Simply Irresistible 寫意人生

Pre-celebrating Father's Day Dinner @ Manchester United Restaurant Bar

2010-07-07T14:52:00.000+08:00

Today is not the Father's Day, but I have to celebrate with my daddy in one day advance. This year my sis, Victoria, is responsible for picking the restaurant. We finally choose a thematic dinning place, Manchester United Restaurant Bar, because daddy likes to watch soccer and this is a World Cup year. Badly that my brother Nick was unable to join us because of some unexpected trouble from work and her girl friend, however, did come.

We got there at around 20:20; therefore, the 1st period of match Netherlands vs. Japan had just finished. No doubt there was full house but we didn't feel crowded. You can guess that their decoration theme is all about the Manchester United soccer team...mainly in red and black, many team members' photos hanging on the wall, menu design looks like soccer magazine and in which includes some team info, etc.

For food, we've ordered 7 Wings ($98), Manchester Combo Platter ($42), Treble Champions ($162), Potato Skins($88), Seafood Pizza ($168), Vongole Linguine($168), Crispy Fried Fillet of Chile Seabass ($238), Spain Pork Cutlet($298), Chips including homemade tomato sauce ($40) and extra order of cheese dip for chips ($8). For drink, we've ordered 3 glasses of Panache ($46 each), Mango Mania ($46), The King Cantona ($52) and Maverick ($78). I highly recommend 7 Wings, Treble Champions (3 different tastes of salmon) and Crispy Fried Fillet of Chile Seabass.

Manchester Combo Platter Treble Champions

7 Wings Vongole Linguine

Potato Skins Seafood Pizza

Crispy Fried Fillet of Chile Seabass Chips

Spain Pork Culet

Ha-ha, my mommy had to drink Chinese herb tea right after the dinner and I had to drink herbal lime drink as the prevention of sore throat. Also, a funny thing happened. I brought a homemade mango cheese cake to the bar and planned to have it after dinner; somehow, I totally forgot to ask the server to bring it up to us. I just remember the cake was left at the bar when I was half way back to home. :( Of course, I had return to get it back. It wasted my time and effort.

Phone #: 2366-4880

Address: No. 32-34, Lock Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong

比想像要好

2009-04-04T23:25:00.018+08:00

數天前, 我收了一份禮物。收這禮物時, 我亳不費吹灰之力便能估中那是什麼。可惜的是我卻估錯了品牌。那是一部佳能 Canon 的 G10 相機。我從未想到會再次收到 Canon 品牌的相機, 事關送禮人很清楚知道我對一向用着的 Canon 相機品牌已失去信心。所以當時我真的有點不知所措。無論如何, 我都非常非常之多謝 "你" 送我的禮物。只想你知道...只要是 "你" 送的, 我便喜歡。謝謝!

經過這數天的初步使用及硏究後, 對 G10 相機有以下意見。　　
我鍾意佢有：
~ 1470 萬像素...最大可印 A2 size 的相
~ 3.0 吋 TFT LCD 螢光幕...影相易,睇相靚
~ 5 倍光學變焦，提供了 28-140 mm 的等效焦距...影廣闊風景或大合照時, 24mm 廣角鏡令我不需向後行多幾步,而又可拍攝出更廣的影像。並不覺得影像有太大的變形情況
~ 自行決定拍攝條件如光圈先決、快門先決、自動曝光、自調 ISO 感光度(最低80 最高1600)
~ 曝光補償轉盤及 ISO 感光度轉盤...方便調校曝光及ISO
~ 自訂自拍時間 (0-10、15、20、30秒)及拍攝張數 (1-10張)...以後自拍, 可以一次過拍攝超過一張相了
~ 新臉孔自拍功能...相機會在構圖中偵察到新加入的面孔, 然後兩秒後拍攝影像。這可使設定相機者不用衝鋒陷陣地走回構圖中被拍攝
~ 開機及拍攝反應夠快
~ 閃光燈輸出強弱設定
~ 在晚上全熄燈的環境下, 開閃光燈也能把人物及背景拍攝得非常清晰
~ 支援 jpeg 及 raw 格式同時記錄...方便之後對相片作出修改
~ 人面對焦及人面追蹤功能
~ 日本製造...雖然大了點重了點, 但有手感、有質感
~ 港幣三千幾...以前部 Sony V1 都要港幣 $5980 啦

我唔鍾意佢：
~ 雖有 F2.8 光圈值, 但景深淺效果不顯著
~ 一貫 Canon 的特徵: 當在相機螢光幕檢視影像時, 影像質素極佳。但在電腦螢光幕上檢視影像時, 有頗大差別
~ 買行貨機，都係得中文使用指南...無英文版

不知是否看慣了由 DSLR 數碼單鏡反光相機拍攝出來的影像呢, 當我檢視由 G10 (Prosumer DC 專業級數碼相機) 拍攝出來的影像時, 心中總是有說不出的話兒。當然我知道兩者的價錢甚有差別啦。 G10 與一般 DC 數碼相機相比, 個人認為影像質素又不是相差太大。最大差別在於 G10 有著很多進蝔功能如自行決定拍攝條件、jpeg 及 raw 格式同時記錄、閃光燈輸出強弱調較、手動對焦、可接駁另行購買的鏡頭等等。

Lovely Earmuff

2009-01-24T17:11:00.006+08:00

I was so happy last evening because I got what I wanted. An light pink earmuff! It is sooooooo gorgeous. In fact, Hong Kong's winters aren't cold enough to make people to wear earmuff, but I still have a lot passion to buy it. As I bought it, I would definitely find a chance to use it anyway. As it happens, I will have a trip to Europe in the end of January. I think I would take it on everyday by then ...hip hip hooray!

