Chicken Feet and all that jazz

Yes, my Hubband ate a chicken foot...

Everything in Hong Kong always seems to begin with eating... and of course ends with eating. It's not just the typical have a bowl of cereal for breakfast. Everything is a feast. A table laden with different, mostly savoury, delectable dishes. Me and my wee whanau seem to hoover down meals here in H.K - though of course we got nothing on the locals appetites!

I have begun to take notice of how different the traditional Hong Kong food is to what they serve up in our slice of paradise, Aotearoa. The "Chinese" food from your local is garbage compared to what we have been experiencing here, in the Heart of Hong Kong. Between the home-cooked meals and the many restaurants we have sampled, I have got to say it's (mostly) all delicious. It is rich, yet light. Seafood and meat dominate their palate and it is fairly broth/soup based. There is no rice, like I had envisioned. The closest I came was rice noodles. There is also no real feeling of 'fresh' vegetables. Everything is either hidden in dumplings or as a smattering of garnish. Of course there was the odd side of steamed greens now and then. I will admit, I have craved a salad or a veggie-filled sandwich! But that feeling passes when the food begins to roll out... 

After lunch, and The Hubbands aforementioned foot eating; my B-Ma and our lil gang departed ways with the extended bio-whanau and headed to Hong Kong Island to take a ferry ride.
My Mama was super excited to be getting away from the crowds and catching some sights... until the moment her foot hit the gangplank - granted it was a slightly windy day made more apparent by the uneasy rocking of the boat we had just boarded.

We sat down, shuffled onto long bench seats in the centre of the boat. My Mama's long awaited time-out was unfortunately rewarded with a boatful of people who had the same idea... coupled with the swaying, meant she wanted to get off. NOW. Even though we had already left the dock.

Thank the Lord we were only taking a short trip across the harbour. Twenty minutes later it was all over, rover. Nothing to see here, y'all!

The city was jam-packed as the New Years fireworks display was happening later that night. We had decided earlier on that there was no way in Hong Kong we were getting stuck in this debacle (though secretly, I would've totally stayed but Mom and Ever wouldn't have handled it)
The cops had already begun to limit transport out of the city, and had started cordoning off the streets for the expected swell of people that were arriving en masse - Cue us getting the heck out of there!

Jostling our way out through the crowded ferry terminal we heard a funky musician chick singing indy/pop in english. She had amassed quite a crowd. We were enamoured. Not just because it was one of the few times we encountered english naturally, instead of just when we asked; she was also enigmatic. In a sweet yet edgy way. We left the ferry terminal after her cute rendition of a Katy Perry classique and stepped into the smoggy sunshine only to be ear-bashed by the sounds of a three-piece rock'n'roll band. The chick on the drums was bad-ass! (You go, girl!)

Two hours, two trains and one stinky-nappy-change in the middle of a crowded street later, we were back at my B-Ma's home eating, of course. This time a traditional 'New Years soup'. My B-Ma had been preparing it on and off for the last few days. Staying late at night telling us to go to sleep, but quietly banging - I mean cooking, away in her little kitchen; all for this delightfully rich soup. (Man, we NZ cooks are lazy... haha!) We had just settled in to a cozy night in when more family members randomly decided to visit. The upside of having a movie interrupted - Red Pockets!!! Haha! Their generosity has me dumbfounded. Eyes welling. Mouth agape. I always search around trying to think of things to give back...

Today (Saturday, Feb 21st) We finally got to have down-time with just us kiwi-whanau... and the bio-cuz, Jane, who took us to Mong Kok to do what Hong Konger's do best, shop! We kicked the trip off with another sweet Hong Kong tradition, eating... at McDonalds (- one of my requirements when traveling is to sample McD's in each country. You have to have life goals, right?)
So we finally got to order from a menu! Granted it was only a fast-food joint but we were still a little nervous to see if they would accept the english version of ordering...
McD's is pretty similar but you can order curly fries (yuss!) You can also order corn-kernels for kiddie-winkles (You're welcome, Ever!) The chicken burger isn't processed, but it is super brown! The other delightful surprise was the red bean pie! The best part, NZD$17 for three combos. Winning...

Later that night I finally met my bio-bro two days before I leave. I was seriously wondering if he actually existed! Haha! He came in with a shy demeanour. It was a wee bit awkward as he didn't want to speak in english. He did begin to loosen up, thanks to the magic of Ever! She has been my ice-breaker through most of this nerve-wracking trip!

Most people are smitten with Ever on first sight. Seriously. In New Zealand I get strangers coming up trying to squish her cheeks! Not to mention the never-ending compliments... (Why, thank you. I made her myself! Haha!) It's nice to see in our Hong Kong "Homeland" she is still just as appreciated.
To be honest she has been pretty amazing on this trip. She endures nonstop travelling/shopping and eating, sleeping in our arms, being pass the parceled, not to mention never-ending strangers in her face. Now, if we could just get her to sleep at night, this trip would be pretty close to perfect...

Goodnight from us. xo