A special french occasion

My daily cup of coffee paired with the delish robuchon pastry specially brought by Janice as part of SAFE's farewell breakfast for Amaury. :)

Housewarming and farewell dinner at Helen's = food intoxication. hehe There were some real fancy and expensive stuff being served including lots of wine+cheese. I liked her open kitchen and the way she prepared all the food with absolute ease.. Not too much prep work so she was able to chat and enjoy the evening as much as we all did.



Dang this was so simple to make. Eggs, cream and a crack of salt, throw it into the oven for 15 minutes and it's done! Oh and yeah a healthy scoop of truffle per person. O_o

I'm somewhat opposed to ordering or eating foie gras in restaurants but it was in front of me and after trying it I have to admit I liked the way it melts in your mouth.


Saucisson & palette cleanser.


Lots and lots of hard & soft cheese to go with our bread. mmmMMm.. ;)


Tarte tatin with fresh whipped cream. Even though we all saw how much butter and sugar went into this dessert, it was perfectly devine. For such a rich and satisfying Tuesday gathering mixed with wine and champagne, you can imagine how hard it was waking up for work the next day. Nevertheless, good luck to Amaury & Tian in Tokyo! :)

The sweetest surprise

Hehe, celebrated Valentines Day on Sunday with my booey J. The afternoon begun at around 3ish when we turned on our oven and burned it in for first time. Once the plastic smell was gone I started on my sugar cookies. As I was kneading away, Chef J was busy prepping away and washing his vegetables. :) Was tough not peaking at what he was doing with his mischievous grin. hehe After my cookies finished I decorated them with red icing and white heart sprinkles for the domokun teeth (he said that was pretty inventive since I had no white icing sugar) teehee.

Nehoo I stayed out of the kitchen even though I asked him if he needed any help. He said no worries, everything was under control. Felt bad though because he spent so much time in there. hehe And before I knew it ta da first up was the appetizers. This was probably my fav.. <3 I love mushrooms and this time they were capped with a generous portion of spinach & 3 cheeses, all baked to perfection! Not soggy and loved the flavor from the feta, cream cheese and sprinkle of parmesan. Mm..I've never had anything quite like this before in the restaurants. About 10 minutes later he kindly informed me to leave the dining premises and remain in the room. Off I go, wondering what he's up to and not long later I hear some clicking sounds and then... some John Legend tunes. yeyeeehhh~

'Lets go to the park...' Chef J peeks his head in with a smile and tells me everythings ready. Off I go with eyes covered annnd when I open them..whoaa there were red candles scattered and the table was all set up with foodies/drinks. Was totally speechless by how far J went to make this a romantic experience. Aww.. thank you :') Felt so warm and fuzzy inside.. & I still have a smile on my face thinking about how sweet the surprise was. So we take a seat and he opens the pot and out billows the steam from the chicken cacciatore. He said he wanted to bring home this dish which he would enjoy back when he was living in LA. It's a really nice comfort dish with chopped bell peppers (only one but it made the sauce so nice n' sweet) onions, mushrooms, tomatoes and oregano. With some fresh cracked peppers? Jeng! And matched with basmati crispy rice and a spray of 'I can't believe it's not butter' makes a harmonious match. hehe Normally I eat all my salads before the main but this time the salad would have to wait. tai ho mei ahhh. *pat pat tummy.

hehe After eating J opens my lil prez & card and we take pictures with the new polaroid camera. =) As we munch on his strawberries dipped in dark chocolate and watch Wall-E, I still can't believe how thoughful J was in taking the time to buy groceries, prep and cook everything. Too sweet and happy to feel that not only today but also any ordinary day as well. I feel very lucky to spend my first valentines with J through such an incredible dining experience *omnomnom the way to my heart is through my tummy. hehe Not only do I love a man who has great qualities but also one who can cook up a great meal. YOU HAVE OFFICIALLY WON ALL BROWNIES POINTS IN MY BOOK. haha <3



Thank you for the wonderful evening.

Btw when did this whole domokun theme come into play? OH when you drew it...not just our packing boxes. ;)

Home is where the heart is.

My good friend who is living & working in Toronto recently shared with us a really good article that she wrote in the Star called 'Caught between two worlds.' I'll always be one of her biggest fans n' do check it out :) >> I enjoyed reading it because it brings a smile to my face and its easy for me to relate to. When you've got Chinese parents but moved a mumbo jumbo number of times, have alot of English speaking friends but still have a fairly Chinese background...who you are and where you belong sometimes becomes a blur. When I was young I've always considered myself as a Canadian but with age that distinction became less strong and that pause before the response always took a little longer. Which box should I tick: Chinese or Canadian? Can someone add a new box called Chindian? hehe

I think when it comes to movement and change there are two different types of people. Those who stay in a comfortable place for their entire life and develope strong sense of home (which is a great thing being able to see/know/keep in touch with your elementary school friends) and then there are others who were forced or by choice, to move around and become accustomed to throwing away useless things like me. :P But yeah I guess just by being in Hong Kong, I do 'feel' like a more enriched & worldly version of myself 3 years ago. I know I like to do alot of outdoor activities and my mom asks me how come I never did so much of it back in Vancouver when there were plenty of mountains and fresh air. It's weird. Maybe I've changed and I've molded myself to whatever this city has to offer. Because there is 'less' space, I want to make the best out of whatever is available. Kinda like 'you don't know what's good until it's gone' and I didn't appreciate the outdoors as much before..

