[Diary of the Absurd Life in 1997:
All Entries]

TH: Diary of the Absurd Life in 1997, in 28 sections, was written originally in Chinese by Mary Wong and serialised in Ming Pao 明報 in 1997. The pieces, translated into English by Chris Song, are serialised in Cha beginning from Monday 25 September 2023.

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Red Bean Pancakes
and Vegetable Rice

4/28

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As soon as the movers left, I clamoured for dinner. Kwong was calling her boyfriend, Bigfeet. I took a quick shower, changed into a clean white T-shirt and blue jeans, and then put on a fitted black blazer to urge her to get ready. I noticed her phone call hadn’t connected yet. Throughout the week, Bigfeet’s mobile phone had been constantly muttering, “The number you dialled could not be reached…” She felt a bit uneasy, standing there as if her mind suddenly churned up some long-forgotten fragments of life she had never cared about. Outside her bedroom door, I made some sounds to remind her to get moving. For a moment, she was torn between dinner and meditation. But the thought that eating something might help jog her memory prompted her to open the door.

Where should we have dinner? In Sheung Wan, we only knew about Chan Yee Pavilion, famous for its dim sum, and the edible bird’s nest shops, but neither was suitable for dinner. Of course, we could stroll to Staunton Street in Central for French, New Orleans, or Portuguese restaurants. However, in her contemplative mood, Kwong suggested that we just have a simple hot meal. She felt a sense of infinite melancholy as she stood between the old tenement buildings, looking up at the lights in the old-style homes gradually come on. The slight autumn breeze gave me the idea of having vegetable rice. In the early days of autumn, I particularly enjoyed scallion oil vegetable rice, which felt warmer and more inviting than eating it in the summer.

At this Shanghainese restaurant there was a twenty-minute wait. After adding our names to the list, we stood by the entrance, among a few small families. A couple used this time to study the menu displayed behind glass, planning their dinner course by course. The parents were trying to keep their children from running around, fearing punishment from the South Indian man seated opposite. I was too hungry, so I crossed the three lanes of traffic to go to Kumataro Bakery and bought a red bean pancake to fill the gap till dinner. When I came back, I had already devoured half of it, and Kwong, seeing how much I enjoyed it, decided she would like one too. I went back across the street, but this time, the pancakes were still in the oven, and I had to wait ten minutes. I gestured in front of Kumataro’s door, shaking my head vigorously. However, at this moment, a large truck passed by, separating us, so I walked back, only to see her standing there with her back to me, silently contemplating her unanswered phone. Fortunately, it was our turn now. We sat down and ordered smoked fish, sautéed eel with vegetable rice, and a bowl of stewed noodles with three delicacies. She added a plate of breaded fried tofu and a red bean pancake as if trying to compensate by eating more in the cool early autumn.

How to cite: Song, Chris and Mary Wong. “Red Bean Pancakes and Vegetable Rice.” Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, 28 Sept. 2023, chajournal.blog/2023/09/28/red-bean-pancakes.

Mary Shuk-Han Wong 黃淑嫻 (author) is a Hong Kong writer. Her short story collection Surviving Central (中環人; 2013) received the “25th Secondary School Students’ Best Ten Books Award.” Her essay collections include How to Live the Sad Days (悲傷的日子如何過; 2021), Against the Grain (亂世破讀; 2017), and From Kafka (理性的遊藝：從卡夫卡談起; 2015). She has also published an online poetry collection, Cave Whispers (絕地抒情; 2022), in collaboration with Hong Kong composer and photographer. She was the co-producer and literary advisor of two literary documentaries: 1918: Liu Yichang (1918：劉以鬯紀錄片; 2015) and Boundary: Leung Ping Kwan (東西：也斯紀錄片; 2015).

Chris Song (translator) is a poet, editor, and translator from Hong Kong, and is an assistant professor in English and Chinese translation at the University of Toronto Scarborough. He won the “Extraordinary Mention” of the 2013 Nosside International Poetry Prize in Italy and the Award for Young Artist (Literary Arts) of the 2017 Hong Kong Arts Development Awards. In 2019, he won the 5th Haizi Poetry Award. He is a founding councilor of the Hong Kong Poetry Festival Foundation, executive director of the International Poetry Nights in Hong Kong, and editor-in-chief of Voice & Verse Poetry Magazine. He also serves as an advisor to various literary organisations.

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