Remember the nice photos I posted of my newly setup veggie bed?
Well, the arugula has been eaten by a dozen caterpillars a few months ago. They looked beautiful, grass green with bright yellow stripes on their back. When I discovered them it was much too late. A woman from the local gardening society told me that they would turn into beautiful butterflies. Little bastards!
They also ate the Kailan (Chinese greens). The Japanese cucumber and string beans climbed up the bamboo sticks and look pretty, but there is not a single pickle nor bean in sight.
The surprising winners are the cocktail tomatoes and carrots from seeds I bought in Germany. Thirty juicy and sweet tomatoes and a dozen small but very orange carrots. I also put supermarket ginger into the ground and it sprouted. However the lemon grass, which was such a success in Dubai, withered and died.
I knew it would happen. Gardening is about learning and sticking with the winners. It takes time and experience. Next year my compost will be ready and I will dig it into the very clayie veggie bed. Every morning I will search for caterpillars. I will construct a raised bed, because tropical downpours will turn level veggie beds into ponds (with tiny cute frogs). And I will plant German carrots and tomatoes and maybe have a second go at Japanese cucumbers.
While the caterpillars munch the rest of my veggies, I watch a BBC series Around the world in 80 gardens. It’s enlightening. Gardening is like religion, so different around the world, but the concept is the same, we all like it and it makes us happy, in a weird BDSM kind of way.
I have been fifteen years in Hong Kong, but having this little garden around the house has been such a pleasure and new discovery. The veggie garden is a work in progress, but the rest, the so-called weeds, the plants that just sprout up after each rain, they are so pretty. The ones I like, I transplant to prime spots where they will strive and grow.
Whereas gardening in Dubai was about watering thrice a day, gardening in Hong Kong is about cutting down plants you don’t like at least once a month. I feel like Tarzan in a jungle with a machete… ok, huge -made in Germany- garden scissors. I also spray myself with “Deep Woods” mosquito repellent. It lasts for about 15 minutes until a colony of these little devils break out in laughter and descent on me.
And then they are the palm-sized spiders, and the creepy crawlies in the compost pile, and at least three geckos inside the house. I was raised by a mum who threw the spiders from the ceilings under our bath tub to eat the silver fish. Nature is about balance, and we are a part of it.
Little man and I observed our bedroom gecko tonight. George the Slow climbed up the wall, ambled past the curtains, and then stumbled behind the TV. The insect population in our bedroom will be kept at a minimum, my task in the equilibrium will be to wipe the gecko shit away.
Tomorrow little man and I will leave for Berlin where we will take care of my Dad’s garden. He is in hospital and half of his right foot is amputated, but in spite of this, and because of this, his tiny allotment garden is Eden and I will help my mum to take care of it. I am so ready for the pleasure of a temperate garden in summer. A bit of grass cutting and watering, how hard can it be?
Yesterday we went to the flower market in Mong Kok, which is a classical Asian shopping experience as it consists of 50 or so shops and stalls crammed into a very small area. It’s very convenient shopping, as you don’t have to walk far to see what the selection and prices are at the competition.
Lots of other people had the same idea. The sidewalks were crammed with people buying late Chinese New Year flowers.
I however was after this…
To put in here…
Last week I removed a lot of weeds, bougainvillea roots, and a lot of…
Now I have so many seeds that I better prepare the neighboring bed as well…
Other girls buy handbags, I buy plants. Although I was strictly on a seed buying mission, I couldn’t resist buying this strange creature…
It’s a staghorn fern that in the wild takes it’s nutrients from the bark of trees (in the back are pomelos). So I plan to put the fern up there…
Next to the flower market is the bird market. It’s housed in a very nice building surrounded by a traditional Chinese garden. I loved looking at the Chinese wooden cages, at all the colorful birds, and little man and I squeaked with delighted horror as we discovered the stall selling live grasshoppers. Some stalls however take hygiene a bit too lightly… it smelled, bird poo was mounting in the cages, and I had the urge to open them.
Please excuse the wobbles, I took the video with my phone.
Birds and grasshoppers were not the last fauna we encountered yesterday. When we came home, I noticed a very strong smell in the garden, then we heard some rustling and cracking up the hill behind our house. Urghh… burglars?
