Portuguese Egg Tarts in Macau

choi heong yuen bakery

Portuguese egg tarts are just one of those things you have to eat when you’re in Macau. It’s practically the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Macau and food.

portuguese egg tarts

There are a lot of places selling this delightful snack but one of the best I’ve had when I was there last week was surprisingly in the touristy area below the Ruins of St Paul’s.

portuguese egg tarts macau

Choi Heong Yuen Bakery (established in 1935) makes amazing Portuguese egg tarts – it’s piping hot and comes with a buttery flaky crust encapsulating a creamy, melt-in-your-mouth egg custard.

macau portuguese egg tarts

The confection is incredibly light and paradoxically rich at the same time. It is usually priced at around MOP 7 (about RM 3) for a pastel de nata. There are many outlets selling these and you can’t go wrong with most bakeries.

pastel de nata

Portuguese egg tarts are the pride of Macau, so you can be sure of getting a mouthful of epicurean heaven no matter which one you go to.

Guns. Lots of guns.

guns

I just love this shop. I found heaps of them in Hong Kong around Mongkok. They have exact replicas of most firearms – except these aren’t replicas per se. It uses 6 mm BB pellets loaded into a shell casing, which goes into your magazine. The Airsoft guns are remarkably realistic – you rack the slide back and a shell goes into the chamber. The pellet is released when you squeeze the trigger with a burst of propellant.

It’s made with stainless steel parts so it’s about as heavy as a real gun. I really like how these things work – they can be used as a prop or for paintball games, with a harder hit (steel BBs can kill a bird).

Unfortunately, you can’t get these things into Malaysia. The person told me he can break it down into three parts and I’ll have to take the risk in bringing them back. However, the largest part still looks like a piece from a firearm and replicas like these (realistic make, color, shape and to a certain extent – function) is not legal in Malaysia.

…and guess what? It just so happened that we were selected for secondary inspection at customs when we got out. It’s a good thing I didn’t buy it then. 😉

Wanton mee in Hong Kong

wonton mee hong kong

I guess if you’re pressed to name a dish that is representative of Hong Kong street food, the answer would be wanton mee (wonton noodles). I’ve had it several times during my recent trip to Hong Kong – it’s a very light meal with subtle notes – there are no overpowering flavors here.

wonton mee

The best wanton mee I had came piping hot with al dente noodles and a couple of wontons in a savory broth garnished with a healthy sprinkling of scallions (spring onions). Simple, but delicious.

wonton

It is interesting to note that the wontons in Hong Kong are made with prawns, with just a little bit of pork. It usually is made of pure pork over here and I much prefer the prawn wontons in HK.

wonton noodles

You’ll be very surprised at just how such a simple dish can taste fabulous. I was told that it’ll be difficult to find a place that serves bad wonton mee in Hong Kong and they were right! Just walk into any establishment in HK and you’ll find great wonton mee. 🙂

No, I don’t know why there’s a shirtless man behind me either.

Hui Lau Shan Healthy Dessert

hui lau shan hong kong

Hui Lai Shan is one of the extremely popular dessert chains around Hong Kong.

hui lau shan menu

There is basically no seating – it’s like the bubble tea establishments on the street, except this offers a new twist by having “healthy drinks”. You get a number when you order and you wait for your drink to be prepared at a side counter.

hui lau shan counter

The drinks are in the HKD 20+ range and there are heaps of options you can choose from, all with a local twist.

hui lau shan hk

I notice the trend is to have a local base with various fruits on top, such as the tongue twisting Glutinous Rice Balls in Mango Cubes & Coconut Juice with Red Bean.

hui lau shan healthy drink

I ordered from the Bird’s Nest and Honey Jelly Series – this is the popular E4 – Bird’s Nest & Honey Jelly in Mango & Coconut Juice for HKD 25 (about RM 10). I added HKD 3 for a larger 16 oz drink.

