I'm in Hong Kong! + Life Plan update

I took this photo ^ on my way to the airport. I had to get up at 4am for my 4 hour journey to Narita to hop on a plane back to Manila for a few days. I wasn't complaining though; on my way back to Tokyo in December, economy tickets were booked and I had school the next day so I had to get business class tickets--this was my second flight from my round trip ticket. ;)

So the last bit of January was just the last hurrah of Autumn semester of 2014, which consisted of finishing up the last of my group projects (FINALY!!) and studying for finals. Now, I officially have THREE semesters until I graduate!! Whenever I get excited about the time I have left in uni, I do panic just a little bit inside about how I'll regret eagerly counting down to the real world. In only a couple of years I'll have to have found a job, be financially stable, and revamp my entire hobo chic wardrobe..... but that last one is gonna take awhile because I just bought my first pair of those slim ankle low crotch jogging pants (I don't remember what they're called so I'll just use this dorky name I came up with. UPDATE: they're harem pants but I like my name better so it stays) and I don't think I'm turning back.

Anyway, It's only been month two of 2016 and I've already crossed out a bunch of things in my To-do list: 

I'm not sure if it's legible but
I half-crossed "Explore Hong Kong" because it's only been a week since I got here. Oh yeah, life update: I'm in Hong Kong!!
Here are some noteworthy foods I've eaten so far (there aren't many): 

This is in the American Restaurant, which has nothing to do with the US at all, but in fact is famous for Pekingese food (that means Peking duck!!! (not pictured. I was with people I had just met and no one else was taking photos so I got too shy. This was a sneak photo)). Apparently this restaurant was put up many years ago to attract homesick American sailors back in day... from what I remember..I might be spewing out fake facts though. The darker orange dish in the lower lefthand corner is candied beef with what I believe is spring onions. We stuffed the sesame-crusted bread with the beef and that was probably my favourite dish we had. To the left of the bread is sweet and sour pork and beside that is some Bokchoy, because you know, we tried to keep it healthy. And then we obviously had Peking duck but I was too shy to bust out my camera.

Midlevel escalators: which were basically super long elevated walkscalators!

The American restaurant was the only food I had that was Chinese; I had been eating a lot of other cuisines. I wanted to try out more local food, but I was too intimidated by the super small local restaurants because I was afraid I'd embarrass myself and be lost in translation, which usually happens in Tokyo. But on Sunday, I decided to walk towards a Vietnamese restaurant and if I spotted anything local on the way, I would eat there, but if I didn't find anything I'd have some Pho as a fall back...I find that I do my most strategic planning when it involves eating. 

I stumbled upon this small noodle shop because they had posted a bunch of red Michelin guide posters. I didn't read them though but I highly doubt this restaurant was Michelin star-rated (I think Tim Ho Wan (dimsum) is the cheapest Michelin-rated restaurant and this definitely wasn't Tim Ho Wan). I was reluctant to go in because I was intimidated by the local vibes; I didn't know where to sit, how I would order, if they had menus in English.. I was about to walk away when the brave Sabina inside of me (who is constantly ignored my the much bigger shy self) told me, "Stop being a lil bitch and YOLO your ass into that restaurant." Brave me was right, and so I went in, sat my ass down on the first vacant spot I saw, and hesitantly asked the lady for a menu that was apparently already in front of me (smooth moves!!). 
The noodles were good; they had a nice al dente bite to them, just the way I like it! But I found both the broth and the meats (there was beef, shrimp dumplings, and a big fish ball) a little too bland and the over all dish to be a little above subpar. The fact that it was local made it a little better for some reason, but if this was served to me in like a hotel restaurant, I would have regretted ordering it. #Sossyproblems
 But all in all, I'm glad I ate there because I sometimes I need to grow some balls and get over my weird social anxiety thing. 

And lastly...... *cheesy drum roll* 

ONLY MY FAVOURITE ICE CREAM IN THE ENTIRE WORLD HAAGEZ DAZS COFFEE ICE CREAM!!

I explored Hong Kong a bit and did a little shopping on Saturday; and when I say "little" I mean I'm past "broke" and verging "hella broke." I had been walking for hours and decided to pop by a mall to grab a quick dinner to rest my feet. I found that they had a Haagen Dazs on the 4th floor and this is a big deal because Haagen Dazs has stopped being sold in stores in Manila and Tokyo has no coffee flavoured ice cream. The last time I had this was in the Bali trip of Dec 2013, where Sebastian and I downed one pint #norAgrets. So it has been awhile since I had it, which might have been a blessing in disguise because I would have been significantly pudgier than I already am. 

On that note, I signed up for Crossfit and I'm going to try out my first class tomorrow! I'm scared and excited! 

Anyway, after dinner I obviously headed up to the 4th floor and plopped down and ordered coffee ice cream and it was even better than I remembered. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. 

So that's been Hong Kong so far! Food trippin as usual. On another note, I've started my marketing internship and so far I'm having a lot of fun! My boss said I could help out our partner food magazine which I'm the most excited for because as you can see.... food takes up my entire life. 

Pet multiple puppies today!