No, it was Elsie, having a late night snack. This morning I caught her on camera munching in our neighbor’s garden with long-neck birdie waiting for insects attracted by her not-so-Parisian smell. Elsie is a wild buffalo that roams through countryside and gardens with her mates. Later I saw three of her friends holding up traffic on the main village road. Yep, I live in the boonies, but the skyscrapers are only half an hour away.
This is turning into a food blog, and that’s how it should be. What do you really need? Love, of course, and other nourishments. And is there a better way to share and tell that you love, than cooking and eating and savoring food?
This is a Thanksgiving post from a professed atheist, though I know that God loves me nevertheless :).
I was craving for food that I grew up with. I am quite adventurous with new foods. I eat what smells good, and that is 99% of the food I have encountered. The big exception is Durian, but one day I will be brave enough to try it too. It smells of dogsh*t, but people tell me it’s as good as custard. Maybe, one day, I will try it.
I was dreaming of calf’s liver. In Berlin, it is dusted in flour and seared shortly on each side, and served with fried apples and onions on top and mashed potatoes. My mum makes yummy calf’s liver.
Some people get grossed out at animal innards, frankly I don’t get it. If you eat a steak (which necessitates to kill an animal), you should also be able to eat its innards, especially if they are as tasty as liver. Isn’t it more humane to eat as most as possible from an animal, you kill for food?
I know people who eat goose liver (expensive, French, you need to force feed geese to get it) but turn their noses up at liverwurst (cheap, German, you only need to quickly kill the pig). I eat both of them.
Where am I heading? Gosh, I don’t know, but the oxtail stew (the very end of a cow) cooking away on my stove smells lovely. I can’t get calf’s liver in my neighborhood supermarket, but fortunately they have oxtail, and chicken with the heads still on, and other animals that we eat but sometimes don’t want to know we eat.
One thing I admire about Asian Food, and there is lots more that I admire, is that they are still aware where the meat comes from. In western-style supermarkets, more often than not, every reference to the animal is removed. Clean cut steaks, minced beef and pork, cutlets, chicken breasts. We have that here too, but you can also get chicken feet, whole chicken with their heads on, and fish that is taken out of the tank and killed for you. Sounds gross? It’s the reality. If you don’t like it, become vegetarian.
I eat meat as a treat. I use meat to flavor, not to get full. I remember the pigeons, rabbits, chicken, and pig at my grandmother’s neighbor’s house. We ate them, they tasted lovely, they were prepared with care, they were prepared as a rare feast.
How could I forget Anthony Bourdain’s love declaration to Hong Kong yesterday? It’s the best travel show about Hong Kong I have seen so far. If you do a travel guide for this city you better show it’s obsession, culture, and love… FOOD.
It takes about 45 minutes to watch all 5 parts, but if you have a bit of time now or later, I promise you it’s worth it.
Part 1: The body builder restaurateurs and the angry hawker granny
Part 2: Handmade noodles, a ball-crushing art Part 3: Bliss in a North Point food court “I am so happy here” Part 4: Spicy typhoon shelter crab Part 5: Fighting for Dim Sum
See the big, white swirl between Hainan (first Chinese island east of the Vietnamese coast) and Taiwan? That’s typhoon Fenshen, which already wrecked havoc in the Philippines.
It’s heading to Hong Kong (located midway between Hainan and Taiwan, at the Pearl River Estuary, where the red line meets the sea, just a touch north of the big, white swirl). The early morning hours are going to be interesting.
Pssst, don’t tell anyone, but I love typhoons.
The air is already fresh and clean. A strong breeze is going through our flat, a welcome relieve from the humid heat we had during the day. The night skyline of Hong Kong is in front of our windows, so clear that it seems possible to grab the skyscrapers with our hands.
Thankfully the winds are not as strong anymore as when Fengshen hit the Philippines, but the bedroom window just closed shut with a bang. I better tighten the hatches.
Don’t tell anyone, but when little man has fallen asleep I will go onto the balcony and stay there until even I get scared. Last time, I only went inside when the plastic chair of one of my neighbors was flying by.
PS: Update at 23.45 from the HK Observatory…
“Tropical Cyclone Bulletin
Here is the latest Tropical Cyclone Bulletin issued by the Hong Kong Observatory.
The No. 8 Northeast Gale or Storm Signal is in force.
This means that winds with mean speeds of 63 kilometres per hour or more are expected from the northeast quarter.
