I Heart HK!

I went to Hongkong a couple of weeks ago with my fiance and some friends of ours.  It was a long-overdue vacation and I just loved every minute of it!

We specifically picked a hotel in Kowloon to be near the shops since we wanted to do some serious electronics shopping. We stayed at Metropark Hotel Kowloon (booked via asiatravel.com).  The hotel room rates weren’t that expensive but our rooms were spacious and clean. We had cable, hot water and free broadband internet. I didn’t even get to use my hair drier (which I brought with me) since the hotel provided us with one. The staff was English speaking and they had a shuttle that left every half hour which brought us to the nearest MTR station or to any of the nearby local spots.

Our hotel room

Transportation was a breeze. We mostly took the MTR to get from one place to another. We each got this Octopus card for HKD 150 which was good for three days (similar to our stored-value MRT/LRT cards here). I strongly recommend getting this card as soon as you get to HK. Sobrang sulit! We were surprised that we were able to use the cards on the ferry and bus rides to Ngong Ping. Plus the unused amount is refundable. I was able to refund around HKD 30 from my card on our last day.

taken at one of the MTR stations (probably at Central)

Note to self: the next time I go to Hongkong I’d definitely bring more cash. I only had one credit card with me and it was going bonkers (Thank God it worked at the hotel!) so I wasn’t able to use it at the shops. Fortunately, we did most of our shopping at the Ladies Market and at the Night Market in Temple Street. I had to use my haggling powers honed by my extensive Divisoria and Greenhills experience. Both markets were blocks long filled with all the merchandise that you can imagine–from clothes to bags to toys to art work to antiques and other types of trinkets. We usually got back to the hotel late at night with aching feet and lighter wallets.

First Food Tasting – Hizon’s

My heart was set on getting Hizon’s as the caterer for our wedding so when I got an invitation for their food tasting event at the Gazebo Royale, I persuaded my fiancé to go with me. Things didn’t turn out exactly as I’d hoped but I’m crossing my fingers that things will turn out well in the end.

But let me start at the beginning.

My fiancé and I arrived at Gazebo Royale a little after 4pm. The place was buzzing with activity. Stacey, our AE, wasn’t able to attend to us immediately (which was ok) but Mac was a little irked about the service. Busy or not, we were prospective clients and we were a little turned off that we had to wait for quite a while before getting served. While waiting for our plates, I decided to get a small serving of roast beef with gravy (which was yummy!) but we couldn’t find a fork anywhere. We tried to get the attention of some of the waiters but without success. Mac was getting pissed at this time.

Finally, Stacey came around to our table, apologized and made sure that our plates were served (with utensils). Mac was dismayed to find that the spoon given to him wasn’t too clean. He didn’t bother asking for another one but instead ate with his fork na lang. We were both a little disappointed with the food. Considering the good reviews I heard about Hizon’s, I was really surprised. I only liked two of the dishes served (Mac liked one) but there was no “wow” factor.

Finally, Stacey sat down with us and presented their promo package. Mac was already decided on dropping Hizon’s but I talked him into at least listening to the offer. I finally told Stacey that we didn’t like the food and mentioned the lack of service plus the dirty spoon. I was actually preparing my “thanks, but no thanks” speech in my head when Stacey started apologizing profusely and offered an exlusive food tasting for us to make up for today’s fiasco. This is on top of the attractive package they were offering that day.

Mac wasn’t entirely sold on the idea but he agreed to give Hizon’s a second chance. I think the food didn’t taste so well since we arrived late (the food tasting started at 10am). There was no excuse for the poor service though, but since it seemed they were willing to make up for it, there’s no harm in giving them another try.

We are yet to set the schedule for the food tasting at Hizon’s and I persuaded my fiancé to go with an open mind. We’ll be bringing my parents and his brother as back up. I just hope the next time will be better than what happened today.

PS (09/21/2008): Mac and I confirmed our next food tasting at Hizon’s on the 27th at their QC office. Hope things will turn out better this time around.

