had dinner at Opia at Irving street around Causeway Bay area. The decor was pretty hip and a nicely small setup place with the typical low lighting ambience. Even the stairs up to the restaurant was nicely furbished with a very 70s touch. I didnt have any pre expectations since again it was riding on Bee's recommendation.
Its apparently an australian chef setup and so everyone there speaks proper English. I dun think they hired any HK waiter for a good reason, which is the main client are expats and very "westernised" locals. I couldnt decide what i want and so i had the degustation menu in the end which was a mix of every thing of their "specialty".
The starters was oyster shooters soaked in jap sake was surprisingly yummy. Good. I like anything in a shooters. The sake was sweet and it doused out any tinge of raw taste from the oyster. There was suppose to be wasabi in it but i honestly couldnt tell. Though i like it, it wasnt as clean a taste as the oysterin champagne i had in sydney - The Est. restaurant. That oyster dish had me asking for 3rd helping but tonite, it was really nice but not enuff for me to ask for another. Maybe i didnt like the sweet sake that become sticky on my hands real quick.
I canx really rem what came next and what went after but i guess it was an okay meal for $HK600 per head. I wont say it was hellva impressive since i couldnt even really rem what i had as there were many dishes and varieties but it certainly wasnt lousy. I just rem the scallop dish wrapped in a pasta wasnt exactly my favourite but the roasted duck and pork knock was pretty good. The pork knock was very very soft in texture and if u dun mind being sinful once in a while, the fatty juicy bits gave it some extra flavour annd sweetness since it was coated with some terikayki sauce or some sort.
what i liked best was the passion fruit sorbet as it delightfully brightens and refreshes the after tase. The crunchy honey fig was slightly disppointing but still pass off as a decent dessert. Donald, the assistant manager waived off the drinks, claiming it was on the house and though polite he was, i couldnt really feel an affinity towards him. Just something abt him makes it difficult for me to warm up to him or rather i should say, lack of connectivity. So i left the place very full and sleepy but seemingly missing a personal touch
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Friday, November 25, 2005
First nite in HK
slept the whole day away once i reached HK. I guess my body is still trying to recover from all the virus i have been combating the past week.
Anycase, decided to head to Hyatt Hotel for dinner instead of Kowloon coz i was too lazy to take the ferry across. Before that we headed to Pacific Plaza to grab some stuff. The new season of clothes were amazing, my favorites. Boots, black and greys. Ha ha.
Went to check out the cd store and surprisingly i found Herbie Fully Loaded VCD there! I couldnt find it in sg in both HMV and gramaphone back home and there it was, staring back at me when i was browsing thru the latest release.
The best part was, it was so much CHEAPER! It was gg for HK$108 for DVD and HK$98 for VCD. Back Home, i saw it for S$42 for a DVD! Its ridiculous isnt it? But strangely, not everything is cheap here. I think HK people just have different taste.... The nitwit Deuce Bigalow show cost HK$298! can you believe it???? And the LA March Penguin cost HK$298 as well!! In HMV, i could get the penguin DVD for only $24+. Its plain weird....
Anycase, dinner was good. The fish was springy and i really meant as if i could bounce it off. Its so fresh that it was just plain sweet! But of coz, the damn fish alone cost us $100! I had the hot and sour lobster soup for starters and i wast disappointed. Though honestly, i couldnt decide if it was lobster or prawn. I couldnt tell. I'm not that great an eater yet to be ablt to pew off tons of descriptions:)
I guess the best was the mango pudding! I havent tasted anything that tasted like REAL mango pudding back home. It came in a really big bowl for starters and all the fanastic mango bits... YUMMY! I was totally stuffed and i almost had to roll home:)
The cab driver i had today was just as chatty. I think its just me... He started off telling me about how HK is full of money etc etc...and then he went on to tell me his very sad story. Apparently just before HK was handed back to China, his wife took his kids to canada to try to set up a new home there. Next thing he knew, the wife eloped with a caucasian and left him. He never ever saw his kids again and his own mother was soo sad everyday and cry every nite. Such tragedy. How could some woman be so selfish? Maybe there is another side of the story, but tonite, my heart goes out to the poor cab driver. I wish life doesnt have to be so complicated and if only everyone could be happy.
Perhaps its true... Happiness is always just a fleeting moment, but anger and sadness always remains.
Anycase, decided to head to Hyatt Hotel for dinner instead of Kowloon coz i was too lazy to take the ferry across. Before that we headed to Pacific Plaza to grab some stuff. The new season of clothes were amazing, my favorites. Boots, black and greys. Ha ha.
