One Night in Kowloon

We went across the straits one night, thinking of paying the deposit for the hotel room that we have booked for our stay in Kowloon. However, we ended up not paying for the room, but we did something else.

It took us quite a distance of walk from the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre to the Central Pier to take the ferry across the straits. Along the way, we encountered some interesting night scene of Hong Kong.

This pedestrian bridge looks like a tunnel for time travel.

This pedestrian bridge is just a pedestrian bridge.

We have finally arrived at the Central Pier.

There were not many passengers on the ferry at this hour.

We were supposed to pay the deposit for the room that we have booked at Jiun Long Hotel that Terri had recommended highly. However, we found that we were going to be charged the rate of the super deluxe room that Terri was paying but we would get a standard room. To cut the long story short, we left the hotel reception without paying anything. However, we were keeping our fingers crossed as most of the hotels we tried were either fully booked or too heavy on our pockets.

At the junction of Jordon Street and Temple Street.

That incidence didn't stop our spirit for the usual thing: hunting for food! We were recommended by the internet cafe that we tried to book for our accommodation for the dessert at this place at the juncture of Temple Street.

The dessert specialist.

We never failed at ordering the good stuff!

The double-boiled papaya in white fungus and almond nuts.

The black sesame paste which was really smooth to the mouth and tongue. It would have been nick-named Michael Jackson in Malaysia.

The bean curd drink with a hard-boiled egg. It would have been nick-named Michael Jackson also in Malaysia.

After we've finished gobbling up the desserts, it was already quite late. We walked towards the MTR station to take a train ride back to the Hong Hong Island, whilst surveying the roadside looking for space to accommodate us in case of failing in securing a hotel room.

The night was still young, for some.

We were wondering whether we could sleep in the MTR station.

What Say You?

I came across this book when I was browsing through the 'New Arrival' section at Popular Bookstore this evening. What caught my eyes was one of the quotes shown at the back cover: "Only women who are not pretty should be employed by the State Government, as these women would not be able to get rich husbands who can support them financially." I grabbed one copy immediately and paid at a discounted member price and I couldn't wait to read into the pages.

I found a page in which the politician was insulting all Malaysian men. How can a personal experience be implied across the board?

For all the Malaysian women who are still laughing, you are at no mercy of another Malaysian politician. When did Confucius say this? He has probably read the pirated Confucius book with the title "Confusion" without even knowing it! It will be interesting to hear his other quotes from this book "Confusion" that is impossible to find in ordinary bookstore. The bookstore he went to was probably operated by the piracy syndicate with members roaming Petaling Street and whispering to passersby: "Got special version, want?"

The Malaysia General Election is just less than two weeks from now, and I found a page which I find it unbelievable! One of the ruling political parties was commented to be operating outside of the Malaysian laws! I thought this exists in gangsterism only, but apparently it is worse than I thought.

Wordless Wednesday – Sunset at the Kuching International Airport

Mango Feast

There is a chain of outlets in Hong Kong that sells desserts, in which the mango desserts are their specialties. There is no English name available on the signboard, but the pronunciation of the Chinese words in Cantonese is Heoi Lau Saan (许留山). There are many Heoi Lau Saan outlets in Hong Kong, but be aware that there imitation shops that look similar, but I don't know whether the quality of food is the same. I even spotted one that's called Heoi Lau Sin (许留仙)! Did you notice that the last Chinese character looks almost similar?

It is very the red!

This was what I ordered, the mango pudding in mango juice with extra mango cubes topped with mango gelato (芒果神冰). I like the way they named it in Chinese!

I was half way through digging into my mango feast.

This was what my travel partners ordered, the black rice congee in coconut milk with mango juice and mango cubes.

We didn't stop at just mango desserts! We had a plate of the Teochew-style turnip rolls (潮式萝卜卷).

Those were still not all! We had the sweet glutinous rice balls too (糖不甩).

Clearing My Thoughts

I was thinking of having a photography outing with my Jedis for the sunset at Santubong beach but non of them was free yesterday, so it turned out to be a lone photography outing for me. The weather was good for the whole day, but during the evening, the thick rain clouds started to move in, so I decided to go to a nearer spot for sunset shooting and ended up at the deserted wharf at Pending.

