Look For A Star

With all the controversy going on with Andy Lau in Malaysia and his secret wedding in Las Vegas last year, Eric and I finally watched his movie Look For A Star a few nights back.

What's so special about this movie is the fact that it was filmed in Macau.
And alot of scenes in MGM.
It doesn't hurt that Andy still looks so handsome and even I drool when looking at Shu Qi.
According to it's Wiki page, apparently the movie is based on the relationship between Stanley Ho and his 4th wife, Angela Leong.
I really can't imagine Stanley actually riding at the back of Angela's motorcycle all around Macau or Angela actually not knowing he is the Stanley Ho when they met.
Anyways, I'm glad I didn't know all this when we watched the movie.
It would've spoilt the movie for me. No matter how handsome Andy is.

Obviously this is a rich guy meets poor gal with a happy ending kinda movie.
Andy is his charming self as usual.
Shu Qi still have a long way to go with her Cantonese pronunciation.
My friends used to tease me and said I talk like Shu Qi.
Not in a good way.
I rather look like her. Not talk like her. With wrong pronunciations.
Yes, they laughed at me -_-
I think my Cantonese have improved leaps and bounds since living in Macau.
It's so embarrassing when locals here don't understand what I'm trying to say with my limited Cantonese.
I'm still learning, but still a long way to go.
Yeah...I've stop saying "cheng sek"(which we do in Malaysia!)
It's now "luk sek" (green colour) =P

Look For A Star even has it's own website.
It has the movie trailer and a few "making of" clips.
What's cute is the Love Monopoly Chart, which is a contest.
Unfortunately, I'm way too late =(
The contest ended a long time ago.

Since the movie was filmed in Macau, and Macau is a small small country, we recognized alot of the places in the movie.
Many we don't as well!
Eric is most excited anytime there's food featured in the movie.
He wants to know where is that place!!!
If you've always wondered how the MGM casino looks like, you gotta watch this movie.
And the funny part was when Shu Qi's character was at the MGM staff entrance and locker room, Eric was going "That's our staff entrance, see our locker, so small right?"
Now I know what he's talking about when he says his locker could only fit his shoes and nothing else =P

Anyways, I cried buckets.
I get damn emo whenever I watch movies or tv shows.
And this one really got to me.
Especially the part where the character Lin Jiu when on stage to declare his love for Jo.
He said, though he is poor, he deserve to love. And he wants her to know that in this world, there is someone who loves her.
I cried and cried and cried.

I believe in love.
Deep and selfless love.
And I could feel his every word.
Because I feel the same way.
Everyone deserve to love.
It doesn't matter if you're poor, educated, handsome, ugly, short, have three eyes or blind.
We deserve to be loved for who we are.
Accepted for who we are.
And if a person could love us despite our flaws, why can't we love ourself?
In love, there is sacrifice.
There is tolerance.
There is compromise.
There is heartbreak.

But why not give love a chance?
Give ourself a chance?
Isn't a little heartache worth it in the quest to obtain happiness?

Whether a guy has money or not has never been a priority for me.
Never really had a "List of Criteria" for The One before either.
Okay...maybe a mini list.

1. He must not be a criminal. (though I must say, even some criminals have someone to love them)
2. He must have a sense of humour.
3. Intellectually we must be compatible.(a very important criteria this one)
4. No STDs. (super important)

Maybe some people might say I've set a real low standards for guys I go out with.
But I believe in giving people a chance.
Never judge a book by it's cover?

Many people also think I'm bluffing when I told them Eric had nothing much when we started dating.
No car, no money, no job.
It didn't matter to me.
When Cupid's arrow strikes you, you can only follow your heart.

So, are you looking for a star?
Look closer, the star you're looking for might already be shining it's light on you.
It might be dim but give it a chance to shine.
Even a diamond needs a little polishing to dazzle =)

888 Gourmet Place Buffet @ Sands, Macau

Recently, Eric, Mum and I made our way to Sands Hotel to try out their buffet.
I thought it was a pretty good deal as they are having a buy 2 free 1 promo going on.
I called Sands up to make reservations and was told I need a coupon.
And the coupon can only be obtained at the Ferry Terminal.
No big deal actually, just that we have to make a detour to the Ferry Terminal first then to Sands.
Most casinos have free shuttle buses at the Ferry Terminal so it's really convenient.
And we ended up walking to the Ferry Terminal from our apartment.
It's not very far, about 10-15 mins walk depending on your walking speed.

