Vignettes of the World
Perhaps Uzbekistan is only ubiquitous within its own borders. It is not a small country by any measure. Amongst the five central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, Uzbekistan is the third largest. Its population of 33 million also prides the top …
Time flies when one is engaged in seeing interesting museum exhibits, and I realised that I must head back to the guesthouse soon because checkout time was near. I hurried up and walked back toward to the Changshou Lu Metro Stop. The last bit of …
I saw signs pointing to the “Little Red House” on the street, when I was rushing back to the guesthouse. Despite being a little bit pushed for time, I decided to go for a look. I then came across the cluster of the three buildings that made up the Liwan Museum. I could not resist and so I went for a quick tour.
The Little Red House stands on No. 33, Fengyuan Street. The owner of the house had the surname Pan, and he hired a German architect to design the building for his own residency. The walls of the building are lined with red bricks. The red brick buildings are typical of the Republic Period.
The Little Red House was not open for visits. It is a state-protected heritage.
To enter the Liwan Museum, you must do a pre-booking. You may do so with your WeChat account on the spot and registration was relatively easy. There is no fee for touring the museum.
The Liwan Museum consists of a cluster of three beautiful buildings, each in its own architectural style. I had little time so I rushed through the exhibitions.
Jiang Guangnai was a key Republican (Kuomintang) general during the Second Sino-Japanese War. He was a faithful follower of Dr. Sun Yatsen’s cause. In 1931, the September 18 incident resulted in Japan occupying the northeastern parts of China. In 1932, Japan also raised an offensive in Shanghai, and Jiang Guangnai led his troops to resist the Japanese, “firing the Chinese regular army’s first resistance against Japanese aggression, which marks the beginning of the historic Songhu Battle”[1] on January 28, 1932.
He remained in China after the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, and eventually participated in New China’s politics. This exhibition details his life and accomplishments. I appreciate the fact that, unlike typical Chinese museums, where the spotlight is always on the Communist revolution, this pictorial biography of a Republican general does stay true to his personal history. Where he was a true-blood Kuomintang general, it was represented so. Where he came around to the Communist cause after New China, it was also represented so. The presentation was even-handed, with most of the highlights in his years of leadership in the resistance against Japanese aggression.
The Former Residence of Jiang Guangnai is a brick and wood building that combines both the styles of the Xiguan Old House and western architecture. There are three stories on the building, and each floor is open for visitation. It was built during the late Qing, early Republican period. The site is now well-restored and it is a very pleasant walk in the structure.
The proper name of the Xiguang Old Mansion within the Liwan Museum is Xiguan Folk Customs Museum. Of the three buildings in the Liwan Museum, I enjoyed the touring of the Xiguan Old Mansion the most. This rebuilt structure showcases the typical Xiguan Old Mansion with antique wooden furniture. The introduction on site was short, easy and amply served the purpose of unveiling the life of Old Xiguan.
Xiguang old mansions refer to a type of Chinese big house, a popular architectural style in the Lingnan school during the late Qing Dynasty. According to the description on Chinatouguide.com,
The facade of a Xiguan Mansion was generally built with grey bricks…the interior is very symmetrically structured; from the front to the back of the house there are as follows: the portal, the hallway, the main hall, the first room, the second hall and the back room. There is also a patio and garden inside. Hardwood furniture, carved wooden ornaments, stained glass Manchuia windows, and many other Cantonese features come together to create an old Guangzhou style house. In the past, only the well-to-do families of businessmen or officials could live in these grand and magnificent places.[2]
Chen Lianbo was a banker and the grand building really reflects his wealth. His residence was built during the early Republican Period. He was once the comprador for HSBC (Europe). This house was once the meeting venue for Liwan Club, where foreign affairs officials, and highly important people from commerce and industries gathered.
I was very pushed for time so I did not see the exhibitions on Cantonese merchant life inside the building. However, its beautiful staircase shall stay forever on my mind as an embodiment of architectural elegance.
