For Big Suckers!

November 29, 2010 Leave a comment

(Photo Taken: Giant Chupa Chups Christmas Display, i-Square, Tsim Sha Tsui – Now, suck these!)

Filed under Cool Stuffs, Life in Hong Kong

Our Pink Christmas

November 27, 2010 Leave a comment


A touch of love at home – Felicia made us a lovely pink Christmas Tree this year! This is our 5th Christmas Tree outside Singapore.  Still remember we had a “Green Christmas” last year. (See: https://elkanjoe.wordpress.com/2009/12/25/lovely-christmas-at-home/).

Filed under Family, Life in Hong Kong

Hokkaido Rice Pizza

November 27, 2010 Leave a comment

(Photo Taken: Rice Pizza by Hokkaido Rice Pizza, Causeway Bay – 10-inch crispy rice pizza with tempura prawns on the top. Yummy!)

Filed under Life in Hong Kong

Erecting the new Statue “Jovidangelo”

November 24, 2010 1 Comment



Thanks to my very creative bunch of lovely colleagues! All I did was to contribute a little token for our afternoon tea break and the crowd “erected” me an awesome statue! I love the copy and my new chiseled body. And yes, LEAF me alone.

Filed under Cool Stuffs, Life in Hong Kong

Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden

November 21, 2010 Leave a comment

We decided to hike up north at the New Territories today. Felicia recommended a new place for us to explore – “Kadoorie Farm & Botanic Garden”. This park is located on the northern slope of Hong Kong’s tallest mountain – the Tai Mo Shan. The entry fee for adult is only HKD10 and child under 12 is free. There are 2 ways to explore this big park. You can either take a shuttle bus up the hill or you can walk up the steep forested paths. We chose walking and our hike took us exactly 1:47 hour to cover 3.5km (220m up and down) around the valley. (See: http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=890327)

Unlike a typical farm, the park houses several animals like the leopard cat, wild boars, monkeys, birds (owl, eagle), insects and reptiles. Most of the animal enclosures are found at the base of the park. There are also many green houses and small plots of farms at different levels of the valley. There is also a “Butterfly Garden” and a “Bee Farm”. The park owners have done quite a lot of landscaping to make this place neat and scenic. However, some areas (like the mini waterfall and the lotus pond) were overdone and they looked pretty artificial and “concrete” (losing the charm).


Perhaps we came here at the wrong season, there wasn’t much to see at the farm. I don’t know, this place seems lacking (and small) in all aspects of what it is trying to achieve. I was expecting the usual farm tour where you see real farmers at work (and selling their harvest). I am a little disappointed as there isn’t much activities inside here. I was hoping for more “see, hear, touch and taste” farm experience here. Maybe they should hire a guide at key attraction/station to engage with the visitors. Nevertheless, it is still a nice place to explore on a relaxing weekend.

Filed under Life in Hong Kong, Travel

Move aside, Kinect is here.

November 20, 2010 Leave a comment

I cannot resist the temptation of the new Xbox 360 KINECT. In less than 4 weeks after the launch of PlayStation 3 “MOVE”, Xbox Kinect is on its way to dominate the gaming industry with the world’s first “controller-free gesture gaming” experience! When I first watched the Kinect commercial (aka “Project Natal”) on Youtube last year, I was skeptical about its promises. It looked “too-good-to-be-true”. Gesture gaming without any controller – that just sound so far fetched and unreal.

Being the infamous gadget freak of the group, I decided to take a leap of faith and bought Kinect last night. (I was really unsure about this purchase but I must really try it and live to “tell the experience”!) The verdict? Kinect delivers its promises! THIS IS THE BEST MOTION GAMING EXPERIENCE EVER! This is Minority Report Gaming!

Setting up the camera (to the existing console) is a breeze. (I have the 1st generation Xbox 360 and the connection works perfectly!) The Kinect Camera is certainly more high-tech than the PS3 Move Camera. Throughout the game-play, the camera automatically adjust its height and angle to detect the player’s presence. Unlike the PS3 Move which detects only the “light-bulb”, the Kinect Camera detects more points on the player’s body (head, hand, elbow, knee, feet, waist). This allows more actions and fun in the game-play. For example, we have to lift our knees high at rapid speed in order to run fast in a race. It is indeed a different gaming experience compared to Wii and Move. To enjoy the perfect game experience, make sure you have at least 3m space in front of the TV.

