It's a Charlie Brown Christmas (Part II)

I couldn't resist picking up a couple of the Peanuts figurines that came out about 2 weeks after the getting the Charlie Brown cushions. These toys are reminiscent of what I had in the kids in that they run on simple mechanisms--springs, magnets, gears.  My absolute favourite is the snoopy spinning underneath a tree branch where woodstock is sitting on top of it.

Video: CathC

I was so excited about the figurines that I even got my friend into it. My friend is visiting from Taiwan, and we took her around Central to see HK's Christmas decorations. The display at the Landmark Atrium is really spectacular this year. We had the perfect view from the 3/F while having lunch at the Urban Bakery Cafe. As we were catching up, we could turn and watch the display that lights up and moves every 30 minutes.  There are also these flying boats that sail around the mall along the ceiling rails. The whole thing was very impressive.

Landmark Atrium's Christmas Display (CharK)

Flying boat (Photo: Chark)

Stanley's Christmas Market

December is one my my favourite times of the year. The holiday mood is in full swing and there are festive decorations everywhere.

This year, our first Christmas event was at Stanley's Christmas Market. Although there were a number of shops selling crafts and toys, the Christmas vibe just wasn't quite in the air. Maybe it was the lack of carolers or shops selling Christmas-y decorations. Somehow the market had more of an arts and crafts theme than Christmas.

But I tried mulled wine for the first time and thought it was pretty tasty. It was nice to have a warm drink in the cool evening, and its cinnamon fragrant made it quite different from any other wines I've had before.

The Christmas Market at Stanley (Photo: Chark)

I've always thought Stanley was a great weekend getaway, even without the Christmas Market. There's a real island/vacation vibe about the place. After walking around the market we grabbed dinner along the Waterfront Promenade. We stopped off at the Buddah cafe and that and the cafe next door were owned by a husband-wife team. The husband is a funny, cheerful guy who made a great host. The wife was in the kitchen, serving up yummy snacks and desserts. CharK and I ordered chicken satay skewers, lobster siu mai, and mango/dragonfruit/watermelon coconut dessert.

After another walk around the Stanley harbour, taking in the beautiful night scenery, we stopped off at a Belgian Bar in the Stanley Market.

Christmas lights along the Waterfront (Photo: CharK)

The Belgian Bar was the real highlight of the night. I tried a fruity beer called Delirium Tremens, it's a cherry flavored beer with hints of grapefruit. I liked it, even more than another Belgian beer I use to drink in Toronto, Fruli Strawberry Beer. This bar was a very small shop in the corner of the market, but the staff made it a great atmosphere.. There was a friendly host who was very skilled at drawing in the crowd to try their beers. As it got later in the evening, The Belgian owner got into a funny singing competition with a French customer. The French guy was giving an impromptu lesson on singing from the belly versus the throat. It was a really funny scene.

A fun night in Stanley (Photo: CathC)

December's off the a great start. It'll be a great way to end the year with a few more weekend get-aways like this.

It's a Charlie Brown Christmas

Normally I don't pay much attention to advertisement posters, especially on the way to work. But this morning, McDonald's latest promotion caught my eye. In anticipation for the upcoming Snoopy Movie, McDonalds is selling licensed Snoopy merchandise like cushions, coffee mugs, and various wind up toys.

Today was the first day the cushions went on sale in HK and lots of people went to pick up the whole set which contains: Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Lucy, Woodstock, and a special edition of Snoopy's Dog House. Actually, I remember thinking that some kid would be very happy night when I saw a Dad carrying a set while I was going to work this morning.

I couldn't resist picking this up on my way home! The detail on this Charlie Brown cushion is great, even the flap on his hat flips up. The whimsical cushion really brightens up the apartment. The bonus is that it's also a pretty good comparison to a life-sized head. So makes for a fun prop too!

An early Christmas Present (Photo: CathC)

Buying just a single cushion costs 40HKD on top of the purchase any food item. Otherwise, the whole set costs 278 HKD, which also includes 50HKD worth of McDonald's meal coupons.

