Hong Kong 2009 Day 2

Visited Mongkok and its market streets in the morning, but firstly had an exorbitant breakfast of century egg congee and humongous fried dough fritters at a cha can teng.

A breakfast that cost us SGD20+

We spent the next few hours marvelling at the aquarium shops of the Goldfish Market at Tung Choi Street. The lucky locals could keep exotic pets like iguanas, star tortoises, staghorn beetles, alligator turtles and interesting saltwater creatures other than the typical clownfishes.

Packets of goldfishes for sale

Pet and aquarium shops along Tung Choi Street

Slug and I at the Goldfish Market

Crabs that look like pebbles

Bizarre-looking striped crabs

Moved on to Sham Shui Po for Slug's pilgrimage to its second-hand flea market and high-end audio shops.

Sweet-and-sour chicken rice and teriyaki chicken burger from KFC this season

Walked back to Mongkok for some nighttime shopping at the mini shopping centres there.

My favourite shopping centre at Mongkok

Singaporean manicurists pale in comparison to the creative and skilled ones here

Then moved on to 信和中心, an ordinary-looking commercial building which surprisingly houses many shops and units dealing in a diverse range of trades - Rilakkuma novelties, CDs and DVDs, wholesale of facial products, comics and collectibles, porn, manicure services, games, medical services etc. The CD and DVD shops on the 10th, 12th and 13th floor were what attracted Slug to this building - we could buy banned films cheaply as well as old-school Hong Kong classics like 阴阳路.

At the 10th storey - just like those quiet and creepy corridors at Mt Elizabeth Hospital

Ended off with a stroll down the dark Portland Street and Temple Street to buy some knick-knacks, and then back to our apartment.

Hong Kong 2009 Day 1

Fourth trip to Hong Kong (again)! Looks like Slug and I have already made this country our staple annual vacation destination. Didn't take many photos this time round as we would be revisiting basically our previous fave hangouts.

At the airport

It was a chilly 20 deg C when we arrived in the morning. Everywhere, even on Lantau island, seemed shrouded in some grey smog, which really put us off. The worsening air quality especially during the winter months lessens the desirability of living in Hong Kong - we found it sufferable to breathe in the air at Causeway Bay which smelled of smoke.

Hong Kong Airport

We napped till nighttime, and then ventured out for dinner. Came across a cha can teng in Wan Chai selling some delectable roast meats. Their soup was a warm comfort for our stomachs in such cold weather. Was appalled that this shop sold roasted sparrows on skewers, each tiny bird no bigger than the size of our fists. While I was protesting to Slug about the atrocity of eating such small creatures, he was apathetically munching on a crispy whole pigeon.

We always love the spring onion and garlic condiment

After dinner, we strolled along the identical-looking streets in Wan Chai for some after-dinner exercise.

At Southom Playground

Would love to steal this cardboard standup home

The public glued to the TV broadcasting the passing away of veteran actor Chen Hong Lie

Retired early for the night, in preparation for some in-depth exploration and sightseeing the next day!

Night Out with Dappy and Peiying

Night out with babies before I went Hong Kong! As usual, it was just the usuals of drinking and dancing at St James.

With my babies

Dappy trying to touch her nose with her tongue

We always love to do the Yong Lun facial expression

Except for some crazy Hawaiian dances and I-won-Toto facial expressions.

A-go-go dance

Hawaiian dance

If only this holiday does not end ... ...

Lovely Childhood Memories

Am ashamed to have neglected my blog for so long. This is the longest hiatus I have ever taken from updating this blog - 5 solid months! Sometimes I do feel like closing this blog down.

Was raking through Slug's baby pictures and laughing at him when I suddenly felt a nostalgic urge to look at mine too. Was misty-eyed and all smiles when I recalled those carefree days and childish moments ... ...

Ah Ma was young and had a head full of black hair more than 20 years ago

Nurtured the flair for shopping at 3 years old

Ah Sir, her dog and I were small enough to squeeze onto a couch

Kar Cheng WAS adorable back then

Staring at Henglip's beautiful birthday cake in jealousy

Never mind, we had shiny masks and two boys for company on our birthdays

Classic shot of us cousins

I am always wishing I could live in the 70s and 80s - the simplicity, the kampung days, the close-knit families and communities, the carefree fun, etc, but that's probably a topic I would explore another day when I am free. Ending off here with a handsome shot of Slug.

