Baked spaghetti and HK-style food

I bet you Westerners are scratching your heads on this one. Spaghetti can be BAKED? Well, I can tell you it's quite popular in Hong Kong. Lots of fast food joints and cafes offer this dish (as well as baked rice) in a variety of flavours. My personal favourite is the no-nonsense meat sauce baked spaghetti, which is made with tomato sauce, and which has a bit of cheese melted on top. Other varieties usually employ a white cream sauce of which I'm not too fond, as well as chicken, tuna, pork, etc. Baked rice is quite nice with pork chops and tomato sauce, but anything with white cream sauce and chicken is usually too bland. Anyway, these dishes are made by putting pre-cooked pasta or rice into a small disposable aluminium pan, placing the toppings and sauce on top, then baking it in an oven. This is a particularly nice treat in Hong Kong because it seems that most kitchens lack ovens.

Actually, baked pasta (and rice) doesn't seem as strange as it sounds. Westerners may not find it strange because they may have grown up eating lasagna, which is curiously absent at these fast food joints, probably because it's takes a bit more effort to make. Actually, I just googled "baked spaghetti" in the hopes of finding a photo, and it turns out it's quite a common term on many American websites. Anyway, I never felt stuff like baked spaghetti was strange because I grew up eating HK-style food.

What does surprise me about Hong Kong is how much Western food is now part of everybody's diet. I'm willing to bet that Hong Kong people, on a per capita basis, eat more hot dog sausages, ham slices, luncheon meat (Spam), and macaroni than Americans do. And strangely, it's much easier to find a HK-style Western breakfast than it is to find a Chinese breakfast. Of course, Western food has seem some modifications to cater to local tastes, and there are some distinctly HK-style Western dishes that some of my Western friends absolutely love. One example is Hong Kong-style French toast. HK-style French toast isn't the pan-fried egg battered pieces of bread that Westerners are used to, but are rather two pieces of toast, pressed together, with peanut butter between them, then deep-fried. Western friends of mine who either studied, lived, or visited here tell me they miss this essential component of afternoon tea.

As for baked spaghetti, it's available at the Chong Yuet Ming cafeteria a couple of days per week; there's a rotating menu of baked rice and spaghetti dishes, with one rice and one spaghetti dish available for $18-19 HKD. I try to keep consumption to once or twice a week, since it's high on carbs and since it doesn't come with a side portion of veggies. On a couple of occasions, I felt so guilty for not eating vegetables at lunch that I ended up ordering rice and vegetables for dinner. Well, what's wrong with indulging once in a while?

Why I haven't been posting

Wow, I can't believe it's been more than a week since I last posted something. I actually have plenty of talk about, but have failed to post in a timely matter. For example, I had things to say about the executions of a Vietnamese-Australian smuggler in Singapore and Stanley "Tookie" Williams in California, as well as the riots led by Korean farmers at the WTO ministerial-level conference in Hong Kong. No one wants to hear about that stuff now. I guess I was too lazy to do my homework to present the basic facts, and too lazy to elaborate my own thoughts.

There are other things I'd like to talk about, but as I told a friend last week, if I kiss and tell, I fear that no one will want to kiss me. All I'll say is that this has been a most interesting and eventful year, that I've been extremely fortunate in this particular aspect of my life, and that I've been very very happy lately.

Also, I've been trying to focus on my research lately. Unfortunately, I've been distracted by more pleasant ways to spend my time. Anyway, I'll try to keep more posts coming.

All I ask is just one flush..

For about the fifth time in the last month, the toilets at Graduate House aren't flushing. The stuff I deposited into my toilet (on four separate occasions) has been in the bowl for more than twelve hours now. It goes without saying that I've closed the lid and have left the fan on. Fortunately, my neighbour is either covering the WTO ministerial-level meetings in Wan Chai or he's already gone on his month-long internship in Bangalore. Either way, I'm glad he's not here to add to the mess.

Fortunately, I still have running water here. The cool thing about many buildings in Hong Kong is that the toilets flush with sea water. Assuming that the 7 million people in Hong Kong only go to the toilet 5 times a day and that toilets average 10 litres per flush, that's 350 million litres of freshwater per day that's NOT being used to flush waste. I have no clue what proportion of buildings in Hong Kong have such system, but I've been told that it's quite common.

I know for a fact that the toilets in my family's house in Canada flushes with fresh water rather than sea water. It's too bad that Canada's public utilities infrastructure is still so wasteful. But if all buildings in Canada are to be fitted with sea water-flushing toilets today, the costs would be tremendous. We already have separate pipes for fresh water and waste water - every town and city would then have to be connected by a whole new set of pipes. And I suppose this isn't practical for interior areas that are thousands of kilometres away from the oceans.


