These Are a Few Of My Favorite Hong Kong Things

 

Rebecca enjoys dim sum upon arrival in Hong Kong

This is a "guest blog" written by my niece Rebecca McCray.  Rebecca just wrapped up a nine-month stint as a Fulbright Scholar studying and writing about the Slovenian penal system.  We enticed her to "take the long way home" with a week-long stopover in Hong Kong on her way back to New York.  After nearly six months in Hong Kong, we were thrilled to have a visit from family.  Our week together went by too quickly, but was filled with fun and adventure, and Rebecca graciously agreed to share her experiences.

In early July, I was lucky enough to visit Carolyn and Jeff in Hong Kong on my way back to the U.S. from Slovenia, where I lived for nine months. A first-time visitor, I didn’t know what to expect, but I knew that they would show me a great time. I left daydreaming about when I could come back and with an even deeper appreciation for dim sum.

 

Waiting for egg tarts at Tai Cheong Bakery

 

1. Food

 

If you know me at all, you know that I love to eat. If you know me a little better, you know that I love to eat dumplings. In other words, Hong Kong was a dream come true. Less than four hours after I arrived from Slovenia, Carolyn and I lined up outside of

Tim Ho Wan, a Michelin-starred dim sum chain, scrawling our order on a piece of paper before sitting down to devour the best BBQ pork buns that have ever graced my mouth. This meal set the tone for the gastronomic bliss that was the rest of the week. From traditional egg tarts and chicken pies at Tai Cheong Bakery, to Indian food and dumplings at the cooked food market, to afternoon tea at Café Grey, to ramen at Ippudo, it was all fantastic. I didn’t have a bad meal in Hong Kong, thanks in large part to my fabulous hosts. 

 

 

 2. Beautiful Views

While Carolyn went to work in the morning, I attempted to work at her apartment until we met up in the afternoon. Most days I was only moderately successful, in large part because I was so distracted by the fantastic view into the city from Jeff’s office. Thanks to the steep hills of Hong Kong, Carolyn and Jeff’s apartment in the Mid-Levels dizzyingly peers down into the many buildings, harbour, and bay. On a clear day (of which I was lucky to have many), you can easily see the gorgeous mountains that surround the city, which makes the view all the more stunning. The staggered construction of incredibly tall, narrow, and tightly packed buildings down the slope of Hong Kong makes for a truly surreal sight. For an even more picturesque look at the city, we rode a Green Mini Bus up to Victoria Peak for a nice walk amidst the greenery and a look at the bizarre Peak Tower, which looks down over the city. And perhaps the most breathtaking view came from our cable-car adventure to the Tian Tan Buddha.


Taking in the view from the Peak Circle Walk

 

3. Public Transportation

 

To my confusion and delight, Carolyn 

A selfie in the back of a Green Mini-Bus

handed me a card that read “Octopus” when she met me at the airport. I was happy to take it just because of its name, but it was also my ticket to nearly every kind of public transportation the city offers. Double-decker trams, double-decker buses, green mini-buses, and the MTR all accept the Octopus card. Only the mysterious red mini bus doesn't take Octopus. Between living in New York City and traveling around Europe this past year, I’ve come to really appreciate good public transportation (and the challenge of navigating it in new places). Hong Kong was so much fun in this department. Though to be honest, I didn’t have to navigate anything thanks to my fearless leader. I think the quirky double-decker tram was my favorite, with the green mini bus coming in at a close second. You have to respect a tiny bus that will only stop if you yell at the driver, don’t you?

4. Markets

Hong Kong’s myriad outdoor and indoor market offerings run the gamut from tacky plastic souvenirs to unidentifiable dried sea creatures to delicious hot food. The cooked food market was probably my favorite. Also called cooked food centres, these indoor markets tucked into massive buildings house food vendors who used to operate dai pai dongs, which are unlicensed street food stalls. A few remain in Hong Kong, but most have been chased inside to these cooked food markets thanks to the government’s licensing requirements. From what I understand, some harbor nostalgia for the outdoor stalls, but given Hong Kong’s sauna-like heat in July, I didn’t mind going inside to explore the cooked food options. We weren’t able to visit Carolyn’s favorite dumpling stand (where she recently accidentally bought 72 dumplings in an ordering mishap; I didn’t understand what the problem was), but I did try another dumpling stand and some insanely delicious Indian food, washed down with a fresh lime soda. The hodgepodge of tables and chairs, my lack of Cantonese, and generally feeling over-stimulated by the many options was pretty bewildering in the best possible way. I also enjoyed Stanley market, in large part because of the great bus ride we took over the top of the peak from the most densely populated part of Hong Kong. My one regret of the week is being too exhausted to make it to Hong Kong’s night market in “Little Thailand,” but now I have an excuse to go back.

