Chinese Winter Solstice 冬至

One of my favourite day and festival of the year. Chinese Winter solstice which is also known as  冬至 is where all families get together and making glutinous rice ball also known as 'Tang Yuan'. 

The round shaped of the rice ball symbolizes the togetherness of the families. It's a festive food that is used to celebrate the winter solstice. I remember my mum use to tell me everyone has to eat at least one to represent that you are a year older. There are others who says that you eat the same number of glutinous riceball as your age. Well, I guess different people have different believed about it. For me, it's one my favourite food. Wherever I go I always have the tendency to look for it. My dad use to tease me saying 'people eat one to be older by one year and you eat as many as you like. I think you are actually older than me already from the amount that you are eating.'

Just a bit of addition information. In Taiwan, it is believed that tangyuan have been used as offering and stick at the back of the windows and tables. These tangyuan is said to serve as a protective talisman to keep the evil spirits from coming close to children.

Well, my story is pretty simple. Ever since young when I was old enough to be able to help my mum, I have never miss a year not celebrating this festival. One day before the festival at night, my mum would gather me and my brothers to make the glutinous ball together. We always have lot of fun because as we do we talk and I guess that's why it is known to reunite people. Some years we would have our cousins over and we will do it together. Even though every year we have to do the same thing I never get bored of it especially my mum love to do it in many colours. However, this year we kept it simple to three colours. I spend the whole night making them last night and well here's a few photo to share :) 

Last year's colors. We had blue,orange, green, white and pink. 

This year only three colors but still it was pretty :) well, white and pink are usually the MUST colors because we usually pray to our ancestor with this. Not really sure why but I guess it's a tradition. 

A photo with my face on it. 

I have to say every year at this time, I would be really excited. Simple things like this actually make me happy although it does sound childish. Besides, it's my favourite food as well. 

Well it's not done yet. My mum usually boil it right away. And I like looking at all the riceball popping up and floating on top. It's kinda pretty. 

My favourite is always the one in the hot sweet syrup soup. Ginger soup is said to be nicer but I fancy sweet stuff more so I go for the sweet syrup. We can also eat it with kacang + sugar but this time my throat is still not feeling so well. Don't want to take the risk eating nuts to make it uncomfortable and be sick again. After all, Chinese New Year is just around the corner. 

Ta-daa and we are done for the day. 

Did my prayers early in the morning today in my grandpa and grandma house. Reunion with the cousins! Made me realize how much we all grew up. I still remember how we use to play catching catching, running around the house but i guess we are too old for it already! I like how everyone talk and laughs as a family and it clearly show how reunited everyone is. Looking forward to CNY reunion soon! Which also reminds me to better do my CNY shopping.

Gotta say blogging through the phone is much easier.get to do it anyway and it's handy! Easier to upload the photos too! 

冬至快乐people!! :) I hope everyone enjoy this festival too! 

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King's Cuisine & Shopping in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

To continue on with my trip to Hong Kong, it was just a one day trip which I would say it wasn't enough. We barely had time to do anything. We took a ferry from the Macau Ferry Terminal and stop at Sheung Wan. We then headed to Causeway Bay this time. The last time two times I was here I was mostly around Mong Kok and Tsim Sha Tsui.

So, why not try somewhere else this time? One of the main reason I wanted to come Hong Kong so badly was because the store Hui Lau Shan. They do have the shop in KL but the problem with it was it did not taste the same as Hong Kong. I still remember I use to ordered the drink Mango and Strawberry Smoothie with Crystal Jelly. It was so good that I could drink two at once. When I saw the shop, I have to say I was really excited so we headed there straight to make our order. The menus were different now. There was no Mango and Strawberry combination =( I was so dissapointed so I tried something else. I ask for the Mango with Crystal Jelly but somehow the lady took the wrong order and gave me Mango Smoothie with Glutinous Riceball. I did not want to make a fuss out of it so I decided to take what I was given to keep things simple. At first, it taste alright but after awhile I got really sick of the tiny glutinous riceball.

My Mango Smoothie with Glutinous Riceball
There was coconut milk in the drink too which was why I did not really enjoy it because the taste did actually match with the mango.

To sum it up, I was quite disappointed but I managed to get the Mango Muachi. It still taste really good as the mango filling really goes with the Muachi. Would have gotten more and dapao back if I had the chance. I am pretty sure the other drinks on the menu would taste better because my mum and her friend's drink was nice.

Mango Muachi

For lunch, my dad wanted to eat Hong Kong dim sum so we meet a random place and it was delicious. After that, we headed for shopping and I found Forever 21. It was a 6 floor boutique. Each floor was the size of a forever 21 in Midvalley. It was winter there so the clothes were mostly winter clothing. I love forever 21 dresses but there was very little variety. I managed to get two for rm40 each. I have to say, the forever 21 in Hong Kong is much cheaper than Malaysia. Since we only had two hours there because mum wanted to see other places as well, so i did not managed to shop on all 6 floors. I definitely would go there again. Super cheap. I got like a jacket, blazer, a high heels, top and 2 dresses for only rm470. How is it even possible to get that many piece of clothing in Malaysia with that price in forever 21?!?!