It was raining cats and dogs when I first arrived, so I went for a joyride around that area while waiting for the rain to stop. The rain finally stopped after about 10 minutes and I drove in to that deserted wharf. There were quite a number of people doing their game fishing there, including a group of Korean kids.

Of late, there were quite a lot of things in my mind that really bothered me. My mind was just like the sun being blocked by the rain clouds. I couldn't see clearly.

Perhaps I've left my imagination running wild. It has drifted too far out. Why should I be bothered by the things that were really out of reach?

As I waited for the sunset, the fishing boats started to return home with their harvest. I told myself that I need to pull back all the thoughts that run wild, although there's zero harvest.

Sitting beside the people with their fishing rods, I patiently waited for the sun to set whereas the others patiently waited for the fishes to bite on their baits. As I witnessed the change in colour, I realised that nothing is in my control except myself. Why should I be bothered for the changes in other people? What is more important is my self-control, and that is going to determine my destiny.

This lone photography outing gave me the time and space that I really needed to clear out my mind. Under the gentle breeze that caressed my body and soul, I could see clearly through my thoughts. It is a clear picture now.

Messages from the Trams

Advertisement was once limited to printed matters and billboards only. Since who know when, it was brought on to moving vehicles that revolutionised both the advertisement and transportation industries. The advertisements became mobile, and the vehicles changed from a singular outlook to colourful faces.

The King of Tarts

After we had breakfast with the giant fritters at Wai Kee Congee Shop, we headed to Lyndhurst Terrace to continue on our food race. We were three hungry jacks who were never full. Even if we were full, there were still levels of 'very full' to 'exploding' when we sensed and spotted good food!

This time round, we were looking for the last British Governor of Hong Kong Chris Patten's favourite egg tarts, which have been nick-named "Fei-Paang egg tarts" that literally means "Fat Patten's Egg Tart" (肥彭蛋撻).

Tai Cheong Bakery (泰昌饼家) is a very old establishment that used to occupy the shop opposite the existing shop. When the landlord decided to increase the rental by two folds, the shop moved across the street to 35 Lyndhurst Terrace, Central. This tale was told to me by a friend from Hong Kong who used to eat Tai Cheong's egg tarts for breakfast. I really envy her!

There were actually more than egg tarts in the bakery, but we were just too indulged in the egg tarts that we couldn't be bothered to try anything else. Although they all looked tempting, we wouldn't want to reach the level of 'exploding.'

According to the Hong Kong Best Food Guide that we had in hand, they use almond meal instead of flour to make the crust.

At Tai Cheong Bakery, every egg tart is fresh from the oven. At the rate the egg tarts are being sold, it is impossible to get an egg tart that is left overnight. You gotta make that special request from the salesgirl if you want to and collect it the next day.

They won't give you the egg tarts in the aluminium-foil moulds. These are recycled. The egg tarts are transferred to the paper cups on sales.

One whole tray of egg tarts can be emptied in minutes. If you are lucky, you get the egg tarts right there and then. If you are half-lucky, you gotta wait for a new batch from the oven. If you are unlucky, the egg tarts are sold out!

Each egg tart costs HKD4 which is considered reasonable for the high cost of living in Hong Kong. Tai Cheong Bakery is open from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., but if you want the "Fei-Paang egg tarts," you better get there early.

The World Out There

For the first two days in Hong Kong, we spent all the day time looking at the exhibits of the Hong Kong Toys and Games Fair and the Hong Kong International Stationery Fair. We didn't really have time to come out of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre until the exhibition areas were closed.

There were too many exhibition areas to cover.

We hardly see any kids around except on promotional materials.

When me came out of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, we only realised that it was a totally different world out there!

This is the Hong Kong that we were expecting.

Not to mention this spectacular painting of lights which never failed to amaze us. Yeah, we were really in Hong Kong!

Wordless Wednesday – The People I Met in Sichuan