one night, in tsim sha tsui

we just got out from the train, walked up the grey tiled steps of the subway and out onto the greeting streets of tsim sha tsui, the slicing, yet ever welcomed winter wind chill greeting us as we emerged from the underground. the sights, the smell, the energy, the frenzy of the whole place was overwhelming, almost like the sudden intoxicating rush of rum taken on an empty stomach. tsim sha tsui was just how i remembered it, almost a year ago with its the huge shops and the multitude of shoppers drowning you in a sea of people.

kuya saw the gaze on my face as i lost myself in my reverie. i think he finds slight joy in the fact that i could always turn to my sense of nostalgia to keep me readily entertained. he tried testing my memory and asked me to lead the way to harbor city, the most prominent mall complex this side of the territory. HK is as familiar to him as the back of his hand, the signs of a serious shopper. i, on the other hand, am not as well gifted and would have to often follow him around, hoping i wont loose him amidst a throng of similarly faced orientals in what must be the world's largest chinatown. "lead the way!" he smilingly commanded, as i navigated thru streets and corners until i found my landmark, the beautifully decorated facade of the louis vuitton boutique, flanked by other luxury labels like chanel, ferragamo, hermes and gucci. you really cannot miss it.

to cross to the mall, you would need to traverse thru a short underpass that goes under the main road. this being the shortest route from our subway station and the only route we had taken since as far as i can remember, walking thru this passage almost felt like a tradition for me, like a ritual before you proceed to shopping nirvana. as i approached the entrance to the passage however, my memories of this place got further rekindled, catalyzed by the haunting sounds of a familiar voice, echoing from the foot of the underpass stairs. they were old chinese jukebox tunes, happy songs to be honest, even love songs for some, i can only presume, yet sung by a most melancholic of voices, so sad, you cannot help but try to ignore it. this old lady, singing her heart out, sporting a never waning smile and a practiced twinkle in her eye, together with her small sound box, a red plack card containing the names of some twenty something chinese songs, and her plastic bowl, sang for alms. taking advantage of the acoustics of the underpass, she sings here continuously, song after song after song, from morning to night, everyday. i presume thousands pass her daily, yet basing on the amount of money in her bowl, most of them, like me, chose to make her simply disappear behind the dizzying cityscape.

to ignore her would be effortless. to push her existence into the background and have her voice blend in with the ruckus of the bustling city would have only been too easy. indeed, my kuya and i only found ourselves briefly acknowledge her, stating that she was still here, then quickly moved to a different topic. however, as we slowly walked away and began to hear the fading sound of her voice, in mid song, this old lady, found herself in a coughing fit, triggered probably by the intense cold slicing in the air. i don't know about my kuya but i bowed my head all of a sudden, walked faster away, partly hiding my shame, exposed for being so calloused, partly to hide the fact that hearing this lady cough suddenly made me begin to cry.

* * * * *

"i want to do a good deed today." kuya said as he took his wallet out of my bag. we were making our way back to our hotel after finishing a scrumptuous dinner, chinese naturally. "i want to do a good deed too!" i said in retort. the day was almost over and the winter night and the slight drizzle brought the temperature down even more. kuya and i casually walked back, the path already familiar. we barely spoke during that night stroll, maybe because there was nothing much more to talk about. maybe because both of us already knew what the other was going to do.

her voice reemerged from the curb of the passage right on cue, still singing the same years-old tune. i approached her plastic bowl first, bowed in front of her and dropped in a portion. kuya, walking not too far behind me followed suit. she did not break from her song. she continued singing with her consistent disposition. i stopped and look back at her, kuya walked past me already and was now waiting at the top of the steps. i stood there and watched her from a distance, this short, old lady, both hands clasping her old mic, singing her heart out, panning the underpass corridor until she turned towards me and her eyes met with mine. i saw the twinkle in her eye again, and her lovely smile. i smiled back, turned away and walked to meet with kuya. this time however, i didn't mind showing people i was crying anymore.

HK in pictures

here are the pics kuya and i took. not really a lot of touristy shots since we technically aren't the touristy types anymore when it comes to HK. :)

there was an exhibition at times square of the HK artist, carrie chau. beautiful work, if i must say so myself. beautiful and breathtaking exhibition as well. the venue was the atrium of the mall, and as you can see from the lower leftmost pic, the scale of the exhibit is immense! ul also see from the same pic the crowd it drew. carrie chau is one of HK's most celebrated contemporary artists. i only wish we here could show the same support to our talents.

this is gino's gelato, located just across times square. kuya and i frequent this place because of their distinct and very unique gelato flavors such as : black sesame; sticky rice pudding; tofu; coconut pandan; red dates and loquat; tamarind; and strawberry and basil. despite the rather unusual flavors, they actually taste very good! i had the black sesame and rice pudding, as seen in the pic. the black sesame is a best seller since this is quite a delicacy among the chinese. the strawberry basil however has yet to win a following. i tried it and found it good as well. it's a hit among the caucasian as said by kenneth, the aussie educated hongkie that mans the shop. quite a chatty fellow if i must say so. kuya said i was flirting with him while i just thought i was being friendly :) it's not my fault if i can draw the weirdest information from ppl, hehehehe. (from our brief conversation, i learned he took up music in melbourne. he doesn't like HK. he has a japanese girl friend and apparently... likes "raping" her. that's the term he used! talk about over information!)

