Hong Kong Oct 2011 - Day 3 Highlights

Day 3!

Well, I decided to bring my parents to this well-known dimsum shop that I came last time. It was actually very near my hotel (as opposed) to my last trip here earlier this year. The place is called 添好运点心专门店 (Tin Ho Wun). Even though the shop only opens at 10am, it's best to start queuing by 9am if you want to be in the 1st batch, or else you've got to wait for at least an hour or more. Well, that's what happened as we arrived around 9.30am. We missed the 1st batch (and 2nd batch by 1 queue in line) but were issued queue numbers. By the time we finally got in, it was already 11 plus. But anyway, in between, we walked around the area and found a small shop selling some traditional snacks like 白糖糕 and the elusive 砵仔糕. It looks something like chwee kueh, but is sweet and has red bean inside normally.

My parents also bought some dried Korean persimmons which were very much cheaper in Hong Kong (HKD15/S$2-3 for almost half kg) compared to Singapore ($1 for 2 persimmons).

Anyway, when we finally went into the Tin Ho Wun, I basically ordered most of the same thing from before. A bit less though since it was just 3 of us. The char siew bao seems to have shrunk though, but I think the 马拉糕 is still nice. Think the 桂花糕 is also a personal favourite, giving us refreshing palette after the end of the meal. We waited very long for the siew mai, which wasn't super though.

I believe this place is popular because of its affordable prices and it's supposed to be famous for its char siew bao. They do have outlets elsewhere which are bigger and open earlier, but I doubt I will visit here again. There are so many other places to try! And don't want to queue again. Waste time.

Well, this day's plan was to visit 南丫岛 (Lamma Island) which I told my parents before. However, we stopped by my cousin's Vietnamese restaurant first. I say my cousin, but he's actually around the age of my father already. My grandfather is his father's brother. I've never met him before, or so I thought, but it seems that he came for my brother's wedding a couple of years ago. Anyway, the hospitable him gave us a good meal (even though we were quite full) of beef pho (large bowl), some Vietnamese fried snacks and his homemade kamquat tea. We visited his apartment too, which was located in the street behind the eatery.

View from his apartment:

After the full meal, I was quite concerned about the ferry ride to Lamma Island, but fortunately, we got there safely. I couldn't resist taking a picture of the new HK Apple Store at IFC on our way to the ferry pier. It was bustling.

My mum was pretty onz about the trail through Lamma Island as compared to my father. That's why we were there as I felt safe to bring them there since I was before. She enjoyed herself pretty much while we tried to motivate my father by allowing him to order a can of beer at the end of trail. Haha!

Anyway, this time we were a little late as we took the 4 something ferry. Due to the time of the year, the sun was setting at 5 plus, so we were walking in darkness nearer the end of the trail. The trail took about 2 hours (from the speed we walked). It can be done in less.
Our destination, the Rainbow Seafood Restaurant at around 6pm:

15 minutes later:

Looking back:

If we were even later, it would have been a longer dark road for us.
So here's our well-deserved dinner.

The restaurant has its own ferry back to the main HK island and Kowloon. Good thing it was a bigger ferry, or else I might have gotten seasick. Here's a not very clear pic on the way back.

We alighted at Tsim Tsa Tsui, and I couldn't help but take photos of the changing coloured lights of the Space Museum.

 

Well, that's day 3. Hey! No shopping!

Hong Kong 2011 (2) - Day 2 Highlights

As one of my objectives of visiting Hong Kong was to visit at least 1 museum, we went to the Hong Kong Museum of History. Interestingly it started off like a natural science history journey and neolithic revolution first. Who would have thought since I only think of Hong Kong from the Chinese history perspective. Admission is HKD10 (less than S$2) and HKD5 each for my parents.
This is the museum main entrance:

And some exhibits:

After the museum, it was already quite late, around 2 plus and we were hungry. However, the 2 places around we thought of going to were closed for lunch already by the time we reached around 3pm. In the end, we settled for Fook Yuen at Houston Centre for afternoon dimsum, which was so-so, and staff weren't as friendly.

