HKG's pace, eating and golf.....

everything else is going really well .... as u know the pace of hk is such that money talks and all else is a matter of efficiency... to the extent of ineffectiveness....... fast is not always better... but it is fast in hk... everything .. from spending money to making it to using the metro.... one of the worse in the world......; to eating in a restaurant...the bums' rush....; to simply walking on the street... its like a squash game.... push the other guy out of the way...; holding doors for women .... don't think anyone here under 30 know what this is all about......lol.....

but then we don't have West Nile.... etc... found this out when i was trying to give blood to lower my ferritin.....

yes... eating is a participatory sport in HK..... everything centers around food and all meals are booked for meetings etc..... there is protocol etc.... and prices are relatively expensive.... at 6 to 1 HK to C$... a 200pp meals is only $30. that's very cheap considering how little Chinese actually drink at meals.... an avg business standard meal is around C$100 pp and the different variations are phenomenal.. depending on the location, the same chain will have different prices.....

it is truly 'what the market will bear' pricing in HK. call it entrepreneurship.....

how're things shaping out in Ottawa. Must be golf season again... Here people play in the winter as the summers are too humid and hot.... a game runs around US$100 or HK$800 a round... so expensive... enjoy ur value golf while it lasts.....

experimental kitchens........ in HKG

The size of a Hong Kong kitchen is NOT suitable for experimentation.

#2, i will have to know who this guy is and why he is saying what he is saying, before i can start experimenting......

This 'grand experimentation' with the chillies... if u want me to do any more u will have to give me more details...... and just huffing about me not getting to it is not the route to take..... (that's a polite way to say.... what the hell do u want me to do with this stuff? I have already told u I do not make chili sauces from this stuff.... and do u want to use it for cooking, for eating... what...? I can make up a sauce that is completely useless.... like cin's chillies...... and she has the staff.....!!!!).

If u ask me what I would do with it... I would say... add olive oil.... BUT.... to which one.... 1) just the chili skins... 2) the leftover ingredients, incl peppercorns, lemongrass, seeds, and meat skin or 3) just the meat skins..... with a little bit of the other stuff......

I have separated the contents into three sections.... the chicken skin... very little, but will provide the meat flavour.....; the chili skins.... which will provide the spicy hot flavour, which in turn essentially highlights the taste of the ingredient used, but adds a hot spicy flavour...; then there is a bunch of peppercorns, lemon grass and 'ripe' chillies skins and seeds, which is the 'numbing' ingredient in the szchewan style that has been popularized in HK at this point.... I say that because i have no idea whether this is the correct procedure to prepare a szchewan dish... and u will remember my comments at Lumiere about the ma po tofu..... as being more spicy than necessary, having eaten it just about all over the world.... except for modern HK.... so ... I think it is due to this last batch of ingredients, ie, the peppercorns, lemongrass, onions and misc spices that they perhaps put into the food.... causing that 'numbing' feeling....., that i am confused about....

(I can consult with andrew on the ma po tofu if u'd like...)

but back to the experimentation...... i will continue, but there is no room or anything and I would have to wash up the blender, every time i use... and I still don't know how to use it at this point.....

anyways.... i will keep these ingredients separate... and we can discuss.... and i don't know if i agree with throwing the chicken skins out or pork rinds... they are too small to determine what they are useful for .......

and last but not least, what do u want me to make for this guy?

and u know know that i only got up the gumption to do the jap noodles because we were give the ponzu sauce... otherwise i would have not bothered... as it is, I know what it is and have used before....kikoman has the same thing, but i think the specialness in this one is the fact that sobayama specializes in udon and other noodles, so their ponzo... is probably special... and yes i do taste the difference... but it all depends again on the format.... ie kitchen, place, usage etc.....

ciao........

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Two Restaurants in HKG

hey est......

presume u r already back..... but the next time ur down, we should take u and Luc out for a meal. We found this great restaurant called queen's palace, on queen's rd east in the QRE plaza in wan chai... (as u know there are lots of restaurants in HKG...) we know the owners/chefs and the service is great... the food is good, but have not tried everything yet ...... and the value is there (hk$200pp for dinner including booze!!!), all through;...... they are relatively new... so... keen ...... considering the number of even Michelin guide restaurants going bust....; it is a spin off from golden island chiu chow in tst which is a very famous place with the cognoscenti...... for value and food.....

and u did say that spouse and friend may be coming down for the summer? don't know how many people he knows here, but as always... we can eat out.....lol....

i still haven't contacted jer nor nan yet.. been busy taking care of ma's cats....lol..... and trying to get in my 40 min workout walking home from central these days... it can be quite a trial...hahahahaha...... and prep-ing for the new place and getting involved....lol... with the wedding plans.....

