Thursday, October 19, 2006

Fruit Frenzy and A 16 Dollar Lunch

When my good friend Ivy was here, we hied off to Stanley to do the touristy thing, namely: walk around the tourist trap hiding under the guise of being a Market and admire the various overpriced, tacky bric-a-brac and kitschy stuff on display; purchase one of the above overpriced, tacky items to show off to friends and family back home; take tons of pictures; eat at McDo; walk barefoot around the beach.

After an hour of trolling around that warren of shops, we spied a small, roadside snack house. It was smelly; an odd combination of pork fat, spring onions and incence (it was beside a small temple) scented the tiny eatery, so we decided to sit outside and endure the sun's glare. One bowl of wonton noodles costs a mere HKD 16. That's still P100.00, but those who have lived in HK long enough know a food bargain when they see one. If you want some beef brisket with that add HKD 6.00. It was satisfying, warmed our insides, and the wontons were surprisingly large and tasty and boasted a whole fresh shrimp. This place is not for the faint-hearted though. The tables are sticky, we sat beside a group of smoking bare-chested men, and we definitely soaked our chopsticks in the hot water for more than 3 minutes. Just to be sure. Still, it was cheap and good.

At the beach we sipped fruit shakes. She with her strawberry one, I with my honeydew melon, guava and apple. As if the shakes were not sweet and fruity enough, we finished off, between the both of us, a half catty of shiny, at their peak, blood-red cherries; mushy, overripe, purple plums; juicy, fragrant, bright yellow-orange nectarines. Fruit overload!

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