I wish this was my house...

On Christmas day, we headed out of Beijing city towards Huairou district. It was murderously cold in the city and I kept thinking about how cld it was going to be on the outskirts of the city...We were headed for a village by the foot of the Mutianyu section of the great wall to hang out in what Dan referred to as a "chalet". It turned out to be more of a villa than a chalet!

enter the red door

The Red Door is managed by The Schoolhouse Restaurant and is listed as a countryside hotel. It's actually someone's long lease home that's available for short term vacation rental. The house was gorgeous. It's a sleek house of stone, brick and glass that's converted from an old farmhouse.

view of the house from the "kang" in the Living room

There were four bedrooms , each with queen size beds and 3 full bathrooms and one small toilet. The fireplace was a godsend especially with temperatures reaching as low as -16deg that night and the "kang" in front of the fireplace was warm and toasty.

One of the most beautiful features of this house has got to be the master bedroom. Full length windows and a skylight spanning half the room allow natural light to flood the bedroom and offer a stunning view of the surrounding mountains. At night, you look out into a sky littered with stars. The view is breathtaking. The master bedroom comes with an ensuite bathroom/ walk in wardrobe. The bedroom also has a side door that leads out onto an open split level "courtyard" that leads back to the living room. It was a huge house but very cosy.

view from the foot of the bed in the master bedroom

Sitting in the reading area with the sunlight streaming through the windows, I really wish the house was mine... or least that I can one day have a house as beautiful as this!

Very Merry Christmas!

Sleigh bells ring

are you listening

in the lane

snow is glistening ( hmmm... no snow in Beijing Leh!)

A beautiful sight

we're happy tonight

walking in the winter wonderland!

When I was juz a little girl..

This was what I looked like! I took a photo of a photo hanging on my parents' wall. The little boy is my bro who's now so tall, my head only reaches his armpit! ( ewww) the other little girl with the dolls is my sis. She used to love her soft toys... She still has soft toys around the bed but these days, I think they're the dog's toys! And of course, she's got a much much thinner face.

Saying Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!

After months of contemplation, I finally got myself a Wii & the Wii Fit set. It's a gift to myself this birthday and Christmas...I've been fiddling with it and for some strange reason the games start up in black and white only a couple appear in in colour. I will figure this out tomorrow!!!!

P.S the Wii Fit looks simple but for lazy bones me who hasn't exercised in months... man... it's tough!

Turning... 20 again!

So I'm another year older. I'm now 20 ( according to the birthday poster my colleagues made me...) And I certainly felt as excited as a 20yr old again on Friday when my colleagues threw a mini surprise party and showered me with the funniest, most thoughtful and most beautiful gifts.

And of course... Dan, my gadget superhero got me... drumroll... a new Ipod Touch! So in love with it. Gotta make sure I don't lose this one!!

Here's a peek at some of the great prezzies the thoughtful folks at WeberShandwick got me!

Salty Balls baked by Santana. I laughed so hard!

Super cool photo frame from Mandy and the cutest bowls from Song. These folks know me so well :P

Stuff to make me look and feel 20 again from the gorgeous girls of my Beauty team & hot red laces from the Nike team

The Haircare team got me... hair stuff of course!!! Fresh from Japan I should add. And I also received a beautiful scarf from Liz. All so sweet of everyone! Best birthday ever!

mmmmm... at Capital M

Last weekend, my uncle and aunt took us to Capital M for dinner. It was an enjoyable experience!

Capital M is the latest offering from the M group that runs M on The Bund in Shanghai. It's located at Qianmen, overlooking the Qianmen tower. When I first heard of it, I dismissed it as another over-priced-tiny-portion place that left me hungrier than when I began a meal. Turns out, the portions were pretty sizeable... After the starter and my main, I was seriously stuffed.

For starters, I had the pigeon. It was tender and pretty tasty. My uncle found it a little gamey for his tastes, preferring his delish foie gras instead. Daniel's Wagyu Beef Carpaccio was also yum especially if you like beef. My Aunt's Elizaethan salad was essentially greens with oranges and chestnut. It was simple, fresh and thankfully, not over dressed.

For mains, I really have to recommend the roast sucking pig. Man! This was yummier than the one at Agua ( Qianmen 23)! There were three big slices, each approx 2.5" by 2.5" big. The skin was so crispy I swear I could hear it crackle. The meat was so moist and and tender you barely had to chew. I was so busy eating I forgot to take pictures...

