Another Chinese NY lunch

Here are photos of another formal CNY lunch with vendor. 

Appetizers

Abalone and minced meat in lettuce leaf. 

Soup 

Fish

Chicken foot with lettuce and something else I don't ask about. Not my fav part. 

Here are fish heads on the table. 

We eat the cheeks out of the fish head. Actually really delicious part. 

Chicken 

Truffle noodles.... Almost ate whole thing and forget picture. 

Ice cream sandwich. Wish I could have 10 of these! 

Warm red bean soup for dessert. 

Phew. Another marathon meal...

Hiking - HK Trail 1 & 2

We did another hiking weekend last weekend (sorry for delay in my posting). This time we hiked Hong Kong Trail sections 1 and 2. The weather was so gorgeous!

Water falls are so pretty. I have decided I want to bring a hammock with me and just hang out here.

Horse or no horse? Not real sure the mixed message here.

Pretty red flowers.

View of Ap Lei Chau.

This is where we hiked to. To give you sense of location, we started where the 4 is in the yellow shape.

I went to Donna and Andy's for Sunday dinner again (I am spoiled) and we had barramundi collars with rice and Brussels sprouts. It was my first time having a fish collar and it was delicious.

Next up is to get to section 3 and beyond. Below you can see the red trail across the island.

The Hong Kong Trail is a 50 kilometer route which passes through the five country parks on Hong Kong island.The trail is divided into eight sections which provide a variety of walks of different lengths and character.

Farewell Rik and Daniela

Friday night was farewell party for Rik and Daniela. Daniela works in legal department at Hasbro. We had party and their place in Discovery Bay. We brought pictures and wore costumes/accessories of our favorite memories with them. 

So sad seeing friends leave Hong Kong. Wish them all the best on their next adventure. 

Day 15 - Lantern Festival

Today is the 15th day of the Chinese New Year and is referred to as Lantern Festival.

It is the first full moon of the Chinese year.

The Lantern Festival marks the coming of spring, with the hundreds of lanterns sent up into the sky representing longer daylight hours as well as the light from the full moon. In Ancient China, it served as the equivalent of Valentine's Day in the West. Chinese New Year taboos are also declared over on the festival.

The Lantern Festival has been celebrated since the days of the Han Dynasty around 2,000 years ago, which culminated with the spread of Buddhism across China. According to legend, Emperor Hangmindi, who ruled around the beginning of the first century, saw that Buddhist monks would light lanterns on the 15th day of the Chinese year to show respect to the Buddha, and ordered that the tradition be repeated in the Imperial Palace.  

This year the display was titled "Kingdom of Vigorous Monkey". 

Now the lanterns often symbolize letting go of their owners' past selves as well as symbolize good luck.

It was traditionally seen as the "Chinese Valentine's Day", since the celebrations were one of the few days in Imperial China when unmarried ladies were allowed to freely leave the house.

Glad we were allowed out tonight! 

Sunday Funday - hiking and bolognese

Last Sunday we (Andy, Donna and I) hiked about 8 + miles over 20K steps (thanks, Fitbit for the info!). We hiked part of the morning trail to the Hong Kong trail and family walk.

Andy works at Hasbro with me and he and Donna live just down the street from me. 

We then hiked the very many steps up to Pinewood Battery. It is a historic site that was constructed starting in 1901 and finished in 1905. During the Battle of Hong Kong, the Battery came under repeated air raids. On December 15, 1941, the Japanese 23rd Army Air Group carried out extensive attacks on Hong Kong Island. Pinewood Battery, manned by the 17th AA Battery 5th Anti-Air Regiment Royal Artillery, was severely damaged.. The raid caused one death and one injury. One of the antiaircraft guns and certain other facilities were destroyed. The commander of the defending troops decided to abandon the battery, and all men were ordered to retreat on that day (thanks, Wikipedia).

After our hike we deserved some good food. Donna and Andy invited me to their place for homemade bolognese.

I did not finish the whole plate... yay for leftovers!

The most exciting part was I got to try my first mango steen. I saw these on their kitchen counter and asked what they were. So we had them for dessert.

You use your hands to slightly crush the outer part to get a crack so that you can open it up. The inside is bright pink and very bitter so you don't want to eat any of that. But at the center is a bright white delicious fruit. It looks a bit like a lychee but tastes more like mango.

Here is a stock photo of what they look like inside. Ours are messier than that so I couldn't take picture and eat.
 


Overall,  great Sunday with exercise (outside for some fresh air), good food and good friends.