Happy Birthday Bro!
My brother has got to be the easiest birthday person - we simply don't shop for his present. Honest to God. All he wants is more screen time and for that 24 hours, my parents leave him be and he's content.
But being Mommy's precious boy, you always know he gets the best. So dinner was extremely posh at Ritz Carlton's Summer Pavilion and I must say, for the first time in my life, I thought little bro was dashing. He was decked in jeans (a first!) and he looked mighty grown up. I hate to think of the potential hearts he'd break when he discovers girls and how a good suit can turn a boy into a man and make him look oh-so-sauve. Ok, I should stop now, since it sounds like I'm gushing over my own brother (eeks!)
The food was great - love the Peking duck and I really must say, our $80-a-head shark's fin soup (now now, I don't want to hear no "you shark murderer!" nonsense) was really worth the dough. The food beats Shangri-la's Shang Palace hands down, even my dad thinks so. (And when daddy says it - about food especially - his word is law.)
Lights, lights &more lights! / This extremely RED stall / CANDY, CANDY, CANDY! / I love this coffeeshop name! So innovative!
After dinner 070606 and I trooped down to Chinatown for a little pre-CNY gawking. If you've never been, I definitely recommend it. Originally I was kinda skeptical because I thought it'd be crazy crowded and I'd be hot, sweaty and pushing my way through mad crowds. Turns out our timing was perfect (go a few days before CNY eve) and though there was quite a number of people, it wasn't shoulder to shoulder. The atmosphere is terrific and it was so hilarious hearing shopkeepers simply making noises into their mics in order to drown out the competition (I swear you can barely make out any words. They simply grunt and screech.) This shopkeeper was the best - he handed 070606 a little candy and told him: "Towkay, eat this next year can get married!" And we were both stunned into silence for a while before mirth took over. They say the most random things!