I thought I would peel from my mild sunburnt, however I as surprised that it didnt. I dont know if credit should go to all my facial moisturiser that I had faithfully apply day and night since I had been back. I ran out of body lotion and I figure those face hydrating lotion "investments" better prove themselves now with my arms as testing bed! Verdict, they work! In fact better than body cream I think. Those intentive hydrating mask prob penetrate deeper.
There was a little small spot of itchiness and a thin layer of peeling. However, it only lasted for a day and it was gone. My arms are back to normal, except it's super dark...With all the plastering of lotion, the sunburnt part actually felt so much softer than the other tanned parts that I didnt apply the lotion to. My husband is soo envious at my "speedy recovery"..heh heh.
3 week of absence from pilates is terrible. I had a hard time this week getting back into pace and strength. The good thing about consistent pilates, I love how my upper abs feel. On good (slim) days where I didnt stuff myself silly, there is a faint ab line on the torso. The moment to die for. haaa haa. Still, dont think I will ever be as thin as I was before...damn... I miss those skinny days.
Had lunch with one of my Jap classmate. She was sharing about her mother-in-law horror stories. Scary. It is moments like this I will thank my lucky stars for having such sweet in laws who relatively dote on me. Maybe living apart with us in asia and them back in Australia also helped... Back to my friend, her Japanese in laws are dominating and interferingly scary. If she is my in law, I wont know if she will die from being frustrations with me first, or me dying from such ostentious control freak. Who on earth with common sense buys HK$10k worth of bedlinens??? A HK$80k armchair is also such a stretch.
Yeah the parents are rich...so I dont know if its the wealth that made them obnoxious, or are all Japanese mother in law that scary and hard to get along? I was sharing with my friend that I have known of mothers who were utter snob and meanie. They had this view that she is so rich that people has to listen to her. Biatch.
Alright 4am. time to rest my eyes. More packing to do tomorrow...time flies...
Friday, October 30, 2009
J-Drama: Tokyo Dogs Episode 02 Review and Summary
I love this new series. It's hilarious. Hiro and Shun have amazing chemistry and their dialogue is funny and quirky, esp so for Shun's character So. if you have not started on this series, find time to. It's pretty funny to see these 2 guys "bickering" in the middle of their cop work!
Watch raw video sources:
- Veoh video - ep 2
- Pandora video - ep2
Tokyo Dogs Ep2 Summary
The episode starts with recap from last episode where the kidnapper rather shot himself to death.
The new scene opens with So (Shun Oguri) and Maruo (M. Hiro) staking out and "bickering" at a roof top. Maruo was about to head off with the "compulsory search" at the opposite hotel room, but So complained Maruo is so disorganised without any proper planning. So questioned if they should just barged into the room, what should they do if the people in the hotel room possess firearms? So went on with his argument that the girls will be trapped as hostages and a possible shootout may occur with an (unseasoned) bad guy... Maruo couldnt take it anymore. He grumbled outloud that So should stop with his unceasing preaching as they are "killing" him. Maruo further explained that the "dating" scene differs from the "prostitution" scene in states. So retorted Maruo is so naive and the only reason they are here to investigate was due to sources linking the hotel with the secret organisation, so anything could happen.
Maruo then questioned what has So prepared, in which So whipped out a "can bomb" for the door entrance destroy any burglar alarm! Maruo was horrified at the mention of "bomb". "Are you an idiot?! This is Tokyo here!" and he tried to returned the can back to So. So explained the can is to assure the safety of the girls in the room and take control while everyone is caught by surprise. So started to head off but Maruo ended up dragging him to stop him, declaring he (M) cannot do it. So told Maruo that his indecisiveness and lack of action proves Maruo is not suited
to be a cop.
"Just like earlier when choosing a bento, you had to take sooooo long!" So stated flatly.
"Hey the sweet and sour pork may be good but the gyozai bento also looked good! It is perfectly normal for one to be undecided in such moment!" Maruo quickly retorted back.
"Yeah but you kept on endlessly whining 'It's awlful! It's awlful!' about the gyozai! Hadnt the store auntie recommended the sweet and sour pork right from the start?! The SIGNATURE DISH is the sweet and sour pork afterall!!!" So instantly fired back at Maruo.
"But my stomach exists for gyozai!!" Maruo pleaded in defence.
"There is no such thing as a stomach existing only for gyozai. If u had wished to eat the gyozai sooo much, you could have just ordered a SINGLE SEPARATE ITEM in the set!" So told Maruo off and walked off...
[read more]
Watch raw video sources:
- Veoh video - ep 2
- Pandora video - ep2
Tokyo Dogs Ep2 Summary
The episode starts with recap from last episode where the kidnapper rather shot himself to death.
The new scene opens with So (Shun Oguri) and Maruo (M. Hiro) staking out and "bickering" at a roof top. Maruo was about to head off with the "compulsory search" at the opposite hotel room, but So complained Maruo is so disorganised without any proper planning. So questioned if they should just barged into the room, what should they do if the people in the hotel room possess firearms? So went on with his argument that the girls will be trapped as hostages and a possible shootout may occur with an (unseasoned) bad guy... Maruo couldnt take it anymore. He grumbled outloud that So should stop with his unceasing preaching as they are "killing" him. Maruo further explained that the "dating" scene differs from the "prostitution" scene in states. So retorted Maruo is so naive and the only reason they are here to investigate was due to sources linking the hotel with the secret organisation, so anything could happen.
Maruo then questioned what has So prepared, in which So whipped out a "can bomb" for the door entrance destroy any burglar alarm! Maruo was horrified at the mention of "bomb". "Are you an idiot?! This is Tokyo here!" and he tried to returned the can back to So. So explained the can is to assure the safety of the girls in the room and take control while everyone is caught by surprise. So started to head off but Maruo ended up dragging him to stop him, declaring he (M) cannot do it. So told Maruo that his indecisiveness and lack of action proves Maruo is not suited
to be a cop.
"Just like earlier when choosing a bento, you had to take sooooo long!" So stated flatly.
"Hey the sweet and sour pork may be good but the gyozai bento also looked good! It is perfectly normal for one to be undecided in such moment!" Maruo quickly retorted back.
"Yeah but you kept on endlessly whining 'It's awlful! It's awlful!' about the gyozai! Hadnt the store auntie recommended the sweet and sour pork right from the start?! The SIGNATURE DISH is the sweet and sour pork afterall!!!" So instantly fired back at Maruo.
"But my stomach exists for gyozai!!" Maruo pleaded in defence.
"There is no such thing as a stomach existing only for gyozai. If u had wished to eat the gyozai sooo much, you could have just ordered a SINGLE SEPARATE ITEM in the set!" So told Maruo off and walked off...
[read more]
Monday, October 26, 2009
Man are just lazy procrastinating creature
The verdict is out.
Man are just lazy procrastinating creature in general, or at least my spouse is.
The storage boxes were delivered on sat. Despite the grand plans and great promises by my husband that he will start the packing (of his stuff) on Sunday before I awoke, the boxes remained untouched when I stumbled out of bed. While he diddled his time away doing nothing and snoozing, I had finished washing and hanging 3 loads of laundry, ironed 2 basketful of clothes and linens, fold away all the bed linens for 2 bedrooms, mop the floor, grocery shopping and cooking lunch and dinner. All these even when I woke up 3 hours after him.
He always tell others that I sleep too much, but he had never considered that I often got WAY MORE things DONE even if I had lesser waking hours than he has put together. What's the point of being awake but not lifting a finger to get things done? I dont get it.
On Sunday nite, again my husband proclaimed loudly he will start packing on Monday. I barely took him seriously. I will believe him when I see it.
He asked me what he should start with. I told him perhaps his clothes. He frowned and said he still needed the clothes. I had to break it down patiently that he can leave his workclothes but need to pack his 2 cupboardful of leisure clothes since we are moving next week, and i wont know what he wants to keep in store, and which he would want to bring with us to the new place. Seeing his pouting face, I offered him the easier option. He can put the books or the cds away into the storage boxes. That is pretty easy since I had everything packed nicely on the shelves by similar shapes and sizes. He was so confident that he will see it done.
When I woke up on Monday today, I am unsurprised that the storage boxes remained untouched. I have no idea what the hell he had been doing the 3 hours while I was still asleep. Absolutely nothing productive, again. While he watched his TV and made my sandwich for lunch, I was done packing ALL the 3 full boxes of cds, as well as 5 full boxes of books, including wiping down the empty shelves, including washing up all the plates and stuff he used to made lunch... I didnt know if I should get fedup when in the middle of packing all the stuff, he had to interrupt my packing because he decided he is feeling well enough to go to the gym. Is this considered over-reliance on me, or some perverse unspoken "compliment" to my efficiency?
Like I said before, marriage good as it is, is some warped fantasy way overhyped...
Man are just lazy procrastinating creature in general, or at least my spouse is.
