Hong Kong: Rain and Bo Luo Buns

Looking out the window of my room in Hotel Purple this last day morning, I realized I actually would miss Hong Kong. 

Which, when one thinks about it, can be a little surprising, especially since I didn't get to do much of the touristy stuff this time. 

Perhaps it isn't the tourist-type stuff that one appreciates Hong Kong for, but the culture, the people, the way they live in their homes and come down to the city center as they go about their daily lives. 

There is life here on the streets, I tell you. 

Whether it be the locals, whether it be the visitors, whether it be the young, or the working adult, or the senior, it is present. 

I can't count on one hand just how many senior citizens I saw enroute to Fairwood every morning for breakfast. There were just so many. Some walked unaided, some held walking sticks and and walkers, others were on their wheelchairs with family members or helpers pushing them behind. 

Some came specially for fresh produce and groceries at the Causeway Bay (wet) Market. Others came for other errands and other shopping. 

It was very charming seeing the elderly armed with all them small little plastic bags or big tote where they put everything they'd bought inside or pull along one of those cloth shopping trolleys.  

The spirit of independence was strong, I tell you. 

Perhaps that is what Hong Kong is all about.

The independence, the acknowledgement of personal space- even in a city supposedly cramped and tight and brimming with activity and life. 

Last breakfast this morning at Fairwood was of macaroni and ham.

I wanted the macaroni. 

I wanted to have the texture of macaroni rolling about inside my mouth.

You don't come to the territory without having their signature breakfast of macaroni soup with ham. 

Would be a travesty otherwise. 

Back to the room we went, packed, and checked out.  

Along the way I took one last picture of the Wing Hing Road Junction. 

Offhand now I cannot remember just which road it is- it might well be the road leading towards Tin Hau MTR station- but there're the traffic lights- with their distinctive sound- and the people armed with umbrellas on a chilly, rainy February day. 

For lunch we went back to the roasted meat place that we liked- the place that had the soup- for one last plate of roast goose rice- so hard it was to say goodbye to the crispy skin and the perfectly roasted fat- then on the way back to collect our bags, bought six bo luo buns from the nearby bakery before taking an Uber (it was a Tesla!) to HKIA where we got our flight home. 

Hong Kong: AIA and McDonalds

A good number of pictures of Hong Kong that I have this day were taken in the morning. 

It was a busy day. 

Breakfast this morning we headed down to Fairwood, where I decided again to have the Chinese-Asian, so a bowl of century egg congee, and cheong fun it was. 

The congee was pleasantly thick the way Cantonese porridges are done, and although I wish there could have been more of the century egg inside the smooth, silky slight yellowish congee, I was glad that the egg yolk was soft (there have been porridges where the egg yolks were cold and hard), and that it blended perfectly well with the soft, nearly invisible rice grains and the thin chicken shreds. 

The cheong fun too was good. 

Very solid, as some would say, thick on the rice rolls, thick on each slice of the roll, and more than enough chunks of char siew filling inside. 

This morning I sat at the little park just outside Fairwood a wee bit. 

It was nice, sitting on the bench, just me and myself, looking across the road to the buildings, the shops, and above me, trees, with their branches and canopies out. 

What made this feel a little poignant was that I knew I would be heading home tomorrow, and I didn't know if the next time I came I would be coming back to this zone of Wing Hing Road and Electric Road again. 

Breakfast over we headed onwards for a printing errand. 

Google Maps had told us that the nearest printing shops to where we were had themselves located in this building called King's Park Lane. 

Heading past this little park, going on a little along Electric Road, then making a right, we found ourselves back at Fortress Hill MTR station like we'd been a few days before. From here we made a left, and found ourselves onto King's Road.

I'm not sure if that's the actual name of the building, or if it is simply Park Lane, but we found it quite quickly whilst walking along King's Road. 

Park Lane is like one of those buildings that reminds me of how some of the strata malls in Singapore are. They're the kind of buildings that don't have bright, welcoming lights or shiny gleaming walls, but have unit after unit of individual small businesses offering essential services for specific purposes. 

It was quite charming, really. 

Every unit had its own decor, its own way of marketing their services, its own way of arranging their stock, and if there wasn't enough space in their shop, the stock would spill out onto the narrow corridor. 

