Blog off

Well, this will be my last blog post. I am sat in my flat, bags full to the brim and mountains of stuff without a bag. Never good. I have a feeling it is too late to buy another suitcase and I am certain my baggage allowance does not cover it.

Tomorrow is my last day in the HK office. I then fly to Japan for a week before coming back to HK for a night and then flying home to London. It will have been four months. Feels like forever and mere minutes all at the same time.

I can't believe how much I have missed while I have been away. Five babies, two weddings, a moving-in, multiple 30ths and other birthdays.

In place of this I have seen and learnt quite a lot! I have been to HK (clearly), Japan, Kuala Lumpar, Bali, Australia and Macau. My passport actually has stamps in in these days (EU really should have kept them). I have travel cards, maps and many pots with left over currency in. I've seen old friends and met new friends. I've learnt chopstick etiquette and eaten all kinds of oddities. I have also put on over a stone and my jeans currently do not do up. On reviewing prior posts this is not that much of a shock. Plan A for the UK is exercise and healthy eating ;)
Once I've found a flat that is...

This week I have actually been getting into the swing of HK (I still have a headache/hangover from the rugby last night...) I will miss it here. But I'm pretty sure I'm not gone forever. It is certainly on the list of places to return to. Not least as I never made it to the three star Chinese restaurant at the Four Seasons...

Thank you all for your comments / emails and skype calls. I apologise for the fact you tend to catch me with a face mask on looking like some kind of swamp creature. Where would we be without video con calls.

I land in the UK 2 October and I look forward to catching up. I cannot wait for cups of tea with cold milk, and cheese, and pubs (not bars), and ribena....

See you soon x

T3

Whilst away on holiday I appear to have forgotten all the HK living basics. An example of this. Yesterday morning I left the house to go to work and did not take my umbrella.

By the time I came to leave the office some 12+ hours later we were at Typhoon Alert Level 3. Yes, that does involve rain. Quite a lot of it. Clearly this much rain means there are minimal-to-zero available taxis, so I walked (it is warm rain after all).

I was mildly alarmed that a number of the shops I went past had sandbagged the outside of their buildings. I've not seen that before!

This morning T3 (that's the alert) remains in force. Oh, and we also have a landslide warning. I'm not sure that my main focus should be that I am amused this has been named 'Tropical Depression Fanapani'. Brolly today me thinks!

More Sydney

I have been a bit neglectful of late but am now back on my sofa in honkers eating chocolate (only thing in the fridge other than a bottle of soy sauce). Health kick starts tomorrow. Maybe.

So, what did I do in Sydney?

Well, we went to the Opera House to See Sutra. A truly amazing dance performance involving choreography by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, design by Anthony Gormley and the Shaolin monks. It is touring and well worth a visit (and not just as the choreographers surname contains all five vowels). Standing ovation from the crowd - always a favourite theatre moment of mine.

I took the ferry to Manly to eat chips and watch the surfers. A seagull snatched a chip from my fork as it was half in my mouth! I then understood why someone had shouted at some tourists for feeding the seagulls only moments earlier.

I had a domestic goddess on a healthkick moment and cooked a HUGE salad for us (it had roasted pumpkin (that is butternut squash for those of you not living in Oz) - hence the 'cooked' reference. However, all healthy salad goodness very much negated by the level of red wine and port consumed over the week.

The best sightseeing part was the Bonza Bike tour which took you all around Sydney.

Much PawPaw ointment was purchased and I was also wooed into getting Manuka honey. Supposedly this cures all ills. I'm waiting patiently for it to kill off my cough. As of tomorrow it will be a trip to the pharmacy and the honey can compete with the antibiotics to see who cures me first. I'm not going to play favourites.

HK is as boiling as ever and following the same theme as the last three months I have returned to a Tropical Cyclone warning. My money is on this kicking off either Tuesday night (so no peak hike) or just as I catch my flight to Tokyo on Saturday (mmm, turbulence).

Subject to plans not changing this really is my last week here, I even have a check out form to complete for the flat. The feedback form does not however have a question asking you to rate the level of mental trauma suffered from living in such a confined space. Maybe I'll leave that as additional feedback.

Right ho. Early night for me as doing a full day of work is going to be a bit of a shock to the system tomorrow!

Sydneysider

Sydney. It's got an Opera House.

Ta da....

Post Blue Mountains the plan was to head to the beaches. But it rained. And rained. And rained.

Braving the rain on Tuesday night we went out for some utterly delicious sushi at the somewhat incongruously named "Monkey Magic", in Surrey Hills. However, despite the name and the unexciting looking menu, the food was delicious. Go there and order the soft shell crab roll. Delicious. Sadly, the cocktail bartender was off sick so no pina coladas available, but the rain was not going to stop me in my pursuit of coconut based drinks with unnervingly large toppings. No Siree.

