Sunday Sights

I spent Sunday afternoon walking down Queens Road and then through some of the narrow, narrow streets of Wan Chai. Here are some of the interesting things I saw:

I can't say for sure because I didn't actually buy anything, but I'm pretty sure that "happy cake" isn't at all the same thing as the "happy pizza" popular in Cambodia. (Marijuana pizza is a travelers favorite in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh, though I heard enough stories of happy pizzas wiping out hours or even days of time to keep me from trying one.)

Though it's not the world's best rendition of a pig, a different bakery on my wandering route has some bread pigs on display for the Chinese New Year, which is in late February. If you look at the reflection of this blob of dough in the mirror, you can see the curly tail on the back, turning this from a rat-shaped piece of bread to a pig-shaped piece of bread. (Sorry, all you year-of-the-rat fans: you'll have to wait another 13 months.)

FWIW, I was born in the year of the goat, under the sign of fire. Fire is associated with the qualities of dynamism, strength and persistence, and with restlessness and a sense of adventure. The goat is artistically talented and has a great sense of fashion. Well, Shelly would disagree with that last bit.

The other clear sign that the Chinese New Year is nearly upon us are the red envelopes that are for sale on just about every street corner. Common at Chinese New Year and on other auspicious occasions, it's customary to include a small amount of cash before giving the red envelopes (the good luck bestowed by the envelope is more important than the cash). In addition to giving them to our building guards and other helpful people, we're going to try a bit of red envelope feng shui ourselves, which I will report upon shortly.

I tend to do most of my meat shopping at the supermarket, but that's not to say I haven't bought a few things from markets like this one (though those things have tended to be from the fish monger rather than from the red meat monger). Pick out what you want and the butcher will slice off a hunk for you!

Although I suspect if this is what you want, you might have to take the whole thing...

You can also pick out your own chicken, if you want. Maybe Shelly should be looking into this market...