Dessert of the Day: Durian Pudding

Durian pudding! This one's D24 from Malaysia served at Cafe Malacca

Yesterday we had lunch at Cafe Malacca -- and we had Hainanese chicken rice, beef rendang, mee goreng, lady fingers (okra), and morning glory. An interesting main dish was called ikan pari bakar, or stingray grilled in between banana leaves with a mild spicy sauce.

My aunt said it had the texture of crab meat and it sort of does, as you can portion it off into strips. The meat was delicious and then the cartilage is thin and can be eaten too! It was quite crunchy.

The easy winner -- Musang King from Malaysia!

After all that we were quite full, but we were curious about the dessert.

On the menu are two different durian puddings -- one is D24 at HK$52, and the other called Musang King at HK$68. We asked the server to suggest one to try, but he said we should try both to see the difference.

So we did.

The D24 one was smooth, but hands down the favourite was Musang King with its intense durian flavour that lingered.

Now we know!

Cafe Malacca

Level 2, Hotel Jen

508 Queens Road West

Shek Tong Tsui

2213 6613

Another Side of Audrey Hepburn

Beautiful pale blue dress Audrey Hepburn wore

Auction house Christie's is going to sell some of Hollywood actress Audrey Hepburn's personal items in an upcoming sale on September 27 in London.

Tailoring details in this coat dress

To drum up interest in Hong Kong, some of the pieces, from clothing to jewellery to miscellaneous items are being shown at the Landmark Atrium -- otherwise known as the Landmark fountain -- from now until September 8.

Yesterday we saw the items on show and were in awe of Hepburn's petite size, though she was quite tall too.

There was a black cocktail dress by Givenchy Couture she wore as Regina "Reggie" Lampert in the 1963 movie Charade, or how about the gorgeous pale blue satin cocktail gown she wore to promote Two For the Road.

She also had Burberry trench coat way before it was trendy years ago, and a few pairs of ballet flats (used) should you want to own them.

We loved the detail of the ivory wool coat dress with the detail of the outer stitching, the mother of pearl buttons, and knit sleeves. What a cool combination created by Valentino.

Also for sale is a tiara and the annotated script from Breakfast at Tiffany's that will probably generate a lot of interest.

Did you know Hepburn could paint? Now you do!

What I liked the most was her oil painting called My garden flowers painted in 1969. The flowers are so colourful and vibrant, with texture too from the brushstrokes to try to make it less two-dimensional.

I didn't know she was a painter, like Katherine Hepburn too!

PLA Recruits Not Making the Grade

More and more PLA recruits aren't able to pass the fitness exams

The People's Liberation Army is having trouble recruiting young soldiers because more and more are failing the physical exam.

In one unnamed city in Hubei province, more than 55 percent of the 1,233 young people who tried out for the PLA failed to make the cut because of vision and weight issues, the PLA Daily reported.

However, that was better than in Jianghan Plain, in central and southern Hubei, where the pass rate was 25.6 percent last year, down from 30.8 percent in 2011, the report said.

Many young people applying are overweight and aren't fit

Li Xianggui, chief director of a hospital in Jingzhou said he had seen a significant decline in fitness levels in the 20 years he had been involved in the military's physical exams.

He said although living standards are rising, many young people had unhealthy diets and more were overweight.

According to the medical journal The Lancet, some 43 million men and 46 million women in China are overweight -- 10.8 and 14.9 percent of the population respectively.

"In general, the physical condition of young people wanting to sign up is not ideal, but we can't lower our standards when it comes to finding troops," said Gao Jindong, a division commander in Jingzhou.

Although more young have been applying to the PLA in the past two years, many weren't able to pass the physical exams, according to Liu Deming, a military political commissar in Jingzhou.

PLA doesn't want to lower its standards to get more recruits

The problem of finding new recruits is so widespread that the PLA Daily even posted on social media 10 reasons why many recruits failed the fitness test -- including too many  video games, not enough exercise and too much masturbation.

How the last reason has anything to do with fitness levels is bizarre, but maybe has to do with focus?!

Many are keen to join the army because of the benefits for them and their families, though with Chinese President Xi Jinping cracking down on the PLA as a corporate entity, taking from the trough will get harder in the coming years.

And then there are also recruits who pass the exam, but are later discharged because of "hidden" conditions that emerged during the rigorous training process.

Does this mean the world's largest army is going to shrink soon?

Yujia Wang's Distracting Dress

Here is pianist Yujia Wang covered up! in a promotional poster

Tonight was the season opener for the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and the soloist was superstar pianist Yujia Wang.

It's quite amazing that I've seen her perform for 10 years now -- I saw her play in a small concert hall in Beijing in 2007.

And tonight she played in front of several who's who -- Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, principal guest conductor Yu Long, former lawmaker Emily Lau Wai-hing former Hong Kong Monetary Authority Joseph Yam Chi-kwong to name a few.

While her performance tonight of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto no. 1 was mesmerizing, she doesn't seem to have matured as a person.

This is the dress she wore (here with the Santa Cruz Symphony)

She walked on stage in this revealing dress -- a turquoise number with a deep V both in the front and back, but it was actually covered up with skin-coloured cloth. Then she could barely walk and I soon could see why -- she was wearing platform heels which forced her to stick her butt out.

When she sat down -- and we sat behind her -- we could see her G-string... how classy.

Why was she wearing such a skin-tight dress with skin-coloured fabric? This is not figure skating! This is a performance at a concert hall! And those heels -- gold coloured too -- belonged on the dance floor. Hardly sexy or sophisticated.

As for the music, we really loved her playing, but that bow afterwards needs some work. She just flings her head down, puts her right arm across her chest and shuffles off in that skin-tight dress that might as well be a nylon tube sock. She hardly acknowledged the crowd sitting behind the orchestra -- at least Lang Lang would have given them a few bows in gratitude.

And what about some kudos so the orchestra that performed with her? She barely gave any thanks to them except finally shaking the hand of the concert master before again shuffling off.

She seemed ambivalent about giving an encore, but when the audience won't stop clapping, surely they want to hear more?

Wang finally obliged -- twice -- and we were very pleased. But how about a bit of humility? Or was it nerves from performing in front of dignitaries or the dress and shoes weren't working out?

If she's not comfortable in them, she really shouldn't wear them. I want to see a performer who is confident and happy and shows some grace. I guess she still has a lot to learn.

After the intermission, the Hong Kong Phil gave a very lively performance of Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring. Music director Jaap van Zweden was militant about the timing and also jumped up and down several times to make his point.

The orchestra replied with fantastic sound that resonated throughout the concert hall, dischordant at times, but very experimental and full of energy and full use of the entire orchestra, especially percussion!

When the concert was over, with two rounds of clapping, Carrie Lam got out of her seat to approach the stage. My friend nudged me to leave so we did -- along with scores of other people!

Season Opening: Jaap & Yujia

Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto no. 1

Stravinsky The Rite of Spring

Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall