Easter flea market

Wondering what to do over the long weekend?

Buffalo Wilbur and I will be there masquerading as normal people. See you there!

THE flea market to go to

A scorcher of an October day and a record number of stalls at the flea market.

Wish I had bought Kathy's umbrella.

With so many people here, I wonder how the other two events in Mui Wo that day -- the kai to consultation meeting and the farmer's market -- went?

GardenPlus market

Sorry I haven't been updating the blog recently. Have had a lot of things happening on the family front so haven't had the heart to blog.

But anyway, there's a marvellous new Facebook page that has all the current events, news, gossip etc on Mui Wo and its surroundings. It's a closed group but the admins are very nice people and will let you in if you ask politely.

I've been getting most of my news from there... ever since we lost Lantau Linker Diane Stormont. :(

Flea market at Garden Plus

Buffalo Wilbur just couldn't get out of bed today and we almost missed the flea market at Garden Plus in Pui O. But I forced him out because I told him PALS was setting up a store there and he's a big supporter.

The bad thing about being late was that we missed the vegetarian buffet and some of the better buys. The good thing was that we got quite good bargains as everyone was ready to pack up and go home. I scored some really good chicklit at only HK$10 a book.

And we did manage to persuade the vegetarian buffet folks to sell us some dishes... the vegetarian noodles were so good I went back for more to put into tomorrow's lunch box.

The Garden Plu flea market did have a nice atmosphere. There are tables set up for you to have a meal and basically just chill out... which is what Buffalo Wilbur did while I went bargain hunting.

There weren't very many people around, probably because it was near closing time. But I think they could build up quite a crowd if they held this regularly. Maybe one Sunday a month?

Garden Plus CNY fair

If you are a loose end as to what to do over this weekend and the next, head on over to Garden Plus' Chinese New Year fair at Pui O. Of course, the main attraction are the festive plants.

Entrance is free, by the way. Don't get intimidated by the flyers and basket of decorations by the gate. They're free for customers.

The snacks are pretty good. We tried the Indian murtabak (HK$30) and it tasted surprisingly authentic, given that the the chefs were all Filipinos.

We thought the wine tasting was good value for money. If you book in advance, it's only HK$80 and you'll get to taste 10 varieties of South African wine paired with food such as salads and barbecued skewers.

Tap Tap at Pui O

As promised, we tried out the new tapas bar in Pui O, opened on the site of the former Pui O Delicious. 

They're still in the midst of fine-tuning their menu. Here's a look at what's available. It's a pity that they don't have paella for two because that was the one we were most attracted to.

 The quality was good but prices a bit steep.

 The olives and water were free. The bread and homemade tomato sauce was HK$25 a serving.

I wish I could say we tried more of their tapas because lots of things on the menu looked yummy - but that's all we could afford. It's probably the kind of place that's best frequented in a group so you can share more of the nibbles.

The bill came to HK$210. We had to go back to Mui Wo and fill up on bread from Kit's Village Bakery.

New restaurant in Pui O

A new tapas restaurant is taking over the premises of Pui O Delicious. I do miss Pui O Delicious' cheap and good bento meals but most of all, I miss having a reason to go on our usual walk to Pui O.

Hopefully Tap Tap (that's what the new restaurant is called) will be able to provide me a new destination. More to come later.

First walk of the season

Can't believe it's already October and the weather still hasn't cooled down enough for a walk. Defying the "hike on Chung Yeung Festival" rule, we tried our first autumnal walk today (our favourite beginner-level Mui Wo to Pui O) and boy, was it a sweaty process!

Nice to see the buffaloes are still around and that the babies have all grown up.

Camping weather

After months of seeing a deserted Pui O beach, it was a pleasant surprise to see the tents sprouting up again.

Easter egg hunt in Pui O

Want to win a remote-control helicopter? The egg hunt at Pui O Dreams (behind the garden centre in Pui O) is on today and tomorrow.

Happy egg hunting grounds?

They're also selling popcorn, candy floss, wines and organic teas... pity the food and drinks weren't ready when we were there.

Farewell, Pui O Delicious

It's been our last stop on our hikes for the past two years... the thought of momoyaki and sesame sliced beef set has kept us going during our weekend walks.

So we were shocked to hike there today and find out that it was Pui O Delicious' last day of operation.

Owner Louis said it was because of rising rents and the fact that the chef is leaving for the mainland. He himself is taking a few weeks off to regroup and consider his next step.

Hopefully, it might mean Pui O Delicious II – perhaps in Mui Wo?

Sob sob... now where would we go after our hikes?

The house in the woods

We were getting a bit bored with our usual Mui Wo-Pui O route so we decided to try another one that went a little over the mountain.

And we were glad we did because we came across this charming village house tucked among an overgrown orchard.

The old couple who lived there were as charming as their house. When we asked them the path to Shap Long, they came out and showed us the way... speaking in English.

Boxing Day buffaloes

We went for a walk to work off the crazy Christmas feasting and guess who came out to wish us a happy Boxing Day?

Small-town Christmas

PALS car all decked out for Christmas.

A family gathering.

Santarinas from China Bear.

See? Keep your head covered and you won't feel the cold.

Poinsettias delivered by tricycle.

And a special festive sign for Bizzie Lizzie.

Bui O school fair

"I hope it's not full of big-eyed kids imploring me to buy a glitter bookmark," I told Buffalo Wilbur as we headed to the Bui O School fair and flea market.

Actually, I was prepared to fork out some money for tat as it was all going to the school kids anyway. But thankfully, I didn't have to.

The flea market stalls were well-stocked.

And the brand new stuff for sale wasn't too bad either.

I steered clear of the games stalls, though.

The ones making the best business were those selling second-hand clothes and food.