Another aggravating round with silly people

Winter in sydney now isnt really that cold. It's relatively mild compared to the last I rem when I was staying there.

Flew in on friday and had the new Cathay Biz class configuration seat. I definitely like the extra spare table spare by the side. Pretty handy for mac/ laptop users who needed that extra space. The seats are also wider compared to the previous configuration. Is this a sign that commuters are getting more horizontally challenged? Funny how that trend hasnt caught on to the economy seats width design...

Finally got dad's birthday party out of the way. As usual, the thing I hate about heading back to Oz isnt just the "inconvenient" opening hours of the place, but also some of the people I loathed to see but situation wont permit me to avoid them. It's better now since I have openly declared my dislike, I dun have to put up with the superficial fake cheek kissy thing with people I absolutely detest.

The thing about her is that she is stupid. Even when we visited the younger brother and his newborn, he complained to us about how "incredibly out there" their sister is. She wanted everyone to do things her way for her kids. People just had a 2month old baby and she wanted the parents to go play laser tagging with her and her son so that her son can have fun. But HARLOW STUPID, people are busy with new born. This world doesnt just revolve around you and your stupid family. So of coz her two brothers were shaking their head saying things about their sister only brothers are allowed to. For me, I just plugged my earpiece and ignored the rest of the conversation that involved her and more of her stupidity.

Even for dad's party, as usual, they dont pay up. As usual my husband had to front the A$3.5k bill when the rest obviously knew they had to pay but conveniently "forgotten" to pay the cash. That aside, the fat elephant who was supposed to be in charge of the 3 table seating turned up late. What's the point of spending stupid time and money on making place cards for seating when YOU ARE TURNING up LATER than the guest is beyond me. I almost felt like asking her "ARE YOU REALLY THAT DUMB?" Has all the fats from your belly gone up and wrapped themselves round your unused brain? Oh wait, do u even have one?

Plus the place cards were really unnecessary because they were all family frends and they all knew each other. They can sit anywhere they want and who they want to sit with. Christ, it took alot for me not to bang my head against the wall in exasperation. It's always very PAINFUL for me when I see Stupid people at work, making themselves look stupid with absolutely no help. My brain cannot digest incompetent people. It kills me. So I hate to plug my headset into my ear again and play my iphone game or slot money into the red packet as my mother in law tells me to. Otherwise, I cannot bear to look around me and these stupid people really drives me mad. How can they come from the same parents? My only conclusion is that this is what small backward oz town does to you. It defines you. It stagnate you. It lowers both your EQ and IQ simultaneously. I am so glad I am born in the city.

Anycase, I have no idea why she thinks everyone eats the same large amount as her. We were already full by halfway down the course. Yet she still had this HUGE cake waiting. I dun mind the cake, but I do wish she had more sense to book a smaller course and save us some money and not waste all the food! Then again, all she really cared about was to stuff her fat face with the lobster and abalone dish.

Then the other other stupid thing she did? We were suppose to have family pictures taken. Of course this fat woman didnt think to arrange anyone take picture. So I volunteer myself and my camera for my in laws to have a group photo taken with the guests are each table. When it comes to our turn, her fucking husband had disappeared. Apparently he had gone back to the car to sleep.

They BOTH knew we were going to take a family shot together. Yet they didnt think to tell people where his car was, or bring his mobile with him so that we can call him up. No, so the fat elephant expect my husband to miss part of the party to go to the carpark to look for her fucking husband. Is that brilliant or what?!! I mean this is the sort of self centered stupid people I am talking about here.

Of course when it was photo time and my mother in law was clucking away for everyone and ASKED my husband to get his sister's husband, my husband snapped and retorted he is not going running around to look for the other chap. I asked my husband to try to call him and the other sister's husband commented"Oh yes that would be a good idea." I was like thinking to myself "What? U mean none of you have the brains to think of that on your own? what kind of stupid gwei lo families am i related to?"

So in the end, we took the photos without the fellow snoozing in the car.

If that episode wasnt enough, we had lunch with mum and dad today and the fat elephant sister just turned up at our service apartment uninformed. Mum had given her the keys and so she made herself comfortable. FUCK. I HATE PEOPLE COMING TO MY PERSONAL SPACE UNINVITED. I dont fucking care if your mum is there, we are paying for it and not you. My husband was shocked and asked mum what the hell was fat face doing at the hotel. Mum said she was there to visit mum and dad. My husband then asked "But WHY is she there when she knew you are out with us here for lunch?!!!"
Mum kept quiet.

