Dim sum at Chuen Lung village

Guess how much a dim sum meal comprising
these and 6 other similar sized dishes cost?

But before you start estimating, bear in mind
that the dining environment was on the
spartan -- though clean, mind! -- side... ;b

About a month ago, I wrote about leisurely partaking in a dim sum meal being one of the activities that can be enjoyed when it's raining in Hong Kong. And going off to have dim sum (or yum cha -- as it's more commonly referred to in the Big Lychee) was what a friend, her family and I proceeded to do yesterday despite it being on the rainy side when we left our respective apartments to meet up at Tsuen Wan, a part of Hong Kong that took all parties around an hour to get to from where we live.

Before any one wonders: yes, one hour by public transportation is on the far side to go to have dim sum. And even after getting to Tsuen Wan, our travels weren't over -- as we then had to head part way up into the hills along Route TWISK to the village of Chuen Lung which I had only ever passed through once on the way to the start of a memorably wet hike.

Nestled as it is on the border of the Tai Mo Shan and Tai Lam Country Parks, the village of Chuen Lung probably sees far more foot traffic -- especially on weekends -- than most other settlements in rural Hong Kong. But in addition to hikers, it also attracts dim sum afficiniados due to there being two dining establishments there that offer tea brewed in fresh mountain water and food (such as cheung fan (steamed rice rolls) and tofu fah (soybean custard)) conditioned by that same water.

Probably because of the rain as well as because we arrived there at a relatively late hour (i.e., close to 2pm), the Choi Lung Teahouse was not even half as full as I had seen it when two other friends and I had passed by on the way to hike the Lung Mun Country Trail some time back. Worse, the restaurant had already sold out all of its cheung fan for the day (though, fortunately, not its equally vaunted tofu fah)!

Nonetheless, there was enough different dishes to try (including the perennial favorite that is char siu bao (barbecued pork buns) but also dishes I had never seen before including a concoction consisting of what effectively amounted to a quail's egg atop a minced pork patty) to make this diner -- at least! -- happy. And to add to the rustic atmosphere, the restaurant still continued its unusual self-service modus operandi requiring customers to go into the kitchens to look for and take what they wanted themselves (as well as get fill one's own tea pot and cups)!

If truth be told, I think others in my party were a bit taken aback -- and even put off -- by how spartan as well as casual everything was at the eatery. But after we saw the bill, everyone agreed that the meal actually was incredibly good for the price. After all, it's not every day that a dim sum meal in Hong Kong will amount to just around HK$41 (~US$4.29) per person!

So count me as a satisfied customer -- and I do intend to go back again for dim sum some time, rain or shine. The next time though, I definitely plan to be there earlier so that I can try their cheung fan -- and especially if they offer the option of pork liver as one of the stuffings, I definitely will be in Elysium!!! :b

Alive (This week's Photo Hunt theme)

As regular visitors to this blog who venture beyond the Photo Hunt entries know, I've seen my share of interesting critters while out hiking (and sometimes even before the hike proper began!). But what I want to highlight in this entry is how many creatures beyond humans also seem alive and at home outside of Hong Kong's 24 country parks (and one officially designated "special area") and five marine parks and reserves.

For example, when I worked in Wan Chai (firstly in an office up on the 13th floor and then -- after the company moved -- to a second office on the 8th floor of another building), I'd regularly see large black kites (the birds, not the human-made objects!) gliding in the sky, sometimes at around our level, between buildings as well as above them! (A little known fact about Hong Kong: around 500 different species of birds have been spotted in the territory. And Asia's World City most definitely has its share of keen birdwatchers, some of whom I've seen armed with a most magnificent collection of cameras and super sized lenses!)

Additionally, at ground level, more than once now, I have been amused by the sight of a colorful butterfly wending its way along a busy street along with a crowd of human pedestrians. (Alternatively (and touching wood!), I am glad that urban Hong Kong is not home to quite as many mosquitoes as, say, Malaysia, let alone malaria-infested Tanzania where I had to sleep under mosquito nets each night.)

For those who are particularly interested in knowing where I saw the creatures in the photos above: the lizard was spotted right next to the Kwun Yam Temple on the island of Cheung Chau that lies above Kwun Yam Beach (Incidentally, I like how it stayed very still even though it was very much alive... hoping that its camouflage would allow it to blend in unnoticed with its surroundings -- all the easier to take a photo of as a result!); while I saw the two birds resting atop the ruins of the old South Gate at Kowloon Walled City Park.

