It’s day off again. I’m confident by this time most of you know I hate day off on weekends. A day off is meant to be for relaxation, a completely alien concept in this city, especially on weekends. I mean, the malls are packed with people, the countryside and the beach are packed with people, the trains and buses and even the highways are packed with cars. No, I don’t think one can relax on weekends.
But it’s different on weekdays.
I went to Yuen Long today to visit some hidden nice places in this city. I’m never a nature lover. On the contrary, the concept of being an “urban explorer” fascinates me. There are as many interesting places in the city as in the countryside: cafe, sushi bars, ramen places, nicely crafted parks, you name it. And I had a chance to visit a nice sushi bar followed by a cafe today.
The 30-minute drive from Tai Po to Yuen Long itself was a thrill. Driving at 100 kph for 20+ km doesn’t require a Ferrari. My humble old Audi provided sufficient comfort and a small hint of ferocity on demand. Parking (on the street side) in YL sucked however, just as expected in other parts of HK.
The Jap restaurant rested in a small street in Yuen Long, remote from the usual hustle and bustle of the city. If you are lucky enough to be the first 12 guests, you can sit at the sushi bar, served directly by the master chefs. Sitting at the side tables like I did was equally enjoyable, especially when you preferred not to social, or didn’t want the chef to know you feed your camera before you feed your stomach.
Lunch at these pretentious Japanese sushi places are much more affordable than dinner. During lunch time there are lunch sets at around $200-300, while for dinner it’s common to spend more than $1000 per guest. I ordered a $250 “omakase” sushi and sashimi set. Omakase means the chef would choose what’s in the meal for you. This is a bit risky in many restaurants for a carnivore like me, who doesn’t eat lots of veggies. But in a sushi bar, I didn’t think this would be a problem. I mean, I’m a sushi whore.
The omakase set proved fulfilling. In addition to the sushi and sashimi, the appetiser and dessert were equally enjoyable. In short, “the chicken had chicken taste, the fish had fish taste, and the rice had rice taste”. Good chicken, fish and rice tastes, that is.
In order not to end my special day so soon, I continued to explore YL. How can a day be called relaxing without spending a few hours doing nothing in a pretentious cafe? I know a number of good cafes serving specialty coffee in Sheung Wan/Central. And there’s even one among Tsuen Wan’s industrial buildings. But hey, I’m not playing “Hong Kong O”. Going from Tai Po to Yuen Long to Sheung Wan isn’t fun, not even if I drive a brand new Tesla Model S. I decided to look for this imagined pretentious cafe in YL, making it a reality.
And I did it. It was just a 10-minute drive away from the sushi bar. The coffee was nice. They serve single-origin coffee only, and you can choose from hand drip and siphon. So, I read some novel, and wrote this piece. Considering I haven’t written an article for months, this cafe, and on the whole this afternoon’s experience is quite a stimulation to me. It stimulated my creative mind, which is a good thing.
Today’s experience also reminded me of what’s truly important. It’s not shopping for fancy fashion items; it’s my life experience. The insistence on eating quality food, drinking quality coffee, travelling decently (independent of the boundaries of the subway line), and living a quality life on the whole. Money: food, travelling, photography, no more.
