Things I haven't done yet in San Francisco

Now that I have gotten my summer vacation days confirmed, it's time to plan my itinerary for my next trip to SFO. :D

Counting my fingers, I have been visiting San Francisco-Sunnyvale since April 2005 with a total of 6 visits through these years. :D

I was watching a show on the Discovery Travel and Living Channel which showcased San Francisco. It got me thinking about how much I haven't seen in San Francisco yet.

Below is going to be a blueprint of my future journeys :)

1. Ride the cable car
2. Visit the Aquarium at Pier 39
3. To see the "Painted Ladies" in Haight-Ashbury area
   
4. USS Pampanito
5. Musée Mécanique
6. The Haas - Lilienthal House
7. Walk around the China Town instead of ride along it :P
8. San Francisco Botanical Garden
9. Beach Blanket Babylon
10. Wells Fargo History Museum
    
11. Teatro ZinZanni

Why do I want to visit these places? :)


Stay tuned.. :)

Amazing Pressed Coins - Part 2. :D

:D Let's show you the rest of my Elongated penny collection. :)

These are from California, my favorite states of USA. :D

Somehow, I could only find these ones from Monterey and from San Jose. I am sure I had some made at the Coit Tower in San Francisco, but I can't locate them just now.

I got this one from a gift store called Kristonio's.

I got this one at the Mackerel Jack's Trading Co. It's also a gift store. :D

Now this one is very special. It's from the Wax Museum in the Cannery Row. Why is it so special? According to this site, it's retired!! It means the press machine has been removed and this design can no longer be made. :) This is so kewl. :D

Now, let's check out some at San Jose.

I didn't have the chance to roam around San Jose to get many of these made. When we visited the Rosicrucian Museum, I made these 2 below.

That's it for now. :D

If you asked me what regret do I have in life... I would have answered that I do now have a quarter (0.25 US$) tree which grow enough quarters for me to make these coins. :D hehe

For more information about these pressed elongated pennies, please visit: http://www.pennycollector.com/AreaList.aspx

Giving Singapore Airline a 2nd chance

Finally got my trip set! :D 1 June - 21 June! :D

3 Weeks!! :D hahhaha

I have been avoiding Singapore airline since the last trip 2 years ago. :D Because Asian airlines are so stingy with their mileage. Worse of all, last trip I was seated next to a family with a screaming baby. :D

I am a person who prefer to sleep as much as I can on the flight, since the baby was constantly screaming right next to my ear, I dare say that flight was the worst I have encountered. :D

Now I have just booked my flight with singapore airline.com because of their good pricing, I was surprised to found that they had actually put in "non carb" meals for passengers now. :D It's like music to my ear. :D

I have also selected my seat too. This time I chose a seat with just 1 passenger next to me. Pretty sure would have no babies! :D

Now I have selected my preferred seat, I can't wait to leave for a long vacation! :D

Home Made soup from colleague :D

I am such an admired team leader at work that I even get home made soup offered sometimes. :D

The other day, I got a big mug of "Duck's kidney, pork bones and veggie and Chinese herb soup" from my team member, Crigs. :D

It was soooo delicious, I must post it here. :D

Amazing Pressed Coins - Part 1. :D

I love pressed coins!!! It's always been my addiction (one of many). I think it's a very smart souvenir idea! :) After a bit of research, I find their correct name should be "Elongated pennies or pressed pennies" :D

Whenever I see these coin press machines, I have to get some! :D It's a perfect witness to where I have ever been.

These coins usually costs US$ 0.51 to make. 2 quarters + 1 penny. :) Whenever I travel to USA, I always keep some quarters in my purse, not only for car parking meters, but for these pet peeves of mine too. :D

Here is a showcase of what I have kept.

These 2 are from the Dole Plantation in Oahu, Hawaii. :) Mike and I went there back in summer of 2006. :) It was such a fun trip.

Dole is famous for their pineapples there, which I loathe. :P But I had enjoyed the largest Maze of the world there which is shown on the coin on the top.

This is the Battleship Arizona memorial pressed coin. It's a very solemn place.

The above 2 coins are about USS Missouri and USS Bowfin also located at the Pearl Harbor.

This is a coin pressed made at another memorable place in Oahu, the Byodo-In Temple. It's a replica of the Byodo-in temple in Kyoto, Japan.

It's such a tranquil place. We even get to see live peacock and other exotic birds roaming freely on the temple grounds.

This is the depiction of the large sitting Buddha inside the temple.

That's all the coins I have pressed in Hawaii. Such a lovely place!

I will show you some of my California collection later. :)

7.7. Plastic Bag Fee 事變!

Starting 7/7/2009, many major Hong Kong retail stores would charge a HK$0.5 fee for a plastic bag should you require a bag after your purchase.

