uOttawa Alumni Dinner

{The personalised screen at the Dynasty Club announcing the uOttawa Alumni dinner}

My fiancé and I are both alumni of the University of Ottawa where we first met as Political Science majors at the Faculty of Social Sciences. We were recently invited by the Alumni Relations Manager, who was looking to connect with uOttawa alumni in Hong Kong, to a small gathering at the Dynasty Club. It was lovely to meet not only some recent graduates like myself and my fiancé, but also some that received their degrees before we even existed! It was a great way to build community with fellow alumni halfway across the world from Ottawa.

{My name tag and pin -- I'm a double alumna!}

{Me at the Dynasty Club wearing a dress  and belt from Esprit, paired with the Talula Exeter blazer from Aritzia}

Cooking Diaries: Pasta Carbonara, Revisited

{My successful, creamier pasta carbonara, thanks to a new-found recipe}

Pasta carbonara has been part of my weekly rotation in the kitchen since bacon almost always ends up in our shopping cart now when we go grocery shopping (okay, I'm the one who puts it in there). The motivation behind finally testing out a new recipe for this dish was the need to use some left-over sour cream from another fajita night that we had recently (oh, yes - we found sour cream in Hong Kong! A miracle!). This new recipe I found called for heavy whipping cream, and sour cream, plus 6 eggs (as opposed to the usual 3 from the previous recipe), not to mention the usual amount of parmesan cheese. 

Some modifications that I made:

1. An ingredient that I omitted was the oregano.
2. I chose to use bacon instead of ham.
3. I used fusilli pasta.
4. Rather than add the raw onion and garlic in with the heavy cream, sour cream, eggs and parmesan cheese mixture, I sautéed them in the fat that was left over from cooking the bacon.

The final result was a lovely, creamy, and delicious pasta carbonara -- one that I am finally satisfied with!

The Search for Vietnamese Food: Part Two

{Rare beef pho noodle soup}

A whole afternoon of shopping was planned with some colleagues of mine this past Saturday, but before we emptied our wallets of money for clothes, we had to have lunch sustenance. My search for authentic Vietnamese food was not yet over, especially after a recent failed visit to Cadogan Pho near our flat, and I was itching to try Perfume River Vietnamese Restaurant found in Causeway Bay on Percival Street. The window of the restaurant advertised many traditional Vietnamese dishes that I grew up eating, and not only were they written in Chinese and English, but in Vietnamese as well (minus the accents). Passing the test for properly spelled menu items in Vietnamese, the next, true test was how the food tasted. 

My colleague and I (we met up with a third friend for shopping after our lunch) both ordered rare beef pho noodle soup, and chose to have spring rolls and steamed pork rolls for appetisers. The soup was not as good as what I am used to having back home in Ottawa at the Pho Bo Ga establishments, but tasted pretty close! Of course, I added the usual lime juice and some hoisin sauce to enhance the flavour, but the best part about my bowl of pho were the fresh noodles. Dried noodles are used more commonly in Ottawa, but having had fresh noodles, before, both in Toronto and Vietnam, I know that they are of better taste and quality, at least for me. As for the spring rolls and the steamed pork rolls - they were delicious, thanks to the authentically-made fish sauce. I love fish sauce!

With my meal passing the taste test, it was time for me to test the authenticity of the restaurant itself: seeing if any of the employees/owners spoke Vietnamese. Luckily for me, there was an older woman who is Chinese ethnically but had lived in Vietnam for decades. Although her Vietnamese was heavily accented with Chinese, much like how my paternal grandparents sound when I converse with them in Vietnamese, it was still so wonderful to finally be able to use my native tongue with her! When I asked her how long she had lived in Vietnam for, she replied in Vietnamese with: "Child, I lived in Vietnam for longer than you've been alive - 33 years!" And with that, I came away with not only a satisfied tummy, but also with a great memory of the first time I was able to use my Vietnamese in Hong Kong.

{Traditional Vietnamese spring rolls made with rice paper with a crab meat filling}

{Apologies for blurry quality of the picture, but these are the steamed pork rolls}

Best Dumplings at Din Tai Fung

{My first-ever experience at a Din Tai Fung in Sydney, Australia, last year}

 小笼包 also written as "xiao long bao" (often referred to as steamed buns, or soup dumplings) was a wonderful Chinese specialty that I was happily introduced to last summer (2011) in Sydney, Australia, while visiting my father's side of the family. At Din Tai Fung, the restaurant that served these soup dumplings, I was already quite impressed by the skill and agility with which the men behind the glass was making xiao long bao and noodles by hand, but it was the experience of actually tasting the food that had me floored. 

