Pamper Me!

Friday was just a long day at work with triple the work and everything was due last month. :P
I always look forward to my HK Mag and THE LIST each week. The former is issued each week while the latter, once every two weeks. This week's issues were tough to find around HK since my usual Starbucks @ Alexandra House and IFC CitySuper has stop stocking these now. I had to go all the way to IFC's Pacific Coffee and Jardine House's Grappa's for my copies. Such a hassle!
Thus this weekend, I plan to go back-to-back on pampering as what THE LIST's Pamper Me Issue stated through my high tea adventures thus I had to stack up my reading materials.
I still think that massages and spas are more economical in Manila so I'll just reserve that when I get home.
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How you learn something everyday and remember the past...
A friend of mine just joined in the bandwagon of blogging, Angela, and I've been checking out her blog often. The blog is currently more of trends and fashion but will surely be more by the time she gets the hang of it. I recently stumbled upon something that my nephew has been wanting - soft shoes (online) and it was through Angela's site referral that helped me on this. It's soft shoes for my little JJ Jr through PiperLime. Rad stuff girl! Can't wait to see more of your postings. :)
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Ventured out of HK Island for some traditional high tea this weekend. Going "high tea hopping" ~ this weekend. :) **big grin** How I do love living the "single life" to the max. :)
As per recommendation by everyone (local) here in HK, Peninsula Hotel (Pen) in Tsim Sha Tsui (TST) is the only place I can experience true "British" high tea in HK.
Afternoon tea starts from 2pm to 7pm (the longest one in HK as per date) and the lineups are surely record breaking because of it's quality/excellence and this week's weather was just perfect for this. :) I was lucky to have lined up a few minutes earlier than the crowd - a decent line-up, if you ask me. Check out the line after I sat down on my table!

Food was so-so. Odd though that even if I ordered for two persons' portions...most if the nice desserts like the petite cakes were all one pieces...even the salmon sandwich, which sucks since it would mean having to cut the piece for the other person. This shouldn't be the case!

The only thing I love is the ham sandwich - it's from their own deli & has a wonderful smoked taste. That's one I would go back for...though maybe just go buy some ham from their deli. :P

Tea selection is okay - got the Peninsula Afternoon & Cinammon...not really that memorable. I love cinammon and it smelled great but taste-wise, just okay.

Verdict: wouldn't really go back there again...not my thing...experience and all. Good thing that I tested it out else mom would surely tell me it wasn't worth it. :P

Just maybe a helpful comment to the management of Pen - do not argue with a customer in a line-up since it's quite visible to everyone standing & seated. If dress code is a problem, then maybe they should have an extra shoe or "correct slippers" for the customer to use since a lot of these customers really treck out to your lounge for the "famous high tea" and not being able to go - just because they are in Havaianas is just wrong. I think you will have to put your dress code on your site or something better than just informing them when they are already there!
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Sunday - I had it all planned out - get up late (perfect), run an errand soe Ali then have a different sort of high tea at Ritz Carlton (RC). Got up as planned but forgot that it's Father's Day and it would be best to book a table first ... oh well. I just played it by chance. :)
I phone and got a bit of a rude lady - who said that I can reserve a table (I thought they weren't full and can give me a table) ... only to find out that she couldn't confirm my reservation because they were full. Okay - what was all that information taking and saying I can book. She didn't tell me that she will just put me in her "wait list" and call me around 2pm to see if anyone else cancels out. It ticked me off a bit since I thought it was a done deal and she didn't inform me that she would call me either way - have or not have a table so I had to call her to clarify again. Frustrating as that...oh well...not much she or I can really do, if they are fully booked.
Thus, I had to wait till 2pm to get my confirmation for a 3pm afternoon tea buffet. Around half past 2pm, I made sure that my phone was beside me since I wanted to know if I was to run to another venue for my breakfast/lunch. Good thing she did call me at quarter to 2pm with good news - since I was looking forward to this all week and didn't know what alternative plan I was going to go, if this plan didn't fall through.
You might ask me - "What's so different with the RC for their high tea to the rest of the other high tea places I've been already ", right? The difference is that the RC offers afternoon tea buffet style!
I was able to finished off some errands at IKEA then off I went - to RC for breakfast/lunch and dinner! :) I had the choice of high tea (pictured above), which Ali took, or the tea buffet (pictured below)...guess I was super hungry and there was no one else at that time who ordered the typical high tea set - so off to the buffet table I went. :) No regrets!
It was pure food galore by the time I got started at 3pm. The buffet runs from 3 to 6pm but the servings cover everything - from Chinese to Singaporean, from Japanese to Malaysian, from American to British...it was pure fun! I had random things in one plate - see all the random photos. :P
It was fun to have so many choices - the dim sum choices were fresh and scrumptious. The English/British finger foods were flavor-full and fluffy, especially the mushroom puffs. There were Cantonese typical afternoon treats like chicken wings and dried scallop with abalone slices congee (the right consistency as how I wanted...yummy!!!). I like the fact that there is someone who is always on the floor and keeps an eye out to make sure that there is always tons of food available and would refill, if there is a need to. How's that for generosity! Sky's the limit!
It was good that I woke up late and this buffet was my only meal for the day, which was all I needed and by the time I really finished, I was too dazed out to know what the heck was going on. Good thing too that the seats were so comfy (couches for all) with sturdy arm-rests, and atmosphere was quiet, serene & with only one pianist playing good soft music! :P All this...for hk220 - what a steal!

