Stanfords Finest

If ever there reason to throw off a skullcap and quit Judaism then BBQ pork is it. Hong Kong is the mecca of BBQ Pork, or Char Sui as the locals call it, and I am helplessly addicted to it. It’s a Cantonese dish that is very popular in Hong Kong and is very very moorish and inexpensive. It’s the Cantonese equivelant of Fish and Chips or a Hamburger if you are a yank. It’s basically pork that has been marinated in a way that is marvelous and it is often seen hanging in restaurant windows and is distinguished by it’s red colour. I have found a restaurant that does the best BBQ Pork in Hong Kong and I go at least once a week and tonight was that night. When you order it they pull the meat of the hook in the widow and place it on the counter before chopping off a bit of with a meat cleaver. They scoop up the meat, put it on some rice in a box, bit of sauce and then put the lid on. Yours for 25 dollars, (1.50 or 3 dollars). Rice aside is pretty unhealthy but what the hell, pray to Yahweh for forgiveness.

Whilst I am on the subject of my new computer I had a unplesant experience as I was getting off the MTR on my way home. As I stepped of the train a young girl looked at me and smiled but not in that way but in a manner of scared wonder. This girl must of been around 18-20 years old and was either Filipino or Indonesian and I must of been one of the first white people she had ever seen as it was the only reason she would look at me like that. As she walked past, complete with rucksack, I noticed she was with an older Chinese woman and the situation was clear and not uncommon; the girl had just been flown into Hong Kong from some tiny village in the middle of nowhere was being taken to her new home which would be the house or flat of some rich family here in Hong Kong and the place where she would now fill her days being the nanny/housekeeper/slave. Of course I am guessing most of this but based on experience I bet I am 99% right.

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I got me a new computer today from Wanchai computer center. It’s an IBM thinkpad and, like Ice Cube, built like a tank yet hard to hit. It’s light, nimble and looks good but popular opinion dictates that only Mac’s look good and everything else is piffle. Well, I like my black minimalist slab and a Mac is only another brand of PC these days so it’s pointless arguing the toss anyway. Seeing as I’ve gone all Chinese I plumped for the Lenovo machine as firstly, I am in the right part of the world for the support and secondly I don’t really buy into the “inferior if it’s Chinese” argument. Lenovo/IBM are overtly Chinese as opposed to Sony, Apple, HP et al who pretend to be Japanese or Americans when all of their machines are in fact made in China.

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Back from Hefei today after three days away. The adventure began on Wednesday afternoon. Took a taxi to Wan Chai, coach from Wan Chai to Shenzhen and then on to Shenzen Airport. Once you cross the border into China it feels like a different country and it follows that Shenzen Airport was no match for Hong Kong’s airport. Had some OK noodles before catching the Shenzhen Air flight as I was advised to avoid the food on board the plane. The flight was OK with the odd smattering of white people all looking edgy and out of place (myself included). Once landed we were met by a driver and and there then followed a two hour drive to our eventual destination – Huainan.

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