Garden, Diamond Hill, Last Day

For our last full day in Hong Kong, Mom, Flick, Gabe and I took the MTR to Diamond Hill. This was my Mom's childhood neighbourhood and it was unrecognizable to her. The pace of development meant that all the buildings and roads she remembered from her youth were either gone or completely changed.

We were here to check out the Nan Lian Garden, less than a five minute walk from the MTR. My mom's cousin told us about the garden here, the nunnery, as well as a vegetarian restaurant. Although the sun was strong and the temperature was uncomfortably hot, we enjoyed our stroll tremendously. Highlights include the Chinese Timber Architecture Gallery (a hall with scale models of wooden buildings with historical significance) and the Pavilion of Absolute Perfection (a bright, shiny pavilion in the middle of a pond accessed over vermillion bridges).

 

The Chi Lin Vegetarian Restaurant was packed at lunch, but we were able to get a spot nonetheless (tip: if you don't mind sharing a table, you'll get seated faster). A set menu of four or five courses is available which is what we tried. Flick also sampled a fresh juice made with star fruit and pear. The vegetarian food here was different than the other meatless restaurants we've been to, but still interesting and tasty.

The gift shop here is worth a stop. There are tasteful items here, including crafts made by the Chi Lin nuns. Incredibly, they sold beautifully handmade chocolates (with coloured cocoa butter sprays) with interesting fillings like grapefruit and wasabi. We picked up a Chinese vegetarian cookbook in English.

After leaving the garden, we looked on a map near the MTR station and decided to go to a local park. This was a bit tricky as we didn't have a map of the area. After following some elevated pedestrian bridges, walking through a residential complex and shopping area, we found ourselves at Fung Tak Park. There are a bunch of water features here, lots of playground equipment for kids and a bunch of other interesting things. It's a bit run-down though. Turns out that the design is based on a classic Chinese story.

As a farewell, my uncle arranged a dinner in Central at a club for Bank of China customers (or something like that). The food was decent, but certainly not the best meal we had in Hong Kong.

Pearls, Central, Arts and Crafts

We're slowly running out of things to do in HK. Having two full weeks here has meant that we can explore at a leisurely pace, and fit in family obligations, without feeling rushed.

We headed to Tsim Sha Tsui this morning, to pick up some pearls that we had bought. My uncle knows the owner of Rebacca Shop, a jewelry store in Harbour City. Earlier in the week, we paid her a visit to see her selection of pearls, and more importantly, her prices. The value of gemstones, jade, pearls, etc. all seem extremely variable and arbitrary to me, based on taste, popular sentiment and marketing, rather than any intrinsic rarity or value. It's impossible to walk anywhere in Hong Kong without seeing a Chow Tai Fook, Lukfook or other jewellery store. What's amazing is that there are often two or three branches of the same chain on the same corner. For fun, we walked into some some of them and inquired about the pearl necklaces. We were immediately served a beverage and made to feel at home. The selection is just astounding: strand after strand of pearls in all shades of cream and pink, and the more exotic black, iridescent green and the rare gold. Anyway, I think we got a good deal from Rebacca Shop, but it's impossible to know for sure.

The people in the store directed us to Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao in the mall for lunch. Again, despite the restaurant being in a mall, and despite it being part of a chain, the food was excellent. I don't remember what we had, but it was good.

We decided to wander around SoHo and the Midlevels for the rest of the day. We took the escalator halfway up, then walked down the hilly streets, stopping along various stores and streets. There are a bunch of stalls selling fruit, dried goods, wet goods (e.g. seafood) and knick-knacks. We spent some time in Chinese Arts and Crafts, which I had previously visited the last time I was in Hong Kong. I wanted Flick to see some of the amazing carvings and jade. Upstairs, we spent a long time with several sales clerks deciding whether to purchase any of the cashmere scarves (on sale) or not. They also had some beautiful silk table runners in bright, rainbow and fluorescent designs. Ultimately, we decided not to and take our changes in Shanghai.

Only one more day left in Hong Kong before the next leg of our journey!

G.O.D., Ohel Leah, Jockey Banquet

An old forum post on the Interweb told me that Aveeno skincare products are available at Citysuper so we dropped by the one at Times Square this morning. Not only did we find what I was looking for, but we were very impressed by the selection of food items available. A display of fruit teas was even compelling enough for us to buy two boxes to bring home.

I've been very pleased with our Hong Kong: Encounter guide from Lonely Planet. It's a compact, pared-down version of their full guide. There are mini-maps for each neighbourhood, highlights of vegetarian restaurants, and succint descriptions of interesting places to visit. A recommendation in the guide brought us to G.O.D. (Goods of Desire), a funky "lifestyle" shop. It's like a hip, fashion and housewares store: they sell T-shirts, postcards, purses, electronics and furniture. We got some shoulder bags made from recycled Hong Kong taxi seats, some cool postcards with Chinese opera figures on them and a T-shirt for me. There's plenty of places to sit and nurse a baby in the Causeway Bay location.

