finally i finished moving to my new home.  it’s been relaxing!

now i understand why many Hong Kong people try so hard to make money and buy unreasonably expensive apartment with seaview.  i’ve realized a good view at home makes you happier indeed, especially when living in such crowded city.

it was already 1.5 days after my nth birthday.  honestly, when you get older, you may not really enjoy birthday… it’s just like a sadly countdown of life!

so i just tried to be more peaceful as another day of the year, yet with a better tremendous view in the morning this year.

i admit that i really love drinking, no matter that i’m in a mood, stressed or depressed…

i love Japanese Shouchu (焼酎).   Shouchu is similar to Chinese white wine and the name is same in Chinese (Kanji).

there are actually many kinds of Shouchu brewed from sweet potato (芋), rice (米), malt (麦), black sugar (黒糖), malted rice (麹), and beefsteak plant “shiso” (紫蘇).  Shouchu’s percentage of alcohol is always fixed between 20%-30%.

i prefer malt, black sugar and shiso kind of shouchu because of its aroma.  you can serve shouchu on rock,  on rock+water, with hot water / soda / green tea / oolong tea or whatever you like.

tonight i bought the one made from Kagoshima (鹿児島) where is the most famous prefecture of Shouchu.  the name is pretty funny - “I’m Son of Ocean” (我は海の子 / 我係海之子)!

it’s very tasty (my style is usually on rock) !!!

cheers!  better tomorrow!!!

the place is called Rikyuan (利久庵 ) which has been opened for about week.  it seems supposingly an Izakaya (居酒屋) where you can order any kind of Japanese food yet the interior doesn’t look like Izakaya.  well, it’s typical HK style of Japanese restaurant (bingo!  soon i found the owner is a Hong Kong guy).  anyway i always feel this sort of atmosphere is a bit mismatched and weird.

however, the master chef is a real Japanese guy and he undoubtedly offers typical Japanese quality of services.  since my Japanese friend came here before, the chef soon recognized him and gave us some “service” (in Japanese, they call “service” when the restaurant offers you something for free) - a dish of my favorite Horse Sashimi (馬刺)!   it’s really not common item in Japanese restaurants in Hong Kong.

finally our bill was HK$ 1,600 for 3 people, including our order of a bottle of Shouchu (焼酎).  honestly, this place is not impressive at all for such price.

so i realize that it’s very uneasy to run gourmet business in Hong Kong especially Hong Kong people have grown up with very picky philosophy on gourment.  either great taste or very cheap, otherwise you may not survive within 3 months.

anyway… Rikyuan (利久庵 ), good luck to you!

lastly, whenever i go Japanese cuisine in Hong Kong, i do miss Japan more…
theoretically… it’s like nicorette not really same as smoking a cigarette!

Verandah offers a very great tea set with plenty of delicious cakes and sandwiches (sized more like a lunch!) under HK$200 per person only!!!   i love this place a lot because the beach view and the tea set “contents” are much better than the Peninsula in Kowloon and Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Central.   of course its quiet and peaceful atmosphere is another reason too!

most importantly, parking is 2-hour free! 

please don’t spread my words otherwise such rare place will be ruined! 

luckily i stayed home and went out after the worst period. however, when i was on my way to pick up someone at the airport, i had to return to downtown due to severe flood at the airport highway.

hope the weather’d get better soon…

Tai Fung Lau Peking Restaurant (泰豊廔酒家) is one of rare authentic Beijing cuisine in HK and they serve authentic lamb hotpot. last week i went there with my friends and really enjoyed the original taste and atmosphere. please check it out before it’s vanished.

i think it’s mainly because hong kong government is too harsh on charcoal usage in restaurants. i believe that there’s no more than 3 indoor restaurants using real charcoal in hong kong.

ever since i’ve worked for my current job, i have been suffered from the dusty and rocky highway near my office area. there had been many fallen stones cracking my windshield by the damn trucks!

although those marks were not extremely big, it did really annoy me! >_<;

today i finally decided to go for a replacement! i was shocked that an original one costs HK$4,000+labor! but gladly i went to a very kind shop where the owner told me that my insurance company does offer free replacement since i am having full coverage!

it’s great to see things CLEAR again… but it’s sad to see the original one dumped!!!

it’s amazing to see how this guy has become a pop icon in hong kong. remember those days when we worked and played together, i already knew his great passion into music.

i’m sure not many people know that he had been in vain for quite long before he got famous. i recalled those days when we were neighbor and sometimes went to 7-eleven, he just grabbed microwave snacks home as dinner in order to save money.

so i really respect him that he left our ex-company soon for where he’s born to be. it’s a great lesson to learn how to strike for dreams.

jlo, keep it up!

it’s just too relaxing atmosphere…

some of my colleagues said that police came and our victims got parking tickets because of these trouble-makers!

damn it!!!