Skip to content

Made in Hong Kong

Despite loving SE Asian food more than Chinese (actually, the only Chinese food I've eaten so far is room service beef brisket noodles. Last night it was German beerhall food. Really. And insanely decadent buffet at the Intercontinental. There's something perverse about all you can eat foie gras, champagne and lobster. I'm not sure what happened, flu or food poisoning, but I threw up the entire flight from Sinagapore to Hong Kong, then kept puking in the airport and the subway station. Thankfully, I took barf bags from the plane. They're so obsessed with sweeping and cleaning here to that I'd feel much worse about throwing up on the sidewalk than in NYC. Worse, in that someone would inevitably see what you were up to. Workers are disconcertingly eagle-eyed. I'll never get used to the Asian stand one inch from your shoulder while you sign credit card slips approach. But then, people don't tip at most regular restaurants, primarily becuase of the 10% service charge, so I guess you're just supposed to sign and hand over quickly, no mental tip calculation or you just leave cash) I'm glad to be in Hong Kong if only for the more tolerable weather.

Of course, everyone's bundled up in winter coats despite only being 66 degrees, which isn't all that different from New Yorkers who seem to crack out the gloves, scarves and mittens once it gets into the 50s. Yes, I have issues with seasonally inappropriate behavior.

We only have three days left on vacation, which bums me out because I don't feel relaxed or satisfied in the least. It would take at least one more full week to feel right. Ok, off to find dim sum at a restaurant that may or may not have English menus. We'll see. Oh, and roast goose for dinner. Chinese food all the way today.

No Comments Post a comment
  1. You know how I feel about the place. nuff said.

    December 10, 2008
  2. Chris #

    Hong Kong’s winter is so short, people just wanna get the most out of their winter clothes. So once it hits under 20C degress, you’ll see them wearing winter clothes. I find that they could really tolerate the heat, wearing a long sleeve shirt and a blazer outdoor while it’s over 30C, girls in long boots during summer… I’d sweat just by looking at how they dressed!

    December 11, 2008
  3. AUTHOR: Krista
    EMAIL: scaredy_kat@hotmail.com
    IP: 38.105.246.138
    URL: http://www.goodiesfirst.com
    DATE: 12/12/2008 03:08:43 PM

    December 12, 2008
  4. Chris: I thought the weather in HK was springlike (70s–can’t do Celsius) but yep, our cab driver was telling us how cold it was. You didn’t even need to wear a jacket.

    December 12, 2008
  5. Chris #

    20C deg=mid 60F deg. Summer there is over mid 80F deg (30C deg +). Most of them can’t tolerate the cold weather and there isn’t central heat at home. During the coldest time around Chinese New Year (as low as 50F deg), sometimes elders or people on the street die from the cold.

    December 16, 2008
  6. Chris: I had heard about the no central heating thing in HK. I guess they just don’t need it. NYC is the worst for extreme weather. You get both 90s in the summer and the occasional single digits in the winter.

    December 18, 2008
  7. Chris #

    People in HK get portable heaters to get throught the short winter. I live in Toronto, right now it’s -4F degrees (-20C deg) snow storm. Brrrr… not fun other than snowboarding in the fresh snow. And in the summer we get up to 90s F deg too (>30C deg).

    December 19, 2008
  8. Chris: Ah, didn’t realize you were in Toronto. You definitely beat NYC for coldness.

    December 24, 2008

Leave a Reply

You may use basic HTML in your comments. Your email address will not be published.

Subscribe to this comment feed via RSS