Lights up!

Ok, I take that back about the fortune trees. They're pretty cute when they light up.

Sunday stroll

Chung Hau village is a hive of activity early Sunday morning. People are out and about early getting in a bit of Chinese New Year shopping.

Sports carnival

A smattering of stalls, a clown making balloon shapes, a bouncy castle and some games stations in the huge basketball field. It wasn't much but hey, it was all free and the kiddies loved it.

Plus I got a free fragrance sachet to take home so the sports carnival was a success in my books at least.

Chinese New Year decorations

Okay, I get the giant lanterns, the big red banners, the manic bunnies and all the usual gold decorations to usher in the Year of the Rabbit.

But what's with these plastic trees? They look so strange and detract from the lovely natural landscaping of the (no dogs or humans allowed) park.

Am I missing something of the symbolism here? Are they supposed to be money trees or something?

Maybe they light up at night? I haven't had time to do a night stroll yet but I will soon.

Village carnival

It was our first Mui Wo carnival and we thoroughly enjoyed it. The setting was not very exciting – a concrete ground with patches of grass smelling of dog poo.

But the energy and charm was amazing.

There was a bouncy castle, bonsai exhibits, games stalls, a series of weird papier mache animals made with stools. And the entertainment was basic – a lion dance, a taekwondo exhibition, recitals and singing by the students of Mui Wo Primary School and Little Owls Kindergarten – but the fun was infectious.

The best bit was that the food was free! I had come armed with lots of coins to buy samples of the local cuisine but I didn't have to pull out my purse at all.

So, never one to pass up on free food, I was one of the firsts in the queue.

I passed on the chicken feet but the rest were good, especially the spring rolls and soya sauce chicken. There were even people walking among the crowd dispensing milk tea.

Bring on the next carnival... especially if there's more free food!

Rome reopens

My Mui Wo expert (who has lived here almost 20 years) swears by Rome Restaurant. He says it's the place locals go to for cheap but good set meals.

The restaurant, which has been passed down from father to son, closed for much-delayed renovations a few months back and, since it's reopened for business, I've noticed the crowds are back in force.

We haven't gone in because we've been daunted by the Chinese-only menus outside. But my friend assures me they have English versions if you ask for them.

We must go there one day and, when we do, I'll post my gastronomic findings.

Bye bye banana tree

I know it's stupid to get sentimental over a wild banana tree but this one along the path to Pui O was my favourite.

A legacy of a long-forgotten farm, it probably had not been tended to for decades but it still continued to produce fat bananas (I admit I did take one and it had a wild tangy flavour).

Since then I've looked forward to saying hi to it every time we go on our usual walk.

So I was really sad to see it dead and mutilated on our last walk. Yes, I know, it was wild, uncared for and probably chopped down to create a firebreak.

But it was still a living thing and I miss my little banana tree.