Later on, we headed to the shopping complex named Lee Garden to have a look. It is known to be one of the best luxury shopping destination located in the heart of Causeway Bay. I loved the decoration where they had very special design dresses.

It was really pretty and creative the designs and i really like the flowery on the right!

Tadaaaa.. Pretty isn't it? 

Just realize my photo was blur and I took once. Hmm.. Anyway the dresses are still so pretty and unique.

We then went to Sogo to shop and according to my dad it was really different from the Sogo in Malaysia. The Sogo in Hong Kong was much higher end just like pavillion but it was really crowded.

They do have the Fashion Walk there and mini boutique around. After having a walk around all those places, we decide to eat dinner at the restaurant my dad found.

King's Cuisine
6/F, Windsor House, 

311 Gloucester Road Causeway Bay

It was located in a shopping complex but I can't what was the name. Too many shopping complex around. Here are the few dishes we had there.

Scallop Tofu Soup

It tasted really good. There was a lot of flavor in that bowl of soup.

I had two bowls myself  and wanted more of it. 

 Roasted Pigeon
Usually, this dish would either be overcook or the skin would not be crispy. However, the skin was really crispy and the pigeon was roasted really well as it the meat was tender. 

 Sea Cucumber with Broccoli (not sure what's this dish is called)
The Borcolli was my favourite for this dish. Somehow, the sauce of the dish seep into the broccoli adding a lot of flavor to the broccoli. I did not eat the sea cucumber because I always find it a bit weird but my mum said it was nice.

Seafood Noodles with Vegetables
Totally in loved with this dish too. Not only it was seafood but for a person who doesn't eat vegetables, I ate a lot of it.The dish was just delicious. Superb delicious. The prawn was so fresh and crunchy. It was just amazingly delicious.

Dad was really happy with the food and service by the guy who took our order and decided to gave him tips. He insist on not taking it but my dad told him just a token of appreciation for his good service. Definitely would be coming back here again. I am already missing the food there now.

We headed back to Macau after a little more shopping and I was exhausted. Would come back there soon to finish my shopping at forever 21! haha =)

That's all I did in my one day trip there.

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Holiday Trip to Macau :)

Finally back to blogging after three weeks back home in Malaysia. I was too busy to be able to blog because I was catching up with friends the first week. Sadly, I was sick on the second week and then I left for holiday to Macau with my family the third week. 

So what's going to be today's blog about? I have so many things to write about but I don't know which so I shall just start with my holiday in Macau with parents and their friends without my two little brother. Before I forget, I had a hair cut and cut bangs. I regret it so much at first but I sort of got use to it after awhile. Well, gotta a self shot with the new hair cut. =)

It was really annoying that my planes got delayed that day so we reach there slightly later. Instead of following our plan to eat at another restaurant, we ended up having dinner at the hotel's food court. It wasn't very bad but because I was still sick so my taste bud was still a bit haywire. After dinner, we decided to walk around in Venetian, my favorite hotel in Macau. I always loved how they decorated it like Venice and I actually went there in 2010 because of the drama 'Boys Over Flower'. They actually film it there in Venetian so I asked my dad if we could stay there and he agreed to it. It was only later then I told him I insisted on Venetian because of the drama and he was hmmm.. well.. speechless. I guess I am really weird.

Anyway, here's few photo of the hotel.

The night view of The Venetian Hotel.It's just so beautiful!

The shopping mall in the hotel which they designed following a Venice atmosphere.

Had to get a photo in this atmosphere. Since I am not in Venice, why not enjoy the experience of being in an atmosphere similar to one?

Love how they decorate the display. Pink and Nice. Just one of the display I love most compare to all the other shops.

Since Christmas was just around the corner, the hotel had a pretty and big Christmas tree right in the middle with beautiful lights. Totally love the hotel decoration! =)

Since all the shops were already closing so we decided to head back to clean up and get a good rest. Well, I have to say my first day weren't very productive since we reach there really late. The next day, I had the breakfast buffet in the morning with my family and it was breakfast paradise. So many choices, they had a range of food to choose from and the deco was really nice so i decided to take a few shots of it. The restaurant name actually says it all, 'The Feast', it was indeed a feast! Since each room had two complimentary breakfast, and we had 2 rooms with 5 people so my dad had to pay for mine. It cost me about MOP196 but it was totally worth it =) A few shots of the breakfast buffet just as below.

