tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48907980055220219712024-02-07T16:38:21.867-08:00Hong Kong's Small WondersI moved to Hong Kong to research my second book, Misfortune Cookie. These are my impressions.Michele Gormanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12246036359628031415noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4890798005522021971.post-14599384956940907912014-03-08T02:59:00.002-08:002014-03-08T03:00:03.045-08:00First ImpressionsHong Kong is a very small place, only 825 square miles including Lantau, Kowloon, the Net Territories and its<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>260 outlying islands. And with only a quarter of that space developed, it’s a very very small place for all 7 million people to live. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">So they stack. The city’s high rises are ubiquitous, at least here on the Central/mid-levels side of the island. For all I know there are big houses with wide verandas on the south side of the island. </span><br />
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It's also very orderly. At the train stations, someone takes the time to line up the trollies.<br />
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This is the view from my road.<br />
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The world's longest outdoor escalator. A<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">series of outdoor escalators descend (or climb, depending on your perspective) 800 meters to carry tens of thousands of people to and from work each day. Believe me, escalators are necessary in this city. The hills here turn the whole place in to one big stairmaster.</span><br />
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My apartment at Shama Midlevels. It's tiny, not unlike living in a boat.<br />
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<br />Michele Gormanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12246036359628031415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4890798005522021971.post-17464064434746406262014-03-08T02:58:00.002-08:002014-03-08T02:58:19.316-08:00My new neighbourhoodHospital Road, in the Midlevels.<br />
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The terrapins and weirdly bulbous goldfish live in the apartment's lobby. <br />
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I feared this terrapin had died, but he just enjoyed floating on his back.<br />
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This is my "road" down to Central.<br />
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My view at night...<br />
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Michele Gormanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12246036359628031415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4890798005522021971.post-10347894638437557612014-03-08T02:57:00.003-08:002022-10-25T08:33:19.443-07:00Sheung WanSheung Wan is a short walk from the skyscrapers and upscale boutiques of Central, but it's a million miles away culturally. In street after narrow street sit shops selling every kind of dried thing that I've never even contemplated putting in my mouth ...
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These are birds' nests... made with the spit of the bird. They go in soup.<br />
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Dessicated seahorses...<br />
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And sea slugs...<br />
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Mushrooms, I think...<br />
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And dried lizard... all for eating.<br />
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<a href="https://honeybeegood.co.uk/" target="_blank">https://honeybeegood.co.uk/</a>Michele Gormanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12246036359628031415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4890798005522021971.post-67152497411471972562014-03-08T02:54:00.002-08:002014-03-08T02:54:40.281-08:00The Bird MarketEven if I hadn’t read (and unusually, remembered) that Yeun Po Bird Garden was at the end of the flower market, I’d have known by the noise. A cacophony of chirps, whistles, screeches and hoots filled the air. The garden is really a wide walkway with flowers and trees on either side, and it was this that I’d come to visit.
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But even better than the birds are the men who come to the garden to WALK their birds.<br />
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Each day the city’s songbird owners take Tweety in his cage to the garden to talk to the other birds. The men, for they are almost exclusively men, hang their cages next to each other along bars under the eaves of bird market buildings (which abut the garden). Then they sit and chat as their birds catch up with each other on the previous days’ events. It seemed odd that there was only one woman, who sat by herself on the other side of the garden, but then I wondered if this is the Chinese equivalent of men’s poker games. </span></div>
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Michele Gormanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12246036359628031415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4890798005522021971.post-43741525623594394082014-03-08T01:38:00.003-08:002014-03-08T01:38:34.473-08:00Trams and Markets (vegetarians, look away now!)In Central, you're never very far from the water