The printing shop we went to was a whimsical type of hole-in-wall sort of place. Literally tucked into the corner, it was a place so easy to miss had there not been a whole row of A4 papers taped to the edge of the wall showing their services and the accompanying rates. 

What struck me interesting was that there seemed to be only three computers, or even two, in the shop, with just two staff manning the place. 

One person worked on the computer inside the shop. 

Another worked on the computer at the entrance of the shop. 

From the looks of incoming emails and the pings of incoming messages on Whatsapp and other messaging platforms, it seemed like a steady influx of business. 

No surprise; Hong Kong is still a place of pen and paper and flyers here, there, everywhere. 

We got our QR codes printed and headed back to the hotel. 

On the way back I managed to take a couple of pictures. 

Not very much- there were a lot of pedestrians and I don't like taking pictures of people- but the buildings here along King's Road were more than enough. 

This block, in particular, fascinated me. 

I'm not sure if I have seen this block in some tourism-related photography material before. 

I'm not sure if it is this block. 

But it is architecture like these that oft get featured in pictures depicting the cityscape of Hong Kong.  

For some reason they always seem to mention Kowloon. 

They don't mention Hong Kong Island, or any of the many housing estates dotted around the territory. 

We got back to the hotel, got some work done, then went out for lunch. 

Today we decided again to have roast goose, not at the place we'd been to the day before, but at the place where we'd actually intended to go. 

The place had a bit of a restaurant decor, which I thought really nice, and, seeing how crowded it was, must have appealed to many of their patrons too. 

The plate of roast goose rice was delicious, marinated a little differently, I think, from the diner of the previous day, but there was still the perfect balance between crispy roast goose skin, the layer of fragrant roasted fat, and the chonk of goose meat that went better with the rice than eaten plain on its own. 

The only thing that bothered me a little was that they had no soup. 

Not a necessity, but complementary soup would have been nice. 

On our way back to the hotel to grab the suitcase of paper bags, card-sized mists, print cards, tripods, and everything else, we stopped by a bakery to get two buns. 

In case we got hungry. 

So it was to the AIA Carnival at the harbor we went.

And there we stayed, all the way from late afternoon until 10pm.

Were we tired?

Yes.

Were we thankful and glad?

Absolutely yes. 

We ate them buns sitting on a bench in the chilly, windy, bracing pleasant night air near the ferry steps, our hearts feeling a little contemplative at the thought of having to leave the harbor winds of Hong Kong. 

But our role here was done. 

We took the MTR back to the hotel, stopping at Fortress Hill MTR this evening for the McDonalds that I remembered was a late-night place.

As it turned out, the place was a 24-hour, and happily we ordered a pineapple chicken bun (still the Chinese New Year season), Twister fries, chicken nuggets (for the sweet and sour sauce!) and a bowl of crayfish soup, which, to me, felt a little like the whitened version of lobster bisque but tasted so good anyway. 

Hong Kong: Roast Goose & Tsuen Wan

Breakfast this morning was back at Fairwood.

You might be wondering for what reason it was that we kept going back to the same place for breakfast day after day. 

Perhaps it were the very fact that it was a Cha Chaan Teng.

Perhaps it were the fact that it was bright and cheery and crowded and offered typical CCT foods that one had to come Hong Kong to try.  

What makes a CCT interesting isnt' just the menu.

There's also the ambience, the crowd, the dynamics of the place where you feel the urge to have something even if you don't have much of an appetite or are not in the mood to. 

The menu, and the prices make it worth your while. 

I won't say they're cheap- food prices at a CCT in the middle of Electric Road will not be on the low side- but the food's pretty solid and so the prices make it worth your while. 

This morning I chose to go Asian with a bowl of Chicken and Corn porridge that came with fried radish cake of three whole pieces. There was, of course, coffee. 

I liked the meal. 

So a wee bit healthy it did feel but the kernel corn added a little bit of sweetness to the porridge, the shredded chicken had enough of those shreds to make you full, and best part of all- just in case you felt too clean- the radish cake was fried perfect to a crisp on all ends left and right. 

Breakfast over we went back to Hotel Purple and got some work done. 

Along the way I took a couple more pictures of the Wing Hing Road. 

