Shopping places to check out in hong kong

Ap Lei Chau's Horizon Plaza (outlet)
Mee and Gee in Central (cross between a vintage and deadstock store and everything is dirt cheap, with all wares being under HKD100)
Argyle Mall in Mongkok

When celebrating gina's birthday earlier, we looked through a bunch of old photos. WE USED TO LOOK SO INNOCENT AND FRESH BACK THEN! It's hard to believe that 4 years is rapidly coming to an end- two of us are graduating this semester and the other three next semester. No more cliquish girls night out; no more heart-to-hearts. I'll miss my dear friends. Much as I complain that we'll never be as close as friends from secondary school or jc- I think that these friendships are here to stay.

All set! :)

Hehe. I'll be in HK next year! :) Can't wait!

List of restaurants to try

New York:
Zenkichi
Per Se
Daniel
Peter Luger
Nobu
Amy Ruth's
Le Bernardin

Philadelphia:
Bibou
Le Bec Fin

Lol. I've been neglecting to post. School has been crazy since it started though. We're halfway through the semester and I've barely had time to take a breather. I miss being on break. Next weekend I'm going to heck it and go to Chicago for the weekend. :) Haven't been to the windy city in my 3 years here- it's definitely time to go before I'm done with school!

Back to the crazy whirl of classes, information sessions, assignments, applications, interviews and errands. One month in asia passed by SO QUICKLY. :( I miss my vacation.

Work's been winding down with the end of the completion of the last major assignment. Now, to wrap up a few loose ends and see if I can scoot off early tomorrow. XD

Last few days of work

It's hard to believe that I'm getting ready to move stuff back to philly so that I CAN GO HOME! :D *groans* all the things to be done by Friday scare me shitless. There's the work related assignments, laundry, cleaning, packing, moving, and of cuz, people to meet and hang out with before I leave the city (perhaps for good). I'm in many minds about this. I love the city and want to stay, but how I wish the bf's here with me. Everything would be perfect then. :D

The past week has been great! Lots of shopping, eating, and hanging out.. I love my friends here. :) And I'll definitely miss the amazing shopping which has tempted me into spending way more than I should have this summer. XD

I don't know why I still have this naive notion that people should stay together (preferably forever), friendships should never sour, and families should always love and care for each other. I should be sufficiently jaded by now to know that things are never the way they should be, and that nothing's ideal, but something in me wants to cling on desperately to my naivety.

It sounds like I just don't want to face reality.

I don't know why I'm so teary these days, but I read this and teared for the second time today.

The bf sent me the link to this article. It's a very insightful article..

Having been through the whole scholarship vs papa mama sponsorship debate 4 years ago, I'm glad I chose not to pursue a scholarship+bond though it did look very attractive back then. With a year of studies left, I do not regret not taking up a scholarship, but I definitely regret not applying to "less prestigious" us colleges that offer scholarships.. My sch, though needs blind towards us citizens, is not needs blind for internationals. Right now, I'm not entirely sure if the huge sum I now owe my parents is worthwhile. It makes sense, compared to studying locally, but not necessarily in comparison to other us colleges which might have been better for me. Decisions are tough, but standing behind them is tougher. We should just remember to change what we can, and do what we want.

It feels weird to be in the office on a Sunday. Working on weekends is not cool at all. I guess I should just give my all and quit complaining. It's only another 3 weeks more anyways. :)

Philadelphia Restaurants

While doing some research on philly's restaurants, I came across some restaurant lists and thought that it'll be fun to come up with my own.

