IRISH SODA BREAD IN HONOR OF ST. PATRICK'S DAY

I did not see many people wearing green in Hong Kong this past Saturday to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. So we did a bit of celebrating on our own by making Irish Soda Bread. It's a friend's recipe from her grandmother who lived in Galway, Ireland.

This also marked the 2nd time we had used our oven since moving into our new apartment just a little over 2 weeks ago!

Irish Soda Bread Recipe

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 lb. butter (room temperature)
2 1/2 cups raisins
1 egg yolk

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2.  Mix buttermilk, egg and baking soda together very well.

I couldn't find buttermilk at my local grocery store. Instead, I made it by mixing just under 1.5 cups of milk with 1.5 tablespoons of vinegar or lemon juice.

3.  In a separate big bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, butter and raisins. Once thoroughly mixed, add the buttermilk, egg and baking soda mixture and mix all together to get a dough like substance.

4.  Dust some flour on your counter top and on your hands and knead the dough lightly. Be careful not to over knead. You don't want the bread to turn out tough. It will be sticky at first, so keep adding flour and kneading little by little.  Do that until smooth (and not sticky).

5.  Transfer the dough to a lightly greased, thick pan (cast iron or dutch oven if possible, but those are hard to come by). If you don't have a thick pan, a baking sheet should do the trick.

6.  Cut a cross in the dough to ward off evil spirits (this is seriously in my friend's Grandmother's recipe). The scoring also helps the heat get to the center of the dough while it bakes.

7.  Mix the egg yolk with a little bit of water and brush the mixture over the dough for a nice shine. Finally, sprinkle a tiny bit of sugar on top of the dough.

8.  Bake for 45-60 minutes. You will know the bread is done when insert a knife or skewer into the center and it comes out clean.

There are so many Irish Soda Bread recipes out there. Next year, I plan to test out this recipe.

HONG KONG FLOWER SHOW

M's mom is in town so we have been out and about exploring Hong Kong together. Last weekend, we headed to Causeway Bay for the annual flower show which takes place at Victoria Park. This year's theme flower was the hyancinth, which was one of the flowers we used for our wedding!

Here are some pictures from the show.

We literally traveled around the world at the flower show!

Here I am in Holland

And then in Sydney

We made it to the Great Wall

And I think we stopped in Japan

And then we were off to Egypt

And finally we hula danced in Hawaii

Just beware, there is tough competition to get the best picture!

But then again, who wouldn't want a picture of these guys?

Hong Kong Flower Show
Victoria Park, Causeway Bay
March 16 - 25, 2012
9am - 9pm
$14 admissions fee - You can use your Octopus card

DATE NIGHT REVISITED

M's mom is in town for a couple of weeks, which has been such a treat for us. She grew up in Hong Kong and has been showing us all of her favorite spots. Tonight she took us to Boston Restaurant in Wan Chai, a western style restaurant that has been open over 40 years. According to M's mom and dad, this was the place to go on dates in high school. 17 year old kids would flirt over a cup of borsch soup, sizzling steaks and a banana split.

We stuck with the classics when making our meal selection - the borsch soup (a vegetable minestrone soup - not the typical Russian beet soup) and the sizzling steak with pepper sauce. It's served table side, flames included!

The food was hearty and left us too full for dessert. M and I will have to come back to share a banana split. Sounds like a perfect date night to me!

Boston Restaurant

3 Luard Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2527 7138

FAMILIAR THINGS

When we moved abroad, we specifically packed items that would remind us of our family, friends and home in New York so that our new home in Hong Kong would not feel so foreign to us. After a long day in an unfamiliar city, it is so comforting to come home to a place filled with things that are so familiar to us.

Here are some of the items we brought.

Paintings by M's Grandmother and Aunt Jenny that need to be hung

Our trusty horse who has protected our front door in all our past NYC apartments

My Lady Liberty key chain from my lovely friend Sarah

The plates and glasses we bought on our honeymoon in Mexico

Our favorite board games

Picture magnets of our family and friends

Our favorite tea kettle

A vase I bought with my mom in New York and a picture of my beautiful sister and brother in law

A luggage tag with a picture of my family in Colorado circa 1988

Our pug pillow

And my friendly gnome from Switzerland, because no apartment would feel complete without a neon green gnome:)

ATTENTION MILK LOVERS

M's parents were in town last weekend and treated us to dessert at Yee Shun Milk Company, one of their favorite dessert spots on the Kowloon side of the island near the Jordan MTR stop called. When they suggested this amazing place for a steamed milk dessert, I must admit I was a little skeptical. However, after just one bite/slurp, I was hooked!

