WINTERLICIOUS 2007

for more info...

List of Participating Restaurants
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Chocolate Fondue

Ingredients: Chocolate, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries and
green apples
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Mii

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La Bamboche

Green Tea Mousse + Caramel Pear Mousse
http://www.labamboche.ca Read more!

TTC + Google Map

Torontoist reported that TTC Ride Guide PDF and Google Map have been combined together along with Sean Lerner's TTC Rider Efficiency Guide. The result is this amazing Toronto Transit Map created by Ian Stevens!

via Torontoist
Toronto Transit Map

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Festival of Lights

at the Kensington Market

when:
Thursday, December 21, 2006
6:00pm to 10:00pm

where:
Kensington Market
S. of College St, W. of Spadina Ave.
Toronto, Ontario

"Every year on December 21 there is an amazing parade of lights and music and silliness through Kensington Market followed by a celebration of fire in Bellevue Park"

for more info:
http://upcoming.org/event/109500
http://www.redpepperspectaclearts.org/ Read more!

Playing Wii on 1.5-inch TV

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Nintendo Family Tree

I remember those days when I played with my NES or more recently with the Famicom! Now, here is your chance to get a T-shirt with the print of Nintendo Family Tree!

via Nerdy Shirts
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Architectural Gingerbread Houses

It looks familiar?
This gingerbread house is the design of British Architect Will Alsop, who also designed the OCAD addition in Toronto. Check out the other architectural gingerbread houses here.

via The Star
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KKG Playing in Toronto!

KKG = Knock Knock Ginger!
They're one awesome band that started out in Guelph, Ontario. With the success of their first EP album Hurry! comes another just-released EP album Based On A True Story!

Upcoming Shows
December, 6 2006 (Wed) at The Boat 9pm
158 Augusta Ave., Toronto, Ontario
Pitter Patter night w/North of Summer and Mariposa

December, 7 2006 (Thur) at Starlight 8pm
47 King St. N, Waterloo, Ontario
CD Release! w/The D'Urbervilles

via KKG's Website

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Virtual City

The art of street-mapping is evolving rapidly.
From map quest to google map, now there's
a new one in town called Virtual City, which
includes series of panoramic photographs
according to the location you click on the map!
Thanks to Ptmsync for the link!

via Article: Globe and Mail

Virtual City - Toronto
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Earth Tones

Great night we had at the Earth Tones Benefit Concert! Angela, her friend Bonnie, Matt, Cris and I started the evening at a mexican restaurant on Baldwin Street. We had trawberry margaritas, tortillas, enchilatas, garlic shrimps...
Concert at Convocation Hall, University of Toronto was brilliant! A variety of music was performed by a group of very talented med students at UofT. Thanks to Angela for hooking us up with the advanced tickets!

I liked the violin/viola/cello quartet and the funk music!!

Chris Matt and I continued our evening at the Green Room on Bloor for some night snacks "siu yeh" (chicken wings, viet veggie rolls) and beer!


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Happy Birthday Brightday!

May all your wishes come true!
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Earth Tones Benefit Concert

Come out this Saturday evening for some great music and a good cause for disadvantaged children around the world. Earth Tones Benefit Concert is founded by medical students and staff at U of T. "This year's line-up of enviable performances, ranging from a diverse mixture of inspiring solo instrumentalists (strings, woodwinds, fiddle, piano, guitar, etc.) to popular jazz players, vocalists, folk singers, spectacular bands, and lots more."

via University of Toronto
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Reel Asian International Film Festival

What a great night...to be able to watch a Chinese movie in Toronto at a movie theatre (Bloor Cinema). "After This Our Exile 父子" was the opening movie for the tenth annual Reel Asian Internation Film Festival in Toronto tonight. Many thanks to La 天使娜 for hooking me up with a pair of tickets!!!
The film features movie stars from Hong Kong namely Aaron Kwok and Charlie Yeung. The plot is a bit depressing but it leaves you a sense of hope at the end. Applause to the performances of the actors, including the little kid pictured above!
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Crepe a Go Go

Many thanks to Brightday for picking such wonderful Sunday brunch spot Crepe a GoGo at 18 Yorkville Avenue. Along with Appledanish + friends, we went to this lovely place that occupies a small storefront in a new condo building. There is about 20 seats (4 tables / 4 bar stools) and an open kitchen where fresh crepes are made to order.
I tried a savoury crepe named Campagnarde, consists of Mozarella + Tomatoes + Fresh Basil, and a refreshing bottled drink called Limonana, which is a blend of Lemon Juice and Mint!! The place mainly serves quick bite on the go, it was a stretch for them to accommodate a big party we had.

