Donguri Republic and Totoro Exhibition at LCX - Harbour City

On June 21st, Donguri Republic, a Japanese store selling character-themed merchandise from Studio Ghibli, opened in Hong Kong. Studio Ghibli's popular films include My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service, among others. Besides opening the store, they organized an exhibition of My Neighbor Totoro in LCX, Harbour City. To be completely honest, I had no idea this store opened in Hong Kong, and I saw it on Thursday afternoon on the bus TV. I looooove Totoro since I was a little kid, so on Thursday after having afternoon tea with my friend, I asked her to go take a look at Totoro's exhibition!

There's many lovely scenes from the movie hanging on the walls, and there's also a big Totoro in the bus stop to take pictures with! In case you're not familiar with the movie, this is the most popular scene from My Neighbor Totoro, so it was really nice being able to take a picture pretending to be the girl on the movie :D

I discovered My Neighbor Totoro accidentally when I was about 10 years old, I remember it was a public holiday or a Sunday morning, I turned on the TV and Totoro was there! I had no idea it was a movie, since all the cartoons I used to watch were usually tv series, and I got completely addicted to Totoro and thought the day after they would have more episodes, but of course there weren't any... It's definitely the best cartoon movie ever, ever! 

Make sure to stop by LCX in Harbour City, Tsim Sha Tsui, before July the 31st to be able to take a look at this exhibition! Regarding the store, I wouldn't recommend trying to go any time soon unless it's on a weekday when everyone's in the office. Last weekend people were queuing for 3 hours to get in there!!! Hello, crazy Hong Kong people!? Ok, I admit I queued for 30 minutes myself on Thursday at 6pm!

Maison Eric Kayser - The newest restaurant in Harbour City

French master baker Eric Kayser has honored Hong Kongers by opening up a restaurant and bakery in Harbour City, Tsim Sha Tsui. The restaurant opened its doors on Saturday the 22nd of December, and there I was on the 25th, Christmas day, to try it out.

Eric Kayser defines his Flagship in Hong Kong as a "Fast Gourmet restaurant", meaning fine dining in a relaxed/non-fancy atmosphere. The menu is short, with not much to choose from {about 3 starters, a soup, and 3 main dishes}, but you're bound to find something you like. By the way, don't be too hard on the staff, you'll quickly realize they're a bit lost but hopefully it will get better as days go by...

J had the Christmas set lunch (HK$228) while I had a couple of dishes a la carte. The dishes were real delicacies, everything was exquisite! Such delicious food so reasonably priced is hard to find, so you better keep this restaurant in mind! Our food was accompanied with different kinds of bread from their bakery.

I started with a caprese salad (HK$98) that turned out to be the best one I've had in Hong Kong. The buffalo mozzarella melted in my mouth and it was accompanied with sun dried tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, pesto sauce and olive bread, a mix made in heaven! I followed with the truffle soup (HK$78), which was one of the best I've ever had too.

J had the truffle soup as a starter and grilled chicken as main dish. The set lunch included a dessert as well, to choose from a Lemon Tart or an Apricot & Pistachio Tart, so he chose the lemon tart and we shared! It was very yummy.

Right beside the restaurant is Eric Kayser's Bakery, featuring several different kinds of traditional breads, pastries and brioches.

Visited on: December 25, 2012

Overall Quality: 4.5*

Price: HK$444

Value for Money: 4.5*

Would I recommend it? Yes, it's most certainly a must try.

The Library Cafe in Lane Crawford

Every part of my body is feeling sore after attending a crazy fitness class yesterday. My legs got the worst part, they're all wobbly and feel like chewing gum, like they just can't support my weight, going down stairs is so painful! But Monday is back-to-work day so no rest for me! {If you want to know more about what I do for a living you can check out my About Me page.} Saturday was J and I's second anniversary but unfortunately he had to work this weekend. Hence my joining the hard core gym session on Sunday to keep myself occupied! Luckily, on Saturday he got off work soon enough for us to still be able to enjoy a cup of coffee and a cake at The Library Cafe. 

The Library Cafe is part of the Lane Crawford in Harbour City, Tsim Sha Tsui. It's a trendy cafe that makes me think of Initial Cafe, specially since both of them are located inside a fashion store. I had heard the carrot cake was to die for so I ordered a slice. I thought it might as well be because a slice of that cake costed me HK$50! Well, it was divine! I love carrot cake and this one was one to write down on my favorites list. I accompanied this with a Cafe Latte, while J had a Cappuccino.

The Library Cafe is a bit pricey but I wouldn't mind doing it again! They have light lunches/dinners as well, so I might give this a try later on. I loved the light bulbs that covered the whole ceiling, as well as all the colorful tea boxes on the shelves.

According to Lane Crawford's website, the Library Cafe owes its name to it being part of The Shoe Library, Asia's largest shoes and accessories department, at the Canton Road Lane Crawford.

Visited on: 06 October, 2012

Price: Slice of carrot cake: HK$50; Cafe Latte: HK$40; Cappuccino: HK$40

Overall Quality: 4.5*

Value for Money: 4*

Would I recommend it? Yes, don't come here on purpose but do give it a try if you're around.