At midnight, Severe Tropical Storm Fengshen was centred about 80 kilometres southeast of Hong Kong Observatory (near 21.7 degrees north 114.6 degrees east) and is forecast to move north or north-northwest at about 14 kilometres per hour in the general direction of the Pearl River Estuary.
According to the present forecast track, Fengshen will be closest to Hong Kong in the morning, its centre might even cross the territory of Hong Kong.
In the past hour, the maximum sustained winds recorded at Cheung Chau and Sai Kung were 44 and 47 kilometres per hour with maximum gusts 62 and 69 kilometres per hour respectively.
(Precautionary Announcements with No. 8 Signal)
1. Complete all precautions in your home. Lock all windows and doors, fit bars into position and insert reinforced shutters and gates if they are available. Adhesive tape fixed to large window-panes in exposed positions will reduce damage by broken glass. Strom water drains should be cleared of leaves and rubbish.
2. Do not stand near windows on the exposed side of your home. Move all furniture and valuables away from these areas. Make sure you have a safe place to shelter, should windows be broken.
3. Since seas are rough, you are advised to stay away from the shoreline and not to engage in water sports.
4. Flights at Hong Kong International Airport may be affected by the weather. Please contact your airline for the latest flight information before departing for the airport.
5. Owners of neon signs are reminded that they should now arrange for the electricity supply to their signs to be cut off.
6. Please listen to your radio or watch your TV for the latest weather information broadcast at the 15th, 30th, 45th and 58th minute of each hour. You can also browse the Hong Kong Observatory’s web site for the information.”
It’s lovely and calm on my balcony, and I wonder if this was a fluke to begin with or if I am in the eye of the storm.
I had so much planned this weekend, but we were grounded in our flat as the first typhoon of the season skirted Hong Kong, and brought lots of rain. Luckily, winds weren’t that strong, and no one got seriously hurt.
We had two inches of standing water on our kitchen balcony though. The rain came in almost horizontally and the drain was blocked. To prevent damage to the Korean wonder machine, I mopped up three buckets of water. So, despite of being indoors all day, I had plenty of exercise.
I also sorted through and uploaded pictures from a stroll through Mong Kok last week. Mong Kok is said to be the most densely populated area on earth. It’s a wonderful mixture of old and new, touristy and original, and – yes – it is very busy, even on a weekday afternoon. There are lots of shoppers, tourists, and people living and working in the area squeezing by along sidewalks, markets, and outdoor restaurants. I hope it will always stay as lively as it is today. I think it would be a real shame if street life gets sanitized and moved into shopping malls.
I started in Sai Yeung Choi Street South, which is a shopping street closed to traffic that runs parallel to the more famous Nathan Road.
School had just finished.
Looking for takers.
Hungry shoppers.
Entrance to Ladies’ Market, which is a bit of a misnomer. Tourist Market would be more appropriate.
Recently built apartment high-rise. One is fine, but my fear is that the whole area will look like this in a few years.
This shop is helping to fuel one of Hongkongers’ greatest passions. It’s wonderful to walk through streets and back alleys, and suddenly hear the clicky-dee-clack of Majong tiles and people chatting.
The Ladies’ Market in Tung Choi Street.
Chongsams in all sizes.
If you want to get lots of offers for “Tailored suits” and “Rolex”, wear a Stars and Stripes visor like this lady did. My strategy was to hide behind her.
They are probably not the safest buildings around, but I love how Hongkongers extend their living space by encasing roof terraces and balconies. And then, when the roof terrace looks like a proper building floor, why not build another roof terrace on top of it, and then encase it, and then build another, and another… ? Looking at this building it’s hard to see were the original building stops, and the upward extensions begin.
Bamboo scaffolding being set up. I got vertigo from just watching.
You’ve got mail!
“Toothpick” buildings are another Hong Kong way to deal with lack of space. My guess is that the building in the middle has a footprint of under 400 square feet.
I felt so lucky to have found these old market buildings on Reclamation Street. I had never been to the area before. As I rounded the corner, on the opposite side of a very busy road, there they were, row upon row of wonderful market buildings, run-down but full of charm. I did a bit of research on the internet afterwards, and learned that the buildings predate the second world war, and are still used for a wholesale fruit market.