Then apparently, she got wind that we are having dinner with the brother and his partner with mum and dad, and so she just showed up and try to leech herself for a free dinner. My husband was initially pissed because he didnt want to PAY for them AGAIN. However, do we have a choice since mum was there and I think she wanted the family dinner. Sometimes I dont get mum. She is just being plain mum and honestly, I am glad she is NOT my mum. My mum is WAY cooler and more observant of situation and doesnt impose herself on other people. Even I wont impose on my brother or his family uninvited like that even if I dont see them once in a way. I mean, every family have their privacy and unless someone really invites you, you dont fucking get your face up to other's and expect to be welcomed. You dont take liberties with your silblings or take advantage of their kind nature. I can only say she is shameless.

So she is included in tonite;s dinner and my solution? I reject having dinner with her and so I had deliberately booked dinner at the SAME restaurant, with my galfren and arranged to be SEATED across  from them. It's my way of telling you "FUCK YOU. I rather NOT EAT with YOU fat face."

Luckily my husband is very understanding and his own sister gets on his nerves and so he is rather accommodating because he knows it is taking me alot not to snap at the bitch of his sister. I try not to push my luck but I told him it will be a very uncomfortable dinner if she is there and he understands since I am giving him the option out of a very awkward meal. Plus he knows my galfren and the fact we are in the same place also works well since he can come over and say hi anytime.

I honestly am past beyond caring what the bitch and family thinks. They will NEVER be MY family, at least not the stupid ones. There are some friends I consider more family than these people I am "binded" to by a piece of fucking wedding cert. It is almost distasteful to think I have to see them for several more years till both my in-laws pass away. *Shudders* U can say I cherry pick but at least the brother and his partner have more common sense and know the social niceties. They play nice, I play nice.

Of course my mother in law also rubbed me off the wrong way this trip with her stupid remarks about "Oh babies are so cute.. blah blah blah." and the fat elephant's partner asking when we are going to have any. With my mother in law, I just blatantly take out my iphone and headset and plug it into my ear. End of conversation. I dont want to fight with you but I hope you get the hint that you are being invasive and nosy and I DONT LIKE IT.

To other people, sometimes I really want to ask them "Are you really STUPID?" I mean if you see little kids, you see little kids. IF you dont, what is the fucking POINT of asking such a point blank question? Does it gives you thrill? What kind of answer do you expect? Imagine if someone else had miscarriage or are infertile (not us *touch wood*), how do you expect other people to respond to you with such insensitive questions? Does it please you to know other people's tragic tales or you feel that You must IMPOSE your fucking family views on other people? So i really dont get it.

I have NEVER felt obliged to ask any of my frens whether they are going to have kids. If they bring up the topic of wanting more, I say good and go ahead have more if your means allow it. If you are asking for opinion and constructive discussion, I will and am happy to discus with you the merits and cons of having kids. Then I may explain the choices of my life which is fine. But I dont enjoy people I dislike coming up to me asking me nosy personal questions like these.

Perhaps next time I should fake this really sob story of tragic take to make these nosey people Feeel bad for opening a can of worms and cry publicly to HUMILIATE and EMBARRASS them for a change and that might put a permanent stop to all these socially unacceptable questioning of personal life.

So there, now that I have got this off my chest which has been brewing since saturday, I positively feel much better. It's terribly to have all these frustrations built up in my chest. I really have to learn from my sister in law, her "zen" aspect to life in dealing with obnoxious people in her life if she has any. I need to cultivate her technique of "see no evil, hear no evil" skills and block everything out that nothing seem to faze her. She is positively a cooler chick than I am I think. I am too outspoken for my own good, esp times like these.

What a "flattering" day...

Gone abit nutty this summer sale. Think I had broken the bank within 2 days. The funniest thing was my shopping pattern must be rather pathetic usually because the credit card bank called my mobile immediately after my 4th shop. They wanted to check if it was really me racking up the bill within an hour.

The shopping part was not the funny bit. The hilarious bit was me shopping and being "hit on" by the sales guy. This is like what? The third time it has happened in HK. Happened on average of once a year here in HK.