Shop: Burberry

Original price: HK$1,700 and sale price: HK$850

坊間秘方

2009-01-23T10:54:00.002+08:00

剛剛從一討論區讀了篇主題, 個人認為頗為有趣及好讓自己記下來以便日後參考. 此乃這篇張貼的來由. 然而我覺得某些方法倒是怪怪的。

"凡士林 Vaseline" 讓你身上香水更持久！避免香水很快蒸發有個竅門：用手指抹一點凡士林，滴一滴香水在手指上再擦到身體部位，香氣便可持久兩倍時間。 {我信}

"風筒"去標籤超輕鬆！買禮盒送人時，價錢標籤很難撕掉，用手摳會摳的黑黑髒髒的反而更難看，如果用風筒吹熱一下再撕，會很輕鬆的撕下來，不留一點痕跡！ {我信}

"舊絲襪"擦眼鏡，很環保喔！眼鏡髒了，一般人會用面紙、拭鏡布擦拭或者用水清洗。但有個有效又不會傷害鏡片的方法就是：利用破舊不要的絲襪，沾上洗碗精，慢慢擦洗鏡片和鏡框，如此一來，鏡片不但乾淨又不易刮傷。此外，絲襪也可以沾上鞋油擦皮鞋，保證鞋子光亮無比！ {用洗碗精後, 咁又用唔用清水洗淨呢? 用...又應該會留有水印. 唔用...又好似對眼睛不太好.}

"洗衣粉水"可以殺蟑螂！在蟑螂喜歡出沒藏身的場所，如櫥櫃、流理、餐桌下及陰暗角落，以洗衣粉調水稀釋，再以抹布沾拭表面，蟑螂就會舉家遷移，逃之夭夭。與蟑螂正面交鋒時，則直接噴灑其身，蟑螂即很快身亡。 {當皮膚長期接觸抹有稀釋洗衣粉水的家具時, 會否對人體健康有影響呢?}

"茶葉"能治療燙傷呢！茶葉能治療燙傷，方法是：取一匙茶葉，加少量的水以火煮成濃汁，然後將濃汁迅速冷卻，把燙傷部位浸泡在茶汁中。如果不便浸泡，就將茶葉敷在燙傷部位上，這樣做可以止痛，防止組織液滲出，對傷口結痂有促進作用。 {當做完拿材料, 火煮, 和冷卻工序後, 我相信水泡已出, 而且已經痛到不得了啦!}

香蕉皮擦皮沙發！皮製的沙發在長期使用後，往往因為灰塵堆積而漸失去光澤，即使以布擦拭，亦不易恢復其光澤。此時可以 "香蕉皮" 的內側來擦拭，因為香蕉皮內側含有單寧酸，用它來擦拭皮革，別具卓效。以香蕉皮內側擦拭後再以乾布抹拭，相信皮革製品又能恢復光澤。 {嘩! 張沙發會唔會黏 lup lup 嫁?}　

去除頭皮屑、清潔牙齒、提神都可以用"鹽"搞定！常用鹽水洗頭髮，可去除頭皮屑，亦可防止頭髮脫落。用精鹽或鹽水刷牙，可使牙齒堅固潔白。浸浴時，在水中加入沐浴鹽或食鹽，不但有殺菌功能，且洗後神清氣爽。 {我信}

"指甲去光水"去除頑固污垢最妙！擦拭指甲油用剩的去光水，對家中的陳年油垢、污漬都有一拭即除的功效；特別適用於黏性極強的污漬，多擦拭幾下便能除去。 {都信}

"柔順劑"擦窗灰塵不進身！家中的玻璃窗很容易髒，又沒時間經常清理嗎？這是因為玻璃容易起靜電的緣故，可以用下面方法來預防。在一公升的水中加入一蓋杯量的衣物柔順劑，攪拌均勻，用抹布沾濕後擰乾，以其擦拭玻璃窗，因柔軟精含有陽離子活性劑，可以減少玻璃產生靜電。用醋擦玻璃也有同樣效果。 {信}

"可樂"也是廁所清潔劑！倒一罐可口可樂在馬桶，讓這個活生生的可樂待個一小時，然後沖掉，可樂的檸檬酸會將玻璃質似陶瓷器﹙註：指馬桶﹚上的污點消除。 {飲咗罐可樂總好過倒咗罐可樂, 唔好浪費嗎! 係咪?}

毛巾黏答答，怎麼辦？毛巾使用久了，常常會溼濕黏黏的，可用鹽搓揉後，用清水洗淨，則可除去濕黏之物。 {我信}

總括來說, 對於以上方法, 我都信超過一半嫁! 咁你又信幾多呢?

被海洋生物刺傷後正確處理方法

2008-07-30T12:38:00.002+08:00

炎炎夏日，又係出外玩水上活動的好時候。但當見到如海膽、水母和珊瑚等的海洋生物時，就千萬不要掂佢哋，因為它們是具有毒素的。我就試過係潛水時因為手多多掂過珊瑚，跟住就敏感了，幸好沒什麼大礙。以下有些被海洋生物刺傷後正確處理方法作參考 :

‧ 石頭魚：先以清水將傷口徹底洗淨，再用攝氏 45 度至 50 度的水浸泡傷口 30 至 90 分鐘
‧ 獅子魚：用攝氏 45 度至 50 度的水浸泡傷口 30 分鐘至一小時
‧ 水母：先用清水洗傷口，再將醋倒於傷口上以融解毒素
‧ 鯰魚：將傷口徹底清洗淨，泡在攝氏 40 至 50 度的水內約 30 至 90 分鐘
‧ 海膽：用熱水洗或浸泡傷口 30 至 90 分鐘，小心拔出殘留在傷口內的毒刺

Source: Appledaily

週年紀念 @ Morton's The Steakhouse

2008-07-29T13:00:00.000+08:00

今年已是我和 honey 拍拖的八週年了, 我們選了 Morton's The Steakhouse 慶祝這話長唔長話短唔短的記念日。

Morton's 係一間美國式排房餐廳 , 裝潢精雅 , 服務態度一流。至於食物美味度呢 ... 某些方面仍有待改進。值得一提的是 Morton's 的細心給了我們三個意外驚喜 , 令是夜更添快樂。當我打電話成功訂位後而又預備掛線的時候 , 那位女工作人員主動問道 " 是否慶祝甚麼日子? " 我隨便答道 " 係週年記念。" 結果他們就奉上一些小心意 : 1) 在他們的紙菜單上印有祝我們週年記念快樂、 2) 贈送我們一個軟心朱古力蛋糕、3) 用他們的數碼相機幫我們拍照 , 然後把相放在紙夾裡連員工的簽名送給我們。

