Being Momma G: Day 109

Today was our first full day in Hong Kong, and it was a day of eating!

Here's how it went:

Breakfast - I introduced Jonathan to congee (粥) and fried dough sticks (油条) - he seemed to like it. I'd talked and talked and talked about this for weeks, and Jonathan had been curious enough about it to try. There was nothing quite like a huge steaming bowl of congee and fried dough sticks, still piping hot from the deep fryer to wake you up in the morning. Jonathan chose shredded chicken congee and I chose my favourite, pork and century egg. Jonathan shudders at the sight of century eggs, and often wonders how I would and could eat egg that was black. When the congee arrived at our table, Jonathan tucked into it with gusto. Admitting it was vastly different to, say, a breakfast of bacon and eggs, Jonathan nevertheless finished his portion.

Lunch - dumplings at Din Tai Fung. I'd also talked and talked and talked about how good the dumplings in the HK Din Tai Fung were, and Jonathan was hopeful these dumplings were better than the ones we'd had in Sydney. And we weren't to be disappointed. They were good. Mmmm... dumplings.

Snacks - beef jerky and pork jerky. Another favourite of mine, I told Jonathan many times how good the jerky from the shop down the road from our hotel was. Thick glossy sheets of meat, covered with sticky sauce. I went a little bit nuts getting enough jerky to last our whole stay, and after sampling the jerky, Jonathan thought the flavour was good, and declared it was definitely not the dry jerky he'd grown up with.

More snacks - leftover stir fry noodles with 3 different kinds of mushrooms from Dad and Mum's lunch. They ordered far too much food for their lunch, and brought the leftovers back to the hotel for us to eat. Yum!!!

Afternoon tea - mango drinks from Mango Fiesta. I love these drinks, as did Jonathan! What's not to like about a cold drink with mango pieces???

Dinner - we had dinner with my cousins on Dad's side of the family - Betty and Alice, and Alice's husband Billy. These cousins were a lot older than me, and had always treated me like a little girl, not worthy of being heard at the table. In fact, I should still be sitting at the kids' table, and trust me, a lot of times, I would have much preferred to be sitting at the kids' table if there was one. To be honest, these 3 are overachievers and high earners, and in Dad's eyes, I could never match them, no matter how hard I tried. Alice tried her best to chat with us, but she was sitting on the other side of the table and it was hard trying to have a conversation over the top of Dad chatting with Betty and Billy. Sean was quite unsettled throughout dinner - the room was really hot and we'd dressed him quite warmly per Mum's suggestion, so Sean was rather uncomfortable and let it be known throughout dinner. The food was good though!

We didn't really do a lot of sightseeing throughout the day. We needed to get a cheap phone to use in Hong Kong, as well as purchase a pre-paid card so we could make calls to HK numbers without racking up the International calls on our own phones. We walked around a few shops and settled on a really cheap Motorola. Dad tried to take us to the shop where he got his pre-paid SIM, but the shop was closed by the time we got there. We'll try again tomorrow.

One of the things I really wanted to buy on this trip to Hong Kong was an eternity band. Dad has a trusted jeweller in Hong Kong (Gaily Jewellery), and whenever Dad wanted to buy Mum a gift, he would go to this shop. My Aunty Josie uses these guys all the time, so we were guaranteed we would not be ripped off. Dad and Mum took us to the shop on the MTR - Jonathan's first experience on the best rail transport in the world - and we arrived at the shop, with me feeling a bit giddy about a new piece of jewellery.

And sure enough, they had exactly what I was looking for - a gorgeous thin band of diamonds. I wanted something that would stand out on its own, but at the same time, did not overshadow my gorgeous Stella, the Tanzanite engagement ring. Mission accomplished.

Everyone was tired by the end of the day, and we are certainly hoping that Sean will sleep like he did last night - a good 7 hour stretch was great for everyone involved. And there's more food to be eaten tomorrow. Can't wait!