Just came back from a few days trip to Chiang Mai at the northern  part of Thailand. Qutie a refreshing trip indeed..

on the day departing to CNX went to the The Wing CX Business Lounge for lunch since didn’t have any breakfast….

First inside their Noodle Bar for Noodle Soup Dumplings and Dim Sum…

The at the Lounging area for some western stuff….

My ride today on DragonAir A320…typical narrow body aircraft seatpitch…

over looking the HK Disneyland

 

late lunch inside the aeroplane well, dessert was the highlight!

descending

Staying at the Chedi Chiang Mai, A beautiful Hotel located conveniently within 10 minutes walk to the  biggest night market, while enjoying the peace and quietness by the river side…..

a big night market  area  Anusan Night Market with fewer tourists while compare tot he Patpong in Bangkok…

After a 2 hours Thai Massage, had some simple Thai food as night snacks

Stirr-fired veggie with pork stripe, and tom kha kai

 

Pad See Ew( or Pad Si Yu)

Next morning had  Champagne breakfast at the Club Lounge since I was staying at the Suite..

Buffet table for the Bread, cereal, yoghurt, fruits, cheese….

 Bircher Muesli

 

 Order to make Main course

Pouched Eggs with Wagyu steak…

 

Egg Benedict. both dishes were delicious,  eggs were perfectly cooked with those tempting running egg yolks, the steak was tender and full of flavour……and the service was really fussy like the old days, but I enjoyed it very much………

 

 

The my date with animals….

went to one of the Elephant Parks, watching elephant shows, Riding on them and a ox-carts…

 

last but not least a Raft riding along the river too…….lunch was included but of cos….a very simple one….

then headed to The Tiger Kingdom

 the baby tiger was just like a kid, jumping around, it’s not easy to take pic with him, while the Big one was soooo lazy…..to move….you can nearly do whatever you can to pose with it……

Back to the hotel, and had an afternoon tea…..

 

After another 2 hours massage, just had snacks…yes and it’s the McDonald’s cos they have the Fried Chix ( not the nuggets) and Thai influence, stir-fried pork with rice…..

 

 

 

2nd Breakfast had it at the cafe/restaurant, with more or less the same setting as in the club lounge, with same main course menu, plus a noodle soup counter…..

 

 

Turmeric Rice with  grilled chicken another delicious dish….you just love the combination flavour of the them…

 

Egg Florentine

Then spending over an hour by the pool………

light lunch  pork meat ball n beef noodle soup

Pad……..sorry for got this one………

 

Then another 2 hours massage…….. and happy hour back at the hotel Club Lounge

 Dinner at The Whole Earth Restaurant near to the hotel a Thai/Indian restaurant…

 

Sweet n Sour Prawn in whole Young Coconut

Chicken Korma

Whole Earth  Special Vegetable  with Thai Spices (  special Veggie :baby bamboo shoot and Chilli leaves)

wrapped up the dinner with a Banana Split

night Market hopping, poor dancer…without too much attentions….

suppose to try to experience the Gay scene, however it was too dead..ended up mixing up my drink back to the our room with the all inclusive Mini Bar…

Breakfast before leaving……Thai Style dumpling soup…

French Toast with the Berries Yogurt…

Lunch before my last 2 hours Massage

Curry Chix noodle soup with fried noodle flakes, the Pork knuckle on Rice

Thai Chix rice…

Waiting for my flight at the Thai Airways lounge

 

neighbour………and my Mid-Autumn(Moon) Festival dinner at 30000ft

oh they did have a choice of flavours  between strawberry or Chocolate

 

 

 

 

Been a bit lazy updating Xanga, just a recap of what I’ve enjoyed over the past few months……

In June I had a Pinoy dinner at the Kumare at Richmond BC

Adobo Tostada Braised Pork in garlic, soy sauce and vinegar , Rellenong Chix deboned Chix with meat loaf

 Seafood Palabok Thick noodle with sea food and Palabok (Shrimp)sauce

Tortang Talong Omellette with eggplant  

 Manila Pinakbet mixed vegetable with shrimp, pork,

dessert Cassava cake

 Ube Mascapuno cake Purple Yam chiffon cake with cream cheese

 A lunch at Xi Yue 八月芳  Quarry Bay Hong Kong

A quite refreshing starter….Plum Juice cold noodle, and BBQ pork Buns

 Steamed Turnip Cake, Fried Rice wrapped in Lotus leave with Abalone

 Braised e-fu Noodle with crab meat and crab eggs

And the dessert is a crispy Napoleon layer cake

A special Hainan Chix Rice set I usually have before operating my flight back to Vancouver,  because it’s cheap…..HKD32

