Home of Bubble Tea- Taiwan

So time is coming to an end in HK, and it seems I haven't done much, but I have! My Asia travels have taken me to very different places: Taiwan, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guilin... and Singapore? (Btw, I'm going to be in Singapore for the summer!) Took awhile, but better late than never, my asia travel experiences...

Taiwan-I expected it to be like China, except, I have no idea of what China was like...
Taiwan was my travel first stop in Asia. Spent a week there over CNY break. Traveled mainly with Vma-future roomie and Sora-my unofficial Copenhagen roommate. We lived in Vma's family's apartment, which was an amazing escape from Ihouse, real beds, fresh fruit, cleanliness! Oh the joys of life. But really, her family was amazing during the entire trip, we would have breakfast set up for us every morning and her Uncle took us out to some great places for dinner at night. We pretty much just explored the city at our own pace.

We saw Taipei 101-the tallest building in the world until this past January, when the Burj Khalifa took over that title. It was very different seeing that building there because there were few tall buildings around it. As opposed to in Hong Kong, the tall buildings are everywhere, and the tallest building is not that tall in comparison to everything around it. Taiwan also had some good shopping, street stores, where you don't know the brands, but the stuff it way cheap, and then they also had huge shopping malls. We spent a day exploring Wulai, a small town nearby famous for hotsprings and the aboriginal culture. Got to see waterfalls and explore Taiwanese street food.





Taiwan was an overall great trip, relaxing, got to see a lot of sights. It was a week of culture, food, shopping, and feeling like family. And I blame this trip for my food addiction. I also came to the conclusion, it is not like China at all...but then again, China cannot easily be summed up.

SOHO-HK

Back from a night of Soho dinner and amazing Hong Kong views. Dinner at Tivo, a quaint little restaurant/bar with dim lighting, comfy seats, a sophisticated atmosphere and great food. After a nice dinner, we head to the top of the LKF Hotel, here sits Azure, one of the top ten recommended rooftop bars you must see. For a night that started out rainy and cold, we had the best luck getting a breathtaking view. The bar was great-classy and chill (minus the randos-like the middle aged couple very openly making out and groping...). Soho is definitely the place for good food and nice atmosphere.

Last weekend I spent my Sunday with Marie(who's pics i'm stealing for this post b/c her camera is way more awesome than mine) in SOHO getting our hair done. Started off with breakfast at Tai Cheong- the home of the the infamous pie crust egg tart. Though it was a good egg tart I can't see it being the best in HK as the reviews say. I would give it a solid 7, assuming 1 is still acceptable. Wandering around and needing a drink, went for a small random shop that sold pantyhose milk tea. It was really good milk tea, so I did a double take of the shop name and realized it was Lan Fong Yuen, one of the top 3 places for milk tea on my HK To Do list. Check!


After my hair was all done, waiting for Marie, I did some exploring around Central and realized about half of my must go to restaurants are located in Central. That area has the perfect mix of city chic-uptown style, low key cozy corners, and classic Hong Kong food stores and markets. If only I had lived here!! Our lunch choice was a the Brunch Club, had to hike up those LKF stairs, but it was well worth it. A tiny restaurant with couches and a magazine wall had an impressive variety on its menu and oh so tempting dessert menu. I had the mushroom risotto with chicken- delicious. The place was a great lunch spot for hanging out with a few friends.

Looking forward to more Soho adventures in my last month!

...FINALLY starting to appreciate HK

I realize I've been on a two and a half month haitus, time to get out of the slump...
(if you don't want to read my whine fest, skip to the photos, you won't be disappointed!)

When I first landed in Denmark, yes I was exhausted from an 8 hour flight, but I expected to arrive in a dark gloomy foreign place where I knew nobody, completely friendless. Instead, I arrived to a beautiful sunny day, made a few friends also studying at CBS on my flight, and got the most welcoming greetings from all the Globers on our first meeting. I was ecstatic! And I rode that adrenaline rush of excitement and marveled in this new place that exceeded all expectations for the rest of my time in Copenhagen. My down days were balanced out with the up days when I got to travel Europe, host dinners, and explore the city. Hong Kong has been a slightly different story...

I realize now I got off on the wrong foot here. Arriving late, I missed Globe family time where everyone else got introduced to the amazing and exciting Hong Kong. Me, well I arrived around 10pm and settled in around midnight after a slightly longer flight through the North pole. In the place that was supposed to be warm paradise after a cold rainy sunless Copenhagen, turned out was freezing with no indoor heat. Sickness hit the second week I was here, lost my voice, which took me almost two weeks to fully recover. The living situation was slightly less ideal, in a dorm that requires you to climb 101 stairs to get anywhere else on campus, and is on the bottom of the mountain, the opposite bottom of where the train station is located-necessary to get to any part of town worth going to. So long story short, for the past 2 months, other than my marvelous weeklong trip to Taiwan over Chinese New Year, I have been doing little to nothing more than aimlessly bum around Hong Kong. Well, that has changed, since last Thursday, I am officially taking Hong Kong by storm...Get ready to be jealous of the weight I am about to gain from all the amazing food I will be consuming...

