Archive for September, 2007
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gushing about matanzas creek.
By Karen | Sunday, September 23rd, 2007 | 2 Comments »
It’s been a great but long day of touring Sonoma with Rob and Jen, so I’m going to focus this post on the highlight of our first wine tasting experience in California: Matanzas Creek Winery.
[For a glimpse into the rest of our day's adventures, view the California photosets from my Flickr homepage or on this site's Photos section.]
Unlike the overpriced and commercialized estates of Gloria Ferrer and Chateau St. Jean (which both happen to be right off the main highway, and are fairly well-known names), Matanzas is off the beaten path, nestled in a prettily windy back road in Santa Rosa. It took us a good 15 minutes of driving from the main congregation of vineyards, and we nearly turned back, thinking we had gotten lost somewhere. Luckily, we did manage to find the entrance to this beautifully lush property, full of ivy, towering and twisting trees, and a fragrant garden of lavender.
Our tasting menu (aka “flight”) consisted of seven wines. Normally, they only offer 5 of their selection of blends and varietals, but today, they were showcasing 3 of their more distinctive merlots, so we got a nice little bonus. One of the wines was even a rosé; not the kind of rosé that I’ve been desperately seeking, but it was great to try one from the California region.
Results: the 2005 Sonoma Valley Chardonnay and the 2002 Jackson Park Merlot completely wowed our group. The four of us wound up buying 3 of the Chardonnay, which tasted to me like buttery caramel corn, and one of the merlot. This merlot is one of the best, if not the best, I’ve ever had. Bouquet smells of roasted coffee beans and plum. I could have kept my nose in that wine glass all day. It tasted even better: dark, smoky, chocolately, and oh-so-decadent. Mouthfeel like velvet. Not at all acidic or tannic. Yum yum yum!!
For you Sideways nay-sayers: you will change your mind about this grape if you ever get to try this vintage. It’s really too bad that this winery does not cater to retail stores. I may have to take it up with Lorne about getting Matanzas to ship to a PO Box in Point Roberts for a shady cross-border postal pick-up!
Matanzas’ official tasting notes of our purchased wines below (alas, we misplaced the one for the Chardonnay, so all we have is the one-liner from the tasting room price list…).
Update: Found the Chardonnay’s tasting notes from Matanzas’ website. Added below.
2005 Sonoma Valley Chardonnay, $29
Elegant notes of honey and melon balanced with a touch of cream.
A first glimpse of the wine reveals a pale, straw color, quite typical for a sophisticated Chardonnay. The first nose brings a delicate blend of green apple, white peach, and acacia flower, with a surprising addition of the autumn fruits pear and quince. After a swirl, the second nose reveals the more mineral note of crushed stones, the mark of an exceptional Chardonnay. The palate is round and velvety with a prolonged, flavorful finish of honey and melon. There is also a unique and subtle hint of smoke, derived from basalt, an ancient ocean floor rock found in Bennett Valley’s soil.
Although this Chardonnay was crafted with 95% malolactic fermentation, it is far from a heavy, buttery wine. Francois aims to create an elegant wine which is crafted to complement the finest foods. In addition, he is able to preserve the fullest potential of the Chardonnay by employing a Champagne-style vinification that is gentle on the fruit during crush and prevents any bitter note in the finish. If allowed to age, this wine promises to further increase in minerality and develop a luscious, butterscotch characteristic.
Acclaim:
- 90 Points – Robert M. Parker Jr., Wine Advocate November 2006
- Double Gold Medal – 2007 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition
- Silver Medal – 2006 Sonoma County Harvest Fair
- Silver Medal – 2006 Houston Livestock Show, Rodeo and International Wine Competition
Source:
Continuing a tradition of more than a quarter century of winemaking excellence in Sonoma County’s Bennett Valley, the 2005 Matanzas Creek Chardonnay remains a Sonoma County Classic. Driven by a shared desire to surpass expectations, Vineyard Manager Brandon Axell and Winemaker Francois Cordesse have pooled their collective expertise to produce a Chardonnay that is consistently superior.