The storage boxes were delivered on sat. Despite the grand plans and great promises by my husband that he will start the packing (of his stuff) on Sunday before I awoke, the boxes remained untouched when I stumbled out of bed. While he diddled his time away doing nothing and snoozing, I had finished washing and hanging 3 loads of laundry, ironed 2 basketful of clothes and linens, fold away all the bed linens for 2 bedrooms, mop the floor, grocery shopping and cooking lunch and dinner. All these even when I woke up 3 hours after him.
He always tell others that I sleep too much, but he had never considered that I often got WAY MORE things DONE even if I had lesser waking hours than he has put together. What's the point of being awake but not lifting a finger to get things done? I dont get it.
On Sunday nite, again my husband proclaimed loudly he will start packing on Monday. I barely took him seriously. I will believe him when I see it.
He asked me what he should start with. I told him perhaps his clothes. He frowned and said he still needed the clothes. I had to break it down patiently that he can leave his workclothes but need to pack his 2 cupboardful of leisure clothes since we are moving next week, and i wont know what he wants to keep in store, and which he would want to bring with us to the new place. Seeing his pouting face, I offered him the easier option. He can put the books or the cds away into the storage boxes. That is pretty easy since I had everything packed nicely on the shelves by similar shapes and sizes. He was so confident that he will see it done.
When I woke up on Monday today, I am unsurprised that the storage boxes remained untouched. I have no idea what the hell he had been doing the 3 hours while I was still asleep. Absolutely nothing productive, again. While he watched his TV and made my sandwich for lunch, I was done packing ALL the 3 full boxes of cds, as well as 5 full boxes of books, including wiping down the empty shelves, including washing up all the plates and stuff he used to made lunch... I didnt know if I should get fedup when in the middle of packing all the stuff, he had to interrupt my packing because he decided he is feeling well enough to go to the gym. Is this considered over-reliance on me, or some perverse unspoken "compliment" to my efficiency?
Like I said before, marriage good as it is, is some warped fantasy way overhyped...
The rush for luggages...
At the airport, people who loves to stick themsevles closely to the sides of the luggage conveyor belt annoys me. I never understood this "eagerness" to monopolise and minimise the gap between one self and the side of the moving belt. So what if you spot your bag like 10steps away. Will waiting for that extra 30secs kill you? So instead of leaving a good margin away from the belt, to ensure everyone can see from a distance on the approaching luaggaes, everyone loves to crowd so closely that they have to constantly bob their heads up and down, competing with the people before them to strain their neck, squint their eyes, just for the hope to "beat" the rest for their belonging. How stupid.
Everytime I leave a gap between myself and the conveyor belt, some jackass idiot will always squeeze him or herself before me. It doesnt matter if the gap isnt large enough to house that bumbling idiot, there will always be that annoymous person who just feel oblige to get into the rat race and yet, my bags will almost quite always, arrive BEFORE those idiots. So each time, I will have to unceremoniously shove them aside and doesnt give a shit if i knock their shin, shoulder or whatever body parts as i lift my heavy luggage out of the moving belt. To me, if they are too supid to make way, then the fault is not mine.
The next annoying bunch of human species are young children near conveyor belt. They are like some over excited dogs or monkeys who again relish in the joy of hovering dangerously near the moving belt. They yelp like crazy dogs on a frenzy rabbit chase when they see the luggages but yet are too pathetically small and weak to actually be useful enough to lift the bags. So what they do is something competely impractical, like holding on to the luggage handle and run alongside with it, while screaming for their parents.
Why do parents let them become such public nusiance is beyond me, not to mention dangerous. They can easily trip and fall, not to mention hinder other passengers from getting their bags for fear of hitting these underage children. I lack a better word to describe what I think of such careless parenting. Trust me, its not something positive I would use to describe.
The other day while waiting for my bag, again, this HK family had 3 monkeys in toll. Age 12 and below and all boys. They get so excited as if there was some prize to gain if spot their parents bag. As well, their parent belong to the category of "I must stick closely to the belt" population. As the mum busied away chatting on her mobile, her kids were annoying me visually with their prodding and poking at everybag. It shouldnt annoy me but somehow such uncontrolled behaviour just put me off. I told my husband then that I wish these boys will be taught a lesson like getting their hands hit by some bags, such that they will learn that airport conveyor belt is not a playground and will back off and let the adults do the work. Just as I finished saying that, one of the boys had his hand squashed between a bulky luggage and the metal piece. I saw the "ouch" look on his face, and his mum didnt even notice. I probably come off sounding mean, but at that moment i didnt feel sorry at all for him. Sorry, no sympathies for stupid beings. Instead I laughed heartily. Evil probably but he deserved it in my perspective. Some children need to learn the painful way before they will learn. It wasnt serious accident but I know it prob hurts having his skin pinched... I laughed even more when I saw him backing off the conveyor belt by good 3 steps but not explaining to his elder brother why. He didnt looks so eager now. Not so tough eh little boy .
When his parents bags arrived, they stuck their hands on the bag and ran along with it. Of course they didnt have the strength to actually lift the bag. So they annoyed everyone else.
Seriously, why would parents not tell their kids to wait one side? Why wouldnt airport advise parents not to have kids hovering near the belt? When accidents do happen, it would be precisely these stupid folks that would kick up a stinker when they should be watching their little monkeys in the first place. Are the children being stupid here or the adults indulgently stupid here? I honestly cant decide who I should cast a vote for.
Everytime I leave a gap between myself and the conveyor belt, some jackass idiot will always squeeze him or herself before me. It doesnt matter if the gap isnt large enough to house that bumbling idiot, there will always be that annoymous person who just feel oblige to get into the rat race and yet, my bags will almost quite always, arrive BEFORE those idiots. So each time, I will have to unceremoniously shove them aside and doesnt give a shit if i knock their shin, shoulder or whatever body parts as i lift my heavy luggage out of the moving belt. To me, if they are too supid to make way, then the fault is not mine.
The next annoying bunch of human species are young children near conveyor belt. They are like some over excited dogs or monkeys who again relish in the joy of hovering dangerously near the moving belt. They yelp like crazy dogs on a frenzy rabbit chase when they see the luggages but yet are too pathetically small and weak to actually be useful enough to lift the bags. So what they do is something competely impractical, like holding on to the luggage handle and run alongside with it, while screaming for their parents.
Why do parents let them become such public nusiance is beyond me, not to mention dangerous. They can easily trip and fall, not to mention hinder other passengers from getting their bags for fear of hitting these underage children. I lack a better word to describe what I think of such careless parenting. Trust me, its not something positive I would use to describe.
The other day while waiting for my bag, again, this HK family had 3 monkeys in toll. Age 12 and below and all boys. They get so excited as if there was some prize to gain if spot their parents bag. As well, their parent belong to the category of "I must stick closely to the belt" population. As the mum busied away chatting on her mobile, her kids were annoying me visually with their prodding and poking at everybag. It shouldnt annoy me but somehow such uncontrolled behaviour just put me off. I told my husband then that I wish these boys will be taught a lesson like getting their hands hit by some bags, such that they will learn that airport conveyor belt is not a playground and will back off and let the adults do the work. Just as I finished saying that, one of the boys had his hand squashed between a bulky luggage and the metal piece. I saw the "ouch" look on his face, and his mum didnt even notice. I probably come off sounding mean, but at that moment i didnt feel sorry at all for him. Sorry, no sympathies for stupid beings. Instead I laughed heartily. Evil probably but he deserved it in my perspective. Some children need to learn the painful way before they will learn. It wasnt serious accident but I know it prob hurts having his skin pinched... I laughed even more when I saw him backing off the conveyor belt by good 3 steps but not explaining to his elder brother why. He didnt looks so eager now. Not so tough eh little boy .
When his parents bags arrived, they stuck their hands on the bag and ran along with it. Of course they didnt have the strength to actually lift the bag. So they annoyed everyone else.
Seriously, why would parents not tell their kids to wait one side? Why wouldnt airport advise parents not to have kids hovering near the belt? When accidents do happen, it would be precisely these stupid folks that would kick up a stinker when they should be watching their little monkeys in the first place. Are the children being stupid here or the adults indulgently stupid here? I honestly cant decide who I should cast a vote for.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
The Wolfman Movie Trailer
I'm finally back. maldive is a real piece of paradise on earth. Love it!
Before I share more on the trip, I am so looking forward to the upcoming movie below "The Wolfman." The trailer makes the movie look so promising....
Before I share more on the trip, I am so looking forward to the upcoming movie below "The Wolfman." The trailer makes the movie look so promising....
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Service apartment, the hunt is over..finally!
Finally, the mad rush search of temporary roof over our head is over. After weeks of poking around all the service apartments - big and small in and about HK, we finally settled on the one bedroom we liked most. Now all we need to do is get the contract signed and filed.
Valled and viewed so many service apartments. It's outrageous, the amount that some of these places charge. And some....my god, reality is hell of a difference from the virtual room view. It's not marketing spin, it's blatant lie in your face.