 

Papier-mâché Pandas at PMQ



Climbing 268 steps to the Tian Tan Buddha



5. Mountains

As I already mentioned, the mountains make for an incredible backdrop when gazing out from the midst of the city. It’s incredible to see such lush, green, undeveloped masses of land surrounding the crazy concrete mass that is Hong Kong. While walking around the Peak with Carolyn, I was struck by the feeling that I had just been magically airlifted out of the city streets into the jungle. The contrast between the two is palpable. Our trip to the Tian Tan Buddha and Po Lin Monastery on Lantau Island offered some of the best mountain views. We traveled up from the Tung Chung MTR station in a cable car with a clear floor (not recommended if you’re afraid of heights), which gave us a good look at a hiking trail up the mountain for the slightly more adventurous Buddha visitors. I hope to try it out when I visit again—but not in the summer.

 

Views of Lantau Island and the South China Sea

A Global Gourmet Tour

There are many things about Hong Kong that are overwhelming and intimidating, but none more so than the prospect of eating.  Even the idea of trying to write a little blog post is difficult because I just don't know where to start.  But Jeff and I both love to eat.  I come from a family of foodies, and we love to cook.  So food is clearly a topic I just can't ignore.

A lunch special at Sushi Kuu

One of the first things we noticed about Hong Kong is the atmosphere.  Everything is very densely packed together - the people, the housing, the buildings, the traffic, the lights, the sounds and the smells - literally everything.  With that density comes the sense that everything is in your face, all the time.  I've used the term "sensory overload" before, but I've never been to a place where it is so applicable as Hong Kong. And when it comes to food, it's simply not possible to walk down the street here without encountering something to eat nearly every step of the way.  

Jeff digs in to a Chinese "hot pot" dinner

Dumplings at Queen St. Cooked Food Centre

People love to eat out in Hong Kong, so on nearly every street there are restaurants from every corner of the globe, and they are full nearly all day long.  There are also convenience stores (stocked primarily with food), supermarkets, green grocers, fish mongers, rotisseries, delis, bakeries and neighborhood streets that convert to an open market every day.

Shellfish at North Point wet market

One of my favorites - a "Housewife Cake"

In the time we've been here, some of our funniest - and most frustrating - moments have come in pursuit of a meal.   There is no shortage of advice about food either - both from the locals and our fellow expats.  In general, there is a lot of suspicion towards food sourced in mainland China.  The use of pesticides and other agricultural chemicals is apparently so heavy and widespread, people openly avoid buying food from the mainland, and restaurants promote non-PRC food sources in the meals they serve.  In the supermarkets, there are as many imported products as there are locally produced.  Meat and dairy products are imported from Australia, New Zealand, Europe and the U.S., while much of the produce is from the U.S. and Kenya.

Honey imported from New Zealand

Sticky rice steamed in a Lotus Leaf

 
We'd like to think we are the adventurous types and willing to try new and unusual things.  After all, we didn't come all the way to Hong Kong just to eat food we already know.  We've had some terrific meals and some that have tested my nerve.  There is so much to learn about food here, I suspect that we will have only scratched the surface by the time my work assignment here is complete.

The photos below are a sampling of restaurants that we've passed in our various walks.  We are truly enjoying a global gourmet tour right here in Hong Kong!
 

 

 

Hanoi: Hot, Humid, Hectic

The Hanoi Opera House

Growing up in the '60s and  '70s, I formed my impressions of Hanoi through the media coverage of the war and the fact that my Dad, a Marine Corps pilot, served for more than a year in Vietnam at the height of the war.  In other words, Hanoi was not necessarily high on the list of places I wanted to visit.  On the other hand, I find Vietnam's history in pre-war French Indochina intriguing, giving me a curiosity to learn more about the culture there.  Just 90 minutes by air from Hong Kong, Hanoi is an easy trip, so we decided to go for a visit.

