The Natural and Historical Beauty of Hong Kong

[Randy W]

They weren’t fancy. They weren’t even Cantonese. But for generations of Guangzhou-Kowloon through train riders, the fresh chicken legs served on board made the whole trip worth it.

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Dining Cars: How an On-Board Snack Became a Guangdong Legend
They weren’t fancy. They weren’t even Cantonese. But for generations of Guangzhou-Kowloon through train riders, the fresh chicken legs served on board made the whole trip worth it.
 

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It also had by far the best food. Boarding the Guangjiu train was like taking a trip back in time. The cars’ vintage furnishings exuded the air of a grand but aging state-owned hotel, its old-fashioned style so completely unlike the bright simplicity of the high-speed rail cars then just coming into service on the mainland. The ride was a leisurely two hours, and if you timed it to coincide with dinner service, you could enjoy your pick of dishes from the train’s open fire kitchen car, a rarity in China. The menu featured a mix of Cantonese classics: steamed bass, soy-braised bitter melon beef, and, of course, those chicken legs. Not long after departure, the conductor would roll out a large pot filled with the legs, their scent wafting through the otherwise stale air of the train car.

The food aboard the Guangjiu train was unique — and uniquely edible — among Chinese railways. Although rail service between Hong Kong and Guangzhou began in 1911, the line’s existence was geopolitically fraught. Traffic was suspended after the founding of the People’s Republic in 1949 and wouldn’t resume until the early days of China’s “reform and opening-up” movement. When it did, in April 1979, it quickly became one of the primary routes into the mainland. Between 1979 and 1980, the heads of state or foreign ministers of 25 countries began their visits on the Guangjiu train.

Coming out of the Cultural Revolution, officials were desperate to win over international investors and political leaders, and they ensured Guangjiu riders were greeted by food from some of the best chefs Guangzhou had to offer. The railway authorities in Guangzhou recruited chefs from the city’s top restaurants to cook made-to-order meals in the train’s open fire kitchen car.

 

 

[Randy W]

This Hong Kong Shop Has the World’s Rarest Records
Inside an ordinary building in Hong Kong is one of the world’s most valuable record collections. James Tang has spent the past five decades collecting rare vinyl, cassettes, and CDs. He has over 20,000 records, including original master recordings of the Beatles, Pink Floyd, and Nat King Cole.

from Goldthread on Facebook 
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This Hong Kong Shop Has the World’s Rarest Records

Inside an ordinary building in Hong Kong is one of the world’s most valuable record collections. James Tang has spent the past five decades collecting rare vinyl, cassettes, and CDs. He has over 20,000 records, including original master recordings of the Beatles, Pink Floyd, and Nat King Cole.

Posted by Goldthread on Thursday, March 23, 2023

 

[Randy W]

Hong Kong-Style Toast
What’s better than PB&J? Peanut butter and condensed milk 🍞🥜, or naai zoeng do (奶醬多)! This is a classic Hong Kong-style toast served in Cha Chaan Tengs. Locals love it as a tea-time treat. And obviously, they pair it with a cup of silky milk tea 👌.

from Goldthread on Facebook 
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Hong Kong-Style Toast

What’s better than PB&J? Peanut butter and condensed milk 🍞🥜, or naai zoeng do (奶醬多)! This is a classic Hong Kong-style toast served in Cha Chaan Tengs. Locals love it as a tea-time treat. And obviously, they pair it with a cup of silky milk tea 👌.

Posted by Goldthread on Monday, April 24, 2023

I'm more of a fan of peanut butter and honey, myself, but - if I buy a jar of peanut butter, it goes pretty fast.

Edited May 29, 2023 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

Hop onto centennial Ding Ding trams for a delightful journey through Hong Kong's vibrant history and landscapes, and move forward with the city in a delicate balance between tradition and modernity xhtxs.cn/JuO

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Lights, camera, Ding Ding -- touring Hong Kong in flux with centennial trams
 

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With "Movie Tram," one of the events of the first Hong Kong Pop Culture Festival, audiences will be taking a stroll on the streets and hopping onto a tram for a delightful journey through film history. Held every Saturday and Sunday since its launch in May, the event has received enthusiastic responses and saw tickets sold out quickly.

In just two short hours, the guided tour visited places like Police Married Quarters and Western Market, exploring the filming locations of classic Hong Kong movies such as In the Mood for Love, before hopping onto the iconic tram to experience the city's allure and listen to the creative stories of filmmakers.

 . . .

"Ding Ding," which has been in operation since 1904, currently has a fleet of 165 trams. In 2021, Hong Kong Tramways was awarded the Guinness World Record as "the largest fleet of double-decker trams in service."

 

 

[Randy W]

Vital Signs, an exhibition that celebrates Hong Kong’s unique and distinctive visual identity through the city’s neon heritage. Many neon signs have been conserved and recommissioned, and are on public display for the first time. 