Dan had the Oxtail which saw him nod and smile that approving smile before his declaration of "very good". My uncle had the lamb which he complained if being too dry... until he realised there was a gravy bowl on the side!! With the gravy, the lamb was much tastier :).

As we waited for the bill, they served us some small sweets consisting of white and dark chocolate, cookies and rose flavoured turkish delight. I'm usually not a fan of gummy sweets but this turkish delight I liked... reminded me of Bandung!

Service was attentive but could do with a little more polish. W e saw Karen Mok leaving after her dinner and asked staff if it was indeed Karen Mok. The waitress ran after her!!! All 4 of us were trying hard not to shout "NO NO NO". The waitress heard us. Phew. And Karen turned around on hearing the waitress clattering after her. Dan and my uncle caught another glimpse and confirmed it was her!

I would recommend the restaurant if you're impressing a guest - the view is spectacular. The overall setting is very chic but at times overly oriental for my tastes. The food though gets my thumbs up. This is a place worth going for a special night out with a partner. Expect to spend about 400RMB each ( for just mains and starter).

Zootopia

I went to the wholesale markets again.. Ok. I know if you've been there before, you're probably thinking " but they sell so much junk!" I like the zoo because of the junk. It's quite fun picking out the gems from the junk! And I usually have quite a bit of success.

Today I got meself:

1. High cut Ugg boots in black... I like black and it matches just about everything in my wardrobe

2. Leggings ( tights if you will) in black with studs on the side

3. A black racer tee with black studs

4. A long striped shirt to wear with leggings

5. levi's jeans ( I think a bit too small cos I insisted to auntie that all my jeans are size 26) 

6. A work jacket with 3/4 sleeves

7. 2 super cute Patrick the starfish toy

8. Triumph & women's secret lingerie ( there's only 1 store that stocks these... I went round and round looking for it!!!)

9. A lace tee with funny poofy sleeves

10.  A fleece lined sweater for my bro

11. Socks

In all, I spent about 700RMB. Not too considering the stuff I've managed to pick up this trip :)

Scandalized by skin?

So apparently my sari was a tad skimpy cos I had no sleeves. Not even straps. What to do? The clothe wasn't long enough so I got a tube top made.  Mau's was a halter top and her sari ended up a little bit short.

Anyway, the funny looks we got during the wedding was explained by the groom a couple days later. It's not that we were Chinese girls in sari. It was cos:

a) old ladies were scandalized by the amount of skin shown ( they apparently asked about the girl in the too-short-sari & the one with short hair. It was hilarious hearing ourselves being described) 

b) younger women were contemplating bare back tops &  tube tops for their next sari party

The groom's mum seemed extremely proud that her son's friends made effort to look glamorous and even started a new trend :) 

I guess because we aren't Indian and not exactly aware of some of the norms that we wore the traditional outfit a little differently. And it seems the pictures of tube top saris I found online are mainly worn by North Indians. Indians of Southern origin tend to be a bit more conservative. I remember thinking... " how conservative can you be wearing an outfit that bares most of your torso?!?"

The night of saris ..

Congrats Shankar & Soundaram!

So I have this sari right? And It was from a friend to wear to his wedding. His mum got it on a shopping spree in India while prepping for the wedding. She got Mau and Conz saris too. 

Of course, auntie buy, I wear. And it's only good manners to turn up in ethnic costume! Conz had a bit of trouble figuring out how to wear it so she came in a sequined top instead. Cheryl came in a flattering punjabi suit.

Auntie was so funny... as we were queueing for our 2 mins with the bride & groom on stage, auntie glides up to us and goes "Aiyoh, you look beautiful!" And of course, we go, that's because we have beautiful outfits. Auntie winks and says "Of course! You must see who selected it!" 

We didn't get to see much of our friend since he had his butt glued onto the stage dais and it was a very simple buffet dinner. But it was so fun to dress up and fit right into the crowd. Ok... maybe not really fit in but we looked like be were at the right party! 

The star of the night really had to be the bride. She looked absolutely stunning in her wedding gear ( i.e gold, kohl, red sari).  And there's nothing more beautiful than that glow of happiness on the face of a bride :) . The groom himself looked absolutely dandy. But it could be bias speaking since he is afterall my "tall, dark and handsome" friend! 

My very delish Malay meal

Dan's colleague's relatives are in town and they whipped up a storm! I got lucky.. Dan brought home leftovers . I had coconut rice, sambal prawns, sambal egg, chicken rendang and my favourite... ikan bilis!!!!!! Simply the best meal I've had for the whole of Nov. I'm still salivating thinking about it!

