Finally a sunny day!!

After a 40 year record breaking 27 days of cold weather warnings here in Hong Kong, we are finally feeling a little sun on our faces.



Here are Suds and I enjoying breakfast on the terrace. Suds cooked us up some sausage brought back from Germany on one of his trips.





Next it was up to The Peak for the day with our new friend, Flat Braden. A friend of Suds' asked us to take part in his son Braden's school project and take some pics with his "son" around town. We got some weird looks posing with a paper boy :)

Here we are having a picnic lunch
(I swear to god I am not as fat as I look in this picture)




Suds took Flat Braden to work with him.

Valentine's dinner

For Valentine's day we went to a new restaurant called Malouf's. I was really looking forward to it, and it did not disappoint!








Salmon wrapped in vine leaves. So yummy!







Suds has a long standing tradition of not buying me flowers on Valentine's day because the flowers are so over priced. The theory goes that I am supposed to get double the flowers throughout the year for the same price.
The restaurant is on the rooftop of a new mall. Walking thru the mall to get to the train station after diner we see this huge display of cut red roses. By this point Suds is tired of me pointing out all the other girl s with flowers and wants me to just take 12 from the display!

I'll hold out for some unexpected surprise flowers. They'll mean more anyways:)

Peking Duck dinner

We recently went out for Peking Duck with a couple of friends. Oddly enough, the restaurant was called the American Peking Restaurant, but it came highly recommended from the local flight crew so we gave it a shot.

The food was excellent! If any visitors are interested in trying Peking duck, we would take you here.



The duck comes to your table whole but then is nicely sliced up for eating. You get thin little pancakes you spread with a brown sauce (like Hoisin sauce, I think) and add some cucumber slices, leeks or green onion and some duck. Roll it up like a fajitas and take a bite. Peking duck is all about the crispy skin, which is delic!




We also ordered cashew chicken, stir fried greens and sweet and spicy prawns which are worth the trip on their own!

Year of the Rat

Legend has it that in ancient times, Buddha asked all the animals to meet him on Chinese New Year. Twelve came, and Buddha named a year after each one. He announced that the people born in each animal's year would have some of that animal's personality. Those born in rat years tend to be leaders, pioneers, and conquerors. They are charming, passionate, charismatic, practical and hardworking.

The Rat year is a year of plenty, bringing opportunity and good prospects. It will be marked by speculation and fluctuations in the prices of commodities and the stock market; the world economy in general will boom. Business will be on the upswing, fortunes can be made and it will be an easy time to accumulate wealth. However, this is also the time to make long-term investment plans as the bonanza the year of the Rat brings will serve to see us through the bleak years that may follow. All ventures begun at this time will be successful if one prepares well. But do not take chances or unnecessary risks: the year of the Rat is still ruled by the cold of winter and the darkness of night. Those who speculate indiscriminately and overextend themselves will come to a sad reckoning.

On the whole, this will be a happier year than most: free from explosive events and wars and with far less catastrophes than, say, the years of the Tiger or the Dragon.

Nonetheless, it will be spicy. It promises a lot of bickering, bargaining and petty arguments that will do little harm. A congenial time that will find most of us socializing and enjoying ourselves.

A child born in the year of the Rat will be sweet and loving. He may be shy, but inwardly he is fiercely competitive. Often, he resorts to crying to get more attention and usually clings to one or two people with whom he identifies. Although he has a charming disposition, he is possessive of parents and friends and jealous of attention given to others.

He will talk early. He likes to eat (mention of his favorite foods always makes him light up) and he takes an early interest in cooking and other household chores. Being affectionate and demonstrative, he will not like being left alone. He will enjoy group play, can concentrate on detailed work and make friends easily. You can depend on him to keep things tidy or at least know where they are.

The Rat child will start to show his calculating nature very early in life. He will insist that he get the bigger half of the apple, exactly the same number of cookies as his older brother (preferably more, but under no circumstances less). It will be hard to cheat him on anything. He learns fast and never misses a trick. He takes regular stock of his possessions--so don't try to give away any of his old toys thinking he won't miss it. Then again, if you consult him, be prepared for a struggle as the selfish little Rat won't part with anything easily.

With younger children, the Rat child will tend to be motherly; at his worst, he will boss them around mercilessly. Given the proper encouragement, he will be ambitious in school. He will be most eager to participate in anything that stimulates his sharp mental powers.

The vivacious Rat will be an avid reader. He will learn the importance of the written word early and be able to express himself well. Many of the world's greatest writers and historians were born in the year of the Rat.

our living room

On Saturday our couch arrived!

We had a couch made, picking the dimensions, fabric and extra option of a sofa bed. Yes, this is still where our guests will be sleeping. Our "guest" bedroom is just too small; go figure. A double bed won't even fit in there!

The couch was the last piece for this room and it is finally decent looking. We had some blinds installed for Ron's visit and they have made a HUGE difference in appearance (although they have aggravated Suds' OCD. He spends too much time straightening them and making sure the slats are all perfectly lined up)

How does it look??

You can see our little heater in the pic. That is the sole source of heat for the entire apartment. Homes in HK don't have installed heating. I have not been getting any sympathy from you Canadians when I complain about how cold it is here. I guess I should have included this little bit of info. When I say it is 10 degrees, I mean it is 10 degrees outside AND INSIDE!!! It is now down to 7 degrees and raining! The trifecta of cold; cold weather, cold rain, and no indoor heating! At least you Vancouverites have your homes warmed up to 20 degrees! This cold snap is breaking records and people are dying from the cold and lack of heat.

nice meat

Suds just worked a flight to Johannesburg. It made us both really nostalgic for the time we spent in South Africa. I would have loved to have gone with him if my pesky job didn't get in the way. Work is really cramping my style :)

He came back with 14 Kg's of fresh meat to stock our freezer with! Imported meat is a fortune here so this was money well spent.

He brought back 12 chicken breasts, 4 packages of Broerworst (SA sausage), 4 lbs ground beef, 3 lbs ground chicken, 1 lb ostrich and 6 big steaks. All for $100CAD!!!
Price perspective in HK...we would have paid more for the chicken ALONE!

Pandas at Ocean Park

Suds and his Dad spent a day at Ocean Park. They were lucky enough to see the pandas active. Here's a video of them eating

Rollercoaster

Here is a video of the rollercoaster at Ocean Park. There are some great views over the water.