According to Francois, fruit sourcing is an art and critical to making an excellent vintage. This outstanding wine has been masterfully blended from the best fruit available in the Carneros and Bennett Valley regions, where cooler climates yield Chardonnay grapes that give the wine refined and complex characteristics. We are particularly proud of the wonderful fruit produced on our Estate-owned vineyards in Sonoma County’s newest American Viticultural Appellation (AVA), Bennett Valley. The result is a Chardonnay that is bold and fruit forward, yet soft and elegant.
- Blend: 100% Chardonnay
- Source: 60% Carneros, 40% Bennett Valley
- Production Statistics: 14.5% Alcohol; 0.5 TA; 3.6 pH; 8 months barrel-aged in 1/3 new, 1/3 one-year old, 1/3 two-year old French oak
Jackson Park, Bennett Valley 2002 Merlot, $49
This is the second vintage of our single vineyard Merlot sourced from our Estate-owned vineyards in Jackson Park. The picturesque mountain vineyard is located over 900 feet above Bennett Valley’s floor and overlooks Matanzas Creek Winery. Bennett Valley provides ideal conditions for Merlot to develop due to its long growing season brought about by the coastal fog that flows into the valley from the Pacific Ocean. In addition, the unique terroir in Jackson Park has an excellent, loamy soil structure and contains Basalt, an ancient ocean floor rock that addes smoky characteristics to the fruit grown there.
The rich, deep, plum colour of this Merlot offers the first hint of its bold and fleshy personality. The initial nose whispers of dried herbs, chocolate, and fresh-cut hay. The mouth-feel is round and voluptuous with a lingering aftertaste of exotic wood. This wine can be aged for up to 10 years, developing some mineral and leather characteristics.
- Blend: 100% Merlot
- Vineyard Sourcing: 100% from Jackson Park
- Production Statistics: 13.7% alcohol; 0.58 TA; 3.45 pH; aged for 15-16 months in French oak barrels, 40% new
notes from the road.
By Karen | Saturday, September 22nd, 2007 | No Comments »
Disclaimer: There is delicate language and likely offensive topics in this travelogue to San Francisco. If you are our parents…nothing to see here. Move along…
Friday, September 14, 2007: 0km @ 9:00am
Luggage in trunk: check.
Picnic blanket: check.
Wine cooler, empty: check.
Rosé wine book, travel guides, and roadmaps: check.
Camera: check.
Acoustic guitar and songbook: check.
Coffee and soy black tea latte: check.
Passports: ………oh, shit.
5km later @ 9:20am
Passports: check.
57.4km @ 10:09am
Listening to: Arctic Monkeys, my new favourite band.
Stuck at the Pacific border crossing; an estimated hour and a half wait. Crackberried it up with work. Ted tells me to turn off the BB.
58km @ 11:18am
Oh. my. god. Not even a kilometre of progress.
Turned off the radio and played the guitar (poorly) during the long, agonizing wait.
58.3km @ 11:45am
Listening to: Eric Clapton.
Welcome to the USA! Says Kurt: “Smells like capitalism!”
Technically past the gate, but stuck in post-border construction zone. Argh.
176km @ 12:55pm
Just outside of Seattle on the I5. Kurt says we’re in the Seattle equivalent of Surrey (it turned out to be Everett; haha). Just passed a giant designer outlet mall and a really ugly casino / hotel.
195km @ 1:06pm
Listening to: Tom Petty.
Realized we haven’t named the car. Thinking of E-names for our little Elantra. Kurt rejected the obvious (Ella, after my favourite jazz singer) and my convulted rationalization for Eloïse (think ThELma and LOuISE and their road trip. plus, there’s an umlaut!).
Eva? No. Eleanor? Ew. Evie? Hmm…possibly. Erica? Not “car” enough.
Ebony? Nope–car’s blue. Elfrida? Lord, no.
Elaine, Elena, Etela, Ethel, Edith, Evelyn, Eileen, Emma, Elmee, Emily, Eugenia, Ellen? Meh.
Eeyore? Too donkeyish.
Estelle? Too Golden Girlish.
Looks like it’s down to Evie or Eloïse. Jury’s still out on this one…
232km @ 1:35pm
Oooh, space needle! First photo op.
262km @ 1:57pm
I only ever see station wagons in the States.
282km @ 2:08pm
Start of Tacoma, yay!
End of HOV lane: boo.
