Dennis' Blog

Howdy all,

It has been a while since my last blog.  I am extremely busy now thanks to AIESEC.  I am organising an international conference in Jan next year and now because of that I no longer have a life

On a better note, here is our student’s production for RCTV, which is our hall video production group.  Had a lot of fun making it with the other exchange students.

Lobby Production

Anywhoo, gonna go study for an exam I have on Monday, as I have to go to Poly U tomorrow to interview exchange applicants.  Until next time!

Going to SZ for a conference this weekend. Uber Busy. Updates inc. I have post cards to send you all, as soon as I figure out how and where.

Peace out.

Just arrived back from an epic 10 days.  Went with 2 of my bros to rock Japan and Taiwan, using MW tactics to survive.  Whole 10 day trip costs about 2000AUD (+ shopping costs), 1000 on transport alone.  So now, while I wait for people to finish their laundry so I can do mine before school tomorrow, I will write this post.

I hereby present, Japan and Taiwan 9/10 – 18/10, in slideshow form.  Because I’m too lazy to type.

Day 1

Packed and ready to go!

1:15 hour flight to Taipei to transfer

Checked out the Hello Kitty waiting room

Arrived at Narita international airport!  My 2 bros.

Picked up our Japan Rail pass.  Costs 2500HKD (which is the price of our plane ticket).  7 days unlimited travel on JR trains.

Caught uber crowded trains

Arrived at our hostel.  Very small room with 2 bunk beds.  Cramped but cosy and clean.  At 2000Yen/night, can’t get much better than this in Tokyo.

At dinner at a nice traditional Japanese place.

Yum.  Sleep after food to prepare for big day.

Day 2

Wake up 4:30AM!  Head to Tsukiji Fish Markets to catch the morning giant tuna auction!

GIANT TUNA!  Some auction for as much as 1 million yen each.  They are caught and immediately de-gilled and flash frozen then airjetted back to Japan to be auctioned the same day.  I’ll catch one of these.  One day.

Cutting up GIANT TUNA for the auction winners.

Checking out the fish markets.  It’s massive

Straight to the sushi restaurants next door to eat the best and freshest sushi/sashimi in the world.

Heading off to Tokyo station to catch a Shinkansen (bullet train) to Nikko

Inside the Shinkansen

Arrived in Nikko!

Just a few of the sites of Nikko, a large historical town with alot of traditional temples and such.

Nikko Shinkyu.  Famous bridge

Dessert Roulette.  Cmon Strawberry Cake… Cmon Strawberry Cake

YATTA! Strawberry Cake!

Traditional Japanese Style Lunch

Fortune machine, 100 Yen

My fortune, SUPER LUCKY.  Can’t read the rest lol.

Finishing Nikko with a trip to Onsen (hot springs).  Then Shinkansen back to Tokyo.

Shinjuku @ Night

100 Yen Shop!

Large selection of goods, all for 100 Yen (a bit more than $1AUD).

Off to the supermarket.  Japanese beer.

ZERO alcohol beer.

Day 3

Up nice and early for the train.  Heading to Harajuku.  Hey look, Robin is on the subway.

Meiji Shrine Entrance, Harajuku.

Really cool Japanese tradition to cleanse yourself before entering

The actual Meiji Shrine

Lucky for us, a wedding at the shrine.  Traditional Japanese bride

The groom

Got a haircut in Harajuku, then went to eat ramen here.  Best ramen in the world (expensive too).

ZOMG! 1000Yen.

Takeshita St, Harajuku.  Freaking packed.  Nice shops on the side for clothes and random goodies.

Better view of the street.  Actually, I can’t see the street, just people.

After Harajuku its off to Akihabara, the electronic capital of the world.

Amongst electronics, other things.  Such as figurings and nerdy stuff.

Doraemon!

Final Fantasy!Pedobear!

Not to mention cosplay and maids on the street advertising for maid cafes.  Wanted to go check it out but too expensive =(

More Cosplays

Off to Shibuya at night!
The famous Shibuya crosswalk.  Hundreds of people cross everytime the lights change.

OK THIS IS GETTING TOO LONG.  TO BE CONTINUED.

TAIWAN 16/10!!

YAY!

Today I walked into my IB class 5 minutes late … and there was a midsession exam which I did not know about. I haven’t even touched my textbook. FML.

It’s like a bad dream, except I had pants on.

