My Hair.

It's actually the first time i've had a shoot focused on my hair. I've done a lot of hair modeling in the past where i've had my hair from my Natural pitch black bleached to Blond, then ginger, light brown, chestnut, dark brown and now, back to my original black. And it all started when i was 15 - My mother mentioned how my hair was getting "boring" and convinced me to "change" and after getting called a "chicken" by my elder sister i ended up getting highlights. Just kidding, she didn't call me a chicken, but it sounded like she was. From then on i just thought to myself "oh well, i've already damaged my hair, might as well." Got to try these things while you're young i guess, but it was also because of this thought that my hair became so damaged - Plus my work doesn't help much either with all the tongs and curling irons.

Anyway, my hair is slowly healing up well over time. (with help from my Sponsor Alex! God i love him!)
Hope you guys like the photos and Let me know what you think! :)

Noah’s Ark Found!

Well, Sort Of…LOL
I discovered that they’ve built a full-scale replica of Noah’s Ark in Hong Kong. It's kind of funny because my "Animals" Catergory is titled as 'Noah Ark' and here i am LOL!



Strangly, Hong Kong is slowly getting a bit boring for me since i don't have much of a night life anymore. The night before my day off (It so happens that it was also my friend's day off it, yet it was a random Weekday LOL) i decided to do some research of what we could do besides the usual shopping and cafes.
I wanted to go somewhere out in the open with fresh air at the same time a slight "tourist" feel. Disneyland, Ocean Park.. "again?" i thought. The Big Budda? hmm! good but maybe its too hot to climb up the thousand stairs… Madame Tussuads on the peek? or… hold on… 'Noah's Ark' ?! WTF is Noahs Ark? Listed under Theme Parks/Parks!?
I looked at their website and omg, it WAS a "theme park"! I called up my Local friends of Hong Kong and somehow even they never knew something like this even existed! Looking at the Location and the map given on the website it was located on a random island under the bridge to Tung Chung where i used to live. I thought "i used to cross that bridge everyday and i think i would of been able to spot a huge Ark…"



So, it was decided. I thought it would be an interesting day trip, so i grabbed my friends along with me and it did prove to be an interesting day trip - As it turns out this is the only full-scale replica of Noah’s Ark in the world!
As with many things in Hong Kong, it is a little bizarre. Note the giant bridge just behind the ark making is fairly impossible to ever believe you were in the Ancient World. Ticket was cheap too, only HK$145 per Adult. Yet, a lot of money has gone into the exhibition and the whole thing has been together quite thoughtfully. The theme park was like a big zoo but all the animals were not real though. Lol




We wandered through the main museum which was interesting. (mostly because we were the only ones there! Made us feel like royalty.) We learned about Noah’s journey and how it could impact our world today. We had fun walking around and doing all the different exhibits. Most of them were for little kids but we still did them. Lol It was fun and made us laugh. (Shows our inner age lol)
The museum also had some animal exhibits, which to me was very amusing. (You know me and animals lol! Well, would of been funnier for you guys to read if there was a video attached of me trying to piss of a baby hedgehog. ) errhem, moving on..
I was impressed that the museum ended by highlighting pressing environmental issues on our planet with a 4D show. I thought this was a sensible and thoughtful message to conclude the exhibition, something entirely consistent with the biblical Creation mandate and yet something even unbelievers could affirm.
So we walked out of the museum not entirely sure what to think. It was well put together and professional, but I’m not so convinced of their evidence for the actual discovery of Noah’s Ark.

Anyway, we did see a Chinese Noah, who didn’t speak any English to us (but I don’t think he spoke much Ancient Hebrew or Aramaic either!).



After the long walk through the park(I will blog about this another day. There's a reason for it.), we walked around on the beach(Yes! they had their own beach!) It was nice to take our shoes off and walk along the water. I love that it didn't feel like i was at a theme park at all! Just a chillful day with some good friends.

It's such a shame that almost no-one knows about Noah's Ark in Hong Kong, it's such a waste. I mean, they even have their own resort! Me and my friends were trying to think of how they could improve. First - Advertising, very important and secondly, they need to get themselves a fucking panda - Just ONE panda and the people will naturally start pouring in. haha! Come on, it's Noah's Ark!

http://www.noahsark.com.hk/

Applegreen.