The French accents of the waitresses add to the atmosphere!
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Recent Obssession: NDSL

I have been addicted to this little black machine and it's unstoppable!
- Big Brain Academy
- Brain Age
- Animal Crossing
- Mario Kart
- Super Mario Bros.
- Nintendog
How do I find the time to do other things in life!? Like job-hunting...
I will give you my Friend Codes on request to you, my friend.
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SAW III

Usually I would include the movie poster when I mention about a movie I have watched. There's always exception and this one is it. I do not want to see any visual reminders of this movie.
That's it. Read more!

Open Season

Alex Moss and I went to see this animation about animals and hunting at Rainbow Cinema for a mere $4.25 ea.!! I enjoyed the movie, especially the jokes, as much as the row of kids did sitting right behind me, kicking laughing chatting... It's a Sony-produced movie, not a Pixar, but it's just as good and entertaining! Read more!

Manhattoronto?

via www.newmindspace.com Read more!

Retribution

By Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Japan, 2006, 104 minutes, English Subtitles

"A modern-day ghost story/serial-killer mystery (with) a clever box of tricks that keeps turning the tables on the viewer" - Variety



Chris suggested this movie. I am not a fan for horror movies, but "I am scared" is not really an excuse. So off we went to the Bloor Cinema to participate in After Dark Toronto Film Festival. Honestly I was scared to watch the two short videos that they showed at the beginning than to watch Retribution in its entirety. Retribution has a smart plot with little hints throughout to grab your attention. It's also not without hiliarious moments to see the ghosts with basic special effects or lack thereof. The entire audience (a full house) broke out laughing so hard... and we're watching a "scary" movie. The twists and turns all came down to the unexpected final moment.
I'd recommend Retribution when it comes out in theatres.

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The New Pornographers

A night of food drinks and music, joining AlexJ Hai and Hayley for the New Pornographers concert at the Kool Haus! Being nostalgic of the daiquiris at Dallas BBQ in NYC, we had dinner at Lone Star on Front St. for frozen margaritas and fajitas.

Bands playing at this concert:
Bicycle
Novillero *
Immaculate Machines
The New Pornographers *

* Personal Recommendations

Not just recently do I see an explosion of musical talents from Canada, when I see two personal friends involved in these awesome bands: Knock Knock Ginger and Takenation. So looking forward to future concerts and new albums from these guys! Read more!

Thanksgiving

Beautiful weekend getaway organized by Alex and his family. Matt Chris and I joined them for two days at Carriage Hills Resort. That's the same place where I went skiing with Angela Matt and Timo long time ago, back when we were students!

It was a weekend of hiking, biking, video games, good food, and most importantly good company!!

Matt was driving us Saturday morning, and the first line-up we encountered was not on the highway, but at Tim Hortons. We all tried the Timmy's Breakfast sandwiches, which I would give a 4 out of 5 considering how much I like buttery biscuits and scones.



After 1.5 hours of slow traffic, we arrived at the resort and met with Alex and his sister Alice. The 2BR unit looked so welcoming and warm because Alex and Alice set it up so well, food in the fridge, drinks... Alice fixed all of us lunch at the BBQ. Then Chris Matt and I went hiking on the two short trails.

We spent the evening playing NDS and PS2 - Mario + Winning Eleven.

The next morning after breakfast, we went to rent some bikes for some hill-biking. ;) The paths were very well maintained, so it's nothing like a rough mountainbike path, which turned out to be so much fun!

There were tons of outdoor activities, like Treetop Trekking. It's too bad we didn't get to do it. Definitely next time if we had a chance to go back. It's so nice to be able to just hang out with friends, without worrying about getting home late...!!

BIG thanks to Alex and his family for giving us a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner + weekend!

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at Gladstone Hotel

A book launch event organized by Pages and Penguin for iGeneration was held at the Gladstone last night. As Matthew suggested the event, we went together and had Pho and TsingTao beers for dinner a few doors down from the Hotel beforehand. At the Gladstone Hotel, the main hall was a good size for the event. A bar near the entrance connects to the hall. There was a few rows of square tables set up near the stage, and further from the stage were stackable chairs. With Heineken in our hands, we sat down in anticipation.

After the author's little struggle with his tiny macbook pro and PDF files, the presentation turned into a long Q&A session intercepted by a few readings and a few awesome animations from the
s u p e r b r o t h e r s.

All in all it was a good experience to see the current scenes in the city and What Torontonians are up to at the moment.
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATTHEW!

