So after a busy 2011 work year, I'm glad to be packing my bags and headed out of town to spend the Winter holidays with family overseas. I can't recall ever spending a Christmas in Hong Kong before, but off I go to see Aunty Karen, Mum, Dad & Deryck. Here I am at SFO, awaiting departure on my "default" airline of choice (foreground) and my sentimental airline of choice (background).
Once in a while, I am blessed by the airline gods and I get to fly closer to the front of the aircraft. In this particular instance, I'm in Row 4 of an international cabin 747. It kinda makes up for all those other times I'm not so fortunate...
Airborne once more. I always love gazing out of the plane on take-off (and landing). You never want to miss a beautiful view like this one of the City by the Bay.
One of the perks of sitting up front includes some improved dining options. Let's run through my fancy lunch. It began with Crab Cakes.
Then on to a deliciously thick Lobster Bisque.
A nice, light mixed green salad with pecans, goat cheese and a garlic vinaigrette.
Roasted Chicken Breast in a red pepper sauce with ratatouille and polenta. I also got an ice cream sundae for dessert but apparently ate it all before I could take a picture.
Dinner before landing consisted of an Asian style chicken and noodle combo with a bit of fresh fruit.
Mum & I arrived late at night (Christmas Eve no less) and we pretty much went straight to bed when we got to Aunty's house. The next day, a sunny Christmas Day, Barney & Bess enjoyed having more playmates and a new ball to play with.
Me & Deryck showing off the latest addition to our respective NZ T-shirt collections. Merry X-Mas Bro!
Sisters for ever: Mum & Aunty.
A truly delicious Christmas lunch. Pork sausages and manuka honey glazed ham from NZ (talk about large carbon footprint) and some juicy steaks that I grilled. Yum, yum, yum.
Boxing Day "Yum Cha" at one of the fine restaurants in the Mega Box shopping center.
Also in Mega Box: an Ikea. Though the store isn't as large as those in the States, they are just as easy to get lost within and you can still get an ice cream cone. It's just that here in HK, this cost less than $0.40 instead of $1.00.
A delicious "mini hot pot" dinner. Everyone got the mild soup base while I went the adventurous route and chose the spicy one.
Nothing like dinner with family and friends. Thanks Aunty Anson & Aunty Ninson!
Dessert: sweet coconut soup, red bean square and the golden "Malay" cake. Also, a cup of chrysanthemum tea on the side.
A beautiful, clear day in HK and a view up the hill.
We headed out to Central (on HK Island) later that morning and what a lovely day it was.
Of course we had to visit the HK Apple Store @ the IFC. What a massive store. And we didn't leave there empty handed...
Deryck & Aunty both couldn't resist temptation and ended up walking out with matching white iPhones. And for the next several hours, Deryck couldn't stop playing with his new toy.
We had lunch at a restaurant in the mall and I got one of my favorite dishes: fried dough wrapped in rice noodle. Delish!
That night, we found ourselves in TST and after much indecision regarding where to eat dinner, ended up at Shakey's.
As has been the recent tradition, a trip to HK couldn't be complete with a trip to the "Mainland". Mum, Aunty & I took a day trip to Shenzhen (no I didn't get to see the Foxconn factory) for some cheap food, shopping and foot massages.
In an effort to get some exercise and help offset all the food consumption, Aunty & I took Bess & Barney for a hike on the MacLehose Trail. It wasn't the prettiest morning, but it cleared up in patches. There, you can just about see Ma On Shan in the background.
Bess and I at a fork in the trail. We made an executive decision to skip the hike to the peak due to the (cold) cloud cover.
A cloudy look down at Sai Kung and Sha Tin from the MacLehose trail, just below Ma On Shan. With Aunty Karen, Bess & Barney.
The view of Sai Kung from Pyramid Hill.
Stopping for a break at a shelter on the way down the hill.
The trail sign near the shelter. Where are we and where are we going?!
Later that night, we ventured out to TST again for dinner and also to catch the laser light show. One of the most beautiful (and recognizable) city skylines in the world in my opinion.
After enjoying the entertaining spectacle, we caught the Star Ferry from TST over to Central. Just for fun.
And when we finally got home, Bess and Barney were pretty tired from the long hike. For once, we didn't have to struggle to put them to bed!
On the next day, I finally got a chance to visit Macau!
The boat that would take Me, Aunty & Mum to Macau. Quite possibly the most disorganized vehicular boarding sequence I've been a part of. Quite frankly just a mad rush through the doors and onto the boat.
Arrival at the Taipa Ferry Terminal. Shortly after, we boarded the buses to take us to the Venetian Hotel & Casino (yeah, just like the one in Vegas).
Our lunch (we were pretty hungry by the time we arrived) from the Venetian food court. Going from left to right: red bean slushy, Fatburger thick cut fries, rice/roast pork (2 kinds), choy sum and a dolsot (stone pot) bi bim bap. Nom nom nom.
After loading up on all that food, we headed out to see the shops around the Grand Canal complete with singing gondola person.
I've never been to Venice, but I really want to go now.
The tower outside the hotel/casino. They really went all out.
After doing some gambling (and losing money inevitably), we walked over to do a bit of shopping and to see more of the "real" Macau. En route, we came across this awesome rock climbing wall. I'll have to bring my climbing shoes next time.
The walkway heading down to the small row of shops. Oh so quaint.
This guy was making almond cookies by hand. They were so good I just couldn't stop eating them out of the sample box. They are amazing when they are fresh. So good in fact, I bought a couple of boxes to bring home with me.
A trip to Macau wouldn't be complete with some Po Tat (Macanese custard tart). To be honest, these actually weren't from Macau proper. They were from the Macanese restaurant where we ate dinner in the Ferry Terminal in HK. Next time, I promise I'll have to hunt down fresh Po Tat when I return to Macau.
Some art work on display in the Sheung Wan MTR station. Cool to see them utilize public space to present some interesting exhibits.
Dim sum for lunch the last day of 2011. Har gow, gow choi gao and xiao long bao.
All the fresh seafood at the restaurant. Looks a lot like an aquarium/pet store.
Deryck and the hot air balloon (at the Citygate Outlets).
New Year's Eve buffet at the Novotel Hotel. I ate a lot of lamb and plenty salmon sashimi. Definitely did my best to get my money's worth.
Aunty & Deryck eating their dinners. During dinner, we had the pleasure of hearing a singer in the nearby lounge singing. Not half bad as she sang a number of well known (i.e. Top 40) songs.
And finally on New Year's Day, it was time to board the flight at HKG and return home to the States. Since I departed on January 1, 2012, I also arrived in SFO on January 1, 2012. I had an extra long New Year's Day!!! Unfortunately, I spent about 12 hours of that day sitting in an Economy Class seat...sad.
And there we go. I'm finally all caught up on 2011! I hope you enjoyed what had been a very fun year for me. And on to the next one. Until next time...
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