*Patriotic music plays*

Tomorrow will be the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. As a result, we get a nice day off class, eat 3am Dim Sum and proudly salute the raising of the communist red at dawn.

It is sad, that such a significant day has to be plagued with the tragedy that is Hong Kong weather.

Here is an example of HK weather I have personally experienced.

I would wake up to the nicest day in world. Not a cloud in the sky.  Perfect summer temperature.  Tolerable humidity.  Head to campus.  Go to class.  Learn.  Hit on girls etc. And then return to my dorms a few hours later in a typhoon with torrential rain and wind speeds of up to 100km/h.

Without an umbrella FML.

Although an umbrella is essentially useless in a typhoon because the wind blows in like 5 directions so you’ll get soaked regardless.

This is not going to end well.

Anyways, the forecast for tomorrow is rain, rain and rain, so I’m assuming all the great festivities such as parades and fireworks will be cancelled.  Nevertheless, I and 1.3 billion others will raise a glass to this great country and thank her for her monumental contribution to society in the last 60 years.

China for life.

I would like to first start off by apologizing for lack of updates, as the last few weeks (and I suppose the coming few weeks) have been plagued (or blessed) with floor activities, uni assignments and readings (and my awesome 5 day uni timetable), groups and club meetings, interviews and internship applications that leaves me with absolutely no time to update this (serious fact: I have not gone to LKF for 2 weeks).  While I would love to blog about the funny and embarrassing floor activities that we did during our orientation month, I do not have the photos and videos (yes they are out there somewhere), of said activity so that will have to be postponed until I can get my hands on them.  Heres a sneak peak

(Alcohol not involved)

Instead, I would like to talk a bit about the recent milestones of my journey in Hong Kong.  Last Saturday was my 1 month anniversary in Hong Kong, and today is the 1 month anniversary of moving into the halls.  Over the last month through various floor orientation activities, I have gotten to know a few of my floormates well and we’ve become pretty good friends.  I have to say that I am truly lucky to be here, on this floor of this particular hall because they are an awesome bunch of people if you compare them to other locals.  Generally in halls there is some tension between non-locals and locals, and they often end up ignoring each other and keep to themselves; the locals don’t invite non-locals to their activities and the non-locals would rather not participate.  However my floor is well known for their harmony and treatment of non-local students.  On the first day I arrived the floor chairperson actually dragged me to his room and showed me all these photos and videos of the awesome activities they do etc.  Everyone has open door policies and people will come into your room just to have a friendly chat or invite you out to outings. Definitely 10 UoAs to them.

So today, I would like to briefly introduce some of them to you guys.  I know that for you guys, reading a post about a bunch of dudes is going to be less than enjoyable but I suppose this will be a treat for the ladies.  Enjoy

Cleo’s Hong Kong Bachelor of the Year 2009 – Edition 1

Name: Chinpang Ip (Pang)
Nickname: Bao Pang (爆鵬 – means exploding-some sort of bird), Chinpang Zee, Chinpang Pimp
Position: Floor Chairperson
Category: The Childish Leader
Studies: 3rd Year Bachelor of Science (Actuarial Science) <– yeah it’s part of the science faculty here >.>
Fobsquad Equivalent: Mak, but not as douche :p

This is the big boss of our floor.  The Chairperson.  The CEO.  The danchou.  Hmm, you know after thinking about it, the above picture doesn’t really suit him.  I suppose this is more suitable.

Look at the fans outside!  What a stud!

Or maybe this:

So this is the person with the burden of being responsible for all floor issues, organizing floor activities, resolving disputes and representing floor views to the greater community.  A real go-getter! A true leader!  You would think.  In reality, he is a small, not very intimidating, childish, girly sort of guy.  But he makes up for it with excessive amounts of energy, friendliness and enthusiasm.  And with that, he gets the job done.  He’s great friends with everyone on the floor and everyone loves him, he is also in good relations with most of the hall and often has lady visitors.  Having said that, he is still what people call here an A0 (A = available, 0 = # of past relationships), and as a result is often the center of the floors jokes.  In fact, a Facebook group was created called the ”爆鵬 (Bao Pang) FANS CLUB” where people unite under our “We love Bao Pang Cheer” (made by the current non-locals and some local freshmen, yes that includes me) and post hilarious photos of him.

