Shenzhen

Shenzhen - a shopper's heaven but a designer's nightmare!

This looked so much like a famous brand but look carefully, the logo is a double e not a double g.

Converse 'All Star' versus...

Streets' All-Star matched in every color and style.

A whole store exclusively devoted to this famous Disney character.

Lovely boots going for RMB30! Too bad there's no winter in Malaysia...


The many malls in Dongmen.

'People mountain people sea' is the only way to describe this scene in Dongmen Pedestrian Street. It is the No.1 shopping center of Shenzhen. Literally had to elbow our way through the crowd.

Three very serious shoppers in the midst of Shenzhen shopping heaven. There were shoes, bags, clothes, hand phones...and three new suitcases of course to accommodate all the new purchases.

Saw these cherries selling by the roadside on the way back to our hotel. Could never resist these.

The hotel we stayed in. Very comfortable rooms (after HK's pigeon holes, this is luxurious) and great location (right at the door step of Dongmen pedestrian street) at a very reasonable price. Thanks to Tet Mui's recommendation, he stayed here too when he came to Shenzhen last year with the family.

After a marathon day, everyone was too exhausted to venture any further. This restaurant is right in front of the hotel. It looked packed with locals so we gathered the food must be okay'

The restaurant's speciality 'Three Cup Duck'.

(Baby?) Frog legs with spring onion.

We ordered Hakka's stuffed tofu and thought the waitress made a mistake when this dish turned up at our table. These tofu were actually stuffed with tiny (almost invisible) bits of minced meat.

This place most probably catered to people just like us - hungry and tired tourists who wouldn't walk another step but would eat anything. The dishes were all very salty and nothing to rave about.

Jo

Shopping, shopping...

Temple Street Market

In Hong Kong, when we are not eating, you can be sure we are shopping. This place is truly a shoppers' paradise. Wherever you go, there are shops after shops after shops that sell whatever you heart desire, just endless.

We stayed just a stone throw away from Temple Street night market and a few blocks from Ladies' Market but what spelled the end of my food quest spree was a wholesale complex in Lai Chi Kok.

This wholesale mart consist of two buildings, A and BC, all in, about 3 stories full of ladies fashion!

As they are wholesalers, many of the stores here don't entertain single purchases but just as many do.

Everything in this store goes for Hk$30 which translate to only RM15!

Once we entered this complex, there was no coming out.

Yin was ecstatic because here she can find the latest fashion and at a fraction of the price in KK and in Australia. Air Asia 15kgs baggage limit caution completely forgotten.

As for me, after browsing a few of these shops, I was just too dazzled and overwhelmed. As my normal apparel are casual jeans and tees, these were just too fashionable for me. So, I spent the time snapping pictures instead.

The whole complex holds only one place to eat and that was where we had our lunch...sob...sob...
So much for a food blog!

Jo

Bizjadi Av Centre, Segama

Over the weekend, a few of us ladies were to prepare lunch for a lecturer. TS brought along some gorgeous looking serving bowls and plates.

As usual, I droolz...

As always, I couldn't help but ask where she got them, expecting her to say 'Australia' as she frequently shuttles between here and Melbourne.

My glasses almost dropped when she said 'Segama'. What, Segama, KK? Yes.

But where, where in Segama? Apparently in a household electrical store very near Leton. Everyone in KK knows Leton, right?

OK, came Monday, headed downtown to Segama first thing in the morning. Not very familiar with this part of town and but I do know where Leton is and that helped.

Found an electrical store a few shops away. Before entering, just outside the store I saw laid out on the floor at the store's 'kaki lima' - sidewalk, in cardboard boxes, a whole arrays of the treasure I came looking for!! They were mostly white (great!) in all shapes and sizes (double great!!). They had to be examined one by one for flaws and cracks as I detected quite a few (not so great).

So, for the next half an hour or so, I was squatting in front of the shop rummaging through this pile of heaven (like a child in a toy store), good thing I wore pants. Managed to get a total of 23 pieces of assorted shapes and sizes. Christmas came early!!
For your convenience I noted down the name of the shop but I don't know how long the stock would last and it look like a one-off kind of sale. The pieces cost between Rm 2 to Rm 7 depending on the size. A steal.

My favourite. Two identical square plates in different sizes.

The long oval-shaped plate is about 30cm length and 15cm width. Prefect for a fish dish. The egg shaped and tear-drop bowls are so adorable I couldn't resist, I will find a use for them.

The wavy plate would be great for photo shoot, any food would look fantastic in it.

No, this is not another recipe. Just trying out the new dishes. A simple stir-fried veggie and a braised mushroom with rice wine. An ordinary meal served in extraordinary dishes - a feast for the eyes and of course, they tasted phenomenal too, seriously! ;=)

Jo

The Japanese Store

Heard about a new japanese store in town having some nice home wares. Didn't expect too much but really needed(?) to check it out. We are having a few friends over to the house for a japanese dinner next week - simple dishes like cha soba, shabu shabu and maybe, sushi. But panic also lah cos the existing japanese eat wares we have are all rojak (any excuse to shop,hehehe).

The store, Japan Home Centre is located in Asia City Ph2, the new wing in front of Centre Point. Upon entering, we were met with an impressive array of japanese crockery but as we wandered on, it started to remind us of the Y100 stores we found all over Japan!! Oh how we loved to trawl the Y100 stores for bargains!! The choices of crockery were sad to say- very limited. What we saw at first glance when we walked in was the store's whole collection but...we still managed to find something (as always)

Check out our finds...

A set of five assorted bowls for Rm23.90

A set of five odd-shape side dishes (my favourite) for Rm45.90

A rice bowl with fugu print for Rm5.99 each

Love, Jo