Oh, and I saw the nice bag from Giallo, which you would now know that I went back to buy eventually (yup, didn't buy it straightaway). I was holding out in search of a lightweight black bag I would like and willing to pay for (which I didn't). I wouldn't say I specially went back to buy, but we wanted to try Lei Garden (see later post) which was one of the restaurants that was already closed when we reached this day, so had 顺便 bought the bag.

After that, we decided to try to explore Uniqlo and H&M. We never managed to reach the latter, as we got side-tracked first to Sogo TST, which we didn't find anything (no sale going on), and then nearly "lost" our way, because we didn't know which part of Canton Street Uniqlo was. It was actually in Harbour City itself, and we thought we could see it from outside. But, as a result, we unwittingly wandered to the outlet mall, where we found some shoes at Mirabell, my father 1 pair of Merrell, and me 2 pairs from Stonefly (which I think we can't find in Singapore) :P. That's 3 pairs of shoes for me already within 2 days! And all three cost us a total of HKD 2,236.

Anyway, there were some Halloween decorations along Canton Road that were pretty cute.

Well, we finally found Uniqlo. My mum wanted to buy one of those lightweight down jackets they had and well, I got a long-sleeve tee and a white blouse (JPlus). Bought some stuff there (I got a white shirt and long-sleeve tee) and by the time it was already almost 9pm, so we settled for Crystal Jade Xiao Long Bao. We heard that Crystal Jade in HK was good, and it was not bad. We tried to order some of what we don't normally see on our menus here.

 

So that ended our Day 2. Thankfully we could just take the shuttle bus back to the hotel after a long day of walking.

Hong Kong 2011(2) - Day 1

I went off to Hong Kong 2 Saturdays ago with my parents and guess what? I started my shopping on the plane with a S$38 foldable pair of pumps. It didn't really fit my mum or me (there was only 1 size), so we gave it to my sis-in-law who has smaller feet, and she liked it, especially with its foldability. :)

And well, only reaching the hotel (Metropark Kowloon) at about 1 plus to 2pm, we took a while before coming out. And on checking with some locals, we were recommended some eating places. It was to our pleasure that we're living very near to lots of food. Previously, we stayed along Nathan Road which was near the shopping. Ha! Looks like staying on Kowloon side when I'm in Hong Kong seems quite convenient.
The hotel wasn't too fancy, just a simple set up, a bit older maybe, but at least it's generally clean. That's the most important. And there's free internet access!

There's also a shuttle bus to send us to Mong Kok (Fa Yuen St) or Tsim Sha Tsui MTR stations (Peninsula Hotel) every half hour. Oh, the taxi driver also told us quite a few HK stars stayed near us, e.g. Andy Lau, who's on the hill just behind the hotel. Hmm...since we were out most of the time, I guess we probably missed seeing any stars.

By the time we left the hotel, it was around 4pm, and we visited a nearby restaurant for dim sum recommended by our local hotel agent, which was just 2 minutes walk from our hotel. It's called Bauhinia Seafood Restaurant (紫荆阁海鲜酒家) and it was supposed to serve "怀旧" (nostalgic-style) food & dimsum. As it was quite late, some of the things were not available already, but there were some interesting ones that we can't find in Singapore, like the 蛋黄千层糕 (salted egg yolk multi-layered cake) and the 奶皇马拉卷 (custard malai roll).

And yes! After this first meal, we started our shopping spree. It so happened that Wing On Plus (Nathan Rd) was having their pre-sale sale again this time round (around the same time we came last year) and I bought my first pair of shoes there, a SBPA velvet? heels with a frilly scrunch (HKD399). My mum bought a pair of shoes too (her only pair) from her favourite Pansy brand (HKD295). We also bought a CoBo leather handbag for my sis-in-law (HKD 598) which loved :). Hee...sorry I only have a pic of my shoes.

We were quite tired after that since we'd only just arrived, so revisited the Tsui Wah just opposite (behind Nathan Hotel) and had our late dinner.