T2 food court Hong Kong International Airport

 

 

A Japanese Pork Cutlet dinner at Saboten 勝博殿 Causeway Hong Kong, actually they also have a shop at the food court of the Aberdeen Centre Richmond BC…

for all the set menu, the shredded cabbages salad, soup, and rice are unlimited refilled.

tonight I had the regular pork cutlet, mixed with a cheese filled cutlet roll and a prawn..

 A surprisingly good Lobster Paella  at the La Amigo restaurant Richmond BC

Last week had dinner at this Michelin 2 stars Ye Shanghai 夜上海 Restaurant at Marco Polo Hong Kong Hotel(only this outlet got the stars)

Cold Starter, a combination of smoke egg, drunken chix,  cucumber pickles, cold jelly fish, and Pork terrine  

 

 

Wonton in Chix Broth with Shark’s Fin,  vegetable with braised mushroom

Fried fish fillet in Sweet and sour sauce with Pine nuts, stuffed crab shell…

stir-fried shrimps with tea leaves,  braised pork belly

 Chinese cabbages with Ham, and Xio Lun Bao with crab meat…

 dessert quite a western style caramel custard with  ice-cream…

 

 

Hong Kong is hot and is getting hotter becos of these hot Guys……..
A & F is going to open a store at Pedder street, Central Hong Kong on AUG 11 at 1100. And there will be 108 of them

Japanese Ramen seems to be quite popular these days in Hong Kong, therefore I tried out 2 places with a month time!

The first one I went was Hakata Ippudo (a  world wide Ramen Chains originates from Fukuoka Japan)  Russell street branch at Causeway Bay Hong Kong. 

the fried Gyoza…

The Classic:The original silky “Tonkotsu” (pork) soup noodles, toppped with pork loin chashu, and scallions, for those who have been thier NYC branch, you can order extra topping from the menu as well.

Gyoza in spicy broth, Pork Burger with boiled egg..

Seasonal Special Hakata dipping Ramen…..the dipping broth taste a bit like the dipping sauce for Tempura, but I like this even more than the classic Ramen..

The 2nd one  I went was the Butao Ramen Causeway Bay branch as well, their shop at Central  Hong kong was the one which brought up this Ramen phenomenon  in HKG by claiming only has about 100 bowls of raman a day and make people to queue up for that…the Chef is from Tokyo Japan, (who has his own Ramen Chain Nagi Ramen ) will be in Hong Kong regularly to  monitor the quality…

at this CWB branch we need to queue up as well, mostly because of the size of the store as they don’t have the daily limit of ramen any more..

you fill up the order form while waiting…… only 4 types of soup base to choose,

RED: Chili,  White: Classic Pork, Black: Squid ink, Green: Olive oil with Basil and cheese…

Same as Ippudo, you can also choose extra toppings like ChaShu(slice BBQ pork), boiled egg…etc

and  your prefer texture of the Ramen, which I finds the tougher is better….

extra Seaweed

And my Black Ramen….the soup is thick and very tasty,  you can add up the different pickles on the table  to further enhance the flavour if…you really like strong taste..

 My very first time  visit and a Solo trip to Bali, Indonesia on CX’s very own Fish-Bone Business Class..

Signature welcome drink….Oriental Breeze

 After take off drinks and Lunch services..

 Main course stir-fried prawns in Sambal with plain steam rice accompanied with Okra in Coconut sauce, fresh cut fruit

 Too full for Cheese and crackers, so umped to coffee and dessert…

 Landing into Bali airport

 

 Staying at the Alam Ubud Villas I chose to stay far away from the more popular places like Kuta, sanur….just to avoid the crowds….Ubud is about 1 – 1 1/2 hrs from the airport…giving me a very quiet, relaxing reflection retreat!!

Welcome by the villa’s staff with flowers, a flower foot soak, and a refreshing drink…lemon grass and ginger….

