Hiking from Mui Wo to Discovery Bay

The sun was finally out today after a week long of gloomy weather so CharK and I took this opportunity to test out another hiking trail. This time we took a ferry from Central Pier over to Mui Wo to start out hike. We happened to catch the fast ferry and was able to get to the island in a little over 30 minutes.

A rare view of the front of a hydrofoil (Photo: CharK)

It's been awhile since I've been to a beach in HK and I've really missed watching the tides flowing in and out. It was so relaxing to walk along the Silvermine Bay Beach just enjoying the cool breeze and sunny weather. No wonder this island resort was so busy. It's literally beach front property.

This beach side resort has a beautiful view of Mui Wo (Photo CharK)

The sand on the beach was really fine but full of crab holes and empty shells (Photo: CharK)

 After the beach, CharK and I made our way up the mountain towards Discovery Bay. The hike up was all along narrow concrete steps. I was really amazed by the age range of the hikers--we came across grandparents with their toddler grandchildren as well as middle aged folks and teenagers. I'm glad I was only walking up the mountain rather than coming down, because it was a pretty steep hike on those narrow steps.

We walked well over hundreds of steps up this mountain between Mui Wo and Discovery Bay (Photo: CharK).

But the final view from the top of the mountain was well worth the hike. It was great to be able to see how far we walked from Silvermine Bay Beach.

The spectacular view of Silver Mine Bay in Mui Wo from the top of the mountain (Photo: CharK)

The other side of the mountain overlooks Nim Shue Wan and Peng Chau. The hike goes downhill from this point and it was a much easier path because it`s just paved paths rather than steps.

The small island on the right is Peng Chau (Photo: Chark)

 The trail towards Discovery Bay took me through an old village that's still inhabited by local residents. These are traditional type of single floor houses made of brick and metal sheets. Many of these residents grow a variety of vegetables like cabbage and other herbs. I've never seen papaya or pomegranate up close like this before.

The pomegranate and papaya tree were being grown in people's front yards (Photo:CharK)

The sun set by the time reached Discovery Bay so CharK and I decided to have dinner at Berlinger, a German Bar and Restaurant. Their schnitzel and Nuremberg sausages were delicious. I love the sauerkraut and mashed potato combo that came with the sausages. It was a great night to be sitting out on the patio. 

My new favorite beer is this blackcurrent flavored Weiss Beer (Photo: CharK)

Discovery Bay Beach was pretty empty except for a heart outlined by LED candles/(Photo: CharK)

Today's hike was great, because I finally remember to put on some mosquito spray. I really dislike the smell of this stuff, but it works so well. I didn't get a single mosquito bite! This Deet-free repellent claims it contains all natural active ingredients like wild tomato extract, eucalptus citriodora, and eucalyptus globulus. In past hikes to Victoria Peak Garden I came back with 10+ bites, and now with Dengue Fever being a concern in HK these days I'm happy this works so well.

An natural mosquito repellent that smells like Sandalwood soap (Photo: CathC)

Urban dining with a conscience

Sustainable dining is starting to pick up in HK with more restaurants selling the concept of local and organically grown food. Located at HK's Zero Carbon Building in Kowloon Bay, Kelly & Moss is good example of an "eco-cafe". 

I think one of the more effective designs is in how they use the outdoor space. I felt cool sitting under the patio umbrella and the fans were able to provide a decent breeze. The fall weather is great for sitting outside to enjoy the sunshine and cool breeze. Rather than styrofoam and plastic plates and cutlery,they opted for paper and bamboo ones. The typical polyethylene (PE)  take-away cups are even made from biodegradable polylactic acid (PLA) instead. 

Lunch is served on a bamboo tray--Americano with a chicken and mushroom pie (Photo: CharK)

This is the tiniest picnic table I've ever seen--great for kids (Photo: CharK)

Their organic iced mocha was simple and refreshing, just coco powder and espresso. The only issue I had was the paper straw started to get a bit flimsy after awhile. The peach crepe cake was good too and the sweetness from the cake was nicely balanced by the sugarless mocha. Cheers to sustainable dining!

Cakes make the best lunches (Photo: CathC)

An epic trek to Kai Tak Cruise Terminal

The trek out to Kai Tak Cruise Terminal for this year's HK Wine and Dine festival was an epic adventure. I didn't realize that there'd be a such a large mismatch between the crowds and the number of minibuses available and ended up in a 2.5 hour line up for a minibus at the Kowloon Bay bus terminal. Then the ride over to Kai Tak itself took about 30 minutes (normally the ride is about 10 minutes). The security guard controlling the crowds at Kowloon Bay bus terminal said the crowds were like that since his shift started in the morning and largely due to traffic coming in from all areas on HK converging into the single lane leading into the terminal. He was right because stuck in the traffic jam were a number of taxis and buses (KMB & free shuttles) from the nearby MTR stations (i.e. Kowloon Tong, Ngan Tau Kwok and Lam Tian).

CharK and I left around 11;30 pm as the event was winding down. But most people opted for the KMB/minibus/shuttles so we decided to walk back to Kowloon Tong MTR station instead. The 35 minute walk was actually quite nice and the breeze off Kowloon Bay made the walk considerably more comfortable than waiting in line. It was pretty neat to see a couple hundred people all walking together along the former Kai Tak runway towards the MTR stations. The night view of the skyline made for some great photos too.

Waiting with the crowds at Telford Plaza (Photo: CharK)

A view from the former Kai Tak run way (Photo: CharK)

Overall I enjoyed the event and found there were more tasty food options compared to last year.  My top three favorites of the night were:

#3 Bejing Street Crepes' Original Jianbiang
A veggie crepe filled with eggs, cucumbers, green onion in a peking duck sauce

The chicken cartilage skewers were good but I couldn't bring myself to try the dried dophin meat that was also being grilled (Photo: CharK)

#2 The HK College of Technology Culinary Innovation Centre's smoked salmon and beef cheek cornet.

#1 Mei Tuk BBQ King's honey pepper beef cubes. The beef was juicy and the smoky smell drew me in while I was in line for food from a nearby stall!

They estimated less then 150,000 people would attend the 4-day event, But should exceed that number just based on the crowds from last night (Photo: CharK) 

Of course the wine was also the highlight of the event. Even though I'm not a big wine drinker I enjoyed trying wines that we don't find very often. My two favorites were the Georgian Valleys Alazani Valley Red Sweet and Calon Segur's Brazillian Rose. The Rose was particularly refreshing for a hot evening.

Aside from the food and drink I was drawned to the location of the event, being at the former Kai Tak airport. I was excited to be on an actual run way. But with all the food/drink booths and music stage set up, you can't really tell where you were standing. except for some remnant ground markings.

Lots of great jazz and Spanish music on the concert stage in front of the Kai Tak cruise terminal (Photo: CharK)

I think I'll come back for a visit during the day next time, and check out what this cruise terminal is all about. Apparently a rooftop bar will be opening up there soon!