I walk past the above billboard every morning and evening when I’m on the Mid-Levels travelator. Tell me, tell me. How to not salivate?!?!
Archive for April, 2009
Lazy weekend
I’m actually absolutely thrilled I get to have a lazy weekend in. Cos I honestly can’t remember the last time I did that. Last weekend was spent Rock Banding, dining out, watching Monsters VS Aliens and playing catch-ups. This weekend was just me, me, me. Naice. :)
Had a nice Friday evening after work doing (another) quick bout of shopping at H&M with Lita and buffet steamboat at Wan Chai with the rest of the gang. Yummmm.
Then met Hafiz for just two hours at Central. I made him try the condensed milk toast, just like how I make everyone who visits me in HK do… And he loves it too!!! WORLD DOMINATION!
Hafiz and I at the Airport Express station, HK stop.
We couldn’t spend longer together as he’s staying at the airport hotel and the last train that departs from HK station is 12:48am and that boy didn’t touch down on HK till 9:35pm. Sucks.
But still, it was super quick and super quality time. He then confessed that he’s been in HK 5-6 times already and I was like “WHAT?!?!? AND YOU NEVER TOLD ME?!?!” He then said it was before I came to HK but that was a good 9 months ago!! I think he was trying to cover his ass… But he promised to meet up again every time he makes a stop here again so I was appeased.
Saturday was then spent sleeping in (of course!), sending laundry to wash, lounging with magazines and napping on the couch – finally! I know it’s such a simple activity but you have no idea how much I’d longed to do that.
I also spent quite some time looking at pretty stuff at Saks online… I hardly do that cos I know how I’m like with temptations (I simply can’t resist buying stuff I like when I see them. I just avoid seeing them in the first place) but I was good yesterday. I guess it helped that I couldn’t feel and try these beauties:
I’ve been lusting the Ann Demeulemeester (above left) since I saw it in I.T. in HK more than a month ago. But at US$675, how can?! And I absolutely love the Givenchy (above right) cos it’s just a perfect juxtaposition of ferosh (fierce) and feminine. How <3.
And the Martin Margiela (above left) and Opening Ceremony (above right) ones are how cute!!!
I’ve been looking for another pair of gumboots to add to my shoe collection cos I only have one so far and it’s polka-dot. Cute but not the most chic, no? Thennn!! I saw this Jimmy Choo for Hunter design (above left) and as much as I like it, I don’t think I’m willing to part with US$395 for it. :/ However, I saw the silver Hunter I like on Saks and it’s only US$125 compared to S$350 at I.T.! Crazy mark-up.
And the Junya Watanabe (above right) is how delish alsoooo. Ok better stop. I honestly just want the Ann Demeulemeester and Givenchy. And erm, the Opening Ceremony too.
Thankfully, I’ve stopped looking at heels altogether now cos it’s just not practical for HK and my blister-prone feet. Well, I can earn brownie points with my boyfriend too since he disapproves of it professionally (and maybe height-wise too. hur hur hur)
And talking about brownie points, I finally baked jam-drop cookies today so Matt can try them when he comes this Friday. Yayy, finally! After 6 weeks!
I was quite worried it may not turn out cos it’s a notch harder than the choco-chips one that I made last time. But OMG, they’re how yummy! I couldn’t help but popped two into my mouth when they’re still warm. Yumsss
Recipe
(for about 24 pieces)
1 1/2 cup plain flour
2/3 cup butter
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 slightly beaten egg white
1/3 cup raspberry preserve
- Stir flour and salt in a mixing bowl.
- Mix butter and sugar in another bowl and blend. Then add egg yolks and vanilla essence and beat well.
- Add dry ingredients to beaten mixture and mix well.
- Cover, chill in the fridge for 1 hour.
- Shape into 1-inch balls, roll in egg whites and place on ungreased cookie sheet.
- Press down centre of balls with thumb.
- Bake at 180 degree Celsius for 15 mins.
- Cool then fill centres with raspberry preserve.
Simple!
I’m such a girl
If you’ve been to Harbour City (the biggest shopping mall in Hong Kong and also where my office is), you’ll notice it occupies majority of Canton Road. And every two weeks or so, the management will change the pots of flowers that line the mall. I’ve always love that cos I’ll walk along the flowers to get to our office tower in the morning.
