How We Began This CNY
The experience of travelling and dining in the two day-trips to Futian in mid-January had turned Su into a genuine believer of the food and service qualities over there. On New Year Eve and New Year Day, Su was chatting enthusiastically with her siblings over the two meals at Laguna City and together, they hatched a plan to visit Futian again today, the third day in the Year of the Snake. Her siblings would go early and we are to meet around 5pm for an early dinner.
After breakfast, we began to gear up to leave Mei Foo by 1pm. Su was trying to top up her RMB account on the phone when she discovered to her horror that her China Return Permit had expired. Indeed, it expired two days after our last visit to Futian. Su managed to call her sister and told her the changed plan; and suddenly, we found we had a free day in Mei Foo to rest the body and mind. After all, we were not exactly idle in the last few days.
On New Year Eve, Su decided to have our year-end meal over lunch before we had the reunion dinner at her parents’ place. After lunch, I began to pack notes in Lai See packets, while Su was busy checking out whether her parents’ maid had managed to buy the food – fresh sea fish – she had asked her to. On learning that she couldn’t, she hurriedly went to get the fishes from her friendly fishmonger in Mei Foo. The day before, she also bought oysters and other food and had taken some wine over. Thus, we drove to Laguna City with loads of stuff and managed to find parking there. It was a typical reunion dinner, with lots of food and wine, ending with a birthday cake – it was her niece’s 14th birthday.
It had been our usual routine to attend the 7:30am Mass at Ricci Hall on Lunar New Year Day. Su said she was too tired, so I went alone, donning my red Mao style jacket which I had worn for over ten years on New Year Day. Traffic was light both ways and I managed to have another nap before setting out for Laguna City again, but not before I discovered that I couldn’t find the Octopus card I had kept for parking and purposes other than public transport. We reckoned that I could have dropped it under the car seat or elsewhere, and we drove to Laguna City, parked under the special Lunar New Year parking scheme, so that I won’t need the Octopus card, and arrived on time. We had food and wine after which the usual rituals followed and we drove back to Mei Foo after staying there for just over an hour. I needed to go back home for a more thorough search for the lost card and to pick up the Lai See packets which I forgot to take with me.
I failed to find the Octopus card, but we managed to find a taxi to take us to Chi Foo Fa Yuen, for a reunion of the Wan’s clan. Our elder sister Margaret and her family had been living in Chi Foo from time immemorial, and the flat became our meeting place for festivities and reunions after our father passed away in 2006. Margaret passed away last November, and in consultation with the remaining siblings in Hong Kong, we decided to stick to tradition and visit her husband on New Year Day. The first thing I did on arrival after the greetings was to call Citibank to report the lost of my Octopus card, after which I began to seep the tea and savour the usual stuff, turnip cakes and other stuff. Eventually, everyone turned up, almost, and we had the obligatory photo sessions, after which Su and I departed for our friend Ko Ying’s place at mid-levels. Ko Ying would be 96 in October 2025 and it had been our ritual to visit him on Lunar New Year Day for a few drinks, which we did. We stayed till 6pm, and took taxi home. We were lucky to find transport whenever and wherever we needed it.
We had planned to host our nephew and niece for lunch on Day Two of the CNY, but then our nephew could have had too much the previous night and had left his phone in an Uber, which made communication with others difficult. Su had made us some wholesome breakfast, after which I found an invitation from Mark – who by now is an avid sailor and co-owner of a 42-footer – to board his boat for an afternoon drinks and snack party, followed by fireworks watching on the boat, which was berthed at a vantage point by the pontoon at the Yacht Club in Causeway Bay. We presently told the nephew and niece to re-schedule the visit and prepared ourselves for the afternoon and evening. We met Mark and Joann and some new and old friends on the boat and together we shared plenty of junk food and bubblies. The highlight was worth waiting. It had been a while since we watched such displays live and so close. Su bought her fish-eye lens and camera with which she had taken over 500 pictures, while I used my S22 ultra and captured some 200 shots. Watching the fireworks such up close had also brought back old memories, of people and places. The Police had blocked all access and exits to the Club two hours before the display, but there were still many club members and guests around the area, and we waited until the crowds departed and dispersed before making our way to the Club entrance for our transport home. Once again, Su used her tried and tested HKTAXI Apps which advised her that over 600 taxis had been contacted with no response, until Su offered a $50 bonus to the fare, when one came to take us home.
That was how we began the Year of the Snake. I now await what happens next.
