Showing posts with label China. Show all posts
Showing posts with label China. Show all posts
Monday, February 25, 2019
Friday, February 22, 2019
An Unexpected Visit to the Sunshine Kowloon Bay Cargo Centre in Hong Kong
Posted by
Brian Glucroft
at
8:17 PM
I hadn't expected to arrive in Prince Edwards, Hong Kong, at 11:30 a.m. yesterday.
Oh, the location was expected. But the time was not since I had departed Jiangmen only 3.5 hours before, and a similar recent trip from a closer location, Zhongshan, had taken longer. Arriving earlier than expected was grand though.
I had expected to stop by the Mongkok Computer Centre yesterday afternoon. I had also expected during this visit I wouldn't be able to fully resolve the problem which had brought me there. But I hadn't expected that after some assistance, I would head to Kowloon Bay.
And I hadn't expected that yesterday I would find myself at the Sunshine Kowloon Bay Cargo Centre.
Some readers must be wondering if the Sunshine Kowloon Bay Cargo Centre is a fine building. It is.
After entering the building, I hadn't expected that finding a way to the upper levels would be slightly tricky. Here is a later photo I took which which I believe captures somebody receiving friendly assistance to reach those levels:
After finding the elevator and exiting it on the 2nd floor (what would be labeled the 3rd floor in the U.S.), I hadn't expected to see no signs of my intended destination. So I picked a direction and found myself in a distribution centre for Circle K, a convenience store chain.
Soon a person who hadn't expected me to be in the Circle K distribution centre explained (hollered) that I shouldn't be there. Then an older man who presumably wasn't surprised to see yet another person in the wrong place immediately guessed my intended destination and directed me there.
Thank you, sir.
Shortly after that, I found my destination.
When I left Hong Kong during the Lunar New Year holiday I hadn't expected to return so soon. I also hadn't expected that I would have significant problems with an external hard drive I had bought there. I had expected that having discarded the box would make resolving the problem more challenging. It did, but I hadn't expected that things would go as smoothly as they did nonetheless.
In short, the external hard drive I had bought has been replaced. As soon as I feel reasonably confident all is OK with it, I will be heading out of Hong Kong once more. While I wish the drive I had bought before had lived a long life, at least the experience of replacing it afforded opportunities to open my eyes to new things.
More about some of those things and also the new travel options in and out of Hong Kong someday.
I expect.
Oh, the location was expected. But the time was not since I had departed Jiangmen only 3.5 hours before, and a similar recent trip from a closer location, Zhongshan, had taken longer. Arriving earlier than expected was grand though.
I had expected to stop by the Mongkok Computer Centre yesterday afternoon. I had also expected during this visit I wouldn't be able to fully resolve the problem which had brought me there. But I hadn't expected that after some assistance, I would head to Kowloon Bay.
And I hadn't expected that yesterday I would find myself at the Sunshine Kowloon Bay Cargo Centre.
Some readers must be wondering if the Sunshine Kowloon Bay Cargo Centre is a fine building. It is.
After entering the building, I hadn't expected that finding a way to the upper levels would be slightly tricky. Here is a later photo I took which which I believe captures somebody receiving friendly assistance to reach those levels:
After finding the elevator and exiting it on the 2nd floor (what would be labeled the 3rd floor in the U.S.), I hadn't expected to see no signs of my intended destination. So I picked a direction and found myself in a distribution centre for Circle K, a convenience store chain.
Soon a person who hadn't expected me to be in the Circle K distribution centre explained (hollered) that I shouldn't be there. Then an older man who presumably wasn't surprised to see yet another person in the wrong place immediately guessed my intended destination and directed me there.
Thank you, sir.
Shortly after that, I found my destination.
When I left Hong Kong during the Lunar New Year holiday I hadn't expected to return so soon. I also hadn't expected that I would have significant problems with an external hard drive I had bought there. I had expected that having discarded the box would make resolving the problem more challenging. It did, but I hadn't expected that things would go as smoothly as they did nonetheless.
In short, the external hard drive I had bought has been replaced. As soon as I feel reasonably confident all is OK with it, I will be heading out of Hong Kong once more. While I wish the drive I had bought before had lived a long life, at least the experience of replacing it afforded opportunities to open my eyes to new things.
More about some of those things and also the new travel options in and out of Hong Kong someday.
I expect.
Thursday, February 21, 2019
A Gymnasium in Jiangmen
Posted by
Brian Glucroft
at
11:54 PM
The other day during a long walk through the Baishuidai Scenic Area in Jiangmen I passed the Guangdong Nanfang Institute of Technology (广东南方职业学院). I see indications the school's English name used to be the Guangdong Nanfang (or Southern) Vocational School, which would be consistent with its Chinese name, but I will stick with what appears on their website. Whatever its English name, the architecture of one of its building particularly stood out.
On a page of photos of various buildings and locations at the campus, I discovered it was an indoor gymnasium. I don't expect to have much more to share about the school as I didn't stay around for long. But I do hope to share more about the scenic area another day.
On a page of photos of various buildings and locations at the campus, I discovered it was an indoor gymnasium. I don't expect to have much more to share about the school as I didn't stay around for long. But I do hope to share more about the scenic area another day.
