Thursday, March 29, 2012

RUGBY SEVENS

Last weekend, we did the ultimate expat-y thing to do in Hong Kong - dressed up in costumes and partied in the south stands at the Rugby Sevens.

The Rugby Sevens is organized by the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union and is held each year on the last weekend of March in Hong Kong, starting on Friday and concluding on Sunday. 24 teams from around the world participate. This year, Fiji beat New Zealand in the final match to win the tournament title.

Going to the Rugby Sevens is more an excuse to dress up in ridiculous costumes, drink pimm's at 10am and party with friends in the south stands for the day. I can guarantee that most of the people are not watching the Rugby match (except when France plays, which results in a lot of booing from the Brits).

Modeling our Top Gun costumes






There are no assigned seats in the south stands, so you must arrive by 9:30am to avoid the long line to get into the area. And be prepared for a rowdy crowd! The closer you are to the field, the higher probability drinks will be spilled on you from above.

For other great tips, check out Sassy Hong Kong's article on surviving the Sevens below.




Wednesday, March 28, 2012

SECRET INGREDIENT

I LOVE to cook, but by the time I go to the grocery store, wash the greens and prepare the ingredients, it's already passed my bedtime and the food is not even in the oven. Lucky for us, our friends introduced us to a wonderful company called Secret Ingredient in Hong Kong.


Secret Ingredient's website allows you to pick a recipe based on their bi-weekly offerings (they also operate a shop in Sheung Wan). The company delivers fresh ingredients and step-by-step instructions for you to home cook a delicious meal.

The ingredients have all been all been measured, washed, peeled, chopped, sliced and diced. All of the ingredients are provided in your delivery, including the salt, pepper and olive oil.

To prepare your meal, you simply follow the instructions, which include a "cook by letter" labeling system. The guys at Secret Ingredient guarantee that you can make your entire meal in less then 10 steps and 30 minutes. Hence, I had time to post 2 blogs tonight!





So what did we make? We made poached salmon with watercress sauce and a potato and green bean salad. And it only took us 25 minutes from start to finish. Although I have to say, 90% of the time was waiting for our water to boil and the salmon to poach.




Bon Appetit! The meal was delicious!



Now if only doing dishes were that easy...

Secret Ingredient
G/F, 32-34 Tai Ping Shan Street
Sheung Wan, Hong Kong
+852 2108 4000

orders@secretingredient.com.hk

CANDYLAND IN SINGAPORE

Ever wonder how these candies are made?


We stumbled across a candy shop in Singapore called Made in Candy and saw how it was done!












Made in Candy can personalize the design just for you. They were working on a special design for Isetan department stores the day we visited the shop. How cute would personalized candies be as a wedding favor? Or as a birthday favor? Or for a corporate event? The possibilities are endless!

For more information, check out Made In Candy's website.

Made In Candy

101 Thomson Road United Square
#B1-06 Singapore 307591
+65 63527687
enquiries@madeincandy.com

Monday, March 26, 2012

SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE

If you are looking for good deals on fun getaways, check out Cathay Pacific's website! Cathay was recently promoting a great round-trip deal to Singapore, so we took advantage of it with some friends and made a fun weekend out of it.

When we arrived late Friday night, I had two immediate first impressions. First, the city is very "western" compared to Hong Kong. For example, there was a Quizno's located near baggage claim and a Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (I know, they're everywhere!) on every other corner. Second, I was immediately impressed by the beautiful and clean everything was thanks to the strict government policies. Even the major highway was lined with whimsical trees and flowers.

We woke up to wonderful views of the city (and a few rain clouds) on Saturday morning. If you plan to travel to Singapore, bring an umbrella!

The view from our hotel room

We headed to the Raffles hotel for breakfast, which happened to be just across the street from where we were staying. The hotel is situated in a beautiful colonial building filled with high-end shops, a couple of restaurants and of course a hotel.


We found a cafe to enjoy a quick breakfast where I was introduced to kaya toast, which is a spread of eggs, sugar and coconut milk on top of brioche toast (so delicious!). It was the first of many kaya toasts throughout the weekend!

After breakfast we walked along the waterfront and took in the city skyline, the floating Louis Vuitton store and Merlion (Singapore's signature Lion Fish).

Merlion
Marina Bay Sands Hotel
The beautiful skyline
Merlion from the backside





Clarke Quay

After getting our fill of the beautiful waterfront, we took a cab to Chinatown to see the colorful buildings, street markets and the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple. We didn't make it to see the actual tooth relic, but we did take a peek inside.






Buddha Tooth Relic Temple

We worked up quite an appetite in Chinatown and headed straight to Maxwell Food Centre, a famous hawker centre which houses many different food stalls with inexpensive treats. I volunteered to wait in line at Tian Tian, a stall that sells one of the best chicken rice in Singapore (according to locals and Anthony Bourdain).





We savored the chicken rice, peanut soup, carat cakes and fresh fruit smoothies. One warning though, it was a very hot day (typical Singapore weather) and the centre was not air conditioned. Be prepared to sweat through your meal. It was worth it!

After lunch, we took a taxi to colorful Haji Lane, which is a narrow street filled with cute boutiques. I left with a cute dress and leather belt. Other than clothes, the boutiques offer great jewelry, shoes and home items at fairly reasonable prices.



After a day filled of sightseeing, eating and shopping, it was time to head back to our hotel to shower and change. That evening, we had an amazing meal at Wild Rocket, where I declared having tasted the best Chilean sea bass ever. Later that night, we met some new friends for drinks on top of the Marina Bay Sands hotel at Kudeta and then headed to Pangaea where we danced the night away.


View from Kudeta at Marina Bay Sands Hotel

Pangaea Club


On Sunday morning, we headed to Orchard Road for brunch and window shopping. Orchard Road is Singapore's version of Fifth Ave. We couldn't get over all of the shopping malls and brands.





After brunch, we had a couple of hours to kill before going to the airport. We decided to go to Sentosa Island, which is a huge adult (and kid) playground, including beaches, restaurants, golf courses, Universal Studios, a dolphin lagoon and more.

You can even ride a fake wave on Sentosa Island!


The pretty beach and the not so pretty tankers on the horizon

More tankers in the horizon

And just like that, it was time to head to the airport. The 48 hour whirlwind trip had come to an end. It definitely left us wanting more of Singapore. We will be back soon!

Below are some helpful articles we referenced when planning our trip.

http://www.ladyironchef.com/2011/03/best-cafes-singapore/