HK Fast Food Restaurant

You gotta love those fast-food restaurants in Hong Kong. With decent services, prices and quality, the combination is hard to beat. Though fierce competition in the industry has resulted in a series of new interior designs and company images.
One of them is the recently renovated Maxim's MX.

Table with inset televisions (給電視撈飯迷)
and double seat benches

Heart themed graphics by local artists

More via Designboom on Maxim's

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Dai Pai Dong 大排檔

This dai-pai-dong (sidewalk food stalls) has been around at least 20 years. What used to be very popular in the 50's and 60's has now become a diminishing business as these open-air food stalls are replaced by indoor food courts.

Today's visit was a nostalgic experience.

At breakfast, instead of iced ovaltine - my all-time favourite as a child, I got yuen yeun 鴛鴦 (coffee+milk-tea) which I believe is a local innovation, along with a breakfast combo that consisted of satay beef with instant noodle, white bread with butter and two eggs. HK$19



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Yau Ma Tei

Having been away from this home for six years, of course I have expected changes to the surrounding. The first I noticed was the view from my bedroom. I can still see the Bank of China (on the far left, squint your eyes) and the apartment blocks built in the sixties. The new additions are the IFC tower, and the apartment highrises on the reclaimed land in west kowloon.
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Arrived safe and sound...

Time flew by rather quickly on the plane as there was personal entertainment.
Movies that I watched:
- Chronicles of Narnia
- Aeon Flux
- Transamerica
- Memoirs of a Geisha

In just a little over 15 hours, we arrived!
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non-Farewell gathering

In less than 7 hours I'll be on my way to HK!

Karaoke at Twister was the most fun because your excellent singing talents! Yes that means you Matthew, Manter, Catherine, Angela and you Timo!

Timo - keep working your "Korean" charm so we can get extra time at the karaoke again and recommendation to a good Korean restaurant!

Have a great summer you guys! I'll miss all of you for the entire summer!

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EVERYTHING A GO-GO!!!!!!

TWO DAYS - Saturday and Sunday April 29 - 30
Garage Sale Extravanganza

Location: 18 D'ARCY STREET, Toronto
one block south of Dundas Street
just off McCaul

Time: 10AM - 6PM Sat+Sun

Come for great bargains and refreshments!
Everything is priced to GO-GO-GO!!!!!!!!!

Visit the website for more information!!!

Event organized by Chloe and Juhee.
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Easter Weekend

Members on the tour:

Timo - Driver
Matthew - Navigator
Chris - CD selection
Me - Walking guide

Destination: Montreal

This post is a bit long as I tried to recap our trip. To spare you the details here are some of the highlights:

- No less than five times that cop cars' light was flashing on our road trip
- Laval Transit $2.90 + Montreal Transit $2.50
- Coin-acceptor on buses takes only one coin at a time
- Llama-feeding to lamb-chop hunting
- St. Eli's courtyard is still charming as ever
- Holiday Inn Chinatown does have a chinese garden!
- Jacket-swapping between Kristi Matthew and me
- Never buy umbrella just when it rains
- Club 737 opens 10pm on weekends
- Labanese food is very yummy and filling
- Pour ici ou pour emporter?
- Sunday grill - rabbit, steak and mussels
- cafe and chess on st. laurent
- hotel+gas: 2-nights/12-hour drive
- Ka-ching $109.05

Friday
Leaving the gray sky in Toronto behind us, we were promised of good weather when the blue sky was creeping through the clouds as we approached the French autoroute
signs. In less than six hours we arrived in Laval, a city across a river from Montreal on the north - but a suburb really - with its malls and big box stores. After hotel check-in, we had our 3pm lunch at a nearby A&W, gulping down root beer and iced tea served in chilled pint glasses. The 10min commute from Laval to Montreal included a bus ride to Metro Henri-Bourassa.

The "critical walk" commenced at Metro Mont-Royal. On axis of rue Mont-Royal is Mount Royal and the olympic stadium, visible on either end. The street seemed especially vibrant on this sunny day when people were sitting outside chatting on the doorsteps, and a guy playing guitar sitting on a window sill. We walked a good portion of the street before we headed over to the east slope of the mountain to the Cartier monument to check if the Tam-Tams was happening. To no avail, as it might only happen on sundays, we continued to explore and criss-crossed between Rue St. Laurent and Rue St. Denis towards rue Sainte-Catherine on a beautiful friday afternoon.

