Live well, work hard, play play? 
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We are heading for Hong Kong and the start of a new adventure. We get on our ferry, and after about an hour, we reach the Hong Kong ferry terminal. The water’s rockier this time than the last time we were here. But we survive.
Ekin’s there, waiting for us, a sort of role reversal from the last time when we picked him up at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. He’s a tad under the weather, and we get a little lost locating the Sheung Wan MTR station (when we found it quite easily the last time we were here, go figure). But we find it eventually, get ourselves some Octopus cards, a train ride and a couple of changes, and we are walking towards his swanky service apartment.
You know it’s sweet when the doorman is actually a rather fetching young doorlady, navy-coloured full-length coat and all.
But it’s the hot shower in his bathroom that we most look forward to after a four-hour flight, an hour on the ferry and goodness knows how long on the MTR. And walking too. Yes sir, nothing like near boiling water to make one feel alive again.
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The next day, after a night of deep, vacation-style sleep, we bug Ekin for breakfast. Well, mostly me doing the bugging since these fellows don’t appreciate the wonders and nutritional impact of a hearty meal to kickstart one’s day. Apparently, since we are gonna pass by a shopping mall on the way to the bus stop, we might as well have breakfast there.
I’m half dismayed and half chuffed when I realise Ekin’s idea of a convenient, healthy and delicious morning repast is not just a food court, but the same food court Devil and I frequent at our beloved Pavilion back home in KL: the Food Republic. And given it’s really early, the only “stall” that is open is Toastbox, serving to our shared amusement, “Nanyang Delights”. In other words, Malaysian fare marketed as Singaporean dishes.
Case-in-point: My all-time favourite Nasi Lemak mysteriously transformed into “Singapore Coconut Rice w Chicken Wings”.
Or, how about: Kopi O = “Nanyang Black Coffee” and Kopi = “Nanyang White Coffee”.
It’s sorta fun, seeing how both countries battle it out for their claims over the best food in the world, which is truly a shared heritage. Can’t we all just hold hands and agree to play nice?
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Post-brekkie, we discover:
1. The Year of the Tiger is upon us. Meow.
2. And the Devil Wears Prada finds his horns.
3. We still have no idea what’s in his pockets though.
Whatever will we do next? Stay tuned, folks!
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Words, photographs & design by Kenny Mah.
Macau & Hong Kong & Back Again: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5 & Part 6. To be continued.
U went all the way there and had that for breakfast? What happened to Egg Tarts and Pork Chop Buns?
Pork Chop Buns: See previous post, Part 1 of “Macau & Hong Kong & Back Again”.
Egg Tarts: Coming soon, in a future post near you.
P.S. Our host must have thought we’d miss Malaysian/Singaporean food and so brought us there lor… Not to mentione his fave KFC…
Ekin is kiut!
Kiut, kan? You may drool further over him here.
Obviously no one visits my blog for the stuff I write, so I must keep up my supply of cute guys and cute girls, right?
But he IS cute
Devils asks, “Cuter than me?”
I’d think over my answer carefully if I were you, bro. Hehe.
*guffaws at coconut rice… *
HK… i wan my winter ginger fr ladies street (wat’s it called again?)
hey.. who sez ppl dun visit ur blog for d stuff u write… am still laughing on ur previous entry and the 1st comment u posted… *giggle*
but a steady supply of cute guys n girls are also a welcome for sore eyes…
post up pics of ur new pad already… *grumbles*
1. Oh dear, I went to Ladies Street the last time (and first time) I was in HK lah. That was June/July 2009, for the Devil’s birthday. I’ll geddit for you the next time I pegi HK, okay tak?
2. Ade orang yang tak baca — they complain my writing too emo and Wong Kar-wai-ish (whatever that means) and pakai lihat gambar aje. Not that I mind. I prolly spend five times more time on the pics than the words, hahaha.
3. New pad tak siap lagi. Need more time. Like, months.
1. OK Set… I’ll take it…
2. Kekeke… Yea I saw ur latest post… but seriously did he repeat it dat many times??? I find it hilarious trying to imagine poor u gettin it from both sides…
3. I can imagine. I can barely keep my room tidy for a week…
1. Cool. Just remind this old man, ok?
2. Poor me, indeed. LOL
3. Still tak siap. When will I see The End.?
Food post! Food post! That’s a food post! =P
Hahaha, it counts hor? More to come…
hahaha – i know what’s in his pockets.. but i cannot tell u! coz then.. id have to kill ya
Ooh la la. How come you know when I dontch know har? And you are already killing me… with your winsome smile, your sparkling wit, and judging by a certain less-than-discreet unwholesome threesome picture of us and the Queen DSLR on Facebook, your amazing thighs as well…
yikes, where’s the nai yau bao and si mutt nai char??? :p
Ah, those you have to wait for in the posts to come… Cumming soon, as Ah Pa would put it.
I live a walk away from OldTown White Coffee here in Singapore. LOL…
Has OldTown invaded HK too?
The Devil’s pocket. Hmm…
1. I think their plan is to invade China first. I overheard one of the Old Town franchisees blabbing away all their secrets in the seat behind ours on our flight home from Macau. Hehe.
