FEBRUARY 2013 BACK ISSUE by Catherine Karnow Part II Beloved outdoor "dai pai tong" or outdoor food stall, on Elgin Street, above Hollywood Road, Soho, Central, Hong Kong. Tram with Shanghai Tang advert, Queen's Road East, Wan Chai, Hong Kong. Mak Tai Kwong handles snakes at She Wong Lam snake shop, the oldest snake shop in Hong Kong. He is looking for the perfect snake for a customer.  Mak Tai Kwong is eighty years old and has been working at this snake shop for sixty-two years. He attributes his good health and longevity to eating snake soup every day.  There are over 3000 snakes in the drawers, including highly poisonous King Cobra. Eaten as protection against the winter cold and flu, snakes are often served in soup. The gallbladder is extracted and mixed with Chinese wine as a cure for rheumatism. The more poisonous the snake the better the cure.  Customers buy killed snakes, or have snake soup in the shop. Prices can be as high as $500US for a snake. Giant Campbell's soup can, subway, Admiralty station, Hong Kong. Art installation called "Re-Born" which addresses waste and recycling of electronics, was part of a multiple artist art show called "Detour 2009" to celebrate local Chinese and Western artists living in Hong Kong, at the Former Police Married Quarters on Hollywood Road. The show was also to celebrate the Former Police Married Quarters, a heritage building that is under threat of being destroyed by the Hong Kong government who no longer wants to consider it a heritage building. Family eats breakfast on Sunday morning at popular Tsui Wah restaurant, Des Voeux Road Central and Jubilee street, Central, Hong Kong. Pork congee (porridge) with bread sticks, peanuts, green onions and ginger at old style Yung Kee congee shop at Centre and High Street, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong. The congee shop has been in existence for over 30 years and is owned by the Tam family. Open at 6:30 a.m., they do a thriving breakfast and lunch business. They serve over 30 different kinds od congee such as congee with pig intestine, preserved black eggs, pork blood, etc. Schoolboys from King's College Old Boys' Association Primary School, during lunch break from school, Ladder Street, Central, Hong Kong. Old woman sells vegetables, Graham Street Wet Market, under threat of being torn down to make way for new development, Central, Hong Kong. Butcher, Graham Street Wet Market, Central, Hong Kong. Chung Hom Wan bay and beach, near Stanley, Hong Kong. Members enjoy champagne at the exclusive Shek-O Country Club, Hong Kong. Sand castle contest, Shek-O, beach, Hong Kong.
Back to current issue