First stop, the Winery. Pretty surroundings, ultra stuck up staff. Needless to say pina coladas were not an option. The also are one of those places that when you order a glass of champagne, they think it is ok to mix the cloudy dregs of the end of one bottle, with the newly opened bottle. (FYI, it is not ok).

Next stop, Bentleys. Again, pretty surroundings and ultra ultra stuck up staff. However, so stuck up they wish to take on the challenge of making a pina colada - as our bartender makes "the best pina coladas in Sydney". Drinks arrived. Hmmm, when did a pina colada taste of lemon juice and hurt to drink? However, I sipped politely. We gave up for the night.

Wednesday (that would be yesterday) I had a very unproductive day sightseeing wise. Spent time in a lawyers office reading papers (exciting) but then had a wander around Circular Quay and the Rocks, and walked over that bridge. Quite a quick walk, taking far less time than the advised 75 minutes. About 20 to be precise. So, with a bit of time to kill I wandered around and found a second hand bookstore that had sofas and sold cups of tea and biscuits. Heaven - surely?

In the time it took for me to purchase my Moroccan Mint tea, I discovered the owner of the bookstore also owned a holiday company and a bike hire service. Warning Sign One was when I sensed her disappointment that I had not booked any of my holiday with her; that I had stayed in a Janet de Neefe hotel in Bali (she is organising a separate writers tour...long story, will make sense to some); and that I had just booked on a bike tour with another Sydney company (despite not offering bike tours). Still, I smiled, looked cheerful and took my tea and (stale) biscuits to settle in for a bit of a read.

Warning Sign Two was that the woman in the comfy chair opposite me was reading "The Ascendant, Your Karmic Doorway". That would be reading aloud. Albeit a stage 'whisper' but in quite an excited tone. My favourite part was when she exclaimed 'Oh, today IS Wednesday' as though discovering gold.

Warning Sign Three was the fact a very battered second hand book costs AUD12, when new it was AUD14.95. Hmm, maybe my 'making friends' strategy of asking for a book recommendation was misplaced.

So I sipped my tea (fast), left the stale biscuits and headed on my way smiling and promising to 'have a think' about the book...

Back across the bridge on the train this time (beautiful sunset) and to meet K in the Blu Bar at the top of the Shangri La for beautiful panoramic views of the city. They DO make (average) pina coladas! Hurrah!

Next stop was a great Spanish tapas restaurant called Bodeas. As recommended by Mike the owner of Bonza Bikes (great place, they will line up a whole list of restaurants and bars for you, I'd pop in just for that). Due to the no booking (at Bodeas rather than Bonza Bikes) - therefore you have to wait a while policy we discovered an amazing place called the Red Door. Ace, ace bar. No signs, just a red door. This, not unsurprisingly, meant they were practically empty but the staff were ace, the sofas comfy and the menu superb. Oh - did I mention they have pina coladas on the menu. Made with fresh pineapple. AMAZING. No more pina colada hunting required this holiday!

Blue Mountains

Hello from Sydney! I arrived and made it through the mega form-filling/interrogation that is customs. Have I been on a farm recently??? (No - but it makes you wonder if you had been and you forgot). However, I was allowed through, clutching my bottle of champagne (declared as a 'food' item...). Following the longest taxi queue in the world, I made it safely to Sydney. Paddington to be precise. Phew.

Out for lunch at Doyles in Watsons Bay for fish and chips. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Yum. Very nice. Sun shining, sat outside, good company, chips. What more could I want? (Ok, so some salt and vinegar would have gone down a treat but let's not get picky here).

We then drove up to the Blue Mountains for a mini-break in a holiday (mini break - hurrah!). A short drive and we were in chintz heaven at Lilianfels hotel and spa. Located conveniently close to the start of the hiking trails.

The staff thought I was hilarious, which I think was solely due to my being English rather than any witty banter from my corner. To explain, we arrived and immediately headed to the lounge for tea and scones (even before going to the room). I then spent some time at reception (by this point in my towelling robe and matching slippers) having the staff talk me through the dvd collection (apparently "amusing trash" is the funniest dvd descriptor known to man - if only I had known earlier, I could have my own show by now). However, dvds were hired (for the princely sum of AUD 6 per dvd) and all was well. Cue very girly evening of fizz, snacks and dvds (oh yes, and pillow fighting in our nighties - goes without saying). If you've not seen 50 first dates, go see it. Hilarious in all the wrong ways - just as an Adam Sandler film should be. Muchos giggling.

