Smile Yogurt - The frozen yogurt means to make people smile

This is one of the most mouth-watering dessert shop displays in Hong Kong. With a mission to make people smile, Smile Yogurt totally lives up to it.

Original flavor is the only yogurt flavor served in this store, but I think a single perfect flavor would suffice. The yogurt itself has a moderately firm texture that holds the beautiful swirl well until you finish the whole cup.

Accompanying the yogurt are the wonderful house-made toppings such as vanilla noodles, crumbles, passion fruit banana compotes, chocolate explosive mikados, strawberry meringues, lychee rose sauce, osmanthus jelly...etc. The menu comprises of frozen yogurt cups in different combinations, some popular ones are Banana Split, Vanilla Sky and Pink Lady. Looking at the menu, they are already mouth-watering, taking a spoon you are going to fall head over heels in love.

To make one smile, it takes sincerity and a mind for detail to make sure every frozen yogurt cup served is of perfection. While standing at the bar enjoying my froyo, I observed the froyo-makers and gave my full respect to them as I saw them putting red berry crisps (something considered as sprinkles to be sprinkled on)  one-by-one evenly on the yogurt swirl like decorating a piece of jewelry with gemstones. I appreciate food vendors who could turn something simple into amusements by creativity and a persistence for quality. Keep smiling :)

Smile Yogurt & Dessert Bar
Kowloon City branch - 2382 6669 - G/F No.65, Lion Rock Road Kowloon City, Kowloon
Tsim Sha Tsui K11 Branch - 2138 6210 - Unit G15A, G/F, K11, 18 Hanoi road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon
Causeway Bay Hysan Place Branch - 2811 8321 - Shop 509, 5/F Hysan Place, 500 Hennessy Road,Causeway Bay, Hong Kong 

Party tips:
Dessert cups are available for parties to delight your guests. Their mikado pretzel sticks are also pretty party gifts too!

Yokozuna vs Shugetsu - A Japanese Ramen Battle

Yokozuna Ramen Restaurant in Yau Ma Tei is famous for its red cherry shrimp ramen, marinated soft-boiled eggs, and pan-fried pork belly. As it's even better-known for its constant long queue, I've been discouraged many times to try. Thanks to my friends, I finally got to get in after an hour and a half of waiting (by them) on a Friday night.

Shugetsu, the rival ramen shop in this battle, is located in Sheung Wan, which is an overseas branch of its original shop in Japan’s Ehime prefecture. As introduced in my previous post, Shugetsu - Ramen full of love, it is famous for its homemade thick soba, and the broth made of a  special savory soy sauce from Ehime.

Here is the battle, I am going to compare 3 signature dishes from both with a 5* rating scale (the more * the better of coz). Since I haven't decided to write this post during my visits to the two stores, some pictures are missing. Anyway, hope you could imagine by the words.

Round 1 - Ramen
Yokozuna Ramen (miso base): ** The soup was light and ordinary, none of the ingredient stood out. The soba was okay but not too impressive, a bit too soft though.

Shugetsu Ramen (intense soy broth): *** I liked the broth, though it was a bit too oily, the bamboo shoot and the spring onion were loud on top of the already strong taste of the soy sauce broth. Good? can't really say. Bad? not at all. The soba was ideally chewy without being too thick/thin.

Round 2 - Tsukemen (Dipping noodles) 
Yokozuna: *** The soul of this dish - the dipping broth lacked character, it tasted nice but seemed missing something. The clear broth adding to the dipping broth suggested a taste of water with unintended seaweed flavor. The highlight was the pan-fried pork belly though, which was well flavored and tender.

Shugetsu: **** The soup, its signature soy sauce based broth was too much on the oily side, but I appreciated the taste of the sauce and it's added with vinegar, marinated bamboo shoots and spring onion, which made the dip such a bomb. I still think its taste was too strong but it's yummy as a dip for the perfect thick soba. The downside was the pity amount of kurobuta pork belly soaked in the broth that made it even saltier. There's a lovely clear chicken broth to add to the dipping soup after you finish the soba, I'd suggest you take the chicken broth by itself, or add the dipping soup in the chicken broth instead of vice versa.