Tuesday, February 19, 2019
Shakespeare and Chinese Fashion: Wearing Your Heart On Your Sleeve in Jiangmen, Not in Venice
Posted by
Brian Glucroft
at
9:07 PM
O, sir, content you;
I follow him to serve my turn upon him:
We cannot all be masters, nor all masters
Cannot be truly follow'd. You shall mark
Many a duteous and knee-crooking knave,
That, doting on his own obsequious bondage,
Wears out his time, much like his master's ass,
For nought but provender, and when he's old, cashier'd:
Whip me such honest knaves. Others there are
Who, trimm'd in forms and visages of duty,
Keep yet their hearts attending on themselves,
And, throwing but shows of service on their lords,
Do well thrive by them and when they have lined
their coats
Do themselves homage: these fellows have some soul;
And such a one do I profess myself. For, sir,
It is as sure as you are Roderigo,
Were I the Moor, I would not be Iago:
In following him, I follow but myself;
Heaven is my judge, not I for love and duty,
But seeming so, for my peculiar end:
or when my outward action doth demonstrate
The native act and figure of my heart
In compliment extern, 'tis not long after
But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve
For daws to peck at: I am not what I am.
– Iago in William Shakespeare's Othello, Act 1, Scene 1*
For sale at Diwang Plaza in Jiangmen, China |
* See here or here for translations into modern English of this scene where Iago explains he hides his negative feelings toward his master in order to better take advantage of him.
Monday, February 18, 2019
Passing Up the One-Night Stand in Jiangmen: Creative Names and a Taste of Demolition of Cheese River Powder at Yes Cuisine
Posted by
Brian Glucroft
at
11:02 PM
Yes Cuisine at Diwang Plaza in Jiangmen |
So many questions . . .
Should I leap at the opportunity?
Would I regret doing so the next morning?
In the end, I decided to take a pass on the pan-fried one-night stand at the Hong Kong-style restaurant Yes Cuisine (YES茶餐厅), and narrowed the options to two recommended dishes.
Choosing between demolition of cheese river power and bizarre was not easy, but I finally settled on the former. So I raised my hand to get the attention of a restaurant worker. He smiled warmly at me, waved, and then went on his merry way.
Something important was missing.
After recovering from the unexpected yet entertaining response and becoming convinced nothing further was going to result from it, I tried again with another worker. She wasn't as cheerful, but she immediately recognized I was ready to order. Excellent.
Everything was efficient after that, and I soon had a hot plate of demolition of cheese river powder.
Today's noodly lunch |
If by "demolition" they meant at a molecular level then they were spot on. Either there was very little cheese to begin with or most of it had decomposed into something not very cheesy. I have had similar experiences with cheese in China before. I'm not sure all of it was really cheese. In any case, if this dish had been topped with more or better quality cheese, I might be a fan.
But at least the taste was passably pleasant, and I finished most of the dish. I only left some of the noodles due to being full enough. For what it is worth, a misguided literal character by character translation of the Chinese word for a wide type of noodles — "河粉" — gives rise to "river powder".
As far as the fish dish, I'd say "pan-fried one-night stand" is actually a good translation of the Chinese — "香煎一夜情". According to recipes for similar dishes, the witty name comes from the fact that the fish is marinated for one night.
For the translation of "比翼脆雙飛" into "bizarre", I am not sure what happened there. It is worth noting that this translation is the first result provided by Google Translate. Baidu Translate's result of "flying brittle with two wings" strikes me as closer to the mark. I will leave it up to the professionals to decide what would work best here.
More than noodle dishes or cheese, I would say the thing to take away from this restaurant is that, yes, there are plenty examples of translation gone wrong on menus in China, even including fried enemas. But that perplexing or entertaining name you see might be a good translation of a name that is creative in Chinese as well.
So don't let an unusual name alone scare you away from a one-night stand, whether pan-fried or steamed.
Sunday, February 17, 2019
A Little Red App, Li Rui's Death, Lots of Debt, and Forced Pork: Four China-Themed Tweets With Links
Posted by
Brian Glucroft
at
7:39 PM
Here are four tweet with links to pieces very much worth checking out if you haven't already:
they used to read the little red book. Now the little red book reads them: https://t.co/adJNYhQmtc— jamie k (@jkbloodtreasure) February 14, 2019
“He saw himself as a conscience of the revolution & the party . . . But he had grave doubts about the system he spent his life serving.” Extraordinary obit for Li Rui, once Mao's personal secretary, by @iandenisjohnson: https://t.co/irtjHtkPpB— Julian Gewirtz (@JulianGewirtz) February 16, 2019
"Of the 22.9 trillion yuan ($3.4 trillion) of outstanding mortgage debt held by Chinese people as of the end of 2017, 47.1% of that is tied up in residences that now stand empty"https://t.co/MHkUUh8U0y— Matthew C. Klein (@M_C_Klein) February 14, 2019
"Many Uyghurs...fear that the 'pig' in the year of the pig will be all too literal: that this will be the year when Uyghurs in their homeland will be forced to eat pork as yet another way to perform Han-ness." by @dtbyler https://t.co/skFY4fJLRo— Amy Qin (@amyyqin) February 7, 2019
Friday, February 15, 2019
Thursday, February 14, 2019
Two Valentine's Day Sellers in Jiangmen
Posted by
Brian Glucroft
at
11:14 PM
I believe it is February 14, which in parts of the world is Valentine's Day.
