~ Hong Kong Shopping Haul: Boots ~

Hong Kong's weather is slightly warmer than DC. By the end of February, almost all the stores I saw had boots on clearance in anticipation of the spring sandals. I passed by this one tiny store and saw these awesome boots.


The sign says $899. I wanted them, but I am not paying that much for boots when I won't really get to wear that much till next fall. So, I commented to my mom that these were nice, but too expensive. Then the owner appeared out of nowhere and said that all the boots are $100 because of end of season clearance. As you can see, I bought them. I am sad to say that ... they don't fit me! I am a size 39 in European sizes. These are 38. When I was at the store, they felt snug, but I could walk in them. Now that I try them on again, they don't fit! They are very, very tight! How's that possible?

Good thing I got another pair with rhinestones. I am not crazy about the ones near the top, but I love the rhinestones on the heel.



Another pair of black boots...but these are very special! They are made from a super soft, suede material that hug my legs like tights. And they go up to my thighs. You can also fold it down so it's calf-high. The only thing I don't like is how pointy they is.


More rhinestones! These are brown and have ribbons on the back. So girly and pretty!



These boots are perfect. They fit well and they are comfy. Looks gray right?


It's really silver!



I think they are pretty good quality boots because they are lined with a very soft material on the inside. Boots from China are usually not even lined with anything and they cost about $79 to $99HKD. So, yeah, I spent an hour at that one store and got 5 pair of boots. Then, I told my aunts and they got a few pairs too. She got so many pairs that I had to bring them back for her because her suitcases were full. She got these nice brown soft suede boots. No fair. I don't remember seeing these.


During the 5 weeks I was in Hong Kong, I also bought another pair of casual brown boots to wear with skinny jeans, 2 pairs of gladiator sandals, a pair of "Juicy" sandals, some jeweled flipflops and a pair of red strappy heels. I think I have enough shoes for now. Don't let me see any deals with Endless.com and DSW please!!

~ I Can Still Cook...Kinda ~

It's been a long time since I cooked a meal. Sure, I have made instant noodles here and there. But I haven't planned and executed a meal in about a year. Today, I cooked a meal! An ideal meal to me is 3 dishes, rice and soup. That is perfect for my fiance and I for dinner and enough for me to have leftovers for lunch the next day. But, I thought I would ease into this cooking business with 2 dishes. Nothing fancy.

I was trying to be a little healthy so both dishes have veggies. First, let me present to you, Beef with Broccoli with XO sauce. XO sauce is a special blend of spices and dried scallop. It just adds richness to this otherwise ordinary dish. Well, that's what I thought in my head as I was cooking. It turned out a little bland. It needs more oyster sauce.


I kinda made this up today as I was cooking. It's sauteed tofu slices topped with ground pork in sweet soy sauce. It's missing some nice green onion as garnish though. This was amazing if I may say so myself. I was going to save some for my fiance, but...I ate it all. The tofu was slightly crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. Just a little bit of the pork and the sauce was enough to enrich the taste of the tofu. It was just good :)


Not bad. I am already planning the next meal. I think I am going to make one of my signature dishes...Steak!

~ What is Dim Sum ~

Still not done unpacking yet. So, no pictures of my new supplies and other items from Hong Kong. Instead, I will tell you more about food! Have you ever had dim sum? It's pretty much a Cantonese thing. Dim sum is a kind of food that's served in very small portions usually for breakfast or lunch. It's kind of like tapaz. Most dishes are steamed though some are sauteed or fried. In America, when you want dim sum, you would say you want dim sum. But, in Chinese, you would really say, "I want to 'drink tea'" because drinking tea is a big part of the meal. The servers will usually ask you what kind of tea you would like when you sit down.


Anyways, I had dim sum like at least 3 times a week when I was in Hong Kong. Not only is the food really good, it's also a very atmosphere for gatherings with friends. The food comes out slowly and you get to hang out with your friends and family and drink tea at the same time. It's definitely very fun. There are a lot of traditional items for dim sum. In the back of the following pictures, you can see siu mai which is pretty much pork and shrimp wrapped in a delicate yellow...wrapper. The white dumplings are shrimp dumplings. It's beef balls in front of the dumplings and the thing to the left is chicken and other stuff wrapped in tofu skin.


This is sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaf. There's usually chicken, black mushroom and other meats in the middle.


Very tender steamed ribs with black beans and chili peppers.


Chicken feet and taro wrapped in tofu skin. Other typical dishes are bbq pork buns, chicken feet, and steamed rice noodles (churn fun).


Traditionally, the dim sum is wheeled around in a cart while the server yells out what dishes she has in her cart. When you see something you want, you tell the server and she'll give you the dish and put a stamp on your receipt card. Now, most restaurants don't use carts anymore. Instead, they have papers with the dishes and you check off which ones you want. Then, you give it to the servers and they will bring out the dishes for you. Every dim sum restaurant in Hong Kong has different specialty dim sum dishes. Here are some pictures of specialty dim sum. Everything was delicious!