Here's the detail of the ordinance: http://www.epd.gov.hk/epd/english/environmentinhk/waste/prob_solutions/env_levy.html

I think it's a very good piece of news. :D I personally don't really care for collecting plastic bags as I always have 1 or 2 reusable bags with me.

But for my mom, it's like worse than the WWII :D. (仲慘過七七事變) My mom always collects those bags for garbage bags or other wrapping purposes. Now without these free bags, she will really have to think up new ways to use the remaining plastic bags effectively. :D

Now, let me introduce you to my reusable bag buddies. :D



I 100% support this change!! I would suggest to also band the plastic cutlery and foam lunch box too!!!!

Go back to the basic!! Let's all bring tin take out cans to buy your take outs!! :D Yay!

BBQ Pork 101

The other day, I was reading a magazine (飲食男女) about foods... :P

There was this extensive report about the best BBQ meat stores in Hong Kong.

So, lured by the delicious pictures of all these bbq porks, bbq baby pigs, roasted ducks, steamed chicken and roasted ribs... :D I went and bought a box of bbq pork and roasted goose rice box for dinner the other night.

I was looking for the '5 storey pork' in my meat.. :D

What is 5 story pork? :D

This picture demonstrates what is a good piece of bbq pork. :D It consists of 5 different distinctive layers. Top to bottom: crispy pork skin, fat and tender meat, lean meat, thin slice of fat, and then last layer is a mixture of lean meat and cartilage.

source: 飲食男女　magazine.

Here's my piece of pork.. :D Not exactly 5 storey high, but close enough. :D

My pork was missing the 4th layer of fat. :D But it's nonetheless a very good piece of bbq pork! :D

Eating can be educational too :D haha

Food Lables in Hong Kong!

Good news!!!  Starting 1 July, 2010, all Foods sold in Hong Kong (unless otherwise exempted) will have Nutrition Labels!

I remember back 4 years ago, when I was doing Atkins' diet in Hong Kong,  it was quite frustrating because I pretty had no idea what I was getting. :D

Now I can watch out for the labels and stay away from high sodium, high sugar and high carbohydrate things. :D

1 YAY for the government of Hong Kong! :D We finally progress like the rest of the civilized world. :P

Here is the Centre of Food Safety of Hong Kong.

http://www.cfs.gov.hk/english/food_leg/food_leg_nl_guidance.html

Fun with GPS :D

Phone these days are so much fun! :D

Not only you can take pictures or videos, play games, and browse the internet, you can do many fun things with it too.

Today, I am gonna show you my phone's GPS in action. :D hehe

It's my favorite pass time on the bus after work now. :D hehe

北京油桃 Beijing "Oil" peach

Hehe..what do you see?? :D

I see a nipple on the peach!! :D

These are called Beijing Oil Peach (just a straight translation, probably not the real english name).

I think it's a cross between a Guava and a nectarine. It's not too sweet, not too sour, just right. It's not too soft and not too crunchy. :) It's also note too big and not too small. :D hehe

Songs I sang in my high school choir. :)

My pal, Old Lee claims she didn't know I was in the Choir back in high school! :D She was in the same Choir I was in! :D Gosh! :D

To jolt her memory, I have located the 2 songs that our Choir had sung many many years ago.

The first song is called "Trees". I think it's my all time favorite. It's a very green song which is still good for today's eco friendly climate.



The other one is a Mandarin song called "白云之歌" (The white clouds song). It's also a lovely song. The version we had sung was a bit more cheery with a lighter beat. This version is more like classic opera kinda feel. :D

http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/JmR1BlPChXU/

Please enjoy these 2 songs and walk along my memory lane with me. :)

New toy means clean up time! II

To continue yesterday's post, there were so many treasures of the old days I had found underneath the old printer.... :D

That printer has been such a permanent fixture on my desk, I simply haven't noticed anything under it. :D

Now to show you how bad the "ink asborber"'s problem is...

Eww.. ink actually sipped through the old printer's crack.

Thank goodness the ink is easy to clean off.

Now, here are the treasure from the olden days.

I had actually threw away all my floppy disks a few months ago, but there was this 'escapee' hidden under the old printer!!!!!! I swiftly terminated it without mercy. Muhahahah!

God save the Queen!!! I wonder.. if I mailed out letters with these now... would the letter be sent successfully? :D  I mean... If coins with the Queen's head are still in circulation, why not the stamps?  Come on, I had paid for these stamps in fact!!

Whoa! I forgot about this! :D

This is a key chain designed by students of my Alma Mater, St. Clare's Girls' School. It's a school girl wearing our summer uniform. I think our school's uniform is quite pretty. The 4 red buttons and the maple leaf batch are so distinctive! :)

It's amazing that our school song is considered the longest there is in Hong Kong. :D I used to be in the choir and I still remember how to sing it on top of my head.