大個免費的洋蔥包 ; 塗牛油吃相當不錯呢

Menu 菜單

廚師正在介紹各種牛排

Mango Ale ($95); 芒果味道頗假 ... I didn't like it

Onion Soup ($140); 雖然湯裡有很多洋蔥 , 但洋蔥味唔太出 , 而且湯太稠。還是喜歡法式洋蔥湯多些

Lobster Bisque ($150); 龍蝦湯有 D 辣 , 唔知係唔係美式龍蝦湯係咁嫁呢。試過就可以了

Center Cut Iceberg with Morton's Blue Cheese Dressing ($105); 這沙律很不錯呀 , 非常新鮮多汁及野味 , 值得一試

Centre Cut Prime Rib ($595); 無得彈。但要留意每天限量發售及其份量相當驚人 (20 oz)

Ribeye Steak ($605); 好有肉味、脂肪分佈均衡、多汁、煮法剛剛好

Morton's Hot Chocolate Cake with Haagen Dazs Vanilla Ice-cream ($100) ; 如內裡的朱古力溶可更溶的話 , 那就更好

這是我們原本的週年蛋糕 , 但太飽的關係 , 返到屋企都冇切到

是次每人消費約 HK$950。值 8.5/10

Phone/ 電話 #: 2732-2343
Address: 4/F., Sheraton Hotel, 20 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon
地址: 九龍尖沙咀彌敦道20號喜來登酒店4樓

A piece of cake

2008-07-25T12:46:00.002+08:00

A piece of cake
meaning : (idiom) very easy. 毫無難度
example : It is a piece of cake for me to prepare a western-style dinner.

明治貴族冬季香濃朱古力餅乾條 Meiji Fran's Winter Premium

2008-07-21T17:44:00.009+08:00

我一向都愛吃明治 Fran 的朱咕力產品，尤其喺佢嗰隻原味朱咕力條。今次佢嗰隻 Winter Premium 朱咕力條果然沒有令我失望。一盒有 4 包獨立包裝，每包有 3 條 (即共 12 條)。每條香脆的餅乾條都被一層白朱咕力 , 一層黑朱咕力及粒粒碎果仁包着。朱咕力夠香滑 , 碎果仁夠口感。

我試過係 3 個唔同温度下食佢 : 1) 從雪櫃剛拿出來的溫度 ; 2) 從冷氣室的溫度 ~20 度 ; 3) 從沒冷氣的夏天室溫 ~28 度。個人而言，我最鍾意就係 3 嗰種吃法。因為佢溶溶地的關係，令到 D 朱咕力更滑更厚更香濃。而 D 碎果仁更顯特出。

Mickey Dog

2008-07-16T18:51:00.012+08:00

MoMo 最近很開心呢, 因為它不但可以在下雨天的週末出街玩, 而且還收到兩份又新又靚的用品。這兩件東西可令 MoMo 出街時更舒適。它們是什麼東西? 它們就是含有米奇老鼠圖案的狗袋及胸帶。個人而言, 我很喜歡呢! 如你也喜歡的話, 你可以到九龍灣國際展貿中心 EMax 4 樓的 PetMAX 內裡 Pet Paradise 選購。

Harness 胸帶 HK$280

Carrier 狗袋 ~HK$580

MoMo is very happy recently because he not only could go out playing every weekend even on the rainy days but also got two new beautiful articles. These two new stuffs can make MoMo more comfortable during going out. What are they? They are carrier and harness; both contain Mickey Mouse's figures. Personally, I like them pretty much. If you like them too, you can get them from Pet Paradise (just inside the PetMAX locating 4th floor of EMax Shopping Mall of Hong Kong International Trade and Exhibition Centre).

國泰收緊行李限重

2008-07-15T17:23:00.001+08:00

國泰航空 (Cathay Pacific) 將調整往來北美洲 (即美加線) 經濟位的免費寄艙行李重量限制，凡持有 2008 年 7 月 21 日或以後發出往返上述目的地機票之經濟位旅客必須留意，免費寄艙行李的數目 (兩件) 及尺寸 ( 上限 62 吋 ) 維持不變，但每件免費寄艙的行李重量上限將由 32 公斤（ 70 磅） 改為 23 公斤 ( 50 磅 )。若每件寄艙行李的重量介乎於 23 至 32 公斤，旅客將被額外收取 25 美元行李費。

新重量限制適用於嬰兒（2 歲以下及不佔座位）乘客（一件行李 ; 50 磅 ; 45 吋 ; 另加一部可摺合的嬰兒手推車）。至於前往北美洲頭等和商務客艙，除機票價格外，一切維持不變。

Long Time No TEA 下午茶

2008-07-10T18:49:00.005+08:00

Just dismissed today's gathering with friend, Wing. I usually went out with her for tea. If I remember correctly, the last time I went out with her was having tea at Kowloon Hotel about a year ago. Maybe we think that we can chat longer and comfortably during tea time rather than lunch or dinner time.

Food & Drink
This time we had tea at Festival Walk's Cova. We both ordered the tea set (include a cake and a drink) which cost HK$88 plus service charge. I had mille foglie (similar to strawberry mille) and hot chocolate; Wing had chocolate mousse and hot chocolate. The drinks were too sweet and not strong enough while the mille foglie was not crispy. I don't think I would go there for tea again.

Home Visit
Following two-hour tea, Wing came to my home and visited MoMo. Wing praised MoMo for playing nicely with and not barking at her. After she shared her funny and terrible experiences of her friends' pets, I should not to be too modest to confess that MoMo is a good boy indeed.

