Hong Kong - April 2021

 Tulips for April. They are beautiful but they didn't last long !

It's getting warmer and the beaches are re-opening. Did a hike to Cape D'Aguilar, and finished in Shek O for some BBQ street food. Caught a Red Minibus from Shau Kei Wan to the start ($10). 

The walk is down a paved road and you have to come back the same way. Walking then to Sheko O down the road was a bit scary as there's no footpath and the road is narrow.

On the way down...

Nice cave at the bottom...

Looking across to Shek O in the distance...

It's Easter and we get an extra day for Ching Ming Festival. On of my favourite Chinese restaurants has a great lunch set for $88 (plus 10% service fee) so I tried it one day. It's called Monogamous Chinese.

The first course was deep fried eggplant...

The second course was sichuan noodles with beef. The third course was dumplings.

Another day I met a friend for lunch at a cha chaan teng called Australia Dairy in Jordan. It has nothing to do with Australia other than the founder worked in Australia in the 1940s. It is very local and famous for the rude waiters who rush you along :-)

The queue moved quite quickly. All the other restaurants are empty !

This is known as Hong Kong style local breakfast. Macaroni in soup with char sui (BBQ pork), toast with ham and scrambled eggs plus iced milk tea. Not my first choice of food but actually wasn't bad.

We then walked to Kai Tak and then Kwun Tong where we got a ferry back to Northpoint...

It wasn't a very interesting walk other than seeing some traditional Hong Kong style buildings. This is in a place called To Kwa Wan...

We also visited the Cattle Depot Artist Village which used to be a slaughterhouse. There wasn't much to see there so we didn't stay long.

One night I went to my boss' place for dinner. Took some champagne and water lilies I bought from the market...

One Saturday I got up early and did the Dragon's Back hike. I've done it many times, but this time I did it in reverse, from Big Wave Bay to Shek O Road. Caught the bus down into Shek O and had banana pancakes at Lulu's.

The following day I caught the ferry to Cheung Chau and had a seafood lunch. Then walked past the pirates cave to a beach that I had not been to before. 

Then had a coffee at Valour where I had been last year with Alex.

Cheung Chau is famous for fish balls...

On the anniversary of my Mother's death, I headed to the flower market in Mongkok. Nearby is the bird market so I checked that out.

Then bought some carnations at the flower market. The bunch was so big I had to split it into two...

On another day I had brunch at Chaiwala with a friend. It's Indian in a modern setting. I had been before for dinner.

Brunch is a set menu with optional free-flow...

This is entree...

One Monday I got my first vaccination shot. 

The next day I was put under a mandatory testing order as I had been to a building where a positive case had also been. I went to the testing centre in Shek Tong Tsui which was very efficient. Afterwards I had breakfast nearby at ARF Cafe which I had been before. Love the retro mugs...

The food is good here...

I got my negative result the following day.

As I was working from home for a few days, I went for a walk up the Green Trail to The Peak.

I had a milk tea at the top.

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.