I Brought My Heart To Hong Kong

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Approval

Chapter Twenty-Seven
Approval

"Keep your phones," maotoridad na sabi ni Won habang naglalakad kami papasok ng Ladies Market.

Sa dagsa ng tao sa isang mahabang street na puno ng mga nagtitinda ng iba't ibang gamit, gusto rin naming maging maingat ang pagpunta dito.

Tumango ako at isinukbit ang bag ko sa harapan ko. I brought my usual small backpack containing only my wallet and Jayden and I's phone. Ayoko namang i-risk na ilagay sa bulsa ko iyon dahil baka madukutan ako. Not that I'm saying that Hong Kong is a no safe place but as much as possible, we need to make precautions rather than waiting for it to actually happen.

Ladies Market is located in Tung Choi Street in Mong Kok, Kowloon. It's filled with different stalls selling different things such as apparels, toys, beauty products, shoes and others.

Parang Divisoria ng Pinas sa Hong Kong. Kaya naman masyadong marami ang dumadayo dito para mamili ng murang pasalubong.

"Oh," I heard Chloe.

Nagturo siya sa isang mahabang kalsada na puro street foods ang itinitinda. Maliban kasi sa mga gamit, hindi rin problema ang pagkain dahil nagkalat sila. The street food stalls are called Dai Pai Dongs as what my mighty boyfriend has told me.

Where did he get it?

Sa research daw.

"Kain tayo," aya ko at hinila si Jayden papalapit sa isa sa mga stalls. We followed Won and Chloe who was walking in front of us.

The stall has a variety of street foods you can choose from. Mayroong grilled squids, fishballs, congee, dumplings and marami pang iba! It's affordable too. Halos lahat ay pamilyar kasi parehong-pareho ng nakikita sa Pinas! Medyo naiba lang sa pangalan kaya mukhang iba at mahal.

"Fried pig intestines?" Chloe muttered as she got one stick.

"Isaw baboy lang 'yan," banggit ko. "Wag papalinlang."

Chloe still got the isaw baboy dahil never niya pa raw iyon nasubukan.

I wanted to roll my eyes to Won. We have been eating street foods ever since we were kids and he hasn't even tried it with his girlfriend! Hindi naman pwedeng kami lang ang magka-hepa.

"Ikaw, Jayden? Isaw baboy, gusto mo?"

Hinarap ko si Jayden na nasa likuran ko. His eyes are looking somewhere else. He did seem preoccupied until I called him. Umiling siya ng tahimik. Tumango ako at kinuhaan siya ng dalawang stick. I gave it to him and he just looked at it.

"Subukan mo," nakangiti kong sabi.

Narinig ko ang paghinga niya ng malalim bago kunin ang dalawang stick sa'kin. Itinuro ko iyong mga sawsawan pero umiling lang siya at tahimik na kumain. Kumunot ang noo ko sa inasal. Pero hindi ko muna pinansin noong kumuha ako ng dumplings at kumain din.

Pagkatapos naming kumain, dumiretso na kami papunta sa pinaka-loob ng street. Since it's already 7:00 PM, the street started to get a little crowded with people.

Ladies Market opens at noon but the most critical hours are in the afternoon until midnight. After all, it's a tiangge and it's good to see the market with the street lights and the noisy crowd.

We passed by apparel shops that sell different faux brand clothings. From H&M to Gucci, you can choose anything and buy it for cheap prices.

"Hails, punta tayo roon!"

Chloe looked back to me habang itinuturo ang isang stall na nagbebenta ng alahas. Tumango ako saka sinundan siya. The stall sells all basic jewelry including necklaces and bracelets. It's all cheap and stainless.