Around the world

Thursday, 6 March 2014

Hong Kong : To Die For thick broth flavourful ramen in causeway bay

If thick ramen broth and garlic soup is your kind of ramen, you have to try butaoramen!

2 thick slices of pork, cabbage and noodles with soup to taste. Everything is customized to your taste and pig out on the free flow of beansprouts (in KIMCHEE style)!

Be prepared to queue for this flavourful ramen!

It's at exit A of causeway bay mtr station.

Do check it out!

Wednesday, 15 January 2014

Hong Kong - Know your Public holidays 2014

Ever since I planned my shopping day on a public holiday in Munich, I have become paranoid about the holidays at places I go to and always check beforehand. I guess the last thing one wants is a let-down when the city shuts down for a public holiday.

For hongkong, here is the following list of general holidays for 2014 is gazetted for public information:

Every Sunday		Sunday
The first day of January	1 January	Wednesday
Lunar New Year’s Day	31 January	Friday
The second day of Lunar New Year	1 February	Saturday
The fourth day of Lunar New Year	3 February	Monday
Ching Ming Festival	5 April	Saturday
Good Friday	18 April	Friday
The day following Good Friday	19 April	Saturday
Easter Monday	21 April	Monday
Labour Day	1 May	Thursday
The Birthday of the Buddha	6 May	Tuesday
Tuen Ng Festival	2 June	Monday
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day	1 July	Tuesday
The day following the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival	9 September	Tuesday
National Day	1 October	Wednesday
Chung Yeung Festival	2 October	Thursday
Christmas Day	25 December	Thursday
The first weekday after Christmas Day	26 December	Friday

“According to the Employment Ordinance and General Holidays Ordinance, when either Lunar New Year’s Day, the second day of Lunar New Year or the third day of Lunar New Year falls on a Sunday, the fourth day of Lunar New Year is designated as a statutory and general holiday in substitution. As the third day of the Lunar New Year of 2014 falls on a Sunday, the fourth day of Lunar New Year will be designated as a holiday in substitution, ” said a Government spokesman.

Hong Kong : airport to Hong Kong island or Kowloon city

Getting to Hong Kong island from the airport

I know most people would hop on the airport express. It is highly efficient and clean. A perfect choice for those in the rush. The airport express fare can be paid via the Octopus card. It costs hkd$100 (approximately sgd$17). Fairly reasonable price.

However, if you would like to save your monies for some good food in HK and have time, I would like to propose a good and cheap alternative.

Do consider the bus!!

For those who are going to Hong Kong island, consider taking E21 or A11. E21 is cheaper as it takes longer with more stops in between. The A11 gets you to Sheung Wan in 40mins. This will set you back at hkd$21 and hkd$40 respectively.

Please check (insert website) for the latest information.

Note if you take the wee hours flight from Scoot to maximize your day in HK, do note that the A11 bus only operates from 6am while the E21 bus operates from 5.20am. Nonetheless in a city that never sleeps, there is food available in the airport even in the wee hours. So don't worry, you won't starve!

Hong Kong - shopping at PRADA outlet and more

Shopping

1. Prada / Miu Miu outlet at Ap Lei Chau (south horizons)

Prada/Miu Miu Outlet

2/F, Marina Square, East Commercial Block,

South Horizons, Aberdeen

(Note: Prada outlet is closed on Mondays!)

Take bus 590A from admiralty bus terminal located at exit D of admiralty station. The bus comes at 15 mins interval on average and starts at 9.35am. Hope that provides some estimation in terms of timing. It costs a mere hkd $5.50 (less than sgd$1) for the ride. It is a flat fee.

The bus ride will pass through the Aberdeen tunnel and is about half-an-hour ride.

I ❤️ the buses in HK. They are clean and some have free wifi too! So hop on the bus and have some fun admiring HK. Alight at the marina shopping centre. It looks like this.

When I reached at 1.10pm, I queued for half-an-hour in the afternoon.

This may be good for a quick fix for those in Asia who want to get Prada. For those who compare this to Asia's retail prices, the outlet is slightly cheaper. However, do not use the Italy outlet mall prices as a benchmark because you will be sorely disappointed.