That's me and my huge breakfast. That was only my first round! HAHA

After breakfast, we headed to Senado Square, the famous place for shopping. It's my third time there this time. Forget to mention, I have visited Macau a few times because my mum loves to shop there and from there we can get to Hong Kong. However, this time I did not get anything besides a Big Bang top which was a long sleeve. Sort of dissapointing for shopping but I got to eat the famous egg tart from the famous store 'Margaret'. I would definitely advise everyone who visits Macau to go there and have the egg tarts. It's really good. The tart crust is crispy inside out and it has a good fill unlike other places whose filling is so little. It wasn't too sweet but PERFECT! Totally love it!

The Long Line just for the egg tart at the Cafe

The Famous Margaret Cafe d Nata located at Edificio Kam Loi, just behind Lisboa Hotel.

Greedy daddy grab a bite on the egg tart before I could take a photo of it =)

Close up look =)

The only thing about this cafe is that the service is bad because the lady boss is a fierce lady. Her husband shop on the other hand was called Lord Stow bakery and one of the shops were located in Venetian. The husband and wife were actually divorce which makes perfect explanation why each has their own shops. I had a taste of her husband tarts and it's good too but I still prefer Margaret's tart.

Another tourist attraction at Senado Square would the Ruins St Paul and I never fail to not take a photo whenever I am there. It is one of the famous landmark of Macau and all tourist would definitely visit there. Other than that, they do have another church nearby called the St. Lawrence Churh which I find it really pretty. I went in once and it was beautiful somehow this time it was closed and not available to be visited.

I look awfully fat in this photo but hey, it's the Ruins of St Paul 

People usually say there is usually not much to do in Macau but besides the landmarks and the Senado Square, the hotels here have really nice building structure and each of them have a short shows. For example, there would be the big diamond appearing up from the fountain in the Galaxy Hotel. Here's a photo of mini Galaxy Hotel. Beautiful isnt it?

Manage to get photos with the beautiful people who dressed up and also the Latin dancer who was performing in the hotel. 

We then had dinner at my dad's friend favorite restaurant to end my second day at Macau. Well, the next day, my mum and her friends went to China but i didn't because I did not get my China visa done so I stayed in Macau and went to the Ice Age Dreamworks to see the Ice Sculptures of the dreamworks cartoons such as the Kung Fu Panda, Shreks and also How to Train Your Dragon. This was located in Venetian and only available but to 15 March so I was lucky to be able to see it. However, it was -8 degree celcius in the place to preventing the ice from melting. Since I went alone, I had to keep asking people to help me get photos but anyway i did enjoy looking at the ice sculptures. 

The ice slide which i actually slide from it and my butt felt really cold and wet. But it was really fun. Would be better with friends around!The ice sculpture look really real don't they?

Got a magnetic photo frame as a little souvenir for myself in the gift shop. Can then be added to my fridge collection of magnets then. We headed for dinner at night to a steamboat place near the Border Gates and I super love the crab there. The meat was sweet and soft. It wasn't like other crabs which meat sometimes is too hard. This was just amazingly delicious. Well, my chinese isnt very good so I don't know what is it called but the I took a photo of the restaurant so that my next trip I would go back there again for dinner. 

The huge crab which taste amazingly delicious after cooked with their soup! 

 The few seafood photo that I manage to take because after that I was too busy eating the crab I did not have a clean hand to touch my phone. We also had cuttlefish and their signature fishball. There was also fried rice. Anyway, those taste really good too. Definitely a recommendation to go there for dinner if you visit Macau. However, the food was really pricy.

I guess this restaurant is that good to even receive customer who are Hong Kong actor and actresses. Proven that the food is really good and I would definitely go again especially for the crab!

After that, we took a walk around the city to see the night scenery of the hotels. Since all hotels has their very own structure, it was really interesting to get to see each building and their special decorations.

First stop, STARWORLD HOTEL.

The decoration was really nice with the red which made the place look extra merry. Love the chandelier especially.

Next up, Wynn Hotel  but i did not manage to go in to have a look but the building itself was already beautiful.

Now, the Grand Lisboa Hotel, one of the first casino in Macau.

Some of the photos aren't that clear due to my phone camera. I guess I gotta add a new camera to my wishlist already to be able to capture more beautiful photos.

Lastly, one amazing show that you must go and see is the House of Dancing Water. It's an amazing and spectacular performance. It was soooo good. Although the price of the ticket is expensive but trust me, it definitely worth the price and this show is only in City of Dream. Another show is the Dragon Treasure in The Bubble. Both of this performance are really good performance but I would definitely say the House of Dancing Water is a MUST watch when you are in Macau! Just a few photos from the performance.

Panaroma of Venetian Hotel and the City of Dreams hotel.

Well, I guess that's all I would blog about today. Would be blogging about my trip to Hong Kong soon but this blog post is already really long and I am going get back to reading my storybook of City of Bones soon! Besides that, have to mention that the latest episode of Vampire Diaries Fifty Shades of Grayson was really sad as Damon sort of broke up with Elena. Haih.. Gonna wait till next year as it is in the winter break. I am only left with Nikita now.

That's all for now.

Signing off............... =)

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