Goodbye 2011 & Hello to 2012!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year :P I miss real christmas trees and this one was a really cute and perfect size.


Dec 24, Christmas Eve dinner at J's parent's place. Very kind invitation with wholesome servings of Persian food. It was my dad's first time having it and he really enjoyed it as well. Topping the night off with a freshly baked saralee's apple pie with a dollop of fresh vanilla ice cream :D Thereafter unwrapping of gifts and movie time. Such a cosy evening..and don't think I'll post photos of me unwrapping the gifts cuz I look like a wet faucet. J's present was..too much and left me speechless. Thank you so much and have been using it every single day. =)


Dec 25, A very satisfying breakfast+hot chocolate on a Christmas Day @ Shek O.






Time to do the Peggy pose *stretch out your arms


If you look carefully you'll see some people taking wedding photos up on the rocks. *brr..






Such a perfect Sunday. Hope we can go discover more naturesque places around HK.


Brunch at Zuma on Boxing Day with SC friends :D Catching up with the good ol bunch, hearing happy stories from friends who just got engaged on the ski slopes of Japan and meeting significant others who've flown in for Christmas. Venue and food was quite nice although we sat outside. Thank goodness for heat lamps! Think I'll go back next time with my parents and go for the free flowing champagne! wee


Dec 31, NYE @ Grand Hyatt with the Lees ;)


Checking out the dessert section.


Thank you sooo much for the wonderful year and I cannot imagine anyone better to celebrate the end of 2011 with other than you. <3 From all the fun-filled travel experiences, sweet memories and sometimes frustrating scenarios that we're faced with..thanks for understanding this lil emo grouch and always making me feel like the luckiest girl in the world.


Jan 1, First day of 2012 @ Ocean Park. Feels like a forever since I've visited and there's so many new perks! However the downside of visiting on a public holiday is that there's too many visitors and chinese tourists. Nevertheless the front entrance has changed so much, it kinda looks like Disney Land (altho I still haven't been to the one in HK), artificial snow in lil spurts and a toned down Bellagio-looking fountain. They've sure invested a lot of money back into this park :)


They're such a colorful couple :)


There's even a rainforest themed section with creepy crawlers, the world's tiniest monkey and other rainforest dwelling species.


Look up and say no to shark fin soup or blue fin tuna!


@ the Aquarium. There's a restaurant inside right beside this huge tank promoting sustainable seafood options, might want to check it out next time.


Although we didn't get a chance to try out all the new rides, not to fear..we got the annual pass so we'll be back!! *yay hehe

I have a feeling 2012 isn't going to be easy on the work front given the whole economic situation in Europe. Sometimes I have an internal struggle with myself and this feeling has occurred numerous times but this year it's time for some action. It's not easy but will figure out a way to get rid of this negative energy surrounding me. A part of me is saying just be patient and the other side really wants to reach for that next step.. Never know until I try and in the meantime will work hard and come what may?

Whats for dinner dear?

"Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all."
Harriet Van Horne


Christmas is the time for wonderful homey comfort food. And by saying that we signed up for a Christmas cooking class on Dec 20 @ City Super Harbour City. hehe It was quite fun and the food was of course wonderful! I was expecting more of an industrial kitchen but it was really nice, each person having a little work station.


I might be a bit biased but I think J is a pretty good cook. I like being his sous chef ;)


My neat work area before the cooking begins.


Look at my hunking piece of rib eye prior to cooking' and roastin' :D


Fresh rosemary, garlic, butter? and lots of sat & pepper. Chop them all together and then poke small holes around the sides of the steak and fill them up so it infuses into the meat to give it a great flavor. Thereafter, a light drizzle of olive oil and more salt on both sides of the meat. Heat up the pan until its ready to smoke and put the meat in. *chssshh Sear all sides for a few minutes and then pop them into the oven at 220degrees for 2-3 minutes for a nice medium rare. Originally the teacher was going to do the whole slab of beef without cutting them out into individual portions but some of the other people wanted a more hands on approach.


On to make my salmon & fig salad. :P I love decorating the layout of food so I wouldn't mind the job title of restaurant plater.


