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

Wishing Tree 許願樹

Many of us who have been watching TVB dramas for years would have heard of the Wishing Tree (許願樹) as it was an oft-used location for shoots before the authorities banned people from throwing oranges on its branches. It's a short mini-bus ride away from Tai Wo so I decided to head there to have a look at this tree that's famous among locals.

Take mini bus No. 25K from Tai Wo. The bus stop to get on is not too far from Fu Shin Street. The trip costs HKD5.10. Tell the bus driver that you want to go to Wishing Tree so he'll know when to let you alight. The tree is in Lam Tsuem (林村) and you'll see it on your right side of the road as the mini bus passes it.

The Wishing Tree is now supported by many wooden beams because it's now very weak due to years of people burning incense below it. Its leaves' pores are probably choked from smoke! Its branches are also weak from the weight of oranges that people hurled onto it over the years. So now the tree is only a display piece.

To make a wish, buy one of these papers for HKD10, write your wish on it and hang it on this board. You have to hang it below the column which corresponds to your Chinese zodiac sign.

There's also the Tin Hau temple nearby where you can offer some prayers.

About 15 metres away from the real wishing tree is this fake one. You can buy fake oranges to tie to your wish that you've written on paper and throw it up onto the tree. I thought throwing would be easy, but it didn't seem so when this girl on the right (in black) tried it about 7-8 times. She did get it up eventually.

After having a look at the tree, go to one of the stalls nearby to have some dessert soup (糖水). I had this very refreshing lily bulb with snow fungus and egg soup.

The Wishing Tree is nothing exciting but I thought it'd be nice to have a look since I saw it so often in the TVB dramas I watched when growing up. Am glad I've seen it, so now it's one more item checked off my to-do list in Hong Kong before I leave in August.

Exploring Tai Wo (太和)

As part of my playing-tourist-in-Hong Kong plan, I've been visiting some old neighbourhoods in order to know another side of Hong Kong. On 29 May, I made my way to Tai Wo, an old neighbourhood in the New Territories. Tai Wo used to be one of the old market towns in Tai Po Town.

Another dimsumdolly and her ramen-loving friend - I found them in the shopping centre next to Tai Wo train station.

Tai Po Railway Museum - just about seven minutes' walk from Tai Wo MTR station

Love these old light switches in the museum

Old signalling devices for the trains

Tunnelling back in time by sitting in an old train carriage. I should be wearing a cheongsam and I'd fit right into the setting!

The neighbourhood barber - many things still seem to have remained the same as they were decades ago.

The Fu Shin street market along Fu Shin street (富善街) - a street full of stalls selling food and other household items.

Old-style pyjamas and grannies panties. Heehee.

Coils of incense hang in the Man Mo Temple along Fu Shin street. From Wikipedia:

'A Man Mo Temple or Man Mo Miu (文武廟) is a temple for the worship of the civil or literature god Man Tai (文帝) / Man Cheong （文昌） and the martial god Mo Tai (武帝) / Kwan Tai (關帝). The two gods were popularly patronised by scholars and students seeking progress in their study or ranking in the civil examinations in the Ming and Qing dynasties.'

A shop specialising in clothing and accessories used in belly dancing (肚皮舞) - what are the odds of finding such a shop in such an obscure place???

Getting to Tai Wo: Take the East Rail Line (東鐵綫) - the line is coloured light blue on the Hong Kong MTR map.

Ng Tung Chai (梧桐寨 ) Waterfall & Kadoorie Farm

Hike on 6th June, trail head - Ng Tung Chai village, which is a 10-min taxi ride from Tai Po MTR station.

Subsistence farming in Hong Kong, certainly an alternative lifestyle. A stream runs beside the farm and it's so lovely to have the hills behind and to hear the constant sound of flowing water. There's something so soothing about that sound.

The highlights to await us

But not without walking flights and flights of stairs first

Middle Falls (I missed out Bottom Falls as I was at the back of the pack and I thought everyone had gone past Bottom Falls so I didn't stop to look if they were there or not. In the end, I went ahead of everyone. How silly.)

Main Fall

Our last waterfall of the day - this one didn't have a name

After the hike, we made our way to Kadoorie Farm & Botanic Garden which was just a 15-min walk away from the trail end.

The farm practises organic farming and has a few pigs, some chickens, rescued wildlife like exotic parrots, eagles, monkeys etc. It also grows plants such as herbs, maize, vegetables among others. It's a huge place and it's a good place for the family to spend the weekend in such tranquil surroundings. And look at this sow - seriously, can she get any bigger???? How many piglets do you think are in there??

