Think twice, perhaps should never attempt!

Just watched VCD Little children played by Kate Winslet & Patrick Wilson. This is rather a sensual and philosophical film, a bit slow in pace. But it explains how extra-marital affairs develop and why it has to be ended, not because of moral, but because of the children. Kate played the role very well, a married woman tormented by loneliness and burnt by passion.

Less than perfect, but fine

Eos Thai 銅鑼灣天后電器道39號地下, opened by the owner of Eos cafe. Lilian & F Yeung wanted to introduce this restaurant to me. So we had dinner together yesterday. The food was yummy but the service was not very satisfactory. When we went in at 8, there were 3 staff. After 2 hours, only one staff stayed outside and the rest disappeared (in the kitchen cleaning I suppose/ Y thought that they may go to nearby EOS cafe to work as well).
This was not exactly a perfect dinner - accident because of the weak structure of the foldable chair; the 'flame' for heating the fish was out several times; the bill was incorrectly added a lunct set c price $39; restaurants played 2 songs that L and y hate.
Apart from all these, the dinner was a very pleasant one. Food is secondary. As long as friends get together, I am happy. I will notice in future that a person who carries a box file and walks around in the city is Yeung. See the box file is the background of the photo of the salad.

Mom, welcome home!

This is the first dish that I prepared for my mom, It is not exactly healthy but it is her favorite dish (modified of course). I planned to cook heathy dishes coming 15 days. See if I have the perseverance to continue. It is very difficult to prepare sth that is tasty as well as healthy (after surgery, chinese dietary restrictions have to be observed) as well as well received by the person who eats. I admired all those working women who have to cook everyday.

Against inflation -$9 milk tea

協成茶餐廳 is very near to the hospital my mom stayed. I found their $20 tea set quite ok, esp pork chop. And Milk tea costs only $9. From the conversation of the staff there, they have regular customers. The staff know them by names and even can tell each person's personal stories. According to them, these customers are so unique that they are qualified to play a role in Stephen Chow's movie. It is really a '茶餐廳 next door'.

Another miracle - Get a taxi

My mom was allowed to go back home today, though she has to be admitted again for a simple procedure a week later. When all the discharge procedures have been done, the time was around 4 sth. This is the most difficult time to get a taxi in a day. We waited and waited, either taxi being taken or taxi not willing to take passengers as they were about to change shift. So again I prayed, God, what do you want me to do? After 15 mins or so, I gave up and called taxi as I had a patient standing next to me. The exact moment I was talking to the lady of the taxi company, a taxi stopped in front of me. That spot was not a specific spot, not a taxi stand, not outside a restaurant or a hospital, not outside a hotel, just a location called Queen's Road 68. The driver told me that people seldom get off there but those passengers live there QUEEN'S ROAD 68!!! The taxi driver kindly took this last 'order'. So this story to me is again a miracle. God, you are amazing!

Lovely Boutique hotel- Luxe Manor

http://www.theluxemanor.com/
有老夫子坐椅,型!

Typhoon signal no.8

I am sure that it is a strong typhoon. I felt the strong wind when I walked in the streets near IFC (the harbourside area)

牛肋條

此乃牛肋條.同同事夾份訂,Chewy, 但勁肥膩,已經去肥膏先食,都好飽滯。

Olala Charcuterie

灣 仔 月 街 16 號
Set dinner: bread (tasty), appertizer (soup/escargot/terrine...), main course, dessert) Around $220 per person

The desserts looked really ordinary but they gave me and Suzanne new tasting experience. The pineapple cake was indeed extraordinary.

Two kids climbing down the drainpipe in a high rise building

It was a very dangerous act. Thank Goodness the kids (age 6 & age 8) were safe after climbing down the drainpipe. The incident happened last week in a housing estate of Tin Shui Wai. I could not believe that HK kids were so not afriad of height. From the news, they are not the only two who would climb outside the building. Perhaps Alain Robert French Spiderman should consider training these natural born climbers.

4 women went to watch 'Sex and the City"

Sex and the city has a very coherent story line. It brings up relationship issues that bother women. Better than I expect. It was not just a TV episode and has succesfully transformed to a movie.

Want some lamb ?! 西環水街 Bi yi

I saw the staff and the boss (the lady in charge) of the restaurant discussing where to hang up pictures that have 'Choi san' and Amanda S.

