that hk trip

2008. sweet 20.

fell in love with hiyao miyazaki films, joe hisaishi soundtracks.

vowed to watch him live.

10 years on, my love made my dream come true.

caught him one day browsing concert tickets and he confessed to wanting to buy those insanely overpriced second hand tickets. he had been tracking ticket opening sales after they mentioned that joe was gonna perform in hk (he performs once a year outside of japan). on any normal occasion i would have dismissed the idea cos i don't believe in breaking our banks for concerts. but i just couldn't.. and hy must have known how much i wanted it, cos he's even more prudent than me with money.

it's been long since i did photo posts, but this was really a trip to remember!

workaholic!

probably one of few times in our lives. miles + 30% off off-peak. it was amazing.

only down side of this configuration is that i can't get to lie on his shoulders

most comfy noise cancelling headphones i've ever worn on a flight.

and multiple USB ports for my charging insecurities

boeing 777 - look at the leg room!

and caught "wonder boy" which i had missed.

brunch is served

i had the lobster thermidor from book the cook! <3

my love had the beef fillet! really tender.

mousse + white wine

flip the seat down and it becomes a bed.

yup, with my all time favourite jessica.

lying FLAT on a flight. that's a first.

:) :)

back to our lives as commoners

perhaps.. slots at gantries to collect these plastic cards?

hk housing

 

went out to get lunch!

hk markets.. live chickens. found out this combi didn't work well with me (over-active gag reflexes)

after much walking, got to Good Hope noodle in Mongkok. noodles were great, but the saucey meat.. mm

saw something singaporean. why no credit? maybe it's a hk thing too?

can't resist mcds anywhere

went back and got ready! sandals for a night of walking. brought heels there to change. on hindsight, we should have taken a cab.

with you <3

he looks like a bird here! heh cute at all angles.

finally at the hk cultural centre!

a sneaky shot

you are amazing joe hisaishi-san!

his compositions have always been simple, catchy, moving to the masses.

he also took a good 1/2 of the time with his debut piece, The East Land Symphony

super intense and a social commentary, it presented a deeper, somewhat darker side of him.

i still preferred his film compositions though! 

playlist:

Summer 

HANA-BI

Kid's Return 

Castle in the Sky

One Summer's Day

Totoro 

much love to my dearest date who learnt to appreciate hisaishi cos of me :)

you can't visit a city without some hiking! we talked about waking up really early, but hy had a headache the night before, and i really didn't think it was gonna work out cos we had such a late night. had shortlisted some parks but they were all so far away. settled for dragon's back but because we didn't wake up super early, we would have been stuck with the sunday crowd. it was also drizzling slightly/ post rain. tried my luck and looked at google maps for parks near our hotel, and found out from reviews that this place was a hidden gem. and it was!

totally tranquil on a sunday morning

finally found this elusive entrance after a 20 minute search. this was about 9am!

the easiest part of the hike.

some where half way there?

complaining like a kid

almost there and hy thought it was the peak and wanted to turn back.

i am glad i thought otherwise! there were twin peaks and this is the view of the other peak.

hong kong island on the other side.

hee

 beautiful!

yay, we took about 1hr 40 mins for a 495m climb. not too bad cos its apparently a 3+ hr hike.

washed up and ready to start exploring!

before that,

filled our tummies with mcds, and went back for a quick nap!

YAS. out again for lunch.

had tried to reserve a spot at Tin Lung Heen after hearing good stuff about their Iberico pork char siew, but since it's michelin-starred, obviously it was all booked up and we were wait listed. was told that they would call us around 2pm if there were spots. no call, so we decided to head down to try out luck.

we got there, and there were spots! that view.

this view <3

bo luo buns with iberico char siew

chee cheong fun stuffed with iberico pork!

truffle beef wantons with vinegar. so stuffed!

why didn't they have this in Singapore in 1998?

exploring hong kong island!

must dos in a city - music, nature, food. next up, coffee!

one of the best coffees i've ever had, not exaggerating. sipped it through my teeth and that rich, caramel, coconut taste <3

here to get good cookies for our family/ friends

and loooooads of walking.

wanted to go Yat Lok/ Kam's Roast Goose. some how didn't work out. ended up at a hole in the wall stall with underwhelming char siew siew yok.

walking the same way we did in 2014! so much feels and nostalgia.

early morning on the way to breakfast.

learnt our lesson, swapped our usual footwear for running shoes. so much more efficient!

back at this place

your face looks weird but i still love you

that egg + toast

why don't they do milk tea with crushed ice here?

got pastries for the dad!

and ready to check out of our tiny room.

luxury, a last for the trip.

not before eating more char siew hehe.

lhy and his undersized tea cup

we love char siew!

and suckling pig heh

these pods are nice and private.

laksa's amazing.

the new a380 seats - they are new but imo the boeing 777 seats, which are older, are much more spacious and comfy!

but i get to remove the partition between us for this version :)

missed the book the cook lead time and had to make do with the menu. not as great.

---

and thus concludes one amazing trip

with lhy, my love, soul mate and husband.

reliving old memories,

sharing new ones, 

and learning things about him daily.