|
Post by helen on May 12, 2013 3:28:10 GMT -5
Hi Douglas - Blue Mountain in Shanghai is awesome - stayed there twice now. Re HK. We booked a 5 bed room in Geo-Home Holiday Hostel Flat C& D, 9/F., Kingland Apartment 737 Nathan Road, Kowloon. We got there, and there was not enough room for the 5 of us. So L C and I got another room, and left the 3 kids to it. Once everyone was it, and the beds laid out - there was no room for anything. all the luggage was stored outside in the passage way - and to go to the loo, you had to climb over the bed that was across the bathroom doorway. And you couldn't open the door when we were all in there. A great big fire hazard.
|
|
|
Post by FayChee on May 13, 2013 0:55:48 GMT -5
Douglas, Thanks for posting more photos.....somebody needs to travel again and give us more pieces of the world. I am depressed that I did not get to go to my Ancestral Village yet, but around the time when I should have been there, they had that horrendous earthquake in Northern China, and there was another outbread of the bird flu or something. So I guess my guardian angel is looking out for me.
I hope the weather is nice when Ming visits NYC. Today was a nice day, but it has been unseasonably cold and rainy here. I hope he has some nice stories to tell about his adventures.
One day (soon I hope), I will be telling you all about 'My Excellent Adventures in China'......right?
Fay Chee
|
|
|
Post by douglaslam on May 13, 2013 8:58:03 GMT -5
Helen, hostel lodgers always have stories to tell. Hotels are too bland. I am showing a few snaps of my favourite hostel in Hong Kong. It has that homely feeling for one who came from Hong Kong originally. Fay Chee, I do invite you to make that trip in November with us. Helen and her hubby LC are firm starters. Carlos is most likely to go to his grandfather's village, meet his China-side of the family with me. I promise I'll take care of you like my little sister. I can point out to you the little things that maybe of interest to you, like the photos you're about to see. ....................................... This is my four bed dorm in the Argyle St. hostel where I was staying. I was there in 2011, and again on my return trip to HK from China in Dec 2012. You'll remember from my travelogues, I returned to HK to attend a wedding reception before flying out for Sydney. The bottom bunk by the window is my berth. The hostel is up on the 14th. floor. It was quiet, I had only one roommate. You can see my bag is stowed under the bed. My camera case and mobile phone are on the table. I also have a backpack with all my valuables in it. Facing the entrance to the home unit: it has two four bed dorms. Behind me where I am standing, there is a TV , and a table and sofa to the right. It is roomy and luxurious compared to Chungking Mansions. Notice the bed mattresses, next to it, is a windowless room. This room slept three Filipino women and a little girl,who had the small space on the floor. It is budget accommodation in a very expensive city. Next to this windowless room is the bathroom. Hong Kong has a large number of domestic helpers mainly from the Philippines and Indonesia. Here, in a small park and open space, the domestic carers are accompanying their charges for their daily outing in the morning. Those who can afford it, and have a spare room, tend to hire domestic helpers to do the house work. Seen here, as full time carers for old folks who prefer not to be placed in an old age home. Just last month, HK's Court of Final Appeal dismissed a class action by Filipino domestic helpers to claim PR status even though many hundreds of thousands of them have lived long enough to qualify so. There is still a lot going for HK that people would fight for to stay. I enjoyed an Indian meal with a friend at a restaurant also housed in Chungking Mansions. There are many such boutique eateries nestled in the building. But you need to sign up as a member to be served. The street food stalls and hawkers are being driven indoor. It is often referred to as 集中營 Concentration Camp. Here in a multi-storey building, the lower floors are the markets. On the upper floor, there is usually a big food court serving a variety of food by different vendors. You can see patrons, all older men, with their birds in the food court. I am here for the food only. This is my breakfast, a bowl of congee, rice broth, or in Cantonese jook and steamed plain rice roll as it is often called. It is very tasty, and certainly beats cereal and milk. It depends on the location of the building, prices vary greatly according to the locale. Here, in Mong Kok near Argyle Street, it is more expensive.
|
|
|
Post by lachinatown on May 13, 2013 10:17:48 GMT -5
The jook looks delicious douglaslam. What was in it? No thousand year egg 皮蛋? lol.
Right on about "It has that homely feeling for one who came from Hong Kong originally."
|
|
|
Post by FayChee on May 13, 2013 10:37:56 GMT -5
Please tell me what is 'Jook'? I have heard this several times but have no idea what it is. ?fish soup ?entrails
Thanks,
Fay Chee
|
|
|
Post by lachinatown on May 13, 2013 11:12:07 GMT -5
Go here Fay Chee ... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congee (a type of rice porridge or gruel popular in many Asian countries) Yes, jook 粥 is best served with fried bread sticks known as youtiao 油條. Douglaslam had the jook with "steamed plain rice roll" instead. I will be happy with a bowl of seafood congee hǎi xiān zhōu 海鲜粥.
|
|
|
Post by FayChee on May 13, 2013 11:31:55 GMT -5
Thanks Lachinatown! Now I can concentrate on my work at hand.........
Fay Chee
|
|
|
Post by lachinatown on May 13, 2013 11:50:27 GMT -5
Fay Chee, do you think Jook was what the "three bears" had?
|
|
|
Post by FayChee on May 13, 2013 18:59:24 GMT -5
Hi Lachinatown, Just got back from work....long day.