Typical street congestion in Hanoi

Following the war, Vietnam spent a number of years as an international pariah before adopting reforms in the mid-'80s that would restore diplomatic relations with other countries and begin to stabilize its economy.  Those reforms have paid off and in recent years, Vietnam's economy has been one of the fastest growing in the world.  We saw creative, entrepreneurial energy springing up nearly everywhere on the back of an aging infrastructure built under Communist rule.  Following a Tchaikovsky performance by the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra, we were greeted by a tropical downpour when we emerged from the Opera House.  Vendors suddenly appeared from nowhere selling rain ponchos to the audience eager to get home.  Hanoi is filled with westerners, and they are the targets for citizens looking to sell everything from rickshaw rides to t-shirts.  But we found nearly everyone that we came in contact with to be helpful, polite and kind.

The park around Hoan Kiem Lake

Central Hanoi is a 45 minute drive from the airport, and the landscape was largely rural, with development springing up at random intervals.  Fields of corn, rice and other crops were dotted with oxen and periodically broken up by sprawling construction projects that look like they might be years from completion.  Interestingly, we noticed that many of the large projects (such as a new terminal under construction at the airport) involve partnerships with Japanese firms with engineering expertise. 

Ngoc Son Temple

Motor scooters dominate the roads in and around Hanoi - an unfortunate dilemma in that they clearly represent an affordable means of transportation, while fouling the air with exhaust and noise and endangering the children riding helmet-less on the backs of them.  Cars and motor scooters share the narrow and crowded streets with bicycles rigged up to carry large quantities of anything that can be sold - examples we saw included flowers, large baskets of fruits and vegetables and even sets of dishes and kitchenware.  Traffic is best described as a chaotic free-for-all, to our way of thinking at least.  Drivers seem to view whatever lane markings and traffic signals that exist merely as suggestion or rough guidelines, rather than hard and fast rules to be followed.  We saw many near-misses, some involving us during our attempts to cross the busy streets.  But the lack of actual collisions likely means there is an unwritten set of rules that govern the chaos.  Even driving on sidewalks, on the wrong side of the road or against traffic on one-way streets all seem to be tolerated.

The golden tortoise with the magical sword

During our visit, we spent most of our time wandering around the Old Quarter and French Quarter of the city.  In the center of the Old Quarter is Hoan Kiem Lake which means Lake of the Restored Sword.  The name comes from the legend of a giant golden tortoise who grabbed a magical sword from a mid-15th century emperor and returned it to its divine owners.  The lake is surrounded by a park and walking path with beautiful landscaping, interspersed with occasional, socialist-looking monuments.  The park and path were filled with locals enjoying some time outside.  At the northern end of the lake is a small island, on which the 18th century Ngoc Son Temple sits.  We wandered around the island and through the temple, taking in the beautiful architecture and elaborate alter.  Offerings on the alter included everything from incense to money to a tin of Danish butter cookies.

The Vietnam National Museum of History

We also visited the Vietnam National Museum of History with collections that date from ancient periods through the end of French rule in 1954.   The museum occupies a beautiful example of French colonial architecture adapted for the local climate.  The building's design and thick walls allow for air circulation and insulation.  Despite the heat and humidity and lack of air conditioning, we were comfortable during our visit.

One of the real highlights of our weekend in Hanoi was the food.  While it's possible the weather just made us grateful each time we sat down, I think I'm correct in saying they really know how to cook in Hanoi.  Restaurants are plentiful, casual and inexpensive, but offer sophisticated dishes that seem to marry the best of local ingredients with French preparation technique and presentation.

Prawn and Egg Spring Rolls at Bamboo Cafe

Our brief visit to Hanoi will be memorable for the experience of seeing the how entrepreneurs try to succeed in a socialist society, how French history continues to influence an Asian society and for the kind people we met during our stay.