“WE LOVE BAO PANG CHEER!!:

WE ARE GUYS FROM 7TH FLOOR
CHI PANG ZEE IS OUR BOSS
BUT HE IS GAY
BAO PANG,, NO PENIS
BAO PANG,,MO LUN YUNG

DIU~”

Childish, sure but hilarious nonetheless.

Oh right, forgot to mention he’s a professional soccer player too.

—————

Name: ???? (????)
Nickname: Gwailo (鬼佬)
Category: The Fatherly Figure
Studies: 4th Year Bachelor of Nursing
Fobsquad Equivalent: Kenny, if he was skinny and pro at sports

Captain of basketball.  OK so no one calls him by his real name so I don’t know it, and when I say no one I really mean no one.  Wouldn’t be surprised if he got an official name change. The name tag on his room says Gwailo, everyone he knows, even his lecturers and tutors, call him Gwailo.  He says its because he looks like a foreigner but that is really debatable.  Anyways, Gwailo is the fatherly figure of the floor.  Being a 4th year nursing student, he is responsible and knows how to take care of people.  He is the one that stays behind with the struggling freshmen during our hikes at camp.  He is very friendly, approachable, and he is the captain of the basketball team.  He probably is one of the best local English speaker on the floor and I’ve chatted with him alot because he is in the room right opposite mine.  He likes to play the guitar and sing (although not always in tune ).  Here are some shots of him, with a drama-esque substance.

Deep concentration

Suited up

Did I mention he is captain of basketball?

—————

Name: Wong Chi Hang (Jackson)
Nickname: Chicken, Gai Han, Gay Hang
Category: The Stoner
Studies: 3rd Year Bachelor of Business Administration (Accounting & Finance)
Fobsquad Equivalent: Engleman

Lets take a look at some photos first shall we?

Chicken holding butcher knife.  That’s not going to end well.

Blank face, minimal/random expression, speech impairment.  These are the telltale signs of a stoner.  Not that anyone here does weed (or smokes cigarettes for that matter) but Chicken still gives me a creeping reminder everytime I see his face.  Chicken is actually a responsible guy, who gets involved in alot of hall activities.  He may not seem approachable at first but once you get to know him he is very friendly and helpful.  He isn’t very assertive and seldomly speaks unless spoken to (at least to us English speaking folks).  Someone did tell me that his nickname ‘Gai Han’ means ‘itchy penis’ but I was not able to confirm that, maybe some of you canto speakers would like to clarify?  Anyways, Chicken is the only local senior here doing the typical Asian major (Accounting Finance) but he isn’t in any of my classes.  Oh yea, he likes to eat instant noodles.  Like at least 1 a day, usually at 2-3am in the morning.

—————

Name: Lam Hei Yeung (Harold)
Nickname: Harold
Category: The Nice Guy that Needs a Girlfriend
Studies: 4th Year Bachelor of Nursing
Fobsquad Equivalent: Err… no one’s a ‘nice guy’ in Fobsquad, sorry guys

Harold is a nice guy.

Fin.

—————

Just kidding.  Not about the nice guy part.  He is really the nice guy, and I think everyone on the floor wants to see him with someone.  The ‘Harold cheer’ goes around lots during activities for him to get him to do something crazy.  He is learning the guitar and from what I’ve heard he is a good singer (see picture).  He also is good at drama and is involved with drama productions during the festivals (see picture).  Harold, like Gwailo, is a 4th Year Nursing student and is good at teaching and taking care of the younger students.  He wants to go to Australia to work when he graduates because, well,  its awesome there.  Harold is one of the few people on this floor that likes to drink spirits instead of beer, and enjoys the occasional mixed vodka drink.  I approve.

What a popstar!  Hong Kong Idol 2009

—————

Name: Lee Chun Yin (Jeffrey)
Nickname: Jeffrey
Category: The All-Rounder
Studies: 3rd Year Bachelor of Medicine
Fobsquad Equivalent: HL without… you know… all the bad HL stuff

Jeffrey is a good all rounder.  He studies medicine (so hes gotta be smart) and is captain of softball.  He doesn’t seem to be around much (might be cuz hes doing med) but when he is he likes to shout random stuff in the hallways which I sadly do not understand.  Despite that, he is extremely shy around girls so he’s still A0, but people root for him nonetheless.  He studies hard, and practices alot for softball in the hallways and common area, so he is SERIOUS and he also has a seedy smile.  He is a good leader and helps out with activities whenever he has the time.  I’ve been told that he is also an excellent singer, so I’ll have to keep on eye on that when I go K (haven’t gone yet =().  Here are some pics:

Batter up!  Captain Incoming

———————————

I think this post has gone on for way too long.  There are 32 people on my floor and here are the profiles for only 5 of them.  There’s quite many freshmen and 2nd years I haven’t got to know very well because they live on the other side of the floor (”the HL side”) so there will probably be a part 2 of this sometime in the future and possibly a female version too for you guys.