Here's an example of the range of colours available. Don't worry, there's the classic Nero (black) etc.

Prada wallets in the HK outlet

Here is an example of price comparison.

Case study on popular 1m1225 Prada Saffiano wallet

So a 1m1225 is Singapore retails at about sgd$720 if my memory does not fail me.

It costs hkd$4100 at the Hk airport (note Hk has no duty to start with, even for downtown boutiques). So that works out to be about sgd$680.

The outlet sells 1m1225 wallet at around sgd$600. That's a saving of $120 compared to Sg price.

Hope this gives you a gauge.

As for the bags, well basically there's a lot of nylon bags for sale at the outlet. It costs around sgd$1000.

Hope this helps!

Tuesday, 14 January 2014

Hong Kong

Tips to SURVIVE in Hong Kong

1. Use the toilet whenever you see one

Do not wait till you are feeling "high tide" because you might be awash by then.

Perhaps Singaporeans have been too pampered with the abundant toilets, that we have not thought much about this "precious" invention. However, there is really limited public toilets in hongkong. Some of them are also of appalling standards and not for the faint hearted.

My favourite mall toilet is at pacific place (nearest mtr station : admiralty).

It is located near star street, where all the hip joints are increasingly clustered there. You can check out:

Hong Kong: secret about Tim Ho Wan And BEST eats

1. Tim Ho Wan dim sum

Super cheap Michelin star restaurant and it's famous BBQ pork bun that melts in your mouth!

Feel like eating at a Michelin star restaurant but not willing to burn a hole? Try your luck (pun intended), as Tim Ho Wan in mandarin (tian hao yun) means adding fortune and luck.

With the meandering queues outside the shops, it sure is an apt name with the owner's tills keep ringing.

Tim Ho Wan, touted to be the cheapest Michelin star restaurant, that one can get. It has 5 outlets in Hongkong.

In Singapore, it has also fast expanded from the plaza Singapura store to the suburbs, with bedok mall and jurong being the new kids on the block. The queues in Singapore can set you back about 2h on average.

This has deterred me from eating Tim Ho Wan in Singapore, but raised the allure for me to eat in Hong Kong.

Now, the queues in Hk is also something to reckon with. However, there is a particular outlet, which has a much shorter queue. How would you like to wait less than 5 mins for those savory butter char Siew buns that Tim Ho Wan is much famed for?

Well, for those who are keen to find out which is the hidden gem, do join my mailing list to find the answer!

What is good at Tim Ho Wan? Here are my other must- eats!

1. If soft, delicate skin Chee Cheong fun is your thing, do try it here too!

2. The Siew Mai has gou qi zi on it and the succulent meat burst forth with each bite!

3. Glutinous rice- this is like humongous, good for 2 pax. Must share!

4. Congee- thick and delicious!

Anyway you will leave this place with a satisfied tummy and a happy wallet. Barely a dent! Check out the economical price- for ordering so much (6 items with tea), it is only HKD$151 (approximately sgd$24)??? No service charge nor GST to top it off. Unbelievable! A typical dim sum meal in Singapore's restaurant costs us sgd$60 on average.

2. Mak's Wan Tan Mee

Mak's Noodles 麥奀雲吞麵世家

Address: G/F, 77 Wellington Street, Central, Hong Kong

Tel: +852 2854 3810

Operating Hours: 11 am to 10 pm Daily

This is also another of my favourite! There is a few branches. The one that I went previously was at Jordan, near the Australia Dairy shop. This time round, we ate at the Wellington outlet. It is conveniently located near Central station (Hong Kong island).

The flavourful soup makes me fall in love with it and the succulent wan ton has a full prawn, bamboo shoot and leek in the soup.

Do not be alarmed that it comes in a small bowl, something like a desert bowl that we use back home. So please order your own portion as it's a single serving (not for sharing).

For the size, yes, Mak noodles is not cheap. It will set you back about 30 (sgd$5) for a simple bowl of wanton noodles. It only comes in a soup version (perfect for me) and does not come with char Siew.