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDmd02d9qnp-FSngNdZxJammfknDjxLvAKBAg7p3Oep9zVtH_BvIepV54ArRk0-0DTd3KMrYo9gjKE23HqGFNDdYNS3WDbbMAkokrJmEClbVEddV2C9N_rnXeaSRpAaPvzcJah1c-u7rA/s1600/IMG_0234.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDmd02d9qnp-FSngNdZxJammfknDjxLvAKBAg7p3Oep9zVtH_BvIepV54ArRk0-0DTd3KMrYo9gjKE23HqGFNDdYNS3WDbbMAkokrJmEClbVEddV2C9N_rnXeaSRpAaPvzcJah1c-u7rA/s1600/IMG_0234.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcTMsXQMe0BkSlss7Xf930aAqbD-hztFi-rD1nWh3albpwPm031gwrxFbQdtg-ZPpU9772mI7HWajdFnJ2Bsdro-lenh8ik5cWa8tjctZdiDOqE2hbvehTYWCsbPaWIgieaDHgpv8htZM/s1600/IMG_0232.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcTMsXQMe0BkSlss7Xf930aAqbD-hztFi-rD1nWh3albpwPm031gwrxFbQdtg-ZPpU9772mI7HWajdFnJ2Bsdro-lenh8ik5cWa8tjctZdiDOqE2hbvehTYWCsbPaWIgieaDHgpv8htZM/s1600/IMG_0232.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a>
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The trams are old (over 100 years), charmingly constructed of wood and iron, and don’t go more than about 5 mph.<br />
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVmNE6fIAUMHIX-0c04VMj-yjq4HhPDL0j4uQpPjZZAVyDGTInqpFGV1xWY8xGWH-HTIf2_PAnsdL_TuhjV8nk2Y1r8g4pRfOpz4Gw3vA4gqJnn5J1VRghuu9QMri9A-hafEMxBQJ6pkc/s1600/IMG_0280.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVmNE6fIAUMHIX-0c04VMj-yjq4HhPDL0j4uQpPjZZAVyDGTInqpFGV1xWY8xGWH-HTIf2_PAnsdL_TuhjV8nk2Y1r8g4pRfOpz4Gw3vA4gqJnn5J1VRghuu9QMri9A-hafEMxBQJ6pkc/s1600/IMG_0280.JPG" height="320" width="278" /></a> </span><br />
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Everywhere the city feels exotic.<br />
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There are street markets everywhere, stocking everything for the dining table.<br />
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Yes that is a tail.<br />
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Who needs electric scales?<br />
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No comment.<br />
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The HSBC Lions, Stephen and Stitt.</div>
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Michele Gormanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12246036359628031415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4890798005522021971.post-90774146871337110762014-03-08T01:35:00.001-08:002014-03-08T01:35:01.946-08:00Hutong and Lan Kwai Fong<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hutong, one of my favourite restaurants. Even on a rainy night the view is gorgeous.<br />
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And Lang Kwai Fong<br />
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Michele Gormanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12246036359628031415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4890798005522021971.post-17650715149998070802014-03-08T01:34:00.001-08:002014-03-08T01:34:13.512-08:00Temples temples everywhere<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">In
the midst of the city are wonderful contrasts. Standing in the bustle
of Central on Queens Road, flanked by banks and international boutiques,
it’s easy to forget that China exists just up that side street or along
the next alley. Except for the people of course. At lunchtime the
offices empty into a sea of dark heads flowing slowly along the
sidewalk, broken up only occasionally by blond tresses. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Many
shops have tiny shrines in front, festooned in red with incense
burning. And many shop windows have a little glass of water in them.
Why? Do spirits get thirsty? Anyone know?</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe5GkuagpRgd9RBm6tb2xUW1BFKOxvefhnAXKtW_ahb1LGkVjC-QnC8Q7tpSUgCOBxFl6O_zBIPFTMdSPTKLJeDeqziqiaWD9d-p-FuvqaLsWxuCRqAYqaSAlh-BbtgawsHbpici1u1JU/s1600/Capture2.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe5GkuagpRgd9RBm6tb2xUW1BFKOxvefhnAXKtW_ahb1LGkVjC-QnC8Q7tpSUgCOBxFl6O_zBIPFTMdSPTKLJeDeqziqiaWD9d-p-FuvqaLsWxuCRqAYqaSAlh-BbtgawsHbpici1u1JU/s1600/Capture2.PNG" height="320" width="216" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCjsthr7rViOd7XpZMNEi7YzgXg86DnxLNEHWcKJubVf8NyJL0vXFkuwDQFiv6gGLJFbvKdVSrgwtJfilGBbAalbex2IsW_hwA9Kd7grvXwIzqCmBGiwXoj9hjdHLwMUFFQJCOQe9JfeI/s1600/Capture.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCjsthr7rViOd7XpZMNEi7YzgXg86DnxLNEHWcKJubVf8NyJL0vXFkuwDQFiv6gGLJFbvKdVSrgwtJfilGBbAalbex2IsW_hwA9Kd7grvXwIzqCmBGiwXoj9hjdHLwMUFFQJCOQe9JfeI/s1600/Capture.PNG" height="320" width="239" /></a>
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Michele Gormanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12246036359628031415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4890798005522021971.post-68312387784596890132014-03-08T01:33:00.000-08:002014-03-08T01:33:02.771-08:00Grave goods for the ancestors - all made from paper!Qingming, one of two annual “tomb sweeping” festivals sees Hong Kongers
flocking to their family grave sites. They bring their loved ones’
favorite foods, and incense, paper money and other offerings to burn in
large metal buckets in honor of the departed. There's quite a range
to choose from.<br />
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Piano keyboards for musically inclined relatives...<br />
