Quick Review of the Fuji X-T10 (with Sample Photos)

It was a long wait. I wanted to upgrade my camera to a smaller one coming from a Nikon DSLR which I've used since 2009. It was a great camera and looking at the photos I took using it, I somewhat already miss it. But one must let go of things and so, after months of research, I decided to get a Fuji X-T10.

A week ago, I was in Hong Kong in search for one. It was not easy to buy one because it was either too expensive or it was not in stock. Let me give you a trick. If you are going to Hong Kong to buy a gadget, try this. Search for your item and end your search with "price hk". Your search will most probably return sites from the domain price.hk. Yes, I use that to canvass and check prices in Hong Kong. It is pretty accurate! (In search for a X-T10 as well? Try it. Click this link.)

Upon opening the site, you'll see a location pin. Click that and you'll see the store and the respective price of the item you are looking for. That's it! Technology has made canvassing easier!

Going back to the camera, coming from a Nikon DSLR, I admit it was not easy at all. Throughout the my trip in Hong Kong, I was in "Auto" mode. I had no choice because the settings adjustment were not the same with what I was used to. I know the basics like white balance, ISO, shutter speed etc etc. But I'm still having a hard time using it. I was using my D90 like a pro before having been able to use full manual. I guess it will take time and a lot of reading to be able to control the camera in full manual mode.

Using it in "auto" mode, it did return really nice shots. Check out some of the photos from the XT10:

I will be posting more photos and a separate entry about what's new in Hong Kong Disneyland. Me and my wife got an annual pass already and we are excited to go back this June!

A separate full review of the X-T10 will also be posted soon.

Cheftonio
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Hong Kong Disneyland 10th Anniversary and Christmas 2015 Photos (with expert tips)

We visited Hong Kong Disneyland a few weeks back and I'd like to share with you the photos I took from Asia's only Disney theme park! I've been to HKDL several times already but no doubt, the best time to visit the theme park is during Christmas season. The decorations all over the park itself is a sight to enjoy already and the festive mood is heightened.

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Family Lunch at Din Tai Fung, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

Since we only had light breakfast and had a lot of walking in the Harbour City, we decided to eat lunch earlier so we could have a relaxing stroll along Tsim Sha Tsui area before we head to the airport. We decided to go back to Silvercord Just across Ocean Termical since we were planning to check on H&M after lunch. Din Tai Fung had just opened a few minutes earlier and was just starting to accommodate diners into the restaurant. We hurriedly queued up and we were blessed as we got the last round table good for 6. Because we were one of the last people to be seated, our table was located at the far end of the restaurant near the kitchen. Since it was all our first time, it was actually a good thing because I got to peek at orders of other diners as we passed through their tables.

After we were seated, We were given the menu which includes an order sheet and a pencil so we could mark our orders to be submitted to the kitchen for preparation. Self-order cards is actually a good practice in Hong Kong (especially for those establishments that has a fast turn-over of guests and huge headcount) because guests need not to be attended to all at the same time by the wait staff and also to avoid misunderstanding of orders as some staff may not be well-versed in English. Order sheets are in Chinese with its corresponding English translation. 

Other than the menu, there is also this card that teaches you how to eat Xiao Long Bao properly. 

Because Din Tai Fung is famous for XLPs, they teach everyone how they should handle the XLP to prevent bursting it's skin and for diners to fully enjoy the soup inside.  

It didn't take long for our orders to be served, we ordered the following:

Although it's a bit spicy, this appetizer is really good. Almost all tables ordered this dish before they started their main meal.

One of the highlights of our meal was Xiao Long Bao and we really loved how they prepared it. The skin is thick enough to hold the yummy soup but not too thick to overpower the meat inside. You could also taste that the meat is freshly made. They do have a various kinds of XLP but we decided to try Shrimp Dumplings for a change. The combination of Luffa (aka Chinese okra) with Shrimp was good and we got to enjoy it very much.

Our first fried rice - Shrimp. Normal fried rice for me, except that they didn't chop the shrimps probably to show diners that genuine and good quality shrimps are used in the preparation of this dish. 

