HappyMystery

It's great to be traveling abroad, but in the end, there's no place like home. Being back in Toronto is nice and refreshing after being in Hong Kong for a while. The air is fresher, it's not as humid, and breathing is a lot easier. It's been raining a lot, but the skies have been doing something strange as well. Rainy on one side of town and really sunny on the other. Perfect for a rainbow. I saw the biggest and most complete rainbow arch. It was beautiful. Another remarkable thing about Canada is the Northern Borealis. The other night, I was driving north (towards New Market) at around 9pm. Although I was facing north, Toronto is in the southern end of Ontario. But still, I was able to see a little bit of what seemed ... read more

Food Central...Central food...the idea is that there is plenty of interesting foods to explore and restaurants to visit in Hong Kong, more specifically in Central. This morning, I went to the Happy Valley Hong Kong Jockey Club clubhouse for a swim. Felt kind of bad about all the eating and drinking from last night. It was a really refreshing swim. Hands down, the Jockey Club is one of the best clubs...great facilities, relaxing and quiet atmosphere, and really good customer service. I've realized that from my past experiences as a mystery shopper, I've developed a subconscious tendency to "evaluate" the quality and service of a venue even if I'm not doing a mystery shop. It's almost like i fill out an evaluation form in my mind. Is this what they call a workaholic? Haha just joking. ... read more

So it's about 4:19 am in Hong Kong right now. Why am I still awake? I would really like to know myself. Maybe I should ask the bartender at Insomnia what he put in my drink. Absolutely no puns intended, I actually was at a bar named Insomnia. Coincidental, huh. So I decided to take this time to blog about my day since sleep isn't really an option and its the most frustrating thing when you're tossing and turning and counting sheep, but nothing works. Today, I spent the day shopping in Mong Kok. Went to Fa Yuen Street (which is a street lined with cheap, yet stylish clothing stores). If you want true local HK fashion, this is the place to go. And then I went to the lady's markets...and those are a little strange. ... read more

I consider myself a half-local in Hong Kong as I make a trip here once a year to visit family, so I do consider it my second home. But once in a while, it's nice to visit some tourist attractions like the Stanley Market. My family happens to like going there for dinner at Chilli N Spice restaurant at the Murray House, Stanley Plaza. It has delicious dishes and I love the coconut drink! Coming from Canada, drinking natural coconut juice out of a coconut is a rare occasion unless I'm in Asia or some tropical destination. Or unless the coconuts go on sale at the local supermarkets, which is almost never and even if they were on sale, how to drill a hole into the coconut for my straw becomes a good question. With dinner ... read more

It's been a while since I've blogged, but today, there's a story to tell. I was buying some curry fishballs in Causeway Bay at the place diagonally across from Times Square. As I was taking the skewer of fishballs from the lady, I was putting down my money on the clear counter at the same time. With a push and a shove, which is perfectly normal in my busy hustle and bustle of CWB, my arm went too far, my fingers let go too late, and my coin went over the counter and splashed into the huge pan of sauce that they serve from. The lady glared at me. I ran. My gutt feeling is that the pan of sauce will remain enhanced with the metallic flavour of my coin...at least until the rest of the ... read more

Although one of the most modern cities in the world, Hong Kong is still rich with history and culture. I try to visit Hong Kong once a year to visit my family...you would think that I know the region very well, but I do not. Every time I visit, I always discover something new...sometimes its because things are always changing and so there are always new buildings and shopping malls, but today, I stumbled across a small, run-down temple. Located in the centre of the district of Shau Kei Wan on Main Street East, next to the noodle shops, there is a small temple. It has always been there, but each time I've passed by, I've always overlooked it. Dark and small, it really is easy to just walk or drive by without noticing it. But ... read more