Joke

A man in a hot air balloon realised he was lost. He reduced his altitude and saw a man below. "Excuse me, but can you help me?I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago but I don't know where I am," he said.

The man below replied: "You are in a hot air balloon hovering approximately 30 ft above the ground. You are between 40 and 41 degrees North latitude and between 56 and 57 degrees West longitude."

To which the balloonist replied "You must be a broker."

To which the man on the ground said: "I am, but how did you know?"

The reply came from above: "Everything you told me is technically correct but I have no idea what to make of your information, and the fact is I'm still lost. Frankly, you've not been much help so far."

The man below responded: "You must be a trader."

To which the balloonist replied: "Yes, I am, but how did you know?"

To which the man on the ground said: "You don't know where you are or where you are going. You have risen to your current position due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise which you have no idea how to keep and you expect me to solve your problem. The fact is, you are in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but now, somehow, it's my fault."

Caviar

I am back to reality now again..

Everybody is so curious about Russia, not that many people have visited the place before even though it is the largest country on earth. Moscow and St Petersburg are full of colors with a mix of golden hues and magnificent architecture, the view of Neva River with lines of baroque facades truly present some romantic moments, the old-fashioned street corners give no traces of modernization. Everybody asked me how's the food in Russia.... I know that culinary adventure is an integral part of exploring one country, but we really shouldn't expect much from this place where alcohol and potatoes are the main consumables.

One exception is the caviar, the deluxe food that's produced in limited quantity now. You can't find the beluga kind everywhere anymore, the local stores will only put out salmon caviar but hiding the beluga caviar behind the counter. There's no trick in choosing caviar, always go for the premium which guarantee a heavenly experience. The lower grade caviar has some fishy taste to it and oftentimes too salty and hence not good for your taste buds.

Back to HK, recreated what I had in Russia, a combination of caviar, crepe and champagne, a truly amazing and delightful combination which sends you to a Russian palace.

We also dined at the most famous restaurant in St. Petersburg called Old Custom House. This is not the authentic Russian cuisine but more like European fusion. Although not on the creative side but food is really good, and they surely know how to feed people since the portions are really substantial.

Cultural shock

Well, not too much like a cultural shock, but it indeed sent me from a paradise (just two weeks ago in hokkaido where seafood is in abundance) to a dry dull land (where alcohol is more enjoyable than food).

What I have experienced so far:
1) First time peeing in a pitch dark restroom, can you imagine a plane without a lighted restroom?!!
2) Confused with the language and couldn't remember a single word although it seems so much like english
3) Russians never say "please", I basically have to stare at them and guide them to say the "please" word. (No kidding, I did that to a male flight attendant).
4) Mixing vodka and champagne and still manage to survive...
5) Having the same thing everyday: potato salad, mixed vegetable soup, pan fried fish fillet, ice cream. I can't take potato anymore..
6) Zero entertainment. I don't see them doing anything except drinking all day long..
7) Nothing to shop. What they can produce are handcraft jewelry boxes, fabergé eggs, matryoshka dolls, fur hats, cavier (now in very limited quantity), etc.....really nothing consumable that I can bring back

I basically have expected that early on.., but the architecture and scenery are truly breath-taking. I LOVE the Russian baroque style, although not too much to my own taste, but it fits well into the peripheral scenery. The onion shape dome is the signature of their baroque style cathedrals, unlike the classical and gothic style, it comes in different decorations with variations of colors. It is definitely a place where one should visit before he/she dies..

Olympics

Finally after a long wait of the highly anticipated olympic games, it is finally happening in BJ.. I am so excited!! I love olympic games, especially diving, gymnastics, badminton, swimming, volleyball, etc.... And obviously the equestrian games which are taking place in HK.

After being back to HK for three yrs, this is my first time here watching the olympic games.. and to my surprise, I am quite astonished by how indifferent are some of the local people. One of the girls joked about the enthusiasm of the opening ceremony and don't understand why people are so keen on watching the games... hello?! these athletics are the people representing their respective countries to compete with others, they are trained at young ages sacrificing their youth and time in which they are supposed to hang out at schools or playgrounds like normal kids, they are physically stretched and go through intensive torture while others are sitting in front of their TVs watching cartoons with a big bag of oreo in hands. I won't blame them because they don't see China as their home countries after years of colonization. But to me, I feel honored to be in a land where so many medals were won and is recognized by the level of commitment to a global sports event.