On our second fried rice, we chose the ordinary egg fried rice with deep-fried pork chop. There was nothing much special about this dish except that the meat in the pork chop was good as there was not much fat. 

Our last but definitely one of the best dimsum - Steamed glutinous rice with pork shao-mai. I'm not much of a sticky rice fan but I had my second piece because it was just so good! Perfect combination of pork and sticky rice.

Below is the complete menu of Din Tai Fung. If you could notice, they have a vast selection of food and for easier ordering, they made separate tabs to group them together per same category/kind. In addition, they also placed an icon just beside the name so that diners would know the key ingredients of the said dish.

Cold Dishes Tab

Xiao Long Bao Tab

Steamed Dumpling Tab

 

Buns and Glutinous Rice Buns

Soup

Wonton Tab

Specialty Hot Dishes Tab

 

Vegetable Tab

 

Dry Noodles Tab

 

Noodle Soup

 

Fried Rice Menu

 

Desserts

Fruit Dessert

Beverages

They do have gift sets that you can purchase as pasalubongs!

Din Tai Fung is located inside Silvercord

20 Canton Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui

LaNnA
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Ippudo HK: A Must Go Ramen Restaurant Chain

Having tried a lot of ramen places here in Manila, a lot of people have been telling me to try Ippudo (一風堂) when we get to Hong Kong. According to Wikipedia, this Japanese restaurant chain started in Fukuoka, Japan in 1985. The name, which literally means "One Wind Hall" was because there were dark clouds over the Kyushu ramen industry and the founder CEO Kawahara wanted to "blow wind to revolutionize this era." It was not until 2008 that it expanded to the other side of the globe and opened its first overseas branch in New York. It started to become more and more popular and eventually opened stores in Asia - Singapore, Malaysia, China, Hong Kong.

Ippudo in Chinese Characters - and it literally means "One Wind Hall"

Since it was our first time to try this restaurant out, we were all very excited but didn't realize that it was past 9pm when we arrived Silvercord. What surprised me more was that there was still a long line of diners waiting for their turn to be seated. I saw this small black machine by the reception table and so I took a closer look - an automated queuing machine! We slowly looked at how it works (good thing language can be changed to English) and finally got our number. We were number 328 and at that time, they were serving 280+.

Hungry and tired that we were, we opted to stay as we have been looking forward to trying Ippudo's ramen. We waited for more or less 40 minutes and finally, our number was called.

Their Automated Queuing System

All the wait staff greeted us as soon as we entered (too bad we didn't understand them). What I loved about their interior is that it was very warm and cozy. What I also noticed is that even though the restaurant is packed with people, they made sure that diners are seated comfortably - arrangement of tables and chairs are not crowded.

As soon as we were seated, we were given the menu and in just 3 minutes, all of us was ready to order. I got the Shiromaru Motoaji and I added an order of their soft-boiled egg as ramen would never be complete without ajitama. It didn't take them long to serve our orders and what I liked about it was even if there were 6 of us who ordered different varieties, they more or less served the ramen simultaneously. 

Their ramen was really good as there is consistency in the preparation of the noodles and the broth had a distinct yummy flavor. The slices of pork was actually good as there was not much fat compared to the  "char siu" slices of other ramen restaurant chain.  

Shiromaru Ramen with Flavored Soft Boiled Egg

Husband on the other hand ordered Ippudo Karaka as this was recommended by their wait staff, he loved it very much as the spice added more flavor to the ramen. We also found out later on that this spicy ramen is one of their best-sellers.

Ippudo Karaka

They have been very consistent in the preparation of their soft-boiled egg. Not all ramen restaurant chains can actually perfect this (some actually overcooks it resulting to hard-boiled egg) and I consider Ippudo to have one of the best ajitamas in town.

Ippudo complete menu:

Although it was already late when we finished, we were very much satisfied with visiting Ippudo. I do hope they get to open one soon in Manila but if not, we highly recommend you to visit this ramen restaurant chain!

Ippudo Hong Kong is located at 

Shop No. 20, 2nd Floor, Silvercord,
30 Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui

Operating Hours: 11:30 am to 11:00 pm (Monday-Sunday)

LaNnA
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