Helpful tip: next time, gotta pace myself. I finished off 4/5 plates...cool stuff! I'm planning to bring my mom there, if time permits.
With all that food, I need to walk it all off else I would surely nightmares as per old folklore. :) Ali and I went to CWB and got the Rayure* shirt that I've been wanting for weeks. I was lucky to get the jacket to pair my blouse since it's already sold-out in HK and the size is a bit bigger for my mom and me...oh well - jackets are suppose to be bigger. :D
*Some Background: RAYURE was established in 1993 in Paris, France and is pure French with all shirts made in France by French designers and fabrics. It specializes exclusively in women's black and white shirts with styles that include casual, executive, sexy, classic and evening. For the last ten years, RAYURE has dominated the market as the shirt maker for the woman in all forms. Using white for purity and black for classic, the RAYURE shirt has proven to be timeless. With 2 seasons a year and over 100 styles per season, the black and white theme persists through all seasons and trends.

June 19 - Happy Tuen Ng Festival (Dragon Boat Festival) to you all!
I love this holiday since my aunt would always give me the triangular sticky rice or "ma-chang" with tons of special treats in the middle of the triangular rice mold like chicken, stewed pork, chesnut, etc in the middle, wrapped in special leaves all tied firmly in string. Cooking instruction: boil in hot water for about 30 min or so, depending on where the rice came from, fridge or freezer. :) Remember not to cut the string so the whole rice wouldn't be floating around the hot water pot as per experience...don't ask...just do it. :PDifferent parts of China have their own version of sticky rice - some with beans, some with meat, some with red bean...even eating it with either soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, catsup, etc. It's all great eats but I prefer my stick rice as a savory than a sweet one. :)
The tradition of the sticky rice is part of an old folklore tale about giving offerings to the dragon in the sea. My aunt does a real mean one. I'm saving a few to share with my mom, when she comes this week since she only gave me three pieces. :) It's all in the freezer - ready to be eaten!
To learn more about this festival and all the cool types of sticky rice that is made, you can read Discover HK and Wikipedia.
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Kit: Toffee Apple (DigizinesDigitalDen)
Designer: Deanna Patterson (ShabbyScrapDesigns)
Program: PS7.0
Font: High Tower Text & MS Serif
Journaling: Food Adventures 2007. Four Seasons HK. This is one of the best high tea experience I have gone through as per date in HK. It’s easy to see why - food, service & its little details are all out-of-this-world! There is so much “wow” factor oozing all over the place that makes this a great “adventure”!
Notes: This is one of the many wonderful experiences (and now frequent bad habit - hahahah!) that I've had the honor to go through living in HK - high tea at Four Seasons HK.

Thumbs Up & Down

Friday (June 8)
Did nothing...had to stay late at work.
Was planning to have a nice dinner at Bricolage but turned to nothing since work somehow piled up to weird proportions by 6.30pm!
Another Friday it is then...I need some good wine in my week.
--> THUMBS DOWN...not happy...gotta make up for this soon.

