AWESOME!!!! MJ totally rocks

Prisoners from Philippines do an MJ.....Freaking awesome!!!

Nasi Goreng - Room Service in Jakarta

I miss Malay food. It's about the only cuisine that you can't find easily in Taipei. The meal tasted as good as it looks!!! Room service in Sari Pan Pacific, Jakarta.

Wat Pho - Reclining Buddha

Let's take a break away from food, shall we?

I was in Bangkok about a month ago and did some sightseeing over the weekend.  We visited 3 temples and took lots of pictures. Here are the ones from Wat Pho (วัดโพธิ์), or also known as Wat Phra Chetuphon (วัดพระเชตุพน)

Couple of interesting facts:
1) Famous for the huge Reclining Buddha statue it houses
2) Has the most number of Buddha images in Thailand.
2) Standing at 20 acres large, it is the largest Wat in Bangkok.
3) Built around 200 years ago (and thus it is is also technically the oldest)
4) Rebuilt by Rama I when the capital was moved to Bangkok.

Eyes are engraved with mother-of-pearl decoration,

The gold plated reclining Buddha is 46 meters long and 15 meters high.
(Designed to illustrate the passing of the Buddha into nirvana)

Feet are also engraved with mother of pearl decorations

Sole of feet shows 108 auspicious characteristics of the true Buddha

Standard lunch/dinner in Hong Kong - Roasted Meat

I was staying on Queen's Road West over the weekend. It is on the west side of Hong Kong island which (I know this because Isa forced me to look at her precious map upon moving into her place) is a stone's throw away from Central (aka the hustle bustle of IFC mall, Lan Kwai Fong and so on).

Queen's Road West is famous for its many Teochew restaurants. When dusk falls, you will find many nice cars parked along the roads and the restaurants full of people. Day time, however, with banks, cafes and a small wet market nearby, you can also be guaranteed with lots of activities and things to see. 

Perpendicular to Queen's Road West is Possession Street. The name, I find rather amusing, is NOT a direct translation of the chinese name. The chinese name directly translated is, erm..... Water Hole street. I guess that's why they had to change the name??? But what I don't get is why call it Possession street? Is it because nearby there is a street full of funeral parlors? Haha, okay, not funny.

Within an hour of moving into Isa's place, I couldn't resist popping into one of the Hong Kong stalls selling roasted meat. (This is after I had a heavy late lunch and was at her place less than 2 hours later). The meal cost only 36 HKD and comes with a large bowl of salted vegetable soup. Totally enjoyable.

No wonder HK is known to be the land of eating and drinking.

Where I stayed over the weekend (west side of HK island)

Typical Hong Kong stall on Possession Street selling roast meats

Inside the stall - Many people getting take away

My lunch/dinner - Roast Pork, Char Siew, Roast Duck  plus a salted egg

Salted Vegetable Soup - On the house

Lunch at Yung Kee on the last day...

After checking my luggage into the Hotel Express station, we took a cab to the famous Yung Kee restuarant which was about 10 mins away by taxi. Had to wait for about 20 minutes for our seats (which isn't long by Hong Kong standards). Service was great, food was fantastic. (Usually food is fantastic and service is not so great...) I'm not complaining but I didn't manage to eat the pigeon dish (my craving) so I guess I will need to visit Hong Kong again soon.

Almost missed my flight as we were having so much fun but anyway it was totally worth it.

Thanks Isa, I had a great time!!

Address: 32-40 Wellington Street, Central, Hong Kong

  Famous Yung Kee Restaurant (Near Lan Kwai Fong)

Appetizer - Century Egg with Ginger (Very extremely popular)

Kok Poh - Blending of 2 types of tea

Goose Wings
(My Grandpa's favourite - Yes, we are Teo Chew)

Veggies - Xiao Bai Chai

3 Types of Roasted Meat - Goose,, Suckling Pig and Char Siew

Close Up -
Since this is what everyone goes to the restaurant for

Closer...
Doesn't it make your mouth water?

(This shot is especially for BP) 

View from my hotel window

I love the idea that I can see the mountain from my window. Feels like my living room in Taipei...

