Goat Head - Anyone?

We have been very busy the last several months with special projects from the Area Presidency. Much of what we do is behind the scene work that is non-publishable material.  Exciting work, with sometimes long hours and inspiring content. But non-publishable just the same.  :)  At least for now.

So while you are waiting for the next exciting publishable post, we thought we'd share about some of the delicious, and not so delicious, foods that we encounter here on our mission.  

I'm amazed at the gorgeous array of color, smells, and variety of fruits and vegetables at the open markets. 









Mangosteins are some of my absolute favorite fruits here.  A semi-hard thick shell with succulent, whitish translucent segments inside.










The sugar apple was not so much of a favorite - but worth trying.... once.




















But the bakeries are full of wonderful smells every morning - filling the air with sweet aromas as people fill the streets on their way to work, grabbing something quick in lieu of making breakfast at home.






A Hong Kong tradition - egg tarts.  They look like mini lemon pies, but they are filled with an egg custard that is only very slightly sweet.  They are delicious!

Photo courtesy of Glen Waverly/Flickr.com

On your way home for dinner, you can pick up some rotisserie duck or Shanghai-style steamed chicken.

Or seafood - lots of that here. Fresh in the open markets, or in little cuttlefish balls which are sold everywhere, or the ever popular octopus legs - shown below on wooden skewers.

A common attraction at open markets are the heads and other body parts of the freshly butchered animals.  Besides being for sale, it helps buyers see how fresh the meat still is. Goat head - anyone?

But for us, our all time favorite remains dumplings, steamed in

 bamboo baskets and sold everywhere.

And finally, when we get tired of all the excitement, we resort to one of our favorite Western restaurants  - for a safe Italian dinner at Al Dentes. Here we celebrated our 38th wedding anniversary.  What a joy to be serving a mission with the best companion in the world!