Even Offal Tastes Great!

 

During our various transits through the airport express train station in Central Hong Kong, we started to notice a little restaurant with perennially large crowds of people in front of it waiting for a table or a take away order.  We did a little research and found out that it is a satellite location of Tim Ho Wan, a Michelin-rated dim sum restaurant that originated in Mong Kog on the Kowloon peninsula.

Our strategy to avoid the crowds was to be at the original location in Mong Kok as soon as they opened on a Sunday morning.  When we arrived a half hour early, a line had already formed in front, so we joined the queue and waited patiently.  A little before the 10 a.m. opening time, the manager emerged and handed out little ordering cards for everyone to fill out.

We ordered nine delectable dim sum dishes, including three types of dumplings, spring rolls, glutinous rice steamed in a lotus leaf, two kinds of vermicelli rolls, steamed rice with chicken and the most amazing barbeque pork buns we've ever tasted (Tim Ho Wan's signature dish).  Despite the title of this post, we bypassed any offal -- the Cantonese eat every part of the pig except the oink -- involving chicken feet, phoenix talons, or pig's liver.

How much did it cost? First, travel: a 'light' (or kamikaze) bus was 53 cents to the subway ($1.34) to Kowloon, where we walked to the crowded street where this legendary restaurant was supposed to be.  Upon arriving, we learned that the restaurant had relocated, so a taxi ride ($2.76) later, we joined the queue to wait for the restaurant to open.  Our bill at the restaurant was a mere $21.35 (including our two take away containers), one of the best culinary bargains we've encountered in Hong Kong so far.

 

 

Work Visa: Approved!

When we arrived in Hong Kong in January, we entered the country on "visitor" status, which meant we could stay in Hong Kong for up to ninety days.  Each time we left the country, the ninety-day clock would start over, so we have never really been close to overstaying our visitor permits. In order for me to work here, my company had to file an application for a work visa for me and accompanying dependent visa for Jeff (which also gives him the right to work here through my work visa).  Fortunately, our law firm here handled most of the process for us; our roles were limited to filling out a few forms, providing photocopies of our passports and signing our names many, many times.

Arrival at the Macau-Taipa Ferry terminal

Last week, we got the good news that the visas had been approved. The Immigration Department supplied us with visa/entry permit labels and instructions to stick them onto a blank visa page in our passports.  The next step in the process is "activating" the visas. The visa application process presumes the applicant isn't yet in Hong Kong, so activating a visa must be done upon arrival at an immigration check point. Since we are already here, that meant taking a trip for the sole purpose of crossing the border so we could reenter Hong Kong.

The requirement to cross the the border seemed like a great excuse for another Portuguese lunch, since Macau, at less than 40 miles away, is the closest and cheapest way to cross the border.  So off we went on the ferry again to Macau. This time, we went to the island of Taipa.  Although dominated by casinos like the main peninsula, we liked Taipa even better as it seems to have retained more of its Portuguese charm in the older section (Vila de Taipa) of the island.  Despite the misty weather, we enjoyed a walking tour around the Vila de Taipa and seeing the old Portuguese-style architecture, a few temples and shrines and a wedding attended by costumed super-hero characters (don't ask, we have no idea why). 

Finally, we settled on what appeared to be a popular restaurant.  Lunch was a terrific balance of east-meets-west with an emphasis on seafood:  octopus salad, curry shrimp and fried rice with codfish.  We asked our waiter for directions to our next destination, and after studying the map we had picked up on arrival at the ferry terminal, he diplomatically informed us that our map was of the other Macanese island of Coloane and supplied us with the correct map.  Our next stop was a geographically-advantaged dessert stand at the corner of the two main pedestrian thoroughfares in the Vila de Taipa.  I had read about a dessert called "Serradura" and was determined to try some, and Gelatina Mok Yi Kei is the place to get it.  Serradura is Portuguese Sawdust Pudding ("serradura" is Portuguese for "sawdust"), which consists of a layer of very finely ground biscuit cookies (the sawdust) topping a serving of semifreddo vanilla pudding.  It was the perfect way to finish off our meal.

After lunch, we headed back to the ferry terminal for the ride back to Hong Kong.  Upon arrival, we presented the immigration officers with our newly-minted visa/entry permit labels.  After a brief pause, they pulled a special stamp from the drawer, stamped our passports and stapled new "landing cards" in them, giving us permission to remain in Hong Kong for a year, at which time, the visas will need to be renewed.  Although we are now cleared to work and remain in Hong Kong, the process isn't yet complete.  Under the Registration of Persons ordinance, every person over the age of 11 years who is permitted to stay in Hong Kong for more than 180 days is required to register for an identity card.  This will be the last step in the process, and we have an appointment with the Immigration Department on March 18 to obtain our Hong Kong Smart Identity Cards.

