Episode 209 - Traditional Food Preservation

Drying (dehydration) is one of the traditional food preservation methods. This old method is still commonly used by fishermen in Hong Kong.

The above photos were taken by me during a neighbourhood outing to Cheung Chau. The fishermen dried the fishes and shrimps under the sun before packing and selling them to the tourists. The dried fishes and shrimps looked artistic on the drying board.

In the old days, fishermen dried the unsold seafood before it went bad. They would either sell the dried seafood or consumed it themselves when the weather was not fit for fishing.

Although the refrigeration method is more suitable for preserving fresh seafood and is readily available at reasonable costs, dried seafood has become a popular traditional food in itself as time goes by - it is no longer treated as a substitute or reserved food.

We steam the dried seafood (adding some oil on top of it) before serving it on the dining table - yummy!

Episode 208 - Buddha in the Rain

The photo was taken during a recent visit to Ngong Ping.

It was a rainly day. The finely crafted Big Buddha statue merged harmoniously with the nature in the light rain.

Episode 207 - Lung Fu Shan Spider

Another trip to the Lung Fu Shan Country Park this morning.

Whilst we were near the Pinewood Battery, we saw a crowd of people gathering together, each with a camera pointing towards an upper part of a tree. I soon discovered that they were taking photos of a large spider.

I took a photo of the spider as well - click on the photo above to see a larger image of it.

The spider had weaved a large web at the tree top and was obviously waiting for its prey. Before it could get its first meal, it became the prey of the photo predators.

Episode 206 - Butterfly at the Great Wall

After writing the last post, I recalled seeing a small butterfly at the Mutianyu Great Wall. The butterfly was white in colour and looked elegent with tails. It did not appear to be a specie that we would encounter in Hong Kong.

I took the above photo while the little butterfly rested on the steps of the Great Wall.

Episode 205 - Butterflies

My family took a walk at the Lung Fu Shan Country Park this morning.

The weather was fine - sunny but cool.

Although it is not a flowering season, we still saw patches of flowers along the paths which attracted a large number of butterflies. I know very little about butterfly but it seems that the species of butterflies at Lung Fu Shan are increasing in numbers in the past years.