288km @ 2:18pm
Tacoma dome! Click.
308km @ 2:30pm
There’s a town in Washington called Tillicum. Seriously. Other amusing signage: Tillicum Laundromat. House of Teriyaki. $1 Chinese Food.
329km, from 2:45-3:15pm
Late lunch at Taco Bell. Shameful ignorance of the differences between a chalupa, gordita, taquito, burrito, and a crunchwrap supreme.
The hot sauces come in mild, hot, and fire. Disappointingly, all taste mild.
My spicy chicken crunchwrap combo, to my surprise, came with a side of soft taco. Thank goodness I didn’t order the meal grande. It’s a mix n’ match combo of 10 items. Pick from soft taco, hard taco, burrito, or gordita. 10 of them. Ugh.
339km @ 3:30pm
Saw the dome of the pretty state capital building in Olympia. Too late for a photo. Shucks.
366km @ 3:45pm
Listening to: Offcutts.
What the fuck kind of awesome was that?!
There is an indoor waterpark by the side of the highway where the slide shoots outside of the building, spirals around, and then shoots you out into the open into a giant vertical vortex funnel!
Went by too quickly for a photo.
Now planning a trip to said waterpark.
461km @ 4:36pm
Listening to: Greenday.
Weird bike with sweatered biker dog harnessed to the inside of a milk crate. Snap.
500km @ 5pm
Listening to: Jamiroquai.
Geez…8 hours of driving later and we enter the city of Vancouver? Sigh.
Oh, and Portland.
605km @ 6:27pm
Had been seeing signs along the way referring to “Enchanted Way”. I had joked that it’d lead us to the Enchanted Forest theme park that we had encountered on our Calgary road trip.
Well, it actually did! Just passed it. Looks eerily identical except with no neighbouring Miniature Land.
634km @ 6:43pm
Listening to: “Love Scene” (Joe).
This is a great sexy-sex song. But the lyrics are so very full of cheese.
‘69 was a very good year / if you know what i mean my dear
707km @ 7:28pm
Listening to: David Bowie’s Greatest Hits.
Karen takes over driving. Kurt takes over travelogue.
Rockstar energy drink tastes even worse than expected. Getting dark. I can’t really read what I’m writing…
804km @ 8:30pm
Passed by “Friday Night Lights”-style football stadium with about 10,000 fans!
830km @ 8:40pm
Radar gun yells at Karen to slow down! She only reluctantly complies.
(If I was driving, she would have been screaming at me to slow the fuck down.)
848km @ 8:51pm
Karen decrees: “No horror-movie motels for tonight!”
953km @ 9:55pm
Arrived in Medford.
We go for the cheapest clean place, the Motel 6. Not horrific. Although the woman at the front desk’s teeth were a horror in dental hygiene.
Now off to dinner at Jack in the Box and to bed.
Saturday, September 22, 2007: 964km @ 7:19am
Installed Jack in the Box radio antenna. Took pictures. Trailer-trash smoker of a woman patronizing the Motel 6 is not impressed.
994km @ 7:40am
Listening to: World Cup Rugby on BBC World News radio station.
1014km @ 7:51am
Listening to: Beatles Anthology.
Welcome to California!
1016km @ 7:52am
Sign says that speed limit is enforced by aircraft in the state of California. This feels like something the “Governator” came up with.
1038km @ 8:04am
Karen says: “Ooooh, deer!”
[Karen's edit: It was a doe, in case you were wondering. I know you were.]
1044km @ 8:07am
Karen points out the “hot-air balloon orgy, with Mt. Shasta as voyeur”.
(Pause ensues.)
Karen then comes to the conclusion that she is a sick fuck.
Took her long enough.
1185km @ 9:23am
Listening to: A Tribe Called Quest.
Traversed Shasta Lake bridge.
Karen cannot drive when hungry. Nearly took an exit because a sign distracted her.
1198km @ 9:31am
First palm tree!
1251km @ 10:05am
Denny’s at Red Bluff, CA for our breakfast pit stop.
Karen back in charge of the travelogue. Read over Kurt’s entries. He thinks he is just sooo clever.
Kurt, with a most exasperated air, explains why gubernatorial is the adjective for things related to governors. I still don’t feel that the word should start with “gub”. It just sounds strange.
