Take my Vitasoy, dammit!

When it's cold in Hong Kong like it's been lately (ugh, when will it stop?), one of the simple comforts you can get is a warm bottle of Vitasoy at 7-11. That's exactly what I did one morning several months ago, after which I stuffed the empty glass bottle into my gym bag and sort of left it there for a while (read: 1 or 2 months). At the time, I flew a lot, so I didn't have time to go return the bottle to 7-11 for recycling until we moved offices, which was when I was forced to deal with all the crap that had accumulated around me. Little did I know the wrath I would encounter. Running into the 7-11 that I originally bought the bottle from,...

Continue reading...

Lychee bros

It's lychee season and since I have been eating an insane amount of them (no nosebleeds yet!) I was inspired to draw this: Which are you a fan of? ...

Continue reading...

Octopus thief

So, the unthinkable happened. Or rather, the inevitable. My Octopus card, which I was reluctant to link to my credit card for this EXACT reason, went missing. At first, I thought I'd just misplaced it, so several weeks passed before I decided to check my bank account to see whether someone had actually stolen it. I mean, what were the odds, really? There was nothing on the card that would indicate it being linked to a credit card, and who the hell steals an Octopus card anyway? The answer: [insert squinty glare] SOMEONE. I'm afraid I have no further details on this certain someone since my only option was to cancel the credit card...

Continue reading...

Josh do it!

My tribute to Joshua Wong, the 17-year-old political activist in Hong Kong who may scrawny and nerdy-looking, but an inspiration to so many (including me). Read more about him here. #OccupyCentral #supportHK To everyone out there who might be hearing otherwise, the protests are very calm and peaceful, everyone is just sitting around, being supportive, recycling garbage, helping one another out, whether by spraying mist to help cool down, passing out free bread, water, masks, towels, etc. chanting,...

Continue reading...

The pointy haired man exists!

So you may have already heard about (or seen) this impossibly pointy haired man shaping his hairstyle in the MTR, and the way he did so with the exaggerated movements seemed so ridiculous that I was pretty sure he wasn't real (ie. that it was a prank of some sort). But lo and behold, while I was in the 24-hour Wellcome's cookie aisle last night, I saw Mr. Pointy Hair himself next to me checking out the cracker options. I couldn't help but get excited at the sight of him and the pyramid of...

Continue reading...

Hong Kong people can be nice

A lot of people have the impression that Hong Kong people are unfriendly, rude or impolite. And it's understandable, given how many there are that: don't open doors for others don't yield or give way - EVER don't make eye contact or conversation with strangers speak in a rough manner or just loudly poke you in the eye with umbrellas don't help you if you fall down (..the list goes on and on) BUT... I have to say that nice Hong Kong people DO exist, and here's proof: Just yesterday, when I was at my favourite fruit stall in Causeway Bay to buy some longan fruit (only HK$12 for two pounds) the guy threw in a free mandarin orange for me,...

Continue reading...

Barcode men

Question: What do you call men with combovers in Thailand? (...) A barcode!!  Now why didn't I think of that... (thanks to my colleague in Thailand who enlightened me). Apparently it's a term first coined by the Japanese, who refer to men with combovers as 'barcode dudes'. Love it! ...

Continue reading...

Rant: Psycho lady at 'The Peacock' show in Hong Kong

It's been a while since I came across something worth blogging about, but we can all thank the psycho lady who was in the line to buy tickets on Sunday for The Peacock, a dance performance by Chinese dancer and choreographer Yang Liping. The show was held over Easter weekend at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre and completely sold out, but a limited number of tickets were being released every morning of each show (10am). I arrived at 9:05am on Sunday and there were already 25+ people ahead of me(!). Anyway, the line was pretty civil until around 9:30am when I heard a woman shrieking, "Shut-up, shut-up, shut-up!!" in a Mandarin accent. In...

Continue reading...

Chinese New Year flowers for dummies

Confession: I'm a horrible Chinese. It's four days from Chinese New Year and I still haven't cleaned or decorated my home!! (Half of that's because I'm not really sure how to -- yup, I'm kinda clueless.) I know we need to have fresh flowers in the home since they represent 'new birth and regrowth' in the new year, but which ones should I get? If you're having the same dilemma as me, here's a quick guide to some of the most popular choices: Peach blossom  What they do: Help you live...

Continue reading...

Hong Kongers reject the Moon Cup

I love watching Apple Daily's action news videos for two reasons: they're super sensational, and they use silly Cantonese slang to report (as opposed to serious news anchor talk that I can barely understand). My understanding of formal Cantonese is pretty crap, and to be honest, I don't always catch everything that's said on Apple Daily action news either, so the animated bits definitely help a lot. The other day, I watched this video about the Moon Cup in Hong Kong, which is a reusable menstrual...

Continue reading...