Oh, as I was still having my cough, we got the usual Poon Goor Soe (潘高寿) cough mixture for me. The ones sold in Singapore are different, with a pinkish coloured packaging & smaller (which I think is from Malaysia) and somehow, I find this one with the green packaging works better, which is from Hong Kong. I remember long ago, I first bought a bottle of this in San Francisco's Chinatown and it worked pretty well.

So that ended our 1st day.

Singapore Writer Festival 2011

I have attended a couple of SWFs previously and I must say that this year's was relatively on a bigger scale and with a comprehensive list of programmes. Unfortunately, I was away in Hong Kong on holiday for the most part and only got to attend a few sessions on the Saturday when I was back on 29 Oct.

I attended 3 programs in total, the first being "OFF THE PAGE: First Page: Buy or Bin It" which was moderated/judged by Dr KK Seet and Fran Lebowitz. Writers will present the first page of their manuscript and audience and judges will decide if the 1st page will warrant a buy or a bin. It is kind of scary, especially when we see some established writers up there waiting to be praised or razed. In any case, it was all in good cheer eventually. In perspective, I think it is rather subjective on deciding where to buy a book or not based on it's 1st page. Honestly, it's really diffcult by just basing on that 1 page. Personally I would read the blurb and jacket for any reviews and also read the prologue or 1st chapter to decide if I liked the writing and if it entices me to read further. If I have time, I will check out online reviews too. My friend Jeremy and I were saying that this sort of thing should be done for musical scripts instead.

The next event I attended was the panel session "Why So Serious?" featuring Tom Cho, Neil Humphreys and Chuah Guat Eng, moderated by Carolyn Camoens. It was a session meant to discuss maintaining a good sense of humour in your writing with the writers sharing how they strike the right balance in their approaches towards humour. The discussion got a bit side-tracked along the way and well, maybe too much sharing of other people's work went on. On the whole, one would agree that a familiar context (to identify with the story) and timing is crucial to getting the joke and bring it out at the right time.

Lastly, there was the panel session "From Page to Screen" which I was glad I decided to stay on for. It featured Lee Shinho (writer of Korean thriller "The Chaser"), Vikas Swarup (writer of "Q&A" which was made into Slumdog Millionaire) and Prabda Yoon (writer for "Last Life in the Universe"), and with the session moderated by Tan Kheng Hua. It discussed the writers journeys from their books that became adapted for screenplay, although some have moved towards screenplay. It was an interesting session with rather different experiences from each, and the audience could gain insight into the way things worked in the film industry for each country and also how each writer worked. I actually took quite a few notes. An analogy given by Vikas (which he heard from someone else) was rather apt about responding to questions on having your book produced into a film (I may not have reproduced it here in its entirety) - allowing your novel to be made into a movie is like marrying off your daughter. You get stuck with a son-in-law. And one thing you never do is to speak ill of your son-in-law in public.

Well, looking forward to the next SWF!

Hong Kong Oct 2011 thoughts

Yes, it's the 2nd time this calendar year that I've been to Hong Kong, and as a friend pointed out, 3rd time over a period of 12-13 months.
I also don't know why I'm there so often...maybe it's nearby for a short getaway (ok, this time was a bit long, almost 1 week). My initial intention was actually to venture there alone to take in/photograph some street scenes and visit museums, maybe over a couple of days, but somehow, it ended up with being a trip with my parents. Not that I'm complaining coz my original intention kind of tapered off over the months, so the trip might not have happened if it weren't for them.

Ok, this will just be a short recap of my trip...I know I didn't write about my Korea trip, which will probably be a foregone post, so this is just in case I don't follow up with my trip updates. Haha!

Anyway, shopping-wise, I wouldn't say I achieved that much but I did unwittingly acquire 4 pairs of shoes for myself. In fact, between my parents and I, we bought a total of 7 pairs of shoes, which pretty much filled up 1 luggage bag. Did a little shopping at Uniqlo and H&M. But I wouldn't say it was super fruitful, but still ok. I had been searching for a lightweight black bag that's not too big, but not too small. Didn't exactly find one, but ended up buying this really light leather bag from a local label Giallo.

