I've eaten at a couple of family meals, but I didn't feel like it would be appropriate to take photographs and publish them here, so instead, I'll write about things you should be doing during Chinese New Year.
This is going to be a kind of random list, by the way. And since I don't have family in Hong Kong, I won't be talking about who to visit and when in depth.
1) Before CNY: about a couple of weeks before, people will start doing hardcore housecleaning and putting up decorations. I don't really follow this because I clean my flat quite thoroughly at least once a week, anyway. Also, I have permanent CNY decorations up on my walls. Saves time!
2) During CNY: you technically shouldn't clean during CNY or throw out any trash because that means that you'll be throwing out good luck. This is a controversial statement, but I've been told that you shouldn't clean only on New Year's Eve (which, this year, was on the 2nd of February), and that it's perfectly fine to clean on any other days, especially if you receive visitors.
3) On New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, you should be wearing a new outfit. My family never really followed this because my parents were too frugal. However, we did wear new socks, so I guess one new item of clothing can be enough. What I do is I save one item of clothing that I will only start wearing at CNY. This year, it's that Daydream Nation skirt and a new pair of shoes.
New shoes so I could wear them in the house!
4) Red packets, also known as 紅包 (hong bao in Mandarin or ang bao in Hokkien) or 利事 (lai see in Cantonese), are given to unmarried people or kids. If you're married or older, you have to give them out. You cannot put coins in a hong bao! Usually, people put in USD1 bill or HKD10 bill (although you'll see more people put in USD1 because with our exchange rate, that means HKD7.78. Save money!). Depending on your age and status, you will also be required to give hong bao to people who perform services for you: helpers, babysitters, door men, cleaners, etc.
When giving or receiving hong bao, you have to bow and use both hands. I'll have an entry up pretty soon about this type of manners.
5) I don't really think CNY is a very good time to visit Hong Kong. Most shops will be closed, and the ones that are open will be staffed with people who don't really want to be there. It's like Italy all over again.
6) You'll be safe with greeting people "Happy new year!" There's more greetings, but that should get you through. If you're not Chinese, probably avoid the fist-clasp gesture because that thing takes practice to pull off. Otherwise, you'll look like Tom Cruise in Cocktail.
7) When visiting people's houses for CNY (or generally, whenever you vist people's houses), you must bring a gift. There is no other option unless you're really close friends and neither of you give a shit. I mean, how can you visit people's houses empty-handed?
The good thing about CNY is that there is an abundance of pre-packed gifts being sold everywhere. Most people will bring fruit (oranges or tangerines) or pastries. Personally, I don't like to give food that needs to be eaten quickly during CNY. Most people are already overloaded with food, so I think it's more thoughtful to bring something that they can regift to someone else.
This year, I'm all about these Japanese wafers that are really popular and in all the shops. The packaging is gorgeous, the box is a decent size, it's not ostentatiously expensive but it's not cheap, either. They don't have to be eaten right away, as well.
8) I should hope I wouldn't have to remind people of this, but take your Goddamn shoes off when you're in someone's house unless they specifically tell you it's okay to keep them on. When someone pulls this shit with me, I immediately ban them from my flat.
Anyway, so what does someone who doesn't feel like cooking and doesn't have a million relatives to mooch food off do? Most places are closed, and as I said, I don't really like to eat Western food (although there's a kind of solitary, Edward Hopper-esque pleasure out of eating at a McDonald's by your lonesome during CNY with the rest of the serial killers and shut-ins). But you know which Asian cuisine will always be available on CNY and will be delicious? INDIAN FOOD! So tomorrow's entry will be about my and DL's adventure in Kennedy Town looking for the best Indian restaurant on the Western tip of Hong Kong Island.
We ended up wandering about Kennedy Town (or should I say "waddling" because we were so full, we literally could not walk properly), and I told DL about the amazing Wellcome Superstore supermarket in the Belcher's.
Now, maybe we are just a couple of country bumpkins, but seriously the Wellcome in the Belcher's is the biggest and nicest supermarket I've ever been to in Hong Kong. And it's so fucking unfair that rich people have everything, including this.
The Belcher's is a fancy condo full of annoying people, but you know, the last laugh is on them. From what I heard, the place is haunted because ghosts travel from the mountain to the sea in that area, and the Belcher's is in their path. Because of how the Belcher's is built (in maze-like circles), the ghosts get trapped there and can't leave. That's why there have been quite a few suicides there, apparently.
DL says it's a fair trade for them to have a nice Wellcome but go crazy because of the ghosts. I guess so.
Anyway, a photograph of the Wellcome. They have such an excellent selection of cheap sake. There's one that's been aged in cedar barrels that is so good that I broke a shoe over it.
I didn't realize that this was up in the ceiling until I took a picture. It's like that mural that Dali made in Teatro Dali (if you're ever in Spain, it's so worth the trip to go there. I've been there so many times, I could be a tour guide for that place. There's a pastry shop just around the corner that you MUST visit, too).
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| Image taken from lonelyplanet.com |
Who knew the year of the Rabbit would bring out the surrealist in people? You can see its influence on the kids who made some rabbit sculptures that were displayed in the lobby.
Alright, this is cute and all that, but isn't it a bit disturbing? The rabbit has candy stuck on it, for God's sake. It's like the house that the witch in Hansel and Gretel, pretending to be some delicious thing and then it'll suddenly pounce on you and eat you.
Ostensibly innocent, but look at THOSE EYES. That pouch is for COLLECTING YOUR SOUL.
Okay, this is just seriously creepy. This is on some Blair Witch Project tip. Jesus, the rabbit has HANDS FOR EYES. This is even creepier than the Corinthian in The Sandman, for God's sake.
Alright, this is all for now, so (belated) happy new year! This Rabbit year is going to be better than the previous one (thank God!), so I hope everyone has a safe and healthy upcoming year!