It might seem a little strange, like what's so special about this road that I should take pictures, but here's the thing. 

Wing Hing Road isn't just a road with three (or more) hotels along her stretch for visiting tourists and tour groups. She is also a place with residents who live amongst the apartments here, and for those who come here all the way down, bus stops on either side. 

What charmed me very much about this road was just how international the place really was. It was one of those streets where (without speaking) you couldn't tell the difference between the local, the visitor, and the diaspora. 

Except maybe through their choice of clothing. 

Many of the locals seemed to favor dark colors.

The elderly liked their puffers and their cardigans.

The younger liked their hoodies. 

And there were always those clad in either windbreakers or sport jackets. 

Ladies I saw oft seemed to wear cardigans or jackets. 

But in terms of the architecture i liked seeing how there could be four-storeyed buildings where apartments had their glass window panels stretched wide side by side, or there could be twelve-storeyed buildings with apartments holding three small windows on one side and three small windows on the other. 

And you soon realized that you were in fact seeing lots and lots of windows.

Not just from the buildings on Wing Hing Road, but even those of the building on the street behind whose windows peeped at you through the gap in between. 

I thought it incredibly charming. 

I also wondered about the people who stayed in these apartments above. 

Something I noticed- not immediately- was that their windows seemed to be entirely closed. That surprised me. Sure, there might be dust and sounds and smells from the street below but with the weather so chilly and cool, I wondered why it was none of them opened the windows even a tiny inch.

I would have- dust and all. 

Maybe sounds travel further and farther than we think they do, and here, what with the bus stop right below the block, maybe the occupants didn't want to immerse themselves with sounds of the street. 

It was wonderful, made better when the sun broke through the clouds and did its surreal, evocative shine, throwing sharp silhouetted shadows right across the surface of the walls. 

I was so mesmerized, I tell you. 

Long time it had been since I'd had seen rays of sunshine cast such sharp, contrasting shadows over concrete structures. 

As if some were living in light, some were living in dark, and some were living in the grey right in between.

Back in Hotel Purple we stayed in the room until it was time for lunch. 

This afternoon we went to this place on Electric Road. 

Don't ask me what the name was- I have no idea- but it was popular with the locals who all simply called out their orders to the staff as if they had been doing it every day. 

The meal was delicious.

For HKD$50 we got a plate of roast goose rice, plus a bowl of ABC soup that had winter melon, or some other sort of melon in it. 

But the soup was clear, tasty and surprisingly, refreshing.

I thought it helped clean the palate. 

From here we headed out to Tsuen Wan for a meeting.

Having never been there before, and with a time restraint, we took an Uber there.

Don't ask me how much the fare was.

I don't remember.  

It was a good meeting. 

Hopefully it will be as fruitful as I pray it to be. 

When we finished, we hung around at the CDW Mall downstairs the office building a while. 

There wasn't much I was interested to see, but in the mall there was a compact Big C outlet offering a variety of products, and familiar favorites from Thailand. Besides a bit of fresh produce on the chiller shelves, there were a host of sauces, pastes, sweets, biscuits and snacks brought in from the country.

On the other side of the mall too there was, I think, a Marks & Spencer. 

For some reason I didn't want to go see it.

Instead into Pacific Coffee we went, where, after studying the drinks menu a little, decided on a hot matcha latte. 

You might find it surprising just why we'd have a drink but I guess it has been almost twenty years since we've had had drinks at the Pacific Coffee here in Hong Kong, and I still remember the outlet at Nathan Road where during the summer of 2006 we hung out there on the nice, comfortable chairs till late at night. 

Curious me thought of exploring the area around CDW Mall a little bit so out the main door I went. 

Right opposite the mall was a residential housing estate- the sight of which housing flats had me extremely curious- so up the overhead bridge I went to take a closer, more aerial view. 

Whilst standing at the side of the bridge I noticed that there was no obvious secure entrance to the housing estate, and because I'm the brash kind who sometimes pushes boundaries within the limits of permission, I informed, I asked, and was given the go. 

Of course, like how it had been in Mung Thong over in Thailand, it was to be a quick one, don't push it, in and out, and remember, only on the ground floor. 

(Yes, of course, no question about that) 

There is not much I'd like to write with regards about Fuk Loi Estate.

