It almost makes me laugh how relaxed I get when I hear Cantonese being spoken. I can't speak a word of it, but ever since I was little I've heard my father speak Cantonese, watched Hong Kong martial arts films, and went "yum cha" every week to meet up with friends and family. My father always jokes that I have a HK "mouth" and palate, but the true irony is that I can't speak a word of Cantonese.
Maybe it's my father's influence, but whenever we touchdown in Hong Kong it feels like "home." I always have a good time when I'm in Hong Kong and I love revisiting my family's "old haunts." Making your way around the streets of Hong Kong you can't help but notice the odd he juxtaposition between the old alleyways and the large stainless steel and glass mall behemoths that take up most of the island's space. It almost seems like everything is in Hong Kong. People, things, cultural diversity, brands, and FOOD. It's lovely.
Like I said previously whenever my family and I go to Hong Kong it's like a cavalcade of eating, shopping, meeting old friends, massages, and eating. Did I say eating? =) Inevitably every blog post of mine will degrade down to food analysis it seems. There are some things I always have to eat when I'm in HK: HK "pantyhose" milk tea, gai dan jai, sugar cane juice, lung soup, soft serve and of course dim sum/yum cha. My favorite part about Hong Kong is how international it is...not only in it's social diversity, but in its culinary diversity as well. I can eat French, Cantonese Street Food, Italian, Northern Chinese Food, Mexican and the best white chocolate cheesecake in the world if I wanted to!
I remember the first time I went to Hong Kong I was still in middle school and it was one of my first trips to Asia. When I went it wasn't too long after Hong Kong's sovereignty had been transferred back to China from the British...."the Return." So dramatic. However, to be honest I don't exactly remember much, but I remembered how exhilarated I was to be in Hong Kong for the first time and how everything was shiny, clean and foreign.
Here I am coming back a couple of years later and it's so different. I think time is accelerated in all developing parts of Asia. There was an ever present feeling of building and construction...on almost every street we passed there was bamboo scaffolding wrapped around a gutted out cadaver of a building. The whole world is changing and shifting, but I feel that Hong Kong is on an accelerated path. The number of mainland Chinese tourists had gone up dramatically, the streets have gotten much dirtier, and the feeling of living in a small crowded place, I feel, has only been amplified. It makes me wonder what Hong Kong will be like in say...ten years. However, going to Hong Kong made me miss my family more than ever. I think I might be ready to go home. =P Sorry Taipei!
However before I sign off...one of the things I love about Hong Kong is that even in a crowded iron metropolis of at city you can still accidentally stumble into some verdant green parks, so lush and so quiet you can forget that you're surrounded by a city. I think it's the fact that I'm so in love and so intrigued with Hong Kong is simply because it has so many faces. If you've never been I encourage you all to go. =) If you've visited already....I encourage you to visit again! You'll be surprised at what changed and what hasn't. <3
Thanks so much for coming! <3
+Love
That picture of the HK skyline is beautiful!! Looks like somebody has mastered using her new toy ;) Reading this post and looking at pictures of the food makes me want to fly to HK now!!
ReplyDeleteI've only been to HK once many, many years ago, but I remember quite a lot about it. I honestly do want to visit again and I'm really hoping I'll be able to next year.
This probably seems odd, but I think I know what you mean. I'm not from HK and neither are my family, but there's something about the community that seems so familiar. I guess it's because my entire family speaks Cantonese (only my parents and I converse in English with each other) and also, I grew up watching TVB dramas!! haha Seriously, every single day, I'd watch at least 2 episodes of 2 different series on TV. So when I visited HK, it really felt so comfortable (not like home, but just a familiar sense). Chinatown in London (plenty of HK people there) also gives me that same feeling. Do you get that feeling when you visit Chinatowns in other parts of the world?
I'm so sorry for this lengthy comment, I tend to do that with excellent blog posts I can relate to and I just rattle on and on.
Btw, why are you living out of your suitcase? How long have you been in Taipei? And when are you leaving?
@Joey I love your comments. Don't joke =P You can rattle on for as long as you like. <3 I didn't know your family spoke Cantonese!! That's so exciting!! I use English to converse with my parents as well. I couldn't get into any dramas except for the Martial arts ones. >_> I love the feeling of "coming home." I don't know why, but it's quite comforting.
ReplyDeleteIt depends if the Chinatown is mostly Canto or Mandarin speaking. I've been to the Chinatown in London! It's absolutely lovely, my family and I always stop there for a bowl of noodles if we're coming in from Heathrow.
I'm living out of my suitcase because I don't want to invest money in drawers or closets (cause I know I'll have to abandon them when I leave)...so I spend that money I've "saved" on clothes. ::lol:: I've been in Taipei since last June actually...Oh gosh. It's almost been a year! I'm leaving in June as well. 0_o Time fliess!!!
Gahh how i miss hong kong food, those food pictures bring back so many memories.
ReplyDeleteThe pictures are lovely and hope you have a loverly time in HK :)
This blog post makes me want to go to HK more. I haven't really tried the white chocolate cheesecake here. I might look for one. I remember the HK turn over from the Brits to China, was it? I was still in high school or grade school when it happened and didn't understand when it was shown in TV. HK is really progressive now.
ReplyDelete@Choii Hehe! I did thank youuu~ Hong Kong food is soooo good. <3 Go back if you have the time!
ReplyDelete@Chyrel Hong Kong is definitely like a "big city", even though it's on a small island. I don't know what's changed but it has gotten quite dirty I feel. =__= Yeah, my dad was really excited when it happened. He was all filled with China pride. ^__^
sugarcane juice remains as my most memorable food in Hong Kong! And those eggnog waffles. is that what they're called? love your post :)
ReplyDeleteYeap, yeap, my Dad's ancestors were from some part of Guangdong, so we all speak Canto. My Mum's ancestors are actually Hokkien (Fu Jian province), but somewhere along the line, they did not pass on the language so they, too, speak Canto now. Haha a bit random, really, but most of the Chinese in Malaysia speak Canto.
ReplyDeleteHaha that is very clever of you. I totally agree with your justification of buying more clothes since you saved on a closet hehe :D
Oh, so you've only got about 2 months left in Taipei. You think you're going to miss the place?
@Joey OMG. My family as well! My mom's maiden name is Owyang and her entire family hails from Fujian. Except...when the communists took over China they fled to the Philippines. =) She speaks Hokkien and Tagalog now. =)
ReplyDelete^__^ I love Taipei. Ranks as one of my favorite cities in Asia. I'll miss it a lot I think. Will you miss London? =P
Oh, wow, your Mum speaks Tagalog! Well cool!
ReplyDeleteI'm actually about 4 hours away from London. However, I LOVE London and go down quite often. I'll definitely miss the UK when I leave. But you never know, I might be back in the future. Life's unpredictable like that :)