And don’t get me started on lieutenant pronounced as “leftenant”.
1265km @ 11am
Listening to: sports radio.
Kurt now behind the wheel. Oil top off and re-fuel.
Kurt felt compelled to record the signage of the Chinese restaurant across the street.
1373km @ noon
Just woke up from the best car nap. Think it was the pillow that did it.
57km left to Sacramento. Rain clouds threaten. Olive and orange orchards all along the highway.
A road sign brings to mind an old TV show called Putnam’s Prairie Emporium. Worst. Kid’s show. Ever.
1392km @ 12:12pm
Random fortress made of huge bales of hay.
1408km @ 12:20pm
Finally off the I5! Now on the I505 en route to San Francisco.
1450km @ 12:42pm
“Putah Creek” sign leads to a discussion of “bitch” versus “cunt”. Plus usage of “cunt” in North America (very taboo; considered one of the most highly offensive words one can say) versus Australia (where I have seen it used quite casually in a comic strip). Then we passed by one of them swerving on the road as she rooted around their glove compartment for 5 minutes.
1462km @ 12:48pm
Listening to: “Urban” radio.
Now on the I80 to San Francisco. A return to suburbian traffic and shitty commuter roads.
1486km @ 1pm
Just passed by the most amazing looking mini-golf we have ever seen! Just after the turnoff for the I680. Executive decision to go there on Tuesday on the way to Napa.
1497km @ 1:06pm
I am excited by the exit sign to San Rafael (where I went for Sitecore training in January).
1542km @ 1:34pm
Just paid the $4 toll for the Bay Bridge. Good thing I had some leftover USD from my trip to Atlanta in May.
Not as picturesque an entree as the Golden Gate would have given us, but the vastness of the bay is nevertheless impressive.
approximately 1560km @ approximately 2pm
Enjoying a bottle of Sonoma pinot noir with our hosts, Rob and Jen, in their wonderful flat in the Noe Valley. Will be experiencing San Francisco life until we head out to wine country on Tuesday.
happy 22nd birthday, little brother.
By Karen | Sunday, September 16th, 2007 | No Comments »
My mother uploaded the cutest grade-school photo of my baby brother to Flickr. He was so adorable…where did we go wrong? =P
Just kidding…birthday smooches from your Ate!
i don’t normally quote movies…
By Karen | Sunday, September 9th, 2007 | No Comments »
…but this one struck a chord with my inner math nerd.
From the highly enjoyable Stranger Than Fiction:
Professor Hilbert, literature expert: “What’s your favourite word?”
Harold Crick, IRS agent: “Integer.”
Integer is now my new favourite word.
hong kong travel diary: day 7.
By Karen | Saturday, September 8th, 2007 | No Comments »
Lunch was at Superstar Seafood Restaurant with Quiny, a high school friend I hadn’t seen in 10 years and who had been living in Hong Kong for the past few. Superstar is on the 10th floor of the Food Forum in Times Square.
After a great lunch catching up on the times, I went boutique shopping in Kimberly Mall at Times Square, on Quiny’s recommendation. Bought a pretty black dress and skirt in under 20 minutes, before calling Winnie up for a change of shopping scenery.
Met up with Winnie, who expeditiously got me thinking about my fall business wardrobe at G2000. Even called her sister so that I could get an additional 20% discount on the $1000 HKD worth of clothing I was going to splurge on. The bill was under $800 HKD in the end: well done, personal shopper!
Fell in love with Mango, another store I had a field day in in Ocean Park (TST’s main shopping centre). Have Garland to thank this time for this jewel of a store. I fit nearly everything I tried on, and everything was gorgeous. If only I had discovered this place sooner. Well, I know where my dollars are going to go the next time I make the trip out to Asia.
We started to feel peckish after all the whirlwind shopping. Headed down to Jordan Station for some good ol’ wonton soup at Mak Mun Gay. They make their dumplings, broth, and noodles all from scratch, and you can watch them at work inside their open kitchen. Our feet enjoyed the respite from wandering around Kowloon while we decided where to go next.
