New foods in a new land

Today is Thanksgiving day and in the states we typically identify this day by the traditional foods eaten on it. This thanksgiving I will commemorate some not so traditional foods I have come to like while in HK.

First on my list is a British staple, the digestive. Now some in the US may relegate these tasty snack to the cookie category but this is simply not true. Digestives are baked, sweetened, wheat crackers and I love them. I routinely go through two packs of them in a week.

And don't think me a colonial; I have taken to another very typical Hong Kong food as well. The name translated into English means "little chicken eggs" but that only describes it shape. These are made in a round pan that resembles a waffle iron except that the cavities are oval not square. The vanilla piqued batter takes only 30 seconds or so to rise into two dozen bite-sized mouthfuls of happy. The best part is that this snack is available throughout Hong Kong for about 1 dollar US.

Next on my list of favorite foods is Vitasoy's sweetened lemon tea. I seriously think the company is kept afloat by this one product. If I didn't love it so much, I would encourage their management to try to direct customers into other products in their line because this must account for a good 40 percent of revenue. This one is a simple as it sounds: Ceylon tea with lemon and sugar.

Back on the western side, I have come to have a profound appreciation for milkshakes in the last month or so. I guess I was not surprised to find myself craving something western a few weeks in. I was definitely surprised to crave McDonalds-style milkshakes. Strawberry, to be specific. What am I pregnant? (N.B. That was not a veiled revelation.)

Everybody here says this town is filled with foodies and so it stands to reason that I would discover some new food loves while here. Tonight, however, I hope for exactly the opposite. Heleina and I let Thanksgiving sneak up on us and so we have no idea what to do to celebrate and so we chose the Christmas Story option - a Chinese restaurant offering a traditional American meal. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Bleach-Added Mats

SARS and avian flu hit Hong Kong between 2003 and 2006). Almost 3 years later, you can still see the psychological effects. Asian cultures traditionally have a thing for cleanliness but what you see as you walk around Hong Kong is something entirely different. In the estate where we live, the buttons in elevators are covered by a thin plastic sheet and there is a note above it that reads, “Sterilized every 2 hours.” I guess if I were to live in an upscale high-rise in New York or someplace like that I might expect the same, but it is interesting to note that the building managers chose to acknowledge their constituents expectations and post the note in addition to providing the service. It’s like going back to your hotel room and finding a note saying, “Your toilet was cleaned twice today.” When you enter a private area from a public one you will often see a distinctive red mat covering the entire entryway. One of the newest ones I saw still had the factory tag covering one corner. “Beach-added mat,” it proudly announced. During the 2003 SARS outbreak, major news outlets frequently associated facemasks with Asian capitals. Living here, the only places one routinely sees masks are hospitals and behind food service counters. I asked an aunt for clarification of why only some people wear masks even now, and she said most people do it if they have to be out in public while they have an illness. She explained that after SARS, people are worried about getting unknown diseases and so if you are on the subway and someone sneezes, that car will be empty 2 stops later. I thought it was hyperbole when she first said it, but the next time I sneezed in public, I thought I saw my personal space growing. So if you’re thinking about coming to visit, please do. If you’re in Hong Kong, at least you can sanitize the bottom of your shoes and eat off of the elevator buttons.