the opening

i just realise that i didn't leave a blog entry about the new season of english premier league since it started 2 weeks ago... of course, one of the obvious reasons is i have been disheartened by my team losing 3 of the first 4 games, plus the manager replacement saga, rumor departure of our best striker, yaddi yaddi yadda. definitely not a good way to start this season with such high hope originally. it's so not fun crawling out of bed in the middle of the night to see them lost to everton at home one early wednesday morning.

what's more, our strikers (starter or reserves) still haven't opened the scoring account this season - that included the likes of keane, berbatov, darren bent and defoe. with such talent in the line-up, it's unbelievable. sigh. let's hope they will wake up soon with a bang - as there are a number of tough games ahead (including one against arsenal in mid-september, and the start of uefa cup campaign)

the only thing that's comforting to know is last year we had a woeful start too (winning only 1 of the first 6) but ended up in the 5th place. of course that's not what we want to see repeating, but it did give us a reason to stay hopeful. and i am sure at the end of the day, the spurs will still go marching on.

tasting menu of life

remember one of those occasions that you keep hearing good comments from your friends about a certain restaurant or some other interesting places that they visited? won’t that give you the urge to try it out yourselves too?

how about the true meaning of life? how about christianity? i am sure there are many people around who have been raving about it, talking about the experience in encountering god personally, about how god cares and listens and answers prayers, about how the discovery of jesus’ love and the ultimate sacrifice for us has touched their hearts and changed their lives…

well, you can think of alpha course as the tasting menu of christianity. you are always provided with the best; it’s enjoyable and never stuffy; you get a little bit of different things over a 10-course journey; every course is a surprise and they have everything to do with the essence of christian belief, the gospel message and what it has to do with every one of us.

well our church is going to host a new series of alpha in september – it’s a 10-week course, covering topics such as what christianity is about, who jesus is and why he died, etc etc. i can testify it's a great value for time when i joined some 5 years ago, changed me from doubting to knowing and growing with the desire to know more.

the first session is going to start on september 18, and more information can be found here or downloaded from here.

just as you can't fairly comment the quality of a restaurant before you even went there once, i challenge everyone to give alpha a try, and you won’t regret the experience no matter what you can get out of it.

"a pain in the neck"

ah... can't get any worse than having a pain in the neck and cold, at the same time. not only i keep sneezing (because of the cold), i am having a hard time turning my head to fetch a kleenex when i do that (because of the neck pain)... at least it's already better than yesterday when i felt the pain even when chewing.

this morning i am going to see a chinese bonesetter (to get my neck fixed) and than a gp (to get my cold fixed), AND GO BACK TO OFFICE IN THE AFTERNOON! sigh.

if you have time, please spare me with a prayer for healing... thanks.

zagat survey

outside of the michelin guides, zagat survey is perhaps the most dependable source of restaurant reviews and ratings. unlike michelin where ratings are determined by a panel of "inspectors", zagat survey's based on feedback from diners (ie you and me!). the ratings were published on a 30-point scale on each of the 3 categories, covering food, decor and services - getting a 28 or above on food is almost as difficult as getting a 3-star from michelin.

well they are going to include hongkong restaurants for the first time, as part of their 2008 china restaurant & hotel guide (just in time for the olympics). and now it's the time to vote! go rate your best restaurant in town at www.zagat.com/survey (registration required) if you vote, i think they will send you a guide for free when it's published - that's how i got my boston one a few years back. you have until mid-september to do so.

though it's quite a surprise that they omitted one of the very fine restaurants on their voting sheet...

thanks, k!

i always know i am quite easy to please... see, just this pic is good enough to keep me happy for the entire evening... =)

okay, the story is, my friend k passed me a vip ticket for a movie premiere, and it so happened that gigi was in the movie and attended the premiere. hence the picture i took.

k, thanks for the ticket! the movie sucks... gigi's still the best though.

burning the midnight oil

three in the morning. sitting in the office. sipping instant coffee in my cubicle. fighting off sleepiness and keeping the fingers crossed.

my uneventful weekend ended with a trip back to office on sunday night/monday morning to make sure some i.t. maintenance work goes smoothly. hopefully by dawn i can go home and get some sleep after verifying everything's fine.

but on my way to work, i heard this song on the radio:

"the splendor of a king, clothed in majesty,
let all the earth rejoice,
all the earth rejoice...
he wraps himself in light, and darkness tries to hide,
and trembles at his voice,
trembles at his voice...
how great is our god, sing with me
how great is our god, and all will see
how great, how great is our god..."

then i suddenly reliase how little did i acknowledge his greatness in everything that i came across. when i look at wonderful things, and when life's been treating me favorably, it's easy to give thanks to god for them. but how about just driving safely on the road, or the fact that i can spend the weekend quietly and enjoy the time with friends? did i just take those for granted?

the midnight stay in office turns out to be a perfect time for reflection, to think of those small things that i am blessed with and should be thankful for. maybe i should keep on singing and praising how great is our god...

first it may not be, second it will not be...

michelle's it is. (paraphrasing a famous, old motto)

if there's such a thing as the most consistent restaurant in hong kong, i would say it has to be m at the fringe in central. in this city where new restaurants come and go before you even notice their existance, and counting on food quality in some places can be like playing russian roulette, michelle's little dining oasis atop the hustle and bustle lan kwai fong stood out against the rest since its opening in 1989.

my love affair with this place started in the summer break after my sophomore year, and since then it's become a place with a lot of fond and interesting memories for me personally. whenever i return, i always feel like i am home. our last visit came this past wednesday, when we celebrated mrs m's birthday (aka daibun). nonetheless, it feels like we were simply finding an excuse to have a good night out rather than to celebrate a special occasion. this evening, i ordered oxtail and ox-tongue terrine, cutely named "head to tail", to start and braised mustard rabbit as my main course. of course, as it's always been, the food never dissappoints. despite the variety of dishes that we collectively ordered, the verdict was unanimous.

and it's almost a crime for anyone to skip dessert here... mr and mrs m tried the grand dessert platter which has a "tiny" bit of everything - more than enough for two - and i ordered the "it takes two to mango" - a hot mango souffle and a cold mango sorbet. what a way to wrap up the evening.

when it comes to naming the best restaurant in town, surely and certainly m will be among those i have in mind. already look forward to next time we visit by the time we walked down the stairs and hailed the taxi home.

details:
when? august 1 2007
where? m at the fringe, 2 lower albert road
occasion? mrs m's birthday
menu highlights? everything!
drinks? chateau laydet-figeac 2000