The issue of separate sea water pipes that are used exclusively for flushing toilets has made me think about scarcity and economies of scale in Hong Kong. Scarcity is particularly severe in Hong Kong. On the negative side, scarcity can make certain things pretty damned expensive, especially when compared to just across the border in Mainland China! But one good thing about scarcity is that it breeds ingenuity. Bureaucrats, urban planners, architects, and interior designers must come up with innovative solutions to tackle the problems of land scarcity, for example. That is one reason why there are so many tall buildings in Hong Kong, as well as why we use sea water to flush our toilets. Another good thing that can come with scarcity is that people are forced to become more efficient, but for the life of me, I can't come up with any damned examples right now.

Hong Kong's economies of scale allows buildings to be built higher, for buses and trains to run more frequently, and for other things that would be more expensive elsewhere to be built in Hong Kong. I love it that MTR rides can cost less than $1 CAD, and that trains run as frequently as every single minute! High ridership not only sustains this system, but ensures profitability!


On the other hand, there is no recycling in Hong Kong. And the toilets don't flush sometimes.

Never home for Christmas

This year, I'm staying in Hong Kong for Christmas. I'm not going home because airfares are a bit more expensive at this time of year. Besides, we only get 2 days off for Christmas, and I've already used up 5 of my 14 days of annual leave (and will use up another 5 in March). Also, I don't celebrate Christmas anyway, and the most my family does to celebrate Christmas these days is set up the Christmas tree, which my brother does for fun. Anyway, I'm not going home. Unless I consider Hong Kong my new home, in which case I guess I'm staying home.

Still, I never seem to be home in Vancouver during Christmas. This time last year, I was working at a consulting firm in Seoul. Two years ago, I was working at the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei. Three years ago, I was in Paris, and spent Christmas with my uncle and his family just outside of London. I guess I was in Vancouver for Christmas 2001, but I was in Taipei for Christmas 2000.

Wow, 4 out of the last 5 Christmases.

I won't miss you, Christmas

Christmas is coming, and it doesn't even feel like it. I mean it. This year, I really didn't feel it coming. It's kind of hard since I wore shorts as recently as last week. Even though I have to wear long pants now, it can still be as warm as 20+ celsius during the daytime.

Christmas was never my favourite time of year. There were the perks of getting some time off from school and maybe some gifts here or there when I was younger, but for a non-Christian living in a supposedly secular country, Christmas never meant very much to me. I must admit that I enjoyed singing Christmas carols and taking part in Christmas festivities while in elementary school, and that I see no problem with Christmas being celebrated in schools. Canada, the US, and Western European countries should not deny the Judeo-Christian roots of their early settlers (and by that, I mean the white ones, not the so-called "Indian" ones), and I, as the offspring of relative latecomers, see no reason why Christmas SHOULDN'T be celebrated. From what I know, the decision to take Christmas out of schools was a decision made by white people who were probably Christian anyways. This decision probably pissed off white non-Christians, and may have made some of them mad at non-white non-Christians like me. Damn you, crazy overly-sensitive politicians!

I used to say that I especially hate Christmas Day because 1. all of my friends were busy spending time with their families, 2. the malls, supermarkets, libraries, etc. were all closed, and 3. TV programming unfailingly sucked. When I was much younger, Christmas was nice because my parents gave me and my siblings Christmas presents, but that ended when I turned 12. Since then, Christmas has ranked as one of the most boring days of the year.

Even though not everybody in Hong Kong celebrates Christmas, I find myself invited to a large number of Christmas parties. I've already gone to the Postgraduate Students Association Christmas party - in fact, I was the emcee for that one. I had to organise one for Graduate House, but it has been a bit of a challenge due to a shortage of manpower. My office was going to have one, but fortunately, it's been postponed until Chinese New Year. There are other parties, such as one held by the UBC Alumni Association - Hong Kong Chapter, I've decided not to attend. I'm not only just sick of going to these parties, but 1. my time is not unlimited, 2. my funds are not unlimited, 3. I can't dress up and act like a gentleman TOO often, and 4. I want to avoid buying crappy presents for those silly gift exchanges.

Oh, don't even get me started on gift giving. Nothing scares me more than the thought of buying presents. I absolutely HATE thinking of what to buy for people, especially during Christmas season. I'd like to think that I'm a thoughtful guy, but all illusions of that are shattered when I'm forced to buy a present from someone. What would this person appreciate? Does this person already have one of these things? Is this gift too cheap or too expensive? If I send this to this person, will he or she send me something even MORE valuable, thus forcing me to send her something in return, and thus starting an ugly gift-giving cycle? Anyway, I've decided not to give any Christmas presents to anyone this year. I'm used to not giving Christmas presents to anyone, actually. My friends and I have had such an understanding for years, and my parents INSIST that I don't give them any Christmas presents. Aside from those lame gift-exchanges, I've only ever had to exchange gifts with two people: an ex-girlfriend and a good friend of mine, both of them named Heidi. I wasn't joking when I said I normally don't exchange gifts, Heidis.

