Vignettes of the World
I paid a visit to the Shui Yuet Palace of Mong Kok. Seated besdies the Tung Wah College Mong Kok Campus, the Shui Yuet Palace has a distinctive appearance with its red colored walls and green roof tiles. You cannot miss it when you pass …
A Brief Introduction of Ma Shi Chau Ma Shi Chau is the largest island in Tolo Habour. Together with Centre Island, Yeung Chau and an unnamed island off of the Sam Mun Tsai New Village, Ma Shi Chau was designated a Special Area pursuant to …
I have lived in Tai Po before. The one thing that I had heard about Sam Mun Tsai was its fame for seafood. The only other time that I visited the area was related to food as well. I ate at a Chinese restaurant there for really good and pricy dim sum.
When I learned about Ma Shi Chau, I decided that I must visit Sam Mun Tsai for the proper reason. That is, to see its roots as a fishing village amidst beautiful ocean surroundings. For the only way to reach Ma Shi Chau on foot is by hiking through the Sam Mun Tsai New Village and up the hilly area following in Yim Tin Tsai of Tai Po.
The minibus (details below) dropped me off right at the entrance to Sam Mun Tsai New Village. I then walked through the village in order to find my way to the hilly area. To my surprise, the village has put in quite a bit of effort to tell its story.
Photo: a beautiful introduction of Sam Mun Tsai New Village’s history on its village walkway.
According to displays on site, the earliest settlement by fishermen in the old Sam Mun Tsai area dated as early as 1898. This was before the British took over the New Territories. Now the Plover Cove Reservoir and Tolo Harbour, the old Sam Mun Tsai area was a good shelter for fishing boats because of its surrounding hills and islands.
The name “sam mun” means “the three gates.” The village acquired this name from the geography of the old Sam Mun Tsai area. There were three water channels situated between the Sam Mun Tong Chau and Tong Tau Chau islands, which lied parallel to each other in Tolo Harbour before the Plover Cove Reservoir was built. Thus the name Sam Mun Tsai.
Some of these fishermen did eventually settle down on land, and the Hong Kong Government offered to move them to the current location in Tai Po’s Yim Tin Tsai in order to make way for the construction of the Plover Cove Reservoir in the 1960s. This became the Sam Mun Tsai New Village. At the time of relocation, the Hong Kong Government moved the whole old Sam Mun Tsai Village to Yim Tin Tsai. It built two-storey buildings to house some 40 family homes.
Later on, the fishermen of Tap Mun and Ko Lau Wan joined this new fishermen’s community in Sam Mun Tsai New Village. They have been here to this day. Besides the fishermen’s home, the government later also provided a school and a harbour shelter for the fishermen’s families. The community lived in this setting for 40 years. Then there were calls to renovate the structures of the village, replacing the old floors and the roofs, and with water-proof materials as well as new paint on the walls and staircases. This renovation project completed in 2007. Then Chief Executive Donald Tsang officiated the opening ceremony of the revamped Sam Mun Tsai New Village when it reopened.
As shown in the pictures below, there is that sense of the idyllic in this fishing village even today. The villagers surely take pride in their heritage, calling this village a “heaven of tranquility.” Fishing now has certainly moved on to meet the change of times. There are still fish-catching in the traditional way, but villagers also do fish farming in rafts with the latest technology.
Plentiful sunshine blessed this summer day and I was very excited when I saw the scenes of a fishing village. Boats docked over jade-blue waters. There were different types of sun-dried food on the way. This was a very refreshing scene for me, even as compared with the many New Territories villages that I visited before.
Photos above and below: scenes at the Sam Mun Tsai New Village
About ten minutes into the walk in the village, I came across the signs pointing to the hilly area that would lead me to Ma Shi Chau, but I was in search of the Tai Po GeoHeritage Center, as I would like to learn more about the geological formations on the island before I went.
The Tai Po GeoHeritage Center would have provided an air-conditioned space for introduction of the geological features of Ma Shi Chau in greater detail. But they have remained closed since the pandemic began. The address is 120 Sam Mun Tsai, Tai Po. It is the first community-initiated geo-educational center in Hong Kong.
