Expat Outrage

The other day I was in line at the MTR station in Admiralty to add more money to my Octopus card at the customer service counter.

In front of me was a young British expat father, his wife holding their kid, and him pushing the stroller.

When it was his turn, he threw down his black American Express card and Octopus card and asked the woman behind the counter to put HK$500 on it.

She politely explained that the customer service counters didn't have machines to accept credit cards and that they only took cash.

He made the same demand again, saying other counters at the Airport Express did that, but again she had to repeat that the counter at all MTR stations had no capability of accepting credit cards.

By this time he was thoroughly annoyed and took back the credit card and whipped out a few hundred Hong Kong dollars and threw them down on the counter in disgust.

With a few clicks of her mouse she added the money onto his card, but one could tell she did her utmost to tolerate his rude behaviour.

It was this snobbish attitude that made Hong Kong people so relieved to see the Brits go in 1997. The SAR has another master, but that's another story.

Regardless, it's annoying to see this kind of behaviour still exist over 10 years later.

If he can't handle not being able to use a credit card to add money to his Octopus card, how would he ever survive in Beijing or China where they wouldn't even bother to give him an explanation?

Betting on a New Landscape

In the last few years Macau has changed considerably.

It used to be a sleepy town my friends and I visited periodically, wandering down the narrow alleyways and checking out Chinese antiques and eating Portugese egg tarts.

The old famous spots are still there -- the ruins of St Paul's, A-Ma Temple, and of course Casino Lisboa.

But nowadays it has morphed into a mini version of Las Vegas, with names like Wynn, The Venetian, Sands and MGM Grand tacking their shingles onto the Macau skyline.

It's so odd seeing the American version of gambling in this former Portugese enclave and one wonders how long it will be sustainable.

In October the Chinese government again restricted the number of times mainlanders could go to Macau to gamble. Now it's only four times a year and they must apply for permission separately from Hong Kong.

As a result, business has slowed down considerably there leading to many lay-offs in the hospitality industry and construction on new casinos on hold. However, it was good for us, as it wasn't too busy and we didn't see a lack of taxis which was previously the case.

We didn't gamble, but checked out the Wynn. Even before we walked into the hotel, we watched the fountain show that happens every 15 minutes. And the coordinated fountains danced to which song?

Money Makes the World Go Round. How appropriate.

Then we went inside and oohed and ahhed at all the designer shops -- Prada, Chanel, Tiffany, and Louis Vuitton. There was even a Ferrari store, selling accessories featuring the Italian car brand.

In another part of the hotel, there was another show even half hour. The round ceiling was divided into 12 segments, each with an animal from the Chinese zodiac, and below a half dome.

At the appointed time, the ceiling opened up to reveal a screen showing crazy graphics. But one comment was that it was like watching his screen saver on his computer. True...

But then the graphics later revealed a giant chandelier that descended and then the dome below opened up to reveal... an oak tree.

The tree rose up and it was covered in glitter so that when the lights shone on it, it would change to different colours according to the four seasons.

People started throwing coins at the tree, perhaps suggesting it was a wishing tree, or a symbol of fertility, good luck, or maybe environmental protection?

In the end the tree descended again, the chandelier disappeared and was covered up by the animals again with a loud dramatic thud.

Show over.

While the city has changed so much since the handover in 1999, the food remains the same.

For lunch we had pork buns, half bagettes that had thin slices of pork chops that were absolutely delicious, and small Portugese egg tarts that we popped into our mouths for dessert. We also had some spicy pork jerky that was better than the non-spicy ones.

And then in the late afternoon, we headed to Hac Sa or black sand beach where we at Fernando's, a culinary institution in Macau.

We had the roast pork that featured russet-coloured thick crispy skin, and tender meat, and prawns in a tomato-based sauce with a touch of spice. The only sad thing was not having enough bread to soak up all the sauce.

It was disappointing not having the stir-fried clams, but the waitress told us the clams today had too much sand so they didn't buy any. Instead we also had pan-fried fish and crab that had a thick shell. I managed to pry most of the shell off the pincher to get a big chunk of meat.