Thanks for all the street directions that you've given us...among other things.
Best wishes!

image source: www.imagebank.com
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY JASON!

YOU WON'T BE THE LAST ONE!
MAY ALL YOUR WISHES COME TRUE!

image source: www.imagebank.com Read more!

a very long night

It was an incredible 9-hour walk in downtown from 8:30pm to 5:30am at Toronto's first Nuit Blanche event. An all-nighter that I haven't done since my school days. There was such an incredible vibe as we navigated through the streets to check out some of the many art installations.


Wishing Tree - One Garden One Night One Wish


Fog In Toronto


Ballroom Dancing

As I recalled my first Nuit Blanche experience in Rome - La Notte Bianca 2003, in comparison, although Rome's density and atmosphere is very different; the experience in Toronto's Nuit Blanche was just as incredible if not more. In a city where things are as spread out, and architecture is as typical as many cities, Toronto managed to carry out such event and brought in such a big crowd of people. That's incredible! Toronto, there has got to be another one and more to come! Read more!

Nuit Blanche

a free all-night contemporary art thing
september 30, 2006 7:01pm to sunrise
Nuit Blanche

more links // TheStar.com // Livewithculture.ca // EyeWeekly

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Congratulations!

another Big congratulation goes to Chlo~ for her visionary take on the Gardiner Expressway!
As the brits would say, it's brill~! Read more!

All Over T.O.

Walking is a lot of fun in the city!
Since Mike's visiting, I made the decision to drag him out not once but twice to walk all over Toronto.

Day #1 - Tue 19th
- Lunch with Matthew at Ema Tei on St. Patrick's St.
- Tour of University of Toronto St. George's Campus
- Down Spadina to Harbourfront/Queen's Quay + Tim Horton's
- Financial District
- Eaton's Centre

Day #2 - Thu 21st
- On Bloor West from Bathurst to Ossington: Annex
- Honest Ed's Store
- Korean Town
- Lunch at Kalendar in Little Italy on College St. (Salmon Quiche + Salad)
- Down Ossington Ave to Queen West West
- Along Queen to Eaton's Centre + Baskin Robin's Read more!

Congratulations!

a Big one goes to Katrina for her fantastic thesis and defence!
You did such a great job as always!
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Happy Birthday Patrick!

May all your wishes come true!

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Happy Birthday Big Eye Gal!

Have the best time in HK
even on a school budget!
Best Wishes!
Happy Belated Birthday!
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Brunch #2

Sunday Brunch at Leslie Jones on Queen Street East with my buddies Matt Timo and Iris! Not as planned, Matt and Timo stumpled upon this great place after trying to find Toast On Queen at the wrong address, which I gave them. For a VERY light brunch, on the menu were quiche + fruits/or/greens, open-sandwiches on pitas and pasta. The place reminded me so much of the apartment I rented with Gb and Hermie in Brooklyn. (Long narrow space, large windows on each end, brick walls)

To help digest the light brunch we took a long walk to The Beaches area. We came across a nice Husky in a front porch, many junk-collectors shops, Avondale Retirement Homes...etc until we reached the Beaches strip. (Timo...we'll get ice-creams next time we're there, since we regretted not getting it.)

Back to the heart of T. Shopping in Eaton's Centre proved a bit draining so we decided to get BBQ Pork on Rice, but sadly the place we went didn't serve BBQs on Sundays so we ordered fried rice, chiu-chow vermicelli and general tao chicken for our afternoon tea at 4:00pm.

Eating continued for dinner at a Shanghai place in Scarborough where they served yummy Bok Choi and Pork dumplings. Interestingly they also served Korean food. To top it all off, at Alex's his mom offered generous servings of sweet soup with papaya!!!! Thank you!!

Queen Street East is lined with many great-looking restaurants - it is definitely getting on the Toronto map. Next spot: Verveine
Anyone?

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Brunch #1

...since I got back from HK. So great to see many classmates at one seating. We basically had the entire restaurant (Gypsy Co-op) all to ourselves - that's 17 of us in total!
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FINAL WEEK in HK #2

AUGUST 24

Having missed the dinner with my old friends in hk because of some family plan, I wouldn't pass the chance to meet with them for drinks! One Peking Road became the spot for the evening because dinenr plan was set on level six at "Chao Inn" and the drinking spot Aqua, suggested by big eye gal, was located on the mezzanine of level 29 atop One Peking Road (so technically it's level 30). I've been to Chao Inn on level 6 for dimsum and so I already guessed the view it would offer on the top floor.



