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Our last and best meal in Hong Kong and the flight home

Posted 2016-01-10 by Gary

It’s Monday morning and we fly back to Brisbane later in the evening. Today we had our last and best meal in Hong Kong before the flight home.

No it wasn’t breakfast. This is the last breakfast I had at the Cosmopolitan Hotel. It was certainly not our best meal in Hong Kong.

A photograph of Scrambled eggs with condensed milk and jam on toast with dim sum — Scrambled eggs with condensed milk and jam on toast with dim sum

After breakfast we set about packing our bags. Our check out time was 12 noon and Miss14 and Ms18 had done most of their packing the night before. As for Ms20 and me, we needed to sort out our suitcases and things. We’d agreed that we would try to check out at about 11.30 so we could have one final meal somewhere close.

I was very impressed with my daughters. They had planned for a long time for this holiday. They came with plenty of room in their suitcases and they bought enough to fill the gaps without any extra bags necessary. Ms18 in particular had packing down to a tee. She was like a travelling expert. Her suitcase was immaculate in the way everything went together. She is so neat.

Me on the other hand, I travel a lot but for this trip I just threw everything into my bag. My focus for this holiday had been keeping my daughters happy and shooting some photographs for Yummy Lummy. I brought along a bag for my camera body, lenses and power supplies.

We were ready by 11.30 and set off for Times Square. My plan was to get a table at Lei Garden which I had heard was a very fine Chinese restaurant. When we arrived we secured a table on the understanding we would be finished by 1.30 pm. That wouldn’t be a problem.

The yum cha menu looked pretty good and we set about discussing and agreeing on what we’d like to eat.

You can see what we asked for in this photograph of our request sheet.

A photograph of our request sheet yum cha menu at Lei Garden — The yum cha menu at Lei Garden

The steamed dim sum came out first and occupied most of the table.

Everything was delicious.

The deep fried dim sum came out next.

A photograph of Deep fried dim sum at Lei Garden — Deep fried dim sum at Lei Garden

I love turnip cake. My grandmother used to make it for me. I could eat it all day.

Then things got a little out of order. We were served egg custard tarts but there was one more fried dish to come.

A photograph of Egg custard tarts — Egg custard tarts

A photograph of Deep fried dumplings with sticky rice and pork — Deep fried dumplings with sticky rice and pork

This was simply the best meal in Hong Kong of our holiday. That’s not to say we didn’t also enjoy the hospitality and ambience of cheap and cheerful local establishments like Toby Inn and Eat Together.

After lunch Miss14 was determined to spend her last Hong Kong dollars on her Octopus card so we explored some little shops.

As we walked back to the hotel to wait for our bus to the airport we stopped at McDonald’s for a soft drink.

The bus ride to the airport was uneventful. I wrote a couple of quick TripAdvisor reviews for the Cosmopolitan Hotel and Buffalo Tours.

When we got to the airport we were allowed into a lounge and had an afternoon snack.

Of course the girls wanted to do more last minute shopping. They found another Victoria’s Secret shop!

We boarded QF98 HKG to BNE without delay or problem and were on our way back to Brisbane after a fantastic holiday.

Yes, we shared an overnight flight with two babies!

The food on the flight home was pretty good.

I had a nice duck salad and caramel mousse for dinner and eggs for breakfast.

When I got to my parent’s place I said goodbye for my daughters. It had been such a great holiday and their absence left a hole in my heart. It had been my best ever holiday. We made the most of everyday and every waking hour. I’d do it all again in a heartbeat.

To satisfy my craving for Atlantic salmon I had salmon for lunch and tea in Brisbane.

The following day I flew back to Canberra. I managed to get an upgrade seat (thank you Qantas) and enjoyed a toasted sandwich for breakfast.

So this isn’t the last post for this Hong Kong holiday. I’ll post a summary with tips on travelling soon.

If you’ve been to Hong Kong what was your best meal in Hong Kong?

Big Buddha Hong Kong

Posted 2016-01-10 by Gary

On our last full day we decided to visit the Big Buddha Hong Kong. I didn’t know much about the Tian Tan Buddha, I just knew it was a must see in Hong Kong.

We woke up to a cloudy day with drizzle. It didn’t look good but we weren’t going to waste the day.

First up breakfast!

A photograph of Breakfast waffle with fruit, jam, condensed milk and a croissant — Breakfast waffle with fruit, jam, condensed milk and a croissant

Getting to the Big Buddha would take a couple of hours so we made an early start. It was good that we did because the fog and mist were getting thicker.

On the way to Causeway Bay MTR station we stopped at a McDonald’s because Miss14 wanted a hash brown.

