Happy Valley Racecourse

We were told that a trip to the races was a must in Hong Kong. Thankfully, our lovely coworker Cherry-Ann (the Babson Alum) arranged for us to be in the upper levels where they had an awesome buffet and open bar. Can't beat that!

The Happy Valley Racecourse actually burned down in 1918 and killed almost 600 people. It was rebuilt in 1995 and is a very popular activity in Hong Kong. The track encircles soccer, rugby, and hockey fields. There is also a Hong Kong Jockey Club Archive and Museum.

We started our night with the buffet of course. I think this is actually one of the first meals I did not take pictures of! Very yummy stuff at the buffet - meats and cheeses, salmon, salads, etc. I loved the lamb curry. They had duck, prime rib, and monk fish baked in pastry. And a ton of desserts. I think I tried one of everything. All were yummy! For the first time I tried Congee, which I had been wanting to try. It's typically a breakfast thing, but I think some people eat it late for supper as well. Congee is like a rice porridge that is made by over cooking rice in A LOT of water to a soup type consistency. You put toppings on it like scallions, bamboo shoots, fried breadsticks, and other condiments. When I first served myself some it looked exactly like a Filipino dish called Lugao. Surprise, surprise! It tastes exactly the same so it was completely familiar to me. The Congee I had at the track had a much stronger ginger flavor than the Lugao my Nana makes. Needless to say, I enjoyed my first Congee experience because I had actually had it many times before!

OK, on to the racing. There were eight races scheduled that night and by the fourth race I was ready to place my bets. Here is a video of the first race I bet on. It's not the most thrilling thing to watch and only gets exciting the last few seconds of the race when everyone starts cheering and yelling.

So, obviously I didn't win that one; Brilliant One came in 10th. I went on to bet in race six with another loss and then lucky race number 7 came...I picked horse 8 - Champion Lad. Can't go wrong with champion in the name, right? Here he is taking a lap around the practice area where they are pretty much just paraded around for everyone to see.

Champion Lad came in 2nd place! It was a win for a lot of us at the table including Jen and Elaine. Here we are with our winnings. Elaine and Jen won a lot more than I did; I still have no idea how that betting process was working or paying out. I'm not much of a gambler, but it was a lot of fun!

After our time at the race track we headed for a drink at the Cosmopolitan hotel across the street. I had myself a San Miguel beer from the Philippines and even though the place was dead, we had a great time! Overall a really fun time and a great night.

Here is a small portion of our group: Joyce, Elaine, Jen and me. I'm really not that short! I don't know how I ended up on the small step! As you can see, most of the ladies had coats on. It was the coldest day they've had in Hong Kong in a few years (that's what they say). I think the low was a frigid 54 degrees F. The fur coats and parkas were out the past few days! Oh if only that was the coldest temperature in Boston :)