The vegetables being grown along the terraces of Kadoorie Farm.

There's also a small farmers' market where farmers from the nearby farms come and sell their produce. I bought some cherry tomatoes and lychees and they were delicious! Us hikers couldn't resist not getting these local produce. There is also a shop selling organic dried food stuff just next to this farmers' market.

The Ng Tung Chai Waterfalls are really easy to get to and it's another gem of a place I've discovered in Hong Kong. To get to the Main Falls, it's basically climbing a long flight of stairs for about 1.5 hours and it's definitely worth the climb! The little trip to Kadoorie Farm was a great way to end the day out. :)

Shui Lo Cho (水澇漕) & Man Cheung Po (萬丈布) Stream Trekking

As most of my friends know, I LOVE being in the water. As such, I couldn't miss out on the chance to go stream trekking when it was organised last Saturday by the hiking group I usually hike with. We went to Lantau and trekked along Shui Lo Cho (水澇漕) & Man Cheung Po (萬丈布). The aim was to get to this pool so that we could go swimming. To get to the trail head, we first had to take Bus 11 from Tung Chung to get to Tai O, the fishing village.

First we had to dodge many spiders .... eeeekkksss!!!

The first of many rock pools

We make our way across the first waterfall and dip our feet in for the first time. It had rained earlier in the week so there was more water in the stream that day. The cool, clear water was so refreshing!

Turn back and you get a lovely view of the mountains.

That's me being helped across the stream.

Let's pause for a picture before scaling the next waterfall!

We finally reach our rest stop where we were to have a 1.5 hour break to have lunch and swim!

Yes, the sign does say 'NO SWIMMING' and 'DANGER' ...

But we swam anyway! :) Who could resist not swimming in the world's best infinity pool (to me anyway)???? I'm somewhere swimming ... most likely at the edge admiring the gorgeous view of the mountains.

There's me bobbing in the middle of the photo. :p

We also went to the other rock pool where it proved a good spot for a natural jacuzzi.

On the way back to Tai O, we passed this abandoned villa that used to belong to a government official.

The lily pond that sits in front of the abandoned villa. All these hidden spots in Hong Kong! Who'd have known??

This stream trek and the swimming in the pool in that gorgeous infinity pool has to go down as my top ten moments in HK. I love being in the outdoors and I'm still constantly in awe by HK's natural terrain and all the outdoor activities it has to offer. I know I'm going to miss this so much when I leave!

MacLehose Trail Stages 1 & 2

The MacLehose Trail (麥理浩徑), named after Hong Kong's longest serving gonverner Crawford Murray MacLehose, is a 100km long trail that runs east to west across the New Territories, cutting across some of the finest natural scenery in Hong Kong. It was MacLehose who established the country parks - he was an enthusiastic hiker himself.

Every year in the third weekend of November, there is the Oxfam Trailwalker charity hike/run where 500 teams comprising of four members in each, hike/run the trail to raise funds for charity. For the event, the MacLehose Trail is divided into eight stages. All four members of the team are supposed to do the entire course together and support teams will be stationed at various points to give them food and water as refuel.

Initially I thought of doing it this year, but then decided that I couldn't risk destroying my already weak knees at this age. Moreover, my body type - fat - isn't really suitable for running. There'd be too much impact on my knees what with the undulating hills throughout the trail. So that thought was banished.

Instead I chose to do this trail in stages. On Saturday I hiked Stages 1 & 2 of the trail and with that I've done all eight stages of the trail on separate occasions. Hurray! Here are some snapshots from Saturday's hike.

The start of Stage 1 in Pak Tam Chung (北潭涌). You can get there by taking bus 94 from the Sai Kung bus terminus in the Sai Kung town centre. Or if you're in a group, just grab a taxi.

Stage 1 of the MacLehose Trail follows a road that runs along one side of the High Island Reservoir. You're walking on paved road all the time and the terrain of Stage 1 is very flat - not a very interesting part of the trail.

You might also come across free roaming cows. But don't worry, they're very tame and won't hurt you. Just be careful of the large mounds of turd they leave in their wake along roads and trails. Haha.

Basalt rock formations in their characteristic hexagonal columns.

Not far into the initial stages of Stage 2, you'll come across Long Ke Beach. It's a beautiful beach with soft clean sand and it's worth a trip if you'd like to go to an easily accessible beach. I loved the view of the water's azure and turquoise colours from the top! You just have to take a taxi and tell the driver to go to Long Ke Village (浪茄村). Bet you never thought such lovely beaches existed in Hong Kong, did you?