Food-wise, we didn't really achieve much and there were some hits & misses. Probably because we didn't exactly leave the hotel early (usually we go out at 9 plus) so meals weren't that many. Maybe also because I was still recovering from my long-drawn cough, hence, less enjoyable. Dimsum-wise, think Lei Garden had one of the better quality stuff. Will share more on that later when I get the chance!

Weather was relatively fine in Hong Kong, slightly cooler than Singapore, though when it's sunny, it's quite warm. Had some on-off drizzle on 2 days. However, the air's a bit polluted here, with a slight hazy tinge in the air everyday.

Actually, I stayed on Kowloon side most of the time since that's where I was staying, except for 1 day on HK Island (and another afternoon on Lamma Island). Honestly, I began to feel HK was a bit too crowded and busy for me, and the streets a bit cramp and messy. It was generally clean, but old, which made it a bit grey. Halfway through, I started to miss the orderly and 'greener' life back home. Well, call me a pampered Singapore girl. Despite the heat and stuff, I still call Singapore my home. Aren't we always more appreciative of her when we venture elsewhere?

Talking of which, a chit-chat with the cab drivers gave some astounding figures to the expenses. To get a cab license, the going rate now is like around HKD 4 mil. That's more than S$600K. And flats for the average person can be at least HKD10,000 per sq ft. That's like S$1600 or more per sq ft.
But owning a car in Singapore seem to be still a little bit more expensive than HK.

Steve Jobs (Feb 24, 1955 – Oct 5, 2011)

At 7.43am this morning, I received an SMS (via CNANewsPack) of the breaking news:

"Apple announces Steve Jobs has died."

For a moment, I pondered if this was true and it turned out to be so as the tweets and news articles rolled. It was something that we kind of expected, but when it came, it still caught me slightly off-guard. Maybe it was too soon after he stepped down in August, and just a day after the announcement of the new iPhone 4S.

It is at times like this, that one would think of how a visionary such as him had influenced our lives and lifestyle. We know it's all team work, but somehow he made things move. You could say he changed the way we lived, and also pushing other tech companies to come up with more competitive products.

In my own personal journey with Apple, I believe my first encounter was with the Macintosh. It was when my primary school first introduced computer classes and what they had was that. I was intrigued by this first all-in-one PC which was diversely different from the old black-green screens of the older generation (I had only used computers to play games then). Following that, being the young me then, always thought Apple = Macintosh. And that's how Apple got stuck in my mind, even as a childhood memory.

Fast-forwarding to more recent times (after a seemingly dull period for Apple...probably when Steve Jobs left for a while), I recall the first iMac range with its delicious look in my Uni days. Another iconic innovation where looks and compactness mattered in functionality. And during that time, the first iPod emerged too. It changed the way we would carry music. Although I believe they weren't the first to have MP3 players (Creative?), it played a major role in revolutionising the way we used them. The 'touch' would be it. No more walkmans and discmans. And the move towards iPod Touch.

Then we have the iPhone that literally changed the smartphone industry. Ya, there were smartphones and there was THE smartphone that even babies can use. I think most can do the "slide" thanks to that. All the apps and ease of use. And of course the iPad with it's amazing graphics. Not the 1st tablet, but one that made a difference. Not forgetting the MacBooks, revamped iMac too, and their powerful OS and software applications that made making music, etc. so simple.

Apple has continued to introduce innovative and cool products that made computers and affiliated gadgets become accessories, and it achieved this under the direction of Steve Jobs. So salute to the man. The memory of his legacy lives on.

Apple has pinned a notice and message in memory of him and for those who would like to share their thoughts, memories, and condolences, they can email rememberingsteve@apple.com

僕と妻の１７７８の物語 (1,778 Stories of Me and My Wife)

This was actually a random find when I did a search on what movies were showing at GV Vivocity. Browsing through, I discovered this 'GV Exclusive' Japanese film.

