Message: Happy 2013 To You All!!!

Image from NationNews

Dear friends and viewers,

I hereby wish you all the very best of health and wishes this year and many more years to come! May you and I together with Locky's English Playground grow high and wide in knowledge and wisdom!

Cheers,
Locky

Message: My Christmas Holidays 2012

My days have never been busier! Even my beloved English Playground has almost become stagnant. In the past Christmases, I could still find time to post an entry or two, this year's is almost impossible. Updating the title logo was the best I could do, and it wasn't one of my best design, by the way.

Clearing and cleaning have been my top priority, and when one does dig up the hidden, one rediscovers his past and his lost memories.

Take for example, Gameboy and Game Gear, two of the most popular game consoles in the 80s, were placed not so deep inside the covered shelf next to my bed, but it was only recently that I realised that there were AA batteries inside the Gameboy and immediately I knew, the Gameboy, once belonged to my deceased little brother's, should be a goner. The screen turned yellow partially and blue crystals formed at the tips of the batteries. My bet is that the acid leaked out and damaged the screen. 

The Game Gears (I have two), one was dead almost after a year but I kept it. The second one no longer works with the adaptor, it might still work with 6 AA batteries, or at least I am hoping that it might.

I miss those times with my little brother.

Gameboy and Game Gear
Image from Locky's English Playground

I have never done much Christmas shopping, same for this year, but Christmas window-shopping I did a lot and I happened to find a really cool underground street at the Mira, Tsim Sha Tsui, where the flagship Collect Point is.

Red Bricks with pattern
Image from Locky's English Playground

The design of the shops is pretty amazing, using red bricks to create that raw look and feel. Notice the pattern of the bricks on the floor, it's not just boring rectangles.

Tired shoppers
Image from Locky's English Playground

Shoppers instantly took a liking to the seats. I myself liked the view more.

Lamp post, signs or flags?
Image from Locky's English Playground

Tired and hungry shoppers can find a restaurant offering a range of western food and wine if they want to stay indoor for a quick bite before they dash off to their clothes hunt once again.

Different musicians performing every day
Image from Locky's English Playground

Happened to walked pass Jordan and discovered a pretty long human queue not waiting for iPhone 6 but Hong Kong-style all-day breakfast at the Australia Dairy Company. 

Long queue waiting for seats @ Australia Dairy Company
Image from Locky's English Playground

I have more than thrice remembered that I have never EVER tried a dust of breadcrumb from this place having worked so closed to this shop for more than 2 years in Jordan, and I never knew where this eatery is until then. How's that even possible?

Still, I did not go in to try. The end of the queue was just too far from my sight and my reach. Guess I will have to leave it to my fate to decide when is the best time.

Magic Show @ Cityplaza
Image from Locky's English Playground

The ever-so-popular Cityplaza in Tai Koo never lacks free shows for shoppers to watch. Performance wise, pretty good, but what always impresses me is the top-notch quality of the stages built.

A performer taking photos with shoppers
Image from Locky's English Playground

As for performers, they are always shoppers' "hottest" target for a photo or two, literally.

Bacon in burger @ SimplyLife
Image from Locky's English Playground

My Christmas dinner was too shabby to even be mentioned, so my Boxing Day dinner had to be a handsome compensation to my stomach. A nice American burger meal from Simplylife did me good, despite the lack of football trainings recently.


Vocabulary:
stagnant -- (adj) not growing or developing
deceased -- (adj) formal dead
goner -- (n)[C usually singular] informal a person or thing that has no chance of continuing to live
eatery -- (n)[C] informal a restaurant
top-notch -- (adj) informal excellent
literally -- (adv) having the real or original meaning of a word or phrase
too shabby -- (slang) from not so / not too shabby -- looking old and in bad condition because of being used for a long time or not being cared for


Resources:
Australia Dairy Company @ Openrice
http://www.openrice.com/english/restaurant/sr2.htm?shopid=90

Simplylife @ Openrice
http://www.openrice.com/english/restaurant/sr2.htm?shopid=19155&tc=bc

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/stagnant_2
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/deceased_1?q=deceased+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/goner?q=goner
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/eatery?q=eatery+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/top-notch?q=top+notch
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/literally?q=literally
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/not-so-shabby-not-too-shabby#not-so-shabby-not-too-shabby__1

Message: Merry Christmas To Everyone!!!

