Monday, May 18, 2015 | 6:58 PM | 0 comments

Those learn to type days,

with that board with tonnes of buttons,

and load of functions connected to it.

I was young, really young.

I was forced to learn to type,

every single day I challenge myself,

to beat the day before wpm high score.

Those were the days,

where CD- roms still exist,

no not those Mario or Disney version,

mine was the boring kind,

the ones that let you advance to the next portal,

only if you pass,
only if you beat that score.

Those were the days,

the reason behind my current wpm,

those were the days,

I'm thankful my mom said,

this skill is something you need,

you really need,
for the rest of your life.

| 1:35 AM | 0 comments

That feeling I have when I wake up beside you,

To see your hand finding mine while you are still sleeping

You held on tight like you never want to let me go

That feeling, of being loved, of being wanted,

Us, tangled with comforters,

To watch you deep in your sleep,

To listening to your snores.

There's something I like about this feeling,

that you belong to me and I never have to worry,
ever that if I had to let you go.

Saturday, February 22, 2014 | 5:43 AM | 0 comments

Travelogue: Hong Kong (Jan 2014)

Air tickets

Every time I see an airline sale, I'm very prompted to travel. First few countries in mind will be Bangkok, Hong Kong and Tokyo. It's been two years since I went to Hong Kong, and the boy & I have been talking about going over soon because we wanted to buy our favourite brand of Porter bags.

So this Jetstar e-mailer came, which had a promotion for buying one way and getting home free. Asked the boy immediately, he just answered:" Okay, anything." This time, I asked my mom too, because she been wanting to travel with me for quite some time, so she was agreeable as well and it was a great period to be in Hong Kong with the colder weather and sales coming on.

It cost us about $250 per pax (okay lah, not that cheap) including the best flight timings, our baggage weight, taxes and all.

Hotel

So because we booked about 4 months before the travelling date, I went on to search for our accommodation, hoping to get good deals as well. But oh so silly me, forgotten that January is CNY period, and all hotels and B&B will be costing more.

I went online to research quite abit before deciding to stay at the Royal Plaza Hotel located just above the Mongkok East MTR, and it is connected to the Grand Century Place shopping mall where I got my kicks at such good prices! I will also be updating shortcuts, routes and places to go around this area. (More on that later!)

I booked the Deluxe family room, which has of 2 Queen-sized beds (up to 4 pax) for 4 nights. I used Zuji's Mastercard Promotion and paid around $220 per night, which to me at this peak season, is truly worth it! I totally love the size of the room, the comfort level and how convenient it is to almost everywhere we wanted to go!

Duty-free products at the Airport

My favourite place to be after checking in our baggages is the Duty Free Cosmetics & Perfume section at the Airport, items are at least 30% to 60% off the city prices and I usually get my facial supplies and make-up refills here.

Always buying enough till the next trip here!

This time round, the boy's mommy also wanted to get some facial products, so we went shopping crazy. These are some of the items we bought and I will do a review on them next time!

We shopped until we forgot time, and literately ran for the plane which caused me to suffer a very bad shin cramp at night.

Data Plan in Hong Kong

It is no use asking any airport or 7-11 staffs at the arrival halls, no one cares or bother if you would like to get a data plan, they will just tell you it is not there, well if you ask me, I do not know why either. It is available at the departure halls of the HKIA.

We just got lucky when the boy just asked me if I want to check out the departure halls area if there is any data plans outlet.

1010 outlet has the best plans! We got the 128 HKD (S$21.30) for 7 days of unlimited data plan and were able to contact each other locally easily! The plans are defined by the size of the SIM card, so mom got the 98HKD (S$16.30) for 7 days for the bigger SIM card.

Also, literately every single shop except Banks and Departmental Stalls refused to accept our $1000HKD due to their country recent frauds on the 1000 dollars note, so we had some issue purchasing items. Luckily we have some broken notes to pay for our plans.

Travelling to Hotel

Both the Airport Express tickets and Octopus Cards can be purchased at a counter available when you exit the area after collecting your baggages.

We made use of the 3 in a group promotion and got our Airport Express tickets, where you will stop at the Kowloon interchange and switch to mini buses that provides free shuttles to your hotel or switch to the local MTR.

We took the K5 that goes to Royal Plaza Hotel, and along the way there are a few other hotels' stop as well, picking up and letting down passengers who are going to the hotel or the airport.

We took about 45mins to reach our hotel.

The view from the express train!

Royal Plaza Hotel

Check-in was quick and front desk people were very nice. Room was huge with two beds, ample spaces for 3 luggages or more. Lucky me, got to see their final product of the new gym and pool.

