Goodbyes

On Friday, I’ll fly out of Hong Kong.  Crazy another year has clicked off on the old odometer.  Of course, the requisite goodbye’s and farewell events have filled the past week.  This, of course, has gotten me thinking about the nature of ‘goodbye’ in our current world.  In a prior time, a goodbye was a phrase uttered to someone you might never see again.  When you wished them good wishes for a trip or a voyage, you might not get a letter or ever know how their life continued from that last moment with them.  For all you know, this happened:

Fast forward to now – a goodbye is more of an empty ritual.   In fact, I’ve never even worried that my friends would be stricken with Typhoid or fail to ford the river.  At the very least, post service is so regular that I can get packages from Hong Kong to Japan in less than 4 days.  I send postcards and letters all over the world – Bulgaria, America, Japan, China, Europe.  In our full digital communicative glory, I can get minute updates on your life via Facebook [and now, the ever popular Twitter [which I refuse to join]].  You don’t even have to make an effort to keep up with me specifically.  Mass email, blogging, and profile pages let you simply update and inform the masses as to what you are up to.  My mother jokes that she communicates more often with me now that I’ve moved to Hong Kong than when I lived 30 minutes drive away.

Have we reached an era where there is simply an end of goodbye?

Sure, we leave each other and you don’t get the physical presence of that friend or loved one.  But, it is certainly not like we are embarking on a treacherous trail or a sea voyage where your chances of becoming Crusoe are quite realistic.  Though, I guess occasionally people do still vanish [ beyond soirees to Argentina] and that would definitely warrant a real ‘goodbye.’

So, a goodbye – of sorts – to Hong Kong.

Burgerpalooza – the pictoral version

Absolute Burger – came with gloves for eating.

Absolute Burger – Good grilled onions, but little else going for it.

Burgeroom

Monster Burger

Atomic Patty

Flying Pan Burger

Wow Burger

Burger Republic

McSorley’s Pub

Burgerpalooza 2009

It happened.  It was glorious.  In total, six dudes and eleven burger places.  I was filled to the brim with beef.  The venue list:

1. Shake-em-buns
2. The Burgeroom
3. Absolute Burger
4. Proburger
5. Monster Burger
6. Atomic Patty
7. The Frying Pan
8. Wowburger
9. Burger Republic
10. McSorley’s Pub
11. Three Sixty

Now relax.  I didn’t eat 11 full burgers in a single day.  We ate at four places on a Friday afternoon and night, then six on Saturday, and I hit up the 11th about a week later.  In a few locations we decided to split to save our wallets and our stomachs.  At each place, we tried to stick with their classic burger.  Beef, toppings, cheese, bun.  We sampled the fries, occasionally threw in a beer or drink, and we were heroic eaters.  I didn’t eat again for almost two days.  We took notes, we discussed the merits of the bun and the meat, the freshness of the toppings.  So, the results:

Hands down the worst burger was at Frying Pan.  Granted, it’s not a burger place.  We went there as a side trip to visit a going away party for a friend, saw the burger on the menu and it became an impromptu addition.  But, I think a burger cooked on the floor of a bathroom by a drunk dog might have tasted better.  Thankfully, we split that one among us.  It was still the worst 1/4 burger ever.   Among true burger joints, the real worst burger was Atomic Patty.  So bad that some companions decided not to finish it.   The bun was like rubber, the meat thin and boring.   Odd because it is located in the middle of LKF and has gotten great reviews.  Perhaps you need to have several pints in you to actually enjoy it.

The best burger?  Unanimously, Burger Republic [39 Gough St., Central LINK].  While HK magazine denounces it’s greatness, our group must respectfully disagree.  Great bun, great burger.  Well cooked, slightly pink, and a happiness of toppings.  The fries were crispy, the ambiance of the place was trendy and cool.  But what is the true test of a great burger place?  Let me set the scene.  We had already eaten 4 burgers, fries, beers, and walked all around Wan Chai, Causeway Bay, and Central – since 11 AM.  We showed up at Burger Republic around 6 PM, tt was the second to last place we went to that day.  Despite being over stuffed, exhausted from eating and walking all day we still loved that burger.  That is a winner.