Green Mango Salad with Spicy Shrimp at Bamboo Cafe

Tuen Ng Festival & Dragon Boat Races

A dragon head at the bow of a dragon boat

Last Monday was a quiet day here: it was Memorial Day in the U.S. and the Spring Bank Holiday in the U.K.  The resulting lack of activity in our inboxes made for a slow day, and we felt like we'd missed out on the traditional start to summer.  This weekend we got our 'start of summer' fix -- a three day weekend with the Tuen Ng or Dragon Boat Festival.

Tuen Ng is a public holiday in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.  Despite its Chinese origins, it wasn't a public holiday in the People's Republic of China until 2008.  It is also celebrated in Chinese communities throughout southeast Asia.  Like a number of other Chinese holidays, the day Tuen Ng is celebrated is based on the lunar calendar, so the day it is recognized on the modern calendar changes each year.  Officially, it is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar, so in some places it is also referred to as the Double Fifth Festival.  The traditional way of celebrating Tuen Ng is by eating rice treats wrapped in bamboo leaves (called zongzi), drinking a traditional Chinese medicinal wine (called realgar) and by racing Dragon Boats.

A dragon boat team heads out to the starting line

There is some debate about the origin of the holiday, but the most widely accepted version of the story centers around a poet and government official named Qu Yuan who lived between 343 and 278 B.C.  As a minster for the kingdom of Chu, Qu Yuan developed a reputation as an advocate for alliances between various kingdoms in ancient China.  However, rival corrupt functionaries slandered him, causing the King of Chu to send him into exile, where he spent his time writing poetry and falling into a deep depression.  As a means of protesting the corruption as well as the collapse of his kingdom, Qu Yuan committed ritual suicide by drowning himself in the Miluo River in what is now Hunan Province.  Qu Yuan's admirers are said to have tried to save him by racing out into the river in their boats, splashing the water with paddles and beating their drums.  This is said to be the origin of the Dragon Boat races.  When they were not successful at saving him or even finding his body, Qu Yuan's admirers dropped balls of sticky rice into the river so that they fish would eat that instead of Qu Yuan's body.  This is the origin of the zongzi traditionally eaten during Tuen Ng.

A dragon boat team competes for the costume prize

In Hong Kong, the celebrations of  Tuen Ng are centered around Dragon Boat races.  Dragon Boats are long, canoe-shaped boats decorated with Chinese dragon heads and tails and powered entirely by a crew of twenty paddlers.  The crew is completed with a drummer in the bow of the boat and a crew member steering with a rudder at the stern.  The races are held on large and small scales in waterfront communities.  We ventured to the village of  Stanley, on the south side of Hong Kong Island, to see the races there.  The Stanley races are among the largest in Hong Kong, with around two hundred local and international teams, most sponsored by big companies.  We saw primarily sprint races in a variety of classes (men's, women's, mixed teams).  Winning teams are awarded trophies, and there is also a prize for the best team costume.

This was a unique way for us to mark the beginning of summer.  We enjoyed spending a warm and steamy morning seeing a modern-day take on a tradition with ancient roots.  The crowds at the event confirmed that Tuen Ng Festival is one of the most popular of the year.

Abuzz in the New Territories

When we left Minnesota to come to Hong Kong, we left our two beehives in the capable hands of the University of Minnesota Bee Squad.  Last November we prepared our hives for the arctic Minnesota winter by ensuring they had plenty of stored nectar and pollen, covering them with moisture boards and wax-coated boxes and arranging bales of straw around them to act as a wind break.  The Bee Squad did their first check of our hives in March, and unfortunately, had to report that one of our hives did not survive the winter.  But our other hive was alive, hungry and happy to see them.  Since then we have been getting periodic reports from the Bee Squad about how our hive is doing as spring progresses in Minnesota.  With each report, we realize we miss our bees and the anticipation of heading into summer and the honey season.  Hearing about our bees back home got us wondering about where and how people keep honey bees in Hong Kong.