 

Villas Kunti which I stayed…with a private pool

 

 

 Since I was travelling alone, I’m afraid I don’t have too many food pics cos I could only have soo much food on each meal…

Satay Combo as my dinner…

 Good Morning forests….

 Breakfast

 a short walk near by the Villa,  wow this Salak fruit is sooo sweet and crunchy

 After an hour swim, I had a 2 hours massage at my own Villa

 Tea time at the lounging area, deep fried bananas

 

 Dinner,  Amuse Bouche egg rolls with rice, a warm Chix Caesar Salad

 the Villa version of the Bali style Crispy Duck

after a good night rest, Breakfast time again…..

 

 

 Then a full day tour around inner Bali, Monkey Temple…..what the hack they kept on staring at me……

 everywhere around you can find those sculpture manufacturer 

 Elephant Cave

 

another temple…….where people can rinse their body and mind with the holy water…

 Buffet lunch over looking the active Volcano Mount Batur

 

 The visiting the  Coffee plantation and finally saw this little creature who helps to create the expensive Luwak Coffee

 Coffee sampling………

 Rice field visit, I eventually had to walk and crawl to the opposite….to take picture..

 in the mid-way…having the  fresh coconut juice….?

 

 back to the Villa having a refreshment  a deep fried veggie spring roll

 Dinner Amuse Bouche  Salmon skewer and a chunky Tomatoe  soup

 Morning on the day of departure, Breakfast, the Villa version of the Bali style Nasi Goreng

 Finally seeing the sea again on the way to the airport the Kuta beach well known for the surfers

 

 

 remembering the victims of the 2002 incident around the Kuta Beach area

 Heading back to Hong Kong, the common use lounge

 they loves singing………so much..

 meal on the returning flight

nearly an exact meal the only different was the fish….and the heating skill of the crew has lots of room to improve….

Fish in Sambal, dessert Apple pie with clotted creme

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the evening retuning back to Vancouver late night snack at the Wing – CX Business Class Lounge

Premium Economy Class for long haul flight

Own menu

 an after take off drinks a choice of Champagne or Juices, a noise cancelling Headphone same as Biz Class

The first row is the best, more leg room and the seat with leg and foot rest…just like the  very old Biz Class seat just not as wide.

 

First Meal….the entree is actually the Biz meal…..with 3 choices…

 over night kit…and I looked wired after a good 6 1/2 hours rest……

2nd meal a breakfast……with a jar of preserve as Biz class…..

Donna , gonna miss you and the Disco Era very much…..!

The most talked about Reality Show in Hong Kong over the past 2 weeks ,  talking about 5 single girls who want to find a boy friend or eventually a husband, very entertaining and what they have done in the show is also very debating within the Hong Kong community, because while the show is actually projecting what is actually  happening : people tend to concentrate on the appearance of each individual  rather than other factors. The local  thinks that the show is promoting a wrong message…..

I my self I love the show since it’s entertaining,  becos I have been trained by the Hollywood type  of Reality Show I know that this kind of show is actually not that real……and it also gives us  a chance to face the Reality  to re-evaluate the Value of life like which I’ve been told  since I was  kid…like people only appreciates or respects who looks good……. 

From the show:

““When you don’t speak, you look like Central, but when you speak you look like Mongkok,” one woman is told. For those not familiar with the city, Central is a sophisticated business district, whereas Mongkok is a dense, chaotic neighborhood on the other side of the harbor.”

Bride Wannabes 盛女愛作戰

 

 

It’s such a popular TV show for the past 2 seasons. I, though not a big fan, still watch it whenever I’m free. So this is what I think about ‘Glee’ after this past Sunday.

I was watching an episode on Season 3 called ‘Detention Class’ where the main theme was about experiencing your first bouts of ‘passion’. Essentially, talking about adolescent sexual experiences. What kind of message is Glee trying to convey here? That it is alright for high school kids to have sex? Yes, you have to be at least 16 to watch Glee, but we all know how accessible the series is to kids below 16 what with youtube and all. How can a society preserve morality when having sex while one is still in school is promoted so freely. One may say that the episode simply accepts that adolescent sex exists and all the episode is trying to do is to promote doing the responsible thing. But the message can so easily be construed as condoning adolescent sex as well. Call me conservative, but that’s just how I feel.

I am touched by this picture I saw on a FB page about Filial Piety ….it’s like a son looking after his old mom…..though no details of when and where this picture is taken….