Early start the next morning (what jet lag...yawn) and by 8am we were off hiking. This meant I had to stop for lunch at 10.30am - I was STARVING!

The Blue Mountains were stunning, we were in Katoomba. We walked to the Three Sisters and over to the world's steepest railway. Due to the health-kick (which had been decided upon over fizz the night before) we decided to walk down then up again instead of taking the train. My calves are not thanking me for this today. Yeeks. I also have a headache which I am sure is due to the 'no-booze' element. Yes, I managed to go for dinner on Monday night and not have booze or pudding. Most unusual. I do hope I swiftly start to feel as fit as a fiddle (or possibly an athlete, I am sure they are fitter than wooden musical instruments). Maybe 'nearly as fit as an athlete, one without an issue with prohibited substances' should be the saying?

On return to the hotel we went to the spa which unfortunately had 'no availability for treatments that afternoon'. A few hours sat trying out free product samples (well if there were no appointments) and reading our books while drinking the free berry tea did demonstrate that the issue was not appointment availability, but staff availability. There were none. Very odd. Lots of nice looking treatment rooms and a spa area. Although I was somewhat put off by the green mould on the amethyst crystal fountain - albeit the water in this did not go near you and was not treatment related, merely decorative.

Anyway, we went for a boozeless, but very tasty, dinner at the Old City Bank Brasserie. Salad and fish for me and salad and chicken for K. Healthy, healthy, healthy. I had to eat almost an entire bag of pistachios (bought to keep our strength up while hiking) on my return to prevent myself from raiding the mini bar for the toblerone I knew was sat there. The sense of pride when I woke this morning (toblerone intact) was, quite frankly, ridiculous. [FYI, today I have had two ginormous mugs of tea but no booze as yet...However, it is 5pm so plenty of time for that to change].

Back in Paddington it is raining so a bit of a wander, then home for a cup of tea (or two) and cake. Yum. Off into town this evening, after two early nights and dvd-athons we probably should start acting our age...

Arrivals and departures

So I am sat in 'Champions', the sports bar, at HK airport. Just over a week since I was here last. Again I have the dubious glass of white wine (mmmm, chardonnay - I could recommend it to Mozaic), the potato skins with cheese (no bacon) and a glass of tap. Yes, I too am questioning why. Surely there are nicer places I could be. I think I am trying to recreate the beginning of the Bali trip - the time went too quickly. I want to be back drinking Pina Coladas. Doing my silly pina colada/bad stomach/paddy field/etc dances (yes, best not to ask). Having massages and going for strolls. Come back holiday!

Post Mozaic we were cautious of eating, generally. Not least due to the obvious food poisoning. Nice. (I'll not share further details). Thursday lunch we had the most delicious meal, and it was cheap as chips. Friday continued on a similar theme. We arrived in Jimbaran, home of the beachfront seafood bbq, and it was delicious! Sat right by the water (we had to move tables twice as the waves came up higher than the restaurant had expected). Utterly romantic, sat on the beach, tables and candlelight's, musicians playing, waves crashing and the smoke of the bbq all around.

We saw little of Jimbaran, opting for pina coladas and books on the beach. All lounging, no sightseeing so little to report. We stayed at the Intercontinental, which was a bit of the shock to the system with its enormous entrance, all speedy check-in and efficiency. It is an maaaaaaaaaaaahusive resort. A lovely place to stay but not the place to see Bali from. You can tell the kind of person that does see Bali solely from the resort - ok so I'm generalising based on meeting one person - but at check-out the rude man not only queue jumped (in full knowledge he had pushed in front of me - it was like being back in HK) but then asked for the US$ 1 'charitable donation' (added to every bill) - to be removed. Let's be clear here. His bill ran to a couple of pages and he was asking to be able to check out at 4pm (this looked like it may be possible pre-donation removal - he then had to be out by 1pm). We were staying for free (yay points) but rooms started at US$ 450 per night when I checked the website, so US$ 1 was surely lost in the roundings! Ah well. Rant over. Hopefully his luggage will get lost on the way home (although I pity the poor staff member that has to deal with that...)

Right, I'm rambling , and I have a flight to catch. Next stop Sydney. Hurrah! DW is at this point wandering around HK in the rain before a later flight back to the UK. Safe trip!

When bad food happens to good people...