Anyways, we managed to get the coupon and headed for dinner.
The restaurant is located in the casino itself so obviously no kids allowed.

View from our table. That's the dessert counter.

Cold cuts appetizers.

Salad bar which I tried a little and never went back for 2nd helpings.

Lots of choices to add flavours to your salad.

Cold seafood which I don't really fancy.Crabs, whelks, prawns and mussels.

They even have Alaskan King Crab legs. Really salty and cold if you eat those legs by itself. So my darling Chef came up with this great idea =) A bowl of seafood soup, a piece of butter and a few crab legs. Scrap out the crab meat and dump it into the hot soup along with the butter.

Yummilicious!!! Now the seafood soup is creamier and tastier with chunks of crab meat =)

Sushi rolls coated with chilli powder O_o

Tuna, octopus and salmon sashimi.

My little appetizer plate. Corn with bacon bits, a piece of ham, cold prawns, whelks and mushrooms. Everything is cold on this plate -_-

This is Eric's. Some salad, a bread stick, marinated salmon, beef, some curry chicken and I've got no idea what's that between the salad and curry.

As usual, Mum can't resist the crab.

Obviously this plate is no mine. I don't do salad. People had to actually queue up for the crab legs.

Noodles station.

And this bowl of noodles is tasteless. And it doesn't have all the ingredients I ordered.



The roast beef.


That's a piece if the roast beef which is pink and juicy. I like it =) The rice is kinda uncooked and the lamb curry is disappointing. Love the papadam though =P

Hot dishes are alright. Nothing special really. Prawns stir fry with beans, braised beef, lamb chop with potatoes which I had trouble chewing, tempura prawns, spaghetti with fish and a lonely piece of har-gao(prawn dumpling)

Eric had some prawn dumplings, steamed fish, broccoli, prawn tempura and roast beef.

Dessert and that bowl in the middle contains tiramisu. Which looks kinda yucky after a little while.

Love the colourful deco wall in the restaurant.

The fruits are fake though. What a bummer.

Ice cream station!

They only had 2 flavours. Cookies and cream and chocolate mint. Me love. Thank goodness it wasn't vanilla or some other funky flavour.

The blob on the left is tiramisu that taste pretty decent. The chocolate cake thingy on the hand almost made me puke.

Eric's dessert.

Some red bean soup...I think.

Mum's dessert. She mention only one is yummy and I can't remember which.

Well, this buffet is cheap.

For Macau standard lar.

But the food is nothing to shout about.

Maybe it caters more for hungry gamblers in the casino.

The only yummy thing that comes to mind is the seafood soup+king crab legs.

Doubt we will be hitting this buffet again in the future.

The hotels in Macau are bursting with buffets but some are really really pricey.

Like the one in Four Seasons which is said to be really good.

Money wise, Sands buffet is cheap. Food is so-so.

The spread is less than half of what Grand Lisboa buffet is offering.

But Grand Lisboa has this time limit thingy for their buffets so you gotta eat really fast!

If you're looking to stuff yourself silly in a buffet, give Sands a miss and head on over to The Grand Buffet in Grand Lisboa instead.

Trust me, it'll be well worth the money.

Aces

Last night I was waiting for Eric to come home with some supper but he surprised me instead by announcing we're going to MGM's Pool Party.

I wasn't expecting to go as he'll be super tired after work and he's going to work today as well.
So I dressed up and put on some makeup.
I haven't been t o a pool party before so I've got no idea what's the dress code.

The place was packed.
With people in long flowing evening dresses and suits.
My oh my...it was a sight alright.
Not in a good way.

Anyways, we didn't stay long though.
At least Samuele, Elie and Mattia seemed to be having a good time dancing and drinking ;P
Eric and I left about 2am and went looking for food.
And ended up in Red 8 in Wynn.