HK Cityscape as background


Cityscape of the Hong Kong Island as seen from Kowloon is amazing especially at night-time! The seatings are oriented to provide the perfect view to Victoria Harbour and I must say it's the best place to go for the view. (And I also must say, drinks are nothing to write home about, seriously!)

Champagne

My long time friends Patrick Max Shing Sam and big eye gal were there for the fun and bubbly evening! On our table we got a bottle of Champagne (from Ah Shing: French is more bubbly ;), aqua queen (fruit juices?), vodka limes, gin tonics, and iced water, which all tasted watery except the Champagne!

Thanks to you all for a great evening!!!!!!
And BIGGEST thanks to Sam because you took care of the tap!!!!!!

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HKG -> YYZ

Departure: HKG 15:15
Arrival: YYZ 18:30


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FINAL WEEK in HK #1 - HKU

Graduate House, HKU

Extremely thrilled to accompany big eye gal to Hong Kong University otherwise I wouldn't have an excuse to come to this part of the city. Mini-bus ride from Mongkok to HKU took less than 15 minutes on this speedy(-ing) minibus and weren't we glad we made it to the East Gate without getting sick!

We managed to explore quite a number of buildings as we walked towards the Graduate House up on the hill. Passing through various buildings and places of interests including the Lotus Pond and Sun Yat Sen Plaza.




Lotus Pond at HKU


The best part of course is the student food court. With selections better than any fast-food chains in the city, this student food court serves Chinese, Western and International cuisines completely with an extensive list of desserts!!! The cheapest meal on the menu was the Chicken+Potato with rice that costd HK$10!!!!


Maison Martin Margiela
On Lan Street, Central


After lunch we decided to explore Central so a short mini-bus ride took us close to the nightlife capital of Hong Kong: Lang Kwai Fong (LKF). During the day there wasn't much to expect but at night it became the liveliest spot in town. We continued our window shopping, first stop at the recently opened MMM and we made our way along Des Voeux Road to BAPE, Harvey Nichols for some window shopping!
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Small World

In my final week of vacation in HK, it's purely coincidental to see KK and big eye gal in TST while I was doing my final shopping. I was stuttered without words when I saw big eye gal at LCX this afternoon - simply overjoyed to see familiar faces amongst the crowds on the weekend. Shortly afterward, we arranged to meet up and spent the rest of the evening together, having lots of fun.

With lots of places to show the big eye gal in mind, we explored most of TsimShaTsui in a very quick "tour" - Harbour City, Citygate, Nathan Road, Myranma...shopping heavens. Basically KK and I were dragging big eye gal along even though she was still in jetlag. Then we're off to enjoy yummy vermicelli at 譚仔雲南米線 in Jordan. Plan was to meet with the rest of the group in Lang Kwai Fong in Central. So we decided to bus to the Star Ferry Terminal and took the ferry to Wanchai and met up with ludis at Sogo in Causeway Bay.

Di Vino
73 Wyndham St.

A ride on the tram to Central costs $2 and we arrived in Central on our way to Di Vino. There, with KP, MC, and Johnson, (All studied at Haig!) the seven of us did some catching up over two bottles of wine - White: Veneto Pinot Grigio and Red: Cygnus (Tasca d'Almerita) both from Italy. Big eye gal also tried their Bellini which was made from fresh peach puree. Before we knew it, it's time to call it a night because of the non-24hr subway system. But there's always next time, right? Btw, thanks to MC for picking this wine bar! Especially impressed by their extensive wine list, it was a wonderful evening!
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Final Week in HK

When I am scheduled to fly home one week from today, I need to figure out what I can squeeze into it.
Suggestions are always welcomed! Read more!

Happy Birthday Billy!

Have an awesome trip in San Diego! Read more!

Lantau Island

Lantau Island is the largest island in Hong Kong, where you can find The Chek Lap Kok International Airport, Hong Kong Disneyland, Tian Tan Buddha and Tai O etc. My daytrip destinations were the Tian Tan Buddha and Tai O. Lantau Island used to be accessible only by ferry. Along with the construction of the airport came the Tung Chung MTR subway line, connecting the island to Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. From Tung Chung, we took a 1.5hr bus ride and crossed over a few mountains to reach the Giant Buddha at Ngong Ping. (A new cable car service will be in operation this year - Ngong Ping 360 that connects Tung Chung to Ngong Ping)


Tian Tan Buddha


For lunch we had an awesome vegetarian meal in the Po Lin Monastary. After climbing 268 steps to reach the Buddha, under its shadow we took in the breathtaking 360 view of the surrounding, including the Po Lin Monastary and Shek Pik Reservoir.