Just in front of the mountain is the Hong Kong Jockey club. They have horse races every Wed and Friday. :)

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In the spirit of National Day......

Monster Rabbit

Monster Rabbit taken at Danshui, Taipei. Don't tell me that you are not impressed. I don't believe you...:D

Supper in Hong Kong

Day One in Hong Kong and I couldn't resist going out for supper with Isa. Met her at IFC and we walked over to one of the cafes at Jubilee Street. I've been to Hong Kong so many times before but I have to admit that every single time I'm here, it feels quite exciting as the city is just soooo "ALIVE!!". Love the food and love the hustle bustle!!! (Disclaimer: I'm not as excited as some people I know about being in Hong Kong, aka THE Hong Kong crazies, who rave about Hong Kong almost as if its the best place in the world. My excitement is very much moderate in comparison. :P)

Taken from the window in the cafe.

You can see the reflection of the cafe's lights from the glass. I was totally lazy to stand up and take a proper picture but I had a damn good view of some superbly nice cars parked next to that shoddy looking building. Porsche, BMWs and the likes....Really nice cars with damn interesting license plates. I remember once I saw a license plate on a car that was "2 FAST" . Hehe....Rich people....I thought it was hilarious!

Okay, now to the food.....

Pork Bun with condensed milk

Dish Number 1: Wanted something sweet and was conflicted between getting Buo Luo Bao (Pineapple bun with a slab of button) and this Pork bun with condensed milk. Both are equally sinful. I know!! In the end, I decided to try "something new" and ordered the latter. I didn't exactly know why it was called Pork bun. There was nothing porkish about it I commented..... Isa suggested that it was probably baked using pork lard or something. Ewwwwww...... Disgusting as it sounds (I mean Isa's theory), it was super yummelicious. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. 

"Swiss" style chicken wings

Dish Number 2: This dish is introduced as "Swiss" styled chicken wings. Swiss style chicken wings??? Come on! The chicken wings were cooked in dark soy sauce. Exactly like the type that you can get in Singapore. Its very very chinese style, I mean, do they even have dark soy sauce in Switzerland??? Even though  I knew it would have been better if I removed the chicken skin, I admit that it was not really what happened in the end. I ate everything ....but the bones...(almost wanted to chomp down the bones though. ) 

Dumpling in soup

THE only healthy choice: This is Isa's clubbing comfort food (and definitely the most healthy dish I've had since I got here). She tells me that she goes to the cafe's 24 hour branch for supper after clubbing and almost always orders this dish. It was quite wholesome....I think it had spinach fillings or something like that.

Note: Some pictures were taken with the TZ-10's food mode. Isa swears that it is all about choosing the right mode which makes all the difference. To be honest, I have always used the camera's Intelligent mode and just let the software decide. After staring hard at the picture, I still couldn't tell that much of a difference but anyway, I have never been one who is perceptive about such things so oh well....she is probably right.  :D 

The Wave Song - Damn funny man!!!

Days and days of porridge

Just had my wisdom tooth extracted. Was on the dentist chair for about 40 mins and after 3 painful jabs (very long needles) and 1190 dollars poorer, was destined to suffer for the next 5 days in pain.

My cheek swelled up to the size of a fish ball and in jest I christened myself "half a chipmunk." In truth, the days that I had fevers were absolutely horrid.

With tender loving care from the family, I had "baby food" prepared and cooled for my meals everyday. My mum even painstakingly cut up my noodles till microscopic sizes.

I don't mean to sound ungrateful but after days and days of porridge and chopped up noodles, I find myself wishing for fried chicken or something totally sinful. (my ben n jerry ice cream don't count)



The only porridge I can bear eating for 5 days is porridge with lotsa love. So glad to be home!!

Sweets in 7-11 (Taipei)

I'm such a sucker for packaging and Taipei (like Japan) is just soooo good at it. Its like nothing to them, its like breathing. As a result, a trip to the convenience store is like letting me loose in Disney land. So many things to see and buy, just due to the packaging alone!!!

Just look at that!!! Traditional sweets in a postal box packaging with the yellow tape just like back in the old days. Miniature size!!!! Darn it!