 

Po Sang Yuen Bee Farm

Edmund Leung at Po Sang Yuen Bee Farm

Asian bees guard a nest in a hollow tree

Although there is growing interest in keeping honey bees in Hong Kong, the hobby is constrained by space limitations throughout the city.  Nevertheless, there are hives scattered about on rooftops and in some green areas.  North of Hong Kong Island is the New Territories, the largest of Hong Kong's three regions.  Space constraints are less of an issue there; the region is home to two bee farms, so we decided to visit one.  The Po Sang Yuen Bee Farm is a short train ride north of Central Hong Kong.  After a five minute walk from the train station, we found it and met Edmund Leung who is the General Manager and grandson of the founder.  Edmund kindly showed us around and told us about his business.  The Bee Farm has over two thousand hives and is in business solely for the production of honey.  Their bees are Asian honey bees or Apis Cerana which are smaller and more docile than the western honey bees (or Apis Mellifera) that we keep in Minnesota.  In addition to their hives in the New Territories, the Bee Farm also has hives scattered around mainland China and in Chiang Mai, Thailand. 

Jars of Buckwheat and Lungan honey

Placing hives in different locations enables Po Sang Yuen Bee Farm to produce different types of honey because the variety of flowers and trees produce different nectars and pollens.  We recognized some of their honey varieties, like Buckwheat, but others, such as Lychee and Lungan were new to us.  Po Sang Yuen Bee Farm harvests comb honey from their hives in the New Territories, while honey is extracted and bottled from their hives in mainland China and Chiang Mai.

Bee hives at Po Sang Yuen Bee Farm

 
The honey season in Hong Kong is very different than what we're used to in Minnesota.  Because of the relatively mild climate, honey can be harvested a few times per year.  But Edmund explained that the biggest harvest is usually in early April.  Hives are just one box deep.  During the nectar flow, only one super is added to each hive to collect excess honey for harvesting, and it is usually on the hive for about three weeks.  Because the climate is so humid in Hong Kong, the nectar would not cure sufficiently to become honey if more supers were stacked on top of the hive.  In Minnesota by comparison, our hives are two or three boxes deep, and we might have four or even more supers on our hives for two months or even longer. 

Inside one of the hives at Po Sang Yuen Bee Farm

Like many bee keepers, Po Sang Yuen Bee Farm has had challenges with their bees.  Last year, they lost a significant number of their hives due to unusually cold and wet weather, a problem shared by other bee keepers in Hong Kong.  When they lose hives, they try to re-build by dividing the surviving hives and re-queening.

We are grateful for the time that Edmund spent with us to tell us about his bees and his business.  We wish him and Po Sang Yuen Bee Farm much luck and good fortune!

Founder of Po Sang Yuen Bee Farm

Poster at Po Sang Yuen Bee Farm

A new respect for rice

The rice terraces near Ubud

It's no secret that rice is a staple of the Asian diet.  We've certainly eaten our share of it since we arrived in Hong Kong, but we hadn't thought about where it comes from or how it grows until we visited the rice terraces in Bali.

The rice terraces near Ubud

For our anniversary, Jeff surprised me with a trip to Bali.  Coincidentally, we share our anniversary date (May 6) with a Hong Kong public holiday celebrating the Birth of the Buddha, so we were able to spend a long weekend away while only missing one day at the office.  Neither of us had been to Indonesia before, so I did a little advance research to help us decide where to spend our time. 

A Dutch colony until after World War II, Indonesia is made up of around 17,000 islands (about 1,000 are inhabited), and its population of almost 240 million people is spread across many ethnic groups.

Our driver Gusti

Since corruption is an unfortunate fact of life, the average citizen doesn't always see the full benefit of the country's vast natural resources, such as oil.  The island of Bali sits just south of the equator on the east end of Java.  Most of Bali's population of four million is Hindu, in contrast to the rest of Indonesia, which is primarily Muslim.  Bali's craft industry is highly developed, specializing in textiles and wood and stone carving.  The arts, along with the beaches, draw more tourism to Bali than anywhere else in Indonesia.  Agriculture is the other major component of Bali's economy, serving as the main employer on the island.  The climate and rich, volcanic soil are ideal for growing rice and coffee, the two main crops on the island. 

I was very excited about seeing the rice terraces.  Since much of the southern part of Bali is devoted to resorts and tourism, I knew we would enjoy getting out into the countryside to explore.  Cars are driven on the left in Indonesia, so in deference to our sanity, as well as our marriage, we hired a driver named "Gusti" who expertly

Pura Desa in Batuan

navigated through all conditions imaginable, from city streets teeming with motor scooters, to remote roads too small for two vehicles to pass.