And yes, strange as it may seem, viewing nature -- be it in the concrete jungle or "wild" -- really does play a part in making me feel thankful to be alive and part of this world along with them. This is because their very -- and continued -- existence gets me thinking that amidst all the doom and gloom discussions of humanity's environmentally destructive tendencies, nature may well be more resilient than we often give it credit for after all. :)

Penang eats (that I ate while in Penang!)

A delicious lunch for just RM4.90 (~ US$1.59)

Greetings again from Hong Kong! "But of course", I hear you say, dear reader -- only the truth of the matter is that I only just got back to the Big Lychee a few hours ago after a little more than a week's stay in the food(ie) paradise that is Penang.

The main purpose was to attend my brother's mega wedding dinner (which included/was preceded by a traditional Chinese tea ceremony along with more informal cocktails). What with my having been under the weather lately, I also felt obliged to make time (more or less a whole day, all in all) to go for a general medical check up. (Since my home state has become a major regional center of medical tourism, this arrangement ended up working pretty well for me.) But as the photo at the top of this blog entry shows, I also definitely wasn't going to miss out on making the rounds of my favorite Penang eateries while back there!

As has become a ritual of sorts, my mother was there to meet me at the airport and took me straight to the Perak Lane stall that is famous for its fish head bee hoon (but whose pork balls and kidneys are what I like to have with my white rice noodles). And over the weekend (since they are only open on Saturdays and Sundays -- albeit from 7am to 7pm on each of those days), I went to patronise my favorite Malay assam laksa stall at Shamrock Beach even though it now is sadly minus its founder, the late Makcik Putih (who passed away in February of last year).

Other foods that I cannot miss on visits back to Penang -- and definitely didn't this time around -- include the Hokkien Mee from Kwai Lock Coffee Shop, the seafood (crabs, of course, but much, much more!) at Crab Village and Majestic Rojak (which really is, well, majestic!). And I also ended up having suckling pig -- thanks to my family playing hosts to guests who came from England, New Zealand, Singapore and elsewhere for my brother's wedding but all seemed to pine for that particular dish (which is not native to Penang but which is done very well at May Garden).

Additionally, for the first time in years, I went to the Malay food stall in Tanjung Tokong that was introduced to me by the powerhouse husband-wife pair of Lubbis and Khoo Salma some years back to get myself some delicious home cooked goodness -- and for a mega bargain price. And for those who can't see what I got for RM4.90 (i.e., around HK$12.33), here's detailing that it was curry fish roe (yum!), a slice of sour as well as spicy curry pineapple (more yum!!), fried chicken liver and kidneys (I know... not for everybody but mega yum to me!!!) and a fresh vegetable mix of cut kacang botol, onions and bits of red chili peppers (for added oomph!) on top of a fairly substantial portion of fluffy white rice.

And should there be any doubt: yes, I'm salivating upon recalling that wonderful lunch feast... and am already making plans to go back to that stall for more the next time I return to Penang... ;b

An easy-to-get-to Hong Kong hike (Photo-essay)

How difficult can a hike be if its starting point is just a few minutes' walk away from an MTR station and end point is close to a bus stop? My answer, after taking two Hong Konger friends on one such hike (which begins just a few hundred meters away from the Quarry Bay MTR station and concludes near a stop from where one could take a bus or minibus back up to the northeastern sections of Hong Kong Island ), is that the difficulty level may be higher than one might think given the trail's accessibility as well as dependent on one's level of fitness.

Put another way: I think my friends -- who haven't been out hiking all that much before -- were generally surprised by their experience of hiking from Quarry Bay up Quarry Bay Gap (via Mount Parker Road) and past a few of the Tai Tam Reservoirs; both in terms of what they got to see while out hiking but also how a walk in a country park isn't quite the same as a stroll in an urban one! Still, I think that in general, the experience was pleasant enough to leave them wanting more -- since one of them has been on another hike with me since and the second has talked about doing so again (even if she hasn't actually done so yet!)... ;b

A visual reminder early on in the hike of
how close to each other city and
country park often can be in Hong Kong

Indeed, this sign seems more for the sake of
human occupants of nearby homes than the non-human
residents of Tai Tam Country Park (through which
the entire trail we were on goes through)

After a while -- and an actually pretty easy ascent up
to Quarry Gap -- though, one finds that one has left
the city quite a ways behind in the distance

Rather than follow an official trail, I mixed
and matched -- and included (a small) part of
the Hong Kong Trail into the equation

On days when the general color scheme appears to be
predominantly gray along with green and blue,
a sight like this brightens things up quite a bit

All in all, it's amazing how splashes of color can make
otherwise mundane objects so eye-catchingly noticeable! :)

And for those doubters out there: yes, there
really still are non-concreted-over sections of
trail on Hong Kong Island! :D

Near hike's end -- a welcome sight for the weary and hungry
(the latter of which we all were -- not least because one
of our party talked incessantly about food she wanted
to eat post-hike even before our hike was half over!)

