July 13th, :)

So... today I woke up at 6:30 to hear my parents getting ready to leave for Mass (they were putting their shoes on). I was barely conscious but heard my mom say, "Happy birthday." Since I was barely lucid, I hadn't remembered. So hearing this made me remember, haha.
Anyways, I went back to sleep after this event and got up at 7 to finish blogging (since I fell asleep doing it in the early morning). And then I went back to bed. But I couldn't fall asleep, so I just waited until my mom got back from Mass. She returned at about 8, so I got up then and ate, brushed my teeth, changed, etc.
And then it was off to the immigration center in Wan Chai because I have to get my new HK Identity Card (you need to get one at the age of 11, and then you need to renew your thingy with a new card when you're 18). So I went there and spent about an hour there, most of which was spent waiting in line, thankyouverymuch.

When the ordeal was over, my mom and I had some time to spare. So we went to Tai Yuen Street (玩具街; "Toy Street") for some open-air shopping for neat little trinkets and clothes. Since we were short on time, I decided to hit up clothes this time and come back later for souveniers.
After an unsuccessful half-hour, my mom and I went to Sogo to meet Fong, Hei Hei, Aunt K, and LilBro (who was staying at Aunt K's, remember?) for lunch. So we waited for a bit... and had to find out where they were because we definitely didn't see them. And it turns out that LilBro led the whole group (Hei Hei went to Tsing Yi to meet up with Aunt, LilBro, and Fong because the latter two stayed at her place) to a place that was oh... (how to put this?) not Sogo.
After that mini fiasco, we went to the restaurant where I ate with Dad and his coworkers (for that lunch way back when), and Vivian and Dad met us there soon afterwards. (Dad won the award for being latest to arrive, though we didn't tell him where we were until we were actually seated in all fairness. So considering that it took him less than ten minutes after getting a call, I think he did pretty well.)
We ate a yummy lunch. Here are the special/rare/not ordinary dishes:
@ Salt-cooked chicken. The chicken is marinated with only salt (no water, even!) and then steamed.
@ Stuffed tofu. A hole is made in the tofu, and meat is placed into the empty space. Yay.
@ Mushrooms in crab sauce. Straw mushrooms (草菇; "grass mushroom") are made in a sauce with crab meat and egg white.
@ Taro-fried duck. Duck is wrapped in taro and deep-fried.
@ Fried mantou. Mantou are deep-fried and then (traditionally) dipped in sweetened condensed milk (by the eater).

Everything was delicious, but I ate a ton (as per usual, I helped to finish everything because I hate seeing wasted food). So I was glad to go to Stanley (赤柱), which is a major tourist area (and a residential area for rich people). It's very pretty because it's right by the water, but it's cleaner and prettier than most of Hong Kong. There are a few beaches here (though there are nets because of shark attacks of the past), and there's a spot of pretty sight-seeing and shopping (open-air and strikingly similar to "Toy Street"). We walked around for a while and did some shopping/browsing. (I bought a bag, and they were asking me how much it cost. But I always get very snappy with this kind of conversation because it usually involves criticism or money-shoving. But I didn't want anyone to be like, "Take this money. Think of it as a gift from me now." So I was like, "None of your business. I neither want nor need a birthday gift. Being here is enough for me.") And then we all got some cold drinks at a French cafe that served pastries 'n such (my iced matcha with wheat germ was really yummy) before deciding to chill out at Taste, which is a Western-friendly and higher-class branch of the Park 'n Shop family. (OMIGOSH, it was sunny. I felt like I was burning the whole time because I hadn't brought a hat to wear.) It was nice to cool down in the A/C, but going out of the store afterwards was a bit killer. So we went to McDonald's to relax in the cool air and to drink some stuff (and to try some of the purchases we made at Taste -- the Portuguese tart, in particular). We ended up spending at least one and a half hours in the fast food restaurant, just eating and talking. (I did not partake in the eating of McDonald's food because I am vehemently against eating fast food. Who knows what chemicals and weirdness he or she consumes?)

Then we left for Wan Chai for dinner. My dad and Vivian, who had both left respectively after lunch (my dad went back to work, and Vivian went home to do stuff because she took today off as a vacation day... meaning that Aunt K, Fong, Hei Hei, Mom, LilBro, and I were the ones who went to Stanley), also came for dinner. (Once again, Dad was the latest.)
The specials of the meal were:
@ Peking Duck. A duck is cooked, and the crispy top layer is cut into thin slices (which means that the "duck" part is usually just skin and fat). The duck filling is then placed in a thin wrapper with some vegetable, scallions, and sauce before being wrapped and eaten. This is an interactive dish, by the way -- the wrappers, duck filling, vegetables, and condiments are provided, but you must make it yourself.
@ Lobster in egg noodles. Lobster is cooked with sauce and placed on a bed of egg noodles (伊麵, "yee mien").
@ Duck with bean sprouts. As per usual, the duck that was used to make Peking Duck is not wasted. So you get to tell the people how you would enjoy the meat. We ordered the meat to be prepared with bean sprouts, red peppers, and shiitake mushrooms.
@ Egg with bitter melon and fish paste. This was basically an omelet with the ingredients I listed.
@ Bean curd. The bean curd was cooked and sliced, and then garlic was placed on it.
@ Bean curd with fish "brisket". Bean curd was cooked with deep-fried meat taken from the body of the fish (there was neither head nor tail in this dish).
@ (Dessert) Steamed sponge cake. This is 馬拉糕 ("ma lai gou"), which is a steamed sponge cake made of lots of egg yolk. It is usually sweetened with molasses. The one we ordered had some "milk yolk" (奶黃), which is a sweet yellow paste usually made from coconut milk, egg yolk, and sugar.
@ (Dessert) Small pearl tapioca in a taro dessert. It's a liquid dessert with taro chunks, coconut milk, and small pearl tapioca.

It was an excellent meal -- very tasty. It was honestly all very delectable... although some dishes were way too oily to enjoy fully. Oh well. I still ate happily, for the most part (except for the end, where I had to help finish everything because I hate to waste food).
After dinner, we went to my dad's workplace to use the bathrooms (clean toilets!) before heading to The Peak. Some people were seeing the office for the first time and were therefore very amazed, but I was taking pictures of the city through the glass window.
We finally finished and were starting to walk in the general direction of the tram to The Peak until we realized that it was a little late for Peak-ing... So we all decided to head our separate ways and find another day for going to The Peak. (We've been pressuring Fong to postpone his return to Macau. The poor thing can't say otherwise with so many people pressuring.)

And so my parents and brother went back home while I went to Sogo to check something out (which they had in June). But they don't have it anymore, sadface. So instead, I went home and took a well-deserved shower (after so much sweating, I can only say that it was a very nice birthday present).

Anyways, I really have to get some sleep. Love, etc.

July 14
2:45 AM