A photograph of Miss14 with her McDonald's hash brown — Miss14 with her McDonald’s hash brown

We’d become so familiar with the walk to Causeway Bay MTR station and catching the trains it didn’t feel like a long journey at all. From Tung Chung MTR station it was a short walk to the Ngong Ping Cable car terminal. We bought return tickets for the crystal cars so we could see through the bottom of the car.

The cable car ride would be spectacular on a fine day or even a cloudy day, on this Sunday we were enveloped by foggy mist and at times couldn’t see the next car in front of us let alone anything around above or below us. When we got to the Ngong Ping station high up on Lantau Island we couldn’t even see the ground at sea level.

A photograph of the Ngong Ping cable car terminal at Tung Chung station — Ngong Ping cable car terminal at Tung Chung station

A selfie from Ngong Ping cable car — Selfie from Ngong Ping cable car

A photograph At Ngong Ping Station near Tian Tan Buddha — At Ngong Ping Station near Tian Tan Buddha (this required a lot of post process editing in Adobe Lightroom).

There was a whole “Hello Kitty” thing going on up at Ngong Ping with the Ngong Ping 360 company. I don’t understand the Hello Kitty phenomenon. It’s beyond me. That said, I know people who are into it so here is one photograph.

A photograph of a Hello Kitty stand at Ngong Ping Station — Hello Kitty Ngong Ping Station (again lots of post processing editing in Adobe Lightroom).

I felt a touch cold up there

A photograph of me at Ngong Ping cable car station — Me at Ngong Ping cable car station

Ngong Ping and the path to the big buddha

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There are 268 steps to the Tian Tan “Big” Buddha. Fortunately it’s not a continuous climb, while steep there are flat sections every dozen or so steps. The cool misty morning was a good time to do a stair climb.

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At the top the foggy mist was such at seeing the Buddha’s visage was impossible. I had to do a lot of post process editing to get this amount of detail.

A photograph of the Tian Tan Big Buddha in the foggy mist — Tian Tan ‘Big’ Buddha in the foggy mist

At the top there are signs asking visitors to refrain from photography. Inside the buddha is a lot of information material on the construction and history of the statue itself. Nearby is the Po Lin monastery and a temple of gold buddhas which is beautiful.

After visiting the Big Buddha and monastery we spent some time in the Ngong Ping village looking around the shops.

Feeling hungry we decided rather than eating the monks’ vegetarian delights we’d head into Tung Chung and try some more food at the Food Republic.

Miss20 and I had a Japanese inspired rice omelet with pork chop and scallops.

Rice omelet with crumbed pork chop and scallops

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Ms18 had mentioned a few days earlier that she would like to visit the Dragon Garden in Sham Tseng which was a bus ride away from Tung Chung.

When we arrived at the front gate we discovered it was closed. On further inquiry the garden is only open one day a month. Ms18 was quite annoyed.

A photograph of Ms18 at Dragon Garden gate — Ms18 at Dragon Garden gate

So what to do when there are no gardens with dragons to walk around? More shopping of course!

We went to Mong Kok and spent some time in Langham Place.

We also had afternoon tea.

A photograph of a Double chocolate almond croissant — Double chocolate almond croissant

For dinner we went to a cheap and cheerful place called Eat Together. Like Toby Inn on our first day this place had character. The owner sat at one of the tables when we entered and offered us her table. She sat with another customer. After we received our menus she was at our table again expecting us to have decided what we wanted to eat. This place was where locals ate. We had some of the best fried dumplings there we’d had on the whole holiday.

Deep fried vegetable and pork and shrimp dumplings

After our meal at Eat Together we went back to langham Place so Ms20 could have some green tea ice cream.

Our plan had been to return to McDonald’s near Times Square but when we arrived the ice cream machines were broken. We were disappointed.

While the weather had been less than ideal the day turned out to be quite enjoyable. As a last full day in Hong Kong we were pretty happy.

Have you been to the Tian Tan Big Buddha?

Ocean Park Hong Kong

Posted 2016-01-09 by Gary

Ocean Park Hong Kong is a place I’m in two minds about. I loved the rides and I loved learning about the fauna there but that fauna is held captive.

Before we get to Ocean Park Hong Kong we need to show a photograph of my breakfast from the Cosmopolitan Hotel.

A photograph of scrambled eggs and jam on toast — Scrambled eggs and jam on toast

Prior to leaving for Hong Kong, Ms20 had arranged ground transport with Buffalo Tours from our hotel to Ocean Park Hong Kong. After breakfast we waited for our shuttle bus. It was delayed but not too delayed. The guide on the shuttle bus was very good at explaining what we should see and do when we got to Ocean Park. He was also very careful to explain our pick up point and pick up time.