剛剛與朋友亞Wing結束今天的聚會。往往，我們都是相約去吃下午茶的。若然我沒記錯的話，對上一次與她外出便是約一年前在九龍酒店吃下午茶。或者我們覺得在吃下午茶的時侯閒談較在吃午餐或晚餐的時侯傾得更長時間和更舒適啦。

飲食篇
今次我們在又一城的Cova吃下午茶。我們兩個叫咗兩個下午茶套餐　(包括一件蛋糕和一杯飲品) ；　每個套餐盛惠＄88港元另需加一服務費。我叫咗件mille foglie　(類似草莓千層酥) 以及一杯熱朱古力；亞Wing叫咗件朱古力慕士和一杯熱朱古力。　Mille foglie不夠酥脆；熱朱古力太甜並且不夠濃。我唔認為我下次會再去那裡吃下午茶啦。

家訪篇
繼兩個小時的下午茶之後，亞Wing來到我家探訪MoMo。亞Wing還讚MoMo 乖，　因為MoMo 友善地與她玩和沒有向她吠叫。在與她分享過她與朋友的寵物的有趣和嚇人的經歷之後，我無需太謙虛地承認MoMo確是一個好男孩。

Live it up

2008-07-10T11:55:00.002+08:00

Live it up
meaning : (idiom) have a good time, enjoy life or oneself (often extravagantly).
example : After working all year long without taking any leave, he thinks it's time to live it up a little with a trip to Maldives.

不幸的鍾欣桐

2008-06-29T01:29:00.003+08:00

今天我從香港雜誌那裡得知一則關於香港政府拍賣車牌的新聞。在2008年6月14日，政府拍賣掉兩個與香港二人歌唱組合 (雙生兒) 暱稱有關的自訂車牌。亞 "SA" (蔡卓妍的暱稱) 的自訂車牌售價為港幣$170,000元，而亞 "GIL" (鍾欣桐的暱稱) 的自訂車牌只售出港幣$11,000元。現在我真的領會到那些性醜聞對鍾欣桐有多深的不良影響了。

Make Cookies on the Day of Hoisting Typhoon Signal No. 8 八號風球焗曲奇

2008-06-25T22:51:00.019+08:00

I turned on the tv just after waking up this morning and knew that typhoon signal no. 8 was still hoisting. What came to my mind first was to call my little cousin came over to visit me because I haven't seen her for a while and also she didn't need to go to school in such condition.

Apart from watching tv and chatting, we found a good activity to kill time. That was to make cookies. Actually, I like to use muffin mix and cookie mix to make muffins and cookies respectively because it lets me to make delicious product easily and simply. "Quaker" always is my first choice's mix; but I could not find this brand in Hong Kong so far. Therefore, I bought "Betty Crocker" as the substitution during my last last time's supermarket shopping. My comment for Betty Crocker's cookie mix is that the baked cookies were over sweet...too bad! Anyway, I had have SUCCESSfully use my mircowave/convection oven for the first time baking food not microwave food.

Before After

今早醒來後，我立即打開電視，並知道八號颱風警告信號仍然生效。我第一件事就想到叫我的小表妹來我家，因為我與她已有一段時間沒見面了，而且，她亦不需要上學去。

除了看電視和聊天外，我們亦想到了另一好活動來消磨時間。那就是做曲奇餅。事實上，我喜歡使用鬆餅混合粉和曲奇餅混合粉來做鬆餅及做曲奇餅。因為它讓我能容易地做出美味的鬆餅及曲奇餅。 "Quaker" 總是我的第一選擇；但是，我在香港還是找不到這個品牌的混合粉。因此，我在上上次逛超級市場的時候便買了 "Betty Crocker" 這牌子的曲奇餅混合粉作為代替。我對於 "Betty Crocker" 曲奇餅混合粉的意見是過甜。不管怎樣，我也至少成功地用我的微波焗爐第一次焗食物，而並不是微波加熱食物。

Black Sheep at Shek O

2008-06-19T13:49:00.035+08:00

Once I decided to go to Shek O last Saturday, I searched instantly over the internet and saw if there was a decent western-style restaurant that was worth a visit. Only three matched results were found from both foodeasy.com and openrice.com; they were Black Sheep, Paradiso, and Shining Stone. However, no comment was left for the latter two while most of the comments for Black Sheep were positive. Without any hesitation, I called Black Sheep for the reservation and asked them if I could bring my lovely doggy, MoMo, to dine with us. Hooray...they didn't mind MoMo's participation.

Though Black Sheep is a very small restaurant, it has its own style. Their decoration may give you a bit feeling of situating at a Philippine resturant. First, you would pass through the patio (~2 to 3 tables) to get into the dining room (~8 tables) and behind the dining room, there is a plain bar with small area of dance floor where you could dance during your dinner. As they use few lights (mainly counted on candles and ultraviolet lamps); so the whole environment is fair dim. Furthermore, they won't give you the menu as all the dishes are written down on the boards.

Fresh Mint Lemonade (right) & Fresh strawberry juice (left) They're worth trying even though the former was rather sour and the latter was rather sweet.

Onion Soup ($75) Would be better if cheese was served as topping.

Mama's Ox Tail Soup ($89) Nothing special; below my expectation!

Rib eye Steak ($235) Average.

Jungle Pizza ($155) Not enough ingredients.

The average spending per person of this dinner was HK$380. I would say Black Sheep is worth 7.3/10

Phone/ 電話 #: 2809-2021
Address: G/F., 330 Shek O Village Road, Shek O
地址: 石澳石澳村330號地下

Recalling those Weekends 久遺了的週末

2008-06-18T13:07:00.017+08:00

It was about six months that I had put myself in an indescribable life. A life without energy and specific interest. Seldom going out to get updated and not even intentionally going to somewhere that is far away from the urban for nothing.

