Pumpkin Carving

Happy Halloween!!! Last week we had a family pumpkin carving / dress up nite at my in-law's place

For our costume (hubby & me) I didn't want to spend a lot of money on a costume so found a simple, cheap one that cost me under $1...got idea from Canadian Family site...we were both cats. All you need is headbands (I bought 4pk headbands from dollartree for under $2.00 CAD) felt fabric (had some at home) thread & needle, eyeliner pen to draw on nose and whiskers (I used Forever Makeup eyeliner pen) and black clothes

It was both (hubby & me) first time carving a pumpkin...it was fun. My hubby choose the cat bus from My Neighbor Totoro movie...going with our cat costume...hehehe...It turned out pretty well. My hubby drew it on freehand

My mother-in-law had some Halloween decorations up and I bought some Halloween treats for everyone. We all had a Great time...hopefully we can do it again next year. I hope everybody has a safe and Happy Halloween ヾ(●⌒∇⌒●)ﾉ

Hong Kong Interesting Eats

Places in Hong Kong that we went to eat that were interesting and the food was ok or good

Cafe De Coral is another franchise in Hong Kong...Chinese style fast food. Many locations in Hong Kong

Food:   ღ ღ ღ ღ ღ

the food was just ok

Ambiance:   ღ ღ ღ ღ ღ          
fast food environment..they take your order at the front you pick it up inside and find your own seat 

After our 4 hour hike up to see the big Buddha we decided to have Korean food for dinner. We randomly picked a restaurant we finally found one it was called Han-yang Won Korean Restaurant 漢陽苑韓國料理 I have been to many different Korean BBQ restaurants in Canada but in Hong Kong it is totally different. Instead of a waiter/waitress taking your order you service yourself like a buffet

Food:   ღ ღ ღ ღ ღ

the food was good

Ambiance:   ღ ღ ღ ღ ღ          
nothing special...hot

 Hong Kong Mcdonalds offer some different food choices

Food:   ღ ღ ღ ღ ღ  

interesting food but wouldn't order the things we had again but my hubby loves to try anything new at Mcdonalds and they definitely don't have this in Canada

Ambiance:   ღ ღ ღ ღ ღ          
nice interiors

Pizza Hut in Hong Kong is totally different then the one in Canada it is considered more upscale

Food:   ღ ღ ღ ღ ღ

we ordered a combo which had soup, pasta and pizza...it wasn't that good and the drinks we ordered were tasteless...they were not included in the combo

Service:   ღ ღ ღ ღ ღ            
it was busy...service was slow

Ambiance:   ღ ღ ღ ღ ღ          
nice interior

For my birthday my hubby took me to eat Hong Kong style steak at Sweetheart Garden 花園餐廳 For Hong Kong style steak they give you your steak on hotplate then you hold your napkin up to you and you pick what sauce you want and they pour it on the steak

Food:   ღ ღ ღ ღ ღ 

I usually like steak but this steak wasn't that good and they put tasteless fries underneath

Service:   ღ ღ ღ ღ ღ            
it was good

Ambiance:   ღ ღ ღ ღ ღ          
old restaurant...space was really tight

My sister-in-law recommended that we try Pepper Lunch

Food:   ღ ღ ღ ღ ღ

interesting that for food court food you get it on a hotplate but it was nothing special. My hubby & I ordered only 1 so not filling

Ambiance:   ღ ღ ღ ღ ღ          
food court

Went with the family to eat at Summit Delicious 新麵園 (潮味館)

Food:   ღ ღ ღ ღ ღ

food was simple but good

Service:   ღ ღ ღ ღ ღ            
very friendly

Ambiance:   ღ ღ ღ ღ ღ          
old Hong Kong restaurants that I have seen in tv shows

We went to Taste Cafe a lot when we were in Hong Kong because it was close to my hubby's grandparents place..so they didn't have to go too far