A photograph of The Grand Aquarium Ocean Park Hong Kong — The Grand Aquarium Ocean Park

A photograph of The cable car at Ocean Park Hong Kong — The cable car at Ocean Park Hong Kong

Closer photograph of the Ocean Park cable cars — Ocean Park cable car

A photograph of Inside an Ocean Park cable car — Inside an Ocean Park cable car

A photograph of Ocean Park from a cable car — Ocean Park from a cable car

A photograph of Deep Water Bay Hong Kong after a lot of post processing in Adobe Lightroom. The haze was very severe. — Deep Water Bay Hong Kong after a lot of post processing in Adobe Lightroom. The haze was very severe.

It’s said Deep Water Bay is the wealthiest neighbourhood in the world.

A photograph of The Hair Raiser Roller Coaster at Ocean Park Hong Kong — The Hair Raiser Roller Coaster at Ocean Park Hong Kong

The Hair Raiser was the best ride we experienced in Hong Kong.
I found this YouTube video which shows just how much fun it is.

Best ride in Hong Kong.

A photograph of Miss14, Ms18 and Ms20 with Deep Water Bay in the background — Miss14, Ms18 and Ms20 with Deep Water Bay in the background

A photograph of my daughters in front of multiple Christmas trees. — All the Christmas trees

A photograph of Miss14, Ms18 and Ms20 with a Giant Panda — Miss14, Ms18 and Ms20 with a Giant Panda

A photograph of a Giant Panda doing what giant pandas do best — Giant Panda doing what giant pandas do best

There are four giant pandas held captive in Ocean Park Hong Kong. Two are kept in the open and the other two in a closed in enclosure.

A photograph of Miss14, Ms18 and Ms20 with a giant panda in the background — Miss14, Ms18 and Ms20 with a giant panda in the background

A photograph of A panda eating. I couldn't get a decent shot of its head. — A panda eating. I couldn’t get a decent shot of its head.

A photograph of Giant panda faeces. It looks like a tangle of bamboo shoots. — Giant panda faeces. It looks like a tangle of bamboo shoots.

After the cable car ride and visiting the Giant panda and panda exhibit we went back to the area of the rides. We went on two roller coasters which were great. As good as any roller coaster ride I’ve had in Australia and as good as Space Mountain at Hong Kong Disneyland.

After the rides we went for lunch. We thought we’d try the Terrace cafe. It looked nice but the maître d’ was incompetent beyond imagination. we walked away after 20 minutes of waiting and being ignored while others (who could speak Cantonese) pushed through and got tables.

We ended up in the cheap and cheerful eatery. I had roast duck and pork with rice.

A photograph of Roast pork and duck with rice from Ocean Park Hong Kong — Roast pork and duck with rice

After lunch we went to the arctic and antarctic exhibitions.

In the arctic exhibit there were seals and a couple of walruses. The walruses were huge.

A photograph of Penguins in the Antarctic exhibit — Penguins in the Antarctic exhibit

After the arctic and antarctic exhibits we went to the dolphin show. I shot about a hundred photographs but when I looked through them all I saw were dolphins held in captivity. Ocean Park Hong Kong makes a strong point about conservation, animal welfare, protecting marine ecological systems and zöological research. I still feel uneasy about these animals being trained for entertainment.

A photograph of A dolphin leaping high — A dolphin leaping high

In the south American rain forest area there were some Capybara. These rodents are huge.

A photograph of Miss14 and a Capybara replica — Miss14 and a Capybara replica

A photograph of Ms20 and a Capybara replica — Ms20 and a Capybara replica

Miss14, Ms18 and Ms20 with tree giant pandas

A photograph of us saying Farewell Ocean Park Hong Kong — Farewell Ocean Park Hong Kong

It was an enjoyable day at Ocean Park save for the lunch episode at the Terrace Cafe.

After we left we went to Times Square in Causeway Bay and enjoyed dinner, albeit an expensive dinner at Greenhouse.

I had Singapore noodles with lobster and bacon.

A photograph of a plate of Singapore noodles with lobster and bacon from Greenhouse — Singapore noodles with lobster and bacon

After such an expensive main course we went to McDonalds for dessert

A photograph of a McDonalds Strawberry Sundae — Strawberry Sundae

And so ended Saturday in Hong Kong. It was a good one.

Have you ever been to Ocean Park Hong Kong?

