以前我小學嗰陣有集郵嘅嗜好
有D郵票係親朋戚友俾, 有D喺文具舖買
後來唔知幾時開始冇再儲郵票
而且香港郵政署變得商業化
同埋好多人買郵票都係為咗炒賣
美國郵政局都唔見得好好
近幾年嚟差唔多將所有郵票都變成貼紙
不能否認貼紙郵票係比較方便
但對集郵人仕嚟講係好冇癮
雖然已經冇集郵好耐
不過有時見到D特別郵票都會買
例如奧地利Swarovski郵票
同埋我仲未入手嘅英國魔術郵票
下個月香港郵政署同奧地利郵政聯合發行嘅煙花郵票小型張已成為我下一個目標
Jul 30, 2006
Jul 29, 2006
Restaurant Furenzu - Emeryville, Bay Area
When Restaurant Furenzu opened a year ago, I thought it is a Chinese restaurant, but then I was puzzling with the description on Furenzu - "new wave Asian cuisine served tapas style". According to Wikipedia, tapas "are essentially snacks but are often combined to make up a full meal". No wonder I couldn't find any rice plates on their menu. :p Don't really want to spend more than $10 for something that can't fill me up, so I didn't try out Furenzu until my co-workers chose this restaurant for our company luncheon.
We had 8 people in the party and almost occupied half of the area in this tiny restaurant. Since we had almost ordered everything from the menu, let's just go down the list:
Small plate ---translation---> Appetizer
Lourdes’ chips - chips made of lotus root with a small amount of sweetness. Very special!
Garlic, chili and black bean wok fried edamame - edamame is not thoroughly cooked and it is not sweet at all. Black beans weren't crushed at all, so I can only taste the garlic favor.
Salt and pepper fried tofu - tofu is fried in the Japanese way and the chef use real pepper instead of salt and pepper powder for the favor.
Melted goat cheese, bee pollen & bok choy pocket w/balsamic reduction - the outlook of this dish is very interesting. It just looks like a little bag with a tie.
Marinated cucumber - I don't like it, maybe it is just me.
Not so small plate
Shrimp in a nest - the shrimp is wrapped by fried egg noodle. Nice idea. However, the shrimp is not very fresh.
Spicy garlic chicken wings - not enough garlic favor just sweet and spicy taste.
Vegetables & carrot noodle in cream sauce w/ wasabi & truffle caviar - they give a lot of caviar on the noodle. Too much that I can't really tell the favor of the vegetables & carrot noodle. I wonder if they got the cavier from Tsar Nicoulai Caviar
Mom's egg salad sandwich w/ duck prosciutto - egg salad and duck prosciutto(臘鴨), what a weird combination! The duck prosciutto is supposed to be salty, but I can't taste it :o
Not yet large plate
Duck confit w/ ginger & orange sauce on cauliflower purée - The duck leg is a little bit burnt, but the meat texture is great. I really don't like the ginger & orange sauce at all >.<
Flank steak w/ black truffle butter - I can't recall what is special about the flank steak
Garlic/ginger sautéed seasonal vegetables - it is the mini lettuce, very cute and tasty too.
Crab & spinach salad flatbread - I like this dish the best for its freshness and lightness. They do put plenty of crab meat on top.
Their specialty drinks (e.g. Lychee Saketini) sound very interesting too. Maybe I will come back for a drink.
Address: 3986 Adeline Street, Emeryville, CA
Tel#: 510-601-1882
Website: www.restaurantfurenzu.com
Hours:
Mon - Fri 11:30AM - 2PM
Mon - Sun 5:30pm - 10PM
We had 8 people in the party and almost occupied half of the area in this tiny restaurant. Since we had almost ordered everything from the menu, let's just go down the list:
Small plate ---translation---> Appetizer
Lourdes’ chips - chips made of lotus root with a small amount of sweetness. Very special!
Garlic, chili and black bean wok fried edamame - edamame is not thoroughly cooked and it is not sweet at all. Black beans weren't crushed at all, so I can only taste the garlic favor.
Salt and pepper fried tofu - tofu is fried in the Japanese way and the chef use real pepper instead of salt and pepper powder for the favor.
Melted goat cheese, bee pollen & bok choy pocket w/balsamic reduction - the outlook of this dish is very interesting. It just looks like a little bag with a tie.
Marinated cucumber - I don't like it, maybe it is just me.
Not so small plate
Shrimp in a nest - the shrimp is wrapped by fried egg noodle. Nice idea. However, the shrimp is not very fresh.
Spicy garlic chicken wings - not enough garlic favor just sweet and spicy taste.