The “Duchess” of Cheap

In the few episodes of Tyra that I was able to watch over the last few months, I heard her refer to herself as the “Queen of Cheap” more than a couple of times.  After considering my belongings, I recently came to the conclusion that I am a person of contradiction when it comes to cheapness. I present the following as evidence:

Exhibit A. A collection of books mostly bought 2nd hand from UP or the Books For Less branch in Roces Ave. I seldom buy new books anymore since they are so expensive (unless they’re priced reasonably; I got my copy of Freakonomics at Fully Booked under P300).  I have to confess that I bought the 7th Harry Potter on the day it came out but I consider that as an exemption–I’ve been waiting for that book to come out for years.

Exhibit B. My VCD collection. No, that wasn’t a typo. I have a VCD collection not DVDs. My friends think I’m weird considering that you can get pretty good DVDs from almost anywhere. Blame it on the HBO ad but I don’t really like buying pirated DVDs (I have nothing against borrowing them though). I’m too lazy to download movies from the net and burn them. I prefer buying them complete with their original packaging. Besides, most of the movies I collect are “contemporary classics” or titles that are hard to find in your usual bangketa. I usually find the titles in Record stores during a clearance sale whenever they sell VCDs for P75 each. My most recent find: original VCD copies of Before Sunset and Before Sunrise for just a hundred bucks each.

Exhibit C. A recent purchase at the tiangge in St. Francis Square. After splurging a couple of thousand bucks on several outfits, I couldn’t bring myself to buy a blouse at the mall that costs over P500.  But it’s not the same with shoes and bags–my boyfriend literally dragged me away from a perfect pair of pumps a few days ago, telling me that I have enough shoes already (Really! Men don’t know the first thing about women and shoes!).

Exhibit D. A handful of receipts from different restaurants I’ve been to with friends and family over the last month. I may be stingy with other things but I guess food is not one of them. As long as the food is good and I leave satisfied, I have no qualms about paying a high price.

Exhibit E. My make-up kit. Another extravagance: I don’t buy cheap make-up. It’s not a snobbish thing but having sensitive skin kinda limits my choices. I am a regular customer of the Body Shop (I’m a lotion addict) and the Beauty Bar. I lost count of how many lipsticks I have and my kikay kit is the heaviest item in my bag.  Speaking of lipsticks, I recently tried Avon’s new glazewear lipstick line (it’s a bargain! A tube of lipstick for under P250!). I love it!

In conclusion, I think I’m more of a “Duchess of Cheap” rather than a queen. I would like to call myself practical but when I see my make up littering my already overflowing dresser, I silently disagree with myself.  Practical is someone who does not have a dozen shades of lipstick unless that someone is a make-up artist. The next time I wonder where my supposed savings went, I just need to check my kikay kit for a reality check.

Why Alicia Silverstone is a Stronger Person than I am.

I don’t think I can be a vegetarian. I love animals and I think I’m kinda pro-environment (I mean, I do my share: I throw my litter properly, try to save water, recycle, etcetera). I love vegetables and I think having a great body plus great skin would be a bonus. But I just can’t turn away from a nice, big juicy steak, a big piece of fried chicken or a plateful of perfectly buttered shrimps. Sorry, I love meat and I don’t see myself quitting meat anytime soon.
Needless to say, my hat’s off to serious, honest-to-goodness vegetarians out there. I guess I’m among the “weak”–I’m really not disciplined enough to be a vegetarian. It’s a fault that I readily admit to. I know not eating meat would do loads for the environment but I just can’t easily get over the fact that I was raised as a carnivore. I do get affected by the PETA stuff I’ve been seeing lately (specially that bit about Kentucky Fried Chicken…Freaky!) but I guess they’re not enough to “turn” me. Do I need to get more educated? Probably. And being surrounded by very active carnivores doesn’t help either. I mean, how can I be satisfied with a salad bowl when my boyfriend is sitting next to me with a T-bone?

The new PETA ad which features Alicia Silverstone made me think who can best represent us meat-eaters. Homer Simpson comes to mind… maybe it’s the lateness of the hour but I just can’t think of anyone else.

from psychogoddess.vodpod