The Old and the New

The New

Out with the old, in with the new. This is especially true with the New Year ringing in and the Christmas/ January sales. I am currently writing with my beautiful new MacBook Air (thanks mom!), who decided that it was time to give my good old fujitsu a rest.

It is a delight to use, but most importantly for me, it is not as heavy as my last laptop. This is good because I no longer have to worry of my bag pack breaking from the weight.

I ventured into the land of Sham Shui Po today to get the rest of the accessories needed for my laptop for a total of HKD128 (or £10.07). If you happen to be in Hong Kong and are looking for reasonably priced (or in some cases, extremely cheap!) electronic goods/ accessories then Golden Centre  or the open area market outside Exit C2 of Sham Shui Po MTR is the place to be.

• A case for HKD100 (or £7.87)
• And a silicone keyboard protector also for HKD28 (or £2.20)

Both of which  I thought, were absolute bargains. I was extremely pleased with myself.

I have bought many things from Golden Centre/ the outdoor market right outside Exit C2 of Sham Shui Po station. If you want a comprehensive review of the two places then please like and comment below. Directions to Golden Centre and the market will be at the end of the blog.

The Old

For the brave and the adventurous who venture into Sham Shui Po, not only would they find themselves in an electronic heaven, but weirdly enough, also in a Hong Kong street food heaven. There are lots of different types of food to try. From the conventional fishballs and siu mai being sold right beside to the road to the different, with the best pork liver noodle soup in Hong Kong (supposedly). My mother and I decided however, that today the wonderful establishment would dine at was at Kung Woo Beancurd (Or Kung Wo Dou Bu Chong in Open Rice).

Front of the restaurant

The chef cooks bean curds at the front of the restaraunt

Kung Woo also sell their tofu products. As I was eating, I saw many people buy their soya milk (bottom left) and fresh tofu (top right).

This is how the inside of the shop looks like. You can see an old photo of the founder of the shop on the top left.

Kong Woo Beancurd is one of the oldest establishments in Hong Kong. At over 100 years old, it creates the perfect fish cake tofu and fried tofu. Soft and silky in the inside and delightfully crispy on the outside. Additionally, I would personally say that they make the best soy bean milk. One can really taste the soy bean flavour in the milk.

From left to right: Fish cake tofu, deep fried bean curd

Less can be said about the atmosphere of the ‘restaurant’. Small tables are set up inside, however, the tables are not as clean as one would like it to be (my mother cleaned it down twice with an antiseptic towel, being the OCD woman that she is) and on very busy days up to eight people can be crammed around two tiny stall tables. Do not expect great service from the  ‘waiters’. As there is literally only four things on the menu, they don’t bother to write anything down, simply yelling to the chef at the front of the stall what you have ordered. However, as the bean curds are constantly being fried, one can expect food to be brought to them quickly. An assortment of condiments are provided, as well as a chopsticks. I would suggest that one eat the tofu with a drizzle of soya sauce and some sweet chili sauce. Together, they are amazing with the bean curd.

Directions to Golden Centre:

Taking the MTR would be the most efficient way to get there. It is on google maps if one finds themselves easily lost, but as long as you take the get out of Exit D2 of the Sham Shui Po Station (which is on the Red Line going towards Tsuen Wan) then it will be hard not to find it as it is right opposite the exit.

However, there are buses which run to the area. Preferably find one which runs to Yen Chow Street (near a McDonalds) or Cheung Sha Wan Road (busses which have stops around exits C of the MTR would be best).

Directions to Kung Woo Beancurd or Kung Wo Dou Bun Chong:

G/F, 118 Pei Ho Street, Sham Shui Po
深水埗北河街118號地下

From the MTR – Exit B2 of the Sham Shui Po Station. You will soon get to a cross junction. Cross it, going straight. Once you have crossed the road, stick to your right hand side. You will pass a curry house. Kung Woo Beancurd is soon afterthat.

Aims and Goals

To the few people who have started to read my blog, I just want to say “THANK YOU!”. It means a lot to me that somebody actually wants to read my ramblings. I am humbled by your interest in me. Now that you know a little more about me from my “Who I Am” post I’m proud to present you my kind of plan/manifesto of the many future posts to come.