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All the best brands (note "Polo")...<br />
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The finest seafood dinners... </div>
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An extra set of teeth, in case Granny has trouble chewing the lobster.</div>
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And casino sets for when Granny wants to hit the tables in the afterlife.<br />
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<!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-KDWErSWG3ns%2FUxmSH1BOmNI%2FAAAAAAAAFi0%2FjDhRSrvyUt0%2Fs1600%2FIMG_0363.JPG&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" with "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEJazYdfA-OVf5J3bc32878TeyDwEvgjCbbDPuJHBiLvtkhhlKb3qHMeYZHagPoJH5dj7QBXmVTRuDuQFA0hL_Hyz0PN7q5LubgvbgxZoF8WBAMsv7wH6GD3GblgicnCY9kvJ3KtuYn2U/s1600/IMG_0363.JPG" -->Michele Gormanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12246036359628031415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4890798005522021971.post-23387697765686411212014-03-08T01:24:00.001-08:002014-03-08T01:24:51.865-08:00Dinner at a friend's house with Chinese specialities<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">When
I told my friends about moving to Hong Kong, several kind souls offered
their friends up to me. One such offering, Super Host, made it his
business to ensure that I was getting everything out of my time here
that I wanted to (this is an extremely intelligent and driven man, who I
suspect has no idea that I’m a rampant underachiever who naps daily). </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">So
we met for coffee, and a few days later Super Host mentioned that he
and Super Hostess would like to invite me to dinner at their house. I
was thrilled. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">He called a few days later to propose our dinner more formally, and asked what I’d like to eat. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">‘I’m really not fussy. I like just about everything.’</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">‘Would you like traditional Chinese food?’</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">‘I’d love it!’ (Super Host is Chinese, so I assumed he’d have<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a pretty good working knowledge of the cuisine)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">‘Okay, how about 1000 year eggs? Pig’s knuckles?’</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">‘Sure, sounds great.’ I said, thinking he’s got quite a dry sense of humour. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">‘I
admit, I usually eat fried chicken and things, but I don’t want you
telling your friends that you came to Hong Kong and I served you KFC.’</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Ha ha ha. Yes, a very dry sense of humour. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">On
Monday Super Host called to confirm dinner for Wednesday. ‘So, I talked
to my wife and our maid, and the maid's going to make 1000 year eggs,
pig's feet ... anything else you'd like?'</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">'Chicken feet?'</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">‘Okay.’</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">I was really getting into the absurdity of this conversation. ‘Anything with beaks in it?'</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">And he said 'I’m not sure about that.'</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">At which point I realized he was <u>serious</u>. ‘Ha ha ha,’ I said nervously, ‘I’m just joking.’</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">And he said 'Okay, and she'll also make traditional rice and Chinese vegetables'.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">And that’s how I talked myself into a dinner serving most of the things that get left on the butcher’s floor in the west. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">On
my way home on the escalators on Tuesday I stopped by the wine store.
What does one pair with rancid eggs and delicacies that have stood in
their owner’s faeces? Anticipating a side-splitting conversation, I
asked the young Chinese proprietor what the best wine might be to serve
with pig’s feet, 1000 year eggs and chicken feet. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">He
didn’t miss a beat, or crack a smile. He walked straight to the chilled
cabinet, fished out a cheeky 2008 Australian Sauvignon Blanc and
presented it to me. ‘This will be perfect.’ he said without a trace of
irony.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">And that’s when I knew beyond a doubt that this wasn’t an elaborate joke. I’m really going to have to eat these things. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">As
we sat chatting in Super Host’s living room the maid announced that
dinner was served. When Super Host said ‘Did you bring your camera?’ I
knew there was no going back now. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">And
spread before us was a feast: Ginger fish, Chinese vegetables,
glutinous rice that Super Hostess’s friend had brought for her from
Taiwan and she was kind enough to share with me, chilli chicken and yes,