Ewww.. terrible photo....Anyway! Saturday evening and originally i was planning to go somewhere new for "American Food" so i tired this place out that was listed under "American" - Ends up it was more like Western Fusion instead.



There was also a wild range of salads which sounded rather attractive. I had the Salad Diane, which was very light, yet nothing special. It was a bit like the salad that you get with Donner Kababs. LOL. The highlight of todays dinner was surprisingly the first thing we ate - The Portabello Fries, which was thin slices of mushroom "tempura'd" with a black truffle cream dip. It was magic!



Parma Ham and Melon Flat bread - Okay, so here's the dish i was a little confused on. Firstly this dish was huge! It was like a main dish yet it was placed between Appetizers and Salads. I would not recommend this dish if there's only 2 of you, it looked more like something 4 people would have as a starter, but anyway, that's just the portion. The melon and Parma ham was very thinly sliced, yet the Melon tasted overly strong and sweet for such a thin juiceless slice. - It almost seemed they put melon syrup to make the taste of the melon stronger. At the same time, it did taste rather different - in a good way.



As the main dish i chose the Carbonara. Again, nicely presented. Unfortunately, the heat from the dish ruined the garlic bread’s fresh crispiness a bit. The serving was definitely large, but i found the sauce coating the spaghetti a bit dry, but soon discovered that much of the sauce had accumulated at the bottom. I therefore proceeded to fervently scoop for the al dente strands further down on the floor of the dish (that’s right – al dente). The cheese on top was actually not that necessary as the creamy sauce was already sufficiently rich. There were also copious pieces of meaty bacon, yet I couldn’t help wishing there were also some crunchy, smokey bits of bacon as well.

The atmosphere was rather "Honky" if you get what i mean with several large groups of young people, who were rather...ummmm....loud. Ambience was bright and cheerful; lots of light wood in the decor. But all the surfaces are hard and the ceiling low (of course, this is HK), so the noise level was uncomfortably high. All in all, i would go back again, particularly for the Portabello Fries.

Applegreen. (+852) 2312 2488
4/F, Carnarvon Plaza,
20-20C Carnavon Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong.

Solitaire AUG/SEP.

The newest Issue of Solitaire is out and it's my second print appearance for Christelle.
I've been at the Hong Kong Jewelry & Gem Fair for the past few days with them too! - A lot of Ruby this year which means it's my luck! Did you know Ruby is the gemstone of Leo? :P

This was the Cover of the Issue.



Hope you like it. Let me know what you think :)

Pear Blue Cheese and Walnut Salad.

Fall and winter always seem to bring on a craving for slow cooked comfort foods like soups, stews and other similar hearty fare. But even in the chilly months, the fresh taste and crunch of a seasonal salad is a welcome change of pace.



Ingredients

1-2 Fresh Pears (not over ripe)
1 tbsp Olive oil
1 tbsp fresh lime or lemon juice
1-2 tsp white wine vinegar
2-3 tbsp Whole grain prepared mustard
1 teaspoon maple syrup or honey
4 ounces crumbled blue cheese
1/2 Pound or 1 packet of washed and well drained Arugula, spinach or rocket salad mix
Salt and black pepper
(Optional) Butter & Bacon cubes


Method

1. Mix the Fresh Lime juice, white wine vinegar, whole grain mustard and honey until well blended. Set aside.

Note: You can also mix it in one at a time later if you prefer.

2. In a small frying pan set on a medium heat burner, melt the butter and cook the bacon cubes with black pepper and salt until crisp. Drain well and Set Side.

(Optional) I like to place a couple walnuts into the bowl containing the drained bacon to soften. I like to have some crispy and some soft walnuts in my salad. hehe.

3. Peel(optional), core and slice the pears into thin wedges.

4. Mix the Vinaigrette, Rocket, walnuts and pears in a large bowl, crumble in the blue cheese and season with salt and pepper before serving.

This Autumn salad of pears, blue cheese, walnuts, bacon, and greens in a zesty mustard vinaigrette with a sweet edge which can be enjoyed either as a light lunch or an appetizer.
It is also optional if you want to serve the vinaigrette dressing mixed in our separately with the salad.

