Day 12 & 13 - Kirchner stuffing and Korean BBQ

Thursday after the hose races was a pretty laid back day. We had Mo's language partner over for an American style breakfast that included omelets, bacon, pancakes, orange juice, and coffee. Lisa was really nice and tried all the food. She admitted to Mo later that the bacon was too salty for her. Man I love bacon though. We also played a game that she brought with her while her and Mo practiced their language skills.

During the afternoon Drew wanted to learn how to make the famous Kirchner stuffing from Grandma. It's best not to say what does into the stuffing, but I promise that it is delicious. We had to get a chicken with it's head attached and they cut its head off. Weird. But delicious!

Friday was sushi day! I had been looking forward to getting sushi. It was a pretty neat restaurant because you could order from the menu and there was a conveyer belt with sushi going around. Each of the plates had a different color that corresponds to a price on it so when you were done eating the waitresses could just add up the total.

After lunch we made another trip out to Stanley so I could finally get the gifts for people that I hadn't yet. I finally managed to figure out what to get for everyone and bought a painting for myself! I really love it, it's hanging up in my bedroom now.

Dinner on Friday was possibly my favorite of the entire trip. We went to a Korean BBQ place that was down an alley and I never would have guessed was there. The table had a grill in the center that was covered by a grate. We ordered marinated meat that we then cooked ourselves over the grill in the center. In addition to our potstickers appetizer we ordered, they give you 8 sides that included kimchi, lotus root, potatoes, and other delicious cold dishes. We also ordered two different traditional alcohols, one of which tasted like vodka but you drank straight called Soju (not a fan) and another milky looking one called makgeolli (I think) that was sweet and actually pretty tasty.

Seriously it was amazing. The meat was flavored so well and since you can cook it when you want you're always getting it when it's fresh. They changed the grate on our grill halfway through since they are very concerned about the negative effects of the char. If I could go back to Hong Kong for one day I would have dumplings for lunch and Korean BBQ for dinner. Or maybe I should actually go to South Korea. That would be neat!

After dinner we went to a bar on the top of a building with a wonderful view of the city. We just relaxed, had some drinks, and ate a lot of bar peanuts. Plus Mo got to act like the Mother of Dragons with the neat lamp on the table.

After that we headed back to the apartment to get some sleep before our big trip to Macau!

Day 11 - Nan Lian Garden, Chi Lin Nunnery, and the horse races

To give Grandma a break from walking, Mo and I decided to go out an explore the Nan Lian Garden and Chi Lin Nunnery. We took the subway over to Diamond Hill and left the subway through another mall. The garden was a short walk down the street but when you went inside it was like going into another world. All the trees, rocks, buildings, and water features were meticulously organized according to specific rules. Despite the fact that the city buildings still loomed behind the walls it was very peaceful.

In the center was the 'Pavilion of Absolute Perfection', which is a pretty amusing name. It was gorgeous though.

After wandering around the garden paths and seeing all the trees, rocks, flowers, and buildings we crossed the overpass to the Chi Lin Nunnery. Of course I just assumed that means nuns lived there, but I really should have known better. In reality it's a Buddhist temple. It was built in a traditional Tang Dynasty style, which means that there were no nails used. All the wood parts are interlocking. It was filled with bonsai trees and ponds in the center.

All around the outside of the temple were halls with giant golden statues of Buddhas and bodhisattvas. The each had various fruits in front of them. In the main part of the temple is the largest statue of the Sakyamuni Buddha surrounded by disciples and bodhisattvas. It was massive and beautiful, and even though I wasn't supposed to take a picture I couldn't resist!

After Mo and I walked over to the mall that connects to the subway and had lunch at a food court inside. It had tons of different stalls with all different types of food. We ordered Thai food and tried to get lemon tea with it. Apparently they didn't understand us and gave us some sort of soup instead. Oh well! At least the soup was good. On our way out we passed a drink stall and realized we were supposed to go there if we wanted one.

We made our way back to the apartment so we could get Grandma and meet with Drew. We went to a place called View 62 which was circular and at the 62nd floor of a building. It gradually rotated in a circle (though I didn't actually believe it was happening at first) so you got a 360 degree view of the city. We had cocktails and appetizers. My personal favorite was a watermelon chili cocktail. Sounds awful, but actually delicious. It was spicy and sweet at the same time. Grandma enjoyed her fruit smoothie as well!

After admiring the view for a while we headed down to the race track so we could bet on some horses. I must be a horse expert because I won both bets I made, bringing my total up to 3 out of 4. I'm basically going to become a professional gambler.

It was a long but fun day!