Round 3 - Marinated soft-boiled egg
Yokozuna: ***** Need to order separately. It's claimed to be germ-less and more importantly it tasted good! The yolk was in perfect equilibrium between the liquid and solid state, nice!
Shugetsu: ***** Comes with the ramen. The egg well absorbed the tasty soy sauce during the marination, delicious! The only thing was the slight over-cooking, pity

Personally, I prefer Shugetsu better. For those who pursue excitement and details in the taste, I think Shugetsu outdoes Yokozuna in this way. Though both are good ramen restaurants in Hong Kong for a reason and it would be great if restaurants and food vendors take an effort to listen to customers' opinions and advance or maintain high standards.

Hot Dogs are going gourmet!

Trend Watch: Hot Dogs | By HK Magazine

Hot diggity! Love ‘em or hate ‘em, hot dogs are having a moment right now. Typically thought of as sustenance for the undiscerning; a go-to solution for when you’re low on cash, time or both, these traditionally greasy, sodium-laden treats are being reinvented as (relatively) classy snacks by foodies around the city. Hungry hordes are flocking to gourmet hot dog stands like they’re going out of fashion.

One of the first hot dog specialists to arrive in Hong Kong was Hot Dog Link (Shop C, 67D Waterloo Rd., Ho Man Tin, 2624-4002), which has been in business for a formidable 20-plus years. Founded by master German sausage maker Konrad Pschorr, the extensive menu features imported sausages grilled to perfection accompanied by buns of your choosing. Calorie counters rejoice: you can also skip the buns and go for just the wieners solo. The décor may be homely and the surroundings cramped, but the long queues outside this shop are here to stay.

Fast approaching its 10-month anniversary is Wonderdog (12 Haven St., Causeway Bay, 2886-8052), created by radio DJ personality Tarzan. The space itself assumes an air of quirkiness, with colorful chalkboard menus, pop art illustrations and dangling light bulbs aplenty. Wonderdog’s intriguing toppings selection includes wasabi, Japanese seaweed and prawns. Challenge yourself to the hot-as-hell, sauce-drenched Devil Dog if you dare.

Then there’s Brat (7 Elgin St., Central, 2549-3088). A two-year-old monochromatic space on tranquil Elgin Street, Brat serves top-quality American sausages made from chicken, turkey, beef or pork, containing delectable ingredients such as lemon, portobello mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes. Presentation matches the décor, with hot dogs arriving in front of you on a nifty wooden chopping board. Their gourmet sausages are also available for retail, so hardcore frankfurter fans can go ahead and stock up.

Having just opened in November last year, Yonge Piggies (1 Jervois St., Sheung Wan, 2104-7218) may be the new kid on the block, but its crowd of devotees isn’t any less sizable. Get a taste of authentic Canadian street meat with YP’s choices of hickory-smoked, honey garlic, picante pepper and cheddar sausage—and don’t forget to pair the dogs with chili fries and an awesome milkshake. Complete with bright red ventilation pipes, steel counters and pinup girl and piglet wall art, the space is retro-cool and allows for casual street-side dining.

The Frank (Lab Concept, Queensway Plaza, 93 Queensway, Admiralty, 2640-9111), the brainchild of the group behind Triple O and Yo Mama, is another newish establishment that opened its doors last year. The design is clean and bright, almost European-chic, and their frankfurters come in generous portions. Try the Korean (kimchi on a chicken frank) for an interesting departure from your classic ketchup/mustard combo, or go all out and down the Suicide (fear not, you won’t actually die from the spice).

Way on the other side of town but worth a visit is Pi Hot Dog Gallery (Shops 44 and 49, 1/F, Waldorf Centre, 170-184 Sai Lau Kok Rd., Tsuen Wan, 2417-9363), opened for a bit over a year. Expect a fully customizable and lengthy selection of hot dogs here, including cheese-filled cheddar dogs and jumbo deluxe dogs.

Coffees in Taipei

During my recent trip to Taipei I had the leisure to take time trying a number of different coffees. How could one possibly resist coffee in a city abundant of quality cafes?! Among Ethiopia Harrar mocha, Hawaiian kona, Jamaican Blue Mountain, and the house blend ice drip coffee of the renowned Fongda Coffee, which would you choose? For me, I chose to have them all :)

Weekend getaway - Lake Egret Nature Park

What's in your mind looking at this picture?

