10 months !

    I'm back back back!! "10 months", is my title because that is the age of my son - Ah,  my beloved son. Who is at this minute crawling around my feet. It's been so bizarre when I think about the time and where it has all gone. Sure flies by though, especially when you have so much to do. I've been so blessed to have all this time with him to see him develop into a soon- to- be toddler. There is just an unexplainable sense of contentment in being a mum, a parent. So life is very fulfilling and it's just rather odd I´ve chosen to restart my blog today, I've been nana-less for over a week and I have my little one on the loose! but you know... he's a sweety and very independent and... I could go on and on about him which I won´t bore you with today.
 As he is my treasure and your treasure may lie elsewhere.

    However, I would like to honour a dear friend of mine who has left Chile after 3 years. We built an amazing friendship here and she has somewhat brought me through my pregnancy and these 10 months. The beautiful Geraldine Chin. Oh, what a gem. Of course the ever so sweet Anya, her 2.5 year old daughter; in which, I somehow think of them as a unit - all at the same time. Anya is Gerry, Gerry is Anya. I know, you're thinking, what the heck right? Don't ask me to elaborate.

    People come in and out of my life here in Santiago and it is really important to broaden friendships as a dear friend of mine  kindly reminded me just the other day.  In saying that,  I do not regret spending an excessive amount of time and wanting to know her every move these last few months, to see if I could perhaps squeeze a coffee in there somehow. All in all, my relationship with Gerry has given me a new sense of respect and perspective of life.  Such as matters of time and what is precious and worth a bit of splurge and then simple things on how to just let go and enjoy life a bit more. This was re-enforced to me on our last day spent together, a late Friday evening as I was in her living room with the kids ( amused at Anya as usual as she related to Luis Andres some story that was lingering on her creative mind and needed to be released ), as I glanced toward Gerry at her dining table casually sipping on wine ( at 1600hrs) and chatting to her Japanese group of friends she was with.   Coming back to "my letting go" is as simple as this.  I have finally left my bed undone after years of getting up and doing my bed. With Luis still in it and Luis out of it. Ha ha I'm obsessive like that.  Funny, Crazy,  which ever way you choose to view me.  At Gerry's on that fine evening, I finally had a tour of her apartment and entered her master bedroom and went ,"well see ....you too make your bed"! Gerry replied "oh, I learnt that from you! Ah, simple things like that.
We are friends like that.  Little do we know how much we feed off each other.

Gerry is the kind of girl that will just be there for you. Thank you so much for everything; for introducing me to hot baths, the little Asian store a metro away which I was oblivious to and to countless other things like letting my little boy crawl freely around the place without worrying myself silly.  Last but not the least, for reminding me that we somehow always make it through tough times.  That at one stage of our lives,  when I was having my lunch alone and very very new to this country, you were there too in your apartment having lunch by yourself.
So, here's to a lifetime of friendship I'll know we'll have! 

 

        See you in Asia like we talked! ....
One fine day with our kids, with or without our husbands lying down on some beach in Thailand sipping on some cocktail, perhaps a Martini??:) Till then, it's a beautiful beautiful dream.

All the best, my lovely Gerry!

 

Brazilians

My first close encounter with Brazilians was during my first ever trip to South America. I was 23 yrs of age and was taking a flight from New Zealand to Chile. I had a couple of Brazilians sitting next to me and they were the friendliest bunch - they exert such energy.  The loveliest of lovely people I've ever come across. I was quite amused.  

We quickly bonded and my long journey ahead was looking quite delightful. 

Years have past, and they still bring so much joy to my life. I'm at a Spanish School (Woodward's) which I highly recommend. The owner is a New Zealander and his wife, a Chilean. This all fits in nicely with my history where I spent most of my critical years of education in New Zealand.  Everything is tailored to the students needs
[ A bit of publicity for Rob, if you're reading this] ;)
 Oh, I'm loving it! 

At school, I've met the nicest Brazilians. Just yesterday, I couldn't stop laughing, as this girl kept cracking jokes during our communication class.  It's nice to finally be able to laugh at a Spanish joke.  Sure beats laughing 10 seconds or more after everyone has stopped; when I've finally come around to figuring it out or after someone has explained it (which was sadly more the case!)  So joyful joyful - I'm excited.  Language becomes the most critical thing in a country where less than 2% of working adults speak a moderate level of English ( Chile Business Magazine, 2007). Anyhow, these Brazilians surely make learning fun with their free spirited nature. Just last week, I took a leap in the dark to having a cuppa with a Brazilian -  La Agatta. The first thing that crossed my mind as she asked me, was flashes of us both at Starbucks gazing into each others' eyes. She speaks no English and myself zilch of Portuguese. So imagine. However, thank heavens!  To my great surprise, we had such a ball. We're both in the same respectable level at the Spanish School, but of course that doesn't mean a thing. The good news  -  we didn't have to divert, go window shopping, pick up a newspaper or worst
- make an "emergency call":)
  That would have been some story to tell.