These are the rare finds under my old printer. :D It was such a fun journey to discover these objects of history.

New toy means clean up time!

Imagine trying to fit my new printer in this work space? :D Seriously, how did I let my space built up like this?! :D [Old lee, can you spot our picture? our 合照 back in SFO in 2005? :D]

After a bit of bickering each other, I confessed to my pal, Old Lee that I didn't know how to begin cleaning my area up for my new toy. :D hehe

Ahh.. after 1/2 day of cleaning, finally have enough space to set up my new printer. :D

Cleaning the desk is an adventure of 'hide and seek' in itself. :D But that tale is for another day.. :D

Delicious Strawberries.. Nom Nom Nom... :D

This year, there are tones and tones of strawberries being sold in Hong Kong. There are actually different harvests from different countries too.

I bought these ones for dinner the other night.

These small bite size ones are from Korea. $33 bucks for this bunch.

I bought another pack which was from USA, much bigger, like 1/2 my fist sized, $45 bucks for like 8 big ones...

Which ones do I like more? Well I kinda enjoy both. :D

My New Toy.. :D

My new toy has arrived. But it's so much bigger than my old printer, I have to spend today cleaning up my fortress before I can install it. :D

Why am I getting a new printer?

Well, my old printer has been with me for 4 years, the ink absorber is always giving me warning sign to reset it. It's like every other time I want to print something, it asks me to reset. Quite annoying.


Since it's so old, I simply cannot just go and buy a replacement for the ink absorber anymore. Even if I find it, it's probably gonna cost me > HK$ 200.


I had received an invite from Canon, (Being a VIP, owning 3 cameras, 2 printers, 1 scanner with the Canon brand, I am so qualified :D) which let me buy this new ink jet color printer for $199 only.


Since I am such a inconsiderate shopper, my family and friends ask to have proof that I did buy this printer for only HK$199. SO here's the proof... :D

My name has been blurred in this email to protect my innocence... :D

LaBean Land's Constitution

Hehehe.. :D

Left one titled: War with Messy Room! (You know how messy my fortress could get)
Right one titled: Someone told me to lose 7kg! (In my land, it should be 70kg) :D hehe

These are the comic books I have recently purchased. :D The right one was bought in Taiwan while the left one was from 7-11 in HK :D

These are 2 very cute and girlie comics I highly recommend to my fellow oversize queens of their messy realms! :D

Toy scooter

Testing moble blogging

銀主樓都咁貴！

$3 Million something for 588 sq. feet for a private housing in Quarry Bay!! So expensive!

I think my home at Siu Sai Wan, 698 sq. feet, only worth around $1.3 - 1.5 million.

This is not my actual home's advertisement. :D But it's another flat facing the hillside. It says "Green form" prize = $1.4 million, which means it's sold to those who were living in government owned public housing.

Why is my home so cheap? :D

Well, in people's mind, the locale is not one of the best on the Hong Kong Island. It's the most eastern area of the island. When it's humid, you are drowning in heavy fogs. When it's typhoon season, your building sways...

But I like it. :) It's leaning on the hill looking towards the ocean (背山面海), convenient public transits and grocery shopping. It's a relatively crime free area as well.

Another reason why my flat is so cheap, well, affordable is the right word, is because it was built under the pretext of "Home Ownership Scheme" (居者有其屋計劃) designed by the HK government. It's a scheme to let the lower middle class to be able to buy their own home. These homes are usually sold at 40-50% of market value.

However, if you do need to sell your house, you have to sell it to those who are living under the government rental housing flats, or you will have to compensate the government a huge lump sum of market value difference.

Oh Canada... My home and .....

How much I want to wake up just like that fat guy. :D I am fat too! :D I can wake up being a fat Canadian too! :D ME ME ME! :D

At first glance, I thought there's some kind of free Canadian citizenship offer going on! :D But to my disappointment, it's just about the Canadian government redefining its citizenship structure. :D

Bummer! :D

Source: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/citizenship/rules-citizenship.asp

To flash or not to flash.. that is the question...

yummy bbq pork! :D So vibrant and fresh. :D

Dead piece of pork! a corpse of a dead animal. :D

Can you imagine the above 2 boxes of bbq pork are of the same piece of pork? :D

I have never noticed such a big difference about flashing vs not flashing when taking pictures.

The top picture was taken with flash on my cell phone. Its color was closer to the color I saw with my naked eyes. The bottom picture was without flash and somehow it made the meat looked like a dead corpse.