 

The picture above is not from my Swiss travelogue...indeed it's a local nature park in Tai Po, N.T. - The Lake Egret Nature Park.

I wouldn't have imagined so much fun in this place when my friend Gary told me what I could do with my group of friends there are boating, water cycling and having dinner at the restaurant...I thought, in a remote location (yea it's pretty remote anywhere beyond walking distance from the MTR station) and calm environment like this, I wouldn't expect anything more exciting than a chillaxing hang-out.

But I was wrong.

Walking in, the beautiful view from the restaurant's patio overlooking the lake, and the perspective of the curved patio itself wowed me. The first thing coming into sight usually makes an impression, and that surely made a good one.

Towards the end of the patio smelled my favorite cheese of all time, the chèvre goat cheese? Wondering why, a herd of black goats appeared right away :) Goat-feeding is one of the park's many activities, the goats are kept right by the lake, they are just like gatekeepers of the dock and watch every excited visitor going out for boating or water-cycling simply with indifference. They only concern how much hay you have in hand to feed them~ funny :D

 

Just now I mentioned there are many activities for individuals and families, children to adults at Lake Egret, what are there to offer? Some available activities include sand painting, reed weaving, bread making, leather craft making, sand-filled bottle craft, paper clay...there is also a Museum of Ethnology to satisfy the most curious and fun-loving minds. Reservation is required for most of the guided activities.

Bread making - doughs were ready, what we did was to shape and decorate - this simple but fun DIY workshop made us laugh like kids

Dinner at Little Egret Restaurant was great too. What more could you ask for when you are already sitting out in a beautiful weather, being served attentively, and eating in the spectacular sunset view by the lake? Perhaps a gigantic whole pan-fried dover sole fish (left of the below photo), which was crispy and savory outside but tender and juicy inside :D Another dish that was cheerfully done was the crab meat, mango and avocado salad (right), its mango puree dressing went well with .

I had a great getaway filled with fun and decent food there! Lake Egret Nature Park is designed to house a range of events, venues with different functionality are available, from birthday parties for kids, weddings, BBQ parties, to corporate meetings, banquets and trainings. You can find more details from its website. 

For Easter, there will be a Woodstock outdoor concert and BBQ party welcoming people of all age to join. Details here. Don't forget to stay tuned to their adverse weather notice! Happy Easter long weekend!


Lake Egret Nature Park 
2657 6657
2 Hung Lam Drive, Tai Po Kau, N.T. Hong Kong

How to get there?
MTR Train: Get off at Tai Po Market Station, then transfer taxi (around HK$21) to reach "Little Egret Restaurant"

Shugetsu - Ramen full of love

Shugetsu's homemade ramen noodles are full of love, from ingredients to the perfectly served tsukemen, from production to service, you could feel Shugetsu's pride and insistence in bringing out the best of its ramen. Servers are highly attentive and informative, really impressive to have such service in HK, even during the regular business lunch hour :)

Shugetsu
Address: G/F, 5 Gough Street, Central
Tel: 2850 6009
URL: www.shugetsu.com.hk

Life Cafe - An urban getaway

Feeling stressed out towards the middle of the week? A lunch getaway to Life Cafe may cheer you up. Mushroom pizza and patio seating right by Soho's escalator are suggested, in order to get the most 'life' out of this experience ;)

Life Cafe Restaurant and Bar
Address: G/F-2/F, 10 Shelley Street, SoHo, Central
Tel: 2810 9777
Website: http://www.lifecafe.com.hk/

Coffee tasting and its basics by the Pro (Part II) - Ninety Plus Coffee

Here comes the little known knowledge for most regular Starbucks drinkers - the Tasting.

In the coffee world, coffee tasting is regarded as "coffee cupping". By definition, coffee cupping is a professional practice of observing and evaluating the tastes and aromas of coffee. The coffee taster attempts to measure aspects of the coffee's taste, specifically the body (the texture or mouthfeel, such as oiliness), sweetness (the perceived sweetness at the sides of the tongue), acidity (a sharp and tangy feeling at the tip of the tongue, like when biting into an orange), flavour (the characters in the cup), and aftertaste. (See INeedCoffee for a detailed textbook cupping procedure)

In practice, it's better to ask Joseph for more insights from his coffee cupping experience by organizing countless cupping sessions for clients...

During coffee cupping, what should be identified?