Vegetables & carrot noodle in cream sauce w/ wasabi & truffle caviar - they give a lot of caviar on the noodle. Too much that I can't really tell the favor of the vegetables & carrot noodle. I wonder if they got the cavier from Tsar Nicoulai Caviar
Mom's egg salad sandwich w/ duck prosciutto - egg salad and duck prosciutto(臘鴨), what a weird combination! The duck prosciutto is supposed to be salty, but I can't taste it :o
Not yet large plate
Duck confit w/ ginger & orange sauce on cauliflower purée - The duck leg is a little bit burnt, but the meat texture is great. I really don't like the ginger & orange sauce at all >.<
Flank steak w/ black truffle butter - I can't recall what is special about the flank steak
Garlic/ginger sautéed seasonal vegetables - it is the mini lettuce, very cute and tasty too.
Crab & spinach salad flatbread - I like this dish the best for its freshness and lightness. They do put plenty of crab meat on top.
Their specialty drinks (e.g. Lychee Saketini) sound very interesting too. Maybe I will come back for a drink.
Address: 3986 Adeline Street, Emeryville, CA
Tel#: 510-601-1882
Website: www.restaurantfurenzu.com
Hours:
Mon - Fri 11:30AM - 2PM
Mon - Sun 5:30pm - 10PM
Jul 27, 2006
Kilohana Grill - Emeryville, Bay Area
This is my first time visiting a Hawaiian restaurant even though Hawaiian cuisine had been quite popular in the Bay Area in recent years. I had ordered the BBQ Beef & BBQ Chicken combo so I can try more at once. As always, food packager gives you more chicken than beef in a combo. The meats are grilled close to perfection - thoroughly cooked, but not burnt. Beef is cut into thin slices. The texture is good, not tough at all, but the favor is a bit too heavy for me. The texture of the chicken is acceptable. Actually, it just taste like Teriyaki Chicken. Not bad.
Address: 4115 San Pablo Ave, Emeryville, CA
Tel#: (510) 654-1144
Website: www.kilohanagrill.com
Hours:
Mon - Fri 11AM - 8PM
Sat 8AM - 8PM
Sun 8AM - 3PM
Fantasia Tea Cafe - Newark, Bay Area
Among all the Pearl Milk Tea cafes in the Bay Area, I think only Fantasia keeps up with the good quality. Their Hot Red Bean Pearl Milk Tea is my favorite drink in the winter and from now on I think their Red Bean Rubie will be my summer time favorite.
Red Bean Rubie is actually a frosty drink which tastes very much like a Hong Kong popular cold drink - Red Bean Ice (紅豆冰). I haven't have a glass of Red Bean Ice for a long time:(
Address: 39055 Cedar Blvd. Newark, CA
Tel#: (510) 739-1888
Red Bean Rubie is actually a frosty drink which tastes very much like a Hong Kong popular cold drink - Red Bean Ice (紅豆冰). I haven't have a glass of Red Bean Ice for a long time:(
Address: 39055 Cedar Blvd. Newark, CA
Tel#: (510) 739-1888
Jul 22, 2006
Jul 19, 2006
Golden Island Cafe - San Mateo, Bay Area
Golden Island Cafe offers Hong Kong style food and dessert. I had tried their mango dessert (芒果撈) before and wasn't happy about it. I thought it is just because mangos weren't in season during that time.
Today, I went to Golden Island Cafe with my friend after dinner. Flipping through their menu, I decided to give the mango dessert one more try. It turned out the mango is not fresh at all and it is even worse than my previous experience.
You are welcome to try their food and dessert, but stay away from the mango dessert!
Address: 146 E 3rd Ave, San Mateo, CA
Tel#: (650) 685-5660
Today, I went to Golden Island Cafe with my friend after dinner. Flipping through their menu, I decided to give the mango dessert one more try. It turned out the mango is not fresh at all and it is even worse than my previous experience.
You are welcome to try their food and dessert, but stay away from the mango dessert!
Address: 146 E 3rd Ave, San Mateo, CA
Tel#: (650) 685-5660
Jul 17, 2006
Chocolate Cream Puff
Of course I won't leave San Francisco without getting one or two cream puffs from Bread Papa. Their special flavor of the week is pumpkin cream puff. I'm not interested so I just get the vanilla bean and chocolate.
The chocolate filling just taste like chocolate ice-cream and it is sweeter than vanilla bean and green tea cream puff. I know Bread Papa is no chocolate specialist, but the chocolate flavor in the filling is really too light. The chocolate cream puff is a bit more expensive than vanilla bean cream puff, but the vanilla beans they use are handpicked from Madagascar. That's why I think vanilla bean cream puff is much better in value and quality.
