Saturday, May 14, 2011

Avenue of Stars, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

This is the Avenue of Stars along the Promenade in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong!
My Dear and I have read about this place many times in Hong Kong travel books and brochures prior to our trip here. It was simply amazing that we finally set foot on this Great avenue!
This place is a ‘must go’ place for first-time visitors to Hong Kong! It was chilly cold on the evening we arrived at the Avenue of Stars. The sea breezes just made it even colder. Luckily we had our thick jackets on, thus alleviating to a certain extent the coldness we felt.
It was an eye-opener to us as we witnessed Hong Kongers dressing in their causal attires: bermudas, polos, etc .... for this kind of chilly weather! They were simply unaffected by the COLDNESS which still embraced my Dear and I though we were already decked in our thick jackets!
So why is this avenue called the ‘Avenue of Stars’? The answer is simply that the avenue is adorned and decked with the palm imprints of famous Hong Kong stars and superstars on the footpath! It is human nature for visitors to compare their size of their palms with those of the stars by inserting their palms into the imprints for a match.
Not surprisingly, my Dear and I also carried out this ‘tradition’. It was real relaxing, being embraced by the cool gush of the sea breezes, partaking in the sights of the magnificent coastline of the super skyscrapers of Central, Hong Kong at the other end of the sea. Time seems to come to a crawl here. Visitors, Hong Kongers and tourists alike were slowly strolling along the promenade, lapping ALL that was offered by the splendid avenue: sights, cool winds, weather, adornments which line the avenue and not forgetting…. food.
Did I mention food? Yes, there was food, albeit only one kind of food found along the avenue. There was this little push-cart selling deep-baked butter-cuttlefishes! The fragrance of these yummies greeted us as we approached the push-cart. We simply salivated as we were struck by hunger pangs.
The modus operandi of the push-cart stall is simply unique. Raw cuttlefish went directly into a small special roller machine and within seconds, at the other end of the roller, deep-baked, crispy butter cutttlefish emanated!
Ya this is it: deep-baked butter cuttlefish, served HOT and FRESH!
Business was definitely brisk for the stall for it was akin to an oasis in a desert. Visitors succumbed for the cuttlefish, relishing the hot ‘solace’ in the cold environment. The visit to Avenue of Stars (and Hong Kong) would not be a complete one, without watching the Symphony of Lights, showing at 8.00 pm daily right at the Promenade .