Cool Neighbourhood

My landlord proudly told me that over five years ago when he bought the apartment I'm living in now, in Wangjing, there was nothing there except the apartment complex.

And up until recently, getting groceries or any last minute shopping was a logistical nightmare. I either had to shop wherever I happened to be, or take the bus several blocks down to Wangjing Mall. I know it sounds trivial, but it was a hassle.

But not anymore.

Earlier this month, the New World Department Store opened its doors across the street from me. I'd been watching them build it, and then they had to stop construction during the Olympics and Paralympics but then they madly got it open in time for the National Day holiday.

The other day I checked out the supermarket in the basement and was thrilled to see it had a pretty decent selection and was cheaper than the one I usually go to. There's even a good variety of imported foods, from muesli to Korean crackers, Japanese cookies and energy bars.

Then tonight after work I checked out the rest of the department store.

The areas are really sectioned off for different vendors who have their own set of staff and as soon as you approach their section, they immediately welcome you to take a look. It's kind of sad at the moment because there are more staff than customers, but that will change soon.

Name brands range from the international (Nike, Hush Puppies) to national (Li Ning, Vero Moda) and again a decent selection.

One floor had women's wear, including short fur coats that were over 4,000RMB.

On the fifth floor there's the bargain section and already down jackets for the upcoming chilly winter are for sale. The styles aren't that great, but the prices at around 300RMB are almost as good as the deals in Wangfujing.

But that's not all.

There's an entertainment section where kids can play video games or run around a playroom, and even a blind massage place. It's great knowing it's there and not too far to go for a quick rub.

The rest of the shopping complex isn't completed yet -- with places like Pizza Hut, Cold Stone Creamery and Starbucks yet to come in.

When that's all done, my neighbourhood will definitely be the it place in Wangjing.

And it's all there, just a hop, skip and a jump. As long as you can cross the crazy traffic first.

Trying to Clear the Air 2.0

Since September 21, when half the cars were taken off the roads for the Olympics and Paralympics ended, the smog of course returned.

But starting today Beijing re-introduced new car restrictions in a bid to appease both private car owners and those wanting to see blue skies again.

During the Olympics and Paralympics air quality in Beijing was the best it had seen in 10 years, and residents, mostly those who don't own four wheels, hoped the ban would continue. But it's not a permanent solution, as car owners would probably go out and buy another car.

However, with this new six-month trial period, it's hoped car owners won't be too burdened, as in theory they will only have to abandon using their cars once a week. But the system is quite complicated to remember, as today, cars with license plate numbers ending in a 1 or a 6 could not drive today. Tomorrow it's 2 and 7.

Nevertheless, this should help take 800,000 cars off the roads on weekdays (weekends are exempt) and prevent congestion, and in turn bring back blue skies.

This morning I took the bus to work and apart from an accident in an intersection -- a car crashing into a bus -- the ride was relatively smooth.

After work I took the taxi to race to the gym for a workout and I was there in about 15 minutes.

The air looks smoggy... despite clear light blue skies up above. Or is it fog?

Time will tell.

Jazzing Up Beijing

Tonight jazz artist Diana Krall celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving with her first concert in Beijing.

The seats weren't completely full at the Beijing Exhibition Center Theater in Xizhimen, but there were about 2,000 fans, mostly foreigners.

A 15-minute walk from the subway station, the venue has Soviet-style architecture, with lots of columns, austere hallways, but actually decent acoustics.

We were all subjected to security checks which were minimal, and I was tempted to buy a bag of microwave popcorn that turned out to have artificial sweetner in it.

The show started about 15 minutes late, with people still filing in. Krall and three other musicians, a bassist, guitarist and drummer came on stage.

She wore a sparkly short-sleeve gold jacket, a black top underneath and jeans as she sat at the piano and periodically flicked her long blond mane back.

For an hour and a half she entertained us with a number of songs, including Let's Fall in Love, Devil May Care, You've Got Me Under your Skin, The Way You Look Tonight, and Miss Wonderful.

Some songs had solo interpretations by each of the musicians, others almost sung straight through. In between she talked to the audience with a wry sense of humour.

Just as she started playing a few chords of a song, someone's mobile phone rang and she stopped and said, "Hello? She's busy now..."

Krall also said Beijing was an amazing city and how she only had two days to explore it. She then explained as they were driving in her car, a man with a cigarette approached them and tried to sell her tickets... to her show.

She said she had to bargain hard...

Later in the show Krall got sentimental. She explained how today is Canadian Thanksgiving and that her husband Elvis Costello is "super dad", looking after their twin sons, Dexter and Frank, and that Elvis was cooking dinner today.

Half way through the show, she started coughing and had a coughing fit. But she drank some water and battled on, singing wonderfully.

After the show ended, they left the stage and got a loud round of applause that got them back on stage for one encore before she said, "We love you Beijing!"

Beijing was the last stop on her Asian tour through Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong and Shanghai.

Hopefully she'll be back again with her sultry voice and fantastic jazz performance.

Not on the Agenda

This afternoon the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Martti Ahtisaari, the former President of Finland.

He has been instrumental in a number of international conflicts, particularly bringing independence to Nambia, resolving the conflict on Kosovo, and working out a situation in Indonesia's Aceh Province.

Apparently the 71-year-old Ahtisaari has been nominated many times, but this year was finally honoured for his work.

However, many activists were hoping China's Hu Jia would get the top prize.

