Whenever Mothers Day comes, this picture of an adorable mother and baby koala bear always comes to my mind. This picture was taken by Hubby on our way to the Cape Otways lighthouse while we were traveling the Great Ocean Road in 2007.

With that said, I want to greet all the mothers out there a very "Happy Mothers Day!"

On April 15, my first Sunday back in China, our friend Mr. Mui took Hubby and me to yum cha at the Century Hotel located in the far corner of Daliang. It was our first time there but we have passed by the place plenty of times in the past and each time we did I was always left wondering what that huge castle-like building was for. Mr. Mui told us that it used to be the only 5-star hotel in Shunde. Some people still check in there but now it is mostly visited by the locals for their yum cha.

They still offer the usual yum cha fares but what we really like in this restaurant is their "xiao long bao". This dumpling is also called "Shanghai pao" although it didn't necessarily originate from Shanghai. Another name for this dumpling which I discovered in Hong Kong is "Steamed pork dumpling with superior soup". It is made of the usual ground pork with veggies and spices wrapped in a silky skin made of flour. But what will surprise you once you bite on it is the sudden outburst of "soup" inside your mouth (which most of the time is quite steaming hot). It is because when they make the dumpling they also put aspic inside it which melts when the dumpling is steamed.

We have tried many xiao long baos in many restaurants but most of them are very dry. There is no element of surprise when you bite into it and this "superior soup" inside the xiao long bao is what makes it very special indeed.

Beijing roasted duck is the national symbol of China. It was mentioned in the Complete Recipes for Dishes and Beverages Manual since BC400 and became the most famous dish in the Southern Song Dynasty. The skills of roasting duck were spread to Beijing in the Yuen Dynasty. By the Qianlong Period, the duck entered the imperial court food menus and is now served at thousands of Chinese restaurants around the world. (Source: The menu book at the Empire City Roasted Duck Restaurant, HK)

The first time I tried Peking Duck was around three to four years ago in our favorite Chinese restaurant in Melbourne - The Eastern Palace Chinese Restaurant. I loved it then and enjoyed assembling the "roll" using all the raw vegetables and the sauce/s that they served it with.

My respect for the "art of making the dish" grew even more when I watched an episode of Kung Fu Kitchen wherein an experienced Singaporean chef went to China to learn how to make the dish. It takes a lot of knowledge and skill in roasting and serving the ducks: from the cleaning of the duck to the proper way of removing the organs and intestines, to how they blow air into the duck's empty stomach cavity, to how it must be placed in a special oven for roasting, to how the roasting is timed to perfection and to how precise they needed to slice the meat and the crispy skin to bite-sized portions. Chefs who wanted to learn this dish will need to spend a few months to a few years in order to perfect the art.

I was just glad that in our trip to Hong Kong this year, we found a good restaurant serving this dish. It's the Empire City Roasted Duck at the K11 Art Mall in Tsim Sha Tsui. By the way, we had the duck for dinner two nights in a row!

Ten years after my first trip to Boracay, I was able to visit it again towards the end of March this year. People who knew where I went thought: "Wow! Paradise!". But I didn't go there to enjoy myself. I was there on a mission - one that I would call a business trip.

The place has really changed so much since I last saw it. Only a few of the original establishments remained but there are a lot of new and better ones. I remember last time, Station 3 used to be the cheapest station where you can find all the cheapest accommodations and cheapest food. But now, if you ask me, Station 3 is only just a name because here now you can also find middle and high class hotels and resorts and expensive restaurants and cafes.

The notable changes I have observed were the improvement of the jetty port at Caticlan and also in the Boracay island side itself, the very new and modern airport, the massive growth of D'Mall - the only mall on the beach that I've been to so far, the existence of Boracay Budget Mart - the biggest grocery store on the island, and the many big high class resorts and restaurants on the beachfront. Well, ten years is indeed such a long time but I never imagined Boracay's growth to be that much.

Here are some of the things that you might enjoy when you go there...

I've been a coffee-drinker since I was a kid. I think I have drunk more coffee than milk in my whole life. So it's quite possible that I have dreams of owning my own coffee shop. In fact, I have dreamed about it ever since I had my first cup of espresso many years ago.

This summer, Hubby sent me to a coffee school in Manila in support of my dreams of being a Barista and eventually opening my own shop. I must say I enjoyed the course so much. Aside from the joy I got in learning how to make espressos the right way, I also met many new friends.

After the 4-day course, I can say that now I can make decent espressos. But my journey has just begun. With more practice and with more patience, soon all my espressos will all be perfect and I will earn the right to call myself a Barista.