New Year’s Day 2016 in Hong Kong

Posted 2016-01-08 by Gary

After a late evening out watching the new year’s eve festivities we slept in a little on new years day. We didn’t get back to the Cosmopolitan Hotel until about 1.30 am and we weren’t ready for bed and sleep until about 2 am. Of course I was awake at 6 am because I don’t really sleep in but the girls were out until about 8 am.

We took our time about getting breakfast. When I got there I was hungry so I went with the abominable breakfast, i.e., scrambled eggs and baked beans on toast covered in condensed milk and served with a croissant, jam and butter along with dim sum. Have you ever had such a combination? I say fusion cuisine and my daughters said, “That’s disgusting Dad!”

This is my new years day breakfast

This is a photograph of The abominable new years day breakfast with scrambled eggs and baked beans on toast covered in condensed milk and served with a croissant, jam and butter along with dim sum — The abominable breakfast with scrambled eggs and baked beans on toast covered in condensed milk and served with a croissant, jam and butter along with dim sum

After breakfast we went on a bus to a local temple to take a look. The Man Ho Temple is an historic building and monument in Hong Kong.

After looking around the temple we climbed the stairs of Ladder Street to the Hong Kong Museum of Medical Sciences.

Hong Kong Museum of Medical Sciences closed on new years day — Hong Kong Museum of Medical Sciences

Unfortunately the museum was closed on New Year’s Day.

We discussed our options and the girls want to travel to Lantau Island to visit the Citygate Outlets shops. These are discount outlet shops near the airport and apparently travellers will check in to the flight and then catch a bus there for last minute bargains.

The girls found this place to be ideal for their needs.

I found the black sesame and vanilla soft serve ice cream at the local McDonalds to be delicious. A lovely new years day treat.

Black sesame and vanilla soft serve from McDonalds. New years day treat. — Black sesame and vanilla soft serve from McDonalds

After phase one of shopping we went to Food Republic for lunch and had yum cha.

After lunch we found a grocery store called Taste. This place was awesome.

After an afternoon of shopping we went to Causeway Bay MTR and walked to Time Square and found a place for dinner, viz., Chungs Kitchen.

Apparently when it was Chungs Cuisine it was a pretty good place. We had mixed feelings. The food was good but the service was not so good. The food was served one dish at a time rather than all together and it took nearly 45 minutes from the first to the last dish. That said, this was my first goose and the beans were the best I’ve ever eaten. I also love wood fungus. This wasn’t as good as Mum’s but it took me back.

Mixed vegetables with beans and wood fungus. These beans were so crispy.

Pan fried rice vermicelli noodles with scallops. I love wood fungus.

Taiyaki with brown sugar and green tea custard. A great new years day dessert.

Yep we visited Victoria's Secret so many times I became mayor — Yep we visited Victoria’s Secret so many times I became mayor

Miss14 with her Victoria's Secret bags in Victoria's Secret bags — Miss14 with her Victoria’s Secret bags in Victoria’s Secret bags

When we got back to the hotel the girls put all the purchases to date on a bed. It was a huge haul. I remain surprised they fit everything in their bags to bring back to Brisbane.

How did you spend New Year’s Day?

Wet market on Chun Yeung Street and new year’s eve in Hong Kong

Posted 2016-01-07 by Gary

It’s new year’s eve 2015 and what better way to start the day than visit a wet market. I had explained to Miss14, Ms18 and Ms20 before we embarked on this holiday that while I was happy to spend hours in shopping centres, there would be times when I would need to indulge my own interests.

After a breakfast of toast with scrambled eggs and baked beans combined with dim sum and pickles we were off.

We caught the Number 10 bus from outside the Cosmopolitan Hotel and went to Chun Yeung Street where there is a wet market.

Wet markets are my idea of the best part of an overseas holiday. I was very conscious I was with my daughters who do not necessarily share my interest in seeing raw flesh, raw vegetables and live animals being dispatched and butchered fresh for the consumer. One of the things I think we really miss out on with our ‘modern’ approach to food technology and processing is freshness. Sure our modern approach is safe and I’m the first to stand up for food safety and food security, however, there is something to be said for watching a fish monger pull a live fish out of a tank, club it on the head and immediately remove it’s head, bleed it and then fillet it. If I was alone I would have tried to video record the process. I was conscious my daughters wanted to keep on the move.

I’m also fascinated by seeing how produce is presented. I love seeing a pig’s chest pluck hanging up as well as a whole pluck in some cases. Being able to identify organs and see how clean and smell how fresh they are is amazing.

