My Little Pal

On a cold & rainy day, we spent almost 2 hours waiting in line to scale the tower of the Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris. The cold was still bearable but it was quite boring when I didn't have anything on hand to kill time. This little cutey was in line behind us, so I started playing with him to entertain him & myself. And before I know it, we were playing like good friends. He was having still a wild time that I almost wanted to surrender.

This picture was taken at the gift shop inside the Notre Dame Cathedral. I was sitting on a bench catching my breath from our merry-go-round spin (me the pivot, he being spinned), the little fellow came up to me & gave me the sweetest smile indicating me to take a picture of him.

Isn't it amazing that despite our language barrier and age gap, kids are simply kids. Spend a few moments playing with them, that's all they want. 

This is definitely one of the great memories I would like to remember of my Paris trip.

A Lovely Day at Jardin des Plantes

Paris, Day One at Jardin des Plantes

I couldn't resist taking a picture of this lovely scene I saw in front of me at Jardin des Plantes. The cutest thing is the baby's butt crack, which is simply adorable!

308 of Project 365: Paris

法国 - 巴黎 - 自助

France - Paris - Free & Easy

Yes, free & easy, a word which I fear the most because it takes a lot of planning & research.  But for once I can go on a free & easy trip planned by someone else, my sis.

As usual, my holiday planning can be stressful right from the start. Firstly, getting approval for my leave application is always a nightmare. Well, it's never a straight forward "ok" when it's subject to the whim of one's bosses.

Then it's booking the flight. Different airlines, different dates, different timings and most importantly, prices that can fluctuate so much.

Then comes lodging. Everything seem so expensive in Euro. Even at the supposedly strong SGD rate, nothing looks cheap when you have to multiply by 1.60 times.

Finally, we have to start digging into the guide books, online research for the places to go and things to do while we were there.

This time round, I'll take it easy and let my sis do most of the planning for I shall be a faithful follower.

Au revoir!

ISO: 400

Exposure: 1/15 sec

Aperture: 5.3

Focal Length: 30mm

Flash Used: No

水闸 (Chui Chak)

我们一群人浩浩荡荡准备去拍日落了！

你看我们多么的专业，还带了高脚梯去，就为了捕捉水闸稻田和日落最美的画面。

最牺牲的应该是提着高脚梯坐摩托的阿辉哥了。听说我驾摩托的表弟才刚拿到执照的哟！

标语 (Courtesy Slogans)

在香港的地铁站，地铁车厢和巴士都可以看到这些有趣的标语，以轻松有趣的方式提醒乘客们。

在新加坡的环线，我也看到类似的标语。可是，本地的似乎缺少了幽默，而且句子也比较长。



庸记 (Yung Kee Restaurant)

庸记 (Yung Kee Restaurant)

This is another must-try restaurant when you are in Hong Kong.

All the great reviews I've read online only served to fuel my curiosity to try it for myself.

In order not to disappoint myself & the 7 others in the group, I made a reservation for lunch one week in advance from Singapore. You can either call or make your reservation online via the restaurant web site. However, for group of more than 6, you have to call to make your reservation, which was what I did. The staff requested for a telephone number, so I provided my Singapore mobile number but was told that they would not be able to make international call in the event that I'm late, and the table would only be held for 15 mins. The staff was very polite & efficient and the whole reservation process was done in less than 5 mins.

I was asked why I go during lunch when it would definitely be very crowded because many people working in Central would go there for lunch. Well, I've read that if you go too late, some of the limited items would be sold out & horrors of horrors, I've came across someone who said that the roast goose was sold out when he went there for dinner. How can I possibly allow that to happen?

Boy, am I glad I made a reservation because the restaurant was really packed when we arrived but we were immediately directed to the second floor where our table awaited us.

Enough talk, let your eyes feast on the best roast goose I've ever had!

添好运 (Tim Ho Wan)

添好运 (Tim Ho Wan)

Address : Shop 8, Tsui Yuen Mansion,

2-20, Kwong Wa Street,
Mong Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong

This is a must-try place when you visit Hong Kong. Would you believe just by looking at this picture that this restaurant had been awarded the Michelin Star?