Went to check out the cd store and surprisingly i found Herbie Fully Loaded VCD there! I couldnt find it in sg in both HMV and gramaphone back home and there it was, staring back at me when i was browsing thru the latest release.
The best part was, it was so much CHEAPER! It was gg for HK$108 for DVD and HK$98 for VCD. Back Home, i saw it for S$42 for a DVD! Its ridiculous isnt it? But strangely, not everything is cheap here. I think HK people just have different taste.... The nitwit Deuce Bigalow show cost HK$298! can you believe it???? And the LA March Penguin cost HK$298 as well!! In HMV, i could get the penguin DVD for only $24+. Its plain weird....
Anycase, dinner was good. The fish was springy and i really meant as if i could bounce it off. Its so fresh that it was just plain sweet! But of coz, the damn fish alone cost us $100! I had the hot and sour lobster soup for starters and i wast disappointed. Though honestly, i couldnt decide if it was lobster or prawn. I couldnt tell. I'm not that great an eater yet to be ablt to pew off tons of descriptions:)
I guess the best was the mango pudding! I havent tasted anything that tasted like REAL mango pudding back home. It came in a really big bowl for starters and all the fanastic mango bits... YUMMY! I was totally stuffed and i almost had to roll home:)
The cab driver i had today was just as chatty. I think its just me... He started off telling me about how HK is full of money etc etc...and then he went on to tell me his very sad story. Apparently just before HK was handed back to China, his wife took his kids to canada to try to set up a new home there. Next thing he knew, the wife eloped with a caucasian and left him. He never ever saw his kids again and his own mother was soo sad everyday and cry every nite. Such tragedy. How could some woman be so selfish? Maybe there is another side of the story, but tonite, my heart goes out to the poor cab driver. I wish life doesnt have to be so complicated and if only everyone could be happy.
Perhaps its true... Happiness is always just a fleeting moment, but anger and sadness always remains.
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
City Space -Equinox
After dinner, headed to New Asia bar @ swissotel last nite but the place was packed and truly holy smoky. So manwin and I decided to head to the city space for a drink instead and a leisure chat.
Was quite a good choice since we got a really nice city view and there was little people to make a din. So i didnt have to shout over any music. Plus the heated cashew nuts were a bonus:)
I had a terrible drink. I order Equinox Blue and BIG mistake. I shld rem anything blue would never taste good. Yucks. Plus I am not a frequent drinker and so I get turn off by weird cocktails easily. However that being said, I liked the presentation, the slanted glass in which it came in. reminded me of the leaning tower of Pisa in Italy. Anycase, I didnt finish it and had Manwin finish the remaining half for me.
Was quite a good choice since we got a really nice city view and there was little people to make a din. So i didnt have to shout over any music. Plus the heated cashew nuts were a bonus:)
I had a terrible drink. I order Equinox Blue and BIG mistake. I shld rem anything blue would never taste good. Yucks. Plus I am not a frequent drinker and so I get turn off by weird cocktails easily. However that being said, I liked the presentation, the slanted glass in which it came in. reminded me of the leaning tower of Pisa in Italy. Anycase, I didnt finish it and had Manwin finish the remaining half for me.
Monday, November 21, 2005
Tsubasa Chronicles Sound track
I love the sound track! In fact this is the few anime after Evangelion that i think has the best theme songs and insert music!
If only they have the whole length instead of the TV series length.. canx get enuff!!!
If only they have the whole length instead of the TV series length.. canx get enuff!!!
Sunday, November 20, 2005
Asian Kitchen @Suntec
went strolling with jasmine on sunday after my pedicure at suntec. I canx believe the number of times i have been to this location for the past week!
I simply had to buy the choc chunk muffin ($1.30) from the baking boys at B1- suntec (near the escalator after you come down from the one opp giodarno) . They were really soft and good! I use to hate muffins. I guess i had been a guinea pig for the home-ed gals for too many sessions, so when it comes to confectionary as such, it was avoidance at all cost! Then i tried one muffin in UK once and i realise it wasnt all that bad. But its so hard to find good muffins locally in singapore!
I know there is a store at shunfu market that sells freshly baked muffins. The smell alone was suffice to make me drool! but the Q was always too long and i couldnt be bothered. I think its crazy to spend hour Q'ing for food, any food.
So i gave Baking Boyz a try and i was not disappointed. The crust was lighted toasted and slightly cruchy. The inner was warm and soft and i could taste the oozing choc moist in my mouth. But when i tried to get a second one with jas, the batch was sold out and i had to wait 10mins for teh new batch. I wanted to get some for breakfast for mon morn and so we decided to head to city link TCC to wait.