Last but not least skipping the whole cooking process, pumpkin soup with puff pastry - ta daa! Really chill evening and a fun experience as I haven't had a cooking class since SC home economics class. :)

Twelve days of Christmas

Look carefully and you'll see such a magical display :)


A memorable Krug night to bring on the christmas festivities :)


Window display at PP. *gobble gobble.


Strolling to a nice sunset before our sunday movie..the grassy area at Cyperport is the new doggie paradise where pets alike come out and play.




A round orange sunset.


Day 1 of my christmas holiday!! Friday morning hike with Yves. Started from Parkview - Wong Nai Chung reservoir, through Violet Hill and up the killer 1000 step twin peak.


It was such beautiful weather to hike..definitely doesn't feel like December.




Oops haha After the 1000 steps up my legs must be been abit wobbly and fell whilst scrambling to get into the photo. :P


Take #2 :D


Look how far we've come!


Arrived at Stanley market.


Yayy lunch time. The Stanley plaza has changed so much, there's now chez patrick, classified, great open space for mcdonald customers.. Wouldn't mind coming here more often to grab a bite.


Walked to Pak Tai Temple which is right beside the main pier. Its'a nice lil park for the family/elderly to stroll around.


An early winter solstice dinner with grandma.


Waa..like a dream come true. Had to go over and check it out to see if its real.


Looks pretty real to me. All accomplished on the first day of my hols..not bad at all :)

Just spent like 2 hours cleaning my room and washing/folding all my clothes. From this clean up which is done um twice a year, I threw out 3 bags of unused stuff and 2 bags of unused clothes. My room is tidy once again and it feels sooo goood. :P

When can we go again?

This is one long overdue post but better late than never. Had a lovely birthday this year by spending some quality time with my friends. I love celebrations but sometimes I don't like to make a huge deal out of it with me being in the centre of attention. Prefer to keep it simple and enjoyable :)




Catching up with the girls over dinner in TST (it's been so long!) talking about gnz's wedding plans in Dec 2012, movie and lunch at four seasons (dang even the bread basket is delish, you can just give me that with some lightly salted butter!), and last but not least with a change of plans,decided to indeed keep up with the Indian tradition by having a feast at Tandoor.

Some recent photos from the Central Rat race where Yves and I supported H and his bomb defusion leg of the race. hehe



Hi Mr. Rat or whatever your name is.


Cute girl supporting her dad. hehe Reminds me that I need to start training for Unicef and go running again *roar


So what exactly have I been up to lately? I've been taking wine classes every tuesday with my colleague in Sheung Wan whereby we taste 6 different types of wines per class. No, we don't get tipsy nor do we pour ourselves happy hour glasses but we just pour a little bit, describe the appearance, the smell and then taste it by swirling it around our mouth before spitting it out in our own little spitoon! haha It's been a really interesting class but I foresee some considerable studying in order to pass it. :P


Photo taken by my instructor after my very first dive. =)

So for my bday present, J gave me a PADI OW certification. Really excited but equally freaked out due to my fear of dark waters. Even though I can swim fairly well, I don't like not knowing what's underneath or touching something foreign aginst my skin. Luckily my fear is gone and now I know it's not that bad at all! (Might even be interested in trying out that night dive) Guess I've been watching too much discovery channel with those wreck dives and hearing stories about claustraphobic experiences but nah, not that bad for basic divers.. It's really exciting getting your gear on, making that first jump to cool off in your warm wet suit, descending along the rope and swimming alongside your buddy. I would strongly encourage people to give it a try because admittedly I was abit scared too and if I hadn't tried, I wouldn't have known that I could do it and love it.


After passing the e-learning sections, doing 3 confined water classes in the pool and completing 4 OW dives, I'm officially certified! Can't wait to plan a dive trip and see some beautiful corals and big fishes. Honestly quite addictive once you get the hang of it. I'm thinking of doing some advance courses with J but preferably not in HK because the water is still quite murky. One dayyy I'll go somewhere beautiful..can't wait! :P