There are certainly better place for Cantonese dim sum brunch, but when it comes to quality and affordability, we always choose Sweet Dynasty everytime. It’s quiet and not so crowded during brunch.

Hong Kong New World Building, basement.

They have 1 outlet in Shanghai, 3 in Taiwan, 9 in Japan and a main outlet in HK.

I first discovered this place whilst we were at the metro station at Huangpi South road years ago. It opened up next to Crystal Jade. I have been to this place many times and decided to blog about it today…

Sweet Dynasty is famous for its Cantonese desserts and congee. They offer a variety range of Cantonese classic staples like the radish pastries, cha-siu pastry, the famous crispy spring rolls and their radish cake are excellent with morsels of Chinese sausage. They also have a selection of Hong Kong style noodle and wonton soups, fried noodle, rice dishes and what classic Cantonese meal is complete without congee…? I especially love fish and pork ball congee. The menu has a whole 2 pages congee variations. The big draw for me is the large variety of fresh prawn rice rolls! The scallop fried rice and fried raddish cake in XO source are tasty too! These babies are seriously damn addictively good. My mouth waters just thinking about it.

Cha-siu pastry

Sesame ball with red bean paste filling. Ron loves it but I don’t because they gave me a tiring jaw exercise.

Fish and pork ball congee

Melon with scallop

We saw lots of tables ordered this deep-fried crispy chicken (served with a side of dipping salt) so we thought to give it a try… nothing special…

Deep fried noodle, super not nice!

Red bean pudding

Almond sweet soup

It’s almost a punishable crime if you go to Sweet Dynasty without ordering the sweet soup. The traditional style of cooking sweet soup is to use rock sugar which won’t affect your health.

Peep-a-boo at the open kitchen

Well designed interior

I love the ambience which decked out with Chinese classic theme. Advice to book ahead as this place fill up fast during peak hours.

Sweet Dynasty
B108-109, Hong Kong New World Building
No. 300 Huai Hai Middle Road,
Ruwan, Shanghai.
Metro: Huangpi South Road (Line 1), Exit no.2
http://www.sweetdynasty.com.cn/index.php

Arrhhh… the Chinese Lunar New Year… This year, I realized I was no longer the person receiving Hong Bao, but the one giving, officially… to the kids of friends and peers. Hong bao, is a handy-size red envelops stuffed with money. Kids love them! That’s like Christmas presents from Santa in the west. Married adults and elderly give them to children and unmarried young people as an act of well wishing and blessing. When I started working full-time, I gave my parents and grandparents hong bao. I’m not sure about you, because many thought that it’s only after married that would have to give hong bao.

Being a first-time Santa Claus of the CNY, I start my hong bao giving experience by collecting all the new red packets during my shopping. Many retail outlets, supermarkets and banks in China actually give away well designed hong bao with over-the-counter transactions (with their logo printed of course). You can ask politely to the cashier serving you if they have such give-aways. I keep all the new red packets, and now, how much should I give? It’s a delicated game of maths! The amount of money is always calculated to be of an even number, and odd numbers are considered inauspiciuos and unlucky. So I guess the number “8″ will probably do well for kids of friends and peers, especially when “8″ sounds like “get rich” in Chinese but for close relatives, I would give more. I don’t know is it too much, or too little? Anyway, it’s only upon fulfilling the “adult duty”. Whenever I go out, I will bring my big purse full of hong baos!

This is also my first time celebrating CNY in Johore, Malaysia, an unfamiliar and strange place to me. The morning I woke up I found my FIL sitting in the living room alone, watching tv. My BIL, still sleeping, while my MIL, cleaning the house - ignoring all Chinese superstitions. No one is in CNY mood! No fire crackers. No delicious food. No lion dance. No CNY deco. No one visiting. It’s just like an usuall public holiday. I’ve got a friend visiting HK during last CNY, he’ll always imagine it would be lively and only found out that all the favourite cantonese restaurant close for a week, the streets go dark for three days and all the HK friends vanish into the bosom of their various family obligations. I’m not sure how people celebrate it in Taiwan? Should’t all these Chinese “countries?” “territories?” “places?” be bustling with festive celebration?

Unlike all the CNY I celebrated back home, lots of delicious food and cookies, nice CNY decoratings, everyone in their new cloths, lots of people visiting my parents along with noisy fire crakcers noise, lion dance drums…etc. It’s fun and exciting! I miss home.

Microsoft buys Yahoo? The Internet is swarming with rumors that the Software Giant is buying Yahoo to compete with Google - a leader in search engine advertising industry. As off now, there’s 57,700,000 search for the term “Microsoft buys Yahoo” in Yahoo search, 25,400,000 in Microsoft Live Search and 267,000 in Google search.

Many of you might be asking what’s the new name will be, will they come out with the new inovative Internet tools and will that be enough for them to take on Google? According to Microsoft, they have a plan to integrate employees and “retain” key Yahoo Engineers and the top people.

According to CNN: Earlier this week, Yahoo announced plans to lay off 1,000 employees by mid-February, citing what CEO Jerry Yang described as “headwinds” facing the company. It also reported lower fourth-quarter earnings — though still ahead of Wall Street’s modest expectations for the firm.

In conference call Friday morning, Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer indicated he won’t take no for an answer after Yahoo rebuffed takeover overtures a year ago.

“This is a decision we have _ and I have _ thought long and hard about,” Ballmer said. “We are confident it’s the right path for Microsoft and Yahoo.”

To underscore its resolve, Microsoft is offering a 62 percent premium to Yahoo’s closing stock price Thursday. If the deal is consummated, it would be by far the largest acquisition in Microsoft’s history, eclipsing last year’s $6 billion purchase of online ad service aQuantive.

- Bismarck Tribune

Should they merge? Anyway, this merge would obviously give Google a run, and this got to be an exciting 2008!