Finally found my banh mi

I've craving for Vietnamese food, specifically banh mi for the past few months. Surprisingly for all the Vietnamese restaurants that are around, they are harder to find then I would have expected. After searching Open Rice for a bit, CharK found this place inside Kowloon Walled City called "Banh Mi Bakery". We probably wouldn't have come across this place if we hadn't looked up the directions because it's located on a nondescript  street in between industrial centers and shops.

Having a late lunch at 3pm (Photo: CathC)

The trendy and modern deco of restaurant is a stark contrast to many of the older shops in the area. Aside from the nice environment, the banh mi really was the best part of the restaurant. I really enjoyed the regular spicy bbq pork baguette that we ordered. The cilantro made the whole sandwich so refreshing. 

I've finally found my banh mi (Photo: CharK)

The nice thing about the restaurant that even at 3 o'clock they had both a lunch and afternoon tea set menu.We ordered the banh mi lunch set which with a green mango salad. And also a chicken satay and Vietnamese sticky rice tea set with traditional spring rolls. The Vietnamese sticky rice was topped with pork, pork rind, fried garlic and green onion. It was an interesting dish that I've never tried before It was a great meal and the Spring rolls and banh mi tasted like the Vietnamese food we use to get in downtown Toronto. Hopefully these banh mi places start to take off Hong Kong and it'll be easier to find around town.

An awesome meal for a relaxing weekend (Photo: CathC)

A lazy weekend with Japan's Lazy Egg

I think there's something whimsical about life-size displays of iconic Sanrio characters. The latest display at Langham Place in HK features Gudetama, Sanrio`s lazy egg character. Even though the display has been around since the beginning of this month, the crowds are still drawn to this almost cute yet almost sarcastic character. I was surprised to see how many people were patient enough to stand in line for 10+ minutes to get their photo taken in front of the various displays.

The crowds at Langham Place going wild for Gudetama (Photo: CharK)

Seeing the crowds at first made me think that it would have been a better idea to come see the display later this summer, when the initial crowds/popularity wore off. But it turned out not to be so bad having to weave through the crowds. I didn't have much expectations of taking my photo with any display, rather I just wanted photos of the displays themselves. So by the evening, when the crowds had dispersed a bit, it was possible to get some shots of the displays in between people coming up to have their photo taken.

The sushi restaurant (Photo: CharK)

The cafe featuring various forms of Gudetama, including HK's iconic egg tart and french toast was my favourite. Check out the details of the kitchen cutlery and how cute the cake is!

The Cafe/Bakery complete with HK themed treats--egg tarts! (Photo: CharK)

Here's the Gudetama ontop of fried rice and ramen noodles. These life-sized, have transformed these familiar every day foods into almost theme-park like displays.

The Chinese restaurant that was the least photo spot for some reason (Photo: CharK)

All the hype generated from the display led to crowds lining up even for the tiny pop-up store in the mall. The store was mostly just selling plush dolls. I`m just waiting for the individual boxes of the Gudetama Cafe figurines to be sold. I just love the details on these!

Tropical Cyclone Linfa

Today was the first time since moving to HK that I got to leave work early due to stormy weather. Previously, most of storms have hit during the night, so going into work in the mornings was postponed by a few hours. As the Tropical Cyclone Linfa moves across the East China Sea this afternoon, the Hong Kong Observatory raised the No. 8 Storm Signal. They predict the storm to be in full force near midnight and will gradually weaken by tomorrow morning.

I was surprised by the precautionary measures taken by the University for this type of storm compared to black rain storms. For the black rain storms, people are advised to stay indoors during the warning, rather than try to travel home. But for today's storm, an email was sent out informing everyone of the weather conditions and arrangements to close down the university about half an hour before everyone was permitted to leave,. Then 3 rounds of warning announcement and buzzer were aired over our PA system every 10 minutes.