 

For lunch, our guidebook had another winner with Kung Tak Lam Shanghai Vegetarian Cuisine, in the World Trade Center. Some interesting dishes: a celery-pineapple juice, tofu dumplings and excellent sweet-and-sour "pork". Definitely recommended.

 

We tried again to visit Ohel Leah Synagogue up in the Midlevels. This time, we got off the escalator, but still had to walk uphill to Robinson. The security guard wouldn't let us into the Orthodox side, but we ended up undergoing a detailed questioning and bag search with some staff at an unmarked side entrance. Once inside, we spent some time chatting with the rabbi and other congregation members. We couldn't stay for their evening service (Simchat Torah) but it was interesting to learn about the Jewish community in Hong Kong.

 

My Dad's half-siblings treated us to dinner at the Hong Kong Jockey Clubhouse in Happy Valley tonight. There is apparently a dress code, so we had to bring long pants and a fancier outfit for Gabe. The food was Chinese banquet style, with a procession of tasty dishes, with excellent desserts too (the baked chestnut-tapioca pudding was fabulous).

We have stayed more or less healthy so far, despite most of us catching Gabriel's cold. It's hit my Mom pretty hard these last few days.

Ocean Park, Tea Class, Banquet

It's pretty awesome that there's a regular bus (Citybus 629) from Admiralty to Ocean Park every 10 minutes. We took it this morning, and arrived to a Disney-like theme park, complete with overly orchestrated theme music blaring at the main gate. Admission was reduced by 10% as I was able to redeem our ticket stubs from the Wetland Park. Our first stop was the Grand Aquarium, where a tall cylindrical tank filled with milk fish was a highlight for me, as well as the giant tank with a massive viewing window.

 

Here are animals from the panda exhibit: a red panda (aka fire fox) and a giant panda.

 

We skipped most of the snack kiosks (don't even bother with the roasted corn, disgusting) and held our hunger at bay until we took the cable car to the other side of the mountain. There, we had an excellent meal at Cafe Ocean: Vietnamese-style vermicelli for me, and a mushroom-vegetable and rice dish for Sarah. Good quality ingredients, good size portions and reasonable prices. Highly recommended if you're visiting the park. The far side of the park has mostly rides but there's a few animal exhibits and another aquarium too.

 

After returning back in Admiralty, we met up with my parents and headed over to the Lock Cha Tea Shop (next to the Museum of Teaware in Hong Kong Park) for a Tea Appreciation Class. I called to reserve a space for this last week, and we spent an enjoyable hour sampling Chinese teas, and learning about the classification based on the colour of the brew. Another important take-away was that not all teas should be made with boiling water: some, like green tea, require cooler water. With our class came a 10% discount on tea purchases. They serve vegetarian dim sum during the week too.

 

Our dinner plans for the evening were courtesy of a longtime friend of my uncle's, Vivian, who hosted us at the Kiangsu Chekiang and Shanghai Residents (HK) Association Restaurant. This members-only establishment is not unknown to me, so I was excited to try it again. I don't remember any of the dishes we had, but Vivian made sure to specially order vegetarian items for Flick. It was a long night for Gabe, and we feel torn about having to keep him up so late, but feel obligated not to leave too early as we're the guests of honour.

Flowers, Birds, Peak, Thai

Temples aren't of particular interest to us, but there is a Tin Hau (goddess of the sea) temple in Yau Ma Tei, just a few blocks north of our hotel. We checked out the adjacent public square first, with its banyan trees and older men and women playing Chinese chess. The temple itself does not permit photos but is intensely smoky due to the dozens of suspended incense coils burning in the ceiling.

 

From the temple, we took the MTR to Prince Edward and walked in the market stalls of Flower Market Road. More knockoff Angry Birds merchandise! Surprisingly, we could not bargain on items here, the vendors just flatly refused to negotiate.

 

We walked the entire length of the Flower Market and Bird Markets with their incredible displays of fresh flowers (although, some were garishly dyed) and live birds, grasshoppers and crickets.

 

We finally hit the Peak in the afternoon. This is probably the number one tourist attraction in Hong Kong. The tramway is always busy, and we were lucky to be able to find seats as well as a spot to tuck away the folded up stroller. At the top, we skipped the tacky shops and restaurants, and started on the path around the top. It was pleasantly shady and flat the whole way, a very enjoyable walk.

 

The views were very rewarding!