Random thoughts from watching TV and movies

I watched UP and 2012 over the weekend.  Also caught a documentary about WWII in colour. All brought tears to my eyes and got me thinking...

1. My life with Dan and the 2 cats is an adventure that never ends. I hope I always remember that and not get too caught up clinging on to things that are transient

2. Everyday is an adventure. you don't really have to travel 10,000miles to find it. If I can remember that, I can face the world each day with optimism and enthusiasm. And small things at work can't annoy me. 

3. Is Man really that selfish? Does the concept of self sacrifice for a greater good really exist? Does it really take a calamity to reveal how selfish/ selfless a person is? 

4. What defines humanity? Really. What makes us human or not? Is it art, culture, science, religion? What? Is it compassion?

5. If it's compassion, then what exactly happened in WWII when an entire community was systematically wiped out? What happened to humanity then?  

Watching WWII documentaries always makes me sad  but it's always been quite distant because everything was in black and white, and footage seems to run cartoon speed. I could watch it and still think quite detachedly about it as a historical event that should never have been and should never be ever again. Watching it in colour made me feel absolutely terrible because suddenly, it seems a lot more real. And it made me wonder about what went on in people's minds - both the aggressors and the victims.  It made me wonder why. And for some reason, it's still bugging me 2 days after I watched the program. 

November Snow...

Not quite November rain... I was trying to find another song about snow in Nov... but kept getting guns n roses.. 

There's like super fat flakes of snow outside. i haven't seen it snow like that since my first snowfall in Beijing 3 years ago!  And this is early snow!! Horribly cold since heating's not up yet. But it's such a beautiful sight. The garden outside is covered in snow and some parts haven't been touched.. everything looks pristine. 

Invite to a wedding

I received and invite last night together with the most gorgeous sari for an old friend's upcoming wedding in Dec. So excited!!!!! Both for my friend and of course excited on a personal level lah. This will be the first and likely only indian wedding I get invited to.  For my friend, I'm just very happy to see that he is happy with where life is taking him now. 

The groom ( my friend of 15 years) claims its going to be a circus with an estimated 2000 people turning up throughout the day. Can you imagine?? 2000 people??? In the context of a typical chinese wedding, that's 200 tables of guests to entertain. Poor guy has to entertain the WHOLE DAY. It's non stop action from the time he wakes up.  

The groom has plenty of Chinese friends ( this is singapore after all)  and he knows how much we're all looking forward to attending his wedding. I mean, a bunch of us girls have been planning what to wear since 1995! It's essentially getting an exotic sari so that we blend in with the rest of the guests. Well... sort of blend in.  I need longer hair.  The sweet guy knows this and got his mum to get each of us a sari from India when she went there on a buying trip. He even indicated what colours to buy! Staring at the sari he got me, I realised that the color looks very similar to a dress I once had made of sari material.  That was my fav dress for the longest time until i got too fat to wear it.  The sari I've got also has little bling iron on crystals on it... My friend knows me well... I like bling. Hahaha.. 

Another friend got a vibrant turquoise. It's so her color! Funny thing is, it's actually peacock blue... a certain school that she studied in had the same shade uniform :P 

I'll post photos of the sari another time!!

yay! get to go home next weekend!

thanks to a meeting on Tuesday at home... muah hahaha. I get to spend 3 days eating eating eating and buying cat food.  Then after that, it all goes downhill... starting with meetings in SG, then off to the place I really really dun like - Guangzhou :(

my fren francesco

Last name Biasia :P 

This bag is called Jennifer. Made with soft calfskin and embellished with burnished studs. I fell in love when I saw it. It's got my fav... STUDS. No more bags for the next 5years...

Making new italian "friends"

For some strange reason, people chat with Daniel on holidays. Random strangers... we sorta talked to Canadians and Aussies along our trip. Loads of elderly Canadians who travelled to Venice on cruise and were making their way to Rome.

We also made some new Italian "friends". Dan's new friends are called Ermenegildo and Salvatore. While I met Guccio, Miucci, Francesco and Furla. 

Good friends are for a lifetime. These "friends" better last a lifetime! 

Stuff we got for my family and Dan's mum. The pink wallet's for my mum :P

Italy highlights

Sneaked a pix of Michelangelo's work in the Sistine Chapel when i really shouldn't have...

