Friday, February 29, 2008

Cheung Chau Island

it's a dumb bell shaped island on south west of HK,
about 55 mins via the slow ferry
and 25 mins via the fast ferry

It's called Cheung Chau bcoz it is a long and narrow island
Cheung = Long
very small, about 2.45 km²
bcoz we missed the fast ferry and the next one would be in another 60 mins,
we were forced to board the slow ferry.......
sssssslllloooooowwwww can die
with its choppy sea, even at Deluxe first class, I had sea sick.
Cheung Chau is a fishing village...
see all the fishing boats parked neatly in a row.
Milk pudding just like tau fu fah.

we had this the moment we arrived,
coz weather is about 3 degrees lower than HK
and it's freaking cold.
Do buy all these sea produce in Cheung Chau,
coz it's freshest and cheapest as compared to HK itself.
look at the dried shrimp aka ha mai.
so RED!!!!!
and all the beautiful smelly stinky salted fish made fr "kurau fish" aka "ma yau yu"
oooOOooo I lurve salted fish.

the lady sliced them in smaller portion for us,
so helpful.
Ppl here are so much more friendlier.
and so many other things such as dried squid, dried mussels, dried oysters,
dried anchovies etc etc etc etc
we spent HKD 1,300 here....:P
I dunno wat we bought also but a lot!!!
then off to buy our dinner....
choose wat u want to makan and ta pau to the nearest restaurant.
of coz being touristy, choose the restaurant with the most people dining in it.
steamed prawns with nothing but in its own juice
do u know wat vege is this???
this is tou miau/ tau miu
so much of leaves!!!
in Msia u only eat the stalks.
crabs that we bought earlier
steamed dunno wat fish recommended by them and it's darn sweet
steamed scallops with lotsa lotsa garlic
fried rice with egg white
later we walked to the tea shop to get some tea
it's such an art in preparing the tea
last autumn's tin guan yin and dunno how many years old Pur er
drinking tea is an art
requires so much of brain cells,
just like wine....u'll need to determine its color, nose and palate..
and of coz tannin!!!!!!
JS & Prince C tasting the tea
-_-
this 2 buggers bought tea like buying wines
-_-
one cake of tea (round like cake mar) = HKD 800
and they bought.....i lost count
and that's entry level
apa ini????
I was more interested in their cups
and tea pots!

Cheung Chau island is worth exploring
for its local produce and cheap food :)))))

Busy day today
no time to story so long.

Have a nice weekend ppl,
I'm gonna spend it working.
sigh..........................

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Tim's Kitchen

We reached Jervois Street @ 8pm,
and pottered around to find Tim's Kitchen....

can't find it can't find it can't find it

took out my soiled map and trying to read in the dark.
walked to the both ends and in exasperation I had to ask a local.

Monkey: "halloo....ek skews me, cheng man Tim's Kitchen hai pin nar???"
*u had to speak like a hongkie otherwise they'll ask u to go/pretend not to understand u*

Hongkie ah beng: "eaaaaaaaa..........*pointing aimlessly*"

-_-
JS whispered to me: "Maybe u should ask for Tim's chui fong"
-_- where got such cacat name one?!?!?!?!??!

Anyway I called the owner and got her to direct us.
-_- -_- -_-
Thanks Patsy.
Glass prawn with chinese dried ham

Why is the prawn so white??
why is it so crunchy???
why is it soooo damn sweet?????

The reason we can't find this exclusive place coz
its signage was in chinese...
even it's was chinese, the name wasn't Tim's Kitchen or Tim's Chui Fong
it was some dunno wat wat wat GARDEN...
hmph!!!!

GAH!!!!
braised crab pincer with winter melon

This place serves only cantonese food
and u bettter book super duper advance..
coz there's only 6 tables..

yes....
SIX
ENAM
6
Luk
Sechs
έξι *that's 6 in greek*
crab pincer *yes we lurve pincers* deep fried with chili
something like "chiu yim"
this one was super tasty.
One for each ain't enuff.

Tim's Kitchen offers different dining experience:
1) u book early to grab any of the 6 tables

2) u order what u wanna eat days in advance coz the Chef will only buy the groceries on the same day u are dining to ensure freshness of all his ingredients.
crispy fried spring chicken

the meat was so smooth and the skin was think and crispy.
according to JS, they actually don't dip the whole chicken in hot oil,
they air dried the chicken after boiling it....
and hot oil-bathed the chicken.
ooOOOOOoooooo
I dunno which fish to order over the phone...
"just get me a small fish for 4 person"
pork rib braised with bittergourd

sounds like very home cooked food eh?
definitely very very yummy.
the pork rib was tender to every single bite.
fried rice with crab meat and egg white
look at the grain!!!

