Sunday Adventures... Eat and Shop like the Locals!

Sunday morning, Brett and I decided to head out to see more of Tai Po. We left the apartment hungry, so our first stop was to eat! Because far fewer people speak English in Tai Po, we had to be careful to find a restaurant that could accommodate our pointing and gestures. Thai food sounded great, but when we walked up to the window, looking over a menu, we realized it was entirely in Chinese! Before we could leave, though, a man came out to speak to us. He was so kind and welcoming, even offered us an "English Menu." We sat down and looked things over, but it wasn't before long that this man came back with soup for us. "On the house, free today" he said. The soup was chicken based, with a real chicken foot! A little strange, as it still has the bones in it, but really good flavor. There were also beans and carrots. It was really tasty! Then he talked us into the lunch special. $88 for two people. (For those of you trying to do the math in your head, that's about $11.25 USD).

First he brought out a tray of appetizer-like pieces. There were spring rolls with chicken, shrimp balls, and curried pork pieces wrapped in something that looked like banana leaves. There were two sauces to accompany these. One was a spicy garlic chili sauce (Blythe, it reminded me of what you've described from the train station!) And the other was a ginger plum sauce. SO GOOD. But this was only the beginning. We also got Lemon tea (the first beverage with ICE that I've seen since getting off the airplane!), which I'm told is a local specialty. It reminded me of sweet tea from the south, but Brett showed me how you are supposed to mash up the lemon pieces in the bottom of the glass if you want it to seem less sweet. Very refreshing, and a perfect balance from the spicy.

Next our Thai waiter friend produced a sizzling vegetable dish made up of bean sprouts, carrot, broccoli, baby corn, tomatoes and green cabbage. This was very fresh tasting and felt healthy. Then our main dish arrived. (I wanted SO BADLY to take a picture, but I felt it would be rude as we were basically being watched to ensure we were comfortable- so my description will have to suffice). A pineapple had been hallowed out and inside was served our Fried Rice. There were pieces of fresh pineapple, raisins, carrot and other veggies. It was truly beautiful and SO delicious. We thanked our new friend for the wonderful meal, and headed off. Needless to say, we were already planning our trip back while leaving the restaurant.

Next we walked through some of the "wet market"- to those from Seattle, you can think of this as an Eastern "Pike Place"- but much bigger, and with many foods I've never seen before. Our destination was the Tai Po community center, where the local library is located. We were seeking more Cantonese character books for my benefit. I MUST share with you the unbelievable variety this library holds. There is an entire English section with nearly any subject you can think of. Brett entertained himself very willingly in the Computer and Programming section, while I ventured to see how much Shakespeare had made it's way into the Tai Po library. I was amazed to find an entire shelf dedicated to the Bard! So I pushed further- "I wonder if they have any Austen...." I thought. Yep. Sure do- a complete library of her works and biographies- AND Cliff's Notes on Pride and Prejudice. LOL. I also found a section of cookbooks! (Holly, they have NIGELLA! LOL) and so many others that I'd be interested to read.

We spent part of the afternoon back at the apartment, feeling the need to rest after a long day of walking the day before, and an adventurous morning. But after a while, we were eager to get out again. Brett suggested we head to Mong Kok, where the shopping districts live. It's so interesting, but they group stores by items... so you can, for example, go to the shoe district and search through all the stores for Clark's Privo Black Slingbacks....Which we did. :) We got close a few times, but nothing was right. Darn!

The street vendors along the shops sell snacks to the locals. Brett was keen on me trying these "Fish Balls." Which are basically fish meat, curry and I'm guessing egg to use as a binder. They are kept warm in large pans, and when ordered are skewered and dipped in sauce before being handed over- WITHOUT a napkin! I should mention that everyone has these small napkin packs- almost like travel sized tissues, but thicker cloth. We whipped those out and enjoyed our snack streetside. And they were SPICY! Very peppery! So we walked around the corner and bought some coconut milk to counteract the heat! Oh, did I mention that the fish was $6 ($0.74USD) and the giant beverage $13 ($1.60USD)?!? Another great deal...

In and out of shops we went, tiring ourselves out even more. I'll have to save some of these details for my arrival home, as this will definitely be the place I pick up gifts for you all. Finally, we boarded the metro and prepared for the long week ahead of us! Another day of exploring and learning! I feel like a cultural sponge...