Butterfly on Victoria Boutique Hotel, Hong Kong

To start off my Hong Kong post, let's go with where we stayed first.  Butterfly on Victoria Boutique Hotel in Causeway Bay.  Whenever in Hong Kong, our family usually stays in L' Hotel Causeway Bay Harbour View.  The hotel is clean and nice, has free wifi on the lobby, and the MTR is just across the street.  This trip however, L' Hotel was fully booked on the nights that we were visiting, so we had no choice but to look for other accommodations.  During our past vacations, we distinctly remembered passing by a small, colorful building near L' Hotel called Butterfly on Victoria.  A quick check on the internet and we discover that the rates were quite similar to L, so we decided to book Butterfly this time around.

Hubby and I took the first flight out to Hong Kong.  So when we arrived in Butterfly Hotel, it was a bit early for check-in.  Special thanks to the staff who were very accommodating with helping us with our luggage (even the front desk officer, a girl, helped us drag our luggage into the hotel!) and letting us check-in even if we were early.  Plus points!  Now, let's see how the hotel room compares to our tried and tested one.  Scroll down for photos!

First glimpse of the room

A shot of the bed from another angle

Written on top of the headboard.  Good quote!

Working area

Closet

A glimpse of the bathroom

Bathroom

Shower area

So how was it?  We found the room a bit smaller than the ones we're used to, but other than that, the hotel was pretty great.  The rooms are nice and clean, the wifi is fast and free (and in-room!), and the rates are reasonable.  Good location too!  Seems like we discovered another gem of a hotel in Hong Kong.  4 out of 5 stars!

Butterfly on Victoria Boutique Hotel is at 33 King's Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong.

Going on a short break :)

Excuse me as I go for my bi-annual vacation to one of my favorite countries in the world.  Can you guess where?  Here's a clue:

Photo Credit: http://communicity.wdfiles.com/local--files/hong-kong/Hong_Kong_de_noche.jpg

Guessed it yet?  Yup, HONG KONG!  Absolutely L-O-V-E this country and I just can't get enough!  Watch out for upcoming posts next week!  See yah! 

Sydney Eats: Hurricane's Grill

...and I saved the best for last!  It's been quite a long time since my last post, sorry!  Since it's the holiday season, been quite busy with work-related stuff.  BUT, I hope I can make up for it with this post!  Hurricane's Grill:  our last dinner in Sydney, and Brother's amazing discovery.

First off:  a little back story.  during our countless searches for great restaurants in Sydney, Brother came across Hurricane's Grill.  He mentioned that the reviews were pretty good, so a few days before, we've already decided to go there for dinner.  But in those few days, we were nowhere near the area so we had to dine somewhere else.  Finally, on the last day, we had a bit of time in our hands.  We needed to eat someplace close since we'll be heading back to the hotel early to pack up our luggage (boo!) and Harbourside Shopping Center, where Hurricane's Grill is situated, is very near where we're staying.  Yay!

Here's what we had:

Salt & Pepper Calamari

Char-Grilled Chicken Salad

Fillet of Tenderloin with Baked Potato and Mushroom Sauce

Pork Riblets

Oh. My. Goodness.  The pork riblets were the best ribs we've ever tasted in our lives!  Notice the plural form "we've" and "our"?  Yup, all four of us agreed they are simply the best!  Extra tender, fall-off-the-bone pieces with lip smacking barbecue sauce.  I tell you, you'll never go wrong with this one.  The other dishes were pretty good too.  The tenderloin is also soft and juicy.  I particularly loved the mushroom sauce; you'll taste the mushroom in every drop!  Calamari is also soft, but I find it a tad too salty.  Salad was pretty fresh too!  See?  I have no bad things to say about Hurricane's Grill.  Every single thing is Y-U-M-M-Y!  5 out of 5 stars!  And yes, I will definitely be back.