It would do no right if I were to write anything particular with one view or another, so I shall just leave the pictures here. 

That doesn't mean I had no thoughts about the apartment blocks whether high or low. 

For one thing- and this I can say- I was so struck by the similarities between this housing estate here in Tsuen Wan of Hong Kong's New Territories and another housing estate back here on the island right close to the old railway line. 

The layout was almost similar.

The structures were almost similar.

And had it not been for the difference in aesthetic maintenance and municipal facilities (they seemed to have more red brick) and the surroundings and the estate's overall layout over the lay of the land, it might have looked- literally- almost the same. 

Honestly, looking at these buildings as unobtrusively as possible, I was quietly wowed.

To think that I could have flown three hours from a hot, sunny island to a city of 12 degrees celsius with mountains and waters all, and yet, here were apartments so similar with structures so familiar, down even to the same number of window panels- as if the distance of the South China Sea hadn't separated both spaces at all. 

Yet at the same time, I wasn't. 

I come from Singapore.

This is Hong Kong. 

Should I then be surprised?

Nah, not at all. 

An administration is an administration, especially if they be present more or less around the same time. 

I decided not to hang around the area too long.

Any more and I would really be an intruder interrupting people's lives in this living, breathing, energetic housing estate. 

Even as I stood admiring the apartments and the shrubs and little gardens, people were coming home from work, children were coming home from school. There were cars turning in and out of the car park and here and there, there were lights being turned on in the homes. 

I went back to CDW Mall, and we took the MTR back to Causeway Bay. 

This evening we stopped at Fortress Hill MTR station because we hadn't yet had dinner and instead of hunting around the shops along Electric Road near the Tin Hau MTR station, I remembered seeing a Sushi Express across the road from Fortress Hill and thought it a good idea to have our evening meal there. 

But the night didn't end there.

Not for me anyways.

After we'd gotten back I felt in the mood for a walk, so out back I went, heading down Wing Hing Road towards Electric Road, but instead of turning right and going along the road this time, further down I went, passing by the Causeway Bay Fire Station, and a little boulevard by the side of the water. 

Hong Kong: AIA, Causeway Bay, Fortress Hill

Breakfast this morning we ate at Fairwood. 

Along the way I took a couple of pictures. 

Except that I'm not very sure what buildings they are or where exactly along the same stretch they are. 

I think they might be the buildings in the zone where Fairwood is located, or they might be along the route in the alleyway leading to the Cha Chaan Teng, but very likely I might have snapped them whilst looking up from the back lane and alley where I had been making a shortcut through.

If there is one thing about Hong Kong, it is her architecture. 

She is the kind of place where you never know what it is you're going to see, you never know what it is you're going to get. 

Along a single short stretch there might be a structure with concrete walls and small little windows that either slide open or open out, but then right next to it there might be a glossy glass structure recently completed. 

Perhaps it is this juxtaposition that refreshes the sights and feels of this tight knit cosmopolitan city. 

And perhaps this is what keeps people staying here, coming back.

It grows on you- the sights, the sounds, the view. 

This morning I decided to go Asian with a meal of instant noodles Gong Zai Min with egg and luncheon meat. I found myself liking the soup. In the meal set there was, of course, milk coffee. 

On the way back we happened to pass by a bakery where the smells of freshly baked buns wafted out through the open entrance. So we stopped to take a look at the display, and because my colleague got intrigued by the size of the Char Siew Sou, we bought a pineapple Bo Luo Bun, and one of those Char Siew Sous back. 

Later in the morning we took the MTR to Central, this time taking it from Tin Hau Station rather than Fortress Hill Station where we had been yesterday. 

The walking route to Tin Hau Station was interesting.

Coming out from Hotel Purple we made a right, passing by the Wing Hing Refuse Collection Center. Across the road we then went, walking along Electric Road, passing by eateries (a roast goose place), shops offering household goods, a pharmacy or two, and then finally one of the entrances to the station. 

The area was crowded with participants from the Standard Chartered Marathon all clad in colorful running gear, special goodie bags and number tags still on their shirts and vests. 

I think the end point of the race might have been Tin Hau- I'm not sure. 