All time favorites:
Pumpkin- best byo
Cochon- great byo
Buddakan- love the asian inspired food
Cuba Libre- great cuban brunch (and dinner)
Amada- best tapas in philly, though nowhere near as good as the ones in Barcelona
Tinto- great tapas
El Vez- fantastic mexican
FriSatSun- cozy with wine at $10 above cost
Audrey Claire- great seafood tomato soup, byo too
Alma de Cuba- great cuban food; fried cow is a must-try
Mixto- cuban too, fantastic plantain chips
Vetri- expensive italian, but tasting menu is a must-try
Penang- default place to go to when homesick; kangkong belachan is fantastic
Vietnam Palace- 7 courses of beef is amazing
Smile Cafe- great thai food; hard to get a table
Sabrina's- my favorite brunch place; dinner's hit and miss
Django- great food; byo; heard rumors that it's closed?
Beijing- on campus default chinese
Thai Singha- decent restaurant that's closest to me :D
Sagami (NJ)- great chirashi; definitely worth the drive
Han Dynasty ('burbs)- amazing sichuan food that got me eating spicy food
Plate (Ardmore)- wonderfully huge salads, LA style
Margaret Kuo's (Wayne)- best xiao long baos I've had in the US

Good but not great:
Morimoto- expensive and not as good as sagami
La Croix- great view of rittenhouse but food could be better; impeccable service
Osteria- great home made gelato, nice thin pizzas but not worth the wait or the long drive up north
Pod- great for the express lunches and cocktails but not otherwise
Distrito- love its location but el vez is way better
Devon Seafood- amazing crab cakes which have shrunk over time
Banana Leaf- good msian food but penang is way better
Indonesia Restaurant- nice indo spices but not totally authentic
20 Manning- nice and hip but nothing spectacular about the food
Marigold Kitchen- had great lamb there but never really felt like going back; small portions which don't justify the price
Pattaya Grill- not as good as thai singha but still acceptable
Rx- used to have great brunches but portions have shrunk (either that or my appetite got bigger)
Stars and Stripes- nice brunch but can't measure up to sabrina's
White Dog Cafe- used to be fantastic for the white dog sundae; went downhill since new owners took over
Eulogy Belgium Tavern- great beer selection but mussels are tiny
Estia- nice greek food and great service but nothing particularly memorable
Paradigm
Continental- like the upscale diner feel but food's pretty normal
Melograno- nice Mediterranean food but seafood could be fresher
Meme- amazing mussels but menu could be more extensive
Fork- nice but can't remember being wowed
Zocalo- normal mexican fare
Monk's Cafe- great beers
The Happy Rooster- can't say I remember much about the food but it wasn't terrible
La Viola- fairly decent italian but can't measure up to vetri (I know its not supposed to be as good but I just feel sth's lacking when I'm there)
La Famiglia- normal italian fare; crowd's too old for me
Upstares Varalli- normal italian fare; oldish crowd too
Bistro 7- nice small restaurant
Bookbinder's- decent but not great seafood

Can be improved:
McCormick & Schmick's- can't see why it was crowded
Haru- lousy idea of what's fusion
Nan- thai french fusion gone wrong
Ava- nice cozy italian place near south st but way too heavy
Tangerine- great for drinks for food leaves much to be desired
Sang Kee Duck House- okay duck but other dishes are nothing memorable
Patou- most terrible tuna tatare I've had

To try:
Little Fish
Dimitri's
Le Bec Fin

Anyways, check out nielsen.com if you're bored. It has some pretty interesting titbits about consumer spending etc.. :) Apparently sales of meal starters (whatever that may be, I'm still trying to find out an exact definition) has jumped in the last 12 months while most other grocery categories have slumped. XD

*yawns* I don't know why I get sleepy at work every afternoon.. lol. I feel like going outside to stretch.. Anyways, its strange how stuff always happen subsequent to me making up my mind about something to make me change my mind. =_=

The weekend was great, once again. :) Visiting siannie in boston was fun thought 9 hrs on the bus over 2 days is not. :P I lurve mu que ca. It's one of the best restaurants I've tried so far- I'm definitely going back the next time I'm in Boston (though that might be in ages given that siannie's graduating). Christina's was pretty good too. I had the green tea and azuki bean ice cream and gobbled everything up in a flash- I almost finished siannie's unwanted french rose and mexican chocolate flavors too..

I watched Ave Q and it was really good! Definitely better than expected. XD It gets a bit lewd at times but it was extremely entertaining!