 

I was excited to try out the same Thai restaurant I visited five years ago, Thai Basil Cafe Bar, in the basement of Pacific Place in Admiralty. Flick and I thoroughly enjoyed our choices, and loved the unusual menu. Highlights include the pomelo salad (with shallots, peanuts, chilis, fish sauce) and beet-mango cold rolls.

Macau

We all met up with my uncle this morning in Sheung Wan, to take a Jetfoil to Macau. This is where my Dad and his siblings grew up. Neither Flick and I have been before so it was a trip we wanted to take while in Hong Kong. On arrival, we arranged for a driver to take us around for the day. Our first stop was the Ruins of St. Paul's. From here, we walked downhill towards the main square (Largo do Senado), wandering the sidestreets and browsing the souvenir, meat jerky and cookie shops.

 

We broke for lunch at Restaurante Vela Latina. The food was alright but not spectacular. We sampled a paella with Portuguese sausage, a beef tongue stew, salty-spicy shrimp, a green vegetable soup and salt cod fritters.

 

Our next step, across the Macau-Taipa bridge, was an avenue that is the home of historic Macanese buildings, restored and partially turned into museums. The avenue was decked out in colourful arches. Our final stop was the Venetian Macao, the world's largest casino as it turns out. Gabe was too young to enter the gaming area, so Flick promptly went in and lost our money at a roulette table. The interior complex replicates the canal and gondola ride of the Vegas casino, as well as the fake sky. Pretty amazing.

Wetland, haircut and history

Today's forecast: Mainly fine and dry. Moderate to fresh northeasterly winds. There will be swells.
My parents both had separate plans this morning, so Flick and I were on our own. We decided to take the MTR West Rail (from Austin Station) to walk around the Hong Kong Wetland Park. After getting off at Tin Shui Wai, we saw a haircutting place in the station. QB House is an import from Japan and I was immediately sold by all of the marketing which promised a 10 minute haircut, latest technology and a pixelboard showing how long the wait was (0 min). I had to buy a TICKET from a VENDING MACHINE (even though the stylists were standing right there). A stylist quickly snipped and buzzed my very long hair while I watched a video about the company and how they train all their stylists in TOKYO! Ten minutes later, the stylist was done and they actually VACUUMED the crumbs off my head, then swept the cut hair into a vacuum hole built into the floor. THEN, I was offered a comb. All for $50 HKD!!! This experience was beyond words.
We switched to the local light rail (Trains 705 and 706 are on a circular route and run in opposite directions). At the Wetland Park stop, we got off, then had to take the very long ramps across the road and walk to the main entrance. Travelling with a baby in a stroller means finding elevators and ramps. Fortunately, Hong Kong is a very accessible city, and staff are always willing to help by opening gates or letting us in through a separate entrance. Amazingly, the main floor of the building has a mother's room with a changing table, sink and chairs for nursing.

 

The park's outdoor reserve was our first stop. We walked through the various ponds, bird hides and fields watching with a mixture of amusement and discomfort at moms berating their children for not learning enough on their walks. When we got back to Kowloon, we had lunch with Flick's family friends, here in Hong Kong for business. Wooloomooloo has a location right next to the harbour in TST East, adjacent to a busy street. It was a nice way to spend the afternoon.

 

As our museum pass was still valid, we went to check out the Hong Kong Museum of History next. It was pretty impressive, with many realistic models, all describing the history of Hong Kong.

Peng Chau

On Saturday morning, we made our way to Sheung Wan to take the 10:30 ferry to Peng Chau, one of the outlying islands west of Hong Kong Island. My uncle owns a flat there and it's his weekend getaway. Upon arrival, we were met by my parents (who took an earlier ferry) and my uncle (who went there at 07:00 to start baking an orange pound cake!). We wandered through the alleyways of small shops and restaurants towards my uncle's apartment.

 

Once we got there, we were able to enjoy the warm breeze from the beach, sitting in the open living room. The flat is on the third floor, so my uncle enjoys the use of the rooftop patio as well. It has beautiful views looking to the west and is quite lovely.

 

My uncle's plan was to start making an early dinner around three or so in the afternoon, so after munching on a light snack (cold herbal/medicinal tea, orange pound cake), we decided to head out and explore the island. There isn't much here: a few temples, restaurants, stores selling knick knacks (including much unofficial Angry Birds merchandise) and housewares. But we did stop at Les Copains D'Abord, a French cafe (!!!), for a cheese board and a few glasses of wine.

 

Dinner was freshly caught seafood prepared by my uncle at his apartment. There were shrimp, squid, fish and crab. Unfortunately, Gabe started to have a meltdown at this point, so we had to leave by six or so. We ran towards the pier and caught the ferry back to Central just in time. A few docks over was a Star Ferry so we took the long way back to Kowloon. We stayed around for the nightly laser light show at 20:00 on the Avenue of Stars. This is a pretty spectacular, well-coordinated extravaganza.