Second places definitely go to Shake-em Buns [blogged about previously] and Burgeroom.  Burgeroom is a little difficult to get to [as is Wow! Burger], but they are nicely priced and if I was in the area again I’d hit them up.  Burgeroom also has some wild creations [a lobster burger and a soft shelled crab burger] which warrant a try just based on weirdness.  If, however, you head to Shake-em, make sure you ask the to go light on the mayo.  McSorley’s was good, but considering our prices before the pub had hovered below 45 HK for a burger, fries and drink and our price at the pub went over 100 HK, it was simply knocked out of the runnings by simple burger joints.

We used Time Out’s Best Take-Out Burgers guide as a jump point.  But, as they placed McDonalds and Burger King in the top 10, we definitely took the list with skepticism.  Sometime, however, I’d like to try out their United Nations of Burgers.  That would be a fun day.  Next post – burger pics.

Shake em…

I love a good burger.  Meat, cheese, bun with a tomato, lettuce, onion – as Buffet once said, ‘Cheeseburger is Paradise.’  After a fun night in Central, we worked our way down to Shake em Buns.  See their menu here.  Cute title’s like ‘Cushion for the Pushin’ and ‘Doggystyle’ highlight otherwise boringly titled ‘Classic Hamburger’ and ‘Hotdog.’  To boot, the place is delicious [except the gravy fries.  stay stay away from the gravy fries].

I opted for a Cushin with some bacon and fries.  A little heavily slathered with mayo, this thing brought a party to my mouth and belly.  It is probably the best burger I’ve had in Hong Kong so far.  A friend ordered the same thing I did, while another ordered ‘Poutine ‘A’.'   Fancily titled, they are french fried potatoes with gravy sprinkled on them.  Now, I am a fan of all unhealthy cuisine – the faster it’ll cause a heart attack the bigger fan I probably am.  Normally, gravy covered fries should be delicous.  Problem?  This gravy tasted distinctively of the sea, most likely scallops our taste buds informed.  Now, fish gravy fries sounds just gross – which it is.

But man, that burger reignited a love lost within me.  There are a few other burger joints around Hong Kong that profess to have ultimate and life changing patties.  So, I think a burger-palooza is in order in the immediate future.

Still alive…

I know, I owe you stories of Vietnam and Cambodia.  I owe you news of what I have been doing in Hong Kong.  As my year in Hong Kong is rapidly drawing to a close, details and stories just keep piling up undocumented and unrecognized by my digital self.   I’ve simply lacked the energy to blog it up.  Hopefully, this will launch a series of posts that will fill in some gaps.

This morning I ran the 3rd Shatin Mixed Terrain [Cross Country and Road] Race.  It has been raining for a few days, so the trails and mossy stones were sufficiently coated to make them slick delivers of death.  The race started with a brutal uphill that continued until around 2 or 3 K.  This massive climb was broken up by stony stairs and occasional muddy straight paths that lead to more stones.  Thankfully, this oppressive section ended around 4k – leaving me to open road paths but with tightened and strained leg muscles.  I forgot my watch so I don’t know my time.  Around the 3rd time I had to stop to wait my turn to travel up the stone steps I resigned to the fact that time was not the most important part of this race.

Humorously [in hindsight], Hong Kong rules about stairs and MTRs applied even in running and on the trail.  Simply put, someone may push you, bump you, or whatever they need to get right in front of you.  This inevitably causes you to almost step on them, start to trip, and almost wipe out.  This is annoying in any form, particularly when it is a really old Chinese lady who you can’t even really be mad at.  I experienced this in my first race in Hong Kong.   Tired and weary, I nearly ate it when some guy decided to pass me and clip in immediately.  While I thought the slippery stones and the impossibility of being able to pass me because you would simply be stuck behind the next person would cause these men [and it's always the men] to chill a little – I was sadly wrong.

I was really dreading the race since I hadn’t trained for it at all really.  But, the old body carried me through it surprisingly well.  Updates soon…

Going colonial…

The irony is not lost on me – following an posting about economic woe and the need for sacrifice with a posting about overpriced tea time at the Peninsula hotel.  As Walt Whitman wrote, ‘I am vast and contain multitudes…’  which I have always taken to mean ‘I’m going to contradict myself, now get over it.’  Such is life…

That said, tea-time was grand!  Taking part in a colonial tradition, fun little cakes and snacks, and a live mini-orchestra [which seemed to play disney tunes at some moments?].  I shared a tea set for four with four people – and it was nice to just chill and drink tea.  Overpriced and overhyped, it is still worth doing at least once if you are in Hong Kong.  Like riding the Star Ferry, it is interesting to see something that is nearly as old as modern Hong Kong itself. 