We chatted like long time friends and something tells me, I've made a friend for life. I miss her already as she's back in Sao Paulo for a short break.

 I'm loving Spanish and I'm excited for more. I'm even finding this Chilean Spanish intriguing where a few months back I would have cringed as they went about happily slaughtering their words in half and lazily leaving their sentences unfinished in a speedy manner.
 Every country has their little thing, and Chile has it too of course - just lots of it.
 For a matter of fact, books have been written about it :)

I've concluded - what better way to learn the Spanish language than to be in a country such as Chile. I'm starting to believe, no actually, I'm convinced that when I understand Chilean Spanish, I would be so so fine in other parts of the world! On top of that, I'm married to a Chilean that speaks five languages!
- there is serious motivation all around me to learn everything there is to know about beautiful Chile.
 No time for excuses Marsha. Time to get on top of the language!

Baby Ling Ran

        What do you get from an Australian and Chinese mix? A beautiful blue-eyed Caucasian beauty that turned out a bit too big for a straighforward birth. Xue Lian and Rhys smiled and spoke fondly of their bundle of joy when we went to see them at the hospital - all relieved and content. Of course, when I story told this to Luis, he reminded me,yet again that,
 "Undas' have big heads"- how delightful.  Dr.anaesthetist, I give you full authority to give me the best possible combination of drugs to numb the pain ( there are such wonderfully amazing combinations with epidurals actually, come to think! Phew:) for a bearable natural vajayjay birth. Forget already all that,
 "Let's feel the wonderfulness of giving birth without it". No thanks. 

Full respect *Clap clap*, to those who have gone through this "trauma" by choice
but most of my thoughts are with those that really don't have a choice. 

        Moving on to happier thoughts. Kids. I love love them, - honestly, the more the merrier. I actually believe, my quiet wish ( or rather, not so quiet at times) to hopefully have a little brother or sister, has never left me, unfortunately. As a result, having a heard of little beings - eight little Undas' perhaps, running around in diapers, still fascinates my irrational self to bits - Kids crying, pooing, throwing up on me and peeing on my soon-to-be nicely buffed wooden floors, doesn't evoke too much fear and freakishly excites my senses. I must admit though,  I'm often reminded by my sane-self (that comes along now and then) that coming from a small family, I didn't "lack" in any sense of the word. My parents managed to give me and my sister the same opportunities and much much more. When it comes down to it, being practical about these matters lurk dominantly in my thoughts (I guess that's a good thing right? - thank God for that! :). Having a smaller family wins hands down over my dreamy crazy-self. Yes, I would love to give my little Undas' more than I had if possible
- yes, that would be nice.
Thus, a much smaller number has been discussed since way back between Luis and I.
Unless, God laughs at our plans and gives us quadruplets instead!
 (That would be funny God dearest, but how I shudder at that thought!)

        I've always enjoyed seeing couples from different nationalities walk hand in hand - I almost always try to get a second glimpse - a find this sort of union so beautiful. Maybe it's because I could always relate to them. For my friends with these interesting beginnings, I seem to have an eagerness especially in wait of their offsprings. Their stories of meeting and adventures are ever so intriguing and inspiring. Don't you think it's amazing how today, this is all quite the norm? Rather brilliant I'd say and it certainly makes the world seem closer and less concerned with the unnecessary petty stuff. Many cultures still prefer not to step into unfamiliar territory and I most definitely respect this. I guess it's just less complicated. Much of it though, would come down to religion, cultural aspects and other reasons
 that no doubt would validate their reasonings ( not that any explanation is necessary of course)
Even so, it's enlightening in this day and age,  to see general acceptance in the world  - minds
that are stepping slowly but surely outside the once ever so rigid cultural square box.

          I'm eager to see how little baby Ling Ran grows up to be and her experiences in time to come. Maybe things will be a lot easier in her generation? or maybe just too mundane to be of anything extraordinarily significant. Only time will tell. One thing I know for sure is that, Ling Ran would indubitably have an abundant of interesting stories to hear from her wonderful parents especially her strong mum, Xue Lian. What an amazing person and friend. I will truly miss you, my precious friend.  All the best in Australia ! Another adventure, another story with multiple episodes to share.
 Ah, the many perks of living abroad!

