Hong Kong pt II

My exploits in Hong Kong are continuing. It seems to me like my memories of here really revolve around food. That being said, let's talk sushi.

Oh man, I haven't had sushi in a LOOOOOOONG time. High school at least. If memory serves, the last time I had it was when Mike and Rae still lived in Illinois and we went up north for Rachael's birthday. Well, being so close to the sea in a trendy eastern city you can't help but be overwhelmed by the international influences. The Japanese here have provided us with super grocery stores on multiple levels and the sushi bar.

I love it! This conveyor goes all around the restaurant and they keep adding new stuff to it. The prices of the dishes can be told by the colour of the plates. Yellow was the cheapest and you went through red, blue, purple, green and, finally, got to the most expensive... tree. I never knew 'tree' was a colour. Then again, I never knew crimson to be anything but. I've been proven wrong on both counts now.

A personal fave, the calamari.

This was delicious with a little bit of wasabi. I had forgotten how much that stuff can kick. Put a little in your soy sauce and it's like a slow explosion that starts on the back of your tongue, moves into your sinuses and nose, and finally hits the brain before it exits out your eyes. I need to keep a jar of this stuff in my bathroom to wake me up in the mornings.

More sushi. Oysters I think. I have trouble identifying my bivalves without their shells.

I ventured out to the museums again this week. This time, I headed to the next door neighbour of the science museum, the history museum. I was not entirely sure as to what kind of history was going to be dealt with here but it's free on Wednesdays so I said, 'What the hell?' Turns out, it was all Hong Kong history (imagine that). Things started off pretty slow and boring because they began the exhibit with how the island itself was formed. There was lots of talks about rocks and fossils and BORING. I skipped past that into the more interesting things. They went into the culture and festivals, arrival of Europeans, the Opium Wars, occupation by Japan, and modern Hong Kong. Overall, it was a well spent afternoon, though it doesn't come close to my favourite museum and I probably wouldn't have gone if it wasn't free. They do have a special exhibit, though, on the French Revolution. I do still want to go in and check that out.

I met up with Camber that night to check out the weekly horse races. The weird thing about it: we were meeting up with some girl who grew up in Jacksonville and went to elementary school with Camber but went to some high school in Springfield I think. What kind of world do we live in when I have to meet people from my hometown in China? That's ridiculous if you ask me. Anywho, we had a good time watching the races, watching the majority of people get upset, and comparing teaching experiences in foreign lands.

Me showing off my skills of being able to determine the sex of a horse.

Yesterday, I ventured away from the MTR (subway) and braved the buses to take me down to the south side of the island. As our French friends here would say, "I am from ze hood, beech." Anywho, it was about an hours ride down and I got to see some more of Hong Kong. Unfortunately, I got wrapped up in reading and got a late start so no pictures. It was dark by they time I got there. Now what, pray tell, could I have been doing down on the south side after dark, hmm? Isn't it obvious?


That's right folks, I went and had dinner at the Jumbo Floating Restaurant. To be honest, I was underwhelmed. I knew it was going to be gaudy and obnoxious but I was kinda hoping the staff would be too. This kind of place just screams to me that it should have a proprietor that comes to your table in the form of a round, little Chinese man in a cowboy hat and bolo tie saying (in his best Texan (or Greene County) accent), "Hi pardner! How ya doin'?!" (I really could've used an interrobang there. Sigh...) The food was good though even if it was a tad pricey. The best thing though was that they had a zoo in the back. Yup, they let you come back and see all the animals you're gonna be eating in a few minutes time. They even had little blurbs about each animal just like a real zoo.

I just adored this little guy. Could've eaten him up then and there. Camber said it reminded her of Barrett.

I think this guy was Filipino. He was very excited to be taking pictures with the two of us.

The dining room. It was quite large and had numerous crystal chandeliers. This is really what you were paying for, not the food.

Did I mention you have to take a ferry to get there? It sits out in the middle of the harbour and a little ferry comes to pick you up. Don't get fooled, though, because they don't drop you back off in the same spot next to the buses. Nope, they drop you off in the middle of a deadzone. For a while, we thought we were going to have to walk home. Oh, and Jumbo Floating Restaurant is a bit of misnomer. I'm pretty sure that thing is solidly anchored. There was no rocking, moving, or anything to suggest that it was a freely floating structure.

One of the 'zoo' exhibits. Thanks to Mike, I had the song Rocklobster stuck in my head all day.

So, Chinese New Year is quickly approaching. That means that soon we'll be seeing dragons and lions out in the street dancing. The local mall had a cool thing set up where they were showing how they are made.

Both start off as a mere frame of wood that is bent and twisted into the shape desired.

Then, they add paper to the outside and begin the painting job.

Here's what the finished lion head looks like.

And the finished dragon.

I've also managed to catch a few movies while I've been here. The first was Ip Man. It covers the story of Bruce Lee's master, Ip Man. It was an enjoyable movie with lots of action and superb kung fu scenes. The other was Red Cliff II. It is the second movie and conclusion of a series by John Woo. It covers the epic battle of the red cliffs found in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms novel. It takes a more historical approach to the story, however, and doesn't clearly state who the bad guys and good guys are, if anyone can be clearly defined as such. So, if you're a fan of ROT3K, Chinese history, or action films in general I'd suggest it. They're supposed to be releasing both parts as one movie in the west albeit, considerably edited. Should be a good watch regardless. I still need to find part I.

Lastly, you may be thinking to yourself, "James, you really do talk about food a lot. Being in Hong Kong, what's the strangest food you've had?" To which I would have to reply, "Well, so far the only 'weird' food I've had has been ox stomach and chicken feet so take your pick." I was talking a Woodstock friend that just arrived in HK and he said that you can get barbecued pig penis. Now, I probably wouldn't order that for myself but if someone offered me some I don't think I'd turn it down. Sometimes, in life, you have to be adventurous.