Tonight on Shengli Road in Jiangmen, I passed two nearby places where people could buy last minute flowers.
The second photo captures intense bargaining. Perhaps some people would prefer their love to pay whatever it takes to get some flowers. In this case, tag team action between the couple sought a better price.
Well played.
Tonight on Shengli Road in Jiangmen, I passed two nearby places where people could buy last minute flowers.
The second photo captures intense bargaining. Perhaps some people would prefer their love to pay whatever it takes to get some flowers. In this case, tag team action between the couple sought a better price.
Well played.
Monday, February 11, 2019
Scenes from Piggish Hong Kong Lunar New Year Fairs at Victoria Park and Fa Hui Park
Posted by
Brian Glucroft
at
8:30 PM
As in the past, Hong Kong recently held Lunar New Year Fairs in 15 locations for a period of seven days. Five years ago I shared a number of scenes from the Victoria Park Lunar New Year Fair and the Fa Hui Park Lunar New Year Fair in Hong Kong. This year I had the chance to visit both again. Below is a set of photos capturing a variety of scenes from the two fairs. I visited Victoria Park Saturday evening and Fai Hui Park Sunday afternoon just before the Lunar Near Year. In general, the fairs were much as they were five years ago with the exception that were many more pig-themed items for sale — not surprising since it is now Year of the Pig. Like before, the photos capture a variety of stalls and the large crowds. And of course there a few scenes from their respective flower markets. One thing is deliberately missing though. The politically themed stalls at Victoria Park, which I featured five years ago, will appear in a later post.
And that's all for now. For Lunar New Year Fair photos taken in other locations, last year I visited the Taipei Lunar New Year Festival at Dihua Street and Macau's Lunar New Year Festival at Tap Seac Square.
Fa Hui Park Lunar New Year Fair
One of the entrances to the fair |
A dense crowd |
Basketball is off limits |
Pigs and more |
Giant stuffed ancient coins |
More pigs |
One of the locations to get some fair food |
Ah Tak - the green “keep clean ambassador” for Hong Kong's Food and Environmental Hygiene Department |
Some of the many flowers for sale |
Not all flowers found a home in time |
Victoria Park Lunar New Year Fair
Simply making one's way from one side of the aisle to the other through the very dense crowd proved quite challenging. |
Yes, pigs |
Some Hong Kong pride |
Bubbles abounded |
Slower than a crawling pace |
Shirts with messages of some sort |
Putting ladders to use to sell pigs |
One last pig-themed stall |
The trash overflowed |
Non-trashy and unwilted colors |
These flowers sold shortly after I took the photo |
And that's all for now. For Lunar New Year Fair photos taken in other locations, last year I visited the Taipei Lunar New Year Festival at Dihua Street and Macau's Lunar New Year Festival at Tap Seac Square.
Sunday, February 10, 2019
Thursday, February 7, 2019
Wednesday, February 6, 2019
Another Lunar New Year, Another Prosperity Burger
Posted by
Brian Glucroft
at
11:20 PM
On Saturday in Hong Kong before the big holiday, I was hoping for some traditional fare. Fortunately, I came across a perfect option: the Lunar New Year Prosperity Beef Burger at McDonald's.
The burger seemed to have been overloaded with sauce. Normally with fast food I would not be happy about finding a burger in such a state. But this isn't normal. This is a Prosperity Burger. There is no such thing as too much of that black peppery sauce. They could have dunked the entire buns into the sauce, and I'd be fine. OK, I am actually happy they didn't do that. At the very least, I really don't need even more sodium in the burger.
I was quite happy to continue an edacious tradition that has included me enjoying the glorious burger last year in Taipei and the year before in Macau. The burger is typically available in a number of Asian markets around the Lunar New Year holiday, though oddly enough it isn't available in mainland China where McDonald's offers other holiday burgers that change from year to year. I had thought I would miss out on the Prosperity Burger this year, but for other reasons life ended up bringing me to Hong Kong just in time.
The curly fries were bonus.
The burger seemed to have been overloaded with sauce. Normally with fast food I would not be happy about finding a burger in such a state. But this isn't normal. This is a Prosperity Burger. There is no such thing as too much of that black peppery sauce. They could have dunked the entire buns into the sauce, and I'd be fine. OK, I am actually happy they didn't do that. At the very least, I really don't need even more sodium in the burger.
I was quite happy to continue an edacious tradition that has included me enjoying the glorious burger last year in Taipei and the year before in Macau. The burger is typically available in a number of Asian markets around the Lunar New Year holiday, though oddly enough it isn't available in mainland China where McDonald's offers other holiday burgers that change from year to year. I had thought I would miss out on the Prosperity Burger this year, but for other reasons life ended up bringing me to Hong Kong just in time.
The curly fries were bonus.
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