THE ECONOMIST

Hehe. Enough said. :D

Ingenious II - Another way of writing

Recap: 招 財 進 寶 - Let riches and treasures come in

These 4 words are just so popular for Chinese businesses. If you pay attention, you probably can find it hanging somewhere in a Chinese shop near you today!

Here is another way of writing which I took from a small shop in Danshui, Taipei. (This way of writing is kinda neater but I prefer the first one though.)

First post can be found here

Old typewriter

Guess what I found in the corner of a little obscure restaurant in Taipei. (And it wasn't like the theme of the restaurant was retro or anything).

This ancient typewriter was just placed on the floor near the cashier. Perhaps they were using it for typing up the menus before it died on them and had to be replaced? Anyway, haven't seen one in a while. I've used one before though. If only for a little while... :)

Still amazed about the things that we somehow find when we aren't looking.

My teacher's cat

She was very very tired. Hehe. Ignored the flashes from my camera.

Tom Yum Noodles at the Conrad

Its always easy to take pictures of food. I'm sitting still, the presentation is normally nice straight out of the kitchen (or at least before I forget and take a big bite out of my meal)

Conrad Level 2 cafe serves tom yum noodles in large and small portions. The small portion is perfect if you aren't too hungry and just feeling a little bit greedy for a taste. (I know I was..on the day I arrived in Bangkok)

Its quite expensive though. You can get a bowl of noodles on the street at a quarter of the price (or less). Not sure how hygienic that would be but I guess you choose your own ¨poison¨.  :D

Guardian at Bangkok airport

Had crowds of tourist lining up to take pictures of the statue.

I just joined in the fun. :)

Sizzler in Thailand

Miss me? I was in Thailand and the internet connection charge there is atrocious!!

Anyway, its been a while since I've been to Sizzler. I used to love the place in Raffles Place. Always a treat to go there (before the standard dropped). I wonder if it is still there? Probably not.

Sizzler in Thailand rocks. Was at the one next to Conrad and the salad bar selection was really good.

Loved it...

On the way to Bangkok..

Let me board that plane and throw me some darn blankets!! Why does the aircon have to be so cold and why do people have to talk so loudly?

*groan*

My Amazon Kindle

This is a belated post as I purchased my Kindle some time back in 2009 for Christmas. Its the 2nd eBook reader I've got (the first being a Sony PRS 505). If you are asking me which I prefer, I'm going to say that I love them both!!

Its easy to get free books from the Sony store as compared to the Kindle which charges about USD 3 dollars for the same free books that Sony offers. But on the flip side, Amazon is fully supported in Taiwan which means that you can purchase books or download samples OTA whereas Sony doesn't allow purchases unless u have a US credit card. But something I can't understand is why ebooks cost the same prices as paperbacks. Doesn't it cost more to have to print and deliver books to the end customer?

In terms of functionality though, Kindle, with its inclusive dictionary and speech to text capability, certainly gets the thumbs up for me. I guess that's why its also a little bigger and heavier than the Sony which is much easier to handle for me.

Alice in Wonderland - 3D

Watched ¨Alice in Wonderland¨ in 3D last weekend. The ticket cost me NTD 430 (equivalent of SGD $19) which is actually double the price of a regular ticket but since they gave us such cool 3D glasses, deliver popcorns and other sinful tidbits to your seat and erm ...the movie was good... so I guess its an okay way to spend Saturday afternoon.

I love Johnny Depp in these weird characters, don´t you? He plays them so well!! I simply cannot imagine anyone else playing those roles as wonderfully as he did. Minor comment though....for a minute as Mad Hatter was swaggering on the table when he first met Alice, I thought I saw Captain Jack Sparrow in colorful makeup but hell....what is to be expected of crazy swagger-ness on those skinny legs anyway...Those legs are....


Okay, I digress......


I think my brother is into the Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum characters. Its true, they are quite funny....now Iḿ thinking of the letter M.....and so very entertaining.
As for me, though...(and yes, I DO have a favourite and its not the Mad Hatter) my fav character has got to be The Chesire Cat.

 As you probably know, Lewis Carroll published the Alice in Wonderland book in 1875. When I was in UK, a couple of months back, if I recall correctly , the tour guide told us that Lewis Carroll was sitting in his Oxford room and writing Alice in Wonderland one day when he noticed his neighbourś cat on the tree outside his window. The cat looked like he was grinning at him and thus, the story has it that this was what gave birth to the Cheshire cat character.