My colleagues told me that such tropical cyclones are treated very seriously historically many more deaths and injuries have resulted, as compared to black rainstorms. We were permitted to leave by 3:45pm and by the time I reached the mall outside of apartment,around 5pm, many shops were also closing their doors. The clothing shops all had their shutters closed, and even late-closing Mannings pharmacy was preparing to close down for the night. The only shops that were left open were food outlets like Cafe de Coral, supermarkets like Park n Shop, and of course convenience stores like 7/11. Actually I don't think 7/11 will close down tonight. They are always opened it seems...

You can see the management has taken some precautionary measures to prevent the trees from flying everywhere in case they break during the storm. But so far, things seem calm here on the Eastern part of HK.

At 5pm-- the calm before the storm (Photo: CathC)

My sweet dinner

It's no secret that I have a pretty big sweet tooth, and have no problems eating desserts as a regular meal. I believe that the desserts menu is what really sets a restaurant and/or cafe apart, is usually what I remember the most about a meal. So once in awhile, CharK will indulge me and agree to some unconventional meals.

After running some errands at Festival Walk, I wanted to try Sweet-O-logy a Japanese-style cafe. As the name suggests, the cafe focuses on desserts like souffles, waffles, and soufflé. But interestingly, they also serve all-day breakfast and other light meals like sandwiches and pasta.

A must try for any dessert fans (Photo: CharK)

The cafe has a "European street cafe" atmosphere and so they seating is limited. But even on a Friday night, the turn over is pretty fast. CharK and I waited for maybe 20 minutes for a table compared to other Cafe's which had nearly double the lines.

The meal was definitely worth the wait. I really enjoyed the chestnut cream honey toast. Basically it's thick pieces of lightly fried toast that's encrusted in a layer of honey/sugar. The toast is served with a scoop of Mövenpick vanilla bean ice cream. The whole dessert is also sprinkled with blueberries and hazel, and almonds.

A surprisingly filling meal for two  (Photo: CathC)

CharK also found something he liked on the menu, the English breakfast. Although, one complain he had was that fries were served instead of the tater tots as listed on the menu. But the apple tea that was ordered was a refreshing drink for the hot summer night.

The two orders were more than enough for the two of us for dinner. So it was pretty impressive to see that many of the other tables were able to order at a mains plus at desserts per person. Maybe it's the summer heat, but overall I think our appetite has reduced over since Spring.

Predicting the future by understanding the past

I'm glad that I finally made it out to HK's history museum out in East Tsim Sha Tsui. There are a number of well designed exhibits, and for only 10HKD, probably one of the best deals in terms of exploring the city. I guess it's the summer time, so the museum was actually pretty busy on Saturday with families and kids.

 I'm not sure who the quote is from, but it's been said that " You don't know where you're going if you don't know where you've been." I think it's a very true statement, especially for a city like HK which had a complicated history with the British colonial rule and Japanese occupation.

My favourite part of the museum was walking through the displays of HK's ethnic groups: Punti, Hakka, Boat Dwellers, and Haklo. I liked being able to walk onto a lifesize replica the boat of typical Boat Dwellers and walking around the homes of the Punti, Hakka. I was surprised to learn that Haklo people worked to mine salt while the Hakka grew rice. It was neat to see all the tools and equipment they used.

The original Boat Dweller's home (Photo: CharK)

The inside of a Boat Dweller's home (Photo: CharK)

My favourite dwelling was the Hakka's stone house. Walking through the Hakka's stone house made me realize that their traditional homes had lower ceilings and narrower rooms than the Punti houses. The curators put a lot of effort to recreate the Hakka home, with lots of nice every day details of the kitchen, dining room, and bedroom.

The traditional Hakka home (Photo: CharK)

The inside of the Hakka home (Photo: CharK)

I thought the type of bedding for the Hakka and Chinese Elite during the British Colonization of HK were very similar. Coincidence?