In my header it says United Kingdom / Hong Kong / Malaysia. Well, I assume that by now you know is because throughout the year I I live the those three countries. Swapping one for another as term starts, ends and when holidays begin. I have to say, that in those different countries I do very different activities. I mainly study, shop, eat and party when I’m in the UK whilst when I’m in Malaysia I’ll be visiting relatives and friends. I do most of my outdoor activities in Hong Kong during the summer after I finish all of my internships and work placements. Therefore in some ways you can break up the various countries with the types of blogs I’ll be writing.

United Kingdom:

• I’m planning on uploading similar satirical sketches on various UK programmes such as “Come Dine With Me” or “I’m A Celebrity Get out of Here!”
• You’ll be meeting my flat mates! They all have different personalities and are all equally awesome. I’m planning on making some colab videos/ blogs with them so stay tuned!
• Beauty and fashion will be a big aspect of my UK blogs. I tend to spend a lot when I’m away from my family (sorry dad!). I’ve decided that this year I want seriously update my wardrobe so look out for Primark, Zara and H&M hauls.
• Law is a tough course. You know the phrase, when the going gets tough … Rant about it. I guess I’ll be writing my thoughts and internal discussions about certain topics I’ll be studying though out the next two terms. Those blogs migh bore you, but my aim for those blogs would be for me to see, in writing, my opinions on certain topics and for me to reflect on my opinions.

Malaysia:

• I’m normally only in Malaysia for 1 to 3 weeks but man, do I end up eating a lot. My dad’s kind of an amateur foodie and likes to bring the family along to many different places for the best of something. Look out for lots of traditional Malaysian food.
•  I have friends in Malaysia too so sometimes I end up going back just to see them. We’ve decided that this year, it’s time to tackle east Malaysia and do some scuba diving. Time to make get my PADI license in good use.

Hong Kong:

• I’m normally back in the summer and normally, I have a ton of exams and internships to go through. However, I’ve made it a point that this year would be different. I plan on visiting/ hiking to all the various exquisite deserted spots in Hong Kong. For the first time in my 19 years here, I would visit Sheung Luk Stream and cliff jump!
• I tend to do a lot of eating in Hong Kong as well (all this explains my chubbiness). In fact, one of my friends writes a blog on wordpress too! Lookout for dimshum if you can. Look out for many foodie tagged blogs during this term too.
• Shopping! Hong Kong is one of the shopping heavens in South East Asia. Look out (for smaller) shopping and beauty hauls. This time, courtesy of my mother.

This was a long blog. Sorry for boring you if I did. But in some way, I feel that this gives me (and hopefully you) some kind of direction of the kind of blog I’ll be writing. By being able to write and reflect in the activities and things I have done, hopefully I’ll be able to emerge a better person this year. Go 2014!

Who I am

So erm. I’m not sure how this starts but I guess I’ll start by introducing myself.

Hi. I’m Tiffany. I’m an awkward, clumsy and sometimes (too much for my own good) sassy nineteen year old. I was born in Malaysia but was raised in Hong Kong. A small but extremely ferocious tiny city located in the south eastern part of China. Right now, I’m Hong Kong for the Christmas holidays but soon I’ll be back into my house, shared with five other girls in Canterbury, Kent. How did I get to the other side of the world you may think? Well, due to a series of fumbles and bad decisions, life decided that the best university to send me to was the University of Kent. In Canterbury. The United Kingdom. Well, thanks to life, I’ve met some great people and I know, this phrase is well used, but some great friendships were made.

So hey! Bring on 2014 life. Because I think I can handle another year of uni, stress, family drama, awkwardness, boyfriendless and chubbyness (that’s one thing that needs to change!!). And to the people who have read it all the way down to this sentence.

What the hell are doing with your life. If this is more interesting than going out and enjoying it then

Hey! Welcome to my life.

I aim on posting weekly blog posts of the various dramas, idiotic things that happen in my life. But if I don’t, I want want to let you know, that I was probably kidnapped and held at gun point by some powerful rich kid’s father for snapping and being too sassy to him/her.