Hap Mun Beach to Hutong

On Monday we took Granny, Grandad and Hannah to see Sai Kung and the beach at Hap Mun Bay.

We had to take a Kaido to the beach, and since it was low-season this was a private hire.

Hannah and I went to work improving the beach.    If I say so myself, our castle was perfectly positioned for the incoming tide.

The moat filled-up with water in a most satisfying way, while the walls and keep stayed intact.

Apart from us the beach was almost deserted, although the weather was very pleasant.

I was glad Granny and Grandad could experience this side of Hong Kong life.  Beautiful deserted beaches just 1 hour from our apartment.

For a complete change of pace we went for dinner in TST at Hutong on the 28th floor of 'One Peking tower'.   I'd chosen this  one-Michelin-star restaurant as the 'splurge' event for Granny and Grandad's visit - our one experience of an expensive top-end establishment.

"Hutong serves an award-winning menu of occasionally fiery Northern Chinese cuisine against stunning views of the ultra-modern Hong Kong skyline."

Certainly the interior design and view didn't disappoint.   And the designers had sensibly kept the interior very dark to make the most of the terrific views.

We were given a secluded corner-table with a 270 degree views over TST and the harbour.  The photo above is looking west towards I-Square (and the windows of Myung Ga Korean BBQ where we'd had dinner on Friday).

Since it was a 'splurge' I  chose the special tasting set-menu and a bottle of champagne.  We had a very pleasant meal trying the different dishes and enjoying the views.

Our verdict on the tasting menu?  It was very nice and an interesting variety of styles.  But there was only one truly  outstanding dish - the cod with sancho pepper.   A couple of dishes - such as the peking duck - were fine but not as nice as we sometimes get in less famous restaurants.   So for HKD 1,000 per person, I'm afraid I was slightly disappointed.

If I was rich I think Id like to dine at Hutong often.   But I am not, and the bill gave me more vertigo than the views.   So I think that for our next 'splurge' meal we will probably try somewhere else.  

Heritage Trail and Museum

On Sunday we planned to visit Fanling and a heritage trail.    "The Lung Yeuk Tau (‘Mountain of the Leaping Dragon’) Heritage Trail takes visitors on a scenic journey into the history of the Tang clan, one of the five largest clans in the New Territories".  (link and link)

"In 13th century China, when the Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279) was succumbing to overwhelming Mongol forces, a pursued princess took refuge with the Tang clan, who hailed from China’s Jiangxi province. She ended up marrying one of the Tang men, and their descendants moved to Lung Yeuk Tau sometime towards the end of the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368). These descendants built 11 villages in the area, five of which are walled, which serve as a reminder of the dangers marauding bandits and pirates presented in the area in bygone times. "

Shek Lo

 We took a taxi to the start of the trail, near the abandoned Shek Lo mansion which was built in 1925 in a  blend of Chinese and Western architectural styles. "

Ma Wat Wai

Ma Wat Wai gatehouse was guarded by a rather old dog.   "The village of Ma Wat Wai is a clear indication of just how unfriendly some of this area was a few centuries ago. The gun platform over the gate dates back to 1740. It’s made of thick-plated wrought iron in two leaves, which allow air to circulate while still providing sufficient support. Access to the village is through a single narrow gate on the northwest side.  (source:  link)

Lo Wai walls

"A highlight of the trail, Lo Wai features thick walls accessible only through the single narrow gateway on the east side. The walls and gatehouse have been restored and are now preserved as Declared Monuments".

Lo Wai Gatehouse

 "The gatehouse contains a shrine to the Earth God and has a gun platform above, but the village’s small canon is no longer there."

"Originally built in 1525 and rebuilt around 1700, the Tang Chung Ling Ancestral Hall is the oldest and largest ancestral hall in Hong Kong. Dedicated to the founding members of the Lung Yeuk Tau Tang clan, it houses the only imperial tablet in Hong Kong, which honours the clan’s ancestors, the Song Chinese princess and her Tang husband.

