The British love the pubs. The Americans love the sports bars. The French are all about the wine and cheese. What really gets a Chinese party going is Karoke. And here in Hong Kong, it is legit.
First, you can't do it unless you stay out til at least 3-4AM, easily. Second, the private rooms are enormous. The "small" room we got can comfortably fit at least 20 people without a problem. Our group of ten seemed very tiny for the room. Third, the drink you consume is whiskey and green tea. Now, it sounds weird but actually the mix is quite good. You can barely taste the whiskey in a mixture that is half and half (very potent). It's also great because you're drinking green tea the whole time, you don't get a hangover.
Lastly, the singing is amazing. There are multiple flat screen TVs. 4 mics for use. high-tech controls. It is built to make the experience as easy as possible. The selection of songs is amazing. There is all the English songs from Lady Gaga to Journey to Bohemian Rapsody. There is also a very wide selection of Japanese, Korean, and Chinese songs.
The best part is it is always a ton of fun here in Asia. No one ever dislike it and it's very reasonably priced for everyone invovled. For 3 bottles of Johnny Walker Black Label and a bucket of beers, it was a little under HK$300 per person. That's 4 hours in a private room with a large quantity of alcohol for less than $50 bucks.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Sunday, November 7, 2010
China's Unlimited Appetite
Recently, I purchased a brand new laptop in Hong Kong. A 14' in HP at Fortress, the Hong-Kong version of Best Buy. The same laptop in the U.S. would retail for $100 USD less. When I wondered why, I mean all the laptops are made in China, a local told me, because of the unlimited demand in China. See, piracy and counterfeit is a huge issue in China. In Hong Kong, the legal and regulatory system is much sounder, creating a market where the consumer can trust what they buy in the stores (it's true, you can buy fake LV bags in major shopping centers in China). Hoards of people cross through into Hong Kong to purchase items in stores they can trust to be real, creating a huge influx of demand over the supply available in Hong Kong, marking up the prices. Even then, things are rarely in stock. My friends told me when you go into a Louis Vuitton store, almost everything is out of stock because of the mainland consumers just sweep through and purchases through. The same would be true for all the luxury brands. This is why Hong Kong can support over dozens of Louis Vuittons, Chanels, Gucci's, etc for a city with only a population of 8 million. There are very strict rules in Hong Kong when it comes to piracy so the consumers feel much more at ease here than in mainland China. That's not to say, however, that hoards of people won't go into mainland for the exact opposite reasons.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Liquor-Treating
Halloween's sacred status in Hong Kong might actually rival its lofty position in New York City amongst the population. Like New York, it is one of the biggest party event of the year. Children and adults of all ages take it very, very seriously. Treat-or-treating is widespread amongst the expat communities according to all the MD's with children. Festivities officially begins on Friday and lasted the whole weekend given Halloween was on a Sunday. Like New Yorkers, Hong Kong dwellers take any good excuse to dress up.
On Sat evening, the big night for Halloween parties, 3 friends and myself decided to honor a Yale-conceived tradition called "Liquor-treating". Thanks to my friend's genius idea and her friend's diligent planning, we each planned a shot at our respective apartments where the guests come and collect their treats. The first stop brought out all the stops with 3 different types of shots including gummy liquor, peanut butter and chocolate, and Arnold Palmer infusion. At the second stop there was constant favorite red headed sluts (the host is a red head as well). At my apartment, mango flavored jello shots were provided followed by an all out DJ/dance party at the last apartment. The fun started at 9PM and by 1AM, I was thoroughly exhausted. The party was a thorough success. At one point, I think there was over 40 people in my apartment (which is less than 500 sq. feet). I actually had no idea that many people can actually fit into my apartment. I loved the jello shots so much I think I will definitely be making them again very soon. When I was making them the night before, I began to freak out because I had to use paper cups instead of plastic (because there was no grocery store that sold plastic shot cups!) and I thought the paper was starting to break given everything in Asia is a bit less durable than US (due to a various of environment savings and just cheap quality). However, they turned out perfectly well and the mango flavors masked the vodka quite well. The party was extremely taxing however. So much so, I didn't even manage to go witness the insanity that is LKF in Halloween. Supposedly, the entire blocks are barricaded and patrolled by police officers and all the pedestrians must walk in one direction into LKF. Absolute madness.