Finally, there was a display of an interesting miniature-landscape phenomenon inside the museum compound. The Flying Banyan on the Rockery shows an old banyan tree sinking its roots over the original stone landscape sculpture.
This landscaping feature has been here for over a hundred years, where the banyan tree grew and overwhelmed the original sculpture.
Overall, my tour at the Liwan Museum was surprisingly pleasant. The three buildings had distinctive differences and there was no moment of boredom. The exhibits were also well-presented. As I have learned in a previous entry, this waterfront area of Pun Tong in Liwan was, throughout its history, very wealthy. And the Liwan Museum certainly shows the extent of wealth enjoyed by its residents. I was very glad that I slipped in for a quick look, as this was originally not in my planned itinerary.
Descriptions on-site at the Liwan Museum.
Chinatourguide.com on Xiguan.
[1] Exhibits on-site at the Former Residence of Jiang Guangnai.
[2] Chinatouguide.com on Xiguan.
Pun Tong (Pan Tang) is an area in Liwan that breathes history amidst a carefully manicured landscape. Pun Tong – A Waterfront Area The morning was still a little gloomy from the frequent thunderstorms. But it was my last morning in Guangzhou and I must …
The weather remained calm this morning. I decided to walk over to the Shangxia Jiu Pedestrian Street for a look. The Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street The Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street is known to be the “Commercial Corridor of Xiguan.” The pedestrian-only street spans a length of 1,237 …
Bread is the staff of life.
If you are able to, you may have 6 meals a day in Guangzhou and you wouldn’t run out of options. On any given street of Guangzhou there are endless restaurants that will satisfy your palate, from a typical bowl of Cantonese wonton noodles to a hearty serving of dumplings made in the northeastern style.
I did not have six meals a day in Guangzhou, for simply I am not able to eat that much, even for small servings, snacks or desserts. But I did seek out different kinds of cuisines in Guangzhou. Being from Hong Kong, I grew up eating Cantonese food, and so naturally the food to be had in Guangzhou would be Cantonese food. That is where the food that I grew up with originates. But the city is very cosmopolitan. I think a survey of different cuisines in Guangzhou would give me a good idea of the dining standards and preferences of the locals.
I have discussed Chan Tim Kee in a previous entry. It was my first meal in Guangzhou and so I will post the pictures of the blanched fish skin in soy sauce and the boneless trotter again. The total for this order was 56 yuan.
The address of Chan Tim Kee is No. 3, 3rd Alley, 15 Fu, Baohua Lu, Liwan District. 荔灣區寶華路十五甫三巷 2 號之 3.
Dongbei Jiaozi Fang (Northeastern Dumpling House)
In the first evening in Guangzhou, I opted for Dongbei dumplings (the dumplings of northeastern China). There is a significant difference between the dumplings of southern China and that of northern China. People of southern China tend to like paper-thin dumpling wrappings. The dumplings of northern China come with somewhat thicker and chewier skin. Although I grew up with southern dumplings, I came to appreciate the northern style when I lived in Beijing. To this day I still prefer the northern dumplings over the southern rendition.
My difficulty is, in Hong Kong, no matter how much of authenticity people claim in making northeastern styled dumplings, they simply do not taste like what I had in Beijing. And therefore whenever I go to China, I always find the opportunity to sit down with northeastern Chinese cuisine, and dumplings are my go-to comfort food.
I therefore searched specifically for Dongbei dumplings in the area and came across this small shop, named Dongbei Jiaozi Fang (Northeastern Dumpling House). The restaurant was small, clean, homey, with a wonderful selection of dumplings and other northeastern meats and noodles. I ordered a cold shredded potato appetizer (a little spicy) and a serving of dumplings, half with cabbage and pork and half with leek and egg. The flavors were just what I remembered them to be. The total for this meal was a jaw-dropping 26 yuan only.
The address for Dongbei Jiaozi Fang is No. 7, Liwan Lu, Liwan District. It is on the street level.
Tong Kee Chicken Congee and Noodles was one of the two Michelin Guide restaurants that I sought out in Guangzhou. It prides a long history of 40 years in business.
