On hiatus

I would like to use this post to officially announce that I will go on hiatus for a month. Nothing hurts more than to have yourself dissatisfied with your own blog layout, and hence the lack of blogging mojo. That's right, it means while entering my final year of university life, I will be busting my ass learning HTML and CSS to make my own brand new blog layout.

Just be sure to get back here near October.

Updates: Until I renovate my new site, then only I'll be back. Till then sorry for my absence.

Just a ritual

Not too bad for a photo taken using my iPhone aye? Here I am, the 7th time in HKIA this year. Heading home for the second round this summer, staying for almost 2 weeks. Then, I'll be back in HK to finish my final year and graduate next summer.

Until the summer ends, I'm just going to slack like a bum for now, doing nothing but eat Asian food like a beast.

It's becoming a ritual for me to sip on a tall Green Tea Frap and update my blog while I wait to board my flight.

Out of town for the weekend

So I've ended my 4-week summer school and spent almost a week living like a tourist in NYC. I finally get to be out of town and away from the ever-busy New York City. I'm not saying I hate it, it's just that you need some time out from the stinky streets in New York.

Boston is lovely, though I've only seen it under the bright moonlight yesterday. I'm looking forward to explore it and have tones of yummy food for the weekend.

The first stop after my 5-hour bus ride. Quincy Market for dinner!

Boston's specialty, the lobster roll and clam chowder.

Look, I wasn't joking or trying to sound cool when I mentioned 'bright moonlight'.

The company, Vincent for the next 2 and a half day.

Signing off now, as you guys are going to tuck yourselves in bed, I'm going to hunt for a good breakfast place.

Another Friday Night in NYC

Last Friday night I was out till 3am on the streets, first time wandering around Times Square and was in awe to find out that the Forever 21 there closes only at 2am! Yesterday, I went to another must-go in NYC, the Empire State Building.

Though the price to get up the 86th floor observatory was a whooping $25, it is still something not to be missed! As dumb as this may sound, the experience of enjoying NYC on the streets and on top of ESB is just incompatible. You'll get a glimpse of 4 different views from each side of the building, each having their own attractions to it.

Me and my friend, Julie were up there around 8.30pm, just when the buildings and streets were starting to light up. My favorite part of the view was the moving yellow cabs in the neatly arranged grid-like streets.

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To me, a Friday night is not to be wasted without good food and company. Me and Julie had a splendid yet simple dinner at Cask Bar + Kitchen. The bill only came up to $25 including tax for the two of us! Considering the type of restaurant Cask was, I can only say I did a good job in not overeating this time.

Top: Wild Mushroom Flatbread; Bottom: Philly Cheese Steak Spring Rolls

Both dishes were the top recommendations on Yelp for Cask. I love love love the flatbread though I only had a bite of it! The taste of truffle oil still lingered in my mouth while I was on the ESB. As for the spring rolls, I think that the kitchen missed out putting cheese in it. Either that or the amount of it was too little for me to even realised!

Anyway, can't wait to turn 21 so that I can have Sangria with all the good food I'll have. Teehee!

Life's good in New York City

Trust me, I've been wanting to update this blog earlier but I always ended up being distracted by something else. There is just so much to do, see and eat in this city! Other than acting up as a tourist, occasionally I must stress, I've been buried by the amount of work from my summer school. By the way I forgot to mention that I'm doing Graphic Design in Parsons. Nothing related to fashion, too bad. But I am still glad that I came here!

The dorm that I'm living during the course of my summer school. After that I'll be staying back for an extra two weeks, homeless.

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One of the awesome restaurants that I've been to so far. Indulged myself in a sort of fancy dinner with Jessica at Social Eatz.

Can't get any more Asian with the napkin.

Jess had their legendary Bulgogi burger while I gave their spare ribs a try. I liked my dish but I just wish there was a side, for their Bulgogi burger it came with Kimchi fries, which was superb by the way.

Food aside, loved the interior and the ambience of the restaurant.

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Thanks to Jess, I was able to get out of Manhattan even on a weekday. We walked over to Brooklyn with the infamous Brooklyn bridge while watching the sun set. Since I landed in NYC, I've seen countless beautiful sunset views. Though it's different from experiencing it on the beach, the colour of the sky is still stunning each and every time.

