O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

Happy Boxing Day from Hong Kong! As I've written before, it's so nice to live in a city where the day following Christmas is officially recognized as a public holiday. I can't even imagine having had to wake up for an 8am start at the office this morning, so I'm glad it was never an issue!

This is probably not going to come as much of a surprise, but it's actually been a jam-packed Christmas season for me this year, chock full of almost all of the elements I've come to require to make my Yuletide complete. The weather has been pretty glorious, too, although last weekend, we experienced a cold spell that induced me to bring out the heaters, with the mercury dropping to a chilling—for Hong Kong at least—50°F!

Yes, the decorations around town have been eye-catching, as always, particularly those in the elegant Peninsula. The festive "Christmas menus" available at most Western restaurants have been delicious. My Christmas cards have been sent across three continents. And, of course, my own apartment is dressed to the nines, making it the perfect venue for post-work Christmas movie screenings.

Adding immensely to my holiday cheer has been the addition of Jennie and Gert, my most recent AirBnB guests. Normally, I rent out the room for relatively short stretches of time, but when Jennie inquired if she and Gert could stay for the entirety of December, I decided it would be nice to have some consistency throughout the Christmas season. What a great decision! Jennie is originally from Mainland China, but she moved to Hong Kong at the age of thirteen. About five years ago, she and her German husband Gert moved back to Europe, but because they like to visit Hong Kong frequently, they decided to start a business here. They just opened an incredible little shop called Healthy Life Cottage, which only sells goods that have been imported from Germany, including food, beverages, beauty care products and even dog treats!

As a bonus for me, it turns out Jennie is also a phenomenal cook, and having grown up in Hong Kong, she is thus accustomed to our cramped kitchens. She's been able to whip up some veritable feasts, minor miracles considering the space in which she's prepared them! That initial Sunday, as she made dinner for me and some friends, I told her half-jokingly (but also half-seriously) that it was actually the first time a multi-course meal had ever been created entirely on the premises! She has seen to it that it was not the last! Merry Christmas to me!

One of my favorite events in the lead-up to Christmas is SantaCon, which I've written about several times before. But this year, for some odd reason I've not been able to fully understand, Hong Kong decided to commemorate SantaCon out of step with the rest of the world. While almost all cities seemed to designated the second Saturday in December as the big date, the version here was observed on the first Saturday of the month! It caught me completely off guard, and because I had other plans, I wasn't able to join in the fun. Hopefully, next year, things are back to normal!

Instead, my first Saturday in December was spent on beautiful Shek O beach, in honor of my friends Nicolas and Nyun, who departed Hong Kong for good earlier this month. They are moving to Canada in the new year, and it was a great opportunity to gather together and bid them a fond farewell.

Au revoir, Nico and Nyun!

On the flip side, another friend who left Hong Kong awhile back actually returned this December for work. Vivian moved to Frankfurt last May, but being a Hong Konger, she does come back for both business and pleasure at least a couple of times each year. She works for a hotel group, and the reason for this particular trip was to be in town for the opening of their newest venture, Penta Hotel in Tsuen Mun.

The party was a smashing gala, complete with paparazzi posted in front of the entry, snapping photos of all the guests, including us! Inside, there was an unending array of finger foods and the obligatory open bar. True, Tsuen Mun is a bit far from downtown, but Vivian organized a mini bus to transport us back and forth, and I can't recall having ever spent a more memorable Tuesday!

Celebrating with the mother of the owner of Tsuen Mun's newest digs!

Later that week, my office held our annual Christmas party. We have a formula that has served us well in years past. First, we have a pre-game of sorts in the office, where we exchange Secret Santa gifts and indulge in some champagne and nibbles. (This year, I got a lovely bottle of Spanish red wine from my colleague Jenny.) The pre-game is followed by the main event, a full-on festive meal, always at a different restaurant. This year, we chose Gordon Ramsay's Bread Street Kitchen in Lan Kwai Fong, and the tasty dinner was duly followed by bar-hopping all around the neighborhood.

Company Christmas dinner at Gordon Ramsay's Bread Street Kitchen

A few days later, I made it out to Sha Tin for International Race Day, too. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to convince any others to join me this year, but thanks to an absurd two-for-one beer deal complemented by pitch perfect weather and a few nice payouts for yours truly, I had myself a merry little Sunday. 

