Celebration

To celebrate the successful launch of my previous project, the department figure head hosted a company wide celebration tea party with wonderful strawberry tarts and sparkling wine (champagne is a too high on budget for so many people). Who doesn't like a small token of recognition eh? :D

sparkling wine & strawberry tart

Hyponatremia

Hyponatremia occurs when one has abnormally low amount of sodium in the body (or excess water in blood), new important term that I've learnt this week.

It all begins with my sister's text message a few days ago telling me that our dad is in ICU (Intensive Care Unit). I was shocked, panic and don't know what to do. My dad has always been healthy and we had video stream just last weekend but all of a sudden he's in ICU? I'm not prepare for any of this and I actually felt slightly helpless. Heart aches (for not being able to be there) and cold fingers, praying hard nothing bad happens.

I felt the sudden fear of losing one of my parents, never was the threat feel so close & real. Even if I purchase ticket instantaneously the next day & fly home, it'll take me another day before reaching home. At this point, I can only make phone calls home & rely on my sister's emails and text messages to keep my updated with the situation.

Apparently my dad has been vomiting for 3 days and did not get better after consulting doctor twice. He stopped eating / drinking (even just water) on the last day and looked absolutely pale when a family friend visits. He was took to the hospital & upon arrival, fell unconscious. What follows were a string of checking, blood test & hospital transfer to perform MRI scan, having the fear that he might suffer stroke.

My mother has been brave through all these, she called my sister home and stayed with my dad as long as she can before being chased out by the nurse from ICU. He's diagnose with low blood sodium (about 110uM), was unconscious for a day and can finally manage to open his eyes on the second day. After 3 days, he's finally being released from ICU into normal ward now and luckily, didn't suffer any stroke.

I truthfully thank those who have helped in the process and pray that he can be discharged soon & come back to normal again. Why is there no Doraemon door where I can just open & go home? Dad, wait for me, I'll be back in November, make sure you're healthy & smiling then. Maybe I should try to talk to my boss to send me back on business trip? hmm...

Fu Hao Dim Sum

Dim sum, heart touching if directly translated from Cantonese, used to be one of my favourite brunch during weekend back home. Living in Copenhagen strips me off this luxury but not anymore. Previously I've tried the dim sum at Royal Palace but it's not exactly a very good one. Fu Hao, was recommended by colleagues from work, so I decided to give it a try.

Char siu fried noodles

Tucked in the corner of a side street right behind the central station, this newly renovated restaurant has a lot of Chinese customers, even some Thai & Vietnamese. I made an appointment for dim sum with my colleague, so more varieties can be tried out. Started with the roast pork fried noodle, bit oily but that's what gives it a great taste, Fu Hao score 1.

 Following with some assortment of typical dim sum: siu mai, radish cake, roast pork cheung fan & prawn dumpling; not to say great but they're all good. And some sweet dishes: water chestnut cake, red bean cake, read bean bun & malay cake. Normally I won't order the first 3 sweet dishes but that's part of the fun about eating with someone else, you get to try something out of the norm. And the malay cake is great!

So, a wonderful Sunday brunch for 4 with pot of chrysanthemum tea, DKK432...my purse is getting slim but the experience is worth it. Fu Hao, mark my word that I'll be back ;)

What to do with 80 Kroner

I was out shopping today (hooray~~), set to buy a nice rain coat (yeah, the rains have started) which I never really get to do it since summer. Being easily distracted, I didn't manage to get what I intended to buy but that's not the point. The point is: I manage to get a cute Hello Kitty T-shirt & very nice bangles from H&M for only DKK70. DKK70!!! I still can't believe it. Love those sales days. I left the shop with a huge grin on my face :p

My cute Hello Kitty T & bangles from H&M, DKK70!!!

Having spent DKK350 for a nice lunch at the post museum's restaurant...yes, post museum's restaurant in Copenhagen serves wonderful food with good city view on the fifth floor (which tells how 'high' the rest of the buildings in city centre are); the H&M purchase must be my best move since years.

Feeling good for a great purchase, I march down the street to LaGlace, the oldest confectionery in Copenhagen for some French macaron. I still remember the great ones from Paris 2 months ago, can't bake it but I can at least buy it ;). 

Macarons are expensive in Paris, about €2 each and apparently the price trend is well maintained here as well. Squeezed myself through the crowded confectionery entrance, stuck in between a couple who's yelling to each other over my head (am I transparent?); I finally made my order to a box of 6 macarons which cost DKK78. 