I had looked at some of the place like Pacific Palisades. I have never ben more shocked in my life. It is utterly, completely different from what was advertised. It was a living ruin and not some prestige living as it claimed to be. What you see from the website is not what you will get. The only reason I had been interested at checking out the place was the fact I could relocate my furniture and subscription services over instead of full storage. When I arrived to view 4 different apartment, I was greeted by dilapidated conditions, a funny stench, cracked walls, with some gaping holes, and wooden window frame that looked as if it couldnt bear anotrher typhoon hit. It was a complete disaster!! The girl who showed us around probably had an idea we were gonna take up the offer. If I could rank on a scale of 1 -10, with hell being 1, this place possibly could be a winner for the prize of hell hole, not to mention the hideous and nonrealistic price range they were looking for...
I also had a look at V-serviced apartment at causeway bay2.
In terms of conditions and layout, furnishing, I have to give it props. The rooms were well decorated, kitchen was well thought out with proper fridge and cooking gears. The living room is a little tight combined with the study space. There was a seperate dressing area which also functions as an additional room with the single single sleeping couch. Generally, its a nice room. There was a puny little balcony but I doubt that will get much use since its facing a road and some old temple/ school. I dont quite like the location and I can imagine hearing the endless streaming of cars driving past from dawn to dusk. The air quality wont be exactly idle either. Nonetheless, its a nice setup except it doesnt come with gym and facilities for the rather steep price they are charging. Close to $48k for all these, I simply cannot see where the value of the money has gone to and plus its over my budget anyways. Then again, if u have the cash, and doesnt mind lacking the environment and love the proximity to causeway bay, this will do it for u.
One of the other which we do like as well was Pinnacle Apartment, out at TST. There definitely is no misrepresentation here. The rooms looked exactly as it did in the pixs. Some of the rooms have really great view of the harbor as well. The staff Pinky who showed us around was really efficient and friendly, not to forget pronto. I like dealing with efficient people. The 2 bedrooms with study was great but unfortunately unavailable. The rooms were in good size, ample storage, good bathroom, and the kitchen was also another functional unit. We also checked out the one bedroom with a study, where the study comes with a foldable single bed. It was good but the kitchen was much smaller, that adjoins with the dining space. However, the room efficiency is there, good size and a nice place to be in. For some reason though, my husband decided to pass this one up. prob due to the queen size bed. A pity.
Moving on to smaller establishments, I thought Treasure view Soho was a good gem. It really doesnt look much from the outside but they had refurbished the place last year. It is kinda located in between Soho and LKF but not where the noisy area is. More specifically, its where the escalator is. The rooms are all standard size of 719 but with different layout. I honestly cannot imagine how cram it must be for the 2 bedroom. I saw the one with one bedroom and given the price, location and furnishing, I would say its a relatively fair deal. I didnt like those with low floors because u get a rather dismayal view of the tight grey aging building opposite that feels like someone is up your nose, or u see the hideous mouldy dirty rooftop. Going up higher levels, you get an open space due to the short building, and so the room feels brighter. Again, the kitchen is well equip and as others, the living room comes with lcd tv and dvd etc. the bedroom also has a proper ample storage space for clothes, and also a chest of drawers for other stuff. The dining area is a little small but really, if its just 2 people, its sufficient. It's another place which is doable if I am really desperate.
There are some which I called but were completely full, or some had really bad leasing staff. The one from Marriott was incomprehensively lazy bordering on rude. I had asked if it was possible to get a viewing and she sounded so relunctant. She enquired about my move in date and when I told her its about 5weeks time, she gave me that "dont waste my time" attitude and said to call and check back again in mid oct. Basically 2 weeks before I am moving. How stupid is that? She said it was "pointless to see the rooms since everyroom is different and own by different landlords." With that, she kinda expected that explains everything as to why a viewing appointment is unnecessary and not to encroach further into her time. I strike this
Kush had an interesting unit which is loft style and unfurnished. However, the leasing girl never called me back for a viewing time so I figured screw it. Plus she had told me they are having problems with the tenant blah blah blah. Great, I dont need to listen to you spewing away the negativity of your job and tenant.
Oh well, I'm just glad the hunt has come to an end. Now I have to get cracking on firming the local movers and storage service. Any suggestions?
In the pipeline lies the next chapter on cancellation of my subscription for my PCCW Now TV, Nevigator, and landline. Does anyone know if I can actually suspend the service and not terminate it? I have about 8 months left and hate to think of the penalty fee...
It's funny how PCCW force you to take the 2 year contract. There wasnt any 1 year contract in Hk which i find really strange.
Valled and viewed so many service apartments. It's outrageous, the amount that some of these places charge. And some....my god, reality is hell of a difference from the virtual room view. It's not marketing spin, it's blatant lie in your face.
I had looked at some of the place like Pacific Palisades. I have never ben more shocked in my life. It is utterly, completely different from what was advertised. It was a living ruin and not some prestige living as it claimed to be. What you see from the website is not what you will get. The only reason I had been interested at checking out the place was the fact I could relocate my furniture and subscription services over instead of full storage. When I arrived to view 4 different apartment, I was greeted by dilapidated conditions, a funny stench, cracked walls, with some gaping holes, and wooden window frame that looked as if it couldnt bear anotrher typhoon hit. It was a complete disaster!! The girl who showed us around probably had an idea we were gonna take up the offer. If I could rank on a scale of 1 -10, with hell being 1, this place possibly could be a winner for the prize of hell hole, not to mention the hideous and nonrealistic price range they were looking for...
I also had a look at V-serviced apartment at causeway bay2.
In terms of conditions and layout, furnishing, I have to give it props. The rooms were well decorated, kitchen was well thought out with proper fridge and cooking gears. The living room is a little tight combined with the study space. There was a seperate dressing area which also functions as an additional room with the single single sleeping couch. Generally, its a nice room. There was a puny little balcony but I doubt that will get much use since its facing a road and some old temple/ school. I dont quite like the location and I can imagine hearing the endless streaming of cars driving past from dawn to dusk. The air quality wont be exactly idle either. Nonetheless, its a nice setup except it doesnt come with gym and facilities for the rather steep price they are charging. Close to $48k for all these, I simply cannot see where the value of the money has gone to and plus its over my budget anyways. Then again, if u have the cash, and doesnt mind lacking the environment and love the proximity to causeway bay, this will do it for u.
One of the other which we do like as well was Pinnacle Apartment, out at TST. There definitely is no misrepresentation here. The rooms looked exactly as it did in the pixs. Some of the rooms have really great view of the harbor as well. The staff Pinky who showed us around was really efficient and friendly, not to forget pronto. I like dealing with efficient people. The 2 bedrooms with study was great but unfortunately unavailable. The rooms were in good size, ample storage, good bathroom, and the kitchen was also another functional unit. We also checked out the one bedroom with a study, where the study comes with a foldable single bed. It was good but the kitchen was much smaller, that adjoins with the dining space. However, the room efficiency is there, good size and a nice place to be in. For some reason though, my husband decided to pass this one up. prob due to the queen size bed. A pity.
Moving on to smaller establishments, I thought Treasure view Soho was a good gem. It really doesnt look much from the outside but they had refurbished the place last year. It is kinda located in between Soho and LKF but not where the noisy area is. More specifically, its where the escalator is. The rooms are all standard size of 719 but with different layout. I honestly cannot imagine how cram it must be for the 2 bedroom. I saw the one with one bedroom and given the price, location and furnishing, I would say its a relatively fair deal. I didnt like those with low floors because u get a rather dismayal view of the tight grey aging building opposite that feels like someone is up your nose, or u see the hideous mouldy dirty rooftop. Going up higher levels, you get an open space due to the short building, and so the room feels brighter. Again, the kitchen is well equip and as others, the living room comes with lcd tv and dvd etc. the bedroom also has a proper ample storage space for clothes, and also a chest of drawers for other stuff. The dining area is a little small but really, if its just 2 people, its sufficient. It's another place which is doable if I am really desperate.
There are some which I called but were completely full, or some had really bad leasing staff. The one from Marriott was incomprehensively lazy bordering on rude. I had asked if it was possible to get a viewing and she sounded so relunctant. She enquired about my move in date and when I told her its about 5weeks time, she gave me that "dont waste my time" attitude and said to call and check back again in mid oct. Basically 2 weeks before I am moving. How stupid is that? She said it was "pointless to see the rooms since everyroom is different and own by different landlords." With that, she kinda expected that explains everything as to why a viewing appointment is unnecessary and not to encroach further into her time. I strike this
Kush had an interesting unit which is loft style and unfurnished. However, the leasing girl never called me back for a viewing time so I figured screw it. Plus she had told me they are having problems with the tenant blah blah blah. Great, I dont need to listen to you spewing away the negativity of your job and tenant.
Oh well, I'm just glad the hunt has come to an end. Now I have to get cracking on firming the local movers and storage service. Any suggestions?
In the pipeline lies the next chapter on cancellation of my subscription for my PCCW Now TV, Nevigator, and landline. Does anyone know if I can actually suspend the service and not terminate it? I have about 8 months left and hate to think of the penalty fee...
It's funny how PCCW force you to take the 2 year contract. There wasnt any 1 year contract in Hk which i find really strange.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Travel log Taipei: Disappointing lunch at Du Xiao Yue
My husband commented I looked positively happy in Taipei, all smiles and happily chatting with anyone from cab driver to people I buy food from. It was only natural I told him, since I get to stuff myself silly with my fav food and best of all, no language barrier. Not to mention the lack of loud mainlanders that will bound to ruin my day....