When it comes to vegetables, being able to see how fresh the vegetables are is really good. That’s not to say there wasn’t a good supply of preserved and dried foods. My father would have loved some dried sea scallops. I didn’t want to appear on an episode of Border Security so I refrained, after all I’m also a human quarantine officer.

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Intestines, livers and hearts under a sink wet market — Intestines, livers and hearts under a sink

I should also mention I had ample opportunity on this holiday to eat shark fin soup. I refrained. My grandmother used to cook me shark fin soup when I was a little boy. I loved it. I will no longer eat it because of the cruelty to sharks being finned alive and then dumped to die in the ocean depths.

More meat and offal for grinding wet market — More meat and offal for grinding

Miss14 and Ms18 outside a fresh meat joint

I’m so proud that none of my daughters gagged or objected to what they saw, smelt or heard. The wet market is really a place a food lover should visit. I would have loved to have visited more wet markets but time wasn’t available. Have you ever visited a wet market?

After the wet market we caught a bus back to Causeway Bay MTR station and looked to have lunch at Times Square in Causeway Bay.

Millenium Falcon at Times Square. I still think the NX-01 is a better looking ship but then Star Trek is better than Star Wars.

We ended up in Cooked Deli and I went for a laksa.

It was a nice laksa but the prawn was well and truly over cooked. The egg wasn’t too bad and the chicken was tender. The soup was delicious.

After lunch we made our way back to Mong Kok to check out Ladies Market and Langham Place again. Miss14 and Ms18 were keen on some bargains there.

Miss20 bought us some egg custard tarts.

These tarts were pretty nice. Not too eggy and they were still warm.

During the afternoon the girls spotted a Sasa. I had no interested and waited outside. I spied these men in comfortable “Dad seats”.

Men in "Dad seats" outside Sasa in Mong Kok — Men in “Dad seats” outside Sasa in Mong Kok

After shopping we had dinner at Chee Kei in Mong Kok. We were keen on something light so I had some deep fried wonton, a crumbed pork chop and some rice.

After dinner we made our way to the Star Ferry Pier to prepare for the NYE festivities. We got there at about 7 pm and staked out an area.

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New Year’s Eve in Hong Kong at 7.30 pm from Gary Lum on Vimeo.

New year's eve Hong Kong — New year’s eve Hong Kong

Red sailed boat in the harbour on new year's eve Hong Kong — Red sailed boat in the harbour on new year’s eve Hong Kong

As we’ve experienced the people have no sense of personal space nor spatial or situational awareness. People crowded in on us and really had no idea how offensive it was to have such close contact and to ‘trespass’ onto staked out territory. When I say ‘staked out territory’ I mean about 30 cm around each of us. It got to the point closer to the countdown to midnight and I had almost full body contact with strangers.

Close to midnight I started experiencing colicky abdominal pain. As someone with irritable bowel syndrome a sense of urgency developed and I started to look for a rest room. The closest one was quite a walk away. When I got there the only toilet was a squat. My last bowel motion for 2015 will long be remembered for the duration of the event, the discomfort and the quadriceps burn I felt. I’m just grateful the flushing mechanism worked and that I had brought ample hand sanitiser.

This is where we celebrated New Year's Eve in Hong Kong — This is where we celebrated New Year’s Eve in Hong Kong

Here is a gallery of the fireworks. These photographs are not processed. I’ve run out of time.

The number of people watching the fireworks was huge. I have no idea how many of thousands of people who were there. It was amazing to see so many thousands of people move to trains and then disperse so quickly at the end.

The best thing was there were very few drunk revellers. The most drunk were English and very few Australians. The local Hong Kong people and other Asians were all sober. As far as I know there were no coward punches and no one punch deaths unlike the situation in Australia and other non-Asian centres.

Food photography

Our last and best meal in Hong Kong and the flight home

If you’ve been to Hong Kong what was your best meal in Hong Kong?

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Big Buddha Hong Kong

Have you been to the Tian Tan Big Buddha?

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Ocean Park Hong Kong

Have you ever been to Ocean Park Hong Kong?

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New Year’s Day 2016 in Hong Kong

This is my new years day breakfast

How did you spend New Year’s Day?

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Wet market on Chun Yeung Street and new year’s eve in Hong Kong

How did you celebrate new year’s eve? Have you ever been to a wet market? What did you think?

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If you’ve been to Hong Kong what was your best meal in Hong Kong?

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Have you been to the Tian Tan Big Buddha?

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Have you ever been to Ocean Park Hong Kong?

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This is my new years day breakfast

How did you spend New Year’s Day?

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How did you celebrate new year’s eve? Have you ever been to a wet market? What did you think?

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