beijing special p.2

Beijing has nothing to buy AT ALL, basically when it comes to souveneirs, you really need to think hard and deep because they are just plain crap! The best place i recommend for shopping would be "Nan Le Gu Xian" Its an alleyway (basically called hutong), this little alleyway has many western cafes with comfy sofa seats and interiors. Most importnatly got more quality stuff to buy for friends and families. Warning: It is quite expensive! I bought 2 tees for 90 bucks each... only cos my sis said she wants it!

Just a bit about hutongs, they are tiny alleyways and paths with history of 700-800 yrs, it is now protected by the govt as historical landscape. These alley ways are famous to be the place for Chinese style nightclubs where the chinese emperors look for prostitutes! The interior is exactly as seen on tv, pretty intersting indeed! Going around by bicycles for an hour was quite relaxing (after 5 hrs of walk at the forbidden city), and a good view of how old beijing was like!

Ko.

bejing (more like peking duck) special

Da Dong

Made in China

Qianjude

Beijing was fun despite the traumor on the flight back... I spent 2000 bucks extra off my budget and I AM NOT IMPRESSED!! however I guess when I think back to the Peking ducks i've had, im happy again. Theres been lots of saying that beijing peking ducks are overrated, Hong Kong are better etc etc... actually I think the total opposite. In Hong Kong, they just slice up the whole peking duck so every piece will have the skin and meat, and flavoured with sweet sause with cucumber and shallots and the bread.

Beijing peking ducks actually is like a 3 course meal, the duck seems blown up like a balloon hence on the breast of the duck, there this piece of skin blown up and detached from their meat, its like a A4 sheet of crunchy skin, this part will be dish 1. Dish 2 will be duck drum sticks sliced up so hence the meat will be especially tendor. Dish 3 will be cutting out all the remains of the body and lastly dish 4 which i didnt touch is the duck head. My favourite was dish one where the skin was crunchy like chips, these chips was juiced up with duck oil.... Im lover of duck so this was heavenly....

Beijing has more side dishes to have the duck with. Cucumbers and shallots and sweet sauce obviously the main ingredient. They also included sugar and garlic paste which I thought enhanced the taste, I think I will do this the next time I eat Peking duck in Hong Kong.

Generally, the duck was juicier and more fresh, like you know how when you eat meat, it gives a bounce when you bite it?

Restaurant 1: Da Dong - was recommended by lots of people but rate it the least, the bread was too stiff and the meat wasnt as fresh. THe duck soup which followed was the best!
Address: Dongcheng district

Restaurant 2: Made in China - this is the heaven of god peking duck! THey actually sliced up a very big dish of crunchy skin and the thickness was just right. It was around 4mm-5mm. I didnt like their soup tho.... by the way I saw diane von furstenburg there ... hhehe
Address: Grand Hyatt Wangfujing, not expensive at all !

Restaurant 3: Qianjude - this is the most famous place in Beijing for ducks, no bookings allowed. People said this place is the worst but I thought it was quite good! Only thing I have to complain about is the service and slicing the duck performance was quite sloppy!
Address: Wangfujing street

Eating 1 whole duck each nite, I have now lost my voice and dont mention about my pimples, they are everywhere!

Ko

comfy soles

due to the reason that I have been buying cheap heels, they are obviously not comfortable at all, and even worse the pair i recently got actually falls off cos it doesnt have a strap to hold it in place!

Found these silicon heel cushions that are transparent and specially created for party shoes! its mad!! you dont need to look like a granny having pads in your shoes! its just like putting flat silicon boobs on your shoes! makes heels lots more comfy...

its sold at watsons etc... for around 50HKD and the brand is Scholl
Ko.

lunch break 1.30pm

this blog is almost a real time blog, I took these during lunch time an hr ago!
the cockatoos do like to strut their stuff!

p.s. the one with shaggy feather is a real oldie!
D.

aspasia - must try

complimentary dishes:
a whole loaf of bread - heated in oven surved warm and crispy
bread sticks with dipping sauce (3 types)
cheese (dont remember what type) on tomatoes with vinigarette and olive oil

my menu:
parma ham and rocket leaves with pizza
wagyu beef with red wine sauce
warm chocolate flan

complimentary dessert:
grapes dipped in wine

Yes! its this much food and i finished it all without stuffing myself

my english has gone down the drain so i will give up trying to use my english to try to critique on such a fine restaurant! one word: delicious!!! and well worth the value!

my favourite part was after the desserts, there was complimentary grapes which was dipped in quite an alcoholic wine. With a whole mouthful of sugar, having these grapes clears out the taste buds and is really refreshing!

i can tell the chef has really put an effort into the menu and this effort has really shined upon his food

ko.

american apparel

do you know how hard it is to find a tee that fits a girl perfectly?