 

Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens

The Garden Fountain at the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens

Before we moved to Robinson Road, my daily commute took me through the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens.  The entire park occupies almost 14 acres on the north side of Victoria Peak above Central Hong Kong.  While we love our new apartment and neighborhood, I miss being able to start my day by strolling past the large aviary with its wide variety of birds, through the well-manicured flower beds and around the large garden fountain before heading down the steep hill into the bustling Central district.  

Opened in 1864, the gardens are among the oldest botanic and zoological gardens in the world, and all parts of it are open for free to the public.   It has over 1,000 species of plants and trees in a variety of gardens, beds and a large green house.  Animals were added to the gardens in 1876 and now include about 300 birds, 70 mammals and 20 reptiles.  The zoological exhibits occupy about one-half of the garden's land.

During our apartment search, a property broker told us that people in Hong Kong treasure their parks.  People are willing to live in relatively small apartments to preserve their access to open space.  Every day (weather permitting), one can see people taking advantage of the open space in the gardens for a morning run or walk, to practice T'ai chi or to simply sit and read the morning paper.

An orangutan statue nestled into a garden bed

 

Home Sweet Home (Part 2)

We arrived in Hong Kong six weeks ago today.  Our sense of time here is no different than in the States: we still constantly wonder where it went.  In our first six weeks, we have started new job roles, learned to navigate public transportation and a maze of city streets, tried lots of exotic foods and made many new friends.  Jeff's business travel has already taken him to the U.K. and Taipei, and next week he will be in Australia.  I took a quick trip to Shenzhen, China and spent a week here with colleagues visiting from the States and London.  We've managed to do all of this without getting lost or into trouble, and now as we travel throughout the city to work or on errands, things are starting to look familiar -- a good sign we are settling in.
 

Blocks 1 and 2 of 80 Robinson Road

We have moved to a new apartment which we hope will be our home for the rest of our stay in Hong Kong.  Our new address is: 80 Robinson Road, Block 1, 20/F, Apt. C, Hong Kong S.A.R., China

The 10th floor entrance of 80 Robinson Road

80 Robinson Road is a complex of two 48 floor apartment buildings, with four apartments per floor, situated between Bonham Road and Robinson Road.  The first eight floors are a parking ramp.  The ninth floor contains a 'clubhouse' with a pool and gym, to which we have access but haven't yet had time to visit.  The tenth floor is actually the lobby/ground floor entrance on the Robinson Road side of the building, and the rest of the floors are apartments.  To avoid the bad luck associated with the word 'four' (which sounds like the word 'die' in Cantonese), the towers have no 14th, 24th, 34th or 44th floors.  There is a 4th floor in the parking ramp, so I guess the bad luck doesn't extend to automobiles.  The first person we met in our new building, the head doorman with the adopted name "Ringo," immediately inquired if we are fans of The Beatles, to which we replied "of course."

Floor layouts are configured so that every apartment has at least a couple of windows facing the harbor and the Kowloon peninsula.  That means we have traded the wonderful view we had on Macdonnell Road for a very similar view.  Our building is further west so we see less of the Central District, but more of Victoria Harbour and Kowloon.

View to the northwest from 80 Robinson Road

View to the north of Kowloon from 80 Robinson Road

As we searched for more permanent housing, we learned that furnished flats in Hong Kong are the exception rather than the norm -- the opposite of what I expected based on my experience in London, where virtually everything was furnished.  But through  business school connections we found a great property agent who located five nicely furnished places, any of which would have worked.  Our new apartment is slightly more than 1,100 square feet, with two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a small office where Jeff can work when he's not traveling.  And while the kitchen is still small, Jeff can no longer refer to it as a "Barbie" kitchen, because it has full-sized appliances, a basic set of cooking utensils and a complete set of dishes for four.  I'm spoiled by a well-equipped kitchen in Minnesota, so I don't think I'll be cooking any elaborate meals here, but we have what we need and we certainly won't starve!

We chose Robinson Road because of its proximity to various modes of transportation.  Sadly, our new location does mean I no longer have my lovely morning "commute" through the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens, but I can still walk to my office or jump on one of the city buses, which stop right outside both the front and back sides of our building.   Walking to my office from Robinson Road takes about 20 minutes, and as long as we have the cool early spring  temperatures, it's a very pleasant walk.  

The red "A" marks the location of 80 Robinson Road