The exhibition, which is free of charger, is on at Tai Kwun until September 3, 2023

See more: https://sc.mp/23sf

#neonsign #hongkong #neon #visualculture #visualart #scmpnews #scmp

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[Randy W]

In Pictures: Hong Kong’s Kowloon City walking trail

The Kowloon City Themed Walking Trail is the longest themed walking trail in Hong Kong with a total distance of 6.5km. The trail is supported by the Urban Renewal Fund and will run until December. 

Full Gallery: https://sc.mp/pnqf

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[Randy W]

How Hong Kong’s New Territories offered unique attractions a century ago

• European visitors from Hong Kong Island and Kowloon would head to the New Territories for days at a time, aided by the new Kowloon-Canton Railway line
• Hunting, golfing and military responsibilities would have been some of the most common draws, while some just wanted to get away from it all

from the SCMP

Fanling’s extensive golf courses, first laid out in 1910-11 on disused agricultural land, were part of the New Territories’ attraction for Europeans in Hong Kong a century ago – and they remain so today. Photo: SCMP
 

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As Hahn noted, Fanling’s extensive golf courses, first laid out in 1910-11 on disused agricultural land, were part of the area’s attraction – and they remain so today.

As the northern New Territories were even more remote in the 1920s, golfers tended to make a weekend of it when they came out to Fanling – many still do. Controversial resumption of part of the historic Fanling Golf Course – despite well-articulated opposition by various concern groups – will inevitably diminish the area’s appeal.

 

 

 

[Randy W]

In Pictures: Hong Kong through the lens of SCMP photographers

Discover snapshots of Hong Kong this week, captured by the South China Morning Post photographers.

Full Gallery: https://sc.mp/dyl3

From the SCMP on Facebook
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[Randy W]

Why do Hongkongers care so much about Cantonese?

Artists using written Cantonese to reinterpret traditional Chinese heritage and Hongkongers overseas sharing their linguistic heritage with an overseas diaspora are but two examples of Hong Kong’s attachment with the dialect most commonly spoken in the city. In the first of a two-part series about Cantonese, the Post caught up with a primary school debate team that uses the dialect to sharpen their argument skills.

Note: at 00:48 in this video, the captions incorrectly say Cantonese may have originated a century and a half earlier than the late Qing dynasty. It should have read that the dialect emerged a “millennia and a half earlier”.

Related story: Education Bureau rapped over Cantonese 'not an official language' gaffe https://sc.mp/2lzB8Ay

 

 

[Randy W]

Viewpoint: through the lenses of SCMP photographers
Discover the snapshots of Hong Kong captured by the South China Morning Post’s photographers this week. These photos offer another perspective on the stories and people who continue to shape our surroundings. 
Full gallery: https://sc.mp/b4nh

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A double-decker bus passes over Ting Kau Bridge at sunset. Photo: Sam Tsang

 

 

Edited November 6, 2023 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

Pizza Hut selling snake pizza in Hong Kong

• Pizza Hut Hong Kong has partnered with Ser Wong Fun, a snake restaurant, to create a unique pizza with snake meat and other traditional ingredients.
• The unconventional nine-inch pizza features shredded snake meat, black mushrooms, Chinese dried ham, and an abalone sauce base. Some people find it exciting, while others are apprehensive about eating snakes as it is not a common food in many cultures.
• According to traditional Chinese medicine, snake meat is believed to offer health benefits like boosted blood circulation, and this pizza is a modern twist on a traditional snake soup dish.

 

Snakes on a plate: world’s first snake soup pizza put to the taste test

• Pizza Hut Hong Kong is notorious for its wild and wacky pizza toppings, and now it has teamed up with snake restaurant Ser Wong Fun to create two special pies
• Its snake soup pizza is based on a traditional Chinese winter warmer, and it divided opinion when put to the taste test by food writers, including the Post’s

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The partnership has delivered two pizzas, the other being a preserved Chinese sausage pie – lap cheong is commonly eaten during the colder months. It is getting considerably less attention, and understandably so. Sausage on a pizza is not a surprise, whether it’s fresh or dried.

But snake? And to go one step further, snake soup? Now that’s a twist.

 . . .

Chang says that if he were giving diners advice, he would recommend ordering the thin crust version of the pizza, since the texture would more closely resemble the crunch of fried wonton skins that is added to snake soup.

Wilson Lo, the Instagrammer behind the account @hungrygrumpster, had mixed feelings about the pizza as well.

“I appreciate the ingenuity and the fact that they partnered with Ser Wong Fun,” he says. “The actual pizza was more interesting than tasty, but impressively – for good or bad – it recreated the [thick soup] texture in the pizza with a thickish, gloopy sauce.

 

 

[Randy W]

Located on Lantau Island, Sunset Peak is the third-highest mountain in Hong Kong, famous for its stunning sunset views and seas of silvergrass during autumn and winter. 

Full gallery: https://sc.mp/0int

from the SCMP on Facebook
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