So boys and girls, here's the final entry for this year's Sydney vacation.  I hope you liked it!  Never expected I'd say this, but yes, I've fallen in love with Sydney.  The place, the people, the shopping and the food are all fantastic.  Can't wait to go back and see the rest of Australia!  Maybe next year?  Cross fingers! :)

Hurricane's Grill is at Shop 433-436, Level 2, Harbourside Shopping Centre, Darling Harbour, Sydney Australia

Sydney: Where to go and What to do

Disclaimer:  This guide is most definitely not complete.  But it's what we experienced.  You see, we did not have any itinerary during our trip to Sydney.  We booked a one day tour, and that's it.  All we wanted was to relax, bond, eat and (for me) shop!  So in short, it's a lazy shopaholic's guide to Sydney.  Enjoy!

1. Stroll and Dine along Darling Harbour

In addition to a great view, Darling Harbour boasts of a number of great restaurants.  What could be better than watching the sun set with a bottle of cold beer, or a glass of chilled wine?  Food + Sights = Awesome. 

2. Shopping 

Sydney has a lot of shopping centers.  But the three best would be:
a.  Sydney's Central Business District, where you can find almost anything and everything you need.
b.  Broadway Shopping Centre, which houses two retail giants namely Target and Kmart, or
c.  The outlets.  In our case, we went to Birkenhead Point Outlet Centre.  Lots of great finds!

3.  Tours

We booked a one day tour to the Blue Mountains.  It includes a trip to:
a.  Lincoln's Rock

Brother makes a cameo appearance in my blog.  Say hello! :)

b.  Scenic World (where you can ride the world's steepest railway)

c.  River Cruise (where you can see sights such as the Sydney Opera House)

Was it enjoyable?  Yes and no.  Yes because you get to see a lot of things outside the city, but no because it had to rain on the one day that we decided to go on a tour... and the whole tour is outdoors!  So we had no choice but to skip half of it.  Sigh.

4.  Zoo

Our hotel is right smack in the middle of the Central Business District.  Since the tour did not include a trip to the zoo, we went to the Wild Life Sydney Zoo in Darling Harbour near our hotel.  The zoo itself is quite small, but if you just want to see the "basic" animals in Australia, then Wild Life Sydney Zoo will do.  I couldn't leave Australia without seeing the kangaroos and the koalas, so this zoo was perfect. 

Above is just some of the animals that you'd find in the Wild Life Sydney Zoo.  Cute huh?  Cutest (at least for me) would be the koala.  Who can resist that adorable sleeping face?  Awww...


So that's it!  A short roundup of what we did in Sydney.  Don't worry, the Sydney posts are not over yet, I still have some food posts coming up!  

Sydney Eats: Emperor's Garden Restaurant

Our first dinner in Sydney was in Chinatown (surprise, surprise!).  You see, my Dad is a forever fan of Chinese food.  He likes is so much that he looks for it every single time we go abroad, no matter which country.  Yes, that includes the US, Europe, and other non-Asian countries.  LOL.  So it's no surprise that on our trip to Australia, Chinatown was the first place he looked for.  

A year ago, my parents and my brother went to Sydney.  Without me.  Boohoo!  Kidding!  One meal that they remembered the most was from a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown, so naturally, they went looking for that exact same restaurant this time around.  Emperor's Garden Restaurant.  Note:  please do not be shocked by the number of dishes on this post, we did not eat all this in one meal.  It's a combination of two dinners.  Told ya my Dad loves Chinese, and he loved this restaurant too, that we had to eat it twice!  

So what did we have?  Scroll down and take a look:

Fried Rice with Diced Scallops and Vegetables with Egg White

It's quite amazing that Emperor's Garden's version of this classic rice dish is much, much better than the others.  Why?  See the huge chunks of scallops?  Yes, in addition to the dried scallops, they included fresh ones!  It was so good that me and my brother had to fight for the chunks and leave the rest to my Dad.  What nice kids.  Haha!

Top Shell Slices Steam Boat served with Vegetables

Found this a bit boring.  It was served raw and came with soup which you can dunk your top shell slices to cook it.  Like hot pot.  Meh.