I was so excited when I found american apparel. it's like sexy basics thats you dont get bored with. I mean would gap or giordano ever be featured in french vogue? have a look at their sexy ads and website and you will know what I mean.

their tees have an amazing fit and they have so many styles and colour of tees and all kinds of sexy hoodies, tights, short shorts, pjs and more for boys and girls.

at the moment I have my eye on a pair of lame black leggings, it's mad, I know! it could borderline on s&m-ish! guess it will be fun to wear it in a night out dancing (like whenever that is?!)

what's also good about AA is it's all produced in a workshop in LA (they call it vertical manufacturng), most of their cotton is oragnic and weaved in away that it wont wear and tear like most tees (trust me, I have a tee as my pjs and I been washing and drying it in dryer almost everyday and the fit and colour is still fine)

and best of all, their production is sweat shop free, all their workers get paid fairly. But their prices still remain reasoanble, a classic girl tee for $20 AUD

their website will have a australia store soon! yay, check out the store and sexy pics at
http://americanapparel.net

also retaills at tuchuzy at bondi beach

D.

cheap buys!!!!!!!!

I love it when i buy sth cheap and people thinks its really expensive... thats the best compliment for me... so here are the greatest buys these 2 months!

Believe it or not, all the clothes im wearing is under hkd200 except for the heels on the last pic...those are 579 (jimmy choo looks for 579 is pretty damn good)

im happy to tell everyone where i got the stuff from if you leave a message hehe

bondi beach saturday morning

this is my fantasy saturday morning

have a stroll on the beach with your loved one, maybe with a dog (preferably a golden retriever).
a nice coffee and breakfast after the stroll.

Perfection!

Another reason why I cannot leave sydney...

D.

do you like my bag?

hey look, I designed a bag that no one wants!


sorry this a a "mock blog"
I was so shocked by how much that anya hindamrch bag is fetching on ebay,
1600 HKD to be exact.

d.

clever people with clever words

I like tee shirts, but for some reason, I just don't look good in them. that's why i don't own many. the only tees I like are american apparel tees (this will be my next blog). And this tee i bought recently.

this is from a aussie brand called chip chop!
I always admire people who have clever words to put on tees.

it's got a tongue in cheek kinda humour
this one i bought was out of a series that poke fun at tourist tees.

also, love this bag from the website
http://www.mychipchop.com/


D.

even more food...paella

I am mad about everything spanish at the moment.

I should probably invest in a proper paella pan.

Basically you just stir fried all the aromatics, like chorizo, onions, spices. stir in rice, pour in stock and cover. bung in the seafood at the last 10 mins of cooking. SO easy! Especially easy, cos this is a bill granger recipe. Good for feeding lots people.

it was delicious, by the way...

D.

vietnamese food !!

people who knows me knows my love for vietnamese food! Pho, spring rolls and pork roll!

Favourite place for pho in syd: an restaurant bankstown, their beef soup base is dark brown color (see pic?)

Hong Kong has good viet food but the pho is not even comparable... this is a reason why i miss syd so much!

Well... actually for viet spring roll lovers, this is a really good recipe:

Ingredients: Viet spring roll wrap 15pcs, minced pork 100g, jicama(sliced) 100g, carrots(sliced) 100g, wood fungus (soak and shredded) 8g, vermicilli (chopped) 50g, garlic (chopped) 1/2 teaspoon

Seasoning: 1 tablespoon fish sauce, 1/4 teaspoon sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon vinigar, 1 teaspoon garlic (chopped), 1/2 teaspoon ginger (chopped), some dice chilli (optional)

Dipping sauce ingredients: 1 tablespoon fish sauce, 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 teaspoon lime sauce

Method:
1) Use 2 tablespoon oil and fry garlic and minced pork until cooked
2) Preboil all vegetables
3) add the vegetables and seasoning to the pork and toss well. Set aside to cool
4) Brush individual sheet of paper with cold water favour with a little lime juice and honey. Leave in on a towel to dry.
5) Arrange the mixture in the centre of the rice paper, fold in both sides of the paper then fold up 1/3 over the filling. Continue to rolle the paper to enclose the filling. Secure with some flour batter
6) Mix the dipping sauce to serve the spring rolls, add some garlic and sliced carrots and chilli - mix according to your taste
7) Deep fry the spring rolls until golden brown
8) Serve with lettuce

Enjoy!

Ko.

more men in suits, I cannot resist.
this unbottoned shirt + scarf (tie in a I-didn't-even-put-a-lot-of-thought kinda way)
and that smile!

this is maroon 5 front man, Adam Levine
he looks even better in the "makes you wonder" video, tux + scarf + pantent black leather shoes, NICE!

D.

