Dimsum Monkey

Hi, I thought I'd start a new blog to document my life in Hong Kong because I realized the "labels" are a lil messy. I want to own just one journal for my life in Hong Kong. I'm so sorry but I got to ask you to update your RSS feed.

Here's my new blog - http://dimsum-monkey.blogspot.com/ Cheers!

Food in Hong Kong

I wanna jot down some lovely places I've been to before I forget about it.

Caffe Habitu at Hutchison House, 10 Harcourt Road of Central serves really good coffee and pasta. The pasta is actually al dente and goes really well with the fresh coffee. Cost around HKD 65 for a pasta and the coffee's around HKD 38 to 45.

There's a ramen place opened by Japanese that I like as well. Turn left from Causeway Bay MTR, Exit B. I've tried fish soup base and they are really generous with their servings. Cost around HKD 50 - 70 per bowl, depending on how much toppings you want to get.

Okay, this is more a note for myself. Enjoy the remains of your weekend!

Random Thoughts

There's always something going on in Hong Kong.

On the 2nd day I arrived, I saw a man being pinned down on the floor at the North Point MTR station. He was accused of molestation and he was peeing in his pants. No kidding.

At work, during lunch hour, there're always some protestors outside the government house at Central, hurling insults at both the government and the banks.

At home, there's always Bryan to talk to, or we'd be busy doing the laundry or cleaning the apartment. On Friday nights, I'd play poker or have drinks with friends. There's always something interesting on TV. Or I have How I Met Your Mother to catch up on. I do noticed that I'm always at Lang Kwai Fong every weekend though.

At work, our finance lessons are one of the most intensive classes I've taken in my life. 2 days on Corporate Bond, a day on Government Bond, just an afternoon on Municipal Bond, 1.5 days on Mortgages...then bam, you gotta take a closed book exam, passing grade would be 75%. My worst scoring subject till date? Equities. It's supposed to be the most straight forward subject of the lot but we are just not friends.

I always feel that I could barely stop to reflect on my day or to just sit here to record my experiences in Hong Kong.

I've made some really great friends at work too. People whom I really admire because they are so smart. It's really nice to be surrounded by people who are smart because that's how you grow. Especially more so in an area that you're not familiar with, but you're surrounded by helpful people who know what they are talking about and are willing to teach you.

Most importantly, we click well and I'd say some are more like friends than colleagues. I mean, in the afternoon, Andrea and I were busy drawing penis emoticons. It's Saturday morning at 2 am right now, and we are continuing out artwork over Facebook....

Because I'm not trained in finance, I have to put in the extra effort. I would stay behind till 10pm to study and familiarize myself with the terminal. It's a 'lil hardcore but to be honest, it doesn't feel like work. I really enjoy the learning and expanding my comfort zone. In a way, I'm really proud of myself that I've taken the plunge into something that I try to avoid at school.

Tomorrow, I'm going running at Happy Valley, along the racecourse. The route is the diameter of where horses race. That's another first for me.

Like I said, something always seems to be happening here. I really feel that I'm living life to the maximum in Hong Kong. Need to pen down all these thoughts before they slip away.

p/s 8====D ~o ~o ~o {()}

We Are Unique

The syllabus has been getting harder and harder. Equities and I are not friends. I haven't been getting enough sleep since I normally hit the sack past midnight, but my alarm rings at 6 am. It's really challenging for me to sleep earlier because a) I need to clean up a lil b) I really do want to talk to Bryan and c) I need to read up. Sleep, is more luxurious than a panda-fur coat. Other than that, I'm having a good time at work because I really like the people so far. It's so dynamic and the pace is so fast.

Perry just came last night but he's moved to the hotel. Lian's popping by tonight, but she'd be working on Sunday. There's some plans made to go drinking and clubbing at TST. I'm arranging for all my friends to meet up and cross paths. I don't have much friends in Hong Kong to begin with so I supposed no harm bringing everyone together.

So, I just went to Burgeroom at Causeway Bay. Ordered a chilli burger and it's really, really yums. What I like about Hong Kong is its surprises. There's always some really niche boutiques/eateries at some random lil street, hidden and silent. Only some would know where it is. It's like finding gems. I used to not like Hong Kong much, but I guess I haven't been spotting those gems 'cos I don't even know they existed.

Also, I noticed I'm really proud growing up in Singapore. I got made fun of my Singapore accent but I'm really proud of it and with much pride in my voice, I would reply Kan Ni Na. But at work, I do have to switch to a less Singaporean accent because I noticed it's really difficult for people who have been growing up overseas their whole lives (that makes up 99.999% of my colleagues) to understand what I am saying. An American told me that I could sound really American. Thanks to exposure to much American TV. Also, I noticed we've been exposed to heck a lot more cultures than anyone from other parts of the world. Put it this way, name me somebody who would know all Wu Zhong Xian jokes AND can sing at least 1 Korean boyband song AND knows who Phua Chu Kang is AND watched at least 5 TVB shows AND knows the plot of 99% of American TV shows AND have seen British's Top Gear AND actually knows Bruno/Borat AND knows who Siti Nurhaliza. Must be either Singaporean or Malaysian. Yeaaaa, Sg Pride siah.

Last thing, I always got asked, which I prefer - Singapore or Hong Kong? Well, I like both. They are different. It's like asking me, who's hotter - Daniel Wu or Jin Chen Wu. Different, but equally good, you know what I mean?