Ramadan Mubarak

Ramadan is the ninth month in the Islamic calendar. This year it happens to coincide with the month of August. Worldwide, there are about 1.5 billion Muslims. To most non-Muslims, Ramadan means a whole month of rigorous fasting. Looking at this year’s schedule on the Islamic Union of Hong Kong website, fasting starts before 5 am and lasts till about 7 pm each day for a whole month. Fasting fosters empathy for less fortunate people and encourages generosity. However, Ramadan is not just about fasting but also a time for contemplation, prayer, the giving of alms and self-discipline.

Each day, fasting ends in a celebratory breaking-of-fast meal which is a time of fellowship with family, friends and the community.

Ramadan ends in a celebration, the Eid ul-Fitr (Aidil Fitri, in Malaysia), the exact day of which depends on the sighting of the moon – so Ramadan could either be 29 or 30 days.

In Hong Kong, Eid ul-Fitr is not a public holiday nor is it widely celebrated by the general community. According to the US Department of State (2009) there are 250,000 Muslims in Hong Kong.

To my fellow Hong Kongers who are Muslims, Ramadan Mubarak! And to my friends in Malaysia, Selamat Hari Raya!

For those of you who wish to send Ramadan greetings to your Muslim friends, click here.

Inspiration Lake (迪欣湖)

Wondering where to go this weekend? Well, I highly recommend a little known treasure in Hong Kong – Inspiration Lake Recreation Centre (迪欣湖活動中心) located in Penny’s Bay, Lantau Island.

The entire Recreation Centre covers an area of approximately 30 hectares, with a 12 hectare man-made lake as a central feature. It is very well managed by the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort – clean, safe and well maintained. Another good thing is – no entrance fee.

Where else can you get such clean fresh air and be away from the crowds on a weekend without having to trek for miles whilst still being close to creature comforts? Quite remarkable for a park in Hong Kong – the absence of 6 million signs stating what you cannot do. It is quite a pleasure to be able to walk on lawn and we even brought a ball to kick around.

Here are some pictures from my trip last weekend.



It was a warm day so my family and I decided to skip the boating this time. The bikes are covered as you can see, so it was a rather “civilized” hour of fun in the sun. You can bring your own bikes but the sun-cover on the Surrey Bikes ($120 an hour for 4 people) is well worth considering during summer.



Facilities: Cycling, boating, walking trails, grassed areas, benches, a convenience store, undercover seating area with tables, toilets and paid car parking. For lunch, you could bring a picnic basket, opt for a quick meal from the convenience store or dine more leisurely at the restaurants at either of the Disney hotels.

We drove there and parked for $25 an hour but it is quite accessible by public transport.

How to get there by public transport: walk, take a bus or taxi from the Disneyland Resort MTR station.

SPOT THE HIDDEN MICKEY

Cool Wall Lamp

Here are two photos of a great wall lamp/table lamp idea. I love it - the elegance of a table lamp without the clutter it creates on a table. Also, light comes from the right height (don't you find that a table lamp is always too close to your face?).

Quick and easy

We were doing a bit of reminiscing last night and my son reminded me of his childhood favorite treat - honey crunchies. It was a must-have at all his birthday parties and his friends used to ask me to make them for their birthdays too. These are very easy to make and keep well, a good recipe to make together with children who want to try their hands at cooking. Honey crunchies are also good for school bake sales as they travel well in the school bus. Dare I say, they are quite healthy compared to store bought sweets – at least, they are additives-free. I took this opportunity to try out my new silicone muffin pans. My verdict? They are great as they stack up into a compact pile when not in use – great space saver in the cupboard PLUS you can fit more into the oven if you place them on a large baking tray. I think I am ready to get rid of my metal patty pans………

Honey Crunchies

Ingredients
3 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp honey
4 cups cornflakes

Preheat oven to 170 C (or 160C if it’s a fan forced oven)

Method

1. Line cupcake or muffin pans with paper patty cases.
   
   
2. Place cornflakes in a bowl.
   
   
3. In a small saucepan, melt butter, sugar and honey over low heat. Make sure the sugar is completely dissolved but be careful not to boil the mixture. (This step can be done in a microwave oven.)
   