and trying out this ponzu sauce we got from a restaurant called sodeyama, which opened a new place in cwb, which is expensive!!!..... HK$600 a person, no booze.... that's around C$100pp, but u cannot get this standard in Canada... maybe Vancouver, but definitely not in Toronto and Ottawa..... for this price... (I paid c$500 pp for omakasi last x'mas........ in Tor......) because they are new and trying to please, the service was beyond reproach..... and we didn't even begin to scratched the, albeit expensive, surface of the meals there... we were only two on a monday night.....hahahahaha........ I'd go back there to try the udon and saki, but the sashimi (really extra fab....!!!!), fatty tuna salad, beef tongue and pork robitaki (BBQ) were all pretty exceptional ...... so....

anyway..... we have yet to try the jade garden seafood in HV. too, some time, and I did the motor inn or whatever opposite the tram station in HV, for curry beef flank.... but really tripe, and it was ok.... ..... I think it's time has passed... they still have hainan chicken & rice, which is pretty good... as well as their varied course meals...... (I read an ad once that said 4 'coarse' meals... that was cute.....hahahhahahaa......)

in any event...... let's catch up next time.... I was really only impressed with the soy sauce shrimp at yuk sau market, shung kee.....lol........ we have to try the other one... chu kee .... and I haven't even given you the impressions of all the fancy expensive places I have been to on and off the Michelin guide yet..... lol......

btw, my friend is an expert in legal trust BVI/Asian trust laws and I know that Pam would have no need?, but if any of u other guys need any advice, I am sure that he is willing to give some at a cost.........lol.... I have been starting to tease him about giving advise on banking trust laws.....lol.....

ciao ciao.....

some letters home.... again...sic...

Some letters home….again….sic…..

.......did u know that the man that was the fortune teller, who is in debate re the rich widow's billions, is chen zhen zhung? not the same written words, but the sound is the same....? we should discuss this and your thoughts on these 'synonym' things.....

been watching a lot of chinese news and stuff.... lol....

U know another topic that we should chat about, which u may not be aware, is that even though I have not stayed in hk a lot, I am a very truly, ingrained patriotic chink. Eg., in my discussions with jer and er the other day, I found the magic number... there are about 15m people in hk, which is about right.... but this is not a number quoted by colonials.... or people who are really not into the culture and nature of the Chinese psyche in HK.

I am obviously not a pro-foreigner in Hong Kong, China.

.........

Sounds like u have quite the plan....; 'visual a boyfriend'? Is that like beam me up Scotty?

Seen the new movie? Star trek? I thought it was good. But trips, we're going to Bali again.... but that's about it.... ta's bought a place (750 sq ft... about hk$10k a sq ft) and we're involved in the renos...

like golf is a trip here, it takes about 1.5 hours (trains planes and automobiles….) to get anywhere remote enough to play, and about $120us a game..... so if u call that travel? and i get my 40 min workout by walking home from downtown every work day. It's 30C so believe me, it's a workout.

other than that, I have been caring for the cats... and meeting up with old friends and checking out the museums and things. Wed is free here..... but other than spending lots of money... not much else. May have to seriously consider some paying work because of the swiftness with which cash leaves one's pockets here..... it is a marketing society and cash based..... so money really flies..... basically no tipping but there is a 10% surcharge on most services...... and a 100% surcharge on new cars.... otherwise taxes are low and it's easy to make decent money. But the economy is in deep doodoo and being a financial center, it is hurting.

blog....? no time to polish my stuff and no bitching about food here... everything is just about a certain standard with difficult task to find that very special place.... have been to the best suckling pig restaurant and roast goose, peking duck, shanghaiese, blah blah blah... have put on 10 lbs and 2" around the waist, so..... trying real hard to work it off and eat less.... Chinese food is really quite fattening and in hk pork is the favored meat... and it ain't really nice pork like ontario's.... so....

also have a piece on Michelin guide on restaurants in HK, Macau and environs..... in one word..... it sucks!!!!!! Big time... and is useless

Good luck on the visuals lol

..................

Eating, living and travailing in HK-SAR are a trial in and of itself.....


Guess I can only get two letters in for public comment.........

waking, walking and waiting in HKG

Waking, walking, waiting in Hong Kong

This place is so crowded and the ‘me first’ attitude so prevalent, that walking is like a game of squash. For those who have taken a lesson, and I am not a great player, but have learnt the game from pros, it is that you have to control the center of the court. And essentially, by whatever means, move the other, or others in this case, off their point.

