The wait is nearly over!

In almost exactly three hours...

(photo credit: Ivan Morozov)

...Virginia Tech will kickoff against East Carolina and the 2008 college football season will be in full swing! Hong Kong cable and satellite providers don't show any US college football, but I'll be watching every minute anyway, thanks to a number of amazing technologies:

• Primary source: The Slingbox Pro sitting in my parents' house.
  
• Fallback source #1: ESPN Gameplan Online
• Fallback source #2: Channelsurfing.net
• Fallback source #3: A host of Internet radio stations

Thank goodness for the Internet! ;> Once the source is broadcasting, I have a few special cables (DVI-to-HDMI and miniplug-to-TOSlink) which connect my MacBook Pro up to our HDTV, then I just kick back on the couch and let the football goodness wash over me.

The 12 hour time difference, however, means that coverage starts here on Saturday night at about 10PM, then runs until about noon on Sunday. That means I'm psyching myself up for some all-night football binges, but I think I can handle it. :>

Today, to keep myself busy, I've been killing time in the kitchen - starting with brunch...


Classic French toast, Carper-family style (eggs, cinnamon, and vanilla - which I think is no different from the standard style around the States, but is quite different from the deep-fried Hong Kong style).

After brunch, however, the real cooking began. What better way to celebrate pigskin pageantry than with a pig roast!


Eastern North Carolina pulled pork BBQ! (Thanks to Carson for sharing his recipe!) Now, granted, I didn't actually roast a whole pig, but the Crockpot definitely slow-cooked a good chunk of one. To go with it, something I've never made before...


Lexington-style BBQ slaw, a tangy delicacy that hides in the best BBQ places on Earth. It was surprisingly simple to make and tasted exactly as I remember it (after many years of not having it, mind you). For the second side...


Southern-style black-eyed peas! (Another big thank-you to Carson, who also supplied this recipe!) Now, granted, this is traditionally served on New Year's day, but it's a great accompaniment to BBQ...and "new football season" should qualify as "new year" anyway. ;>

Finally, I used one of my mother's recipes to whip up some fresh cinnamon pita chips (which are made almost exactly like cinnamon toast, except that you use nuggets of sliced pita bread)...


A perfect game-time snack!

Here's to an injury-free victory for the Hokies and a great opening college football weekend for all the GK+HK readers!

A quiet evening of early birthday celebration...

So, my birthday is actually on Sunday, but that's precisely when I expect to be recuperating from today's college football all-nighter (more on that in my next post), so Katherine and I decided to go out on Friday night for a little birthday dinner at a location of my choice...

Welcome to ¡Caramba! For some time, the only Mexican food in Hong Kong we knew about was served at El Taco Loco. Recently, though, we discovered one other place (not all that far from El Taco Loco, actually), and this is it! We hadn't gotten around to trying it, however, until now.

The decor was great fun - full of bright, festive colors - and the food was definitely yummy...

My chicken burrito with black beans and rice.

Katherine's spinach and mushroom enchiladas with black beans and rice.

It's a place I can definitely recommend, though I have to say that, at least when using the dishes we tried last night as a basis for comparison, I enjoyed El Taco Loco a bit more (and El Taco Loco is also a whole lot cheaper). At least we now know we have a choice, though!

Hong Kong large appliances!

Man, if that title doesn't get you fired up, then...well, you are probably pretty normal. Still, that won't stop me from giving you guys a look at the Hong Kong version of two major appliances...

That's right! A washer and a dryer. ;> Katherine and I have been comparing features, brands, etc for months and finally came to the conclusion that this Siemens set was right for us, so they now sit in our kitchen (beside the refrigerator, where a water source + drain exists for this purpose).

Let's take a closer look at each...

The washer!

The dryer!

It's true that, in the residence hall (on the very same floor where we live), we have access to pay-per-use washers and dryers, so you might wonder why we decided to get our own. There were a few reasons, but the top were...

1. To make sure we don't negatively impact the student laundry situation. There are 300 students trying to do their laundry with 4 washers and 4 dryers, so we want to give them all the laundry priority we can.
2. The hall laundry facilities are rather industrial in that they really don't have any settings for delicate clothing. Katherine has a lot of silk clothes that will benefit from our new machines.

You might be interested to know that the dryer is condenser-based, which means that it doesn't need an air vent - it needs a water outlet. Water gets sucked out of the air/clothes inside the drying, sent through a hose, and down the same drainpipe our washer is connected to. I'd never seen one like that in the States - but, then again, I'd never shopped for a dryer before. ;>

What does typhoon signal 9 look like?

