Night Butterfly

One night after a busy day in Hong Kong, my officemates and I went to a local convenience store to grab some snacks before returning to our hotel.

While they were busy deciding what to eat, I noticed a little brown butterfly entering the store. It looked confused for a while until it finally settled on one of the waters on display.

I somehow managed to take a snapshot of it before it flew away again. Do butterflies normally fly around at night? I thought they liked sleeping in!

I’m surprised I didn’t post this photo before. Actually, I found a lot of photos from my old camera phone in my laptop. I think it’s about time I post them somewhere.

Yoshinoya~

When I was still young, I always looked forward to Sundays. Not only do we get to go to the mall, but I also got to pick the place where we would have lunch. Much to my sister’s amused annoyance, I would almost always go for one place: Yoshinoya.

I’ve always been a fan of their Gyudon Beef Bowl. I think they were more commonly as L.A. Beef Bowl before they closed down. I remember how they only had 3 selections at the time, which was beef, chicken, or a combination of both.

I’ve recently taken a liking to their chicken, especially when my nephew told me to try adding a little chili powder to the dish. I was completely sold! Now, the sumo meal is my favorite, but it does ruin my diet, so I don't have it often~

I guess you wouldn’t be surprised if I told you that I’ve tried Yoshinoya in Hong Kong and Taiwan, right? They’re pretty much the same, but if you like having vegetables with your meal, the Hong Kong’s gyudon bowl has carrots, corn, and string beans with it the last time I was there.

However! If you’re ever in Taiwan, you have to try their pork bowl. It’s like the beef gyudon, but it’s pork, and pork means bacon, and everything is so much better with bacon.

Now I’m hungry.

Hong Kong Food!!!

A dear friend was returning from a business trip in Hong Kong and asked what I’d like him to get for me. When I told him I wanted the Beef Curry from Cafe de Coral, I didn’t expect him to bring me home…

…this much food!

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining! The white chicken (clear plastic container on the lower right) is not really one of my favorite foods, but my mom really enjoyed it. Of course, who can complain about barbeque pastries (white bowl on the upper left), chicken pot pie from a famous bakery (plastic wrapping on the upper right), and a delicious Hong Kong style egg tart (hiding behind my beef curry)?!

The beef curry was still as good as I remembered it~ Highly recommended unless you don’t like spicy food, but there’s always dong naicha (cold milk tea) available to cool you down. I’m definitely carbo-loading, but who cares about the stupid diet when you have this much delicious food in front of you?!

And that’s not all either! Here’s something Bong might be interested in:

These are the weirdest if not cutest looking Coke in cans that I’ve ever seen! I asked him to buy a can to bring home since I told him that cokes from different countries taste differently, but I never expected to see them canned in these designs!

I kept the empty can of the slimmer coke while my brother kept the rest. I haven’t tried the blue KitKat, Cookies and Cream yet, but the caramel one was a little too sticky for me. I don’t like candy that sticks to my teeth when I chew it… it’s bad for you!

I need to get back to my running… These pictures just made me feel a wee bit guiltier about being too sick to go out for a jog. Where are those running shoes???

Quotes to Think About

“Success is about being courteous, thoughtful, and caring.”

Pardon the pixel-y goodness, but this is quite an old photo, seeing that St. Jude already has an LED display instead of this rickety old sign, but I thought the quote was rather fantabulous~

I remember taking photos like this way back when I still had a “Kooh” blog in Anime Illusions. I’ve lost all my posts from that old blog, which I regret, but I’m glad I still found some of the old photos that I used to post there.

The one on the right was taken when I was on a business trip in Hong Kong. I remember I took this after my colleagues and I had to run for cover from the rain! We ended up in the Pacific Coffee Company and according to the time stamp, this was uploaded on 2007!

It reads: “People generally quarrel because they can’t argue.” I love it~ and really, who wouldn’t agree with this?

I’m using the same camera I’ve had since 2007 (or maybe later). Maybe it’s about time I start thinking about buying a proper camera.

鏞記 酒家 Yung Kee Restaurant

“Yung Kee acquires fame for its gourmet specialty-Roast Goose. After tasting the Roast Goose, tourists buy and carry it home with them by air to share among relatives and friends. For that, Yung Kee's Roast Goose is nicknamed ‘Flying Roast Goose’.”

Source: Open Rice

For someone who doesn’t remember ever trying roasted goose before, I dare say this is one of the best ones I’ve had.

Yung Kee does have very good food, but if you’re after the goose, you might want to reserve a day in advance. Plus, it’s a sit-down restaurant with fancy table cloths and pay-per-each-person’s-cup-of-tea, so it burned more money than I could afford.

It wouldn’t be healthy eating at this place everyday anyway. I really loved their suckling pig as well as the goose, but I did feel a heart attack coming after my meal, and it wasn’t just because of my share of the bill!

If you’re on a tight budget, I wouldn’t recommend this place at all. You might prefer the one right in front of this restaurant on Central’s Wellington Street, but that’s for another blog post.

喜喜 燒臘茶餐廳 Hay Hay Restaurant

When my sister went to Hong Kong, Hay Hay Restaurant was the one place she remembered having really good roasted duck from. The food was actually quite satisfying, but the place didn’t really have a good ambiance (then again, this is Hong Kong we’re talking about ). And their food is quite expensive compared to Tim Ho Wan.

I’ve read in Open Rice that someone had food poisoning from the restaurant , but our experience was a pretty good one. I have a weak stomach, but I didn’t get sick from eating there at all. In fact, I enjoyed the cuisine at that little place, and they did serve some pretty good roasted duck.

If you want to check it out yourself and make your own conclusions, they’re located at 72-86 Lockhard Road in Wan Chai. I don’t think it’s as bad as some people say they are, but then again, there are a lot of Chinese barbeque places in Hong Kong, so you wouldn’t miss anything if you decide not to go to Hay Hay.

I miss Hong Kong though. A lot.

添好運: 點心專門店 Tim Ho Wan: the Dim-Sum Specialists

So, you’re going to Hong Kong, but you’re only stopping by for a few hours thanks to your connecting flight. You have enough time to somewhere nearby and leisurely grab a bite to eat before heading back to the airport. Where would you go?

You might want to check out Tim Ho Wan. They’re called the Dim-Sum Specialists for a good reason: they have the best dim-sum in all of Hong Kong. And they’re always jam-packed with people!

Their originally located in Kwong Wa Street, Mong Kok, and recently opened a branch at the Hong Kong Station’s IFC Mall, Podium Level 1. If you have the time to do so, it’s best to go to the original location as it’s received a Michelin Star , but the IFC branch is very good as well.

A little knowledge in Cantonese or Mandarin may help you, because they have so many customers that people sit with total strangers in one table! Not that the locals like talking to strangers anyway. You also order ahead of time by checking whatever you want in their order form, but with their IFC Mall location, I wouldn’t be surprised if they start hiring staff who can speak good English.

If I can only order one item on their menu, it would have to be these Baked Barbeque Pork Bun Pastry. The filling is just the right amount and seasoned to perfection. And the most important thing (for me) is that it’s not too sweet! I don’t like sweet foods, you see. And if that’s out of stock, go for the Hakkao or Steamed Prawn Dumplings, which is also divine~

Overall really good food and really good value for money! I’m definitely going back to that restaurant when I visit Hong Kong again. Gotta have my barbeque pork bun!