The weekend was loads of fun! :) Blyth Spirit might not be my favorite broadway show thus far, but it was definitely interesting. The rest of the audience was twice as amused as I was by the comedy set in a British home about half a century ago. Perhaps I just can't relate. XD

Anyways, Bonchon WAS SUPER GOOD. Lol. The 3 of us started with a 14 wings platter, and ordered another one. Haha. That's about 10 wings each.. Anyways, it's not what I expected at all.. and the wings surpassed my expectations by loads n loads. :D I'm definitely going back soon!

I love shopping in the 'burg. Found (and bought) loads of cool dresses, tops, a belt and a vintage coach sling bag. All for just a small sum. I'm definitely going back to the 'burg in a few weeks! I need to explore park slope and long island city too though..

Yet another one..

BOO. I hate doing industry research. Lol. Especially trying to find statistics that probably do not exist. NEED TO PERSEVERE. Sighs.

Uh oh..

I bought these.. am I making a mistake?

I want this..

It seems like I barely arrived in ny and it has been 2 weeks! I've had a lot of fun eating, shopping and hanging out thus far.. :) It has been a packed 2 weeks, meeting up with different groups of friends, especially those visiting from home! Joan even stayed over last weekend and we had a great girls' weekend with tons of shopping, exploring, good food, cupcakes and froyo! The previous weekend bringing hx and her friends around was cool too! Though I must say that hx's friends can definitely shop more than I do! They've spent terrifying amounts on bags.. :P I know this sounds strange coming from me, but I'm serious. These girls can shop..

It was fun hanging out with T & F too.. This is the first time we've hung out tog properly since nj times. Things just feel right? It's easy conversations all round even though we haven't really stayed in active contact for a while.

I do like my work- it's fun learning about various businesses.. I think I'd end up here for full time if nothing goes wrong. :) Colleagues are nice, I like my little cube.. I don't know. Somehow going home is not a very attractive proposition..

new york!

After 2 wonderful weeks of R & R at home, I've now started my internship in nyc..

Finals

Finals week started yesterday and I'm still not prepared. :( No drive to study at all. Don't know what I'm up to. :(( BUCK UP! I'd be on my way home in a week! Hehe.. STUDY STUDY STUDY!!

Almost a senior

Junior year would end on 28th April! That's just 2 more days of classes, which is SCARY. 75% of my college life is over? I'm still not ready for the real world. :( It freaks me out that I'm supposed to know what I want to do with my life, but yet I most definitely don't. I've been talking a fair bit to this new friend and he has shared with me rather interesting insights about myself.. I shall keep them in mind going forward. :)

No more management!

Yay! Mgmt 100 is finally over!! Much as I love my team.. no more meetings till 5am!

I don't seem to know exactly what I want. Or rather, I don't know what I want- just what I don't want. Blew up at the bf again on sun over small stuff.. I don't know why I'm being so emo- getting upset with him over small things like sleeping too much and stuff. I think its probably due to being apart.. but then again, a visiting friend got me thinking about being too committed so early on. Seems like I should be going out more.. and talk less with the bf. :(

I don't know why I'm also stressed out... Need more chill out talk cock time. XP

I love my goose. :) Thanks for coming to visit, dearie.. I had a great time bringing you around. XD

Contented with the simple things in life

I'm happy. :)

Spring break!

Hmms. It seems like this sem literally flew by. After recruiting and a series of midterms and presentations, it's finally time for a break! :) I'm in London and it's so so pretty. It's way prettier than philly. :P AND THINGS ARE SO MUCH CHEAPER!! I can't believe that the US is more expensive that the UK!!! What is wrong with this world man.. We went to borough market and had nice fish and chips and loads of dessert.. :)) And did some minor shopping along oxford.. XP and then proceeded to have nice roast duck at four seasons in chinatown. :))

It's really nice to be able to just sit around and chat and meet other students here in London. :) I miss being free. :P

Five happy months.. :) That's probably deemed as short by most, but I feel like we've been together forever. I guess that's partly due to us knowing each other for four years before getting together. I love my dear. :D

Anyways, school's really getting me down. Bombed 2 midterms this week and they're both chemical engineering ones. UGH. WHY AM I SO BAD AT MY MAJOR? I need to start understanding everything thoroughly instead of superficially... :((((( BUCK UP!