To be honest, it's kinda surreal and almost unthinkable. Guess I have to thank my parents for good "young looking" genes I suppose...lol!! And in case u are thinking I am mistaking the friendly sales service today, then I dont suppose every sales guy will insist on helping u carry the shopping bag, walk you to the main door, walk u to outside the shop and ask you for your mobile huh...at that point, I burst out laughing. It was super flattering considering that he was quite a good looking chap and no, I am not saying this for my own benefit. Frankly, if I were 10years younger and I was single, I would defintely date him! But for now, Hope I didnt hurt his feelings. Haha!

The previous time, the other sales guy passed me his mobile on his name card to me and asked me to call him instead. Since then, I didnt even dare to buy my shoes from that store anymore!!!

Guess I better stop having a smiley face when I am shopping or else sooner or later, I will end up with no more places to shop!!!!

Beauty Review: No regrets about Armani Delicate Cleansing Balm and eye colors!

If you use makeup and dont read this, it's seriously your loss!

I dont normally crow about makeup products as often I dont find them too much different from one brand to another. However I got really interested in Giorgo Armani's makeup after I bought some of their products in a moment of impluse.

The stuff I am so impressed with is their eye shadow and their Crema Nera Mineral Cleansing Balm/ Delicate Cleansing Balm.

Starting with Armani's Eyes to Kill Intense series, I have bought their 01Blast of Blue and 10Airy Jade.

I have used Mac, Shu Umera, Anna Sui, Bobbi Brown, Lancome's eye shadow and NOTHING, I mean NO OTHER brand has made such an impression on me as Armani's eye clour has. Amongst the lot, Shu Umera's sucks big time. I have no idea why this brand is still surviving sooo long with its less than average products. For many brands, after application, the color often starts to fade once my face starts oiling and the color virtually disappear by the 2 hour mark if I am lucky. Mac and Bobbi brown fared better depending on which colour I choose but they definitely do not last either.

Yet Armani's eye colour lasted me a solid 10 hours without a need to reapply!! The colour was still relatively fresh looking (intense)! I was honestly stunned! Normally when my face started to oil under the sweltering HK summer heat, my eye colors would disappear in a flash but NOT with Armani's eye clour. Instead, what happens is that the eye-color becomes slightly mellowed (not faded) and less shimmery intense but at a suitable distance, you can still see the color standing out. Personally I liked the mellowed look better because it has a more natural blend in look!

I tend not to look in the mirror when I am out but because I was shopping yesterday, alot of the boutiques had mirrors and I was pleasantly surprised that by the end of he day, my blue eye shadow can still be seen. My eye liner didnt smudge either! Talk about impressed. 10 hours to me is like forever when it comes to holding power of eye colours for an active oil production factory like mine! I am so tempted to get the champagne shade next time I dropped by.

The Armani staff had recommended the Delicate Cleansing Balm to me. He told me he personally felt it worked better than other Armani milk base cleanser esp since he knew I use eye liner. It was another leap of faith paid off. If you or if you have a wife or galfren who uses makeup, you should seriously consider getting this for her!

Before this, I had been using MAC cleansing oil. While I like the MAC cleansing power, I really HATE the oil nature and the way it annoys my eyes when I tried to get rid of eye liner. Not to mention, it often leave my skin leaving taut after washing it off.

Armani Balm cleanser however was amazing. It applies on like cream but gradually changes to oil based as you massage it onto your face after a min. Then wash off with water. I deliberately tried a few times without using facial cream after and my skin remains hydrated and doesnt get super oily after either. The makeup removing power was equally good if not better than some other brands I have tried. The best part is that it is cream application upon initial application so it doesnt get into my eyes and it feels really gentle to the skin.

The steeper than the rest price may be a major deterrent but my point is this, why buy so many crappy lousy products for your face when you really only need ONE good remover? U wont wear a pair of ill fitting shoes, so why would you ill treat your face by the same logic? I dun mind shelving out good dough if it works well and gentle on my skin!

I have tried Menard cleansing cream, Mac cleansing oil, Shu Umera Cleansing oil, Fancl Mild Cleansing oil prior to Armani. I really HATED the Shu Umera's cleansing oil whose prowess doesnt even compare to other brands and worse was the super oily greasy feeling of their product. Fancl mild cleansing oil was less oily and works ok but my skin esp the eye area often was left feeling super dry. Menard cleansing cream was gentle but I dont think it removes the makeup very well. It probably was better at removing just sunscreeen.

