world's largest malls

philippines is one hub you don't wanna miss especially if you're a mallrat. hehe i read in this article that our very own 7,107 islands houses 3 of the largest malls in the world. asia, where land and labor cost are cheaper compared to other continents, it's not surprising that structures of this kind abound its space.

mall of asia - truly lives up to its name. though i have only been here 2x and only for a total of 2-3 hrs visit, i know i havent scoured every store. it will take me X visits to do this. what is X?

sm megamall - this dominant structure along edsa is what i usually frequent before especially when they 3-day sale! goodness, imagine me squeezing through those throngs of people to get a measly 10% discount on my fave jeans. haha

sm north edsa - i learned to liked this mall again because it has reinvented itself. with The Block adding to its classic ShoeMart label. technically, it has the basic things you need. (i just don't like the cinemas) but adding a lil upgrade won't hurt.

malls to visit: trinoma, greenbelt 5, (i heard glorietta 5 will rise soon?), greenhills promenade (ba un?) anything, este anywhere else?

"lemon tree" in 4 languages

that was our performance in the annual dinner. SO lame, i know! but considering the capacity of my colleagues (haha, parang ang talented ko noh?!) that presentation required the least amount of effort. i would have wanted something a lil 'performance level', as they say. hehe but pressured with time and meeting the schedules of other people, we just cant afford to practice and meet more often. oh well, just to present 'sumthin' would be ok.

we sang "lemon tree" and translated into 4 languages:
cantonese - sang by the Thais
filipino - sang by the Japanese
japanese - sang by the HongKongers
thai - sang by the Filipinos



obviously, we didnt win la!


post script: in exchange for the embarassment, we were given 1000hkd (each, asa!) and ate yumcha! yummmmy!

annual dinner @ hopewell center

last friday we held our company's annual dinner at king palace restaurant in hopewell center, wanchai. and as usual, food was plenty.. drinks abound even more! i have no idea what the dishes are called as the menu is written in chinese. i just clicked away my digicam (vidcam, actually).....

our appetizer... i didnt eat the yellow thingy and the pig's leg ba iyon?!! hehehe

oh, i like this.. shrimp with veggies served in crispy noodles, though i didnt like the noodles .
tastes like cuttlefish ball stuffed with shrimp. this is quite heavy coz it's REALLY packed, so 1 is enough for me..

hmm, this one, i have NO IDEA at all. didnt taste, not interested. PASS.

menu wont be complete without steamed fish...

our equal servings of soup...

my cupful of soup.. i liked it.. ala bird's nest.. or it's really one. hahaha

fried chicken sans the flour, etc. kinda bland and oily for me.

noodles again.. and rice.. is served at the end of the course meal. i didnt taste the rice. im quite full already. and i heard it's glutinous rice.. argh, SO filling la!

and dessert... didnt have one too. beans.

no reservations with anthony bourdain

i love him and his show. it's laid-back, real, down-to-earth, profane at times if you may. i like the way he showcases the food and tries to get its unique taste. the last episode i watched was his feature about hongkong (maybe, that's why i loved him more!) living in a country featured on tv gives me pride and joy. and of course, with much interest i hung on to every word he says.

though hk is a small region, i havent travelled nor explored much mainly because of the language barrier, adding to it is the not-so-polite manners of the people. even the cameras of tony didnt escape the irritative attitude of one streetfood owner. she said to tony and his friend to hurry up selecting food so as not to disrupt business and hinder other people from buying from her. DUH?! we can see well enough that there are no people nearby.. wanting to buy.. and with that attitude of yours.. they'll have second thoughts about it! is that the way to treat your customers?!! guess il have to blog about that in another entry. hehehe

moving on, he ate claypot rice (i havent tried this) where rice and other viands are mixed and steamed in claypot and served hot. usually eaten during winters as it's too hot to eat in summer. betting in racehorses in happy valley (i havent done this, only mark six) and enjoying a post race meal in north point -- these are dai pai dongs, as i understand it.. outdoor stalls, eateries but now are located indoors so as not to cramp the road so much. drinking tsingtao beer (ulk, not my type) to cap the night.

he featured more local food sans the fancy names, garnishes or western influences. from the abundant variety of dimsum, dumpling, noodles to the succulent flavors of typhoon shelter crabs and suckling pig, goose kind, anthony surely captures the essence of the place and manages to create a lasting impression to would-be visitors.

let it go for 2008

this arrived in my mail today.. from T.D. Jakes -- something to inspire us, help us to learn to detach ourselves from people, things, emotions and situations which may hinder us from living our lives positively.

