The Century Egg

As many of you already know*, I was recently sent to Hong Kong for 5 days for work. Luckily for me, it was over a weekend, so JL jetted over and we spent a couple of days doing the tourist thing. Truth be told, I had pretty low expectations of Hong Kong** so I was pleasantly surprised to find that I really enjoyed being there (other than the work part). While I could give you a play by play description of what I did and saw every day, that would take forever, so I'll just give you the Sports Center version....

THE PENINSULA PAIN

JL in front of the notorious
Peninsula Hotel....

The Kowloon Peninsula, just a ferry ride from Hong Kong Island, is the home to a venerable old British hotel by the name of the Peninsula Hotel. Apparently it is quite famous for its high tea and is a "must see" when you're in Hong Kong. Well JL and I, hearing that it could be a bit uppity (or "upmarket" as they say in Oz), got ourselves to our hotel one afternoon, showered, changed (I put on a pink and white striped sundress) and headed over there to experience this civilized society tradition. BUT.....we were refused service.....because I was wearing FLIP FLOPS! Mind you, there were loads of fatties in khaki capris and hiking boots lounging all over that place! Yet, when I pointed this out to the concierge I was simply informed that it was "about the shoes." Needless to say, I left if a huff and determined that the Peninsula Hotel would not be getting our business again (fyi, I'm sure they're crushed).

THE FOOD FRENZY

Where can you get various and random parts of a cow mixed in with noodles and spicy sauce AND eggs that are 1000 years old****? You got it....Hong Kong!

The "Mixed Beef Noodle Soup" was ordered by me at a tiny little hole in the wall restaurant in Kowloon. The "mixed beef" portion turned out to consist of beef brisket, beef tendon***, stomach and intestines. And, much to JL's disgust, I ate it. (POP QUIZ: At this same hole in the wall restaurant I peed into a hole in the ground and I stuck my gum in the bill. Which do you think was socially acceptable and which garnered looks of disapproval from the restaurant workers? Did you say gum? Makes you wonder.)

If you look closely you can see a piece of stomach and a piece of intestine on the spoon.

But note how much is missing! I ate a LOT.

And then there were the Century Eggs which were given to JL and I as a pre-dinner appetizer one night. Let me just say, that while I am adventurous eater (see above), when these eggs were set down in front of me I really couldn't imagine putting them in my mouth (actually, I couldn't imagine what they WERE....we had to have it explained to us which was quite embarrassing.....).

Photo of the Century Egg - cut in half. Yes...it DOES look like rancid finger jello!

JL eating it. The half-eaten egg. Me!

The best part of this story is that the Century Egg tasted like.................egg. Yup. Hard boiled, regular old, eat 'em with toast, egg. There is a historical reason why people eat these, and make them, but as I have limited space, read about it yourself here.)

PIG ON A TRAM

Final story.....one morning JL and I decided to take the historical "tram to the peak". This was, in essence, a way to get to the highest point of Hong Kong Island and take in the views. In the end, the views were lovely (despite the smog!) but JL and I had to endure the following annoyances:

1. The longest line ever.
2. A wasp that kept attacking us while waiting in the longest line ever.
3. Heat and me whining about the heat (really only JL had to endure this. You know I actually got out of line and went and sat in the shade while JL patiently waited in the sun and in the heat....who's a sucker now, huh?).

and finally.....

4. The Russians!

I am very sorry for how this is going to sound (i.e., stereotypical and something-ist (I don't think racist....maybe ethnicist?). I don't mean to be, but these had to have been THE RUDEST PEOPLE ON THE PLANET. There was a fat one, a medium sized one, and a girl. They were wearing head to toe designer clothes....with the designers name printed all over everything. They tried to cut us in line when we were the last people in the line. And they SUCCEEDED in cutting us in line when we were at the front. Poor JL (who actually had to stand in line). In true JL fashion, he expressed himself with strong emotion.... He called the cutter a "pig". My own description of the man was a little more colorful....but I'll keep that to myself for now!

*Which would imply that "many" people read this blog! Hahahahahahah!

** This is purely based on a certain ex-boyfriend's experiences. I should have realized I couldn't trust his opinions (he's one of those listed in the previous post)!

*** You know I actually really love beef tendon. And check out what this person has to say:

"A good piece of beef tendon is a thing of beauty. A perfectly braised piece of beef tendon has the power to make the world around me seem beautiful even when it’s falling apart. The texture of diligently and affectionately braised tendon is transcendental. Its mucilaginous coating and firm yet gelatinous bulk force my eyeballs upwards into an ecstatic
examination of my eyelids."

I think this person might be a little....off.

**** As if these were really 1000 years old...... they were probably like a week old. Check out that link for the recipe on how to make them yourself!