Mac cleansing oil was my fav, before I had discovered Armani's delicate cleansing balm (suited for sensitive skin). So now that I am a convert, think this MAC will be my last bottle of cleansing oil after I finished the existing one. Until I discover an even better product, I am not moving away from Armani's.

However, like every single makeup remover in the market, I would still insist on using Norvatis Lid care to clean under my eye lids after makeup remover. None, and I seriously mean NONE of the makeup remover will ever be able to remove those colours that seep under the under lid if you use eye liner or mascara that requires to get colours close to the lids. I will always find that after makeup remover, lidcare will still be removing traces of remains under my lid. After using Armani cleansing balm, the traces are lesser but nonetheless still there. So if you do not want eye infection over time, you seriously need to go get some lid care solution to clean your eyes thoroughly. However if you only use eye shadow, then it is not such an imperative step.

Beauty Review: Neo Strata Cleanser PH4

It took me a while to realise but after using Neo Strata facial cleanser, I am sold on the effectiveness of this cleanser. It has been 8 months since I started on this. If you have sensitive skin (prone to combination/ oily skin depending on the weather) like me, U really ought to try this. It works way better than Demalogica Special Gel Cleanser and less harsh than many cleansers out in the retail market.

(I have tried ALOT of cleanser and this works best for me by far)

After I had finished with my Menard cleanser, realised I needed something milder for dry fall/winter. For some reason, my face doesnt like alot of the SPF content they put inside cosmetic products which gives me red blotches or dry patches around my nose and mouth area. Applying La Mer helps to reduce the impact but I am too lazy to rem to do so everyday for winter because it can be a little rich if used everyday.

One gal recommended me to use Neo Strata's PHA4 facial cleanser, so I tried it with leap of faith and I was rewarded. It took me a few moments to get get use to the non-foamy lathering formula. If you have used cetaphile before, its kind of the same texture. I suppose without the foam, it doesnt strip the oil off your face either which is a super good thing if your face is already dry and sensitive like mine.

It took me over half a year to realise an improvement. My blackheads has significantly lessen on my nose, which I am complementing it with Fancl's black head remover now. I dont really need the Fancl blackhead remover unless I had used cosmetics eg: foundation etc. which I notice will leave some blackhead area the nose bridge area.

I am sprouting less zits, and also I have decided to use it for summer and it remains equally good in keeping my face clean and happy. It's kind of expensive but what the hell, if its good stick to it.

So now my happy summer cleansing schedule (that works for my combination sensitive skin) is

1. Neo Strata Cleanser PH4
2. Fancl Black Head remover (once/twice a week)
3. SkinCeuticals Hydrating B5 Serum (definite keeps you skin supple!)
4. Fancl DX Lotion Light + Milky Lotion (bought it on a whim and working alrite so far)
5. Demalogical Multivatamin Power Recovery Masque (Never leave home without it product! At least once a week or more often after makeup removal)

Woooow! Show down between ABC vs China Man.

After lunch, was walking out from Times Square when I got to witness a super loud verbal fighting scene between an ABC (American Born Chinese) tourist vs a typical old China Fart-head with wife.

The ABC aged about 40yr while the China Fart-head looked about late 50s. They were fighting in English, or rather it was a typical one way street argument.

The whole thing caught my attention when I heard the ABC raising his voice at the China man "You were wrong to block the way of other people. You were being stupid and inconsiderate!"

The old China-fart confronted by this public social-manners 101 reprimand was instantly angered. As typical reaction of any uncivilised China-idiots whose ONLY attitude is "I am NEVER WRONG", started to swear (how typical) at the ABC. The China-fuckhead screamed "FUCK YOU!"

Not to be intimidated by this public swearing, the ABC moved forward towards the rude China-fart and retorted "You WERE being stupid earlier and NOW you ARE being rude swearing at other people when you were in obvious wrong!"

You see, with uncivilised china people, there is NO reasoning of logic with them. They NEVER back down or reflect upon why they had piss people off. Their ONLY MAIN concern is "I MUST NOT LOSE FACE." So the China dickhead continued to yell the only swearing word he knew "FUCK YOU! Fuck YOU! FUCK you!"

