With copious apologies to Mel Brooks and the late Cleavon Little:
Hey, where all the Azians at??
Well, we ARE in Singapore, just look at the sign! =)
Let’s Compare!!
En route to Singapore via SQ. About to eat lunch. Here’s a chicken ragout with cheese and crackers, big assed shrimp in the shrimp salad, a bun and Tiger Time! We also got a chocky Haggen-Daz ice cream cup for dessert. YUM!
Lunch amongst kebaya-clad stewardesses and Kris World entertainment!
Criticisms: The bun was squished and was lukewarm. Hard to spread the butter.
Now this is what passed for “dinner” on UA on my flight over. Before you ask “WTF is that?”, it’s supposed to be Salisbury Steak (or in Nihongo, hamburger steaku) with vegetables, salad, fruit plate and a slice o’ cake. It’s a lot of food.
A UA meal amongst “flight attendants” past their prime. And what seatback on demand entertainment?
I liked the fruit because of hydration’s sake. No ice cream for dessert though.
But take a closer look at this “hamburger steak”. I ask, is that appetizing?
Well, at the time, I was hella hungry and this was the only thing that seemed appetizing…
Which meal would you rather eat?
Mmmmm Mak’s Noodle! And Yum Cha, and Daan Taat
I’ve broken one of my HK traditions, sorta. I arrived on Wednesday PM late, ate a LOT on Thursday and will bug out to Republik Singapura on Friday AM. Then I’m returning to HKG on Monday PM and bugging out AGAIN to NRT the following AM. Yes, this trip is panning out to be the “fastest Asia trip ever”. And my trips are usually anything BUT speedy.
I met up with a friend here in HKG that happened to be on holiday from the land of tax, I mean the United States. He was able to help me gather information about Hoiping and how to get there. After we got all that info, we were kickin8 for most of the day. Which meant a little bit of shopping, meeting his frens and doing a LOT of eating.
So back to the breaking of tradition. No Tsim Chai Kee this trip. Even though they got spiffy new digs right next door to their former location. Gotta go there when I return next March!
Instead, we went to Mak’s Noodle.
It’s right across the street and it’s HK$25 a bowl, probably the most expensive in HKG. But the noodles were springy, with just the right amount of give, the wontons were stuffed, but not too stuffed and the gai-lon was cooked just so, not too much or not enough.
In short, it was a nice balanced HK supper. And was worth the premium. I like!
Before that it was a late (1400) yum cha in Mong Kok. Imagine a typical HK scene. Three people at the table yapping away. Then 6 steamers came to the table, stacked one atop of the other. In unison we went, “Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!” I think I was the loudest one. And the tables around us looked at us with happy amusement. Yes, yum cha is a joyful thing.
Then the rattling of chopsticks and the business of eating began.
But even BEFORE that, we began this “day of eating” at Tai Cheong Bakery in Mong Kok. MK? Yup. And in a mall, no less. See, after I queued up at their old location in Central back in May and they closed, they opened a new location in Mong Kok in July. Then they reopened in Central up the block in September. So Hong Kongers didn’t have to go cold turkey without their daan-taat fix.
Funny thing was that my friend finally realized that these were the daan-taats that his mum would bring home when he was little and living in Hong Kong. And I think he would agree that these ARE a big deal.
The night ended late with yet another meal at a HK steak place. Then it’s off to Singapore via heaven, I mean Singapore Airlines! Am looking forward to real service and food, especially having been subjected to UAL and it’s AFA “flight attendants” for 14 hours.
Wanna Beer?
Ummmmm, no thanks. Perhaps you have some piss water, I mean, Coors Light instead?
For those of you who are totally blur, look at the NAME of the beer…
How to Pack
or more appropriately, “How I Pack”.
Plane leaves on Tues AM. Got a new, 26″ roller expandable suitcase (because a 22″ roller carry on dun hold everything on an overseas trip) and now need to fill it.
Remember how I had the 22″ roller AND the red monster with a duffle inside? I looked like the glam traveller (not), lugging both bags down from the hotel, down the street, up and down the overpass, around the construction zone and up into the JR Station. Yeah right.
So this is how packing begins.
And this is how it continues. Notice how much the pile has grown?
It’s especially difficult because this is one of those “am on the other side of the planet, let’s see how many places I can visit”. Note to self: This method of travel is fine; just make sure all destinations are similar in climate!!