Tang Cheung Ying Ancestral Hall

The whole building is exquisitely decorated with fine wood carvings, polychrome plaster mouldings, ceramic sculptures and murals containing auspicious Chinese motifs."

Tin Hau Temple

"The local temple dedicated to Tin Hau is an excellent piece of workmanship, entirely traditional in form and decoration, and was last restored in 1981. A statue of Tin Hau, protector of fishermen and one of Hong Kong’s most popular deities, lives in the main hall, while the image of Kam Fa, Goddess of Childbirth, rests in the side hall".

Tin Hau Temple - detail  (note the bamboo flute)

One thing I found very interesting was that the villagers had erected stone tablets with inscriptions to ward off evil spirits.    "A number of stones engraved with the characters 'tai shan she kam dong' - 'the stone from tai shan dares to defend' have been erected at environmentally unfavourable places".   I'm considering trying to install one of these to protect my desk at work.

We had intended to continue on to see the rest of the trail to San Wai (link) and the delightfully named  'Sin Shut Study Hall' (which, as the name suggests, is not open to the public).   But instead the heavens opened and, since we we not carrying umbrellas, we had to find shelter and then flag-down a taxi to take us back to Fanling MTR.

Since it was raining we went down to Tai Wai and the Hong Kong Heritage Museum to see the block-buster exhibition "Dunhuang – Untold Tales, Untold Riches" (link).

"The Dunhuang Caves are home to Buddhist art relics of unparalleled beauty and intricacy as well as a vast repository of cultural information. Known as the "Encyclopaedia of the Middle Ages" and the "Library on the Wall", the collections in the caves preserve valuable materials from a variety of disciplines, including religion, art, history and ethnology...   This exhibition showcases nearly 120 artefacts that represent all the core aspects of Dunhuang grotto art and fully demonstrate the vast diversity of Dunhuang culture. Highlights include three replica caves, a 13-metre-long statue of the Nirvāṇa Buddha.... "

I'd been looking forward to this exhibition and it didn't disappoint.  It was really magnificent with amazing material very well presented.  Actually quite overwhelming.

Unfortunately Hannah wa very tired and wanted me to carry her on my back, and the exhibition was very well attended that Sunday afternoon.  So it was hard to get a good look through the crowds of people.  We decided to just have a quick look and come back another day (which unfortunately we never did).

One highlight for me was the painting of ancient orchestras, including figures playing vertical flutes like the shakuhachi.

Finally we picked up some wine in Shatin and went for dinner of pigeon at the famous Lung Wah hotel.   I like this restaurant very much and always welcome an excuse to go there.    Unfortunately Rika doesn't, so she made her excuses and took Hannah home for an early night.  

On the way to the restaurant we walked through Shatin New Town Plaza, and had to  push our way through a huge crowd in the mall that was watching some event.  We saw lots of police everywhere and we could hear shouting, but we kept going and didn't stop to watch.  

It turned out we had just missed a large protest against 'parallel trading', mainland shoppers who come to buy goods tax-free in Hong Kong and then re-sell them in Shenzen for a profit (since the mainland has a 17% sales tax)

"Trouble flared after more than 100 young protesters marched from the Sha Tin MTR station through the New Town Plaza, chanting 'mainlanders go back to the mainland' and telling mainlanders to 'drink their own milk powder'."

"One local, who grew up in the district but moved away a year ago, said she resented mainlanders.  'The situation is bad here. Sha Tin has become a parallel trading heaven...   I once saw a mainlander just casually having a meal of siu mei in a shopping mall nursing room. They have no manners and no culture.'"  (scmp link)

"A Hong Kong woman said the increasing number of mainland visitors had disrupted locals' daily lives and she now visits the mall less often. 'They are impolite. The hit people with the luggage they drag around and do not even apologize,' she said."   ( link)

Its a shame missed the action but we probably made the right choice not to watch as the police eventually used pepper spray to control the crowd.