It was quite pathetic to see an old china man degrading himself and stoop to such classless behaviour. Is this what China's so call Cultural Revolution benefit has done for mainlanders? The complete elimination of social manners and dignity of carrying oneself with? Some mainlanders are so loaded that they think they are kings or lords, more superior than other people, thus lacking the basic need of being polite or consideration to other people sharing the same space as them. If there is a public fight between a china person vs other nationalities, for 99% certainty, I can bet the china person is at fault.

Anycase, the story continues. The fearless ABC didnt back down despite being alone, stood up to the Barbaric China Man and look at him in the eye and yelled back "You can swear all you like but it doesnt change the fact that you were in the wrong. You were selfish. You block the passage and didnt care about other people. YOU WERE BEING PLAIN STUPID."

I was glued to the scene and stood there, secretly cheering the ABC on. Even the security guard just stood there and watched the episode.

The China man realised that he couldnt out-yell or intimidate the ABC decided to walk away, but he must be still swearing at the ABC within his earshot (i couldnt hear since I was standing further away). The ABC chased after the China Man and asked "What did you say. I dare you to repeat it again you stupid man!"

Wow! He is my hero man this ABC! Dont back down! Teach these rude China people a lesson, teach them never to BULLY other people with their swearing and loud voice.

The China man turned around and swore at the ABC again but the china wife probably felt humiliated at the scene and dragged the husband away.

I had such a big grin on my face that it was like I struck lottery! I secretly wanted to applaud the ABC. But he headed off opposite direction from me so I didnt have the chance to give him a pat on his shoulders! WELL DONE my Man! For today, you have earned my respect in standing your ground and not backing down.

We need more people like the ABC to hold their ground and principle, and TEACH these rude china people a very important lesson, that respect needs to be EARNED. Having money or wealth does not equate to giving you the right to disregard other people, or that you are entitled to behave badly in public. I dont fucking care how you behave at home but when you are sharing this space with other people in another country, please respect the citizens of the nation. When in Rome, do what the Romans do. Dont bring your own set of rules, (lack of) values into the city you are visiting or residing. It makes you obnoxious and hated.

I have reason to believe China people are NUMBER #1 most disliked nationalities around the world. They may have lotsa of buying power but it doesnt change the fact that secretly, people have very low opinion of them despite their economic success. Like the stupid king in the "King with invisible clothes", china people doesnt even realise they are being secretly mocked at by other people. How sad.

Unfortunately being Chinese, we are often painted with the same brush by some other nations unless they know we are not China-man.

It's very strange that China people tend to behave better in other western countries. They tend to behave like kicked dogs and toe the line. Yet in Asia, China people's uncouth behavior is really notorious. I dont really like the loud Americans either who sometimes wouldnt shut up and talk so loudly in restaurants, but at least they still have basic manners while overseas...mainlanders...I can only sigh in despair.

"Singapore Outdoor pool is bad for me" - Duh?!!!

There is an old saying which goes "If you have nothing smart to say, dont say it."

My husband was sharing with me one conversation he had with his girlies at work. The thing she said was so mind-blowingly stupid that I just had to share it, as a joke of sort.

My husband and his staff are making a biz trip to Singapore soon and they were talking about St Regis. One of his staff enquired if there was a swimming pool at the hotel (where u can do relatively short decent laps). Initially the female staff was very happy when she learnt there was one. Then her next question was, "Is it indoor pool?"

My husband said no, it's outdoor.

The staff looked positively crestfallen and disappointed.

So my husband asked her why? At this point, I had just assumed she was concerned about getting dark. You know how self obssessive some HK gals are about the sun, they think that they will die of skin cancer if exposed to sunshine.

Anycase, the answer wasnt what I had expected. She replied

"I dont like outdoor pools because you know Singapore has Acidic Rain? So outdoor pools are bad because of the acid rain." 

I was caught by surprised which rendered me speechless. I asked my husband, "Is she serious? For real?" We are talking about a 29year old white collar, finance related high-level professional with tertiary education. Not to mention she is a China immigrant growing up in HK and lived relatively a few years in the states. Yet, she said something like an idiot that is to shock the world with.

My husband upon hearing that, told her "You rather swim in the slimy indoor pool in Beijing hotel with visibility that bad that you cannot see beyond your stretched arms but you have a thing against swimming in Singapore swimming pool? Are you serious? You know where the HK water are coming from right? Filtered RAIN water." (They just got back from a china biz trip and my husband was complaining how disgustingly dirty the hotel pool was, it leaves a layer of slime on you after u get out of the water. And this same staff was complaining about the slime before.)

