WINE GLASS BAY - FREYCINET, TASMANIA

This is without any doubt the high point of our 2010 year end family trip, sans Terri & Fergus who were grounded by the twins. Wine Glass Bay is arguably the most beautiful beach I have come across anywhere, the 'Queen Bee' of Freycinet National Park, a 2.5 hour drive from Hobart, base camp of our way too short 4-day visit to Tasmania. I need to declare this breath taking view is copied from a post card as my camera will not produce such a wide angle shot.

A picture is worth a thousand words, everything you see is authentic, the sand is confectionery sugar white, the curve of the bay is perfectly round. With encourgaement from Dora, Andrea & Jess this overweight aging man actually made the 3-hour hike up the hill (at the top right hand corner) then down to the beach, back up the hill again and stayed in one-piece. All my efforts on the treadmill is nothing compared to this hike.

The beach must be 4-5 times larger than Repulse Bay and we were the only 4 souls on it, along with a lone local bush walker, and a wild wallaby who is used to human beings as he came right up to the girls, sniffed their cameras - probably thought it was food - and posed for pictures. At places like this one wonders how we managed to survive in a city like Hong Kong, and why?

'PUI YUET'

'PUI' means accompany and 'YUET' literally means moon, or in this context month. It was an old practice, recently revived, so much so it has created not just demand, but fervor. In the old days traditional Chinese families believed post-natal care (for the newborn but even more so for the new mother) is best handled by experienced practitioners ie a PUI-YUET or a Super Nanny. Normally the duration is no less than 3-months when supposedly the new mom will be nurtured back to health, while skills of baby management are transferred. Back then these ladies were mostly uneducated, let alone professionally trained, but their invitro knowledge more than made up for what they lack in susbstantive terms. They enjoyed a certain 'status' due mostly to the ignorance or in some cases indifference of the families who hired them, 'let the Pui-Yuet decide', kind of attitude.

I am not sure if it is insecurity, laziness or simply keeping up with the Jones that made new parents of late scrambling for this service. Not only are these ladies hot commodities, I even heard stories of timed pregnancy to coincide with the availability of star Pui-Yuets. Can we get any crazier than this? One pays for this service too, up to $100,000 for the 3-months, very likely tax free. BTW they are no jack-of-all-trades, as they expect domestic helpers at their disposal, in addition. To me their wish list to get the job done is a lot longer than the one that records results. I am only the grandfather but from years in management this old man can clearly see the difference bewteen the fluff of activities, verses solid performance. I am sorry, Pui-Yuets offer lots of the former but much less of the latter. At such an exorbitant fee level, where is the value proposition? These nannies live high on a comfort platform erected by anxious new parents who erroneously think their service is indispensable. The rest is herding instincts or trend setting, like the latest LV handbag, it is the 'I must get one too' mentality.

If I sound unconvinced and cynical it is because I am. When our girls came along all we had were an outdated copy of Dr Spock and sporadic but dubious advice from our parents who were hopelessly out of touch. They did not visit everyday nor did they text us every 5 minutes. Dora & I were consumed, but we were fine, we loved it because we did it all ourselves. We could not afford any luxury but we survived on determination and self-reliance. It seems Hong Kong has become a haven of abrogation for young parents. For instance; feeding to the helper, driving to the driver, learning to the tutors, playing to the coaches and now babying to the Pui-Yuets.

Well, what is wrong with this picture?

'SUN SEC' PRIVATE KITCHEN

We were invited to a well known 'old school' private kitchen formed many years ago by alumni of Sun Hung Kai Securities. Registered as a business the official name is Sun Sec. (with a full stop) Wine & Cigar Ltd, in short it is SSA ... 'A' for Alumni perhaps ... not to be confused with Spencer Stuart Associates or Society to Save Animals. The logo design is not exactly award winning but it gets the message across.

Our hosts were very generous, we had a sumptuous menu of traditional and unique dishes. The notable ones that lingered on after the meal were .... 'Roast Pigeon', their signature, which is probably the juiciest I ever had; 'Lettuce Roll' in which tasty minced baby shrimps are mixed with other savories, superb in flavor & texture; 'Fish Head Steamed in Lotus Leaves' with dual flavors of plain and spicy sauces, plain is better; and a most impressive presentation of 'Sauteed Fresh Japanese Oysters'. Cost of a table for 12 ranges from $3,888 to $4,188 to $4,988 but the beauty is only 1-table is seved every night. One starts with drinks in a wood panelled living room, unmistakenly the 70's, complete with large green leather sofas while the banquet is served in a separate, spacious dining room.