Many raved about the salad, particularly the tomatoes that were very fresh and tasted ripe. Many salads these days have what look like red tomatoes but don't have much taste. The flavours were heightened by sprinkles of sea salt.

Our stomachs sated, we headed back to Hong Kong, with fond memories of the food and marvelled at the changes in Macau.

Bargain Bazaar

This afternoon we checked out The 43rd Hong Kong Brands & Products Expo held in Victoria Park in Causeway Bay.

I don't normally check out these kinds of fairs, but it was a way to kill some time in the afternoon.

After paying a HK$10 entrance fee, we were inundated by the scale of the bazaar and the number of people in it.

Practically covering the entire area of the park, booths were set up everywhere in rows and organized into categories like "Hong Kong Brands Square", "Living & Household Zone", "Beauty & Healthcare Zone" and "Fashion & Stylish Products Zone".

But we first encountered the "Food & Beverage Zone" with vendors shouting out to people to try a variety of snacks for sale, from fish balls to slices of pancakes filled with jam and drinks. Luckily there were lots of garbage cans around for people to dump their trash.

There were also lots of food demonstrations from how to best use knives from Henckel, to buying XO sauce from Lee Kum Kee (three jars for HK$200), and Pei Pa Koh, a kind of Chinese herbal cough syrup that apparently had some bird's nest in it. We sampled it but didn't find any of the Chinese delicacy in the plastic cup.

However, we got a good deal at the Sun Shun Fuk stand that is known for its noodles. They were selling four bowls of instant noodles for HK$60 and we bought eight and the woman threw in several other packages of noodles and udon.

We won't have anymore hunger pangs in the middle of the night anymore.

Apart from the food stalls, there were others selling homeware, like plates and bowls, vacuum cleaners and even heated toilet seats from Korea.

But the fashion section was disappointing, with booths selling lots of fleece or winter jackets, strands of pearls that seemed too good to be real, and shoes that were not quite stylish.

On the whole it was quite crowded, but things went relatively smoothly as long as you were patient and willing to take your time. After about an hour we had had enough and just before we left, spied a statue of Queen Victoria, after whom the park is named.

The public space is best known as the place where candlelight vigils are held to remember the victims of the Tiananmen Square Massacre and usually the start place of protests.

I remember many years ago sitting above the park at the Park Lane Hotel and looking down during the Mid-Autumn Festival, and seeing it completely it with candles and lights, creating a beautiful, luminous atmosphere.

Stylish Face

We heard about a good Thai/Vietnamese restaurant in Hong Kong's IFC, so we went to check it out today for Christmas lunch.

Fearing there may be hordes of people, we made a reservation for 12:30pm and we warned that our table would only be held an extra 10 minutes.

But when we got there a few minutes early, the restaurant was practically empty save for two tables that were occupied.

It didn't look like a good sign.

But the atmosphere is very chic, with dark wood, sleek lines and cool atmospheric music in the background that helped us escape temporarily from the cheesy Christmas songs in the mall.

Because we were early and made a reservation, we got to sit in a booth by the window that looked out onto IFC One, where the Hong Kong station for the Airport Express is located. Beyond that is Victoria Harbour.

The menu wasn't too cheap considering it was Thai and Vietnamese food. Vietnamese spring rolls with prawns were over HK$100. Not quite what I had in mind.

However, we were recommended to try deep-fried buttered chicken wings and it was a hearty serving with six wings and drumsticks that had a light-coloured batter and covered in chopped garlic.

They weren't that special and it seemed strange that as a side dish it was the last one to arrive at the table.

We also ordered the seafood pad Thai that was quite good, with large prawns, squid rings, rice noodles, chives, scrambled eggs and generous amounts of bean sprouts. Dried chillis and peanuts were on the side along with half a lime.

Stir-fried Morning Glory was also delicious, cooked with fresh chillis for a slight kick to the green vegetable.

Our drinks were refreshing -- mine a lemongrass lime soda that came with a stick of lemongrass in the glass that looked round at the top and then oval at the bottom. The other, freshly squeezed pomelo juice was good.

The restaurant is quite the people-watching place, as the centre of the room features a rectangular seating area and in the middle is a fountain level with the table surface.

