Hong Kong Snap Shots @ 2013

Transformer 4 Filming in Progress @ Central (Oct 2013)














Busy City @ Central (Oct 2013)

Tsim Sha Tsui (Oct 2013)















Wan Chai and Central in a foggy day (Oct 2013)







 

Fish Market @ Mong Kok (Oct 2013)







Day and Night @ Park View (Oct 2013)


Hawkers on boats @ Ap Lei Chau (Sep 2013)


















Fishing boats @ Aberdeen (Sep 2013)


















Water taxi @ Aberdeen vs Water taxi like seats in rain @ Aberdeen


 
Sunset @ Tsim Sha Tsui (Jul 2013)

Royal Hong Kong Yatch Club and Causeway Bay Typhoon Shelter (Jul & Apr 2013 )


Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (Jun 2013)


View of Kowloon West from Central (Jun 2013)














View of TST from Central - The giant rubber duck was still enjoy his holiday in HK (Jun 2013)














Rubber Duck in Victoria Harbour (near the Harbour City) (May 2013)

Hong Kong Flower Show in Progress @ Hong Kong Victoria Park (Mar 2013)


















Fantastic Night View @ Central (Mar 2013)






















The Clock Tower in Tsim Sha Tsui (Mar 2013)






















Happy Chinese New Year (Feb 2013)

Hong Kong Maritime Museum in Progress (Feb 2013)














Tsim Sha Tsui (Feb 2013)

Busy Victoria Harbour (Feb 2013)

 

Paris, Heaven for Foodies and Heiratage Lover - Laduree

I love macaroon so much that I thought I would have it everyday during the trip in its authentic origin. In fact, I just bought macaroon once from Piere Hermes, which are rich in cream. Pity I forgot to take any photo.

For Laduree, I planned to try its pastries at Avenue des Champs-Élysées. Pity I had no time to queue up. Grab a rose flavor ice-cream instead. Special taste, only the biscuit was not too crispy.

















Lucky I could still try it out before departure at the airport.

















Pastry and tea are always the perfect match. My pastry is named Honey Fig Charlotte, featuring elegant outlook and soft and sweet heart.

















Fly me home.

Paris, Heaven for Foodies and Heiratage Lover - Work 5

My friend suggested to have hot pot dinner. Wow! I never heard people would have hot pot in Paris. How cool it is!

A range of balls, must have for hot pot.

The spicy soup base was for my friend while the basic soup base was for me. I did feel excited to have hot pot in Paris. 

The restaurant adopts buffet style. A range of raw and cooked food is avaliable.

This fried nian gao with crab was super yummy, better than the hot pot.

Paris, Heaven for Foodies and Heiratage Lover - The Last French Lunch

I slowed down my pace to enjoy my last day in Paris.

What for lunch? Certainly French. Veal, duck, seafood, it's the turn for lamb. Good to have a meaty, tender and juicy lam shank. Potato always tastes good regardless of cooking method.

















French people like dining outdoors, enjoying their meals or coffee while observing passersby. The summer heat can be annoying sometimes however. This restaurant comes up with a special idea. Can you guess what the smoke is? It's an eco-friendly air-conditioning system, water drops. Ar.... I felt like I was a plant being watered. Yet, has the restaurant ever thought the water drops may destroy customers' clothes or valuables? Weird idea.

Bordeaux, Paradise for Wine and Seafood Lovers - Seafood Lunch

We ended the Bordeaux trip with a seafood lunch.

Lovely pan-friend scallops in smooth texture and sweet taste with delicious baby potatoes.


















Oysters again but those in Le Petit Commerce were better.

















This type of fresh sea snail is not common in Hong Kong. Super yummy!













This marked the perfect end of the Bordeaux trip.

Bordeaux, Paradise for Wine and Seafood Lovers - Beach and Sun

It was a very busy day for we had to rush to Cap Ferret after the chateau tour.

Seafood in form of quick meal, tuna salad sandwich. 

















After abut 50-min train ride, we arrived Arcachon, a famous resort town. Unlike common sand sculptures, these colored ones are more edgy.

















Wow, what a giant blue whale! Wait, it is only an installation.



















Actually, the final destination was Cap Ferret, where is about 30 minutes away from Arcachon by boat. An oyster farm near the pier. 

















Many Europeans love summer because the winter there can be terribly cold, and French is not an exception. Besides, it's said that tanned people is usually rich people in France. We took a 30-miniute walk to the beach to visit this beach along the Atlantic Ocean.






















The sandbank at the background is one of the largest in the world, even bigger than the one in Perth. The number of yachts illustrates it's an area where the rich loves.
 
















It's my first time to see fishing by a net at the pier.
 

Bordeaux, Paradise for Wine and Seafood Lovers - Chateau Tour

Chateau tour is a highly recommended if you wanna explore this renowned wine making region.


The first chateau of the morning was one with long long history backed to the medieval age. This castle is armed by a moat for defensive purpose. It was once the living place for its old masters and now is the office of the chateau.



Grapes - the soul of wine. The soil, sunshine, water, temperature, wind, etc influence the quality of wine to be produced that year.

















The birth place and the storage of wine. Different allocation of grapes will formulate different wine in different personalities.
 


This tasting room was once a pigeon hole. 


 
The second chateau we visited is brought by a professor and run in a more modern way. It was quite interesting to see a relatively new world model in the old world.

 

This beautiful chateau is one of the five owned by AXA, a French insurance company, served as a photo backdrop of the day. We had no chance to have a visit inside however.