Dining at Dempsey

Not long now before Puni pops, and she is looking mighty radiant...sigh, I miss being pregnant sometimes!



We met for dinner at Dempsey last night with Kannaki and Chris and for once they were all early or on time, while I was late! Managed to save some travelling time by hitching a ride with Kannaki halfway.

I had made a reservation at CMPB just in case, and we ended up there. My ears perked up when the waiter said there was a crab soup available, and we were all expecting something creamy.



However it turned out to be a copy of the crab omelette in miso broth served at Salt Grill. At $12, it was pretty good value, lots of crab meat and I slurped up every last drop!

I had a rosti and sausage for my main, it was alright, nothing to rave about. The others had pasta, mostly quite average. We shared a side of mushrooms that was overly salty and decided to proceed elsewhere for dessert, ending up at the Dome cafe where we chatted till past 1am...

Hong Kong Day 3 (7 Dec)

Just got home a while ago, after opting to take the last SQ flight home.

This morning we had a meeting with our PR agency at their office, and on the way back to IFC where Phil had left his laptop, we stopped at some vendors polishing shoes. He got a kick out of it!


Picked up a sandwich and more poppyseed cake from Pret A Manger for my lunch and we parted ways. I went back to Causeway Bay and bought some jellies for the girls at Sogo, Nat had requested for grape flavour.

Then I quickly packed up and checked out, and went back to Hong Kong Station to do the in-town check in and dump my luggage. Took the airport express to the airport then switched to bus S1 headed for Tung Chung, where the Citygate Outlets are located.



I was planning on visiting the big Buddha on Lantau Island first but it was just too foggy for the Ngong Ping cable car ride so that was scrapped. Killed the afternoon at the outlet shops instead but there wasn’t anything particularly cheap. Plus fashions were all wintery.

I did end up with a passport cover from DVF and a pair of shorts from Esprit plus a little something for Nick’s Xmas pressie. Paused for a wanton mee lunch at the food court and then before I knew it, it was time to head back to the airport to catch my flight.



Went to the Hui Lau Shan at the arrival hall to indulge in some mango pudding, and bought 4 boxes of mango mochi for home. We shall have a mango overload the next couple of days!

Hong Kong Day 2 (6 Dec)

Oh man, I am knackered, it was a long day yesterday.

Started off with heading to the Sophis office at IFC, took the train to Central. Had me some breakfast at Pret A Manger, they had orange poppyseed cake which I had to have!


The Sophis office has a great view from the 58th floor of IFC, I like! Phil arrived shortly after me and we went to RED Bar & Restaurant during lunch to see the venue again. He had some meetings and a conference call and asked me to make myself scarce for a couple of hours so I went happily in search of the H&M at Queen’s Road Central.


Picked up a few items for me and the girls and then on my way back I bought some silk jackets for their CNY outfits. Grabbed some takeout lunch from the supermarket and then it was time to start preparing for the event.




Truth be told, the turnout was a little disappointing, a much higher drop-off rate than expected. But still, we had more than our Singapore event at Senso so all’s good.



Everything ended by 9pm and the night was still young, so Phil, Didier and I ventured to Lan Kwai Fong. Watched the band at Hard Rock, they were quite good and I pigged out on a few side dishes.




Next up was Zinc, that place seemed quite happening and last was The China Bar, where I didn’t like the music. I felt like a tiang lampu most of the evening, cramping the style of my two colleagues who really wanted to party hard but I was tired so I left first.

By the time I got back it was past 2.30 am and I didn’t sleep till 3 plus. So, so tired but I have to get ready for a meeting now!

Hong Kong Day 1 (5 Dec)

Woo hoo, my hope for another trip before the year ended was fulfilled. Here I am in Hong Kong where we have an event tomorrow evening, the RSVP kept jumping and my boss needed help...so, yay!

Took the morning flight and the departure was slightly delayed by 30 mins, there was a backlog of planes waiting to take off.



Flight was uneventful, and I took the airport express train to the city. I was a bit apprehensive about coming alone, am not familiar with Hong Kong and the last time I came was almost 6 years ago but it’s been really easy to get around.


Home for the next couple of nights is the Regal Hong Kong in Causeway Bay, all our corporate hotels were full. As soon as I checked in, I scooted out to IFC to check out the restaurant we have our event tomorrow. It’s surprisingly not that cold, I only need to wear a thick sweater.


Had the evening free and decided to skip the Star Ferry to Kowloon I had planned since the sky was cloudy and I wouldn’t be able to see the Sky Symphony show clearly.