Anyhoo tomorrow is Lunar New Year's eve and we get off earlier tomorrow *yay!! I know it's been a short work week but boy am I glad it's over. Little things have really gotten to me this week and I feel like a tangled ball of emotions. I know I shouldn't let unimportant things get to me because it's not worth my time but I just get too sensitive. Nehoo four days of family gatherings, food and j time. Can't wait.

新年快乐 and have a great year of the rabbit :)

"May your heart's desires come true"

Saturday afternoon rendezvous

Even though it's quite chilly out, we've been getting some really nice weather lately. =) After a casual but delish lunch on Saturday, we walked around the soon-to-be-demolished hong kong police station, went for coffee, kept walking along to hollywood road: man mo temple, Sheung Wan-ish area, went to the park and walked along the Sun Yat Sen Historical trail. We discovered some nice hidden jewels like this old bookstore that sold rare hardcover books. I think the minimum starting price would start at ~hkd$15,000.(Lok Man Rare Books) lalala very chill day and a nice way to unwind on the weekends.




Time for photo hunt..spot the differences :)


Mm..my previously mentioned no-junk food plan totally FAILED. How can I be more disciplined? *ponders silently to myself

Hibernation mode

Starting tomorrow I'm going to cut down on snacks and sugar.. PC motto: I will eat healthy and I will fight off ALL forms of junk food temptation. :P

Saw The Tourist today..it was slow and abit disappointing. I think I enjoyed checking out what Elise (Angelina Jolie) was wearing -jewellery wise than the whole story itself. lol Nevertheless, the one bit that did touch me was when she said she talked about her golden bracelet that her mother gave her. The charm bracelet which shows two heads facing in opposite directions. So I did a quick google and learned that it's called Janus, a roman god for doors, beginnings, end, time and is the modern remnant of the month January. I think it's pretty true what the movie said..that there are always two sides in human beings. There's the good the bad, the past the future, the dream the reality and the happy the sad. With two sides to the same coin the only way to appreciate a person wholly is to accept and love them completely.

Do you feel like everyday is like opening a brand new door whereby you don't know what to expect? Keeps you on your tippy toes because you never know what to expect. If you're not growing it's most likely that you're not even stagnant but actually deteoriating.

On your mark..get set..go!

Had a lovely Christmas & New Year celebration and hope everyone around me did too =) I know alot of people aren't feeling well at the moment but I hope after some good rest and time for recovery, everyone will start feeling healthy once again.

So how was 2010 for you? Any breakthroughs, memorable experiences, setbacks or happy times? For me..2010 was undoubtedly amazing. Get over it Peggy but...I still can't! :P You know that feeling you get when life has become so very tranquil because you've made it that way. Perfectly content w/ everything and have settled for calmness. The way you expect no more but also no less for yourself. Then all of a sudden, whoaa a change of pace with this overwhelming flow of highs and happiness.. How does one handle that? Does everyone feel that way when they meet someone special in their life? I don't think I've ever been so gushy like this.. =P One year has gone by, can't believe how fast time flies.. Do you feel like eversince you graduated from high school, each year goes by faster and faster? I wish there were more hours in each day or perhaps I just needed less time to sleep. With at least 8 hours devoted to work each day, I feel like there's not enough time to do all the things that I want to do. We all talk about having quality personal time..that quiet afternoon where you do nothing but prop your legs up somewhere, or go for a massage, collect your thoughts, look back on the hectic week and just breathhh. A good level of self examination is good as indulgence and relaxation is not enough. That quest when you loose track of time whilst immersing yourself in a satisfying task. In the Elle opinion magazine today, it said something like 'repression is not the way to virtue. It is only through freely chosen discipline can life be enjoyed and still kept within the bounds of reason' - but concentration and endeavour are what really make us content, not endless opportunities for achieving nothing much. Tis true, maybe that's why studies have shown that despite material advantages and more leisure time, the last few decades have shown no corresponding rise in happiness in the developed world. Hard work and love is what makes most of us happy and even if we had more time you still need that special purpose to make things meaningful. Hmmm..very interesting and perhaps agreeable that the process/journey is sometimes just as fun as arriving to the destination. =)

With all the crazies that happened in 2010 I wonder what will come out of the new year? New start and new pages to be written. =)