To cap it off, my colleague Konrad and his girlfriend Vanessa did meet me for dinner at the Shatin Inn later that evening. I have mentioned this place so often in the blog that I probably don't have to say much more here, but rest assured, it was a sensational meal in a sensation venue with sensational company.

The perfect place to celebrate post-races!

The most unexpectedly delightful interlude of my December was sparked by a Friday afternoon coffee date with my former flatmate Sarah. It had been a long while since we had a good catch up, so coffee turned into happy hour at a nearby bar. There, we were joined by Joel, Sarah's partner, with whom she has a beautiful two year old girl named Beatrix. Post happy hour, the party moved back to my rooftop, but even that wasn't enough. When it finally came time for Sarah and Joel to return home, they convinced me to spend the night with them in their seaside townhouse in Shek O. So we all hopped in a cab—Fredric included—to make the thirty minute trek to the south side of the island.

Shek O really feels like another world. It's an incredibly close community, where everybody knows everybody else. Many people don't even lock their front doors when they go out! Waking up early the next morning, Sarah prepared a home-cooked breakfast which we took to the beach to consume. Lots of other Shek O-ers were out, many with their dogs, which gave Fredric several new friends. It was chilly on the beach, but a nice, warm cardigan did the trick! I've made up my mind that I'm going to spend a lot more time here in the new year, especially as Sarah and Joel are contemplating a move to Indonesia, and we've agreed we must take advantage of our current proximity while it lasts. 

No description of December 2017 would be complete without mention of the wedding celebration of my dear friends, Lou and Kathy. In reality, this was only the "official" wedding, the first step—so to speak—which is more legal than romantic. The brief ceremony was held in Hong Kong Park at the Marriage Registry on Cotton Tree Drive, where a government employee gives a brief spiel about the marriage ordinance and closely scrutinizes the identification documents of bride and groom, before the happy couple recite their oaths and sign on the dotted line. A big celebration will be scheduled for some point in 2018, but it's still so special to watch two friends take such an important step.

To make it even more unforgettable, there was a raucous dinner afterwards at Dragon King Restaurant, complete with roast pig, shark's fin soup, whole steamed fish and a ton of other delicious Chinese dishes. It was also great to meet Kathy and Lou's parents and family members who were in town for the event.

The next fantastic dinner was right on its heels the following evening, as another Villanovan made her way to Hong Kong. My friend Laura actually transferred from 'Nova to NYU during my senior (and her sophomore) year, but because we were both very involved in Blue Key, we stayed in touch afterwards. I even got to meet up with her in London during my 2010 work trip, so it was so nice to gorge on Peking duck with her and her boyfriend Ryan that night in Tsim Sha Tsui last Tuesday. The venue was Spring Deer, one of the most famous spots in town to indulge in the celebrated fowl. We over-ordered to the point where I was eating leftovers from the meal for the next two days, but it was yet another great night!

We didn't snap a picture that night, but here's Laura and me at Trafalgar Square in London back in 2010.

One last festive pre-Christmas meal took place at iconic Jimmy's Kitchen on Thursday, 21 December. I don't get to eat at Jimmy's as often as I should. (The last time I was there was Saint Patrick's Day, as this is the only spot I know in town dishing out corned beef and cabbage.) It's one of Hong Kong's very few "classic" restaurants, where you feel like you've been magically beamed back in time about half a century or more. You can feel the sense of history and tradition as you dine. And because the atmosphere verges on magical, lunches here tend to linger on into the late afternoon.

Festive decorations at Jimmy's Kitchen in Central

The place first opened back in 1928 and moved to its present location in the '70s. Jimmy's isn't cheap, but you can't really put a price on the experience. Best of all is when the company is paying! You see, we traditionally treat one of my biggest clients to an annual Christmastime lunch, so this year, I steered the meal towards Jimmy's, and let's just say, nobody walked out disappointed (or hungry).

The lunch came complete with Christmas crackers!

So, as you can see, it's really been a hectic—yet truly a fantastic—month! In between the standout events I've just outlined, there have been plenty of nights with holiday movies and Christmas-themed episodes of classic sit-coms, as well as evenings that consisted of little more than simply listening to Christmas music under the twinkle of the lights on my tree.

By the way, I've finally reached a decision regarding my old artificial fir. Although I did not follow through with purchasing a real one this year, I have decided to officially retire dear old Douglas after this go around. I truly did intend to get a live tree this year, but it seems so silly to spend a small fortune on one—not to mention the rigmarole of getting it up six flights of stairs—when a perfectly adequate alternative is conveniently packed away in the flat already. 