When we got to Central MTR I suggested we take an alternate route to the AIA Carnival instead of using the bridge, which, as I soon discovered, we shouldn't have. 

I had thought we might have a more scenic (and relaxed) walk along Lung Wo Road. 

What I didn't realize that because of the marathon this morning, parts of the road had been cordoned off, and so, instead of being able to hop across the road over the traffic light towards the back of the carnival grounds, we found ourselves having to walk the entire route of Lung Wo Road. 

Fortunately the weather was clear and fine and good and it was nice seeing the FDW all spread out on picnic mats in their jackets and coats enjoying the sun and early Spring winds. 

When we finished, we decided to take a nice long walk back to Causeway Bay via the boardwalk. 

What's funny about this route is that it didn't seem so long when we saw it on Google Maps but turned out to be longer than we thought. 

Maybe because the route is curved. 

Or maybe because there were so many sights to be seen along the way. 

There was the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center sitting comfortably almost right upon the water, behind which was the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong. Before that, there was this little place called Tamar Park which I think had a sort of little garden for one's pets. 

We passed by the Wan Chai Harbour Promenade, then maybe this little area called Kellet Island, which to me, looked like it was a lot of roundabout highways. 

Into Percival Street we went, and then it was Hysan Place right near the Causeway Bay Times Square. 

From here we made our way to Leighton Road to a brunch place that my friend said seemed interesting. 

Again one got reminded of just how unique the streets in Hong Kong are, and how confusing Google's direction can sometimes be. 

We might have walked along Percival Street and turned left into Leighton Road, but somehow we turned onto Lee Garden Road, then Pak Sha Road, then Yun Ping Road, and finally a right onto Leighton Road. 

I'm glad that the food here at Brunch was good. 

Right now I cannot remember the full menu but there was, I think, pasta, and definitely a whole lot of breakfast plates to choose from. 

Ambience really does make a whole lot of difference. 

I don't think I'd be in that much of a mood for Chicken & Waffles had we not been seated by the window up on the second floor overlooking the road, and some sort of a park beyond. 

As it was, the environment was cozy, warm and quiet with lovely Italian-European style of furniture, decor on the walls, and, surprise of surprise, a small wooden vintage-style bookshelf with books of both fiction and non-fiction at one side of the wall.  

We also took a plate of Steak & Eggs, which steak came medium rare- the way my friend preferred. 

We hung around here at Brunch for a while until the early evening, then decided we'd make our way back on the MTR. 

Enroute however we passed by a Uniqlo and went in.

My colleague needed a jacket. 

No, he wanted one. 

Style doesn't guarantee quality, and the jacket brought over- whilst stylish- seemed to be inept for Hong Kong's early Spring wintry kind of weather. 

From Causeway Bay we took the MTR back to Tin Hau MTR. 

Along the way we made a quick pit stop to buy a snack of siew mai and handmade meatballs from one of the nook-in-the-wall dim sum shops. 

They weren't kidding when they said Hong Kong people are fast, efficient workers. 

Fast worker she was, the lady hovering over the steaming baskets of dim sum at the counter. Swiftly she picked out what it was you wanted, dropping it quick and neat into a styrofoam box, swiftly she took cash payment from your outstretched hand, and swiftly too she handed you your food, plus your change, back. 

Later in the evening we headed out to Fortress Hill on the upper side of Wing Hing Road for no purpose other than happy exploration, and a walk to experience the chill, cold air.

This side of Wing Hing Rod was quieter, with a more settled feeling. 

It was the kind of feeling you got like in a residential neighborhood when everyone had headed home. 

Most of the streetside shops had closed by then, even those on King's Road, but somewhere near the Fortress Hill MTR station entrance, above which was the North Point Alliance Church, by the way, we saw a Wellcome supermarket and went in. 

I love visiting supermarkets when I travel, and it was fun seeing all the different produce and products they had. 

A well stocked place it was, complete with all the grocery essentials one needed. There was variety too, in particular, the biscuits and snacks and nuts and drinks. They didn't seem that strong with the fresh produce- perhaps the locals got it elsewhere. 

There wasn't much we bought, however, but we did get two unique and unusual desserts of pre-prepared fish maw in sweet red bean soup. 

Heading back, we also saw a McDonalds- right by the station, and yes, it was 24 hours.