The forefathers of Sun Hung Kai Securitites were legendary including Messrs Fung King Hei, Kwok Tak Shing and Lee Shui Kee, the only surviving founder. Their business redefined the financial landscape and of course the Hong Kong Stock Market. Outside of these historical figures the alumni list is a who's-who in big business such as; John Chan, Jack So, Ron Arculli, Sun Sun Chan, Andrew Chou, John Szeto .... and so on. I love the collages on the walls of the private dining and majong rooms. They are a MUST SEE should you visit. It is like a mini-photo museum of that unique moment in time that defined what we have today. It is amazing!

May Yeong, the Manager, is very hospitable. Apparently they welcome outsiders, one does not need a Sun Sec graduate diploma to eat there. BTW their daily set lunch is only $65! In Central? I must try it.

SUN SEC Wine & Cigar Ltd is located at 7F Siu Ying Commecial Building 151-155 Queen's Road Central ... call May @2854 1908

'I AM WHAT I AM'

You must have read the news of the changing of the guards at the U.S. Congress where a new Speaker of the House, John Boehner from Ohio took the gavel. While bipartisan politics are a fact of life in America, and one tends to lose count of who won, who lost, who made a come back, who was corrupt, who womenized ad nauseum this new leader has a style I can readily identify with.

Aside from political acumen Boehner is best known for letting his emotions run high. One tabloid labels him 'Weeper of the House'. When Brian Williams at NBC asked how he would approach this (suggesting it may be a weakness) he replied ... 'I am emotional, in particular when it comes to issues with families, and those who serve in the military at war. I am who I am, and this is just the way it is going to be'. It is no big statement, but it shows what is in the head of this political leader, one who gives an honest answer.

I told myself almost two years ago when I crossed that magic line of 60 I want to be my most honest self as my sunset tour unfolds. Taking a page from Boehner's gospel may help me in this direction. 'I am who I am' .... need I say more?

SZETO WAH

Szeto Wah, better known as the 'Father of Democracy' in Hong Kong, lost his battle with cancer and passed away on the second day of the new year. I am a typical product of Hong Kong's colonial past, brought up without any political fibre, let alone passion. I have little time for many of the so called politicians in town these days, whose personal agendas are thinly veiled by the facade of dedication to public service. Szeto Wah was in a league of his own, and being so different, he was always above the frey. He stayed with his principles, he did not compromise, he refused to be 'bought' and since Tiananmun in 1989 he did not waver a single time on the strong position he took with the power-that-be in Beijing, while some of his colleagues at the legislature were falling over themselves just to 'get that nod from Grandpa up north'. How nauseating! We need many more of him in our little village if we were ever to retain our uniqueness. The sad thing is when one looks around, there is no Szeto Wah in sight, not even one with potential in the pan-democrat camp.

I thank you, Szeto Wah, for being you and for teaching all of us what being truthful to oneself means. I shall miss you, rest in peace!

QUOTABLE QUOTE

To all young parents, with young children, make it your top priority to 'spend time' with them. It is 'time' they want, especially from you.

To all of us with aging parents, the same applies. It is also 'time' they want from us, be mindful of the difference in this case though, there is not much time left.

********

'To the world you may be just one person, to one person you just might be the world'.

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CHRISTMAS 2010

Christmas and Chinese New Year are always family biased occasions but for 2010 it is highlighted by the arrival of the twins, Jamie & Sonya Fung who are a few days shy of their second month on Planet Earth this Christmas Day. Parents will always be parents, regardless of misgivings we sometimes have about the unbecoming behavior of our offsprings. We forget, we even forgive, a parental trait that transcends the ages on this special day.

Many have said that when your children start having children of their own, attitudes change as they begin to realize the hardships and challenges ahead. As I said in my annual family report, I get a certain 'evil satisfaction' from telling my daughter & son-in-law ' ... if you think managing the twins now is hard, wait till they grow up'.

3 things, simple things, touched my heart this Christmas. I could not hold back my tears in each of the occasions.

* Watching my 89 year old mother at our Christmas Eve gathering last night ... enjoying her turkey, ham & cakes; mingling with her grandchildren; the smile on her face when she opened her presents. Tearing quietly, I want to lock that away in the sacred recess of my memory where they cannot be erased.

* An email from a childhood friend came today, one that reminds us how we might have missed the growing up of our children when they needed us the most, when we were preoccupeid with business and less important things. This is the story : a father opened a page of his son's diary in the attic that read, "Dad took me fishing and that was the best day of my life". The son is a grown up now, with his own kids. He hurried to his study, found his own dusty diary, and on that same day his entry was "I wasted a whole day fishing with John". It brought immediate tears to my eyes, shamed by all those evenings I chose to stay in the office rather than coming home for dinner, many many unforgivable years ago.

