This post is a bit behind, just tracking down and setting out some of the stuff we've been up to in the week and weekend before our trip to Beijing.
First, the various meals:
I focused on the catching up, eating and drinking, though, so didn't manage to capture any pictures of the food!
I had a lovely dinner with some of my girl friends at Mercato on Friday evening, the Jean Georges restaurant in the California Tower, where we all showed up wearing white (unplanned)! The food was pretty good and overall I left pretty happy with the quality, taste and price point.
On the next bright, hot and sunny morning (Saturday), I went to brunch with a few girlfriends at Oolaa, which was really nothing special, except that I hadn't been in years (it feels weird to be able to say that about a place in Hong Kong now - years!) and I thoroughly enjoyed being reacquainted with their breakfast pizza and a new addition to their menu, a beautiful, huge steak salad with avocado and tomatoes and a satisfying vinaigrette dressing.
On Sunday, Michael and I also had a leisurely and relaxing brunch at a friend's apartment, which morphed into a long, lazy afternoon sitting around chatting and drinking whiskey (I wonder how that happened, Michael?!) To be fair, he wasn't instigating any of it (but still).
And then, finally, Michael and I also had an unexpectedly lovely hotpot dinner at San Xi Lou that same night, because he knewhe was in the doghouse for drinking so much whiskey on a Sunday afternoon I love San Xi Lou so much. I wouldn't quite call it a retribution dinner, but I will concede that the timing of this hotpot meal was not entirely coincidental.
Second, Game Night:
Game Night deserves to be capitalized as a proper noun because it's so fun and thrilling and exciting and also nervewracking! Our friends keep introducing us to new games that we've never heard of before, and we love each and every one! This time, it was a game called "Splendor," (which must be pronounced "Splendooooor") and I know it sounds supremely geeky and weird (and I was very fully skeptical, I assure you) because it sounds like a medieval game of dungeons and dragons or some weird kooky stuff, however, it's amazing.
It's all about acquiring gemstones (I'm sorry, who doesn't want gemstones?!) and it requires a little bit of luck, quite a bit of strategy, and the ability to add. I'm already planning to buy the game to play with my parents and sister when I'm back in the U.S.
After a very satisfying dinner at Posto Pubblico, we headed back to our apartment to commence playing. I bought pretty pink flowers for the occasion. I also prepared lemon and mint infused water. I know, we're so fancy.
Game Night didn't end until the wee hours of the night (it's always like this) and Splendor was such a great game that I didn't even feel that bummed about not getting to play Catan.
Third, Typhoon Merbok:
To round out news of the week, we were hit by a typhoon 8, Typhoon Merbok, which kind of appeared out of nowhere and resulted in an early dismissal from work. I don't know why I get excited about a T8, because it doesn't affect my job in the least (ah, I yearn for the snow days of yore when it actually meant a break from school), but it must be some ingrained Pavlovian response that stubbornly persists. Since then, Hong Kong has been a dreary wet mop of gray skies, wet sidewalks and humidity.
Finally, upcoming plans:
Now that we're coming up on the end of the month of June, we're about to head to the U.S. for a nice long sojourn.
Michael leaves next week, and I follow right after my deal closes on July 4 (I know, it's so sad, I miss the long weekend). On this trip we plan to cover a lot of ground in approximately three weeks. Michael will cover Cleveland, Chicago, D.C., New York, and North Carolina, and I will cover New York and North Carolina. We haven't been to the Outer Banks in years and are excited to go down there and chill for a week. From the U.S., we plan to head to London at the end of July for work-related stuff, and then finally make our way back to Hong Kong, if all goes as planned, by August.
I expect these next weeks will pass in an absolute whirlwind!
First, the various meals:
I focused on the catching up, eating and drinking, though, so didn't manage to capture any pictures of the food!
I had a lovely dinner with some of my girl friends at Mercato on Friday evening, the Jean Georges restaurant in the California Tower, where we all showed up wearing white (unplanned)! The food was pretty good and overall I left pretty happy with the quality, taste and price point.
On the next bright, hot and sunny morning (Saturday), I went to brunch with a few girlfriends at Oolaa, which was really nothing special, except that I hadn't been in years (it feels weird to be able to say that about a place in Hong Kong now - years!) and I thoroughly enjoyed being reacquainted with their breakfast pizza and a new addition to their menu, a beautiful, huge steak salad with avocado and tomatoes and a satisfying vinaigrette dressing.
On Sunday, Michael and I also had a leisurely and relaxing brunch at a friend's apartment, which morphed into a long, lazy afternoon sitting around chatting and drinking whiskey (I wonder how that happened, Michael?!) To be fair, he wasn't instigating any of it (but still).
And then, finally, Michael and I also had an unexpectedly lovely hotpot dinner at San Xi Lou that same night, because he knew
Second, Game Night:
Game Night deserves to be capitalized as a proper noun because it's so fun and thrilling and exciting and also nervewracking! Our friends keep introducing us to new games that we've never heard of before, and we love each and every one! This time, it was a game called "Splendor," (which must be pronounced "Splendooooor") and I know it sounds supremely geeky and weird (and I was very fully skeptical, I assure you) because it sounds like a medieval game of dungeons and dragons or some weird kooky stuff, however, it's amazing.
It's all about acquiring gemstones (I'm sorry, who doesn't want gemstones?!) and it requires a little bit of luck, quite a bit of strategy, and the ability to add. I'm already planning to buy the game to play with my parents and sister when I'm back in the U.S.
After a very satisfying dinner at Posto Pubblico, we headed back to our apartment to commence playing. I bought pretty pink flowers for the occasion. I also prepared lemon and mint infused water. I know, we're so fancy.
Third, Typhoon Merbok:
To round out news of the week, we were hit by a typhoon 8, Typhoon Merbok, which kind of appeared out of nowhere and resulted in an early dismissal from work. I don't know why I get excited about a T8, because it doesn't affect my job in the least (ah, I yearn for the snow days of yore when it actually meant a break from school), but it must be some ingrained Pavlovian response that stubbornly persists. Since then, Hong Kong has been a dreary wet mop of gray skies, wet sidewalks and humidity.
Finally, upcoming plans:
Now that we're coming up on the end of the month of June, we're about to head to the U.S. for a nice long sojourn.
Michael leaves next week, and I follow right after my deal closes on July 4 (I know, it's so sad, I miss the long weekend). On this trip we plan to cover a lot of ground in approximately three weeks. Michael will cover Cleveland, Chicago, D.C., New York, and North Carolina, and I will cover New York and North Carolina. We haven't been to the Outer Banks in years and are excited to go down there and chill for a week. From the U.S., we plan to head to London at the end of July for work-related stuff, and then finally make our way back to Hong Kong, if all goes as planned, by August.
I expect these next weeks will pass in an absolute whirlwind!
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