The bedroom of the Chinese Elite during the British Colonial Rule (Photo: CharK)

Even though most of the museum featured only replicas of personal belongings, the recreation of homes and storefronts made it a very interactive experience. Although I didn't grow up in HK, I've heard a lot of the environment that I almost feel like I recognize it when I see these recreations. I've always enjoyed learning about history (which I always felt like storytelling), so this museum was an even more fun way to learn about HK's past. I liked seeing the contrast of how people lived during in the various eras of HK. Nearly 4 hours later I came away from the museum with a better understanding of HK's environment and its people.

Shopping in Sheung Wan

Sheung Wan has become of my favourite places to hang out on the weekend because of the many cafes serving all-day breakfast and the artisan, one-of-a kind shops. It's usually around 2 or 3pm by the time we make it out to "brunch" so these all day breakfast menus are awesome. This weekend's trip to the Cupping Room didn't disappoint. Even something as simple as their house blend ice coffee was fantastic. I'm no coffee expert, but I enjoyed this aromatic blend, even though it was a little more sour than I'd prefer.

Throughout the year, there many opportunity to attend free art exhibitions and events in HK. There seems to be more free artsy things to do in HK than compared to Toronto. I went to the Global Artisan Pop-up Bazaar at "The Space" on Hollywood Road in Sheung Wan. Recently I've starting becoming interested in handmade jewelry and local designers. Although I believe this event had designers from around the world showing off their goods. I was really impressed by the delicate details in this gold plated brass leaf ring.

Something pretty to wear (Photo: CathC)

HK's current rainy season is very unpredictable. The entire afternoon was sunny and hot  while I was shopping in Sheung Wan. But there was a sudden downpour and thunderstorm later in the evening. Just my luck I didn't bring an umbrella out, so to avoid being drenched, I ended up buying an umbrella from Logon. Luckily, there was an umbrella designed for covering two people that was on sale for 20% off. That was a pretty good find, as CharK and I usually get our sides wet from the water dripping off our current compact umbrella. So for the next month I guess I'll remember to take an umbrella with me no matter what!

Burgers, Bling, and Boats

I made my out to ibakery at Tamar Park yesterday since I was craving a burger. Just my luck it was pouring right as I got to Admiralty Station. I figured my umbrella was enough for the short walk over but I was wrong! The umbrella didn't do much to keep my dry from the rain being blown in from the sides. But the homemade beef burger and view of the harbor was worth the trip. Fortunately, this is still a fairly quiet spot along the harbourfront.

Welcome to HK's rainy season (Photo: CharK)

Not sure what kind of construction is going on in Victoria Habour, but the work seems to have expanded and become more permanent since I was here last August.

Construction in Victoria Harbour? (Photo: CharK)

After lunch I came across a jewelry and crafts market at the Star Ferry docks. Lots of local HK designers had booths selling, silver rings, accessories, and other leather goods. I was really loved the silver rings and gemstone rings made by Deborah Tsui and Ester Yip, respectively. Deborah Tsui's beautiful silver rings are fashioned to look just like beautiful flower petals. I think she really managed to capture the delicate beauty of the petals. Ester works with a variety of gemstones and I thought her rings have a very modern and unique look to them.

During the past couple of years I've noticed a growing trend of local art fairs, at shopping malls and outdoor venues like the pier. Both of these designers told me they have online stores rather than a brick-and-mortar store so I image these opportunities to show their pieces to the public would be a big help for their businesses.

Another one of my favourite activities at the harbourfront is taking the Star Ferry. Even though it's a short ride that's less than 10 minutes, there's something about a ferry that makes it a fun form of transportation. And for 3.4 HKD (2.5HKD on weekedays), the ferry ride is a pretty economical sightseeing activity. You can get nice of HK's skyline while sailing across Victoria Harbour from  Central to the Tsim Sha Tsui Pier.

Getting cultured at PMQ

Le French GourMay 2015 Festival drew big crowds to PMQ (元創方) this weekend. It was a festival organized by The Consulate General of France in Hong Kong and Macau and Business France that celebrated French foods, music, and even pixel art. I enjoyed the band that was playing in the PMQ courtyard. They played a interesting version of Speak Softly, Love (The Godfather theme song) with brass instruments like the trumpet and tuba.

