This morning we were meeting some older relatives for dim sum, over in the Kennedy Town part of Hong Kong. We got up, showered and dressed nice and early and were out on the escalator then bus to go meet them. Danny actually has an appointment with his cousin to go do some paperwork about the old house in China, so we will meet the whole group for dim sum, then me and the girls will be on our own for the rest of the morning.

Dim Sum was ok, not special nor terrible. It was nice to see them, though, as the older man has been in really poor health lately, so we had some doubts about seeing him.

Danny and his cousin headed off to the appointment, and the girls and I walked up the escalator to the hotel. They wanted to take a bit of a break, and then the swimming pool was calling to them.

The pool was terrific!! The sun had come out just as we got up to the pool, so it was very hot, but the water was lovely and we had a great long swim. Partway through, Danny came back to the hotel and joined the kids in the pool for a good long swim. The pool is proving to be a favourite part of this vacation, with the weather so hot!

We didn’t really have any lunch, because we’d had dim sum, and then gone swimming. So we asked the kids what they wanted to do, and they said “fruity snack shop in Causeway Bay”. So off we went. Stephanie wanted to have a mango ice cream dessert, and was like a fly on “you-know-what” for the little dessert shop. Emily noticed they had a snack item on the menu that was just two chicken wings on a plate, and ordered that, along with a mango milkshake. After the two wings disappeared, she ordered another plate, and then another!!! The waitress was killing herself laughing. But seriously, who eats only TWO chicken wings. The dessert was again lovely, and the shop was so well air conditioned that we were freezing, so we didn’t stay too long. Used the relatively clean washroom again, and headed back up to the hotel. We had already arranged to meet Danny’s #5 aunt for dinner over in Tsim Sha Tsui so we have to keep moving.

We hopped in a taxi to take us down to the Star Ferry terminal so that we could cross Victoria harbor to meet his aunt. The weather was fabulous and breezy, so the harbor crossing was particularly nice. By the time we got over to TST, we found his aunt, and went over to Jade Garden for dinner.

The restaurant was really nice, and actually fancier than would probably have been a good idea with the kids. Even that wouldn’t have been a problem, except that I forgot to bring their PSP’s or something to entertain them.

The food was terrific!!! We ordered a set dinner, including what they called “drunken shrimp”. The put live shrimp in a bowl, and pour half a bottle of alcohol over them, and watch them thrash for a while. Then they light the whole thing ablaze and finish them off in a wok. They were tasty, but it was funnier to watch the whole process than to eat them! We also had nice bbq pork, fish, chicken, tofu, beef, fried rice, and soup. It was a lovely, really good meal. The kids actually ate lots, too, so that was a bonus.

Funny things always happen when you go places with Emily. I was getting really worried because the restaurant was quiet, with couples and older people trying to have a quiet meal, and my kids were NOT quiet. Instead of getting upset, this older couple next to us starting talking to Emily. Next thing I know, she’s over at their table, getting to know all about them and having a lovely visit. They were from Australia, in Hong Kong finishing a “round the world” trip. They talked and talked, and it was lovely. Emily was absolutely awesome with them, and them with her. I kept apologizing to them for the interruption, and they kept saying they’d been away from home for a long time and were missing the kids in their own family, so they were enjoying Emily and Stephanie.