Caffe Paradiso

We usually make breakfast at home because WHO WANTS TO GET READY AND BE PRESENTABLE in the mornings?  Plus, we usually just make coffee and dig in to pre-bought pastries.  But, being it is October (we ran out of coffee), we decided to just head out for breakfast.

There was a cafe open near China Bear that we thought we'd try. It's probably been here for ages, but we just discovered it.  And it is always great to discover new places because you learn something new every time.

Caffe Paradiso Info:

Shop 8, G/F Mui Wo Centre

3 Ngan Wan Road

Mui Wo

Fun Fact:  My friends tell me it's referred to as Tom's place.  Tom was there when we were there (probably there all the time because he's the owner), but just learned that he was the owner after the fact.

The menu is really awesome.  I love an All-Day Breakfast.  And it comes in both Chinese and English.  

The food is made fresh, which is always awesome.  Actually, most of the food around here looks freshly bought and made.  I mean, there isn't a lot of frozen and thawed out food being served up.

Coffee was served up first.  THANK GOODNESS.  I thought it was really thoughtful to serve coffee before our breakfast.  It is not only necessary (!), but a great thing to sip and have a morning chat to.  I referred to Isaac Mizrahi before saying that it is always good to have something to do whilst having a chat (like knitting).  I totally believe in that.  Sipping coffee and talking about the day is a great way to start the morning.

Actually, maybe this is the norm for most places…but I have had many experiences where I have to ask the servers to bring me my ordered drink…halfway through a meal.

I digress…

As we waited for our breakfast, we checked out the cafe.  It was like a feast for the eyes.  Every nook and cranny was decorated.  It was nice and eclectic, just how I like it!

Now for the food…I know breakfast is probably the easiest thing to make…and sausage and eggs is something that is easily picked up from the grocery story…but there is something about having breakfast out and about that makes it more fancy!

I mean, I don't mind paying more to eat out because I like just having the chance to be lazy and treat myself sometimes.

I got the egg, tomato, sausage and bean breakfast with a side of toast.

My husband got the eggs, sausage, tomato, beans and bacon breakfast with a side of toast.

We had a fantastic morning!  Great home-cooked breakfasts…great coffee.

I loved our first venture to Caffe Paradiso!

DIY Monster Mobile

My main DIY project for this month was to make a baby mobile.  Not professional, but made with the sincerest of love.  I had been looking online for inspiration and found so many amazingly wonderful baby mobiles.  I thought that, with a little time and effort, I could make one just as amazing.

For a few days, I was going through ideas…Beach themed?  There had been people who had made beautifully beachy seashell mobiles that cascaded down towards the crib.  Nature themed?  There were mobiles made of twigs and little owls attached to the branches that looked rustically cool.  Monster themed?  One mobile that caught my eye was a monster mobile that someone had made with multicolored monsters…

The monster mobile was the one that captured my heart!

So, I took a trip to the Hong Kong International Airport's Jusco Living Plaza (as I usually do these days) and picked up a few supplies that I needed to make this mobile.

Enough of the back story…

Here's What I Used For My DIY Project:
1.  Felt for Monster Bodies
2.  String for Attaching Monsters
3.  Eyes from Jusco Living Plaza
4.  Pipe Cleaners from Jusco Living Plaza
5.  A Pot Holder I Found at a Local Kitchenware Shop
6.  Felting Needles I Got from my Sister
7.  Hot Glue Gun and Glue Sticks
8.  Scissors for Cutting Things

***The hole puncher in the picture was not used for the actual project!!!!***

Felt

Strings

Eyes

Pipe Cleaners

Pot Holder

Felting Needs to FELT the Felt!

Here's What I Did:
1.  FELTING IT

I felted the felt into balls or round shapes

2.  STRINGING IT

I tied the strings around the center of the balls.  One half would be my monster heads.  One half would be my monster bodies.  I also left the strings long so that I could attach them to the pot holder/mobile holder.

3.  EYEING IT

I then hot glue gunned eyes and pipe cleaners on to make my monsters.

4.  FINISHING IT

I then tied the strings onto the pot holder, which was my mobile holder.  And I hot glue gunned the rest of my materials (just to not waste anything) onto the strings to hide the ties.

My Monster Mobile:

And here is the final product.  My monthly DIY project completed!

It was a fun project to do this month.  It was also quite easy to find the materials and to put it all together.  Though, the process of felting took a bit of time.  They aren't anything special, just round objects, but the project did take time.  In the end, I just love that it turned out so well!

Airport Nursing Room

Some days, I just wish I could head down to the mall and visit the Daiso!

But, alas, we're back in Hong Kong and the nearest Daiso (Jusco Living Plaza as it is known here) is at the airport.  In Terminal 2, there is a Jusco Living Plaza located on the upper level, where you can find all the lovely 12 HKD things that you need to make your small-house living more convenient!

I made the trip over because I have a special DIY project going on…which I will blog about in a few days!!  Please stay tuned.

Anyhow, this blog isn't going to be about Daiso…or DIY projects.  I actually want to add another nursing room post to this blog because it's always good to see what Hong Kong has to offer in the nursing room department.

Jusco and this nursing room are located in Terminal 2 of the Hong Kong International Airport!

Terminal 2 is packed with shops, restaurants and the IMAX theater.  It also has a few nursing rooms available for people with babies.

Upon first entering the little space, there was a huge bit of wall paper on one side of the room.  It was not as glamourous as some other nursing rooms (Shatin's Ikea!), but it did give me the nice little comfort in knowing that the airport cared to decorate a bit!

There is a private room where mothers can go to nurse, which is awesome because then another person could be out in the main area changing their kid or feeding them a bottle.