Hysan Place
Image from Locky's English Playground

Merry Christmas to all readers!

Wish you all an excellent year ahead and great health to you and your family!

I'm busying with all sorts of things recently so I beg your forgiveness if I can only keep up with 2 entries a week right now.

It is hopeful that my usual schedule will return to normal after 10th January.

Have a really BIG BLAST!!!!!

Food: The Search For Great Hong Kong-style French Toast -- Part 1

Image from Locky's English Playground

Congratulations! This is not the end of the world! Shouldn't be a surprise as I have in two articles, namely News & Vocabulary: Mayan says December 2012 NOT the End of the World and Living: Master So VS Mayans' Doomsday Prediction , mentioned that this is all just a make-believe.

Well, since it is not the end of the world, what's better to celebrate this day then to eat something real nice?

Few days ago, I was reading my own post Food: Festive (or Anytime) Local Food In Hong Kong when that golden Hong Kong-style French Toast image triggered my desire and determination to re-experience the long-lost taste.

And on Openrice, I found two Cha Chaan Tengs near Mongkok, ranked highest is Kam Wah Cafe, and second is Man Wah Restaurant, both were very close to where I was at that moment, and my choice was to go for the less reputable one, such that I can keep tasting better toasts the next time.

Man Wah Restaurant is a very special restaurant, they serve all-day Hong Kong breakfast, that is macaroni, toast with ham and eggs and milk tea, as well as Chinese dim sum. People actually go there to buy takeaway dim sum at night! As for me, dim sum wasn't my thing that night. My target was the Hong Kong-style French toast that is served with golden syrup and I was disappointed to know that Man Wah only offers the one with condensed milk,

Image from Locky's English Playground

but when I put the first pre-cut cube of toast inside my mouth, I was struck dumb, because I knew I was very wrong about my prejudice! It was crispy outside and unbelievably mellow in the middle! The butter and the condensed milk actually worked so nicely with the 1.5" thick toast. I couldn't stop after the first piece. One after another, I devoured the seemingly huge, mouth-size, golden cubes.

Image from Locky's English Playground

I have even forgotten that I have also ordered one all-day-breakfast set, but at that very satisfying moment, the clock seemed to have stopped, my stomach seemed to have become hollow, and down went the entire toast in about 5 minutes. I shouldn't have added sugar into my milk tea before the French toast, because it proved too sweet afterwards, but I will remember this next time round. What followed after, meaning the egg, the ham, the macaroni were all great, but all that was visible to my naked eyes by then was that once on-my-plate golden delicacy.

Now I am in a dilemma over trying the toast from Kam Wah Cafe next time or returning to Man Wah for an encore.

Can you help?

Scores:

Look:            ★★★★★ 5/5

Taste:            ★★★★★ 5/5

Smell:            ★★★★★ 5/5

Textures:       ★★★★★ 5/5

Temperature: ★★★★★ 5/5

Overall:         ★★★★★ 25/25

Vocabulary:
Cha Chaan Teng -- (n)[C] (lit.: tea food hall) meaning tea restaurant, is commonly found in Greater China, including particularly Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and parts of Guangdong.
prejudice -- (n)[C or U] an unfair and unreasonable opinion or feeling, especially when formed without enough thought or knowledge
mellow -- (adj) smooth, soft or developed; not too sharp, bright, new or rough
delicacy -- (n) [C] something especially rare or expensive that is good to eat
dilemma -- (n)[C] a situation in which a difficult choice has to be made between two different things you could do
encore -- (n) [C] an extra song or piece of music that is performed at the end of a show because the audience shout for it


Resources:

News & Vocabulary: Mayan says December 2012 NOT the End of the World @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.hk/2012/05/news-vocabulary-mayan-says-december.html

Living: Master So VS Mayans' Doomsday Prediction @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.hk/2012/04/living-master-so-vs-mayans-doomsday.html

