DimSumDolly* - the different morsels of the life of a foodie

I Survived!

An absolutely awesome paddle over the weekend with a total of 140km paddled over two days, taking about 8 hours going there and 6.5 hours returning to Hong Kong (the difference due to currents). We paddled past the south of Lamma Island, Cheung Chau Island, Lantau Island and several other islands. At some points, there were thousands and thousands of fish jumping in and out of the water as we cruised along. Beautiful stuff!

Passport control was taken care of way before hand. A lot of work goes on behind the scenes with such cross-border expeditions. One of my teammates had first taken our passports to Hong Kong immigration to 'check us out' of Hong Kong. On arriving in Macau, she gave a call to Macau immigration upon which they sent two immigration officers to the sea school where we landed to come and stamp our passports. Easy. The reverse happened when we left Macau to return to Hong Kong.

The hot and humid weather on both days made the challenge even more challenging. As a tired me saw the ferries going to and from Macau speeding by us while paddling, thoughts of "Now THAT should be the correct way of doing it!" went through my mind. Trust me, by the 6th hour you're pretty much toast. But nah, I wouldn't have traded the weekend's experience for a ferry ticket. Tis definitely one of my best paddling experiences to date!

Paddle to Macau and Back

Am paddling from Hong Kong Island to Macau on Saturday, staying overnight and paddling back on Sunday. There will be 44 of us in total taking three outrigger canoes across the seas.

Yes, people normally take the ferry. Or perhaps that sentence should read:

Normal people take the ferry.

Ah Por's Soya Bean Curd 建兴亚婆豆腐花

I was told that this soya bean curd stall is a must-try when one goes to Lamma Island. We passed it while on our walk along one of the trails.

Al fresco dining...enjoy the wild greenery around and get in touch with nature! OK, it was a tad hot and humid so maybe not for the faint-hearted.

The white and baby smooth soya bean curd. It slipped smoothly down the throat and it was good that it didn't have the plaster of paris taste of the coagulant that some soya bean curd have. I had it with ginger syrup, but you can also have it with palm sugar if you want.

The sugar that's in a box placed on the table.

Moi the dessert monster decides to try the sugar, as if the ginger syrup wasn't already enough! I liked it better with the sugar though, 'cos it added a bit of texture with the slight crunch.

Just next to the stall is a vegetable plot. It's so nice to be able to grow your own vegetables! A walk farther down to the right of the stall will lead you to a beach.

Bookworm Cafe

My first Saturday in Hong Kong was spent in Lamma Island going to an organic vegetarian cafe for brunch followed by an easy hike from Yung Shue Wan village to Sok Kwu Wan village. The hike was a scenic one that brought me and my companions up some hills that offered us lovely views of the hills and seas which make up Hong Kong.

Bookworm Cafe is about a seven-minute walk away from Yung Shue Wan pier. Arrive at the pier and then turn right towards the seafood restaurants and continue walking through the small lanes. You'll walk past a gourmet cheese shop before reaching Bookworm Cafe.

The cafe's interior is somewhat bohemian and it's very inviting with its cheery colours and stacks of books set along one side of the cafe. Most of the books and magazines are second-hand ones and are for sale.

The menu offers western vegetarian fare like lasagne, big breakfast, omelette, vegie burger, salads etc.

I like the cute toy at the counter. :)

I had the pumpkin soup served with toasted buttered bread. I felt it was a little bland and actually wasn't expecting it to be like that. I had thought it would come like a puree/cream soup. The bread was nicely toasted and buttered, and smelt as well as tasted good.

The Shepherdess Pie is the vegetarian take on the English pub grub stape, Shepherd's Pie. The Shepherdess Pie had peas, potato, carrots and a nicely baked cheese topping. The salad consisting of beetroot, carrots and lettuce was served with a light and refreshing balsamic dressing. I really liked this vegetarian version of the more hearty Shepherd's Pie.

The Big Breakfast that my friend had. I still think my Shepherdess Pie looks better.

