This is a small part of a themed food court at the new VivoCity mall. Definitely not Panda Express and Sbarro lah! The food here is diverse, cheap and good!
I finally figured out the difference between a food court and a hawker centre. One is quiet and the other has the owners “hawking” their specialities.
So that’s the answer to THAT question…
HK Alternative Tea Time
Assorted Notes
Just some quick observations…
UA still sucks rocks. Horrible experience going HKG-SIN compared to my SQ flight from SFO-HKG. No video on demand. Cabin drier than Las Vegas in summer. Bleagh.
And speaking of the flight over on SQ *swoon*, why is it on EVERY flight I’ve taken to Hong Kong, regardless of carrier (UA, CX, SQ), there are ALWAYS screaming rugrats in Economy? And why do I always get seated within screaming range of at least three of them?
The sunrise as we were about an hour out of HKG
Not that I have anything against rugrats…they’re nice, as long as they’re not mine!! WHAHAHAH!
After several stays at The Inn Crowd, I’m staying here this time. Some observations.
Great facilities. Rooms feel like rooms and not a big dormitory. On top of a mountain!
Kick-ass view from the rooftop deck!
Here’s the rooftop deck!
Free Nescafe coffee! Got real restaurant next door! Bathrooms MUCH cleaner and nicer. Comfortable beds (not bunk) and decent air con.
Real beds! And a place to keep your stuff, sorta…
Now the bad. DSL slower than dialup. NO WI-FI! Location is a bit removed (meaning a taxi ride or a 20 minute walk to go down the hill). Brekkie for S$7.00 for toast, hash brown cakes, breakfast weenies, apple juice, cereal and diner coffee is just a bit too much.
I did just get here so I will reserve judgement…
Busy Week
It’s been a busy week for me, as the week before a trip always is. I think I’m getting better at packing and prepping though.
I’m continuing to follow my “go places I’ve not been” resolution by visiting Taipei and Guangzhou on this trip in addition to a visit to Singapore. I’ll be flying into Hong Kong on SQ, to Singapore on UA (I need da miles!) and to Taipei via CX, which will be the first time I’ve flown them in over four years!
It feels good to be back on the road.
Speaking of “da road”, I was sent a last minute (4 days!) invitation to a party in Los Angeles last week. Flying down for a day plus car would have cost over US$350.00! Even I’m not that desperate for 1000 EQMs!
So I drove. And strangely enough, it wasn’t too bad. I spent 12 hours and around US$50 for gas. Stayed at a fren’s house and had yum cha the next day in Rosemead.
Always working, always on da phone!
The staple of all yum cha, a dish of good siu mai!
You gonna eat that?
Oh yeah, the party the night before was at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills.
Confetti drop! Lots of green and orange flakes!
And the guest of honor (by a frakkin’ landslide!)
I vin again!
Yes, that is Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and this was his Victory Party. This was the best pic I could take with my lil’ Ixus using maximum zoom. It’s a bit grainy but what can ya do?
Afterwards, it was out poolside in the balmy Southern California night, smoking cigars and enjoying the palm trees (and copious amounts of alcohol).
Yes, this was an inebriated photo again!
Different kind of debauchery
We got all the guys together last night for a festival of food not on a Late Friday this time but an Early Saturday evening because two of the five guys attending are flying out on CX tomorrow night heading out to HKG. Lucky lah! There was Rib-Eye steaks all around. Homemade pesto over some kinda pasta, rabbit food (AKA “salad”) and smashed potatoes. We also had several bottles of red wine. Burp. And after a heavy meal lidat, you can figure out how motivated we all were to go out and debauch like we did last week.
Yeah right. WHAHAHAH. Whipped out the cameraphone to take pix.
Looks like someone gassed the room! Eeeew!
Just think, 10 minutes ago, they were all whining “wannagoout!”
I left them all lidat as I walked home at 2330. They all left late this morning! Good thing I didn’t need a ride…
A change of pace (it’s not ramen this time!)
When I’m stuck in San Francisco, I morph into a creature of habit. I ALWAYS go to the same places to eat, depending on what it is.
For example, when I want good ramen, I go to Santa or Himawari. For spicy Chinese food, I go to Spices. For izakaya fare, I go to Oyaji, each of these places I have written about at one time or another in this blog. Now, it’s not out of stubborn loyalty or benign ignorance but rather that these are the “best” places for these kinds of foods. There’s not a lot of diversity here in San Francisco, food or otherwise so ya gotta go with what you know.