And with that, I welcome you to the end of Cleo’s Hong Kong Bachelor of the Year 2009 Edition 1.  Feel free to comment, discuss, rate, whatever.  I’m tired and I have applications to do.  Hope you enjoyed this.  Until next time

And he’s living on my floor.

Some minor satisfaction for you guys, stop complaining about lack of updates I’m so #(*@#ing busy atm =(

Going on camp this weekend.

Update:

Sexy.

Greetings and salutations once again.  I would like to apologise for the lack of action for the last week has been busy with school work, administration, hall activities and hangovers.  In compensation, I bring you today not only a brief overview of the week, but also an exploration into the uncharted territories of culinary creativity through the second episode of ‘Eating with Dennis’.

First off, the week’s hecticness is mainly caused by this.

Epic fail of a timetable I must say, but as a result of incompetent lecturers and/or unsuitable course material, I was forced to drop or move several subjects and pick up different ones.  As you can see, it’s a 5 day timetable, two 9:30AM starts, two 10:40AM starts and 2-3 hour breaks in between classes. My average sleeping time is 3am.  Life has never been easier.

In class, most likely as a tribute to the Asian stereotype, all finance subjects has had an injection of a healthy dose of complex maths and Chinglish speaking lecturers, putting alot of pressure on the students to read textbooks, ’self-learn’ and shoot themselves come exam periods.  Additionally, despite the cultural history, financial stability and undisputed bragging rights of HKU, they seem to be heavily resource challenged with only 1 tutor available for each subject and only 1 lecture stream, as a result it is not uncommon to see people with 5-6 days of uni (yes, Saturdays too) with all 9:30 starts (I have it easy with my timetable).  So no Lucia, exchange is not at all cruise-y[sic].  Don’t come to Hong Kong to study.

Shameless plug. If anyone does/did International Business, notes will be appreciated

Overview of Week:

Monday class, Tuesday class, Wednesday class, Thursday class, Friday class.

Moving on to happier things.  On Thursday night I visited a very unique restaurant not available to those unlucky enough to be stuck in the land down under.  This restaurant is not unique for the food itself, rather for how it is served.  And so, without further ado I present to you

Eating with Dennis – Episode 2

Modern Toilet (AKA The Toilet Restaurant)

Yeah, that’s what I thought too.

Situated in two convenient locations in the heart of two giant shopping hubs of Mong Kok and Causeway Bay, this restaurant has gone all out in providing the best culinary experience possible out of bathroom fixtures.  Though that really isn’t saying much.  Using toilets to serve food is not an idea any sane person would consider, let alone implement and expand into a franchise in multiple countries, yet because of the curiosity, novelty and … uniqueness … (I do dare call this a gimmick), restaurants like this one will rake in millions of dollars a year.  Pure genius.  Having said all that, my visit to the Mong Kok restaurant was definitely an interesting experience; to see my food served to me in places it would normally exit to is daunting, but it was not very unappetizing as one would expect.  I did finish the entire meal without problems and this only further proves the animalistic nature of people, hobos and Africans:  Humans can eat out of anything.

Awesomeness of Presentation

Well. I will say now that words cannot sufficiently describe the ambience, setting and furnishings of this restaurant, thus I will present this in slideshow form.  Enjoy.

Shared toilet.  Something you don’t see everyday.

Please take a seat while we get you the menus

Is this meant to be a table?  I have a sinking feeling about this…

Wallpaper’s for sissies.  Real men use urinals.

Would be pretty neat if you could get napkins from there.  I suppose y0u can’t do that in HK cause of the Asians.

Novelty seat covers/wallpaper/wall lights…????

Even the light is shaped like poo

Change cubicles?