1000 year eggs, chicken feet and pig’s feet.</span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA_crhh4ookiGu2FYSuRq9q0cKGR9ITGL6Hp9oMT2i5Qp-ZEyTUb4HKcfpP8Htp62eJRZrRG-u5Wmmfwru3OlJcCtkN_ss7uAlvEmaLL8NASwkHHFbbyHS2XrIYAtCz9tlrG8-OnzeKM0/s1600/IMG_0373.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA_crhh4ookiGu2FYSuRq9q0cKGR9ITGL6Hp9oMT2i5Qp-ZEyTUb4HKcfpP8Htp62eJRZrRG-u5Wmmfwru3OlJcCtkN_ss7uAlvEmaLL8NASwkHHFbbyHS2XrIYAtCz9tlrG8-OnzeKM0/s1600/IMG_0373.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a>
<br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Not generally one
to shy away from a challenge, I took a 1000 year egg first. It was
indeed as unappealing to the eye in real life as it is in photos. So I
bit it in half and chewed. </span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLMd-YZSJExUoPmrzKKScXDLQvV5C5SxgLwdlH-zPLK7wKPCVihWSZ82xXXeqbxcblnQJnuwg21dJLLgf4D8r6gTE1vXs_ScvWTHsPPaPaEoMD2MntxCYo18kk7Wr4JvluXFw2piM9X2k/s1600/IMG_0376.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLMd-YZSJExUoPmrzKKScXDLQvV5C5SxgLwdlH-zPLK7wKPCVihWSZ82xXXeqbxcblnQJnuwg21dJLLgf4D8r6gTE1vXs_ScvWTHsPPaPaEoMD2MntxCYo18kk7Wr4JvluXFw2piM9X2k/s1600/IMG_0376.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">It
was delicious. Not good-and-I’m-just-saying-that-to-be-polite. Not
edible-when-nose-is-held-and-chocolate-thought-of. Delicious. The yolk
isn’t slimy or jelly-like at all. It’s a little firmer than a hard
boiled egg, with the same taste. The yolk is creamy instead of dry like
said hard boiled egg, with the consistency of a mousse, and slightly
sweeter than I expected. I’d order it in a restaurant. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Next
I dug into the pig’s knuckles. These do indeed look exactly like a pig’s
foot, with a thick layer of skin and subcutaneous fat covering the small
meaty bits and bone. I suppose the closest thing I can think of is, <u>if</u> one were a cannibal and, let’s say, stewing up an arm for lunch, this is what it would look like. </span><br />
<br /></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Ynz1ekJ0KRrx2LxfhuK46O6Oa0xBb9Qs3DWb0kSKNxQz6rkWkMyZNxvpHCfMDyJuuuFT0dGmNWcsWOLCZLGfYff-MpfmORR5uFbXdPejckUqG00AFR3rnA0j96yHSQG57f2wS-uG3MA/s1600/IMG_0374.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Ynz1ekJ0KRrx2LxfhuK46O6Oa0xBb9Qs3DWb0kSKNxQz6rkWkMyZNxvpHCfMDyJuuuFT0dGmNWcsWOLCZLGfYff-MpfmORR5uFbXdPejckUqG00AFR3rnA0j96yHSQG57f2wS-uG3MA/s1600/IMG_0374.JPG" height="215" width="320" /></a>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">So I popped it in my mouth. Mmm. Fatty. The meat was tasty but too much work to get to.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">At
this juncture I pointed out that Super Host wasn’t eating anything (by
which I meant he wasn’t eating anything gross). He said ‘Oh I don’t eat
that stuff.’ </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">By stuff, he looked pointedly at the chicken feet. All right. </span><br />
<br /></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzIkm7SwCPQdaD6kMzK1g3M5xQ26f2f-H4gp8AECtZwXs9kT_dZlPFP9-oqLpYJ6KkAG6XFMBoBLl6HnRMd_ej8crLRqlvchkx6itNAPmgZ6IsOUeX7G6B8I58KHL8z5LA3kOCXosr1zY/s1600/IMG_0375.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzIkm7SwCPQdaD6kMzK1g3M5xQ26f2f-H4gp8AECtZwXs9kT_dZlPFP9-oqLpYJ6KkAG6XFMBoBLl6HnRMd_ej8crLRqlvchkx6itNAPmgZ6IsOUeX7G6B8I58KHL8z5LA3kOCXosr1zY/s1600/IMG_0375.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">For
the record, picking up a chicken foot with chopsticks isn’t easy. As it
once supported an entire chicken, it’s rather heavier than, say, a dim
sum bun. But I managed to wrestle it to my bowl. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">‘Do
I eat it bones and all?’ I politely asked Super Hostess, at which she
regarded me with something like horror (no doubt imagining having to
spend the night with me in the hospital) and said ‘No! just the
outside!’ </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">So
I started at a toe, slightly put off by the large nail sticking off the
end of it and thinking about all the time that nail probably spent
scratching in the guano. I nibbled off the skin. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">It tastes like chicken. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The
rest of the meal was delicious, finished off with egg tarts that Super
Hostess had found for me, and a mysterious purply fruit with a hardish
shell that, when cracked open revealed soft white fruit with a seed in
the middle and tasted a little like a peach and a mango. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I
truly enjoyed the evening and it became clear over the course of the
evening just how wonderful Super Host and Super Hostess are, inviting me
to their home, searching out things I might not have tried, and putting
together this entire dinner for me. Hong Kong truly has some of the
most hospitable inhabitants in the world.</span>Michele Gormanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12246036359628031415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4890798005522021971.post-49089825816694245052014-03-08T01:16:00.002-08:002014-03-08T01:16:30.640-08:00A few of Hong Kong's cultural surprisesYes, reader, I ate it. Tasted like chicken...<br />
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In case anyone gets really homesick for Waitrose soup, it's available for only £8.<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">I also found red sugar. RED sugar. </span></div>