When I was there, I assumed that the old white building was a market building as well, although I asked myself why it had received special treatment. It’s shiny white walls gleamed in the dark. It’s in fact the oldest surviving cinema building in Hong Kong. The “Yaumati Theatre” was built in 1925, but sadly had to close its doors in 1998. According to Wikipedia, there are plans to reopen it has a theater for Cantonese opera.
The wholesale fruit market.
Afternoon faded into evening, and suddenly there was a corner of golden light in front of me.
It was a store for altars and religious figurines, all carefully wrapped in plastic, which made them look like apparitions.
Once in a while, I like to get lost, stroll around and discover new things. Well ok, you have to make a real effort to get lost in Hong Kong, because there are street signs everywhere, and signposts pointing to the next subway station, but I didn’t look at them, and just walked. And then I rounded a corner and saw the stall selling vibrators, and I knew I was in tourist territory again. Then another stall followed, selling Nepalese bags and jewelry, then another, selling stickers (five sheets for HK$10 with Spiderman, Transformers, and other superheros little man loves), and so it became impossible to continue to pretend to be lost, because this was clearly Temple Street, Hong Kong’s famous night market.
I ate a big plate full of greasy noodles to celebrate the end of my adventure. Yes, that really is a roll of toilet paper on the table. I suppose it does the job of wiping people’s mouths just as well.
Hong Kong really has only two seasons. In summer it is hot and humid and in winter it is cold and dry. This winter was an exception though, for a few weeks the weather played havoc in China- you may have heard it in the news – and we had lots of rain, wind, and lower than usual temperatures in Hong Kong.
Since a few days though, the weather has turned balmy and it feels a bit like springtime /early summer in the northern hemisphere. It’s an in-between season and can last anywhere from a couple of days to a whole month. And it’s during these in-between seasons that Hongkong’s male bird population is out in full force, calling loudly for potential mates. They are all pretty loud, but one species stands out.
Its call sounds roughly like “how-you?… how-youuu?… how-youuuuu?”, can go on for several minutes, and gets increasingly louder and more urgent. One of these desperate Casanovas sits on a tall tree in front of my house, and makes sure we are up very early. I call him Larry, and Larry is damn lucky that there is tight gun control in Hong Kong.
Larry: How-you? (How are you this morning?)
Cosima: tired groan
Larry: How-youuu? (Helloooo! Anybody out there?)
Cosima: Shut up!
Larry: How-youuuuuu! (You are not my type anyway!)
Larry: How-youuuuuuuuuuuu! (Hello feathered ladies, my name is Larry and I am a strong, viril, and beautiful bird in his best years. I can offer you protection and a newly built nest with jacuzzi nearby.)
Cosima: Larry you sound like an online dating ad… desperate. The only thing that’s missing is…
Larry: How-youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu! (…. my net worth is 1 millon Dollars!)
Cosima: Don’t forget to mention the credit card debt.
Larry: How-youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu?
Then, mercifully, Larry stops. But it’s too late, I am awake and can’t fall asleep again.
I did a bit of ornithological research on the net, and found out that Larry is an Asian Koel and belongs to the cuckoo family. He looks like this and sounds like this… only much louder.
Yesterday, I went to see a doctor who practices traditional Chinese medicine. There were several reasons for the visit. The most important one being that I have been snot-nosed and coughing my throat out for more than a week. I have tried to cure my cold with aspirin, tea, and menthol rub, but the little bugs inside of me laughed at that, and choose to drown me in more phlegm, which made it very hard to breathe. A few days ago, I was standing in line at the supermarket and couldn’t get air into my lungs for a few moments, because my nose and throat were blocked completely.
I didn’t want to go to a Western-style doctor, because he probably would have given me a round of antibiotics, which I think should only be a last resort. I also admit, that I was very curious. I have never been to a doctor practicing traditional medicine before. Pharmacies selling natural Chinese medicine are widespread in Hong Kong, and for me they hold a strange allure. It’s a mixture of respect for the ancient knowledge and philosophy behind it, and also wonderment about all the slightly exotic ingredients.
So I went into my neighborhood’s Chinese pharmacy, which looks very different from your typical Western one. The shop is lined with shelves and drawers filled with various dried roots, leaves, and animal parts, and the shop smells … medicinal.