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Just in case you've been missing my style shot posts, here's one to make it up for now.

Cargo Jacket: Zara
Top: Topshop
Black Skinnies: Topshop
Brogues: Monki
Bag: Zara
Watch: Casio
Accessories: MBMJ & Urban Outfitters (wish I could show a close up shot)

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That's it for now! Can't believe I covered all fashion, food and fotography topics in one post.

Kailua Beach Getaway

Weekends feels a little bit longer when you start it off perfectly on the Friday night and still manage to wake up early the next morning, and also for the following one. Hawai'i was soaked during the weekend, the lack of sunshine just forced me to spend more time with my bed, in the morning half awake.

Instead of the usual Waikiki beach, I spent the Saturday afternoon at the Kailua's, a small town that's 30 minutes away from the heart of Hawaii. Though the weather that day wasn't at its best, its fine sand and foamy sea water when washed upon the shore was enough to make up for my trip there.

Except for the lack of good food here, I'm probably having one of the best times of my life right now. No worries, but just enjoy what's left during my university life.

My Extended Weekends

A picture taken from the Lanikai Pillboxes hike last weekend. Woke up at an ungodly hour - 5a.m after only having a 2-hour sleep the night before that just to catch the sunrise. Definitely worth it since I still get to explore new places and had good food afterwards.

I'm glad I didn't choose my usuals, sunny side-ups and bacon and went for this instead. Red velvet pancakes at the Cinnamon's, perfectly temporarily satisfied my cravings for red velvet cupcakes. It was only close to 10 when we finished our breakfast and when I reached my dorm, I collapsed and only regained senses till 4pm.

Head down to Waikiki afterwards to catch up with the girls and plan our Big Island trip during the Spring break. We tried out Ramen Nakamura, where I had the best gyoza (dumplings) ever since I came here. Every time single time I have a bowl of ramen, it just reminds me of the more awesome and satisfying Butao back in Hong Kong! AHHHH, how I miss queueing up for it.

And this was from last week.
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Everyone in their shades, all prepared for a wonderful morning out in the sea to whale watch. Unfortunately the boat engine had to break down yesterday, which lead us to kick start our day with hefty American breakfast instead.

They have pretty awesome waffles, which we get to try while we were waiting for seats.

The special crabcake egg benedicts that Tady ordered. Pretty yummy!

Got my usuals! Next time, I'll try scrambled eggs, mmhm I'll try to remember.

As for today, I did another hike at the Chinaman's Hat island. Too bad I can't take any pictures since we had to walk/swim to the island. It was a semi tough hike for me, wish I could just not worry about so much things and just hike. Pfft!

Other than experiencing a 'scene' from the boys, I collected a few bruises and cuts from the hike. Well, at least it wasn't another sun burn, 'cause till now my skin are still peeling.

That's roughly what I do every weekend. There's so much to do that I've never really sleep in on the weekends, not complaining though.

Here goes!

Not going to promise any updates but here goes a short one before I settle down for this busy week. Thanks to those who still visit my blog although it hasn't been updated for more than a week.

Days in Hawai'i has been filled with more exciting activities like surfing and getting my back sun burn and also waking up at 5am for a sunrise hike. Not missing home as much as I was when I first came here because now I can cook spaghetti that tastes like home whenever I want to! Just joking, mom's cooking is always the best.

Anyhoo, pictures were taken during the Makapu'u hike. If you're wondering if I squeezed into the broken fence and broke the law, why yes! We ended up being 'chased' by the coastguard that came hovering over us in a helicopter.

So that's it for now. Till I decide to stick my bum onto the chair and have the patience to upload the pictures and add some words to it.

The Hike Up Diamond Head

Pulled myself out of bed for my first hike in Hawai'i on Saturday. Diamond Head, one of the tourist spots on the island, you could catch a glimpse of the whole O'ahu island from the top and maybe the sight of some other islands too.

Loving the pictures because the skies are actually blue, instead of being too overexposed. The trails here are flip-flops-friendly and it takes around 30 to 40 minutes to get up there. On the ground level, you have a farmers' market, having stalls selling organic vegetables and local food. We had our brunch after the hike there and as usual, I went for the stalls that has a line for it.

More pictures will be included in my Week 2's Photo Diary, which should be up soon.