TEA IN TSUEN WAN

They're open from very early morning till mid-afternoon. Coca cola and other soft-drinks may be had, and there are small stores nearby where other necessities of the American life may be bought. And, given the impossibility of parking in most other places, you'll be glad to know that there is almost no traffic here. On the other hand, you will definitely have to drive. It's in the middle of nowhere, though elsewhere is visible.

Best get there early. No, don't eat breakfast before you set off. But do have coffee; the road is winding, and you will need to be alert.

You're on a hillside in Tsuen Wan.

It's still dark.


淺灣、賊灣、荃灣。
CHIN WAAN, CHAAK WAAN, CHUEN WAAN.
[Shallows bay, Robber bay, Fragrance bay.]

Along the shore there used to be small settlements, and, during the early years of the colony, pirates hid out along the coast. It was all behind the back of beyond then, and not a desirable place. Far from everything. The area is all built-up now, as is Tsing Yi Island (青衣島 Green Robe Island; 'cheng yi dou') across the strait, where "spring flowers fall" (春花落 'chuen faa lok'). Like all of Hong Kong, both Tsuen Wan and Tsing Yi are densely populated and very busy places. Which is why a tea house, on a two lane road in the hills above the city that wriggles and twists, sounds like the perfect place to be when it isn't raining. It would also be ideal during a heavy storm, but transit is more daunting.
Especially before breakfast.



彩龍酒樓 
CHOI LUNG RESTAURANT
荃灣，荃錦公路，川龍村，2號。

Located on the fragrant brocade highway in creek dragon village. Their shrimp bonnets (蝦餃 'haa gau') are delicious, so are the spring rolls (春捲 'chuen kuen'), barbecue pork sheet noodles (叉燒腸粉 'chaa siu cheung fan'), quail egg dumplings (鵪鶉蛋燒賣 'am-suen daan siu-maai') which have a beautiful thin skin that crinkles around the filling, phoenix claws (鳳爪 'fung jaau'), deep-fried pork and veggie puff balls (鹹水角 'haam suei gok') and glutinous rice chicken (糯米雞 'no mai gai') which naturally comes steamed in a lotus leaf.

Something which almost every table will also get it is choisum (菜心) with black bean sauce, or briefly stir-fried watercress (西洋菜 'sai yeung choi'). Very good! Hou sik!

They also do fresh soy milk (凍豆漿 'tung dou jeung'), which is not something that particularly tickles my fancy. Frankly, I've always been leery of people who drink it.


On a sunny day you can see forever (well, with topographic limitations) from the upper storey. Green green hills, the hue of vert emeraude.
Grey-blue ridges further away, green robe island far off.

It's an old-fashioned tea house (古式嘅茶居 'gu sik ge chaa keui') by local standards, and consequently well worth it. If you've done your job properly, there will be spattered cups and bowls and saucers and plates and pots littering the table by the time you're finished, you'll be grabbing for a toothpick and belching happily, and wired to the gills on tea.

Go on; have just a little more.
There's always room for tofu pudding (豆腐花 'dou fu faa')...
They make it here with fresh mountain spring water (山水 'saan seui').


AND JOHN FROM KANSAS!

Please note that fastidious western tourists may find it chaotic, and too rambunctiously bustling to be really enjoyable, aside from being revolted at the fried stinky beancurd (釀豆腐卜 'yong dou fu pok'), which is utterly delicious! So this is NOT a good place to bring John from the Kansas office, even though the food is good. He'll look around and realize that either he's not the centre of attention (soul-crushing for the average buffalo in any exotic environment), or he is (discomfiting, especially when he's dropped his chopsticks for the tenth time).

And no one supports his football team!

There are chop houses in Tsimsatsui where he'd be more comfortable.
Take him there instead. Give him some beer and apple pie.
When he goes home, come here to celebrate.

It's home-town rustic, our kind of place.
Simple. But good.

You know, sports, particularly American football, bore me to the point of sickness. Whenever people start talking about such things I lapse into a coma, and desperately change the subject. Which, faced with tons of scrumptious things to eat, is remarkably hard to do.
"Oh please, we must have more flaky-crisp taro dumplings (芋角 'wu gok'), they're absolutely divine! Here, chew on a vegetable!"
Whispered: 'don't pour him anymore tea'!
For the love of g-d, shut him up.


ODD TOPONYMS

To get there, take Route Twisk (荃錦公路 'chuen gam gong lou') from the New Territories Circular Road (新界環迴公路 'saan kai waan wui gong lou') at elephant's trunk road (象鼻山路 'jung bei saan lou') in Tsuen Wan, heading towards "big hat mountain country park" (大帽山郊野公園 'daai mou saan gau ye gong yuen').
Take the right fork at Fu Yung Shan Road (芙蓉山路).
It's a bit of a drive (three and a half miles uphill), but extremely scenic.
During the day the public light bus (green top) is an also-can.
The road is twisty-wisty, the embankments steep.
Tall feathery trees, banana leaves, ferns.
Stands of bamboo, phoenix trees.
Banyan and ban-hoi maple.
黃槿 ('wong gan').
Acacia.




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