For the past two weeks, it’s hydrangeas! So lovely! So expensive! As Matt and I had discovered earlier, it’s about HK$80 a pot and I think Harbour City must have used at least a good 100 pots. I’m sure they get wholesale prices or something but still!!! The tenants in the mall must be keeping the management happy who, in turn, try to keep people like me and most of all, the throes of Mainland Chinese shoppers happy.
Whatevs. They’re pretty. And I’m happy.
Super <3!
Oh yes, this how dismal the queue was like at 9:30am today (and the store opens at 10am) outside the H&M store at Queen’s Road Central:
I expected something like thrice this length!
Do people not like poor Matthew Williamson in HK?? Seeing how short the queue was, I was tempted to join but I know I really don’t fancy anything anyway! Typical Singaporean!!!
Skipped the hype and went to work instead and was thinking of the three different lunch options I wanted to tell Louise once I got into the office. We wanted to check out the capsule collection and also the new H&M flagship on Canton Road so we made our way there after lunch.
But not before I insisted we checked out the Zara boyfriend blazer that’s been on my mind since Shanghai.
The hopeful me thought it could possibly be cheaper in HK than Shanghai cos in Shanghai it was RMB$799 (S$177) and yayy! In HK, it’s $799 to but in HKD! So it turned out to be S$155 instead. Butttt I didn’t get it lah. I wasn’t dressing the part so wasn’t feeling the blazer. Moreover, they didn’t have my size.
Then we trooped over to H&M and cheyyy, the Matthew Williamson collection only had a handful of pieces! I don’t think they were grabbed up but that H&M is releasing the collection with a few drops instead. But I checked the fabrics and yes, they’re very decent, compared to the Comme des Garcons ones.
We then explored further into the store (into dangerous territories). I was adamant not to get anything but when we bumped into another two groups of colleagues, we all went crazy trying on hats and sunnies that I winded up with these cuties:
I absolutely love them all, especially the little hat that only occupies 1/3 of my head and the floral leggings! I’ve been wanting to get some out-of-the-ordinary leggings and yipee!! I may just go back for more…
And the best part is? I only spent S$77 for a set of 4 Hello Kitty ankle socks, a set of 3 black thongs (not that you really need to know…), that funky happy-happy sunnies, my adorable little hat and the leggings. Yayy to high-street shopping! Made in China? Whatevs!
To think I thought H&M and I didn’t have any affinity. It sure took its time to grow on me! But still, I know it won’t do me the damage that Topshop would if the latter is here in HK. Have you seen the latest Topshop collection?!?! (I saw it at Susie Bubble) I would seriously go bonkers if I go near that collection. Screw the whole ‘all these spendings can get you a Balenciaga or Chanel in just three months’ BS, I want Topshop!!!
And Louise had challenged me to wear my qipao tomorrow (cos she insisted that it’s weird to wear it as an everyday dress), let’s see if I feel gutsy enough to take up her dare tomorrow morning… O_o
Matthew Williamson for H&M
Since it’s past midnight now, it’s officially today that H&M’s launching its Matthew Williamson designer capsule collection! When I walked past the store on Queen’s Road Central at 8pm last night, there wasn’t any queue yet. I think Hong Kongers are getting used to these H&M designer collaborations? Well, I’ll check it out again in the morning when I walk past the store again to get to the MTR station!
Matthew Williamson for H&M window display
The prints and cuts do look pretty good but I didn’t have the chance to preview this collection unlike the previous Comme des Garcons one so I can’t comment on the fabrics. But well, I wasn’t impressed by the former designer collaboration’s fabrics though I do really like the signature deconstructed cuts by the Japanese brand.
I’m not sure about the retail prices of this collection too but just from looking at them from the windows, I say they look pretty darn good! Really quite designer-ish. Doesn’t look as cheap as the previous collaboration. That said, if I have to pick between Comme des Garcons and Matthew Williamson, I’ll still pick the former cos I’m not a huge prints girl (only very selected) and I lurve my draping and deconstructivism.
Butttt, if it’s a collaboration between Emilio Pucci (the house Williamson used to be the creative director of) and H&M, then I’ll definitely be one of those fanatics who queue up for the store’s opening (but not overnight, sorry!).
