Shanghai Street

Today I had very little to do to prepare for our big move to the UK.  I decided to go to one of the places in Hong Kong that I discovered recently and always enjoy to get some pictures: Shanghai Street in Yau Ma Tei, which is just filled with all kinds of kitchen equipment for home and businesses.

I didn't technically discover it on my own but I have known about this street since we moved to Hong Kong three years ago.  I just never got around to visiting it.  Occasionally I would pass it in a bus or someone would mention it, but still I never went.  It was sort of like a foreign country, if I remembered it existed I really wanted to go, but usually when I had free time I had already forgotten I wanted to visit.

While my mother was here we did visit mainly because she and my father run a BBQ restaurant in Tennessee and she wanted to see the street filled with kitchen supplies.  I love kitchen supplies and to some degree I am glad I had not visited Shanghai Street earlier - I would have bought everything!

Bamboo baskets for steaming dumplings and buns.

Cats in the Cake shop 

Clay pots in all shapes and sizes, plus you can get your uniforms here too!

Because every shop in HK needs an Alter, there is an Alter Shop!

Cleavers, Cleavers - get your Cleavers here!
I totally want one of these but my husband says I will chop my hands off.

General kitchen supplies
Look at the size of those pots!

Woks of all sizes

I love cake too

More woks, but hanging this time.
By the way - the smallest Wok here is still too big for a home kitchen
The largest one is really massive!

Cutting boards - more like cutting tree stumps.

And lastly - today I went shopping at the Ladies Market in Mong Kok.  It was fun and I will miss some aspects of haggling and wandering down small allies in search of treasure.  All in all, though, I miss shopping in England and the US mainly because the clothing fits me!

If I have any more time before we leave I plan on putting some more pictures of general life in Hong Kong on here as well.  

All photos (except the first one of Shanghai St sign) copyright Me 2013.

Vietnam and Yarn

My husband and I are moving back to England soon.  As a last minute trip while my sister was here we three went to Vietnam to enjoy Asia a last time before we leave.  When we first moved to Hong Kong three years ago we went to Vietnam with a friend and it was great.  We took ten days and went from Hanoi to Ho Chi Min city mostly using trains and stopping in Halong Bay, Hue, Hoi An and Na Trang.  That was a great trip and made me fall in love with Vietnam.

This time was just as good.  We got to spend a full day in Hanoi visiting the Temple of Literature, Ho CHi Min's tomb and wandering around the old town area - which we didn't get a chance to do three years ago.  While wandering around we came across the yarn street, and of course I had to stop and have a look.  Since we are moving I have tried to stop acquiring more yarn, but I had to take pictures.

Dinh Liet- yarn street

Yarn Store

Temple of Literature

 After Hanoi we went to Bac Ha and Sa Pa in the mountains north of Hanoi.  It was a long journey but well worth it since we got to Bac Ha in time for the Sunday Market.  And again I managed to find the only stall the sold yarn!  Because of the beautiful colours here I had to buy some, who could resist.  Not sure what I am going to do with it, but it was just such lovely colours.

In Sa Pa we managed to spend a night in a lovely and warm hotel but basically it was a bit of a waste since it was so foggy.  Anyone who tells you there isn't a low season in northern Vietnam is lying.  There is, it is the winter.  It was so foggy we couldn't even see across the street.  Since Bac Ha was worth trekking to the disappointment of Sa Pa didn't seem as bad.

I am looking forward to going back to England where my obsession with yarn can flourish. I am a little worried that I only like crochet because I get to collect yarn, but I do try to reduce my stash every once in a while.  Oh well back to the work of moving!

All photos copyright belongs to my husband.

First Foray into Chocolate Moulds and Making

While my mother and sister were visiting Hong Kong we all visited Shanghai Street in Yau Ma Tei which is the most fantastic place to find all kinds of cooking sundry. From industrial supplies to just regular home cooking items it has everything!  Unfortunately I didn't have a camera so I am going to have to go back and take some photos before we leave Hong Kong at the end of this month.

When we were shopping around there I found a great chocolate mould with little leaves. I have never tried making chocolates and I thought it might be a fun thing to do one afternoon while my husband and I are organizing things for the move...just something else to do than discuss what to take and how to pack - which is getting tedious for me!

Anyways so I watched two you tube videos on tempering - one by an american lady, and one by Howdini Guru, and they were both very helpful. Since I didn't have a candy thermometer (or any kind of thermometer) I just used guess work.

I melted the chocolate over water in a bowl (with the water boiling very low) then moved the chocolate to a plastic bowl that wouldn't retain the heat, then added more of the chocolate pieces to try to cool it down.  Here it is before it goes in the fridge.

Here is the result!  They aren't hard all the way through but they are delicious, and I have put them back in the fridge to try to keep them from melting.

Small Shell Fingerless Glove Pattern

My sister asked for some fingerless gloves while we were taking a ferry from Hong Kong to Macau.  She wanted short on the wrist and long over the knuckles, so I came up with this pattern while we had time on the ferry.  Any resemblance to other patterns is accidental.  However, writing it was very very simple - you just need to know how to single and double crochet (american).

It isn't a perfect pattern, and but you can fudge with it since it is so simple.


I used a 4.5mm hook, and Lion Brand Amazing Yarn - but you can use any yarn or hook that work well together. Also just make sure you have a multiple of 3 and you are set.


Pattern:

Ch 27 - slip stitch (sl st)
Row 1 - chain 1, single crochet in all chains, sl st - 27 st
Row 2 - chain 3 (counts as one DC throughout), 1 dc in same st as chain, *skip 2 st, 3dc in one st* repeat until there are 2 st left, 1dc in last st. sl st
Row 3 - chain 3, 1 dc in same st *3 dc in center st of previous row's 3dc* around until last two st, 1 dc in last st. sl st.
Row 4-7 repeat row 3
Row 8 - thumb hole row - ch 3, 1 dc in same st, 3 dc in center st of previous row's 3dc, chain 3 and skip over 3dc from previous row, then *3 dc in center st of previous row's 3dc* around until last two st. 1 dc in last st. sl st.  (for a short pair of gloves, otherwise continue with row 2 until desired length then use this)
Row 9 - chain 3, 1 dc in same st, 3 dc in center st of previous 3dc, 3dc in center st of chain 3, * 3 dc in center st of previous row's 3dc* until last two st, 1dc in last st. sl st
Row 10-13 - chain 3, 1 dc in same st *3 dc in center st of previous row's 3dc* around until last two st, 1 dc in last st. sl st.
Row 14 - chain 1, single crochet around - 27 st, fasten off.

Enjoy!




Please only use this pattern for personal items, gifts, charities etc. Do not use this pattern to sell the items you make for profit. Copyright for design Michelle Ghodrat all rights reserved.