Turns out that our next stop was the cafe next door! Australia Dairy Co is famous as an all-day breakfast eatery. Winnie is a big fan of the double-cooked custard and eggy toast, so that is what we tried. I’m lactose intolerant to a certain degree (though that normally doesn’t stop me from pigging out on dairy) but typically don’t advertise the fact. As I picked at my custard, Winnie discovered my condition and felt bad for forcing the custard upon me (and I reiterate, Winnie, that it was no problem at all!). The custard tasted a little like dessert tofu but with a denser flavour and a wobblier consistency. Decent, but maybe something to get accustomed to. The egg toast turned out to be the very same dish that the woman and child from the congee house had had for breakfast on Thursday. It tasted exactly how I expected it to taste: wonderbread with butter and scrambled egg. I am a really big fan of many forms of breakfast egg, but unless an egg scramble is toweringly high from being whipped to the max, scrambled eggs just don’t do it for me. Maybe I’m being too much of a food snob. Shrug.
I had been having email tag with my cousin’s roommate, Ian, for the past few days, as he and his family would also be in town on business. Remembered to try him at his hotel and managed to get a hold of him. After some quick planning, Winnie and I met him in the lobby of the Shangri-La and proceeded to walk through Eastern Kowloon and the Avenue of Stars on the way to view the daily 8pm light show by the harbour.
There were plenty of tourists already crushed together like sardines by the seawall’s edge, so we found a cafe with a patio on the walk and hunkered down with some alcohol and a pretty shady dish of cold, marinated chicken. Turned out that the light show was accompanied by fireworks too, so that was a bonus. Winnie oohed and aahed at the display and went for a closer look. Us Vancouverites remained seated at the table, unphased by the show, having been quite spoiled by the firework splendour that is the Vancouver Celebration of Light.
As the light show and fireworks ended, nature decided to put on a show of its own. A brilliantly purple bolt of lightning suddenly streaked through the sky as I was taking a shot of the cityline, and right in my lens’ field of view, too. Unfortunately, I hit the shutter a fraction of a second too late. The thunder rolled across the harbour soon after and the rain started pouring down. We quickly switched tables to one protected by a large umbrella and continued to watch the storm as it passed through the city. It was a gorgeous experience and trumped the harbour light show by a gazillion degrees. I will never again complain about summer thunderstorms…just about Winnipeg summer thunderstorms =)
The three of us lingered on the patio, trading stories and hearing about Ian’s fascinatingly sordid university life in Bangkok. As the hours waned, we parted ways with Winnie and Ian and I headed back to Hong Kong Island on the Star Ferry. The ferry was much shorter a trip than I expected. Only a few minutes to cross. It was neat to experience being out on the water at night, if only briefly.
Our next stop was to Wan Chai, where I truly got to see the seedy underbelly of Asian nightlife. Ian picked a go-go bar at random (Hawaii Club), where I wound up buying a $50 CAD drink for a Filipino woman codenamed Christina, that one can only call a sex trade worker. You can’t even pretend that she was just an exotic dancer. The person that targeted Ian was codenamed Karen (perhaps after discovering that my name was Karen?). The two proceeded to test the boundaries of decency on myself (nah-uh) and Ian (who was a little more willing) while the mama-san continued to get us to buy beer and buy them “drinks”.
All in all, a rainbow of experiences on my last night in Hong Kong.
hong kong travel diary: day 6.
By Karen | Friday, September 7th, 2007 | 2 Comments »
Breakfast of vegetarian dim sum along Electric Road. Essentially pointed at each item that looked good and indicated how many of each I wanted. Even with my greedy eyes, the price was well under $20 HKD. Even more bitter about my 2 $75 HKD breakfast buffets at the hotel.
Didn’t realize it was vegetarian until someone at IG told me it was their favourite vegetarian pit stop. If I had known that earlier, perhaps I could have managed to have a Meatless Wednesday in Hong Kong…ah well. That would have interfered with my culinary itinerary, anyhow.
Lunch at Pumpernickel Cafe with Winnie, Johnny, Lisa, Calvin, Matt. Ordered the fettucini with duck a la Oscar Meyer weiner (again). Spinach soup was pretty tasteless and reminded me of canned spinach. Garlic bread was amazing. Had milk tea. Calvin tried to teach the “What” game to the group to the confusion and frustration of many at the table.