Food: Festive (or Anytime) Local Food In Hong Kong @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.hk/2012/12/food-festive-or-anytime-local-food-in.html\

Cha Chaan Teng @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cha_chaan_teng

Kam Wah Cafe @ Openrice
http://www.openrice.com/english/restaurant/sr2.htm?shopid=11293&tc=bc

Man Wah Restaurant @ Openrice
http://www.openrice.com/english/restaurant/sr2.htm?shopid=49749&tc=bc

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/prejudice_1?q=prejudice+

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/mellow_1?q=mellow

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/delicacy_1?q=delicacy

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/dilemma?q=dilemma

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/encore_1?q=encore

People & Sport: The Respected Cristiano Ronaldo

Image from visual.ly

It seems like all of a sudden, my students start asking me how to train accent, what to watch to learn good accent, so as usual, I recommend them to all the TV shows I love.

Then came a documentary I immediately fell in love with. The British program talks about Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the best players in the world, undergoing a series of tests in order to discover how he becomes such a tremendously exceptional football player.

Honestly speaking, I have always liked Lionel Messi more than Ronaldo, because Messi plays simple yet practical football without the fancy moves of Cristiano Ronaldo, but the following video completely changed my stubborn mind.

Ronaldo is the a well-deserved worldclass player, I have a lot of respect for him. It doesn't matter so much whether Messi scores more than Ronaldo, because football is a team game, given different team mates, their performance will be different. What matters is that they are both footballers from other planets and we are all lucky enough to witness such amazing skills by the players.

Description of Knuckleball in Baseball
Image from washingtonpost

After watching the above video, I immediately want to start practising! I'll start with the video below, being able to kick the Ronaldo's knuckleball will be an excellent Christmas present for myself!

Vocabulary:

knuckleball -- (n)[C] or knuckler is a baseball pitch thrown so as to minimize the spin of the ball in flight, causing an erratic, unpredictable motion. The lack of spin causes vortices over the stitched seams of the baseball during its trajectory, which in turn can cause the pitch to change direction – and even corkscrew – in mid-flight.
seam -- (n)[C] a line where two things join, especially a line of sewing joining two pieces of cloth or leather
trajectory -- (n)[U]specialized the curved path that an object follows after it has been thrown or shot into the air

Resources:

Cristiano Ronaldo tested to the limit HD 720p (Full preview) @ YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeNLd68TTsM

Knuckleball @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knuckleball

How to Shoot like Cristiano Ronaldo @ YouTube
http://youtu.be/KvkWRYJlVhw

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/seam_1?q=seam
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/trajectory?q=trajectory+

Food: Festive (or Anytime) Local Food In Hong Kong

Stone-fried chestnuts and smoked sweet potatoes, inevitable!
Image from Locky's English Playground

Haven't got the time to change the English Playground's logo to a more Christmas-looking one, hopefully I will have the time to do it this week.

I took the above photo a week ago and this man's stone-fried chestnuts and smoked sweet potatoes gave me inspiration to write this article.

Hong Kong food and snacks
Image from 259dog

Last time I mentioned that my Singapore friend came to visit me in Hong Kong, and because she sent me a Word document of the restaurants and food in Hong Kong, I thought she had it all figured out, until the day I met her and her husband that she told me that was her friend's plan and she had no idea what food to try in Hong Kong. Unprepared I was, I tried to run my brain in hyper speed and came up with a number of very Hong Kong style items.

Scramble-egg on toast
Image from CNN Travel

How can anyone say they have had Hong Kong breakfast without ever trying some scrambled eggs on toasts, Hong Kong milk tea and macaroni with ham / roasted pork slices? Most Cha Chaan Teng offers this dish but Hongkongers will surely say Australia Dairy Company in Jordan is the best. The restaurant is infamous for their rude attitude but famous for their speed and quality. Be warned, do not expect you can sit for too long or eat a little slower, but do expect you can experience the rush-hour-like Hong Kong even when eating.

honey-glossy baked BBQ Pork Buns
Image from foodgps

Baked Cha Siu Bao, or baked roasted pork buns, is my favourite dim sum. It comes in roughly 3 different versions, honey-glossy, white-rocky and pineapple-bun-like.

