Food Glorious Food

Someone wrote on my fridge - "I miss your food posts, have you eaten lately?" I wonder who that might be!

Actually yes, I've definitely eaten lately but it all comes down to Steve loading the pics onto Flickr so that I can post them here. Problem is, he's a perfectionist when it comes to his photos and wants to crop and brighten and contrast them some, before he's happy with revealing them.

Let's see. We have pics of an incredible Valentine's Day Dinner at The Verandah, we have pics of tapas and sangria at Mija's by the bay (two or three visits), we have multiple pics of many dim sum meals, we have pics of roast goose at Lippo Chiu Chow, we have pics of dinner at Chang's, we have pics of a magnificent anniversary meal at Spring Moon, we have pics of birthday dinner (both of our birthdays) Wagyu beef at Felix's, we have pics of afternoon tea in The Lobby. I think we might even have a pic of me eating deep fried pig intestines at the flower market during Chinese New Year. And more I can't even remember right now!

So, yes, I've definitely eaten. Now I need to figure out how to get Steve to give me access to his pics. I'm cooking Sausage, Onions and Peppers with Linguine tonight so that will help. Then there's my special Tortolini and Eight Vegetable Soup tomorrow. Maybe a Boeuf Bourguignon on Saturday, or perhaps another visit to Mija's this weekend. Now THAT should give me some bartering power ;)

All I have to share right now is our last dim sum lunch with friends and new babies, at the City Hall (pics untouched and released only because of pressure from those who attended and couldn't wait for the edited versions) . . . . . .

This is Steve's No. 1 Dim Sum Auntie, she' totally besotted with him and runs around getting him whatever he wants, even before he wants it! Here she is with his 'mongo poodeen' (mango pudding). She wants to take him to a mountain on the island she comes from - I'm still working out what that might be code for, in her Guangdong Hakka dialect.

And here we have No. 1 Dim Sum Auntie and No. 2 Dim Sum Auntie, driving their carts - fried items to the left and steamed items to the right.

And at the end of the meal, all 12 of us were sated. But I think Steve managed to finish the Yeung Chau Chow Faan anyway :) That's a little chicken foot in the foreground, which would have been in front of Anuja!

Rockraiser and Weekend Getaway

On Saturday, Cyberport in Hong Kong will be rocking to the sounds of the 2009 Rockraiser Festival. And Steve and I will be there rocking right along with some of the best bands and singers from Hong Kong and Beijing. All for a good cause, to help disadvantaged children in Nepal.

I decided to make a weekend of it and we'll be admiring the beautiful Lamma Channel view from a bed just like that, on Saturday and Sunday. The bath also boasts a sea view and I'll be into that in a flash! I just hope the weather improves as we've been having some VERY grey and rainy days recently.

It's only about 20 minutes from home but as soon as I saw that room, I wanted to spend some time there - and being in the business, I got a rock-bottom rate which was just too good to miss.

It has been a very busy couple of weeks and there are loads of photos to document it all, if only Steve would load them up, I'd let you take a look. Steve, my love, how about it ;)

Thank You

To whomever took the time to drag and drop all those letters onto my fridge, not to mention re-gendering it to fit the words being about me:

"when she is silent your heart ceases not to listen to her heart"

From 'The Prophet - On Friendship' by Khalil Gibran

A Quickie

Just so everyone knows I'm still around, a quick update:

Foreigner concert was very good - their new lead singer has an amazing talent. And just think, he was discovered on YouTube.

Coldplay concert was diabolically good - they played to a rip-roaring crowd of 11,000 and did something I've never seen before - they relocated from the main stage to waaaaaaaaaaay back in the cheap seats, to play a set there on a tiny stage with just guitars and the tiniest keyboard I've ever seen. What a wonderful way to let those less able to pay top dollar for the prime seats, get close to them, too.

Weekend retreat was wonderful, there's really nothing like staying at a five-star hotel and being spoiled silly - helps, too, when you're on the executive floor and the 24-hour lounge delivers a wonderful spread during the day of breakfast, snacks, cocktails and dessert, all alongside a free-pour bar with juices, sodas, waters, wines, spirits - and champagne in the evening.

Working extra hard, and have been for the past two months, trying to keep everything done and done seamlessly, with my boss now having been away for two months - only three more weeks to go!!

Have endured so much keyboarding lately that my hand pain forced me to the doctor today - I'm diagnosed with tendinitis in both wrists - apart from the muscle relaxant, anti-inflammatory (and resulting anti-acid) he also recommended moving my keyboard from the under-desk drawer to onto my desktop. Now I have to work out how to find some space for it in this almighty mess!!

My sister has demanded another reprieve and I've given her until August 1 to release my babes to me. And told her to get the balance of the money owed for the sale of the dive centre and do something with the apartment so it's ready to rent/sell. She's pushed me to being mean.

My mother's ashes are still sitting in my spare room. Neither sibling has raised the matter, neither seems too bothered. It has been over a year now. Not too sure if I should just hire a boat one weekend and scatter her where we scattered my dad's ashes.

Speaking of my mum, we continue to pay council tax, electricity, insurance, etc., on the house and so I mentioned to my brother (who took on responsibility for the sale of the house) that maybe we need to at least look at renting it out during the summer, it's a perfect vacation house, and all I got was 'good idea'.....and then nothing else. ../.. is my typed equivalent of giving him the bird.

Counting down to the boys coming over and there are so many things planned for them, I'm sure they'll have a brilliant time here. And to be honest I'm really looking forward to the peace and tranquility of the pool villa at Banyan Tree, again.

Apartment prices continue to drop and I think we'll go into a serviced apartment for a while, until Lupo comes over and while the boys are here, that way we're not 'out in the sticks' for their visit and if I go into one of my company's residential complexes, the facilities are awesome for them.

We celebrated our first anniversary last week and all I can say is that I continue to grow in love with my husband. We tolerate, and even laugh at, each other's flaws and celebrate in big ways, the love we share. Happy, happy, happy us :)