Last Saturday was a fine day for me because I suddenly was in mood to go out and could make a quick decision for the destination - Shek O. We drove more than half an hour to get there for a walk at the beach and dinner at Black Sheep. Due to the unstable weather of that day and the time (about 17:45), there were not many people on the beach. I felt so relaxed and carefree by immersing myself in the soft sunlight and the gentle breeze. Besides, I enjoyed pretty much watching MoMo's freedom in running and your concentration on taking the good pictures. It was nice that there were only three of us spending the whole evening together over there.

That was a fabulous day; simple but happy. In fact, I believe that family is important, friend is essential, work is necessary, hobby is indispensable, and last but not least, "us time" also should not be neglected.

已經約有六個月的時間，我把自己處於一個難以形容的生活裡。一個沒有幹勁和具體興趣的生活。已經甚少為了使自己與時並進，而出街逛逛。更別說因為無所事事，而特意去些遠離市區的地方走走。

對我來說，上星期六是個美好的一天，因為我突然間很有興致出外走走。並且我更能很快速地想到了目的地 - 石澳。經過大半小時的車程後，我們到達石澳; 為的只是在沙灘散步和在 Black Sheep晚餐。由於不穩定的天氣和不早的時間 (約17:45)，沒有太多人在沙灘上。溫和的陽光和微微的風使我覺得如此輕鬆和無憂。而且，我也頗享受看著MoMo自由自在地奔跑以及你那全神灌注於拍攝靚相的時刻。更加不錯的事是只有我們三個一起在石澳那裡度過一整個晚上。

那是個極好的一天；簡單但愉快。事實上，我相信家庭是重要的，朋友是必需的，工作是必要的，嗜好是不可缺少的，最後但同樣重要的是"我們時間"是不應該被忽視的。

Beats Me

2008-06-17T19:16:00.004+08:00

Beats Me

meaning : (idiom) I have no idea.

example : Kitty asked "Who will attend the party tonight?" Daniel replied "Beats me!"

Go Dutch

2007-12-19T18:22:00.001+08:00

Go Dutch
meaning : (idiom) divide and share equally the expenses; each participant pays his or her own expenses. 平攤費用
example : Every time we eat out, we go Dutch.

Uni Suhsi to My Friend 海膽壽司贈"余"生

2007-12-18T18:45:00.000+08:00

This uni sushi is for my friend, Mr. Philip Yue, as I did promise to order him one. When I was on my way to the dinner gathering at Kenjo, Philip Yue called me and told me that he was not able to join us. I guessed he would like to come, but he could not due to the family matter. Therefore, I asked him what he would like to have; he thought for 3 seconds and answered me that he wanted to have uni sushi. So I ordered an extra piece of uni sushi and ate it for him...heehaw

All ears

2007-12-18T10:53:00.001+08:00

All ears
meaning : (idiom) eager to listen something attentively. 洗耳恭聽
example : Okay, I am all ears, please tell me what happened last night to make her cry.

Can I Still Live Well Without Computer?

2007-12-17T18:21:00.000+08:00

Wow...I haven't been on-lining for a week. Although I really wanted to, I could not. It was because of the computer crash. Last Monday, my brother rode me home and visited MoMo in passing. When we got home, we minded our own business separately. I was responsible for cleaning up MoMo's pee pee and my brother was to play with MoMo and try doing the on-lining. When I was busying in that dirty work, my brother bawled "there was no signal on the computer screen." Those both matters came together almost crazed me. Actually, the computer crash hadn't occurred once, but four to five times. However, I still hoped that was not the case and calmly asked my brother to check the cable connection and restart the computer to see whether it would work again or not. Unfortunately, it didn't work and I had to accept this truth reluctantly. As on-lining is part of my life ; so I brought the computer to my uncle for fixing in that evening without any delay. It was so great that my uncle completed the fixing in just 4 days. I took my computer back in the evening of Saturday, but I hadn't done the on-lining in a whole weekend because of the tiredness from two consecutive days of Christmas shopping. Finally, I think that the days without computer were not as hard as I thought.

Japanese Restaurant Kenjo 見城日本料理

2007-12-07T15:25:00.000+08:00

Kenjo (見城) is a Japanese restaurant located in Tsim Sha Tsui. I knew that restaurant because my old colleague took me there for lunch few years ago. After that, I went there often for lunch than dinner. This past Sunday's night, a total of 7 people went to Kenjo in order to eat our favorite Janpanese foods and open a bottle of seasonal cold sake. Kenjo would not charge the corkage if the minimum spending of each person was over HK$800.

I deemed that Kenjo's qualities of foods and services were declined slightly. No matter what, all of us were satisfied the freshness of the foods except the sea urchin (Uni) sushi and the ice-creams. The laver of sea urchin sushi had soften already when they were served on the table. The size of ice-cream was really small (not enough a scope just more than a spoon) and also they started melting before we ate them. As the ice-cream was too small, we decided to go to Häagen-Dazs for another one; however, it was almost ten o'clock and we were afraid of the closing. Finally, we went to a 24-hour McDonald at Tsim Sha Tsui East. It was funny that we could not resist McDonald's attraction. Even though we all were full, we still had ordered chicken wing meals, apple pie, chocolate sundaes in McDonald. haw-haw.

The average spending per person in this dinner was HK$800. I would say Kenjo is worth 8.5/10

A complimentary appetizer. Mushroom and spinach with Japanese sauce.

The waitress recommended the egg omelette (tamago). I thought it was overcooked a little. Not very juicy & tender. All the others were very good.

Every piece was perfect. This was my 1st time to try toro cheek sushi. No big surprise to me at all. They were smooth and silky, though not as oily as regular toro.

Disappointed with the sea urchin sushi (uni).

Crab roe salad (蟹籽沙律) was yummy.

The chef deep fried the Tempura just right.

I don't very like to eat cold soba personally. No comment on this.