Day 1 of Amazing Food Adventures in HK: first stop is the one Michelin star rated Tim Ho Wan dim sum restaurant. This is one of the most affordable Michelin star restaurants you will ever get the pleasure of dining at. But be prepared to wait for one of the 20 seats in the restaurant...wait time for 3 on a Thursday afternoon was about 1.5 to 2 hours. But nobody complains about the wait time, because anyone in line would be happy for you to give up your number and be one seat closer to deliciousness--it will only be your loss. Enough teasing, let's get to the main entree...though every dim sum dish we tried was top quality, you didn't experience Tim Ho Wan if you didn't taste their Crispy Char Siu Bao.

Always fresh, hot, crispy bread on the outside is a perfect match with the sweet saucy BBQ pork inside. Order 2 baskets, you can't get this anywhere else, you'll want more than one.

Other choices I highly recommend: Ma Lai Go- brown sugar sponge cake, Flower Dessert, and Chiu Chow Fun Guo-dumplings.

We leave this restaurant holding our stomachs with a tab of just under 180 HKD~$23 USD.

Now that we are full, let's head to Wan Chai for some world famous egg tarts...I mean when you sell tens of thousands of egg tarts a day, you have to be doing something right, right? Honolulu Coffee Shop. If you love flaky crust egg tarts-over 190 layers to be more exact, this is the place to go. For just 4HKD a piece you can't buy just one, so I bought half a dozen. They are just as good, if not better the next day, I like them cold too. Now pair that with a cup of milk tea...I think I'm starting to get a hang of this whole Hong Kong lifestyle.

Details of "Adventure Dai Pai Dong + Dessert" and "Adventure Fluffier-than-your-pillow Egg Sandwiches" soon to come.

Wrap Up of the Year

What a crazy year 2009 has been from starting B-school to preparing for and anticipating GLOBE to actually being in Denmark, and then four and a half months gone in a flash...It almost feels like none of it happened because so much has happened. Looking back, I wish I had blogged more, kept tighter accounts of my adventures, but it's also nice to just look back and see how I have changed in this year, mostly how I'm a different person now than the person I was when I first landed in Copenhagen.

In this year I've learned:
-Friends come and go, and then some stay forever. There are people who you meet and instantly bond with, and then never speak to again. There are people you never saw yourself being friends with and suddenly they are your best friends. Relationships change with the wind. Go with the flow or you'll be stuck in regret and disappointment.
-Cooking takes practice, but eventually you stop burning stuff. I went from the girl who couldn't match the right burner to the picture, who microwaves foil, and can't cook rice without a rice cooker to an oatmeal cookie expert who hosts fancy dinner parties every week. Ok, exaggeration, but my cookies and dinners are now edible, so I give myself props.
-I AM Asian. I like pictures, a LOT. They are my way of holding onto memories. It's hard to remember everything that happens in your life. GLOBE is going to be one and a half years of my, knock on wood, long life, so it'll account for 1-2% of my lifetime? That can't be right. There were too many amazing people, memories, experiences, learning opportunities that I want to remember. I want to remember my romantic weekend in Florence, or my Belgian waffle in Brussels, and exactly how my smorrebrod in Copenhagen looked. You can never regret taking too many pictures (but I do apologize for the bombardment on fb).
-In a snowstorm, ALWAYS hop on the next bus to another country. It took four and a half months and a snowstorm to make it to Sweden, the country 30 miles away. Everything close always seems insignificant, but what a waste if I never made it to Sweden. My 7th country, 1. Denmark, 2. Spain, 3. Germany, 4. Italy, 5. Norway, 6. Belgium, 7. Sweden. If I didn't make my goal of 10 countries in a year because I missed the daily bus from Denmark to Sweden I would've regretted it forever.
-Carlsberg is Probably the best beer in the world. Enough said.
-Americans dress like slobs. European fashion didn't mean anything to me until I came home and saw how terrible the average American choses to look in public.
-Americans can get fat anywhere in the world. It's not an America thing, it's an American thing. Where there's a will to eat fatty and sugary foods, there is a way! But seriously, we get what we want, when we want it. That's a good thing and a bad thing I suppose.
-Driving is a luxury I can't live without. Heels are gorgeous but they don't work well with cobblestone. And it feels much colder when you have to walk EVERYWHERE.
-Hi, my name is Jessica, and I am addicted to Facebook. I'm pretty sure you can trace my last 4 and half month journey just by looking through my fb status updates. I like staying updated on other people's lives.

Lastly, discovering new places and adventures is an addictive activity. I don't know if I'll be able to sit still ever again. I can't wait to go see and learn more in the coming months in HK. Keep you posted ;)

THANKSgiving

In the midst of my work overload and the most stressful week of my semester, I find it necessary to take the time out to recognize that tomorrow is Thanksgiving! And I have a lot to be thankful for. I'm thankful...

