me: “老闆, 水餃麵是什麽?” (Boss, what is dumplings & noodles?)
boss: “水餃麵就是水餃麵.” (Dumplings & noodles is dumplings & noodles.)
[At this time I was thinking too much. I knew what dumplings & noodles were, just never hear them ordered in a dish together. So, I asked a simple question and got a simple answer.]
me: (…Ok, it’s cheap and sounds good. It’s probably a bowl of
dumplings & noodles like it says. Try it.)
“好, 一碗水餃麵.” (OK, give me a bowl of dumplings & noodles.)

It turned out to be a great bowl of dumplings & noodles and it wasy only 16 HK$ ($2US). This is about what you would pay in Taipei. I found this to be cheap as most prices in HK were a little higher than in Taipei. Like the size of soy milk (豆漿) you get for a US dollar doesn’t add up. After I finished my meal, I saw on the menu I could’ve gotten a set meal (套餐) for only 20 HK$. Next time. I was surprised to find this food in Hong Kong. I was wondering if the owner was from Beijing. I didn’t ask, but she spoke Cantonese and it seemed like her mother tongue so I guessed she grew up there but you never know.

This was my mom’s first time back to Hong Kong in 30 some years. If it was my first time back to where I grew up there would have to be some special feelings. I’m not exactly sure how my mom felt but I think she enjoyed being back in Hong Kong. You can see in the photos she looks at home there. I remember here telling me before that you can buy fresh youtiao (油條) changfen (腸分) on the streets. She was happy when she found changfen, or cheungfun in Cantonese. They added lots of sauce which she thought was too much, after living in Taiwan, I thought it was great. We didn’t eat at the old man’s stall in Aberdeen (香港仔) but now I wish I would’ve. On my Mom’s birthday me and her were walking around the night market. I won’t forget that. My Mom said we should speak Chinese. 但是我媽媽講廣東話,我講國語, 我們不通, 好好笑. 其實我們會一點通, 很好玩. 那時候我覺得我媽有一點變成不一樣, 好像他喝醉了, 然後就很開心逛街. (But my Mom speaks Cantonese and I speak Mandarin so we can’t understand each other fully. But we can a little bit and it’s lots of fun. When we were talking Chinese together, I felt it was kind of strange, I never spoke just Chinese with my Mom. She seemed to enjoy our night out.) I don’t mean anything bad by saying 喝醉了. I wish she could have longer there, speaking Chinese and eating wonton noodles (混沌麵). Long live being carefree and strolling the streets.

你敢不敢喝苦茶? 在香港我認識這兩位姐妹了. 他們在九龍賣涼茶, 是他們爺爺教他們怎麽做的. 我晚上跟媽媽逛夜市的時候, 因爲很累和我的鼻子對什麽過敏了, 所以想喝一點涼茶. 我們四個人一起聊天了. 喝完一碗苦茶了以後, 他們送給我一碗甜的涼茶. 我媽不敢喝苦茶, 他喝了一, 兩口而已. 那個隔天晚上我再去喝茶.

香港, 油麻地
文明里 (靠廟街夜市)
福善堂涼茶舖

Chinese herb tea is really, really bitter. Can you drink bitter? If you are uncorfortable you can drink it to help you feel better. When my mom and I were walking around Temple Street Night Market we came upon this shop. This was my second time drinking bitter tea. The first time I didn’t know what it was but just tried it one day. We met these sisters who run the shop. Their grandpa taught them how to make liang cha (涼茶), or Chinese herb tea. After drinking a bowl of bitter tea that was supposed to help allergy problems, they treated me to a bowl of sweet tea. The bitter is really bitter. But it’s like the first time you get a foot massage in China or walk on the commonly seen cobblestone paths, the first time always hurts the most.

Such a peaceful place this temple was, Chi Lin Nunnery, a Buhddist nunnery in Kowloon, Hong Kong. My Aunt Grace took us here on Saturday, the third day I was in Hong Kong. The temple was constructed without any nails by using interlocking systems cut into the wood, kind of like a log cabin. It’s built in the style of Tang dynasty architecture (唐代結構).

The first part of my Mom’s given name is 靜 (Jing), which means quiet, gentle. I’m wearing 唐裝 (Tangzhuang) I bought in Taipei. I think it was 婆婆 (Popo or granny) that said I look like a Chinese boy. Sometimes, I think it would be cool to just wear the same thing all the time. I like to wear gongfu clothes because their comfortable. I can relax in them and exercise at any time. School kids that have wear uniforms to school have it simple. They don’t have to worry about what to wear. My Dad liked this place a lot because he likes architecture and hearing about how the temple was built, the timber that was used, etc. It was also very quiet and not many people were around, unlike their tour in China.

志蓮淨院

李靜嫻

李喜寶