BTW, these bbq pork were very very scrumptious! I bought it near work. I dare say these are the best bbq pork I have ever had, though I don't eat these often. :D

The texture of the pork was tender yet not too soft. The bbq taste of the pork was just right, not too sweet, not too salty.

I will definitely visit this store again, maybe try out their signature roasted goose next time! :)

Yau Wan Restaurant, Shop 6, 981F, King's Road, Quarry Bay

Japanese Bento Dinner :P

We have moved to our new office for almost 2 months, my colleagues and I have been trying many of the local flavors day after day. :D

The other day, I had tried this little Japanese restaurant called "New Roly-Poly" :)

This is the menu. :D I ordered # 656, Grilled Cod fish Bento. :)

This was the meal I ordered at Roly-Poly (新不倒翁).

Bento reminds me of my Edmonton school days.

There was a Japanese restaurant, Shogun, right at the ground floor of my apartment which my best friends Liza and Michelle visited often.

This bento didn't meet up to "Shogun"'s bento's standard.

For a mere CAN$15 (Back 15 years ago, Candian$ was so much cheaper than today :D), Shogun's house bento gave you: assorted sashimi, a piece of big thick grilled cod, shrimp tempura, a small slice of juicy steak, a salad, a small portion of rice, miso soup, fruits and dessert! I used to buy a box of bento and splited it for 3 or 4 meals!!!

We treated Shogun like our canteen. :D We befriended the lovely handsome Chefs there so well that we always get free complimentary dishes. :D The chairs at the sushi bar there practically have our butt imprinted on it! :D HAHAH.

Oh the good old days.. :D

Easter Egg Hunt.. Eh......

Easter Egg hunt, anyone? :D

Well... for the first time in my life, I had an Easter egg hunt... eh... I mean Easter EXTENSION hunt! :D

What the hack am I talking about? :D

Well, in the hotline business, everyone has an extension that they log into so they can receive calls from customers. :D

I am no exception. :D

To make the long story short, tonight, after dinner, when I logged back on, I accidentally entered a wrong extension to sign on....

It wasn't a huge problem if that wrong extension didn't exist or located in another department on another floor! :D

What's worse was that we didn't know what floor or which department that wrong extension belonged to because the floor plan of our office complex was not found! :D

A 2 women team (My supervisor and me) was sent all over the building to check! :D hahaha

30 minutes later, deploying our most effective detective senses, we located it! :D 1 floor above us in the Telemarketing department! :D

It was such a fun journey on this special Easter Friday. :D

Taboo or not, Happy Easter to you all! :D

Happy Easter?

Is Easter suppose to be a Happy holiday?

To me, yes, because any holiday is good in my book. :D

But last night, I had talked to 2 different customers who responded to my "Happy Easter" very differently.

Me: Anything else I can help you, Sir?
Foreigner: That's all, thank you
Me: I wish you a happy long Easter weekend then. :)
Me: (Realizing the awkwardness of well-wishing a stranger) hmm.. should I say Happy Easter?
Foreigner: Definitely! Jesus died for our sins and then reborn, of course it's joyous! :) Same to you! Have a nice weekend. Bye.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Me: Anything else I can help you, Sir?
HongKongese: Nope
Me: Happy long Easter weekend to you.
HongKongese: Easter is not a joyous holiday! (死人嘅節日有咩咁高興!)
Me: er... Do accepts my apologies, have a lovely weekend.
HongKongese: (Hang me up without saying "bye")

Hong Kong people are just so uptight! An innocent good wish could be deadly! :D

Lamb Chop for dinner! :)

My colleagues had found another gem of a restaurant near our work.

Here's what I had for dinner last night. :D Enjoy :D

Here's the menu. :) I chose set "D". Lamb chop with mushroom and onion sauce.

Here's my lamb chop! :D The portion was so generous. Underneath the 2 pieces of chops, are assorted veggies. A few pieces of 'chips' was on the side too.

Compliment to the chef, the chops are quite tender and not over cooked. The mushroom sauce has lots of mushrooms in it and it's not too salty.

I would have liked it better if they didn't pour it all over the chop though. Although the sauce was delicious, I tend to not enjoy it too much when it's drowning my meat. :P

All in all, the main course was very professionally cooked.

We were provided dessert and coffee at the end of the meal too. :) Today's special was homemade cheese cake.

The cheesecake was also superbly done. Not too cheesy, not too thick. It's just right.

Tim's Kitchen is its English name. :) Located in G/F, Hoi Kwong Street, Quarry Bay, Hong Kong. :)

Shopaholic 原來沒失手.... :D

As time goes by... :D More souvenirs I bought in Japan for myself have surfaced......

This proves that my shopaholic instincts have not failed me :D hahaha

 

Made in Japan hair pin :) 500 yen :D