Day Three: In a pig's ear
January 23, 2007

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Eggtart We have a lot of work to do to prepare for tomorrow (Monday). We'll be presenting all day, and there are portions of the exercises that we'll be running that we're not happy with yet. We got up early to do some work. The room has a shelf facing the window with a view of Central Hong Kong (pictured a couple of entries ago) that we can sit and work in front of, which is pretty cool.

Towards the middle of the day, we decided to head over to the office so we could explore the neighborhood that we'll be working in (and that we'll be staying in when we return to Hong Kong in a couple of weeks). It's a fascinating area. In a way, Hong Kong Island is like a combination of Manhattan and San Francisco. It's incredibly high density like the former, but its layout is twisted and byzantine and organic like the latter -- even more so, actually. But the end result is unlike either one.

The office, we find, is closed on Sunday; we can't find anyone to let us in and our badges from the Sunnyvale office don't work. We spill out into the center of the city looking for food. We stumble onto a really neat area of town close to Times Square full of restaurants and shops. On the weekends, it's completely blocked off to automobile traffic, and it's full of people. We find a restaurant that looks good and sit down to examine the menu. It's in full color and shows pictures of curiosities such as a cream-based shark's fin soup and a baked Alaska. We begin to wonder if we're at the Hong Kong version of a T.G.I. Friday's. We decided to leave and find something else.

Joe is a wilting flower, though, and must find something soon, so we rush into a nearby noodle joint and sit down. Soon afterward, we figure out that it is actually a Japanese noodle place. At first we decide that we're hungry enough to stay in spite of this, but no one seems to be in a rush to serve us, so after some hemming and hawing, we decide to get up and leave. I'm starting to like this. I scowl as we walk out as if I'm intensely dissatisfied. Joe, however, pretends that he has realized that it is much later than he thought and that we have an appointment that we must get to right away. The waitstaff does not not appear to care either way.

After a brief adventure attempting to find a hot pot restaurant that's in the guidebook but which eludes us, we walk by a Chinese noodle restaurant on a small side street. Desperate, we take a table there. It's a large round table that seats 6, but it's the last table in the place. We look at the menu and decide on some soups. I order a side of pig's ears just because I can. Curiously, another person is seated at our table, and then another unrelated person is as well. I guess these large tables are communal. I am not sure of the etiquette. Am I supposed to ignore them as if they weren't there? Or should I attempt to engage them in conversation? They are sitting right next to me, after all -- it's not a big table, and it's round, not rectangular, so we're all facing each other. Well, they seem to be ignoring me, so I'll ignore them.

Pigears The pig's ears are...cartilagenous. They're somewhat entertaining to eat -- crunchy in a weird kind of way. They may ultimately prove to be a bit dangerous; the next time I'm nibbling on someone's ear I may get confused between "something to seduce with" and "something to eat". Otherwise they are generally inoffensive.

The soups are another matter.  The stocks are watery and lack concentration.  They don't taste like they came from a can or anything, but they also don't taste like they were made with care or with any expense.  The noodles are overcooked, as are the vegetables.  The meats are unremarkable.  Joe is particularly dispirited by his.  We leave the place surly and with most of our soup uneaten.  Lesson learned: it is possible to have a bad meal in Hong Kong.  Not every back alley place is a hidden gem, no matter how many locals are there.  We've been so busy that we haven't had the time to solicit advice, whether online or from trusted people, as to where to eat.  Things should be easier starting Monday when we can get to know some of the people that we're working with.

 


January 23, 2007 in Hong Kong | Permalink

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