The Halloween costumes were absolutely nuts as well. When I showed my friend my flapper outfit, she looked at me with a straight face and said "is that a costume? Hong Kong people wear that normally." Given the insanity in clothing in normal days, Halloween is even more intense. A favorite trend here in Hong Kong is cross dressing, especially drag by the men. My friend wanted to go drag but I convinced him otherwise. At the party, there was a chubby white boy in a curly blonde wig as a Barbie doll. Then a few minutes later, Sarah Plain showed up (the person is definitely male). While in the US, very few occasions and communities would find drag in Halloween. Here in Hong Kong, it's actually quite a popular concept. Straight men in the US would be much more unwilling to go drag but here, it seems perfectly fine without any consternations
On Sat evening, the big night for Halloween parties, 3 friends and myself decided to honor a Yale-conceived tradition called "Liquor-treating". Thanks to my friend's genius idea and her friend's diligent planning, we each planned a shot at our respective apartments where the guests come and collect their treats. The first stop brought out all the stops with 3 different types of shots including gummy liquor, peanut butter and chocolate, and Arnold Palmer infusion. At the second stop there was constant favorite red headed sluts (the host is a red head as well). At my apartment, mango flavored jello shots were provided followed by an all out DJ/dance party at the last apartment. The fun started at 9PM and by 1AM, I was thoroughly exhausted. The party was a thorough success. At one point, I think there was over 40 people in my apartment (which is less than 500 sq. feet). I actually had no idea that many people can actually fit into my apartment. I loved the jello shots so much I think I will definitely be making them again very soon. When I was making them the night before, I began to freak out because I had to use paper cups instead of plastic (because there was no grocery store that sold plastic shot cups!) and I thought the paper was starting to break given everything in Asia is a bit less durable than US (due to a various of environment savings and just cheap quality). However, they turned out perfectly well and the mango flavors masked the vodka quite well. The party was extremely taxing however. So much so, I didn't even manage to go witness the insanity that is LKF in Halloween. Supposedly, the entire blocks are barricaded and patrolled by police officers and all the pedestrians must walk in one direction into LKF. Absolute madness.
The Halloween costumes were absolutely nuts as well. When I showed my friend my flapper outfit, she looked at me with a straight face and said "is that a costume? Hong Kong people wear that normally." Given the insanity in clothing in normal days, Halloween is even more intense. A favorite trend here in Hong Kong is cross dressing, especially drag by the men. My friend wanted to go drag but I convinced him otherwise. At the party, there was a chubby white boy in a curly blonde wig as a Barbie doll. Then a few minutes later, Sarah Plain showed up (the person is definitely male). While in the US, very few occasions and communities would find drag in Halloween. Here in Hong Kong, it's actually quite a popular concept. Straight men in the US would be much more unwilling to go drag but here, it seems perfectly fine without any consternations
Da Ping Huo Private Kitchen - the legit spicy food experience
A page out of Vancouver's book, Da Ping Huo is a famous private kitchen in the Soho district of Hong Kong. At the private kitchen, there is no choice of food. One must dine at the chef's discretion. At this private kitchen, there's a 12 course Sichuan food, where the courses are alternating spicy and not spicy. Sichuan food is designed to be the one of the spiciest food in the world. Given the private kitchen is located in the heart of expat Hong Kong, the alternating idea is probably designed for people, such as myself, who can't handle spicy food as much.
I must say, that is the best dining experience I've had in Hong Kong. So much better than the fancy, pretend restaurants that you see around Hong Kong. The food is well made, portions generous, and the taste hits you at different pace, keeping you on your toes. http://www.followmefoodie.com/2010/05/hong-kong-sichuan-da-ping-huo-restauarnt-private-kitchen/ This link has a much better description of the food than I can provide.
One of the craziest thing about this kitchen, however, is that the wife of the couple that owns it sings Chinese opera after the end of the meal. She's actually quite good! Chinese Opera is completely different from the other types of music in the west so many of the guests really have no idea what hits them!
I must say, that is the best dining experience I've had in Hong Kong. So much better than the fancy, pretend restaurants that you see around Hong Kong. The food is well made, portions generous, and the taste hits you at different pace, keeping you on your toes. http://www.followmefoodie.com/2010/05/hong-kong-sichuan-da-ping-huo-restauarnt-private-kitchen/ This link has a much better description of the food than I can provide.
One of the craziest thing about this kitchen, however, is that the wife of the couple that owns it sings Chinese opera after the end of the meal. She's actually quite good! Chinese Opera is completely different from the other types of music in the west so many of the guests really have no idea what hits them!
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