Feb 23 & 24 - Stores, HK Park, Cheese Balls & Vodka Bar
Feb 23 – Bookstores, groceries, HK Park, Cheese balls
John has asked me to see if I can find a book for him on digital photography, specifically on the camera that he has. So I decided to see if I could find any large bookstores today. There is one that I pass sometimes when taking a certain bus route home & it looks to be a good size, so I headed for it. On the way I passed a small chain bookstore called, Dymocks. I asked if they had a larger store & he said down in Central at the Prince’s building (I actually know where that is). I walked on down the hill & got the Page One (the store I can see from the bus). It is a decent size, but nothing even close to the mega-bookstores we are used to in the US.
Page One had a decent photography section, but of course that only makes it harder because I don’t have a clue what would be a good choice & at $25 to $30US, I didn’t get anything. I went on down to the bottom & found the Prince’s building. This store was smaller than Page One & had a very small photography section. End of book search.
I called Sarah & asked if she wanted to get together & try the teaware museum & restaurant at HK Park. I had heard from Sophia that it was supposed to be good. Sarah agreed & we met at her apartment. Walked over to the park & had no trouble finding the museum.
It was OK, not anything great. We went to the tea restaurant & unfortunately it was closed for renovation. Darn! We headed back to her apartment which is located next to the IFC mall. We parted & I went to City Super in search of sausage & sharp cheddar cheese to make cheese balls for the office. This is a Southern treat that is popular for breakfast gatherings. Tomorrow is the move day for the new office, so I thought it would be fun to bring a treat. Well, no sausage or Bisquick. Not a good day for finding things. This is what you come to expect though living here. I know I’ve seen both of these items at other times, when I didn’t want them, but now that I’m looking for them, nowhere to be found.
Feb 24 – New office move, Osaka, Light show, Lang Kwai Fong, Russian Ice bar
Today we moved into the Cadmus new office over on Kowloon-side. It was pretty easy, we all showed up at the new place & the movers brought all of the boxes we’d packed over. We spent the day unpacking and organizing. There are no cubicles built yet, they are being sent from the US along with shelves & everything else. I guess they had extras in the US, so instead of us buying more, they’re sending it over. So all we have are some tables & nice chairs. As we started to organize our desks, Sophia made a couple of bookshelves out of the moving boxes. Everyone sort of got into making furniture out of the boxes & some were rather creative. Ruby’s husband, Dante, I think won the prize for most creative. He was making all sorts of things out of the boxes, including a cabinet for the microwave with doors on it that open up. It was really fun.
One really funny thing at the new office is the sign in the bathroom. There is a sign above each toilet in the ladies bathroom that reads, "Do Not Tread on the Toilet Seat". I laughed so hard, I thought it was bad at the other office where the bathroom sign read, "Thank you for your coordination." I asked about the sign & they said that people from Mainland China are not used to seat toilets, just the hole in the ground type, so they think they have to climb up & stand on the seat to use them. They said people get injured in the climbing sometimes, especially the old ladies & it also damages the seats. Clashing cultures!!
We had enough time to get home to shower & change & then get over to our favorite Japanese restaurant, Osaka. We couldn’t let Keith leave without having the Osaka experience. Had the usual stuff, sushi, eel, giant prawns, beef rolls with straw mushrooms. Keith was suitably impressed. We got done in time for him to see the end of the nightly light show, he thought 5 minutes of it was enough. We headed back across to Hong Kong-side on the ferry. The New Years lights are still up, so it is a colorful ride.
We decided to show Keith Lang Kwai Fong, which is known for it’s hopping nightlife. There is a Russian vodka bar that is supposedly all ice & they give you fur coats to go in that Keith had heard about & wanted to go to. I had heard of it, but didn’t know where it was exactly. I called my friends Sarah & Clay (they seem to know all the good & touristy places). Sure enough Clay came through for me & gave perfect directions. We found Balilica’s & sure enough there was a room (not too big) that you could go into & it was very cold (which felt good because it was pretty warm & humid outside). Not everything was made of ice, but some of it was. They did have fur coats, but we didn’t feel like we needed them. With all the time we’ve spent hanging out in hockey rinks, I guess this wasn’t really too unique for us, we just felt like we were home. They had a special of 6 shots so we got that. We ordered a variety of flavors & straight vodka. I hated it. I’m not sure why I even tasted it, I know I don’t like hard liquor. The guys liked it, but we did start to feel cold, so did the 6 shots & left. We went to a Spanish place & a beer just to enjoy the nightlife & atmosphere of the area. I was feeling kind of sick from the one shot of vodka that I’d had, so we headed home. I’d go back, but I just wouldn’t drink next time.