We saw plenty, ate plenty and met plenty and it's just too mind boggling to note down everything so here are the highlights! 

ITALY on the whole

Likes 

Beautiful place blessed with great weather, food and wine! Awesome place if you like stories about the ancient Romans, Crusades, Renaissance art.  Super interesting to "bag" and "sunglass" watch ( it is after all home of some of the top luxury brands) .  The shoes are gorgeous too and if you are into expensive shoes.. this is the place to buy them. They are far cheaper in Italy than in Singapore or China. 

Dislikes

Super duper grumpy service especially when reserving seats at the train station and even at the airport. Hey! Is it that hard to gimme 2 seats side by side?? 

How expensive it is to sit down for breakfast. 

FLORENCE

Replica of Michelangelo's David 

Likes

1.The food! Cheap ( compared to other cities we went) and good. Average for a Primi plate ( pasta) is about 5-10 Euros. Randomly picked restaurants served amazing food. Even touristy restaurants served great food! It's all rustic meals - nothing fancy. The restaurants themselves weren't fancy. But every meal was unbelievably plate-licking good.  I actually looked forward to meal times!

2.  It's maze-like streets. So confusing but fun to stumble on something new each time! There are interesting bakeries and markets waiting around each corner.

3. The outlet shopping - a friend told me about The Mall - an outlet for Gucci, Tod's, Hogan, Ferragamo, Zegna, Burberry, Armani etc... It's 50mins bus ride from the Florence central railway station. It's really pretty, set in the tuscan countryside with plenty of hills, vineyards surrounding it.  Gucci was about 60% off . Many other between 30%-50% discount. but of course, these are the previous season's goods. Still... a very good  buy. 

Dislikes

I don't think there was anything I disliked about Florence. It was a very easy going, slow paced city with great stuff to eat. Hmm... my only quibble would be that everything closed so early.. at 7 or 7.30pm each day. 

ROME

Likes

1.  The history and the many many ruins! I can see why this is called the Eternal City. Some things have been around for thousands of years and it pretty much feels as if it'll look the same if we go back 10 years later.

2. The architecture - I don't know anything about archit

ecture but there so many fascinating old houses to look at.

3. The vibe of the city - its a big city with very old world charm. I enjoyed being able to walk to most places even if some of the walks took us 40mins... but there's always something surprising to see along the way. 

4. Seeing the incredible wealth of the Vatican city. I mean, it's not just a spiritual place. It's got a very rich collection of art and each piece gives you a tiny glimpse into what the world was like in the different centuries. I loved that! Though of course... I know nothing about art. And staring at ceilings gave me a very very nasty neck- ache. 

Dislikes

1. It's a tourist town with tourist prices and sometimes food can be a bit iffy if you're close to the tourist sites. Restaurants have "cover charge" !! 

2. Having to queue a long while for anything. Gelato ( cos there's no system of queuing and how the hell do you compete with someone twice your height and double your loudness when trying to get the gelato guy to serve you first??), to get into the Vatican Museum ( that took like... 45mins?) 

There were hardly any gypsies in Rome. Dan said that more than 10 years ago, he really had to watch out for pickpockets and gypsy kids. These days, you see more Armani-clad policemen than gypsies at the sites. 

VENICE

Likes

1. The quaintness of the whole island - you can really see the christian, byzantian and Middle Eastern influences on this city of Marco Polo's.  There's a certain sense of bygone wealth and opulence. You see it most clearly in St Mark's Basilica where the wealth of the church is embedded in the church walls itself. The ceiling literally glitters with gold mosaic!

2. The abundance of seafood. Clams and mussel dishes here ROCK! They are so delish I felt like licking the plates clean. Thank goodness for the bread to mop up the sauce. Not free of course... each restaurant charges anywhere between 1- 3 euros per person for the bread basket.  

3. The gorgeous world famous glass from Murano island. I only bought one little ring and beads. Figured its easier to carry than 6 glasses in a set. Didn't stop by Murano though since we weren't gonna buy glassware. The prices can set off a heart attack.  

4. Burano island for the colorful houses. They came in forest green, robin blue, turquoise, vermillion, egg yellow... Reminds me of an Old Nippon paint advertisement. There's less tourists and the island's quite a nice place to wander.

