This was the International connections of Houston outing that I was interested in, a tour of Asia Town, in the Bellaire area of Houston, West Chase. Having a bestie living up in that area of town, means I’m up there quite a lot. Though we never really investigated the Bellaire area, we do frequent certain places (our favourite being the Banana Leaf Malaysian restaurant!) and I’ve always thought they have lots to offer.
The ICH tour, started at the Chinese Community Center, for a calligraphy and origami demonstration, a visit to the Buddhist temple, shopping at Hong Kong City Mall and finally, a Dim Sum lunch at Ocean Palace.
We were about forty-strong, I was surprised to see a few of the members in the group (I know them from SSA or UNAIC), and I came away from the trip, half a dozen crazy Australian pals ‘heavier’ and feeling a little more cultured, but as though I’d only dipped my toe. I could have stayed there, ‘mooching around’, as my dad would say, all day – and then some!
The Chinese community center is a hidden gem, its mission is “to bridge East and West by enriching families with educational, cultural, and social service programs.” They have a long, long, LONG list of programs that service the community and I really would love to participate in some of what they have to offer. Some of which include:
After School & Summer Camp
Academic Tutoring
English as a Second Language
Adult Basic & Secondary Education
Citizenship Classes
Job Readiness Workshops & Placement Support
Financial Education & Counseling
Adult Day Program
Caregiver Training
Case Management & Wellness Counseling
Energy Assistance & Weatherization
Volunteer Legal Clinic
Asian Heritage Tours
Lunar New Year Festival
Chinese Language School
Weekend Leisure Learning
Our tour, started with some hands-on crafting at the Chinese Community center. The tour advertises:
Stage 1: Chinese Calligraphy
The art of Chinese calligraphy is practiced by skilled artists and takes many years to perfect. Each guest is encouraged to try his/her hand at writing simple Chinese characters. Receive a souvenir of your name written in Chinese calligraphy!
While we did get gorgeous personalised pieces of art to take home, it was just a demonstration, we didn’t get to try our hand at writing anything, which was somewhat disappointing.
The second part of this stage, was an origami work-shop.
Two ladies, split our half of the group in to two and each demonstrated how to make an origami crane – or at least part of it. We ran out of time (I guess the first group took too long at making their cranes!) and we were running late for the second stage of the tour, so we were told to youTube the remainder of the exercise.
It wasn’t easy, the demonstrator said that the crane is one of the beginner pieces to try, but I didn’t find it instinctual at all, and kept questioning my steps as I went.
From here, we bundled in to cars and headed across the block to the Buddhist temple.
Stage 2: Buddhist Temple
“Be “enlightened” on the practice and teachings of Buddhism at a Buddhist temple! Guests may light incense and give offerings of paper money and fruits to their ancestors.”
Again, we were short on time here, and the temple was having some tech-difficulties with the video they were trying to show us. That said, it was a very educational part of the tour, I learned a lot (and got some great freebies) and would love to light incense next time I’m there.
Stage 3: Traditional Market
“A shopper’s paradise of unusual finds! Visit the largest indoor Asian shopping mall in the southwest. There are over two dozen stores a midst a landscaping of lily ponds and fountains.”
This is the Hong Kong city mall, and by now, we were so far behind on time that we had very little time here to explore. So much so that my girlfriends and I are going back next week, to have a proper poke around! I can’t really comment on it, aside from to say that it’s easy to find, has lots of parking and seemingly a lot to look at!
Stage 4: Dim Sum
“Pick and choose from any piping-hot appetizer portion dishes presented on carts wheeled around the banquet hall, from turnip cakes and mango pudding to paper chicken.”
We didn’t get to select whatever food we wanted from carts, it was presented in front of us. I didn’t like any of the appetizers, and the mains were quite bland. I think if I were to go back, I’d order a noodle dish as my friend Magz has been there before and said they do really good noodles dishes.
We also missed out on our ‘tea ceremony’ part of the tour, due to not having enough time. Which is something I’ve requested for the SSA tour that I’m trying to put together. I had a lot of fun in Asia town, in spite of really only dipping my toe into the area and the culture.
I want to go back (with less things on the agenda, or more time, so we can spend more time at each part) and am in the process of setting up an SSA outing with this group, and I’m very excited about getting to go back and do these things ‘in full’. Next week some friends and I are going back to the Hong Kong mall for a proper look around too, so it’s safe to say that this area of town has piqued my interest for sure!