Dictionary of Hong Kong English, A

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71 H ▸ chau H B haam daan ha gao hairy gourd hak gwai Hakka hand tail har gow hasma soup haw fun hell hell money heung cheung heung ha hill fire hit airplane HKSAR Establishment Day hoey hoisin sauce hong hong-boat Hongcouver Hongkie Hongkonger Hongkongeress Hong Kong Flu Hong Kong foot Hong Kong Island Honkers house-coolie H share hui hundred-year-old egg Hungry Ghost Festival 72 H haam daan /ha:m da:n/ n. Source language: Cantonese (鹹蛋). Definition: salted preserved egg. Text example: “Haam daan (salted eggs) are soaked in brine for about 40 days. This process causes the yolk to harden and turn orange. Unlike preserved eggs, these must be cooked. They might be broken into a dish of stir-fried tofu or fried rice, or hardboiled and chopped up into a bowl of juk.” ha gao /ha: gaʊ/ n. See: har gow. hairy gourd n. Definition: a hairy immature winter melon used in cooking. Text example: “Lillian Lee relishes the hairy gourd cooked with dried shrimps and rice vermicelli, while old Mrs Lee … is so fond of fatty pork stewed with yam that she has eaten almost half the plate herself.” Note: Also called hairy melon and wax gourd outside of HK. hak gwai (also hak gwei) /ha:k gwaɪ/ n. Source language: Cantonese (黑鬼). Definition: a dark skinned person (derogatory). Text example: 1 “They just kept referring to us as hak gwai (black devil) haam daan ▸ 73 H among themselves and said to me ‘you visitors come to HongKongtobeatupaHongKongMan’.” 2 “Their response was unanimous: ‘How can a hak-gwei [meaning ‘black devil’] become president of the United States?’ Other remarks were a bit too caustic to publish.” Hakka /ha:ka:/ n. Source language: Hakka (客家). Definition: a Chinese ethnic group. Text example: “Here we see A’s reasons for why Hakka cuisine became popularinthe1950sand1960s,aswellashowandwhythe nearby Hakka restaurants in Hong Kong have declined during the last two decades.” hand tail idiomatic expression. Source language: Cantonese (手尾). Definition: a leftover task. Text example: “Tomorrow will be my last day of work in HKEAA, I wish to take this opportunity to wish you all have a MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR! Should you wish to contact me in future, no matter is to clear ‘HAND TAILS’ or to join your activities, you can call my mobile—or email me at—.” har gow (also har gau, ha gao, har kow) /ha: gaʊ/ n. Source language: Cantonese (蝦餃). Definition: a prestige variety of dim sum, consisting of a starch envelope and shrimp stuffing. ▸ har gow 74 H Text example: 1 “There are many dim sum specialties to choose from, 10 from the main menu and about the same from a menu offering specialties. We loaded up on the obligatory har gow andsiumai.” 2 “Martin Yan learns how to prepare har gau and other varietiesofdimsum.” 3 “Ha gao—shrimps, bamboo shoots, and flavouring enclosed inapurseofsemi-translucentriceflourandwaterpaste,” 4 “And it is impossible to buy the translucent dough made from wheat starch for making Shrimp Dumplings (Har Kow).” har gaw (photo by P. J. Cummings) hasma soup /hasmɔ su:p/ n. Source language: Mandarin (雪蛤膏). Definition: a sweet soup of frog reproductive organs. Text example: “The hasma soup served at Heng Fa Low is a good example. It’s made with tapioca pearls and bits of this and that, and it comes either hot or cold, but it’s always sweet. And it’s fortified with the sperm of a Chinese tree frog.” hasma soup ▸ 75 H haw fun /hɔ: fʌn/ n. Source language: Cantonese (河粉). Definition: a flat broad rice noodle. Text example: “Haw fan are wide, white, flat, slippery rice noodles, and are usually pan fried.” hell n. Definition: the traditional Daoist underworld. Text example: “The Great Emperor of Fengdu ranked in the highest class of spirits in hell. In charge of all affairs of hell, he was known as the king of spirits. After people died, they went to hell. Their souls would be judged by the King of Spirits.” Note: The meaning of this term differs from the Christian and Muslim understanding of“hell.” hell money (also hell bank notes) n. See: spirit money. heung cheung /hʌŋ tʃʌŋ/ n. Source language: Cantonese (㓓長). Definition: a village head (archaic, obscure). Text example: “A week later, the heung cheung, or village head, of O Mun came to see me...