Day 12-13 18/8/11 to 19/8/11 - Hong Kong, England

Hong Kong -> London

Highlight

• Checked out without any problems….so expensive.
• Bought cakes for the team but lots of people aren’t here, plus I forgot to get the receipt so I can’t claim it back. Good thing it was only $39 HKD.
• Lunch at yum cha with the reporting team. Food was good – I miss yum cha.
• So sleepy and bored in the afternoon. People just keep asking me EMQ questions.
• Uncle insisted on coming to send me off, so I couldn’t go to airport early.
• I managed to get a room for shower and changing back at the hotel (such good service and they carried all my luggage up and down.

Food

• Maxim cake – red bean lamington, pineapple cake
• Ming Garden Restaurant:
  • taro duck
  • rice paper roll with turnip and fried dough
  • rice paper roll with prawns
  • har gau
  • shiu ma
  • runny custard bao
  • rice noodles with pork
  • wok-fried noodles with fish
  • ginger taro soup
• Hot chocolate
• lemon cheesecake

Qantas lounge:

• steamed pork bun
• prawn dumplings
• pork dumplings
• nasi goreng
• egg tart
• potato salad
• mango Haagen daaz

BA dinner:

• Laurent Perrier Brut Millesime 2000 champagne
• roasted hot nuts
• Lemongrass and Basil panna cotta with tropical coulis
• Maison du Chocolat chocolate
• breakfast smoothie
• pastry
• Traditional English breakfast of scrambled eggs, mushrooms, tomatoes, pork sausage and bacon with bubble and squeak

BA Lounge Concorde Room:

• orange juice
• fresh fruit
• eggs benedicts

Day 11 17/8/11 - Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Highlight

• Change from bread this morning to congee
• Ran out of things to do so can relax for a bit
• Had lunch with HUB team. The Indian place was actually quite nice, but they were pretty quiet.
• Had long meeting with Reporting team so running late for dinner.
• Went straight there, no one really changed in the short time. Food was good – unusual. Talked about Allie a bit and they insisted on paying.
• Packed the rest of my stuff. Still room left

Food

• Hung Fook Tong:
  • abalone and chicken congee ($30)
  • soy egg ($8)
• The Great Indian Kebab Factory:
  • tandoori chicken
  • puri with lentils
  • puff with tamarind juice
  • daal, chicken curry, fish curry, cauliflower, aloo potato
  • garlic naan
  • milk vermicelli
  • watermelon, pineapple, melon
• Chiu Chow Garden:
  • soya goose
  • 4 dish appetiser: scallops and taro, cucumber with spicy sauce, prawn ball, roast meat
  • stewed vegetable sand beef
  • almond soup with pig’s stomach
  • oyster egg
  • fried rice
  • red date pudding

Day 10 16/8/11 - Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Highlight

• Another good night sleep and an early start…with bread again
• Lunch with uncle and aunty at Modern. I really enjoyed the food, although we ordered so much and I couldn’t pay again.
• Was going to eat noodles, but decided to just get sushi and drink and go to hotel to pack.
• The wok basically took up all the room so good thing I brought 2 suitcases.
• Managed to get to the gym as well today.

Food

• Yama:
  green tea and red bean
  • chocolate
  • cheese
  • seafood
  • cranberry
  • sesame
• Modern China restaurant:
  • wonton chicken
  • xiao lun bao
  • fried sweet and sour fish
  • stir-fried vegetables
  • stir-fried meat and eggplant
  • dan dan noodles
  • taro and tapioca soup
• Taste deluxe sushi set ($88)
• Gong Cha red bean and pudding tea ($17)
• pear

Day 9 15/8/11 - Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Highlight

• So nice to have the place back to myself again after a stressful weekend.
• Got invited to lunch by the testing team and met up with Simon and Will Fung.
• Had a long meeting with FTP reporting team.
• Cepage was good but not great. The Amadei was especially great but besides that not so exciting. It was a lot more expensive than Café Grey though.

