October 2, 2022
I had a long weekend rest this week since a public national holiday fell on Saturday which gave me a rest day as well. I had plans for the weekend, but unfortunately, since it was a holiday, some establishments were closed, so I opted to postpone my plans. This gave me more time to slack in my bed while interacting online and resting. And at night, I even had a chance to listen to the HivePh Community Mental Health webinar, wherein I learned so much.
I went out late in the afternoon to have a walk since it's too boring to stay in my bed. I went to the next city to buy something necessary for my health goals. I recently started this health goal, and I'm trying to get back to restore the healthy lifestyle I once had, which I mentioned in one of my LoH posts.
Part of my health goals is to do meditation each day and exercise. So far so good, the effect of this healthy routine in the morning has a positive impact on me. I'm now seeing a change in myself, especially in my sleeping habit. From having difficulty of sleeping, I can easily manage it now with the help of music as well.
I can easily beat anxiety and negative thoughts now compared to before. I guess that's the positive effect of meditation. I hope I could maintain a positive mindset for the rest of my life.
One of my health goals includes a strict diet. Having a gluten and lactose intolerance is such a pain in the ass since I couldn't just eat whatever I want, including those I am craving. There is always restriction and moderation. I hate the fact that there are certain foods now that my body can't accept.
However, sometimes when I feel hungry, I can't control myself from breaking my diet, which isn't good. In the end, I just suffer the consequences if I can't help myself from eating the forbidden ones. I tend to eat whatever I can see at home, regardless of its food content, may it has gluten, lactose, or none. I truly need the self-discipline to be successful in my health goals. However, before I religiously commit myself to it, I want to enjoy the food so I wouldn't miss it.
I'm starting a strict diet on Monday, and this weekend I binged-eat before depriving myself of eating what I want.
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I started it by consuming the remaining moon cakes my boss gave me so there wouldn't be something to ruin my strict diet on Monday. I added avocado fruit to it though which is healthy, then a crispy seaweed. These were my food while slacking in my bed and online surfing.
In the afternoon, I opted to go out to buy the food supplements I needed for my immune system, metabolism, and joint and muscle support. A strict diet means depriving myself of the food I want, thus, my body will be needing some supplements as not all nutrients can be gotten from the selected food I will be eating.
Despite the rainshower, I ventured out to look for the shop selling legit and imported food supplements at fair prices. I was lost in my journey as I wasn't good at following the Google Map, lol.
I came across a bakeshop selling this yummy chocolate bread. I felt hungry and so I grabbed one. I ate this at the small park nearby before I continued finding the shop I was looking for.
The bread was freshly baked and was still a little bit hot which makes the pudding inside ooze out in every bite. This bread is similar to the chocolate pie with crispy crust outside and so soft pudding inside. It was worth buying and I was satisfied with the taste.
After some time, I found the shop and bought the supplements I needed. It was almost five in the afternoon so I looked for a place to settle and take my dinner. I promised myself to give fancy food so I chose a restaurant that I haven't visited yet before.
I chose a Chinese dim sum/hot pot restaurant near the street market as it's been a while since I ate dim sum food. The restaurant architecture was too cozy and bright, a combination of Chinese traditional and modern design. The tables are like cute booths that occupy up to four people. And each has an electric gas stove used for the hot pot. Orders are placed online by scanning the QR code on the receipt of each table, and the food is served after more or less 20 minutes.
You might wonder what is Dim Sum, those are large varieties of traditional Chinese food served in small dishes, and usually accompanied by tea. The teapot set was cute and looked old, made from special clay with Chinese designs.
I was asked to choose which tea to drink, and although I am unfamiliar with them, I chose the red one. As I scanned it on Google, it says an orchid tea. I wasn't sure which kind of orchid, but it tasted good.
So while waiting for my orders, I prepared my tea by boiling the water first which was available on the table. Usually, in other restaurants, boiling water isn't available, and so we need to constantly call the staff to give us hot water.
The porcelain bowl is used to wash the cup, bowl, and utensils before using them to be hygienic. It is common here in HK.
I'll teach you how to prepare and serve Chinese tea with this kind of teapot set.
Pour the tea leaves inside the clay teapot, followed by the boiled water, and let it brew for a couple of minutes. Pour the tea into the tea bowl with a strainer. It is used to strain the tea leaves. Lastly, pour the strained tea into the tiny teacup.
You can see a metal tong in the photo. It is used to handle the teacup to be more hygienic. However, I am not used to it and I might just spill the tea. Instead, I used it in washing the teacup with hot water.
After more or less 20 minutes, my orders arrived. They were served with special soy sauce to add more taste to the food. But I didn't use it as it contains more gluten.
What are they?
First was steamed chicken rice with Chinese sausage. This is one of my favorite dim sum rice dishes. The Chinese sausage is quite sweet with a distinct flavor.
The second one was fresh bamboo rolls with the oyster king. I wasn't sure about the bamboo thing since I didn't taste any bamboo shoots inside as I expected, but I tasted oyster king mushrooms. The food is wrapped with tofu sheets with oyster sauce. It was tasty and I liked the flavor.
Last was the dessert, it is called beauty ginger cake. Among all the desserts on the menu, this was the one I never tasted yet. I was curious about its flavor, so I chose it. The ginger flavor is really evident in the taste, with a spicy and pungent aroma. The cake is made from glutinous rice, so it's chewy and sticky.
I liked all the food so far, along with the tea, and I was truly satisfied. I thought I couldn't finish them all, because my tummy is just small, lol. What I did was eat them slowly, and it took me more than an hour to finish them all.
This blog isn't just for 
That's all for today's weekend blog. In case you haven't made your entry to the Weekend Engagement yet, visit Galen's latest post about it to check the concepts.
Happy Sunday everyone.