Food:   ღ ღ ღ ღ ღ

food was good

Service:   ღ ღ ღ ღ ღ            
it was good

Ambiance:   ღ ღ ღ ღ ღ          
nothing special

Hong Kong Favorites Eats

We ate a lot when we were in Hong Kong...here are a few places that I enjoyed and would go back again

We were at the APM mall and we decided to eat lunch there so decided on Yummy Delight 甘味讚岐手打烏冬. They have many different location in Hong Kong

Food:   ღ ღ ღ ღ ღ

yummy udon noodles, the soup base was good and the drink I ordered taste good too

Service:   ღ ღ ღ ღ ღ            
it was busy busy but we didn't have to wait long for our food

Ambiance:   ღ ღ ღ ღ ღ           
located in APM mall so mall environment but not food court environment because it had its own space

My friend in Hong Kong took use to a restaurant on a boat. It was a very interesting experience. I enjoyed it a lot. I would love to go back again

Food:   ღ ღ ღ ღ ღ

we ordered a lot of seafood dishes. My favorite dish was the sweet & sour pork...sooo good

Service:   ღ ღ ღ ღ ღ            
very friendly and quick

Ambiance:   ღ ღ ღ ღ ღ           
eating on a boat...what more can I say (even though it was by the habour and we didn't move but still nice)

We were in the neighborhood waiting to meet someone and we were hungry so we went into a restaurant called Steak Expert for a snack

Food:   ღ ღ ღ ღ ღ

ordered some sandwiches...they were sooo good. Would like to go back and try other food on their menu...maybe steak next time

Service:   ღ ღ ღ ღ ღ            
it was good

Ambiance:   ღ ღ ღ ღღ          
Hong Kong cafe style nothing special

Our Trip to Hong Kong

Our Hong Kong trip was a good trip. I got to meet the rest of my hubby family and I got to see some new and old places in Hong Kong

We went to see the Big Buddha (Tian Tan Buddha) I was excited to see it since it was my first time but we decide to be adventurist and hike up...bad idea (◕︵◕) it was super humid and hot...it took us 4 hours to get up. So my advice...do not hike up in summer and also make sure you are in shape (out of shape since I haven't done any hiking in a long time) But overall interesting experience, my first time hiking in Hong Kong.  It was a foggy day but cleared up a bit and I was able to get some good pictures (｡◕‿◕｡)

We went to The Peak, it is where you can get a topside view of Hong Kong. We took a taxi up since the line up for the Peak Tram was long and we didn't want to wait

This was my 2nd time at The Peak. I went there with my family on my first visit to Hong Kong. But new discovery there is a trail (thanks to my friend who showed us) so we walked around the trail. There are residential houses along the path

We took Peak Tram down...it was really packed but we got in..just standing up during the slope-y ride down

 

We went to Victoria Harbour a few times. You can see Hong Kong City on the other side

Also there is a light show called Symphony of Lights every night...very awesome. My second time seeing the show. I saw it last time on a boat in the Harbour

My friend took us on a tram ride in Hong Kong City. For a few cents you can take a ride around Hong Kong City. It was a very interesting and fun experience

My hubby took me to the goldfish market and the his favorite bird garden

We went to the Temple Street Night Market. And my hubby showed me a garden/park in the middle of the big city called Kowloon Park

We had a good time in Hong Kong. This was my longest stay in Hong Kong and I got to see a lot. Hong Kong is a nice place to visit and we will probably be back again to visit my hubby's family again in the future

Our Hong Kong Wedding Banquet

My hubby & I went to Hong Kong to have mini reception for his family there. My hubby's aunt found us a place called Wedding Banquet Specialist. As you can tell from the name they specialist in wedding banquet so not a lot of people come here to eat for regular meals.