Everyone wants to take the shortest route. And most people are doing their BBs, texting, reading a newspaper or book…. all on the go…. Good thing we only do that in cars in Canada…..hehehehe….. Anyway, if you yield, they will walk right thru you. Same goes for a garbage cart person, office/home mover, pretty girl, car, tram and more major sized vehicles…… of course it also depends on the mood of the driver, of a car, vs. say, a pedestrian. So if u were walking and a car drove by, if you yield, they will go right by, bullocks to ‘right of way’….. control over center court……
Most polite people would yield. Does that mean HK’ers and that is differentiated from tourists and other temp residents, are vastly more impolite that most other people in the world….? It’s just a big city… by that I mean like New York City, London, etc. Each has its own form of rudeness. But HK’ers are particularly efficient and ruthless in their politesse. It is like a cross between too many years of imperial rule, by emperors or colonizers, and the most efficient way for the little guy to get ahead.

And this is not a walking friendly city. The railings are so high and so inconveniently placed, that it takes 20 to 30% longer to walk any distance, and probably another 50% more if you take the pedestrian routes, indoors, as in air-conditioned, and thru shopping areas and food stalls. I suppose it’s safer than having people walk into constant traffic and causing congestion because of some strong willed pedestrians. (Causeway Bay has the busiest pedestrian intersection in the world… and when I am there, I believe it…… it’s called sogo….). But I like the outdoors and although somewhat sooty from the traffic, a walk from central back to happy valley, 40 min, would give one a nice tan….(chinese are loathe to tanning, they think they’ll get skin cancer…or white is god… or something…..). Sure beats paying HK$850++ for a round of golf, where u have to eat enormous amounts of food, take a golf cart and probably won’t get as much of a workout as my 40 min brisk sweaty walk home.

And people have this strange idiosyncrasy of rushing when they are on flat land, but stopping on escalators, especially going up. It is as if they are taking a break from the mad rush at which they convey themselves on flat land. The etiquette for escalators is to stand on the right, with the keeners as in exercisers, or real rushers, to walk up, or down, the left hand side. Some tourists and foreigners don’t know this, of course and once at the HK passport office, I overheard someone say, as I rushed by, saying ‘excuse me’, on the escalators on the left hand side, …. ‘Boy, the people in Hong Kong are always in a rush’….. Think they were philippinos trying to get entry visas. Wait till they’ve been here a while…. Then they can line the streets in central, sitting and chatting in the middle of the road, on Sundays……..

I have often asked myself, why …? why are people always ‘in a rush’ in Hong Kong. It is like, as if everyone was rushing to be ‘re-born’ in the traditional Buddhist sense….. sort of ‘instant karma’…. By the way… this is a big insult to say that people are rushing to be re-born… as it implies that they should die first…..lol….. so it’s like saying… ‘go jump in a lake’…… People are in a rush because of the HK mentality of being more efficient (translate faster) than everyone else. That way they will gain an edge. But if everyone thought that way, it is unlikely that there will be an edge to be gained….. I did test this hypothesis though, by taking the same route thru bus, metro, walk, etc… and if one rushes a little bit more than the average, one does in fact get there faster…. That’s because there are always the earlier train, the emptier bus or the less crowded walk…… That’s why everyone here is running on overdrive all the time, …. From the time they wake in the morning, till their heads hit the pillow at night……. Mortality rate….? I am guessing, but I would say it would be higher than Ottawa….. where..? Ottawa, Ontario? ....lol…..

Certainly the pressure on children to perform is enormous in HK. I have never heard a parent complement his/her kid about how well they are doing… it’s always… well they are doing this and that and they don’t have time for something else, but we have her in golf… but she doesn’t play it as well as she could or should….. Maybe it’s this same ‘edge is the best’ attitude again…. As they say…. ‘if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere…’, or were they talking about NYC?

Toronto wanted to be like the big apple once… look at them now………

the economy...

i would very seldom comment on the economy on a worldwide basis.... but a lot of the puts and takes and ups and downs in the market; and the brits saying that it's done and the economy is improving; etc .... I only have one thing to say... and let it be said that it is here that it has been said first....

the accordion effect....

more on food and travel later......

Hong Kong Tai Pai Dong

There is a tai pai dong on the street in Happy Valley where I live and it has reputedly the best breezy chicken... or chicken with garlic flakes.

Well i finally did try it and the report on tai pai dong, which is street food and once upon a time frowned upon in HKG because of the cleanliness aspect..... was OK. It is to compare with the Singaporean version of street food, which has been accepted from a quality standpoint since inception. My take on Singapore is that the street food has gone downhill, with many stalls not passing the govt cleanliness tests. Some HK places, like this one in Happy Valley, is in fact a lot cleaner.

The food however is so so. Will go back and try more, but the prices are very good and the cleanliness is acceptable. Skip the washroom check and stick with items you know and it’ll turned out OK