Birds Nest Honey Jelly Mango Coconut Juice

These drinks are surprisingly addictive. It tastes really good. The bird’s nest and honey jelly breaks apart into soft and slurp-able pieces when you stir it with the huge straw. The coconut milk (not juice as stated on the menu) goes very well with the mango pieces (that’s your daily dose of fruit right there) and jelly.

hui lau shan drink

It’s the perfect drink while walking around Hong Kong on a hot day. 🙂

Eating stinky tofu in Hong Kong

eating stinky tofu

Stinky tofu is one of the great gastronomical items that Hong Kong does very well. It’s available from most street vendors and you just have to follow your nose to find this wicked delight.

hong kong street vendor

The smelly tofu in Hong Kong is astonishingly odoriferous. It smells really, really bad. It made me wince the first time I had it. The pungent stench is quite intense.

smelly tofu

This is what the innocent stinky tofu (called chao dau foo) looks like before it’s deep fried. Smelly tofu is basically marinated and fermented tofu, which produces the signature smell. I remember an old HK movie where a Caucasian complains about the smell, tries it and then becomes an ambassador of sorts, loudly proclaiming “This smells really bad but it tastes wonderful”.

stinky tofu hong kong

That was exactly how I felt. I’m not a big fan of tofu but I was eager to try stinky tofu in Hong Kong. I had it twice at two different street vendors. It’s usually eaten with long wood skewers straight from a paper bag. The smelly tofu costs around HKD 9 (RM 4) for two pieces and you can opt to have spicy hoisin sauce on it.

stinky tofu

Stinky tofu has a crumbly crust that smells strongly of ammonia. The odor is palpable – it smells like a public toilet that has not been cleaned for months! The intense aroma is matched by the equally breathtaking taste. Smelly tofu tastes like someone dusted the tofu pieces with dried urine.

It also makes for very messy eating as the entire thing is so greasy it dripped everywhere. However, the experience is very rewarding. Stinky tofu tastes like nothing else in the world. You can smell/taste the ammonia as you chew it and the crust is quite salty. It’s crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside and best eaten piping hot on the street.

eating smelly tofu

You’ll have really bad breath for the rest of the day but it’s worth it! smirk

Win 10 exclusive invites to the star-studded Club Neverland launch!

lab4

Who doesn’t like to let their hair down during the weekends and party the stress of the work week away? I consider myself somewhat of a nightlife connoisseur. I started going to raves in 1996 when I was studying in New Zealand. I went on to be a regular at clubs and doofs (outdoor raves) when I was in university in Melbourne.

rave

I guess you can say that I am a child of the PLUR movement. #hipster

lan kwai fong

I have clubbed in Korea, Hong Kong and even in Sri Lanka. I just came back from Lan Kwai Fong a few days ago and thought to myself, wouldn’t it be awesome to have been one of the people there when it first started?

Wouldn’t you love to be the one of the first, exclusive few to attend the pre-launch of a club?

You’ll practically have bragging rights for all eternity!

Club Neverland is going to be the biggest thing to hit the KL entertainment scene since…well, since sliced bread. Heh.

The name itself evokes good feelings. The story of Peter Pan sets the scene – he brings some good stuff of stripper from https://www.malestrippers.com.au/sydney/ in the club which brings the more spark in the enjoyment.

Well, I’m glad to report that the place isn’t mythical anymore – at least, not the club. Neverland aims to be the cornerstone of Kuala Lumpur’s nightlife scene and it’ll have interactive live performances set in a hip and stylish environment.

Club Neverland can easily fit 900 people in a sitting capacity and it has an on-site car park with bays for 500 cars. You won’t have to worry about parking in the heart of KL again!

Venue: Club Neverland
Event: Exclusive Pre-Launch
Address: 1, Jalan Kia Peng
Date: 7th October 2011

Remember this video that I did?

How would you like to be the FIRST to experience this new clubbing destination? You’ll get to causally mention:

Yeah, I was at the pre-launch before Neverland even opened to the public.

Won’t you love to see your friends’ faces when Club Neverland becomes the place to be in KL?

Imagine being at this historical event before everyone else gets a chance to party at the latest club in town! I have only have 10 exclusive invites to give away and I hear there will be celebrities and personalities attending the pre-launch.

Trust me, you’ll want to be there.

