Celebrating another birthday in HK

This year's birthday was spent trying yet another new restaurant that opened up at the mall downstairs. CharK and I got to Ruby Tuesday (Tseung Kwan O branch) around 7:30 and there were only about a handful of people standing around the restaurant. But the actual list of people waiting for a table was about 1-page long. It turned out they only call their guests`mobile number rather than using a sign/calling the next table to be seated.

So we walked around the mall for about half an hour, then waited by the desk for nearly another 20 minutes before we were finally seated. This system is somewhat ineffective because we weren't the only party where the hostess would call to ask if we'd like to keep our reservation and we'd respond by saying "Yes, we're actually standing in front of you."

As far as a casual American restaurant goes, this one has a pretty good menu selection and friendly staff. Our waiter was professional about describing specials and serving our meals (he actually identified which burger was which on my "Mini Trio" plate).

 Satisfying our cravings for steak and burgers (Photo: CathC)

The bbq wings in this "sampler" plate was spicy had good heat to it. The Asiago peppercorn steak was very tasty from the flame grilled smoky flavour. The blondie was just like a soft chocolate oatmeal cookie, which was delicious. The three miniburgers were: chicken, crab, and beef. The crab cake burger was my favourite and the sweet and sour sauce really went well with it.

One disappointment with our order was that this new location hadn't received their liquor licence yet (even though they've been opened for about 2 weeks!). I was flipping through the drinks menu, deciding between the selection handcrafted drinks and margaritas when the waiter told us they were still waiting for their license. He tried to sell us on the "zero-proof drinks" but celebrating with juice/pop didn't seem to be the same. So I decided to make my own Calpis Sour at home later in the evening.

(Photo: CathC)

But in the end it's nice to have another American restaurant for dinner options in the future. Today's dinner was a nice way to celebrate the start another year in HK. If the quality and serve stays the same as tonight's meal, then I think it's a restaurant we'll be coming back to. 

Busking in Mong Kok

Despite controversies with noise complaints and traffic bans, the street performers in Mong Kok have continued to share their crafts with the public over the years. Personally, I like buskers and think they add character to HK's cityscape. Whether it's middle-aged/elderly folks performing their renditions of 1970s pop songs or Chinese acrobats, I'm glad to see them share their creativity and talents.

Photo Credit: CUHK\s Varsity

Today I was approached by a group of university students (盛宴＠西洋菜街) working on an interactive design project. The PolyU alumni (who was helping to promote this project) I spoke with said their idea is the bring awareness to food wastes by designing a dinner consisting of food fished out from the dumpster. (Nice spin to the concept of "dumpster diving")

I thought the group put a lot effort into their work and delivered it quite well. Right in the middle of Sai Yeung Choi Street (西洋菜街) the group had a white dining table nicely decorated with candles, flowers, and other place settings. And on each plate was a dish made completely of food scraps that had been discarded.

The group asks passers-by to sit at their dining table to mimic eating a meal, and a photograph is taken for their project. Since this is really just a university course project there's not too much detail about their work from their Facebook page. But as someone working with university students, I'm truly impressed by the dedication this group showed in carrying out their project. Their 'refining dining" concept is well thought out, and is worth checking out in person.

Sun, surf, and seafood at Stanley

After raining nearly every day this week, I finally saw the sun today. Taking advantage of today's beautiful weather, CharK and I took the bus to Stanley. It was the perfect weather to spend on the beach, about 20°C and a relative humidity of only 50% (low for HK's Spring).

I've mentioned in an earlier post that buses are a great way to sight-see, and today's ride on Citybus No. 65 was a great route. The trip from North Point to Stanley Plaza took a little over an hour and we passed by a few iconic attractions--Ocean Park, Deep Water Bay, and Repulse Bay. If you want to sun tan or enjoy a swim in the Bay, I think Repulse Bay is the best spot. It seemed to have the largest beach area of all the three bays and it was less crowded as well.

You can see the cable cars and some of the roller coasters at Ocean Park from Island Road (Photo: CathC). 

So many fancy yachts can be seen along Deep Water Bay (Photo: CathC).

Lots of people swimming and surfing at Deep Water Bay Beach (Photo: CathC).

I love the unique architectural designs of the residences in Repulse Bay (Photo: CathC).

I loved the view of Stanley Bay from the Blake Pier at Stanley because it's such a scenic yet active area. You can see people fishing from the shore, pier, boats.

The beautiful Stanley Bay (Photo: CathC).

The shellfish stuck to the rocks were also found across the beach area. (Photo: CathC)

Stanley is known for its wide variety of cafes, western restaurants and bars. So CharK and I couldn't pass up a chance to try some German favourites at Murray House. Today was perfect to be sitting on the patio, and CharK and I had a great view of Stanley Bay from our table at the King Ludwig Beerbar. This German Bar is located on the second floor of Murray House and from here I could see a number of yachts and even a junk boat sailing around.

Enjoying a meal with a view from the Murray House (Photo: CathC).

The beer and apple strudel was my favourite part of the meal (Photo: CathC).

A view of Murray House and the Blake Pier before the sunset (Photo: CharK).

Today was a fun day at the beach. We had to wait for about 4 buses before we could get on the Green Minibus, since a lot of people were leaving the beach around dinner time. The Green Minibus 16M back to Chai Wan Station is a faster route to the MTR station but definitely less scenic than the No. 65 bus. The minibus is a bit more cramped but one of the passengers still managed to fit his surfboard on the bus.