Money Matter$ & Brunch Club

Money is quite a complicated thing. This is funny quote I found on Google while searching for the idiom "Money can't buy you happiness.":

Money can`t buy happiness, but it makes a good down payment

Heh, well anyways today I hit a bit of a bump in the road. I have been carefully documenting my spending to the cent and some may think it is a bit over excessive...but my mother is an accountant, so she will get on my case...plus she's my bank. As a word of advice if anyone is planning to go abroad, from my limited experience...I believe using a brokerage debit card service is the best way to avoid international transaction fees when withdrawing dat ca$h.

Anywho, I was short on cash today and because unfortunately things are not as "convenient" as in the United States (I realized I take so many things for granted like: 1) clean drinkable tap water 2) relatively clean public restrooms 3) complimentary napkins and toilet paper 4) owning a car...this is debate though 5) unlimited texting & data plans, mobile-to-mobile 6) dairy products lulz...yes and the list will go on) and they do not let us split the bill, I had to use my remaining HK$80 to pay for lunch. At that time, I only had a HK$1 coin and a couple of cents on me...lol it was ridiculous. My Octopus card was running low as well. I could not even afford a HK$6 蛋塔 at 泰昌餅家 Tai Cheong Bakery. I had planned to restock at the nearest ATM but when I tried to withdraw my request kept getting denied. So after an hour of freaking out and frustrations over the phone with my mother (another blessing to count...I have an unlimited data plan in HK so I am able to use LINE to call internationally), we figured out that the system was going through its weekly system maintenance which prevents customers from accessing their accounts at a certain period during the weekends (make sure you are aware of those dates and times if you end up using this type of service).

But anyways, this whole predicament really threw off my day and when I look back at it I am really surprised by how this petty incident (well it wasn't entirely petty, but definitely not the end of the world) effected my attitude. I think attitudes are a good indicator of where my heart is in life. I am too easily worked up by situations that are out of my control and my mood does a 180 and immediately turns sour. :(

But on a lighter note...my apartment mates and a few of the Patrick Manson girls down the road officially inaugurated our Breakfast Club today! Props to Sarah for starting this up! We had a really nice luncheon at The Brunch Club on 70 Peel Street, Central at two in the afternoon haha.

Quite a popular foodie destination! No reservations on the weekends, so when we got there around 1:30 PM we still had to wait a good 20-30 minutes before we were seated.

The menu is mainly American styled brunch items. The portions are small compared to what you would probably get at a Denny's but it was a really cute cafe style with more exotic ingredients.

The place itself was really cutely decorated with mismatched sofas and low tables but the presentation of my dish was a bit bland. The dish itself was good // Sunny-side Up Eggs w/ Cranberry Walnut Toast, Smoked Salmon, & Swiss Gruyere // ...I could have made it myself but since the ingredients are hard to find in Hong Kong it was worth just ordering it. Next time I'll probably get the Lamb Burger (IT COMES WITH MUSHROOMS!)

A bit of the art. 

Because the place was so small we couldn't fit in the main room so we were put in the back with an awning cover that gave us terrible lighting. It was pretty dark so we had to use forced flash and yeah not too flattering. But good company makes up for any setting!

The gang: The Breakfast Club

Our photographer really went above and beyond the call of duty. Down on his knees on a -30 degree slanted slope.

There were lots of fancy shops and restaurants around this area...it is definitely a lot easier to see what Central has to offer in the daylight as opposed to trying to get around the nightlife. I have a number of places to try on my list now. I also found a couple "green" markets and restaurants too. Random fact: dark chocolate can do wonders when life gets hard. :3 I would not have survived this week had my roommate Jore not been so gracious with her bar of chocolate. <3