Food

• Yama :
  • green tea and red bean mochi
  • cream cheese mochi
  • pork floss danish
  • curry donut
• pizza
• cream cake
• Cepage:
  • vanilla jelly
  • olive foccacia, bacon bread, baguette
  • Foie Gras layer with eels and toast
  • Fried langoustine with caviar
  • Black truffle and duck egg on onion tart
  • Crispy Amendai on a bed of Oriental Lily Bulb
  • Logan and pear sorbet and ice cream
  • Petit Fours (eclair, mango lolly, canelle, madelaine, cherry jelly, chocolate raspberry on biscuit)
  • mint tea

Day 8 14/8/11 - Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Highlight

• Really tired after no sleep this morning. Company was ok I suppose but didn't get to do stuff I like go for a swim.
• Went to Causeway Bay to eat and shop for wok. Couldn’t convince aunties not to buy anything for Allie so we ended up baby shopping.
• Aunties decided to accompany me to grandma's house, and bought lots of stuff along
• I got 10x the fuss that mum usually does out.
• Had to eat all these fruit I didn't want and prawns, and wasn't allowed to eat any skin or fat. Really boring and stressful.
• At least I managed to convince everyone to let me pay since I said HSBC was paying for it.
• Dinner was v early so I got to escape.

Food

• Tsui Wah:
  • Abalone and Ham macaroni
  • scrambled eggs with bun
  • tea
• Milk egg tart
• watermelon
• Tasteful tseung kwan o Hang Hau:
  • cold cuts combination
  • roast duck with yam
  • steamed prawns
  • steamed groper
  • vegetables stir-fried with garlic
  • papaya syrup soup

Day 7 13/8/11 - Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Highlight

• Slept really well. Didn’t wake up until 10am.
• Went to check out the pool and the buffet, but didn’t feel like either (well, felt like both but it was a bit too late), so headed off to Causeway Bay in search for food.
• Ate at one of the mini stalls inside Sogo, then went outside to have a bubble tea.
• Went wok browsing, and other stuff at Sogo, then ventured outside for a bit of browsing, but didn’t venture too far as I really didn’t want to buy anything.
• Made my way to Yuen Long, where I did a whole bunch of chores, change watch batteries, got contacts, got clothes mended, as well as managed to eat at B –grass jelly
• Rest of the night was the usual suspect. People gossiping about who is fat…etc, and ate lots of food. Except in this case I had to eat slowly so wasn’t that full at the end.
• So aunties invited themselves over to my hotel at dinner so we all had to share the bed, and they made lots of comments about fancy 5 star hotels…so I couldn't move all night and couldn't sleep.
• Had to wait for a long time while they walked extremely slowly.
• Had to listen to lots of talk about being fat and having more kids....etc

Food

• Fried octopus balls and ham okonomiake
• Premium pearl bubble tea ($16)
• B jelly with fruit ($68)
• Big Wing Wah:
  • baby roast suckling pig
  • pig’s intestines
  • glass noodles prawns
  • steamed groper
  • fried groper
  • roast goose
  • coconut cake
  • steamed custard birthday buns
  • fruit

Day 6 12/8/11 - Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Highlight

• Slept well again, but still catching up, good thing it’s Friday.
• Went to café de Coral due to lack of other choices, it was v crowded again.
• It’s casual day at the office but no one told me.
• Managed to go to lunch with Julia. Had average Ramen set (won’t be going here again).
• Finally managed to change the PIN.
• Didn’t have time to go drop anything off after work, so went straight to dinner with Peter at Jap buffet place. The food was actually pretty good but I didn't know it was buffet so I wasn't that hungry.
• Went to some girl Lily's drinks and met up w JY and Patrick. Loads of expat people from Aust. Drinks were expensive for HK

Food

• Café de Coral:
  • Turnip Cake
  • tea
• Beppu Ekimae
  • Combination Ramen Set $68 (corn, chicken wing, fish cake, soft bone kebab ramen), salmon sushi, tiramisu
• Matsuya:
  • sashimi (tuna, salmon, yellowtail, snapper, abalone, clam)
  • sushi (soft shell crab, California)
  • grilled sushi (fish, cuttlefish, prawn)
  • lamb chops
  • grilled prawn
  • ribs
  • seared tuna
  • stir-fried mushrooms
  • black sesame ice cream
  • orange juice
  • watermelon juice

Day 5 11/8/11 - Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Highlight

• Finally, got some sleep, but not enough. Will try to go to sleep earlier tonight.
• Tried to find something to eat at Olympic but everything was closed, including Gong Cha, so I ended up getting bread again, this time from Bread Top.
• Tried to register my card at the bank but they were clueless.
• No one wanted to go to lunch with me so ended up eating by myself again, but too bad. But not having a bag is proving a problem.
• Started stocking up on some groceries. Might buy a bit every day and build up the supply.
• Went to Cafe Gray for dinner. Setting was nice but I didn't get the window seat. Food was good but more in the bottom half of the 1 Michelin star places, so don't think we should go back again, or at least just go to the bar next time.

