You didn’t think we’d go all the way to Hong Kong without sampling a local beer did you?  Of course you didn’t.  And so I present one of the most common tipples to be found at the eateries of Temple Street – Yanjing Beer.

Yanjing is a very basic beer, with no distinguishing features.  However, it is definitely not a bad beer, so it’s pretty easy to drink.  Also, for something so basic it is priced as you would expect – a 600ml bottle will set you back $5.50 … in Hong Kong dollars!  That equates to just 60 cents, or 33 pence per pint. I’m fairly certain the people who saw me buying it in the store saw the equivalent of Tesco Value Lager, but what the heck – it certainly hit a post conference spot.

After a very warm day hiking up to the Tian Tan Buddha, we were in need of some cooling.  Spotting a branch of Honeymoon Dessert, we made a beeline, knowing it would quench our appetites for refreshment.

We decided to share the slightly messy Watermelon Tofu Pudding.  It was lovely and refreshing.

We washed it down with some Watermelon Juice and a Mango Iced.  Scott loves mangoes, and that really hit the spot for him as it was packed with chunks of fresh mango.

It turns out that healthy, fruit based dessert chains are quite handy to have around in such a humid climate (more about that and the effect it had on my hair in a later post ).

We ended our Hong Kong excursion with a trip to Tiffin Lounge in the Grand Hyatt for a three hour feast.  They do a lovely Sunday brunch buffet with free flowing Moët & Chandon Impèrial Rosè.  We gorged ourselves.  It was awesome.

The service was excellent.  My Champagne flute never dipped below half full, and the atmosphere was nice and relaxed: comfy sofas and a musical trio playing some standards and classics.  As Scott said yesterday while cleaning his fifth plate, “This is worth every penny.  I’d even pay double.”  There was loads of food we didn’t get to try.  We were far too full, but here’s a list of what we did manage:

Savoury:
Whole Roasted Foie Gras
Asparagus with Quail Eggs
Liver Pate
Poached Beef Tongue
Prosciutto
Baked Boston Lobster with Champagne Creme & Herbs
Beetroot Salmon
Pan Fried Perch
Assorted Cold Seafood
Roast Lamb with Rosemary Jus
Tandoori Lamb Chop

Sweet:
Mango Charlotte
White Chocolate Raspberry Cake
Chocolate Brownie
Green Tea & Red Bean Cake with Mini Macaron
White Chocolate Cinnamon Mousse
Bread & Butter Pudding with Vanilla Sauce
Raspberry Tart
Baked Orange Chocolate Cheesecake
Mango & Passionfruit Pannacotta
Bavarian Chestnut Cream with Banana & Passionfruit
Freshly Bake Apricot Almond Tart

In retrospect it may have been a bit indulgent, but we enjoyed it immensely. 

Today’s activities were some of the first we planned when we knew we’d be coming to Hong Kong.  We wanted to visit the Tian Tan Buddha and eat food in the vegetarian restaurant run by the monks of the Po Lin Monastery.  We were already looking forward to this immensely, but even more so when we discovered the best way to get to Ngong Ping village was by cable car.  Honestly, I don’t know why anyone would go any other way.

Having passed up and over mountains and valleys, 25 stunning minutes later we arrived. Since we arrived before the crowds that came later we had Ngong Ping practically to ourselves, so it was a pleasant walk to the Buddha.

At 35 feet tall, he’s apparently the largest outdoor sitting bronze Buddha in the world.  And the 268 steps you climb with his peaceful gaze upon you are totally worth it.

It really is a very peaceful and beautiful place to be.  The museum underneath the statue had many ancient Buddhist texts, along with a revered bone relic.  It left us feeling particularly tranquil, so it was the perfect time to head to the nearby Po Lin Monastery.

We headed to the restaurant for our vegetarian feast.  And what a feast it was: mixed mushroom soup, deep fried spring roll (some of the best I’ve ever had), black mushrooms with vegetables, fresh bean curd sheet with lemon sauce (oh so good), and fresh lily bulbs with vegetables (seriously fresh and crisp), all served with steamed rice and Jasmine tea.

The food was really good, and we satisfied our tummies along with our souls.  It’s been an absolutely wonderful day so far.  As we head off to the Temple Street Night Market, we’ll leave you with just one more photo.  Rar. 

aka: Why you should always take your wife with you on business trips. 

