In preparing for our visit to SE Asia, I asked a longtime friend who has become a travel planner to give me a look at the “old” Hong Kong and what I got was enlightening. My first excursion was to visit a third generation shoe cobbler. Finding his workshop was no easy task as he was located deep in the bowels of a large industrial building that catered to small sole proprietors. Through translation by our guide he communicated his family’s long tradition as cobblers and how he had plied the trade himself for some 50 years. His wife worked with him but his children, having shown no interest in the business, had become well educated and established in modern day professional careers. His shop showed the wear and tear one would expect in an old family business and although his tools were rudimentary and well-worn he was still able to produce stunning high quality shoes and boots. My friend and I couldn’t leave without ordering our own custom made leather boots that he proudly delivered to our hotel the night before we left Hong Kong. I couldn’t figure out why some guy at the Shanghai airport was inconspicuously taking my picture until I looked down at my black leggings paired with my new bright pink leather boots and an eggplant colored shift dress made in Thailand. Maybe he mistook my colorful getup as a fashion statement or the picture is being used on TV as an example of “What Not To Wear.” I must admit I have yet to find a local outing to wear my lovely pink boots to but they sure do look good in my closet and serve as a great memory from my time in Hong Kong.
Next up was an early morning trip to a small shop in an old Hong Kong neighborhood whose specialty was homemade tofu. The proprietor and his son were quite intrigued by the western tourists that wanted to see and hear about their shop and the tofu making process. I think it was a first for them! The only people in the small shop/restaurant so early in the morning were several elderly folks who ordered breakfast consisting of a large bowl of soft white warm tofu floating in homemade ginger simple syrup. Without debate, it was the best thing I ever ate! We spent the entire morning on the premises and I quickly learned that making tofu is a multi-step time consuming process probably best left to specialty shops and factories. Once the proper soybeans have been sourced they need to be soaked overnight, cooked in liquid at high temperatures in industrial kettles, pulverized, treated, strained, poured into molds with proper drainage and turned often over an extended period of time before it resembles what we see packed in water at the grocery store. By noon the place was hopping with tofu based lunch orders and product takeout orders for home cooking. The Chinese eat a lot of tofu! I would love to have a go at making it but don’t think it’s going to happen. Beyond all the specialty equipment required, the first thing I would have to locate is food grade soybeans which aren’t that easy to find in the heartland where the soybeans grown are used to feed livestock. After some “coming home” research, I have located several area specialty growers but I think they would require a high volume growing contract that I would be hard pressed to make use of and/or find area demand for. My husband, Paul, won’t touch the stuff and I bet that goes for most locals too. At least I can buy tofu in area grocery stores when I have a hankering for it but it is a far cry from what I tasted in Hong Kong and continue to dream about. If there are any area cobblers or tofu makers among Review readers, I would love to meet you! 2018