Last day with IG. Meeting rooms were freed up in the afternoon so finally got to take a closer look at the harbour-side views from the 33rd floor. Constantly distracted by the sun setting over the water…much nicer than my view of the government building’s gravel rooftop and the condo construction along False Creek. While waiting for the team to be ready for our dinner plans, I whipped out the camera and snapped shots of the pretty sunset and the bustling rush-hour traffic. Also attempted to photograph Terence’s aquarium, but I may have scared off the fish.
Dinner with Marcus, James, and Johnny was at a restaurant called Red, which is part of a fitness chain, for some reason. Hong Kong architects seem to be more enthralled with glass than Vancouver ones, which says a lot, as our city is building after building of green glass. Glass elevators, floating escalators, and glass-panelled shopping malls. Not good for a person as prone to vertigo as myself. Unfortunately, I was unable to hide my strange condition from Marcus and James’ attention. Johnny’s sniggering probably didn’t help! =P
The restaurant was jam-packed so we didn’t get the chance to sit outside on the patio with great views of downtown Hong Kong. We plopped down at our table and were informed that we only had till 9:30 before we would be kicked out. We had experienced this at Rice Paper too. It seems that many restaurants work in “meal shifts”: you must eat before the end of your meal shift in order to make room for other diners. I found it quite off-putting but it seems to be standard in the fancier (or at least more popular) dining establishments in town.
Scanned the menu in my usual way, looking for those ingredients that I automatically am drawn to: risotto, eggplant, ahi tuna, mushrooms, and anything remotely french. Settled on a tomato and spinach risotto with a crisped orange roughy fillet (though the menu stated it as orange roughy accompanied by said risotto). The fish was excellent if a little on the salty side. The risotto was horrendous. Perhaps I should give up on ordering risotto altogether. (The concept of a tomato risotto stuck with me, though, so when I got home, we created a tomato and basil risotto one Meatless Wednesday that, I must say, was quite fantabulous.)
There’s always room for dessert, so I ordered the “champagne custard”, visualizing a great big dish of succulently wobbly golden flan. Instead, what resembled 2 giant Wheaties were set in front of me, each encasing less than a tablespoon of regular custard. There was no indication that champagne was present in the recipe. Was extremely disappointed with the offering, and coupled with the fact that the server was reminding us every 10 minutes that 9:30 was coming up, I was very glad for our table that tipping is not customary in Hong Kong. If only you can penalize a restaurant for poor service…
Food and service aside, dinner was nevertheless enjoyable. Marcus kept us all entertained and his lovely wife Amy joined us later for dessert. It was so nice of my colleagues to keep me company for nearly every meal. Very much appreciated, and great to get to know the people that are taking care of our project development on a more personal level.
Marcus and Amy said their goodbyes at the restaurant as they headed out for a movie, while the rest of us parted ways at the MTR station. My plan post-dinner was to get in another night of salsa dancing, this time at Jupiter Cafe in North Point. The combination of jet lag, long work hours, and long touristy hours must have gotten to me, however, and I wound up passing out before 11pm on a Friday night in the comfort of my hotel. Oh well. Probably needed the beauty sleep, anyhow!
Suavecito (Malo)
By Karen | Thursday, September 6th, 2007 | 10 Comments »
The happiest memories from childhood are often related to my mom and dad serenading each other on the acoustic guitar. Those moments, sitting together as a family and singing along to the music, are the reason I have a soft spot for the Eagles, the Carpenters, and many other sappy balladeers. When my mother came over for dinner the other night, I asked her to regale me with a few oldies on my new Baby Taylor.
She confessed to being quite rusty and then proceeded to churn out an impressive number of the songs of yore. You would never have thought it had been years since she had picked up a guitar. I am so in awe (and quite envious) of how easily she got back into it.
One of the songs she played is a sentimental favourite of mine. It’s surprisingly easy to strum along to for a guitar beginner like me. Her simplified version consists of just 2 chords: A7 and Bminor. I posted a small video clip of her playing it but won’t link to it here, since only YouTube contacts on my Friends or Family list will be able to see it. If you’re one of the privileged few, have a look-see.