Nobilduca Trattoria Ocean Centre tst

ND's location is just great. It gives you sea view in an air conditioned setting. Set lunch price range is from $88-$158. One of my friends told me the salad here was good. So I tried and learnt the innovative making of salad using cold cut. My friend KM tried Risotto. It looked good, exactly what risotto should be like.

Souvenir -sth about Fencing

My University friend remembered that I played Fencing when I was in U. So he gave me this. Thanks la :)

I love Panda, not Prada

The first toy I had was a panda soft toy. I was a newborn baby in hospital when 'I' recieved it.
Tonite I watched a TV program about raising Giant Panda.
I was amazed, first by how fluent Chengdu Panda Base staff speak English, secondly the extent of international collaboration including the exchange program between Chengdu Panda Base and Zoo Atlanta, finally how cute Ying Ying is -the 2008 Beijing Olympic star!
Newborn Panda is like a nude mouse, all pink . then gradually you see black eye, black ear and fluffy hair.
My favorite animal as always - Panda!

see the very dirty Panda soft toy on the left of the picture. My mother threw it away when I was 9. I discovered the missing of the Panda when I went back home after school. What a trauma... And this photo is one of my favourite photos.

Souvenir - made in USA

The bag on the left has bits of hydrated onion. It is for making French Onion Soup. Yannie gave me this souvenir. The taste was just right, the perfect onion flavour that one would expect. Thanks. I had a good meal.

自然豬

同事喜歡一起買食物(bulk purchase from agent)e.g. 自然豬,特色:不含荷爾蒙、瘦肉精、抗生素,我買了4 塊猪排用蜂蜜煎,試試,沒有明顯的豬肉羶味.

Midnight phone call

Last night I could not sleep well. Lately I could not sleep as well as before.
When one has people close to you that is in hospital, midnight phone call is pretty scary.
I received 2 calls at around 4 a.m. & 5 a.m. about work. And then my worries/memories had been stirred up by the phone calls. Possibly because of Father's day, possibly because the funeral that I attended, possibly because my mother is still in hospital (out of my sight), possibly because I am home alone.....
I was feeling very tensed the whole day. So I decided to drink 'song kee san dan cha' for the first time - a sweet soup that helps to lower my blood pressure and also a cup of chocolate drink before going to sleep tonight.

Friends

I tried to search my old friends last night on facebook. I met some friends in an occasion yesterday and suddenly felt how wonderful to have lifelong friends. Miss you guys, dear friends!

Father's day: 3G

Do you want 3G?
Greg, a father who has 2 daughters gave new meaning to 3G when he meant 3G (irls).

Happy Father's Day to the friends I know that became fathers!

A refreshing drink

I tried this new drink in citisuper - Taiwan organic white bitter gourd + Ping Tung golden pineapple, truly organic, truly refreshing!

Could we be more than what we are?

1. 60 minutes +: Howard Hughes Medical Institute sponors scientists to do research and give them grants and long term support if scientists have simple but big ideas e.g. how people balance (physically). The Institute allows people to explore as long as there are evidences supporting the hypothesis. They are not evaluating research by outputs but by the significance of the questions.

2. Berlin has many historical buildings that have been kept because the wealthy people are willing to use their money to keep the historical buildings and even give money to support art. So for the past 10 years, Berlin is becoming the centre of modern art. Artists there are imagniative. I saw on TV that the artists used stockings to make beautiful modern art pieces (quite zen in fact). Unbelievable!

About my mum

Thanks for all your prayers, She is ok and will be staying in hospital for a couple of weeks.

夏天的煲仔飯

偶然經過西環坤記,在驟雨下的一個夏天晚上,阿姨、姨丈跟我吃了馳名煲仔飯$36-40,這小店沒有令我們失望,價廉物美,一碟炒芥蘭足見鑊氣夠,除煲仔飯及菜外,白飯及貴妃雞同樣出色,夏天仍客似雲來。

食豬什

對內臟,我是很有保留的.但因為阿姨大力推介,我在上環陳勤記吃了豬什,他們的西洋菜豬什湯很棒,西洋菜很新鮮,鹵水鵝片Ichiban,豬腸很乾淨很香,不過豬腸...試過一次就夠了。

搞爛gag

教會崇拜內少年人講參加詩班ge經驗,講下講下,跑落台,將咪遞到一教友面前,這教友是位女歌手。然後問:「你知唔知我講咩?」女教友答:「唔知,你講丫!」少年人答:「講(笑)」- 講少年詩班.

