When in HK, eat local: Ending my 3-year fantasy at The Peak Lookout

Jake and I celebrated our seventh anniversary in Hong Kong last September. I've been meaning to write about the restaurants we've tried and new places we've seen in our go-to happy place but first, I just HAVE to share how I finally got to eat at The Peak Lookout!

Ever since I first saw that rustic straight-out-of-a-fairy tale structure three years ago, I have been constantly obsessing over the place. I even bought a magnet as pasalubong for Jake to remind him that HE HAS TO TAKE ME ON A DATE THERE. When we went for our sixth anniversary last year (yes, we know no other place but HK), the date didn't happen and I was left with another year of desperation.

On our last day for this year's trip, we finally managed to head up to The Peak to fulfill my cheesy dream. I skipped like a happy little fool from the terminal and crossed the road towards the facade to finally end my 3-year obsession.

I was like a child who finally saw Santa's workshop -- just gazing at my surroundings, soaking it all in. Three years of waiting to see the inside of a place can do that, I guess.

We went after lunch at around 3pm so we were lucky to have tables of our choice. Since I've been obsessively Googling the place (and emailing the very nice and patient concierge), I knew exactly where to sit - outside, at the corner nook with a view of the sea. 

And x marks the spot. I have no words to describe how perfect our view was, and how that moment felt so magical for me. You know how Alice (in the original movie) kept trying to squeeze herself into that tiny doorway with a view of the rose garden? This was exactly the same feeling. The Peak Lookout was my rose garden and I finally managed to enter it!

Since we were there for merienda, we only ordered desserts and lattes. I have to say, even if we didn't order from the lunch menu, the service was still impeccable and we were treated like we ordered a full-course meal. You'd expect a snooty vibe from such a nice place but the staff were all nice and friendly.

For our cakes, Jake ordered his usual New York cheesecake while I had the chocolate fondant with vanilla ice cream and honeycomb. Consistent with all reviews I've read, the menu was pricey but then again -- you're paying for the ambiance and the view.  

This was sheer perfection, though.

I am definitely coming back! I'd love to see the whole place lit up at night. Must be extra romantic!

Can you imagine this garden all lit up with fairy lights? The Peak Lookout is definitely a must-try when in Hong Kong. You'd be hard-pressed to find a restaurant with a better ambiance and view for a romantic date!

Reservations are recommended, especially for peak hours:
The Peak Lookout
121 Peak Road, The Peak
Hong Kong
(take The Peak Tram or the minibus from Central)
info@peaklookout.com.hk

Baguio at a glance

My last trip to Baguio was back in grade school. So yes, I was beyond excited when my officemates and I went to the cool City of Pines last January. I was so excited that I downloaded and religiously followed Our Awesome's Planet guide to all the best spots and restaurants in Baguio. We managed to check out and try most of them and I'm already itching to head back!

Zara striped knitted top, Mango jeans, Rubi leopard flats, Debenhams scarf

First things first, we stayed at my boss's ginormous rest house. It is HUGE. And by huge I mean it had nine bedrooms and managed to house the ten of us with plenty of space to roll around.

While going to various places, I also kept wondering if I could ask my boss's driver to stop while driving along the roads since I thought these little flowers were sunflowers. I was literally pointing at every bend and curve, amazed that my favorite sunnies were in full bloom and, more importantly, free for picking!!! Imagine my disappointment when I saw a bunch up close while at Camp John Hay only to find out they were technically wildflowers or "weed". STILL PRETTY!!!!

 

This being Baguio, we were greeted by strawberries and strawberry-based products everywhere we went. We arrived at 4am in the morning and the first thing we bought was a strawberry taho from a street vendor. It was just like your ordinary taho but with strawberry syrup and bits. Yummy! We tried it again while pasalubong-shopping at Mines View.

And who cares if it's freezing? We couldn't resist getting some fresh strawberry shake! I asked them to put lots of milk so it was creamy and had strawberry bits. I didn't mind the brain freeze that came with it!

We also bought giant strawberries for pasalubong. We went to the public market along Session Road and haggled with the palengke vendors. We were told that the "shoga" variety is the best since they're big and don't get mushy right away. I lugged a kilo going home.

