Hong Kong - March 2021

It's now a year that we have been wearing masks everywhere. March is still cool. Here I am on the ding ding...

One Saturday I bought squid for dinner. Found a whole fish inside while I was cleaning it !

It was tasty...

One day I went to Stanley for a change of scenery. Walked around and had some lunch.

Another day I hiked from my place to Aberdeen Upper Reservoir. Had some spicy noodles at a Cha Chan Teng in Aberdeen...

One night I went out for drinks in Sheung Wan. It was a lovely night as I walked home up Hollywood Road.

The bar is called Mars Bar and is on Queen's Road...

I had to have a medical procedure at Canossa Hospital and stay overnight. This is my private room. It's meant to be a fancy hospital. Not by the decor I think :-)

Really :-)

One of my favourite lunch places is called Hanoi Street Food and is in the alley next to my office. This is the raw beef pho...

Seems I have too many work shirts...

One night I had the squid at Tuk Tuk Thai which is near me in Peel Street...

Friday afternoon tea at work. Flower tea and a matcha egg tart...

Lamma Island staycation - March 2021

 As we still can't travel, and I have some excess annual leave to use before my anniversary, I am taking Thursday's and Friday's off during March. I decided to get out of Central for a couple of nights and booked a hotel in Yung Shue Wan.

I have been to Lamma many times but have never stayed for dinner and I wanted to explore a bit further.

Yung Shue Wan from the ferry pier...

My hotel was the Bali Resort, close to the ferry pier (room 3B). Basic but all I needed and nice view over the town...

View from the balcony...

I started with a hike inland from Yung Shue Wan to Pak Kok Tsuen at the northern end of the island. I was actually looking for a vegan restaurant called Olive Leaf which gets great reviews. I made it to the village but couldn't find the restaurant.

Back in Yung Shue Wan, I went to The Beer Shack and relaxed over a couple of beers. Then I headed to dinner at the Waterfront and had Sri Lankan food while I watched the sunset.

Night view from my room...

The next day, I had a western breakfast at the Banyan Bay Cafe. After that I headed to the other side of the island as there were a couple of beaches I wanted to find.

The first part of the hike is known as the Family Walk to Sok Kwu Wan which I have done many times. Along the way there is this village which appears partly deserted...

At Sok Kwu Wan I headed inland and over the hill. A bit of climbing but not too bad. Got to the first beach, Shek Pai Wan. It's the longest beach on Lamma. However, like many Hong Kong beaches, there was a lot of rubbish on the beach. 

I then headed a bit further to Sham Wan Beach, also known as Turtle Beach. This one was beautiful. Deserted and clean. Also it was open (most HK beaches are closed at the moment due to COVID).

Then I headed back the way I came. This is looking back to where I had just been...

Back in Sok Kwu Wan I walked through the town and bought some water. This is the Tin Hau Temple...

And then headed back to Yung Shue Wan. This is halfway, looking back to Sok Kwu Wan.

That night I went back to Beer Shack for a drink and then had dinner at a Chinese restaurant. Went to a bar for a late drink but it was pretty dead so I went back to the hotel.

The next morning I had dim sum at a restaurant close by, and then headed home.

Hong Kong - February 2021

Finally escaped from quarantine on Saturday 6 February.

Caught an uber home and went to Wan Chai for a wander. That night I went to my boss' house for dinner. Nice to be back with people !

On Sunday I got up and had brunch at a new place in Central called APT.

Then did a hike on Lantau Island. Caught the ferry to Mui Wo then walked past the correctional facility to Tai Long Wan beach and then back to Pui O. Then bus back to Tung Chung and MTR home.

Quite a few water buffalo on route...

It was a lovely day...

A beach along the way...

Tai Long Wan...

Short week as it is Chinese New Year. Took off early on Thursday and had lunch with a friend at Yakiniku Great Soho. I'd previously been to their Sheung Wan restaurant. Great steak. Not cheap. Love the soy sauce syringe !

 

Japanese egg yolks are this colour...

On Friday I walked to Instagram Pier. Lovely day.

On Sunday I went to Tai Mo Shan in the New Territories for a look. 

It was a bit of a hazy day...

Then headed to Hung Hom for a traditional Chinese lunch. We had pre-ordered the lobster. It was tasty but the cheese sauce was a bit much...

In the afternoon I went for a walk up the Green Trail to The Peak. I ended up higher on the Peak than I had been before. Where all the fancy houses are.

Lucky 8 !  

Sunset from The Peak Galleria...

When I was in quarantine at the Kerry, I watched the Northpoint ferry come in each day. So one day I decided to catch it. I caught the MTR to Northpoint and the ferry terminal is very close to the exit. It's a short hop across the harbour to Hung Hom. The sun was setting...

Back to my favourite lunch restaurant, Yum Yum, and had the Taiwanese beef noodles...

For Christmas I got a $500 voucher for City Super. So I blew the lot on French oysters...

One Sunday I walked from my place to Aberdeen Reservoir. Done this one before...

Freezer essentials !

One night I had dinner at a Mexican place in Kennedy Town. Margarita's were great !