Happy Mid-Autumn Festival! 中秋節快樂!

Today is the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, which is also celebrated by other Asian countries such as Korea and Japan. A lot of Chinese people will be celebrating tonight with lanterns (electronic and traditional ones) – now where did I put my ones…? Heheheh, I’m a bit old for that stuff!

There are many different stories surrounding this festival, so I’ve included a Wiki link here for people to have a read instead of me having to reiterate the stories. 😀 


I took this picture last night before midnight… The moon was so bright and pretty sitting out there all alone. ^^

A full moon – bold and bright!


And here’s the original picture…

Original shot of last night’s full moon


Don’t forget to eat mooncakes tonight!! ^^ 中秋節快樂!

Failed Omurice Attempt

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Me fail at cooking?!

Uh yes. I failed at making omurice… (a Japanese dish and very popular in Korea!). It’s not my fault, I used too much egg maybe. Or maybe it’s because I used the wrong rice ¬_¬””” … Running out of excuses people! 


So what did I use? I used leftover long grain rice (I know it’s the wrong rice 😛 ), Iceland’s cooked chicken breast, frozen veggie, ketchup and 4 medium eggs… 

Fried rice, chicken breast and veggie in ketchup

4 Scrambled eggs

Chicken breast from Icelands! It’s tasty and doesn’t smell of cheap chicken!


And this is what it ended up being…

Finished version with the ketchup on top ^^

Even if it fell apart it was YUMMY!!!!

The egg fell apart as I was trying to fold, but I think I definitely used too many eggs to do this! Well at least it tasted nice for lunch today! ^_^ Mr Bear who doesn’t like ketchup didn’t think it look great at all! Ack too bad, (and he says he loves Japan!).

There are so many recipes out there. I suggest you just browse through, and try to mix and match with what suits you. 

I will do my best next time (with the correct rice and less eggs)!! Fingers crossed and Good luck! がんばって!^^

Bulmers Poster Advert

I’m seeing this poster all over London. But I find it weird. “In the beginning there was Bulmers”…

Bulmers poster

In the beginning of what?… Time? Party? Pubs? 

As much as I like drinking Bulmers (Pear flavoured one – as it’s sweet) could someone please enlighten me what this phrase means! It feels like a mystery waiting to be resolved by the people of London…


Check out their new poster: http://asimplegeekylife.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/bulmers-poster-advert-no2.html

Triple Retirement Party

Yesterday was the first time I went to a TRIPLE retirement party! ^_^ And the best thing about it was the food, the speeches from staff, and the mini cakes!! It was a good smallish party! I think I can’t wait to retire… Good friends and good food to look forward to ^^ … And more holidays…

Food pictures are below. I have an obsession with cakes, so there are a lot of cake pictures here! Enjoy!

The starters and cakes

Caaaaaaaaaaaaaaakkkkeeeeee!!!

The cakes!

More cake!

And more cake!! This one is home made – not by me ^^

Yummy Samosas ^^

Annnnd more caaaaaakes!!! ^^

Main Food!! Yummy yummy!!

More food!! 😀

My plate of food! I was really full after this! My stomach was so happy!

Half glass of wine anyone?

Finally dessert! *^^*

I need to retire now… ¬_¬”

Burgess Park 2012

After a long hiatus from the public (about 8-9 months I believe), Burgess Park which is situated in Camberwell, London has now reopened!

I pass it nearly every weekday, and have anticipated its opening for a while (from the Camberwell Road end). I only got today to get a chance to have a look of what the new version had to offer… I have only known Burgess Park to have been renovated twice! From what I remember of it, there used to be underpasses (one still exists) that would lead you into a big field. After the first renovation, a tennis court was added and lots of pathways were made… and now… It’s almost the same… Just a few hills added, lots of flowers, a bigger lake for fishing… And the entrance from Camberwell Road has changed dramatically… But why did it take so long?

The new renovated entrance of Burgess Park – Camberwell end

Not really sure what this is for…

I took quite a few pictures on both my Panasonic camera and my phone. So some phone pictures got transformed and went onto Instagram ¬_¬ (addict!!). And here’s some of the unaltered pictures…
Some new shrubs, flowers and trees

Black-eyed Susan flowers?

Renovated hill top

An old underpass

Not sure what these are called…

Burgess Park pathway

Logs on the side

Exercise machine for the keep fit people! There’s loads more!!

Council Estate… Plus The Shard in the background ^^

This bridge has been in Burgess Park for many, many years!

Sun starting to set

The Lake

I didn’t know you can have a barbeque in the park!!