Other design asethetics caught our eye, from the water jugs to the chairs that had a wooden slot that slid out for people to place their purses and shopping on.

In the end lunch for two was HK$386 ($49.80).

Lian
Shop 2004
IFC
2521 1117

Still Humming

Despite technically being in a recession, Hong Kong seems to continue its bustling pace. Or then again maybe it's because it's Christmas.

I arrived yesterday afternoon amid the Christmas eve rush only to be caught in a traffic jam in Central.

And later at dinner time, my relatives and I had wanted to go to a Japanese restaurant at the International Finance Centre or IFC. This place that serves sushi on a rotating belt is already popular so we thought we'd get there before 6pm.

But when we arrived at 5:45pm, we got a number -- 62 -- and they were serving number 41.

So we changed gears and headed over to another part of the mall to Crystal Palace, a chain restaurant run by Maxims and luckily we only had to wait about 10 minutes.

But that place was packed and it wasn't hard to see why.

Serving northern Chinese food, like dumplings and hand-pulled noodles, the dishes were delicious and hearty.

The six of us ate 14 dishes and bowls of noodles, and almost polished off all of them.

My uncle was quite impressed. "Dessert?" he asked.

We all shook our heads.

"You wouldn't know there was an economic downturn here," he said to me. I remarked things in Beijing had already started slowing down, in the restaurants and shops.

He said things will start to look bad next year. Hong Kong slowing down was a sad thought.

As we wandered around the shops at IFC to get to the MTR station, we could see many "sale" signs everywhere, some with "50% off" or "further reductions".

Lots of people were still getting in their last-minute Christmas shopping, but retailers are probably just happy to get rid of as much merchandise as they could.

But back in our hotel, things were in a festive mood in the lobby lounge, where a live band was playing, people dressed up and wearing hats and crowns usually reserved for New Years' parties.

There were even balloons caged up on the ceiling waiting to cascade down at midnight.

It was a bit surreal celebrating the birth of Jesus with champagne.

Maybe the city is in denial about the economic downturn, or maybe it's its perennial fighting spirit that nothing will get Hong Kong down.

Canine Couture

The temperatures in Beijing have been really dropping. And when it's windy, it's damn cold.

I've already been wearing my long padded coat -- or as a friend has quipped -- the sleeping bag jacket to keep me pretty warm.

But don't forget the pets.

Most of the dogs I've seen around town with their masters are dressed up too. Many wear sweaters or coats, some probably wondering why they have to wear outfits.

But today has topped all of them.

As I walked to the office I saw this dog done up in a suit with Chinese floral fabric complete with booties.

It was outside a shop waiting for its mistress to appear. I know it's a mistress because I've seen the dog before in other fashionable threads.

Either it was pleased to get all this attention, or dying to get home so it get rid of the human-like clothing.

Warming Up to Winter Solstice

Yesterday was winter solstice and it was definitely a blast of freezing cold air.

My friend and I were waiting for the bus and when he drank some water and it spilled onto his ski jacket, it immediately turned into frost.

Yep it was that cold.

But the good thing was, we were heading to a place to warm up.

Comptoirs de France is a nice hangout for lazy weekend afternoons, with its tempting array of pastries, sandwiches and ice creams.

The bakery has just started its chocolate fondue special of 99RMB ($14.45) for two.

We were given a small glass of water each with a plate, spoon and fondue fork each.

After a while, the mini feast arrived, a large pot of melted chocolate heated by a tea light, surrounded by cookies, diced dragon fruit, kiwi and a selection of ice creams.

I'm not quite sure why they included ice creams, but we had to eat those first. The flavours were mango (not quite mango-y), strawberry, raspberry (very good) and a creamy chocolate.

Then we dug into the fondue itself, dipping the cookies in and lavishing them with lots of warm liquid chocolate before putting them into our mouths.

It would have been better to have more fruits, especially strawberries, but they weren't available. Marshmallows would have made it an even sweeter experience.

Nevertheless, we soon finished the small plates and didn't have anything else to go with the chocolate... perhaps we should have asked for some bread for some pain au chocolat...

Comptoirs de France
Business Building No. 5 First Floor
Hairun International Apartment
B2 Jiangtai Road, Lido
Beijing
5135 7645