Then i got hungry. I wasnt very impressed by TCC's main menu and jas chided me for putting the poor waitress at a tight spot when i asked "is your main any good? how would u rate it" The poor waitress couldnt answer me at all and jas dragged me away. Jas's theory was that all waitress should sell their product but i beg to differ. Every store shld have their speciality for the waitress to recommend it heartily without guilt. However if there isnt, then perhaps the place should never sell food to begin with.
The problem with our local service industry esp food is that the waiters and waitress are not trained to know their food. They are unable to describe or even "share" their personal taste experience. I have been to place in australia where waitress is able to tell me candidly what they liked and what most customers would have liked to order. When they are willing to share such info, it gives a causual shopper/eater like me the courage to order. Even the waitress at Bakerz Inn (at Paragon) had once shared with me what she liked and so i tried and was happy with her recommendation. So if the waitress chooses to mutely stand there and waiting for the coin to flipped in their favor, then i wont patronise a store where their own staff are not properly trained or even know what the kicthen is churning out.
So i hoped over to Asia kitchen next to the crappy attitude Jap store at citylink. The menu look decent enuff and i decided to give the mushroom duck soup noodle a try. Before i handed my order over, I asked the waiter (i think floor manager since he was the only one in black) the same question, "do u think your food is anygood or if he had anything to recommed" He smiled and strongly recommend the minced prok noodle but if i like soup and dun mind beef, i could try the beef bisket. However, i didnt like beef and so he quickly pointed out the duck noodle. I smiled and gave him my order and told him "U passed":)
The noodle came out shortly and yes, much to my surprise, it smelled good. I took a sip of the soup and it was rightly fragranced and tasted rite. I dunno if there are any msg but if there was , i certainly didnt feel thirsty after the food and considering i didnt have much water after was a good sign. The duck pieces was meaty and visible and wasnt shred of stuff trying to pass off as meat. The mushroom was soft and the long stem vege was cooked just right. For a place i had expected average or even below average food, the outcome was surpringly good, except for the super diluted barley water which tasted like melted ice with lotsa solid barley within.
As i was paying, the very polite waitress asked me if i was satisfed with my meal. I told her it was good and i was happy that they gave proper chunky meat that i could identify as duck. She laughed. I took the card and decide that i have found another new fuss free eating place :)
I simply had to buy the choc chunk muffin ($1.30) from the baking boys at B1- suntec (near the escalator after you come down from the one opp giodarno) . They were really soft and good! I use to hate muffins. I guess i had been a guinea pig for the home-ed gals for too many sessions, so when it comes to confectionary as such, it was avoidance at all cost! Then i tried one muffin in UK once and i realise it wasnt all that bad. But its so hard to find good muffins locally in singapore!
I know there is a store at shunfu market that sells freshly baked muffins. The smell alone was suffice to make me drool! but the Q was always too long and i couldnt be bothered. I think its crazy to spend hour Q'ing for food, any food.
So i gave Baking Boyz a try and i was not disappointed. The crust was lighted toasted and slightly cruchy. The inner was warm and soft and i could taste the oozing choc moist in my mouth. But when i tried to get a second one with jas, the batch was sold out and i had to wait 10mins for teh new batch. I wanted to get some for breakfast for mon morn and so we decided to head to city link TCC to wait.
Then i got hungry. I wasnt very impressed by TCC's main menu and jas chided me for putting the poor waitress at a tight spot when i asked "is your main any good? how would u rate it" The poor waitress couldnt answer me at all and jas dragged me away. Jas's theory was that all waitress should sell their product but i beg to differ. Every store shld have their speciality for the waitress to recommend it heartily without guilt. However if there isnt, then perhaps the place should never sell food to begin with.
The problem with our local service industry esp food is that the waiters and waitress are not trained to know their food. They are unable to describe or even "share" their personal taste experience. I have been to place in australia where waitress is able to tell me candidly what they liked and what most customers would have liked to order. When they are willing to share such info, it gives a causual shopper/eater like me the courage to order. Even the waitress at Bakerz Inn (at Paragon) had once shared with me what she liked and so i tried and was happy with her recommendation. So if the waitress chooses to mutely stand there and waiting for the coin to flipped in their favor, then i wont patronise a store where their own staff are not properly trained or even know what the kicthen is churning out.