Even when we were at the Taipei 101 food court, I ended up being "translator" for this Dannish couple who had wanted to buy the "Buddha hand" fruit from the fruit store guy. I couldnt bear the 2 parties trying desperately to communicate to each other plus it didnt cost me anything to help. Well, at the end, I was even more surprised when the fruit stall guy kept thanking me and even gave me 10% discount for my drinks. Didnt see that coming but it was a nice gesture on his part.
Anycase, back to my travel log. On our last afternoon in Taipei, our hotel recommended this "popular" place 度小月。I should know better than to trust recommendations of a top end hotel that housed caucasians tourists...they wont recommend local delights but a more upmarket place that is more "comfortable" for their guests. I suppose overly local place may shock some of their cultured and refined guests.
Initially, I had wanted to also try the pork ribs place anna had suggested but it was kinda far so we had to abort plan since my partner didnt want to travel.
I had wanted to eat 鲁肉饭 while my husband prefered something soupy which was why we ended up in the recommended place since the hotel assured they had both. When we arrive at 度小月, there was a long Q outside. Damn. An alarm should have gone off when I saw the string of foreigners in line for their table. Oh well, too late to change plans.
We waited for about 15mins, before this male staff gruffly yelled for our number and showed us in. he wasnt rude but he sure wasnt exactly pleasant either. If there was anything called hospitality award , this dude sure wont be a winning recipient of it.
The list was simple and easy. I went for my rice while my husband went for 担仔面（danzaimian）. We also ordered the fried prawn rolls and another steam prawn patty. While the fried roll came and was yummy but oily.
The steamed meat patty was another matter all together. Firstly, it wasn event a patty as I had imagined. It was just like a huge lump of meat wrapped in a thick dumpling flour dough. In fact, the more accurate hokkien description would be “水kueh”. Frankly I thought the dish was rather plain, unappetising and bordering awlful. The 鲁肉饭 was also raher bland and bordering on too much salt without any sweetness. Apparently, the one I had in the night market with my mum back in April was SOOOOooooo much better. Who said all 鲁肉饭 are the same? Rubbish. This one had all the fatty bits in it that made it rather gross. My husband's soup noodle fared better but to me frankly, this place isnt worth the time, effort nor recommendation. What made it worse was that I had to wait for 30mins for my 2nd serving of prawn fritters, despite 3 reminders and lessening of guests. What the hell?!
I shall be frank. This place reeeks as a tourist establishment aimed to "con" tourists who doesnt know better as to where to go and find food, or lack of better ideas. I cannot believed I got suckered into this place by my hotel even after telling them I prefer local favourites and hangout. This is obviously NOT a place to go to if you want really authentic good cheap local food. What an utter disappointment.
Even when we were at the Taipei 101 food court, I ended up being "translator" for this Dannish couple who had wanted to buy the "Buddha hand" fruit from the fruit store guy. I couldnt bear the 2 parties trying desperately to communicate to each other plus it didnt cost me anything to help. Well, at the end, I was even more surprised when the fruit stall guy kept thanking me and even gave me 10% discount for my drinks. Didnt see that coming but it was a nice gesture on his part.
Anycase, back to my travel log. On our last afternoon in Taipei, our hotel recommended this "popular" place 度小月。I should know better than to trust recommendations of a top end hotel that housed caucasians tourists...they wont recommend local delights but a more upmarket place that is more "comfortable" for their guests. I suppose overly local place may shock some of their cultured and refined guests.
Initially, I had wanted to also try the pork ribs place anna had suggested but it was kinda far so we had to abort plan since my partner didnt want to travel.
I had wanted to eat 鲁肉饭 while my husband prefered something soupy which was why we ended up in the recommended place since the hotel assured they had both. When we arrive at 度小月, there was a long Q outside. Damn. An alarm should have gone off when I saw the string of foreigners in line for their table. Oh well, too late to change plans.
We waited for about 15mins, before this male staff gruffly yelled for our number and showed us in. he wasnt rude but he sure wasnt exactly pleasant either. If there was anything called hospitality award , this dude sure wont be a winning recipient of it.
The list was simple and easy. I went for my rice while my husband went for 担仔面（danzaimian）. We also ordered the fried prawn rolls and another steam prawn patty. While the fried roll came and was yummy but oily.
The steamed meat patty was another matter all together. Firstly, it wasn event a patty as I had imagined. It was just like a huge lump of meat wrapped in a thick dumpling flour dough. In fact, the more accurate hokkien description would be “水kueh”. Frankly I thought the dish was rather plain, unappetising and bordering awlful. The 鲁肉饭 was also raher bland and bordering on too much salt without any sweetness. Apparently, the one I had in the night market with my mum back in April was SOOOOooooo much better. Who said all 鲁肉饭 are the same? Rubbish. This one had all the fatty bits in it that made it rather gross. My husband's soup noodle fared better but to me frankly, this place isnt worth the time, effort nor recommendation. What made it worse was that I had to wait for 30mins for my 2nd serving of prawn fritters, despite 3 reminders and lessening of guests. What the hell?!
I shall be frank. This place reeeks as a tourist establishment aimed to "con" tourists who doesnt know better as to where to go and find food, or lack of better ideas. I cannot believed I got suckered into this place by my hotel even after telling them I prefer local favourites and hangout. This is obviously NOT a place to go to if you want really authentic good cheap local food. What an utter disappointment.
Taipei Travel Log: Dawan - 大腕燒肉專門店
Back to completing my Taipei Travel log...
After a long day at Danshui, we returned to venture to this meat place which I had reserved dinner based on a blog entry I had read prior my trip. the place is called 大腕燒肉專門店 (Da wan barbecue meat specialty place). the place is located at Dunhua nan lu, amongst many little trendy stores popular with the younger crowd.
I have absolutely no idea how to get there by train even though there is a metro stop nearby. Seeing that we are running late, I opted for a cab, not before asking the hotel to call the place that we will be 10mins late. In hindsight, that was a super wise decision because the place was nestled in an inner street, and it was really FULL. I assume my seats would have been given up if no called to say we will be late since I didnt have a local number for the store to call and confirm my attendance.
The floor area isnt very large. The central area in a u-shaped is taken up by the staff cooking and preparing the food order, while the patrons will sit on the counter area. There is one table tucked away in a corner reserved for larger crowds. The place is packed with locals, not tourists, and brightly lit, well designed, well ventilated and filled with the very friendly and polite serving staff. The place even comes with discretely concealed drawers with a keylock that allows you to place your bags/ coats etc. Talk about thoughful.
We were shown to our seat promptly and since all the menu was in Mandarin (what's new), I honestly didnt know where to start explaining the long list to my husband. The place is kinda dedicated in serviing beef. of course there are seafood, and other food but I would say this is a beef lover place.
While I was busy staring and wondering what to get, the young guy asked what we would like to drink. I told him honestly I had no idea and am kinda lost and some help to start with would be fantastic. Knowing we are from out of town, he very swiftly recommended some of the store's specialities and this beef platter of wagyu beef of 3 different cut. Then he recommended this cocktail which he assured was asbolutely divine and I wont be able to discern the alcohol within. he looked sincere and earnest enough that I trusted him with the plan. I was not disappointed.
Dinner at Dawan proved to be my best meal in Taipei for the trip. Apart from the excellent service we had, the ingredients were undoubtingly fresh and reasonably priced. I would never ever pay so little for such high quality waygu beef cut. the meat was fresh and succulent and the staff timed the cooking over the charcoal flame so perfectly that every piece was cook to perfection (pink), where the juice will oozed inside your mouth as you take each bite. There was no additional sauces needed for dip. The meat is soooo good and naturally sweet that you will want to savour the full flavour on its own. Any additional condiments or sauces are excessive or rather unnecessary at this place.
We started off with this salad with small cubes of tofu. Each mouth was crunchy and delightful. The tofu was fried to prefection where the skin is lightly crisp without being oily, and the inside really soft and warm. The sald mix was light and non greasy either. (the girl was making our salad in the pix) What followed next was the grilled beef tongue with chopped scallions.
While we were eating, I started chattin with the girl who was "assisting" us in cooking our meat. She is very very sweet and funny. I told her she looked like the taiwanese actress/ singer Yang Chen Ling and she laughed. I prob made her day. We chit chat so much and laughed so much that she joked that Kirby her colleague must have overdosed my drink with too much alcohol... her other colleagues joined in the conversations and they started to guess my origins.
Too bad, no one guessed correctly where I was from with some thinking I was taiwanese. haaaa. As any typical reaction after the answer was revealed, she asked me what happened to the "funny singapore" accent. It's kinda hard to explain nor overturn this "deeply etched" WORLDWIDE perception that ALL SINGAPOREAN speaks BADLY in both English and Mandarin, so i didnt bother to elaborate. Its kinda sad if you really think about it.... Anycase, before I knew it, they had somehow coined 爱笑小姐 as my nickname for the night.
