{Travel Tuesday} Hong Kong in 2 days: First night.

As the saying goes, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do". So when Hubby whisked us off to HK for a 2-day trip for my birthday weekend, we did what was expected - finding and trying the famous food there.

If you want to find out how to clear your Hong Kong bucket list of gastronomic must-haves when you've only got 2 days, then this is the post for you =)

We arrived on Friday evening because I had to settle the kids and Adam's homework/ spelling/ worksheets before flying.

On the first night, we checked in to our hotel and basically did nothing much but just venture nearby for a quick bite before heading back to sleep.

We stayed at the W Hotel as Hubby is a SPG (not Sarong Party Girl pleaseee :P )

In terms of location, it is not as convenient as Langham Place though, (now renamed to Cordis) which is directly above Mong Kok MTR with many street stalls and malls nearby.

If you're looking for a reasonably priced family-friendly hotel, Cordis would be a better and cheaper bet.

Room with a panoramic view.

Age is not how old you are, but how many years of fun you've had. I'm officially 33!

Thank you Hubby for the arrangement with W staff for the surprise :)

After settling down, we went to nearby Jordon to have supper at Tsui Wah.

It was 2AM and many shops were still open, mostly eateries.

This noodle set with soft pork cartilage and dumplings is good.

The food portions in HK are huge so it's good to order 1 set to share, and move on to the next stalls.

This way, you will save stomach space for all your desired eats!

All the years of coming to Hong Kong has not changed my opinion of her - I am still in love with HK's seedy streets in all her neon glory and tall, cramped buildings.

They bring such a rustic charm to this city that never sleeps.

Temple Street is full of street hawkers peddling their palatable culinary products so that's why it is always wise to order 1 portion of many different things to share!

2+AM, the best time to have bowls of hot 糖水 Tong sui (dessert) in the cold 14 degrees weather.

After this, we headed back to sleep before we start our next 2 full days of mouthwatering adventure, which is up in the next post  on Day 1 and also for Day 2. =)

P.S. Thank you Hubby for loving me. I look forward to spending every subsequent year with you till we both grow old and wrinkled and lose our minds and then we will be new lovers again :P

food review: Better Field.

One fine day, after dropping the kids off to their respective schools, Andy and I decided to go on a little lunch date.

It's only during Chinese New Year that Hubby can take leave from his work (so don't think that working in a family business is all sunshine and rainbows, and that's also the reason why we cannot go on long periods of travels >_< ). 

But I digress. So back to our lunch date.

We went to Waterloo Street for lunch and since it was 初三 (3rd day of Lunar New Year), the streets were still quiet as most people have gone back to work, and many shops were not open for business yet.

Went to explore the quaint neighbourhood.

Settled for lunch at this little restaurant called The Better Field:

Like its small and minimalist concept. Not populated when we went there (not sure if it was because of CNY or otherwise)

Ultimate Italian black truffle fries: $7 (M) or $13 (L). The size we ordered was M.

I like the skinny fries so it is not too filling before the mains are served.

Sprinkled generously with Truffle salt. Yumms!

Saute mushroom and Spinach: $8

My main: French duck confit, a dish of duck from France, spinach, berry compote, mushroom fricassee, roasted potatoes. $21.

The skin on the duck was very crispy and the portion was just nice. I could finish almost everything except a bit of the roasted potatoes. The berry compote goes wonderfully with the succulent duck.

Will request for more berry sauce next time :)

Want affordable steak? Then you have to try their Angus beef.

Hubby's main: The black Angus ribeye, chilled Australian beef, whole grain truffle mustard, Maldon sea salt, mesclun salad.

(How on Earth do these food people come up with all those names?!) 

200gm @ $21, 400gm @ $38, 600gm @ $50

About The Better Field:

261 Waterloo Street, #01-23, 180261

Tel: 66942361

Opening hours:

Mon - Fri LUNCH: 11am - 3pm

Mon - Fri DINNER: 6pm - 10pm

Saturday: 11am - 10pm

Sunday: 11am - 8pm.

Modes of payment: Cash, NETs, or American Express card only.

Hope you're having a wonderful Valentine's Day and 人日 (everybody's Birthday for the Chinese) =)

Happy New Year 2016: Fire Monkey.

We wish everyone a very happy Lunar New Year in this Fire Monkey year!

No matter if 2015 Rooster year was great or unkind to you, may you 2016 be more fabulous!

笑口常开 - Laugh and be happy often

大 吉 大 利 - Good luck and smooth sailing

HUAT ah!

年年有余 - May every year end with ample surplus

Lou Hei - 捞个风升水起, bringing you business prosperity!

Monkey business for Chinese New Year 2016.

For the past couple of years, I have made it a point to wear my traditional ethnic clothes for Chinese New Year because I wish my kids will follow in my footsteps and learn more about their own culture.

This year, I managed to buy mandarin-collared shirts for Adam and Ashton as you would know, ethnic clothes and costumes for boys are like finding for a needle in a haystack.

Happened that we came across this boutique in B2 Changi Airport Terminal 3 in front of Sing Kids which was selling children's Mandarin-collared shirts and some very pretty cheongsams for little girls.

Do take note that the mandarin shirts in this particular colour did not come with the Chinese knot buttons, hence I had to go on a hunt with Hubby at Chinatown to search for those buttons to DIY my own.

After Mama's done with her sewing, off we go to the Chinese Garden at Lakeside for our CNY 2016 photoshoot!

Tips for taking photos of kids:

- Ensure they have enough rest and nap time before the photoshoot

- If they are old enough to understand, I usually prep talk them by telling them where we will be going later for the photoshoot and how I expect them to behave.

- Choose to go on weekdays or off-peak season (non-school holidays, not too near the CNY period) to avoid crowds and photobombers.

- Try to stick to a theme and also to centre your photos around the signature features of the place.

Eg. Twin pagodas at Chinese Garden/ fire crackers, poppies and peonies deco, CNY snack sales if you are at Chinatown/ a plain background with a nice vase of pussy willows & peonies if in your own home.

- Set aside about an hour max for the photoshoot if outdoors, and 30 min if indoors due to short attention span of children.

- Allow your kids to play and monkey around to let them "warm up".

I find that I end up liking more of the spontaneous happy-grin types of photos better than the posey-posey ones.

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Where to buy CNY clothes for your kids (boys and girls included):

Baby Pixie Online Singapore: Mandarin-collared shirts, pants, cheongsams from $25 onwards.

Mother-daughter matching sets available.

Elly Loves: Baby CNY rompers, shirts, pants, cheongsams and even shoes. They are having a sale now. Prices from $27 onwards for selected designs, otherwise priced at $45 onwards for shirts and $39 for shoes.

Uptown Kidz or Little Qipao: Cheongsams, boys mandarin-collared shirts, and adult cheongsams from $59.90 for boys' shirts and $139 for adult cheongsams.

**Also available at Takashimaya Level 4 Children's Department from 4 Jan 2016 - 7 Feb 2016.

Brick & motar stores: Boutique opposite SingKids at Changi Airport Terminal 3 B2; Chinatown People's Park.

This was us in 2014 Horse Year including me wearing my cheongsams for Day 1 and Day 2 =)

Did not do any photoshoot in 2015 (Goat) as I was lazy  busy and the photos are all on my Facebook :P

Click on this image linky below for other CNY-related blog posts on Mumzilla.

If you would like to link up, do let me know your blog post address and I will add on to this post!