I’m not a huge modern prints girl but I definitely love my vintage prints and Pucci’s prints always have that retro touch to them so I love, love Pucci. And there’s no way I’m willing to pay for the main line so yes, I’ll certainly go crazy a Pucci for H&M. But aiyah, talk so much, it’s not even happening (yet, I hope).
Just two pics to tantalise…
Human contact
Lately, I’ve been in a much better mood. Maybe cos there was a lot more bonding and communication going on with me and the rest of the world and that had retrieved some sanity.
When I was in Seoul more than 3 weeks ago, I met my Korean colleague, Gina and my London editor, Lorna for the first time and it was really nice being able to learn about their lifestyles and culture and basically – just knowing there’s a much bigger world out there and as different as we all are, we’re all the same.
Then back to HK for a couple of days with the family here and then fast forward to Shanghai where I got to meet Chiao Wen (the Taiwanese friend whom I mentioned was working in Shanghai) and Joey (my good ol’ poly mate who’s working there now as well). And Mummy and Bro came as well.
I arrived HK last Thursday night exhausted. I managed to unpack EVERYTHING within half an hour and settled down and just chilled for like 10 minutes. I actually really miss my lovely HK flat when I was away in Shanghai for 10 days.
I then wanted to get a cup of OJ when I walked past my sink and saw my fave Ikea cup and bowl in Tiffany blue that I had no time to wash cos I was rushing for my Shanghai morning flight. They grew a forest of mould and I was terrified!
I related the gross story to Matt on the account that he promised to still love me after hearing how gross his girlfriend really can be but when he told his unwashed dishes had grown maggots before, that reassured me. Sorta.
Over the weekend, I had dinner arranged with Jules, Terence and the SG-in-HK pals. We celebrated Jules’ birthday and brought her to try my beloved condensed milk toast! She told me to stop raving about it cos her expectations had became sky-high but I was so confident of my condensed milk toast. Should see her expression after she tried it! Hur hur. Told ya!
The birthday gal
After Jules and Terence went off to catch their ferry to Macau, Lita, Ray, Alvin and I were left wandering the streets of Queen’s Road Central, not knowing where to go. My Risk and Taboo boardgames were poor bargaining chips compared to Ray’s Rock Band so off to Hung Hom we went and we didn’t check the time till 4:30am!
Somehow, the thrill of completing the mission and unlocking songs kept me up and awake but once Lita announced the time, I felt as if my body just immediately switched itself off.
I was in bed by 5:20am but it was an agonising sleep cos I woke up every two hours in pain, groaning about the soreness in my arms. Playing the drummer really killed me!
Ray and Alvin ('s arm) being spastic outside the Diesel store.
The gang and I met up again, plus the Tans, for dinner and a 3D Monsters VS Aliens movie. Damn expensive lah! HK$100 (app. S$20) for a ticket! But we had a really good dinner and the movie was really cute and funny. It was also my first time watching a 3D movie so I had a really good time. :)
On Sunday, after a quick Skype session with my tech bf who has just moved into her new pad, I had dinner and coffee with Polly for a good catch-up after not seeing her for more than a month. It’s always good to see her, for some reason I can’t explain. She’s just such a source of comfort.
And today was dinner with Zikang, which was fun as usual. It was a quick but quality dinner. He came by my flat and gave me a good chiding that I should stop complaining about the size of my tiny flat after having seen 8 today.
Then a good 40-minute chat on Skype with Daph. It was a funny bunny session. I miss that girl so much! And then finally, a proper chat on Skype with Matt after him being unwell for the past two weeks and unable to stay up to chat to me on Skype when I was in Shanghai as my work ends late every day. And when I finally returned to HK, he was on his flight to Perth.
I haven’t seen that boy for a full month now and I know it’s not that much for a long-distance relationship but it’s the longest period we’ve been apart. :( Before you tell me “it’s only one month”, your words will only qualify if you’ve been in a LDR before, damnit. You try it and tell me if “it’s only one month”!
No couple likes to be apart for a prolonged period and that extends to any relationship. Well, I honestly don’t mind the months if I know for sure when our lives together will start properly but I don’t.