After a long day at Danshui, we returned to venture to this meat place which I had reserved dinner based on a blog entry I had read prior my trip. the place is called 大腕燒肉專門店 (Da wan barbecue meat specialty place). the place is located at Dunhua nan lu, amongst many little trendy stores popular with the younger crowd.
I have absolutely no idea how to get there by train even though there is a metro stop nearby. Seeing that we are running late, I opted for a cab, not before asking the hotel to call the place that we will be 10mins late. In hindsight, that was a super wise decision because the place was nestled in an inner street, and it was really FULL. I assume my seats would have been given up if no called to say we will be late since I didnt have a local number for the store to call and confirm my attendance.
The floor area isnt very large. The central area in a u-shaped is taken up by the staff cooking and preparing the food order, while the patrons will sit on the counter area. There is one table tucked away in a corner reserved for larger crowds. The place is packed with locals, not tourists, and brightly lit, well designed, well ventilated and filled with the very friendly and polite serving staff. The place even comes with discretely concealed drawers with a keylock that allows you to place your bags/ coats etc. Talk about thoughful.
We were shown to our seat promptly and since all the menu was in Mandarin (what's new), I honestly didnt know where to start explaining the long list to my husband. The place is kinda dedicated in serviing beef. of course there are seafood, and other food but I would say this is a beef lover place.
While I was busy staring and wondering what to get, the young guy asked what we would like to drink. I told him honestly I had no idea and am kinda lost and some help to start with would be fantastic. Knowing we are from out of town, he very swiftly recommended some of the store's specialities and this beef platter of wagyu beef of 3 different cut. Then he recommended this cocktail which he assured was asbolutely divine and I wont be able to discern the alcohol within. he looked sincere and earnest enough that I trusted him with the plan. I was not disappointed.
Dinner at Dawan proved to be my best meal in Taipei for the trip. Apart from the excellent service we had, the ingredients were undoubtingly fresh and reasonably priced. I would never ever pay so little for such high quality waygu beef cut. the meat was fresh and succulent and the staff timed the cooking over the charcoal flame so perfectly that every piece was cook to perfection (pink), where the juice will oozed inside your mouth as you take each bite. There was no additional sauces needed for dip. The meat is soooo good and naturally sweet that you will want to savour the full flavour on its own. Any additional condiments or sauces are excessive or rather unnecessary at this place.
We started off with this salad with small cubes of tofu. Each mouth was crunchy and delightful. The tofu was fried to prefection where the skin is lightly crisp without being oily, and the inside really soft and warm. The sald mix was light and non greasy either. (the girl was making our salad in the pix) What followed next was the grilled beef tongue with chopped scallions.
While we were eating, I started chattin with the girl who was "assisting" us in cooking our meat. She is very very sweet and funny. I told her she looked like the taiwanese actress/ singer Yang Chen Ling and she laughed. I prob made her day. We chit chat so much and laughed so much that she joked that Kirby her colleague must have overdosed my drink with too much alcohol... her other colleagues joined in the conversations and they started to guess my origins.
Too bad, no one guessed correctly where I was from with some thinking I was taiwanese. haaaa. As any typical reaction after the answer was revealed, she asked me what happened to the "funny singapore" accent. It's kinda hard to explain nor overturn this "deeply etched" WORLDWIDE perception that ALL SINGAPOREAN speaks BADLY in both English and Mandarin, so i didnt bother to elaborate. Its kinda sad if you really think about it.... Anycase, before I knew it, they had somehow coined 爱笑小姐 as my nickname for the night.
One of the best dish was 牛小排，甜美，又嫩又多汁，真没话说。After cooking to perfection, the meat will be taken away to be slice to small pieces and adorned wih a drop of wasabi that perfectly enhanced the flavour. The wasabi isnt the usual nasty choking usual but rather it has a very light flavour closer to english mustard but mixed with a tinge of something else. Combined with the sweet meat, it was divine combination.
The seafood was also fresh, unadulterated goodness as well.
Our neighbors had some rice ball that has salmon stuffing which didnt really appeal to us that much. I had another of the cocktail but of pomelo concoction this time as recommended by the girl to be her fav. I was sold and she was right.
Both my husband and I had a great time there, in terms of food and ambience and everything. To us, everything was perfect. If u can speak Mandarin, that is definitely a place to go. The place was constantly filled with customers and not a single empty seat in sight from 7.30pm to 9.30pm while we were there. As we were leaving, the place was still going strong with people waiting outside, and hence reservations is a good idea for this place. Would I come back again? Definitely. For the same meal, it would prob cost us an arm AND a leg if it was consumed in Hk or Singapore but not here in taipei. At the end, apart from the good food, I think the humourous friendly staff set the place apart. Creating a setting like you are dining at a friend's place where you can unwind, chill out or banter with the staff is a perfect environment to leave a memorable time for any guests, and most certainly have them come back again. Before I left, the girl and I said our goodbyes, and that I will definitely be back again the next time I am in taipei. It's a promise :)
As I left the store and was asking one of the serving staff (taking his smoking break) where to take a cab, he told me to head to the main street, not before cracking another joke to take my pick on any of the "cattle herd" parked by the side... That night, I went back with a big smile and a full belly.
Address: 台北市敦化南路一段177巷22號1樓０２－２７１１０１７９
operating hours: PM18:00～AM02:00
Monday, September 28, 2009
Taipei Travel Log: A Day in Danshui - 淡水一日游
On a glorious sat, I decided to take my husband out to Danshui for sightseeing. Due to our prior dinner appointment, we couldnt stick around for the sunset at the fisherman wharf. Plus, we figured we wont be missing out too much since we have seen so many sunset round the world that we figured this sunset wont be any much more different or more spectacular than the rest. Not that we think any lesser of the sunset at Danshui, but rather there wasnt much incentive for us to stick around since we were already there since 2pm. It's a pretty tiring day just from walking around. 
In Danshui, quite frankly, the best thing is to eat. Just walk through the old Street (老街), you will pass by so many stalls that will set your senses alight, if it hasnt confused them from the varying fragrances and tempting visual delights. From the very first store, we were lured by the piping hot Taiwan sauage made from wild boar. It was much meatier, lengthy and juicer than the ususal Taiwan sauage. Next, we spied on the seasoned squid store and bought another cup of squid to munch on as we soldier on towards the Unesco heritage site.
[淡水最棒的一处就是边走边吃。天啊！摊位多得看得我眼花缭乱。说实在的，真的不怕没东西吃，只怕你没法饮得完，消化的不够快！当时的我，巴不得能够把全部都买回去试吃，但就是不能嘛。应为冷了，那股味道就变得不同了。加上饭店又没热锅能把买回去的食物温开来，太麻烦了，所以对有些摊位，只能眼睁睁，含情脉脉，依依不舍地说byebye了。那山猪制的热烘烘台湾香肠真是没乱盖的，好吃到棒！甜美多汁，虽很不起眼，也不算是美味佳肴，但对我来说，这简简单单的味道和吃法，也是一种享受，所以吃得无比的开心。鱿鱼酥更是好吃的不得了。除了具有不同的味道选择，口感更是一点都不会硬梆梆，真令我诧异！但话说回那阿姨，她样子还真是不开心。。。太热了吧！]
Along the way, I was tempted by so many things. From the muahchee, to the mochi balls, to the Ah ge, and huge slab of chicken cutlet...crap..there are so much to choose from that I had to restrain myself from overeating so that I wont be too full for my BBQ dinner tonite.
For dessert, we stopped by this store which allows you to choose from an assortment of ingredients such as yuyuan, grass jelly etc to go with the shaved iced soya beancurd. It's basically similar Singapore version of Ice Kachang without the Kachang (red beans) and different set of flavors combination.
We walked along the riverbay. hot hot hot. It was a really clear sunny day. I cursed aloud for forgetting my cap but at least i rem my shades. My husband had none. I gloated at him in glee...
We were pretty lucky. It was UNESCO heritage day in Danshui （淡水认识古迹日） that weekend, so for all the buildings and sights we visited, we didnt have to pay any entrance fee. One of the more interesting building was the Red Castle (淡水红毛城), initially built by the Spanish in the 17th century (secretly sneaking behind the Dutch rule of the area then) and later after a period of desolation, under China's rule, the building was rented out to the Brits as some diplomatic embassy office and holding cells. While inside, I was lucky to bump into this Malaysian group threesome who was being led around by a Taiwan guide explaining the history of the place, throwing in rumoured myths and stories of the hidden tunnel between red castle here in Danshui to the building in Kee long. My husband doesnt understand mandarin so we split up as he checked out the place on his own while I was more interested in what the guide was explaining about the building.
There was also a pretty ancient looking Chinese temple which was built based on numerous and generous donations by the locals back in 1782, showing the height of belief of the population then. It is the oldest Mazu (妈祖庙) temple in Danshui. Inside the temple nearest the main entrance on the left hand side, there is also an inscription of the history and orgins of the temple, as well as the remains of a stone tablet embedded in the wall. the tablet is actually an inscription declaring all the people who contributed to building this important lighthouse in the Tamshui region back then (which serve as a bustling port and shipping trades), to prevent ships from crashing and sinking, as well as guilding them around. Unfortunately, the Japanese had bombed and utterly destroyed the lighthouse during world war and hence, only the tablet remains to remind us of the little bit of history.
