Summer 2008 - Part 1: Guangzhou
July 22nd, 2008 -- Posted in birthdays, travel | No Comments »We’re back… and utterly tired. It was one unforgettable week of family reunion for dad’s 60th birthday, celebrating over countless feasts in three cities- Guangzhou, Beijing and Shanghai. There is so much to show… lotsa food and places like no other in the world.
I really mean LOTSA FOOD! You’d see what I mean in this and the following posts. Almost every meal we had is special, espcially in Guangzhou. As the saying goes… “吃在广州... When you eat in China, you’d have to eat in Guangzhou.”
It’s also important to note than in China, everything is HUGE. You’d get what I mean…
I shall have to share the pics and stories in separate posts, starting with this one on Guangzhou.
DAY ONE 广州
Though we had previously explored the new Changi Airport Terminal 3 when departing from the other terminals, it’s the first time we’re actually taking a flight from the new terminal.
How was it? I think it’s a work of art. Despite the criticisms on the busy deco, I happen to like it better than Terminal 2. The panels on the high ceiling compliments the pixated floorwork well, giving it a Picasso look. I love it!
Usually, I will prepaLime myself with new playlists on ipod and a book/magazine to kill time on long flights… except when flying with Singapore Airline. The extensive list of movies-on-demand and the flight gormet are something I actually look forward to. Always fly with Singapore Airline!
Day 1 is a quieter day. We arrived Guangzhou a day earlier than my sisters. Dad picked us up from the airport, dropped off our luggage at the 3rd uncle’s vacation apartment before heading for dinner. After dinner, we roamed a bit at the 天鹅城广场 Swan City Mall.
DAY TWO 广州
Day 2 was more interesting. My three sisters Becky, Jerri and Annie arrived, along with Jerri’s boyfriend, Ben. We had lunch at one of dad’s favorite restaurant chain in Guangzhou city called 澳门街 Macau Street.
After lunch, we did some shopping at some of the wholesale centers around the 广州火车站 Guangzhou Railway Station. It’s a huge place with different buildings selling different things at wholesale prices. Not exactly a place for tourists but you can find great buys with ample of time, which is the exact luxury we did not have.
Just an hour before dinner with dad, we returned to the apartment to freshen up. While Sunsun and I stayed at 3rd Uncle’s apartment, my sisters were housed in Small Aunt’s vacation apartment just next door. A nice roomy apartment with a nice view of Guangzhou city from the balcony, it’s a great place to hangout with my sisters.
Dinner was at another of dad’s favorite restaurant in town called 陶陶居 Tao Tao Ju. It’s a famous timsum and seafood spot in Guangzhou located at the busy local shopping district 龙井路 Longjin Lu.
Annie with her favorite dish… Phoenix’s Claws. We all gave our share to her. Lucky girl!~ Ben and I had a taste of the local beer. Not bad for quench of thirst over a chinese dinner on a hot summer night.
After dinner, we strolled back along Longjin Lu. Jerri wasn’t feeling too well, so we called it a night early. It’s gonna be a long day tomorrow!
DAY THREE 广州
We started the day with another big feast for breakfast. Conveniently, it’s located just below the apartment we stayed. Believe me, chinese tea never tasted any better than on a timsum breakfast here.
After breakfast, we headed to dad’s home at 番禺区 Panyu district. It’s one of the many suburb residential districts around the Guangzhou city. It’s a nice quiet place with clean air and a nice little garden in the backyard. It’s no wonder why dad chose this place as his retirement home. While most of us had been here before, it was the first time for Jerri to see how dad lives in Guangzhou.
The center of attraction at dad’s place is the massage chair. Notice the faces of ecstasy while testing it out.
Lunch was at another food highlight (which one isn’t, anyway…) at a nearby restaurant called 渔民新村酒店 Yumin Xincun Restaurant (translated “Fisherman’s New Village” Restaurant). It’s a seafood restaurant housed within a five story high complex. It’s so huge that the owner even display his collection of cars and motorbikes in the foyer.
We got to pick our fresh seafood on one wing of the complex. There’s so much variety to choose from. We almost got ourselves lost in this place. There’re even snakes and crocodiles the adventurous tastebuds. Since we had a big breakfast not too many hours ago, we settled for a fish, drunken prawns and some cold salad. We wanted to keep the meal a light one so we’d be ready for the bigger birthday feast for dinner.
The day’s not over yet!~ After lunch, we had some time to kill before the big dinner at night so we did more shopping near the Railway Station. Remember if you wish to explore this wholesale distribution area, give yourself ample of time for traffic jams and for exploration. It’s a HUGE place.
It’s dinner time! Dad’s birthday banquet. It was at this restaurant at 花园酒店 The Garden Hotel called 桃园馆 The Peach Blossom.
Check out the size of the abalone. My favorite is the foie gras.
Dad with his birthday gifts… a Sony AVCHD camcorder and a digital photo-frame. He so loves the camcorder he started using it immediately. Heeh! Glad I pick this one for him.
That was just the first part of the birthday bash. The second part was at karaoke joint called 国会俱乐部 Club Congress. We did the ritual birthday cake thingy, had lotsa drinks and sang many cheesy songs. Guess what, it’s actually more fun than we had expected!
Dad actually asked so many time if we enjoyed the evening. It’s more important you enjoyed yourself, Dad… I guess he must have, coz I caught a glimpse of tears with the smile. Nothing beats having his family with him on his 60th birthday.
Happy Birthday, Papa!
