The holiday season was a little off for 2010. I think it all started with not having a proper Thanksgiving. And then we didn’t have a Christmas tree since we were going to visit family. So I guess I had to compensate by making the house smell like ginger cookies all day long… for about 2 weeks straight. I made about 4 batches of these ginger molasses cookies around the holidays this year. Some were a little crispier than others but for the most part, the chewy ooey gooey ones were at hit. After a few tweaks, I finally got the right recipe and I was on a roll! Hope you enjoy them as much as I do 
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Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: baking, food, mmmm, recipes
Tags: american, baking, cookies, cooking, desserts, food, holiday, recipe, recipes
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I love paris! It’s my favorite city in the whole world. Of all the times I’ve been to Paris, this was by far the… coldest. I’m talking gloom, snow, and ice. The last time I was in France in late November, I wore a jeans, t-shirt and a jacket. This time, I had on every piece of clothing I could layer on (about 4 before cutting off my circulation), a coat, scarf, double socks and boots. Besides that, it was also quite magical and delicious. Who can say no to butter and bread at every meal?
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Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: hearts, mmmm, travel
Tags: adventure, holiday, travel, trip, vacation
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Mmmm Barcelona. I think I ate the whole city. This was my second visit to Barcelona, I had a done a weekend trip there back in college when I studied abroad in London. This time, there was much more eating and way less drinking. I had my list of must-visit and must-eat’s and even though we didn’t get through the entire thing, we did some serious fooding.
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Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: hearts, Other, travel
Tags: Add new tag, adventure, holiday, life, travel, trip, vacation
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Yes it’s holiday season again. I feel like it hit really early this year. I heard Christmas music at Bloomies before Halloween! This year I’m so happy to be surrounded by all the amazing holiday paraphernalia. Pumpkins all over the place! Turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, hams, you can’t miss it at any grocery store. Everyone gets into it. Starbucks with their special drinks, Dunkin Donuts with special holiday flavors so I figured it’s time for me to experiment with some pumpkin goodness.
We all love pumpkin pie. Those spices mixed with that rich pumpkin puree, mmmm mmm just reminds me of Fall. After 3 batches, I finally perfected the recipe for these scrumptious spiced pumpkin cookies. They’re more like muffin tops. Cakey and spongey like a moist muffin with a delicious maple icing on top. Perfect to fill the cookie jar for this holiday season!
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Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: baking, food, mmmm, recipes
Tags: baking, cookies, cooking, desserts, food, holiday, recipe, recipes, sweets, thanksgiving
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One of the touristy things to do… take the old tram up to the peak for a fabulous view of the city. Well, unfortunately, it was all covered with fog by the time we got up there. We got some great shots of the fog though!
I did this tram/peak thing when I went to Hong Kong about 15 years ago. It was actually one of the few things I remembered from the trip. Perhaps because my mom and I had one of those touristy picture-on-a-plate things made from up there. I think it still sits on her dresser.
The peak was completely redone a few years ago and now has a shopping mall attached with some gourmet restaurants and fancy pants dessert places. It’s pretty much expected that in Hong Kong, anything worth while will have a shopping mall attached.
Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: Other, random, travel
Tags: adventure, asia, asian, chinese, holiday, Hong Kong, random, travel, trip, vacation
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This is by far the cheapest way to see Hong Kong – on the Star Ferry. There’s 2 decks – the older lower level and the newer upper level. They’re pretty similar, one has air con in the Summer and one doesn’t and it’s only like a HK40 cent difference. You can ride from one island to the other for about HK$2 that’s like 60 cents!
Although I didn’t have the best luck on the night view on the way back… rocky seas make for rocky pictures!
Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: Other, random, travel
Tags: asia, asian, holiday, Hong Kong, travel, trip, vacation
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There’s several different types of Hong Kong breakfasts. 1 – traditional congee with various other savory dishes like Chinese donuts, rice noodles things, and turnip cake. 2 – sweet buns, pineapple buns with a huge slab of butter, milk tea, milk coffee or both milk coffee and tea. 3 – yum cha or dim sum. I’m sure a 4th includes McDonald’s. They love McDonald’s in Asia – not just HK, all of Asia! More on McD’s later!
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Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: food, mmmm, Other, random, travel
Tags: asia, asian, breakfast, brunch, holiday, Hong Kong, life, random, travel, trip, vacation
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On our second day in Hong Kong, we hoped on the MTR to Tung Chung on Lantau Island. Took the cable car up to the Tian Tan Buddha. It was a super foggy day and it was beautiful the way the fog sat over the mountains and over the statue. Once we made the pilgramage up to the top, we stopped at the vegetarian cafe for some snacks before heading back to Kowloon. YUM!
Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: Other, random, travel
Tags: adventure, asia, asian, buddha, chinese, holiday, Hong Kong, life, random, travel, trip, vacation
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Old boat & about 1/4 of Hong Kong Island
The other end of Hong Kong Island
Goldfish Market near Mong Kok
When it comes to seeing the sights in Hong Kong, there’s not that many. Not saying it’s not a spectacular city, it’s phenomenal! But not in the same way a place like Rome fills your day with sights. Hong Kong’s splendor lies in the majestic city scape both day and night, the different islands, and most of all the food and the people.
We spent equal time on Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon side. Both are very different yet very Hong Kong. Not sure where to begin so I’ll just split it up into several posts!
Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: Other, random, travel
Tags: asia, holiday, Hong Kong, life, random, travel, trip, vacation
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Singapore was exactly the type of trip I wanted: SHOPPING & FOOD! We only had 2 days in the city but boy did we take advantage of it! And we sure did eat a lot!
I love that in Singapore, it’s perfectly okay to have about 8 meals. Unfortunately you can’t chew gum, spit or be gay. Not gay as in happy, gay as in homosexual. Apparently it’s illegal?! Well, we still happened to stumble upon 3 lesbian bars on our last night so I guess it can’t be that bad.
We landed in Singapore around 1pm, got to the fabulous Scarlet Hotel and ventured off to do some shopping. We went a little shopping crazy on Orchard Road – I missed Zara so much – and after about 5 hours of shopping we decided, it’s time for food. We made our way back to Chinatown and found the hawker center in the Chinatown Complex. Vini had chicken rice and roast pork with rice for about $5. I had some vegetarian plate for about the same price. SO CHEAP and SO GOOD!
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Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: Other, random, Reviews, travel
Tags: adventure, asia, asian, holiday, seafood, Singapore, travel, trip, vacation
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