Lastly, can I complain about HK’s weather today? It’s so hot and humid! But then again, from the sound of my Singaporean friends’ complains on Facebook about the weather on the little island, it does sound like my case is not valid when it’s compared to theirs. It’s just 27 degree Celsius here but it’s the warmest in months. For the first time in five months of staying in my flat, I switched on the AC last night.
Now, now. I can finally have some proper me-time. Just lounging by my couch with my books, magazines and new music. Gonna snooze now. Can’t wait to lounge tomorrow!
Hangzhou
When Mummy and Bro were in Shanghai, we managed to go to Hangzhou on Easter Monday. We wanted to do Suzhou on Sunday but there weren’t any tickets left and since we heard more raves about Hangzhou, decided upon the latter instead.
The tickets were how cheap!! An average of S$12 per way and the train wasn’t gross like the one I took to Guangzhou. It was really clean and comfortable. I could sleep for the whole 90-min journey. Cheaper than a 30-min cab ride in Singapore and I still get a free bottle of mineral water…
We got the 7.44am train tickets but missed it by just a couple of minutes and exchanged for free for the next earliest timing at noon and was on the way out to catch a cab back to the hotel for more snooze when two tour guides stopped us and said they had tickets for the 9:30pm train and the condition was that we joined their day tour in Hangzhou for S$4.40 per person. LIKE WTF, right, S$4.40. Join lah!!!
It covers the coach ride for the entire day till the day tour ends at 6:30pm and doesn’t cover food and entry fees for some places of interest. But RMB$20! I was raving about it for the rest of the day to Mum and she kept laughing and reminded me to “think local”. RMB$20 is quite a bit for them! So it was a blessing in disguise that we missed the 7.44am train. We had no idea where to go in Hangzhou anyway!
We did the expected West Lake and it was pretty but wasn’t as remarkable as I had imagined it to be. I was more taken by the willow trees which made the entire place so romantic.
And the temple we went to, apparently the most famous one in Hangzhou, was so peaceful even though it was packed with tourists. As Mummy and Bro went to browse at a temple shop, I sat outside alone for 10 minutes and just soaked in the moment. It was so serene, my mind just quietened itself. The compound apparently had 70 halls and 5,000 monks. We stumbled upon an impressive one that housed statues of the 500 arhats.
Butttt all the local tourists with their spitting and rudeness – I cannot take it!!! I was glad it was just a one-day tour and we were able to return to the comfort of our cosy hotel room.
My favourite memories of the trip were the lovely willow trees by West Lake, the peaceful 10 minutes I had to myself and being able to travel with Mummy. :)
Imperfect beauty
I had an interesting evening last night when I met my Taiwanese friend who works in Shanghai for dinner. She had a few older (I meant like in their 50s-kinda old) male friends who joined us cos they were in town for a short while too so I was like whatever.
It was interesting because they were in completely different industries from me. One was an architect who’s apparently working on the Tower 2 building of UOB Plaza in Raffles Place, another is real estate and the third is the marketing head of the Mclaren F1 team. And two of them were Japanese and the other Hong Konger.
It’s really insightful to learn about completely different worlds from mine. These are also really wealthy guys (they’re in their 50s after all!) and as unconceivable their worlds are to me, it’s also nice to know that at the end of the day, no matter where you’re from, which culture you’re exposed to and how old you are, some things are just universal.
One of the fellas went on about how he loves it when his girlfriends, as beautiful as they are, snore and fart like anyone else. And I love a man who loves that side of his woman.
And tonight, after spending a good two hours catching up on my friends’ blogs on LJ (China allowed wordpress and blogspot but not LJ), I saw this video produced by MCYS (a government organisation in Singapore) on Candice’s site. And the crybaby in me had tears running down the face. -_- But it’s really touching!
If you’re Singaporean, you probably have watched it on TV, but if not, please do view it! It’s only 3 mins long.
And after I wiped my tears away, I smiled cos Matt often tells me one of the things he loves most about me is that I fart, burp, eat really loudly, dig my nose and ears and basically just have no idea what the term “behaves like a lady” means. He calls me a pig and grub and always laugh at me whenever I do or say anything unladylike but I know that’s exactly the way he loves me.