Men in suits

I never really think Roger Federer is good looking but surely hes good at tennis!

But now I really love him cos after 5 hrs of hard core running, jumping sweaty tennis, he still managed to put a white vest and white suit before he got his trophy!! He really should get credit for this

This is what you call grace and charm and how he shows respect to the audience and presenters. Hes soooooo cute!

I havent watched previous championships so maybe this is not the first time he wore a suit but definately the first player to jump in a suit to get the trophy! Hes got my full support now!

Ko.

Im back !!!! With food

Internet is back! I fixed it !! yes I DID! i must say thanks to the new wireless router that I bought, it had easy-as-computer-idiots-easy automatic set up instructions which anyone can do! Feel like some IT expert now hehehe

OK so back to blogging now! Altho, have been really uninspired cos the lack of money to spend I guess I have to work with some old stuff!

I brought D. out on Valentines day this year to a "private household restaurant" - chinese cuisine which I really liked. OK so this is how it was:

Me: "hello, I want to book a table for 3 but then we can only eat THAT much, would it possible to make the proportions really small cos we would like to order more and have more variety"

X: "SURE no problems!!! I will write up a menu for you guys so you can taste everything but wont be too much" (everyone please remember this)

Menu: (dont remember exactly but approx below)
Entree: Cold tofu, deep fried eggplant
Main: sth similar to sweet and sour pork, garlic prawns steamed sticky rice and soup rice(my favourite)

Me: "Great menu! MAKE SURE ITS SMALL PROPORTIONS! ITS ONLY 3 LADIES"

Food came up to be for the size of 10 people and none of us could finish anything! we were so full that I couldnt even breathe... u know like the feeling when you breathe its like throwing up food type???

FOOD WAS MAGNIFICENT!!! The garlic prawns steamed sticky rice, the rice was no rock-hard-uncooked-rice kinda feeling, it was soft and juiced up by the essense from the garlic prawns!

Another favourite was soup rice! Its like Shanghainese fried rice cakes dipped in soup. This one was different! THey deep fried each and every rice grain like rice bubbles and there was a bowl of boiling hot soup. When the rice bubbles are poored in the soup, it gives a sizzling noise like mongolian beef poured on hot plate! Delicious!

Not to forget to mention about their original location. As it is called private household restaurant, normally these restaurant are situated in commerical buildings or hard to find places. This one was situated in a household buidling, meaning the whole building is not impressed, the secuirty will give a you-are-not-invited look and the lifts are full of signs saying "restaurant should be banned!!!!" Although I like their food but I agree that it is not very polite, imagine u r the neighbour? So thankfully they have a new location which is a proper place!

Sorry Im blabbling on like a lunatic, you know the feeling when you cant talk for a while and when you are free... u will just go on and on and on! For those who are bored, I promise no more long articles! please keep visiting!

bag frenzy!

First of all I would just like to apologize for my disappearance.... my internet at home is down and i have been so busy at work i havent really had time to even have a bludge on msn ! let alone blogging !

Hong Kong has just went crazy over a cotton bag, cos magazines have shot celebrities using the bag plus the price is so affordable, everyone just wanted to grab a piece of it. But it has just went over the top. There was masses and masses of people actually lining up at every store and special broadcast was actually used to inform people to actually stop lining up cos the bag is sold out!(special broadcast is only used for typhoon no.8 or black rain)

Are people so desperate to own this bag? In Taiwan, theres actually a protest outside the store cos they lined up for so long and couldnt buy it

What is wrong with this world? This bag is trying to promote the idea of being environmentally friendly so instead of using plastic bags, you can use this! But surely the environmental idea didnt pass on but even created more traumor like protesting and rallying because they cant buy a bloody bag? Isnt this just wasting resources!

Seriously, I dont know who actually lined up for nights and days and protested but for those who did, maybe they should think about using their time wisely.

Sorry for such a political article! I just had to let it out!

Ko.

that fluffy bunny rabbit

I have a thing with childrens' books. Here's my new fave.
It's not exactly a book for children, but rather a children's books for adults.

It is about a single man called Michael Pulcino, he is single, not satisfied with his career and kinda lonely.
He has a bunny called, Fluffy.

Fluffy thinks he is human, like his Daddy, Michael. Obviously Fluffy is in denial.

all at the same time, Michael is stuck in an awkward relationship with Fluffy's nursery teacher.
So he decided to take Fluffy on a trip to Siccily to see Michael's parents and sister.

Along the trip, a dust particle (that's his name) narrates the story, it was meant to be a flake of dandruff (name Flakey) to narrate it, but Flakey isn't interested.

The humour was very innocent but the plot and the problems each character dealt with feels like something we could all relate to.

It was drawn in such a simple and cute way, but you get the emotions of the characters.

D.