More Photos from Asia 2010

I thought I'd share some photos that I've recently edited from my 2010 trip to Asia.


A photo of the Dream Mall. It's one of Asia's largest shopping malls. [link]




Sulfur springs and hiking in the Yangmingshan National Park. [link]








Busy streets of Danshui market and harbourfront. [link]




Mutianyu section of the Great Wall of China. [link]

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Tea in Asia 2011 Round Up

Our trip began back in November with spending some time in Hong Kong with Aunty. She found us a short tour to Guilin and then she brought us to Macau for a day.

From there, we bid our relatives goodbye and visited Taiwan for a week.

We spent the last leg of the trip around Shanghai. Since we joined a tour group, we were able to visit Wuxi, Nanjing, Suzhou, and Hangzhou as well.

Here are all the articles:

• Hello from Hong Kong 
• Window Shopping in Macau
• Dim Sum at Tung Yuen and Plain Congee Dinner
• Wonton Egg Noodle Soup and Dinner at the HK Airport

• Breakfast and Tea Tasting: First Day in Guilin
• Breathtaking Sights and Seafood Banquet in Guilin
• Last Day in Guilin

• Hong Kong Harbour Front and Korean BBQ
• Ngong Ping, Tian Tan Buddha, Dai Pai Dong Dinner
• Sportful Garden Restaurant and The Peak Tower
• Last Meal in Hong Kong: Tsui Wah Restaurant

• Seafood Dinner in Taipei, Taiwan
• Stinky Tofu and CoCo Bubble Tea
• Sun Moon Lake Cabin
• Sun Moon Lake and the Aboriginal Culture Village
• Sick in Taiwan
• Leaving Taiwan: Taoyuan International Airport

• Arriving in Shanghai: Muslim Restaurant
• Breakfast in Shanghai, Visiting Wuxi
• Breakfast in Wuxi, Visiting Nanjing
• Breakfast in Nanjing, Visiting in Suzhou
• Breakfast in Suzhou, Visiting Hangzhou
• Last Full Day: Hangzhou to Shanghai
• Last Meal in Shanghai

This was a trip of a lifetime. We spent just under a month in Asia. I was very fortunate to have this chance and I’m very thankful to everyone who made the trip possible and enjoyable.

Last Meal in Shanghai

Our trip to Asia blew by so quickly. I wasn’t homesick at all. In fact, I didn’t want to go back. Not yet. I wanted to go back to Hong Kong.

But if my parents and Aunt IS could’ve chosen one last meal in Shanghai, the majority of the group would’ve wanted to have one more breakfast at the Ramada.

Dad started with a savoury congee, with some salted egg, youtiao, and pickled veggies as condiments.

Dad’s second plate had some dumplings, youtiao, bread and an omelette.

My first plate was filled was familiar breakfast choices.

Mom had some toasted croissant with an over-easy egg, and a bunch of other pastries. She put the croissant through the toaster but it got stuck, hence the burnt top.

I filled up with a bowl of wonton soup. The wonton soup wasn’t as good as the bowl I had in Nanjing, but it was comforting nonetheless.

Mom and Dad were eager to eat the steamed custard buns again. They had been dreaming about them since the first breakfast.

The filling was apparently different from the first time. Mom and Dad were disappointed, but they still enjoyed these with a slight smile.

There were salted egg yolks in the egg custard. I tried a bite but since I didn’t try any on the first morning, I had nothing to compare it to. Still, these were on a different level than the stuff we get in Ottawa and Toronto, where the filling is a fully cooked paste.

After breakfast, we grabbed our luggage and boarded the tour bus one last time. Our friends from Connecticut and America also joined us on the bus. Although they left on different flights, it made the ride to the airport much easier.

While on the long flight back home, I could’ve help but think about how much we saw and how much we experienced in the past month. I knew I was lucky to have travelled around Asia with little health issues, Mom made sure to remind me (she still does). Believe me, I know I’m lucky. I’m not sure if I’ll ever get the chance to travel overseas again, but I’ll die happy knowing that I have already done so.