Another Option you could try next time is to brown the pears all over on pan with 2tbsp of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

The blue cheese takes away the whole bitterness of the Rocket while the fresh lime and the sweet pears balances the strong taste of the cheese back.

Let me know what you think! Happy Cookings and Good Luck in the kitchen! :)

The Memories.

Have you ever heard a song from so long ago with so many memories tied to it that it made you cry? And didn't you with that wish you could go back into time when everything seemed so much simpler and carefree?
Those are the soundtrack of our lives, the songs that bring back childhood memories, best friends, love and heartbreak.

Taking the walk back to where i used to live, where i met some incredible people, where i laughed with joy on weekdays. Here is not were i grew up, here was not where i first loved. Here is where i found myself. Here is where i first felt appreciated for who i really was. It felt good breathing that positive atmosphere back into my system. Time to time i tend to lose myself in the busy surrounding of where i now live, going home lying on my bed, feeling knackered and angry with my life. Asking myself, why can't things be better? Why am i not satisfied? This is real life, we are told in order to grow and survive we must keep fighting even if it's tiring and makes you feel broken down. Why do we fight and work so hard? To grow? No, to buy ourselves another day from our carefree memory.

Yet, tomorrow is another blank page just waiting to be filled with your experiences. All you have to do is be yourself and live the story of your own unique life. Be Proud. Be confident and most of all, be happy.

What's your M&M?

Yup, workers dressed in massive M&M costumes dancing and telling you to come in.
Slightly ashamed to admit I was in there sheltering from the rain today. Lots of people, but nobody seemed to be buying much…except me LOL!




I’ve been to the one in Vegas, and was super excited to see what this one had to offer. It was definately loud and really busy, but so much fun! The staff were friendly, enthusiastic, singing, dancing, etc. It’s definately built for tourists and M&M lovers. Definitely not somewhere for those who suffer from migraines or anxiety related disorders and grumpy old people who think its just a bunch of over priced plastic! Just because its not your cuppa tea, doesn’t mean other people won’t love it! It’s an amazing store, if you’re fun, an M&M’s fan, or just like to be in a welcoming, loud, party type atmosphere, definately a must!

PS. Please forgive the white balance. I forgot to set it to indoor lighting, won't happen again! Promise!

Moon Festival!

Everyone has the day off today! Why? To recover from all the moon watching last night.
As far as I can tell whether you call it the Zhonqiu or Mid-Autumn Festival or how i like to call it, "Moon Festival", it is really about two things: mooncakes and lanterns. Under the bright harvest moon augmented with lantern light, families get together to celebrate and eat moon cakes.

During the day n Hong Kong's Mid Autumn Festival, Hong Kongers seem even more rushed than useral. They are either rushing around in the jam packed Temples or out in the streets trying to get their hands on Mooncake or some seafood at the Markets for that nights feast like they were going to be sold out any minute - One of those people being me. I am not a Moon cake fan at all, so i tend to buy Haagen Daz's Ice-Cream Moon cakes but they are often sold out for sure!



In the Evening people are often having dinner with the Family. It's a bit like Thanks Giving. I went to my Grandmothers home today for dinner. I arrived at around 5PM and she was already super busy in the kitchen preparing so i popped opened a nice wine with my Grandfather - yes, we decided to get wasted before the dinner haha! Oh this is the view from their balcony. You see the bright lights on the right? That's where we headed after the dinner - Victoria Park's Lantern Wonderland Carnival!



So i talked down to Victoria Park with my family to check out all the festivities and boy was it packed! Roads were blocked, lot's of traffic and a lot of police and first aid. It started to look a little like Carnival back in London. LOL! But of course, more romantic since it was night lol!




Everyone camps out with their families and lights candles and lanterns to pay homage to the moon.
The picnicking in a park makes it a little like the Fourth of July and little kids wandering around with lanterns and glow-stick adornments makes it a little bit like Halloween.

The Japanese and Korean community in Hong Kong were also here to celebrate, men and female wearing beautiful Hanbok and Kimono, strangely it was the chinese that didn't really bother dressing up for this event, i only saw a few little kids wearing Cheongsam haha! It was cute still.

