After You, Bangkok

After our group Thai massage (where you come in being battered but come our relaxed), we headed down to After You for some fabulous afternoon dessert. It was amazing how the place did not have empty seats and the turnover was so quick!

Chocolate lava for THB 145 - the chocolate wasn't oozing out like I was used to, but it's warm enough inside

Strawberry Trifle for THB 145 - top portion. Quite small for our taste, but most of the initial investment probably went into the chocolate shavings

came with a strawberry sauce! =)

Shibuya honey toast for THB 165. This was the winner's choice. At first I couldn't understand how they could milk us for a piece of toast, but you had to taste it to know why. This was sweet and warm with a touch of ice and it made me feel fuzzy chewing it.

Strawberry crumble for THB 145

After You

Lor Chula

Bangkok, Chatuchak,

Bangkok 10900, Thailand

Assorted Thai food

I don't know what my aunt placed in the viands that she served us but it was all so yummyyyyy. I went to the kitched and got myself my second servings because I could not wait for the food to be brought out.

Amidst interpolations on the dire state of the Philippine political system and the dearth of our choices for presidentiables, we dined over delicious Tom Yum, Papaya salad, and green curry chicken.

Sour and spicy - its just like magic!

Thin enough to be chewed, spicy enough to take a pause

I kept on coming back for this even if my tongue was on fire.

I've never had too much white rice to stave off the spicy flavor. And we wonder why there are no fat people in Thailand??

Verandah, Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Bangkok

Before the family dinner, Mommy, my brother and I went to Verandah for cocktails by the riverside. Mocktails were in order - just right for a warm day spent dragging my feet all over Jatujak.

Wooden furniture influenced the hotel lobby. Loving the warm feeling.

He and his mundane Long Island Iced Tea - THB 210

Golden Foam - carrot juice, fresh pineapple juice and fresh banana - THB 210

Bongo - fresh pineapple juice, mango juice, lemon juice, fresh orange juice and coconut cream - THB 210. Great combination of creamy and fruity.

Verandah

Charoenkrung Soi 40

48 Oriental Avenue,

Bangkok, 10500, Thailand

Tel: 66 2 659 9000

Food Loft in Central World, Bangkok

My relatives and I were Bangkok bound for a family reunion this weekend. Little touring, too much shopping, bittersweet bonding.

Grand Palace - first time for most of us.

The real treat came when my family and I went to Food Loft. Entering food loft is like getting lost in a candy store - all sorts of cuisines and whiffs of flavor in one place. I had pad thai and curry galore - which is what I chose for most of the trip, but our dessert selections deserve a thumbs up!

Mudpie pudding for THB 120

We loved the warm spongy taste mixed with the ice cold cream, and that chocolate taste that was sweet just right.

Tiramisu (always my cake choice ever since Al Forno) for THB 110

My family and I are bitter chocolate freaks so this bitter - sweet flavor with thick cream was not enough for the three of us.

Both desserts were gone in 5 minutes.

Foodloft

CentralWorld (Zen - 7F)

999/9, Rama 1 Rd

Pathum Wan, Pathum Wan

Bangkok, 10330

Tel: 662 635 1111

Free coffee from Starbucks!

The sign appeared out of no where: Free coffee from Starbucks from 5p - 7pm. Who can say no to that?

The 15-minute line.

We guessed that they paired up with The Salvation Army to guilt people into giving donations. It worked!

It's beginning to feel a lot like =)

Team Starbucks at hard work! Good job guys!

Thank you for the Christmas flavors, Sbux! =)

Happy day!

Yung Kee, Central, Hong Kong

Dinner with Migs in Yung Kee was the highlight of my trip - my first one michelin star restaurant! Bo Innovations, and then the holy grail of Asian Michelin dining, Lung King Heen is definitely in the pipeline.

Service was a bit slow. Perhaps that's why its just one star?

Century egg and ginger. We arranged it in a smiley.

Their main drawing card is the Roasted Goose (half portion at HKD 210). Worth it!

Comes with a tangerine sauce!

We had the Yeung Chow fried rice for HKD 98

A peek inside

It was crisp. It was golden. It was delicious. This left my taste buds dancing for days, and is probably responsible for vacation separation anxiety.

I loved this experience. Thank you An for the suggestion! =)

Yung Kee

32-40 Wellington Street,

Central, Hong Kong

Tel: (852) 2522 1624

Japan Mi-nesushi, Times Square area, Hong Kong

Our feet aching from walking, Kat and I entered a hole on the wall Japanese outlet off Times Square. We were surprised to see it open to a larger sushi bar inside.

Some of our interesting picks - I don't really know what they are called because I just picked them up as the went along the belt.

HKD 20 grilled salmon

HKD 15 grilled squid

HKD 15 grilled fish

HKD 20 rice wrapped in salmon and scallops

Its a special order so it comes with its won container

Scallops!

Japan Mi-nesushi

G/F, Chong Hing Square,

No. 601, Nathan Road,

Mongkok, Hong Kong, China

Tel: 852 3586 9515

Hui Lau Shan, Fanling, Hong Kong

After dinner, Eva took me to Hui Lau Sa for sweet warm soup for dessert. It was freezing outside so although I am a self confessed ice cream junkie, I opted for anything warm.

Sesame was one of the best flavors I've discovered. Here was the sweet almond sesame porridge and almost sweet soup for HKD 17.

Add Sesame Glutinous Rice balls + HKD 7 and it was just perfect.

Hui Lau Shan Healthy Dessert

Shop 19, 2/F, Fanling Town Centre,

18 Fanling Station Road,

Fanling, Hong Kong

Fukui Japanese restaurant, Fanling, Hong Kong

I had a field trip to Fanling to visit my good friend Eva and we dined in Fukui. Some interesting new things for me.

I have come to worship soft shell crab ever since Jho formally introduced me to it. Soft shell crab tempura for HKD 46 - the wonders of frying soft shell and topping it with Jap mayo.

Deep fried chicken gristle for HKD 28 - the chicken bones are so soft that you can eat it!

The good find - mince kobe friend rice in stone pot for HKD 45

Thank you Eva! =)

Fukui Japanese Restaurant

Shop 101, G/F, Fanling Centre,

33 Sun Wan Road,

Fanling, Hong Kong

Market House Bakery, Hong Kong Disneyland

The mouth watering cakes on the display window of Market House Bakery in HK Disneyland are fakes. Shucks! I was drawn to the shop expecting a version of the goodies below, but I was disappointed to see a half empty Maxim's tea shop with a few bite-sized cake displays.

I was still sulking until I saw the Tiramisu slice. I like Tiramisu with thick cream, much like the one below, but I found it funny how they padded an extra ~HKD 6 for the Mickey logo on it.

Plain tiramisu, rebranded into Mickey Mouse tiramisu for HKD 22.

Hong Kong love

I associate Hong Kong with the place where I grew and felt confident with myself. It was the time in my life when I felt saddest and most privileged. I am grateful to my mom and the Pecots for granting that experience.

During this visit, I pulled a Tai Tai during the holiday - slept, shopped, dined with my friends (3x).

But first, off to Disneyland we went.

We joined a drawing session along Main Street. I had no future in the arts.

This was the first sketch of Beauty and the Beast! Beast really looked like a beast and Belle was hardly a beauty.

Then the final product

Where dreams come true.

A deluge of memories filled my head when I passed through IFC. This wss the first bank and first branch that received my first salary.

I had butterflies in my stomach when I walked through Hong Kong station.

I caught the unveiling of the Jimmy Choo line in H&M. The girls went crazy! Unbelievable.

Hong Kong was rightfully the shopping capital of Asia. They sold everything.