushi

Well its not exactly local Hong Kong food but I felt I needed to post an article about it because I have taken a little more food photos compared to the other places we visited. Located at G/F 12 Pak Sha Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, Mi-Ne Sushi is your everyday Japanese restaurant serving..well..sushi (what else?) on a conveyor belt.

What sets themselves apart from the ones we dined in Singapore is their menu and variety of food. These guys even have beef sushi with a unique cooking method of ‘flaming the beef on grill’. Mi-Ne Sushi also have the absence of that el cheapo and bad service experience, something I always encounter right at home. Sure..go ahead and label me ‘atas’ but hey..I am just being honest here. As for the food, I guess we can let the photos speak for themselves… ;)

A few more photos in my Flickr album.

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Guess how I spent my Valentine’s Day evening?


LAUNDRY!!

I know this is kinda sad but Lyn (my boo) is attending classes tonight…meaning no date for me. Call me unromantic but my laundry has accumulated to two loads and I need to get to them quick. I guess you can see I don’t have much of a choice eh? ;)

Happy Valentine’s Day all!!

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Naughty Valentine’s Day cake

Lyn (my boo) sent a cake by Bakerzin to my office this afternoon. Yeah its a Valentine’s Day thing. What I initially thought was a harmless chocolate cake turned out to be somewhat naughty, with two chocolate designs of a couple in..ahem..suggestive positions.

Of course Lyn, in her defense said she didn’t pay attention to the two chocolates assuming that they were some kind of design. Adding to that, she bought the cake online and the photos were too small. Sure babe..whatever you say…I believe you ;) .

Honestly, as naughty as the cake seem to be, I can’t tell you how much I love it :P !! Thanks babe!!


The cake


Left: Position no. 1 | Right: Position no. 2

Oh and erm, Happy Valentine’s Day all!!

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Hong Kong food – Fa Yuen Street

Lyn (my boo) and I were shopping for hours along Tung Choi Street (aka Ladies Street), Sai Yeung Choi Street (famous for its electonics goods) and Fa Yuen Street (well known for its variety of sporting goods), when we felt our stomachs rumbling. We had the initial plan of heading to a place called Curry A La King for some erm…curry (what else?) but passed by this nice little shop located at Fa Yuen Street.

Its one of those places where the stalls are just by the road with a small eating area filling perhaps only 3 big and 5 small tables. We were succumbed by aroma of the wonderful roast meat only to agree that the curry can wait. We have never eaten pigeon before and what better place to experience it than right smack in some little shop in Hong Kong patronised by the locals. After some translation from Cantonese to English, we decided on the dishes below.


Left: Roast meat and duck | Right: Pigeon

Our verdict? Roast meat has never taste so juicy, sinful but yet heavenly. I am missing them already…drool~

More photos in my Flickr album.

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CNY @ Greenwood

Popped over to Ian and Eva’s house yesterday to ‘celebrate’ our 2nd visit for the Chinese New Year. Yeah we all love chilling at their house. And to make our visit even sweeter are these babies…


Left: My lovely lovely steak | Right: Two racks of lamb

Uh huh…Ian fired up the ‘ol BBQ and we all helped ourselves. Have I ever told you how much I love eating beef? ;)

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Hong Kong food – Australia Dairy Company

The Australia Dairy Company is a small set up tucked away at Parkes Street. Serving interesting dishes like macaroni/spaghetti mixed with ham, custard desserts and other ‘goodies’, the cafe seemed to be a favourite weekend cafe hangout for Hong Kong locals. We needed to wait for a good 20 mins before getting into the restaurant…yeah the queue was pretty long.

The waiters there seemed to be in a rush all the time as they try to turn the tables as quickly as possible in such a small area. Unfortunately, they must have forgotten that manners is essential as service staff as they rudely push you away while dishing out plates of food and yelling at the top of their voices. Lyn (my boo) who could speak Cantonese, although not that fluent, had some problems trying to communicate with the staff only to be rudely told off to get our orders right before speaking to them.

To tell you the truth, I was pretty pissed at them and had the intention to visit their cafe at night to burn it down…but of course I didn’t ;) . But to be fair to them, Lyn did warn me about the service after reading some reviews online…guess I didn’t take heed of it. I was the stubborn one :P . As for the food, I must say that the food tastes as appetizing as they look..pretty blend…


Left and right: This for lunch…

But I guess when it comes to food, taste is a matter of opinion and I in my opinion…well…I might need to get used to it. I mean a hoard of people queuing outside the cafe can’t be wrong right? However, I must admit that their almond and egg custards were pretty good…perhaps the only dish there we had that has taste.