While at tea, I had an interesting thought – it wasn’t that impressive. This posh, classy, high class event seemed – though couched in history and luxurious appearance – fairly commonplace.  I’ve had better pastries, better teas, and more comfortable chairs.  It dawned on me that we are entering an age where our diets are limitless – where it is possible to even eat an avocado in Alaska.  I’ve eaten Ethiopian food in Chicago, Indian food in Little Rock, and American burgers in Hong Kong.  The transnationalism of foodery I think sometimes takes away from the childlike wonder of a new taste or food discovery.  It just seems that we have opportunity to try almost all foods, even if they are lackluster simulacra of the original.  Or, perhaps this was just not that impressive.  After eating the mini-tiramisu, I said, ‘The top of that tastes like Captain Crunch.’  My companions agreed.  And I’m not entirely cynical, I do find some food and drink wonders that have the power to forever impact my life [such as durian ]. 

More tea pics here.

Random photo…

 

I snapped this picture in LKF [the ex-pat party/bar area].  Just random but I liked the way it turned out.

Monkeys and Trenches…

This weekend, the sun decided to come out and play.  It has been raining, cool to cold, and simply sadly overcast for nearly three weeks.  So, I and another ETA decided to hop on out to MacLehose Stage 6.  You may remember from my earlier posts about the MacLehose that it spans the entirety of the New Territories.  Stage 6 mirrors Stage 1 in that the majority of it is paved and easy on the body.  But, it has some cool views and two most notable features: monkeys and tunnels. 

When we got to the trail head, there were about a million signs saying ‘Don’t feed the freakin monkeys.’  The first thing I see?  Some idiot feeding the monkeys white bread.  These aren’t the wonderfully playful monkeys of Ishigaki; these monkeys are feral and mean – but darn if they ain’t just so cute, huh?  Well, one of the ‘protect yourself from monkeys’ signs warned not to make eye-contact.  Turns out, good advice.  I was looking at one [presumably a male] and that bugger leapt up to the fence, bounded down it – prompting me to skirt away with a eeeee sound coming out of me – and stood there puffed up and indignant looking.  There was one moment, where you had to pass under a set of trees that monkeys were in.  Creeeeepy.  Nothing like a bunch of eyes staring down at you where you fear one will snap and usher forth the charge of your furry cousins or an eyeball will be chucked at you al a Congo-style.

The second feature are these odd tunnels and bunkers:

Apparently built in the 1930s, these tunnels lead underground to bunkers, living quarters, and pill boxes.  They were used heavily during WWII, and numerous signs request that people respect the dead and not play war games in the tunnels.  Of course, after about 10 minutes in the tunnels – my first thought was how awesome a paintball tournament would be in the area.  Interestingly, all the tunnels have street names – Oxford St., Shackleford St. – and appear to be modeled after London.  Signs are outside every tunnel saying ‘Desolate Trench – DO NOT ENTER’ – but all the guidebooks say bring a torch and explore?  So, if you go do be careful [some of the trenches have been purposefully closed off, others seem to have fallen apart].

Overall, a pretty awesome little day.  More pictures here.

Tai Po Open Markets

I’ve written about Tai Po’s open markets and posted pictures before.  This is a practice that I really wish we had more of in America.  We have Farmer’s Markets and we have some seasonal fairs, but they just don’t rival the options for freshness in Asia.  On the other hand, it is comfortating knowing that your meat wasn’t hovered over by a dude smoking and sweating.  Though, one could be argued this perfect blend of sweat and ash affords a delicious flavour found no where else in the world. 

A return to the year of the Rat…

Last Lunar year was the year of the rat.  Around Mid-Autumn festival [like October 2008] I came across this art exhibition that was full of decorated mice!  It really made me chuckle.  Apparently the art project plans to do pieces for each Lunar animal, so I’m curious if I will run across oxen this year.  

So, enjoy some mice!