White-rocky baked BBQ pork buns
Image from goodfoodgoodlife

I love them all, as long as they are served hot. Tim Ho Wan, the Dim-Sum Specialists is named as one of the best, but I also like Tai Koo's West Villa Restaurant's, hot and sweet with a hint of Chinese wine, really addictive!

Baked pineapple BBQ pork buns
Image 

Baked pineapple BBQ pork buns isn't bad at all either! Fulfilling two wishes in one go!

Eggette with Chocolate filling
Image from Locky's English Playground

Hot instant made eggette is another must-have! If you remember my recommendation, you know that I think Mammy Pancake at Hung Hom has some filling, chewy ones.

Last but not least of my recommendation today, is the calories-sky high Hong Kong-style French toast, a snack of love-hate. Love because of the irresistible taste and colour, the peanut-butter / apricot jam in the middle, hate ...you already know.

Hong Kong-style French toast
Image from thefoodnomads

CNN Travel has an article titled 40 Hong Kong foods we can't live without and Discover Hong Kong by the Hong Kong Tourism Board has Local Snacks talking about the very unique food of Hong Kong. After reading them, I will have to admit that those recommendations are honestly very truly Hong Kong, but you may not need to go to those specific ones to get a bite if location proves a little too far for your travel.

If you are an internet user / visitor from overseas, Openrice.com is the website you should visit when you're planning your trip to Hong Kong. It is one of the all-time favourite food search engines for the local Hongkongers, and if you have a smart phone, you can download an Android or an iOS app for your convenience. Simply enter the choice of food or snacks and check the ratings of the shops and restaurants which offer the dish of your dream. You will definitely find more results than that from the CNN Travel page.

Image from Discover Hong Kong

The Michelin Guide has also taken a position in Hongkong-diners' heart. Blessing or Curse, this guide book has helped the shops and restaurants' businesses so much that the landlords of the location often use the very same book as a guide to up the rent, forcing some low profit-making or historical food sources to close down.

It is a sad reality, so before these lovely places disappear completely, you should give these restaurants a once-in-a-lifetime chance to serve you and create good memories for you and your stomach (if stomach has memory).

A great news for those of you from Singapore, Tim Ho Wan, the Dim-Sum Specialists will open their first shop in Singapore early next year! Get your stomach ready!



Vocabulary:
glossy -- (adj) smooth and shiny
hint -- (n) [C usually singular] a very small amount of something
eggette -- (n)[U] 
love-hate -- (adj) (of a  relationship) in which you have feelings of love and hate for someone or something
irresistible -- (adj) impossible to refuse, oppose or avoid because too pleasant, attractive or strong

Resources:

Locky's English Playground @ Digitalrev
http://www.digitalrev.com/photo_detail?id=13363302

Hong Kong's best cheap eat @ CNN Travel
http://travel.cnn.com/hong-kong/eat/best-cheap-eat-801898

Cha Chaan Teng @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cha_chaan_teng

Australia Dairy Company@ Openrice
http://www.openrice.com/english/restaurant/sr2.htm?shopid=90

Cha Siu Bao @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cha_siu_bao

West Villa Restaurant -- Tai Koo @ Openrice
http://www.openrice.com/english/restaurant/sr2.htm?shopid=3981

Food: Eggette @ Mammy Pancake @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.hk/2010/04/food-eggette-mammy-pancake.html

40 Hong Kong foods we can't live without @ CNN Travel
http://travel.cnn.com/hong-kong/none/40-things-eat-hong-kong-coronary-arrest-820489

Local Snacks @ Hong Kong Tourism Board
http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/dine-drink/what-to-eat/local-flavours/local-snacks.jsp

Openrice English
http://www.openrice.com/english?tc=ornav

Michelin Guide @ Hong Kong Tourism Board
http://www.discoverhongkong.com/nz/dine-drink/dining-events-awards/michelin-guide.jsp

Sweet Potatoe @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_potato

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/glossy_1?q=glossy
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/hint_3
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/relationship_2?q=love-hate#relationship_2__3
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/irresistible?q=irresistible+