The festival in the PMQ courtyard, complete with food/drink tents and live band (Photo: CharK)

Photo: CharK

Unfortunately, I thought the heat and humidity mixed with the food and alcohol made the courtyard smell kind of unpleasant, almost fishy like. But the rest of the art exhibits and shops were well ventilated and cool. I thought the Wipe Out pixel art exhibit was kinda cool and quirky. It featured French artist Invader's work. In addition to pixel art creations of iconic characters like Bruce Lee, there was a photo display showing where random pixel cartoons and characters were "graffitied" across Hong Kong, on overpasses and various buildings. According to PMQ's website, his artwork was removed from the walls of the city within a few weeks by local cleaning crews

The famous Bruce Lee pixel art (Photo: CharK)

Fruit anyone? (Photo: CharK)

Aside from the Wipe Out exhibition, pieces from the Muji Award International Design competition were also on display. Most of these designs were practical and aimed at making our lives more convenient. Some of the pieces that I thought were most interesting were the every day items like the umbrella that can lean at 45 degrees against a wall and the fold your own shoe.

I like coming to PMQ on the weekends. Even though I was just here a couple of months ago for Valentine's Day, it seems that the exhibits change and designers bring out new pieces quite frequently. So there's always something new to see.

Birthdays and rooftop patios

I felt very special this year, celebrating my birthday with CharK on a rooftop patio. HK has a number of restaurants, bars and lounges on the balconies of skyscrapers, but neither of us had ever been to one. The view from Sugar`s balcony is really spectacular. Located on the 32nd floor of East Hotel in Taikoo, we had a great view of Kowloon and the Kai Tak airport.

I suppose this is the kind of panorama views you could see living in a penthouse in HK (Photo: CharK)

The nice thing about being out of the way from the crowds in Central and Wan Chai, is that even without reservations, we only waited for about 20 minutes for a seat on the deck on a Friday night. We really lucked out on Friday night, CharK and I got to enjoy our drinks at a corner of the balcony.

Inside the bar there was a DJ playing music but he seemed kinda bored. I suppose in a regular club, there'd be dancing and some interaction with the clients. But here, the bar and couches take up where the dance floor is. Not sure what kinda of music was being played, a mix between funk and dance. But all in all it is a good place to just sit and relax, after a long week.

A cozy corner to enjoy the view (Photo: CharK)

My favourite snack of the evening, chorizo sliders (Photo: CharK)

Another view of the HK skyline (Photo: CathC)

Gentrification of Tin Hau

What's interesting about HK's neighborhoods is the variety of architecture that exists in one small area. Like in Tin Hau, there are one-storey shops in the midst of high-rise condominiums. In recent years, Tin Hau area has been transforming from one of the city's older neighbors to an up and coming trend area.

I usually pass by Tin Hau on the way to other areas of Hong Kong Island, so I'm not familiar with the neighborhood and was pleasantly surprised by the variety of cuisines here. Within the couple of blocks around Wun Sha St. and Tai Hang Road are Japanese, Singaporean, Taiwanese, and Chinese restaurants. Walking along the narrow streets I came across ramen shops, dai pai dong, cha chaan tan, and cafes.

Iniitally CharK and I ate lunch at a local ramen shop which operates as a traditional noodle shop. There`s only bar seating and you can watch the ramen chefs make your food in front of your eyes. You can choose between a few bowls of ramen (like Nagoya, Hokkadio,style) or you can make your own--picking the broth and toppings.  I had the pork bone with black truffle broth with toasted garlic. This was one of the most flavorful bowls of ramen I've had in HK. The prices were pretty reasonable too. Ranging from ~90 to 120HKD plus 5-25 HKD for any extra toppings like bbq pork or seaweed. We ordered an extra side of seaweed for the ramen (23HKD), which turned out to be a generous portion--6 pieces of toasted seaweed.