What else is there to do in Baguio besides sleep and eat strawberries? Pose with a pink unicorn horse! The men at Mines View literally counted how many shots were taken and billed me for each one. I was like, WHAAAAAT? You managed to count all that? I can only hope the moolah directly benefits the horses. Poor, cute things.

Forever 21 sweater, Zara floral skirt, Dorothy Perkins tights, Bass Mary Janes

There were also some cute and cuddly St. Bernards available for photo ops but I chose this pink thing. I have a weakness for horses. I'm a frustrated equestrienne, just ask my mom.

Malacca: The heritage walk

On my second trip to Singapore, I convinced my travel mates (i.e. my mom, sister, cousin, and mom's amiga with her kids) to take a day trip to Malaysia's world heritage site, Malacca--or more accurately spelled as Melaka. There's not much to do in Singapore after all, so we took the bus from City Plaza at Geylang Road for the 5-hour trip to Malacca.

I have always thought of Singapore's Geylang area as a red district, no thanks to online reviews, but seeing these heritage structures totally made me change my mind. It's a quiet, peaceful residential area where locals are friendly enough to give you directions. I had a nice friendly conversation with a student who was nice enough to walk us to the nearest bus stop after we missed the last train to Clarke Quay on our way home. Way to go, Singaporeans!

To head to Malacca, we took the Delima Bus leaving City Plaza at 8:30 am. The one-way tickets to Malaysia cost us SGD 21.00 each or roughly Php 700. We opted to buy the tickets from Malaysia to Singapore upon arrival at the Malacca bus terminal since I read reviews that it's cheaper there by half. Compared to the SGD 21 for our morning trip, we got our tickets to Singapore at SGD 9 from the Malacca terminal.

Since SG cabs are notoriously expensive, we chose to commute to City Plaza from our place since it's easy to head there coming from Clarke Quay or Orchard Road. We took the MTR and got off at Paya Lebar station and took the exit A. From there, just look around and you won't miss the tall orange City Plaza building which is accessible in less than a five-minute walk. 

The bus left on time and our driver also strictly observed the 20-minute waiting time at the Singapore and Malaysia immigration halls. We panicked a lot no thanks to the long lines and added confusion of rushing to the nearest immigration counter, but managed to head back to our bus at every stop point. 

After five long hours on the road with a boring landscape, we finally arrived at the Malacca bus terminal! From there we took the bus going to the Malacca cultural heritage area and proceeded to walk around the place. It reminded me of Intramuros, actually. From the bus terminal, it's about a ten-minute ride towards Dutch Square or heritage area. It's hard to miss, since the place is surrounded by pinkish red buildings.

Here we are in front of the Christ Church built in 1753. This centuries old church at Dutch Square is the oldest Protestant church in Malacca. Across the church is the Tan Beng Swee clock tower built in 1886. It's also the jumping point for most walking tours and there are trishaws that offer rides towards the top of the hill going to St. Paul's Ruins. We opted to walk!

And the view was worth it! It's an uphill climb which involves a lot of stairs, so make sure you're up for it. 

It's also tempting to ride the flowered trishaws with loud pop music blaring from the speakers. It's best to haggle for the price since most of the drivers will easily lower prices if you attempt to walk away.

Unlike Macau's Ruins of St. Paul, this church still has intact walls and you can go inside to take some photos. It's a nice structure from the outside and there's an exhilarating view of Melaka town from the top since it is literally on top of a hill. In fact, I had to cling to the sloping grass bank to take this wide photo or risk falling off the hill.

Inside, there are wide and tall doorways and stone carvings that are fascinating to look at and observe. There is no roof so it might be a bit of a hassle to come here when it's raining. This church was originally built in 1521 and still has a Dutch cemetery behind the structure.

Walking down from the hill, we found the A Famosa ruins or in English, The Famous. Apparently, it is one of the oldest European architectures in Asia and served as a fortress for the Portugese during their settlement in Malacca.

Despite the added challenge of dodging crazy fast trishaws, it's fun to walk around Melaka and we were able to explore the city in an hour. I love the fact that it has these pink-red buildings everywhere! 

The best part of our trip to Melaka was Jonker Street and the chicken rice balls which deserves a separate entry. :-)