About bookstores

*Solitude bookstore will move from Waterloo to Tsuen Wan in July.
*Purchasing over $300 at Commercial press using HSBC, free membership for a year, I got it la.

Tai O - what happen next after landslide and flooding?

http://www.mingpaonews.com/20080609/gaa1h.htm
Where are the officials?
Are they doing all their co-ordination works by phone calls only?
Do they try to feel for the people who live in Tai O?
I have to say again.. I hate bureaucracy.
We need to be more imaginative & pro-active in unusal circumstances.

About the school in Tai O which has exam tomorrow, could sb give them a place for exam in Tung Chung if teachers and students cannot go to Tai O. Like cert exam, students can have exams elsewhere instead of transporting them to and from Tai O? I don't know the exact situation there but I think we should try to think more options rather than follow what we used to do.

Sing a long

After seeing the drama sing a long, I dug out all Faye Wong CDs.
I could not believe that I know that many pop songs.
'Red tea house' to me is Prisilla Chan's song but to the young people now, it means Nursing Home.
So Pop song represents a particular period of time. It will be fun if people of the same generation gather together to sing a long.


More about the drama 'Sing a long' available if you click to www.trinitytheatre.org

Crunch chiffon cake

That's starbucks's crunch chiffon cake, very NICE!
Not all branches have it, only in selected locations (e.g. Wanchai Branch).

Re-thinking flooding

1. On sat, my mum and I had to rush to hospital for admission as my mum will have surgery next tue. She had to do all assessments before surgery. However the heavy rain affected our schedule, we were asked to go there when the black rainstorm warning turned red. At 11, I called the nurse tellng them that we could go. We left home immediately but we could not get a taxi. The nurse told us the admission had to be before 12. I was very agitated and cursed every single taxi that passed by and refused to take us. I was asking God whether he wanted my mum to have this surgery. Then a taxi came and we got in. The taxi driver did not plan to take any passenger but he changed his mind and the driving direction a minute ago. So thank God, we arrived safely finally. When there seem no choices, God opens a door, just in time.

2. My aunt noticed that the new pavements using bricks are more vulnerable when facing heavy rain. I also suspected that the mud which blocked the sewage may be the same mud underneath the bricks. I have no evidence of course but I do see a lot of mud left over on the road after water drying up. Where does the mud come from? I wondered when I walked in the streets of Wanchai.

3. Food is very important to Chinese people. We need to eat, when there is an earthquake. We need to eat, when there is flooding. Do you see in the news that people going back to the dangerous zone for getting the preserved meat that has been left at home? Do you see in the news that HK guys put their feet in the dirty water and enjoy their dim sum?
Shanghai famous female writer Cheung Oi Ling 張愛玲 has long noticed the importance of food in chinese culture. When you read her books, you will know.

Malaysian Food

Very Malaysian, see the Teh Tarik

Flooding

Usually I will still go out when raining. BUt this time, it is flooding!
Or you can call it a river! I cannot imagine what happen to nearby streets.
There is water coming in through the wall.

衹月與當舖

衹月 莊士敦道
氣氛好.服務超好,但擔擔面糊了,纏在一起.茶介$15一定收.就等如最低消費.我還沒喝.已計在帳單內!我不介意付多些錢.喝好茶.但至少都要倒茶給我吧 ? 沒喝, 都計錢?

法國豆

看王麗梅及鄧達智談法國豆Haricot Vert又剛巧發現超級市場有售,就買來試弄.