Dislikes

1. The crowds. Rome was crowded but least it's a big city. venice is a small island with A LOT of people crammed on it

2. The price of stuff - the Merchants of Venice made less than 20 euros from me, not a pound of flesh ( can't help being corny). Every shop has got beautiful things but every shop is heart stoppingly expensive.  Oh but there are great little sunglass outlets with last season's Missoni shades going for 59 euros. The gondola rides were also super-ex so we didn't get a ride on it as romantic as it's touted to be! 

MILAN

The flagship Prada shop... looks small outside.. Inside, shop extends to the basement

Likes

1. It's fashion central!  Home to Prada, MiuMiu, Armani & Trussardi...What's there not to like??Just kidding... It's a great place to people watch. Most people ( except tourists) are dressed to the nines and they look very well put together. There are also plenty of glam restaurants to dine in if you want to see and be seen, and spend a ridiculous amount of money on tiny food portions. e.g. the trussardi cafe, gucci cafe, cavalli cafe... 

2. The fancy food shops... There are quite a few that we set out to look for... and returned empty handed because they were super duper expensive. But it's fun to poke around a fancy grocer and examining the weird and wonderful foods it sells... But seriously, 7 euros for some fancified salt is WAY too much to spend.  We shopped mostly at markets which were a whole different level of fun and excitement.

3. The concept of Apertivo. It's the concept of free tapas with drinks during happy hours  (6-9pm) . The thing is , some places offer free flow of snacks and some of these " snacks" are more than enough to make a meal!. We went to a fab place called Obika that served most drinks + cocktails for 8euros and stuffed you with grilled peppers, parma ham, salami, pasta with pesto, some form of lasagna, mozzarella cheese salad. The drinks had a mighty kick to them too! Not the watered down stuff that you sometimes get in BJ. 

4. You never quite know where you'll find a nice bar or restaurant where the owners are actually really friendly. We walked through some dodgy looking places to get to recommended places in our Lonely Planet guide. Most of them were well worth the walk.

Dislikes

1. How the merchants of Milan beckon you with their seductive wares... and when you are tempted to look, you discover that that really pretty Prada bag will set you back 1200 euros AFTER tax... or how those gorgeous riding boots are.... 395Euros.  Ouch. Even outlet shops are expensive. And the outlets are like jumble shops. Not as glam at those in Florence or Venice. 

2. It's more of a modern city with less stuff to see and stuff worth seeing are pricey... we didn't make it to see Da Vinci's Last Supper because just seeing this one painting will set us back 7Euros each. That buys me a plate of pasta at a very local shop. 

3. Main point is, Milan is expensive. Food costs more here and it's not necessarily nice. You can't randomly pick one and expect nice food. Even stuff at the market costs more than the other 3 cities! 

I really hope to go back to Italy again. I threw one miserable 1 cent into the Trevi Fountain in Rome ( euro is expensive lah) .. Should have thrown a few more to increase my chances of coming back!!! 

I heart Miu Miu

I stood for a super long time at the Miu Miu store in Rome today... thinking... "I shouldn't have bought anything else ( I bought stuff) and I shouldn't have eaten for days ( I ate a lot), then I can afford this gorgeous 900 euro bag. " See http://www.styledrops.com/handbags-36679.html for reference.

So after spending several mins ooing and ahhing over the bags ( I heart the new collection with plenty many gold bling studs) and feeling Dan's disapproving stare and comments about how I've already got one bag... I walked away from Miu Miu with simply what I needed - a new pair of mega size sunglasses that amazingly fit rather nicely. I'm gonna make sure these last me longer than the last pair. Only hard cases from now onwards!

Love Rome

Super tired from walking today. There's so many sights in Rome! Today we saw the colosseum, the pantheon, the memorial to an unknown soldier, the Roman Forum, the Palatino, Piazza Navona, Spanish steps, flagship Bvlgari shop at 10, Via Condetti  :P and other random ruins and statues along the way.  I loved the colosseum! Can almost imagine gladiators standing there fighting wild beasts! 

We also walked by the ruins of Torre Argentina where there's a famous Roman cat sanctuary and caught a glimpse of several cute cats...

Italian love affair - Roaming Rome

I love love love Italy! The food is yum ( though I ate mostly pasta .. but I love pasta) , the weather is fantastic, the old towns of Florence and Rome are full of interesting nooks and crannies filled with sculptures and palazzos and museums and of course... there's plenty of shopping to be done :)

When in Florence, how can one not visit the house of Gucci and Ferragamo? Even though we weren't exactly buying anything, it was still fun to walk through the "hallowed" halls of the original flagship shops and take a peek at this season's latest wares.

