BACCARAT RESTAURANT of Cheung Chau Island

BACCARAT RESTAURANT

百家樂菜館 G/F, 9A Pak She Praya Road, Cheung Chau

長洲北社海傍道9號A地下

Cheung Mo Tat, the owner of Baccarat Restaurant. His wife is from China. He has his wedding photograph taken at the studio just next door to his restaurant (photo above). Several months later the studio moved to another better business location. Cheung immediately took over the vacant studio and converts it into his 2nd restaurant keeping the original studio decoration (photo below).

Cheung's success did not come by chance. He taught himself English and welcome customers in English whenever Western tourists pass by his shop. Very few restaurants in this island speak English, as least not as enthusiastic as him

As such, Baccarat Restaurant is a popular stop for western travelers.

By December the new extension is ready (photo above) and Shirley and co-worker are ready to welcome customers.

Mother of Cheung (photo above). Proud over the son's success in new restaurant extension.

The Cheung is a big family. Other family members also having business along the same street as the restaurant. A young brother run this fruits stall near the ferry pier (photo above). Another member run a bicycle rental shop end of the street.

Cheung Chau Bun Festival 1992

The highlight of the one week festival (photo above). The residents paraded through the island village lanes.

Cheung Chau Bun Festival 1992

A unique festival happens on the tiny island of Cheung Chau where I stay.

Cheung Chau Bun Festival (Jiao-festival) of Cheung Chau has been practiced for more than 100 years.

A century ago, Cheung Chau was devastated by a plague in the late Qing dynasty.

Local residents set up a sacrificial altar in front of Pak Tai Temple to pray to the god, Pak Tai, to drive off evil spirits.

The residents even paraded the deity statues through the village lanes.

The plague ended after performance of the ritual.

Since then, residents on Cheung Chau organized a Bun Festival every year to express thanks to the god for blessing and protecting them.

With residents' participation every year, the ritual was passed down through the generations.

The festival also provides a platform for residents to perform their folk craft, such as making paper-mache effigies of deities, setting up the bamboo scaffolding of the Bun Mountain, and making handmade buns in preparation for the Bun Festival.

This is accompanied by folk performing arts like Taoist rituals and music, a parade, lion dances, qilin dances and drum beating.

The elderly residents participate in this festive activity with their children, preserving it from one generation to the next.

This festival was held from the 5th to 8th day of the Fourth Lunar Month for 1 week.

The weeklong festival climaxes with a large, carnival-like street procession featuring costumed children on stilts held aloft above the crowd, lion dances and other colorful participants.

The parade winds its way through the narrow streets to the grounds near the Pak Tai Temple, which are dominated by enormous bamboo towers studded with sweet white buns, and where the main festivities take place.

At midnight, athletes scramble up one of the towers in a contest to grab the top-most 'luckiest' ones.

Remark : This yearly Cheung Chau Island Jiao Festival had been inscribed onto China's third national list of intangible cultural heritage in 2011.

Sai Wan Village of Cheung Chau Island

6th May 1992

Sai Wan Village of Cheung Chau Island. This is the place I lived for 2.5 years (January 1991 to June 1993)

The hill in the middle is where the famous Cheung Po Tsai Cave located at.

Cheung Po Tsai cave was the favorite hiding place for the notorious pirate Cheung Po Tsai. Even I stay near by the famous cave, I visit the cave only once in a year. The cave is nothing more than a hole in the rock. No interesting though promoted by tourism as FAMOUS.

The Cave entrance and passage is narrow. Fat people not sure if you can climb in and out.

Cave inside is dark but you can rent torches from village people waiting for customers at the cave entrance.

The trial to Cung Po Tsai Cave is 200 meters away from my flat.

The red building at the left is where my flat is. A small sampan pier at the right.

The sea view from this high vista is pretty lovely.

The tallest building at this village are these 3 blocks. My flat is at the block at the left. 2nd Floor.

When you come to this island you might feel in a different country. Here is not the upscale, modernized Hong Kong.

Those who are tied of concrete city find this place a gorgeous.

These are the water taxis of the Island (see photo above). The boats park at Sai Wan Village...

Cheung Chau Island is only two kilometers in length

A lot densely populated small island. Remarkably and charmingly with temples, trendy beaches.

What most interested me are the isolated footpaths over the hills and along most crazy stretches of coastline.

Sai Wan Village Cheung Chau Island

Sai Wan Village

Cheung Chau Island

4th May 1992 Monday