I was feeling kinda sleepy after a bowl of noodles and thought we'll be heading home.
Instead we headed to the Blackjacks table!
There were 3 people on that table when we joined them.
The guy sitting next to Eric had heaps of $500 chips and was playing $1000 each round.
We played $100 each =P

After a few rounds of games, Eric got an Ace for his 1st card.
As everyone knows, Ace is needed for a Blackjack to happen.
So obviously we're excited.
Then the dealer gave Eric his 2nd card.
I was praying for a 10, J, Q or K....
and we got another Ace!
Geez...so Eric split the Aces.
Meaning Eric is now playing 2 hands with an Ace each.
Obviously he has to put up another $100 for the 2nd Ace.
Now we have two chances of getting Blackjacks...it was getting super exciting.

Now I was really really praying hard for a Blackjack for both the Aces.
The dealer reach over and gave Eric his 3rd card.
Another Ace appeared!!!
Again he has 2 Aces for 1 hand...just like before.
He decides to split the Aces again.
Now...he is playing 3 hands...each with an Ace.
It was getting ridiculous in my opinion.
The dealer then draw a card for the 2nd Ace that was split earlier.
And can you believe it....another Ace O_O

The guy next to Eric was shaking his head.
It was freaking unbelievable.
It's hard to draw 1 Ace as it is...and Eric got 4 Aces.
And he split it again -_-
Now...now...he's single handedly playing 4 hands of cards.
Each with and Ace and a wager of $100.

If each of the Aces ends up as a Blackjack...he would have won $600
(Blackjack pays 1.5 times)

So the game was heating up and I was super excited...
The dealer draws the card...and boom...all 4 aces let us down =(
Not even ONE freaking Blackjacks!!!
How can that be??

But in the end...we did make a little profit and headed back home.
Crazy Ace night I tell you =P

Seeing Red

Yesterday was our day out. The weather was beautiful. We wandered around and decided to have dinner in Red 8 in Wynn. This restaurant is smack right in the centre of the casino =) As we always expect food in hotels to be pricey, surprisingly, Red 8 was reasonably priced. Service is also exceptionally good with the manager who is from Hong Kong speaking good English. He was really helpful and nice too.

Since coming here, it's the first time we could order our food in English. Most of the time, eating can be a problem as the menu is in Chinese. If you're lucky enough to get an English menu, you still have to tell the waitress the dish you want in Cantonese because they don't understand English at all. There's one restaurant we ate in recently where we ordered by pictures! So, eating in hotels is a very delightful experience in Macau.

The menu cover...love the red

I like the bulls eye forming the number 8

Yummy selection of specialties

I love eating in hotels...tableware all looks so clean and new

Many choices of seasoning

We ordered Roasted Goose and Roasted Pork...delicious

Look at the 'siew yoke"...yummy with it's crispy skin

Juicy goose...I want more!

Braised beef brisket noodle...the best we tasted in Macau to date =)

Lots and lots of mouth watering goodies

Enjoying my dinner =P


After dinner, time to look around...this restaurant have a show kitchen

Diners can choose to dine while watching chefs in action right in front of them.

Teapots as artistic wall deco
The kitchen looks clean...

The manager told me that they use wood to roast the Peking duck. The round table is used to carve the Peking duck skin so it can be served in dainty portions. In case anyone is wondering, people usually only eat the skin of the Peking duck. The meat will be used for other dishes.

A relaxing ambiance is really inviting after a tiring game of gambling

The view from our table

Chefs working hard in the kitchen

I really enjoyed my dinner at Red 8. Now I know where to go for food when I'm in the area =) The funniest thing happened in Wynn. Mum and I was going through the security as usual to enter the casino and I got stopped. The uncle security guard said I'm underage 0_o I told him I just came from MGM casino so how can I be underage? He said the requirement in MGM and Wynn is different -_- When I asked what's the age limit in Wynn? He said 18 years old! Excuse me...how can I not look older than 18? It's a bit ridiculous and I told him so...he then just took a look at my passport and let me in. Can't believe I could still pass of as a teenager =P When I told Eric about it later...his only response was to give me a look that says "Yeah...righttt..."