Our verdict? Not bad and maybe a good place to try out at least once when you are in Hong Kong. Having been through one experience, I believe we will be ready the next time we head to that cafe again. Some things you might want to prepare before heading down there:

  • The queue is long but painless (take the opportunity to take some photos)
  • Learn how to speak Cantonese (No speak = no service)
  • Figure out what you want before ordering, they won’t explain what’s in the dish
  • Be prepared to be yelled at and pushed around at some point, but that is the way things work out there (think interesting, not irritating)
  • You may need to share your table with other customers because of the small space (but I’m sure we are all comfortable with that)

Oh by the way, one thing that you must note when visiting Hong Kong. The half glass of tea that they serve you is for washing utensils, not for drinking. Lyn and I were quietly laughed at numerous times for drinking. Kinda explains why the tea is luke warm. But having said that, we did noticed a few locals drinking the tea. So let’s say we haven’t really figured out that part yet. But the safe bet is to use it for washing and not drinking.


The darn tea that got us confused

More photos in my Flickr album.

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CNY @ the Brew

I guess its fair to say that Chinese New Year will never be the same without a visit to the Brewerkz. Although the maggots (including me) have only started this tradition three years ago, its our tradition and honestly, we’d like to keep it that way. So we headed down to our usual haunt yesterday (CNY) located at the Indoor Stadium after our visits and began our session at 4pm or so.

KP, Corrinne and KC were the first to arrive followed by Lyn (my boo) and I. Shortly, Kun, Cynthia and Lennie popped over and our party continues. The usual parts of our session were the jugs of Dark Side and pizzas. But as special occasions go, it called four the Tower of power and Cynthia brought some Krispy Kreme over, compliments from her friend in Australia.


Left: KP with the Tower of Power. He warned me not to publish the photo..but I just can’t help it…sorry maggie!! | Right: Our Krispy Kreme


I wonder if my sister Fel knows how to make donuts…

What can I say? I love the Chinese New Year!! :)

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When drinking beer is healthy

I remembered a quote KP pulled out some time back from Benjamin Franklin when he said “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy”. Sure he may not have been a preacher, a priest or even the president of the United States, but he invented the bifocal glass and other good stuffs dammit!! And to top it off, he has never patented his inventions which includes the glass harmonica (and we all know we need them glass harmonicas in our daily lives :P ). This could possibly mean that he is one of the first few people out there that believes in open source…but that is another story. What a great man he is eh?

So anyhoo…coming back to the subject proper…yeah we all do love drinking beer (or at least some of us). I will always cherish the moments the maggots and I had from Ice Cold Beer, OAR, Brewerkz, New Harbour and oh so many other places. But just when you think that beer just can’t get any better, then comes along some inventor who pulls this out and BAM!!…suddenly you feel that life is just worth living for a lot more reasons. Check this article below:

Vitamin beer on display at inventors’ convention - taken from CTV.ca

BANGKOK — A beer that takes some of the guilt out of drinking, a system to stop would-be car bombers and, yes, even a better mousetrap, are on display as inventors from around the globe gather to revel in thinking outside the box.

It may just be a jam spreader from Taiwan or a “cat averter garbage bag” thought up by an Iranian, but many of the inventors from 27 countries are as enthusiastic about their creations as kids at their first birthday party.

“Every time you give inventors an opportunity to have their ideas seen, that’s what starts their blood flowing,” said Deb Hess, executive director of the Minnesota Inventors Congress.

More than 150 of their brainchildren are being unveiled at a conference of the International Federation of Inventors’ Association, a Hungary-based group celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.

While many of the inventions are highly technical efforts — possibly breakthroughs — in the fields of medicine, agriculture and environment, crowds Saturday at a cavernous convention center in Bangkok were rather drawn to displays such as the fail-safe hammock and Vitamin Beer.

“If you are looking for an excuse to take a swig, this is it,” said Billy L. Lalang, who concocted a beer mixed with Vitamin B, to replace this essential vitamin lost when excessive amounts of alcohol are consumed.

Although yet to be marketed, this “prophylactic for drinkers” as the Philippine inventor calls it, has won a gold medal at the European Union-sponsored Genius-Europe competition.

Lalang, president of the Manila Innovation Development Society, says he has 42 inventions to his name, including a one-a-day lollipop, packed with vitamins and other essentials for undernourished children.

Husein Hujic, secretary-general of the Inventors’ Association of Bosnia-Herzegovina, extolled the virtues of a hammock so adaptable to the body’s shape that “there is no risk to fall down off the hammock, even if the user is asleep and unconsciously moving.”

Hujic, whose inventions include a patented calendar running from Jan. 1 of the Christian era to 4619, spoke so convincingly of the swinging bed — “It takes 600 kilograms (1,320 pounds), you can put a whole classroom of children into it,” he enthused — that someone asked about placing an order.

“Unfortunately, you must come to Bosnia to get one,” he said.

From Niger came a pest trap with “automatic rearmament,” while the Iranian booth displayed a garbage bag infused with unnamed vegetal and chemical ingredients that are not harmful to humans or the environment but ward off cats, thus reducing urban litter.

