Dawn broke in a blanket of fog (or is it smog?). The view of the harbour and Victoria Park is amazing from my floor. I was up at 6am and couldn’t get back to sleep, so I took in the local English paper and caught up on Australian news. Scanned the TV airwaves for signs of Denise but no luck thus far.

Meeting Johnny at 10am to head to the office but I’ve still got a lot of time on my hands. I ventured outside and took a stroll around the block, noting the bakeries, little dim sum stalls, and congee houses for later. Too timid to approach any of these places for breakfast as I still haven’t figured out how to say “I don’t understand” or “Do you speak English?”. Will have to ask the folks at work to teach me a few essential phrases.

Back at the hotel for their breakfast buffet–only $75 HKD (~$10 CAD). Decent quality for breakfast. Particularly liked the moist egg scramble and the baked beans. Unfortunately, the congee was lamentable. Nearly missed out on half of the buffet (and the asian side, no less) that was hidden away on the other side of the buffet wall. By the time I discovered the steamed buns and bowl of dragon fruit, I was already full. Oh well: will have to try it tomorrow.

Walked the scenic route to the office, through a maze of narrow streets with merchants hawking everything from produce, bbq duck, medicinal ingredients, and fresh seafood. The extensive variety of ingredients winked enticingly at me, making me wish that I had a wok and kitchen at my disposal. Also went past a number of little shoe shops that started to whet my appetite for shopping.

Got the grand tour of Ion Global. The staff are a lot younger and far more multi-national than I expected. Great to put faces to all the names I’d been seeing on e-mail. The 33rd floor itself houses several of my organization’s subsidiaries, including our parent company. IG got the better end of the bargain, I think, with quickest access to the meeting rooms with stunning views of the harbour. You can even witness the famous light show from the meeting rooms if you happen to work beyond 8pm.

Lunch was at Poppy’s Restaurant. It’s a few minutes’ walk from the office, just off Electric Road I think. The atmospere is cozy and looks somewhat like a British grandmum’s salon. The fare, however, is more Italian in style. I had to satisfy my curiosity by ordering the squid ink fettucini. Besides the black colour, the fettucini tasted exactly the same: no hint of squidiness or inkiness in the rest of the dish. I was kept company by the project team (Alan, Johnny, and James) plus Terence and Marcus. Marcus even catered to my photo-happiness by taking a few shots of the restaurant storefront for me.

Dinner was at a Thai restaurant called Rice Paper: a beautifully laid out venue with an entire wall face of glass that looked out over the harbour. Winnie, our culinary planner for the week, arranged a 7:30pm reservation so that we could catch the light show during our meal.

The food was one of the most memorable of the week. Garland and Winnie had favourite dishes so they ordered plate after plate of Thai food that I had never before encountered (Kurt and I usually don’t veer far from the pad thai and curries that one normally sees on North American menus). Faves: Garland’s highly recommended crab noodle dish; the pomelo salad; the beef with red rice; the experience of rolling up my own rice paper roll of roasted duck and guava.

Calvin and I expounded on how to appreciate a glass of red wine. We settled on a bottle of 2004 Cotes du Ventoux from La Vieille Fermee, though we both eyed the Chablis longingly.

Somehow conversation steered towards the topic of rock, paper, scissors. I made the mistake of referencing the Fedex commercial that explains the game of bear, ninja, hunter (see video below). Calvin was delighted with the concept and we wound up taking a few shots of us competing just outside of the restaurant.

As Sogo was still open after dinner, Winnie dragged my more-than-willing self for 30 minutes of hardcore shopping. Considering the lack of time and my despair at still being 2-3 sizes too small for Sogo clothing, she still managed to help me find a cute teal tank top and a gorgeous sleeveless turtleneck in subtle shades of purple, lavender, and aubergine.

We reconnected with Lisa, Johnny, and Calvin at the British pub in the lower level of the Excelsior hotel. For some reason, Calvin plied us with logic problems and magic tricks (got to keep his business card as a souvenir). What mental cardio after that bottle of wine and a bit of Carlsberg!

Monday wrapped up with a stroll through Victoria Park and some Vancouver catch-up with the husband. So ends Day 2.