Food

• Bread Top:
  • Cranberry Cheesecake bread ($9.5)
  • Chocolate cream bread ($8)
  • Food Republic Pepper Rice with steak and egg ($42)
  • Tomato soup
  • Café Gray ($675):
    • Bread with dipping sauce
    • Sydney Rock Oyster with lime granita
    • Tortellini with green basil dressing
    • Lobster with summer vegetable soup
    • Lemon chocolate soufflé in their shells
    • Chocolate pieces, puff pastry, orange segment
    • mint tea

Day 4 10/8/11 - Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Highlight

• I got my passport, only had to wait about 10 minutes.
• Didn't have time for breakfast so had some bread. People at work asks me lots of questions so keeps me busy, don't have time to relax, but then again I went "late" 2 times already, although some people arrive later than me.
• Went to have Dan Dan noodles for lunch, and discovered I need to register my credit card with the work canteen before I can use it, so can't eat there even though the food is v cheap. $18 for a bowl of noodles.
• Since Andrew bailed I went to Daiso and bought lots of stuff.
• Since I was at Wan Chai I ate there before I went back to the hotel, to some roast meat place recommended by open rice. Not bad but I hardly spent any money on food today. Prob good since I am splurging at Cafe Gray tomorrow.
• Rode back on the tram again, slow but convenient and a nice way to see the sights.
• Managed to go to gym for a bit since I still can't sleep so seeing if after gyming is better.

Food

• Maxim:
  • pumpkin and sultana Danish ($6)
  • Prawn Salad bun ($8)
• Food Republic Dan Dan Noodles ($28)

Joy Hing Roasted Meat:

• three treasure rice with chau shiu, soy chicken and roast goose

Day 3 9/8/11 - Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Highlight

• Went first thing in the morning to the dentist, and managed to get an appointment for 10am, even went to have some breakfast beforehand.
• They took an x-ray and repaired the teeth. I had hairline fracture over the 2 front teeth, but no root canal damage or infection and slight nerve damage.
• Luckily don't need to do any more than the repair atm but can't chew with the teeth for 2 weeks.
• Need to go the dentist when I get home. After that I can't bite anything hard in case the teeth get weakened. I have to monitor for long term damage and may need to replace whole teeth if root canal gets damaged.
• Finally made it to the office and met everybody. Everyone was old, and relatively friendly, but not brash in that HK style.
• Met Ping, Elain, Elizabeth, Mike Mann, all the HUB team people. It was good to put names to faces. Tried to look at some problems but didn’t get much done and the time passed v quickly.
• I left work 6:45 today and nearly everyone was still there, so looks like I normally won't finish work until 7pm. Looks like I prob won't have time to do much after work except have dinner.
• Tried to go for my walk around Central that I didn’t do yesterday, but realised it was a bad idea because of the humidity, the hills and uneven steps, my high heels and my huge bag. Nevertheless, I tried to go to a Bib but they said pretty much dinner for one would be impossible as you can only get dishes, no rice or noodles. I decided that it was too difficult to eat Chinese by myself, so decided to head back to hotel as by now my heels were hurting.
• Tried my luck at Café Gray. No luck, so just went to Golden Leaf at hotel. Still ate Chinese by myself, was difficult to chew and couldn’t finish the dishes, but at least I didn’t have to rush.
• Tried to sort out the rest of my admin stuff. Made some plans for the rest of the week. I discovered the pool is outdoors so can't really use it at night even though it's open... also you have to walk pass the buffet to get to it and also everyone from the buffet can watch you swim. I toured the gym, finished sorting my insurance.