Inside the breastfeeding room, there is a comfy chair, sink and trash bin.  It's also nice and quiet (without music blaring).

The main area of the nursing room is for your basic, change and feed.

ONE THING I always wonder about nursing rooms (maybe this is just the ones I have been to in Hong Kong) is why they NEVER HAVE A TOILET in there.  Instead of nursing rooms being specifically just for a change and a feed, it would be nice to be able to also get a "little relief" for yourself sometimes.

There are family rooms, though…which I have yet to actually check out…I suspect that maybe family rooms might have toilets attached to the change and feed areas??  If anyone knows, do let me know!

The main feeding and changing area is equipped with some pretty basic things, like a milk bottle warmer…

I have not used one of these things…but it seemed nice to have the instructions posted right above the warmers!

The basic diaper changing pod was also there.  Equipped with the much needed buckles to strap down a squirming babe!

There is also a sink, TOILET PAPER (without an attached toilet!) for sopping up spills (I believe), soap to wash your hands with and a trash bin for diapers.

There were all the basics and a little touch of comfort.  I think that the airport has a pretty good nursing room.  It's very Hong Kong…as in, the nursing room is all business.  Ha!  It's good to know that it is in Terminal 2, if anyone was stuck in a rut and needed a place to change a dirty diaper!

I had touched on this before, but a few great websites to take a gander at…when in Hong Kong…and when in the need of a nursing room:

1.  BB GAGA

2.  Chatty Brain

3.  Sassy Mama's

BB GAGA is my favorite thus far because it goes by districts!  Like, when I am in Causeway Bay, I always see where I can find a nursing room.  It's a fun way to see the city and also discover new places.

Hopefully, this post gives some of you a good preview of what to expect when you are in Terminal 2 and need a nursing room.

Mui Wo Dai Pai Dong

The first time I really traveled on my own was when I went to Italy.  Back then, backpacking was in and going to the local grocery store for produce was key to surviving on a small budget.  I used to think that was the greatest way to really get to know the place where I was visiting…besides learning a bit of the language to last me a few days.

Life in Mui Wo is quite the same.  It's nice to be able to just pop in to the local market and pick up some fresh produce for the day's meals, but there are times (LIKE DAYS LIKE TODAY) when shopping and cooking are just too time consuming.

For quick delicious food, we went to the local dai pai dong in the Mui Wo Cooked Food Market, which sits to the side of the ferry pier.  

I LOVE dai pai dongs…especially having dinner at them because it is where the night life is at…not the crazy Lan Kwai Fong type of scene, but where the locals can be found chilling with a bottle of beer after a long day's work.

There are a handful of dai pai dongs, but this one (in the Mui Wo Cooked Food Market) is where I will start on my blog-ventures!

The menu is pretty intense.  Here had to have been everything under the sun available.

NOTE:  Bring someone who can read Chinese!

The view here is wonderful.  The seating is along the waterfront and it looks over Silvermine Bay.

It's a really great view that reminds me heavily of my times in Sichuan…eating at restaurants that floated above a river.  It really makes life seem like a paradise.  Life is slow, the food is fine and the location just puts me into that reflective sort of mood.

Tonight, we ordered a fried oyster cake, which was pretty good.  It comes with a vinegar dip and was not as greasy as some that I have had in the past.  I liked how it was nice and hot when it came out…though, I do wish there were more oysters in the dish.

I have been on a shrimp high this past summer…

So, we ordered a garlic shrimp dish, which was really nice.  Anything with garlic is nice for me!  The shrimp were all halved, so it made it quite easy to extract from the shells.  The sauce was heaped on the shrimp, which made it easy to divvy up for those who wanted more garlic.

There were four of us at dinner, so the oyster cake and also the shrimp dish was good for splitting four ways.

Another heavenly delicious dish was the deep fried squid.  Most of the dai pai dongs in Mui Wo serve up this dish.  It's really good.  The pieces of squid are nicely cut and it also comes with a vinegar dipping dish on the side.  It's also a great dish to get when going Chinese-style with friends.

One of our healthier choices of dishes was the morning glory stir fry tossed with shrimp paste.  This is always a good veggie dish.  Most times dai pai dongs offer choy sum or bok choy…this is another option for those who are tired of getting the same greens at every meal.

There are so many places to try out here in Mui Wo.  I'm not much of a foodie, but I do love to eat out. It's a nice treat for the end of a work week!

Mui Wo Market

Most districts have a wet market, which is a building that has a combination of household goods, foods, and other odds and ends.  I think of them as the main shopping area of the days of old.  In Yuen Long, the wet market was called Tai Kiu Market.  It was conveniently located near the library and surrounded by a bunch of outdoor produce vendors.  It was where I used to get all of my produce, especially hot pot stuff!

Similarly, Mui Wo's Market is located right next to the public library and Rural Committee Road (the old school center of Mui Wo…and Lantau, some friends have told me).  Mui Wo's Market is quite small and seems less frequented than the Yuen Long wet market, but I suspect it is because there is a Wellcome and Fusion supermarket near the ferry pier.  And, perhaps, those supermarkets are just more preferred.

What can you find in the Mui Wo Market:

1.  If you are a green thumb, you can find pots, soil, seeds, gardening tools and plants!

2.  If you need drapes, you can get them here!

3.  You can get seafood, whatever is available that morning.

4.  Vegetables and fruits can be bought here.

5.  Meats can be bought here: pork, chicken and beef for sure...

6.  In the need for some super casual clothes?  You can find some here.

Though the market is quite small, there are a lot of basic things that you can get here:  Food, clothing, and shelter!