The restaurant offers 4 flavors - milk, egg, chocolate and milk with ginger. There were 4 of us so we ordered 1 of each flavor.

I'm a chocoholic, so the chocolate steamed milk dessert with chocolate powder on top was the clear winner in my book. But M's mom swears by the steamed milk with ginger. I guess there's a flavor for everyone:)

YEE SHUN MILK COMPANY
G/F, 63 Pilkem Street
Jordan, Hong Kong

IT'S GOOD TO BE A COMMUTER IN HONG KONG

Let me tell you why getting around, in and out of Hong Kong is super easy.

1) THE SIGNS
When crossing the road, there are signs (especially in the expat neighborhoods) which tell you which way you should look first to avoid moving vehicles. I spent a semester in Italy and never learned which way to look when crossing the road! Now, I just look read the signs on the road:)

2) THE OCTOPUS CARD
You commute using an Octopus card, Hong Kong's MTR pass. And you don't even need to remove it from your purse or wallet when going into the subway station or getting on a bus. Just get the card close enough to the sensor and you're good to go.

The Octopus card also acts as a debit card practically everywhere. Forget to bring cash to your local coffee shop? No problem! Just pay for your coffee using your Octopus card.

3) INTERNET & PHONE SERVICE - EVERYWHERE!
Phone and internet service is available while riding the underground subway. Yes, you heard me correctly. It works underground! Now, I can catch up with my mom, check for Facebook updates and respond to emails during my commute to work.

4) THE AIRPORT EXPRESS
The Airport Express train departs from 2 stations in Hong Kong - from the Hong Kong station on Hong Kong Island near the Central stop and from the Kowloon station. For $100 HKD (about US $12, round-trip is cheaper), you can take a quick 25 minute ride to the airport from the city, which saves you time and money. The trains depart each station every 10 minutes.

Even better, you can check in for your flight and check your luggage at the Airport Express stations in the city. This allows you a hassle-free, luggage-free commute to the airport!

5) YOUR HONG KONG ID CARD
I saved the best for last. The greatest benefit of being a commuter in Hong Kong (especially if you travel as much as we do) is access to a Hong Kong ID card. Anyone living in Hong Kong for more than 180 days must have a Hong Kong ID card, which is similar to a drivers license in the States. The Hong Kong ID card allows you to skip the long customs lines and go immediately to a kiosk where you are prompted to insert your card and place your thumb on a sensor that reads your finger print. If everything reads correctly, the door opens and you are on your way! It literally takes me 10 minutes to check into my flight, get through security and customs. More airport shopping time for me!

SHANGHAI 6 YEARS LATER

After leaving Wuhan, we headed to Shanghai for a quick 1 day business trip. I had been looking forward to this trip for weeks. It had been 6 years since I first visited the city (and fell in love with it).

When we visited 2006, I felt we were visiting a city in 2050. The city was filled with so many new, modern buildings. The architecture was incredible. We also loved the city because it had so much history. We immediately felt the impact of the opium trade, when the British and the French occupied parts of the city. In the French Concession area, you felt like you were in a little Parisian neighborhood. And when we visited the Bund, which is famous for its colonial architecture, you truly felt like you were in London. There were even red phone booths on the corners of each street! The city was filled with so much character.

On my way to Shanghai this time, I had heard from so many people how much the city had changed since I had been there. And it was true... It had changed.

Shanghai is becoming very westernized, thick with western brands. I even spotted a Cold Stone Creamery and a Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, a famous coffee chain on the West Coast of the US. A chain that hasn't even reached Chicago. But it can be found in Shanghai. The French Concession looks completely different. It is now one of the premier shopping strips in town filled with every Western, luxury brand.

Below are some pictures from my trip.

A red phone booth near the Bund

The French Concession Area

Hong Kong Plaza in the French Concession

Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf from LA

Views from my hotel room

The Bund on a rainy day

A side street near the Bund

Shanghai Needle

 
Just before heading back to Hong Kong, we were able to stop by the Bvlgari exhibition at the Aurora Museum, which is on display until April 17th. The exhibit features around 600 pieces of jewelry, watches and objects which are showcased in chronological order. If you are in Shanghai and have a chance to check it out, I highly recommend it. It was truly stunning.

I hope to make it back to Shanghai soon with M. I need to time to explore the city and fall in love with it all over again.