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Friday, February 8, 2019

A Watching Bird in Mong Kok

Having another pair of eyes is often useful . . .

bird watching a watch fixer at the Fa Yuen Market in Mong Kok, Hong Kong
At the Fa Yuen Street Market in Mong Kok, Hong Kong

Thursday, February 7, 2019

Another Lunar New Year, Another Night of Lights

A belated sharing of a photo taken in Jiangmen, Guangdong, during the night of the Lunar New Year's first day:

people light fireworks next to the river during the Lunar New Year in Jiangmen


Not long after I took the above photo, relevant authorities stopped the riverside festivities. I soon left, but I'd bet some fun later returned.

Happy New Year and all, folks.

Wednesday, February 6, 2019

Another Lunar New Year, Another Prosperity Burger

On Saturday in Hong Kong before the big holiday, I was hoping for some traditional fare. Fortunately, I came across a perfect option: the Lunar New Year Prosperity Beef Burger at McDonald's.

Lunar New Year Prosperity Burger and curly fries at a McDonald's in Hong Kong


The burger seemed to have been overloaded with sauce. Normally with fast food I would not be happy about finding a burger in such a state. But this isn't normal. This is a Prosperity Burger. There is no such thing as too much of that black peppery sauce. They could have dunked the entire buns into the sauce, and I'd be fine. OK, I am actually happy they didn't do that. At the very least, I really don't need even more sodium in the burger.

I was quite happy to continue an edacious tradition that has included me enjoying the glorious burger last year in Taipei and the year before in Macau. The burger is typically available in a number of Asian markets around the Lunar New Year holiday, though oddly enough it isn't available in mainland China where McDonald's offers other holiday burgers that change from year to year. I had thought I would miss out on the Prosperity Burger this year, but for other reasons life ended up bringing me to Hong Kong just in time.

The curly fries were bonus.

Tuesday, January 29, 2019

A Singing Tree in Zhongshan

A type of musical performance I especially appreciate at a park . . .

tree that looks like it is singing
At the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Park in Zhongshan, China

Friday, January 25, 2019

BlackBusters Brings Their Music to Zhongshan

Today I noticed that tomorrow night in Zhongshan, Guangdong, will be different from other nights because BlackBusters will perform at Vivi Plus.



According to an article on Modern Ghana:
African music has seen a rebirth in the last decade that has opened it up on the world stage like never before. Exploring that growth even further is the China-based duo, Blackbusters comprising MC Rhymes-Apple and DJ St3v3.

Rhymes-Apple originally hails from Ghana while DJ St3v3, also known as Estifanos comes from Ethiopia. Blackbusters first gained popularity in the middle of 2015, after founding and hosting a night party at Playhouse Night Club, one of Asia’s most famous nightclubs. . . .

Rhymes-Apple Ofori-Atta better known by his stage name as MC Rhymes-Apple holds a Bachelors degree in Arts and double masters degrees in Entertainment Management and International Trade. He started recording his own music in 2003 during his high school days then released a mix tape in 2010 titled ”Fruity Juicy”. . . .

DJ St3v3 is a well-spoken and articulate professional Disc Jockey. He has the experience in working on Radio, clubs and music festivals. He started to have a passion for music a early as age 13. Steve has established himself as one of the fastest-growing young DJs and producers for electronic dance music.
The article appears in many online locations and much of the content can be found on the BlackBusters website as well, where you can also experience some of their performances.

According to the apparent BlackBusters Instagram account, they have performed in a variety of cities across China such as Wuxi, Taiyuan, Kunming, and Guangzhou. In an online video they speak about the challenges of their frequent travel and also about how they got together:



And I now see that this Saturday won't be as unique as I had first guessed. BlackBusters has performed in Zhongshan before. I won't be able to report on their upcoming engagement, but hopefully everybody has a grand time.

Tuesday, January 22, 2019

A Place for Fish Skin Dumplings Five Years Ago

This evening I had the grand idea of "I'll post a photo I took five years ago". In terms of a specific city, I couldn't remember where I had been.

After some searching, I discovered that on January 23, 2014, I was in Hong Kong. While I have been to Hong Kong many times, I still found it remarkable since tomorrow I may be heading back there yet again.

Regardless of what I do tomorrow, today's post is about today and, more so, the today I experienced five years ago. I can see I had a particularly interesting day in Hong Kong, even though most of what I captured is from just the late afternoon and early evening. I can remember visiting the Kowloon Walled City Park and Little Thailand that day. A post about either of them would require more effort than I can manage right now, so I'll post a photo I took of the place where I had lunch.

restaurant in Mong Kok, Hong Kong


When I first saw the photo I not only suspected that the restaurant was in Mong Kok, but it looked like the sort of place I would be tempted to order (hopefully) wonderful fish skin dumpling noodle soup. Fortunately, I discovered I had documented the moment and both details were correct. I had shared the photo with friends in part because the restaurant had a rather typical Hong Kong ambience.

I can't say for sure whether I will visit this same place, but if I'm back in Hong Kong soon then more fish skin dumplings will be happening.