A traditional Japanese ramen shop serving handmade noodles (Photo: CharK)

The atmosphere of the restaurant seemed pretty authentic, with orders called out in Japanese and lots of childhood toys and cartoons used as the restaurant's main decorations.

After lunch CharK and I walked around to explore the neighbor and was surprised to learn that autobody shops/garages are the mostly frequented businesses. There are also a number of cafes and tea shops in the area. We shopped at one called which served a large variety of coffee--from Americanos to mint cucumber lattes.. While we waited for our coffee, a number of cool looking cars drove by with fancy rims and other modified car parts. That was one tricky thing about walking around, constantly watching out for cars in the narrow streets/random sidewalks.

I love this building--rennovated traditional apartment sitting on top of a trendy coffee shop (Photo: CharK)

Of course in Hong Kong, why wouldn't there be a Hello Kitty themed cafe? (Photo: CharK)

It seemed that Tin Hau is an up and coming neighborhood. Lots of older shops have closed down with new, modern-looking ones taking their place. With the cafes and western restaurants opening up, I guess Tin Hau is becoming more like Sheung Wan? Hopefully the prices for the restaurants here don't increase too drastically with these new shops.

Easter Long Weekend

CharK and I explored Lamma Island (南丫島) on Friday with a fellow Canadian and colleague of CharK's. I love hiking on a long weekend because there's plenty of time rest up after the exercise! The ferry ride over from Central was particularly fun compared to going to other nearby islands like Discovery Bay or Cheung Chau because the ferry over to Sok Kwu Wan (索罟灣) is an open air two-storey ferry. The waves were choppy and I was literally rolling around on the bench and feeling the sea breeze on my face.

Probably the choppiest ferry ride I've been on in HK (Photo: CharK)

After we got off the ferry, we hiked from Sok Kwu Wan towards Yung Shue Wan (榕樹灣). This was probably one of the more family and tourist friend trails we've been on. The trail has limited stairs and mostly wider paved paths. Along the paths were vendors selling herbal teas, frozen pineapples and of course, popsicles-- all great snacks for a hot spring hike. We did the trail "backwards" and this was a good approach since there were fewer people going this way.

One of the many lookout points along the trail--looking back towards Sok Kwu Wan (Photo:Chark)

But perhaps the most surprising thing we saw was the "warships" off in the distant sea from the Lo So Shing Beach (蘆鬚城泳灘). I wasn't sure why they were out there, or which country they belong to--but I'm guessing they are China's? According to Wikipedia they are part of the naval force protecting Hong Kong.

The Type 037-II boat just off of the Lamma Power Station (Photo: CharK)

A view of the Lamma Power Station from the trail (Photo: CharK)

Of course we had to stop by to see Hong Kong's only wind turbine. I`ve only ever driven by wind turbines set up on farms in Canada. So being able to stand directly underneath one was very impressive, just looking up to at the giant blades spinning. It was worth the hike up the steep path up to the wind turbine, to see one up close. Today, the sign on the wind turbine showed that it was producing 0.2 kW.

A view of the Wind Turbine from the ferry ride over to Sok Kwu Wan (Photo: Chark)

A view of the wind turbine from the look out pavillion about 50 meters from the base of the turbine (Photo: CharK)

After the hike the three of us feasted on a seafood meal by the pier. The mantis shrimp is my new favourite dish. I didn't realize shrimp could be so meaty (like lobster tail). The famous "typhoon shelter crab" was delicious as well--nice and peppery.

What a feast--black bean razor clams, garlic scallops, salt and pepper mantis shrimp, and typhoon shelter crab (Photo: CharK)

I really enjoyed the seafood dinner on Lamma Island. The selection is great and is even cheaper than Sai Kung which extremely busy with tourists. Also you can sit right beside the pier, and get a much closer view of the sea. Happy Easter everyone!