Stir-fried Pork Cheek Meat with Assorted Vegetables

The pork cheek meat gave off a nice bite.  It was pretty tasty too.  First time I got to try pork cheek cooked this way, and I like it!

Stir-fried Veggies with Garlic

Vegetables will be vegetables.  We're not very good friends.  LOL.  I took a few bites of this and that's about it.

Braised Cod Fillet Stir-fried with XO Sauce served in Hot Pot

The fish itself was a bit tough, but it was pretty flavorful since it was cooked stir fried with XO sauce.

Kangaroo Meat with Assorted Vegetables

Ooooh.  Another first for me!  Kangaroo meat!  Don't worry, this is legit.  Kangaroo meat is served in a lot of restaurants in Sydney.  Very tender and tasty.  Actually, it tastes just like beef steak!

Stir-fried Pork Cheek Meat with Broccoli

Another pork cheek meat dish.  We ate this the second time around with different vegetables and it was just as good.

Honey King Prawns

If there's one dish to make me come back to Emperor's Garden Restaurant, then this is it.  I must've eaten 2/3 of this dish!  See how big the prawns are??  They weren't kidding when they said king prawns!  Imagine the extra crispy batter, with extra succulent insides, all drizzled with honey.  It was pure heaven in every bite.

Stir-fried Scallops with Egg White

This too, was pretty good.  Note the scallops:  this time, they're not chunks, it's by pieces!  And yes, huge ones again!  Sadly, we had to return this one because they mixed a bit of flour in the egg whites and we could taste the flour in every bite.

Stir-fried Sliced Abalone with Vegetables

Tastes likes you're eating thinly sliced cuttlefish.  Not impressed.

Stewed Eel with Dried Beancurd Sheets

The eel was pretty yummy but I had a hard time with the bones.  Lazy 'ol me wished it was deboned.  The serving was a bit too much for us, so we had this to go.

Dining in Emperor's Garden Restaurant made me reverse my thinking that good Chinese food simply cannot be found in non-Asian countries.  Some of the dishes we had were even better than the Chinese restaurants here!  They're more unique too!  4 out of 5 stars!

Emperor's Garden Restaurant is at 100 Hay Street, Haymarket NSW 2000, Australia

QT Hotel

Starting off my Sydney posts with where we stayed for one whole week:  QT Hotel.  Before we flew to Australia, my brother and I asked our Dad which hotel he booked for our vacation.  Dad's answer was "QT".  Whaaa...?  Cutie?   Is this a joke?  We both wondered.  "No.  QT.  Letter Q and letter T.  Google it."  was his reply.  So google we did, and boy oh boy, the place looked nothing like your standard traditional hotel.  Reviews online described it as quirky.  Well, quirky is good for me.  I'm too tired from seeing countless cookie-cutter hotel rooms anyway so this one is one refreshing change.  The pictures online were so nice that I actually looked forward to getting to the hotel more than seeing what Sydney has to offer! 

After a few more weeks of waiting, vacation time finally came.  Our flight arrived early in the morning and the first thing we did when we got to Sydney was to check into the hotel.  Let me tell you, nothing prepared me for what we saw.  It was way better than I expected.  A visual feast for the eyes.  Mind-blowingly perfect.  Don't believe me?  Scroll down for your treat:

Part of the hotel lobby

Hotel Lobby and Check-In Counters

What greeted us when the elevator opened to our floor

Our room number

Key card

Our room with two queen beds

Wide shot of the bar/bathroom/working area

Closer shot of the minibar

Not your ordinary minibar.  They had these for sale!  Emergency bowtie, anyone?

Closet

Bottoms Up!

The Throne.  This is an entire section separate from  the bath area.

Wash area

Bath!

And Bath Tub!