People fishing… There were loads of people fishing along the new fish lake!!

A pond

Duck Island

Dramatic scene – with the sun almost setting

A stone in the park…

Another path in the park

I walked across the lake! Is this bridge old or new?

Choo choo train for the kids ^^

Another flower near the tennis courts

It’s great to go when the sun has almost set and it’s away from traffic noise too… Definitely a great place to go during the summer!! ^_^

Aero Christmas Tree

I couldn’t help myself at the counter. I saw this Aero Christmas Tree chocolate and I just knew it had to come here to be inspected. ^^ Well it’s 98 days until Christmas and some of my friends are already counting down! Miss Pinky has already started her Christmas shopping… Nostalgia… ¬_¬ ….

I can’t believe shops and brands have already started to do Christmas stuff, and it’s ONLY September! Really…? Must we really be fanatics to shop this early? I never shop this early. I find it hard to find a place to hide presents for 3-4 months…

Now it’s back to the chocolate! I give 5 out of 5 for the packaging! ^^

Aero Christmas Tree

The chocolate itself? I found no fault there. It wasn’t as sweet as the Aero Orange (so grateful). And there’s a lot of mintiness going on in there. So the chocolate also gets 5 out of 5. ^^ I’m in good spirits before Christmas… Well, just for now!

Small chunk of chocolate
Aero Mint Bliss!

Hurry up and try it out! It’s only 65p – expensive for some I know!! So 3.5/5 for pricing…

USB Fans

After getting my froggy fan last month it started making funny noises, and so I decided to get another fan from eBay which cost £2.99.


I’m afraid it stopped making any wind after a week and placing it in areas where the blades would fold funnily (plus it was noisy, the blades look very dangerous and had no on and off switch)…

In the end I bought another USB fan, but this time it’s different. It’s slightly expensive at £7.10 (but I’m sure there are cheaper versions).


This one is like an air conditioner. Unfortunately it is also noisy, but at least there’s no blades, it has an on and off switch and hopefully it will last for more than a week! Fingers crossed!

Windsor-Heathrow Marriott Hotel – The Geek Gets Lost

I hate getting lost! (I think I’ve mentioned this before when I went out egg hunting)… It’s so time costly! 😦 


So why was I at Heathrow, Langley and almost Slough? I’ve just been on a residential course with the OU and I’m sure I did my research on how to get there, but I got lost because 1. I got the wrong hotel as there are two in the area. 2. The bus drivers weren’t that helpful – I got more of the passengers to help me out! And 3. It wasn’t indicated on the OU information sheets… 😦

So where is the hotel you say? It’s in Langley, which is in between Heathrow and Slough. It’s called the Windsor-Heathrow Marriott Hotel. So if you’re going via public transport – it’s very difficult to get to! But here’s how I got there… After arriving at the wrong hotel on Bath Road, I was told to get the number 81 bus towards Slough, which I did, but the problem was that, whilst on the bus, there was no sign or stop to say Marriott Hotel / Ditton Road! So I was a few stops down the road already, and had to get another bus back. This time I asked the bus driver where to get off… But he actually didn’t tell me (because I think he was going to tell me to get off at Bath Road again!!!!!!). The passengers were the only ones who knew the area well enough to tell me where to get off… Thank you people of Heathrow, Langley and Slough! So once again, I had to cross over to the opposite bus stop and get another bus (number 77 – the 81 was taking a long time) – it was only one bus stop and I had to pay £1.80 😦 … Just to let you know, there is no direct bus from Heathrow Central Bus Station.

I finally got there after 3 hours of travel (when it should have been 2)!… So I was VERY late… But not the last person to arrive as the hotel receptionist told me! ^^ 
Windsor-Heathrow Marriott Hotel on Ditton Road, Langley
The en-suite room
Bathroom

It may have been a challenge to get to the hotel, but at least I had dinner (only 15 minutes of it).
Mini-Shepherd’s Pie with veggies
Here’s my breakfast the next morning…
Fry-up breakfast
Bowl of fruit ^^
My lunch. Can you tell what it is? The picture is all blurred…
Noodles, cauliflower, roast potatoes and I think there’s fish cake
My worthy dinner… (all the vegetables were taken!).
Lamp chop, fish with a pepper sauce and a stuffed pepper with cous-cous
I didn’t take a picture of my final breakfast (it’s the same as above but with mushrooms), and I forgot to sign up for the final lunch! 

