floral;: CNY's approaching, but wait

I'm extremely exhausted even since I came back to SG. Nothing gotta do with the trip really, but I did some silly things to my hard disk that got my 2010-2011 backup pictures all wiped out (that's around 20K images) and I got to pay a sum to recover them in bits and pieces.

Nightmare will be how I get them back into folders ;(

On the very excited note about CNY:

I've received my first qipao dress from Frockettes the week when I was in HKG.

Doing a review of this piece in my room 'cos I didn't wanna wear it out till my new year :p

Chose the teal color because I wanted a dress that looks appropriate for dinners too. I always believe that I should be practical when it comes to buying CNY items. If these items can be worn on other occasions besides new year, it will be more worth for dollar!

The crochet-wrap neckline of this dress is intricately done and makes the piece looking elegant. Features a deep 'V' cut that doesn't reveal too much ( a normal bra does the job) and a cutting that shows the right curves.

The back of the dress is a low U cut with a bow to tie - I find this great to wear to even wedding dinners! Material is fuss-free, doesn't require ironing :)

FYI - If you haven't found the appropriate dress for your new year, or for upcoming dinners - you could still get the Criselle dress from Frockettes! They have a meet up this Saturday, 21 Jan @ Bishan :)

* * *

HK - Day 1

JS and I are very different people when it comes to traveling, except for our shared passion of exploring good food!

We believe that we complement each other by having different styles of doing things and every of these trips give us an opportunity to learn about each other.

JS is always the well-organised person before we board, while I'm always the "where's my passport? where's my handphone? Can I go to the toilet (during final call)?"

LOL you get the idea.

Anyway I lost my DSLR lens cap when in changi airport, grrrrrr!

Had our inflight meal at 2am, crappy timing to have a meal but that's what we paid for I guess?

Apple juice is my favorite drink during CX flights.

Arrived airport at 4:50am ...

Airport was empty but flight was full due to connecting flights.

Strolled around, bought SIM card to call my local friends etc.

Airport express counter @ terminal was closed, so we walked to the counter @ the MTR to purchase our single tickets at 5:50am for the first train to town.

Airport Express is the single, fastest train to town. I rode to Kowloon before and it only took me less than 15 minutes. Like a bullet!

Arrived at my girlfriend, Peiyu's place, talked a little about our itinerary (which was amended by both her and my bestie, Jess) then #sleptlikeapig till later morning.

Woke up at 10am before washing up and out!

Beautiful surroundings PY's apartment stayed in :)

The private developer gave them a beach, all private facilities, supermarket and shops in the neighborhood. Location's a bit off but guess being away from the city has its benefits as well!

Missed our ferry so we got coffee @ Pacific Coffee Company outlet there.

A ferry from her place to Central takes around 15 minutes.

monkeying before the ferry leaves :)

Unfortunately, we couldn't take much photos because it was pretty foggy that day and pictures didn't turn out well. The ferry took us through the view of the high rise + area of financial hub, splendid view!

We also saw star cruise departing from the HK harbor!

See how foggy it is? :(

Arrived at Central, temperature was around 16 degrees in the day.

must have couple shot since it's going to be some time that I'm going to visit HK again + traveling with JS :(

I took less touristy shots this time, but this is one mall you should visit when you come to Central.

They have Apple there (electronics are cheapest in HK - Macbook for 1.5+k is super!) and cameras are also marginally cheaper ;)

JS almost fainted when he saw the prices of MacBooks LOL. Sorry hun!

JS insisted tourist shot of Central since we didn't take much shots of the MTR stations a year ago.

We did take a lot of them this trip :p

Bought my FANCL. Main point of going to HK - stock up skincare!

HK is relatively easy to travel if you know how to read simple maps provided at the stations. I find their maps really helpful as they point out the nearest exits and display all main attractions and street names.

Unless you are like me, you need someone as reliable as JS who reads the map.

I'm a follower *beams*

Heading towards our lunch venue which is a 大排檔, traditional dining booths along the streets.

Jess told us the best way to get there is to go by Gough Street!