We visited the branch at Mongkok which is near out hotel. There is also another branch at Sham Shui Po.

We went twice because the dim sum was simply great & most importantly, the price was very reasonable.

Be prepared to wait at least 30 mins to 60 mins, but I can tell you that it's definitely worth waiting for.

Just tell the staff the number of diners & they will write a number on the order slip. The number will be called out when the tables are available. The order slips come in Chinese & English, so if you can't read Chinese, request for the English version. The place is really very small, so the diners are basically sitting shoulders to shoulders.

Since went twice, we have basically try almost 90% of menu because we can share our food.

296 of Project 365: Perseverance

Took this pic of an old man walking down the stairs at the famous Central - Mid Levels escalator in Hong Kong.

ISO: 125

Exposure: 1/60 sec

Aperture: 5.6

Focal Length: 45mm

Flash Used: No

Coliseum Cafe & Hotel

Address: 98-100 Jln Tunku Abdul Rahman, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

My cousin brought us to this nostalgic cafe for lunch. Everything from the decoration, furniture, table setting, seemed to have frozen in time. It was a very interesting dining experience compared to the posh, modern western restaurants which we are more familiar with. 

The food was decent, nothing spectacular. There are quite a few Hainanese-Western dishes which add a touch of fusion.

293 of Project 365: 水闸的稻田与天空

ISO: 100

Exposure: 1/250 sec

Aperture: 5.0

Focal Length: 14mm

Flash Used: No

292 of Project 365: 极乐洞

ISO: 400

Exposure: 1/640 sec

Aperture: 8.0

Focal Length: 14mm

Flash Used: No

291 of Project 365: Group Photo

Our one and only group photo taken at Ipoh on 3 May 2012.

Clockwise starting from the bright red Skechers sneakers belonging to my cousin Choy Kwan, Victor (my brother-in-law), Joanne (my cousin's buddy), me, Cheng (my younger sis), my mom, last but not least, Ah Fei (my cousin's employee, who is also our guide for our Ipoh trip).

ISO: 160

Exposure: 1/50 sec

Aperture: 5.4

Focal Length: 33mm

Flash Used: No

Johor Baru (JB) Day Trip: ZenXin Organic Park

Last leg of the trip was a visit to ZenXin Organic park before we go KSL for shopping, followed by dinner.

This park is huge..... Besides organic farming, there is also a sort of mini zoo. 

Johor Baru (JB) Day Trip: Durian Buffet

After brunch, we went for some retail therapy before heading for our durian buffet at around 3 plus in the afternoon.

If I'm not wrong, I think 2 baskets of durians had been selected before hand for our group. The durians weren't exactly fantastic but we did get to taste a variety of different durian ranging from yellow to white meat, sweet to bitter taste to cater to different taste bud.

There were also curry vegetable, bee hoon & water melon for those who don't eat durian or still hungry after their durian.

Johor Baru (JB) Day Trip: Kampong Visit

 Date: 16 July 2011

Destination: Johor Baru, Malaysia

After being caught in the jam at the custom for hours & witnessing at least 2 dozens Ferrari zooming pass our coach (no kidding, this was the highlight of our whole trip), we finally made it!

First stop, a kampung visit where we were supposed to have our breakfast.
Actually, it was already past 11am by the time we digged in.

Rose Valley @ Cameron Highlands

Rose Galore

Taken at Rose Valley, Cameron Highlands

臭豆 (Petai)

Petai sold by Orang Asli along the road side.

As it was not in season during this time of the year, the prices are quite steep. A bunch like this can cost as much as RM 40 to 50, and we only saw a few stalls selling them. 

These petai were picked by the locals from the wilderness which taste better than the mass-farmed version we get from the market. According to my cousin, petai can be eaten raw too.

Chui Chak (水闸), Malaysia

Took a short detour on our way back to Kuala Lumpur from Cameron Highlands to visit our relatives in Chui Chak.

Here's my cousin coaching my sis in badminton.

African Daisy