Made in China

My 2013 New Year's resolution has me trying to eat better and sustaining a more well-rounded diet. The approach is quite simple. I try to avoid things that have nutritional ingredients that I cannot pronounce at regular talking speed, I try to cook more and finally, I try eat anything that has been labelled a "super food"*.

Which brings me to one of the things about Hong Kong. Living in the United Kingdom (and even Australia) had me spoilt for choice. The sheer volume and demand for products afforded great selection at a reasonable price. Supermarkets here are slightly different, there's an obvious bias towards Regional and Cultural products. The  selection of Asian Groceries is phenomenal! Preserved Chinese Sausage, Dried Scallops, Salted Duck Eggs from bean curd to frozen dumplings the variety is overwhelming. Unfortunately, if your pallet lacks the sophistication and culture as mine you sometimes find that standard items are hard to come by or have been whacked with import costs pushing it from 'innocent craving' to 'splurge item'.

It's not that I don't trust China, it's just well, I scare easily and the stories of Chinese cost cutting make me question the quality of certain items. Take chicken for example, non-organic and caged (ie. Not free range). I can purchase, 3 relatively large chicken breasts from China for $30 HKD, the same supermarket will also stock chicken from Thailand ($40 HKD), The Netherlands ($70 HKD) and Australia ($120 HKD). It's easy to see that shipping and transportation bear significance on the final price, but when you're weighing up value for money versus quality, I sometimes wonder if I'm getting horse meat, or something more sinister ...

The point of this post is, unless there's a local Chinese factory producing the item, you will undoubtedly be paying a premium on these items. Which is warranted, the local population have little interest in specialised food which means for a Chinese factory to produce a niche item, it's probably not going to be on the back of generating profit. That's not to say that you don't have local/specialised factories and suppliers but they have drifted into an almost 'boutique' status, which of course carries the boutique price tag.

Two items that I cannot find locally produced and often buy imported from overseas is Greek Yogurt and Cottage Cheese. The HK market rate for Cottage Cheese is around 15 HKD/100 grams and Greek Yogurt at 12 HKD/100 grams (If anybody knows cheaper, please let me know!). So with a little bit of Milk, a thermometer, cheese cloth and some time I embarked on a little DIY cheese and yogurt adventure...

*: I know I shouldn't subscribe to these marketing gimmicks. Chia seeds, Quinoa, Apple Cider Vinegar, Blueberries, Kale, I'm a sucker.

DIY: Wholewheat Bagels

Slipped. Dropped.

I was sitting down messaging somebody. It was a regular bar stool, not very high from the ground. I wasn't even inebriated. It slipped, dropped and when I picked it up, my heart sank.

This phone is becoming quite expensive to maintain, it's like the Alpha Romeo of smart phones, not common, but parts are expensive to replace. New battery cover, 500 HKD. New screen, 1500 HKD. Total cost of phone, 4500 HKD.

Three Tiny Habits

Stumbled upon this website called Tiny Habits, which is a simple program which helps you form new habits in your life. Details can be found here.

Here are the three that I came up with:

• After I put the kettle on in the morning, I will make my bed.
• After I leave my apartment, I will smile and say 'Hello, how are you?' to the building doorman.
• After I shower, I will turn on the dehumidifier.

Stay tuned for results.

Musings of the Dog

If you're somebody who subscribes to the Chinese Zodiac, you would know that being a Dog in the year of the (Water) Snake is best described as "unlucky". Me, being a Dog I can't help but muse back on the year to date. I can think of a handful of moments that from a certain perspective can being considered "unlucky". The instances that instantly come to mind are: The death of our family dog, turning 30 and leaving the innocence and immaturity of the twenties behind and of course, my redundancy.

I don't really see the coming of age and the proverbial career-reset button having to do with bad luck, but almost a rite of passage. Which makes me wonder, if that was indeed my "bad year". What does 2013 have installed for me? Will I still be in Hong Kong? Still unemployed? Still single? Still healthy? Still working in Finance? Still blogging?

I don't consider myself superstitious. Despite this, I've managed to clean the apartment and wash my hair before midnight - why tempt fate? So here I am. Saturday evening 11:59 pm. The penultimate minute of the Chinese Year, I sit here re-watching The Wire. Suffice to say, unless there's a power outage in the next 50-odd seconds, I expect a very satisfying start to the new year.

Living the dream (Part I)

After years of existence, I have learnt one thing. I'm a creature of habit. I crave structure and routine. I need to be productive and to be doing something. Of course with this new sense of freedom, only afforded by redundancy I've realised that you really need hobbies in life at the very least something that keeps you occupied and busy. This becomes more evident when you find an additional 9 hours a day. Let this be a precursor to retirement, make sure you have hobbies and cash to fund them.

So, what have I been doing to keep myself busy? It's been an interesting couple of months. The first month I was preoccupied with Dave in town and it was good having company especially during the initial period. Since then, I've picked up Cantonese Lessons, hit the yoga, picked up my Uke, re-committed myself to getting this blog up to date and course priming myself for the stark reality that I might actually be better off finding a rich mainland wife and living out every man's dream of becoming a Stay-at-home-Dad.

To better prepare myself should this actually happen I've become obsessed with two things. Yoga and celebrity chefs. Jamie Oliver, Downward Dog, Heston Blumenthal, Warrior one, Gordon Ramsey, 30 minute meals, Shivasana, 15 minute meals! It's with this extra time spent in the kitchen, I've managed to cultivate my culinary skills. More cooking, kitchen experimentation and trying new foods.

Here's the seeds of a fresh pomegranate not very interesting, but it took me a whole 30 minutes to extract them without staining my kitchen. Never again...

Shanghai New Years

It had been decided that New Years would not be spent in Hong Kong. This decision was on the back of last year's somewhat lacklustre end to 2011. Our eyes heavy and bloodshot around the outdoor coffee table on the patio of Caine Building as the sun rose for the first time in 2012. It was a tired and yet familiar sight, however we decided that we would make an effort to be somewhere else in 365 days.

That somewhere else would be Shanghai. It had been over 6 years since I had last been to Shanghai and I remember it being a city that I had loved. I was excited to be going back to see how the city had changed. Not surprisingly, the city has changed over the course of 6 years. One thing for sure, I would love to live here for a stint, if only language weren't such a barrier.

Interesting incident with the taxi driver re-emphasising how the lack of communication can get you into trouble. This ended up in commotion and fisty cuffs with the driver. I should really brush up the Mandarin.