About like this...
Okay, so typhoons don't show up so well on still film. ;> Yesterday, as Typhoon Nori passed over Hong Kong, signal 9 was hoisted. When wind speeds exceed 60 miles per hour, signal 8 is hoisted, and the entirety of Hong Kong shuts down (schools, stores, businesses, public transportation, etc). When the typhoon becomes a hurricane, signal 10 is hoisted, so signal 9 is the transition point.

Hong Kong is extremely good in giving its residents plenty of advance warning, so we knew this was coming the evening before, allowing us to run to the grocery store and stock up a bit (just in case). The storm hit during Friday morning, and the wind was mighty loud while the rain streamed horizontally, but we never felt like we were in any danger. (Hong Kong handles these every year and the building construction reflects it.) We were in the eye of the typhoon for a few hours in the afternoon and then things kicked back into high gear just after sunset as we watched the Olympics...


There it is: signal 9. If my previous picture wasn't very convincing, hopefully this one conveys the circumstances more effectively. ;>

Everything was back to normal by the time we woke up, so we went out for a lovely brunch at a 24-hour breakfast joint we've wanted to try for quite some time: The Flying Pan on Old Bailey Street...

Like many great restaurants in Hong Kong, you can't let the humble exterior...

...and humble interior fool you. It was packed from wall to wall for a reason - the food was quite delicious.

Our brunch, as modeled by Katherine.

Katherine chose the signature "Flying Pan" combo platter (three eggs made to order, ham, spiced apples, baked beans, bacon, a sausage patty and a toasted English muffin).


And I went with the Eggs Benedict (a long time favorite of mine, thanks to my father, which I can never resist) with grits and a grilled tomato.


Mmm. Eggs Benedict! Not so easy to find in Hong Kong, so I'm glad we know where to go!

After brunch, we went to see The Clone Wars - something the Star Wars megafan in me could not resist. It has received absolutely atrocious reviews, so I went in with very low expectations, but I came out very pleasantly surprised. In fact, I found it to be more enjoyable than the entirety of the new trilogy (which has its moments of brilliance, but was mostly a let-down for me). Unlike the new trilogy, the dialogue is not cloying and wooden, the plot isn't plagued by endless political positioning, and the female characters are extremely strong (like they should be, ala Princess Leia). It isn't Iron Man, Indiana Jones 4, or the Dark Knight (easily my favorite three films of the summer), but I definitely recommend it.

Next weekend is one that I'm very, very much looking forward to: the kickoff of the 2008 college football season! You can bet that you'll be reading a post dedicated to that. :> Until then, have a great week!

Catching up with old friends at a new place...

...well, a place that's new to us, anyway. Have a look at the Hopewell Center...

It is 709 feet tall and has 64 floors. Until 1989, it was the tallest building in Hong Kong (though quite a number of buildings have now surpassed it).

Katherine and I rode the "observation elevator" to get a nice look at Hong Kong as we climbed upwards.
...and we made sure to look down once we got to the top. Better not drop a penny!

Why ride to the top of the Hopewell Center? Amy, Katherine's sister-in-spirit (both born on the same day and year), invited us to have lunch there - in Hong Kong's only revolving restaurant, "Revolving 66".
Here you can see the basic structure of the restaurant. Nearly every table has a window seat and the view is really spectacular.

Since it revolves, of course, the view from your table changes significantly every 20 minutes or so. That makes for quite a unique dining experience - and one that we'll want to share with folks who visit us, so this is going on the "must do" list for all you guys.

The restaurant serves a large buffet lunch. When I think "buffet" in the US, I prepare for run-of-the-mill cooking offset by the large quantities you can get with your dollar. This is not at all the conception in Hong Kong. Here, buffets are almost exclusively run by high-end hotels and the quality of the food is considered to be quite high across the board. As such, your tab can run pretty steep (compared to other forms of eating), but many consider the experience worth it. This was my first buffet in Hong Kong and I can say it was most definitely didn't disappoint.

Here's a shot of the first thing we saw on display - heaps of freshly-steamed crawfish. Mmm!

We arrived with only about 10 minutes before the lunch buffet was to close, so they asked us to get as much food as we wanted so that they could clear everything up and prepare for the afternoon tea buffet (which was later replaced by the dinner buffet ;>). There was no need for us to eat in a hurry - just collect our food in a hurry - and here's the result...


Let's just say that we were full afterwards. And that we didn't need any dinner.

Here's a shot of the whole crew as our time there wound down. From the left: Amy, Katherine, me, Ng Yin. Nearly 20 years ago, Katherine worked with Amy in a paging center (a class of company which no longer exists now that people can send their own pages and text messages directly) and Katherine attended middle school with Ng Yin. Amazingly, Amy and Ng Yin met each other - completely independent of Katherine - a few years ago while taking a class together. As they became friends, Ng Yin saw a photo album of Amy's and recognized Katherine, exclaiming "I know her!". And here they all are together in one place. :>

Visions from an All American vacation!