{All of the food ordered was made fresh, right in front of your eyes}

It was a pleasant surprise for my first bite into the deliciousness that is xiao long bao to allow me to taste the amazing soup that was cooked right inside of the dumpling. Ever since that experience, my family and I have never forgotten about it, especially Mama O, so we tried a "wannabe" Din Tai Fung (the restaurant chose to use the same name) in Toronto recently which I do not recommend. It was only when I was invited by some friends to go to Din Tai Fung in Causeway Bay here in Hong Kong (which was awarded one Michelin star) that I realised the one I went to in Sydney was one of many locations, internationally. Unfortunately, we do not yet have an authentic Din Tai Fung open in Canada, but rumour has it from my B.C. friends, one will be opening in Vancouver, soon! I think a trip to that city is in order once I am home in Canada...

{The food we ordered in Sydney}

{The Michelin star-awarded Din Tai Fung in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong}

{I was not the only person snapping photos away of the yummy food being made}

My Hong Kong

{So Long, My Hong Kong from Gregory Kane on Vimeo}

Although I will not be saying "so long" to Hong Kong anytime soon, it was very nice to see what my new home looks like from the eyes of someone who lived here for 6 years. It was a weird feeling for me to be able to name many of the places featured in the video when I didn't even know the difference between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon only three months ago. I suppose that Hong Kong really is becoming "home" to me, now. The above video (watch it in HD!) is but a small peek into my life here in the Pearl of the Orient. 

Cooking Diaries: Sweet and Sour Pork

{Ready-made sauce for Sweet and Sour Pork}

A "classic" Chinese dish that I have always loved since a child is Sweet and Sour Pork. Although my family, my fiancé and my Asian friends make fun of me for loving this dish (which they think is geared towards the less-adventurous when it comes to ethnic foods), I could not help but try making it myself at home. I have to admit that it was a last-minute decision to test out my kitchen prowess with this recipe for the batter and this recipe for the sauce when I ran out of the Lee Kum Kee packets (pictured above). To execute this dish, I had to acquire some missing ingredients such as the required pork loin, flour, canned pineapple and peppers which I was able to find at the grocery store that is luckily located so close by to us. Unfortunately, I did not get a chance to properly document my cooking adventure with the usual number of photographs that I took for other recipes I have tried, but here are a few.

{The only modification I made was adding a plate of corn starch (top-right corner) for dredging prior to dipping the pork in the batter}

{Those are not my manly hands, but my fiancé's, cutting the onions and later on the peppers}

{Finished product. As my fiancé said, it was the "biggest haul of sweet and sour pork... ever"}

Sai Kung and Yim Tin Tsai

{Proudly representing Canada at the High Island Reservoir (seen behind me) during a professional development day with my teaching colleagues}

I recently had the opportunity to get to know my colleagues better while on a day-long outing that had us visit the High Island Reservoir, Sai Kung and Yim Tin Tsai village for our professional development day. The highlight of the trip for me was our visit to Yim Tin Tsai village formerly inhabited by Hakka people with whom I have a shared heritage (my father's family is Hakka Chinese). It was very interesting to see all of the houses in the village, abandoned, since most of the people just packed up and left after the salt farm that was supposed to bring promising work and profit did not, and so everyone left to find fortune elsewhere. Here is but only a fraction of the many photos that I snapped during that day.

{View at the High Island Reservoir}

{Lots of fresh seafood in Sai Kung for picking at the many restaurants in the town}

{Where my colleagues and I were treated to for lunch}

{Yim Tin Tsai Village sign}

{Front of some of the abandoned homes}

{Interior of an abandoned home}

{Many things were left behind such as the white shirt seen in this picture}

{Photos of a family that used to live in the village}

{Salt farm that is no longer in use} 

{Beautiful view on the way back to Sai Kung Town}

Just Breathe

{Early morning start on the Star Ferry with the sun rising over Hong Kong}

It's mornings like the one I had on Tuesday, this week, that truly make me stop, take a deep breath, and be thankful for the opportunity to enjoy such beauty. Up until recently, I had been feeling quite down and upset that I am so far away from home, but being able to have a calm and quiet ride on the ferry during a gorgeous morning allowed me to reflect on the many blessings that I have in my life. For the first time in months, I was able to see the light at the end of the tunnel: I will see my family at Christmas; my fiancé's mother and my sister will be visiting us, consecutively, in the new year; and, we will be home in Canada before we know it so that wedding planning can finally come under way. Until then, I realise that I should learn to appreciate my time here in Hong Kong, and just breathe, if only once in a while. 