According to the group’s introduction on Facebook, it still accepts bookings for guided group tours. Please refer to their Facebook page for more. I think that this would be a good idea for families with children. I also think that for those who are serious about the geology of the island, it is worthwhile to take a guided tour. On my own exploring, I ran into wild dogs that chased me and it was a very frightening experience. See the next entry on Ma Shi Chau.
Photo: the Tai Po GeoHeritage Center, closed due to the pandemic.
Photo: sign of a vibrant community
From the minibus terminal at the Tai Po Market Station, take green top minibus 20K to the final stop. Bus 74K also has a final stop in Sam Mun Tsai, but it would take longer than the minibus.
Historical descriptions on-site at Sam Mun Tsai New Village.
The Wikipedia on Ma Shi Chau.
Ma Shi Chau, the Hong Kong Geo Park.
The Tai Po GeoHeritage Center’s Facebook Page.
The Cheung Sha Beach is the longest beach in Hong Kong. At three km in length, the beach provides ample space for visitors to do all sorts of fun activities, including surfing, camping, canoeing and simply beach bathing. The Cheung Sha Beach is located in …
I told the taxi driver that I was going to visit a restaurant for a meal. The address was reading a bit odd to me, it says Opposite No. 35, Nguyen Truong To Street, Hue. The restaurant’s name is a nondescript Nguyen Truong To Nem …
As the taxi was pulling in, I saw the royal tomb of Khai Dinh from afar and I was awed. What is this? Khai Dinh, the driver said.
Born Nguyen Phuc Buu Dao, Khai Dinh (ruled 1916-25) was the second-last Emperor in the Nguyen Dynasty. He was the son of Emperor Dong Khanh. Dong Khanh was the most submissive of the Nguyen Emperors to French colonialism. After the French expelled the patriotic Emperor Duy Tan, they chose the son of Emperor Dong Khanh to be the nominal ruler of Vietnam. As such, Khai Dinh’s was a puppet government for the French. His reign title means “the auger of peace and security.”
Not too surprisingly, the Vietnamese considered Khai Dinh to be a sellout to the French. One relevant policy as related to the Vietnamese language was that Khai Dinh allowed the Romanization of Vietnamese in 1919. This replaced the previous use of Chinese as the official language. As such, Vietnamese became a writeable language, and, to be fair, it may not be such a bad thing.
Khai Dinh’s rule continued to enrage the Vietnamese people. In 1923, he allowed the French policy of raising taxes on the peasants and caused significant hardships to the people. Part of the raised taxes would pay for this stately Royal Mausoleum of Khai Dinh.
As a puppet for the French, Khai Dinh’s government suppressed the Vietnamese’ resistance movements against colonial rule. There was, indeed, lots of ill will toward Khai Dinh from the people of Vietnam.
The last Nguyen Emperor Bao Dai was Khai Dinh’s one and only son. It was believed that Khai Dinh was homosexual, as he rarely slept with his wives, but instead slept with his male bodyguard.
There is flair in the very structure itself. The Royal Mausoleum of Khai Dinh has a remarkably different appearance from the classical structures at the Royal Mausoleums of Tu Duc and Minh Mang. It seemed to be a stone structure (it is actually a concrete structure, unlike the other royal tombs that are brick structures). Conspicuous dragon pillars line the two sides of every gate.
The outward appearance of the Royal Mausoleum of Khai Dinh
The surface area of the Mausoleum of Khai Dinh is much smaller than the other two Nguyen Emperors’ royal tombs that I visited. In fact, it is the smallest royal mausoleum of the Nguyen Emperors. Yet none other rivals the extravagance of Khai Dinh.
Because the last emperor Bao Dai abdicated his throne, the Royal Mausoleum of Khai Dinh is the very last royal tomb for the Nguyen Emperors. Construction for this tomb lasted for 11 years between 1920 and 1931. The buildings were constructed with French imported materials, such as cement, iron steel, ardoise tiles, along with traditional Vietnamese materials such as mortar and terra cotta.
According to the Lonely Planet, Khai Dinh was so into European culture that even the mandarins in the courtyard bear a mix of European and Asian features on their faces. I actually could not tell if these mandarins wear a foreign expression.