We booked 2 tables in front of their main stage, it looked like we booked the whole restaurant since only 2 other tables were occupied in the back for regular diners. For this reception we went with traditional Chinese reception...a lot of red. I wore my kwa. Two of my friends, one from Hong Kong and another from Singapore were able to attend our reception (ღ˘◡˘ღ)

The food was different from the dishes we had at our reception in Canada and this time I was able to try all the food. The food was only ok nothing special. But my hubby & I both had a great time. Thanks you to our family and friends who came to celebrate with us.

Faubourg Paris

Mama Gen & I went to a French Bakery called Faubourg which is their new downtown location

Food:   ღ ღ ღ ღ ღ

We order the Lemon Tart which was recommend in reviews and it was super yummy. We also ordered a Turamisu which wasn't bad but not as good as the one at The Golden Boot 

Service:   ღ ღ ღ ღ ღ            
Fast and friendly service. They take your order and you pick it up

Ambiance:   ღ ღ ღ ღ ღ           
Very clean and bright inside. Mama Gen & I sat outside and it was a chilly day but the heater kept us warm (didn't get interior shots since we sat outside)

Price:   ღ ღ ღ ღ ღ
A bit pricy but it is a French bakery, so price is reasonable

The only disappointing thing was that there wasn't that much selection at this location (their second location) hopefully they will have more selection next time. Which definitely there will be a next timeヾ(●⌒∇⌒●)ﾉ

Mama Gen's Bday

A few weeks ago it was Mama Gen's Bday. I decided to make food and take it over to her place to celebrate (since I am only renting right now and my place isn't a good place to entertain people but hopefully that will change soon (｡◕‿◕｡)

 

For her bday I got Mama Gen a Fuji Instax mini 25 camera. I have one myself and Mama Gen said she really wanted one. We took a lot of pictures that day (●⌒∇⌒●) For her Bday dinner I made Mama Gen Korean food. One of my best friends Liz taught me how to make Japchae & Spicy Pork Bulgogi...I miss her

I also made a Strawberry short cake for dessert. My first time making a cake from scratch. I got the recipe from Ochikeron on youtube. I had to make a second cake layer since the first one wasn't thick enough to cut in half so the middle is hard. But everybody thought it tasted good for my first try (▰˘◡˘▰)

Afterwards we made Mama Gen's super yummy cookies...soo craving it now. We did a lot of taste testing after each batch came out of the oven (●⌒∇⌒●) Good times

Thailand

So after our wedding we went to Hong Kong to meet the rest of my Hubby's family and had a mini reception there for them. During our 3 week stay there we took a little trip to Thailand as a sort of honeymoon. We stayed 2 nights.

 We were already wowed on the plane ride over. So beautiful from above.

We stayed at the beautiful Renaissance Resort & Spa in Phuket, Thailand. This was my first time staying at a resort & spa. It was so beautiful.

 Our room was really nice. It was big, bright, clean and comfortable.

We spend most of our time at the beautiful Mai Khao beach located behind the resort.

The water was so blue and clean. It was really relaxing sitting by the beach and playing in the water. We watched the sunset (ღ˘◡˘ღ)

Our stay included buffet breakfast, which we treated as our lunch. The food was good...we ate A LOT. Our first night (the day we arrived) we ate instant noodle for dinner since the food at the resort was expensive.

The second night we had food delivery from Kin Dee Restaurant. They have someone who understands English who took our order.
• Chicken Green Cury (◔_◔) ok
• Chicken Pad Thai (◕︵◕) had a wired taste to it...I think it had stinky tofu in it...yucky...so I didn't like it at all...so disappointed because I really like Pad Thai and couldn't wait to try real Pad Thai in Thailand
• Pineapple Fried Rice (◔_◔) ok  
• Kin Dee Crab Cake (◕ ◡ ◕) yummy
• Mango Sticky Rice (◕ ◡ ◕) I was expecting it to taste wired because it was mango and rice but it was really good
Over all the food was ok, it was a good amount of food for the price we paid..which was around $27 CAD (included tip & delivery).

So sad to leave...was too short of a trip but it was fun. My hubby & I would love to see more of Thailand next time, venture outside.