MENU Goes East - Hong Kong, Victoria Peak, Dim Sum

Sunday in Hong Kong. We took one of the old trams

and sat on top. They go at a fair clip in their own lines. Its a good way to see Hong Kong

We got off at the Bank of China building

and walked up the hill through the park. It was Sunday and all the domestic workers had a day off and were picnicking

Old bastion walls among the new, modern Hong Kong buildings

We were on our way to the Peak tram

NOT the place to be on a Sunday morning, we discovered 

The queues were epic and it was hot

It took us about an hour to get to the tram, but once you are in the queue... Sunshades were essential

A dragonfly on the fountain wall enchanted. It was one of the few insects we saw

The fairly orderly queue to get on the tram

When you get to the top of the peak, you are guided to the top of the tallest building and then asked to pay a king's ransom to get onto the roof

We went next door down these many levels 

and had a lovely free view of this beautiful modern, clean city

And looking in the other direction you can see Stanley and some of the many islands

One does wonder how high they will go?  We could solve our housing problems with just a few of these blocks of flats

The very strange architecture of the new Peak building

Inside we found the famous Paris Patisserie, Fauchon

and asked to be allowed to take some pictures of all the delights

Luckily we don't have sweet teeth

Although we could have been swayed by these chocolate temptations

However, you need to be rather wealthy

gooey brownies

bottle-cap sized fruit tarts

We took a bus back down to our hotel. It follows this amazing cliff-hugging road

Some of the architecture leaves you stunned

Time for some food; late Sunday afternoon and a tube ride of three stops 

We found the address of one of the best Dim Sum restaurants in Hong Kong on the Web

Small but busy even at 4pm on a Sunday

Usually you have to queue, but we got a table quickly

 The menu with our selection

Prawn dumplings

Steamed beef balls

Shu mai Pork and prawn dumpling

Cha sui Bao Feather light steamed buns with barbecued pork inside

All served with soy sauce and copious amounts of Puer tea. And a little light chilli sauce if that is to your taste

The lotus wrapped rice we ordered was sold out, so we substituted Fried Turnip cakes.  Our bill was HK116 (R208!) Amazing value

Wandering back to the tube we saw this bargain. Three excellent value t-shirts for John for HK50 (R33 each)

The ships in the roads at sunset, with the one remaining junk, now a tourist boat, and one of the old Kowloon ferries

The sunsets from our hotel were lovely, such soft smoky light

and it got softer as the sun sank

till it turns rosy pink as the light dies

Next episode: 
MENU goes East - Hong Kong, Cheung Chau Island

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© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2016

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MENU goes East - Hong Kong, Cheung Chau Island

We read a lot about them in our newspapers, but have yet to see any in SA. Electric Tesla cars are popular in Hong Kong and one often sees several at a time in the street. The acceleration away from a traffic light is ... electric. And silent

Hong Kong does not only have excellent public transport. It also has great facilities for pedestrians. We took a long walk along this overhead pedestrian walkway

with a view across the harbour to the Convention Centre

past a big wheel - It looks bigger than the V&A wheel

and, at the end of the walkway, reached the ferry terminal at Central Pier

We just made it onto the ferry. Using our Octopus cards (similar to Oyster and Istanbulkart & can be used on all public transport - maybe one day the MyCiti will work the same way) cost us $HK2 each way - about R4; pensioner rate!

The ferry at the pier in Cheung Chau

Thoroughfares are very narrow on the island. Bicycles are very popular and the few motorised vehicles are very narrow

like this

The harbour, filled with large and small boats

fishing or simply watching the water

Junks and more familiar craft

The junks have evolved and one sees very few sails

These pedal trikes are for hire

Western food with a few Chinese influences here

The Black Kite is one of Hong Kong's most familiar birds. One sees them in the air most of the time, searching for food

Pedestrian traffic is quite heavy along the quayside, but one does dodge bikes and the occasional four wheeler

Time for an upgrade?

and it was hot, so we chose a more shaded, quieter route

through the alleys

a relic of colonial times, but it still works

To Tung Wan Beach

This crab was all defensive

and the dogs were playful

This golden retriever kept her owner very busy, throwing her toy into the water for her to fetch

How to hold a shaking dog

Off to find the Catch of the Day

Catch a tan

In 36º heat, thirst quenching became a priority, so we went into this little bar

run by Peter Lee, whose mother is English. He speaks perfect English

It had a wide variety of imported, mostly Belgian, beers

and did a roaring trade in mounds of shaved flavoured ice

and seemed to be popular with the ladies who lunch

but we chose a Tsing Tao, the popular Chinese beer

A banyan tree with its tangle of roots

and the making of a dragon

Joss sticks; all sizes, all aromas

Don't park here, but we're not very busy anyway

Lovely fresh fruit, on ice if necessary

Beautiful plants and good luck ornaments on the door

This house is next to

the Temple

which has some beautiful ceramic decoration

The temple interior

A beautiful moon gate

A shrine inside the temple

protected by fierce warriors

A bell and a gong

The smoke of the joss sticks fills the air with spicy aroma

In the courtyard at the back, a ceremonial fireplace and a small gazebo

and in front, the rather messy remnants of the Cheung Chau Bun Festival, held the previous week

Lots of plastic packaging tape and the occasional rather tired lantern

Then back to the waterfront to see the famed seafood restaurants - not as many as Lynne remembered from her previous visit, twenty years ago, but the fish is alive and waiting to please you: blue crabs

groupers and other unidentified fish

A junk being loaded

with poles

A view over the harbour

with more picturesque junks

and very little activity

Looking into one of the restaurants. Our timing was way off - we would have had to wait for about four hours to be served and that was a bridge too far, sadly

More groupers and, at the back, what looks very much like what we would call a leervis or garrick

and an army of crayfish

whelks

blue crabs

shrimps

cockles

We're not sure, but it could be sea bream

drying squid

and cuttlefish

with more blue crabs, all good to go

Then it was back to the terminal, in time to catch the ferry

with a last look at the boats

no possibility of an outside seat, so a half hour ride in the packed ferry

back to Hong Kong

One of the old ferries which run between Hong Kong and Kowloon

The Underground works very well and comfortably, but you can ride these at no charge

The "Morning Star" ferry arrives at the pier

and back along the walkway to catch the MTR Underground

with views of the city centre in the late afternoon light

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© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2016

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