-for my 44 awesome new friends :)
-getting to travel around Europe for a whole semester, Spain, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, all within 3 months, wow!
-that I'm in Denmark, the happiest country in the world. I don't even mind that it's dark and rainy, I'm halfway across the world, living in a country I never thought I would even visit. It's an experience of a lifetime.
-I'm going home for Christmas. I want to be strong and independent but sometimes you just want your mommy after a semester of living off spaghetti.
-for my best friends <3
-for being bored in Denmark, I have found a new calling, baking!
-this is the first time I've been in another country by myself, and I'm still alive, kudos to me!
-I discovered nutella ^.^
-I'm going to Hong Kong....what more do I need to say?

I guess in short, for all the ups and downs of this year, from anticipating going abroad for a year, to the nervousness and sadness of leaving my friends and family at home, to the exciting arrival in Denmark, to meeting my Globemates, to exploring Europe, to missing home and all my friends, to being happy to be where I am, it's been a crazy year, but I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Hope everyone can take some time to be thankful for everything in your lives. Happy Turkey Day!!

Maybe it IS the happiest country in the world

As most things in Copenhagen, eating out is extremely expensive. I would kill for some Shiki, bogo sushi, that concept doesn't exist here. But today, on rare occasion, I chose to have lunch out with Sora, in an actual restaurant. Besides RizRaz with the Globe group and schwarma and pizza's from fast food shops, I haven't had a real meal out in Copenhagen. It was about time to sit down for a meal in Copenhagen, before I leave in about a month and 13 days...AH! It was just a small cozy cafe in Frederiksberg near CBS. I never venture out there much, but the street is full of nice shops and restaurants. We spotted this one and decided it was worth a try. BEST decision of my day. Starting off with a tasty cappucino, we split a pesto chicken and mushroom pasta and a chicken and bacon club sandwich with a curry mayo sauce topped with a slice of pineapple and pretty much an entire salad. Both were awesome. I have to say, this has been my most delicious meal in Europe, which says a lot, having gone to Barcelona and toured Italy. The total tab, 218 dkk for 2, which rounds to about $44 USD. And for dessert of course I couldn't resist a waffle cone with mint and chocolate scoops. Reminds me of Yogurt Pump in CH, I miss Yopo, but this was a worthy substitute. It's probably for the best that I waited til now to have a meal out, now I may not be able to stay away. This makes me realize how much I love Copenhagen though. Having been to a couple countries nearby, I am glad I ended up here, despite the terrible weather. I mean it DID snow last Wednesday, which was gorgeous. But Copenhagen as a city, the culture and the people, are a hard to beat. I know I have a lot to complain about, the school failing at using a standard schedule for classes, the excessive amount of rye bread, the astronomically high prices of American goods(which greatly hinders my purchase peanut butter and Ben & Jerry's ice cream, each costing about $10 USD) ...but gotta say I love this place. I don't think I could've randomly chosen a better European city to spend 4 months in. It's the littlest things, the lights around Magasin at night, the exhibits in the city square, the sunset on Nyhavn, the walk home through a street full of bakeries and local shops, this city has been amazing to me and I'm proud to call it home, even if it is only for 4 months.

Nutella, Hi Friend :)

Current Status: Nutella + Digestive Crackers are sprawled all over my desk. The addiction is due to extremely high oreo prices...

I have found a couple new addictions lately, funny thing is traveling has not been one of them. I have been enjoying being in Copenhagen and living life here for a change. Lately I've loved baking- oatmeal cookies and apple crisps, ridiculously easy and delicious recipes. I've also been obsessed with Nutella, my European jelly substitute, not because there is no jelly here, it's just that I now discovered how AMAZING Nutella is. I'm pretty sure I had a nutella and peanut butter sandwich everyday last week, it's like a reeses cup in a sandwich :) I've also been in love with fruit since I've gotten here, I've even been eating bananas and tomatoes, foods I rarely choose at home. Also, the "Danish" fast food, a fransk hotdog, basically a really long hot dog in a loaf of french bread. Delicious, eat it at least once a week, I'm not even a big fan of hotdogs, but I am glad I found one Danish food I can enjoy. Rye bread is not one of them. Who knows what's with the change in my food choices, but you eat what you can find that is familiar and learn to improvise with what you have. I miss being able to find all the ingredients I need for baking in the grocery store. I would love to bake a pumpkin pie for the fall, but canned pumpkin is not big here, thus impossible to find.

So as I realize now over half my time in Copenhagen is over...that is insane, I still remember anticipating coming here. I know I will definitely miss this place, though I love home. And it's just nice to be able to live in a completely different place I never expected to put myself. I can definitely appreciate the suttle differences between living here and at home. Even though everyone here speaks English, it's quite interesting to walk around hearing all the Danish and being able to pick apart Danes and tourists. The fashion here is also a lot more interesting, even if it may not be my style. The tight skinny jeans the guys wear to the millions of styles of boots I've seen around town make Copenhagen a fun place to just look around. I realized I had no pictures of activities in Copenhagen from the month of September and most of October, so I'm trying to be more Asian in that aspect. I want to remember this place I called home for a semester, who knows when I will ever be back in Copenhagen again? Can't wait for home in December, but I'm trying to appreciate where I'm at for now...