Hiking and Hong Kong Sevens

Spring has finally arrived in HK and is the perfect hiking weather--20 degrees and sunny. I spent this Saturday exploring the Bowen Road Fitness Trail, a hiking trail that's often used as the backdrop for local TVB dramas. CharK and I took the electric tram from North Point over to Happy Valley for breakfast, then entered trail from Bowen Road just outside of the Hong Kong Adventis Hospital. This weekend is the Hong Kong Sevens and I was able to catch a glimpse of the practice on the ride over.

A view of the HK Stadium from the Happy Valley Electric Tram (Photo: CharK)

The fitness trail is a pretty easy trail, since it's pretty flat. Lots of people were jogging and walking their dogs. It's nice and cool to hike/run along this trail since there's tree cover along the whole path. I love the view from these mid-level areas. You can see so far across the city and get a full view of the skyline.

You can see the HK Stadium off in the distance (Photo: CharK)

Here's another view of HK Stadium from the fitness trail...

A view of HK Stadium from the Bowen Fitness Trail (Photo: CharK)

The Bowen Road Fitness trail can also lead up to the Peak, just like Old Peak Road on the other side of the mountain. So comparing the two trails, I like Old Peak Road more because there seem to be more views of the city. There's a lot more construction going on--many new condominiums are going up on this side.

Enjoying the sea breeze in Tai Po

Walking along the waterfront promenade has become one of my favourite weekend activities. I find it really relaxing just staring out over the water and catching the sea breeze. Most of the waterfront areas (aside from Victoria Harbor by TST) are surprisingly quiet compared to other attractions in the city.

Now I can add the Tai Po Waterfront Park to my list of favourite areas in HK. The Waterfront Park overlooks Sha Tin Hoi (沙田海) towards Ma On Shan (馬鞍山). One cool thing about this Park is the Lookout Tower which commemorates HK's handover back to China in 1997. From the top of this tower, I could see a 180 degree view of the surrounding area, from Tai Po Industrial area to the HK Science Park. 

Photo (CharK)

Photo (CharK)

Aside from the Waterfront path, there`s also quite a large open area where the locals go to fly their kites. The impressive thing about these kite flyers is that the string is so long that I could see their kites from blocks away. Today I saw a cool kite in the shape of traditional Chinese Opera Mask.

Photo (CharK)

Lots of people rented bikes to ride along the path. The bike rental shop even has three-seater bikes available (one person bikes at the front and 2 others can sit in the cart in the back). Next time CharK and I are back here, it looks like fun to rent a bike to check out the rest of the path.

Celebrating the Year of the Ram

Individuals and businesses alike celebrate Chinese New Year with various rituals. Even in Toronto, I use to see lion dancers performing around the city at events and local malls for the 採青 "plucking the greens" ceremony.

But this year was the first time I've seen an elaborate offering ceremony complete with roast suckling pig, drummers, and martial artist lion dancers. I was at a lunch gathering with CharK's family on the 2nd day of the Chinese New Year celebration and caught the ceremony as we were leaving the hotel.

A small crowd of restaurant patrons and hotel guests gathered at the entrance of the hotel to witness the colorful ceremony. A troop of martial artists started the ceremony with a rhythmic beating on the drums. Then the hotel management led the offering with incense. Many of the hotel's staff also took part in the ceremony, placing incenses in front of the offerings.

Traditional offerings made for Chinese New Year (Photo; CharK)

The lion dancers were a lot of fun to watch, skillfully performing their routine. What I found to be especially impressive was when they got onto the series of circular platforms on poles and continued their routine. The only downside was part of the ceremony took place inside the hotel in the lobby, which was a bit crowded and difficult to see.

After the outdoor ceremony these skilled lion dancers performed the traditional jumps on top of a series of small circular platforms on poles (Photo: CharK)

The lion costumes from the ceremony were pretty typical in style. At the Lion King Exhibition in Tuen Wan, I came across the most bling'd out lion costume I've ever seen. The sign says there are 100,000 pieces crystals sewn onto this lion. The whole thing took 6 months to be put together.

Part of the Lion King Exhibition at the Citywalk Mall in Tuen Wan (Photo: CharK)

Wish everyone a healthy, happy, and prosperous Chinese New Year!