And we’re STILL not done…
Why so much stuff? Tokyo is having San Francisco weather right now. It’s a bit chilly. 15/3 degrees c. But HKG and SIN are in the high 20s. HIGH 20s?? That’s frakking hot!!! That means shorts and what not. But Tokyo calls for jeans and jackets and long sleeves. Gotta carry that stuff wherever I wind up.
One of the reasons why I have this big case now is so there’s room inside. To stash a pea coat. And long pants. Cuz I dun like being coooold!
What a difference a few hours makes
In the hours since the last entry, the skies cleared up and it’s nice and sunny outside.
Of course, 12 hours of rain followed by sunshine = weeds in the backyard. And, of course, I just pulled a LOT of the weeds.
Sigh.
Also, I need to remember that wonderful nugget of wisdom that I’ve quoted before in this blog: “Frequent Flyer miles dun accrue interest!”
Let’s see if I can get to SIN next weekend…
Tough Month
Sigh….
This has been a tough month. So many changes.
Ever have one of those life-altering events that just throws your life and everything you hold true into disarray? I had one last month. And have been dealing with the aftereffects and pain ever since. You wanna know? Email me.
The first clue was the posting of “Cemetry Gates” for almost a month. I generally dun post song lyrics, since I ‘m usually better expressing myself than some random songwriter. I haven’t been online, haven’t done any MSNing or anything even close to routine. And on top of that, I see that one of my fave blogs shut down because of the jealously of petty people.
Next week, I’m off to HKG, via NRT for a week and a half. I had a ticket I had to use or burn. Because of the quick time that this trip entails, I kanna head down to my favourite city-state, even though it’s sooo close! Singapore will have to wait until next March….
The HKG trip will be more business now. I’m planning to caucus with some frens there about finding my way to Hoi-Ping (which I understand is called “Kaiping” City now) in Guangdong Province. If I can get there on this trip, that would be good. If I can get there after before Ching Ming next year (cuz Ching Ming is at the beginning of April), it would be better (I’m still a sucker for planning) AND I can swing down to SIN and visit my dark chocky lovin’ fren.
During this past month, we had our two weeks of “summer”. It was nice. Today is “Black Friday”, or the first shopping day after Thanksgiving. It’s raining and cold. Fun for all those people who actually queue up in the wee hours to get into a mall…
Priorities, people!!
Respect where you are
There is one ironclad rule that all international travellers should abide by (maybe through a blood oath or something goth like dat):
You respect the local laws, customs and traditions of wherever you visit.
Examples: you can learn how to bow properly in Japan or catch up with happenings in Hong Kong and by extension, the PRC. Or even the food scene in Singapore.
But most importantly, you need to observe what laws are important wherever you are. Especially when it’s printed in big red type on your arrival card. Like this.
Think of visiting other countries like visiting people’s houses. You in their house, you follow their rules. And don’t expect special “rights” simply because of the color of your passport (or the “rationale” for breaking this kind of law).
The freedom to make your own decisions is the most precious of freedoms. The responsibilty for the aftermath is, again, borne by the individual.
Pretty deep for THIS blog, eh?
UA PA announcements
I’ve had to listen to no less then three UA drones,
#1 at the gate,
#2 on the plane (flight attendant) and
#3 from the cockpit,
go on about how “this is a very full flight”, yadda yadda yadda.
Is there EVER a UA flight that isn’t full???
Nope. Never. Ain’t gonna happen.
Food at Terminal 3
SFO has some decent choices for food. Especially compared to my recent experience at Washington Dulles where the food choices were: a TGIFridays and a McD’s on opposite ends of the terminal!!
In SFO’s Terminal 3 (UA domestic), there’s a Lori’s Diner, a Japanese place, a Mexican place, a Chinese Dim-Sum place, a Soup place and a dessert place.
How “diverse”!
Typical of San Francisco, it reeks of elitism due to the lack of a McDonald’s or any other place to eat at SFO that’s reasonably priced. Look at this.
How come so much more than in Union Square??
This is the menu board at Lori’s. US$12.99 for a chicken fried steak breakfast!!?? The dim-sum place was charging US$5.00 for a basket (three pieces) of har gau, siu mai and a few other yum cha staples.
That’s more than even Yank Sing, the most overpriced yum-cha place I know of!!!
There have been several sob stories about how SFO businesses aren’t making money and all that. Perhaps if these businesses and the airport realize that not everyone who flies is on an executive/dot-com expense account and lower their prices, people who travel may actually buy food at the airport!
I’m hella hungry but I’m not paying US$13.00 for chicken fried steak and eggs or US$5.00 for three pieces of yum-cha. I’m flying to LA, land of good cheap food and I think I can hold out…
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