There’s a small restaurant across from the Kinokuniya bookstore in the Japan Center here. Besides being a fully stocked bookstore (with all sorts of Japanese books, magazines and DVDs), it’s a good meeting place because traffic and transit here makes it impossible to meet at an agreed time after work.
“Want to eat?”
“Sure. Where to meet?”
“Meet me inside Kinokuniya and we’ll figure it out then”
Across from Kinokuniya is a small restaurant called Maki. It’s really small inside (19 seats!!) and has some tables outside.
I’ve run past this place soooo many times!
The menu is posted outside as well as all the accolades they’ve received. Lunch specials are a bit on the high side. Dinner is higher. Maki makes good Japanese comfort food like sukiyaki, shabu shabu and fresh made maki. Sounds ordinary, right? I mean, this is comfort food and the prices make it sound like a “date place”. However…
They specialize in Akita style udon, called inaniwa udon. Unlike typical udon that’s the width of TV cable (the kind you buy from Comcast) and has a chewy, almost undercooked doughy taste, inaniwa udon here is made fresh, is half the width of fettuccine and is very light on the palate. As is the broth. Yum.
This is the ebi udon and those are small tempura shrimps in the bowl along with a vegetable
I’m a self-confessed ramen guy and I’ve also developed a taste for Matsumoto soba. I never thought I’d like udon. Until now. It was really good! But be ready for sticker shock if you come here for dinner cuz this bowl costs….
US$18.00!! WAAAAAAAAH!
So this is definitely a date place, but unlike many date places in San Francisco, you will get a good quality meal and you’ll leave satisfied knowing you’ve had something unique.
And I’ve got to stop running past small hole in the wall restaurants like this in future…
maki
Kinokuniya Building
1825 Post Street
San Francisco CA 94115
415-921-5215
Interesting!
It’s an interesting world when a flight to HKG on SQ costs just US$70 (at last check) more than a flight on UA.
Cuz who wouldn’t pay the extra US$70 for the extra “amenities” (AHEM) that SQ offers on a long haul from the states?
Actually, I know some ppl who are penny wise and pound foolish. Too bad for them! WAHAHAHAH
Revelation
While trying to shop at Costco today, I had an revelation.
If you want to tell how someone drives their car, watch how they drive their shopping carts. If they block the aisles or cut you off with their carts, chances are this is how they act on the road.
And don’t even get me started about those people yakking on their cell phones while trying to drive their carts! Once, I got my ankle rammed by some l’idiot who was trying to shop and talk on the phone at the same time!!!
You always remember your first …
…motorcycle!
Ten years ago, I purchased a second hand Honda Elite (Freeway) 250 from a guy who had bought it at a lien sale. It was in a dark, dank garage, chained to a post and had definitely not been taken care of.
“I was going to fix it up and ride it but I don’t have the time and I need the space in the garage” was the reason why he was selling it.
I paid the guy and had one of my friends follow me on the 280 as I rode to SF Moto to have it repaired and fixed up. When I got there, I was told that it was a miracle that I made it there in one piece, let alone taking it on the freeway. Something about missing hub bolts…
That was an expensive visit, because it needed a battery, new tires and a major tuneup. But it was worth it because the Elite got me around the City, was great with gas and had enough “git up and go” to survive in San Francisco with all the mentally impaired drivers and tourists that we gotta deal with here. Going up and down the hills of San Francisco with or without passengers was never a problem nor was a quick jaunt over the Golden Gate Bridge. We went through a lot together, including an engine transplant and being in pieces for just over a year as I ran short on time to get her running.
After the new used engine was installed and tuned, she ran like a new bike. Quieter and faster. But earlier this year, I picked up a Suzuki GS500. Figured it was time to graduate to a proper motorcycle. And as these months have passed, the Elite got less and less saddle time.
Finally, it was time to let go. I sold my Elite today to a fellow motorcycle/scooter rider who understood the meaning of “backwards brakes” and no gas gauge. I love riding and my SV. But I’ll always have a silly grin on my face when I’m passed in traffic by someone on an Elite 250, because I’ll be seeing myself zooming by.
Late Friday Again!
Went out for yet another late evening. Drank too much. Ate too much.
Wound up at Rouge this time. Drinks and bartenders weren’t bad. Bartop dancing could use some work. But the highlight of the evening was the entertainment as we wound up the evening. See below.
Too much to drink? You may look like this!
At Roughe, we met some girls who joined us for supper at a late night Korean joint in the Fillmore.
Some kind of (spicy) hot soup. Yum!
The first round!
After this there was short ribs and bbq pork. No pix of that because all eight of us were eating fast!
Guess which one is the accountant and which one is the teacher?