Lobster Afternoon Tea - Hong Kong Shangri-la

There is probably nothing I'd rather do on a chilly Sunday afternoon than going for tea with one of my best friends. Chloris and I were roommates at City University of Hong Kong for a year, and I believe sharing a 9 square meters room for that long has bonded us forever. I had other rommates during my 3 years degree at CityU, Sissi from Singapore got deep into my heart too. I'm sure Sissi and I would still hang out a lot if we were to live in the same city, because we really hit it up. Unfortunately this is not the case, but I'm sure we will still have many chances to see each other. As for Chloris, well, she has become my best friend in Hong Kong. We have known each other for more than four years now and I think we both enjoy each other's company a lot. We now like to meet once a month for tea and chit-chat, and simply some girls quality time.

This time Chloris was the one to choose the venue. She showed me an article in a magazine featuring the Hong Kong Shangri-la's Lobster Afternoon Tea, and told me she would like to give it a try. We made a reservation and... off we went!

I originally thought afternoon tea was served at the lobby, but this particular one turned out to be served at the Lobster Bar, right next to the lobby. The waiter then told us that both the Lobster bar and the lobby served afternoon tea at the same price, except that the one we were about to enjoy came with plenty of lobster. Besides, the Lobster Bar has the option of accompanying the tea set with a bottle of Veuve Cliquot rosé, which we didn't go for. This lobster afternoon tea was good, yet there was SO much food, at last I had to just eat half of each petit four in order to get to try them all. The best thing of this tea set were the scones. They were warm and delicious, served with perfect Devonshire cream and jam, just like scones are supposed to be :) The worst thing: its poor tea selection. Don't aim for fancy tea blends here, all they have is the common English Breakfast, Vanilla, Peppermint and the like, which was a bit disappointing for a 5 star hotel.

I would rate this set 4* because besides the savory items with lobster being yummy, the sweets were not that good. The tea selection was below average too as mentioned above.

Visited on: November 11, 2012

Overall Quality: 4*

Price: HK$428 + 10% service charge for a tea set for two or HK$788 + 10% including a bottle of Veuve Clicquot rosé

Value for Money: 4*

Would I recommend it? It'd say there are better high tea sets out there. The atmosphere is nonetheless unique and extremely relaxing, with big tables, not that many people and live piano performance.

Sha Tin Park

The cold has finally made it to Hong Kong. It's been chilly for the whole day so I finally got to wear my autumn clothes! I heard this is going to be one of the coldest winters in Hong Kong, so it was about time for the cold weather to start. We spent the day in Sha Tin today, and took some outfit pics in Sha Tin Park.

I was wearing: Coat: Zara; Blouse: Bought in China; Pants: Bershka; Boots: Staccato; Handbag: XiCC; Sunnies: Karen Walker

I always like to buy colorful jeans from either Inditex's Bershka or Pull&Bear. They're like the ones in Zara only cheaper! And they always fit my body so well! Do you have a favorite jeans brand?

The Brunch Club & Supper - Causeway Bay

As soon as I stepped into the Brunch Club & Supper I was reminded of my university exchange days back in Beijing. I told this to J and he couldn't help but to feel puzzled because there is nothing Chinese at the Brunch Club & Supper! The truth though is it reminded me deeply of a cafe where we used to hang out a lot in Wudaokou, the neighborhood of some of the most renowned universities in China: BLCU, Tsinghua and Peking University. With these three universities welcoming thousands of exchange students every year, the Wudaokou area is filled up with western style cafes and clubs. I unfortunately forgot the name of that particular cafe the Brunch Club & Supper reminded me of, but I remember the place very well, as well as the yummy food they served and all the good memories that remained, especially the ones with Sarah, an Australian girl with whom I became inseparable for the whole exchange period, to the point where it was difficult to see one of us if the other was not around.

Back to the Brunch Club & Supper, this is a great choice for an all-day breakfast. They have the common sets, continental or american, as well as other breakfast favorites such as eggs benedict, waffles or pancakes among others. They also have non-breakfast food like pasta or salads. We went there for brunch and J had the continental set (a very healthy choice!) while I had eggs benedict with smoked salmon (one of my favorite choices for breakfast as I already mentioned on a previous post!) along with a cup of Hot Chocolate with Almonds and Caramel. Eggs benedict + hot chocolate definitely makes for a great start to the day!

Check out their website here: http://www.brunch-club.org/

Visited on: 27 October, 2012

Overall quality: 4*

Price: Continental Set (including a cup of coffee and fresh orange juice) = HK$98; Eggs benedict with Salmon = HK$88; Hot Chocolate with Almonds = $40; + 10% service charge

Value for Money: 4*

Would I recommend it? It's a nice option for brunch. Give it a try!

1/F, 13 Leighton Rd, Causeway Bay. Sun-Thu 9am-11pm, Fri-Sat 9am-late.

And just like that.... we've been engaged for a month!

I'm now a believer. Times does fly. Or else how do you explain J and I being engaged for a month already?!

I feel wedding preparations are on the right track, and we've dealt with quite a lot during this first month. The most important thing is the date and venue of our wedding have been set, and even though I'm not revealing anything just yet, what I'll tell you is our wedding is less than a year away!!!

Next week a photographer friend of mine has agreed to help us taking some proposal reenactment pics. We will be shooting at the Disneyland Hotel in Hong Kong, for J proposed at home and that hotel has some gorgeous salons and gardens that can give it that "homey" look. Stay tunned!

Bioderma Crealine H2O: The one product you won't be able to live without

Girls, stay focused! Today I've decided to share with you a beauty secret that I just cannot keep to myself anymore. I don't think I've ever found a makeup/skincare product that I could consider as the best of the best in its category, but there is always an exception to the rule. I am 100% positive I have found the best makeup remover I could ever wish for: Bioderma Crealine H2O.

I want to emphasize that I'm not being payed or sponsored to review this item. This is a beauty advice coming from my experience with the product and all the greatness it has done to my skin. Some girls think it's important to use good quality makeup and moisturizers in order not to break out, but don't give major thoughts on which makeup remover they use because, oh well, it will be on your skin for less than a minute and off we go. I used to be a part of that group, using makeup remover towelettes that made it fast and easy to remove all makeup. Yet my skin didn't feel that good. Even if you use a facial cleanser after removing your makeup, I believe some of the makeup remover ingredients have already had an effect on the skin. I know this now because ever since I started using Bioderma two years ago, my skin has improved substantially.

This product looks like fancy mineral water, or else ask my dad. I once lended the Bioderma bottle to my mom for her to try when they came visiting in Hong Kong. Apparently my mom left it in their hotel room's washroom, and my dad almost drank it thinking it was one of those complimentary water bottles hotels usually have! Well, weird family stories aside, the truth is this is a relatively new technology called micellar water, and I have nothing but good things to say about it. Away are the days when makeup removers made my eyes sting like crazy, this Holy water has no alcohol nor fragrances in it and even if it gets in your eyes, you won't feel a thing. Bioderma Crealine H2O removes all the makeup fast and easily without feeling greasy nor stingy. I'm absolutely head over heels for this product and if you give it a try, so will you!

Overall Quality: 5*

Price: HK$148 (in Sasa stores)

Value for Money: 5*

Would I recommend it? This is not merely a recommendation. This is a beauty advice that you will thank me for, for the rest of your life! ;)