Mismatched seats and wall art

Soooo... What do you think?  Did you guys love it as much as I did?  They really paid great attention to detail.  Everything was well thought of, from the staff uniforms down to the elevator.  Just a bit of tidbit:  the elevators in QT Hotel plays a different song every time the door closes.  And when it opens to let a guest off on one of the floors, sometimes it even says "Hasta La Vista, Baby!"  LOL.  I was literally speechless.  

 

So how would I rate QT Hotel?  Is that even a question?  I'm so in love with this hotel!  In fact, I've never loved a hotel more in my life!  Quirky became an understatement.  Everything was perfect in their own mismatched ways - from the rooms, to the lobby, and the service... All I can say is, WOW!  5 out of 5 stars!

QT Hotel is at 49 Market Street, Sydney, NSW, Australia

My blog anniversary contest is ending tomorrow!  Don't miss out!  Hurry and click here for more details!

Back from a Vacation!

...and I'm back!  Most of you don't know this, but I went on a one week trip with the family!  Can you guess where?  Below is a clue:

Quite gloomy huh?  It was raining cats and dogs the day we had our tour.  Boo!  Anyways, if you guessed Australia, then yes, you're right!  Well, Sydney is the more specific answer since we were only able to visit one place in Australia on this trip.  Cross fingers that we'll be able to go back and see more of this fabulous country in the coming years.  Let me take a breather to put my posts together, but do watch out for upcoming Sydney entries.  Can't wait to share our trip with you guys!

On a side note, my blog anniversary contest is coming to an end!  But it's not too late to join, click here for more details!

Best Western Premier F1 Hotel

Hello everyone!  Belated Happy Easter!  How did you spend your holiday?  If you're like me, then you'd probably still have the "holiday hangover".  Don't you wish we had more of these loooong weekends, even just once a quarter?  Maybe if I become the president next time, I'll make a decree out of it!  LOL.  That's why I can never be a president *wink*  Anyhow, speaking of long weekends, Hubby and I had quite a nice holiday.  You see, late last year, we were invited to the Miss Earth Ambassadors' Night at the Best Western Premier F1 Hotel.  At the registration, they asked us to drop our calling cards because there will be a raffle afterwards.  I dropped mine, and the next thing I know, my name was being called as the winner of an overnight stay!  Lucky me!  I've kept the gift certificate and forgot all about it until one day, I suddenly remembered as we were passing by the hotel.  Panicked for a bit because I thought we missed the validity period, but good thing we still had about a month to go before it goes to waste.  Holy week was coming up, what perfect timing, right?  Fine print though, it says we can't use it during the holidays, so we checked in a day early, hence, early vacation for us!  

Checking in was a breeze.  It took less than 5 minutes and the staff were very courteous.  Let me show you how our room looked like:

Spacious corridor

The bed

The couch and minibar

Closet and TV

The bathroom

Our view

Pretty nice.  But there were some things that I didn't like either, like this (see picture below):

To sum it all up, here are my pros and cons about the hotel:

PROS

a.  Good location.  The hotel was near everything!  You can do your groceries in S&R, shop and eat in Bonifacio High Street, then have coffee in Starbucks.  Everything is walking distance.

b.  Nice staff.  Everyone was welcoming and accommodating.  Makes you feel right at home.

c.  Delicious breakfast at the F Restaurant.  The gift certificate we had came with free breakfast buffet for two.  Will blog about our experience on the next post.

CONS

a.  The bathroom tiles (pictured above).  It really is a sight for sore eyes.  Hope that the management can change that.

b.  The faulty bathroom exhaust.  When we arrived, everything smelled fine.  But after a few minutes, I smelled a not so pleasant smell coming from the bathroom (ok it smelled like someone pooped) but nobody went in to do their business.  So we figured it must have come from the exhaust.

c.  The lack of bathroom amenities.  Only shampoo, conditioner and soap were provided.  We were given bedroom slippers too but just one pair.

Overall, I think I'd want to stay at the F1 Hotel again.  Next time though, I'll check the bathroom first just to be sure.

The Best Western Premier F1 Hotel  is at 32nd St., Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.