2. What, you oso know what’s in the Devil’s pockets? Am I the last to know?
fig 1: sg invades hk. msia invades sg for passing off nasi lemak as its own. we win the war, and turn all singaporeans into our sex slaves. all’s well that ends well.
fig 2: i’m unconvinced of the authenticity of your claim that that’s your friend. based on his befuddled expression, it’s likely that u chose a random attractive lad and snapped a candid pic of him, giving the excuse afterwards that u’re a ferociously friendly tourist.
fig 3, 4. 5: the devil wears white? shouldn’t his clothes conform to his name? as far as wardrobe colours go, angels (ie. the sworn enemies of devils, for god’s sake!) and virginal brides have the monopoly on white.
Fig. 1: Err… Uhm…
Fig. 2: See my reply to Snow White above. You may oso drool over him here. (Unless he followed me to Macau, and before all this, to Malacca and Batu Caves too.) LOL
Fig. 3, 4 & 5: A devil in angel’s clothing?
LOL. Singaporean fare in HK? Hehehe … as if you’re not sick of Food Republic back home in Pavilion.
Well, given that we have recently moved and not been back to Pavilion (formerly our “second home”) in a couple of weeks already (a near record for us, haha), we kinda miss the Food Republic there… for the steamed soups and the rojak… Not too bad lah.
The Devil got his hand in his pocket.
Ask the Devil & he’ll tell you that I’m right..’coz whatever he’s got in there.. he needs to put his hand in there to take it out. :p
Oh ho ho. I’m not even gonna touch this comment with a stick. Too dangerous… LOL
Btw, dear? *hugs!* Just because.
totally agree, bro. food is to bring people together and to be shared, not divide us into some meaningless groups.
ooooooohhh, hkdim sum. DIM SUM! ooooohhhhhh….
Malaysia and Singapore are basically one appetite divided by two countries, right?
And HK dim sum? Err… what HK dim sum?
It surely is nice travelling to another 1st world, away from sombre 1Malaysia for a change !
But horrorful as it seems, our badly shakened food heritage has bee clawed from right under our bellies by our trusty neighbor even as we fight over almighty Allah
Oh I wouldn’t say our food heritage were clawed from under our bellies (or other body parts). It is, after all, a shared heritage. Any rivalry between both countries/cousins (country cousins?) ought to be a friendly rivalry.
Let’s say for now Singapore has done a far better job in marketing our common cuisine than we have. So props to them, man.
I am actually unaware of any food fight we had last year, beyond a few headlines. It would have made me cringe too much to actually read some of the statements. I mean, politicians do say the darnedest things, but so few of them fail to make me go red in the face. Ah well.
Yeah man! Whatever happened to HK DIM SUM!?!?!
Devil’s pocket got bird lah – fried chicken with cream/mayo!
1. Er, HK dim sum again ar? I shall blame the non-appearance of this delicacy to Ekin-san, he of New York but our host in HK.
2. Devil’s pocket got bird? But what’s in his other pocket? Hmm.
why did you eat ‘Nanyang delights’ in HK? did i read wrongly? it should read: dim sum, char siew, roast pork, roast goose, egg tart, po luo bao, you know? hahaha
Nanyang delights – Malaysian fare marketed as Singaporean fares, really?
Hey, aren’t you a Singaporean yourself? How come you’re on our side? LOL
Truth is, when local food is exported to foreign shores, they ain’t so “delight”-ful.
Does that mean you’re permanently domiciled there?
Huh? Not me lah. Though the thoughts of living in Macau doesn’t seem half bad…
Devil’s Pocket is from KFC ar? Looks more like treasure pocket, haha!!!
Treasure pocket? What treasure is in his pocket lar?
(P.S. On a more serious note, I was so happy that Ekin spotted the Devil’s Pocket placard and I insisted that Devil posed next to it, positioned so that the devil’s horns popped out of his head, hehe.)
Nice pics! I like the one where you posed with devil and also the tigers
The Devil & the Tigers. Sounds like a heavy metal rock band, ja?
Hold hands and be nice? Don’t be silly. If we are rid of that conflict, then we’ll start paying attention to the more important stuff, and then we’ll all be annihilated coz we’re crap at silat.
Oh says you. You totally enjoyed your trip down to SG last year and meeting up with all the nice Singaporean food bloggers. They are loverly.
As for silat, I dunno,we can try our hands at it oso what…
“Kopi O = “Nanyang Black Coffee” and Kopi = “Nanyang White Coffee”.”
Funny hor? *laugh*
What’s funny-er is probably to have roti canai served with rice and vege, which is what we have here. *sighs*
On another note. “Meow?” I never took you for a tame tiger, Kenny. *sneaky grin*
1. Ah doi. Roti canai with rice and vege? How incorrect. Plus, carbo overload also lah. Poor you. Come back to Malaysia soon soon!
2. A tame tiger may have the biggest bite.
Extending Yen Yen spat over to HKG kah? with the msian and spore food at Food Republic which belongs to Dr Quek, a Sporean. I wud be more aggrieved not having their local chows…..can feel your disappointment tho’…haha enjoy your stay !
Hey, don’t worry, it wasn’t so much disappointment as in bemusement mixed with a healthy dose of chagrin. My friend meant well in bringing us there, and it gave both Devil and I a good chuckle… until we tasted the food, that is. Ah well.
Nanyang delights should be best in Nanyang. Malaysia shd still have the best coconut rice, right? ;p
“Nanyang delights should be best in Nanyang.”
Just like how Malaysian Delights should be best in Malaysia, right? Yet I found some of the Malaysian chow in Edinburgh, in a small diner called… “Malaysian Delights”!