So i hoped over to Asia kitchen next to the crappy attitude Jap store at citylink. The menu look decent enuff and i decided to give the mushroom duck soup noodle a try. Before i handed my order over, I asked the waiter (i think floor manager since he was the only one in black) the same question, "do u think your food is anygood or if he had anything to recommed" He smiled and strongly recommend the minced prok noodle but if i like soup and dun mind beef, i could try the beef bisket. However, i didnt like beef and so he quickly pointed out the duck noodle. I smiled and gave him my order and told him "U passed":)
The noodle came out shortly and yes, much to my surprise, it smelled good. I took a sip of the soup and it was rightly fragranced and tasted rite. I dunno if there are any msg but if there was , i certainly didnt feel thirsty after the food and considering i didnt have much water after was a good sign. The duck pieces was meaty and visible and wasnt shred of stuff trying to pass off as meat. The mushroom was soft and the long stem vege was cooked just right. For a place i had expected average or even below average food, the outcome was surpringly good, except for the super diluted barley water which tasted like melted ice with lotsa solid barley within.
As i was paying, the very polite waitress asked me if i was satisfed with my meal. I told her it was good and i was happy that they gave proper chunky meat that i could identify as duck. She laughed. I took the card and decide that i have found another new fuss free eating place :)
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Nite at Balaclava
Happened to meet Manwin for dinner at suntec since his client was ard that area after my seminar. Had really crappy meal at hisatomo at raffles city. I dunno why the standard has gone from bad to almost inedible. So i suggest to head to TCC for dessert to wash off the horrid seafood aftertaste.
Eric called just when I was shopping and trying on some skirts. He was at Balaclava and asked if manwin wanted to join him. Manwin asked if i was keen and what the heck. Not like I have anything major to do. So I grab the skirt i was trying, and met him after our TCC choc cake.
When we got to Bala, oh my god, it was packed! And it was only wednesday!!!! The music was pretty good and the crowd wasnt some children trying to look cool. At least they are proper old people my age. haaa haaa.
Havent been to Bala and the place has changed so much!! I knew they took over Olio but i have never been inside the revamped Bala. So it was a plesant surprise at the changes. Only thing i wasnt comfy abt was the packs of guys who eye at every gal who walked past them. I could almost hear the silent numerical score tagged to me or any gal as a matter of fact.
We found eric on the other end of the bar and we started chatting. Halfway thru our conversation, Manwin nudged me and told me i had been eyed by the guy in white sitting opposite me. He said the guy had been staring at me since i arrived. I looked up and he was positively still staring. Ok, now this is creepy. While i am used to guys passing occasional look, having a guy opposite u and staring at me the whole time is unnerving. I wasnt trying to be snobbish and i certainly wasnt trying to snub him, but really, the whole thing just felt creepy. i felt like some prey to a praying mantis. So i choose to ignore his stares and talk away as much as possible and talk to Eric and Manwin instead. At the same time, hunting for a new spot to go to.
Luckily some caucasian came and stood between me and the white guy and shortly, the guy left.
Eric called just when I was shopping and trying on some skirts. He was at Balaclava and asked if manwin wanted to join him. Manwin asked if i was keen and what the heck. Not like I have anything major to do. So I grab the skirt i was trying, and met him after our TCC choc cake.
When we got to Bala, oh my god, it was packed! And it was only wednesday!!!! The music was pretty good and the crowd wasnt some children trying to look cool. At least they are proper old people my age. haaa haaa.
Havent been to Bala and the place has changed so much!! I knew they took over Olio but i have never been inside the revamped Bala. So it was a plesant surprise at the changes. Only thing i wasnt comfy abt was the packs of guys who eye at every gal who walked past them. I could almost hear the silent numerical score tagged to me or any gal as a matter of fact.
We found eric on the other end of the bar and we started chatting. Halfway thru our conversation, Manwin nudged me and told me i had been eyed by the guy in white sitting opposite me. He said the guy had been staring at me since i arrived. I looked up and he was positively still staring. Ok, now this is creepy. While i am used to guys passing occasional look, having a guy opposite u and staring at me the whole time is unnerving. I wasnt trying to be snobbish and i certainly wasnt trying to snub him, but really, the whole thing just felt creepy. i felt like some prey to a praying mantis. So i choose to ignore his stares and talk away as much as possible and talk to Eric and Manwin instead. At the same time, hunting for a new spot to go to.
Luckily some caucasian came and stood between me and the white guy and shortly, the guy left.
Hmm Balaclava, Not too bad a hang out, reminded me of WineBar at Zouk but that place has too much kids....
Thursday, November 10, 2005
A mobile "Tibits" Taxi...
I have always wondered, is it just me or generally all our cab drivers are really chatty?
This morn, no different from most morn, the cab driver will ask the usual "are u local". After i said yes, the morn chats will commence for the next 20mins. but what really strike as different is that this time, I was offered food! All sorts of tidbits and snacks.
