My Favorite Cough Syrup (川貝枇杷膏)

April 23, 2012 Leave a comment

(Photo Taken:  Chuan Bei Pi Pa Gao (川貝枇杷膏) Giant 3D Bottle, Guangzhou Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street (上下九步行街) – This may be the world’s largest cough syrup bottle (certainly need a big spoon to go along with this). The visual presence actually worked! Instantly, I developed this deep craving for the syrup. This Chinese Herbal Syrup is 100% tastier/sweeter than the western cough syrup. It is a blend of 15 herbal ingredients which helps to relieve cough and sore throat associated with common cold, influenza or similar ailments.)

Filed under Life in Hong Kong, Travel

M+M (138 and counting)

April 23, 2012 Leave a comment

(Photo Taken: Good friends from Tokyo, The Peak – Finally, Martin and Mari (my 137th and 138th Hong Kong Visitors ~ David Ng was Visitor 136) are here in Hong Kong! It is really good to have them here over the short weekend. We had a great gathering at the peak this evening – watching sunset and “food-tasting” with Winston, Tracy, Eric and Dorothy at Central.)

Filed under Life in Hong Kong

Mammoth Love at IFC Hong Kong (12 Apr – 10 May 2012)

April 15, 2012 Leave a comment

Meet “Lyuba” (meaning “Love” in Russian is a 42,000-year-old mammoth) – She is the world’s most valuable archeological discovery of our times. She is very special and unique as she is the most perfectly preserved baby mammoth ever discovered. She provides archeologists a never-before-seen view of prehistoric life in Siberia. Discovered in the frozen soils of north-west Siberia by a reindeer herder, Yuri Khudi in May 2007, Lyuba was found lying along a riverside 42,000 years after her birth. However, Lyuba mysteriously disappeared the next day. She was stolen when Yuri and the archeologists arrived. It took the government and army lots of effort to rescue Lyuba from the poacher who intended to sell her to a merchant.

Mammoth died out around 8,000 years ago at the end of the last ice age. Injecting the mammoth DNA into an egg of today’s modern elephant, a team of Japanese scientists are now on their way to bring back the long-extinct mammal back from the dead. It was reported that we will be able to see a living mammoth clone in the next 5-10 years. (Haaa…Big Bird and Wooly from Sesame Street will have a real friend to play with!)

It took IFC 2 years to bring Lyuba to Hong Kong. The exhibition opens from 12 April to 10 May 2012 (and it is free!). Unlike previous exhibitions at the IFC which were more commercial/brand-driven, this is one very rare, valuable and educational archeological showcase for the public. It took me a long time to squeeze through the crowd to come face to face with Lyuba. Check out the amazing discovery and recovery story of Lyuba’s below. For more information, visit: http://ifc.com.hk/lyuba/

Filed under Cool Stuffs, Life in Hong Kong

Kinectic Kids

April 10, 2012 2 Comments

(Photo Taken: Kinect Dance Central Challenge, Plaza Singapura, Singapore – So cool! My boy Elkan was dancing on the big stage with 4 cute girls! The kids were the crowd magnet at Kinect Try-Out Event at Plaza Singapura. Elkan danced 4 rounds on the big stage and won himself a Kinect Dance Cap.)

Filed under Family, Life in Singapore

Balloon Man

April 10, 2012 Leave a comment

(Photo Taken: Balloon Man, Suzhou – Taking cover under his goods in the hot sun. I wonder how easily he draws the right balloon for his customer?)

Filed under Travel

The Venice of the East (Suzhou 蘇州)

April 10, 2012 Leave a comment

If you have visited the Great Wall of China in Beijing, you can’t miss the world’s longest Grand Canal of Suzhou (蘇州). Undisputed the grandest and most beautiful “Venice of the East”, Suzhou is famous for her classical gardens, canals and bridges. Harshad, Tracy and I took 2 days off to visit this magnificent ancient city garden.