  

Kimchi in Chile

I was at one of the major intersections in Auckland (Queen Street) years back waiting for the pedestrian crossing to go and felt so adapted  - crossing, there was a rush of people including the many Asian faces. Home didn't feel too far off and I felt a sense of ease being there. A teenager then, this familiarity was comforting. Before moving there for my studies, my family did speak of many issues and racism was definitely on the list ( this was more than 10 years ago). Here in Chile, I'm beginning to feel the difference. These recent years have certainly seen a good growth of other Nationalities in a country that one could call mono cultural at large. Of course there were the early immigrations largely from Spain mainly the Basque
 ( like my Luis), the Germans, Italians, Greeks ( of course), Middle Easterners and so on.

But Asians? Luis and I still go, " Hey, look Asians"! or

 Luis would go, " Look ! your people, Indians" :p......but we are much less astonished these days.

Things have changed quite a bit and I believe will continue to do so. Our neighbours
 ( well for now,  for the end of May is coming up and we're moving!!) are even Koreans !
The first sight of Koreans in Chile were when they declined repatriation after the capture from the United Nations. Then in 1970, the floriculture encouraged immigration. The first families that came to Chile were motivated by Argentina has their final destination but ended up in Chile because of immigration requirements. A capital of US 30000 was obligated, so many settled in Chile.  Now, there are almost 2000 Koreans in Chile residing mostly in Barrio Patronato in Santiago. There are numerous Korean restaurants including other businesses - imports of textiles and other products from their country.  For those wishing and craving for some good but cheap Korean food or even just spicier food, Patronato is the place to go. On our side of the city; Las Condes or Vitacura, there's only one Korean Restaurant
(Gaon Restaurant) and it's authentic.
 Luis and I went there again just last Thursday after having an unforgettable
culinary experience back in 2006.

So, gone were the days, when I would be at the customs in Chile, with minimal Spanish trying to explain what mum packed for me in an aluminum foil and what the heck I was doing miles away from home. Asians must have been pretty rare at that time - at least to a degree it felt so. I'm glad my darling boyfriend ( "Pololo" ) was waiting for me and was visible through the glass and was allowed to come in and explain to the customs that it was simply homemade Fruit Cake :)
 - that I was of course not smuggling in drugs and just innocently coming to visit him.

So although Chile is geographically distant from the root of all these exotic flavours, it doesn't fall short to please. If you're an Asian and feel the need for some blast of pure flavours, head out to Patronato or the Central.  There are many great restaurants and oh,so affordable too!  Also, thanks to my dearest friend Xue Lian from China, I now know that some of these authentic restaurants have two menus
- one for the Chilean Clientele and another one for their local people.

 So my dear Asian friends or those Chileans that have been
 transformed and have cravings for some genuine food at times,   

- you need to get your hands on the right menu!

Of course there are many Chinese (Asian) restaurants all over the city but they have been altered to accommodate the palates of our beloved Chileans.
The great thing though is that,  there are certainly Asians everywhere these days
 and it's always nice to bump into them now and then. 

Like the other day, I ran into a Chinese lady, she could have been Korean or Japanese though ( I can never tell!) and we had this look on our faces like we've just crossed paths with a long lost friend.

We had the biggest smiles on our faces and we said the longest," Holaaa!' and had like tears in our eyes and looked back as we parted......(no no.....I was just dramatizing)

but you know, it was nice, so special - the feeling that somehow, we've known each other in a different life or something. See what living in a foreign country could do to you!!   

I kinda appreciate the little things that pop up - like the Asian lady before who was actually walking down the street with an umbrella (no one else does you know in the scorching sun during summer. It's norm to rejoice at the sight of the sun here - but only a true Asian could understand the multi- functional umbrella). All in all, it has certainly been a great adventure so far, and it's getting even better with the discovery of some great Asian food
 - the general acceptance of these foreign flavours are ever so enlightening.