The omelette that came with a filling made of mixed vegetables and slices of potato.

Bookworm cafe is a nice, cosy place to hang out but too bad it doesn't face the sea. Otherwise it'd have been the perfect place to chill out for the whole day. Vegetarians would love this cafe but the rest of us omnivores might think it's silly to go all the way to Lamma only to have vegetarian food. If I'm going to do this again, I'd go to Lamma in the mid-afternoon, go to Bookworm cafe for afternoon tea (the cakes look good), hike and then end the day with a seafood dinner. I won't leave Lamma without having seafood in future!

Bookworm Cafe
Mon~Fri: 10:00am to 9:00pm
Sat & Public Holidays: 9:00am to 10:00pm
Sunday: 9:00am to 9:00pm
G/F, 79, Yung Shue Wan Main Street,
Lamma Island, Hong Kong.
Tel : (852) 2982 4838

Bushwhacking at Razor Hill and Cheung Kung Shan

The view from the top of Razor Hill which is about 430m above sea level. The hike today involved a lot of bushwhacking and we even passed tombs perched high on the hill slopes. The long-sleeved hiking shirt and hiking shoes I bought came in very useful today. Anyway, am loving the wonderful views that can be seen from these hikes. Will definitely do more hiking in winter. Hiking in summer can be rather tough with the heat and humidity - my friends and colleagues think I'm mad to be doing it. But hey, it's just something to do and it's something I enjoy, plus I really need to get out and get some sun over the weekend.

Well, it's the start of another week in a few hours' time. Have a good one everyone.

Reflections on the 1st Month

It's exactly a month since I arrived in Hong Kong, and I think I have been a bit of an overachiever in this one month. I've never done so much in a month. Ever. I'm quite proud of myself if I may say so. Haha. For a quiet Monday evening at home, let me take stock of what I did in the month.

1) Started work on 3 Aug, the day after I arrived in HK.

2) In Week 1, Monday to Friday evenings were spent going to property agents in various areas in Hong Kong Island, and asking to view flats in my budget range. Finally on Friday, I saw one that I decided upon. It's a small studio flat (no kitchen) in an area called Tin Hau. I love the area as it has many small eateries and has a rather villagey feel. It's near to Causeway Bay yet is tucked away from the craziness and crowds that mark Causeway Bay.

Some of the shops in Tin Hau

3) That first Saturday, I went to Lamma Island for some easy trail walking.

Fish spawning grounds in Lamma Island

4) The next day, I went outrigger canoeing in Stanley with an outrigger canoeing club based there. Needed to get my paddling fix.

5) Second Saturday: Went to HK Immigration Department to apply for my ID card. In the afternoon, shifted my luggage into my new place, took delivery of my shipment from Singapore, went to IKEA to buy stuff - lots of stuff! That night, I also met up with friends from Singapore and Australia who were visiting Singapore. After dinner, we went for karaoke too!

6) Second Sunday: Checked out of Hotel Newton and officially moved into new place. Met up with good friend Nadia who was visiting from Hong Kong and we went for dimsum where we had a feast.

We then headed to The Peak where we had a really nice view as it was a clear day. Subsequently headed back to Causeway Bay where I went to buy more stuff at IKEA and Nadia helped me to set up home after lugging back home a truckload of stuff.

7) 3rd and 4th week: Went running in Happy Valley Race Course twice and started paddling on Tues and Thurs evenings. Joined California Fitness gym. Bought a small fridge some time in the 3rd week too. Set up a bank account.

8) 23 Aug: Took part in a 21km outrigger canoeing race. The race started at Stanley beach, went around Po Toi island and then back to Stanley Beach.

9) Gone hiking (see previous entry)

10) Picked up my HK ID card on Saturday - I'm no longer an alien!

Anyway, it's been such a whirlwind month. Am still letting the dust settle a bit. Now I have to work on building a social network again and making new friends. It's like going back to school again. Wish me luck.