I finally made my way to the restaurant. It is somewhat tucked away in an alleyway, but there were signs on the street to which you should pay attention and you will find it. The ordering is done first, when you reach the doorway. The chicken comes in a sixth, a quarter and a full chicken. If you order a sixth, then you surely will get the chicken wing. If you order a quarter, you will surely get the leg portion. I decided to go for the quarter. Make sure you tell them that you do not want the head and the bottom, otherwise these parts will be served. I also ordered a plate of fried beef and flat noodles.
After ordering, the staff will give you a little wooden tag to display on the table. Enter into the restaurant and you may sit freely.
To be honest, I was slightly skeptical how good this restaurant could be up till the time I put the food into my mouth. On the surface, steamed chicken and fried beef with flat noodles are the most run-of-the-mill menu items in southern China. I would say I have this type of food every other day in Hong Kong.
But once I tasted the first mouthful of the chicken, I knew immediately that this was no ordinary steamed chicken. In Cantonese we say that good chicken is where “the skin is crisp and the flesh is young.” And this steamed chicken at Tong Kee really measures up. The chicken was smooth, tender and exceedingly yummy.
The two small dishes of dipping sauce also did wonders. The yellow dipping sauce is a Chinese mustard, the owner told me that they grind the mustard themselves. Although I argued with him (why would I do that) that it contains turmeric, he insists that it was only mustard. The onion in oil dip was also different from the usual dip for steamed chicken, in that there was no ginger in it.
Finally, even the most ordinary fried beef with flat noodles tasted different from what I am accustomed to in Hong Kong restaurants. I think the difference came from the soy sauce that they used. The savory flavor is distinctly lighter, but it maintained the expected taste of the noodle.
I must say, Tong Kee was the best meal that I had in Guangzhou. Maybe I should be looking out specifically for Michelin Guide restaurants. This meal cost 55 yuan in total.
The address for Tong Kee Chicken Congee and Noodles is No. 3, Fuguang Li, Changshou Donglu, Liwan, Guangzhou. 荔湾区长寿东路福广里3号
The Tiger Prawn Vietnamese Restaurant is namely the most happening Vietnamese restaurant in Guangzhou. Despite standing at one of Guangzhou’s most popular food and dining district in Yuexiu, the restaurant is full-house almost at all servicing hours of the day. I arrived for dinner at 5:20 and there was a crowd waiting at its doors.
I was dining solo, so the wait was very reasonable. After sitting down, I studied the menu. And yes, for a menu offering that many different dishes, I did have to study it.
At a first glance at the menu, I felt a little disappointed. I thought Tiger Prawn is a Vietnamese restaurant, but its menu suggested that it caters to all things Southeast Asian. There were even Chinese dishes on the menu. I care a lot about authenticity, and this suggests that it is not wholly Vietnamese. However, it does make sense in China. Restaurants of any cuisine may feel somewhat inclined to provide “Chinese-looking” dishes irrespective of its marketing position.
So I told myself to simply pick the clearly Vietnamese dishes from the menu. Here’s what I ordered:
Appetizer: Fried Vietnamese Egg Rolls
When this dish was served, I was very disappointed. The rolls were over-fried. It seemed to me that the spring roll wrapping was almost burnt. I did not want to bother returning it, as it would be a waste, so I ate it with all the condiments that came with. I must say that my view changed when I wrapped the rolls in the generous serving of lettuce and herbs. The perilla and mint leaves really distracted me from the taste of the slightly burnt rolls. They gave the rolls a distinctive freshness and it really worked. The dipping sauce also tasted good.
Main: Wok-fried Eel in Lemongrass
This dish was delightful. Tangy, good eel came with a kick of heat and an abundance of lemongrass. It would have been perfect to go with a bowl of rice, but I could hardly finish what I ordered.
Veggies: Wok-friend Morning Glory with Garlic
This dish was also wonderful. I did finish all the veggies, and then packed the eel to go.