政治風波

政治任命掀起政治風波,不算壞事,如果有決心培養政治人才,可視此機會為訓練。做領袖,要了解民情,亦要有膽識,在人人都有自己的道理,如何評估風險,並且確立、修正定位及策略、並展示政治智慧。
得其位,取其酬,快快熱身吧!
話說回來,這政治任命的構思其實頗古怪,作為市民,都說不清誰是他們的老板?要問責,問局長?問副局長?問助理?還是事事最終問特首?沒有執政黨,如何產生政治人物?究竟誰在參與這政治遊戲?
對我來說,有其他國家居留權,只要肯申報,我看不出有甚麼問題。作為僱主,在這有限的合約,政府對僱員有甚麼承擔?
頃刻間,大家爭相引申基本法。不論釋不釋法,我倒想知道其他地方對不同崗位政治人物的要求,好作參考。如果沒有先例可援,我們是否需要更謹慎。至於人工方面,列出整體約數不已足夠了嗎?在這樣局面下,知道個別薪酬,有甚麼重要性?當然政府定的薪酬是否高於正常,有討論空間,人工本可用類似試用期的期限,以表現調節薪金。而議員確實沒有及時監察,要被問責嗎?任何新人事,都需要互相摸索期,太快成對立,只會玉石俱焚,惟有開放、自重又尊重別人的社會,才可以步向自由。

Re-reading Shikoku

Every time I accompany my mum to see doctors or do medical tests, I can finish reading a book. This time I read Shikoku Fever by JS Tong in Kubrick and bought a copy of Fleurs des Lettres Apr-May 08 issue.
Shikoku is becoming a popular option. If you have been to Toyko too many times, shikoku will give you new experience. This book is a travel book but with cultural touch. It prepares you to have more gain when you visit those places.
I have been to Naoshima with Yannie one and a half years ago. This book consolidates my impression of Shikoku and it also gives me a better picture of how Tadao Ando helps this little island with aging population. (though I have a book about the island but that is in japanese)

最近刺激我思考的一段經文:

我知道怎樣處卑賤,也知道怎樣處富裕,我已經得了祕訣,無論在任何情況之下,或是飽足,或是飢餓,或是富裕,或是缺乏,都可以知足。我靠著那加給我能力的,凡事都能作。聖經腓立比書4:12

Against inflation

$5 could buy 3 buns.... A bakery near wher I live

沒有真正正宗的火車頭

終於試過金庸、雜誌都讚好的大坑火車頭越南河,據介紹,相傳某一城內牛肉河吸引人排隊由火車頭排到火車尾,是傳說,是秘方,因此也沒有所謂真正正宗的火車頭,各有特色,這間湯不算突出,但河粉夠滑,整體水準平均,飲食環境佈置有心思,所以價錢中上,試試無妨,但不會專情再去。

天災人禍

天災無法避免
人禍卻可以
未忘六四

電視劇

我其實是一個電視精,英文台「睇」,中文台都「睇」。
最近更與人討論同事三分親及火蝴蝶的劇情,終於見到一些比較非公式,對劇情人物發展比較細膩的處理。例如:裘俊與diana; 火蝴蝶中章家股份被敵意收購,大婆、二太太、三太太逐個爭相打電話求相熟太太不要賣出股票,那佈局配合又延續個別角色性格發展。
朋友傳來電郵,說Facebook有人說火蝴蝶劇情矮化同性戀,wait ..一些被批評的情節仍未播放.批評可單依據網頁角色扮演的內容?
從何時起觀眾可以審查作品內容先於作品的發表呢?有誰在關心自己的自由外,還關心別人的自由?
一個主流肥皂劇圍繞爭產,大少被塑造成無才幹,算不算矮化? 所提及大少爺學廉並不是一個被著墨的角色,就算真的死於愛滋病,那段劇情還未出現,如何處理絕對影響最後的印象。
我或許不夠客觀,因為我是看著劇情發展的觀眾,作為觀眾,絕不想只顧政治正確的作品,只要劇情不涉人身攻擊或過份色情暴力,我是很能包容的,那是別人創作的自由。太爛,我可以不看。
如果最後情節處理真的別有用心矮化了一些人,那時理性的反省和回應才更有幫助,我們要追尋更和平和公平的世界,在過程當中,不一定逃避得過傷痛,不一定只有開心。培養自己的自信,面對世界,人就有選擇,並且得到更公平的對待。

後記
結局部份有D失手,有抄城中的豪門故事之嫌,綁匪開槍失手,冇咁失禮卦!老公失踪,著到咁紅,唔通沖喜?!定話因為佢係火蝴蝶,要火紅D?

DVD The Warlords

Y Chan recommended me to watch The Warlords by Peter Chan. The film did not move me. It is all about men - what they want and what they see as right. Men may like it but I cannot see why women love it, if not because of those handsome actors.
The only one woman character in the film is so weak that she could not even tell people what she really wants. It may be a wonderful epic but definitely not my cup of tea. Sorry...