Scott is giving his talk at the conference today, so we’ve chosen a suitably professional ensemble with a few fun elements thrown in too.  I stick to the general rule that when wearing a suit, men’s accessories should be kept to a maximum of three, including the watch but excluding the wedding band.

So we went for a black suit with a conservative blue and white stripped shirt with white collar and cuffs.  For accessory number 1- the cufflinks, we went with his black lego pair.  This is after all an academic conference.

For the tie, we also went the less conservative route.  We then paired it with accessory number two- his St. Andrew’s Cross tie bar.

For accessory number three, he chose to wear his watch.  It’s one of those skeleton affairs, and he loves it. 

So here are the final results:

I’m sure he will be thrilled this evening when he sees his pictures plastered all over the interwebs, but I couldn’t help it.  He looked far too good for me to resist. 

Today we headed into the New Territories to explore a Hong Kong outside of the city centre.  We caught a double decker bus (the first we’ve seen for three years) and got some great views as we headed to Sha Tin. We knew that just a five minute walk from the station would be the start of the walk up to the 10000 Buddhas Monastery.  However, in the recent words of a fellow traveller inadequate signage left us exploring the Po Fook Memorial Hall instead.

This was the entrance to the hall, and it had a lovely koi pond and more turtles than I have ever seen in one place.

The memorial halls are mausoleums, and they seem much more spiritual and revered than ours in the west.  We didn’t take any photos inside the halls because it just seemed disrespectful.

After exploring the halls, we did find the Buddhas we’d been looking for as well.  Sha Tin really is quite a serene place.

It’s a steep 500 step climb to the monastery at the top, but it’s very much worth it.

After finding peace, we found ourselves hungry, so we headed a few train stops further north to Tai Po.

We started at the Tai Po Market with all manner of fresh goodness.  Imagine 20 fishmongers all in one place, right next to 40 butchers.  There were all manner of things hanging on hooks- from steaks and chops, to kidneys and hearts … and even a skinned pig’s face.  We headed up to the Cooked Food Centre on the second floor, but as it was the lunch rush we don’t have any pictures.  A word of advice for travellers – if you want to eat here, either take a local with you or find somewhere with pictures so that you can point because there is no English.

We were after a particular Hong Kong treat: roast goose, so we headed a couple of blocks over to the recommended Yat Lok.  They don’t have an English menu, but they do have a man that speaks English and is happy to help out.

We had a nommy lunch of Roast Goose, Suckling Pig, Gai Lan with garlic, rice and assorted sauces.

It was a very fulfilling and tiring day, so we’re having an early night, which I will use to prepare for my talk tomorrow.

Looking forward to the rest of the trip!

Turns out we’re surrounded by bloody great mountains which were completely obscured by the darkness. 

It’s almost 1am here in Hong Kong (4am Sydney time), and we’ve been in our hotel for approximately 25 minutes.  Getting out of the airport and checking into our hotel took a wee bit more time than expected.  Our eyes are bloodshot, and we’re exhausted, but here’s the story so far. . .

We took a plane.  We watched Harry Potter while eating some cheese and crackers we’d brought from home.

I took a picture of myself.

I ate my traditional specially requested meal.  As far as most major airlines are concerned, I’m a Hindu.  Though I might decide to be an Asian Vegetarian on the return flight.

We watched The Boat That Rocked, then I began a new farm in Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness.

Now we’re in our hotel room.

It’s amazing.  Everything in our room is so high tech.  It took us 15 minutes to workout how to turn on and off the lights, and yet at reception they’re still using myriad pieces of paper and staples to keep track of the bookings.  Go figure. 

Off for some much needed sleep.  The real story begins tomorrow. . .

It isn’t long now until we fly out to Hong Kong, and we’re really looking forward to it.  We’ve been doing plenty of planning, figuring out where to go, how to get there, what to eat, and importantly what NOT to eat.  You can be sure we’ll fill you in on all the hopefully not too gory details (we’ll have WiFi).

I’m also fully prepared for my talk at the conference.  Having ironed out a lot of kinks with a very patient audience of one at the weekend, I was ready to give the talk at work.  There were two reasons for this: the first was as a practice for me; while the second was to introduce others in the company to what we’re doing in R&D.  All told it was a great success, and I’m prepped for the real thing, so I’ll let you know how it goes.

Oh and the temperature just hit 38 C/100 F,  so we’re ready for a break in more moderate climbs!