:)
Meanwhile, that boy should arrive in Perth soon. Yes, while I’m on the plane back to Hong Kong from Shanghai, he was on his from Singapore to Perth. He’s going for an acupuncture course and tried to convince me to be his first guinea pig once he completed the course. O_o
For the first time, I actually was happy to be back in Hong Kong. At the airport, walking to the Airport Express train, I actually felt very comfortable, like I’m going home. I think a huge factor is my lovely flat. But it’s just nice to stay put at one place for a while and get centered again before any further trips.
And Bern is coming in 2 weeks’ time! Yipee! :) And meeting Jules, Terence and the HK SG gang for dinner tomorrow and Hafiz for drinks next Friday when he arrives that same evening. I’m itching to bring him to W Hotel since I’d never been there either.
I’m really looking forward to all these. It helps a lot to have pals around. Takes the mind off all the missing of my boy. :( It’s been a month since we last saw each other and I know it’s only a month but this is the longest by far. :( And it’s not another 2 weeks before I see him again. 6 weeks!!! Can die.
Ok, back to reading LJ…
Wholesale shopping in Shanghai
Other than a pair of plaid shorts (what’s with me and plaids?) I got from H&M on my second day here, the only stuff I’d bought here were all made-to-order!
Last week, on Joey’s advice, I brought Mummy and Bro to the wholesale textile market at Liu Jia Bang Lu. My purpose was to make two qipaos. One completely black and I wasn’t sure about the other.
Very quickly (I shop like a man in terms of speed but not quantity), I settled into a stall and within 20 minutes, my measurements were taken and I’d picked my designs and fabrics. Total damage? Around S$150 for both qipaos.
I took one of myself in the black one too but had no idea where the photo ran off to! Too lazy to take another one...
We then browsed around a bit and saw a stall selling winter coats. Since I don’t have a winter coat, I thought I ought to make one. Or maybe two… I bought a red one off the rack and customised another one in white. Total damage was S$190 for both coats. And they were made in wool and cashmere blends!
When I went back to pick them up, my heart got itchy and made another qipao! I know, I’m terrible… But it only cost S$80 and they’re gonna send it to my hotel! And I’ve been eyeing the coral print since I first saw it… Will show how it looks like once I get it!
I’m not sure what I paid are standard local prices cos I thought they were still pretty expensive for the prices I first imagined them to be. Cos Molely told me she had hers done for just S$40 here!
But I guess they’re still cheaper than what I could get in HK or SG. Thank God I didn’t spend that S$600 on that black winter coat I saw at CK Calvin Klein last season and that price was after a 50% discount. O_o
I’m done with qipaos but I would like maybe two more winter coats? One in houndstooth and another in classic black. Maybe the next time when I come to Shanghai again!
We also went to the Glasses Market at Shanghai (apparently there’re at least three places here!) Railway Station. It also wasn’t as cheap as I imagined them to be. I paid S$60 for mine with 1.67 lenses cos my degrees are really fricking high at 650/700. I guess that’s cheap still but Angelia told me she got hers at S$20 each so I was hoping to get a few! But I was good and just got one instead cos well, you should see my glasses collection… One day, I’ll take a pic of them.
I got this within 15 mins!
I popped into Zara and saw two boyfriend blazers that I really like. But after spending so little on made-to-order winter coats and qipaos, I just couldn’t see myself parting with RMB$799 (S$177) and RMB$859 (S$190)! I think I would have paid for them without blinking if I hadn’t known how cheap I could get them for before I came to Shanghai. But now that I know, it’s quite silly to part with that money.
I say that now… Once I get back to HK, I may sing a different tune… Maybe I should go check out that boyfriend blazer in HK and see if it’s any cheaper there…
The way we are.
Neither my life nor I is perfect and I’ll be the first to admit it. But like the eternal hopeful optimist that I am, I always wish it can be a little better but as you grow up, you realise there are just some things you can’t change about people, situations and relationships. The only thing you can probably change is the way you decide to feel. You know what they say, “Don’t try to change the things you can’t control.” And I guess the only thing I can control is my emotions.
The conversations I had with Joey on Thursday night reminded me exactly of that. We’re both in long-distance relationships and it’s great hearing his perspective though it might not exactly be helpful listening to everything Joey said cos he’s an awfully sweet boyfriend and I honestly don’t expect Matt to do the things that guy does! Even if Matt does, I’ll be quite freaked out. Hahaha
I had such a wonderful time and it reminded me again how good conversations do heal the soul. We were chilling by his balcony when his neighbour popped out and Joey mentioned we haven’t met since we graduated and I was saying “No way!” and Joey was like “yes, it’s been six years!” Wow.