here is a collage of some of the different cantonese dishes we tried during our 6 day stay. they are the following from top to bottom, left to right:
king prawns on deep fried toast (ugh... sarap); steamed prawn dumplings (hakaw galore!); sticky rice with pork steamed in lotus leaf; steamed scallop dumplings (aren't they cute!); beef balls; steamed pork spare ribs with black beans; stir fried kale with garlic (the only thing healthy in this collage); deep fried japanese tofu; a bitten deep fried japanese tofu; deep fried king prawns with salted egg yolk (super deadly but simply orgasmic!!); roasted goose; and roasting selections of asado and lechon macao!

this is our last meal in HK. we had lunch at this resto that served shanghainese food. though not as rich as cantonese food, shanghainese cuisine also has its stars, such as their adobo and their steamed buns. we tried their ever famous xiao long pao (top, third from left), which is like mini siopaos wherein the meat packing inside contains a delicious sauce. we also had this decadent crab roe steamed bun (top left pic) that oozed out aligue the moment you bite into it. the adobo was super soft, cooked to almost gelatin texture. the meat was smooth and the the flavor, simply delicious! the crispy duck was also one to beat! flash fried to create the flaky crust, it was simply a joy to eat!

ugh.... ang BABOY BABOY NAMIN! definitely!!!!

HK in retrospect

it is finished.

6 days of senselessness and purposeful disregard for the plight of gazillions who are struggling to make ends meet have finally come to an end. 6 days of trekking kilometers of retails space; straining our backs, feet and ankles as we crisscrossed the territory looking for rare finds. 6 days of utter gluttony; sampling almost every hole in the wall food house we could get ourselves into even if it meant resorting to pointing (thank goodness for pictures) since our chinese was as bad as their english. never mind that the food is practically made of MSG stir-fried in oil. 6 days of hauling shopping bag after shopping bag; working out probably every single muscle in your body as you see yourself carrying bags in both hands and slung on both shoulders, straps slowly eating into your skin and you swearing that if you don't get back to your hotel soon to drop off the items, the bags will eventually saw off your fingers and dismember you of arms! 6 days... i sincerely doubt i would want to see another mall or have chinese food anytime soon. then again, having a warm bowl of noodles in the mall doesn't sound like that bad of an idea :) especially in such wonderfully cold weather.

****

HK this time around was truly an overwhelming experience, far different from when we visited last May. apart from the weather, i sincerely do not recall seeing this many people. the place was PACKED with people. kuya commented that these were not tourists but local hongkies that were congesting the streets. in manila, we have gridlocks caused by inconsiderate vehicles. there, things are at a stand-still because people have no more space to move around! it was THAT packed! claustrophobes beware, for here there is very limited breathing space.

space, like all things in HK, is a luxury. unless you belong to the filthy rich (which abounds in HK with the territory having more millionaires per square meter than anywhere else in the world) who could afford the multimillion homes somewhere up in the lesser populated areas, ordinary hongkies would be housed in densely packed flats that soar along its city streets. don't be fooled however of these humble abodes for despite their rather dilapidated exteriors, therein lies untold value that could make your head roll! i was just reading the papers the other day about a company willing to by an old condo building along causeway bay for HKD 1 BILLION, giving their residents about HKD 8000 per sqft. for their units. now imagine that. the residents however got greedy and wanted more, asking for HKD 13,000 like what other flats were being offered... the company eventually backed out. tsk, tsk. still though... 1 BILLION!!!?? where in the world can you find a building, an old one for that matter here that is worth that much!?

but as it seems, price often is a trivial issue for the rich. how else could you explain these patrons of these super high end brands who buy as if simply purchasing everyday items from the rack. prices as ridiculous as Php 118,000 for a wallet, Php 170, 000 for a duffel, and Php 700,000 for a ladies bag are not enough reasons to deter ppl here, more so, it even serves as a feature for these items to be more desirable. ODB?! taray nila noh? this, my kuya explains is the psychology behind exclusive brands. what you pay isn't really for the quality of the merchandise, though a part of it is about that. what you really are paying for is the "right" to own something that not everyone can own.

seems like it however that a lot of people in HK exercise this "right" as you can get easily lost in a sea of people who are dressed from hat to boot in labels! i wouldn't be surprised if even their underwear is branded! or the water they drink, or the toilet paper they use to wipe their butts with.... wouldn't it be funny if they use evian to flush too? makes me wonder though, doesn't it make these brands less exclusive now that so many people have them?

anyways, i definitely was not here to give an analysis on HK's economics. i was here to be on vacation. i came, i saw, i shopped! thank goodness everything was on SALE!!! :) in the end, apart from my chucks, i was able to get a pair of dress pants, a pair of jeans, a nice tote bag, a jacket, a shirt, a belt and a tie. nothing much but it was really all i needed as far as i was concerned.

shopping aside, my trip, courtesy of my gourmand of a kuya, also turned out to be a food expedition! i sincerely could not believe i ate so much in the 6 days we were there. i really wouldn't be that surprised if we spent more on food than on our shopping since we were practically eating all the time. either we were having dimsum in a swanky resto, or noodles at a cafeteria, or bola-bola from a street vendor, or fruit from the supermarket, or chocolate from ROYCE NAMA, we were always in a state of continuous chewing! goodbye diet! goodbye workout! goodbye six pack! there's no way i can be saved now.

hay.... kakapagod. now i know why people said 6 days was too long.