If you plan on going to Tiger Prawn, be sure to go at non-rush hours. There are literally thousands of dining establishments in this area, so feel free to explore other options there as well. This meal cost 175 yuan total.
The address for Tiger Prawn Vietnamese Restaurant is No. 548, Huifu Donglu, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou. 越秀区惠福东路548号
Tasty Steak originated from Taiwan. It serves up good steak that is supposedly cooked in wholly western ways. I was craving for steak and the restaurant’s location was what suited me the most, so I went there for my steak lunch.
I ordered a steak with black truffles. The steak came with a very generous amount of black truffles, and it was well-seasoned. I ordered a medium rare and it turned out as I wanted. However, I found the meal to be a little pricey. The steak came only with a sesame roll, and I had to order a serving of French fries on the side. I decided that I would grab coffee at a proper coffee house in the same mall, so my meal was a bread roll, steak and French fries. Suffice to say, the French fries were also very good.
This meal cost a total of 200 yuan. The address of Tasty Steak is L1-S01a, Lefeng Guangchang, 106-108 Gongye Dadao Bei, Haizhu District. 海珠区工业大道北106-108号 乐峰广场一层L1-S01a
Downstairs from Tasty Steak, M Stand offers outdoor seating with cover at the Lefeng Mall. I decided to have my lunch coffee there. There was a bit of overcast that day and it seemed to me that a thunderstorm was afoot any minute, but I managed to write on my journal in the outdoor seating. I had a very relaxing time there.
Perhaps a foodie exploration of Guangzhou would not complete without having dim sum. I will discuss Panxi Restaurant in an upcoming entry as that was part of my touring in the Liwan Museum and Liwan Lake Park. For a preview, these are the dim sums that I ordered. Panxi is also a Michelin Guide restaurant.
This meal cost 126 yuan. The address of Panxi Restaurant is N0. 151, Longjin Xilu, Liwan District. 荔湾区龙津西路151号
My final meal in Guangzhou was a little Hong Kong-styled snack at a snack shop in a large swanky mall close to the guesthouse. I just wanted to grab something light before I headed back to Hong Kong. So I had an egglet (egg puffs) with Hong Kong-styled milk tea there before it was time to take the Metro to the train station.
This meal cost 22 yuan. The shop is located in the basement food court level of the Hengbao Mall on No. 133 Baoyuan Lu.
When I planned the trip, I did intend to seek out the good food of Guangzhou and there were many pleasant surprises along the way. But there are more that I want to try, and those will be for the next visit.
After touring at the Yongqing Fang, I returned to the guesthouse to rest a bit. I was very eager to see my room. I also hoped to take a quick shower to cool down. It was rainy season in Guangzhou and literally ten minutes after …
It takes just a short walk in the neighborhood to appreciate a few rather obvious characteristics of Liwan. I have enjoyed my first walk on Baoyuan Road when I went from the metro station to the Origin Antique House and Hotel. After dropping off my …
Cape D’Aguilar is a very popular hiking spot for its picturesque landscape along the coast and a few exceptional natural phenomenon. Lying north of Shek O in Hong Kong’s southeastern coast, it offers a good view of the coastline as hikers descend from the motor way to the sites along the coastline. It is also where Hong Kong’s oldest lighthouse is. The day’s itinerary was first a walk in the Cape D’Aguilar area and then take a bus to Shek O for dinner.
Cape D’Aguilar was named after the Major-General George Charles D’Aguilar. During WWII, Cape D’Aguilar served a defensive function as part of the Eastern Fire Command.
The Bokhara Battery is located in the Cape D’Aguilar area. During the 1930s, there were proposals to build gun platforms in Cape D’Aguilar. The two gun platforms were just ready for service when Japan invaded Hong Kong. The Bokhara Battery acquired its name from the rock cropping that lied at the ends of the Cape D’Aguilar Peninsula. Its firepower was higher than the Cape D’Aguilar Battery. It is believed that the two cannons that were stationed at the Bokhara Battery came from the Pottinger Battery in Devil’s Peak.