Many had speculated the Nobel committee would make a daring statement by recognizing a human rights activist who originally started working with people with AIDS, and then branched out into land rights and other abuses of the law.

He worked mainly by Internet, making contact with people online, either giving them advice on how to take action, or giving presentations to organizations outside of China to give them a picture of what's going on.

Currently he is in jail, and his wife and baby daughter are basically under house arrest.

No one is allowed to visit her and even she cannot leave the house, depending on family members to give her daily necessities.

If Hu had won the coveted Peace Prize, China would have lost major face.

Instead China can breathe a sigh of relief... for another year.

Black Friday

This morning I came into the office and watched the Asian markets fall... further... and further.

Every few minutes the numbers would change for the worse, from Japan, to Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea.

They were all getting a battering and trading was hardly halfway through the day.

All over the world investors are scared, and even multiple governments putting in monetary infusions aren't able to stem the fear.

Around this time last year the Hang Seng Index was over 30,000 points. Today it closed at 14,796.87.

In the evening Beijing time, the European markets opened sharply lower too, not a good start for what will now be called Black Friday.

While we're all waiting to see if the United States slides into a recession, hopefully China won't be too hard hit.

However, as it holds trillions of dollars worth of Treasury Bills, now is probably not the time for China to try to cash them in.

It'll have to wait a long time for the US to get back on its financial feet and be able to pay it back, if ever.

China meanwhile is trying to stimulate domestic consumption, cutting interest rates and even scrapping the income tax accrued on interest on savings.

But with most of the Chinese population making low salaries, it is highly unlikely they'll be able to keep the economy afloat by making 3,000RMB ($437.40) a month.

The country will have to depend on the ultra rich, the nouveaux riche with their brand name wardrobes and loud, demanding attitudes to keep spending, no matter how outrageously they flaunt their wealth.

And the rest of us will just have to grin and bear it, for the sake of the economy.

Acceptable Levels...?

Yesterday five Chinese government agencies, including the Ministry of Health set standards for the amount of melamine in food products in an attempt to allay fears following the contaminated milk powder scandal.

In accordance with the World Health Organization and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, China will only allow 1mg of melamine per kg in infant formula and up to 2.5mg per kg in other dairy products.

This standard was set so that inspectors will be able to quickly identify dairy products which have been deliberately tampered with to manipulate protein levels.

For example, a batch of Sanlu milk powder had as much as 2,563mg per kg. Yikes.

Government officials are trying to reassure the public that it is almost impossible to have zero melamine in dairy products, saying that it's possible some may be leaked from packaging or from the production process.

And while the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine has tried to assure the public that recently tested dairy products show no sign of melamine, people still aren't rushing out to drink cow water.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Affairs Office is trying to blame the hysteria over Chinese milk products on countries that have banned, and is calling for "unbiased, scientific and fair treatment".

Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said while China "understands" countries concerns for restricting the imports of Chinese dairy products, Chinese food safety watchdogs have "strengthened" supervision of exported dairy products.

He even had the gall to say: "As a matter of fact, China promptly reported the information to relevant countries as well as international organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) when Sanlu milk powder products were found contaminated."

How he can even say the word "promptly" as it doesn't explain the deaths of at least four babies and some 54,000 babies ill from drinking melamine-contaminated milk for months.

Countries outside of China have every right to ban Chinese dairy products for the safety of their own people.

And imposing new standards on dairy products doesn't necessarily mean the quality is going to get better.

Until countries see the Chinese government completely examine the country's dairy industry, take it apart and create an entirely new system with checks and balances in every step of production, they will not budge.

Things obviously have not changed since last year when pets were dying after eating melamine in pet food.

With the global financial crisis looming, China cannot afford to make these disasterous mistakes domestically or internationally.

It's time China started thinking more long-term if it wants to build and be proud of its "home-grown" brands.

Otherwise everyone's trust in Chinese-made products will continue to be a joke.

Al Fresco Dining in HK

A waterfront view in Hong Kong is not easy to come by, and the above pictures show what it's like when you dine outside at Isola, an Italian restaurant at IFC in Central.

Inside is a stylish interior, mostly white, with sleek lines, floor-to-ceiling glass and lots of beautiful people. La dolce vita.

But the best part is on a beautiful sunny day, you can sit outside along the extensive terrace and soak in the rays and the zillion-Hong Kong dollar view.

It's not only a power lunch place, with suits grabbing a bite to eat, but also a favourite of tai tais, like the Italian ones sitting next to us with deep tans and gold jewelery.

For starters there's an antipasti buffet, with a variety of dishes to choose from. There's dishes like mixed greens, squid salad, poached salmon, selection of cold cuts and finely cut proscuitto that was delicious.

If you're not too careful, the antipasti could be a meal in itself and then you'd be in trouble trying to finish the rest of your meal.

Then I had freshly made taglioni with seafood in a tomato sauce. The portion of perfectly cooked pasta was just right and the sauce included diced scallops, fish and prawns.

Iced tea was presented in a tall glass with slices of lemons around the inside perimeter of the glass, while dessert was also a buffet that included carrot cake -- who knew Italians made carrot cake -- as well as chocolate cake and a bowl of mixed fruit that was popular with the ladies.

The set lunch is HK$245 per person and with a gorgeous view of Victoria Harbour looking onto Wan Chai on Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories on a blue sky day, it was worth every dollar.

Isola
Levels 3 & 4
IFC Mall
Central
2383 8765