His staff replied "Oh I only drink bottled water."

WTF?! My eyes grew larger.

At this point, my husband had enough and told her

"Ok stop talking now. You are being too silly now. I dont want to talk to you." 

I laughed because I can just imagine how his expression must have looked like. Being a typical Ozzie bloke, he already had very low tolerance towards silly fluffy airhead bimbo, and even worse, educated woman who says stupid illogical thing.

I was left gasping for breadth from incredulous laughters. How can anyone think the pool water in Singapore poses a threat to her health? For all we know, our pool water probably is way cleaner than some filtered water in China and India! 

Acid rain?!!! Acid rain?!! Should we all be disfigured from splashes of acid rain by now?

*faint*

Bottled water? Obviously she may be good in her job but she score zero in her health knowledge and general knowledge department. Hasnt she read that many brands of bottled water is not much different from tap water (as they cannot prove their mineral water is any better), and distilled water is actually bad for our bodies because it doesnt contain the natural minerals and floride that is required by our bodies?

Can I assume that one can take a china girl out of china, but you canx take the china-ness thinking out of a china girl.

Food Review: Hutong TST, Hong Kong

Went to Hutong on Saturday, finally.

After all these years in Hong Kong, never did bother to try it since we have heard reviews that the food was average. People just head there for the view. They werent wrong. I really shouldnt have bothered. It was utter waste of time and money. Alot of hype without substance is how I would define this establishment.

We got there about 6.30pm since we were told that was the first seating, and the other was 8.30pm. The place was relatively empty when we got there. I didnt have a very good impression of the staff frankly. I thought they were rather stiff and snobbish, without a smile on their face. It was quite off putting for me.

We had wanted to try the Beggar chicken signature dish but was told that it was not available as it had to be pre-ordered. We werent told about it when we did the reservation a week back. You would think they would mention a thing or two. This place is obviously catered to tourists and you expect the tourist to tell you in advance what they want to eat in a place they had never been to or seen the menu before? It's pretty presumptuous and arrogant to think that people MUST have GOOGLED all great things about your dining establishment. So that was another point deducted. The staff must have seen my surprise when he said it was not available, and said he will check if there might be spare in the kitchen. He returned a min later, to say it was "All sold out." We are the first table, in first seating for dinner and you tell me its all sold out. To what? To who? Ghost in the restaurants?

Anycase, we ordered 2 starters - Bamboo clams and chilli squid. 2 mains - spicy chicken and grilled ribs. I had wanted the one with vinegar but my silly husband ordered the one grilled with fennel instead. Seriously darling, u know I hate fennel. Why on earth would you think I would order that is beyond me....sigh. Sometimes, I honestly do not know who goes through his head but that is husbands for you.

My hubby apologised later when he realised it was the wrong dish (seeing my pouty lips) but I let it slide. I just felt it was a pity rather than angry because I know I will never come back here ever again, and I was having a bit of a craving for vinegar ribs.

While waiting for our dinner to be served and sipping on our very insipid bland iced guava drink (which was supposedly to be very refreshingly good but NOT), we noticed crowds only started to stroll in at 7pm. My husband made a very pointed observation. How come other people are allowed to sit at 7pm but we were told we had to be in by 6.30pm and out before 8.30pm when we had wanted 7pm reservation? Why are there different set of rules? Quite unfathomable.

Dinner came dish by dish. The squid dish was rather uninspiring. It was like slices of rubber pieces decked in Singapore Chicken rice chilli sauce. I didnt even realise i was eating squid if I had not known what we ordered. The bamboo clams fared better but again, nothing that tickled my taste bud. The clams were rather small too.

The main came with the chicken and it was 7.10pm. I asked the dark faced, terribly unsmiling male service staff what was happening to my ribs. I didnt want to be served one dish at a time because I was getting full. I didnt want to have a plate of meat I couldnt finish because I was forced to eat a plate of rather badly cook spicy chicken that was neither sweet not sour nor salty. Just spicy. The service staff said the ribs will come shortly very soon. I gave it another 5mins and was fed up and so I waved for the guy again. I mean shortly means 5mins right? Not 5 hours.