The Grand Buffet @ The Grand Lisboa

Last night, Eric took us to dinner at the Grand Lisboa. It's seriously a really grand buffet as the food spread is about 100 meters long, I think. It took quite an effort just to walk the entire length of it holding a plate full of food. Walking up and down the food display can work up quite an appetite!

Grand Lisboa is also the home to "The Star of Stanley Ho". It's The World's Largest Flawless Diamond and weighs 218.08 carats graded by the Gemological Institute of America, as a D-IF with excellent polish and symmetry. This diamond is located in the casino guarded by security guards at all times. Is a freaking huge diamond I tell you. A must see in Macau...every gals best friend =)

See The Star of Stanley Ho below.

Night shot of The Grand Lisboa

Source : http://flickr.com/photos/jeremy-g/2440995378/

Samurai-ish statue guarding the main entrance with a sword. Looks like he's saying "Give me your money *roar*"

This ancient Chinese character stands together with the Samurai. At least he looks a little friendlier.

This is the lobby I think. The casino is right through the door on the left. Yeah, in other hotels, you find the check-in counter once you enter the main door. Not this Lisboa though. This Lisboa you are greeted by the casino =)

Artistic deco in the lobby. Too bad the lilies are fake. If they're real, it'll be gorgeous.

This is made of gold. Only in Lisboa.

This is a jade carving which I find a little ugly.

We arrived...The Grand Buffet

Malaysia makes itself felt in Macau.

Assorted sushi and sashimi.

More sushi...

The chef giving me the evil eye when he saw me snapping his pic. So protective like that!What's he frying?

Those are Alaskan King Crab legs...people queue up just to get a few pieces of the legs.

Teppanyaki scallop with garlic butter. This is yummy.

Lots of fresh live prawns waiting to be eaten.

The live prawns get cooked in boiling water and that's it.

I can't remember what are these called. Small lobster or cray fish. Eric says it's yabbies. Whatever lar.

This is the noodle section. A cute chef cooks it for you too =)

Many variety of noodles and meat to choose from.

People browsing the food on display.

This section has pita bread, tika chicken, lamb rendang.

This shot shows only bout a quarter of the total buffet spread.

Roast pork and friends =) The "siew yoke" is pretty good. We took lots of the "siew yoke" skin which is undoubtedly the best part!

There's dim sum as well.

The kuih-kuih section. Only Mum ventured to this part of the buffet to get food.

I ventured in only to snap a pic of a very Malaysia sounding kuih. Btw, this kuih taste horrible.

Cute dessert macaroon, cream puff and chocolate brownies.

Tiramisu which looks a little yucky after being attacked by diners.

Crepes being made on order.

This kid is playing at the chocolate fountain.

Beautiful display made of chocolate

Colourful ice-cream.

Delicious seafood tom yum koong...super yummy

Clockwise from left: Siew mai, crab stick salad, baby octopus, mushroom & broccoli, lamb rendang, fried shrimp wanton and Alaskan King Crab legs.

Tempura prawn, sushi, Malaysia satay, cheese oyster, teppanyaki beef, scallop, smoked salmon, crab stick salad and crab legs in the middle.

This is Eric's plate. It has rice, celery and also fried salmon.

Mum's plate : Kuihs, sushi, tempuras, small lobster and some veggies.

Chocolate covered fruits, chocolate cake, creme brulee, macaroon, chocolate brownies and mint chocolate cake.
A dull coloured combination indeed. Black sesame with it's coconut flavoured friend ice cream.

This is me after I've eaten too much.

The Grand Buffet was very enjoyable. So many varieties of food so there's no way I could try each and every one of the dishes. The best part of the restaurant? It links itself to the casino by just an excalator. On the ride down the excalator, you'll have a nice view of the casino and all the people trying their lucks at the tables. Anyone planning to go for the Grand Buffet, remember to bring a big stomach for the food and a big wallet for the casino =)