It's officially winter in Hong Kong

People back home often ask me what the weather is like in Hong Kong. It is semi tropical and for the most part it is hot and humid. But it does have a cool "winter" season. By October the temperatures are in the mid to upper twenties and by November they are in the low twenties, finally by Christmas and the new year we should see temperatures in the mid teens and we may even have to put our heater on! 

For me "winter" seems to seek up on my and catch me off guard. There isn't a brisk morning or faint change in the leaves to give you those subtle reminders that winter is not too far off. The only real indicator here is the not so pleasant increase in smog, due to increased coal burring in China and the very enjoyable increase in the number of butterflies (HK Butterflies) which are most active in the transition months between the summer and winter. It seems one day I am wearing shorts and the next it is time for jeans. Just this last week I wore jeans and a long sleeved shirt for the first time since May and the other day I found it necessary to wear a light sweater. 

There is one thing though that is a sure sign that winter has arrived in Hong Kong and that is the chestnut cart! 

These carts are all over the city in the cooler months. They are quite creative, basically a giant mobile BBQ with big wok. Here you will find a mouthwatering array of filling winter snacks to warm you up. Sweet potatoes and a pan of eggs (chicken and quail I think) nestle along side each other and in the giant wok are hot coals mixed with chestnuts roasting away. The smell is unmistakeable, smoky and comforting. This cart greeted my friend and I right as we got off the bus on our way to a movie, delighting both of us. Nothing can compare to the sweet, smokey goodness that is a chestnut right off the coals! It is winter at it's finest! 

International Dinner

"What to do for dinner today?" I thought to myself  sometime this afternoon; and like pretty much everyone at some time or another realised that there is stuff in the fridge that needs to be eaten or will be wasted. After looking at what I had I figured tonights dinner would be Carrot/Pumpkin Soup and salad. Simple fare, nothing complicated, healthy and easy to put together while trying to catch up on six weeks of not studying. I had all the ingredients except for some lettuce and a pepper for the salad, but that was just a quick walk to the grocery store. This is the result: 

Now at this point you are likely wondering what is so international about that. I mean besides the fact that it is soup and salad and I live in Hong Kong, where chicken feet and bok choi are common. It sounds odd but that cheesy iPhone shot represents food production from all over the globe. No exaggeration. I'm not talking about one or two imported ingredients, I am talking about the whole meal.  Here is the break down of what you see: 

Pumpkin: Japan
Carrots: USA & Australia 
Onion: China (organic)
Olive Oil: Italy (ok, I would buy Italian olive oil in Canada too....)
Chicken Broth: UK
Veg Broth: USA
Milk: Australia
Lettuce: Malaysia
Celery: USA
Tomatoes: Mexico
Pepper: Holland
Dressing: USA

It sounds crazy, but that represents a typical home cooked meal here and it saddens me. But the bottom line is I do not trust China. It is not the Chinese people, it is the crazy, runaway development model that has been fostered over the past couple of decades. Deng Xiaoping's "Development at all Costs" is now paying a heavy price and one of those costs is food safety.  Whether it's melamine in milk, cooking oil from restaurants that instead of being disposed of is repackaged and resold, additives in livestock feed, illegal pesticides or general soil contamination(a HUGE issue), it seems that every week I am hearing something new in the news. Sometimes I can't avoid it and buy something from China, however, I never buy Chinese meat (Brazilian chicken anyone!) or eggs, and when I do buy fruits or vegetables I choose organic. As a result, my dinner has a huge carbon foot print and price tag to boot! Despite that I won't change and count myself fortunate that I can afford to shop the way I do. 

P.S. The soup was really good..If anyone wants the recipe here it is: Creamy Pumpkin Carrot Soup

The Western Experience?

Where has Koratgirl been? 

In a word, lazy. Very, very, very lazy...I have no excuse. I simply have been a bad blogger and for those of you who follow me through here, I apologise. 