{The Hong Kong Star Ferry on its way from the Central Pier to Tsim Sha Tsui}

Sneak Peek: Sai Kung and Yim Tin Tsai

{Boats galore in Sai Kung}

I recently participated in a professional development day with my teaching colleagues and had the pleasure of visiting Sai Kung Town where many fishermen gather to sell their seafood goods, and Yim Tin Tsai village which was formerly inhabited by the Hakka people. These photos are only but a glimpse of the many things I got to see. A more comprehensive post will follow once I have gotten a chance to sort through all of the pictures on my camera.

{Abandoned salt farm in Yim Tin Tsai village}

Cooking Diaries: Pasta Carbonara

{Ingredients for pasta carbonara: fusilli, extra virgin olive oil, ground black pepper, milk, parsley, bacon, parmesan, onion and eggs}

Rummaging through our kitchen drawers, I noticed that we still had a bag of fusilli that had yet to be cooked, so rather than making a plain old meat sauce, I decided to once again challenge my inexperienced-in-the-kitchen self, and make pasta carbonara from scratch. I took to my kitchen and tried my hand at another recipe that has never been attempted by Mama O. I used this one that calls for milk in the sauce because after searching high and low for cream, I realised that it is yet another ingredient to be added to my "hard to come by in Hong Kong" list.

{Fresh ingredients: parsley, onion and bacon}

Although I quite liked the result of my first attempt at making pasta carbonara from scratch, I must admit that it could have been better had I done some things differently. My friend whom I invited over for dinner disagrees with me, apparently, but she dislikes pastas that are too creamy. The recipe did not render the creamy texture that I was hoping for, and there was not nearly as much sauce as I would have preferred. A suggestion that my sister had was for me to add cream cheese the next time that I am craving this classic meal. I also was not too satisfied that the egg mixture I added ended up looking a bit like scrambled eggs since my pan was still a little too hot. Of course, I hope to try this recipe again but with some tweaks here and there. To see how I made this recipe in more photographic detail, please feel free to see this album that I put together. 

{Bacon}

{All of the ingredients in the pan} 

{Pasta carbonara}

Korean BBQ in Causeway Bay

{Korean BBQ at Han Ah Rum restaurant in Causeway Bay}

Back when we lived in Canada, trips to Toronto happened on a fairly regular basis since my sister lives there, and many of fiancé's friends have also recently relocated to the "T-Dot". A typical trip for us often consisted of at least one meal at the many Korean BBQ spots in the city. It was something that we always looked forward to and have been missing since moving to Hong Kong. Our Korean food cravings were appeased, however, when we went to Han Ah Rum, a Korean restaurant in Causeway Bay on Hennessy Road. The experience was just as I remembered - very satisfyingly delicious (like everything usually tastes when you cook it yourself), and "itis"-inducing. Yum!

{Scallops and ox tongue}

{The plate of raw meat, ready to be grilled}

{Some grilling action}

{Dessert at Yee Shun Milk Company on Lockhart Road in Causeway Bay - steamed milk desserts}

South Side

{Picturesque view while on our way to Stanley}

A classmate of my fiancé's invited us and a couple more friends out to Stanley, on the south side of the island, where she and her family live. Having never been there before, it was wonderful to experience and see the picturesque views that Hong Kong has to offer.  Although it was too chilly for swimming, a relaxing afternoon at the beach and dinner on the Stanley promenade later in the evening made for a great day, spent with new friends.

Pure Joy

{Ecstatic about my bowl of macaroni and cheese}

It's true when they say that you don't really miss something until it's gone... Who knew that I would miss things like boxed mac and cheese, and bacon so much! It's funny when foods  that were readily available back home, but not in Hong Kong, could bring such pure joy.

{The sun shining on my skillet of bacon-y goodness}

{Crispy bacon, heaping pile of scrambled eggs (cooked in the bacon fat), buttered toast, and mandatory ketchup for the eggs}