I told the guy that "i dont want to be served one dish at a time and please get back to me how long more specifically I had to wait." The guy mumbled he will checked and then came back to "apologise" saying that the ribs need a very long time to cook, and it will take another 15mins more. WTF?! Didnt you just say it will come very shortly? And even if it takes very long to cook, what was happening between 6.30pm to 7.15pm? There werent any other patrons earlier, the half hour before. So it was a very unconvincing explanation but I didnt want to argue with him and told him fine, I will wait.

So 15mins later, my ribs did arrive. My husband said to me "Darling, the ribs you cook taste WAY better than this." He wasnt wrong. The meat tasted bland and unmarinated. The only flavor on it was the fennel. Period.

The view was certainly impressive for tourists. Not for someone who is already sick of the harbour view like myself having seen it day in, day out for a year while working in the tower by the harbour..

The food was really, really bad though. The bill came up to about HK$1200 between the two and by far it was the money most ill-spent on dinner in Hk for the longest time. Even Mac donald will taste better than this place, and I havent eaten Mac donald for at least 5 years. This is how I rate this place. Worse than fast food's food.

Come to this pretentious place if you just want to impress your date with the harbor view and city lights, but Dont come here if you want even basic mediocre food. If you have frens in town, you are better off taking them somewhere else. I dunno who man the kitchen in Hutong, but he deserved to be fired from the chef position. He has no concept of cuisine apart from choking you with spices. If anyone thinks this place serves great food, then obviously this person need to widen his/her palette for chinese food to understand why I gave this place such a poor rating.

DIY Food Recipe: Caramelised Chicken Cutlets

I am a lazy cook. I dont like to cook things that are too fussy or needs alot of preparation in general. 

However I love to eat and kinda sick of cooking the same chinese stuff over and over again. So tried a new western recipe - Caramalised Chicken Thigh Cutlets. Takes about 20mins to prepare in advance and another 20mins to cook.

Ingredients

- 2 teaspoons veg oil

- 4 chicken thigh cutlets skin on (800g)

- 1 medium red onion, sliced thinly

- 3 garlic cloves, sliced thinly

- 1/4cup (55g) brown sugar (I usually put less than this. it's up to individual preference)

- 1Tablespoon dark soy sauce

- 1 Tablespoon fish sauce

- 1/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh coriander

Cooking steps

1. Preheat Oven to 200/180 degree cel. fan forced

2. Heat oil in frying pan, pan fry chicken till brown on both sides. Then place chicken in baking tray to bake (uncovered) for another 2-5min till cook through.

3. At the same time, heat clean pan. Reuse a small amount of the oil (previously used to pan fried chicken) and cook onion, garlic stirring until onion softens.

4. Add the sugar and sauces. (I personally will add a little water just to dilute it alittle if you are not using a non stick pan) Stir and cook for another 3 mins or so ( or until you visually see that onion has soften to the level that you like. Some like it more crunchy while like it really soft)

5. Return chicken to pan with coriander. Turn chicken to coat in sauce mixture.

Serve.

Personal Note: (What the recipe doesnt tell you)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

- You can choose not to panfried the chicken till its brown. I just pan fry for about 5-10mins depending on how large the pieces are.

- I just panfried without oil in a non stick pan till the chicken fat is suitably melted before I chuck it into the oven. I personally would prefer Light olive oil instead of peanut oil.

- Always, always cook with the skin side first. The skin acts as an insulator preventing your meat from being cooked too quickly.

- Neither do I bake till the chicken is fully cook as instructed by recipe. Rather I had it baked till about almost cooked (i think 5 mins is a good gauge). The reason is that the chicken still need to undergo more heat cooking when mixing with the sauces. This way, the cutlet will not be tough from being overcooked. At least if its under cook (baked) , easy breezy, just stick it on the pan with sauce longer:P

DIY Food Recipe: Sweet and Sour Pork

Tried cooking my mum's Sweet and Sour Pork for the first time, and it was a real success! Thank God!

I was too lazy to go get the pineapples but it turned out alrite though my cheeky husband was like "Where's the pineapple? I like the pineapples!" I had to tell him his wife is too tired and lazy to head out just to grab a can of pineapples and they didnt have fresh ones in the wet market in the morning.

When I was googling for Sweet and Sour pork recipes, I didnt realise there are so many variations out there just for the same dish. Interesting... the recipe mum gave me didnt come with onions but since I love onions, I added it in myself.