Phone/電話 #: 2369-8307
地址: 尖沙咀棉登徑30號地下
Address: G/F., 30 Meidan Avenue, Tsui Sha Shui

Poor MoMo Poor Daddy 可憐MoMo 貧窮爸爸

2007-12-05T02:15:00.001+08:00

Didn't know why my baby, MoMo, was easy to get sick lately. Formerly, he seldom needed to see the vet...twice a year at maximum. But since September this year to now, he has already consulted the doctors for three times. The doctors usually gave him injections and antibiotics. Not long when we thought the first-time treatment had cured MoMo completely, his allergic symptom appeared again. Apparently, the second-time treatment didn't work at all; he even began to throw up and got thiner. In the third-time visiting to the vet, it was confirmed that MoMo got Demodectic mange 毛囊蟲 (also known as red mange, follicular mange, or puppy mange). That means MoMo's immune systems were not strong enough to flight with the irritating environment. It may not a bad news; at least, MoMo doesn't have to diet strictly in order to narrow down the sources of allergy.

Anyway, MoMo has still to keep seeing the vet until he is completely cured. The doctor suggested two choices: medicining MoMo for over 4 months or bring MoMo to him every week for injection for 12 weeks. For MoMo's own good, we chose latter becasue MoMo's health progress can be followed by the vet everyweek. Why does it call poor daddy? Because daddy will take up all the treatment and medication charges. :(

火星唔會撞地球呀...

2007-12-04T14:58:00.000+08:00

昨天, 我從報紙上看到一篇報導。得知地球的「鄰居」火星將在今個月會靠近地球多一點。當抬頭望向晴朗的東方夜空，只要用肉眼便可以清楚地看到一顆紅色的星星。那就是火星啦 ! 如果連續多夜觀察，更可看到火星一日比一日大和一日比一日光。預計，火星將會在本月 19 號與地球最接近。還有，若用放大 20 倍的天文望遠鏡觀看，可以清楚看到火星是一個紅色圓球，如果用直徑 8 厘米、放大 60 至 100 倍的天文望遠鏡，更可以見到火星模糊的地貌，以及南北兩極的白色極冠。 是浪漫一番的時候了 !

Keep my fingers crossed

2007-12-03T12:19:00.000+08:00

It refers to crossing middle finger over the index finger for hoping good luck or thing will happen in the way you want it to. It is similar to the Chinese slang of "Qiu Shen Bai Fo" 求神拜佛 (beg the Buddha by keep both hands closed together and shake a bit); i.e. 求神拜佛, 千祈唔好有事哎.

Example:
I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we can catch the flight.

He keeps his fingers crossed hoping everything will turn out okay.

"Keep your fingers crossed, everyone, Katie may win a house as long as she picks the box with the key inside." the MC said to the audiences.

Esquire's 19th Anniversary 君子雜誌 19 週年

2007-12-02T02:14:00.000+08:00

On Nov 28, I was invited to attend Esquire's 19th Anniversary Celebration which took place at Club JJ's of Grand Hyatt. The party contained mainly 3 parts: Michael Wong's (王敏德) singing performance, Marlboro Classics's fashion show, and awards giving.

Michael Wong's (王敏德) performance. What a funny, sophisticated, and cool guy he is! He said his record would be on sale in mid of Dec in HMV.

Marlboro Classics's Fashion Show 花生騷

Photos Slide Show

Michael Man-Tak Wong (王敏德)took leave after thanking the sponsor.

Lynn Dai-Lam Hung(熊黛林) is a very tall and thin lady. I believe that most of Lynn's pictures do not flatter her.

Bosco Chung-Chak Wong (黃宗澤) looked quite sharp and has a good and equal figure.

Theresa Wing Fu (傅穎) wore a pair of very high heels. I thought her skin tone was so pale making her seemed unhealthy.
Raymond Fung Lam (林峰) gave a blue impression on me. His smiles were polite and heavy-hearted.

Stephen Chi-Wan Chan (陳志雲)

Andy Chi-On Hui (許志安) is one of my favorite singers.

Michael Kiu-Wai Miu (苗僑偉)型d定黃宗澤型d?

傳媒可以將呢張相寫成 "黃宗澤,林峰互不瞅睬毫無交流"...LOL

Group Photo 合照

Indulgence in Zoe

2007-11-26T11:58:00.000+08:00

I dare to say Zoe should be one of the best cake shop in Hong Kong. Most of their cakes' tastes are just right...not too sweet and relatively light. They have 2 shops and both are locating in Hong Kong Island...Causeway Bay and Happy Valley. I always visit Happy Valley one as it is more easy to find parking over there...hehe. Maybe I will try Causeway Bay shop next time because I heard that it was a cafe and had more varieties of cake.

After a huge spending in the afternoon of Nov 17, a very small spending, comparatively speaking, followed. That was buying 5 cakes from Happy Valley's Zoe. Of course, those 5 cakes included Zoe, 1459, Blueberry cheese, Opera, and Mocca. I believe the first two are the best and also the signatures of Zoe. Although I had Zoe and 1459 for many times, but I still could not wait to indulge myself with those two cakes; therefore, I ate them inside the car and left the other three for late snack...LOL. Actually, there is a meaning of Zoe cake; that was the cake of Zoe's 18th birthday from her mother. It is quite interesting.

Zoe ($32) Hazelnut cream is on the top of a crisp base. Soft and smooth. Perfect!!!

1459 ($28) Make up of 1459 layers of pastry and custards. Puffy and crispy. Cool!!!

Blueberry cheese ($28) Rich in blueberries and the cheese cake is very very soft. Light cheese.

Opera ($28) Rich in chocolate and contain a little of wine and coffee favor. Rather strong in taste.

Mocca ($28) Texture feels like a mousse cake. Light mocca taste.

Phone/電話 #: 2892-1166

地址: 跑馬地山光道7A-3地下

Address: G/F., No. 7A-3, Shan Kwong Road, Happy Valley, Hong Kong

Phone/電話 #: 2234 7188

地址: 銅鑼灣希慎道新寧閣地下6號舖

Address: G/F., Shop No. 6 Sunning Plaza, 10 Hysan Avenue, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

How would you like your steak?

