I was excited for a day of navigating to new parts of HK today- not just the typical busy streets of the city centre but also some of the olden day island life. Getting on my clothes and plastering on the sunblock (I'm not bothered about tanning), I set off on foot to one of the most popular breakfast venues in Hong Kong: Australian Dairy Company. My walk took we along the main road, through a public recreation area with an outdoor swimming pool and people doing tai chi before I reached the restaurant. I was able to spot it before I reached it- a line of eager customers had begun to form and one of the staff was out asking how many were in each party. This restaurant offers a Western style HK breakfast all day, and has been here for years. Still ever popular, it features on Must Eat guides and is top of every foodie's list of must visit places. Being a single, I was matched up with 3 others at a table of 4. Thanks to Bryan, I was already armed with my order written in Chinese which I was grateful for- we were not given one in English! The man sitting next to me spoke English too and told me he had been coming for years. The four of us ordered the same thing: macaroni in soup with sliced ham, thick cut toast with rich, yellow scrambled eggs and a milk tea. It sounds like an odd combination- pasta with toast for breakfast, but it was surprisingly good. The milk tea was so creamy and delicious too, not sweet either. My new found friend, Patrick, explained to me that every place will make it's own blend of milk tea and that ADC make their own blend from 4 types of black tea leaves which they toast in a wok first before adding a specific type of evaporated milk they import from Belgium. Okay, no way I was going to be able to recreate this one at home. Patrick was drinking the tea/coffee mix that I had tried before- again, it sounds strange but is really good. Every place will have their own balance. The standout of the meal was the eggs- so rich (they use duck eggs) with butter and lightly folded rather than the mess of overlooked watery scramble often served in UK. Patrick and I ended up talking for ages- he had studied in Canada and the US, and now worked as a tutor in HK where is is from originally. Apparently school is so tough here, that children need a tutor to help them with their homework which he then marks and they take to school the next day. I can't imagine having a day of school and then tuition in the evening just for the homework... suddenly my past experience seemed a lot easier. As we talked, I tried one of their famous steamed milk puddings, hot this time, and it was silky smooth and sweet. Imagine eating sweet, silky milk with a spoon! After exchanging of details, I made my way to the nearest MRT station and travelled to the end of the orange line, where I was able to help a foreigner find his way to HK. Feeling smug that I was getting my way around and assisting others too, I searched for my bus stop to Tai O. After asking a local, I found the bus which was being loaded with people as I approached. The convenience of having the Octopus card was great- all I had to do was swipe and board. The journey to Tai O was winding and uphill. We were travelling across Lantau Island and had views of the sea and even beaches on one side; trees and mountains on the other. In not long at all, we reached the fishing village and I had to pop open my umbrella- the blue sky and bright sun made it immensely hot. From the moment I looked around I feel in love with the place. It was so charming and quaint, and obviously not changed much over the years. Small boats were sailing through the village, the houses built on stilts. The little streets were filled with stalls and shops selling dried fish, shrimp paste, fish balls and even salt which was harvested there too. I had one of their famous fish balls (spicy of course) and walked along one of the narrow streets, taking my time. One of the little shops I spent time in was owned by a man named Simon, who made his own bath soaps and essential oils. He was so sweet, and his products were so well made- he would take a photo of the Tai O landscape and carve it into the bar of homemade soap. We spent ages chatting and I even gave him a name suggestion for his "Number 1 soap"- Spirit of the Sea. He had me write it down and was delighted. I ended by buying a few gifts there and carried on, taking in the mountain views where hiker trails lined the slopes. I couldn't imagine attempting such a feat on a hot day. I Googled the street where I was hoping to find an uncle making egg waffles over a charcoal grill whom I had read about online. I passed the spot several times and couldn't see him, and when I asked a local lady she shook her head- I assumed he was off that day. It was already lunchtime and the next stop on my list was Solo coffee shop- and what a delight it was! The street-side part sold hand painted postcards and I was greeted by a staff member who asked if I liked coffee... Yes! She was able to inform me the the waffle guy had been closed as he had no licence (even after all those years of practice on his front door step!). The girl, Charlotte, told me to try a doughnut from their famous Tai O bakery instead and I could bring it back to have with my coffee (very kind of her!). I walked through the shop all the way to the other end which opened out to the river behind. Sitting at a table overlooking the quaint view under the shade of an umbrella, I had a cold brew, wrote a post card and was handed a few books on Tai O history to browse through. Deciding I should catch the 2pm bus to my next stop, I had a quick walk to the temple and along a waterfront path- Charlotte kindly offering to post my card for me! Only 15 minutes away by winding road took me to Nong Ping 360, an area that would have been accessible from my original start point by cable car except it was closed for the few days I was in HK due to maintainence. The sun was still baking the earth, so I strolled along the main path past statues towards the Floating Temple, and up the 268 steps to the giant Tian Tan Buddha statue. It was incredible, the views from up there, and the statue was massive, gazing over the landscape and seas in the distance. I walked back down and along a trail past an abandoned tea house which had obviously been destroyed. A stand of "fire beaters"- wooden sticks with long rubber bristles to beat out the flames in case of forest fire sat nearby and was a clue to the previous destruction. Deciding I had seen enough, I took a bus, then MRT back to Hong Kong, arriving in Central area over an hour later. This part of HK was really full of character- lots of fashion boutiques, street markets, antique stores, and in order to make it easier to climb the steep slopes- the longest escalator in the world! A whole series of escalators carrying people from the lowest part at Central all the way up the hill. The sign highlighted it changed directions at certain times of the day, and I was lucky it was going uphill where I was headed. Taking off at one side, I walked my way across to Kau Kee beef noodle shop for a well overdue lunch/early dinner. Arriving at that time was perfect- a queue was only beginning to form. I felt the pressure of ordering quickly and was put at a table with other diners- don't be precious about having your own space in HK! The menu was quite large, but I chose a bowl of their beef tendon curry with E- Fu noodles and a glass of iced yuenyeung. I must say, it turned out to be the best meal I had in my entire trip. The beef was so tender and falling apart, the noodles were handmade and soft, the curry was flavourful and full of spice. Maybe I was just really hungry, but they were so good! The rest of my evening was spent browsing the stores, walking through the massive mall at the IFC and finally reaching The Peak tram terminal at about 7.45pm. The tram has been there since, and travels at a very steep incline all the way to the top of the hill. Unfortunately I didn't secure a seat in the packed tram on the way there, and so hung onto the pole, getting a good arm workout or I would have fallen all the way back! Just before 8pm, I ascended further all the way to the very top just in time for the 8pm light show over the city. I gasped as I beheld the most amazing city night view I have ever seen! Every building was colourfully illuminated, strobe lights were flashing, advertisements rolling up some of the larger high rises. The reflections of it all were shimmering in the water, and the ferrys sailed from one side to another. It was really spectacular. Getting some pictures and just enjoying it, I spent some time there before having to queue for a while for the tram to back me down again. Luckily, a bus arrived to bring me to the ferry terminal where I boarded for an extremely cheap fare to take me across to the mainland near where we stayed. It's surprising the ferry is still used for this journey when the MTR is also available, however it is cheap and a relaxing way to travel. Now almost home, I remembered I had read of another famous egg waffle shop near to us so walked there first for supper before heading back for the night. Mammy Pancake was a tiny shop which sold many flavours- so I opted for a red bean and green tea flavour one to munch on the way. It was dark but the streets were so illuminated, signs were flashing and the place felt really alive. I recalled my day's events to the others and caught up before falling asleep easily from our 11th floor room.