Across from Places-des-Arts, we checked out a shopping mall, the Complexe Desjardins, entrance flanked by Terra Nostra and a restaurant, only to discover that a "farm" was on display in the atrium complete with a few goats, rabbits, pigs and llamas. Timo and Matt took the opportunity to feed them.

Chris and Matthew at St. Eli's

Taking advantage of the beautiful sunny day, we slowed down our pace in the evening at one of my favourite bar off rue Ste. Catherine, Le Saint-Élizabeth Pub Européen, boasting one of the most gorgeous courtyard/terrace in the city. The outdoor terrace is framed by the two-storey pub and three 45-foot walls covered in vines. There are a number of gas-powered torches to keep us warm in the "in-between" s/s season. On offering was still the happy-hour-before-8pm $4/pint local Boréale that comes in blonde, rousse, noire...

With Timo's craving for lamb chops that stemmed from animal-feeding earlier in the day, we headed to St. Laurent to look for lamb chops in restaurant menus and discovered Cabane, a pub across from Schwartz the smoked-meat place. Suprisingly delicious sirloin steak (my comment) and lamb chops (commented by Timo and Chris)... By the time we finished dinner it was almost 10pm.

Saturday
The gray weather did not let our spirits down. Our itinerary was to visit the remaining part of Montreal. A metro ride on the Orange line brought us to Place d'Armes where the Palais des Congres with its colourful facade was located next to Place Victoria. Then we had a quick visit to Old Montreal. We started heading back to the front gate of McGill to meet with Kristi just when it started pouring. Got soo soaked, we went to the Holiday Inn for shelter and waited out until the rain stopped. Finally we met up with my friend Kristi.

After quick introductions, Kristi and I came to the conclusion for a good lunch spot - Santropol. 10 minute walk from the front gate of McGill, we first were seated in the front of the restaurant, but knowing how nice their outdoor backyard is, we decided to move outside to a table under the awning. Infamous for their gigantic sandwiches and the landscaped outdoor patio, Santropol was one of my favourites. Pepper Island Sandwich with ham was my choice. Kristi and I both had ice-cream floats and it got us kinda chilly. She first asked me for my jacket, then I felt cold so I borrowed Matt's. Funny situation on the coat swapping, but the hail then rain didn't help with the situation! Weird weather...After lunch we parted with Kristi and continued our stenuous walk, sightseeing and window shopping.

On St. Laurent, we stopped at a little convenience store to get $5 umbrellas. You probably guessed it, we hardly used them for the rest of the day! Rue Ste. Catherine was very busy as usual and our plan was to check out Club 737 on top of Place Ville-Marie tower for their 5-7pm happy hour. After getting lost among the shops on Ste. Catherine all the way west, we made our way back to College St. to discover that we passed PVM long ago and on top of that (pun intended) the club's not open until 10pm on weekends!

Little disappointed, we went to an italian restaurant for little snacks and drinks. Timo's brilliant idea of getting labanese food was fulfilled when we came across one (on Ste. C) of the many labanese restaurants in the city. (we found out the very next day) Shaved beef and chicken with tons of lettuce, rice, potatoes and pink-pickled turnip as garnish are the platters.

Sunday

After the hotel breakfast, we got into Timo's car and off we went to Mont Royal. The relatively short ride along the less-than-winding road brought us to an observation area where we could see the Olympic Stadium and La Ronde amusement park. Our car trip continued along rue Mont Royal to the stadium. We didn't stay long before we headed back to the city on St. Laurent where we continued our window shopping.

We had lunch at Janos, a portugese grillade on St. Laurent. They all ordered grilled rabbit and I was the unadventurous one who got grilled rib steak. Picture: Matthew bought the colourful figures from a gift shop and they are not easter eggs. In the paper bag was grilled rabbit from lunch - what a combination in the easter weekend.

At one point, while Timo and Chris were checking out a clothing store, Matthew and I waited outside and decided to get a coffee a few doors down. The cafe was filled with chess players and cigarette smoke. I ordered a latte and matthew got espresso with biscotti. We got a table with chess all laid out on the gameboard near the entrance so we could keep our eyes for Timo and Chris while playing a game of chess. We did miss them walking past the cafe, however, the two came back to find us. After a few more chess moves of the Kings and Queens, what seemed to me to be a losing game turned out to be the opposite! Beginner's luck!

I insisted that Chris should try the Montreal smoked meat from Schwartz so while Matthew and Timo waited in a bookstore across, Chris and I lined up outside Schwartz for 30min+ to get their legendary $9.95/lb Montreal smoked meat.