Suzhou is only an hour’s train-ride from Shanghai. We got ourselves a very beautiful hotel (Pan Pacific Suzhou), just right beside the 2,500 year old attraction Pan Gate (盘门). In my opinion, Suzhou is certainly more beautiful (and less hilly) than Hangzhou. The ancient Chinese landscapers were amazing! Every element is harmoniously sculptured into the right space. It is taking a stroll in an enchanting 3D Chinese painting. (Honestly, I wonder why the Suzhou government modeled their new city after Singapore in the 90s? For the past 1,000 years, Suzhou has the best ancient gardens in China!)

Spring is the best season to visit Suzhou. The gardens come alive with colorful fishes, flowers and birds. Enjoy a walk or a slow canal cruise under a clear sunny sky and cool spring wind. This is the perfect retreat away from the buzzing and polluted city life. We visited the 1,000-year old Leaning Pagoda of Tiger Hill (虎丘), strolled at the famous Lion Forest Garden (狮子林) and took a 1-hour night cruise through a “under-bridge water art gallery” around the ancient city canal.

Filed under Travel

Back to Shanghai

April 9, 2012 2 Comments

Shanghai holds a very special spot in my heart. There are just too many good memories residing in Shanghai. It has been almost 4 years since I have relocated my life to Hong Kong. This is one overdue trip which I have postponed far too many times. I am glad to be back this Easter.

So many things have changed since my last visit in April 2010. Wider roads, cleaner walkways, taller skyscrapers, bigger malls, newer cabs, larger subway network, longer bund and 2 new Apple Shrines. Huai Hai Road and Pudong underwent a big facelift.  Standard of living has certainly gone up a little. Food and shopping are not as “attractively priced” as before. Even the westerners at the bars are different now – the boys are speaking fluent Mandarin to their local “宝贝”. I was pretty impressed.

There is no special itinerary planned for this visit. Simply rest and relax. Weather was terrific, it was sunny and cooling. This trip, I spent a lot of time with my cousin Yei and managed to catch up with some of my old Shanghai friends (Echo, Francis, Johnny, Ming, Andy, Yang Jun and Calvin). Almost everyone popped me the same question “When are you coming back to Shanghai to settle down?” I guessed they know how much I love this city. Yei and I spent 4 good days chatting and chilling out at the cafes. (Yei was the first and last person I met this trip. Together, we discovered a new chill-out place “老码头” next to the bund. This place is going to be the next 新天地.)

Tracy and I visited some of our favorite haunts – We strolled at 复兴公园 and ate brunch at 田之坊. We even brought Harshad to our previous residence at 海月花园. There were times when I could not recall the street names. I had to guide the taxi drivers to the spot. Slowly, the memory came back to my mind. I snapped photos of these places and whatsapped Felicia. She too, misses all these places.

This is a great rejuvenating holiday for me. Short but very refreshing. I really don’t mind flying back to Shanghai for another short weekend. Hopefully this time I get to eat at my favorite restaurants.

Filed under Life in Shanghai, Travel

Sleepless Under “Kueh Tutu”

April 9, 2012 Leave a comment

Filed under Travel

Remembering Leslie Cheung (12 September 1956 – 1 April 2003)

April 1, 2012 Leave a comment

(Photo Taken: Mandarin Oriental, Central Hong Kong – Loyal fans from all around the world paid their respect to the late Cantonpop star, Leslie Cheung who leapt from the 24th floor of the Mandarin Oriental hotel on 1st April 2003 at 6:41pm. A victim of depression, Leslie was 46 then.)

Filed under Life in Hong Kong

The Walking Dead (of Democracy)

April 1, 2012 2 Comments

(Photo Taken: 1st April 2012 Protest, Central – More than 5,000 people took part in today’s protest march against alleged meddling by Beijing in the recent leadership selection of Hong Kong’s next Chief Executive. This is the first major protest since Leung Chun-ying won the election last Sunday.)

Filed under Life in Hong Kong

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