I didn't know if the Jook was on the left or right side of the picture. The bowl on the right looks like grits with hog ears hanging out. I could probably find a breakfast dish like that in North Carolina where I have a little cottage.
After reading the link on Congee, I imagine that it is similar to a soupy kind of grits if you like it that way. I sometimes do put in too much water. I think that I would like to eat grits with pig ear for breakfast as I also love and cook pigs feet and chitlins.
While living in my small NC town, some of the nice old ladies down the street took me under their wings and taught me how to fix some Southern dishes, some of which I had never had before and called 'Shrimp and grits', and also 'Fish and grits'. What a delightful dish for breakfast and quite a treat for me. I have never known anything other than bacon and eggs with grits in the mornings. It took me awhile to get used to eating what I considered a 'dinner' food, so early in the morning.
I guess that I will try congee one day ("Jook' is a nickname right?), but I am not sure how healthy it is for a pre-diabetic. Rice is on the high glycemic index list I believe, but it can't be any worse than grits I guess.
Fay Chee
Oh yes, I didn't mean to say 'entrails' in my other post....I meant 'sweetbreads', but had a senior moment...........again.
|
|
|
Post by lachinatown on May 13, 2013 19:33:57 GMT -5
Fay Chee, I too was wondering about that piece of meat hanging out of the bowl. The left piece of meat is pork I believe.
Just love the bird cages. I used to have rice birds. Used to have too many and I would give to pet shops in exchange for food.
|
|
|
Post by FayChee on May 13, 2013 21:22:58 GMT -5
Lachinatown, I was so overtaken by the sight of the food, that I completely overlooked the picture with the birds. Although I don't know what a rice bird is, I also love birds of all kinds......except for the one that bit my finger so hard it brought tears to my eyes. I have had little green parakeets in the past, but they all mysteriously and suddenly ended up feet up on the bottom of the cage. I hear they do not live very long.
Fay Chee
|
|
|
Post by douglaslam on May 14, 2013 8:40:54 GMT -5
The piece of meat hanging out of the bowl is pork liver. I had kidney and liver jook. I did a lot of walking alone in Hong Kong. The city changed so much, I found it hard to get my bearing on Kowloon side which I thought I knew well. I am particularly interested in old landmarks and buildings. They are disappearing fast. This is a pre-World War ll unit block. It is one of a remaining few, and in good repair, but for how much longer? People in Hong kong are pining for the old days, the simple life, and old world charm. This building would have been photographed thousands of times by its legion of fans. This is a traditional family-run grocery store. It is still there despite of high rent and the onslaught of supermarket chains. When I was a small boy, I used to run errands like going to the grocery store to buy sauces, cooking oil and other foodstuff. Back then, we had to bring our own containers for any purchase. This is a footbridge leading to a Metro station on a damp Saturday afternoon. It is a meeting place for many Indonesian domestic servants who have the day off work. The stand out because of their Islamic attire. Filipino domestic helpers are still by far the largest in number. They tend to have Sunday off, and gather together in their thousands at Central in Hong Kong Island. Museums, and galleries are my scene. I spent one morning at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum to look at old artefact and see and re-live what life was like in the past. This is a model of a junk but it is no ordinary junk. It is called a red boat. Right up to communism, the red boats used to ply the river ports throughout the Pearl Delta, and much of Guangdong Province. The red boats used to transport and house Cantonese opera troupes performing from town to town. It could be in Hoiping for some important occasion, then set sail for my village to perform for a wealth businessman's birthday celebrations. It is also a refuge for those who are running away from home or the law. One such refugee was the legendary monk 至善禪師 of Shaolin Temple. He disguised himself as a cook on one of the red boats in order to escape the Qing rulers' hunt for him. He was one of the prime movers responsible for the propagation of Shaolin Kungfu in South China. It is all very romantic, like Boys' Own adventure stories. The next two photos are a typical scene of a Cantonese opera. The mannequins in full regalia, are what the performers would look like on stage. The set is simple because it is supposed to be staged on a makeshift theatre. The floral display tells us the opera is staged to celebrate the Sea Goddess' birth anniversary. On page 42, I gave a brief outline of Sea Goddess, our clan's patron deity. Tin Hau or Sea Goddess is revered by the seafaring folks. On her birth anniversary, operas are put on to entertain and honour her. This is the lobby of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre. I spent a couple of hours looking at the displays and then see The Hong Kong Chinese Dance ensemble performing dances from many ethnic groups within China. I wish all minority nationals in China could live in harmony with the majority Han people. We must respect their way of life, culture and religion. Sadly, that is not happening.
|
|
|
Post by lachinatown on May 14, 2013 10:27:15 GMT -5
Thanks douglaslam, for sharing another good post with us.
Do you remember what kind of birds?
|
|
|
Post by laohuaqiao on May 14, 2013 16:35:50 GMT -5
From the photo above, the congee looks like pork liver congee.
|
|
|
Post by FayChee on May 14, 2013 20:38:12 GMT -5
That is some good camera you have Douglas.....it takes wonderful pictures.
Fay Chee
|
|