 
僕と妻の１７７８の物語 (Boku to Tsuma no 1778 no Monogatari) is based on the true story of science fiction writer Taku Mayumura whose wife died of colon cancer in 2002. After a doctor told him laughter can help the immune system, Mayumura began writing one story every day for his cancer-stricken wife. Although the initial prognosis was that she would only survive one year, she went on to live 5 good years with the help of the 1,778 total stories written by her husband for her over that time.

And just reading this synopsis, I felt it was going to be a sweet love story, and I do like Japanese films. They had gotten together since high school and were perfect together, like soul mates. I didn't realise that the lead actor was SMAP's Tsuyoshi Kusanagi (草彅剛) because the poster pic used by GV wasn't the same as the above. This was the same actor of whom I enjoyed watching 《大胃王》 years ago.

And I was glad I picked this show. I really liked it. It's not your tragic kind of love story but a story about devotion and hope, though bittersweet still. Running at 140min, it didn't feel that long and I found myself sniffing and tearing, along with some others in the cinema. You know that kind of sweet touching but still a little sad feeling? Writing each day gave him hope that if he continued writing, she will continue living, but deep inside, he somehow knew that the inevitable will happen. Just like a parallel to one of his stories, about a group of old robots being exterminated by new models. All but one is left, who answers his question of "if all these are in his mind, shouldn't he be protecting these old models which he so loved?". And he is alone at the end.
Eventually, the writing helped him cope with facing each day in the fear of losing her. And the last story he wrote (no. 1,778) when she died was only between him and her, where he wrote without touching his pen to the paper.
Yah, bearing in mind he was a science fiction writer (and it's a Japanese film), you can imagine some fantastical parts in the relaying of the story.

I think I'll rate it 4.5 out of 5. It can't beat Departures, which was excellent. I cried buckets uncontrollably for that even though it started out rather funny.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Hmm..interestingly, I watched two shows about soul mates back-to-back, the other being Crazy Stupid Love.

张学友1/2世纪演唱会 (Jacky Cheung 1/2 Century Tour)

Yup, he's fifty and my, he doesn't look it!

It must be like 10 years since I last watched Jacky Cheung's concert. It's the first time his concert has been extended to 5 nights (usually it's 3) and a sell-out for all at that! I didn't go for the last couple of times, but this concert had a different format from the one I've been before.

The 1st hour of the concert saw a little musical-style performance where he sang and acted out songs with a storyline. A special video was produced for this with Shu Qi as the lead actress and him as the leading man, which was played while he performed on stage, singing and dancing, acting out the part on stage. Of course the girl on stage isn't Shu Qi lah. One of his dancers. It's a simple love story that goes like this: There is this guy who is like a playboy, a ladies' man. But one day, he meets a woman (SQ) and falls for her. He woos her and they get married. Things were very rosy initially, but somehow they grew distant and they fight. They reminisces (separately) about happy times together, visiting places where they used to go. But in the end, they reconcile.

This was followed by the "rock" segment, a song in tribute to Lydia Sum, then some of his fave dancing songs. He even joked that now that he's fifty, he should dance while he still can. Of course, after all that dancing, I believe he needed a breather and the concert moved into the "jazz" segment where he sang some songs from his latest jazz album Private Corner while seated with a pianist. He even showed a short animated film about his life story. Then of course there were his love ballads. There wasn't really an official encore segment but he knew what songs to sing that drew the applause. You could tell it was a more mature crowd with not so many screaming fans (as compared to the current pop stars), but there were still the light sticks swinging. We all grew up with his songs.

The light/laser show was very nice along with the stage contraptions with its moving lights and platforms. I couldn't see, but he said it was a stage made of glass. And his singing! He's not called 歌神 for nothing. His voice is still as good and clear, and always in control with a good range. Even his "screaming" (mainly the rock songs) sounded good. He fully demonstrated his versatility in singing any genre of songs, not to mention his sense of humour. I didn't know all the songs though, as I stopped following his songs for some time, but there were still some of the familiar favourites like 《一路上有你》，《李香兰》， 《心如刀割》， 《吻别》，etc.

The concert lasted at least 3 hours, ending past 11pm going on midnight.