A Mui Wo Christmas

I waylaid Santa as he was on his way to deliver sweets to the old folks' home in the village – on his bicycle, of course.

 Kit at the Village Bakery has fresh mince and pumpkin pies and gingerbread cookies.

At first I thought, well that's a funny place to sit, wouldn't the beach be better? Turns out that they were doing an audit of the public transport. On Christmas Day.

A public service announcement...

This is an MTR discount kiosk. Wave your Octopus card above the reader on the bottom right and you get a HK$2 discount if your next journey on the MTR starts from Central.

Got it? Good, now stop standing gormlessly staring at the machine blocking the way of regular commuters during peak hour.

Music at Silvermine Beach Hotel

We were passing by the hotel when we noticed a large crowd of (mainly) guys dancing. Turns out they were watching an all-girls band perform.

The hotel was having a live band show... but I don't know why it didn't publicise it better with posters at the pier or something.

Nitaya's Thai Kitchen

Our first trip to Nitaya's Thai Kitchen (Tel: 3489-1282) didn't get off to an auspicious start. The welcome was warm enough but when we tried to give our orders, the waitress couldn't seem to get it right (never mind that it was just F2 + D2 from the lunch set). 

After we finally got through (or so we thought), we sat down and waited...

... and waited. I got bored I started taking photos of everything in the place while staring enviously at the table next to us as they were served dish upon mouthwatering dish. I think they had about seven dishes between the two of them.

There was another waiter and waitress there but no one paid us any attention. Finally, after about half an hour, I asked the waiter what was happening to our order.

And, no surprises there, our gormless waitress hadn't put in our order. But strangely, the other two didn't think to check why two people were sitting at an empty table looking hungrier (Buffalo Wilbur) and grumpier (me) by the minute.

So we had to have our orders taken again. And waited some more.

But here's where the restaurant redeemed itself. The food was extremely good. So good we ate ourselves into a food coma.

The bill was extremely modest, even by Mui Wo standards. The lunch set was HK$43 for one dish plus a drink. And though we really shouldn't have, we had the mango and sticky rice (HK$39) for dessert and it was good enough to bring on eye-rolling ecstasies (me). Sorry, I was too busy rolling my eyes to take a photo.

Its location doesn't do it justice, tucked away as it is behind the pizzeria, next to the Bank of East Asia branch. But this is one restaurant that is sure to give the others in Mui Wo a run for their money -- provided it sorts out the service first.

Savage dog alert

Do be careful when taking your kids out for a walk in Mui Wo. The Standard today has a horrifying story about a dog attacking a 13-month-old girl just a week or so ago.

The talk around town is that the husky has attacked and killed smaller dogs before but this is the first time it has gone for a baby.

I hope the authorities can stop it. Maybe not by killing the dog but at least by holding the owner responsible for controlling it and sending it for training.

Carnival time!

The schedule is packed from 10am to 4pm...

But here's what everyone comes for:

The char siu was really yummy. Buffalo Wilbur, who doesn't usually take local food, finished his share.

 Not a bad haul.

 The games booths were very popular.

It's not a proper carnival without the fake Silvermine Cave. Although this year, I detected a distinct lack of enthusiasm. There were fewer plastic bats.

Bouncy castles have changed a lot from my days.

Mui Wo has a museum

The Mui Wo Cultural & Heritage Centre has opened in the former school in Chung Hau Village. Boy, they certainly kept that one quiet! Free entry.

They could do with some English explanations but for the most bits, everything is self-explanatory. Look, a rock:

Some bits of porcelain, a rice bin and a basket... nuff said.

 Think this means it's open 1-4pm every Wednesday and on weekends. But correct me if I'm wrong.

See what I found at Oxfam

So cute I had to get it. HK$150. But you can have it for HK$300... hee hee!

Here comes the sun!

The Observatory noted that this has been the gloomiest November in 127 years. It said: "The total duration of bright sunshine captured in the month was 101.4 hours, a record low for November since 1885.The monthly mean relative humidity was 81 per cent, tying with that of 1960 as the highest record for November."

After close to three weeks of rain, the sun finally came out today. No wonder everyone was looking cheerier  on the ferry today. Now to get the mould off my walls and clothes. 

Another successful day at the flea market

 To paraphrase Apocalypse Now, I love the sound of the washing machine in the afternoon. Smells like victory.

As the weather was miserable, many sellers were disposing of their stuff cheap to try and get off before the rain came. So I got plenty of clothes for HK$5 a piece. Jacqui and her volunteers from PALS were doing a roaring trade in books -- a steal at HK$5 for two.

 The next flea market is on February 17.

December upcoming events

One thing district councillor Rainbow Wong is good at is organising free village events. I like the simple but fun Silvermine Bay Carnival. I especially look forward to the free (yes, free!) local food. The next one is on December 16. See you there!

And don't forget. The Discovery Bay flea market is on Sunday at the Piazza. Hope the rain holds off.

Dreary November days

Will the sun never come out? It's been weeks and my daily commute still looks like this. 

And the weatherman says a cold front is approaching. Ack! Cold and crisp I can take but this drizzly weather is getting me down.