Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Condor 鵰
This was a hiking trip that I had been thinking about for a long time. My destination was Pinnacles National Monument, an area of spectacular rock formations located south of San Jose. The Pinnacles, which are a favorite area for hiking and rock climbing, are home to the rare California condor, one of the most endangered species in California. I had never seen a real condor before but had seen pictures of them. In fact, the HK television series 神 鵰 俠 侶 Return of the Condor Heroes and 射 鵰 英 雄 傳 Legend of the Condor Heroes both had condors in their titles. 鵰 (diu1) must mean “condor” in Cantonese.
On the way to the Pinnacles, I stopped off for lunch at 三 六 九 (saam1 luk6 gau2) 369, a Shanghai style restaurant in Milpitas. Using my rusty Mandarin, I ordered 紅 燒 牛 肉 麵 (hung4 siu1 ngau4 yuk6 min6) braised beef noodles and 油 條 (yau4 tiu2) you tiao or deep-fried crullers. You tiao are called 油 炸 鬼 (yau4 jaa3 gwai2) in HK. It was a good combination. The you tiao was especially soft and fresh, and the braised beef resembled 牛 腩 (ngau4 laam5) only spicier.
In the Bay Area, I know of two Shanghai style restaurants with number names--369 and 168. One time, when I went to Chicago, I ate at another Shanghai restaurant called 四 五 六 菜 館 (sei3 m5 luk6 choi3 gwun2) 456 Restaurant. As I understand it, these restaurants are named after famous restaurants that existed historically in Shanghai. The numbers presumably relate to the street numbers of the original restaurants.
The Pinnacles ended up exceeding my expectations. Although the weather was hot (about 92 degrees F.), there was a slight cool breeze once I reached the top of the rock peak. On the way up to the peak, I used the binoculars to look at several large birds soaring high overhead, hoping to see a condor (I think I saw one, but I'm not positive). Other highlights were the rock formations (see photos above), which resembled something from the moon or another planet, a rock tunnel that looked like a mine or wine cellar, and a series of caves. The caves were unbelievably fun. Crawling through them with a flashlight, I constantly had to look carefully which way the trail went. At one point, as I emerged from one cave, I saw a cute little woodrat with big ears. I wondered whether he was looking for a little snack, but he was too quick for me to get a photo.
Returning to my car just before sunset, I noticed that there were at least 50 large birds (probably California turkey vultures) circling the peak. And as I drove away from the park on a country road, I saw more animals--3 coyotes and 4 rabbits. The coyotes looked hungry, and I hoped that the rabbits would be safe from them. ¶ 9:00 PM
This was a hiking trip that I had been thinking about for a long time. My destination was Pinnacles National Monument, an area of spectacular rock formations located south of San Jose. The Pinnacles, which are a favorite area for hiking and rock climbing, are home to the rare California condor, one of the most endangered species in California. I had never seen a real condor before but had seen pictures of them. In fact, the HK television series 神 鵰 俠 侶 Return of the Condor Heroes and 射 鵰 英 雄 傳 Legend of the Condor Heroes both had condors in their titles. 鵰 (diu1) must mean “condor” in Cantonese.
On the way to the Pinnacles, I stopped off for lunch at 三 六 九 (saam1 luk6 gau2) 369, a Shanghai style restaurant in Milpitas. Using my rusty Mandarin, I ordered 紅 燒 牛 肉 麵 (hung4 siu1 ngau4 yuk6 min6) braised beef noodles and 油 條 (yau4 tiu2) you tiao or deep-fried crullers. You tiao are called 油 炸 鬼 (yau4 jaa3 gwai2) in HK. It was a good combination. The you tiao was especially soft and fresh, and the braised beef resembled 牛 腩 (ngau4 laam5) only spicier.
In the Bay Area, I know of two Shanghai style restaurants with number names--369 and 168. One time, when I went to Chicago, I ate at another Shanghai restaurant called 四 五 六 菜 館 (sei3 m5 luk6 choi3 gwun2) 456 Restaurant. As I understand it, these restaurants are named after famous restaurants that existed historically in Shanghai. The numbers presumably relate to the street numbers of the original restaurants.
The Pinnacles ended up exceeding my expectations. Although the weather was hot (about 92 degrees F.), there was a slight cool breeze once I reached the top of the rock peak. On the way up to the peak, I used the binoculars to look at several large birds soaring high overhead, hoping to see a condor (I think I saw one, but I'm not positive). Other highlights were the rock formations (see photos above), which resembled something from the moon or another planet, a rock tunnel that looked like a mine or wine cellar, and a series of caves. The caves were unbelievably fun. Crawling through them with a flashlight, I constantly had to look carefully which way the trail went. At one point, as I emerged from one cave, I saw a cute little woodrat with big ears. I wondered whether he was looking for a little snack, but he was too quick for me to get a photo.
Returning to my car just before sunset, I noticed that there were at least 50 large birds (probably California turkey vultures) circling the peak. And as I drove away from the park on a country road, I saw more animals--3 coyotes and 4 rabbits. The coyotes looked hungry, and I hoped that the rabbits would be safe from them. ¶ 9:00 PM
