Roast with the Most

The sight of roast items hanging from a window always reminds me of HKG.

Spotted this when Mark and I had lunch at Hawker Chan in One Ayala, and it immediately brought me back to my old neighbourhood in Tak Hing Street. There were a few roast restos around my building, and I've tried them all.

And of course, there's Cafe de Coral who also had a set-up like this.

You can never go wrong with roasts.

Meals with Mark: Meals with Mak

Having eaten at Mak's noodles in HKG several times when I was still living there, I wanted to try their first branch here. With Mark, of course.

Knowing how the original tastes like, was curious to see if they could accurately replicate it here in MNL. 

In summary, they did.

The broth was rich. The noodles, firm and bouncy. The wonton, packed with both filling and flavour.

What was different, though, was the price. Compared to HKG, Mak's here was on the pricey side.

While this won't be a regular for us, it's probably going to be a place we'd go to once or twice a year.

So long, Cinta

If you're a Pinoy in HKG, chances are, you know Cinta-J.

This is an institution, and a must-visit whether you're a local or a tourist.

Cinta-J is a restobar. They serve good Pinoy food. They have a live band. They have a karaoke bar. They have comedy nights.

in short, it's everything we Pinoys are known for - all packed in a single place. 

The last time we went here was in 2017, during our family visit with Ate Bullet, Biboy and their respective fams. Glenda brought us here after dinner, just to get the Pinoy experience in HKG.

And it's with shock and sadness that this place is going to close after 42 years.

As the owner said in the interview, this isn't "goodbye," just "see you later." And it's with anticipation and hope that I'm waiting for the next location and incarnation of Cinta-J.

To the Mak's

Mak's Noodle is my go-to place in HKG for Wonton noodles.

In fact, a visit to HKG isn't complete without dropping by for a bowl there. Whether it's a 5-day trip or a layover, Mak's has to be part of the itinerary.

Now, that experience is possible even without leaving MNL!

Yes! Mak's Noodle is opening in Megamall!

Exciting times ahead.

Coming in for a Landing

Thought of watching this film on Netflix since it appeared on the homepage.

Boy, it was a great decision!

"A Balloon's landing," is a Taiwanese film that's set both in Taiwan and HKG, two places that are close to my heart.

And heartfelt this film was.

It's a beautifully crafted and melded story of love, heartbreak, heartache and a dash of magic. It was well written and well acted, and it's worth watching again. And again. And again.

Yup, this film definitely landed.

Xaijian Taipan

One of the time I'd look forward to in HKG was the Mooncake festival. That's the time when the office and our senior colleagues would be handing out this traditional pastry. 

Aside from the usual lotus paste and salted egg variants, the Taipan Snow Mooncake was one of my most anticipated ones. This was usually available at Taipan Bakery, and they're usually very busy around this time because of that particular type of Mooncake.

So, it's sad to read that Taipan has officially closed its doors. 

Mooncake festivals won't be the same without them.

Meals with Mark: You can Canton me

It's been ages since Mark and I were last at HKIA. In fact, it was during our last layover there that we ran into Claire and Oboy.

We were looking for a place to have lunch, and we were debating if we should do our usual McDonald's, or try something else.

Eventually, our decision was to have Cantonese cuisine.

We both had dumplings with soup. Mark had the chive dumpling, and my order was the pumpkin  dumpling.

Trust HKIA to have top notch food. This meal was so good!

We should fly through HKG more often.

Fortune-ately

Found this while cleaning my room.

This was a gift to me by the HKG office after joining them back in 2005.

So, yes, this item is 25-years old.

But what is it?

It's a modern-traditional fortune teller.

Modern, because it's made by Shanghai Tang.

Traditional, because it's fashioned after a traditional Chinese way of telling fortune. You shake the container, open it, and get a stick. The stick has a number, and you find that number in the fortune telling book.

Tried it just for kicks and got the number 4. And here's my fortune:

I'm really feeling fortunate to have found this. I'll be randomly telling my fortune from here on in.

City of confusion

Had to go back and look at this frame from an online video that passed through my feed.

Had to look at it again, then screenshot it just to be sure.

After much examination, my hunch is correct. The city that they identified as "Bangkok" is actually Hong Kong! Having lived there for 4 years, those neon signs jutting out from office buildings are quintessential HKG.

The editor must've been confused.

Post it!

I’m probably one of the last, few holdouts of traditional mailing.

Whilst everyone is sending things via email or posting them on social media or doing it electronically, I still write letters and postcards, and send them via post.

So, it’s always a thrill when I receive letters or postcards by mail.

Just like this one:

Bebe sent this from Japan. She spent her New Year holiday there, and found time to write and send me a postcard. Sugoi ne!

It’s def something worth posting 

Wing it!

When I was living in HKG, i’d often go to McDonald’s for their McSpicy Wings.

Now, after almost 2 decades, that product is finally here!

Better late than never!

Excuse me while I rush to McDonald’s.

Meet me at Mitzi's

After more than 3 years, I've set foot in 168 Mall again!