* Andrea stayed at home last night, something she hardly does anymore. Comfortably tugged into a warm blanket next to our virtual fireplace in the living room, she slept through the night. When she woke I made her favorite breakfast, a cheddar cheese omelette on rye toast, which she consumed at hurricane speed. "That was very good Dad, thanks". Well, another tear jerker alright, on Christmas morning.

Merry Christmas to you all ....

GUANGZHOU EATERY : A MUST TRY!

I have no idea how to get there, aside from the fact that it is on the other side of town from Tienhe where the action is these days in Guangzhou. Still catching her breath from the 'high' of the Asian Games, the city is resplendent as the taxi took us through mesmerizing streets and boulevards, all dazzled with lights. All of a sudden we stopped in front of this gigantic, 4-storey restaurant on Jiang Nan Si Lu. Front and centre is a large Chinese character 'eel', a dead give-away of the specialty la maison. At the entrance is the obligatory live fish tank but what catches everyone's attention is a long tank of eels after eels that hardly wriggle because they are packed so tightly.

The menu is a delight to navigate, and the photographs are among the best shots of food I have seen yet, a truly professional job. We over ordered, deliberately, so we can get a feel as to why it is so popular. It was a wonderful meal, not only on the eel front, but across the board. The notables were ; blanched eel in crushed ice with wasabi soy, sauteed crabs, fish jaws, even char-sui in their famous house sauce, and lastly, the special eel rice .... delish!

My Dad used to tell us the story of my great-grand-mother's favorite : 'eel rice' prepared at the table. The drill involves boiling, almost ready rice in a fish stock that her cook will let a few live baby eels in. The idea is to let them meander through the half congee/half rice concoction until they, too, are cooked. Supposedly this will yield maximum flavors, as well as medicinal effects for chronic coughing, if I remember correctly. I really doubt if it would sell today. While our rice was made in heaven, we certainly did not see any wriggly objects in it, thank God!

SAM SHUI BOUILLABAISE

It was a tradition started by Dad at his first homecoming visit to Sam Shui, 40 years after he fled Guangzhou in March 1949 right after I was born, when the 'writing was on the wall' ..... He invited all the Tangs to a clan dinner at the one and only local banquet hall. We had little option but to carry his flag last week.

This is the Guangdong version of what is served in Marseille, the definitive Bouillabaise a la Cantonese. Dora and I walked all over Marseille last Spring looking for what made the city famous, only to be disappointed by a pot of 'sea food tasting thick soup' and nothing more, at E45 per head. This Sam Shui creation is infinitely better which the Michelin Guide might disagree. Does it matter, no it does not, nor do I care. I believe fishermen on the southern coast of China were of like minds as their counterparts in the south of France and voila, out comes more or less the same recipe, sans tomatoes, hence the darker color. As for the taste, it is so similar it is uncanny.

ANCESTRAL VILLAGE VISIT

At 89, Grandma has things on her mind that she needs to check off, it is her list of 'outstanding business'. A key item is to visit our ancestral shrine in the small township of Sam Shui, in Guangdong Province. What used to take 2.5 hours via dusty, unpaved roads is only an hour away from the centre of Guangzhou. The lovely tree lined roads with minimum traffic are replaced by super highways, with hazy, polluted air as backdrop. Welcome to the modernization of China.

The shrine is not really a shrine per se, but a large courtyard with plain, interconnecting buildings that sit on 2 acres of idyllic landscape including willow trees and a lotus pond. It was purposedly built almost 150 years ago when a Great-Great-Grand-Father of the Tang clan earned what is equivalent to '1st class honors' which brought much glory to our village. It was a super big deal then. He later commissioned a study cum library in his own name, a place where he could be left alone to think, and to write. Though run down, it miraculously survived the early years of the Communist regime, including the Cultural Revolution. My late Father, in his position as the eldest son and eldest grandson of the clan, took up the challenge of restoring this unique heritage structure 25 years ago on his retirement and, as the saying goes, the rest is history. After much fund raising and endless refurbishment it is now in excellent condition, a landmark that made the clan proud. The 4 procelain pictures at the front were of our forefathers, in Qing Dynasty garb, those on top were deceased descendents from the family tree, including Dad.

Together with elders from the Grandma ranks, plus cousins, we had a wonderful visit, catching up with all the Tangs who still live and work in the village and nearby. It is them who look after the place, which has become our 'virtual' ancestral shrine. I have been 'promoted' to Dad's position as the 1st son of the 1st born grandson, hence my candle-lighting and wine-pouring ceremonial role. I cannot help but feeling philosophical everytime I visit, the transient nature of life is evident everytime I make eye contact with my ancestors. One day I will be back in the fold, joining Dad and the others, right here at this shrine.