Initially i was offered "Sour Plums". I politely declined as i was never into tidbits. Then he offered me some biscuits, followed by some more dates, mango slices, back to "sour plums" which he was trying to convince me that was sweet. I almost felt embarrassed about saying No to everything he offered. I felt obligated to tell him that its just a habit that i dun snack on tidbits but i appreciate his kind gesture. Not one to give up and as one would say "never say Die" attitude, he offered me a Halls Mint sweet. It was almost like he felt i wasnt comfy unless i am chewing. i was so amused.
I felt sooo bad that i had to say ok and take the one sweet early in the morn even before i had food in my tummy. It felt weird. Still he was so delighted that I finally accede to his offers that he started chatting away about how upset he was abt teh NKF saga, and how he had donated $2k thinking he was helping people only to find out abt the court case. He felt really cheated but like he said, we canx stop giving or the patient will suffer. Then we move on to other topics and more food was offered along my way. I felt like i was in a moving provision shop! haa haa
It occured to me then, does everyone else get such good treatment or have I just been extremely lucky? I guess I will never know, not that i have anything to complain abt:)
This morn, no different from most morn, the cab driver will ask the usual "are u local". After i said yes, the morn chats will commence for the next 20mins. but what really strike as different is that this time, I was offered food! All sorts of tidbits and snacks.
Initially i was offered "Sour Plums". I politely declined as i was never into tidbits. Then he offered me some biscuits, followed by some more dates, mango slices, back to "sour plums" which he was trying to convince me that was sweet. I almost felt embarrassed about saying No to everything he offered. I felt obligated to tell him that its just a habit that i dun snack on tidbits but i appreciate his kind gesture. Not one to give up and as one would say "never say Die" attitude, he offered me a Halls Mint sweet. It was almost like he felt i wasnt comfy unless i am chewing. i was so amused.
I felt sooo bad that i had to say ok and take the one sweet early in the morn even before i had food in my tummy. It felt weird. Still he was so delighted that I finally accede to his offers that he started chatting away about how upset he was abt teh NKF saga, and how he had donated $2k thinking he was helping people only to find out abt the court case. He felt really cheated but like he said, we canx stop giving or the patient will suffer. Then we move on to other topics and more food was offered along my way. I felt like i was in a moving provision shop! haa haa
It occured to me then, does everyone else get such good treatment or have I just been extremely lucky? I guess I will never know, not that i have anything to complain abt:)
Sunday, November 6, 2005
Just Like heaven
Havent step into a cinema for AGES and i mean AGES.
I'm not a great movie fan since there isnt alot of movies i wanna watch. Good scripts are hard to come by.
However, i decided that i wanted to watch the show "just Like Heaven" today. So i got the gals out and we head to P.S to catch it. My cursed Jeans made me run again. I took the wrong shuttle and i had to run for my life AGAIN! damn!
Anycase, the movie was not soppy or overly dramatic. I like it coz it was funnie and light hearted. It isnt like Ghost whose ultimate aim was just to squeeze a tear out of your duct. This is just pure romantic comedy.
I had good laughs mostly thru out the movie. Esp the part that went something like: "Alcohol are good! Alcohol are best social-lubricant. They made a man crave and a woman loose." I laughed so hard at it for some weird reasons.
Anycase, i wont say more since i dun wanna be a spoiler for anyone. But its a good to catch movie for anyone looking for a good laugh.
I'm not a great movie fan since there isnt alot of movies i wanna watch. Good scripts are hard to come by.
However, i decided that i wanted to watch the show "just Like Heaven" today. So i got the gals out and we head to P.S to catch it. My cursed Jeans made me run again. I took the wrong shuttle and i had to run for my life AGAIN! damn!
Anycase, the movie was not soppy or overly dramatic. I like it coz it was funnie and light hearted. It isnt like Ghost whose ultimate aim was just to squeeze a tear out of your duct. This is just pure romantic comedy.
I had good laughs mostly thru out the movie. Esp the part that went something like: "Alcohol are good! Alcohol are best social-lubricant. They made a man crave and a woman loose." I laughed so hard at it for some weird reasons.
Anycase, i wont say more since i dun wanna be a spoiler for anyone. But its a good to catch movie for anyone looking for a good laugh.
Saturday, November 5, 2005
"Socialite" T
Went shopping with jas yesterday and saw this T-shirt that had me laughing my pants off.
"Socialite" : Botox Junkie, Shrivelled Auntie.
A pix of a shrivelled prune at the the bottom.
the top just cracked me up!! ha a
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