Tee hee!

7th Month Dinner

Thanks to 2nd Aunt, I have had the chance to indulge in the 7th Month dinner in recent years. This year, it was again held at Loyang. Great to meet up with Ah Sir and Wee to bitch away (and tickle Wee's chin) again!

Couldn't believe they had roast suckling pig as part of the nine-course dinner - decadently greasy. The three of us were staring at other unfilled tables in jealousy - fewer people meant more food for each. The nameless Buddha-Jumps-Over-Wall-alike broth with all sorts of ingredients in it was good, with Wee and I slurping every drop of it up. We tested the photo-taking skills of 3rd Aunt by asking her to take a photo of us.

Me and Mum and Dad

With Wee and Ah Sir

The steamed prawns were damn good, I really could not stop gorging on them. Wished they could have served some refreshing iced longan instead of steamed pork buns and ice-cream which made a mess all over my dress. Nevertheless, the highlight was laughing at jolly 2nd Aunt (for whatever reason I could not remember).

Night Out with Dappy and Peipei

Celebrated the onset of the much-needed September break by visiting Powerhouse, amidst the hectic rush to finalize and compile exam papers and rush the syllabus. It just felt so good to get in touch with alcohol and my two babies again.

Really could not stand Powerhouse on a Ladies' Night anymore. It took nearly one hour to get some drinks from the bar counter, no thanks to the throngs of girls making a beeline for the free drinks (and each so kiasu to secure three to four drinks at one go), queue-cutting bitches and the slow service of the bartender. We did not deserve to be fuming at a club.

Us three again!

After tonight, it was back to work again! Aargh!

Night Out with Dappy and Peipei

Last-minute decision to go to St James on a Friday night with Dappy and YS. Had a wild night of booze, sexually-charged Gino and finger-guessing games with YS and his buddies.

With Dappy and dunno-which-extra behind us

Bao Gong the ghost

Hilmann was so wasted he probably wouldn't understand why his crotch was sore the morning after

Peipei met up with us thereafter.

What was Aaron looking at?

It's the three of us camwhoring again

With YS and Ben

Looking forward to the September holidays!!!

Night Out at Beyond's Concert

Beyond coming to town! An exhilarated Slug was dying to meet them, so we attended their mini concert at Lunar which was scheduled to start at 8pm. When we reached at 8pm, the first floor of Lunar was almost filled. We could hardly believe the overwhelming response.

So we squeezed our way up to the second floor, and to the balcony overlooking the stage. Securing a spot to stand was easy, but securing a spot that gives a good view of the stage was not. We had to contend with tiptoeing and rubbing shoulders with the other patrons.

Couldn't believe the concert actually started at 10.30pm. We were fiercely guarding our positions and refusing to go to the toilet. Yip Sai Wing came on stage to perform his solo songs, followed by Paul Wong and his solo items, but seriously I believe we were all there to relive the sentimentality of Beyond's classics.

Yip Sai Wing

They then performed their evergreen goodies like 大地，长城，真的爱你 and 光辉岁月, much to everyone's delight. Despite being a twosome act now, their charm and popularity still has not waned amongst us Cantopop hardcores. Some dude wanted to request for a song and was shouting "情人" wildly, but I think they pretended not to hear him. They ended with a stirring encore of 海阔天空 and my favourite 不再犹豫.

Performing the last song with confetti sprinkled on them

We left Lunar feeling so intoxicated. Just $40 to watch them perform close-up a string of classics - never would we ever get a chance like this again.

Night Out with Dappy and Peipei

Clubbing in celebration of Youth Day! YS joined us for a night of boozing and drunken dancing at Boiler. Powerhouse as usual was overflowing with patrons muct to our disappointment.

Nothing like good alcohol to destress

YS loves to join in the camwhoring and cute-posing

As if hangovers aren't enough, I always have to be jolted awake the next morning by absurd shots which I do not remember taking.

Couldn't believe we did this in public