Aside from shopping, one of the reasons of my frequent return is the food court. The 168 Food Court has a lot of little gems, particularly the Chinese food stalls. And of course, Chariya Thai Kitchen.

But one of my regulars here is Mitzi's Cantonese Cuisine.

They have great roasts and other dishes that I'd eat in HKG. But they also have local faves like Camaron and Kikiam. Which was yesterday's order.

After more than 3 years, it's still as good. 

Handover Hangover

It's hard to imagine that it's been 27 years since HKG was officially handed over from the UK to China. Back in 1997, we were glued to the TV, watching this momentous event.

We've been going to HKG when it was still under British rule. It was actually interesting because it was an Asian country, a lot of the buildings have Chinese signages, but the people you see around were British. From the police men, to the shop keepers, to restaurant owners - they were all white folks.

It felt like it was the UK transplanted to Asia.

Watching the handover felt like watching an end of an era. 

And after visiting HKG post-UK, it really was.

I'll do ELDO

It's a niche perfume with an interesting name.

Etat Libre D'Orange, or ELDO, as some perfume lovers would call it.

The brand is considered a niche brand, and it's known for playful names and unusual scent profiles. They once had a scent called “Philippine Houseboy.” And given political correctness and cultural sensitivities, it was quickly pulled out of the shelves and the name was changed.

But that’s another story.

During my HKG trip last February, I chanced upon a bottle of ELDO's more popular scents called "You Or Someone Like You." Sprayed it on my wrist out of curiosity, not knowing what to expect. And you know how it goes when you're not expecting anything. It's when those pleasant surprises usually happen.

The scent was super fresh! The first spray was like a blast of mint, followed by citrus undertones, and it settles as a green, grassy scent. It reminds me of freshly cut grass, which is another scent that reminds me of my childhood days in Bicol.

Needless to say, it's a significant memory, which led me to bring a bottle from HKG to MNL.

I'll wear this and go back to my childhood days in Bacacay.

Tea-rrific!

Presenting my latest discovery near the office.

There's a store that sells Vita Lemon Tea at The 30th at Ayala!

Now, there's no need to go far away to get my VLT fix. That's terrific news indeed!

G.U. almost forgot

Since G.U. was the 1st stop of our short HKG trip a few weeks ago, the question remains: "What's the G.U. haul?"

While not as sizeable as my usual hauls, it was pretty decent considering the super shot length of my stay. Was able to buy stuff for Mark, Ate Bullet and myself. 

One of my my hauls for Ate was this outfit.

It consisted of a loose t-shirt, denim gauchos in this very versatile off-white color.

And to ground the neutral top and pants, a pair of cool, neon green platform sandals. 

This is such a comfy, elevated chic kind of ensemble.

You can really never go wrong with this brand.

Putting the “March” in “Marchesa”

You know a design is good if it still looks current and relevant even if it’s more than a decade old.

Such is this dress from Marchesa Notte. Back in the early 2000s, Marchesa was one of the brands to watch. Having 2 women designers at the helm - Georgina Chapman and Karen Craig, they knew how to dress women. That’s why their designs became popular with the A-list fashionistas.

When I was living in HKG, I found the Marchesa Notte dress on sale at Lane Crawford in IFC. Because it was in Ate Lissa’s size, I had to buy it.

While tidying up my closet, I found the dress, still as pretty as the day I bought it. And again, that was more than a decade ago, in 009!

This is such a fashionable find to start off March.

Let it B

Before our HKG trip, I knew that shopping won't be a big part of the agenda.

Given that it was just a 3D/2N trip, my priorities were eating and meeting friends. Although my mind was already set on going to GU, thus it was the first place we went to after arriving.

True to expectations, I didn't go to my usual shopping haunts like Mongkok, Prince Edward Street, Lane Crawford Outlet and Joyce. But I was able to go to GU, Uniqlo, Citygate Outlets and IFC.

While at IFC, I had to go to the restroom, and found out that the Byredo store was just across. And with that, this was my unplanned purchase on this trip.

Since Byredo isn't easily available in MNL, I'm glad that I let myself buy this despite it being unplanned.

Ming Dynasty

We were at CLK waiting for our flight home last Sunday night.

Suddenly, we heard excited shrieks and people started running towards the airport balcony where the people from the departure area could view the arrival deck.

Curious about the ruckus, we went to the balcony to see what was going on. It turns our that the China Youth National Basketball Team just arrived in HKG, and the head of their delegation was China's most famous basketball player, Yao Ming!

Yup, even from afar, his 7'6" height is imposing.

The first time I saw him was in 2007 when he visited HKG. He was just a few feet away from me, he really looked gigantic. Now, even if he was around 15-20 feet away, the feeling was still the same.

After all these years, he's still famous and has the same following in HKG.

More of the Usuals

It might have been just a 3D/2N trip, but there was a conscious effort to sample all the HKG eats that are part of my life.

Like my usual McDonald's breakfast:

And Lok Bo Fan (from another resto, though.)

They were great eats! As per usual.