I resent what Christmas has become in the age of consumerism. Parents fool their kids into thinking that a kindly old man named Santa Claus brings them presents if they've been good all year. Thery buy them overpriced crap that stores KNOW that customers are forced to buy. What's even more silly is that the price of much of this crap is slashed the day after Christmas.

And as for Santa Claus.. let's pause to think for a minute about who the central figure of Christmas should be. The myth of Santa Claus has become more and more popular, but also more distorted. Did you know that St. Nicolas was a Turkish bishop who gave gifts to the poor during Christmas? St. Nicolas has since evolved into the Santa Claus who wears a white-lined red hat and suit and who rides a sleigh pulled by reindeer. How did that happen? Who's responsible for that? Some say Coca Cola, but it was more likely a 19th century American cartoonist. Since then, people vaguely know that Christmas is a religious holiday, and that Santa Claus is part of it. So much for the birth of Christ. CHRIST-mas.

Well, only 11 more days until this is all over. Thank God.. or.. Christ.. or.. Santa Claus(?)

Farewell, Steve Maddens

It was inevitable. I knew this day would come. Today, I retired my favourite pair of shoes.

I remember seeing these shoes at Frederick & Nelson, a department store in Seattle, in June 2002. The sight of the pale black leather Steve Maddens with four tan stripes on the sides really caught my eye. They look like bowling shoes, only cooler. I would have bought them then, but I usually hesitate when I see something I like, especially if it's costly. Besides, the value of goods my girlfriend at the time bought had already exceeded the limit that we were allowed to bring back to Canada. Fortunately, I saw the same pair of shoes in downtown Vancouver later that week, and bought them right away.

My Steve Maddens have given me three years of loyal service, and have even treaded the streets of London, Paris, Taipei, Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore, and now, Hong Kong. They go very well with jeans, and are great for walking. I've gotten many compliments on them too. Check out the pic of me in these shoes at the Prime Meridien at Greenwich, taken December 2002.

I'm quite reluctant to part with my old pair of shoes, but unfortunately, they're pretty much unwearable now. Actually, they lasted longer than I expected, but the end came suddenly and quickly. I brought these shoes to Seoul and left them on the floor of my hotel room, not realising that the floorboards were not just heated, but SUPERheated. A month of melting made the sole of my shoes a bit thinner in certain places. I still wore these shoes during the winter and spring in Beijing, not realising that the thinned-out parts of the soles started to crack until one rainy evening. I remember having dinner with my visiting friend, Johnny, and walking on Dongzhimenwai Dajie, trying to hail a cab. Being a rainy day, it was impossible to find an empty cab, so I was forced to walk to the subway station. At first, my right foot felt a little bit wet, but later, I realised that my right shoe was totally soaked! Upon closer inspection at home, I noticed a three-inch crack in the sole. I let my shoes dry on my "patio", but the leather was never the same again.


On Saturday, I bought a pair of black Clarks casual walking shoes from a store I pass every Saturday afternoon after having tea with my aunt and cousin. I've been eyeing these shoes for the last 2 months, and although I didn't think much of them at first, I realise that they're as close as they come to my favourite pair of shoes. Well, that's not entirely true. There used to be some Camper shoes I really liked, but they cost around $2000 HKD ($300 CAD), a really really nice pair of Mephisto shoes that cost about the same, and some great Bally shoes that cost $3000 HKD (almost $500 CAD!). If you ask me, I think it's quite silly to spend so much on shoes that I can only wear for 3-5 years at the most. On the other hand, I don't want to spend money on non-branded shoes or cheap knockoffs from China because even though they may be much cheaper than Clarks and Rockports, I fear their shoddy designs may screw up my feet.


Today, I wore these shoes for the first time. I walked from my dorm at HKU to Midlevels, then back. I must have worn them for about ten hours, about two of which I spent walking, and I think they're okay. I think I'll grow to love these shoes, but only if I can forget about my old pair.