2007-11-24T12:37:00.000+08:00

When you order the beef steak in a restaurant, the server would usually ask " How would you like your steak cooked?"

You could answer "I would like it (one of the followings), please."
rare 三成熟
medium-rare 五成熟
medium 七成熟
medium-well 八成熟
well-done 全熟

By the way, the above can also be used for the rack of lamb.

Being Overpraised Cafe Gabbana

2007-11-22T18:26:00.001+08:00

This year's Valentine's Day, I turned on the radio to station 903 and listened to the programme named "五天精華遊". The hosts recommended a restaurant and somehow I didn't have a chance to visit it until last Saturday (17 Nov).

Cafe Gabbana is a casual-dining Italian restaurant. A small but cozy restaurant which is likely to house about 16 and 14 parties at the inside and the patio, respectively. It can be said a quiet place for relaxing the mind as its surroundings are usually the low density residential, closed school and shops; however, some noticeable noises emitted from the passing vehicles occasionally exist. Furthermore, metered parking is available in just few steps down the restaurant and pet is allowed at the patio.

That night, we've ordered the followings:-
Lobster bisque 龍蝦湯 ($48)
Smoked duck breast salad 煙鴨胸沙律 ($78)
Crispy fried boneless chicken wing 香草無骨雞翼 ($48)
Linguine with goose liver and wild mushroom 鵝肝雜菌扁意粉 ($88)

It may because I like eating strong lobster bisque, I thought the lobster bisque was a bit thin. For all other dishes, I would say they were not bad. Nevertheless, our server had made a negative impression on me. She seemed not to know the must-have behaviours of a waitress, e.g. when I requested a fork from her, she just walked away apathetically without saying a word or nodding. I observed her for a while and noticed that she didn't smile to other customers as well; she only gave smile to the customers' dogs. How ridiculous!!!

For the wrap-up, I would give 7 out of 10 to Cafe Gabbana. Without concerning the service, it could be a choice for having average food with the fair price.

Phone/電話 #: 2391-1088
地址 : 九龍塘又一村海棠路21-31號地下5-6舖
Address: Shop 5-6, G/F, 21-31 Begonia Road, Yau Yat Chuen, Kowloon Tong

Call it a day

2007-11-22T15:25:00.000+08:00

Call it a day
meaning : (idiom) stop doing something for the remainder of the day. 今天到此為止
example : I am totally exhausted. I think it's time to call it a day.

Just learnt walking's Belle

2007-11-21T12:15:00.001+08:00

Isabelle is my beloved niece. She is cute, adorable and very precious to the families. This video was taken at the walkway outside Sutton Place Hotel on August 5, 2007 after finishing the brunch at the hotel. It was the period Isabelle learned how to walk faster. So she felt really exciting when she could run barely all the walkway long by herself without our holding. Hearing her laughter will definitely make you smile as well.

A Credit to Cova

2007-11-20T19:12:00.000+08:00

A farewell dinner was organized on Nov 14, 2007 for a uncle and his family who came visiting HK from San Francisco. I thought I should buy a cake as our regard to them. I arrived at Cova around 7:00pm and decided to buy a cake of popular flavor. Their Mixed Fruits Cream Dome, a chiffon sponge cake topped with mixed fruits and a Cova's chocolate plate and filled with mixed fruit and whipped cream, was the one I looked for, but its topping became dry out a bit. Since I was already late for the dinner, I was obliged to ask the staff to wrap that for me and told her my comment to the topping. She was so nice that giving a suggestion of replacing the current topping with the fresh one. Besides, the original topping contained sliced mango, kiwi and strawberry, but they didn't have anymore kiwi left at that time. Therefore, she asked me if I would mind to have some blueberries instead of kiwi. Surely, I didn't mind because her service was excellent. I dare to bet that not every salesperson would provide such good services!

Cova is one of my favorite cake shop because their cakes are quite special and all of their shops are located inside the popular malls. However, the cake shop that possesses my appreciation the most is Zoe.

No Bitter, No Sweet

2007-11-17T21:05:00.000+08:00

This morning something about my friend's love matter came up my mind. She announced her love life blissfully one week ago and I felt really glad for her from the bottom of my heart. It is a pity she told me yesterday that the happiness hadn't stay long. I just wanna tell her that no bitter no sweet. Life is no bed of roses. One shall try to learn from and feel the adversity so that when the favorable circumstance comes again, it will be even more splendid. I keep reminding myself of this theory since five years ago and this makes me treasure and enjoy more deeply my wonderful life.

沒有苦那覺甜
沒有風怎知暖

Native English Speaking Tutor

2007-11-16T00:29:00.001+08:00

Few weeks ago, I was helping someone to look for a native English speaker as the private tutor; she wanted to improve intensively her English listening and speaking skills. As a responsible person like me and having taking account of the time and location flexibilities, tutor's quality and suitability, tuition fee, etc., I tried very hard to find her two native English speaking tutors for her selection.

These two tutors can provide one-to-one or small group tutoring. However, each session cannot less than two hours. They both charge HK$250/hr for one-to-one lesson and about HK$180/hr per student for two-person group lesson. Advance payment is not required and do have to pay at the end of each session. For the location, it is recommended to arrange the lesson in the coffee shop or the sitting area of the university or college. Please note that travel compensation may require sometimes.

Lastly, the following is my comments on the said tutors:-
Tutor A: willing to provide free evaluation session, no additional charge for the overtime session, better time alternative, not likely suitable for the learner of below intermediate level.
Tutor B: limited time alternative, teach patiently, a formal ESL tutor for all level.

Crab Crab Crab

2007-11-15T13:46:00.000+08:00

[off topic] Last Saturday, I went out with few of my old buddies for celebrating Cheuk's birthday in advance. In fact, we haven't seen each other for about seven months. During this period, something unexpected has changed and it was really surprising me! That was the guys, who were very thin before and you had never thought they could fat, were getting much fatter. To make my statements more clearly, I reiterate that they are just getting fat but not fat at all.