Tai O - a fishing village


A 10-min bus ride from the Giant Buddha we reached Tai O, aka "Venice of Hong Kong" for the houses in this fishing village are built on stilts along the small river. The most memorable about Tai O is the little "ferry" that used to take people across the river. The 30-sec trip costed 30 cents! Unfortunately the ferry service was replaced by an ugly steel bridge and this "Tai O" experience is documented in books and photographs.


Well-known dimsum in Tai O - 茶果 "Cha Gwoh"
Glutinous rice ball with peanut/sesame filling



Local Specialty - Sun-dried Seafood


Being my very first visit to Tian Tan Buddha the day trip was another memorable experience. From a relatively rural setting Lantau Island has been very well developed with many great infrastructure and facilities. With the touristy addition of Ngong Ping market and cable car, the setting of the Monastary and the Buddha remain very peaceful and serene. My last visit to Tai O dated more than ten years ago, even after the fire in 2000, it is still a very attractive daytripping destination that lives up to its many nicknames - "Venice of HK", "Village on Stilts".


Tian Tan Buddha on Wikipedia
Tai O on Wikipedia

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Happy Birthday Rita!

Do you know?
You're very special to our family.
You always bring laughters
to everybody around you
I am so proud to be your brother!
May your wishes come true!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY and SMILE ALWAYS!
XXXXX
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Happy Birthday Iris!

All the Best Wishes!
You're still a smart 20'mething! haha Read more!

Guangzhou

Covered Walkway at Chen Jia Ci 陳家祠
Ancestral Temple of the Chen Family

Excavated Pavements from Song and Ching
Dynasties on Beijing Road 北京路 which is
now the major shopping street in Guangzhou

Wikipeida on Guangzhou
Google Map Guangzhou
My Guangzhou Photo Album

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Happy Birthday Vivienne!

V~ Watch the video!
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Long Time No See

Jan Lam and Eric Kot of Hong Kong group
"Soft Hard" perform during their
"Long Time No See" concert in Hong Kong

Still exhausted and overjoyed from seeing the Soft Hard Concert this evening (Friday), I got home and started packing right away for a weekend trip to Guangzhou, the largest city in Southern China. We'll take the train bright and early in the morning, which takes a little over one hour. Until Monday, I will post some updates! Wish you all a very good weekend! (The excitement from the concert is keeping me awake at this hour!)

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CheungChau (LongIsland)

Fishing Boats wait in the boat shelter
for end of suspension of fishing period

Day trip to a nearby island Cheung Chau (meaning Long Island).
A 60-min ferry ride from Central takes you to this popular daytripper and sightseeing destination; especially for city dwellers to get away for some fresh air, sunshine, and of course beaches.

Typical residential street

A leisurely walk lets you slow down your pace to experience this little "town". City life is left behind you when you walk through the narrow streets between some three to four-storey low-rises, selling fresh seafood, fruits, snacks, hats, and souvenirs etc.

Of course I took the chance to experience the island on the bike. There isn't a lot of distance to cover, most of the island is only accessible on foot. The "path" takes you from one end of the island to the other side in less than half an hour if you ride fast.

Pak Tai Temple

One of the most remarkable temple I have seen in Hong Kong is this recently renovated Pak Tai Temple with detailed carvings. It is also the location for the Cheung Chau Bun Festival (usually in April or May). "The festival features huge towers covered with buns erected in front of the Pak Tai Temple and a street procession in which costumed children appear to float above the crowds, supported by hidden rods and wires." - DiscoverHongKong

To the neighbouring islands

I can't tell how long it has been since my last visit. Cheung Chau has always been a part of my childhood memory. This visit just informs me that daytripping to the islands is still as fun as I remembered!

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SoftHard X Hello Kitty X McDonald's

SoftHard @ McDonald's in Causeway Bay

Hello Kitty @ McDonald's, Causeway Bay

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Wan Chai 灣仔

Deserted Lee Tung Street (aka Wedding Card Street)

Spending an afternoon in Wan Chai allowed me to see another part of the city that is in decay. In the ever-expanding city, aging neighbourhoods are always seen as hindrance to new developments. When many parts of the city become homegenous in characteristics, however, the elements that define a neighbourhood become most important in making great cities.

Mailboxes - existing and missing

Wan Chai is one of the oldest area since the development of Hong Kong and it is under an urban renewal scheme to redevelop this aging neighbourhood. What is being demolished is the humanistic scale and density; the replacements are high-density commercial and residential developments.

My Wanchai Photo Album
Wanchai in Wikipedia

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