Yuen Long

Yuen Long (Feb, 2002)

Although Hong Kong is just a tiny piece of land, Yuen Long seems to be a thousand miles away from the busy parts of Hong Kong. That thousand miles represents a psychological, instead of a physical, distance.

Snap shots of Yuen Long

Even though Yuen Long is not a busy area, it's not a little village either.

You can still find tall buildings everywhere. But I ensure you, people here walk slower.

This is a 3-story "flower board" that we don't get to see anymore in modern Hong Kong. People send these boards (as you would do with flower baskets) to celebrate occasions like opening of a business or a marriage. This particular one celebrates the opening of a hair dresser.

Studying hard. These Yuen Long friends are doing their "streetwork" on the first horse race day in the Year of the Horse hoping to earn themselves some new year fortune.

Kam and family goes to this well-known restaurant on the 3rd day of Chinese New Year for a yummy start. Although famous people like Hong Kong's Top man Mr. Dung come here to eat, the restaurant stays a restaurant for the commonest people. That is exactly the temperament that distinguish laid-back Yuen Long from the busy Hong Kong.

The food, gosh, is good. Firstly, the traditional recipe that has become extinct in city areas is now something new again. Secondly, I can feel that there is a lot of effort, as well as a a soul being put into each and every dish.

This is a "big bun". I bet over 70% of the young dim sum going Chinese haven't tried this before. It's way bigger than a BBQ Pork bun.	"Spinach Crab Meat Soup" - a refreshing combination. It's a soup from heaven that I can't describe in words. And what!!?? All I got is just one little bowl!!??	"Pot Dish Pork". "Pot Dish" is a way of serving food in a big pot. Everything is being put into that pot and everyone digs into the pot for food. Very barbarian but fun. This pork is made the Pot Dish way but isolated into a single dish. The fat is not overly soft and does not make the mouth all greasy. If I weren't cholesterol smart, I will probably finish the pork and lick the bowl clean.	"First Soya Sauce Duck". Soya sauce is made and contained in huge pots. The top layer is called the "first soya sauce" which is the most tasty layer of the whole pot. And after Mr. Ducky takes a bath in it, we have a yummy dish. Too bad only the soya sauce is good in this dish.
"Steam Taro". I have had a lot of homemade "steam meat cakes" but taro is really something new. All thumbs up!	This fish is called "Dark Head". It's a cheap freshwater fish. If not done right, the fishy and muddy taste of the fish would simply render the dish uneatable. The restaurant buys this fish from the "King of Dark Head" who feeds peanuts to the fish. I can sense the full taste of fat in such a lean fish. Unbelievable.	This is a common pot of steam chicken steamed in a copper pot. There is a hazard that the chicken may has bird flu but the under-marinated meat concerns me more.	If I were 10 years younger, I can eat 4 bowls of rice with the ultra tasty sauce. But since I am not, I only gobble up 3 bowls today.