At the Salutation Court, the Imperial Elephants and the Civilian and Military Mandarins
As with the Royal Mausoleum of Minh Mang, the main structures of the Royal Mausoleum of Khai Dinh line up on a straight main axis, but the difference is they are on an ascending order of five terraces, ending with the very last structure, which is the Thien Dinh Palace, on the upper-most level. There are 127 steps to climb before one reaches the Khai Thanh Temple at Thien Dinh Palace.
Photo: Ascend 127 steps to go to Thien Dinh Palace
Photo: the Stele House at the Royal Mausoleum of Khai Dinh
The three middle halls of the Thien Dinh Palace are the royal crypt and the altar hall. The flooring inside the Palace are granite. Elegant inlaid ceramic and glass fragments bas reliefs adorn the walls. Inside the Khai Thanh Temple, a bronze statue of Khai Dinh sits above the burial. This bronze statue was cast in France in 1920. The whole arena is glistening in gold.
Photo: The granite walls and wall decors inside the Thien Dinh Palace
Photo: the burial of Emperor Khai Dinh, with a bronze statue cast in France
I really did marvel at the Royal Mausoleum of Khai Dinh, especially because I had no prior knowledge of Khai Dinh’s penchant for all things French. The royal tomb’s stature was remarkable. The décor inside the Thien Dinh Palace was so amazing that my heart raced at the sight of its beauty. It would not be an exaggeration to say that this is a mini-Versailles in Vietnam.
That said, it would not require any imagination to know that this grandiosity was equivalent to wastefulness. As I “wowed” through the royal tomb, I decided that I did not like it.
Because it embodies the disgrace of both imperialism and colonialism.
Khai Dinh’s flair was diametrically opposed to the theme of humility exhibited in the royal tomb of Tu Duc. The stark differences between the royal tombs of the Nguyen Emperors that adhered to Confucianism and Khai Dinh as a puppet king for the French are perfect expressions of the fundamental differences between the orient and the occident in the turn of the 20th Century. For it was the heyday for colonialism, when the West claimed superiority over all things eastern.
But as a work of architecture, art and craftsmanship, the Royal Mausoleum of Khai Dinh does present the finest in Vietnam.
When I left the royal tomb of Khai Dinh, I took a minute to ponder why the taxi driver drove me to the three tombs in the sequence that he did. I suspect that it was purely a concern of proximity. Yet I thought that the calm and classical beauty of the Royal Mausoleums of Tu Duc and Minh Mang might have paled in comparison to the blown-away glamour of Khai Dinh. Were I to visit the Royal Mausoleum of Khai Dinh first, I might not have had the same appreciation for the royal tombs of other Nguyen Emperors.
As much as I liked bling, I shared in the common Vietnamese view that Khai Dinh was not a good emperor. When the lavish Royal Mausoleum of Khai Dinh is informed with a historical perspective, the appreciation becomes much more nuanced. This beautiful structure is in the appearance only. There is nearly no merit in the king’s reign to support such grandeur.
I ended this tour of the royal tomb with a slightly uneasy feeling. The appreciation of Vietnamese history will be intense and perhaps a little painful the next day. For I have scheduled a one-day tour at the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).
Historical descriptions on site.
The Lonely Planet on Vietnam.
I had better hurry, for there were two more royal tombs to visit. The taxi driver took me to the next royal tomb, the Royal Mausoleum of Minh Mang. Minh Mang as a Nguyen Emperor Mr. Truong, who took me to the DMZ, told me …
After lunch, I stopped by a convenient store to get some water. The young man there spoke good English, so I asked about transportation to the royal tombs. The ticket to the Imperial Enclosure enabled same-day admission to the three royal tombs of Tu Duc, …
“Like its elegantly designed streets and architecture, most Vietnamese generally regard the food from Hue to be the most refined in all of the country.” Songs of Sapa at 78.
For anyone interested in the food of Vietnam, I recommend Luke Nguyen’s recipe journal as one of the best English sources on the subject. Luke Nguyen’s books feature a wide, wide, and I mean wide variety of Vietnamese dishes, and often with his own creative touch that adapts the recipes to the foreigners’ understanding and access to ingredients.
