Yellow (This week's Photo Hunt theme)

Yellow is a colour that sometimes has negative connotations in the West -- leading to it being so that being called yellow is an insult that means that one is a coward. In Imperial China, however, yellow was the color associated with royalty, and the Yellow Emperor being the label bestowed onto the legendary ruler credited with having achieved immortality (and his wife, Empress Lei Zu, with having discovered that silkworms make silk and inventing the silk loom).
And yellow also is the color of royalty in Malaysia, the home of nine sultans who take turns being king (really!) as well as my native land.

The recent actions of the Sultan of Perak has helped create political turmoil in his state and country at large. But it is to more peaceful times that this Photo Hunt's entry largely hark back to: that is, some time last year when two friends and I visited Perak's royal town of Kuala Kangsar and spent time doing such as checking out its beautiful mosque and -- the building in the above photos -- Istana Kenangan, an old royal palace turned state museum.

A wonderful example of old Malay architecture, its relatively newly painted coats of yellow, black and white (the colours of Perak) may be what initially catches the eye but what really takes the breath away is the knowledge that not a single nail was used in its construction. Built in the traditional Malay way on stilts to deal with flooding, it also happens to have the symbolic distinction of being shaped like a keris, the wavy Malay sword whose aesthetic beauty belies its deadliness as a weapon.

With floors of wood and walls of woven sliced bamboo, it can seem on the less than solid side -- and I had to laugh as my two friends did such as literally knock on each step before putting their weight on them as we ascended the stairs up to the palace/museum! Suffice to say that the building really is pretty sturdy -- as well as surprisingly modest looking inside, especially compared to its outside (hence my preference for taking photos of its exterior over its interior!).

On movie fans, plush toy lovers and anime as art

It's a fish, it's a stuffed toy...

...It's a Ponyo plush!

Maybe I'm just plain lucky... but while more than one friend here in Hong Kong has lamented to me that there are few fellow movie fans to talk to at work, I have had no such problem both at my previous and present place of employment. As an added bonus, I also have a fair few colleagues who are likely to gasp and oooh and aaaah when presented with the sight of such as the Ponyo plush I bought from a street vendor for HK$20 (~US$2.50) a couple of days ago and took to the office to use as a stress-busting device today.

About the only colleague who had negative reactions to the sight of my little Ponyo was an Englishwoman who only moved to Hong Kong a few months ago. Like another European friend, she's been shocked to find that in this part of the world, the kawaii like of Hello Kitty and co have fans among adults as well as children, and males as well as females.

When Ponyo On the Cliff By the Sea played in cinemas here, I managed to persuade that same European friend to take in a screening of the film with me. Still, minutes before we entered the theatre at the Broadway Cinematheque, she felt compelled to talk about how she couldn't quite believe that she was going to be viewing what she labelled as "a children's movie".

In the theatre, before the lights went off, I enquired whether she could see any children in the audience. As she looked around, she realized that there wasn't a single child in the theatre that evening. And that, instead, every single person taking in the Ponyo screening was, in fact, an adult. (And, also and not coincidentally, Asian.)

There is a school of thought which posits that anime comes out of an artistic tradition that stretches back to the Japanese woodcut tradition that counts the great Hokusai among its members. Another school of thought has it that anime came about -- or became particularly popular -- in Japan at a time when the country was in an impoverished state and its filmmakers craved to exercise their imagination and create science-fiction and fantasy films but lacked the budget to do so.

In any event, two things became clear to my European friend post watching Ponyo. Firstly, anime -- even kawaii anime -- isn't just for children. And secondly, it really isn't all that far-fetched to consider anime to be art. Especially anime that comes courtesy of the genius that is Hayao Miyazaki and his Studio Ghibli (and which boasts enchanting music courtesy of composer Joe Hisaishi)!

Dinner at the Tung Po Seafood Restaurant (Photo-essay)

My mother left Hong Kong yesterday. In the one and a half weeks that she was here, we did such as go on a couple of hikes, take in a Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra concert and Stan Lai's latest play (which I wrote about for a newspaper whose website, unfortunately, requires a subscription to read), and also watch two Arsenal games 'live' on TV with a few fellow Gooners (over the course of which we were witness to Arshavin's fabulous first goal for the Gunners).

More pertinently for the foodies among this blog's readers, we also ate out every night. And while we had more than one good meal together this visit, the best dinner we had by far was the one we had last Friday at the Tung Po Seafood Restaurant on the Cooked Food floor of Java Road Market which serves far more than just seafood -- and which has previously been 'discovered' by the webmaster of the 'hip' Hong Kong Hustle and, before him, one Anthony Bourdain.

Frankly, I'd rate this meal as being among the top three I've ever had in Hong Kong. It was that good. Yet, miraculously, I actually managed to remember to take photos of what two friends, my mother and I consumed that evening *before* we dug into and devoured the dishes. So prepare to feast your eyes on the following photo-essay...!

Before the food was served, there first came
beer (Carlsberg lager) in Chinese porcelain bowls!

The delicious fried fish dish that
my Hong Konger friend specially ordered
because, she said, it's really hard to cook

Next up: fried frittered prawn balls
served with a light vinegary sauce
on a boat-shaped dish!

