I travel to Hong Kong on a rather regular basis for family visits and for work. Moon and I make it a point to take our girls along whenever they are available. The reason is simple – Moon and I want my girls to know their extended family and friends well. That was one of the reasons why we moved our family from North American back to Asia. The reality is that our folks are not getting any younger, so every moment counts. In addition, my gals get to try out something a little more exotic than their everyday routine, for example, some local Hong Kong food that most ‘other people’ may not find palatable (how about cow innards stews, and coconut cream/milk as starters?)

It has been a little family tradition since probably 2007, that I would carry my two girls, one in each arm and shoot a daddy and gals photograph during our trips. My gals are petite to start off (2.3 and 2.5kg at the beginning of their lives) and they are not getting big too fast even though they eat reasonably well. I managed to carry them and walk up and down Orchard Road many times in the past to watch the Lion Dance during the Chinese New Year… but that was a while ago…

My wife, Moon, and I encourage the gals to try out all kinds of food as this is one simple way to get to know different cultures. We dislike wastage probably as a result of how we were brought up. Although we never starved, both of us had a humble beginning. We do not encourage over-eating though, as that is probably a ticket to a host of health issues. However, now the two young ladies can brag about eating grasshoppers, spiders, etc. to their circle of young or adult friends.

We spent the last few days of 2014 in Hong Kong and we visited our favorite Hong Kong fast food, Fairwood. It is one of our favorites because it is efficient and economical. My estimation is that over a million servings are sold on a daily basis by a few of these local Hong Kong fast food joins, not counting the foreign ones such as Burger King or KFC.

It was one morning at Fairwood that I witnessed a family methodically trimming off the bread crust for their young kid, who was probably about 7 years old. The little one was given only the soft part of the toast while the crust was left to be discarded. I remember my uncle Tom once commented on a similar issue, he said to the effect that: ”Respect your resources. They improve your odds in life.” I don’t think he was referring to food (or bread crusts) per se. He was probably referring to other intangibles too like time, energy, food, friends, etc..

Getting back to the issue of carrying my 2 gals, I am happy to say that they are getting harder and harder to carry. Even the idea of taking that photo had to be discussed prior to action. I guess they are getting bigger after all. 600BC Aesop’s fable said: One bird in hand is better than two in the bushes.” However, for now, I rather have two gals in my arms as I know they will fly off some day in the future…

Happy 2015 New Year!