The inspiration to write just has not been there, which is a bit sad because I do like to write. Although I have never been a journaler or a diary keeper and I most certainly have never been one of those people who must write or burst. I go through these phases of wanting to write, then feeling rather meh about it; and I always feel that because this is a blog, I owe my readers at least a couple of paragraphs, and if I can't do that then I shouldn't bother. But the reality is I don't need to write a lot.  There is no reason why a few sentences or even a couple of photographs won't do. Actually to take it a bit further, I don't owe this to anybody. It is for myself and for my friends and if you are my friend then you understand and I love you for it. 

So had the muse struck again? Maybe, but I think the most recent development in my life has made me want to write again. What is it you ask? Easy, its learning. I love to learn! Whether it is new recipes or new cultures (I'd like to say languages, but my attempts at Cantonese have not convinced me of that) or random interesting facts. I simply love to learn. I have enjoyed being a Tai Tai (pampered woman) or as I prefer to say "retired" and I most certainly have enjoyed taking advantage of the travel benefits our current life affords us, it simply isn't enough. So I have decided to take advantage of my current situation and  do something that has been in my mind for ages.  I am continuing my education working towards my B.A. with a major in History and a minor in Global Studies. History, because I like it and Global Studies, because I like it too, and it compliments my current degree.  Luckily in this day and age, there are lots of options for distance/online learning, which allows me to work at my own pace and still travel when I want to. And the interesting thing is that having made the commitment and started my first course (Ancient - Early Modern European history if you are invested), I suddenly want to write again. Lets hope for my poor little blog that the inspiration sticks around for a while. 

So what have else I been doing since I last wrote? Living life. Each day comes and each day goes. Some have been good and some have been bad. We have had our joys and tragedies, loved and lost. But in the end each day has been as it should and for that I am grateful. 

Happy New Year!

I have never been a big New Years person. I did my share of parting in my 20's but for the past few years, since Mr. Grey Cat almost always is working, I have spent it with my friend and her family. I honestly can't even remember what I did last year, but I know it wasn't much. This year proved to be a different story. This year I celebrated the New Year, in true Hong Kong Expat fashion and partied 2012 away in Lan Kwai Fong! 

Lan Kwai Fong is an area in Hong Kong consisting of primarily two streets (Lan Kwai Fong and D'Aguilar) that close in on each other forming a rectangle. It has become an area full of restaurants, bars and clubs and is one of the cities hot spots. During the evenings and weekends it is usually closed to traffic and becomes one large party.  If you live or are visiting Hong Kong it really is something you should do at least once.

I met one friend for some pre dinner drinks then we made our way to a nice restaurant, where we were meeting several others. After a delicious meal we wandered out to the streets. It was a bit after 10pm, which is early by HK standards so we were able to get into one of the clubs. We chose Insomnia, which had a lived band playing. They were quite good and kept the crowd dancing. After a bit of time my friend wanted a smoke so I stepped outside with her into the biggest sea of people I have ever seen. Literally out the door there was barely any room to move. The bars and clubs were hopping and if you hadn't gotten in to one by the time we did, you were out of luck. But that is OK, because the street was a big party too! 

After ringing in the new year, I decided to leave in time to catch the 1:30am ferry home. Back in Canada everything would be closed by then and even most transport would have stopped, but not Hong Kong. The party was just warming up! I have never in my life seen so many people trying to get into the area. After a tragic accident in the early 1990's that resulted in 20 people dying and hundreds of injuries due to crushing the police have implemented very strict crowd control. We are not talking a few officers blocking the entrance or exit, but hundreds of police with barricades, even riot gear, herding people in and out, which stretched for blocks! They keep a firm hand on it but were never intimidating. 

Of course I did not have my camera with me, but I did have my iPhone and lets be honest, it was New Years Eve so I had a bit to drink as well. So here are some not very good photos that I took on the walk down to the ferry. 

The crowd outside Insomnia at about 11pm. 

Looking down the other direction. 

First street I passed full of people trying to get in to LKF. 