I love how there wasn’t any awkwardness at all and we could catch up like old friends, share insights and agree to disagree.
Joey making tea to go with my chocolate cake. Of course must take a pic - how often do I get that?
Joey and I on his balcony.
And today, our conversations popped into my mind again. Had an argument with my brother and I know it’s nothing new. It doesn’t even matter what we argued about but when I do sit back and think about it, chatted to my mum and sister about our relationship and I realised there’s honestly nothing much I can do to improve our relationship. Cos it just can’t be improved. Not when he refused to know me as the person that I am but as a person he believes that I am.
All these years of growing up, I wish for a better relationship with him. Which girl doesn’t want the kind of brother who she knows has her back no matter what happens? And who doesn’t want a big brother like the way a big brother should be? I want. Desperately.
But I can’t.
I’ve tried so hard to be objective about things and instead of victimising myself, I asked the people who understand him, me and our relationship to be perfectly honest with me.
What am I not doing? Or what am I doing that offends him?
At the end of the day, it seems like there’s nothing – it’s just the way it is.
Growing up, I’m the sort of girl who fights for harmony between family, friends and lovers. I hate to see friends falling out with each other and lovers breaking up for good. But having grown up a little (it’s an endless journey, no?), I realised life will honestly be better for everyone if some ex-family, friends and lovers stay as, well, exes.
You argue and say that family can’t be exes with each other. No, you can’t technically cos we’re tied by blood and kinship but you surely can distant yourself and just remain civil to avoid further unhappiness.
I know it sounds sad but sometimes, that’s honestly just the way things are. You can either continue to fight tooth and nail and be perpetually unhappy or just accept the way things are and make a decision to be happy with that choice.
I don’t have the big brother I’d dreamt of having. But I have awfully wonderful parents, a sister with a beautiful heart, a niece and nephew whom I love so much that I never thought I could possibly love this much and of course, a boy who makes me so happy and is someone I’d promised to share my life with.
Nobody’s life is perfect and I hope I continue to have the courage and optimism to choose to see the beauty in mine instead.
Day 2 in Shanghai
Today, I went Barbie Doll shopping at the first-in-Asia Barbie House. It’s a 6-floor building that’s filled with all things pink and girly. I was telling Matt how I wanna bring him there just to see his reaction to that extremely pink world of Barbie. It was massive! There was a cafe, spa amongst the many levels of apparel and toy shopping. I wasn’t attracted by the clothing (they have adults’ apparel too!) but the vintage Barbie Dolls.
Yes, I was one of those girls who played with the deceivingly-figured doll. It wasn’t my favourite toy (Polly Pocket was my all-time fave!) because compared to Polly Pocket, it was too big and I couldn’t create a world of Barbie due to its cumbersome size.
Whereas for Polly Pocket, I had a really enviable collection. I had a few ‘houses’, a ‘restaurant’, two ‘caravans’, a ‘theatre’ and an entire ‘town’ (sized like a bag). I could still remember my very first Polly Pocket that my mum got me when I was 7 to reward me for coming in 4th in class at the old Toys’ R’Us at Parkway Parade.
Sadly though, as with all childhood toys we tried to keep, some were lost through the years of growing up. The ones I have left are kept for Kirsten’s enjoyment whenever she comes over on Sundays.
Anyhow! I was quite taken by the vintage Barbies, especially the very first Barbie doll created in the 60s. I didn’t bother checking the price cos there’s no way I would allow myself to buy the doll! But it was really pretty… But ok, what am I gonna do with a Barbie Doll at this age?
Hundreds of Barbie behind me!
I’ve been good about shopping in Shanghai. Barely bought anything except a pair of plaid shorts at H&M for just S$25. I just don’t feel ‘it’ when I’m in Shanghai, which is good after the suffering my wallet had to put up with in Seoul…
Ooohh, I just discovered today that the deceased Wong Ailing, the infamous author of Lust, Caution, was living in an apartment in the Art Deco-sque building just across from my hotel!
Damn, if only the actor of the show lives that near me in his hometown Hong Kong… I could possibly peeped into his place!
