Hong Kong Visit: 4th for 2015

Hong Kong is starting to be my second home as I'm finding myself visiting more often.  My 4th for the year had me staying at Novotel Century Hotel in Wan Chai.  It was my first time to stay in that area and I felt a bit lost.  But later on discovered that the place had a lot of cheap and delicious restaurants.

Managed to see my HK friends CC and GDR, we dined at Victoria City very close to my hotel.

Our meetings were held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, around 1 km. from our hotel.

On our second night, our hosts brought us to 1938 Hey Hey, and authentic Hongkong restaurant offering roastings.

Day 2 of meetings, also at the Grand Hyatt with a view of the Hongkong Exhibition Center.

Hongkong for Business and Pleasure

I was lucky to be in Hongkong again for work. Got to stay at the Mandarin Oriental and it was great.  Loved the room and the Hermes bathroom amenities.

Also had the chance to see my MSCF BFF CC for dinner at Cafe Causette of the hotel.

E joined me and we got to see one of my college BFFs RJW. We had a most delicious breakfast at the Clipper Lounge of the hotel.  Had so much dimsum.

Also had two good meals with E, such as Cafe Angelina, the famous french cafe at IFC.

And this Asian restaurant in Landmark.

Day2 in San Francisco and Last Day in the US

My day started with brunch at Aveline with my friend HF. Just wanted to show you how I got around on my own. E would always be our navigator and I would just follow him but I managed this time.  I did the same for the walk to Embarcadero the day before.

Just wanted to show E that our restaurant of choice (because it's cheap) 6 years ago was still there in the same location.  I even saw our former hotel which was along the same street.

After brunch, I went back to the hotel to do some last minute packing before checking out to meet our friend DR who brought me to several tourist spots where E and I didn't get the chance to go the last time:

Sausalito

Palace of the Arts

Palace of the Arts with DR

Marina

Also had the chance to see friend from Share CE we went to Lands End Point Lobos.

Last Stop: San Francisco

E and I were in San Francisco 6 years ago and I knew then that I will definitely go back. This time around, I'm lucky to get to stay at the Westin St. Francis on Union Square.  I loved the location because it was really close to everything, no need to take any transportation to get to places.

This is the view from our first meeting:

We had lunch at the Greek restaurant Kokkari Estiatorio.  This should be a really popular place as there was a really long line when we left the restaurant.

We were finally free by mid-afternoon!  I went around the shops around the area until it was time to meet my high school friends.

I'm proud to say that I walked all the way, picking up my friend HF in the Financial District and had the opportunity to tour a genuine start-up company with their free coffee, soda and snacks.  Wow! Then we walked together to Embarcadero. We met our friend NN and his family at OSHA Thai in Embarcadero.

3rd Stop: Washington D.C.

We stayed at the very expensive Four Seasons Washington D.C.  Our room was big but I thought it is overpriced. Nothing really special that would justify the price.

But I did have a wonderful time with my good friend from high school VAK. We had a nice time catching up at the Lounge at Bourbon Steak.  The last time I visited her in DC was 7 years ago.  How time flies.

The next morning, our breakfast meeting was held at  Seasons, also located within the hotel.

We had a very busy day travelling from DC to Wilmington, Delaware by train, and then to Philadelphia by car. Good thing I remembered to take out my iPhone to take this souvenir photo while our limo service passed the Washington Monument on our way to Union Station. Unfortunately no photos of Wilmington and Philadelphia...

Boston!

My first time in Boston was for a mere 24 hours.  Too short but enough to know that I do love the city starting with the airport which was newly renovated.  We stayed at the Copley Square Hotel, which was quite old but charming.  Didn't get to take a photo as breakfast was an official meeting, but liked Langham Hotel's Cafe Fleuri.  We had lunch at Oceanaire Seafood Room which is a popular chain but really elegant.

The view from one of our meeting rooms.  Next time I swear I will see Harvard University.

US Roadshow 2015: First Stop New York!

This has got to be the highlight of my working life:  A US roadshow covering seven cities.  It has been six long years since my last US trip.

Had the chance to set foot on Vancouver on our layover on the way to New York.

A glimpse of Vancouver on our layover

We stayed at this charming boutique hotel for the New York leg citizenM New York and loved staying there, especially the 24/7 cafe which allowed me to have relaxing breakfasts at 515AM.

Saw BFF DL and college classmate CS at Shake Shack Times Square, where we had burgers, fries and shakes while standing up the whole time!

Checking out

The view of Central Park from one of my meetings.  Breathtaking!

Also had the chance to dine in some of New York's hottest restaurants:  Oceana, Fresco by Scotto and Esca.  Unfortunately, I couldn't  take photos because those were official meals, but the experience was amazing.

Singapore on Business (2nd in 2015)

It was my first time at the Mandarin Oriental Singapore.  I really loved the room and the view. Loved the buffet breakfast which came with the room, I got to eat dimsum everyday.  Took my parents and Auntie CM to dinner at Mandarin's Cherry Garden which had unbelievably good Chinese food.  Also had the chance to meet up with high school friends based in Singapore at Marche.

Last leg: Hong Kong (Late Post)

March 16, 2015 - It was my first time to stay at the Conrad, and we spent two nights here. Similar to Island Shangri-la, the location is at the Pacific Place complex and was really convenient.   The rooms seem dated though.  The view from my workstation was also perfect.

Day 3 of Roadshow: Singapore

I had the most amazing hotel room at The Fairmont. Too bad I only had 10 hours to enjoy it!