Luis grilling for us at our 8 yrs and 1 mth celebration dinner -Korean BBQ

( Us, of course eating at every opportunity! :)

Lollapalooza 2011

What a fabulous weekend of music it has been! I'm glad I've gotten to know a few more bands and really enjoyed the atmosphere at Lollapalooza. The National and particularly Fatboy Slim was really the highlight for me and it certainly succeeded in ending the night on a high note for the group of us. It's super how I've gotten the opportunity to attend this International Music Festival and even had the privilege to rest inside the VIP tent for a bit (Ever so dependable especially when food runs out in the general field and the need for food creeps up slowly; Marsha needs to be fed every 5 hours) More importantly, it was a nice sunny day just hanging out with friends and enjoying what we have in common - the love of music. Oh, Lolla gets extra points too for they had this, "Green Culture" save the planet campaign going on  :)
For that additional effort, I'll give them two thumbs up !

Ben Harper

Fatboy Slim

Indomita

Wine lovers would know that Chile is renowned for its great wines. Winery tours are most definitely on the itinerary for tourist that come to Chile. There are many proud regions - from the North to the South (along the 800- mile stretch) - some more famous than others, some with history, others with interesting tales too.  I'm always up for a good vineyard tour and most definitely enjoy the sipping process as we go along.  Something I'm looking forward to again when my family comes to visit us in December ;) or who knows an opportunity might arise earlier.

Our decision to visit Indomita with Marcela and Nicolas was quite a spontaneous thing ( Seriously. We decided at around 2am at a farewell party the night before) Indomita's located on a hill that we have gone past numerous times on our way out of Santiago - around 80 km away. Something I adore about Chile - you don't really have to go too far off to have a nice escapade. Everytime we past Indomita, we never failed to say to each other how we would love to stop by.

  So I'm glad we've made it a point to go and made a brilliant Sunday afternoon out of it too. 

  I must admit, we went there solely to dine. I know most of my post are about food, I did notice . 

Oh well,  I reckoned by now you must know me and what's life without good food,  friends and going places aye?! :)

 Anyways,  Indomita has a fantastic restaurant that certainly lives up to its reputation.

Moreover,  the opportunity to dine overlooking the winery?
 I guess that's a pretty hard one to top and resist.  

I of course tried my luck and suggested getting married there again. A romantic renewal of vows perhaps? along those lines. Luis just gave me this funny look :)

 I guess "wedding planning" screams "trauma" with a capital T for most men :)

 Most will say "only once", " never again"

 Actually, I don't blame them. I feel quite the same.

 The planning - way to much to handle, the wedding day - Pure happiness

However horrendous the whole concept of planning a wedding is, it still hasn't hindered me from imagining how tremendously romantic it could possibly be at a vineyard. 

I'm still waiting for my first wedding invite to one.

That's in my top 100 things to do before I die by the way. No, I haven't lost it yet and no.... actually I told a fib -  I don't actually have a bucket list.

( why all the unnecessary pressure I say -  I'm pretty happy the way things are)

  It's just really something I would love to experience, this whole vineyard -craze- phase. 

With that, I could at least imagine being in la la land for a while and that's always fun in Marsha's world.  I have many things I would love to do.  But how I die? how long more I have to live? is beyond my control and way to creepy to think about - so no,  I don't intend on making a list. Of course I do have some sort of broadish goal.  My latest one is learning to speak Chilean Spanish before I snuff it. 

( note, "Chilean Spanish" which is a whole other language).

Anyhow, I do hope I'm making the most of my days and I hope to try harder in whatever I do.

( I stretched a bit further today at Pilates Class and resisted the 4th peanut butter sandwich  - wiiiii lets jump for joy :)

- ah, the little guilty pleasures in life !  

So here's to a day in my life I very much enjoyed.

Just eating, chatting, chilling and living it a bit with people I love. 

Marce had the Pastel de Choclo ( won the National Gastronomy Competition in 2003 ) and Nico had the Congrio 

Luis had the Ossobuco beef  and I had the Fillet of Magellian Lamb

Thought my dish deserved a photo:)

Then we took our wine glasses and decided to have our desserts overlooking the above at the terrace.

That's the Creme Brulee that I ordered ( can't get better than a trilogy of flavours), Luis ordered something chocolaty of course and Nico and Marce had the platter

Then we had a posing session

A bit more - now you see the mountains

and now you see a bit more of the mountains and the lush vines !

The cellar, the restaurant and the shops of course.  I got us a bottle for keeps. Umm maybe for a special May entry on our very own terrace;)

The view along the main road looking up towards the winery

I'll give you a much deserved tour in December I promise, and.....