One of the best benefits of having a controller-free device is I no longer need to worry about “accidental-flying objects” in the house. (Elkan flew my Move controller across the hall last week!). This also saves me a lot of money. I do not need to buy extra controllers for my friends to play. (And no broken TV screen to replace)

The introductory games are superbly entertaining, exciting and ADDICTIVE! The controller-free gesture game-play is responsively smooth and intuitive. In no time, The entire family (Harshad, Tracy, Felicia and Elkan) was breaking world records in track and field. Elkan was dancing to his favourite Lady Gaga dance track – and it was so contagious that it got Harshad and Tracy partying with him! This is another great reason to buy Kinect. You see your old friends doing all the dramatic poses, shaking all their limbs/butts to win the game. Just watching the players is hilarious and highly entertaining! Not to mention that this is a great way to burn calories! (Just make sure no one is video-taping you when you are playing Kinect! Anyway, Kinect does its own video recording/playback of you in action! So..guess there is no way to escape.)

2010 is indeed the breakthrough year for personal entertainment devices! From Apple iPAD/iPhone 4 to PS3 Move and now to Xbox Kinect! Clearly, Kinect is the big winner in this category. Move and Wii have lots to catch up. If you are thinking about buying one of these wireless gesture gaming devices this Christmas, you can’t be wrong choosing Kinect.

Filed under Cool Stuffs, Jo's Thoughts, Life in Hong Kong

Psst…Joy is in the Air! (Updated)

November 16, 2010 Leave a comment


(Photo Taken: Christmas @ Times Square, Causeway Bay – This year’s Christmas Deco Theme “Crazy X’mas” was created by a very famous Hong Kong’s graphic designer, Michael Lau. See more of his works here: http://www.michaellau-art.com/intro.html )


Filed under Cool Stuffs, Life in Hong Kong

My 111th Visitors & 112th! (Updated)

November 16, 2010 Leave a comment

After bidding farewell to our 108th visitors (Auntie Fong and Cousin-in-law Carrine), we welcome our 111th Hong Kong Visitors today! Meet my cousin Alvin and my very very young Auntie Yin San & boyfriend, Aron!

And our latest 112th visitor (my ex-client from Singapore) – Jenny! We haven’t meet each other for almost 5 years! Thankfully, Jenny is the only nice visitor who didn’t comment anything about my obesity. Unfortunately, she is the first who bluntly commented “您老这么多”!

Filed under Family, Life in Hong Kong

The Reservoir Hike

November 14, 2010 Leave a comment

After last week’s hike down the Peak, we are all looking forward for another exciting hike this weekend. This time, we decided to explore the iconic 92-year old Tai Tam Tuk Reservoir. This reservoir which was built in 1912 and completed in 1918, is classified as Hong Kong’s Grade 1 Historic Site.  The giant reservoir dam, the “castle-looking” Valve House and the bricked Masonry Bridges are key (pre-World War II) attractions of this heritage trail.

We took Bus 14 (which is just below our block) and alighted right after crossing the Tai Tam Tuk Reservoir Bridge (midway to Stanley Market). This trail offers hikers many different routes. The southern route leads us down to Stanley, the western path ends at Happy Valley and the northern path takes us to Quarry Bay. As the sun was setting, we chose the shortest route around the circumference of the reservoir. (See our “Red Path” here: http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=883640)


We picked a relaxing scenic trail which comprises a good balance of trees, streams, lakes, rocks and heritage attractions. Hidden inside the lushly forests, there are 4-5 barbecue sites where we saw a lot of people having picnics. From where we alighted at the bus stop, this looked like an isolated trail. However, once we ventured deep inside, I was surprised to see many hikers (family, kids, old folks, dogs, students, lovers, young topless macho joggers, anglers and babies on strollers).

The entire loop is about 3.4km and we took less than 75 minutes to complete the hike. All of us managed to get out of the forests 30 minutes before the sun set.

Filed under Life in Hong Kong, Travel

Midnight Sports

November 13, 2010 Leave a comment


Thanks to the new PS3 MOVE! Yes, I am finally getting into sports. Answering to my Auntie Amy’s constant nags, I am sweating it out almost every night playing highly competitive sports. Last week, I nearly suffered a heart attack by competing 24 rounds of table tennis matches! Tonight, I invited 2 other “obese” buddies of mine to sweat it out at my house. Watch their game of beach-volley ball. Trust me, we take our sports very very seriously. (For those who think this is just a dildo-looking gadget, I dare you to try 1 hour of intense limb moving acts without perspiring. The sports games are highly entertaining and exhilarating. It is a good start for weak lungs like us!)

Filed under Cool Stuffs, Life in Hong Kong

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