Ofcourse, the food’s presentation will also be judged and since I don’t want to offload ALL the pictures into 1 section it’ll be a hybrid between taste and presentation, and with that in mind I can say that this place effectively OOZES liquid awesomeness, and therefore it will get

Thats right, 10 UoAs – Awesomely Awesome

Awesomeness of Taste

Overall, I would say the food is not bad.  I had potato jackets with bacon for entree, spare rib salad and rice for the main, chocolate icecream for dessert and a green tea aloe drink.  The potatoes were slightly overdone, spare ribs were fantastic and so was the dessert and drink.  Ofcourse, I would say I was not in a state of mind to judge the food because I was distracted by the pure awesomeness of the way they were served.  Once again, words really cannot describe it so I’ll let the pictures talk.

Entree – Potato jackets with bacon served in a basin

Main – Spare ribs salad with rice served in a toilet


I TOTALLY FORGOT THE SOUP AND SIDES


Another main – Spaghetti served in a bath tub

Holy shit! Pun intended.

Dessert – Chocolate Icecream served in Asian style “squat” toilet

Urinal Drink – Seems to be overflowing

“Finished product”  Better flush.

I am probably going to make a bad judgement on taste but I’ll go with it.  As you can see from the pictures, it does actaully look quite delicious and you probably won’t be put off eating.  I mean hey, you’re still eating out of a piece of porcelain right?

Verdict:7 – Awesome

Awesomeness of MW

Well the meal costs about 120HKD which is around 18AUD, which would make it seem extremely cheap for such a meal.  Ofcourse, we have to have a comparable benchmark, though in this case because of the uniqueness, will be hard to find.  Based on the food alone, such a meal at say Cafe de Coral (which is one of the biggest Chinese fast food chains) will cost around 60HKD making it not very appealing MW-wise.  Ofcourse the ‘novelty’ factor will contribute to the costs as I suspect this would be more of a once-off visit type of restaurants (I will be back though, to try the toilet hotpot).  Quantity wise, I can say that I was definitely full after the meal so it was definitely enough, but this is really not much of a problem in Hong Kong due to the generous helpings of rice.

Verdict:5 – A Little Awesome

Overall Awesomeness

This is truly something that needs to be personally experienced.  I am not ashamed to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the meal and the novelty factor has ironically made the meal more enjoyable.  Whilst it is not cheap by Hong Kong standards, it is awesome (and this too is by Hong Kong standards – which is pretty high considering the amount of awesomeness here) and I will be back next time to try the stuff I didn’t get a chance to try.

OVERALL VERDICT:8 – Very Awesome

And so that concludes another episode of ‘Eating with Dennis’, however since I did neglect to blog for about a week, I will throw in a little bonus.

Eating with Dennis – SPECIAL Episode 00

Morning Tea

This is a special bonus edition of ‘Eating with Dennis’, and thus will not follow the normal format.

Morning tea here is a very common activity.  Because people here usually sleep at around 3-4am, it is not uncommon for them to hit up a dim sum place in the early hours of the morning after various shenanigans before they go to bed.  Here I will introduce you to my favourite Morning Tea place in Hong Kong.

Looks dodgy right?  It is a small family owned dim sum/yum cha place.  It’s opening hours are 3am – 4pm, located in Sai Wan which is only a short bus ride/cheap taxi ride/downhill walk (for those bastards at Starr Hall) away, and caters to the hungry students, bus drivers on the 5am starts and old people who sleep during the day.  I’ve been here no less than 4 times in the last 2 weeks (after LKF usually) and it is the most glorious food you’ll ever eat.

Think the food you get at yum cha, now imagine the food freshly prepared from fresh ingredients and right out of the steamer.  There is nothing better to cure a dizzying headache from overdrinking than a hot cha siu bao and it is evident from the business it gets that I’m not the only one that agrees.

The place at 3:10AM

If you look at the first picture, those are the people waiting outside at 3:30AM

Unfortunately, I don’t have shots of the food they serve but those photos won’t convince you, you’ll have to taste it.  And once you do, you’ll never be the same when you go with your parents to your weekly yumchas.  Seriously.

I don’t know why this format still exists.  It’s absolute garabage and needs to be wiped from this world, just look at these flaws.

“The TIFF file format is unusual in comparison to other image formats, in that it is composed of small descriptor blocks containing offsets into the file which point to the actual pixel image data (composed of bands of pixel rows). This means that incorrect offset values can cause programs to attempt to read erroneous portions of the file or attempt to read past the physical end of file. Like most other image file formats, improperly encoded packet or line lengths within the file can cause poorly written rendering programs to overflow their internal buffers.”

Wikipedia

Also, I can’t open them with MS Paint.  Death to TIFF!

Pre-emptive strike.