I still remember buying the old guy at a mom-and-pop shop in Wan Chai as Christmas snuck up on us back in 2011. He's been a faithful servant ever since, and he's had a good run. He is showing his age, though, and his top half doesn't fit so snugly into the bottom anymore, meaning I've had to tolerate a slightly leaning centerpiece of my holiday decorations this year. So when I take everything down after New Year's, I'll be putting Douglas in the dumpster as opposed to the upper cabinet in the guest room. That will mean that come next December, I'll have no choice but to buy the real deal, or at least to procure a snazzier fake. 

I was unbelievably excited to leave work last Friday, leading up to this massive Christmas weekend. I headed straight to Kennedy Town for a lovely home-cooked dinner at Max and Celine's apartment. We even cracked open the bottle of red that I had received at my office Christmas party, which was fantastic.

Saturday—also known as Christmas Eve Eve—was about as festive as it gets! I met my friend Sophie in The One, a shopping mall on Nathan Road, were they were showing The Nutcracker in the movie theater. It was the filmed copy of the version presented on the stage of the renowned Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, as part of their Ballet in Cinema program. And it was truly mesmerizing. I hope next year I make it home to New York to see Balanchine's classic take in person, but this was definitely a great way to work Tchaikovsky's masterwork into my Christmas.

After the curtain came down, I had to rush from Tsim Sha Tsui to Causeway Bay to meet up with some friends for a fiery Sichuan dinner. One of those friends was Chun, among my closest Hong Kong pals, who moved to Germany last December with his girlfriend Amelie. Like Vivian, he too comes back to visit his family, but his earlier 2017 visit was during my summer travels, so I haven't had a chance to properly catch up with him since his departure.

Sichuan dinner in Causeway Bay on Christmas Eve Eve

Obviously, some post-dinner libations in Lan Kwai Fong were in order, including those Jell-o shots at Al's Diner. Matt and Ana joined for a bit, and Ana even introduced me to a hidden Nepalese gem of a restaurant, ensconced on the ninth floor of a building on D'Aguilar Street. Late night (early morning?) momos are never a bad idea, and I have a feeling this first visit will not be my last!

Like that, t'was the night before Christmas, which marks the eighth anniversary of Sonia's Christmas Eve barbecue on her rooftop in 2009, my first year in Hong Kong. It's so funny to think that at that point, I'd only been in town for about six weeks, but I was already partying the night away on the rooftop that would become my own home a few years later. I always try to organize a rooftop gathering at some point during the holiday season to continue the tradition—I call it 'Up on the Housetop'—and this year, I hosted the gig on Christmas Eve itself. 

Just some of the delicious food prepared by Jennie and her friends on Christmas Eve

Jennie and her friend Coral provided the amazing dishes, like lamb and chicken curry, minced pork and peanuts, and a warm and hearty corn soup. Fredric and I were both dressed in our Santa Claus outfits, and a bevy of festive tunes helped to set the mood. I love Christmas Eve probably about as much as I love any day of the year, and it was so special to mark the occasion in such a lovely manner. I haven't done Christmas Eve at my place before, but who knows? Perhaps this will mark the start of a new tradition. 

Up on the house top, with Coral and Fredric!

On Christmas morning, I cracked open a carton of egg nog to the accompaniment of more holiday music. At 11:45am, I was seated in atmospheric Saint John's Cathedral to participate in the Christmas service, complete with O Come, All Ye Faithful, Away in a Manger and Hark! The Herald Angels Sing. And around 2pm, I again met up Sophie and our friend Marlene at Central Ferry Pier Four, where we caught the next boat to Lamma Island for another amazing installment in my Hong Kong Christmases.

With Sophie and Marlene on Lamma Island

My friend Ailee again organized a massive event, this time held at the barbecue pits on Hung Shing Yeh Beach. It's hard to describe the magic of Christmas in any number of words, but simply being with a great group of people on a peaceful beach, watching the sunset and playing games, was pure pleasure. There was mulled wine a-plenty and gallons of beer, and in the end, it was surely a merry little Christmas.

Christmas Day beach barbecue

This Boxing Day has been mostly spent resting and recovering, because with only a few days to go until the next big event—New Year's Eve—I know I'm going to need all the energy I can muster! But I just wanted to take a quick moment to send my jolliest holiday wishes to my friends and family spread all over the world. I hope you all have had a truly blessed Christmas season, and I wish you all the best for the new year!