Jasmine Chia: 2010

Destinations - Tuesday, October 05, 2010

a fragment of nz through my lens

The past two month has been a whirlwind feeling. Like a kid feeding freely on cotton candy land. A part of me is still unwilling to wake up ...

Food - Saturday, October 02, 2010

Ming Court 明閣

My recent trip to HK is mainly a food trip. With my mum and my aunty, 2 main chef in the family tagging along, it will be injustice to our f...

Just in case you’re wondering what we’re doing at the end of the queue there, we’re queuing for possibly the cheapest Michelin restaurant in the world. After trolling heaps of comments and ripples of blog posts on the Internet, we took our chance and waited for 45 minutes. It's best to go in group then you can have someone to take turn to queue rather than wasting time together, unfortunately once your number is being called up you need to have everyone present before they allow you to go in else it will be given to the group after you.

Tim Ho Wan, which means “Add Good Luck” in Cantonese, was started by Mak Pui Gor who hailed from Four Seasons Hotel, left in a bid to carve his own niche. Even though awarded with star, the price of food remains to be affordable and became a ticket for layfolk to sample cuisine that is mostly reserved for the upper echelons of society.

One of the many newspaper / magazine snippets on this famous restaurant pasted all over the window of the restaurant, acting as wallpaper. Take note of the things to order here, so that you will know what to order the next time when you get there.

All the dim sum dishes here are quite good but my favourite of all these will be the 酥皮焗叉燒包 (Baked BBQ pork buns) and 香滑馬拉糕 (Malay sponge cake).

This is what you should expect when you eat here. If you want good food, then you need to start training your patience. I will still come back here for the good food, hopefully this food here will still be as good and price remain the same. They have recently open up a new branch as Sam Sui Poh, the waiting is a lot shorter but I read a lot of negative comments for that branch. Good luck!

Address: Shop 8, Taui Yuen Mansion Phase 2, 2-20 Kwong Wa Street, Mong Kok, Hong Kong. 旺角廣華街2-20號翠園大樓2期地下8號舖.
Phone: (+852) 2332 2896

p/s: Perhaps I should also mention this, the cost of our breakfast that morning is around MYR120 for 7 person. Cheap eh, for a restaurant with such big fame.

Food - Friday, October 01, 2010

Tim Ho Wan 添好運

Just in case you’re wondering what we’re doing at the end of the queue there, we’re queuing for possibly the cheapest Michelin restaurant in...

New Zealand - Wednesday, September 08, 2010

fishing on Lake Wakatipu

We chartered a boat to fish in the lake. It was an interesting experience for all of us as it's first of its kind experience to us. I ta...

New Zealand - Wednesday, September 08, 2010

This week in Queenstown

Gay Ski Week P/s: Don't break your back.

New Zealand - Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Morning greeting

Greetings from Queenstown, a morning view from the room on my second day here. I'm beginning to love this little town.

Hello all, I will be traveling for leisure this whole month, so I won't have access to internet as much as I would like to. So I will be posting some back a series of back dated posts that I wrote when I was not connected. Otherwise, happy holiday everyone... =)

Auckland on arrival...

Arriving at the Auckland airport this morning, I got fascinated with the smoke that was coming out from my breath. An indication that there is nothing much fascinating here that’s why I got so focused with things surrounding me. Of all the big cities I have been, this city is different. There is no skyscraper, no crowded human traffic or bumper-to-bumper crawl on the road. People here are more laid back and relax with their lifestyle. I noticed many Japanese made car and the models are quite boring, nothing fancy. Unlike in Asian countries where car are more than just a vehicle. It’s also a symbol of status reflecting your position in the society.

Another thing I noted here, everything seems a little dull. One shade paler, I wonder if this is because of the cloudy weather. This somehow brings out the lush greeneries around here more outstanding. Over here, the surrounding is filled with plants and trees. Air is a lot more fresh, hardly any smell of carbon monoxide.

This is our first meal since we arrived. It's a very delicious Chinese tuck shop operated by a Hongkie. The portion served in this place is really huge for my petite appetite. I've forgotten the name of this tuck shop but we will definitely pay this place a visit again since this used to be a regular haunt for my partner back when he used to live in Auckland.

So it will be 2 nights here before I head off to Queenstown. My hotel is right in front of a beach. Haven’t found out the name of this hotel but the best part about this room is that I can lie on my bed while watching the sun setting down for the day. Reflections from gold ripple in my room lit up my room in romantic yellow.

I’m excited about my trip to Queenstown now. I wonder what’s going to be there.

New Zealand - Tuesday, August 31, 2010