John has asked me to see if I can find a book for him on digital photography, specifically on the camera that he has. So I decided to see if I could find any large bookstores today. There is one that I pass sometimes when taking a certain bus route home & it looks to be a good size, so I headed for it. On the way I passed a small chain bookstore called, Dymocks. I asked if they had a larger store & he said down in Central at the Prince’s building (I actually know where that is). I walked on down the hill & got the Page One (the store I can see from the bus). It is a decent size, but nothing even close to the mega-bookstores we are used to in the US.
Page One had a decent photography section, but of course that only makes it harder because I don’t have a clue what would be a good choice & at $25 to $30US, I didn’t get anything. I went on down to the bottom & found the Prince’s building. This store was smaller than Page One & had a very small photography section. End of book search.
I called Sarah & asked if she wanted to get together & try the teaware museum & restaurant at HK Park. I had heard from Sophia that it was supposed to be good. Sarah agreed & we met at her apartment. Walked over to the park & had no trouble finding the museum.
It was OK, not anything great. We went to the tea restaurant & unfortunately it was closed for renovation. Darn! We headed back to her apartment which is located next to the IFC mall. We parted & I went to City Super in search of sausage & sharp cheddar cheese to make cheese balls for the office. This is a Southern treat that is popular for breakfast gatherings. Tomorrow is the move day for the new office, so I thought it would be fun to bring a treat. Well, no sausage or Bisquick. Not a good day for finding things. This is what you come to expect though living here. I know I’ve seen both of these items at other times, when I didn’t want them, but now that I’m looking for them, nowhere to be found.
Feb 24 – New office move, Osaka, Light show, Lang Kwai Fong, Russian Ice bar
Today we moved into the Cadmus new office over on Kowloon-side. It was pretty easy, we all showed up at the new place & the movers brought all of the boxes we’d packed over. We spent the day unpacking and organizing. There are no cubicles built yet, they are being sent from the US along with shelves & everything else. I guess they had extras in the US, so instead of us buying more, they’re sending it over. So all we have are some tables & nice chairs. As we started to organize our desks, Sophia made a couple of bookshelves out of the moving boxes. Everyone sort of got into making furniture out of the boxes & some were rather creative. Ruby’s husband, Dante, I think won the prize for most creative. He was making all sorts of things out of the boxes, including a cabinet for the microwave with doors on it that open up. It was really fun.One really funny thing at the new office is the sign in the bathroom. There is a sign above each toilet in the ladies bathroom that reads, "Do Not Tread on the Toilet Seat". I laughed so hard, I thought it was bad at the other office where the bathroom sign read, "Thank you for your coordination." I asked about the sign & they said that people from Mainland China are not used to seat toilets, just the hole in the ground type, so they think they have to climb up & stand on the seat to use them. They said people get injured in the climbing sometimes, especially the old ladies & it also damages the seats. Clashing cultures!!
We had enough time to get home to shower & change & then get over to our favorite Japanese restaurant, Osaka. We couldn’t let Keith leave without having the Osaka experience. Had the usual stuff, sushi, eel, giant prawns, beef rolls with straw mushrooms. Keith was suitably impressed. We got done in time for him to see the end of the nightly light show, he thought 5 minutes of it was enough. We headed back across to Hong Kong-side on the ferry. The New Years lights are still up, so it is a colorful ride.
We decided to show Keith Lang Kwai Fong, which is known for it’s hopping nightlife. There is a Russian vodka bar that is supposedly all ice & they give you fur coats to go in that Keith had heard about & wanted to go to. I had heard of it, but didn’t know where it was exactly. I called my friends Sarah & Clay (they seem to know all the good & touristy places). Sure enough Clay came through for me & gave perfect directions. We found Balilica’s & sure enough there was a room (not too big) that you could go into & it was very cold (which felt good because it was pretty warm & humid outside). Not everything was made of ice, but some of it was. They did have fur coats, but we didn’t feel like we needed them. With all the time we’ve spent hanging out in hockey rinks, I guess this wasn’t really too unique for us, we just felt like we were home. They had a special of 6 shots so we got that. We ordered a variety of flavors & straight vodka. I hated it. I’m not sure why I even tasted it, I know I don’t like hard liquor. The guys liked it, but we did start to feel cold, so did the 6 shots & left. We went to a Spanish place & a beer just to enjoy the nightlife & atmosphere of the area. I was feeling kind of sick from the one shot of vodka that I’d had, so we headed home. I’d go back, but I just wouldn’t drink next time.
posted by Becky Hubbell @ 9:51 AM
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