So the next question you will probably be asking is...why call it Cheshire right? I think it had to do with Cheshire cheese which was made to look like a grinning cat or something like that but I have such a faulty memory so go google it, if you are interested.

Anyway, the Cheshire cat in Tim Burton´s Alice in Wonderland is like neon blue instead of purple (which Iḿ used to). He only plays a small part in the movie as  compared to erm...Mad Hatter or Alice but then again, he has that trademark smile and the ability to poof in and out of tight situations. His signature is that his grin is normally the last to be seen before he totally vanishes!! 

The Cheshire cat is a little philosophical in the movie and definitely mischievous and he does quite like the Mad Hatter´s hat.

As they say....we are all mad here!!

Ingenious - Can you find the 4 characters?

Saw this at a restaurant. 4 words combined into one. I couldn't resist taking a picture of it, totally ingenious. Can you find the 4 words?  招 財 進 寶 (It means: Let riches and treasures come in)

Lunch at Tonkatsu

This is what I had for lunch today.

Poor people behind desk (PPBDs) committee decided to treat ourselves to "fancy" Jap restaurant for lunch today. It being Monday and all. The price of the meal was almost 4 times what we normally pay but the restaurant is famous and sells good food so heck ah... MONDAY calls for a treat. :D

Note: PPBD is a term that I coined one afternoon. Definitely on a working week day either Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday. Haha.

Dinner at famous Taiwanese Dan Dan noodle restaurant

Okay, this is a food post! Eating our hearts out (and then hourssss on the treadmill.).

Famous Taiwanese restaurant.

As you can see, its packed! The restaurant has both inside and outside seating but if you choose to sit outside, I think you get a free dish which we enjoyed on a cooling night. 

Salted egg with mushroom dish

Claypot Style Veggies wrapped in Beef

Fish roe with Mayo sauce

Cold dish - Chicken in Chinese Shao xing wine

Our free dish - Stir fried sweet potato leaves

One of their speciality Tofu dish -Very very good.

Last but not least, their famous dan dan noodles. Yum!

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My rubik cube addiction

I'm hooked!!

If - Bread

Canon Rock - My inspiration

My favourite song at the moment. Thanks to Adeline for introducing it to me!! :)

Happy New Year 2010!!

In a blink of the eye, another year has come to pass. Goodbye 2009 and welcome 2010...I can't believe I'm saying this...but yes, today is Jan 1st 2010. Wowee!!

To welcome Jan 1st 2010, I had a rather quiet evening with my family and friends. The first part was filled with screaming kids so that was rather scary. I mean...I did end up with chocolate on my shirt and in my hair but yeah...I spent the rest of the evening chatting and nothing really crazy. Although I must say that I had a craving for MacDonalds at 3am in the morning and I was trying to convince my feather like friend that we should have breakfast and go watch the sun rise or something. Neither of which we did because we simply slept through the "crucial" moment. Ah...youth or rather the lack of it :)

December 31st (of every year) has always been my personal moment for self reflection. I'm such a simple person that it is ridiculous. Well, I get a pat on the back for the good things accomplished in the past year (aka goals that I've set for myself in the beginning of the year and attained) and then followed by a new list of challenges that I set up for the new year. I do take goal setting and follow up very seriously.

Well, firstly, I must say that its been a good year for me in 2009. Life didn't quite happen as I planned it and there were surprises aplenty through out the year. But I guess I have to thank my lucky stars, for some miraculous reason, I've survived without too many knocks and bruises. In fact, I would unabashedly say that I've reached most, if not all, my goals set for last year. So yes, I get that pat on the back and I'm pretty stoked and confident about meeting my targets for the new year.

No, I am not going to put my list up to bore you with but yes, its broken down to the same 3 categories: Career, Personal Goals and Relationships. This year the goals are just going to be bigger, meaner and more challenging to achieve.......... but YES I CAN DO IT!!

So HAPPY NEW YEAR and hope to provide further good news in Dec 31st 2010. Have a great day ahead.