On this day, however, I did not manage to find the way to either the Cape D’Aguilar Battery or the Bokhara Battery.
Today, Cape D’Aguilar is an environmentally protected area as the Cape D’Aguilar Marine Reserve. This status results in the area being free of any type of water sport or other related activities. Please observe this prohibition to preserve the marine environment.
The area is well-defined and very friendly to walking. There was not so much climbing and the sightseeing spots are quite close to each other. Given that the area is always full of tourists, allow for some two hours to see the sights.
The first natural phenomenon that we came across is the Thunder cave. Take a peek into the cave and maybe walk further through the wave-eroded arch to feel the sea waves and hear its delightful sound. There is usually quite a large number of tourists here, well, as with all other locations in the cape, but it surely is a must-see sight in the area.
The Cape D’Aguilar Lighthouse
The Cape D’Aguilar Lighthouse began its service in 1875, in memory of Major-General George Charles D’Aguilar, who was the Commander of the British Forces in Hong Kong between 1843 and 1848, and also the first Lieutenant Governor of Hong Kong.
Standing at a high point on the cape, at a height of 9.7 meters the Lighthouse illuminated the southeastern coast of Hong Kong. According to government description, “the focal plane of the light stood 200 feet above mean sea level, and in clear weather could be seen at a distance of 23 nautical miles.”
The Cape D’Aguilar lighthouse became superfluous when the Waglan Island Lighthouse in 1893, and in 1896 its service was discontinued. In 1975, the interior of the Lighthouse was re-lit and it is now automated.
As the oldest surviving lighthouse in Hong Kong, the Cape D’Aguilar Lighthouse is a declared monument since 2006.
On the coast lies The University of Hong Kong Swire Institute of Marine Science, and there is a white skeleton on display. The bone belongs to Miss Willy, but there are different stories as to who Miss Willy really was. The favorite story is that the bones belonged to the female orca that performed in the Ocean Park.
The coast line shows some significant rock formations. I was not able to find any easy-to-understand introduction on the Cape D’Aguilar rhyolite. The CEDD has the following very technical introduction,
The Hok Tsui Rhyolite is the name given to a swarm of quartzphyric rhyolite dykes that intrudes the Tai Po Granodiorite and the Yim Tin Tsai Formation at Cape D’Aguilar (Hok Tsui) in the extreme southeastern corner of Hong Kong Island. The dykes are up to 10 m wide, strongly flow banded, and strike in a northeasterly direction.
The Hok Tsui Rhyolite is the only known representative of a magmatic event that occurred around 152 million years ago.
Again, the arch, that lies right by the shore, the Crab Cave, attracted a throng of tourists. The locals call the cave “eye of the crab.” Due to the tourists there, we didn’t spend very much time there as a result. Suffice to say, that we made through the coastline in about 45 minutes to an hour.
From the Sha Kei Wan MTR Station, head up to the minibus terminal on the ground level and take the red top minibus to Shek O. Ask the driver to drop you off at Hok Tsui (the Chinese name for Cape D’Aguilar). Alternatively, Bus Line 9 also runs between Shau Kei Wan and Shek O. Again, get off at Cape D’Aguilar.
The Civil Engineering and Development Department, The Hok Tsui Rhyolite – Jkh, Hok Tsui Rhyolite – Jkh (cedd.gov.hk).
The Wikipedia on George Charles D’Aguilar at George Charles d’Aguilar – Wikipedia.
Teele Rebane, HKFP Guide: Hong Kong’s Cape d’Aguilar – easy hiking with historical curios and sweeping sea views, at HKFP Guide: Hong Kong’s Cape d’Aguilar – easy hiking with historical curios and sweeping sea views – Hong Kong Free Press HKFP (hongkongfp.com).
Tim Keung Ko, A Guide to Hong Kong’s War Sites (1941) (1995).
I walked for about 8-10 minutes from the Changshou Lu Metro Station to the Origin Antique House and Hotel. Even from afar it looked delightful. It was clearly an old and a much larger structure even compared to the many old houses I saw on …