The fragrance nuances of the dry grounds immediately after grinding; the aroma nuances of the brew after adding water; and the nuances as the coffee cools under the following categories: acidity, mouthfeel, taste, and aftertaste.
Well-produced coffees exhibit a range of flavor and aroma that is likely much broader than the world of wine. Citric, floral, and spicy coffees occur at a great range of textures. Coffee at this level can be bafflingly complex.

Adding water to the dry coffee ground

A line-up of different coffees waiting to be slurped up and rated by coffee tasters

 

Joseph focusing in smelling the aromas of the brew

(There are thousands of flavors in coffee that could be identified. In real practice, even for the same coffee, differentiated flavors might be noted subjectively by different tasters. Joseph has therefore established a unique "taste profile" system to help customers choose Ninety Plus' coffees.)

The Taste Profile

Coffees of Ninety Plus are categorized into W2, H2, N2, SK representing different levels of fruitiness (from low to high). Logos of the Ninety Plus Taste Profiles include Nekisse N2, Hachira N2, Tchembe N2, Kemgin W2, Perci N2, Lycello W2, Juliette H2, Lotus SK and Sillvia SK, which of those are guarantees of specific taste quality and also of adherence to NP's own protocol for producing and processing coffee.

Now let's look at the taste profiles of 2 NP coffees to understand how this system relates the coffee logo with its taste (click to enlarge). Very smart way of branding and labeling the coffees!

Joseph, in your opinion, what do you consider as perfect coffee?

There is no perfect coffee any more than there is a perfect food or a perfect wine. There are foods better suited for some than others, and most desirable at certain times versus others.
The perfect coffee for me is a coffee that further illustrates what is possible in coffee flavor. At Ninety Plus this is our work and journey.

What are the upcoming coffee trends we should note as a consumer or coffee-lover?

We call it the evolution of the Comparative Coffee Culture. Responding to our own excitement and vision of coffee's potential, many industry professionals have been changing things over the past decade or so, creating solutions for producing, roasting, and retailing coffees that open up this this exploration of flavor to the end user.

Coffee lovers should expect very high quality coffees to be more available by the cup from better educated local retailers who themselves will continue to push the industry forward with coffee brewing innovation.

Is there any labeling indicating specific coffee processing methods consumers could find in the market?

There are no such labelings as of yet as this science and equipment is in a very early phase. The equipment actually must be developed which processes coffee for flavor rather than for commodity and consistency.

We are developing equipment at Ninety Plus Gesha Estates in Panama, including a solar profile dryer called Solkiln™.

That's very forward-looking Joseph! And we can't wait to taste more new NP product by your innovative processing methods. 

Coffee and the environment

Last but not least, one question that concerns me as of coffee planting is its ecological impact to the environment. Luckily Joseph gave me a very relieving answer...:)

"The way we produce coffee is non-intensive. The best coffee flavor actually results from coffee which matures slowly, under the shade of forest. Yields are much lower, but quality and higher market price can drive conservation and improvements in the environment where Ninety Plus coffees are grown. At our farm in Panama, we are replanting and stewarding forest with our coffee."

Ninety Plus Gesha Estate

Thank you very much, Joseph Brodsky of Ninety Plus Coffee, for sharing valuable producer's insights to us end customers. We now have much more understanding to coffee other than just the presentation as in Cappuccino or Espresso, but the whole universe of flavors and processing methods to come to the coffee at the end.

Learn more and engage with Ninety Plus Coffee here.

Ninety Plus Coffee in Hong Kong

If you are interested in having a cup of NP's coffee in Hong Kong, I recommend you to visit this modest yet surprising cafe in Mongkok. You could also buy home-roasted or green coffee there:

Knockbox coffee company
G/F, 21 Hak Po Street, Mong Kok, Kowloon

Coffee tasting and its basics by the Pro (Part I) - Ninety Plus Coffee

There is no better finale to a meal than a good cup of coffee. Before coffee is served to the end customers, they have indeed been going through a series of carefully controlled procedures, from cultivating, selecting, processing, roasting, blending, grinding to finally brewing to come to a nice cup of coffee.

 
It's my honor to have Joseph Brodsky, the owner/founder of Ninety Plus Coffee, a US-based coffee producer and developer here to share his insights in cultivating and processing coffee, and how to taste coffee like a pro.