There's plenty of desserts amongst the dim sum dishes too. This one is quite popular when I was in Hong Kong. It's called something like "flowing cream bun". The cream inside the soft white bread is so deliciously creamy that it will flow out of the bun if you are not careful.


Looks like creme brulee right? I don't remember what it was though.


Can you tell which pictures I took with my DSLR vs the phone? Unlike my brother who took his camera everywhere, I was way too lazy. In Hong Kong, I had to walk and take public transportation every where. It's a pain to carry the big DSLR around. Besides, I was shopping most of the time. My hands were full with shopping bags :)

~ Pissing Shrimp ~

It's been 2 days since I stepped off the plane and on to US soil. My 4 suitcases are still in the living room with boots, shoes, clothes, jewelry, beads and food scattered all over the place. I will be taking pictures of all the cool things I got from Hong Kong this weekend. Meanwhile, let's talk about food. There's a lot of seafood that is widely available in Hong Kong that's not available in the US. There's one thing that I miss a lot is the mantis shrimp which Chinese people call "Pissing Shrimp". I don't think they really pee but they shoot out a jet of liquid from their tail area as a defense mechanism, so it looks like they are peeing.

I forgot to take a picture of them before they are cooked, but I found a picture on Flickr by nika7k. They are not pretty. There are more colorful versions that live in the reefs though. But, I don't think people eat those.

So, my great aunt has a vacation house in Cheung Chau, which is an vacation spot known for its seafood and scenery. We went to visit her and she got fresh seafood from the fishermen for us. The best way to eat fresh seafood is to simply boil it! Look at this big pot of mantis shrimps!

They are a soft pink color when cooked.

We were so excited!!! Fresh seafood from the boat, boiled and eaten on the roof, under the bright blue skies and cooled by gentle breeze from the sea.

It's not easy to peel a mantis shrimp. It has really sharp points on its shell and the shell is hard. Look how I have to concentrate on peeling it. See how I was holding the head and the tail? I was wriggling it around so the meat comes off the shell. Then, I just have to peel back the shell and enjoy the delicious, soft meat. It tastes more like lobster than shrimp.

Strangely enough, the meat is white and purple.

You can get mantis shrimp as sushi or fried in various restaurants too.

Gosh, this makes me hungry! Good thing it's almost lunch time. More food pictures to come soon!

~ Hong Kong Supplies Haul ~

Not a lot of time to write, but just wanted to brag about some supplies I got from Hong Kong :) Please excuse the dark pictures since I don't have a lightbox here and don't have time to wait for sunlight. First, charms!!! The best selling charms in my supplies store are crowns. I love this version because it's so cute and regal!


This purse is cool. It has rhinestones inside.


There are so many sweet charms like this! I want to get a lot but I haven't found a supplier with a good price.



I like this one. Reminds me of snow white.


I found an awesome supplier for these polymer clay beads!!! I already sell some in my supplies store for $10 each. Now, I can sell them for $6.5 each. Are you excited? I will be listing these when I get back to the states!


I got more lampwork glass charms because they are just too cute!



These Swarovski crystal encrusted beads and charms are my new obsession!! I love them a lot! They are quite expensive though as you can imagine. They sparkle so much though that I used my food money to buy them.


I love this strawberry. I only have 1. I am going to put it up on my shop for $18. I saw a jewelry shop in the mall that sell this with a simple silver chain for $50!


There are more, but I want to keep them as a suprise. I hope you are as excited as I am!

~ Hong Kong Shopping Haul Part I ~

3 weeks in Hong Kong and I finally pause the shopping and eating for a day to catch my breath. Hong Kong is really a shopping heaven. There's name brand stuff if that's what you are into. There's inexpensive clothes, jewelry, shoes, and so much more. It's impossible to take pictures of everything I've bought so here are a few pictures to show you :D

First there are millions of cosmetics stores like "ColorMix", "Angel", "Sasa" that line every street here. Korean, Japanese, American, and European brands are available. Any color eye shadow, eye liner, lipstick, creams for all your skin issues and so much more crammed into every available shelf space here.



Jewelry stores are also abundant. These wings are one of my new favorites.


A few of my friends asked me to buy some jewelry for them so when I was in Guang Zhou and Shen Zhen, I grabbed a bunch. In Guang Zhou, I was able to shop at wholesale stores. These earrings are between $2-$3 each pair.




I think rhinestones are very popular this year. Everything from mouse for your computer to earrings to hair clips are encrusted in crystals and rhinestones.




I intended to get supplies from wholesalers in Guang Zhou for my supplies store. I ended up getting other stuff like umbrellas and these nail stickers. They are so cute! I got close to 200 sheets! I think I need to sell some when I get home. I can never use that many.



Also got a few of these to tie up all


This is me, sitting in front of a underwear stand, waiting for my aunt to finish bargaining. About $15 for 5 bras. I would take pictures of other places, but I was too busy bargaining myself. I will take more when I go tomorrow.


In Hong Kong, even candy is more fun to buy! Look how cute these are!



Ok, that's all I have for now. I haven't really started my clothes shopping yet...just like 5 semi-formal dresses, 6 pairs of boots, a light jacket, and a few shirts. So much more I need to buy. I will write more soon!