Previous experience with this store
Green tea cream puff
The chocolate filling just taste like chocolate ice-cream and it is sweeter than vanilla bean and green tea cream puff. I know Bread Papa is no chocolate specialist, but the chocolate flavor in the filling is really too light. The chocolate cream puff is a bit more expensive than vanilla bean cream puff, but the vanilla beans they use are handpicked from Madagascar. That's why I think vanilla bean cream puff is much better in value and quality.
Previous experience with this store
Green tea cream puff
下午茶/晚餐精選
Today is Spare The Air Day, we got to ride the BART for FREE. My brother suggested we should go to Hog Island Oyster Bar (at SF Ferry Building) for happy hour.
The happy hour oyster of today is Hog Island-Sand Isle Pacific from Humboldt Bay. Suppose this oyster is divided into two layers, I would say the outer layer is salty (as usual) and the inner layer is sweet. It is even sweeter than Kumamoto if I remembered correctly. Normally I don't put anything on the oyster but this time I had tried something different.
Procedure: Drain the seawater from the oyster.
Experiment 1: Added two drops of Tabasco sauce on the oyster, the spicy flavor is all over my mouth and I can't taste the saltiness and sweetness of the oyster.
Experiment 2: Someone added much lemon juice on the oyster, it is so sour that I can't taste the saltiness but it doesn't outrun the sweetness.
Experiment 3: Three to four drops of lime juice was added on the oyster, it is less sour but still outrun the saltiness and the sweetness remain.
Conclusion: I think I will use lime or lemon to minimize the saltiness in oyster and use Tabasco for oyster that is not very fresh.
Previous experience with this restaurant
The happy hour oyster of today is Hog Island-Sand Isle Pacific from Humboldt Bay. Suppose this oyster is divided into two layers, I would say the outer layer is salty (as usual) and the inner layer is sweet. It is even sweeter than Kumamoto if I remembered correctly. Normally I don't put anything on the oyster but this time I had tried something different.
Procedure: Drain the seawater from the oyster.
Experiment 1: Added two drops of Tabasco sauce on the oyster, the spicy flavor is all over my mouth and I can't taste the saltiness and sweetness of the oyster.
Experiment 2: Someone added much lemon juice on the oyster, it is so sour that I can't taste the saltiness but it doesn't outrun the sweetness.
Experiment 3: Three to four drops of lime juice was added on the oyster, it is less sour but still outrun the saltiness and the sweetness remain.
Conclusion: I think I will use lime or lemon to minimize the saltiness in oyster and use Tabasco for oyster that is not very fresh.
Previous experience with this restaurant
Jul 16, 2006
Jul 12, 2006
Shinbala Cafe (辛巴樂) - Cupertino, Bay Area
我們在LA的時候已經嚐過辛巴樂的台灣香腸。最近在本地的報紙上看到Cupertino辛巴樂的廣告, 就跑去試試。可是我不知道Cupertino這家是不是LA辛巴樂的分店。
那個星期六的晚上, 我們大概七點多來到了辛巴樂, 店裏面的桌子也差不多滿。我們點了辛巴樂香腸, 肉羹湯, 香炒臭豆腐, 德國脆皮豬腳還有鹽酥雞。
選了香炒臭豆腐因為它不像炸臭豆腐那麼乾。這小炒的臭豆腐不太臭, 而且炒得很香。味道像旺旺清粥的豆干肉絲, 非常好食。如果豆腐再可以多一點就好了。
辛巴樂香腸跟上一次在LA食的台灣香腸差不多。台灣香腸的味道其實有些像臘腸。
德國脆皮豬腳賣相不太好, 但皮脆肉軟。那脆皮是甜甜的, 只是肉的味道淡了一點。隨餐的奶茶跟糖水沒兩樣, 完全沒有茶的味道。
肉羹湯真的不好喝。這個湯裡面有一團沒有攪好的沙茶醬還有肉的味道跟樣子都怪怪的。
這個鹽酥雞的雞塊比其他台灣小食店的大一點, 所以肉味比較濃也不太乾。外層很鬆脆。好!