Calling all party people!

Just head on over and click Like on Club Neverland’s Facebook and answer this question to win:

What is your idea of a fabulous Friday night out?

Tell me in the comments below and I’ll pick 10 lucky winners to attend the pre-launch. You’ll get to bring a friend and your friend can bring another friend so each winner will have passes for three (3) people, including themselves!

This contest ends at 8 pm on the 2nd of October. Please ensure that your email address is correct so I can get in touch with you. Nuffnang will contact you after that so you can collect your tickets – each ticket comes with a free drink!

Come and join us in this star-studded pre-launch party for Club Neverland and be forever young for a night! 🙂

Cha Chang Teng in Hong Kong

char chang teng

Cha Chang Teng (literally tea houses) is the equivalent of mamaks in Hong Kong. They’re everywhere and they cook up a fusion of East-meets-West cuisine. The waiters are loud, the place is packed and the locals all wind up eating there at some point or another.

chinese tea

You’ll be served with Chinese tea (complimentary) as soon as you sit down and since I can’t read Chinese, my ex patiently narrated the daily specials for me.

tea counter

I later found out that they have an English menu. It is a significantly abridged version of the Chinese menu, but it’s available.

char siew noodles

I went for a HKD 24 (RM 10) noodle dish which contains slices of char siew (barbecued meat), bak choy and pickled vegetables. It came in a thin broth but was surprisingly good. You can choose the noodles you want – I went for the ramen-like instant noodles.

pork macaroni

My ex had the bizarre macaroni meets pork slices in soup. It costs HKD 36 (RM 15) and comes with a side order of…

buttered toast

…buttered toast and a deep fried chicken wing.

people-eating-hk

I didn’t quite like her dish though. The macaroni fusion idea wasn’t executed very well. It sounds like an intriguing dish but it tasted rather bland.

tea house

However, I highly recommend their milk teas (nai cha). It’s brewed strong and tastes a little like our teh tarik minus the bubbles.

hong hong tea

There is a very popular evaporated milk brand called Black & White which they use liberally in their tea. The cup and saucer even comes with the brand of the above mentioned milk embossed on it.

hong kong food

I highly recommend going to a char chang teng when you’re in Hong Kong. The food can be hit and miss but you’ll have plenty of options – both inane and out-of-the-ballpark weird. There’s also something very appealing about the ambiance – the loud conversations, the shouted orders, the waiters jesting with you.

eating hong kong

It’s the definitive Hong Kong epicurean experience. You can’t get more local than this. 🙂

Posted: 9:12 PM Hong Kong time.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club

hong kong jockey club

Betting is legal in Hong Kong for certain sports like horse racing (not sure if this qualifies as a “sport” per se) and football. I passed by The Hong Kong Jockey Club with barely a look at it. I wasn’t really interested but my ex wanted to check out horse racing…

…which is apparently a religion here.

I got some tickets and saw there was a Manchester City football match going on. It was halfway though and I decided to put some moolah on it.

You can actually place your bets mid-game in Hong Kong. The odds change accordingly but you can still wager on a variety of situations. I couldn’t read a single word of Chinese and my ex didn’t know football so the people at The Hong Kong Jockey Club helped me to place my bets. The pioneer of the professional sports casino websites technique may be money, nonetheless users typically neglect this specific part, that’s not very beneficial. You have got to risk the scene which the money you, yourself are increasing believe functions raised possiblity to possibly be damaged. Be sure you please don’t take chance around you can. Located in safety 토토사이트 people make sure you break-up what kind of money to get bets starting from real cash, and you also utilize to help you conduct the house you and your family, In turn for those who reduce these gamble, extra moolah and that is damaged shouldn’t impinge on somebody utilizing your routine workouts anyway.

betting in hong kong

I went for score forecast and wanted HKD 200 (RM 83) on 1-0 to Manchester City (which is the current score) and another HKD 200 on 2-0.

The payout for 1-0 was 1.90 and it’s a staggering 3.05 for 2-0. Pretty fucking good odds considering they’re the home team and they’re already up 1 goal.