Box of 6 macarons from LaGlace, DKK78!

DKK78...it's 8kroner more expensive than my H&M purchase & I know very well that they'll be gone at a very fast rate. Gosh...the macarons are worth it. I won't say it's better than LaDurée's but they certainly taste good. Coffee, chocolate, strawberry, lemon, oat (with hint of liquor) & pistachio...they were gone in minutes following the sequence, and I'm still craving for more, hehe...

So, 2 way of spending DKK80 in Copenhagen, which one is better? Hard to say. I'm just glad I don't have to choose between them :D

Prague - Overview

Finally, I set my foot on the city of a hundred spires - Prague; famed to be one of the most beautiful old city in Europe. Arrived in style, picked up by chauffeur from an arranged airport transfer & was delivered safely to the hotel in a shining black Audi ;). The airport transfer company also provide 3 hours of free guided tour which covers most essential parts of the city, and yes, the city's attractions are within walking distance. If your legs can't make it, there's always trams, metros or buses that gets you from A - Z.

The colourful tour guides' umbrellas

Astrological / astronomical clock

The tour group meets in front of the famous astrological / astronomical clock, built in early 15th-century, in old town square. When the skeleton of death strike the time upon the hour, the moving figures of Jesus's 12 disciples rotate and the whole process ends with a cock crow & bell chimes. If it's more than 5 minutes wait before the hour, don't spend time on this, it's a complicated clock to understand and the crowd is just a bit too overwhelming; another reason not to spend time is: you'll most probably be back a few more times during your stay, I did :-) 

St.Nicholas church at Old Town Square & the expensive shopping street beside the church

View from clock tower: crowds in old town square watching World Cup 2010

The beautiful Charles Bridge connects the old & new town of Prague at the core, decorated with statues on both side, the bridge is full of vendors selling souvenirs, paintings and 'artists' playing on the bridge while thousands (if not more) tourists flock the bridge. Both towers of the bridge provides excellent view of the city and it's definitely worth the visit to see the 'back bone' of the city.

A shot with the tower guard

Charles Bridge

View from Charles Bridge tower: Mala Straná (new town)

Charles Bridge & its tower illuminated

As if to live up to its reputation, Prague castle, which is the centre piece of the city is also the most stunning background providing a breathtaking view all day long especially near sunset. I shall write more about Prague Castle in the next blog.

Prague castle sitting beautifully.

Summer BBQ

As slow as it can get summer still has its reach in Copenhagen and screams for barbecue when there's plenty of sun. Since I don't have a garden of my own & don't really want to go down to the shared garden that's available for all other apartment residents, so an arrangement was made to visit a friend with private garden :)

Nothing more refreshing than sweet watermelon in hot days.

Beautiful flowers in garden, blooming.

Out of the many sunny days that we can get, we chose one of the hottest day with 33degC. So here it is, a hot summer afternoon with 3D TV (oh yeah...comes with cool 3D glasses but cost a fortune), golf, badminton and BBQ.

The golf

The 'lean' BBQ

The happy party.

Lángos

Ever heard of lángos? The Hungarian food speciality which is a deep fried potato flat bread from plain to various toppings with anything from cinnamon and sugar to cheese and Mexican salsa has became my favourite street food in Copenhagen. The good (or bad) thing about Europe nowadays is that food travels. What used to be only local speciality  is now available thousand miles away. 

Toni's Lángos outside Nørreport train station

Freshly made lángos

I've never try the authentic Hungarian ones albeit being in Budapest before; tried it in Prague but can't beat one small mobile van stationed just outside Nørreport station, selling lángos daily - Toni's Lángos. Toni´s lángos costs between DKK25 to 40 depending on the topping. My favourite topping? shredded cheese, no doubt. 

My favourite lángos with cheese topping

Lángos with meat sauce & crème fraiche

Why it's called Toni´s lángos? I have no idea. I've seen 3 different person handling the lángos making, none of them looks like 'Toni' but they actually have good consistency among themselves to produce nearly identical quality piping hot delicious lángos, the only difference is how much topping they put. If you're visiting Copenhagen, do stop by Nørreport station and give it a try. Toni´s lángos operates from around 9am to 6pm. It's worth a small detour. You'll love it!