Address: 20956 #A W. Homestead Road, Cupertino, CA
Tel#: (408) 257-6868
Hour: Tuesday Close
Note: Cash Only
那個星期六的晚上, 我們大概七點多來到了辛巴樂, 店裏面的桌子也差不多滿。我們點了辛巴樂香腸, 肉羹湯, 香炒臭豆腐, 德國脆皮豬腳還有鹽酥雞。
選了香炒臭豆腐因為它不像炸臭豆腐那麼乾。這小炒的臭豆腐不太臭, 而且炒得很香。味道像旺旺清粥的豆干肉絲, 非常好食。如果豆腐再可以多一點就好了。辛巴樂香腸跟上一次在LA食的台灣香腸差不多。台灣香腸的味道其實有些像臘腸。
德國脆皮豬腳賣相不太好, 但皮脆肉軟。那脆皮是甜甜的, 只是肉的味道淡了一點。隨餐的奶茶跟糖水沒兩樣, 完全沒有茶的味道。
肉羹湯真的不好喝。這個湯裡面有一團沒有攪好的沙茶醬還有肉的味道跟樣子都怪怪的。
這個鹽酥雞的雞塊比其他台灣小食店的大一點, 所以肉味比較濃也不太乾。外層很鬆脆。好!
Address: 20956 #A W. Homestead Road, Cupertino, CA
Tel#: (408) 257-6868
Hour: Tuesday Close
Note: Cash Only
Ramen again
It was the night before Independence Day. We arrived at 5:20PM (10 minutes before they open for dinner) and got the 3rd place on the waitlist. I start to realize Santa follow the waitlist order religiously. Not only do they assign tables in the order of waitlist, they also follow the same sequence when they take the orders and prepare hot dishes on the orders.
We ordered Deep Fried Pork Chop w/ garlic, Deep Fried Squid Legs, and Stew Pork Ramen in Pork Broth. I think the squid legs (fried or grilled) might be available only for a limited of time because it is inserted into the menu with a postit.
The pork chop is splitted in half and filled with mashed garlic inside. The amount of garlic is about right, but the pork chop is not juicy enough and it can be a bit saltier.
Deep Fried Squid Legs - 煙韌可口, 正正正!
D stew pork 同扣肉差唔多味, 但係乾咗少少
Previous experience with this restaurant
We ordered Deep Fried Pork Chop w/ garlic, Deep Fried Squid Legs, and Stew Pork Ramen in Pork Broth. I think the squid legs (fried or grilled) might be available only for a limited of time because it is inserted into the menu with a postit.
The pork chop is splitted in half and filled with mashed garlic inside. The amount of garlic is about right, but the pork chop is not juicy enough and it can be a bit saltier.
Deep Fried Squid Legs - 煙韌可口, 正正正!
D stew pork 同扣肉差唔多味, 但係乾咗少少
Previous experience with this restaurant
Jul 9, 2006
4th World Cup Title
I waited 12 years for Italy to win the World Cup again. As I was watching the game today, it remained me of the 1994 World Cup final. I could still remember Roberto Baggio played in the 1994 final with a pad on his thigh. When he was selected to be one of the Italian players in the shoot out, the TV commentator said it is not a good choice since Baggio has an injured leg and he had played for 120 minutes already. The match ended with Baggio shooting the ball way above the goal. It was really sad to see Baggio down on his knee after that shot.
That's why I was afraid today game will go into penalty shoot out. I was afraid the history will repeat itself. But it turns out I was just worrying too much. The Italian players scored all 5 penalty shots while France missed one and that seal the victory. Yeah~~~!!
By the way, what's up with Zidane? I was so surprise to see him hitting someone during his last match.
That's why I was afraid today game will go into penalty shoot out. I was afraid the history will repeat itself. But it turns out I was just worrying too much. The Italian players scored all 5 penalty shots while France missed one and that seal the victory. Yeah~~~!!
By the way, what's up with Zidane? I was so surprise to see him hitting someone during his last match.
Jul 8, 2006
New Lego Train w/ Remote
- Train has working lights and horn!
- 3-channel infrared remove control moves train forward and backward at 3 different speeds!
好正呀!
Arizmendi - Emeryville, Bay Area
If you like organic vegetarian pizza, you got to check out Arizmendi. They make only one type of pizza each day. Last time I had the corn + sweet onions + red bell peppers + cilantro pesto pizza. The vegetable that they use are very fresh. Unlike most other pizza chains, Arizmendi put ingredients all the way to the pizza edge. Check out their website for the pizza schedule.
Address: 4301 SAN PABLO AVE (AT 43rd ST) EMERYVILLE, CA
Tel#: (510) 547-0550
Website: www.arizmendi-bakery.org
Hours:
Mon 7AM–3PM
Tue - Fri 7AM–7PM
Sat 8AM–7PM
Sun 8AM–6PM
Jul 2, 2006
Extreme Diet Coke & Mentos Experiments
The reaction of Soda and Mento maybe nothing new to you, but how about a mini fountains show made of 200 liters of Diet Coke and over 500 Mentos mints?
Jul 1, 2006
Euro Cup 2006
With a win over Brazil, France is joining Germany, Italy, and Portugal in semi-finals of World Cup/Euro Cup 2006.
Support Italy!!
Support Italy!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)