While strolling back to the station, we stop by this store which served this muahchee thingie, not made of glutinous rice but with fresh milk. I decided to try it since it sounded interesting. truthfully, while its not as sticky and filling as the glutinous rice version, this milk version was lacking in something. I cannot se exactly what but perhaps the milk flavour doesnt blend well with the black sesamee coating we chosed.
There are alot of cafes lined along the waterfront, which are all fully filled by 5pm of course. Its a nice respite from the sun and fatigue but you will have to go early to grab the best spot. The only thing is, they are directly in the sun during the afternoon sun so you wont want to be there too early either.
The only thing I didnt quite try was the black eggs called 铁蛋, literally translated as metal eggs. There is nothing metallic about it but rather its just fermented shrunk chicken eggs. I am no fan of eggs so despite all the advice that I should try it, I politely declined.
All in all, another good day, especially when it all comes free and a day filled with good history of another place. Throw in great snacks and food, what else is there to say.
In Danshui, quite frankly, the best thing is to eat. Just walk through the old Street (老街), you will pass by so many stalls that will set your senses alight, if it hasnt confused them from the varying fragrances and tempting visual delights. From the very first store, we were lured by the piping hot Taiwan sauage made from wild boar. It was much meatier, lengthy and juicer than the ususal Taiwan sauage. Next, we spied on the seasoned squid store and bought another cup of squid to munch on as we soldier on towards the Unesco heritage site.
[淡水最棒的一处就是边走边吃。天啊！摊位多得看得我眼花缭乱。说实在的，真的不怕没东西吃，只怕你没法饮得完，消化的不够快！当时的我，巴不得能够把全部都买回去试吃，但就是不能嘛。应为冷了，那股味道就变得不同了。加上饭店又没热锅能把买回去的食物温开来，太麻烦了，所以对有些摊位，只能眼睁睁，含情脉脉，依依不舍地说byebye了。那山猪制的热烘烘台湾香肠真是没乱盖的，好吃到棒！甜美多汁，虽很不起眼，也不算是美味佳肴，但对我来说，这简简单单的味道和吃法，也是一种享受，所以吃得无比的开心。鱿鱼酥更是好吃的不得了。除了具有不同的味道选择，口感更是一点都不会硬梆梆，真令我诧异！但话说回那阿姨，她样子还真是不开心。。。太热了吧！]
Along the way, I was tempted by so many things. From the muahchee, to the mochi balls, to the Ah ge, and huge slab of chicken cutlet...crap..there are so much to choose from that I had to restrain myself from overeating so that I wont be too full for my BBQ dinner tonite.
For dessert, we stopped by this store which allows you to choose from an assortment of ingredients such as yuyuan, grass jelly etc to go with the shaved iced soya beancurd. It's basically similar Singapore version of Ice Kachang without the Kachang (red beans) and different set of flavors combination.
We walked along the riverbay. hot hot hot. It was a really clear sunny day. I cursed aloud for forgetting my cap but at least i rem my shades. My husband had none. I gloated at him in glee...
We were pretty lucky. It was UNESCO heritage day in Danshui （淡水认识古迹日） that weekend, so for all the buildings and sights we visited, we didnt have to pay any entrance fee. One of the more interesting building was the Red Castle (淡水红毛城), initially built by the Spanish in the 17th century (secretly sneaking behind the Dutch rule of the area then) and later after a period of desolation, under China's rule, the building was rented out to the Brits as some diplomatic embassy office and holding cells. While inside, I was lucky to bump into this Malaysian group threesome who was being led around by a Taiwan guide explaining the history of the place, throwing in rumoured myths and stories of the hidden tunnel between red castle here in Danshui to the building in Kee long. My husband doesnt understand mandarin so we split up as he checked out the place on his own while I was more interested in what the guide was explaining about the building.
There was also a pretty ancient looking Chinese temple which was built based on numerous and generous donations by the locals back in 1782, showing the height of belief of the population then. It is the oldest Mazu (妈祖庙) temple in Danshui. Inside the temple nearest the main entrance on the left hand side, there is also an inscription of the history and orgins of the temple, as well as the remains of a stone tablet embedded in the wall. the tablet is actually an inscription declaring all the people who contributed to building this important lighthouse in the Tamshui region back then (which serve as a bustling port and shipping trades), to prevent ships from crashing and sinking, as well as guilding them around. Unfortunately, the Japanese had bombed and utterly destroyed the lighthouse during world war and hence, only the tablet remains to remind us of the little bit of history.
We walked further up to the Litle White House, which building is a small building that shows all the history of the place. Ok alittle boring, so we scouted out there in a jiffy since the building itself is not very interesting.
While strolling back to the station, we stop by this store which served this muahchee thingie, not made of glutinous rice but with fresh milk. I decided to try it since it sounded interesting. truthfully, while its not as sticky and filling as the glutinous rice version, this milk version was lacking in something. I cannot se exactly what but perhaps the milk flavour doesnt blend well with the black sesamee coating we chosed.
There are alot of cafes lined along the waterfront, which are all fully filled by 5pm of course. Its a nice respite from the sun and fatigue but you will have to go early to grab the best spot. The only thing is, they are directly in the sun during the afternoon sun so you wont want to be there too early either.
The only thing I didnt quite try was the black eggs called 铁蛋, literally translated as metal eggs. There is nothing metallic about it but rather its just fermented shrunk chicken eggs. I am no fan of eggs so despite all the advice that I should try it, I politely declined.
All in all, another good day, especially when it all comes free and a day filled with good history of another place. Throw in great snacks and food, what else is there to say.
Checking into Far eastern hotel Taipei
Due to a Travel package offer, we decided to stay at Far Eastern Shangri Hotel instead of my ususal Le Suite Taipei.
One of the most distinct thing I missed from Le Suite is the use of free mobile phone, which i can make free calls. It was super convenient for me back then to be able to call the hotel concegiere at the push of one button if I had wanted to know where to go and have my fav food. It was really service at a touch of a button.
One of the most distinct thing I missed from Le Suite is the use of free mobile phone, which i can make free calls. It was super convenient for me back then to be able to call the hotel concegiere at the push of one button if I had wanted to know where to go and have my fav food. It was really service at a touch of a button.
In Far Eastern, my first impression wasnt that great. We arrived at about 12pm and there was a mob of other check in guests due to some seminar. I was told my room wasnt ready but she will upgrade me and I should come back 1.5 hrs later. We left our bags with the bell boy and I bundled my husband into a cab and swiftly off to taipei 101 to get that done and over with.
We ended up having Japanese lunch at the top floor. I didnt want to ruin my appetite for my hotpot dinner later so I ordered a small sushi platter. My husband as typical man, refuse to heed my advice that it was too much and went ahead to order an udon noodle set for himself. (which did ruin his dinner appetite afterall)
The ironical thing was when my chef was preparing sushi platter came, my husband got all "jealous" that mine looked so inviting. As we were at our counter seat, the chef overheard my husband's playful indignant cries and started laughing when we started to banter, where I obviously refuse to share any of my sushi with my husband. I told the chef to proceed in helping me to "taunt" my husband in mandarin “请你继续吧！让他羡慕死吧！哈哈” The chef laughed and commented that my husband can always order another one which I explained he shant due to our early dinner reservations.
The ironical thing was when my chef was preparing sushi platter came, my husband got all "jealous" that mine looked so inviting. As we were at our counter seat, the chef overheard my husband's playful indignant cries and started laughing when we started to banter, where I obviously refuse to share any of my sushi with my husband. I told the chef to proceed in helping me to "taunt" my husband in mandarin “请你继续吧！让他羡慕死吧！哈哈” The chef laughed and commented that my husband can always order another one which I explained he shant due to our early dinner reservations.
Of course, in the end, being the "dutiful" wife as I am, I split some of my sushi in half for my greedy guts husband to "appease" his gluttony guts. :)
We went back to the hotel 2 hours later, giving the hotel an extra half hour from the advised time. To my horror, I was told my room wasnt ready. Now, this really wasnt what I was expecting. In Le Suite, my room would always be ready before I am back, not to mention with the extra half hour I had given Far Eastern. I asked how long more I had to wait, and it ended up another 30mins wait. My husband was so dead tired (from all his biz trip flying and morning flight) that he fell asleep in the lobby lounge sofa. I was obviously not in my best mood either though I tried to be as understanding as possible. Still, I dont like to be "lied" to.
The room was unusually big and spacious. We had an extra living room area wih sofa set where the floor area could easily fit another kind size bed in the room and prob throw in another single bed and still have space to walk around. It was crazy that size.