A visit to the City of Festivals always brings back the good memories and offers new experience. In two years time since my 4-month visit in 2004, Montreal has changed for the better as one of the great cities, namely with its vibrant streets, new and historic architecture and great food! Probably it is about the European vibe from the francophones that makes Montreal special.

On Sherbrooke, a new hotel with
adaptive reuse portion (left) and the
new music department at McGill (right)

PS: you did not miss any significant details - no we did not go to strip clubs that are infamous for this city...there's a lot more that Montreal offers!

Many thanks to you guys for this wonderful trip!

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Happy Birthday Bowie!

from Hallmark Free Ecards

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Happy Birthday MOM!

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Royal Canadian Air Farce 2006

When Manter and Matthew mentioned that there's upcoming free show, I said yes right away with no hesitation. This evening it was a guys' night out (Manter, Matthew, Chris + me) At the CBC recording studio here in Toronto, we were part of the live audience at RCAF, a comedy troupe that performs humourous sketches about the most current and newsworthy people and events in Canada.

Coming up: Friday April 7 at 8:00pm on CBC Television
On the show: Ralph Klein’s Freedom 55; Harper daydreams on the Throne; Driving With Alan Park; Dave the Cabbie; Nancy Wilson looks at the NHL and Reality TV; and more!

Thank you Manter for the tickets!

Royal Canadian Air Farce
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UN's Abolishment of Traditional Chinese in 2008

say NO to United Nation's Abolishment of Traditional Chinese in 2008!

Sign the Petition here
"...UN's action to "unify" the Chinese characters and recognize ONLY Simplified Chinese will have devastating impact upon the Chinese language, culture, history. Internationally, Traditional Chinese would be forgotten and neglected, it would only be a matter of time before Traditional Chinese becomes the next “Latin”. (the dead language) Along with this lost of language, would be a culture and histories lost forever."

聯合國文件廢繁體字？　2008改用簡體為唯一標準
"全球掀起華語熱，許多外國人士選擇到中國，或是香港、台灣學習語言，不過北京有消息指出，中國應用語言學會會長陳章太表示，根據聯合國決定，從2008年以後，聯合國將一改過去簡繁體字並存的情況，一律使用簡體字。"

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Architects 'are sexiest'

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Public rooms in one day

clockwise from top left: powerplant on waterfront; union station; distillery district corkin gallery; walkway next to union station Read more!

a relaxing sunday afternoon

Tea with big eye gal at the Maxim's on a relaxing Sunday afternoon, especially after a day of hotpot and gamecube. It was perfect time to catch up while sampling some of the cakes at the cafe. It's been a long time! Usually I would get White Chocolate Cake or Tiramisu, but Hazelnut Mocha Cake topped with a mini meringue as garnish was surprisingly delicious! Read more!

April Fools' Hotpot

Dim Sum (@ Woodbine and 16th) started our day for Matthew and I in anticipation for the hotpot gathering that he had planned. What really got us started was the part when we went shopping for food. We did not just shop at one place, we literally went all over town. Matt drove iris and I to: North (dimsum + Galleria Korean supermarket), West to T&T and East for fish/meatballs. Preparation was done by Iris and myself in the afternoon and what was supposed to be uneventful turned out to be the opposite. To spare you the details, somebody was trying to be bossy...haha! ;)


See who's doing all the work?! ha!
(Picture courtesy of iris without permission!)

Many thanks to Matthew for a wonderful evening of hotpots and to iris for the gamecube! Read more!

Knock Knock Ginger

KKG gave a smashing performance last night in Toronto. Right after their first song, they already captured the attention of the entire audience. Check out Knock Knock Ginger's latest EP release hurry!. Live recordings and sample tracks are available for download.
Owen - you're a great drummer!

A little snapshot of KKG's
performance at the BAGEL
on College St, Toronto.

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OneSmallProject

"The forthcoming book OneSmallProject is inspired by living conditions in the working class neighborhoods of Bangkok, Buenos Aires, Chicago, Colombo, Delhi, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Los Angeles, Mumbai, New Orleans, St. Petersburg, and Singapore.

One billion leftover people--typically called squatters, self-builders, slum dwellers, informal settlers, or displaced persons (it's a big category)--claim leftover spaces in cities and live in unauthorized dwellings made of scavenged, leftover materials. If you know even one of the one billion, you've been touched by her or his life, even if briefly and reluctantly..."