 I'll bring a few Malaysians not because you deserve the publicity but because you're that that good!  :)



Baby Shower for April Babies

A couple of weeks back, a few of us from the Asian Food and Friends (AFF) group,  organized a combined surprised Baby Shower for our dearest mothers' to be- Zue Lian and Hilda.  It must be all so daunting really to be in a foreign place and of all things bring a life into this world.  For that very reason, plus at the same time fast- forwarding my life, am thankful for the people I've met ( must say though, they have excellent Gynae's here!, so that's one thing I'm quite calm about; if you're wondering about health care in Chile ) I don't know if it's complacency or not - for me being in the same circle of friends, really cuts down the possibility of meeting new people in life and I sort of hunger for that at times. I look back to my time in Malaysia, and I did spend a lot of my time with foreigners and my work mates ( which of course were people I just met) I think, it sort of drives me or maybe it's the only way I know how to live because I've been some sort of a nomad.
Funny . I'm reading "blink" by Malcolm Gladwell now, and I found this interesting. I'm paraphrasing here an experiment carried out by the psychologist Samuel Gosling. He says it's quite plausible that people who have met us and thought about us for a mere 20 minutes, could have a better understanding of who we really are than people we have known for years. That in it self validates how at times, I look back and wonder how at times a "new friend" could be so refreshing in my life. So I feel lucky having met all these people. Imagine,  if I knew only the Malaysians here ( the 15 of them , yes there are only 15 Malaysians in the whole of Chile!) that would have been some pressure to hope that they would all love me. With my close knit of friends here, everyone makes everyone else feel so special.  We do at least try to catch up for lunch or go shopping and we're constantly calling and exchanging e-mails.
 Oh, and of course birthdays are just another reason to just go way over the top ! :)
 Sometimes I do wonder,  I wish a certain friendship blossomed or what if that friendship had more time. Then I step back and think, it's so okay that we don't click with everyone and plus if we're getting way less than we put out...
 that's just unnecessary in this short life of ours, no? Friendships should take effort but not too much. What was it again? It takes only 20 minutes. Maybe we're just better off moving on with our lives.
   Anyways, I'm happy that Chileans are very warm people - it certainly helps with getting settled in.  Plus, I've known many of Luis's friends since he was in Varsity in Chile. I guess it has helped now with my Spanish being a bit better and of course trying to be as positive as possible helps a bundle. I sometimes forget that many things are in our hands and its mainly just how we look at the situation. We all know that.

  When it comes down to it though -  it's really the quality of friends that make a difference
 ( Having said that,  it's not like I'm gonna stop collecting friends :)

 So, with that in mind,  I'm gonna make a conscious effort to keep these lot in the forefront of my thoughts as they are certainly some precious beings.  I'm so lucky, lucky to have met them all.
20 minutes aye - 20 minutes that's all it takes to possibly have a friend for life.
What do you think? I think I might take my chances :)

Hilda arrived first !  Everyone was there 30 minutes earlier to surprise her :) That's Ica our gracious host

Then Xue Lian arrived and was so shocked that I literally had to say " It's your surprise party, we are surprising you!!" ha ha

Ica who hosted us is a designer.  She designed also for the Warehouse and Topshop in London.  So, we had talent around, which really set the scene.  She drew the pictures above, one Hilda and the other Zue Lian, can you tell who is who?

and she also made these pretties

We had a very elegant palette - grey, pink, white, black ( white and the black was the cow in the group photo below)
 ( very sophisticated colours I must say, plus we're all in our 30s so...well suited)

and of course there was food - AFF is basically a group that gathers to eat and talk - so everyone brought a dish
( notice the pretty table setting)



I attempted one of my mum's traditional recipes - Honestly it didn't turn out like it should have.  So, the evening before the event,   I skyped mum and said " HELP" she said just grind a large onion and add some garlic and that should help. Well it didn't only help, it transformed the dish!!  Not sure how my mum does it, she's just an awesome cook.

Us :) Not sure why I wasn't smilling. I think I was a wee bit nervous with the person handling the camera ! That's the helium cow - so much better than the random colourful balloons we so often see at parties.
 ( they kinda remind me of a rainbow that might have just regurgitated into open space)

All the best my dearest friends! -  You both, no doubt would be fantastic mothers xx

Friends at La Dehesa

We don't really need to look too far for a good time when we're in the midst of good friends.