Our dinner and supper on the first night

Mom made us walk to Fa Yuen Street (walking the entire street) to search for her favourite porridge stall which she could not remember the name! So finally we found it, and thought that the search was totally worth it.

It seems so long since I last ate a CHOK(porridge) that was so smooth and just glides through your mouth, through your throat with all the fresh ingredients ( an extensive list of different ingredients for the porridge)

Other recommended food items such as the Bean Dumplings, you tiao, zha liang and red bean soup here were damn good! We could easily settle all our meals here. DAMN GOOD, I tell you! Order and eat or you will regret! We have them for breakfast for three days too!

My porridge: Century eggs, slice fish and lean meat

I want more!

Sea View Congee Shop 海景粥店
G/F, 103, Argyle Street,
Mong Kok, Kowloon
(九龙亚皆老街103号地下)
Tel: 852-2787-7330
Nearest MTR: Mong Kok Station
Operating Hours: 24 HOURS

This was the night I suffered a severe shin cramp while walking back to the hotel after shopping. So after resting for an hour or two in the hotel, we decided to venture out at night to see what's available for supper.

I do have 一點心 in my mind to visit for this trip, and who knows we managed to found one outlet near our hotel without effortand it closes at 1 am. So lucky us! The quality of the dim sum are great, we had most of our suppers here as well! Besides the siew mai being meh, the others are quite good! Oh try the black pepper venison and chicken feet (feng jiao), its really delicious!

I also heard that during the day peak hours, there will be about a 15 to 30 minutes queue before you can get a seat in this 40 seater restaurant.
There is no reservations available and only cash payment.

One Dim Sum一點心

Shop 1&2, G/F, Kenwood Mansion

15 Playing Field Road

Mong Kok, Kowloon

Tel no: 27892280

Nearest MTR: Prince Edward Station

Operating Hours: 11am to 1am (Mon to Fri), 10am to 1am (Sat to Sun)

Friday, June 21, 2013 | 2:06 AM | 0 comments

Join us at Lot One Preloved/Secondhand Flea Market this July!

To register a stall, please go to www.whattheflea.com/register.

At every Lot One Fab Flea Market,

What The FLEA! will invite an organisation to create awareness for their group

and also $3 from every stall booking will be donated to them.

This event we will be having Blessings in a Bag to come down and join us!

Each stall is given a 4ft by 2ft space to sell their items and 1 single clothesrack is allowed.

As there is no table or chairs provided, vendors may bring their own table and chairs as long as they fit within the stall space given to them.

You are able to sell anything and everything preloved and secondhand,

except contraband items.

Hope to see you there!

To register for a stall please head to whattheflea.com/register.

For enquiries please email hello@whattheflea.com

Labels: capital land, flea market, lot one shopping mall, preloved, secondhand

Father's Day dinner @ Kola Restaurant

Sunday, June 16, 2013 | 10:42 PM | 0 comments

Happy Father's Day to all who deserves this Day !!

Today we went over to have our Father's Day dinner over at Kola Restaurant @ 36 Sin Ming Drive with his parents!

They serve really good zi char at very affordable prices! Trust me, they are really good at what they recommend too. It is usually fully booked with families during the peak dining period and festive seasons. So make sure you make a reservation with the food items being ordered, otherwise you will have to wait at least 45 mins to an hour for your food (including take-aways).

Both the boss and lady boss are friends of my mom, and we have been dining there for quite a bit for our dinners, its really worth every cent that you pay for and the standard of the food remains consant.

Lucky for us, my mom made a reservation and ordered some of their signatures dishes for us. So when we arrived at 630pm, the food was called on to be served within less than 1/2 hour.

Around late afternoon, evening time, the entire coffee shop vendors are closed except for this Zi Char stall that is open since 11am. You can see that when I say fully booked, its the entire coffee shop with big round tables.

My personal favourites at the Kola restaurant are all being ordered for today's dinner.

There are three sizes for this dish. This does not taste like your usual shark fin soup, it is thicker with alot more real shark fins, egg roes and tonnes of crabmeat.

They are really very generous with their servings and it is worth every cent and even the boy who do not like shark fin soup, finds it very delicious! THIS IS A DIE DIE MUST TRY DISH!,

its really too good to be missed and it makes you keep wanting more!

Small($25), serves 3-4pax (about two small bowl shown below per pax)

Taste: 4.8/5

Another DIE DIE MUST TRY DISH!

The tenderness of the crayfish and the crisp on the coating is so good...plus they give you alot of the salted egg york crisp with the fragrant curry leaves that you can see in the picture below.

