Our first Christmas in Hong Kong brought us some surprises. In the US, this holiday is basically a quiet time where families and friends gather in homes to share and celebrate the season. In Hong Kong it is a large public party.
Our party started in Tsim Sha Tsui where we joined our friend Vesper and her sisters and friend for a Chinese barbecue dinner. The restaurant was tiny and unassuming and the food was great. Everything was grilled to order and the table overflowed.
We all chose to attend The Nutcracker by the Hong Kong Ballet. It was a world premier new production by an Australian choreographer. The dancers were wonderful, but the story line he followed and some of the choices he made were less than well received. I must ay I agree with the reviews. Perhaps Shayne put it best when she said, "That is the weirdest Nutcracker I have ever seen."
There were so many people out and about that the main streets were closed to vehicle traffic. The buildings were all festooned with lights and wreathes and garlands. One of my favorites was The Peninsula Hotel.
We forded the crush of people and made it into our seats just in time. Following the show we exited the theatre to a large group of young people giving out "free hugs" to all. The ferry ride showed off the holiday skyline.
Our walk home was filled with carolers and greeters and lots of people sharing the spirit of the season. Even a few canine friends got into the spirit of the night.
One of my favorite views of the season was the one from my own window with our Christmas tree backlit by the lights of the city.
After all of the visions of sugarplums danced on our heads, we awoke to a beautiful morning and a visit from Santa.
Kyle and Johnny joined us for gift opening.
And what would Christmas be without some of Grandma's cutout cookies?
In the afternoon we went to see Les Miserables at the Palace Theatre in IFC Mall and found another surprise waiting for us. Crowds of people, shops open and lots of general partying.
A festive dinner back at the apartment rounded out our Christmas celebration. It was a very special day.
One of my favorite places to shop is the wet markets. Think farmer's market on steroids. In Central, the largest and closest of these is the Gage Street Market. This area covers several blocks of interconnected streets that are filled with stalls of fresh fruits, vegetables, grains, poultry, meats as well as fish and seafood. There are even a few baked goods shops interspersed throughout. And of course there are the flower stalls.
It is a place where you can loose yourself just looking at the vast variety of items for sale. By now I have found my favorite shops and stalls but I am always on the look out for new ones to try. On Christmas Eve we went to the wet markets to get our items for Christmas dinner. My favorite place for veggies is the Wai Kee Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Ltd.
Tomatoes, lemons and limes are about the only fruit you can find. The remainder of the shop is filled with vegetables of all sorts and sizes from all corners of the globe.
As an added bonus you get some parsley or cilantro and some spring onions for free each time you buy. I can easily reach my carrying weight limit in this one shop. But there is more - much more.
Eggs are everywhere. You can get white and brown chicken eggs, duck eggs, quail eggs, preserved eggs and types of eggs I still do not know.
There are vegetables and fruits that I am still unfamiliar with alongside some of our regular favorites.
Don't you love the long beans? They are amazing in size.
The meat and fish stalls are not on my usual route. If I want prawn it is fine or other shellfish, but I am not as well versed in fish to know what I am doing. I have also found out that cuts of meat I ask for and the ones I get are often two entirely different things. So for meat I stick to the western supermarkets unless it is chicken breast or something that cannot be confused. The time I ordered pork tenderloin and the butcher gave me pork knuckle had dinner tasting like shoe leather. The pork knuckle just needs to be cooked differently than tenderloin - lesson learned.
Fruit is one of my favorite things and dragon fruit and lignin were on the list for this day. Pomelo is another of my favorites. Lychee which are out of season along with mango, guava, rhombutan and mangosteen make up my usual list of local fare. Sometimes you can find them, but they are not as good this time of year.
The flower stalls always look beautiful and smell wonderful. Orchids are always in season.
There are stalls where you can buy nuts of all varieties.
And for those of you from Grand Rapids, we even have the Chinese version of Frank's hot shots.
You can get grains and rice by the kilo.
Dried goods such as mushrooms and fish products are plentiful.
Choi sum has become one of our favorite greens and, if you like it, hand made fresh tofu is abundant in the markets.
With our shopping totes overflowing, we left the markets behind and headed back up the mountain to unpack our treasurers and prepare for the feast to come.
After a nice dinner and a good night's sleep, we were ready to head off to Stanley Markets for a pleasant Sunday afternoon of shopping and eating. But before we left our building, there was a guest waiting to greet us in the lobby.
Out on the street it was looking to be a beautiful day.
Palatial Crest is the building where we live on the 35th floor. It is always decorated for each season and had a very friendly staff.
On our way to the bus terminus we passed through the snowy landscape of the Landmark Building.
Our arrival in Stanley was a much sunnier one.
The air was warm and the skies clear and blue. We lunched at our favorite Stanley eatery The Boathouse. Dining al fresco without our jackets on the 23rd of December was a treat for us all, but especially Shayne who left cold dreary weather behind in New York City.
We had a leisurely meal and spent time getting caught up on all the news. We only wish Kyle and John could have been there with us to make it perfect.
It was warm enough that we enjoyed our favorite cooler, a Peach Freeze. It is a combination of white port, mango soda and peaches and it is yummy!
After a leisurely lunch and some shopping we were ready to head back into Central. Although it was difficult to tear ourselves away from The Boathouse.
As evening began to fall, Shayne and I ran a few errands and came across a lovely Christmas train and some carolers singing by the escalator.
It was a wonderful first day and we were very excited to see what the holiday would bring.
It has been way too long since I posted on the blog. We have had a very busy and very fun few weeks and I am still going through all of my photos. I decided to start posting the events that are complete.
When last I posted we were touring all the malls and shopping areas enjoying the beautiful Christmas decorations. That continued to entertain us until Shayne's arrival on December 22nd.
The sunrise in the morning was beautiful through the clouds.
When we arrived at the airport to await our guest, there was a huge tree and a large group of carolers there to welcome all of the holiday arrivals. It certainly kept the children entertained and the giant gingerbread man with his lovely assistants kept the men entertained.
At last Shayne came into the arrival hall, tired but happy to be in Hong Kong. We celebrated her arrival and began our three week adventure that very day.
For the first time in many years we had over three weeks together. This was going to be a real treat.