Play the clip below to have a listen. The lyrics are also posted but they may not be entirely accurate…
Lyrics for Suavecito (Malo):
Laaa-ah-ah-ah, la la laaaa-ah-ah-ah
Laaa-ah-ah-ah, la la laaaa-ah-ah-ah
Never…
I never met a girl like you in my life
I never, no, no, yeah
I never met a girl like you in my life
The way that you hold me in the night
The way that you make things go right
Whenever you’re in my arms
Girl, you’re filling me with all your charms
Suavecito, mi linda
Suavecito
The feelin’ that I have inside for you
Suavecito, mi linda
Suavecito
The feelin’
The feelin’ that I have inside for you
‘Cause ever since the day I met you
I knew you that you were my dream come true
But I think I’ve found that day
Gonna make you mine in every way
Suavecito, mi linda (baby, baby, baby now)
Suavecito
You really turn me out
Suavecito
You know you really do
Suavecito
‘Cause you know it, girl, that I love you
I really do love you…
You…
You…
You…
All I want is you
If I can’t have you I don’t know what to do
La la laaa-ah-ah-ah, la la laaaa-ah-ah-ah
Laaa-ah-ah-ah, la la laaaa-ah-ah-ah
Never…
I never met a girl like you in my life
I never, no, no, yeah
I never met a girl like you in my life
‘Cause I know we’ll always be
Together just you and me
From here on you’re gonna see
You’ll be mine until eternity
Suavecito, mi linda (baby, baby, baby now)
Suavecito
You really turn me out
Suavecito, mi linda
You know you really do
Suavecito
‘Cause you know it, girl, that I love you
Suavecito, mi linda
Suavecito
I really do love you…
hong kong travel diary: day 5.
By Karen | Thursday, September 6th, 2007 | 1 Comment »
Back in Hong Kong and ready for breakfast! Finally got up the nerve to try the little congee house across the street from my hotel. I was worried about the language barrier but something about me must have screamed tourist (the giant camera in hand, perhaps?). An English menu was plopped promptly down on my table.
My usual congee of choice includes duck or chicken. This time, I risked trying a bowl of “salty meat” (they insist it is just pork) and century egg, which is typically duck egg preserved in soot for 100 days. If you’ve never tried century egg before, the visual is a little off-putting. It looks like a slice of egg that has been gelatinously petrified and stained with black shoe polish. Tasted great: salty egg with a slight Jell-o mouthfeel. Downed the congee with relish as well as the shrimp rice roll that the combo came with. All for only $27 HKD–that hotel buffet was a total rip-off at $75 HKD!
As with the Shanghainese cafe from Tuesday, I shared the tiny booth with total strangers. It was a little boy and his mother today, who ordered what practically everyone else at the restaurant ordered for breakfast: macaroni soup with bits of ham plus a butter and egg sandwich on white bread, crusts removed. Would have taken a photo but I don’t think they would have appreciated such an invasion of privacy…
I saw this same meal being enjoyed by other cafe dwellers on the way to work. Even arrived at the desk to find Alan eating it one morning. Was somewhat curious about the ubiquitousness of the meal but was not curious enough to ingest Wonderbread while abroad.
Lunch was at a nearby lahksa house with Johnny and Winnie. Had the roasted duck lahksa, spice level #1 of 4, as Winnie warned us of the exponential increase in heat. Neither of my lunch companions were as into spicy food as I was so I took her warning with a grain of salt. Sure enough, my broth was super mild. Winnie called the server back to give me a side of level 2 broth after boasting that I should have gotten a level 3 soup. When the broth arrived, I took one tiny sip and went beet red from the heat. Johnny was thoroughly entertained. I added a couple of spoonfuls of the new broth into my soup bowl, hid my tail between my legs, and enjoyed the best of both worlds.
Alan played chauffeur the rest of the evening to Lisa, Winnie, Johnny, and I. First stop was to Shatin in the New Territories. It is a 20-minute drive across the harbour and north of Kowloon. Winnie kept a running commentary on the points of interest that we passed (coincidentally, most had shopping centres attached to them!).
Dinner in Shatin was at Jun Jun, a local favourite that I was privileged enough to be taken to. I am not even sure if Jun Jun has a proper interior: we sat at the end of a long curvy patio with a low tarped ceiling. The place is famous for its Shatin chicken congee and its many incarnations of pigeon. While Winnie decided what to order for the table, I taped Johnny sterilizing our dishes and chopsticks with hot tea (a common ritual at dodgier restaurants, he says).