It's very worth it and the amount of crayfish given compared to other zi char stalls we have been, its alot more. Try it and let me know if you like it the way I do!

Dry version of Salted Egg Crayfish ($15),serves 2-4 pax.

Taste: 4.8/5

Yam Ring here cost slightly higher than other zichar stalls because they handmade this on their own with loads of mushrooms & other veg, cashew nuts, fresh prawns and tender chicken cubes.The Yam Ring is soft and tasty in the inside and crisp on the outside, does not make you feel jialat after eating a few mouths of it.

Yam Ring ($16), serves 3-4 pax.

Taste: 4/5

Next is the fried rice, have eaten this twice, the first try impressed me that I have to have it again. However for today's fried rice is a little more salty than usual. Otherwise the tenderness of the chicken cubes are really good and was given in generous serving. Most zi char stalls are usually rubbery or hard because the chicken is cooked too long.

Salted fish with Chicken cube Fried Rice ($6, Small),serves 2 -3 pax .

Taste: 3.8/5

We finished almost everything on the plate and we were so full, we had to walk it off abit.

Other dishes at KOLA RESTAURANT:

This is my mom's favourite dish. She will always order this whenever we are there.

They give really generous servings of slice fish and gravy.

It is really good especially when you want to have a lighter meal for dinner.

The slice fish are very fresh and cooked the right way.

The amount of hor fun they give is also more than enough for a meal.

San-lou Hor Fun ($8) for 2-3 pax.

Taste: 4.5/5

Another favourite of Mom's and I is the Roasted Chicken with Salt.

Prawn crackers and plum salt is given along with the dish.

The crispy skin of the chicken is our favourite!

The meat is cooked to the right texture and it is juicy when bite into.

Try this! It is not always available as it is their daily special dish, so ask the person who takes your order and they will check it out for you!

Roasted Chicken with Salt ($15), serves 3-4 pax.

Taste: 4/5

This is the wet version of the Salted Egg Crayfish, they give a good serving of the amount of crayfish and gravy to eat with your rice. B likes this dish however it is too pepperish for my mom and I as we feel that the pepper overpowered the salted egg yolk taste.

Wet version of Salted Egg Crayfish ($15), serves 2-3 pax.

Rate: 2.8/5

We always order Fried Rice because B likes it, and Mom likes the hor fun, and I am in between.So by ordering both, it balances out. This is called the Special fried rice. It is supposed to come with beansprouts and onions, but B does not eat beansprouts, so we ordered without it.It is very fragrant and yummy with the crispy ikan bilish and chunks of garlic & onions. Be careful of the chilli padis that are hiding around, it gives a good oomph spice factor to the rice but not to worry it is not spicy at all.

Special Fried Rice ($6), serves 2-3 pax

Taste: 4/5

Yang Chow Fried Rice looks a little different here, it is very tasty and the rice grains are very well cooked (B is very particular about his rice grains) that we even ordered another serving for take-away for supper in case we are hungry, otherwise keep for the next day lunch.

Yang Chow Fried Rice ($4), serves 1-2 pax

Taste: 4/5

Alright! That is all I have for now! I will update as I try more dishes from Kola restaurant.

If anyone has any recommendations of Zi Char places, please let me know because the B and I love exploring and eating Zi Char food!

Address :Sin Ming Industrial Estate #01-371,36 Sin Ming Drive, (S)575710

Operating Hours: Daily, 11 am to late

( they will put a big sign to let customers know when they will be closing)

Labels: chicken, chinese food, crayfish, dinner, father's day, food, fried rice, hor fun, horfun, salted egg yolk, shark fin soup, sin ming drive, yam ring, zi char

Tokyo Disneyland Part 1

Saturday, June 15, 2013 | 9:23 PM | 0 comments

Tokyo Disneyland

Pretty Entry Tickets with Theme Park Map.

We bought the 2 day passport for Disneyland and Disneysea.

You can save time queueing for rides, if you use the FASTPASS! In order to get the FASTPASS ticket, just go to the FASTPASS ticketing machines near the entrance of the ride or attraction and insert your Passport ticket. Then return during the time period printed on the FASTPASS ticket and come back to sit the ride without waiting much!

My hair was horrendous due to the wind during the winter weather!

People around me knows that Winnie the Pooh is my favourite Disney Character, so please dont kill me as I am going to overload this post with Pooh & friends items and ride!

When I saw this popcorn bucket, the boyfriend just went right up to the seller and bought the bucket filled with popcorns. He spoils me just like that.. non practical items especially.