----------------------------------------------

There are people who can walk away from you.

And hear me when I tell you this! When people can walk away from you: let them walk.

I don't want you to try to talk another person into staying with you, loving you, calling you, caring about you, coming to see you, staying attached to you.

I mean hang up the phone.

When people can walk away from you let them walk.

Your destiny is never tied to anybody that left.

The bible said that, they came out from us that it might be made manifest that they were not for us. For had they been of us, no doubt they would have continued with us. [1 John 2:19]

People leave you because they are not joined to you.

And if they are not joined to you, you can't make them stay.

Let them go.

And it doesn't mean that they are a bad person it just means that their part in the story is over. And you've got to know when people's part in your story is over so that you don't keep trying to raise the dead.

You've got to know when it's dead.

You've got to know when it's over. Let me tell you something. I've got the gift of good-bye. It's the tenth spiritual gift, I believe in good-bye. It's not that I'm hateful, it's that I'm faithful, and I know whatever God means for me to have He'll give it to me.

And if it takes too much sweat I don't need it.

Stop Begging people to stay! .

Let them go!!

If you are holding on to something that doesn't belong to you and was never intended for your life,

Then you need to......

LET IT GO!!!

If you are holding on to past hurts and pains ......

LET IT GO!!!

If someone can't treat you right, love you back, and see your worth.....

LET IT GO!!!

If someone has angered you .

LET IT GO!!!

If you are holding on to some thoughts of evil and revenge......

LET IT GO!!!

If you are involved in a wrong relationship or addiction......

LET IT GO!!!

If you are holding on to a job that no longer meets your needs or talents

LET IT GO!!!

If you! U have a bad attitude.......

LET IT GO!!!

If you keep judging others to make yourself feel better......

LET IT GO!!!

If you're stuck in the past and God is trying to take you to a new level in Him......

LET IT GO!!!

If you are struggling with the healing of a broken relationship.......

LET IT GO!!!

If you keep trying to help someone who won't even try to help themselves......

LET IT GO!!!

If you're feeling depressed and stressed .........

LET IT GO!!!

If there is a particular situation that you are so used to handling yourself and God is saying "take your hands off of it," then you need to......

LET IT GO!!!

Let the past be the past. Forget the former things.

GOD is doing a new thing for 2008!!!

LET IT GO!!!

Get Right or Get Left .. Think about it, and then .

LET IT GO!!!

"The Battle is the Lord's!"

hello, telephone???

my phone rings.. "private number" is displayed. eagerly i answer half-expecting an overseas call then im greeted with "lei ho..." and off she goes with her chinese telemarketing spiel.. what?!! instantaneously i butt in "sorry, i dont speak chinese" and the caller would say "oh sorry".

this kind of scenario would hopefully come to an end or at least be minimized. thanks to the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Online Ordinance. voice calls within hk are cheap costing an average of 0.2-1hkd per minute. this form of aggressive marketing says it all, with agents or electronic messages cramming up your phone. imagine, receiving a call and an outright voice recording sounding all greek to you.. coz you dont speak the language... seems to me, hanging up is not a rude option. hehehe besides, you're using my minutes! yeah, it's business but we have our own matters to attend to, our own airtime to use as we please. many thanks to voicemail box i can redirect some of those calls. they can talk all they want. hehe

waking up in the cold

well, this was the coldest recorded temperature in the winter. imagine dragging yourself out of bed, taking a shower and fixing up for work (and NOT be late) -- gurl, THAT is an E-F-F-O-R-T! a lot of it. haha growing up and getting used to the warm weather in manila, i really get cold easily. *brrrrr*

happy new year!

from hongkong, welcome 2008!
(the fireworks are mainly coming from Two IFC, hk's tallest building located in central)