Saturday (June 9)
I headed to Causeway Bay (CWB) to meet up Donna & Michelle, her out-of-town friend, and had dimsum at Tao Hing. It was a good dimsum and cheap too! HK50/pax...I believe we chose the heavier dimsum orders so that made us all full quickly. Shopped around @ IKEA, Island Beverly Shopping Center (pictured), Giordano Ladies, G2000 Ladies, Coach, Club 8 (very similar to the band with the same name...my fav actually) and Times Square. I bumped into an ex-Citi pep at G2000 - Tish Dy of Greenhills CTB, who's now with Banco De Oro (BDO). The world is getting smaller by the days. Amazingly...I ended up with just one cheap/discounted dress from Island Shopping Center. Donna got one in grey/black while I got the black/grey one! We are so much like twins! It's a steal for HK100 (around Php700 or USD15)
--> THUMBS UP...with a deal like that...and unique clothing for 1/4th the price...who would complain?!?

Donna & Michelle had to head back and drop their purchases,mostly Michelle's, at home before coming back to CWB to meet up for dinner at CWB. :) Dinner was at Red Pepper Szechuan Resto at CWB, near Krispy Kreme, with ex-Citi pep like Peter Pantanco (still with Citi), his wife and Sonny Munoz (BNP). This place is basically known for their ever spicy hot dishes. We had the spicy chicken & cashew, the sizzling chili shrimp, stir-fried spicy string beans and fried chili squid. Oh...free ice cream at the end of your mean...definitely a must to neutralize the numbness of my tongue.
We then headed off to Soho's Portabello for some cheesecake and more catching ups.
--> THUMBS UP for the Chili Chicken with Cashew Nuts :)

Sunday (June 10)
Lunch @ Crystal Jade as a simple one since I wanted to prep myself for high tea with Ali. :) Line-up was long but good that it's just me...so getting a table didn't take me more than 10 minutes. These are the days when I love eating out alone. :P

After lunch, I headed A/X to inquire at IFC, exact branch as photographed, to check if I have a discount card since I've been getting their VIP mailers for so long now.
These mailers are normally for their VIP cardholders informing them of new arrivals and private sales. The most recent mailer I got was for a private sale last weekend. I thus had to check and see.
Lo and behold, I do have a discount card! The manager has informed me that they have phased out the physical discount cards and it's all done by giving your name and birthday, thus I do not have a discount card in my possession now. :P
I remember that I had one back 1999 and I didn't know that it's sort of a lifetime card for them. They do have a promo that if I have accummulated 10k points (10k spending) within a year, I get to have hk500 gift certificate. If you think about it it's a bit of a rip off since it's not even 10%...though remember, 10% is given upon each purchase already...so it's all a balance. :P
Upon confirming the details, I got to renew my card now since policies have been changing...meaning I should get something...not bad since I got 2 white shirts (my main color nowadays) that I really wanted a while back now plus with discount! I'm all smiles now.
A/X's styles are more appealing to me this season than CK so that's great. I'm happy and it all turned out well.
--> THUMBS DOWN for me not being able to stop buying things but THUMBS UP for my discount card still useable.

Isn't this a beauty? It's was one of the lace/pattern designs by Paul & Joe Couture that I was able to try on during my shopping expedition around Lane Crawford. It's one cocktail dress with a high collor...very vintage/Old English and has a inner dress since the lace was totally see-through. The style isn't really "me" so that is out. Good thing thought since the price was a bit...well...totally steep especially when I can only see myself use this only a few times only since it's a really fancy and definitely for party standards. :)
--> THUMBS DOWN for the dress not being "me" but THUMBS UP for the lace design.