Lucky me I got tickets to the equestrian olympic games!... actually a lot of people managed to get tickets, but I am excited because I really want to see it!
Great master in action.



Cheers for the germans for winning the eventing gold medals.

The eventing champion Romeike with Marius.

Kaiseki

Back to HK now..but still can stop myself from posting pictures of my japan trip...

While we were still in noboribetsu, we stayed at a very nice onsen, which is different from the traditional japanese style, and features the modern fusion with beautiful furniture and decor.

For a night of stay, we enjoyed soaking ourselves into miracle water that made our skin glowed, and most importantly, a delicate kaiseiki dinner that featured the finest of noboribetsu.

A glass of champagne as a perfect start of the meal, and then plates and plates of delicious fusion food that last for 3 hrs long..
Love the seaweed tofu with uni.. very interesting texture that almost like mochi..





Love the beef, so tender and juicy.

You wouldn't believe it, the rice was really good!! every piece of rice glowed with glossiness and transparency.. and it's the best bowl of rice I've ever had.

After a night of big dinner and long onsen dip, we started the morning with another big meal. We had the choice of western or japanese style breakfast menu.


and of course the t stem melon... so good! =P

The flower lands

We went up to Furano and Biei for the amazing flower lands. The full blossom peak season actually runs from mid-July to end of July.. my colleague did warn me (or reset my expectation) of the flowers dying out in early Aug, I probably wouldn't be able to see the gorgeous purple lavender by the time I visit the place...

It hasn't stopped raining for the two hrs driving from otaru to furano, and we kept our fingers crossed that the day after would be a sunny day, or it would just ruin everything.. turned out, we did have a super sunny day. It was hot and sun was out for two days straight... it was just perfect and luck was indeed on our side!

The tourist hotspot farm tomita wasn't impressive at all.. we found the lavender and flower fields at elsewhere much prettier and fewer people.. glad that we had a car.




After 2 days at furano/biei, we ran south to noboribetsu.. we were ambitious in the beginning since it was a long drive but the onsen we chose worth the distance we needed to travel. It was the best among all in that area, a luxurious executive suite that's bigger than most of the apts in hk.. and of couse with an inroom hotspring.

Otaru

Otaru is a much more romantic city than sapporo....(no wonder people go on honeymoon in hokkaido). The buildings still retain the facades of the old times, all the shops are selling either food or the cutest things on earth. This seem to be a place for people to regain their childhoods.

A night view of the canel... too bad it was drizzling for the whole day...finally was able to capture a shot with reflection in water.
Had a scrumptious dinner at one of the sushi house on a sushi street. I am not kidding, the street is really called the sushi street.... and who can resist the fat of otoro that melts in your mouth..

The hokkaido melon is well-known for the t-shape stem. Like the "giant mountain" grapes, there's some kind of alcoholic flavor in the melon that makes it feel like eating melon candy but taste like real melon.
We headed up to Furano at night, 2 hrs driving in the rain!!! We stayed at a brand new hip hotel, very nice decor and comfortably clean.

Hokkaido

What a bad way to start my vacation.... I normally get up pretty early in the morning over the weekend so that I can fully utilize my precious time outside of work. Especially for special occasions such as catching a plane for my vacation, I usually allow myself ample time in case if I run into traffic or any sort of unpredictable incidents. This morning I was supposed to get up 6am-ish for my flight at 9:40. I set my alarm clock the night before... but don't know if it is because I was so relaxed and in a holiday mood, I wasn't able to hear the alarm clock at all. When I was totally awake it was already 8:20!!! Only a hr and a half the plane would depart without me and my friends would all hate me for my stupidity. I packed up my luggage and rushed out of my apartment in a speed of light, and jumped into a cab and managed to arrive at the airport just half an hr before the plane took off... I was begging the crew for letting me check in.. I was so closed to become the laughing-stock if I turned up at work on Monday.

Luckily enough I was able to arrive in Hokkaido with a little chapter of chaotic rush.

For some reason, this funny creator is showing up in souvenir shop as a figure representing sapporo. Notice how they distinguish the guys from the girls with the additional part on the red pants...

The crabs are superb!! this is just one of the many saliva stimulating pictures. Crabs are so fresh and sweet and meaty... I didn't seem to have enough even every course is about crabs..