If you ever go to Florence, aside from the historic and art sites, you really have to visit The Mall. It's a factory outlet located 1hr's bus ride from Florence. This is one glam outlet located in the tuscan valley, hidden among hills and vineyards. Here is where you'll find Gucci, Ferragamo, Tod's, Hogan, YSL, Armani and Zegna outlet shops. Each brand has its individual shop done up just like the boutique. It sells off-season stuff at remarkably low prices. It seems loads of Taiwanese have heard of this place cos when we went there, the bus was filled with Chinese speaking couples. From their speech and dressing, they seemed to be Taiwanese. Most of them zeroed in on Gucci and it was scary to see people picking out items as if they were free. You would see them hanging on to 4 bags and grabbing wallets. Wallets for 100€ and bags starting at 200€ should be pretty cheap I guess...Several items were 1 or 2 pcs only so I could see why these women grabbed everything in sight.

We were only in Florence for 2 days and I feel almost poor already...Maybe by the time we reach Milan, I'll have to sing for my meals...

Tonight's the 3rd day of our trip and our first day in Rome. We went to see the Trevi fountain and thrwe our coins in to wish for a return trip to this city! Tomorrow, we hit the Roman forum, colosseum and Pantheon. The day after, the Vatican, where I need to seek some salvation for my soul... especially given how much cursing and swearing i've been doing in the last few months over work!

Look out for pix another time and more updates !

I really Rado not go back there

Was in Shenyang doing a Rado event on Monday & Tues. The watches were beautiful but I can't say the same of the city. Service at Trader's Hotel was almost non-existent. Asking the staff to help us tidy up was such a pain. One elderly old lady said, no one wanted to clean cos it's lunch time. She essentially hinted that, if we slipped them some $$, people would clean. We were already paying a lot to the hotel!! 

team mini meeting inside our room

We got to eat one decent meal out of 4 meals. That was at a fancy looking shopping mall next door, in a HK style restaurant. The food was quite nice but it seemed more "dong bei" than HK, serving spicy dishes like 水煮鱼 . Service here was not only non-existent, it was downright rude and to some extent, terrifying. My local colleagues, one of whom tends to pick on service, didn't dare to pick on service nor argue. We were kind of worried we'll get whacked especially given the Dong Bei reputation to fight first, talk later.  Conversation went like this: 

Taiwanese colleague: Can we have another menu please? There are 7 of us here.

Wait staff (fierce and very loudly): I gave you 2 menus and that's very good already. What do you expect? 7 menus? 

Taiwanese colleague ( stunned)

BJ colleague: Er... we're just asking for one more so that we can order faster

Wait staff: Look through the menu faster

BJ colleague: Er.. fine.. let us look through and we'll order

Wait staff stands beside me & BJ girl at the table and taps pen

BJ colleague: I would like a HK milk tea

Me: me too

Wait staff: So how many is that? 

Me: 2

BJ girl: Sorry. Make that 1, I want a juice instead

Wait staff ( very aggressively): So what exactly do all of you want to drink? Can you decide faster? 

All 7 of us looked at the waitress, a bit stunned... 

Order finally done. Waitress repeats our order  ( almost shouting) and goes off. We discover we are short of 3 plates and 3 pair of chopsticks.

Taiwanese colleague: Excuse me, can we have plates and chopsticks

Wait staff makes a sound of annoyance frowns and walks away with no response and comes back with the required utensils.  She kinda plonks them down.

Another BJ colleague: Least she gave us 7 pairs and not 7 chopsticks and says I gave you each one stick, that's very good already.  

Food is served, drinks are served but we're one tea short and also lacking napkins.

BJ girl: 服务员, can we have napkins?

Wait staff rolls her eyes at us and walk away

BJ girl ( adds quickly): bring 7 please! ( whispers to the table) what if she comes back with only one and tells us, I gave you one, that's very good already.  ( Snigger)

Wait staff comes back with 4 miserly pieces of paper...

We try asking again, she sounds annoyed and come back with a giant stack enough for 20 people and just drops its wordlessly on the table. She held it over the table for a second then dropped it as if saying " NAH. So mah fan"

Me: Er.. we're short of one hot tea. 

Wait staff: There's a cup in front of you. Can't you see it's tea?!? 

Me: I mean, we ordered 2 hot teas.  You haven't served the other

Wait staff: No you did not.

Me: Yes I did

Wait staff is annoyed. Checks order form and walks off.

I was worried she would come back and pour the tea on me!!