City Hall, Midlevels, Synagogue

The signage in the MTR, at the exits, on the street and inside buildings is incredible. A consistent use of colour and typefaces makes it easy to look for directions. Large MTR stations, say, those with 6 or more exits, often have huge (say 2m x 2m) maps of the surrounding area with points of interest clearly marked. When you're near the MTR, there are signs pointing you towards where the entrances are. Elevators are clearly labelled with what's on each floor.

We made our way to City Hall in Central this morning to meet my uncle for dim sum. Because we got there early, and Gabriel was hungry, we found ourselves inside the empty Concert Hall where an orchestra was rehearsing. With seats that had arms, it made a decent place for Flick to feed the baby. Dim sum at Maxim's Palace was fantastic. An enormous dining room (room for 50 round tables, that's over 500 guests!) patrolled by waitresses pushing carts that had LCD screens playing a slideshow of what was available.

We stopped by the ifc Mall in pursuit of a tea that I've been searching for since my last trip to Hong Kong five years ago. Le Gouter Bernardaud was still in operation and we were able to pick up two tins of the quatre agrumes tea. This is another ultra-luxe mall full of designer shops and absolutely sparkling in its cleanliness.

Afterwards, we went up the entire length of the Midlevels Escalator, balancing our stroller on the moving sidewalks. At the top, we took a circuitous journey along Caine Road in search of the Ohel Leah Synagogue. Without any data plan on either of our phones, we feel a bit lost staring at the paper maps in our guidebook. After walking almost an hour, and getting directions from various local residents, we found the guard outside the synagogue. He questioned us very closely to ascertain our motives before informing us that, as it was a holiday and also shabbat, we would not be able to go inside the synagogue. Doh!

We ended our afternoon by taking a swim with Gabe on the rooftop, open-air pool. We had dinner at the Three Virtues vegetarian restaurant in the mall at the corner of Jordan and Nathan Road. Again, another high-quality Buddhist vegetarian restaurant. The dishes were all quite tasty: sweet and sour "pork", braised taro and pumpkin with coconut milk, and some others.

Dumplings, Kowloon Park, Hot Pot

Flick and I went to a cha chaan tang for breakfast this morning, right on Jordan Road. I was looking for one of these eateries, serving approximations of Western food, but cheaply and fastly. For $99HKD, we each got a HK-style milk tea, toast, an egg and cheese omelette, oatmeal porridge with lean pork and corn, noodles with spam and a wiener, as well as an omelette sandwich on white bread. An interesting experience, but I'm too used to a Western style breakfast (tea/coffee, pastry, fruit, cereal, etc.)

My Dad is celebrating his birthday today, and he wanted to go to Din Tai Fung for lunch. This is a famous chain from Taiwan with outlets all over Asia. Their specialty is xiao long bao, pork dumplings with soup. We went to the outlet in the Silvercord building in Tsim Sha Tsui. The meal here was outstanding: we had several kinds of dumplings, spicy cucumbers, a marinated fish dish, sesame noodles... Highly recommended.

Afterwards, we walked through nearby Kowloon Park, checking out the old trees, the hedge maze and the sculpture garden. As it started to rain, my parents went back to the hotel but Flick and I continued on, stopping to feed Gabe at a coffee shop (blech: avoid the smoothies at Pacific Coffee Company, as they don't use real fruit), then browsing in an outlet of Muji, the Japanese chain carrying labelless knick-knacks, pens, furniture and food items. The baking nerd in me bought some candied yuzu peel and candied iyo tangerine peel (I don't even know what this is).

My uncle took us to a hotpot restaurant for dinner, to continue celebrating my Dad's birthday. Budaoweng has several locations in Hong Kong and is a combo sushi and hotpot restaurant. The interior has a very Japanese feel with paper screens separating booths, and sake barrels everywhere. The granite countertop had two holes cut out to accommodate the induction burners heating two pots of broth. We got to make up our own dipping sauces from the provided containers of chili oils, green onions, garlic (raw and browned), satay sauce and more. Our assortment of "boilables" included eel, fatty beef, lamb, skewered prawns, fish balls, tofu and various lettuces and mushrooms. At the end, when we were nearly bursting, my uncle ordered wontons and noodles to finish up the broth. As if that wasn't enough, he also brought a cake (a chestnut cream one from Italian Tomato) that the restaurant served for us. Unfortunately, Gabe couldn't last through the night, and the food didn't agree with Flick, so she had to take him home a bit early, which was a bummer.