Mong Kok (one more time!)

Saturday I went along with friends to Mong Kok. Since I've already taken hundreds of pictures there, most of these photographs will be of our food. So if you're hungry, maybe eat something and then come back.

The Korean restaurant probably wasn't the best around (I'm probably as Korean as the waiters were) and we weren't even with our Korean friends. But--it was still fun because I'd never gotten to grill food at a table before.

The top left plate contained really tasty cucumbers which I made sure we polished off.
The lower left plate contained kimchi, or a cabbage concoction posing as such. I don't think I would've been able to eat real kimchi without gulping half a glass of water after the first bite. With this "kimchi" I only needed to nibble some rice to cool my mouth.
And no, I don't know about those tan slabs.


Our food, looking all nice and bloody.




Here's what happens when we forget to pour on some oil before cooking.


Our meals came with dessert, which no one liked except me (and even I didn't like them enough to finish). Whatever this was, it contained egg and reminded me of...I don't know. And well, I suppose it did taste a bit watery.


The jelly cubes had the same consistency as that jello-ed tea I tried on Lantau Island (Giant Buddha) but minus the nasty flavor. Actually, the cubes had no flavor at all, but the liquid stuff around them vaguely reminded me of coffee.

Next we wandered the markets. We were with a Cantonese speaking friend, so whenever our gift-shopping friend (I, alas, found nothing I wanted to buy anyone in Mong Kok) wanted something he'd point it out to and quickly hide in the next stall while she haggled for a price anyone foreign-looking could never achieve.

Then we wanted real dessert. I know you know what a mango smoothie looks like, but I loved that I could poke the straw anywhere I wanted on the lid.
I just realized I chose the exact center...lame.

Next we went to an arcade so a couple of friends could play DDR. The arcade seemed like any other, except you could use ordinary $1 coins instead of having to purchase tokens, and you had to put down a deposit to receive the key to the restroom. At first we thought we needed to pay, so it was nice to learn we'd get the money back. Still...why would I steal a bathroom key?

I alternated between watching my friends play DDR and watching the locals play this drumming game.
= Guitar Hero - (rock 'n' roll) - (guitar) + (smiling animals) + (drum)

I love these purple signs. Seriously. Every city needs them. The signs for hourly hotels, however...they kind of creep me out.

Next we walked through another market and the clothing stores beside it. I saw a cat sitting in a display of fruit, but it moved before I could take a picture. One of my friends bought a coconut, and I tried some of the milk--yum yum. The lady whacked at the coconut with some kind of knife and then stuck a straw through the hole. It looked very tropical-island-ish. The stores contained a strange assortment of clothes. Some winter coats made out of cheap, plasticy material, a fur vest made from a slaughtered stuffed-animal, circus sweaters...and then a whole bunch of ordinary stuff mixed in. One of the stores contained a bin full of IKEA fleece blankets--that was odd. Another sold only black clothes and to enter you first needed to walk in between two rows of mannequins. If they'd been wearing armor and brandishing swords they wouldn't have looked more intimidating.

We went to Pizza Hut for dinner. It...was...ridiculous. I've never seen a more stuck-up pizzeria. Only it wasn't a pizzeria, it was a full-blown restaurant with a dessert menu.

Countryside: chicken, pork, mushroom & corn
American Adventure: pepperoni, corn & beef
Not Pictured:
Canadian Sunshine: bacon, corn & pepperoni
Tokyo Temptation: beef, crab sticks, corn mushrooms & pepperoni
Farmhouse Deluxe: chicken, crab sticks, mushrooms & pineapple
Fisherman's Favourite: tuna fish, crab sticks, pineapple, onion & green peppers
Italian Delight: chicken, ham, Italian sausage, mushrooms & pineapple

Since I still had my camera with me when I returned, I photographed the mystery message.
The characters after 505 mean apostrophe "s," as in "505's Angel"--that's me.
"Good something something something ... ! ... something something something... I something something :)"