Hong Kong History Museum and Orchestra

For my parents first full day in Hong Kong we took it easy with a few activities centered around TST

We started with a nice dim-sum lunch at 'Cloudlands' which was highly recommended in the Open Rice website.   We had never visited before so I was amazed to discover that we knew the maître d!   He had previously worked at Honorary Family in Royal Ascot where we were regulars,  and many times had kindly helped us out with recommendations.

Next we visited the Hong Kong History Museum and tried to complete the very good permanent exhibition of HK history that we had started last time my parents visited.

Once again we enjoyed the exhibits very much,  and ran out of time and energy well before the end.   Since we now live in the New Territories and have walked dome to the heritage trails, the displays about different new territories clans and village life seemed a lot more interesting and relevant.

I'd have liked to spend more time looking at the Cantonese opera section.

At the section about WW2 and the Japanese occupation, it is always fun to tease Rika a little.

In the evening we went down to the HK Cultural Center, for a concert by the HK Chinese Orchestra

Grandad had really enjoyed the chinese orchestra on his last visit so Id booked another.   The only performance during their visit was a Valentines Day concert with diva Liza Wang.  This programme many featured 'golden oldies' songs and Cantonese Opera duets rather than the traditional orchestral pieces we were more interested in.

Nevertheless it was a good event which we all enjoyed.  

CNY School Lion Dance

Granny and Grandad arrived in Hong Kong from New Zealand on Thursday night.   I had to work until well after midnight to finish some urgent work.   But I got it done and was able to take holiday on Friday morning as planned, and accompany them to the Chinese New Year event at Hannah's school.

It was great to see Granny and Grandad again and in such good health.   And it was a lovely warm sunny morning to go to school and watch lion dancers with the rest of the school.   The lion dance troupe was very good and I think were using the event as practice-run before CNH officially started.

Video:  School lion dance

The lions worked the crowd and met the kids -   which they all obviously loved.   It was a very nice event.

Finally there was a school buffet lunch where the parents and teachers and children could all mingle.   By then my lack of sleep was really kick-ing in and I really couldn't force myself to mingle.

(Almost) Chinese New Year

In January we began the long run-up to Chinese New Year as the Chrismas decorations were replaced with CNY decorations, celebrating the arrival of the Yar of the Sheep (or Ram or Goat).

Elephants Mall in ICC had an interesting display of cheery blossom trees and sheep

Including this massive sheep doing its knitting under a rainbow made of balls of wool.  

And temporary stors sprung up selling CNY decorations and lai-see envelopes

Part of CNY is the lantern festival (link) and Times Square had an lovely display of flying lanterns.  

Granny and Grandad were due to visit during CNY so I wanted to get tickets for the seated area of the CNY parade in TST.    Tickets went on sale at 8am on Saturday 7th Feb, at the HK Tourism Board at Star Ferry in TST.   They sold out within a couple of hours.

Tickets had to be purchased in person and were limited to 4 per customer.

Rika and I joined the queue at 7am and waited for about 90 min to get to the counter where we were given a chit and told to come back between 10:30-10:45 to choose and pay for our tickets.   So I was going to miss my tai chi class.

While we were waiting for our time-slot, we went for a walk up to Signal Hill,Garden which I'd never been to before.   Signal Hill is a small but steep hill behind the East TST station.  It has an old Time-Ball tower and small garden overlooking the harbor.  

Its well with a visit.  At 9:30 in the morning, the garden had a lively crowd of tai chi enthusiasts 

I love the fact that Hong Kong Parks are filled with people practicing tai chi.   Although to be honest  the Tai Chi I see in most parks is seldom of a particularly high standard.  (Which of course is fine, since it is better that people enjoy doing this healthy activity at a mediocre level than not at all).

So I was quite excited to see that the Tai Chi group at the Signal Hill Garden were pretty expert, with nice forms practice, push hands and an old master in the corner explaining some subtle self defense applications (what seemed to be joint locks)

And a nice view across the harbor to North Point where my club has its HQ.   We headed back down to the Star Ferry to pay for our parade tickets, and I managed to get to Wan Chai in time for my 11:30 tai chi class.