The usual morning routine: wake up, alleviate thyself, brush teeth, check email (word-of-the-day, NY Times, Daily Candy), eat fruit (lychee, dragon’s eye fruit), begin blogging, shower, blow-dry, continue with a day’s worth of seeing, hearing, tasting, feeling, smelling – and where does spending money fit into that?

(Not much writing again, only captions, sorry!)

This morning, we went up to Victoria Peaks, which over looks Hong Kong Island & Kowloon. My grandma pulled over at one point and directed me to a small little turn-out that winds down in the path. “A lot of people take pictures here – go take some,” she said to me in Mandarin. So I did, though so many trees obstructed what could have been a clearer, more expansive view.

The smog is dense; the air are faintly yellow; the buildings seem to be smothered in draping clouds.

The lone ranger, black as night.

Take 1: Failure, Off-Center, Hair mussed up

Take 2: Better (I feel like I could camouflage in the trees, in some way)

The contrast of an Art Deco / Art Nouveau – ish building (I speak as if I know what I am talking about; I don’t), a stone wall, and an increasingly dark cement path.

Patterned mirrors … what’s the point?

So they say, Starbucks follows you everywhere, even to the top of a mountain.

I’m not sure if I am a fan of a modernized reconstruction of the ancient Chinese temple silhouette.

Jungle Gym-like edifices in citrusy hues.

Inside the Peaks Mall.

Cityscapes; the air grows heavier as we move back.

Hoggin’ it up for the cam.

My grandma and me! “Let’s take a picture!” she said to me in Mandarin. So we did.

Snuck in a little bit of people-watching. I am a big fan of this colorful umbrella, especially in conjunction with that flaming red top.

Ah, tourism.

Haha, love this picture.

Of course, with tourism comes consumerism. The two go hand in hand, inevitably.

My grandma pointed to that and told me that’s where my uncle used to live (now sold).

UFO in the sky.

With my grandma again!

Mother and son.

The whimsical duo of shiny cartoon balloons and a double row of gelato.

So beautiful!

I asked my dad for an iced coffee (not hot this time, thank goodness), and he bought me an iced Americano, which he says is “a much purer taste.” Yes purer, but also bitterness multiplied in heavy increment. A fan? Hardly.

“Stop taking pictures, let’s go!” (I would be the girl taking pictures)

“No, I’m serious, Come on! Stop it! Let’s go!”

I spotted a huge black butterfly fluttering among a green and magenta patch. How blessed was I to capture this moment!

You can see the hurried, rapid, yet nevertheless delicate movement of the wings.

Butterfly, please don’t hide away behind the flowers!

Ah, nature.

I love this picture, so much. The movement – you can see the flutter, the sprawling of wings.

We went to my uncle’s house. This is my dad with his auntie (my great-aunt) – she just turned 90 this year! She loves WWF, wrestling, boxing, that sort of stuff (or at least used to, and I’m being completely serious).

An original painting of my family patriarch’s house in China.

We went to the Hotel Nikko for lunch, at a restaurant called Les Celebrites. There is a Hotel Nikko in San Francisco too, my dad pointed out – which has really good jazz, he reiterated.

So here’s how this restaurant works: an appetizer buffet, a selected main course, followed by dessert buffet. Very clever, this progression.

Bright red shellfish. Delicious.

Take your pick.

Sashimi! Salmon is my favorite (and the only type of raw fish I will eat).

Various meats and deli cuts (see all the white? All fat!), which of course I did not touch.

More meat, probably of the liver / pate variety (again, did not sample).

My appetizer plate (I love sampling, but it also means I waste so much food! Can’t help it… it’s a buffet).

Curvy breadsticks – good decor and still good-tasting!

Ah, perfect French bread. Crunchy on the outside, soft and warm on the inside.

Cream of mushroom soup. Too creamy, not enough mushrooms.

My main course: Shellfish & Grilled Salmon over a shellfish risotto.

The salmon was just barely cooked through; so tender and juicy inside – definitely some of the best salmon I have ever had.

Passion fruit cheesecake.

Some kind of fruit cake with flaky layers.

Bread pudding with raisins!!

A fine selection.

Strawberry pannecotta – light, refreshing – not too dense, nice creamy texture.

My sampling plate of desserts – a tiramisu (the rum was way too strong – the liquor essence should be an undertone – not noticeably tasted, but an enhancer to the ladyfingers and cream), a creme brulee (nothing special), a hazelnut chocolate torte (very good; chocolate was rich and dense like chocolate cake should be, the hazelnut layer was pleasantly crunchy and its sweetness complemented the bitterness of the chocolate), a chestnut cream tart (enjoyable, though the chestnut flavor could be a little stronger), passion fruit cheesecake (very good; not heavy at all, i like the combination of a slightly tart fruit with a sweet but tangy cheesecake), and a hot bread pudding with a vanilla cream sauce (so good, perfectly light, but flavorful).

This is after sampling all the desserts (it’s the way to go, a bite of each – and if it tastes really good, you take two bites – like the bread pudding, for example). No worries, the plate did not go to waste – my dad knew that I would only take a bite of each, so he did not get any dessert and just ate the rest of mine.

Afterwards we went to Mong Kok for some outdoor shopping.

A lot of people, a lot of tourists. Very grouchy salespeople.

It was really hot, we couldn’t stay too long for fear of heat stroke.

We went and bought some icy drinks; a sweetened lemon tea, dragonfruit and guava drink, mango tapioca drink (I couldn’t take more than one sip, way too sweet for my taste).

Good day, good day. Stuffed myself silly, which did not feel too great afterwards. At night though, I went to HMV and bought 4 CDs. Ah, good day, good day.