Back to the topic, we had Chiu Chow cuisine dinner that night and order a cold crab. The crab was quite big and fresh. Besides, it had a lot of meat & paste. It was delicious indeed, but when we were going to pay the bill, we discovered that the price of the crab took the majority of the bill's total. That was a restaurant we usually went; the last time we ordered the similar size's crab was about half year ago and the price compared with this time was around 30% lesser. Now I really believe that both paces of HK's economic and inflation are growing very fast.

Just four days later, I had another crab dinner. Instead of cold crab, this time was hairy crab. Even thought I was allergic to eating too many crabs, I still ate two of them. I had already prepared a allergy pill for the need in that night. Fortunately, nothing happened to me. haw-haw.

I sniggered because hairy crabs were the seasonal food; otherwise, two scenarios will usually occur to me...choice making battle between hairy crabs and other kinds of crabs or increasing the demand for allergy pill. LOL

Handy Pizza of Chicago Pizza Factory

2007-11-11T16:10:00.000+08:00

The first time I patronized Chicago Pizza Factory located at SOGO of Tsim Sha Tsui was on Nov 6, 2007 that was also the day of my mommy's return from Canada. Due to the idle time before going to the airport and the desire for filling the stomach, Jaco and I went to SOGO's food court and browsed around. I eventually decided to order a Curry Chicken & Potato Pizza (HK$35) at Chicago Pizza Factory and a Dark Chocolate Decadence drink at Godiva. They folded up the pizza and made it easy to hold and eat. Inside the soft wrapping it mainly mixed with mild curry sauce, chicken stripes, mozzarella, and potatoes. I liked its texture and taste; I wanted to have some more that day.

Two days later, I visited them again for buying the take-out lunch. This time I bought the above said pizza and a meal (HK$35), which included a Pepperoni and Bacon Pizza, Potato Cake, and Coke. However, the foods didn't taste as good as the first time; it might because I had not eaten the foods immediately but after 30 minutes. Therefore, it was a little bit dry and vanished the just-melted texture of the mozzarella.

Be the Customer of Godiva Again

2007-11-10T18:01:00.000+08:00

Recalling one summer of long long time ago, I was still a student in Canada and had bought some chocolates and biscuits from Godiva as the souvenirs for parents and relatives living in HK. Sadly that all of their feedback were "really too sweet". Since then I was not their customer anymore until the Valentine's Day of last year I bought two pieces of chocolate dipped strawberry, which tasted good and brought me back confidence in some of their products.

Recently, I fall in love with Godiva's Chocolixir, an icy chocolate blended beverage. For my personal preference, I would not pick the drink having the flavor of mint or white chocolate; so I've only tried their Dark Chocolate Decadence, Milk Chocolate Decadence, and Dark Chocolate Raspberry. Among these three, I find that I love the dark chocolate the most and think that the taste of Milk Chocolate Decadence is not strong enough. However, my daddy likes the milk chocolate more. The drink not only is topped with rich whipped cream and chocolate sauce but also is filled with chocolate chip. Every sip of it is yum-yum!!! Believe it or not, it sells for HK$39 only and note that not every Godiva shop sell them. (Whisper: I think that it is more delicious and cheaper than Häagen-Dazs's smoothies.)

L-O-V-E by Nat King Cole

2007-11-08T14:47:00.000+08:00

The first time I heard this song was on the next evening after my wedding day. That night my brother called me and told me that he left a bag in the hotel's ballroom during participating my wedding reception. As my hubby and I were still staying on at the same hotel, we went down to that ballroom and tested his luck. The situation was that a couple was holding a wedding reception and broadcasting their childhood slide show. That's why we knew this song and we both thought this song was good. However, we didn't know the song's name.

On the subsequent birthday of mine, we dined in at a speakeasy restaurant and it kept playing many romantic songs. Of course, L-O-V-E was one of them. Before we left the restaurant, my hubby decided to ask the waitress about the song's name. She said she didn't know it and invited my hubby to find it himself from their iPod nano. After our best try, we certainly could not find it and gave it up.

One day, I shopped around the Hallmark in Edmonton, Canada and a familiar song suddenly flowed into my ears. I walked toward that sample music stand and tried to found that CD. Unfortunately, they were sold out. I remembered the lyric and searched online immediately after I got home. The answer came to light. Without any delay, I called hubby and told him the name. After that, I shopped every different Hallmark when I saw it and came out with an empty hands. Finally I bought the song from iTunes.

Although it's a brief song, it's a meaningful and good song. In here, I dedicate this song to my beloved hubby Jaco. Thanks for doting me. I love you so much. XOXO

L is for the way you look at me
O is for the only one I see
V is very, very extraordinary
E is even more than anyone that you can adore

Love is all that I can give to you
Love is more than just a game for two
Two in love can make it
Take my heart and please don't break it
Love was made for me and you

Flight Pass between Hong Kong & Canada

2007-11-06T16:29:00.000+08:00

It might be a good news for you if you are a traveller who travels frequently between Hong Kong and Canada. Air Canada is now promoting a flight pass that is a prepaid package of six one-way flight credits; it gives you access to flights between Hong Kong and Eastern (HK$22,890) or Western (HK$16,890) Canada. The prices should include taxes, and each flight credit is valid for a one-way trip including connecting flights. That means you can have three round-trip tickets to Eastern or Western Canada within one year's validity.

Tell you what...early this year, I bought a Air Canada's special price round-trip ticket to Edmonton, Alberta (Western Canada) and it costed me about HK$8,500. HK$8,500 x 3 = HK$25,500. If one can really fly to Western Canada three times a year, this flight pass can save her at least HK$8,610 (saving can even be more because the ticket's non special price can as high as $HK13,500). However, there are some disadvantages: 1) bookings must be done using the user name designated at time of original Pass purchase; 2) flight credits must be completed within twelve months; and 3) all six flight schedules shall be provided to make booking at the time of purchasing the Pass. For detail information, please visit Air Canada's website.