For some reason, I had always imagined it to be really difficult but it was actually much easier than expected. The trick is really to get the right portion of meat （梅頭瘦肉）that was "soft" and not "lean" giving the meat the right chew. The dish could be further perfected in terms of the frying part but at least the taste and flavoring was spot on. Phew!

Recipe

Ingredients
---------------

400g pork meat
Green and red capsicums (half each in general. the amount varies depending on your preference)
150g pineapple  diced
potato starch/ corn flour
1tbsp minced garlic
2 red chillies (cut into think shreds)

Marinade
------------
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp chicken seasoning powder (w/o msg)
1tbsp potato starch/ corn flour

seasonings
--------------
*1 cup of sweet and sour sauce
a little potato starch mix


Cooking steps

Making the sweet and sour sauce
------------------------------------------
Stir the following seasonings in a pot until sugar dissolve.
- 4tbsp tomato sauce
- 3 tbsp chilli sauce
- 3 tbsp plum sauce
- slightly less than 1 tbsp vinegar
- 1tbsp refined sugar
- 1 tbsp lime or lemon juice
- 1tsp salt
- 3/4 cup of water.

Note: 
*Do not cook too long to retain the sourness of vinegar. If possible, try dissolving the sugar with the 3/4 cup of water first before stirring it to boil with the rest of the sauce mix.
* Use Thail sweet chilli sauce for best mix. Since the bottled sauce taste different for different brand, vary your sugar/ salt level accordingly to the level that suit your taste.

Cooking the Meat
-------------------------
1. Cut the pork into suitable bite size chunks and pound it with the back of the knife to tenderize it.
2. Add marinate and set aside for at least half hour - 1 hour. I did mine for 2 hours in the fridge for best flavor.
3. Cut capsicums into triangular pieces.
4. Coat the pork with starch or corn flour and deep fry in hot oil till golden brown. remove. Peanut oil is best for frying
5. Leave some oil in pan and fry garlic, chillies, capsicums, pineapple (onions optional) till fragrant.
6. Add the pre-prepared sweet and sour sour and bring it to boil.
7. Stir in fried pork and thicken with little potato starch/ corn flour.

Serve.

A lunch. A Hot Choc. Plenty of chat.

Was quite a kick today to finally catch up with one of my excolleague after all these years. For some reason, we never got to meet since I returned to HK. We had talked a couple of times the initial year I was back but somehow events resulted in our meet up never to materialise.

Today was a rare treat to see a familiar face, an old fren, my confidante again. There are friends, and there are Friends. She is the latter whom I will keep close to my heart no matter if we do not meet up often. Well, at least we promise to meet again next week. ha!

It didnt feel like the last 2 over years changed much between us or the chemistry we shared. However, life hasnt really been treating her well. Apart from that, all was well and good I suppose in the big scheme of things.

We met about 1pm and by 8pm, we still werent done catching up. We started with our fav Jap food, then we adjourned to Starbucks, and finally we headed back to my place. It was like crash course to fill the 2 years void as well as getting gossip on other ex-colleagues. Then again, we always had a lot to share, even when we were back at work together.

During lunch, she shared a news flash. An ex colleague who was like fire and oil with me did exactly what I expect her to do, marry an ugly dude for money. Apparently, this ex-colleague was "retrenched" (though we suspected sacked more like it since she was pretty much an airhead bimbo who survived on her looks more than anything else) and couldnt finance the super overpriced condo unit she had purchased. So this guy came into the picture and "PAID" for the unit. After that, she was soo "touched", had a short shot and married him.

I dun really get why she would buy a place way out of her budget apart from being able to brag, and then get a man to pay for it. Is this what they meant by if a woman has no brains, she only need looks to get her through life? I hope that bring her the happiness she sought. I have no idea how some parents bring up their kids but she and her sister are exactly the sort of horror stories you hear or seen on drama, "selling" themselves for the "good life" so that they can brag about "making it".

For her I wasnt that surprised since she has always been open and loud about her search for the "perfect rich guy" but seeing the super ugly, I mean really ugly guy that her younger sister marry. Yeeeaks.

I'm not being bitchy here. I am being honest.

Of course how some people lead their life is none of my business. I'm just writing strictly out for gossip entertainment. The friends I keep are too goody two shoes and sensible to have any gossips, so it's always people I dislike that has the most dirt to air and entertain my very mundane life. Lol.