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Pumpkin Curry

Tried and tested recipe, so good and tasty. Portions are enough for at least two days...ha!

Ingredients:
Pumpkin 600g
Green apple 1
Pork ribs 600g
Onion 1
Japanese curry 2 packages
White wine 500ml
Chicken stock 280ml
Water 200ml
Salt & Pepper 1 Tsp each

Method:
1. Peel green apple and cut into 1cm cubes.
2. Remove skin and seeds of pumpkin, cut into 2cm cubes.
3. Chop onion.
4. Cut pork ribs into 2cm cubes. Mix in salt and pepper.
5. In a large pot, stir-fry ribs and onion for 2 minutes.
6. Add white wine and bring to a boil.
7. On low heat, add pumpkin and apple cubes.
8. Add curry pcs and cook until melted.
9. Add chicken stock and water.
10.Cover and simmer on low heat for 45 minutes.
11.Serve over rice.
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Sunday Brunch + Omnimax Theatre

Schilling's Bakery and Cafe closed down on Danforth, so we couldn't go there as planned. Instead we had all-day breakfast at Wimpy's. Matthew, iris and I already suspected something happening on the street. There're shops that set up barbecue stands on the sidewalks. After brunch, we walked out to find that the crowd gathered on the south side along Danforth. In this Greek part of town, the Greeks all came out to celebrate their Independence Day with marches from various community groups!

Second part of the day was a trip to Ontario Science Centre to catch a movie "The Mystery of the Nile." Matthew came with us for the bus ride before he went home to finish some work. David, iris' friend from church, joined us for the show. What an amazing adventure documentary. Tracing the Nile from origin to sea, the amazing Architecture and sceneries unfolded before our eyes. I did get a bit motion sickness from the white water rafting on screen, probably not as bad as iris'.


***** five star rating for "The Mystery of the Nile"
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Latte Art

Chocolate Caramel Latte
Bulldog Cafe
Granby Street, Toronto
(off Church Street, south of College)

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No Scavenger Hunt - ID Show

I "lured" Iris into a scavenger hunt that was
supposed to take place at Gladstone Hotel.
We only realized there's no such event at the reception...
so we decided to check out the ID show knowing that
at least we could meet up with Matthew there.

Snapshots from the show:







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Anders' Hundredth Day

Congratulations to Amy and Sammy for Anders' hundredth day!
It was like a high school reunion!
Anders looks tense in my arms from that picture eh? He actually smiled at me!
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Congrats to Amy!

Baby Anders in this picture is almost one-month old!
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Washington DC

National Gallery of Art NGA - East Building


Calder's sculpture hung from the glass roof.


Water cascade onto the glass wall
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Dallas Texas

I never thought I would have a chance to visit Texas. Luckily I was invited to Kent's convocation so I gave myself another vacation away from home, a weekend trip to Dallas. Kent was the best host ever - a place to crash, rides to everywhere just like a mini road trip.

Snapshots of Dallas/Fort Worth:

Let's start with what seems to be there symbol - the STAR
and this one has my name!


Which North American City is complete without a tall "landmark"?


See the red stars on the columns? The city of Dallas is connected by these super highways.


A visit to the AA Training Centre is not complete without pretending to be a trainee.


IM Pei's pointy tower juxtaposed with the red brick buildings in the west end.


Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
Designed by Tadao Ando
What we're doing? On that particular day, there is a performance art piece in the public space. People stay still in all kinds of positions - lying down under a bench, leaning on the guardrail etc... we are just part of it.


Kimbell Gallery
Designed by Louis Kahn


Gotta try one on...


Seafood in Dallas? That's right! Oysters, crabs, Mexican sausages, corn and of course a glass of white wine!

My Photo Album of Dallas
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Cream Puff

first time making cream puffs following a recipe on tv. Puffs are on the soft side. They can be baked longer for extra crunch. love to make it again, small and light, perfect bite-size!
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Kent in Toronto

Day after my convo, we went for brunch and decided that
we had to do something fun on a rainy day - bowling - and later for tea.


an afternoon of bowling


an evening at Go For Tea

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Graduation

a milestone
i got my diploma and
crossed the stage - fast! ha
Kent came to Toronto for my convocation! What a surprise!
He did come to visit me when I studied in Montreal in summer 2004.
I did not expect this long time old friend to make a trip from Dallas Texas to T.
He was my good friend and my photographer on this special occassion.
Thanks KC!


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