Deceit, guilt, pity, callousness

Last month, after walking up a flight of steps, I ran into some charity workers who were soliciting donations. Normally, I could see such people (e.g. people who solicit donations, beg for money, hand out flyers, want me to fill out a survey, want me to join their quack religion, etc.)from a mile away and can usually avoid them, but that time, since I didn't want to lose my footing on those steps, I was looking at my feet. Anyway, one of the charity workers approached me and said, in Cantonese, "Excuse me, sir, have you heard of...", during which I interrupted him and said, "Sorry, I don't speak Chinese." Usually, such deceit would end the conversation, whether in Taiwan, Mainland China, Korea, and even in Hong Kong. However, this guy started saying, in fluent, North American-accented English, "That's okay, I can speak English." Damn. Trapped.

At that point, I regretted not saying, "Je suis desolee, je ne parle pas Chinois," and felt it was too late to use that tactic. I also felt that this guy caught me fair and square, and I felt guilty for trying to deceive him, so at the very least, I felt that I should listen to what he had to say.

Anyway, this particular organisation provides treatment and support to people with AIDS in Hong Kong. The guy said that in Hong Kong, there is still a strong stigma attached to people with HIV/AIDS, and talked about the AIDS cocktail, social support, etc. Anyway, since I felt like this guy caught me fair and square, and because he talked to me for about five minutes already, I decided to give the guy $20 HKD (about $3 CAD) and be on my way. Even if this were a scam, at least 1. these guys came up with something relatively original and 2. they went to great lengths to set up their display, print their flyers, and be able elaborate on all this AIDS stuff. And since they had someone so fluent in English, someone who could do anything else in Hong Kong, I began to believe that these guys were real volunteers and not grifters. So anyway, I tried to give this guy a $20, but...

... the guy said, "Sorry, we don't take one-time donations. Actually, we hope that you can make regular monthly donations that works out to less than what you pay for a cup of coffee per day." It worked out to something like $10 HKD per day or something, which is $300 HKD a month. Whoa.. $300 HKD a month? That's almost $50 CAD a month! And hell, why should I give up my one cup of coffee per day? In fact, I ALREADY give up my one cup of coffee per day! No, I'm TOO POOR to afford a cup of coffee per day! Why should I give up my coffee money to people who have AIDS? If they KNOW that people like me are unwilling to do without our coffee or coffee money, then why weren't they more careful before they got AIDS??

Callous, I know.

I'm surprised at how quickly my emotions could change. I do pity people who have HIV/AIDS, but the thought of parting with $50 CAD per month made it clear that my sense of pity DOES have its boundaries. I do feel guilty that I'm not helping people who need help, which is why I haven't forgotten this particular episode. Or perhaps I can't forget this episode because I want to remind myself to speak French next time.

Grads, grads, everywhere

Every day, I see dozens of recent HKU graduates on campus. Wearing black robes and silly hats, they snap pictures with their family and friends. Graduate House, where I live, is a popular photo spot, as is the statue of Dr. Sun Yat-sen by the lily pond.

I've had three graduation ceremonies, but only attended two. I missed my Masters convocation because I was living in Beijing at the time. Of the other two graduation ceremonies, my parents attended none. No one can accuse them of favouring one sibling over another, though, because they didn't attend my sister's graduation ceremonies either. Nor did they attend my brother's.

My parents showed no interest in attending any such ceremonies. For one thing, they EXPECT me and my siblings to finish high school. Who COULDN'T finish high school? As for university, they couldn't exactly use the same excuse, but they were much more honest: they told me they thought these ceremonies would be boring, and they'd rather stay home to watch TV.

Honestly, I'm not heartbroken. These ceremonies don't really mean much to me anyway. My parents always supported me and my siblings, spiritually and financially, and besides, I didn't enroll in university to wear a black robe, wear a silly hat, and get a silly piece of paper from the university president or vice chancellor. I'm not holding my breath to see if my parents will attend my PhD graduation ceremony. I don't even know if I'LL stick around for that, let alone make a trip out here if I've already left Hong Kong by then.

Back

From what, you ask? The reason why I haven't updated my blog in more than five days is that I had an assignment due yesterday. It's not that writing the assignment took up very much time, but I worked quite inefficiently, usually choosing to indulge in more pleasurable pastimes. Anyway, one more pleasurable pastime in which I did NOT indulge was updating my blog. I felt that while I could watch movies, spend time with my girlfriend, and play sports, I didn't want to exhaust my mental energy on writing blog entries. I would have felt incredibly guilty if I could write meaningful blog entries but not complete my assignment on time.

Today marks the end of my required coursework. From today onwards, I can focus exclusively on my own research. This also means that I no longer have any excuses for making no progress in my research. I'll also be expected to spend more time in my office, and to fill my bookshelves with books and articles. Don't worry, I won't merely fulfill these cosmetic expectations, but will actually produce high-quality, original research that will not only represent a contribution (no matter how big or small) to the academic community, but will hopefully make the world a better place too.

At least I hope I will.