   
4. Cool slightly then pour the melted mixture over the cornflakes. Toss lightly to mix well.
   
   
5. Fill paper patty cases with the mixture and bake for 10-12 minutes.
   
   
6. The honey crackles will still be sticky when you remove them from the oven. They will crisp as they cool. When completely cool, store in an airtight container.

Makes about 12

Your turn

My friends found the jokes in yesterday’s posting funny, so I thought I’d add this for the benefit of the 30% of people who fall into the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department’s “never married” category:

HOW TO STOP PEOPLE FROM BUGGING YOU ABOUT GETTING MARRIED

Old aunts used to come up to me at weddings, poking me in the ribs and cackling, telling me, "You're next."
They stopped after I started doing the same thing to them at funerals.

All in good time……………Thank God It’s Friday.

Census

With the census occurring at the moment, I thought I’d have a look at some data compiled by the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department after the previous census in 2001.One thing that caught my eye was the data on demographic characteristics:

Census Year	1991	1996	2001
Median Age	31	34	36
Sex Ratio (males per 1000 females)	1,038	1,000	960

Proportion of never-married population
Female	29%	28.9%	30.1%
Male	36.5%	34.2%	33.9%

It seems that between 1991 and 2001, the median age of the Hong Kong population had gotten older. This was attributed to 2 causes. The number and proportion of population below 15 years of age had fallen markedly, reflecting the sustained drop in fertility rates. At the same time, people are living longer as evidenced by the increase in the proportion of people over 65 years.

Of interest is the proportion of male to female in the population - this had fallen markedly………are men dying much younger than women? Do we have the reverse problem to mainland China? Are there more female babies being born? No, in fact,the proportion of females increased due to the influx of female foreign domestic helpers and mainland wives.

Another interesting statistic is the proportion of never married people. Did you ever realize it is so significant? Whilst there are articles on the Department’s website discussing gender imbalance and marriage prospects, there does not seem to be any explanation put forward as to why this is the case.

I will be very interested in seeing the outcome of this year’s census.


Meanwhile, a few words of wisdom:


MARRIAGE
A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.
A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.
A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend.
A successful woman is one who can find such a man.

LONGEVITY
Married men live longer than single men do, but married men are a lot more willing to die.

Hello…..

Here is a photograph of a most cute Hello Kitty floral arrangement I came across in a shop at an MTR station. I couldn’t resist taking a sneak pic of it to share with you:

Isn’t it clever? Enjoy!

Mango sorbet

We are having roast chicken and mashed potato for dinner tonight. Not the most obvious choice for a warm summer evening but with the air conditioner on, we can pretend that it is actually quite a pleasant day. Besides, I have made us some mango sorbet so all is sweet. Here's my recipe for an easy to make and entirely refreshing mango sorbet.

MANGO SORBET
INGREDIENTS
550 gm mango flesh (about one large 800 gm mango)
100 gm caster sugar
160 ml water
Juice of half a lemon (more if you like a bit of tang)

Pre frozen ice cream maker.
Makes about 1 liter.

METHOD

1. Boil water and sugar to dissolve sugar.
   
   
2. Leave to cool and place in a freezer until ice starts to form around the edges.
   
   
3. Peel mango and dice the flesh. Place in the freezer while waiting for the syrup to be ready.
   
   
4. Blend mango, lemon juice and cold sugar syrup until smooth.
   
   
5. Prepare sorbet in the ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.
   
   
6. If you do not have an ice cream maker, you could place the blended mixture in the freezer until almost frozen. Then blend it once again to get a smooth, melt in your mouth sorbet. Freeze again.


Enjoy!

Serving suggestions:





1. Place a scoop of mango sorbet in a dessert dish with diced fresh mango. Add a tiny mint leaf.
   
   
2. Top a scoop of mango sorbet with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on a cone.