Instead I went back to Causeway Bay in search of Sky Brilliant, a replica clothing wholesaler my friend frequents when she’s in Hong Kong. It happened to be just across my hotel but the range was limited and everything was dark and depressing since it was winter. I did spot one red dress and snapped it up, not cheap though at HKD 430.



Next I went in search of Hui Lau Shan to get my mango dessert fix. There was one down the road from the hotel and I took away some mango mochi and a mango sago drink, plus popped by McDonalds for some nuggets. Am here I am back in the room bumming. Yawn...

Spicy Girls take on Dora

There was much estrogen in the air when the Spicy Girls invaded Raffles City today to catch the Dora show!

I decided to just bring Nat on my own for some bonding time, and we were joined by the Dopes, Danams, Kavi, Ananya and Riley.


Met for lunch at the food court where I bumped into a familiar face, don't think I have seen her for at least 6 or 7 years, if not more. It was Shareen of SES, and she still looked as youthful as ever. Her daughters are all grown up at 18 and 15, gosh! We had a quick chat, and I will seek her out on FB.

The kids were all excited to see Dora, but when it came to showtime, Gigi and Nat turned into chickens and stayed at the back of the audience area while the rest headed to the front. Nat covered her ears the whole time, even though it wasn't loud and Gigi eventually relaxed once the show started.



After the show, the kids held hands and ran riot through the mall, breaking out into 'Ring O Roses' in the middle of the walkways and giggling their heads off.



We all went over to Membina after, except for the Danams. I tried to nap but the 3 older kids came to wake me up quite rudely by stomping their feet on Swana's platform and jumping on the bed!


Kaelash and Jeanette came over in the evening with Bobo and Nick dropped off Pumpkin and Wendy. Bobo was a pie, she let me carry her without too much fuss...that one has an old soul I think, she stares quite intently and has this constant half-amused smile that makes me feel like she knows more than she lets on.

V is for...

...V Hotel and vinyls.


Tucked away on the 4th floor of the new-ish V Hotel is 12-inch Pizzas & Records, a pizzeria by Timbre and venue for this evening's dinner. Today is also our 11th year as a couple.

I thought the boy would appreciate all the vinyl records on display, but alas, I was wrong. He wasn't taken with the place, I suppose the fact that the restaurant was empty on a Friday night didn't help first impressions.



But nevertheless we went ahead to order some soups, a hoisin duck pizza recommended by the waiter and some ribs. They had cute menus in the shape of records, and there was a record player in the corner that I'm sure Nick would have loved to get his hands on.



I had a corn soup and he had seafood chowder, my soup tasted very fresh with generous kernels of corn. The pizza was a disappointment, a bit jelak to eat after a while because the sauce is sweet plus it was quite oily so I think I will stick with tomato-based pizzas from now except for those from Skinny Pizza.




The ribs were tangy and refreshing with a citrus sauce and sliced oranges, but they weren't like melt-off-the-bone soft and were served lukewarm so there's definitely room for improvement.

I think it will take a while for the restaurant to gain a following, they've only been open for a couple of months and being on the 4th floor is not conducive to walk-in customers but they do provide room service for the hotel guests.

Before leaving, Nick needed to use the loo and what we saw surprised us. The unisex loo cubicles were right in the middle of the outdoor seating section and not in any enclosed area. They are surrounded by tables and chairs and the whole world can see how long you might use the bath room and guess if you're peeing or pooping. Not to mention the smells wafting through the air!


My own opinion is that it's not hygienic to locate bacteria-infested loos so near F&B service areas, even though the loos may be kept clean. Ugh!

Hi 5 at Millenia

It's the time of the year where malls start hosting kiddie shows as the festivities ramp up for Christmas and HI 5 are back in town again, this time at Millennia.


Of course we had to bring the girls because they watch Hi 5 ALL the time! It was Sasha's first time watching one of these shows, she didn't freak but neither did she get up and dance.


Nat initially covered her ears, afraid of the loud noise but by the end, she and Gigi were singing and dancing along to songs such as Monster Dance and LOVE and other jingles. Altogether Tim, Stevie, Lauren, Fely and Casey sang about 6 songs but it wasn't as put together as last year's Marina Square production.



Still it was fun and next up is Dora!

When we got home, we could just about see some of the Vivo anniversary fireworks. They were launched from a platform in the water so they were pretty low, nothing in the sky. Disappointing.