Talofa lava from Hong Kong

One Sunday afternoon, we packed our bags, took a cab from home and went straight to a farm in Yuen Long. When we reached our destination, we were welcomed with leis in Samoa!

Ok, fine. It felt like we were magically transported to their island nation as we were warmly welcomed by proud and beautiful Samoans living in Hong Kong for their Independence Day celebration.

These beautiful Samoans proudly showcased their traditional Samoan attires.

There were loads of activities laid out for the kids and adults alike as the Samoans shared their culture and traditions with us.

Viliina ole Naifi ailao: fire dance spinning 101 (without the fire of course!)

Learning the art of fire making…

Inspired to start a fire… please don’t try this at home, Aya!

And what better way to show us the real Samoan way than sharing how they make their super tasty dishes.

The men are mostly in charge in the kitchen. (Yey! I can definitey live in Samoa!). This dish they are making is so easy and super tasty: baby taro leaves filled with coconut milk and onions — the taste reminded me so much of the Filipino laing!

The men start heating up stones which they will use to cook the food. It takes about two hours to do this. Once the stones are all ready, they remove the coal, and spread the heated stones to lay down the meat, taro, vegetable and all that needs to be cooked. Then on top of these food, they pile the heated stones again, and then cover them with taro and banana leaves to trap the heat. Once done, they wait for the food to cook.

UMU: Samoa traditional cooking. Learning the Fa’a Samoa way of cooking on Sunday for family to’anai (lunch)

Leilua Puipuifatu Malama: While we wait for the food to cook, first a ceremonial blessing of the food by the chieftain and elders. And the making of Kava, with the bowl cleansed by the princess.

Trying out Kava. It had a numbing effect on the tongue and tasted earthy, or woody.

After waiting for the food to cook for about 1.5 hours, we enjoyed the feast!

But wait, there’s more. While eating, we were treated with their traditional dance, siva tau (war dance) and siva afi (fire dance)!

Fa’afiagafiaga and entertainment: Samoan polynesian dance

The fire dance champion honouring us with a performance.

After feeding our body and soul of all things Samoan today, our trip had to end. And it ended beautifully with everyone dancing as this little Samoan princess took the lead.