Restaurants, Drinks and Snacks! Oh, My!

Hi Friends!

I decided it was about time I give some examples of the restaurants we've been frequenting...although Brett makes a mean Pad Thai in the comfort of home, it is SO FUN to venture out and really experience the flavors and sites of the local fare.

Last night, we headed to Toyama Japanese restaurant, which was totally delish! Perhaps the best Miso soup we've ever had! Sushi is a favorite of ours, so as we always do we ordered our usual favorites, salmon and tuna. But we also got curious and tried Cuttlefish and Eel. (Don't know now what Cuttlefish is? CLICK HERE Check out that photo of an Ocean creature!) Must say, I'm liking the Eel a lot! Have yet to try the Unagi, Philbin, but I will when I see it on the menu next! :) I should admit that at a previous sushi restaurant, I attempted Octopus, but really didn't care for the texture- (Brett gets the adventurous points there...) We also had a Japanese-style pizza, which was really good!

Many of the restaurants in town are independent or family run. Though you'd recognize the name/logo on the picture below, you wouldn't believe the style of the restaurant. Apparently Pizza Hut is a pretty big deal around here. LOL You'll see in the picture, there is a host and hostess, and that you are seated in a rather grand manner. who knew! I guess the Hong Kongers really like their American-style pizza.

Although today was the beginning of a long weekend, Brett had to head into work. He's completing a Picasso-of-a-project for work that needs to be completed by Tuesday. I got a tour of the VTech floors of his building today. Very cool views of the city! Brett is on the 24th floor, and I hadn't been that high up to get the chance to see the city. He also explained some of his work to me, sharing his flow charts specific to a new model phone VTech is building. I was even asked my opinion regarding a few of the flow chart scenarios. I understand it helps to have someone to run things by in human factors. I should inquire about my consulting paycheck... in all seriousness, it felt good to see what he's been up to. He loves his job and he works very hard!

Fortunately, I was able to steal Brett away for lunch. The picture below is the restaurant we found. Indoor, they had a funny little "patio-sytle" seating area, and cool decorative rocks on the ground. I have also included a picture of my Vegetable Noodle lunch. (Picture complete with steam, for your viewing pleasure!) That's Brett's chicken in the background...

After lunch, I headed back into the Tai Po Mega Mall, trying to get myself lost. There is honestly so much to look at everywhere you go! Hot and tired, I looked for a place to sit for a while and read my book. I came around a corner and a friendly Green and White Mermaid hailing from Seattle welcomed me! Funny thing: turns out that a Starbuck's Frappucino in Cantonese is a Frappucino...LUCKY ME! While I'm trying to experience as many new things as possible, I couldn't help but indulge in the familiar for a while.

After my brief respite, I decided to hit up the bakery across the way to get a pastry or two for tomorrow morning. These little places are EVERYWHERE, especially in the MTR stations. The coolest thing is that they have Octopus card readers (That's the card that you add money to in order to ride the trains- in Boston, think Charlie Card- but they are used here like a debit card. And you don't even need to swipe, you just hold it up to a magnetic box and it shows the deduction. Sweet.)

While we are on the snack subject, I'll show you something I think is hilarious. The people here are SO into snack foods. At nearly every corner, you find a 7-11. Yep! Just like the ones in the states, but these are nicer, and with Asian snack options. And even if it's as simple as "Pepper" or "Seaweed" everything has flavor! Take these Cottage Fries for example- if you can't read the red label, these are Ketchup flavored. SO STRANGE. I tried one, but it was so sweet, I decided they weren't really for me. On the other hand, I do fancy the Vegetable flavored saltines, which are sideways- sorry. I'll keep my eye out for other notables, but must tell you that some of the best ones are being purchased and saved for gifts!

Not yet sure what tonight holds...we have talked about heading out for some Karaoke- so I'll try and snap some shots of people instead of food next time.

Thanks so much for your comments everyone! It's SO lovely to know you are all out there reading my silly comments. Thanks for your support in my adventure!

LOVE!