Christmas in Sai Kung

SAI KUNG – I would have written “Christmas in Hong Kong” but the meaning I want to convey might be lost. To many Filipinos, Hong Kong is a commercial place with huge malls stacked with all the Western brand names, both old and new. I was looking for a pharmacy (botika in Filipino) but I thought of Boots and Watsons which are the familiar names when I lived in London. Instead my daughter brought me to Mannings, a name completely new to me. On the whole there are more brand names to be seen but their window displays look all alike so I did not bother even to try some of them. This is commercial Hong Kong.

I took this break to get away from the jungle of malls and brand names and customers jostling to spend their money.

I am in Sai Kung, a fishing village which is about 30 minutes of a breezy drive on excellent highways without traffic to Hong Kong central or Kowloon.  Although Sai Kung is the second largest district in Hong Kong, it did not have the commercial bigness of the two places.

My second daughter, Marta drove me from the airport to her home in Sai Kung. It was about 45 minutes but enough to see unobstructed views of mountain, sea and lots of green. I have visited my daughter’s home before but there was a tree that needed to be trimmed to make a panoramic view from the living room. I’m sorry that I cannot share the painting of the view in my STAR column but it can be seen in my Facebook blog.

Sai Kung is also known as the “back garden of Hong Kong.” I did not even think that there was such a place in Hong Kong at all. Unlike other places for tourists it is a ”haven of nature” preserved and cared for. One of those places is the Hong Kong Global Geopark. That is what you can expect of the new territories of China. In Sai Kung tall modern buildings are sparse and far apart. I don’t know if it is true of all parts but it is from my daughter’s home. In these villages they have been able to retain traditional customs and cultures of rural villages.

My second daughter Marta is an architect. She has now taken up painting and preserved the sight of Sai Kung by the sea which is the view you see from a huge glass door of her house. 

The place is called Violet Garden because once upon a time this was in fact truly a violet garden – fields and fields of it. I think that is what my daughter’s vision painted. The lower part of the painting is the sea with parked yachts and passenger boats while the upper part is a wide expanse of clouds. I love her interpretation of the clouds with hints of rains to come.  The buildings and house are too small to be bothered about but it is there.

It is also a former fishing village. I don’t know where they catch fish now. It makes it a must place to have excellent fish dishes and those who have gone there say there is no other comparable.

Actually we just walk down from my daughter’s house which is on a promontory to choose from village restaurants by the sea. I’ve tasted steamed fish Chinese style elsewhere but it cannot compare with the steamed fish in Sai Kung.

In contrast to the densely populated areas of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, Sai Kung District’s heartland is a coastal area with beautiful scenery, charming small villages and stunning seascapes. The area is known for its pristine beaches and quiet living. Inasmuch as it remains only partly urbanized, Sai Kung is known as the “last back garden” of Hong Kong

Being in a naturally beautiful place like Sai Kung gave me a longed for tranquility. It has a particular kind of silence – the mountains, the sea and the forests. In Manila, I do not live in a place with traffic. It is a suburb but I still can hear noise.  The silence in Sai Kung was different. It touches your soul. As I said to my daughter, it was a different kind of silence that makes you fall in love with nature.

Still we were family and Filipinos so we carried with us the noise and anger of Makati and Manila with their traffic and building frenzy of condominiums. I am not complaining. Remember we were to spend our Christmas here. This is only part of the family as two sons have remained in Manila to spend it with their in-laws. But the idea of reunion at Christmas is universal whatever customs we bring with us.

I brought ensaymada and Majestic ham thinking that this is Filipino but forgot that my son who lives in Singapore cannot stand cheese. But the stuffed turkey is de riguer for Christmas dinner and you would not be a Pedrosa unless you knew how to cook it with Austrian stuffing. We have had the stuffing out of Robert Carrier’s old book which has since gone out of print. The stuffing is a mixture of chestnut puree and fresh pork sausage, some herbs like thyme and marjoram, plenty of chopped parsley and anchovies to taste. We have had it in our 20-year exile in Manila and brought it with us when we returned to Manila. We had it again on the 19th before I left for Sai Kung with one of my two sons volunteering to cook it.  

First course for the dinner was smoked salmon and dessert included different kinds of cheese. We had a bottle of champagne but we forgot to open it.

This will be the second turkey with Austrian stuffing I will eat this Christmas. I was also able to give away Christmas baskets to friends and help before I left for Hong Kong.

Merry Christmas to all my readers. Ciao.