Another couple of streets over, still lining up. 

Still going...

And going....

And going...

And finally nearing the end.  

It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas.....

Everywhere you go....... 

Or so the song says and if you live in Canada, it has for a while. 

I can remember, not so fondly,  putting up my store's Christmas promotion dressed in my Halloween costume and I was never surprised to see Costco bringing Christmas items out in September. Christmases in North America are over commercialized and in your face from Nov 1st onwards. While I am sure there are a few people who love it, for most of us, myself included, it gets to be a bit much. Working in the retail industry made it that much worse. Looking at Christmas displays was one thing, but the ever present carols repeated in endless loops as the background to your working day, were on an entirely different level.  By the time the holiday actually arrived I felt that if I heard Little Drummer Boy one more time I would find that drum stick and shove it up Santa's you know what. Obviously other people feel the same way too since I read a week or so ago, that Shoppers Drug Mart has agreed to not start playing their Christmas music so early. Add to that the exhaustion of dealing with the crowds, long hours and the inevitable customer service issues, it was hard to enjoy the holiday. 

I find in Hong Kong Christmas is much saner. Christmas is a public holiday, but the majority of the population are not christians nor do they celebrate Christmas. As a result Christmas is not so obvious. Starting in November the stores slowly bring out Christmas merchandise, but I can not recall seeing a Christmas commercial on TV nor are there carols playing on the radio. Stores don't go all out with crazy Christmas sales promotions and my mailbox is not weighted down with 10lbs of paper that is all flyers, mixed with the inevitable bills. In fact today was the first day that I really realized we are in the Christmas season. While in the washroom of all places, at Elements mall in Kowloon, I noticed that the music ever so softly playing was Christmas music. When I walked out I listend carefully and sure enough, the carols were playing in mall itself. I then noticed the decorations and soon stumbled on to the big Christmas display. 

I am not sure what the Alice in Wonderland type tree and mushrooms have to do with Christmas and they obviously won't be doing Santa Photos (another nightmare from Christmases past), but given that I am a minority here, I appreciate what is out there and enjoy it all the more. 

Ikea Does Have Everything!

Remember a while a go I told you about my quest for a rolling pin? I have no idea why I never thought to look in Ikea for the rolling pin, since they have everything. Well, my latest trip to Ikea proves it. They do have everything! 

Hong Kong has very liberal liquor laws and since moving here I have become used to seeing alcohol everywhere. There are specific booze and wine shops such as Watson's Wine but the only restrictions on the sale of alcohol is on who can buy it. Technically you have to be over 18 to purchase booze, but I haven't been able to put it to the test. I am well past the stage of my life when I needed to bring ID to purchase alcohol. So because of the lack of any restrictions you will find all sorts of alcohol in the grocery store. And seeing cans of beer or bottles of Smirnoff Ice next to the bottles of water and iced tea in 7-11 is common. Heck, compared to some designer waters, beer is a much better value, if not cheaper! But now you can pick up some booze along with your Besta storage unit and MJOD beer glasses! Meatballs anyone? 

*editors note: Ikea does NOT have everything. They do not have frames for 8x10 photos! 

Pink City

I retuned home just before sunset today and was busy putting stuff away when I suddenly noticed the light in the flat looked odd. When I looked up and out my windows I noticed everything had turned pink! I quickly grabbed my new little camera, threw open some windows and grabbed a few shots before the light changed. I have never seen the light like this before. It must have been just the right combination of conditions to create it. It was fairly clear today, but with some haze, there is a typhoon east of us that has given us some winds and clouds and sun was setting. All of them for a few brief minutes combined to give us this:

It lasted a couple of minutes only and it was beautiful! Honestly, this is the real colors. I have not done a thing with the photos and having witnessed it, I can assure you it is not some strange colour cast created in the camera. 

It is too bad the sun sets over the mountains behind me as it must have been quite a sight. I imagine the people that live in Pok Fu Lam must have had an amazing sight! I hope a few of them managed to see it.