Hong Kong... Home Away From Home 💖

 

We had an incredibly fulfilling trip to Asia in more ways than imagined 😍 with my bro Preserved Dragons. Our main destination was Thailand, but the heart of it is this... it's Hong Kong 🇭🇰 where I yearn to return as we only got a sliver three day sample to and from (Yes,it's our first time). But it worked out in the best possible way. Read on for more...

The beautiful night skyline at Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour

But first, starting Asian Heritage Month with a big bow to the one and only ☝️legendary Master Bruce Lee💥 

A huge part of this trip was supporting my brother Preserved Dragons' pilgrimmage to cult martial arts film sites to capture precise angle scenes with Bruce Lee and also Jean-Claude Van Damme. And what a trek it was! We visited sites in Hong Kong and Thailand. The most notable and scary was in Ayutthaya 🇹🇭, riding our bikes alongside scooters, motorbikes and cars drenched in sweat with the unrelenting heat and humidity 🥵 

Here are the gallery of hotspots we hit (photo and text credits- PD): 

Hong Kong Heritage Museum and Bruce Lee Exhibit. 

Bruce Lee Memorial Statue at HK's Avenue of The Stars.

Bruce Lee was transferred to St. Francis Xavier’s College for bad grades and poor conduct in 1956. In two years he would go on to win the school’s boxing competition. 

Victoria Peak’s Lion Pavillion in Hong Kong to capture the infamous Van Damme splits scene in Bloodsport. 

The Wat Mahathat is one of the most important temples in Ayutthaya Thailand. Jean-Claude Van Damme Kickboxer training scenes at The Stone City were filmed there. 

The most iconic site at Wat Mahathat and possibly in all of Ayutthaya. The head of a Buddha statue that was placed here decades ago appears to be embraced by the roots of a tree.

Bruce Lee fans and friends, we were here at Rimtarn Hotel Pak Chong, where Bruce Lee stayed in when filming The Big Boss! Visiting his room #206.

The Boss’ villa (Wat Siri Samphan) and the fighting scenes in the Ice factory (Pak Chong).

My brother's handmade statue of Cheng Chao-An is one of his favourite pieces because of the emotional scene in The Big Boss this pose was inspired from. #walkon 

On our last day in 🇹🇭, he got together in Bangkok with Pak Chong's Rimtarn Hotel Pak Chong owner Peter Wises and his partners James and Dr.Tom for a fruitful meeting on future collaborations. I am looking forward to see what's in store gentlemen 👊💥 

Now... what about HONG KONG 🇭🇰💕!? With only a few days taste of my mom's birthplace and impromptu meeting my beloved cousin (for the first time), and reuniting with my aunt and husband since my 20s (they visited Toronto), HK's vibe of home-away-from-home seductively beckons me for more!

The way it all happened worked out in the best way. The surprise rush came together so quickly makes me obsessed in digging deeper... to learn about HK's history, culture and food before I revisit to completely immerse in all of it 🤗! 

We couldn't have been more proud and excited to finally see, hear, smell and taste what we've been hearing from our mom since we were little. On our second day in HK before we flew to Thailand the next, we were so excited to find this rare night street market by chance on Temple Street (the infamous dai pai dong street), after our beautiful night line views of the Victoria Harbour at the Avenue of Stars.

My brother wanted beef ho fun and steamed white chicken, I wanted seafood and wonton soup, hungry and trying by foot to find a place, we stumbled across this rare busy outdoor food alley turning down Temple Street... off the beaten track due to its energetic vibe when we peered down.

Food was alright, we also had black bean sauce razor clams and deep fried pork intestine with sweet sauce and beer. But where its charm lay were the carefree patrons eating and chatting the night away with friends 🍻. So fantastic hearing and practicing our Cantonese with locals!

Dim Sum and Street Yums

Exquisite and Unique Offerings

Gorgeous dim sum restaurant on top floor of shopping mall: crispy taro nest with quail egg, abalone topped char siu tart pastry, shrimp toast with truffle sauce and refreshing coconut and coffee jellies.

Congee, Soy Sauce Noodle and Soy Milk Breakfast

Siu Mei Assorted Roasted BBQ Deli-
I need to try HK's infamous roast goose next time!

Too many baked goods and pastries = analysis paralysis 😜

The first foray for my kids into Asia should be our roots- HK and China (eyeing next summer) and working on improving my Cantonese (I took regular classes until grade 8 but continue to speak the language to my parents). I just started watching YouTube lessons to practice my conversation and writing, in hopes that I won't be resorting to Chinglish when I do. It's also necessarily good for my community project with more on that later.

Our last meal in HK- what better than wonton noodles 🍜 

Thank you cuz Pessy Chow 😘 for taking such great care of Dan and me, and we look forward to meeting the entire family with mine in the very near future. And 多謝香港 🙏🇭🇰 #50yearslate #betterlatethannever❤️ 

Happy Chinese New Year of the Adaptable Snake...

 

The Lantern Festival is the grand finale of Lunar New Year celebrations that occurs on the 15th day of the lunar month, celebrating the first full moon, symbolizing family reunion and togetherness. 🏮🌕

Tangyuan (Glutinous Rice Balls) is a must-eat for the Lantern Festival! Whether you prefer the classic sweet tangyuan filled with black sesame, peanut, or red bean paste, or the savoury version, everyone has their favourite!

My grandmother used to make savoury tangyuan, served in a rich broth made with pork, dried shrimp, and napa cabbage. Now, this beloved family tradition has been passed down to her father, keeping the flavours of home alive.

My friend Jenny, when she was little, her family would gather to roll tangyuan by hand. A bowl of warm, sweet soup with red and white tangyuan was a must. This year, she tried fun flavours like crème caramel and purple sticky rice taro from a package. Not only were they delicious, but the graphics featured Sanrio characters like Pompompurin and Kuromi, which the kids absolutely loved!

Back home in Taiwan, after enjoying tangyuan, she looked forward to lantern walks in the park, filled with colourful decorations and a lantern riddle contest offering small prizes. They were the best memories!

Chinese New Year celebrations was at my parents with my siblings and I each making a few dishes to contribute. My go-to is pan-fried beancurd rolls stuffed with vegetables or mixed mushrooms, and also soy sauce eggs sans tea. We even make clean up easy by covering the tables with newspapers and plastic liner. Keeping it casual makes it comfortable as we just focus on enjoying the food and the lively conversations 🏮🐍😋 

On Saturday, February 1st, my friend Jenny and I attended the North York Recipes for Healing: Leftover Ingredients to celebrate Chinese New Year with a fun collage workshop on leftover food brought to us by Heritage Toronto. The session was kicked off by our lovely Willowdale councillor Lily Cheng.

In traditional Chinese culture, fish (鱼, Yu) is a dish typically eaten during the Chinese New Year celebrations, symbolizing the wish for a year of abundance. The dish and the character also sound and look like words for surplus and leftovers (余, Yu). 

Participants used waste and surplus materials (boxes and magazines) to create a collage that represents their own stories about leftover food. We did a creative 3-D collage on hot pot ♨️🥘, a Chinese communal meal to represent family reunion and bonding traditionally enjoyed on Chinese New Year Eve 🏮!

As we slide into 2025, the year of the adaptable snake, we wish you shed the useless old and realize a year full of hope, good health and abundant success 🐍!