Among the American inventions was an “invisible gym” — an armchair that converts in 30 seconds into an exercise machine for the arms, upper body, legs and thighs and comes in his and hers configurations.

Next to photographs of buildings devastated by terrorist bombs, Taiwan’s Chih-Hong Huang pointed to diagrams explaining his “anti-terror defending facility against car-crash attack” — a pressure sensor that instantly throws up a steel barrier when a vehicle of a certain weight rolls over it.

Huang, a professor at the National Taipei University of Technology, said the system was under patent review in Taiwan and the United States.

The idea for Huang’s other featured invention was sparked by the frigid winters he spent in Germany and his mother’s cold feet — a shoe that heats up as the wearer treads up and down on a small electric power generator embedded in the sole.

The three-day conference, held under the motto of “without inventor no invention — without innovation no development,” also features discussions on improving the international system of patents and global sustainability.

Hess, who will speak on an aviation biofuel made from oilseed crops developed by the University of North Dakota, described inventors as highly original characters, not particularly well organized and not without ego.

“They typically have an open mind,” she said. “Until it comes to their own ideas.”

Yeap, I know…its one of those moments when you sit back, think about it and agree with all your heart that yeah…God truly loves us… ;)

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Happy belated Birthday Kun!!

Here’s another reason to indulge on those lovely malty goodness – celebrating Kun’s birthday a week after KP’s at Brewerkz on Saturday. Happy birthday maggot!!

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Slingers slash Dragons

I don’t normally photography as many cheerleaders as compared to the basketball game itself. So I guess you can see why I was rather (pleasantly) surprised to discover that I took quite a number of them during last week’s Singapore Slingers game as they gunned down the South Dragons 108-93. Perhaps reason being that I arrived earlier for the game this time round and had the pleasure of catching the Slinger Girls practicing before the game.


Left: Slinger Girls practicing | Right: Slinger Girls welcoming the Singapore Slingers

Once again, thanks to Nic for scoring us some great corporate box seats. This time round, Len brought his friend Vickie and we invited our fellow basketball buddy Kelvin to check out professional basketball at its finest…well…kinda. I am proud to announce that the Singapore Slingers played much better in this game and capitalised on their hot hands by banging in a number of shots, especially during the fourth quarter Their efforts were rewarded with some crucial points leading to the win.


Left: Rod Grizzard skies for a rebound | Right: Fantastic pass to Ben Knight for an easy two

Last week’s triumph means the Slingers can keep their number two position (from the bottom), forcing the South Dragons to remain at the bottom of the ladder. I am not sure who will be awarded the wooden spoon in NBL’s case but as long as it is not a good award, we seriously don’t want it. Kudos to the Slingers for keeping their position.


Left: Mike Helms firing a contested shot | Right: Blagoj Janev hooks towards the rim

On the other side, Len, Kelvin and I were surprised to see #11 Luke Martin representing the South Dragons this season. Always deadly point guard (to me anyways), Luke Martin, who stands at 1.82m visited Singapore on numerous occassions (before the formation of the Singapore Slingers) playing for the Sydney Kings. It guess it is fair to say he is a testimony that being short is not really a big factor especially when one is armed with an arsenal of killer baby hooks, defence splitting lay-ups and tough Ds. However Slingers’ Shane McDonald and Mike Helms did not back down when faced with Martin. I think Helms did try to school Martin on a number of occasions too.


Left: Luke Martin, the point guard | Right: Tough D from Martin

As for the Slinger’s new management, I learnt from the Geekonomics that Dato Tony Fernandes (the main man behind Air Asia) recently became their chairman. This would perhaps mean that he will inject some flamboyance into the Slingers’ marketing as he have done so for Air Asia, which to be honest, I am so looking forward to that. Dato Tony Fernandes was also at the game last week and I had the pleasure of meeting up with him with a photo opportunity. One of my many cam whore moments.


Dato Tony Fernandes and me (with my empty beer cup)

Now that we got most of the official stuff out of the way, I met up with an old pal Sara during the match and I must admit, it has been a long time. I am glad that she is still as crappy as ever, a character from her I missed dearly. And as usual, the game was filled with a tonne of other bloggers all cheering the Slingers on, from Vandalin, Simply Jean, Nadnut to Sheylara (and Goonfather) and a whole lot more. Sorry ah, too lazy to put all the names down…think there was a record blogger attendance..don’t mean I don’t love you guys though :P .


Left: Me and Sara | Right: Some drunks…

Oh one more thing, this is the last chance you have to win that million dollars from the Slingers game. How? Check out my entry here, sign up and start praying. Alrightee, I am really running out of steam to write, you can view more photos of the game in my Flickr album here.

GOOOOOOO SLINGERS!!

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