You know, it would be a bit of a stretch if I said there wasn't a tinge of sadness when I woke up early this morning to begin packing.
It has, after all, been twenty-six (long) years.
And a week's gone by in just like that.
On one hand I'm glad for every experience big and small.
On the other hand I wish I had more.
Perhaps that's what Hong Kong does to you.
Perhaps that's what being in Hong Kong does to you.
And you don't really know why.
Is it the (famous) infrastructure?
Is it the fact that they've somehow managed to retain the spirit of Hong Kong in more ways than one even as they navigate the political and economic shifts in the world?
We don't think of it much- on the day to day at least- but there are spots in the city where one still can get a feel of 80s 90s Hong Kong whilst hunting about and around for a quick breakfast.
it could have been that I was in Tsim Sha Tsui.
It also could have been that all around this area were buildings that had stood proud and solid since (early) days of city development.
One never knows.
But the presence of these buildings spoke to me.
It was so charming to see the Empire Center near the Mody Road Garden.
Better yet, on the opposite side of Mody Road across from our hotel, there was the South Seas Center, the East Ocean Center, the New Mandarin Plaza, the Peninsula Center, and the Regal Kowloon Hotel.
Now they might not be the new type of buildings with 21st-century architecture and all that glass frontage, but certainly they were apt for their time where such structures made for most of urban renewal and development.
We might not appreciate them the same way we do today but there was a time where seeing these buildings, even being in one, represented something, and that, in Hong Kong, I don't think has gone away.
It's a pity that I didn't have the time to enter these buildings- I very much would have- but I got a good look at some of their outdoor areas where first thing I noticed was the overwhelming presence of branch banks.
Then there were a whole lot of eateries as well.
From the Japanese to the Korean, from the Thai to the Chinese, it was all here.
It was too early for them to be open- and anyway I was looking for breakfast-style foods- so it was a bolo bun and a pineapple/lemon bun from a counter in one of the eateries, and we ate them seated on a bench in the Urban Council Centenary Garden.
If I'd thought this would be sufficient for the morning meal, ha, I was wrong.
Couple of hours later we went out for dim sum.
And I found I was able to finish it all.
What the name of the cafe was, I don't know.
Exactly where the cafe was, I also don't remember, but I know it sat within the area bordered by Prat Ave, Cameron Road, and Granville Road- and that it must have been popular, because when we arrived at 10am the place was already crowded, and there was a queue.
There were a lot of dishes on the menu, most of which were our regular favorites, but because we weren't very hungry (that pineapple/lemon bun wasn't small) we chose to limit our meal to only five.
Didn't matter; they were all good.
Amongst some of the dishes we ordered was this plate of handmade meatballs with bean curd which, I have to say, has become one of my favorite memories of Hong Kong dim sum, what with it being soupy and tasty and soft and mushy.
At another place the balls would have been much smaller, and very likely, factory made.
I dont' know if these here were handmade in the kitchen or if they'd come out of a machine, but if they had, at least they didn't look so, and they didn't taste so.
We had two different kinds of paus on the table.
There was the char siew pau, soft and warm and fluffy.
There was the custard pau, which although I think was supposed to be salted egg, was more sweet than savory but I didn't mind one bit at all.
Of course we weren't going to miss out on fried yam rolls, steamed siew mais and xiao long baos, both of which we had a basket each.
I don't have a picture of the siew mais (how come, I wonder) but there's one of xiao long baos, and can I say that besides the fact that they were really cute-looking all poufed up in their tiny plastic trays, each bao was heartwarming and tasty and full of soup as well?
I tried eating them the usual method I normally do- have a small bite then slurp the soup out- but I couldn't.
Not with them cute little poufed up babies.
So I ended up popping the whole bao inside my mouth, ball of meat, soup and all.
I actually liked the skin.
So it wasn't the thin thin kind, but neither was it the thick thick kind- somewhere in between- which made for a very nice chew together with the soft, mushy meat and the hot, warm soup.
You know what made it interesting?
That xiao long baos don't have a standard shape nor a standard size.
We might be used to the kind from Din Tai Fung with their typical pomelo shape and perky tops, but there're also those that resemble the kind we oft see in Mainland Chinese cuisine alongside the Jiao Zis, the Guo Ties and the Shao Baos.
I miss the dumplings of Hong Kong.
I also miss the snacks, the breads and the pastries.
Hong Kong people don't mess with their food.
They also don't mess with their cityscape, their culture, and their presence, however you interpret their presence to be.
We headed to the airport right after brunch.
And although I'd like to say that I ended this visit here with a wonderful brunch of dim sum in TST, well, there was another meal to come.
McDonalds.
At Hong Kong International Airport.
With chicken nuggets, fried chicken, and a coconut coffee.