I would also recommend adding a plate of vegetable with oyster sauce to go with it. The Kai lan's stalk might look very intimidating as it's thick, but it's actually very soft. Do give it a try.

3. Ramen

Fancy a hole in the wall ramen shop with mouth watering black soup? I am half reluctant to share it with everyone because I want to keep it as my hidden gem.

Join my mailing list if keen to know where is this located.

There's two shops in close proximity- one outdoor and one indoor.

4.Desert shop

This is another hole in the wall desert shop, frequented by the locals and those in the know.

The cashew nut desert paste is a special, on Saturdays only.

5. Best porridge ever!

Tuesday, 9 July 2013

Taiwan : Sun Moon Lake

1h train from Taipei -> tai Chung

1h Tai Chung -> sun moon lake via coach

Recommended stay: sun moon lake hotel

Recommended activity: ride the free bicycle from the hotel and enjoy sun look lake!!!

Welcome to Taiwan : Taipei

Famous food: ah Zhong mian xian @ ximending

Recommended accommodation:

Caesar hotel (Kai Sha)

Opposite Taipei main station

Friday, 24 May 2013

Best credit cards to use when overseas

1. Standard chartered cash back dividend card

One of my fav card for local purchases.

2. maybank horizon card

I use it after my manhattan cash back dividend card has reached it's optimal (which is $4,000) to get the max $200 quarter cap.

I love it that I could change for capitaland vouchers easily!!! Good for travel as the forex rate charged is decent. Heard that standard chartered's forex rate is higher. This can be substantial for big ticket items.

You gain some, you lose some.

As a gauge-- Spending of approx $20,000 gets you $360 capita voucher.

Sunday, 14 April 2013

London- list of my favourite food places

1. Kimchee Restaurant

71 High Holborn
London
+44 20 7430 0956

I know, it's like how cliche can it get right? BUT kimchee restaurant is my FAVOURITE FAVOURITE restaurant.

It's fusion food I know, but it's really delicious. Plus for this ambience, great deco and all.. 2 pax is about 30 pounds (SGD$60).
That's about the normal price when we eat out in SG anyway.

2. Lobster Noodles @ Mandarin Kitchen

14 Queensway
London W2 3RX
Neighbourhood: Bayswater
020 7727 9012

An institution that needs no introduction. Apart from the church, will always bump into some friends here.

3. Jamie Olivier in Notting Hill

4. Four Seasons Duck

Felt like they recently did a branding exercise.. the signboard looks so... Modern?

The duck... getting fattier. An institution as well.

5. Malaysian restaurant (ok! Hubby corrected me... It's C&R restaurant. If not, no one can find it). Haha :p

6. My fav dim sum in Chinatown - imperial china

25a Lisle St, London WC2H 7BA,England

London- list of my favourite free museums

1. Natural history museum (be prepared for the meandering queues)

2. Science museum

3. Albert & Victoria museum

These 3 museums are near each other, so do 1, 2 & 3 together.

Nearest tube station: south Kensington

4. British museum

Great Russell St London WC1B 3DG, United Kingdom

5. The National Gallery

Near Trafalgar Square & Chinatown

Saturday, 13 April 2013

London- west end favourites

Having gone back to london annually over the past four years, we have indulged in numerous plays and musicals.

The "hall of fame" musicals and plays which I highly recommend are denoted with a *

Year 1 (July 2010)
1. Les miserables*
2. Phantom of the opera*
3. Wicked*
4. War horse*

Year 2 (nov 2011)
1. Mousetrap*
2. 39 steps*
3. (A dancing one that I totally can't rem the name- so not worth mentioning)

Year 3 (sep 2012)
1. Matilda*
2. The wizard of oz
3. The woman in black*
4. Singin' in the rain

(While this is not a play, do check out the Shakespeare tour)

Year 4 (April 2013)
1. The curious incident of the dog at night- time*
2. Billy Elliot*
3. Once*
4. The bodyguard*
5. Viva forever*
6. The book of Mormon (witty songs but I'm not giving it a * simply because of the offensive content)

Conclusion: must always try national theatre plays, because they are awesome!