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!