The Tv however isnt plasma and kinda placed in a weird angle that can get pretty tirin to watch from the bed. What was the worst was the temperature. The room was perpetually freezing and the thermostat in the room didnt seem to work. We turn it up to 26degree and it still felt like freezing Antartic pole. However, under the bed quilt, it was all nice and warm and inviting to sleep. Just that everymoring we had to pile on the layers before shooting out of our room and bask ourselves in Taipei sunny warmth.
Housekeeping was efficient as well. The hotel has a rather nice rooftop view where the pool is.We get to see a good niteview of the city as well as Taipei 101 at nite with the lights all turned on. The pool is nicely deep at 1.95m but it so freaking warm that you cannot really do serious lap swims.
However lobby staff.... hmm.. receptionist isnt all warm and friendly, and concerige staff isnt all knowledgeable in the best travel time and methods. Other than that, the hotel is kinda out of the way from everything and a good 10mins walking distance from the nearest train station. Given a choice, I prob wont head back to this hotel in a hurry.
Taipei Travel Log: Dinner at spicy Hotpot (满堂红麻辣锅)
I have finally settled down a little to blog about my Taipei trip. After all the grieve from Dell, I deserve a little pockets of happy moment to get thru this brand new week.
I didnt take much sightseeing pictures in Taipei, since frankly....hmmm... there is really nothing to see within the city area itself. As my husband so aptly put it, it's really all about food for me this trip.
The first food review shall be 满堂红麻辣锅 [man tang hong ma la guo]
This is a specialty store devoted to selling nothing but hotpot soup with your choice of own raw ingredients. While hotpot stores are aplenty in Taipei and prob in Asia, this store is especially known for their spicy chili broth. The broth is supposedly cooked for over 8hrs to get the really fiery spicy flavor into the soup.
I went to the branch at ai ren street and not the flagship store because its much nearer to Far Eastern Shangri La my hotel. As I have blogged somewhere earlier, its a good thing I book a week in advance to secure a table for the 5.30-7.30pm seating.
Arriving and locating the restaurant is a breeze though one should walk to the side street for the main entrance, instead of looking for the entry along the main road where their logo sign is being displayed. Walk up to 2nd level, you are greeted by the bustling busy but polite young waiters. We were seated promptly at this huge table and immediately I was askd if I wanted the 鸳鸯锅 (yuanyang guo) [definition: half portions of normal broth and spicy mala]
As I had done my Internet research prior the trip and knowing the potent power of the dried chili broth, I had specifically asked for the mildest version. The waiter acknowledged and immediately my pot of soup was served.
I was given this checklist of items to order or rather select. The price of the meal is fixed at about 450NT per adult for dinner time, so we can select whatever we want and the waiter will serve the various selections to the table.. The only thing u need to get yourself are the free flow of soft drink coke bottles, as well as different type of sauces from a range of BBQ sauce, vinegar, Japanese sour sauce, sesame seed oil, peanut power etc etc...there must be over 10 types of assortment there.
I checked the most of the list of beef options minus the bacon (about 3 different cuts) , clams, prawns, veges, chicken, assortments of mushrooms. The meat came in thinly sliced ham format. For the beef, there were the signature version, near the belly and one shoulder beef area. However, my fav dish was actually the minced prawn in the bamboo tube. That is the BEST dish for me.
Ok for starters, even their mild version of the chilli broth nearly killed me. It was really really really spicy. I didnt choke on it but you can feel the warm fuzzy feeling in your tummy even if all I did was to cook my meat in the broth and didnt drink the soup, which prob would have been suicidal. I rem another blogger had mentioned how he was stuck in the toilet the whole of next day after his meal from over consumption of the chilli broth and he wasnt used to the spice, so I was determined not to make the same mistake and ruined my hols. Hence I threw all my veges into the normal broth.
I was really lucky to get a really attentive and friendly male waiter. He noticed I didnt touch the chilli broth and asked if it was still too hot for me. I confessed it was really too spicy for me and I wasnt used to it. He grinned and added more of the normal broth into the chilli broth to dilute the spiciness. Initially he had mistaken I had returned back to Taiwan from overseas and he joked that my tummy had forgotten its "spicy roots". After he realised I wasnt Taiwanese, he actually stuck around to cook my meat for me. I look around and didnt see any of the other waiter cooking the meals for the rest of the patrons. Ok, I confessed, I like the special treatment. I didnt have to lift a finger, all I did was to eat whatever the waiter dished onto my plate. haaa
Of course, special treatment couldnt last the whole nite since the place was really jam packed with customers :) I had a jug of the 乌梅汁 which basically is some black plum juice. It was alittle different from what I had in mind and it was alittle too thick before the ice melted. Plus it had kinda a strong herbal taste too. However, it certainly clam the "fire" within the tummy after the intake of the chilli broth. Unfortunately, my husband has no interest in such "chinese" beverage taking preference with his coke and I couldnt finish my plum juice of coz.
All in all a good meal for the first dinner of the trip, not to mention dirt cheap. 2 hours is just the right duration for the meal. We decided to free up our table for the next guests and had our icecream in a cone as takeway instead.
The only thing that had my husband stumped a little was the male washroom. He was kinda taken back that there was little privacy. The washroom toilet door was kinda tinted in red but it was seriously not hard to see the "men in action" doing their little business as the urinal was place by the side of the door. I was so amused I started laughing. I was telling my husband that no one would really be interested to "look in" and stare at them peeing but he wasnt all that convinced...
滿堂紅頂極麻辣鴛鴦火鍋．
ADDRESS: 仁愛旗艦店台北市仁愛路四段228號之4０２-２７０１６６６９
OPERATING HRS: 營業時間上午十一點半至三點．下午五點至凌晨一點
(11am -3pm lunch/ 5pm -am dinner))
COST: 每人午間399元 (noon)，夜間假日450元(night)，單點另計，加一成服務費用，
TIME LIMIT :限時兩個小時．
仁愛本店：台北市仁愛路四段454號．０２-２７２９６４４３．晚上只營業至十一點鐘
I didnt take much sightseeing pictures in Taipei, since frankly....hmmm... there is really nothing to see within the city area itself. As my husband so aptly put it, it's really all about food for me this trip.
The first food review shall be 满堂红麻辣锅 [man tang hong ma la guo]
This is a specialty store devoted to selling nothing but hotpot soup with your choice of own raw ingredients. While hotpot stores are aplenty in Taipei and prob in Asia, this store is especially known for their spicy chili broth. The broth is supposedly cooked for over 8hrs to get the really fiery spicy flavor into the soup.
I went to the branch at ai ren street and not the flagship store because its much nearer to Far Eastern Shangri La my hotel. As I have blogged somewhere earlier, its a good thing I book a week in advance to secure a table for the 5.30-7.30pm seating.
Arriving and locating the restaurant is a breeze though one should walk to the side street for the main entrance, instead of looking for the entry along the main road where their logo sign is being displayed. Walk up to 2nd level, you are greeted by the bustling busy but polite young waiters. We were seated promptly at this huge table and immediately I was askd if I wanted the 鸳鸯锅 (yuanyang guo) [definition: half portions of normal broth and spicy mala]
As I had done my Internet research prior the trip and knowing the potent power of the dried chili broth, I had specifically asked for the mildest version. The waiter acknowledged and immediately my pot of soup was served.
I was given this checklist of items to order or rather select. The price of the meal is fixed at about 450NT per adult for dinner time, so we can select whatever we want and the waiter will serve the various selections to the table.. The only thing u need to get yourself are the free flow of soft drink coke bottles, as well as different type of sauces from a range of BBQ sauce, vinegar, Japanese sour sauce, sesame seed oil, peanut power etc etc...there must be over 10 types of assortment there.
I checked the most of the list of beef options minus the bacon (about 3 different cuts) , clams, prawns, veges, chicken, assortments of mushrooms. The meat came in thinly sliced ham format. For the beef, there were the signature version, near the belly and one shoulder beef area. However, my fav dish was actually the minced prawn in the bamboo tube. That is the BEST dish for me.
Ok for starters, even their mild version of the chilli broth nearly killed me. It was really really really spicy. I didnt choke on it but you can feel the warm fuzzy feeling in your tummy even if all I did was to cook my meat in the broth and didnt drink the soup, which prob would have been suicidal. I rem another blogger had mentioned how he was stuck in the toilet the whole of next day after his meal from over consumption of the chilli broth and he wasnt used to the spice, so I was determined not to make the same mistake and ruined my hols. Hence I threw all my veges into the normal broth.
I was really lucky to get a really attentive and friendly male waiter. He noticed I didnt touch the chilli broth and asked if it was still too hot for me. I confessed it was really too spicy for me and I wasnt used to it. He grinned and added more of the normal broth into the chilli broth to dilute the spiciness. Initially he had mistaken I had returned back to Taiwan from overseas and he joked that my tummy had forgotten its "spicy roots". After he realised I wasnt Taiwanese, he actually stuck around to cook my meat for me. I look around and didnt see any of the other waiter cooking the meals for the rest of the patrons. Ok, I confessed, I like the special treatment. I didnt have to lift a finger, all I did was to eat whatever the waiter dished onto my plate. haaa
Of course, special treatment couldnt last the whole nite since the place was really jam packed with customers :) I had a jug of the 乌梅汁 which basically is some black plum juice. It was alittle different from what I had in mind and it was alittle too thick before the ice melted. Plus it had kinda a strong herbal taste too. However, it certainly clam the "fire" within the tummy after the intake of the chilli broth. Unfortunately, my husband has no interest in such "chinese" beverage taking preference with his coke and I couldnt finish my plum juice of coz.