The rice terraces were breathtaking, greener and lusher than we imagined. No photo could ever do them justice. Gusti explained that three crops per year can be produced, although farmers are increasingly practicing crop rotation.  The water used to irrigate the fields comes from springs in the surrounding mountains.  The farmers rely on gravity and a system of pipes, ditches and valves to direct it to the fields.  Rice farming in Bali is almost entirely manual, and it must be exhausting to haul the harvest up to the top of the terraces for drying or sale to the wholesalers.

Gusti also took us to see a Balinese Hindu temple in the village of Batuan, which dates to 1020 A.D.  The temple or "Pura" in Balinese is the center of the community, so nearly every village has at least one. 

Pura Gunung Kawi

Gusti explained that in the Balinese Hindu faith, temples are reserved for ceremonies that  worship the gods.  Therefore "human ceremonies," such as weddings and funerals are conducted elsewhere.  Visitors are asked to don a sarong during visits, and we gladly complied (even Jeff).

Our last stop was another temple - the Pura Guning Kawi or Holy Springs Water Temple, featuring beautiful water gardens.  Once again, we donned our sarongs and walked through the verdant grounds to view the elaborate pools, fountains and statuary. 

A statue at Pura Gunung Kawi

The pools are open to the devoted who come and wash themselves as part of their religious rituals.

Our weekend getaway was a great way to celebrate fourteen years.  In the four months we've been in Hong Kong, we had started to begin to appreciate the breadth and diversity of Asia.  Our time in Bali reinforced that the diversity is even greater than we imagined.   Our visit to the rice terraces has given us a new appreciation for a food often overlooked.  We will never again eat rice without reflecting on the beauty of the rice terraces and the hard work that goes with harvesting them.

No llamas on Lamma

Only 20 minutes by ferry from bustling Central Hong Kong is a casual, laid-back island community with a population of under 10,000.  Lamma Island is Hong Kong's third largest island with a total area of about five square miles and situated to the southwest of Hong Kong island. 

Lamma is a short ferry ride southwest of Hong Kong Island

View of Yung Shue Wan village on Lamma Island

Lamma is a hiker's dream, with marked trails that start in its small villages, wind through its rugged terrain and lead up its mountains to reveal vast views of its beaches, the ocean and other Hong Kong islands.  This automobile-free island attracts a relatively large number of expatriates -- many of whom are artists and musicians -- drawn by Lamma's tranquility and lower cost of living compared to Hong Kong Island.

Taking a breather from our bicycle ride

Jeff and I visited Lamma on a warm Sunday.  One of the things that got our attention almost immediately is the lack of skyscrapers: Lamma limits building height to three stories, except for a lone wind turbine at the top of one of its peaks.  We rented a pair of dilapidated bicycles and rode through Yung Shue Wan village, dodging and weaving around large groups of tourists from mainland China.  We rode (actually we walked) our bicycles up a steep hill to a hilltop pavilion with amazing views in every direction.  At the top of this hill is the Kamikaze Cave where the occupying Japanese forces stored speedboats and launched suicide missions against Allied ships during World War II. The trail took us past Hung Shing Yeh beach, where large families enjoyed picnics and a swim at the beach where a sign in English urged swimmers to stay inside the shark protection net.

Once we recovered from the steep climb, we coasted back down the hill to Yung Shue Wan village and returned our bicycles (damage for 2 hours: the equivalent of about $9 US Dollars).   Our next stop was Tin Hau Temple, one of three so named on the island.  Tin Hau is the goddess of the sea, and she is traditionally honored by fishermen and others whose livelihood depends on the sea.  As such, Tin Hau Temples are typically found in coastal towns throughout China.  Burning coils of incense hang in front of the temple's entrance, and a look through the doorway reveals an elaborate interior.  We were invited to light incense sticks in front of the temple, but discouraged from taking any photos inside.

Incense coils burn in front of Tin Hau Temple

We finished our visit to Lamma with a leisurely stroll through the village, stopping for a seafood lunch and a little shopping before catching the short ferry ride back to Central Hong Kong.