His books are also a readers’ delight, as it serves as the record of his journey throughout Vietnam, in search of both the roots of his own personal history and his recipes. Finally, the wonderful photographs are delightful just to flip through. They are stock full with Vietnam’s native colors and the photographs of the food make one drool.
To learn more about Banh Khoai (the pronounciation of “Khoai” is “kuai”), I looked up the Songs of Sapa by Luke Nguyen. In this book, there is a whole section on Hue, where Luke Nguyen takes me along his journey into the heart of modern Vietnam.
Like Beijing in China, there was such thing as “imperial cuisine” in Hue. “Emperors demanded that they must not eat the same dish in the same year, and that the imperial dining table must be set with more than fifty dishes. Hence royal cooks were forced to be creative and play around with ingredients, offering an assortment of canape-sized dishes. From this, Hue cuisine was formed.” Songs of Sapa at 78.
My first taste of the imperial food in Beijing was quite amazing, as the dinner came with a set menu with multiple courses that should have somewhat resembled an imperial meal. I have not studied whether Hue offers its imperial cuisine as a business venture, although I have a feeling that there is no such thing there.
From the eastern gate of the Imperial Palace, I walked perhaps for 10 minutes or so to arrive at Banh Khoai Hong Mai. Many internet sources recommend this restaurant for Hue’s specialty. It was a canape that featured on the imperial menu for the Nguyen Emperors.
In Vietnamese, Banh Khoai simply means “Happy Pancake.” Luke Nguyen suggests that one smiles throughout the cooking. Or otherwise, the pancake being served in a folded half also resembles a smiley face.
Photo: Mouth-watering anticipation, as I wait for the food to come.
Banh Khoai is a crispy pancake with pork, shrimp, herbs and assorted veggies wrapped in it. There is a thick dipping sauce that comes with the pancakes. According to Hue Cooking Class, this thick dipping sauce consists of peanuts, sesame and pork liver. Together they give the sauce its rich consistency. It is also the soul of the Banh Khoai, without which will not be a proper way to savor the crispy pancakes. What gives the pancakes its yellow color is turmeric. It gets mixed into the batter before the pancakes are fried, with quite a bit of oil, in a small pan.
Photo: The Banh Khoai was so enticing that, I only realized not having taken a picture of it when I have almost finished the last pancake.
It was with anticipation that I dug in my first Banh Khoai Hue. Certainly, one could not miss the crunch there. The whole dipping business was also very satisfying. This satisfaction felt strange, because it is in a non-filling way. At that point, I still could not articulate this satisfaction even to myself. But I would, during this trip in Hue, finally be able to understand my reasons for loving Vietnamese food so much. No matter what I picked to eat, Vietnamese food is heavenly.
Although the Banh Khoai was really the main attraction at Banh Khoai Hong Mai, I also ordered Nem Lui. The two happy pancakes would not keep me full. My first exposure to Nem Lui was probably during my last Vietnam trip in Danang and Hoi An. This Nem Lui Hue was, purportedly, better than the nem lui anywhere else.
The Nem Lui is a grilled pork skewer on lemongrass sticks. When served, you wrap it with fresh veggies, herbs and chilli in a piece of rice paper. Then you dip it in the wonderful sauce that comes with it. One serving came with five skewers. I furthermore went all out with the veggie wrapping. The skewers ended up with big rice paper packets in generous dipping sauce.
And yes, I would lick my fingers after. They were that good.
Speaking of Luke Nguyen, his business venture in Hong Kong is Moi Moi. I was quite keen on trying it, but I found it to be slightly disappointing. All of the food for that dinner came out too salty for me. But perhaps I will try it again, because his recipes do look very good in his journals.
Luke Nguyen, the Songs of Sapa (2009).
Hue Cooking Class, Banh Khoai Hue – Crispy Pancake.
Perhaps throughout this tour I was most impressed by every gate that marked the entrances to the structures of the Imperial Enclosure. It seemed to me that protective walls surrounded every quarter and there would be a gate in the northern and southern entrances. This …