All in all a good meal for the first dinner of the trip, not to mention dirt cheap. 2 hours is just the right duration for the meal. We decided to free up our table for the next guests and had our icecream in a cone as takeway instead.
The only thing that had my husband stumped a little was the male washroom. He was kinda taken back that there was little privacy. The washroom toilet door was kinda tinted in red but it was seriously not hard to see the "men in action" doing their little business as the urinal was place by the side of the door. I was so amused I started laughing. I was telling my husband that no one would really be interested to "look in" and stare at them peeing but he wasnt all that convinced...
滿堂紅頂極麻辣鴛鴦火鍋．
ADDRESS: 仁愛旗艦店台北市仁愛路四段228號之4０２-２７０１６６６９
OPERATING HRS: 營業時間上午十一點半至三點．下午五點至凌晨一點
(11am -3pm lunch/ 5pm -am dinner))
COST: 每人午間399元 (noon)，夜間假日450元(night)，單點另計，加一成服務費用，
TIME LIMIT :限時兩個小時．
仁愛本店：台北市仁愛路四段454號．０２-２７２９６４４３．晚上只營業至十一點鐘
Thursday, September 24, 2009
2nd episode with fu-ck up DELL
2 days in a row now that dell has completely ruined my day. what a fucking useless company, not to mention super irresponsible cooperation.
I have effectively wasted 3hours of my time today, just to be redirected from one person to another, one number to another, because all of them are too incompetent to resolve a simple problem. which is, the office 2007 cd they had sent me is corrupted and cannot be used. ALL THEY NEED TO DO IS RESEND ME A NEW CD.
BUT HELL NOOOOOOO... these fucking bastards decide to make my life hell. Of coz the sales department said its not their issue, and refered me to technical department. Technical department was even more useless, he suggested for me to reformat my whole new PC. I lost my patience after 1.5hrs and finally screamed at him. I know i shouldnt but I really snapped at this whole incredulous situation.
WHAT HAS A CORRUPTED OFFICE CD got to do with reformatting my whole harddisk. I am not IT IGNORANT TO THE DEGREE I CANNOT DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN A FAULTY CD VS A FAULTY HARDDISK.
So the technical guy then said since its the cd, it is out of his scope and bounced me back to the sales. The sales staff couldnt care less and ask me to call the complaint hotline, else to call microsoft since the cd is shipped from them. I told her the cd is NOT from microsoft because it has this lame homesticker and not a proper microsoft cd. I have worked with thousands of microsoft cd and partners in volume licensing, i know how an authentic MS CD SHOULD LOOK LIKE.
Anycase, i called microsoft. finally an efficient company that speaks english too. The girl explained to me that the cd isnt from microsoft which is exactly what I had suspected. What I had is a medialess activation key which is for preinstalled trial office version. I told her I knew as that was what I had been trying to explain to those nincompoops at DELL. They are just too dense to understand me. So the lady told me to download the trial software from microsoft website instead. However, if i want a backup copy i have to pay extra. If not, I have to call back DELL about my fault cd. So back to ground zero to talk to those fucking imbeciles again from DELL.
I called back the sales person in charge of my order and she lamented she cannot do anything. I asked her why is it sooo difficult to just resend me a new cd, she said she is not responsible. So she asked me to call the customer feedback hotline, or so called under the pretext of customer care. CARE my granny's arse. If they care, I wont be in this huge bubbling state of anger and grief.
I called the customer hotline again, by now, 3 hours have passed.
I was told to wait. The line was busy. To wait again.
Then a girl called and said she will logged my case but because it is NEAR KNOCKING OFF TIME, she asked me to call back tomorrow instead to discuss the case.
Is this really customer care?
Is this really DELL's way of treating their customer.
Is this really the way to do business?
I am so fedup that I can really murder someone.
I have never been so angry for continuously few hours in a stretch before in my life. Not even when I was working and dealing with lesser intellect people.
Dell way of handling their customer is shamelessly money driven.
If I can get hold of Micheal Dell, I would give him a good piece of my mind.
I have effectively wasted 3hours of my time today, just to be redirected from one person to another, one number to another, because all of them are too incompetent to resolve a simple problem. which is, the office 2007 cd they had sent me is corrupted and cannot be used. ALL THEY NEED TO DO IS RESEND ME A NEW CD.
BUT HELL NOOOOOOO... these fucking bastards decide to make my life hell. Of coz the sales department said its not their issue, and refered me to technical department. Technical department was even more useless, he suggested for me to reformat my whole new PC. I lost my patience after 1.5hrs and finally screamed at him. I know i shouldnt but I really snapped at this whole incredulous situation.
WHAT HAS A CORRUPTED OFFICE CD got to do with reformatting my whole harddisk. I am not IT IGNORANT TO THE DEGREE I CANNOT DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN A FAULTY CD VS A FAULTY HARDDISK.
So the technical guy then said since its the cd, it is out of his scope and bounced me back to the sales. The sales staff couldnt care less and ask me to call the complaint hotline, else to call microsoft since the cd is shipped from them. I told her the cd is NOT from microsoft because it has this lame homesticker and not a proper microsoft cd. I have worked with thousands of microsoft cd and partners in volume licensing, i know how an authentic MS CD SHOULD LOOK LIKE.
Anycase, i called microsoft. finally an efficient company that speaks english too. The girl explained to me that the cd isnt from microsoft which is exactly what I had suspected. What I had is a medialess activation key which is for preinstalled trial office version. I told her I knew as that was what I had been trying to explain to those nincompoops at DELL. They are just too dense to understand me. So the lady told me to download the trial software from microsoft website instead. However, if i want a backup copy i have to pay extra. If not, I have to call back DELL about my fault cd. So back to ground zero to talk to those fucking imbeciles again from DELL.
I called back the sales person in charge of my order and she lamented she cannot do anything. I asked her why is it sooo difficult to just resend me a new cd, she said she is not responsible. So she asked me to call the customer feedback hotline, or so called under the pretext of customer care. CARE my granny's arse. If they care, I wont be in this huge bubbling state of anger and grief.
I called the customer hotline again, by now, 3 hours have passed.
I was told to wait. The line was busy. To wait again.
Then a girl called and said she will logged my case but because it is NEAR KNOCKING OFF TIME, she asked me to call back tomorrow instead to discuss the case.
Is this really customer care?
Is this really DELL's way of treating their customer.
Is this really the way to do business?
I am so fedup that I can really murder someone.
I have never been so angry for continuously few hours in a stretch before in my life. Not even when I was working and dealing with lesser intellect people.
Dell way of handling their customer is shamelessly money driven.
If I can get hold of Micheal Dell, I would give him a good piece of my mind.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Osaka - Takosen
Go anywhere in Osaka and you will be greeted by a variety of food. However, one of the local staple is the Takosen. It is basically the tako balls sandwich between 2 crispy prawn cracker, mixed with mayo and other sauces. This is a must have in osaka.
we had ours along the way back from the Aquarium, stopping along the street for a quick rest and filling up our tummy with this yummy treat.
Osaka - ENDO sushi
During one of those days I was by myself roaming, I headed off to try Endo sushi which I had heard so much about. I woke up too late to go to the one in Osaka central fish market. So instead, i went to the one located in the mall off Kobayashi station 京橋店（京阪モール内）
address = 大阪府大阪市都島区 東野田町2-1-38 京阪モール5階
I didnt have a lot to choose from and the day I was there, they didnt have Otoro, so I settled for Chutoro instead. It was equally fabulous frankly. The pieces were delicate and sweet, freshness was second to none. I only remembered to take closeup pictures when I was almost done with my chu-toro sushi.
Service wise was a little lacking for a jap restaurant...polite but not too welcoming [warm]. Maybe it was the sushi chef's bad day.
WEBSITE = http://www.endo-sushi.com/shokai.html
address = 大阪府大阪市都島区 東野田町2-1-38 京阪モール5階
I didnt have a lot to choose from and the day I was there, they didnt have Otoro, so I settled for Chutoro instead. It was equally fabulous frankly. The pieces were delicate and sweet, freshness was second to none. I only remembered to take closeup pictures when I was almost done with my chu-toro sushi.
Service wise was a little lacking for a jap restaurant...polite but not too welcoming [warm]. Maybe it was the sushi chef's bad day.
WEBSITE = http://www.endo-sushi.com/shokai.html
Osaka - Jiyuken Japanese curry rice
Also tried out Jiyuken one of the older curry store in Osaka.
Frankly, I thought the food was only average and nothing to rave about. To be fair, there are a lot of varities to choose from, so maybe we didnt pick well and ended with something averageho knows... However, the lady owner looks really like those Japanese lady from older period with her rather whitish makeup and hairdo... she looks as ''vintage'' as the store itself.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)