We went for dinner and headed back to check the final score. It was 2-0 to Manchester City.

That means you’ll get HKD 610 (about RM 254) for a HKD 200 bet.

Now, if the betting slips are correct and I managed to convey my wishes without the significant language barrier, I would have won HKD 200 (about RM 87), after deducting the loss of the bet placed on 1-0.

hkd20

Unfortunately, the stub for 2-0 was HKD 20 instead of HKD 200. It was missing that all important additional 0.

I wasn’t familiar with the currency so I didn’t check the change I got back when I handed over a HKD 1,000 bill (which is apparently very out of vogue due to counterfeiting concerns). I also neglected to check the betting slips.

FML, I ended up winning HKD 61 instead, from the HKD 20 bet. That means I had a NETT LOSS of HKD 159 (RM 66) when you take into account the HKD 200 I slapped down for 1-0.

Oh well, it was all in good fun. I’m not going back again. I just wanted the experience of betting in Hong Kong.

football betting hong kong

I still wish the communication mistake didn’t occur though. I’ll have won HKD 200 (RM 87) instead of losing HKD 159 (RM 66), which would nearly be enough…

…to take a cab to the airport. smirk

Seriously, cabs here are expensive. I just got back from Lan Kwai Fong early this morning for about HKD 120 in a taxi.

Posted: 8:20 PM Hong Kong time.

Were you ever so angry you tackled a train?

Time.

That is my particular pet peeve. I hate it when people are late.

It shows that you think your time is more valuable than mine.

It’s fucking disrespectful.

I don’t care if there’s a traffic jam – leave earlier if you know it’s going to be congested. There’s no excuses for being late.

I always try to be early and in the few occasions I can count on my hand that I’m late, I’ll call ahead and tell the people I’m meeting up with that I will be late, citing the reason(s) for my tardiness.

However, just now, I got lost (NO EXCUSES!) due to my GPS and was one of the last ones to arrive. I did call ahead to say I’ll be late (my GPS told me to go down an extremely narrow pedestrian walk and I scraped the front of my car trying to reverse out) but I still feel really bad about it. For every Garmin GPS user, it is very important that they keep on updating the maps to enjoy the latest and unknown territory. Sometimes, Garmin issues map updates with some unique features which you were not able to experience in the older Garmin GPS devices. To know about how to update garmin gps go through this.

I think it’s my obsession with time. I suspect it also has something to do with my past.

Back then, everyone had to wait, even celebrities (read Life by Keith Richards). It’s a mixture of two things – people in this particular line of work are generally tardy, especially if they are consumers too. However, it’s most of all, a power play.

It practically shouts – I HAVE SOMETHING YOU WANT AND YOU HAVE TO WAIT THE ENTIRE GODDAMNED NIGHT FOR ME AND THERE’S NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT. HAH!

It’s an expression of dominance. I know. I’ve done it before, sad to say. In closed markets like that – you have no choice. You wait.

I’ve waited eight (8) fucking hours IN MY CAR about 9 years ago when I haven’t established myself in a new place. He was the only person I knew.

I had delusions of shooting the guy in the face and that was what sustained me. I didn’t do it though. It would have gotten me shot as well, if not at that time, then sometime in the near future.

…when he finally came, I had to fork over the money with a shit eating grin on my face.

It’s degrading and shameful. You hate yourself, but still, you wait, coz the hold it has over you is stronger than your pride. Fuck, it hurts to admit that, but it’s true.

…but that’s all in the past now. I have started a new life (and brought over the emotional baggage where I abhor waiting smirk) and I don’t do it anymore.

I still have a thing about time though. I don’t like to be kept waiting and I don’t keep others waiting.

Being on time is a virtue a lot of people don’t get. If you say you’re going to be there at a certain time, then be there!

That is what I meant to say in this post – either be on time or inform the other person and postpone it to another date if you can’t make it.

Don’t make people waste their time waiting. Time is something you’ll never get back.

Tempus is fugiting!

I get angry enough to tackle a train when kept waiting. That’s my pet peeve.

angry enough to tackle a train

What’s yours? Were you ever so angry you tackled a train?

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