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The public transport handles are at forehead level.<br />
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Michele Gormanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12246036359628031415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4890798005522021971.post-44823536320113643262014-03-08T01:14:00.002-08:002014-03-08T01:14:27.705-08:00Dragon Boat Races<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">I
went to the Dragon Boat Races in Stanley. Legend has it that a Chinese
poet, Qu Yuan, banished from the kingdom more than 2,000 years ago,
committed suicide by drowning, and the local people, who loved him,
paddled boats out into the water scattering steamed rice dumplings to
scare away the fish and keep them from dining on their poet. </span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">There were no suicidal poets in attendance, just thousands of Hong Kongers, Chinese and expat, out for a day at the races. </span><br />
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Michele Gormanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12246036359628031415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4890798005522021971.post-24677202936237285652014-03-08T01:11:00.003-08:002014-03-08T01:13:18.901-08:00The Giant Buddha<div class="MsoNormal">
The Po Lin Monastery is very pretty, with a
grand Buddha hall and a restaurant in a tranquil garden surrounded by
water and blossoming sakura trees. </div>
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The giant Buddha watches serenely as thousands of tourists huff and puff up
the 268 steps (that’s around a 20 story building). It is indeed
impressive and huge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The Wisdom Path is
about a mile away down a well-travelled sidewalk thick with people. The
Path itself has tall wooden monuments set in a figure eight that
represent the Heart Sutra, which gives the secret to the essence of
wisdom. By extension, walking the Path makes you wise. Obviously I
circled it till I was dizzy.
<br /> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br />Michele Gormanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12246036359628031415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4890798005522021971.post-25432391532773189412014-03-08T01:07:00.001-08:002014-03-08T01:07:23.568-08:00The Wishing Tree<div class="MsoNormal">
The Lam Tsuen Wishing Trees are one of the
popular shrines in Hong Kong. They’re located near the Tin Hau Temple in
Fong Ma Po Village, in Lam Tsuen. The two banyan trees are visited by
tourists and the locals during the Lunar New Year. Previously, they
burnt joss sticks, wrote their wishes on joss paper tied to an orange,
then throw them up to hang in these trees. It was believed that if the
paper successfully hung onto one of the tree branches, their wishes will
come true.</div>
<br />
But the trees are a little sick
now,so throwing oranges at them is discouraged. Instead, people hang
their wishes on a board beside the trees.<br />
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<br />Michele Gormanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12246036359628031415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4890798005522021971.post-59421490762495461202014-03-08T01:04:00.001-08:002014-03-08T01:04:07.504-08:00Saying good bye to Hong Kong... for now<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">As
I sit here, trying to figure out how to fit my belongings, which have
surely swelled in the humidity, into my small suitcase, I’m also saying
my good byes to Hong Kong. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">It’s
been a remarkable time, and I feel I can say that I now know the city a
little bit. It would take years to truly get under its skin. But it
took only a little while for it to get under mine. This adventure has
surprised me at every turn, as much an external journey as an internal
one. In learning about Hong Kong I’ve learned about myself … </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">I’ve
learned that there aren’t any wrong turns, only different turns, and
discovery comes from walking down the streets you’ve never travelled.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">I’ve
learned that there is always something new to see if you open your
eyes, and always something new to feel if you open your heart. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">And I’ve learned that if we look, every day, for the small wonders, we will find them in abundance. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">So
this isn’t the end, dear friends, it’s merely the first chapter. Like
Dorothy so eloquently said, after her Technicolor adventures in Oz, "The
next time I go looking for my heart's desire, I won't look any further
than my own backyard. If it's not there, then I never really lost it to
begin with."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Smart cookie that Dorothy. I’ll take her advice. London is surely as fascinating as Hong Kong, seen through adventuresome eyes. </span><br />
<br /></div>
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Michele Gormanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12246036359628031415noreply@blogger.com0