They're grrrreat!

See what you get if you buy a packet of Frosties
(AKA Frosted Flakes) cereal in Hong Kong!

My wedding present for my brother and his new wife

The last time my mother visited Hong Kong, she asked me -- after being assigned the task of being Puppet Ponyo's handler when we were in Macau as well as post-viewing my Puppet Ponyo-in-Germany photos (e.g., here and here) -- whether Ponyo had risen above Hello Kitty in my affections. Since this is not the case, I got to thinking that it'd be good to devote a blog entry to the cute cat at some point in the near future -- and recent events have given me a good reason and opportunity to do so.

More specifically, earlier this week, when I popped into the supermarket on my way home from a stressful day of work, I decided that I had a craving for a sweet cereal for breakfast the next day. Upon going to the cereal section of the store and spying a cereal box featuring Hello Kitty on it (and the prospect of accumulating yet another free Hello Kitty item), I found myself instinctively making a grab for it. And so I've found myself eating that particular brand of cereal for breakfast on the days that I've felt like eating cereal (as opposed to, say, fresh fruits as often is my wont).

Additionally, when it came time to buy a wedding present for my brother and his now wife earlier this week, I really did opt to buy them a Hello Kitty and Dear Daniel plushie set -- and not just any set either but, instead, one which saw the kawaii pair of furry felines dressed in traditional Chinese garb!!!

And before anyone wonders: I know that my sister-in-law shares my love of plushies. So I'm trusting that she's telling the truth when she told me she thought the present was cute. As for my (younger) brother: well... let's just say that I remember when he was a big fan of the Care Bears, had plushies of his own and was almost as cute as Dear Daniel himself. So... I figure he'll be able to grin and bear (no pun intended) the presence of those commemorative plushies in their abode in the years ahead! ;D

Dark (This week's Photo Hunt theme)

As the proverbial "they" say, "It is darkest before dawn". But since I hardly ever get up in earnest at that time of the day, I have no photos of those wee hours to share with you!

Alternatively, as those of you checked out my Photo Hunt entry last week will have realized, I love taking sunset photos. And longer term visitors to this blog also know that I often have my camera out at dusk -- that time of the day when the sky may not be beautifully orange but there still is enough light for the darkened world to show (or at least hint) at its visible charms. In addition, after getting my current camera of choice (the thus far truly trusty -- touch wood! -- Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ2), I've become more inclined to take night shots.

Consequently, here's offering up both a dusk (or would it already be considered twilight?) view of Lantau's Lower Cheung Sha Beach and one of central Macau still decked out with lanterns one October evening (despite the Mid-Autumn Festival having taken place in September -- but never mind since the festive lanterns sure do beautify as well as light up what otherwise would have been a dark scene and night!). ;b

Tai Tan Country Trail hike (Photo essay III)

Aaaah... around this time of the year, the Hong Kong air becomes cooler, less humid and a whole lot pleasant -- which gets me thinking that soon, it'll be optimal hiking weather! And it really was a beautiful day back in December last year when two friends and I went hiking along the 6.7 kilometer Tai Tan Country Trail that's yielded two photo-essays already (see I and II).

But for all of it being a very pleasant and highly recommended hike (especially as a half day jaunt during less humid and cooler time of the Hong Kong year), I have resolved that this will be the final as well as third photo-essay covering that Sai Kung West Country Park excursion. For photographs of quite a few more hikes I've gone on since still await!

Are those brown bits seed pods?
All I know that they're cool looking and/but
are neither flowers nor butterflies! ;S

Is it just me or does this set of rocks
bring to mind something ape-like to you too?

And is that an ancient great hound
lurking behind that there bush???

The shadows may have been long but,
fortunately, there was still plenty of daylight
left at this point in the hike

Visual proof that not all Hong Kong walking paths
are concreted or have been visited by the railing police

Looking down to the coastal landscape below
from higher ground on the hike that takes one
from sea-level up to over 100 meters above

Are these golden-rods? Regardless of their name,
there's no question that these yellow wild flowers
add a nice touch of color to their surroundings

Near hike's end lies picturesque Hoi Ha Wan
(which gave its name -- and is part of --
Hoi Ha Marine Park) -- one of those places
that invites lingering at... :)