 Don't you all agree?
The people around us make the difference.
Before leaving Malaysia, I had so many people ask me,
 " So, you're following your husband to Chile?",
 Okay,  now it's my turn ( breathe in breathe out)
 Now what kinda question is that?:) C'mon people !
He's not only my friend or rather my best friend but my husband for crying out loud !
I think back about how horrified some people felt about my moving  to such a distant country. It's understandable, it's harder when you're trying to
fit into the other person's shoes.
Anyways, I'm more than fine and thank you for the concern. That's friendship.
 I'm always thankful for good friends.
 -  how dreadful it would be if none cared.
I must say, It did cross my mind , but it was such an easy decision when it came down to it.
So anyways, I would like to move on to my weekend story as we really had a great time. The last BBQ we organised was in Kuala Lumpur at our apartment. Luis and I always enjoy talking about how fun the day turned out , well we did have a few memorable ones there I must say.  I think it's a great way to really relax the week past and catch up with friends in a familiar environment during the weekend.  
So last Saturday, as Tio Luis was basking away in beautiful Brazil with the family, we took over the house. Well.... he was kind enough to offer us the house -  mind you, he was even kind enough to offer us tickets to Brazil, but some people do need to work I guess.  There's no reason to sweat -
there's a time for everything ! I'll wait patiently for my next holiday. Let me rephrase, a holiday away from Chile. I have to be more specific now days,  since I've resigned or as my sis calls it taken an
"Early retirement" :)

 So here are the memories from our extended BBQ that lasted into the early hours of the night. 

It's great now that it's Summer. We get to enjoy the scorching sun till late - more time to play outside and get burnt till the days ! Thank God for good sunblock,
 "SpectraBAN" people (highly recommended!) - there's always gonna be the side of the Pharmacist in me :)
I do imagine myself running after my kids trying to slap some on and of course I believe I'll continue to run after my husband till I'm old and grey !

  In Chile, you can't escape them BBQ's. Almost every week we have a tiny one. I find it real neat how almost everyone has a BBQ set and a terrace.
However small, they'll be a spot for at least a small set.

This is the spacious backyard where we spent the whole day chilling, chatting & sipping away

Cutie getting the essentials ready, the music !

I went along snapping photos of the lovely landscaped garden

Then Luis let Blanquito and Carmela out to play !

Luis went for a dip and I stretched from my lazy chair to take his photo

and the white ones took the opportunity to kick me out of my spot !

I managed to finally squeeze in !

Managed to get one off :) Can't win it all, but I must admit I couldn't resist Carmela though, she is so adorable, Blanquito the male, is quite the gentlemen waiting for his turn

Father-Son Love

The girls enjoying the pool !

The men even brought us white wine to drink ! Spoilt aye

Not only that, we had food ready for us too ! Where are the rest of the men?

The darlings were tending to the grill ! Oh, we had delicious beef, chicken and sausages! Thank you boys

Well, the men did have their much deserved chill time of course. 

Till the next one peeps!

To more BBQ's and to carefree times - SALUD!



Dim Sum Outing

People people - there's good Dim Sum in Santiago !

We all agreed 6/10. Hey, that's pretty good for,
 "Far- from -Asia -Land" :)

 A week ago, I met up with a few of our friends from the Asian Group and friends (AFF). We self named  it two weeks ago.  Basically, it was started by the Indonesian women in Santiago a few years ago  as the "Asian Group" as there weren't many Indonesians around. It has since grown and thus, the invite has been extended to women that are interested in joining us - women from different continents that are living in Santiago -  we have a few Latinos and a South African amongst the lovely ladies, thus the befitting name,  "Asian Group & Friends" - AFF, we have even created a page on the famed facebook.

The restaurant, "King Shun", is located quite a distance from most of our homes in Las Condes and Vitacura; but it's worth the every crowded hassle of the metro in getting there. We unanimously decided to take the Metro - the tube is pretty well connected in Santiago.  It took us a good 40 minutes to get to La Florida.  The restaurant is just a couple of minutes from the station and it's opened daily until the wee hours of the morning.  A little fact that I found neat was that the restaurant is the ultimate hang out spot for the other Asian Chefs from Santiago for supper - the restaurant does well at preserving as much of the authenticity of Cantonese Oriental food that they serve; thus the crowd of chefs by supper. Though, it's thoughtful that the chefs here try to accommodate to the taste buds of our fellow Latin friends, undoubtedly at some point, even the Latinos especially those that have had the opportunity to live in Asia would feel the need to have authentic food.  King Shun should definitely be top on the list especially for some good Yum Char or Dim Sum. Up till recently -  it was the only restaurant serving this famous breakfast brunch delight.



Chinese Steamed buns !



Anke & Ica enjoying the food and possibly trying to catch the attention of the waitress





Among the dishes





Pregnant Xueling looking not so pregnant at 6 months





Us !  Missing Natasha that was supposed to join us though