To welcome the new decade, I re-visited old favorites and "exerted extra effort" to try some new experiences. First off, I flew to HK to be reunited with my beloved city and to visit my sister, the queen.
I started off my trip with tea-time at Landmark Cafe.
Precious Moments eyes
Hair-do's Ito-san cut 2 inches off my hair and added some layers to take some of the weight off. Goodbye heavy, shapeless hair!
Snapshot of my new haircut at Kung Tak Lam
(After my last haircut, I was also in KTL. haha)
Hair-do has 3 branches in CWB alone, 2 across Times Square and 1 in Sogo. I've had 4 different Japanese hairdressers there over the years, and they all understood how to cut my hair given its texture and the shape of my face. The staff is wonderful but the queue can be very long during weekends, especially in Sogo.
Of course, my HK visit won't be complete without dining at Kung Tak Lam, my no. 1 favorite vegetarian restaurant. On our NY's eve dinner, we tried the sweet and sour taro "fish", spring rolls, and mushroom clay pot rice. Kung Tak Lam is located on the 10th floor of the World Trade Center in CWB.
In the spirit of trying new things, Queen J and I took the ferry at the Central Pier to have a long lunch at Zak's in Discovery Bay. The fresh, hand-tossed, thin crust margherita pizza was sinful but yummy.
The island has its own magazine in English for the large population of foreign residents there.
Bored on the ferry to DB
Pasta, stuffed mushrooms and pizza
Warm apple crumble topped with vanilla ice cream, capuccino, mochaccino, and a slice of pizza with chili flakes
A view of the beach while dining al fresco
On Queen J's big day, I took her to Tandoor for authentic Indian food and live music. Tandoor is located at 1 Lyndhurst Terrace in Central.
Yoghurt and other dips and salad, Indian style
Milk tea, who first came up with it? The English, the Indians or the Chinese?
For more affordable but just as authentic Indian food, Koh-i-noor in Lan Kwai Fong offers lunch buffets at HKD 98, while Curry-in-a-Hurry in Citysuper is a more convenient and even cheaper alternative.
Finally, before departing, Queen J and I shared a bowl of spicy green curry vegetarian noodles in Bangkok Thai, which has branches in North Point and Tin Hao.
I never realized how sedentary my life has become here in Manila until I felt my thighs and hips ache after my first day of shopping in HK. Now, I understand why some call shopping a sport!
Precisely my point
Being touristy outside The Peninsula
and in Central too
It's the winter season sale now in HK and I saw many beautiful things at reasonable prices. I had to pass up a pair of Pedro Garcia slouchy, platform boots as it will be summer in Manila soon. (In fact, according to weather reports, it will be hot again sooner than expected. Global warming?) Instead, I picked up a set of hair repair products from L'Occitaine to resuscitate my hair until my next trip to Hair-do.
Cityplaza in Tai Koo is home to a new branch of H&M. Finally, an H&M that is not crowded and has no lines to the fitting room! Other reasons to visit Cityplaza are Uniqlo, Apita, I.T., Mango, Polo Jeans, CK Underwear, G2000, Wing On, and Marks & Spencer to name a few. Koh-i-noor also has a branch here.
Since the last time I was in HK, the city has turned into iPhone nation. Everywhere I looked, someone is playing a game, reading from an e-book, browsing the web, listening to music or watching a video on his iPhone. No wonder Apple HK had to limit iPhone orders to one per person!
I can't wait for my next trip back to HK while staying true to my 2010 resolution, which is to try more new and exciting experiences. Hopefully, this one resolution here won't be thrown out the window like I have (and within the first week, too) with "ditch sweets" and "drink less coffee."
Happy 2010, everyone!
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