But these tarts were not just any tarts. These were AMAZING egg tarts. I've never had egg tarts this good ever. The crust was so light and flaky and the tops had been broiled so there was a light burnt sugar coating. Absolutely delicious. They put all the egg tarts I've ever eaten to shame.
And apparently they are world famous, flown in from Macau and only available in Hong Kong at the hotel I am staying in! I am trying to figure out how I can bring some home to Robert.
After the such a delicious start, my visit at the school seemed to pass sweetly. Even though I usually fear presenting to grades 6-8, today's presentation to the 7th graders seemed to go pretty smoothly. Before I knew it, school was out and it was time to explore Central Hong Kong where I got a better view of:
The famous Bank of China, designed by I.M. Pei. This eye-catching skyscraper is actually pretty disliked by many native Hong Kong--because it gives out BAD feng shui. The many angles cut the good luck and the reflective surfaces reflect all the bad luck out into the public. Unlike this building:
the HSBC designed by Norman Foster. Apparently this building has the best feng shui of the city--but more to do with the location than the design. But this building is well liked because the structure can move--the entire floors of the building can be shifted up or down. And see those bridge like things? If the building catches on fire or a disaster happens inside, people can stand on those. Not very comfortably--I think it's single file-- but with the idea that it would be someplace for them to escape to while they wait for help.
And just a couple miles away, in great contrast to these ultra-modern buildings is:
the Man Mo Temple. I'm not sure how old it is but I know parts of it date to the 1800's. This temple mixes Taoism and Buddhism and is beautiful in its ancient mystery.
See the coils? Those are incense coils. The whole place was filled with incense smoke--which while adds the the visual beauty made it very difficult to spend a long time there. I wasn't able to really see the things I wanted because, well, I couldn't breathe. Also, I had to rush to do this:
Yep, be on TV! I was on a Hong Kong TV show called "What's Up after 8?"; one of the few English language chat shows, as well as on a cross-media interactive TV channel (people can e-mail the show live as well as watch it via the internet). It was VERY last minute...and I think I smelled of incense.