View from our lunch spot - the High Island Reservoir in view.

Sharp Peak in the distance

A cafe at Sai Wan (西灣), another beach along the trail. This is another popular beach in Sai Kung and also a nice one to head to for a day out. We stopped for a drink and I was so tempted to go swimming. But no, I had to focus on the mission at hand, i.e. to complete the first two stages of the MacLehose Trail - all 25km of it.

The trail runs along several types of terrain - beach, mud tracks, paved roads, dirt paths etc.

Ham Tin beach

Up for some surfing, anyone?

The end of Stage 2 at Pak Tam Au (北潭凹). No, I'm not heading back in that direction! Done for the day! I was completely exhausted by the time I reached Pak Tam Au. The last 5km seemed to go on forever! There is a bus stop just about 30 metres down the road and you can take bus 94 back to the Sai Kung bus terminus.

When we got back to the Sai Kung town centre where the Sai Kung Pier is, there was a floating fish market going on. The fishermen bring their catch to the pier and customers banter prices with them from the pier.

Live fish, crabs, lobsters, eels and a whole lot of other seafood for your picking. I love this floating fish market - really delightful!

The Sai Kung peninsula is one of the loveliest parts of Hong Kong and is definitely worth a trip out. You can hire a ferry from the pier and tour round some of the islands. Many of the islands are designated ecoparks with some spectacular rock formations. There are also many seafood restaurants at the pier, but these are generally expensive and tend to be tourist traps.

For information on getting to Sai Kung, click here.

Tiananmen Candlelight Vigil

Every 4th June, people gather in Hong Kong's Victoria Park for a candlelight vigil to remember the victims of the Tiananmen Square massacres in 1989. This year marks the 21st anniversary of the horrific incident in Beijing and I went with my colleague to have a look.

Some pro-democracy protesters making their point in Causeway Bay.

Causeway Bay was packed with people making their way to Victoria Park.

Posters of victims put up by the Tiananmen Mothers Campaign who had lost their children to the indiscriminate killing of the Chinese army. Many of the victims happened to be passerbys or just someone stopping to help the injured.

六四 (meaning 6/4) is the common reference to the incident amongst the Chinese people. The other two words mean 'mourning' in Chinese.

There were an estimated 150,000 people gathered in Victoria Park and everyone held a lit candle in their hands. Songs were sung to remember the victims and some of the older people were seen to be crying. Pro-democracy slogans were shouted in unison, led by pro-democracy leaders of pro-democracy political parties and student union leaders from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

A charity in support of Chinese dissidents unable to return to China. The Chinese words 我要回家 mean 'I want to go home.'

Books, T-shirts, DVDs and other pro-democracy material being sold to raise funds. I was touched to see so much fervour and passion especially in the people who were selling these items and urging people to donate to their cause or to donate to the mothers who had lost their children.

Dimsumdolly Meets Another Dimsumdolly ...

and friend outside Maxim's restaurant in the shopping arcade next to Tai Wo MTR station. :p

Gong Guan 公官會所

If you're looking for a private kitchen restaurant to go to, you could consider going to Gong Guan 公官會所, a restaurant that serves a fusion of Cantonese and Shanghainese cuisine. The tiny restaurant is located in Sheung Wan and has three rooms with a big table in each. To get a booking, you'll need to have at least 10 but up to a maximum of about 12/13 people in your party. I ate at Gong Guan at the end of February when a friend of mine visited and I joined in the dinner with her friends. Here's what we ate:

Shanghainese style minced vegetables with tofu

Braised tofu with Chinese mushrooms and black fungus

Slices of beef

Preserved vegetables

Eggplant with pork floss

Melon with mung bean vermcelli

Tofu soup

I loved this dish most with its slice of pork and dried crispy beancurd to be eaten by placing both sandwiched inside the pancake.

Broccoli with crab meat and lily bulb

Tea smoked chicken

Steamed fish

Stew pork

Stir-fried mix vegetables

This was one of the best dishes of the night with the crispy brown rice cakes and the minced meat. The rice was nicely browned and smoky and went well with the minced meat.

Dessert was glutinous rice balls with millet.

As it was such a long time ago, I've forgotten exactly what each dish tastes like. However, I remember enjoying the meal and thought it was worth the HKD380 (not inclusive of corkage) that I had spent.

Gong Guan 公官會所
12/F Fung Woo Building
279 Des Voeux Road Central
Sheung Wan, Hong Kong
(Sheung Wan MTR station Exit B)
Tel: +852 2577 9789