I don't like my fried rice all lumped together.
or worst...burnt!!!
Prince C & I-Ching

we took the most efficient mode of transport - MTR
fr Sheung Wan to Central (Chung Wan)
at Lan Kwai Foong
nothing much but full of expatriates
and it's too crowded
anyway we hopped on the ferry to TST
do come by during xmas, lightshow is more fantastic then.
"Take one!!!"
Jackie Chan
Andy Lau!!!
they've got very small palms.....
the olympic square???
with all the mascots
fake flowers!!!
yep HK the city that never sleeps
*look at my sleepy face*
bunked into Intercontinental Hotel for a drink
the lounge has a magnificent view of HK island.
my Lycheetini
I'm a freak for lychees at the moment...
throw me anything to do with lychees,
it's lycheelicious.
yum.

Tim's Kitchen
G/F, 93 Jervois Street,
Sheung Wan,
HK.
Tel: +852 2543 5919

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Victoria Peak, HK

This mountain is the highest point in HK island,
*at 552m*
a must go whenever u r in HK.

Also known as The Peak
and in cantonese - Tai Ping San Deng

Exclusive residential area for the rich and super rich,
our very own Robert Kuok has one *wink wink*.
it was restricted to the governors & europeans back to the British days.
*Now it's more like who got $$$$$$$$$$$$$*
waiting for the tram to arrive,
it was built in 1888.

*I lost count of how many times I've been up there!!!!*
a bunch of tourists!!!!!
so are we!!!!!
the view of HK island, Victoria Harbour & Tsim Sha Tsui,
weather had been gloomy for the past few days,
with low temperature hovering around 13-18 degrees.
*this morning it was 10!!!!*
So wat do u do when u are up there????
Make a toast!!!!!
and dine with a stunning view
*my bones were rattling with the window beside me......~~~~~too high!!!*

This restaurant is on the Level 2 & 3 of Peak tower,
designed by architect Brancko Pahor,
very dramatic design
*sorry, forgot to snap pics*
with a 3,000 bottle wine cellar.
Prince C & I-Ching
yep, managed to convinced this super fussy pair to come to HK,
just bcoz they had bad experience with hongkies *like 10 years ago*
doesn't mean the whole HK behave that way.

In the end,
who extended his stay for a couple of more days?????
hmph!!!!

On another note,
At KLIA when we were checking in,
Prince C proudly showed me his A. Lange & Sohne in platinum...

"See my watch!!!! World time u know!!!!"

-_- x 1,000,000

before I can insult him......he proclaimed:
"HK same time like msia rite???? WTF!!!!"

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
we started off with a crispy pigeon - HK style.
super yum.
and as usual JS didn't touch anything on the plate.
fresh har kow
this restaurant makes its dim sum as u order them.
my fav pork bun!!!!
my face looked like one oso rite??
crab meat xiao long bao
turnip cake
glutinous parcels
when u open it, TA-DA!!!
u can get this in Marriot Hotel, KL.
but of coz.....HK has the best dim sum.
to die for!!!
Chee Cheong Fun with sliced beef and enoki mushroom
u pour your sauce as u makan, so u don't soak the poor dim sum!!!

they have other choices like
char siew, prawns, pork etc
definitely can't get in msia.
Har mai chee cheong fun,
the skin is super crispy and crunchy on the outer layer...
soft and smooth and thin on the inside....
super YUM!!!
and comes with XO sauce.
Mango pudding with bird nest.
Hongkie consume bird nests like how msian eat their agar-agar.
Muahahahahahahaha.

everything everywhere got bird nest,
from tau fu fah to pudding to porridge.
JS & Monkey on the peak of HK.
We went out for a long walk to burn all the calories.
modeling for brands....why pay money to advertise??

JS in his leather E. Zegna and Prince C in his camouflage Hugo Boss.
and Prince C is such a freak for Evisu jeans...
-_- it's only jeans...
at that price I can buy 10 CK jeans

I dun care of it's evisu or suvie or visue
as long as it fits my butt with me looking hawt...
BUY IT!!!!

PS: Calvin Klein jeans was having 40% sales in HK...double yipeeeee
Monkey & I-Ching in Escada

Yes she is another fashion freak,
no wonder they make the most perfect pair...
Evisu + Escada = Evida

Escada was having a private sale for a-hem, VIP ppl in HK
*namely the super filthy rich*
-_-
I-Ching was so disappointed as she walked by the boutique
every morning....
coz their private sale is really really super private.
They actually closed the 3 storey boutique for these ....important pigs..I mean ppl.
opssss.
walk to the other side of The Peak and u'll see the other side of the island!!!
it's freaking cold with me under dressed
beautiful flowers everywhere,
if this was Msia...it will remain on its pot for 2 hours
before somebody will carry them home,
well Malaysia mar....
since it was so cold,
we went back inside to shop,

There are restaurants, Madame Tussauds, shopping gallery, Ripley believe It Or Not and lots of things in The Peak Tower which is currently run by Peninsula HK.
Yes next time when I am filthy rich and an important pig *I mean ppl*...
I'll try to stay at Peninsula.


details of our scrump-dilly-umptious lunch:
Tien Yi Fine Dining Chinese Restaurant
Level 2 & 3,
The Peak Tower,
Victoria's Peak, HK.
Tel: +852 2907 3888
www.rcgastronomic.com

Highly recommended for the view and beautiful dim sum.

PS: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO DORIN ALL THE WAY DOWN IN NZ. MUAKS!!!