Hike to Kowloon Peak

A view of Kowloon and Hong Kong island in the distance

Today my walking buddy and I went up Kowloon Peak or fei ngo shan (飛鵝山) which is above Ma On Shan. We took the MTR to Shatin City One and began walking up a path of stairs. It was a good day to go, around 9-12 degrees Celsius and relatively clear.

Along the way we passed a group of young people, the girls already saying they had regrets when they were only at the beginning of the hike! 

Past the Gilwell campsite and the hills ahead

We soldiered onwards and finally got onto a path that was covered with rocks and tree roots so I constantly had my head down making sure I wouldn't trip. Many of the paths were quite narrow too, another reason to watch where we were going.

A few times we had to consult our map or ask a few people how to get there as there were some "intersections" along the way. While the paths weren't packed, it was good to see many like-minded people getting some fresh air. 

Finally we made it to a clearing and the views were outstanding -- on one side was Sai Kung, and on the other Kowloon below us, such as Kai Tak and beyond to Hong Kong island, with the convention centre and IFC in the distance. 

We kept going, and had to go up one hill and then the other (Elephant Hill) to get to a weather station and helicopter pad. The first hill was such a trek that we had to practically climb up the steep hill, grabbing onto large rocks for balance. 

Below is Sai Kung

Meanwhile others were coming down the same path, and that was even scarier -- one young woman slid down right beside me and landed on her bottom. Yikes. 

Some parts were relatively flat but meant passing low bamboo bushes. At each point the view below was more amazing and eventually we finally made it to the weather station and helicopter pad. One man was playing with his drone, while the rest of us took lots of pictures having succeeded at reaching this point! Phew!

Now how to get down? Off another part of the mountain was a path marked with wooden steps and we made our way which seemed relatively easy at first, but it seemed to never end. By this point it was 5pm and we saw people, including young families making their way up. I encouraged a young girl to keep going though she was breathing rather heavily, while two women were walking up, the second one carrying two heavy bags!

I asked why so many bags and the first one admitted she couldn't carry it anymore and was exhausted. I told them another 10 minutes or so they would make it to the top, but why were they carrying so much stuff? They wanted to go up in time for the sunset, but the hazy air didn't seem like a dramatic sunset would happen. Nevertheless I told them the view was definitely worth it and they carried on.

The weather station and helicopter pad!

Finally we saw large Chinese graves and then an actual road! Civilization! It was Fei Ngo Road, with lots of fancy homes on both sides. Who lives up here? Towards the bottom we caught a taxi down to Diamond Hill MTR and made our way back from there. 

What a trek! My legs feel like jelly, but the views were worth it. I probably won't go up there again anytime soon. We recorded a 12km trek, but it definitely felt much longer!

Hong Kong's New Anthem

Singing has become another creative way to protest against the government

Moderate protesters have found another way to gather and voice their demands to the government -- by singing.

People gather nightly in malls to sing Glory to Hong Kong

In the last few nights people, mostly in black, head to shopping malls in the city and sing Glory to Hong Kong, apparently written by a local composer.

They have sung this unofficial anthem in places like Amoy Plaza in Kowloon Bay, Plaza Hollywood in Diamond Hill, Festival Walk in Kowloon Tong, Moko in Mongkok and New Town Plaza in Sha Tin.

《願榮光歸香港》

何以　這土地　淚再流
何以　令眾人　亦憤恨
昂首　拒默沉　吶喊聲　響透
盼自由　歸於　這裡

何以　這恐懼　抹不走
何以　為信念　從沒退後
何解　血在流　但邁進聲　響透
建自由　光輝　香港

在晚星　墜落　徬徨午夜
迷霧裡　最遠處吹來　號角聲
捍自由　來齊集這裡　來全力抗對
勇氣　智慧　也永不滅

黎明來到　要光復　這香港
同行兒女　為正義　時代革命
祈求　民主與自由　萬世都不朽
我願榮光歸香港

New Town Plaza in Sha Tin this evening

Why are the tears flowing in this land again?

Why is something causing everyone to be angry?

Chin up. Don't be silent. The sound of shouts fills the air

Hoping for freedom to return to this place.

Why can't this fear be wiped away?

Why do the faithful never retreat?

Why does the blood flow but the advancing sounds fill the air?

Build freedom. Bring glory to Hong Kong

The night stars fall. Darkness fills the air

In the fog, the sound of horns billows from afar.

Defend freedom. Come gather in this place. Fight with all your strength.

Courage and wisdom will never be extinguished

Dawn has come. We must bring glory to this Hong Kong

The children that walk with us, for justice we have a revolution now

Pray for democracy and freedom everlasting

I wish for glory to return to Hong Kong.

CARRIE! Are you listening???

Shanghainese Lands in Kennedy Town

According to this promo image, the noodles at Shanghai Lao Lao are handmade

A new Chinese restaurant has appeared in Kennedy Town and already it's a hit with residents.

On Friday my mom and I wanted to try Shanghai Lao Lao, but by the time we got there around 7.30pm, there was a crowd milling around the entrance and we were told it would be at least a half hour wait.

We gave up and hit the wet market across the street at closing time and got a good deal on fresh fish we steamed up around the time we would have waited for a table.

Braised wheat gluten, pork knuckle and drunken chicken

Then today after visiting the Chi Lin Nunnery and the Lian Nian Garden across the street (oh yes and a bit of shopping at Uniqlo too!) we headed home and decided to give it a shot.

Again there were people standing outside at 2pm, but not as many. We waited about 15, 20 minutes and then were finally allowed inside.

The store that used to be in the space was 759, and I remember it being quite a deep area, but it was completely unrecognizable now as a restaurant. We were shown a small narrow area in the back where we sat on stools by the dish washing station.

We had studied the menu while waiting for our table. There's a choice of three appetizers in small portions for HK$88, and we particularly enjoyed the cold pork knuckle marinated in Chinese wine, munching on the crunchy cartilage, followed by the drunken chicken that was fully immersed in wine, and the braised wheat gluten with wood ear fungus, bamboo shoots and Chinese mushrooms.

A trio of potstickers that had quite thick skins

Next came the cabbage and pork potstickers which were probably the weakest dish of the meal because the skins were so thick, but had a nice crunch to them. Soon after the xiaolongbao (HK$32) arrived and they were not bad, though the pork filling inside seemed flat and needed the ginger and vinegar for a pick-me-up.

One main dish was the claypot with diced salted pork, tofu skin wrapped in knots, bamboo shoots and vegetables in a cloudy fish soup. We had been forewarned it would be a large portion, and so we tried to eat as much of it as we could before being able to put almost all of it into a plastic box -- including the broth) to take home.

This one would have been even better with noodles to soak up the seasoning in the soup, but it was still delicious nonetheless. The fresh bamboo shoots were crunchy, though some pork pieces were a bit on the tough side.

The xiaolongbao had thin wrappers, the fillings were bland

But what can you expect when the bill comes to HK$254 for two?

I've since found out that Shanghai Lao Lao is owned by Cafe de Coral, which explains why it's next door to the fast food chain; they probably got some deal with the landlord.

Nevertheless when we came out around 3pm, we were surprised to see a handful of people outside waiting to eat.

Maybe everyone in Kennedy Town is craving Shanghainese...

Shanghai Lao Lao

G/F, Kin Liong Mansion

16-30 North Street, Kennedy Town