Cat Village aka Hou Tong, Taiwan

Last weekend, we decided to visit this quiet village, Hou Tong (which incidentally, for fans of The Bachelorette, is pretty near Ping Xi, where The Bachelorette was shot - the lantern scene in Taiwan).

The main attraction here, at least for me, were the cats. Apparently, this village is known for their cat population, as well as their cat-loving villagers.

The numerous cat references around the little village (which used to be a coal mining village) ...

Special signs: Slow Down! Beware of cats roaming the area!

And here are some of the many cat residents ...

Some are more receptive to strangers than others ...

This one has a "paw print" on its back!

This one was HUGE!

This one is apparently called "La Mei" in Chinese, or "Hot Gal" in English :)

I was thinking this was one strange kitty, as it curled up and slept in the middle of the busy train station! Turned out, it was actually one of the 3 station mascots!

An orange and white tabby sleeping peacefully under the shade, in the cool green grass ...

A wee lil kitten on the roof of a makeshift hut ...

Another wee lil kitten playing in the abandoned coal mine ...

Hong Kong Eats

This trip, we stuck mainly to very low-end casual dining ... predominantly at "Char Chan Tings". I guess we missed this so much as this kind of simple everyday food can only be found in these eateries in Hong Kong.

Some of the things we had was soup. The Cantonese are famous for their delicious double boiled soups.

For some reason or other (I can never figure it out), Hubby's favorite (and must-have) meal in Hong Kong is instant noodles with luncheon meat...

Another Hong Kong specialty is their roast goose ...

For one of our meals, I had char siu and chicken with egg noodles ... a very typical Cantonese noodle dish...

I also love this dish - garoupa fillet stirfried with spring onions and chilies and brinjal/eggplant ...

Fishball and fishcake with hor fan/flat rice noodles in soup ...

And of course, how can one ever leave Hong Kong without having dim sum? We had ours at Zen in Pacific Place, Admiralty MTR ...

As usual, I had my delicious Char Siew Sou ... this was perfection! The filling was delicious and the pastry light and crisp ... not soggy at all, which it's prone to being in many other places/countries.

Steamed beef balls scented with preserved orange peels ...

Siew Mai ...

Fried beancurd rolls with prawn/shrimp filling or simply "Foo Pei Kuin" ...

Pine nut vegetarian dumpling ... delicious!

While around Fa Yuen Kai, we stumbled upon this "Char Chan Ting", which I will definitely paying regular visits to everytime I go back to Hong Kong.

Their egg tarts were wonderful! Delicious light and crisp pastry that kept well (I had it the day after and it was still really good!). The filling was not only tasty but was also healthier as it wasn't overly sweet, as some could be. We actually returned to this char chan ting to buy more egg tarts the next day! (We also bought the coconut tart, which disappeared into our tummies before I could snap a shot ... sorry!)

We also bought a "pineapple" bun ...

Hong Kong Buys

While we were living in Hong Kong a few years back, we received some Sogo vouchers, which were expiring later this year. Figuring we'd stretch our dollar if we used it during the Hong Kong Summer Sale, we decided to visit Hong Kong a couple of weeks ago. Here's some of my haul :)

Tod's D-Bag

As part of my anniversary present, I got this lovely understated bag. I had wanted a bag with top handles to give my achy shoulders a break. At the same time, I needed a bag that came with a shoulder strap to free up my hands if necessary. And I also wanted it in a colour that could jazz up an outfit, as well as be versatile enough to go with most of my wardrobe. This lovely D-bag (apparently named after Princess Diana) fulfilled my requirements on all counts.

I started carrying my new pet while in Hong Kong, and it was exposed to the rain, the jostling by tourists with their numerous shopping bags. At the end of my first day, I examined my bag with my heart in my throat, expecting it to be scratched and splattered with water spots. To my very pleasant surprise, it was still in pristine condition! No wonder people swear by Tod's! True testament to Tod's fine leathers and craftsmanship :)

My very first DVF wrap dress from Citygate Outlet Mall

(I was initially hesitant about the colours, but I thought the bright colours would help perk me up, and somehow, it looked good on. Although the name of the design is "Flower Tile Large", it looks like mosaic to me, and I love mosaics)

Blue and white embroidered tunic dress fm Zara

Blue and white striped tank fm Zara

Blue Tee fm Zara and Grey Berms fm Espirit

Watercolour skirt fm Zara

Tan Flared Midi Skirt fm Zara

Espadrille Wedges fm a little stall around Fa Yuen Kai