Food

• Can-teen:
  • steamed chung fun ($24)
• Food republic :
  • Preserved egg and pork congee ($32), dough stick and chung fun
• Pacific Coffee Co mocha ($31)
• Golden Leaf
  • BBQ meat platter with pig skins, chau shiu and duck
  • Seasonal vegetables – crab, ham and twin vegetables (broccoli and bok choi) (total $400)

Day 1&2 7/8/11 to 8/8/11 - Hong Kong

London -> Hong Kong

Highlight

• Got to Heathrow very early and managed to buy all of Darko’s stuff.
• The Lounge was relatively busy, I tried to get a facial but they were already closed and only doing chair massage. The service was so bad no one even greeted me when I left.
• Ate a bit, but then had to up and go as transiting from B.
• Upper deck was fun. No one was sitting next to me so it was like my own little hub.
• They served me the wrong thing for dinner but it was quickly fixed.
• I didn’t manage to get much sleep because of the turbulence, I kept waking up and falling back to sleep.
• Watched Hanna and most of Kung Fu Panda 2.
• It was so quick to go through the airport, the longest wait was for my bag, which was still quick. The airport express was also very good.
• Had to walk a bit of a way to get to the Hotel, but check in was smooth.
• Room was very nice (no harbour view though), I got tea, fruit and a toy as welcome gift.
• Headed out to try to get a phone card and eat, went to a couple of shops to see if I could get a handbag.
• For some reason, walked into a glass door and smashed my front teeth.
• Couldn’t get it repaired as all the dentists were closed, so also cancelled all my dinner plans.
• After sorting out all the insurance and what to do the next day, went out to dinner. It was not as difficult as I thought to eat, but I stuck with cold stuff. Food was good but I was too stressed to enjoy.
• Couldn’t sleep at all,

Food

• BA lounge: curry chicken, daal, rice, shaved ham, pasta salad, vegetable soup
• BA dinner:
  • Chilled Main course salad of Smoked Duck
• BA breakfast:
  • orange juice
  • fresh fruit
  • pastry
  • English breakfast of scrambled eggs, grilled bacon, Cumberland sausage, tomato and sautéed potato
• Ye Shanghai
  • Chicken with Bean Jelly in Peanut Sauce ($55)
  • Cold soy milk ($29)
  • Cold eggplant with soy sauce and chilli ($48)

Day 1 31/8/07 - Australia

Sydney -> Hong Kong

Highlight

• With nothing to do, we arrived at the airport a little too early. The check in wasn't actually open so we had to wait in line. It seemed thought that everyone else had the same idea, so there was a huge line at check in by the time they opened.
• We ate our weight's worth at the Qantas lounge - which was quite boring btw, then ate some more on the plane.
• Business class - it's definitely better, and the service on Cathay is ten times better than Qantas.
• Arrived at the airport, with our boxes of apple, and had no problems getting out. The airport was so busy and the crowds were so huge, but we only had a short wait.
• Got to uncle's house, observing the night views and all the new buildings that have been built in the last couple of years.
• No more food for us, off to bed.

Food

• Qantas lounge:
  • roast beef sandwich
  • turkey cranberry roll
  • tomato roll
  • apple juice
  • champagne orange juice strawberry
  • peas and potato curry salad
  • caesar salad
  • asparagus soup with croutons
  • pea and ham soup
  • chicken nuggets
  • falafel
  • cappuccino
  • chocolate biscuit
  • cheesecake
  • chocolate tart
  • blue, brie and cheddar cheese
• Cathay dinner:
  • Starter
    • seasonal mixed salad served with palm sugar dressing
    • mustard marinated prawns with roasted zucchini and salsa Verde
  • Main course
    • Grilled beef fillet iwth green and yellow beans potato and leek gratin and red wine thyme jus
    • lamb tagine with mixed fruit cous cous
  • Cheese and Dessert
  • Fresh seasonal fruit
  • chocolate cake with King Island cream
  • cappuccino
  • praline
• Cathay refreshment:
  • Starter
    • fresh seasonal fruit
  • Noodle Soup and Savouries
    • Wontons in noodle soup served with chilli sauce
    • chicken and lamb satay on fried rice with satay sauce
  • Dessert
  • lemon tart
  • chocolate brownie
  • cappuccino
  • praline

Hong Kong & China 2007

Simple Plan:
Oz -> Hong Kong -> China -> Hong Kong -> UK

Expaneded Plan:
Sydney -> Hong Kong -> Beijing -> Hong Kong -> London

Date:
31/8/07 - 14/9/07

Flying:
Cathay Pacific Business Class!! + Air China :(

Cost:
$$$$$$