Pictures taken with Panasonic Lumix GF1 with Pancake lens.

More Tea?

What can be batter than to spend a wonderful weekday with close friend having High Tea? It's chilled, relaxing, romantic and the food is light while the Tea is never ending!

I don't know why but i have High Tea in hotels in Hong Kong but its still different! Maybe its the surroundings and being back in London. I can be eating Macdonalds in a park right now and still feel like heaven. haha!



Anyway, today i had a great bonding day with my friend. Talked about a lot of stuff that i can't remember - obviously it was a load of crap, but at that time it was meaningful. It just felt great being out and not thinking about work at all. I guess everyone needs to relax now and then. More tea?

Apple Thieves.

Ever since i moved out of North London i started to rent apartments so i never had a Garden since. My place in up North used to have a huge apple tree and a another tall pear tree! The pears were very juicy and the apples were rather sour so we often picked them to bake apple pie. Oh how i miss those days of my childhood.

Luckily though, this time staying my my sisters, she happened to have a garden and even an apple tree! I asked her house mates if they have ever tried them and only one of them said she tried them while the rest were a bit worried they may have a stomach ache afterwards. I on the other hand am not afraid at all! Sharon came round and we ended up going out to the garden to pick some apples. Rather childish, but it was a lot of fun.
The apples were a lot smaller than the ones from my old Home so i was afraid it might be even more sour. After they have been washed we took our bite.



It was so juicy and sweet and awfully refreshing! I really don't know how long it's been since i have ate an apple without chopping or slicing it up. I'm not one of those people who enjoy holding a huge apple and just biting through it. Maybe because my mouth isn't that huge and i always think it will force my teeth "outwards" if you get what i mean. LOL! But they, these apples were rather small. I liked it. :)

Did you know, The largest apple ever picked weighed four pounds, one ounce. Discovered in Hirosaki City, Japan!

Notting Hill Carnival in London 2011!

Waking up super early after sleeping 'Early' was a bum but i was so excited i swear i can't even begin to explain how happy i felt and what a great time i had at the carnival, wow it was so much fun i loved every bit of it. But before heading out, something i cannot NOT do, is to have the hotel's Full English breakfast room serviced!!!! Haha, i'm such a pig. Nom Nom Nom.



Many stations have been closed due to the carnival so we ended up traveling an extra few stops before we could reach an open station. I was like, "Crap, how am i to talk to the carnival without getting lost?" And oh! Look at that! Saves road idiots like me a bunch! LOL!

The carnival celebrates Caribbean culture and attracts about 1 million people with its mix of flamboyant dancers, rousing steel bands and booming outdoor sound systems.

I went on the last day. I've never been so this would be my first time, but all my friends have told me it's the best!



Alright, another tourist shot. Haha, i must say, Britian Police Officer's uniforms are much better looking than the ones in Hong Kong. Plus, with their tall hats it makes them look even BIGGER!! The police on the right is pretty charming. hoho. They were very nice and friendly.



Police say about 274 people were arrested during London's Notting Hill Carnival - Europe's largest street festival (a similar number to the previous year) despite worries of major disturbances following England's riots.

Something else i need to mention that's not related to the Carnival though. Did you know that if a Pregnant woman needs to use the toilet and there's none close by, a Police officer must offer his hat to let her urinate! D: hmm, can add that to my 'To Do' List for the future.

LOL!!! ANYWAYS!! Here are some of the photos i took from the Floats. There's actually a lot more, but i think no one would be able to load my page if i put like hundreds of photos into one blog.






Something that i found very cool was that many people would bring out their own collection of Speakers and stereos and be in competition with the others on who's got the better sound system for a party. Haha! I would walk down different streets and randomly see sound systems stacked up and a bunch of people chilling or dancing. It was interesting.



After a lot of dancing and drinking coconut with rum, me and my friends decided to grab some lunch! There were so many stalls to choose from but one thing you must eat here is the Jerk Chicken! Jerk chicken is a Caribbean dish featuring chicken marinated in the famous jerk sauce of Jamaica. The chicken is prepared on an open grill, and served with sides like rice, salad, and mixed vegetables. The chicken is dry, fiery, and slightly smoky, But i like it. Another dish we had was the Curry Goat.