Want a closer look?
I'm only too happy to oblige! ;b

Pork knuckle paradise!
Seriously, this fried pork knuckle dish
was out of this world taste- and texture-wise

After all that fried food,
here's a vegetable casserole for balance
-- and yes, it was a tasty dish by itself too!

What's this hidden by all the lotus leaves?

None other than a heaping portion of lotus leaf rice
that, frankly, we wouldn't have ordered
if we had known beforehand how large it would be!

Satisfied? If not, here's pointing out that Mr. Bourdain can be seen eating -- and with great relish too -- at the Tung Po Seafood Restaurant near the end of this videoclip and also at the beginning of this other videoclip. (Also for those thinking of checking out the place: it's physically and aesthetically spartan but rest assured that it does have an extensive English language menu to peruse! :b )

Four (This week's Photo Hunt theme)

What do these two photos for this week's Photo Hunt entry have in common? Not that much, really, besides their both having been taken on trips outside of Hong Kong and each containing four objects I'd like to draw your attention to.

The first photo is of four beautifully hand-carved eggs on exhibit at the little gem that is the Miniatures Museum of Taiwan over in Taipei while the the second is of four very yummy coconut-and-egg combo tarts that I came across while in Macau on a food feature assignment. Almost needless to say, I definitely recommend sampling both if you ever get the chance to do so! :b

From The Peak down to Admiralty (Photo-essay)

Never hike alone in Hong Kong. That's what more than one Hong Kong hiking book and experienced hiker told me. This is because Hong Kong's countryside -- with its many snakes (including pythons and cobras), wild dogs, monkeys, IIs (illegal immigrants who rob!), etc. -- can be a hazardous place for the solitary hiker.

Fortunately, I've found my share of friends to go out hiking with since moving to Hong Kong and usually can find at least one to go off walking with. Still, one beautiful Sunday last December, I had a yearning to go on a hike but no friend available to do so with me. At which point, I decided to risk going it alone on a walk that was closer to civilization than usual -- one that took me from The Peak down to Admiralty, largely along the Chatham Path and Central Green Trail that criss-crosses the Peak Tram's route:-

The Peak Tower -- not the usual kind of structure
one expects to see near the beginning of a hike, right? ;b

The Peak Tower from another angle --
this time with a tram also in the picture

A classic view from the Peak

A less usual view -- from one of the
intermediate tram stations that the Peak tram
never seems to stop at anymore

Part of the paved (and multi-stepped) trail
that's "green" more for the environmental information
to be found on signs along the way than anything else

A view from a lower elevation than previously
of portions of the skycraper city below

A shrine spotted along the way, complete with
hanging ornament partially constructed
out of a common plastic bowl!

Near journey's end -- under a bridge not far from
the Peak tram terminus at the bottom of Hong Kong
Island's highest hill/mountain

Space (This week's Photo Hunt theme)

With 7 million people living on 1,108 square kilometers of land, Hong Kong is considered to be one of the most densely populated parts of the world. And if you find yourself in Mongkok or Causeway Bay on a Sunday (or Admiralty MTR station during rush hour), you most definitely will feel that space -- to even do such as walk about or into -- is at a premium.

Despite all this though, Hong Kong actually is far from being a concrete jungle. Look carefully around even in the more built up parts of the territory and you'll come across green spaces -- including on rooftops.

As for wilder green spaces, those who have seen my hiking pictures on this blog should realize full well that the Fragrant Harbour also has a lot of space that has been designated as country or marine parks -- with the result being that more than 70% of Hong Kong actually is countryside rather than urban space and "Asia's World City" consequently is one of the easiest places to go commune with nature that I've been in. :)

Old as well as new movies

In 2008, I had the privilege of viewing
six films by the late Edward Yang

Wow, that was quick! Less than 48 hours after the deadline for submitting lists of top ten movies (and DVDs) viewed in 2008 for the Mobius poll, William Wilson had tabulated the results and put all submissions from Mobians up on the website. (Mine can be seen under my real name -- and for those who are unsure, YT are my first two initials! -- way down on this page.)

To complete the 2008 films list-making, here's figuring that might as well -- for the record and good measure -- produce a list of top ten old(er) movies that I viewed for the first time in 2008. So here it is, in order of the year of the films' original release:-

Battleship Potemkin (Russia, 1925) - Sergei Eisenstein, director

Ivan the Terrible (Part I) (Russia, 1944) - Sergei Eisenstein, director

Sorrows of the Forbidden City (China, 1948) - Zhu Shilin, director

Festival Moon (Hong Kong, 1953) - Zhu Shilin, director

Burmese Harp (Japan, 1956) - Kon Ichikawa, director

A Street of Love and Hope (Japan, 1959) - Nagisa Oshima, director

Mud Child (Hong Kong, 1968) - Chen Jingbo and Chu Fung co-directors

In Our Time (Taiwan, 1982) - Tao Teh-Chen, Edward Yang, Ko Yi-Chen and Chang Yi, directors of one episode each in this anthology

A Confucian Confusion (Taiwan, 1994) - Edward Yang

July (Hong Kong, 2004) - Tammy Cheung

Oh, and should it not be amazing enough that I got to see all these wonderful films over the course a single year, here's also pointing out that I got to view every single one of them on a big screen over here in Movie Mecca! ;)