These are a few of my favourite images from the trip. Some of them aren’t strong photography-wise, but I like them because of the story behind the pictures. I'll attach a link to the corresponding article which you can read under each of the images.

Last Full Day: Hangzhou to Shanghai

When we woke up in Hangzhou, I felt sad because it was our last full day in Shanghai. Our flight was scheduled to leave for North America the next morning. I was determined to enjoy the last day as much as I could.

It started with my first plate of food during breakfast. I found it funny when I saw spaghetti in one of the buffet trays. The taste was forgettable. So forgettable, in fact, that I’ve forgotten what it tasted like.

There was something intriguing that I picked up though. The layered flatbread was seasoned with a spice blend that was similar to the one used at the Muslim Restaurant that we went to the first day we were in Shanghai. Cumin was the predominant flavour. Although it was greasy, I enjoyed the idea of it.

This was Dad’s first plate. Notice the differences between our plates?

My second round of breakfast consisted of another over-easy egg, more bacon-like protein, breakfast sausage, bread and youtiao.

My final round consisted of a bowl of wonton soup, and more youtiao with coffee. The small chocolate bownie-like snacks tasted more like chocolate cake. I ate one and then packed the other two away to enjoy at a later time.

I also had a piece of sheet cake for dessert. Once we were finished with breakfast, we met up with our tour group on the bus and then we drove back to Shanghai.

Breakfast in Suzhou, Visiting Hangzhou

Breakfast in our hotel in Suzhou was less stressful than the last morning in Nanjing. There was plenty of food and the trays of food were actually refilled when they were emptied.

I took a stroll around the dining area to scout out all the choices. My plan of attack involved trying a small bowl of chocolate Rice Krispies, some stir-fried round noodles, getting an over-easy egg, and finishing up with a bowl of wonton soup.

The chocolate cereal looked like the stuff from Kellogg’s, but I was in China so I naturally doubted that it was legit. The cereal wasn’t super sweet from the chocolate, but the cereal itself was a bit stale.

Looking back at this plate is scary. The whole plate is filled with carbs. I love my carbs, but geez, I really need to take it easy! The stir-fried noodles were quite greasy. There was a bit of char and a bit of smokiness.

The steamed bun tasted just like the yummy ones that the hotel in Nanjing. The meat-filled buns had a slightly sweet sauce surrounding the filling, which provided the bun with a bit of moisture.

Mom really liked the cooked water chestnut. Tasting some minced water chestnuts in some versions of beef cheung fan have ruined water chestnuts for me.

Mom said that the croissants tasted really good when toasted lightly and she was right. The over-easy egg was lacking some salt and pepper.

I asked one of the gentlemen working the dining area for some. He disappeared into the kitchen and came back with a plate full of salt and white pepper. With the help of some lightly toasted croissant, the seasoned over-easy egg was finished without any difficulty.

As for the tiny tangerines in the background, those were packed away for a future snack.

The bowl of wonton soup was a comforting filler.

I went to grab another plate of greasy noodles. Yum.

After breakfast, our whole tour group gathered on the bus and we spent a few hours driving to Hangzhou. We got stuck in some bad traffic on the way there. There was a bad accident involving a tour bus on the oncoming lanes. Everyone naturally slowed down enough to get a glimpse of the broken bus.

Our bus driver pulled over near an intersection and to let us all off the bus. We were guided into the Sichuan Folk for lunch. Most of us weren’t hungry. We just sat on the bus for about five hours. It was a good thing that I stashed some of tangerines from breakfast. They smelled and tasted great on the bus ride over.

There were a bunch of locals enjoying their lunch. It was a pleasant sight, since most of our meals during this tour and the Guilin tour were found inside restaurants that mostly catered to tour groups.

The beer had a very eye-catching label. It also had a cartoon on the back.