By the time we left, hundreds of people were heading to Westbourne Grove and Ladbroke Grove, dancing, laughing and enjoying the last days of summer. It’s a fun time for all — head on over if you’re in London next year!


Oh and just one final thing to end this blog. The GIF of the DAY!
Me and my friend were doing our attempt of Shuffling randomly in the street to the Party Rock anthem and a guy out of no where deicided to join us. Yep, that's Carnival! :P

The Guy Next Door.

For those who know about Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie with their kids being in London. They are staying at Richmond Hill! Which is another branch from Richmond Gate where i was staying for the weekend!!! Suddenly i became super popular and many friends decided to spend time with me that weekend - trying to spot either Brad or Angelina next door. LOL! Just kidding, but i was accompanied by a lot of mates this weekend.

I didn't get to meet them but since my friend works in RIchmond Gate i decided to get some inside news. Apparently their Kids wanted to use the facilities at Richmond Gate while staying at Richmond Hill. The staff kindly told them that they can't and they started to brag and shout at the poor lady and say, "Do you know who we are? We are Brad Pitt's Kids!" WHen i heard this i was like… woahh………





Here are a few photos of my room. Unfortunately my pancake lens fails at these sort of photos, but it will have to do for now. I think the best part was that i had my own balcony. Normally hotels are strictly "no open windows" but this hotel being only 3 floors high, i guess it's okay.



After putting my stuff at the hotel i went to Kingston for Nandos. Mmm… Nandos….. Something else on my TO DO list and something i have also been craving since i left London. Apparently theres a Nando's in Canada and even Malaysia too but theres none in Hong Kong! Why!? I should buy the franchise for it and bring it back to Hong Kong.





I can't fault Nandos. Even at its busiest, the service is friendly, and they are always happy to help. Also with it being so busy it has a really lively atmosphere.For the price, the food is great although the price has risen since the last time i was in London.
My favorite is the Chicken Caesar Salad or Quarter Chicken with Spicy Rice and Chips. The Spice i often use is Medium.

http://www.nandos.co.uk/

After a wonderful meal i went back to the hotel with my girlfriends and decided to have a crazy girlie night with Vodka. LOL.

Believe it or Not?

Ripley’s Believe It or Not! is the London attraction museum sure to excite, delight and thrill the whole family. It opened just after i left London so i've never been. I asked my friends who have been what they thought of it and they said, "It's good for a first timer and if you're interested in the Guinness World Records stuff, then you'll like this." It so happens, I am. Besides! I'm easily amused.



But before heading there i had a wonderful Lunch at All Bar One in Leicester Square. As you can see, Fish and Chips and Sausage with mash! The Typical British food! The Cod was delightfully crispy on the outside, yet soft and juicy within. The mash was very rich and buttery it was like i was making love with my food and not eating it, "uhhh....mmm.....mmmm....."

So what is there to see in at the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! museum, well i don't want to spoil it for you guys because i think its the experience of finding out yourself that's the best, but still here are a couple of spoilers. One of the pieces of work i found amazing was the One Pence picture. Unlike most portraits created from paint, this one is made using penny coins, 2500 of them to be exact! (so basically you only need 25UK Pounds to actually create a masterpiece lol!)





The collage contains a variety of shaded penny coins which when viewed from a distance form a portrait. Each coin varies in age from the very first penny coins introduced in 1971 right upto brand new penny coins which have never been used before.



Now this, i found very exciting! This replica of Tower Bridge was built from 264,345 ordinary matchsticks!!! 'nough needs to be said. LOL!

But if you're not interested in huge fine detailed wooden statues carved out from One huge piece of wood or ancient accessories and letters there is one other section in this museum that contains more, freaky and scary shit. When i said scary, it actually scared the shit out of me. Not going to spoil it, but i literally dashed off to the other end of the room in shock. I think my friend kind of regrets not recording it. haha



Another fun thing was the Mirror Maze! They had this in London Dungeon? Or was it Madame Tussauds? hmm.. anyway. Spent around 20 minutes stuck in this maze, i think i was going round and round in circles. Try doing this maze running! - Lots of bruises on your head. LOL! Yup, fun stuff!