The Many Charms of Chinatown
Miss Chinatown Jenna Kam and Narci -ssus Queen Lisa Wong invite you to Chinatown to welcome in the Year of the Ox with lots of fun events this weekend
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As The Auspicious Year Of The Ox Begins, Chinatown Is The Place To Be For Ringing In Chinese New Year
Where would Narcissus Queen Lisa Wai Hah Wong take you for delicious dim sum? What would Miss Chinatown Hawaii Jenna-Lynn Kam recommend for the best gift-buying on Maunakea Street? And what family traditions do they hold dear as members of the Chinese younger generation?
To find out, we meet the two lovely ladies in Chinatown and ask them to lead us to their favorite spots and points of interest. Both arrive in full regalia, including tiaras, anticipating there would be a MidWeek photographer present. Smart ladies.
Wong is dressed in a Grace Ching original, a white silk cheong sam gown with red trim and embellished with sparkling rhinestones. Kam steps forward in a dazzling Sheron Yuen-fashioned blue-sequined cheong sam, adorned by beaded floral appliqués. She shimmers in the afternoon light.
As the beauty queens lead us through the streets of Chinatown, they stop traffic. Tourists ask for photos, and we get a taste of what it will be like during the Year of the Ox festival when Chinatown hosts a marathon of block parties and cultural pageantry. The queens and their courts will be the focus of the Chinese new year events, embellished by the excitement of performers and dancing lions.
Our first stop on their Chinatown tour is the Gee Yung International Martial Arts Dragon and Lion Dance Association, 1024 Smith St. Gee Yung is the first school in Hawaii to teach competitive lion dancing to adults and children.
According to Wong, who has taken kung fu training, lion dancing is a combination of kung fu, acrobatics and musical instruments. The agility of Chinese lion dancers comes from years of physical and spiritual training.
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Gee Yung owns the most elaborate inventory of lion heads and costumes, hand-picked by world champion coach Master H.P. Siow of Malaysia. Gee Yung was the first school in Hawaii to play the Luminous Dragon, a team of nine people with poles to make twirling and twisting dance moves. Watch for it in the Night in Chinatown parade on Saturday, Jan. 24, 4 p.m., along Hotel Street (see schedule on page 46).
On Friday, Jan. 23, at 6 p.m., a traditional Chinese lion dance blessing or Choy Cheng takes place in front of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, 8 S. King St.
Following that ceremony, Wong and her court will visit Chinatown businesses to wish merchants good fortune for the coming year. Her arrival at each shop is met by firecrackers and presentations of lisee (good luck money envelopes).
Next, we tour Maunakea Marketplace, 1120 Maunakea St., a favorite souvenir-hunting and gift-shopping stop for Kam. The quaint, half-block enclosed mall, is a collection of merchants selling Asian wares under the watchful eye of Confucius.
The interior courtyard is a favorite gathering place for Chinatown residents. It is encircled by gift shops and sidewalk vendors with inexpensive artifacts, clothing, plants and souvenirs. There also is a food court that is a melting pot of local and Asian delicacies.
“This place gives you a sense of China,” Kam says. “Here you can find trinkets, jade, Chinese cheong sam dresses and more.
“No matter how bad the economy is, the merchants don’t overprice their items. Chinese are very practical, frugal people,” she adds.
The 24-year-old Miss Chinatown should know. The Sacred Hearts Academy graduate was born in the Year of the Rat. According to the Chinese horo-scope, this makes her enterprising and shrewd.
After buying a silk coin purse
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