Tonight’s menu: crispy pigeon with shrimp crackers; oyster pancake; Shatin chicken congee; vegetable and scallop stir-fry; chicken “soft bones” with deep-fried tofu. Downed with copious amounts of tea and a bottle of Hong Kong beer called Blue Girl. The pigeon looked and tasted like a leaner version of peking duck, so I quite enjoyed it (unlike the duck in the lahksa, which looked and tasted like Oscar Meyer weiner. Cringe.). Johnny plopped the pigeon’s head into my bowl at the end of the meal. Er, yum? Unfortunately, I was much too full by then to try eating it (darn).
My favourite dish was the chicken soft bones. Alan explained that it was, in fact, the cartilage from chicken feet that has been softened, battered, and deep-fried with a variety of spices. I am a huge fan of tendon as evidenced by our regular pho outings, so I suppose chicken knuckles are not a very far cry from that.
Dinner was accompanied by a sudden and vicious summer thunderstorm. We were well protected by the tarp above our heads–no worries there. But it was a real delight for me to sit there, outdoors in the pouring rain as the thunder and lightning played, experiencing exotic food, taking in the colourful restaurant scenery, and enjoying the company of a terrific group of people.
On the way back to the parking lot, Winnie and I took a quick pit stop into the KFC and McDonald’s inside the Shatin Galleria. She pointed out the differences between the North American and Asian menu offerings. You can order a side of corn with your McDonald’s combo or eat chicken curry at KFC. The Happy Meal toy selection advertised a Hello Kitty plushy, which I attempted to get for Kookie: unfortunately, Hello Kitty wasn’t available for another week yet. Another souvenir procurement foiled. Curses!
We took a different scenic route back to Kowloon and up the winding path to Victoria Peak. Conversation up the mountain included a small lesson on how to say bubble gum in Cantonese–nothing else was taught, I swear 
The best views from the Peak are to be had on the massive two-tiered roof of the newly constructed observation building. One has to scale several sets of floating glass elevators to reach the top. Had to fight the onset of vertigo and my fear of heights throughout the ascent and descent, but it was well worth the panic attack and the jests of my colleagues. Winnie was even nice enough to anchor me on her arm during the worst parts. Such great hosts =)
Hong Kong at night is dazzling. My non-DSLR camera and lack of travel tripod cannot adequately convey the blaze of lights that we observed up there on that windy deck. Victoria Peak is a must-see at night, despite the crowds of tourists and the off-chance of fog / smog. The folks let me wander around to take photo and video until my battery warning started to blink. Below are the highlights of this outing:
Got back to the hotel with just enough time for a quick change into salsa dancing apparel and a hail to a cab for my one night of dancing in Hong Kong. Tonight’s venue was a bar called Swindlers in the Wan Chai district. It’s one of the seedier neighbourhoods this side of Hong Kong Island but that night, I didn’t notice it. Swindlers itself is a narrow and intimate bar with a 15×15′ dance floor, a hallway of hardwood flooring cleared of its usual tables, and an open entranceway to the street. You could hear the enticing percussions emanating from the place from almost a block away. Getting excited!
The crowd was a mix of locals, ex-pats from Europe and Asia, and a good smattering of visiting dancers from abroad. I was warned that the scene in Hong Kong was rather small, so I didn’t expect a lot of quality dancing, but was I ever mistaken! Even the worst dancer at Swindlers was better than the average dancer you come across in Vancouver. Danced LA- and casino-style salsa with people from Hong Kong, Israel, Italy and even another Vancouverite (what a small world). Had the best salsa dance of my life with a Peruvian instructor by the name of Gino Mayaute, who now lives and teaches out of the US. Everyone should get the chance to watch this guy at work–he really is beautiful to watch, whether he is leading or following. Also happy to see that bachata is alive and well in other parts of the world. Unfortunately, my camera was already kaput from Victoria Peak so had to rely on those of my new salsa connections for a couple of snaps of the evening.
Got back to the hotel by 2am, thinking with a happy sigh that this was one of the best days of the trip thus far.
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