I think I'm going shopping tomorrow to get the stress out of my system. :P

I feel kind of messed up. I'm not sure what I'm doing/want to do, and life just seems to be going out of control. I'm not paying as much attention to my classes as I would like.

I think that above all, I want to have a happy family, but what about career wise? I can't even decide on a geographical location.. :(

I love my silly bf. LOL. He really puts up with all my nonsense.

It's v-day tomorrow and the bf is far far away. :( I miss him loads, and I'd only next see him in a month's time. I guess that isn't exactly that far away, but it feels like it is.. :((

Working in the lab has been fun.. I love my prof, he's super nice and energetic and teaches us a lot. ;)

I feel a need for self improvement. I should read more (newspapers and such), do more and basically be exposed to more things. I've realized that I read next to nothing outside of coursework and job search related books during the semester, and this has to change!! It's unhealthy to read so little.. I miss the times where I could devour book after book. School was so much more fun (read: slack) back in Singapore. XP

Am I expecting too much from the bf? :( Been snapping at him a fair bit recently.. I guess both of us are stressed out about work/finding a job, and we haven't been talking as much recently. I just feel that he doesn't seem to care as much any more and it just irks me. :(( I burst out in tears while talking to him this morning before my interview... and ended up red nosed and sore eyed at my interview. SIGHS. Why must it be like that? Perhaps I'm expecting too much from him- more than what he's willing to give.. but still. Does that mean that we won't work out or just that I should be adjusting my expectations? :((((

Interviews went better than expected today. Now, fingers crossed.. and hope I proceed to the next round. :P I can't take this for much longer though. Even though having 4 interviews in a day is pretty tiring, it's actually rather productive too. :P I kinda got into the swing of things and each progressive one was better than the last. :) Now, fingers crossed for the one tomorrow.

Stress.....

I need to relax. This stress is not good for me..

Seems like case interview workshops aren't as bad as I thought they would be. :) I'm thankful for the interviews that I have.. Now, I just need to prepare well and wow the interviewers.

Early morning class

I'm sleepy. 9am operations management class is no fun. My friend gave me a case interview yesterday and basically told me that I suck. And the case interview prep book I ordered online is still in intransit due to bad weather.. I hate slush. Snow's all nice and pretty when its snowing, but its inadvertent that it'd turn to slush the next day and make walking to class a pain. I almost slipped this morning- cuz the courtyard is not shovelled. :( I need some industrial strength boots to deal with this. Slipping in the snow is no fun as I've discovered.

Internship woes

Hmm. I actually got an interview for a consulting position. :X This came as a surprise because consulting is the second most coveted type of career here, and I have had absolutely no experience in consulting, nor demonstrated an interest in consulting through participating in student activities which are consulting-related like my more consulting-oriented friends. I guess I could always spin it in a way which is beneficial to me. Now all I have to do is get some case interview practice, and come up with stories for the behavioural or "get-to-know-you" questions. These come in many variations: "Tell me about a time when you led a team to accomplish your goal", "Tell me about a time where you performed over and above expectations", "Tell me about a time when you failed and what you learned from it". Lol. The variations are endless. And I'm terrible at preparing anecdotes for such questions. These have stumped me in previous interviews and I ALWAYS tell myself to prepare better for the next one but I never do. UGH. Inertia. I MUST prepare them this weekend. The bf could be roped in to mock interview me I guess. Or perhaps he'd be more useful helping me come up with anecdotes which draw on my experience..

Confused

Hmm. I've moved once again, mainly cuz I'm not comfortable with my bf reading my blog. I mean, most of my ramblings are about him anyways, and it's hard to type them out knowing that he could be reading them.. I don't know. Does that mean that we're not close enough? Or that I don't trust him enough?

Anyways, Happy Chinese New Year! :)

I still hate how there's school here on cny. :(