Managed to find the place easily with JS' effective navigation and Jess' good guidance :)

Our first experience eating at the street stall, also used as a filming site in a TVB drama, I later read :)

胜香园
No. 2 Mei Lun Street, Central
(10 mins walk from Sheung Wan MTR)

The older it is, the more excited we get 'cos the other trip we made a year ago got us eating at fancy coffee houses and restaurants and this trip spells more localized food!

The house favorite - Salted Lemon with Soda (Sprite)

A very refreshing drink which I really liked, has a rather unique taste.

JS relates that taste to orange peel?

Signature Crisp Bun with Lemon and Honey spread. It's really sweet but it taste so good! In HongKong, they call it crisps - 脆脆!

My Tomato-based macaroni soup with a fried egg.

I didn't look through the menu carefully to see that there are actually so many options - you could choose it cooked with luncheon meat, hotdog, minced meat and etc.

JS likes this because the tomato base is very light and HK does really good macaroni soups.

Kau Kee Beef Brisket noodles which we failed to try this trip. It's directly opposite the place we were at, but we were really too full to have to spend a minimum of 36HKD each pax after lunch.

That is like 3 bowls of noodles :S

Walked down the aisles and saw many interesting concept and food shops :)

Central, houses both trendy and traditional stores along their streets.

some random photos we took while window shopping :p

One of the nicer pictures we took of the street in Sheung Wan, Central;

We finally sat on the Ding Ding (叮叮车- the one in white in picture #1) together!

These are electric trams that runs on tracks and started way back in 1904. Read history here.

A ride like this cost us HKD2.60 (approx SGD0.45) each to get from SheungWan -> Central station.

All forms of public transport in HK we took accepts payment by Octopus card, which can also be used to make payment at MacDonald's, 7-elevens and even pharmacy stores :)

Heading to a very nice place, recommended by Peiyu earlier in the day.

It's nice to come here if you are in Central, as a bus 6 or 6X in Central bus terminal will bring you to Stanley Market after a 45 minutes bus ride.

These 2 pictures show very much of what we exhibit when we're on travel.

I'm always on the phone, trying to ask others where to go or how to reach a place, or asking friends to see if they could meet up.

JS will be the one continuously mapping and paving our way there, and 95% of the time, he's successful in doing so with minimal research done prior to trip. If he fails to find that place, I'll ask around for directions.

Arrived at Stanley Market after a rather long ride.

They say that the owner of Macau is staying 15 minutes drive from Stanley ( or if I'm not wrong, it's Deepwater/Repulse bay)?

His name sounds alike that area so you can kinda make a guess.

Stanley has this very village-like feel, away from the city.

Residences here are low-rise apartments, area has a main beach called the Stanley Beach.

Shopped for a scarf here :)

Prices are negotiable since it's a tourist market, you can find lots of gifts here, such as the HK street sign gifts which people like to buy for friends as souveneirs.

but don't ask for fakes lahh... :p

Stanley beach as mentioned above;

we took some panoramic shots with iphone and it's a wonderful place to execute those shots!

A must visit if you have a couple of days in HKG and have already visited common tourist spots (one of my favorites has to be the peak).

Many beautiful western restaurants there. We found one nice pizza place we would love to dine in if we had to stay for dinner.

Walked to Stanley Plaza (3 mins walk away), which is a contemporary shopping mall in this estate.

Shared an egg mcmuffin since we saw that this sausage is made of pork (SG has chicken sausages).

They sell EMF all day long, not just for breakfast.

Rode bus back to Central for dinner with PY, our host for these 5 nights.

I was dying to have Pret-A-Manger 'cos my previous 2 trips didn't allow me to do so ( I was crazy about roasted meat those other times). Initially established in London, this chain's concept is "ready to eat". Kind of reminds me of Cedele in Singapore, except that their sandwiches are much more affordable and they have a wider variety, taste better too!

We ordered a soup, a wrap and a sandwich each.

Why did Pret close their only outlet in SG years ago ?? :( The concept would have gone so well now that people are accepting salad, sandwiches and soup as their "healthy lunch" concept at work :(

Headed to LKF, which is near the Soho (south of hollywood road) district of Central.

13-14 degrees with stronger wind. Brrr.