So, as it turned out, my threats to give this blog its 100th post during our visit to the States were completely empty. Here I am now, having safely returned to Hong Kong with Katherine, and the 100th post is finally being crafted. Still, the post itself is a recap of our time in the States, so it still has nothing to do with Hong Kong. ;>

Let's start, as we did just over three weeks ago, in Ann Arbor...

Meet Chad and Lin Jones (standing with Katherine on their deck), our most gracious hosts for the few days we spent in Ann Arbor. They showed us, as always, simply amazing hospitality.

Here we are at Charlie's Mediterranean (formerly known as LaShish) sharing a meal with some family and friends. From the front-left of the table to the front-right: Betty, Wing Hong's chair (he's taking the picture), Ayase, Paul, Andrew, Carson, myself, and Katherine. This was just before we went to see "The Dark Knight" (which was outstanding).

Two days later, we shared another meal with the same family and some other friends. ;> This time, it was in Vera and Chris' backyard for a wonderful cookout feast that Vera put together (with some dessert and sides help from the guests). From the center of the table going left: Me, Katherine's chair (she's behind the camera), Vera, Carson, baby Andre, Chris, Sander, Nancy.

Next stop: Virginia! Here we are with my sister, in my parents' new house in Radford, celebrating her birthday! Happy Birthday, sis!

Later that same day, my mother whipped up one of my absolute favorite meals: Eastern Carolina pulled pork BBQ (with a touch of Maurice's South-Carolina-style mustard sauce), baked beans (in a fresh bell pepper), homemade applesauce, and mac-n-cheese.

My mother caught me completely by surprise with an early birthday celebration - this was the immediate result: me setting up my new Slingbox Pro in their living room. This will allow me to watch all the college football I want, live and from the comfort of our living room in Hong Kong, as soon as the season starts in two weeks. (It'll allow me to watch anything else on their TV as well, but I really only care about the college football. ;>) How does it work? The magic of the Internet!

The next day we all took my father's Hobie MirageOutfitter (pedal kayak) and took turns cruising the New River.

My parent current permanent home, and the home where I grew up, is in Bluefield, WV. We spent a night there and, as you can see, enjoyed a beautiful evening on the deck.


Back in Christiansburg, VA, we went to my very favorite fast food chain: Chik-Fil-A! It's something I certainly can't get in Hong Kong - and I couldn't even get it in Ann Arbor!

After spending a little over a week with my parents, it was time to head to Snowshoe, WV for the wedding of my buddies Manu Sporny and Monica Licher...

Here's Monica on the first night, feverishly approving of our shuttle ride to the top of Snowshoe Mountain (where we had a mighty nice dinner at Cheat Mountain Pizza Company).

This is the back of the "cabin" where the Licher family stayed (and where the wedding ceremony was held). A gorgeous house in a gorgeous place!


...as evidenced by this sunset tearing across the West Virginia sky (taken from the back deck of the house). After sunset, though, it was time to head indoors and do another kind of tearing...


...the kind that happens after you are repeatedly dominated by a seven-year-old boy in Foosball. That boy would be Spencer (aka "scoring machine") and he's in the upper right of the picture. In front of him, also on the right, is Greg (an old friend of Monica's) and Manu is on the front left. I'm dislocating my shoulder in the upper left.


Here comes the bride! The ceremony was truly beautiful and presided over by...

...Manu's father (Stanley), who did a wonderful job.

The next day, we went with Manu's sister (Rasmi) and her husband Ben, to the Cass Scenic Railroad in Cass, WV. It was fun - and smoky.

On the final day at Snowshoe, Manu and Greg joined us for a hike around Shavers Lake (at the base of Showshoe's "Ballhooter" lift). We knew exactly where we were going...

...well, mostly.

Once we found the right path, we were very surprised to stumble across a large patch of wild blackberries...

(The patch was much bigger than this, but you get the idea.) What to do?! Go a-pickin'!


They were delicious! And exactly like the blackberries my family would pick (to make wonderful cobbler) when we lived in Princeton, WV during my early years of life.

Thus concludes our vacation! It was a wonderful time that only had one flaw: it was too short! Katherine and I will be returning to the States in November, though, so we'll get some more time with some of these folks later on in the year.

Before closing this post, I'd like to send out a big thanks to Wing Hong Chan, Vera Irwin, and my mother for sharing their photos with me so that I could fill in a few blog blanks above. This post would have been much lighter without their contributions!