So now it’s on with revision. My exam is in a month’s time!! 
Geeky information:
Hotel Address: Windsor-Heathrow Marriott Hotel, Ditton Road, Langley – Slough, SL3 8PT
Telephone: 01753 544 244

How to get there by PUBLIC TRANSPORT (this is not on the hotel’s website):
1. If you are arriving from Heathrow Terminals 1, 2, 3, the best way to get there is actually go towards Bath Road  from the Bus Station (Bus 105, 111, 140, 285). I suggest getting off at New Road, cross the road and get the number 81 bus. Then get off at High Street Langley bus stop. The hotel is on the left hand side as you get off… 
When going back to the Tube Station (Terminals 1, 2, 3), get on the 81, and again stop at New Road, cross the road, but this time take the 105, 111, 140 or 285 to Heathrow Central.

2. From Heathrow Terminal 5 – get the number 77 bus (but unfortunately you have to pay, because they don’t accept Oyster cards). Then you get off at the same bus stop – High Street Langley!!

Wagamama – a VERY late birthday dinner

A-ha! My friend Mr Bear promised to go to Wagamama’s with me for months for my birthday (which was in March). And finally (since it’s nearing his birthday I believe) we finally got to go today. Mr Smiles even came along! ^^ I have been craving to go for months, but no-one to go with… Don’t particularly like to sit by myself in restaurants (but I did so one time – and enjoyed it) that’s why I often buy takeaways…

There are many branches of Wagamama in London and around the UK (and I believe blogged about many times – but who cares!), so you’re never going to miss out if you want to try out this Japanese food chain. The food is quickly cooked and is always made from when it is ordered… They are super quick! You can find their history on Wiki here.

We ended up going to the one in Victoria, which is located outside the station, into Cardinal Walk and it’s above Marks and Spencer… It’s the only restaurant above ground level and has a beautiful scenic area. ^^ (Unfortunately my pictures of the restaurant itself are blurred ~~~)…

Victoria – Cardinal Walk 
Wagamama Menu Cover – see website for full menu!
What’s with me picturing condiments all the time??!! – Don’t answer…
Chopsticks and Tissue ^^

Drinks first! I had the plum wine with sparkling water and ice, Mr Bear had Kirin Ichiban beer and Mr Smiles had Asahi Super Dry beer (which I didn’t take a pic of)…
My plum wine – I L-O-V-E it!
Kirin Ichiban beer
I ordered two starters (because I was extremely hungry and only had a pasta-soup for lunch!), ebi gyoza (prawn and veggie dumplings) and ebi katsu (fried prawns in panko).
ebi gyoza
ebi katsu
Mr Bear and Mr Smiles both had the gyoza (they love the sauce!).
gyoza
And for the mains! I had the miso ramen (it really tasted nice) – Mr Bear and Mr Smiles drank the remaining soup! Wow!
Miso Ramen ^^
Mr Bear had the chicken ramen (he got annoyed because they used a different soup base – almost like a thai spicy coconut soup, and not what he was usually used to).
Chicken Ramen
And Mr Smiles had the chicken katsu curry (he was craving for it!) – Good for him! ^^
Chicken Katsu Curry ^_^
In the end, we were all stuffed, but still somehow had a tiny space for dessert. We ordered the sweet ginger and apple gyoza (just like a mini version of apple pies!) served with a vanilla custard sauce… Yummy!!!
Sweet Ginger and Apple gyoza – a fancy apple pie! 😛
Inside the  Sweet Ginger and Apple gyoza
So as always:

My geeky rating: 4.5/5 (lost 0.5 marks just because Mr Bear complained about his ramen’s soup base, otherwise A-ok!).

Good points:

– Able to sit outside (not crowded when we were there)

– Quick, efficient and friendly service
– Food was hot
– I love the plum wine!! (Must order it again or make my own).

Bad points:

– I didn’t really have any… although I should say, you should only have one starter if you’re not sharing. Fried food is always filling!

Website: wagamama.com

Addiction to Instagram

Oh gosh. I’ve become addicted to Instagram. I know it’s been out since 2010, but since having an Android phone (Instagram was only added to Android in April 2012) and seeing a lot of friends using it, I have become addicted to it for the past two months or so. ^^”

Instagram enables you to change a picture by using a filter. You can also add some contrast and make a focus point in your picture (blurring out the rest of the picture and make it focus on a particular part of the picture)… The interesting part is their weekend challenge!

Here’s a collage of some of the pictures I have taken over the past couple of months…

Instagram Username: QMBAOBAO

Check my other post: http://asimplegeekylife.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/too-much-instagram.html