Before diving into the coffee guru's guide, let me first introduce master taster's background. Joseph's active engagement in the coffee production business, incl. the development of processing techniques and innovating the flavor profile, and past experience in developing coffee roasting and retailing business turned him into a living encyclopedia of the coffee supply chain, from planting to selling. Ninety Plus Coffee insists in only producing coffee scoring 90+  from the Coffee Review, which also made NP a boutique coffee supernova in the US,  Europe and Asia.

So, what are the factors that affect the taste of a cup of coffee?

Coffee variety
10,000 varieties exist, mainly still undiscovered in the wild forests of Ethiopia, where originally coffee comes from (Watch the video trailer of Coffee Story: Ethiopia, a book uniquely co-ventured by Ninety Plus Press and Shama Books, an Ethiopian publishing company offering insight into coffee culture).

Microclimate
Soil, altitude, and other local growing conditions.

Ninety Plus Coffee

Processing
Processing coffee aims to convert the raw fruit of the coffee plant into the coffee. It involves removing the pulp from the cherry and drying the seed / bean. The processing method that is used varies and can have a significant effect on the flavor of roasted and brewed coffee.The industry is just now developing processing techniques to bring out very fine qualities in coffee. Ninety Plus is also developing equipment at Ninety Plus Gesha Estates in Panama, including a solar profile dryer called Solkiln™.

Pulping of coffee cherries by machinery (Coffee Research Institute)

Roasting
Coffees of a very high quality are generally roasted very light, where its inherent aromatic characteristics are maximized. Dark roasting burns flavor nuances from special coffees and is more suited for coffees of inferior raw quality.

Color and bean size of different degrees of roast (Sweet maria's)

Grinding and Brewing
Many different grinding and brewing methods are available for consumers and professionals. For home, Aeropress, French Press, or Chemex are the preferred methods.

Aeropress (left), French Press, Chemex (right)

To be continued with some tasting tips and eco-friendly messages by Ninety Plus Coffee ;)

About Ninety Plus Coffee

Ninety Plus Coffee was founded in 2006, when at the beginning the company worked with producers in Ethiopia to process and effectively export top-quality beans. 'Ninety Plus Gesha Estate' in Panama was then opened in 2009 to produce its own coffee.

Ninety Plus Coffee's products:
Panama NP Gesha: Lycello, Juliette, Perci, Perci Red, Lotus SK, Sillvia
Ethiopia NP Heirlooms: Nekisse, Hachira, Kemgin, Tchembe, Tuktant, Aricha, Beloya

Zen in Central - Mana! Fast Slow Food

Vegetarian food is an upward trend with more and more veggie restaurants and bistros opening in town. "Lifestyle" is becoming its adjective in recent years, and a broad spectrum of vegetarian food styles is now available to satisfy different taste buds. Veggie pastas, skewers, pizzas, wraps, burgers, even "fish balls", Chinese, Western, whatever food you feel like, you could almost find a veggie version for it.

MANA! Fast Slow Food, located in the middle of the busiest part in Central, lower Soho, doesn't only add a style to the old building housing it, also  provides a famous flat bread with a delicious (seriously delicious!) Zaatar spread (What is Zaatar?), and gives whoever coming in a relaxing yet meaningful veggie experience. Why? cause MANA! promotes veggie, vegan, organic food, Eco-friendliness and community. "Eat like it matters" is its motto, from the time you buy your flat wrap, you are encouraged to lead a healthy and eco-friendly life.

MANA! is pioneering the food waste reduction movement. Very respectable is its waste separation bins - which collect plastic utensils, paper wastes, food compost etc. They do the good of helping customers reduce carbon footprint eating-in, and in my opinion, a generous act to raise the awareness of waste reduction by setting up 5 or 6 bins inside the small restaurant space.

"You go to the back of any restaurant in Hong Kong, and all their rubbish goes in the same bins – glass bottles, food waste, paper etc… It can make me very sad to see this happening, deeply saddened. It took us a long while & great effort to set up a system. There is no government system in place yet" - says Bobsy, the founder of MANA!

I agree with you Bobsy! So I don't have any reservation recommending you to go there, experience it and get inspired :)

MANA! Fast Slow Food - [Menu] - 92 Wellington Street, Central, Hong Kong  2851 1611
  
This is Bobsy-->

Check out his blog posts about humanity, spiritual values, ecology...etc.