MOZAIC RESTAURANT

Awards & Accolades
 San Pellegrino Guide 2009 – ranked 84th of the Best 100 Restaurants in the World
 Miele Guide 2008 - Top 5 Best Restaurant in Asia, rank: nr. 5
 Miele guide 2009 – Top 10 Restaurants in Asia, rank: nr. 6
 Hospitality Asia Platinum Awards - South East Asia's Most Innovative Western Cuisine Restaurant 2008
 Hospitality Asia Platinum Awards - Indonesia Restaurant of the Year 2008
 Yak Awards - Best Ubud Restaurant, 2008
 Wine Spectator - Award of Excellence 2006, 07, 08
 Traditions et Qualité – Les Grandes Tables du Monde (Best Restaurants of the World) 2004, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09
 Indonesia Tatler - Best Restaurant in Indonesia 2006, 07
 Prestige Magazine - Best Restaurant in Indonesia 2006
 Wine & Dine Magazine - Best Restaurant in Indonesia 2004
 Best Bets - ‘Best of the Best Restaurants’ 2003,’04,’05,’06, 07-08

Also as listed in the Time Out 'Top Ten things to do in Bali". The Rough Guide and Lonely Planet rate it highly and every single person we have met has waxed lyrical about it.

It is also, officially, one of the worst meals (possibly THE worst) I have ever had in my life.

We arrive early (no room at Nuris for us to have a pre-dinner martini). We are greeted and taken to sit in the lounge area (nice, but could have been anywhere in the world). We order cocktails and ask if we can eat a little earlier than our reservation time. We are told that will not be a problem, so far so good. The menu has four options. A discovery menu (Indonesian), a Vegetarian tasting menu (Indonesian), a taster menu (French) and a Chefs Menu (110 not stated). The Chefs and the Vegetarian menus are at the discretion of the chef, the rest are stated.

Now I do love a fancy restaurant and a tasting menu so this was THE big treat for me this holiday.

The menu takes a bit of reading (you need to recover from the pricing, it claims to be GBP 45 in all the write ups). While we were doing so a waitress came and asked if we were ready to order and we asked for a few more minutes.

Cocktails arrived (not the GBO30 chefs special cocktails I hasten to add) and were drunk. Quite nice but not impressive. And then we sat with empty glasses. And sat, and sat, and sat. Finally one of the waitresses we had frantically been making eye contact with came over and advised that we had missed our slot when we had been asked to order earlier. No waiting time stated, no chance to order more drinks...

A while later we were taken to our table (along with the dissolved ice in our long-finished cocktail glasses) and ordered one vegetarian menu, one discovery menu and the accompanying wines. As this was the treat night of the holiday (I laugh dryly to myself as I type) we decided to have the fine wine accompaniment. 462ml (yes, I thought that was an odd amount too) for the extortionate price of GBP80pp. Still. This was going to be good! Fine wines and tasting menus at a World Renowned Restaurant!!

Time passes, we order mineral water. The amuse-bouche arrives - no drinks. Time passes, bread arrives. No drinks. The first course arrives along with the first tasting wine, (I remind you, GBP80 per person - to put this in context a 60 minute massage costs GBP6 here and our beautiful hotel GBP40 per night).

I eagerly awaited the treats that were to arrive....

...my first 'fine' wine was an Italian Pinot Grigio. And one I am certain they sell at All Bar One in the wharf. It's not one of the more expensive ones... First course was fine. However, maintaining hope, I was sure round two would be better.

Course two. I forget what the food was (it certainly wasn't memorable). Fine Wine two. A Chardonnay from Chilie. No comment. (I was more amused that horrified, this felt like a surreal experience and I was waiting for someone with a camera to jump out from under our table and tell us it was a set up).

I suggested we head home (DW had just been served a Riesling that tasted like apple juice. Warm apple juice).

But we stayed. Round three I was presented with two dates covered in something that tasted like lemon curd. These came with a Californian Pinot Noir. I left the majority of this only to have the staff demand "what is wrong with the food" - not in a gently concerned manner!

At this point I pretty much gave up eating and focused on peering at the other diners (business men with hookers (tick), Japanese couple with a ginormous tripod attached to the smallest digital camera I have ever seen (tick), boys on dates wearing inappropriately casual clothes looking awkward every time the menu / price is seen (tick, tick, tick)).

The meal continues like this until we finally were able to leave (we were relived and hot footed it out in the most ridiculously expensive taxi you could imagine). I recall a blended Cabernet Sauvignon. From Spain. We did get a glass of Pol Roger with the tasteless ice cream, and then there was some odd chocolate item that tasted like washing up liquid.

The bill came. Officially the most expensive meal either of us have ever had in our lives, and also the worst. It cost more that the accommodation for the entire holiday put together, and then some. Unbelievable. The service was appalling throughout. I had more fun and better food the evening a friend and I ended up in Burger King Leicester Square (dressed in black tie - McQueen darling - and a wee bit tipsy!).

I am thrilled I opted for not eating the food from the dates/lemon curd onwards as DW is now poorly, poorly sick from something he ate.

What can I say. Fancy food was not a good plan!