Naively I assumed that I could just go in there, say that I have a very bad cold, and be given a ready-made tea mixture. The shop assistant was an elderly lady, who could speak as much English as I speak Cantonese, which made communication very difficult. But she pulled out her mobile phone, smiled at me, and said “doctor”. She spoke to the doctor and told me to come back (pointing first at me than at the ground in front of her) on “tomorrow tomorrow” (two fingers up) “six o’clock” (six fingers up).
When I turned up at the appointed time, I was led to the back of the shop, to the doctor’s consultation room. Fortunately, he spoke better English than I do. He asked me to describe my illness, asked me a few questions, took my pulse, asked me to stuck my tongue out, and then said that I have a viral infection. He told me that my medicine would be ready tomorrow lunch-time. He charged me US$ 30 for the consultation, which included the medicine. For a Western-style consultation the fee would have been at least three times as much, which is probably part of the answer why traditional Chinese medicine is so popular.
Today, I went back to the shop to get my medicine from the lady. It was a paper cup filled with dark brown tea and two salted plums. The tea smelt ok, but tasted extremely bitter. I am sure it would have been best to drink it hot, but I just couldn’t bring myself to drink it quickly. I needed the whole day to drink the whole cup, and every gulp required great effort… brrrrrrrrrr
I do wonder what was in there. The shop lady told me to call the doctor. I could ask him… but do I really want to know? I am guessing roots and plants with antiviral and astringent properties. But why in hell, do the have to taste so bitter? I asked a Chinese friend, and she told me with a smile that medicine has to taste bitter, otherwise it’s not good.
So, if bitterness is directly related to effectiveness, my cold will be over in no time.
In Hong Kong, your business is not really in existence without a “chop”. I am not talking pork chops here, I am talking about an official company stamp. It’s used to sign off invoices, acknowledge deliveries, or any other official company documents. A chop under a document is as legally binding as a signature, but for good measure really important documents are signed as well.
Until a few days ago, I didn’t have a chop. I thought that I didn’t need one. I thought that the signature of the business owner was good enough. Not for PCCW, a local telephone company. I went to one of their shops to transfer my personal mobile phone account to my business. After the clerk had filled out three forms…
“And now please put your chop here, here, and here… and sign there.”
“I don’t have a chop. I just sign it.”
Astonished glance from the clerk.
“Sorry Madam, we also need the chop.”
“But I don’t have one.”
“OK… I will check with my manager. Please wait.”
A call followed to the manager, who apparently confirmed that mobile accounts can’t be transfered to businesses without chops.
So, I left in search for a chop maker and found one a few blocks further down the road. A deal was quickly made. On the next day, I got a round chop with my company’s name in exchange for HK$60 (US$8).
Afterwards, I went to the phone company, and chopped three forms here, here, and there, and also the three sets of duplicates… here, here, and there. And I was beginning to appreciate the convenience of chops. From now on I will chop whenever I can.
The following pictures are from a little lane between the skyscrapers of Central, Hong Kong’s business district, where several essential services are located: a chop maker, a key maker, a shoe shiner, several shoe repair stalls, and also a jade seal carver. However, my chop maker is located somewhere else, in Wanchai, and I would have loved to take a picture of his tiny hole-in-the-wall shop, but a large truck was parked in front of it, eclipsing it completely.
Hong Kong’s remaining street markets are under constant threat to become the next victims of “urban renewal”. Yesterday, I had some errands to run in Central, Hong Kong’s business district, and afterwards did my bit to save one of them.
The Central Street Market is located on Graham Street, which runs between Queen’s Road, one of the city’s busiest shopping streets, and Hollywood Road, which hosts a lot of art galleries and antique shops.
I bought cucumber and tomatoes…
… delicious pomegranates…
and very fresh shrimps…
Even drive-by shopping is possible ;)…
If you live in Hong Kong, or even if you are just a potential tourist, who thinks that street markets are an essential part of local flair, go here and sign the petition… please :).
Yesterday, I went to see a doctor who practices traditional Chinese medicine. There were several reasons for the visit. The most important one being that I have been snot-nosed and coughing my throat out for more than a week. I have tried to cure my cold with aspirin, tea, and menthol rub, but the little bugs inside of me laughed at that, and choose to drown me in more phlegm, which made it very hard to breathe. A few days ago, I was standing in line at the supermarket and couldn’t get air into my lungs for a few moments, because my nose and throat were blocked completely.