K-roll - It all started with a 6-year old's lunch box

Apart from my fave K-fast food "Hungry Korean" (Ashley Road, TST), and the delicate-but-won't-break-the-bank choice "ChumChumMi" (Miramar Mall,TST), "K-Roll" in Sheung Wan is a new place to satisfy my K-food craving~ from kimbap, ramen to bibimbap, it has a bit of everything basic, and simple. And it all started with a 6-year old's lunch box in 2011...read their lovely story here

K-Roll
Address: Shop 6A, G/F, Sen Fat Building, 6 Bonham Strand, Sheung Wan
Tel: 2234 5505

Shake 'em buns - Wakes your inner child

Shake'em buns' highlight is not only its variety of freshly made burgers (10 burger choices with creative names), but also it's thick french fries and creamy milkshakes - it wakes my inner child eating these stuff >w< tho even better if the meat patty is more seasoned, in my opinion

Shake'em Buns
Address: UG/F, 76 Wellington Street, Central
Tel: 2810 5533
Website: http://www.shakembuns.com/

Islamic halal food in Xinjiang/Chinese style- this famous halal beef dumpling(清真牛肉餅) is prepared in batches fresh off the frying pan, it would keep you drooling long enough before taking a juicy bite :) yum!

Islam Food
Address: 1 Lung Kong Road, Kowloon City
Tel: 2382 2822

Lin Heung Tea House - Rocking Lotus Bun in Hong Kong

Yum Cha during lunch hour sounds like a group thing - but not at Lin Heung Tea House, where you don't look odd at all sitting along with strangers at the same table, eating lotus seed bun and drinking tea in traditional cup, all alone :p

Lin Heung Tea House
Address: 160-164 Wellington Street, Central
Tel: 2544 4556

  

What are my New Year's resolutions for 2013?

The Chinese proverb says "一年之計在於春" (Literally: Spring is the time for planning the year), but obviously by the time Spring arrives (which will be officially commencing on Feb 4, 2013, according to the Chinese Almanac) no one would care for setting the year's goals any more :P So we'd better do it now~ 

I personally have set some goals to achieve for work and personal life, but I prefer not to openly share here ;) Of course, quite a number of them are about this blog - So here is a very preliminary plan / direction for the year, I promise the picture will come clearer in the form of contents sooner or later~

Credit: HK Magazine

Cheers!
Tracy :)

Have yourself a merry little GREEN Christmas 2012 (Finale)

Hope those who are reading this blog have had a very Merry Christmas, better a green one :) The last 2 Green Christmas ideas (oh yay finally..!) will focus on some post-Christmas actions you could take to offset your "extra" carbon footprint during Christmas. Hope they help~

Green Christmas Idea #9 - Clean up the nature

My Christmas Day's special celebration with a group of volunteers cleaning up the shore at Yi O (a sea bay further down Tai O on Lantau) was definitely worth all the hassle doing such a meaningful deed!

Yi O has been an abandoned village for 30 years, a local green group, Local Life (在地生活), plans to rehabilitate the land and open the largest organic farm in Hong Kong (~100 acres), probably in the first half of 2013.

Since the land has been left unmaintained for a few decades, rubbish brought by sea waves piled up at the shore and needed removal to reveal the ground surface for setting up the farmland. 

Over 50 large garbage bags were filled by some 20 of us volunteers, after half a day picking up debris such as Styrofoam, plastic/ glass bottles, plastic bags, food/ snack packaging, candy wraps, flip flops...piece by piece!

The arm-numbing and back-breaking work only cleaned not even half of the trash there...We all couldn't help but lamented the effect on the environment by reckless human! The lesson learned today was...what comes around goes around...! So, be a responsible beach bum, don't leave trash behind coz. the nature doesn't degrade "rubbish"...more importantly, REDUCE the use of styrofoam and disposable products!!

Beach and country park clean-ups are gaining heightened awareness by Hong Kong people, especially after the "plastic pellet spill" incident earlier this year. Apart from occasion cleanups held by small local groups, you may also join or organize a "Hong Kong Cleanup" event co-organized by ecozine.com and National Geographic Channel (Recall the TV ad these days with Daniel Wu and Lisa S??). Not only should you join cleanups during Christmas, but any other time all year round! I assure you this is a serious hands-on experience that could make you think twice before buying/using eco-unfriendly products ever again...

