Sunday, March 24, 2013

Spring Break Eatery x Cova High Tea

Yes, my healthy plan is working just fine in Hong Kong... But really, how could one resist the variety of cuisines this food paradise offers. In this fat afternoon, my friend Jelly (Evangeline... I've always wondered why we give each other such weird nicknames) and I went to the famous Cova High Tea. The tea was in buffet style and was in the middle of the restaurant. We sat at a corner which had sofas and the environment was peaceful and comfortable (except for the little awkwardness given that it was situated in open space right in the middle of the mall). 

Salty Savor & Pastries
Fresh Fruits & Jelly
Hot Plates
Fruity Cheesecake
Black Cherry & Whipped Cream Crepe
The crepe was too thick and was not the best I've tasted, but overall, the buffet was satisfying and worth the price considering the diversity of snacks it provided (I didn't manage to take pictures of the cake section). I especially loved that it provided fruits so that I could clean my mouth with some lightness.

301, L3,
Pacific Place,
88 Queensway,
Admiralty, Hong Kong
(852)2918-9643

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And because our pet Hammy is too cute, I had to add him into this post about dessert and all that sweetness:

It's so fluffy I'm gonna die!
GAHHH... Being home just feels so good!

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Spring Break Eatery x Wa-San-Mai

To start off my spring break eatery (aka stuff-myself-until-I-die-plan), my family and I went to Wa-San-Mai, one of the largest Japanese restaurants in Hong Kong. Wa-San-Mai consists of four zones, including Teppanyaki, Shabu Shabu, Sushi Bar and Cafe Zone. We mainly ate in the Teppanyaki zone. Each table had a cooking area and a personal cook who served the set we chose on the spot right in front of us. From the way he controlled his utensils and ingredients perfectly, I could tell that our cook was really skilled and had years of experience in the Teppanyaki field. Because we could communicate with the cook and ask him everything about the food (e.x. are the seafoods really from Japan), the experience felt personalized and cozy. I highly recommend everyone to try it! 

Fois Gras- fatly appetizing & one of my favs (although the process of making it is quite brutal...)! The bread added absorbed the oil (fat) of the fois gras and added a new texture to the dish. 
Scallop!
We were forced to wear bibs, which generally made us look retarded. I guess it was for our own fashion sake. Fortunately, I did drip some oil... on my bib. 

My sister with a bib, still looking good. 
Our clams were cooked inside this silver pot/bowl with wine (partly for the taste and partly for the flaming visual effect). The pot/bowl jiggled as the flames bursted into the air- somewhat entertaining to watch I must say! 

Clams- big, fresh & juicy!
Beef & Fried Rolls
Fried Rice
Fried Rice- a little bit dry. I would have loved it if he left some raw egg in.
Fried Vegetable
We then moved to the Cafe Zone to enjoy some refreshments. This design of diving the restaurant into zones was really thoughtful; it allowed costumers to choose a zone according to their appetite and added a different atmosphere to each zone.

Tofu Ice-cream- tasted like sweet Tofu/ cold creamy Tofu Flower. Apparently, all kinds of ice-creams exist nowadays. Has anyone ever tried a salty ice-cream?
22/F,
555 Hennessey Road,
Sogo,
Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
(852)2831-8989

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Thursday, March 14, 2013

Swatch SUOW100

Our painting assignment this time was "whites on whites". The aim was to create a painting using the medium of acrylic that explores different shades of the color white. I chose to paint a watch I own, the Swatch SUOW 100, which proved to be a challenge because of the details it contains. Below is actually my second attempt, which I'm proud to say has came out decently and abstractly. 

A Model of Swatch SUOW100- © Google Images
Swatch SUOW100

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Shakespearean Birthday Weekend

February was a busy month filled with heavy coursework and late night rehearsals- so glad we're finally marching into spring (see the pun there?). I spent my birthday weekend this year not on the plane, but mostly on stage performing works of my dear friend Shakespeare. 

On Friday and Saturday nights, our cast of ten presented The Complete Works of William Shakespeare- Abridged at our school. The play is a parody of 37 Shakespearean plays and Shakespeare addicts find it either hysterically funny or offensive. The script contained many references to pop culture and we improvised some of them along our rehearsals. As a result, some of the modern twists we added could only be understood by people from our school. My two main characters (I had a total of five characters) were Titus in Titus Andronicus and Claudius in Hamlet. Titus Andronicus, originally a tragedy, was performed as a cooking show. I loved my role as Titus the most because I got to be a maniac on stage (but really, try going crazy because it releases stress)! For example, one line I said to the rapist was "let me go grind your bones to power small... and make a pasty of your shameful head!" (in an Indian accent). The fourth wall was nonexistent during my scene and I had the great honor of harassing and persuading the front role audience to try the lovely human head pie. My role as Claudius was yet another challenge because we had to perform the scene and our lines backwards, which looked like we all resurrected from death.

Titus in Titus Andronicus
Claudius in Hamlet
Claudius in Hamlet
Claudius in Hamlet
The thing about having a deep voice at a girls' school is that you are always casted as a guy... I guess my goal for my senior year plays is to have a female role. Luckily for the English-Speaking Union's regional Shakespeare Competition, I got to choose my own pieces while representing the school. I performed one monologue as Viola in Twelfth Night Act II Scene II and Sonnet 147. I ended up as the top 5 finalists. Although I would love to win and perform in the Lincoln Center in NYC, the experience of seeing other people perform Shakespearean texts was very enlightening. Here is a video of my first round performance:



In addition to the whole Shakespearean madness, my advisor baked me cupcakes for my birthday and my friend surprised me with a cake on Sunday night (by surprise I also mean I was pied)!


Stuck in Titus' World
What's better than a Shakespearean Birthday Weekend? :)