High Tea at Hotel Intercontinental, TST
Ali and I planned to check out this hotel's high tea since she was informed that the hotel is one of the best and stylish hotels in Kowloon. It is the Asia-Pacific flagship for InterContinental Hotels & Resorts.
Verdict: not really what I expected with service, let alone the food. Kindly note that there are three criteria for me with regards to rating high tea in general:
(1) food
(2) ambiance/environment
(3) service
They are all important but if you only have one out of the three...it's not really worth the price you will pay since you are being charged for all three. Hong Kong is a mecca for food...why settle for anything less than what you are already charged for?
Food was okay...just satifactory. The portions are bigger but less refine to be called as high tea. Nothing noteworthy on the sweets or petite fours that were provided. The scones were not as nice as the ones at 4Seasons or even Mandarin. A bit disappointing for me...and the size is about the same but came cold already. I remember Cora would ask me if I would like freshly baked ones on my last two visits.
Weird thing that happened that needs pointing out: Ali & I asked for a tea set for two but the stuff that came seems to be only for one person. In 4seasons, they would have given us each two sandwiches so we can both enjoy the portion that we are entitled to...not here. Plus when we asked for two different teas (which should have been a dead giveaway that we ordered two high tea sets), and came up with only one we complained to the guy that took our order, who was also the head waiter/manager - he seems a bit annoyed and was holding his tongue on "other things he wanted to tell us" while telling us that we ordered only one tea for the two of us. This is dumb because I swear that we specifically ordered two very different teas. Nonetheless...even if we were wrong, he should not have said that we ordered one and we were to share this - what an insult! Right or wrong..."paying customer" is right and this is what we are paying them...the extra of superb service, which we didn't get. No refills & it seems that both of us had to make the set fit us in the end. The table we got was pretty small (can you see the tiny round table in the photo?) so understand...we had four pots (2 hot water pots, which I think they can do without & 2 tea pots,which at first was the same tea!!!), one tea set stand and that was it for us...nothing else could have fitted on our small circular table! Ali and I agree...not nice!
Service/environment was just not refine and "smooth" as what is expected from a 5 star hotel. Service could have been better in handling our "tea problem" and they should teach their staff not to try to be a typical "cha chan ting" (Cantonese canteen/restaurant) by having to pick-up two hot pots in one hand in front of their guests while balancing a heavy tray. The waiter could have just said that he would come back to pick the pots or have gotten a fresh pot on his way to drop off the heavy tray of cleared-up dishes then exchanged pots instead. No cramming us in his busy schedule while showing no flair. You see it vividly in the other waiter services or just asking them a question. One of the waiters almost smacked Ali in the face while he was refilling her tea! I felt the gush of wind on that one. It's quite sad to see that training is very much lacking.
Plus it's a bit noisier than the typical lobby lounge since they have a big band playing at the background. This is NOT a great place if you want to have a quiet tea or talk with friends.
View was spectacular...definitely something nice to visit and look at but I'm sure that I can have that view at another venuw, more worthy of my business.
After this experience, my mom said that maybe I should write a compliant letter on this hotel since it's quite rare for a hotel to have their staff be conducted that way. Oh well...I don't think I will bother...I'll just make a mental note not to go to their Lobby Lounge for high tea.
THOUGH - Ali recommends other restos of Intercontinental for EW and I to try out like THE STEAK HOUSE and NOBU (yep the same one as the NYC franchise by world-famous chief Nobu Matsuhisa..and I heard the interior is rocking modern - ust how EW likes it).
--> THUMBS DOWN...WAY DOWN...not even the THUMBS UP for the view can save this! You can go and visit...take photos of the view and maybe run to another place for high tea...4Seasons still tops my list.

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June 12 is Philippine's Independence Day!
Mabuhay ang mga Pinoy!
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Joining the YouTube bandwagon...my brother!
Enjoy some of my nephew's increasing antics. :) I'm so proud of him!
Love your own...THUMBS UP (way up) for my little nephew!
Tricks


Goodnight Gorilla ... love his laughter...or his hysterics


Kit: Toffee Apple (DigizinesDigitalDen)
Designer: Deanna Patterson (ShabbyScrapDesigns)
Program: PS7.0
Font: Script MT Bold/High Tower Text
Journaling: Balthazar Resto Experience. this was definitely a great highlight for our NYC 2006 visit. Located in Soho (NYC’s hippie district), it is a evocation of a typical Paris brasserie is all about, meaning crowded-next-to-each-other tables, busy-body waiters, loud, etc at the same time home to savory dishes! Noteworthy - French Onion Soup
The resto also has a superb bake shop next door. Mom & I were drooling over all the mouth-watering goodies on display. Too bad both of us were already full...but that doesn’t stop us from ordering somecakes home for our mid-night snacks! Can’t wait for our next trip to NYC again!
Notes: just a little reminder of the food adventure my family and I had on our last NYC trip. Can't wait to get back there again. :)