An after-note, when Local Life's organic farm is fully fledged, produces will be sold through their store to be opened in Tai O, and some other partnering social enterprises. Good news for organic veg's fans~

Green Christmas Idea #10 -  Gifts handy to those needy

We all love gift exchange! After every Boxing Day, have it ever happened when you received a gift you already own, or you are not likely to use, the gift turns out to be sitting in a cabinet corner at home. Why not donate to people who would think them of use? It may feel bad giving away gifts from others, but when it comes to situations simply reasonable and sensible to do so, knowing the organizations that receive them would come in handy :)

Caritas

They accept:	Housewares and gifts, apparel, toys and garment, office equipment, priced items, coupons or other gifts
Where to next:	To the infamous charity sale - the Caritas Bazaar
Enquiry:	2843 4700 or Caritas Local Service Coordination Offices of respective deaneries
Website:	http://www.caritas.org.hk/eng/webpage/whom_do_we/other/local_caritas_sales.asp

  
Po Leung Kuk

They accept:	All kinds of items are welcome - electrical appliances, computers, stationeries, toys, books, household accessories, cookware, etc.
Where to next:	Children, the elderly and low-income families
Enquiry:	2277 8158 plkinfo@poleungkuk.org.hk
Website:	http://www.poleungkuk.org.hk/en/20090714269/other-forms-of-donation/2009-07-14-09-17-32.html

St James Settlement

They accept:	Electric fan, rice cooker, electric water boiler/pot, radio, telephone set (with large number keys), TV set, refrigerator, washing machine, water heater etc.
Where to next:	"Electrical Appliances For The Elderly" Program to elderly in HK
Enquiry:	2831 3283 thevoice@sjs.org.hk
Website:	http://www.sjs.org.hk/en/charityproject/electricgift.php

The Salvation Army

They accept:	·         Clothing, footwear, handbags and accessories, either brand new or used in clean condition ·         Electrical home appliances in working order ·         Electrical office equipments (e.g. computer, fax machine, printer, etc.) in working order ·         Toys, stationery, books, gifts and premiums ·         Software / DVD / VCD / CD with copyright
Where to donate:	At any of the Family Stores during opening hours or deposit them into The Salvation Army Recycling Bins located across Hong Kong
Where to next:	Distributed and sold in Family Stores, some will be directly helping people in need, such as home alone elderly, street sleepers, ex-prisoners and CSSA recipients
Enquiry:	2332 4433 (Mon to Fri 9am – 6pm / Sat 9am – 5pm) recycling@hkt.salvationarmy.org
Website:	http://www.salvationarmy.org.hk/en/services/donate

YMCA

They accept:	Toys, books, sports equipments, music instruments, electronic game products
Where to donate:	YMCA centres in Tsim Sha Tsui, Cheung Sha Wan and Tung Chung
Where to next:	Children under 12 years old from low income families
Enquiry:	Tsim Sha Tsui headquarter: 2268 7000 Cheung Sha Wan centre: 2708 8995 Tung Chung centre: 2988 1246
Website:	http://www.tc.ymcahk.org.hk/toy_bank/

- The End -

Afterword

So that's all for the 10 Green Christmas ideas~ I have learned so much doing the research in many late nights after work,  after party, after volunteering at the beach clean up. Friends did ask why I am so into doing this post (haha..yea..), first, I have decided since the beginning to write 10 ideas, there hasn't been any excuse not to try and do whatever to finish it. Besides, I really am concerned about the future of our environment...it's a photo I took during the beach clean up - water bottles from over 10 years found right under soil still remain so intact...

Think about our landfills, billions of plastic bottles like this will be staying there for decades, centuries without degrading, I couldn't help but am haunted by the idea of living above the landfills one day...if we don't do something to procrastinate our rubbish producing speed...

This was supposed to be a bubbly Christmas post...but somehow, when talking about environmental sustainability, the topic doesn't sound funny any more. It's something SERIOUS. My blog is yea, party-oriented, but I also want to spread this message - Enjoy life, eat, play, spend money, party, with SENSE. The very least thing you wana do is to destroy the earth sooner than you and your next generations could enjoy it, right?