Craving Mexican (food!) Best place in Hong Kong?

Agave (33 D’Aguilar St, Hong Kong Phone: 2521 2010), Coyote, Caramba, Tequila (G/F Shop B, 11 Old Bailey St, Soho), or Izote (8/F, LKF Tower, 55 D’Aguilar St., Central, Phone:  2905 1168) . Which is your favorite place to fill up on Mexican food in Hong Kong? Feel free to elaborate on your choice in the comment section.

Watchmen wannabes – superhuman poses

 

Strike a pose

With the release of the highly anticipated movie WATCHMEN, we decided we would like to see some superhuman poses in unique places throughout Hong Kong. Maybe the “hands-on-hips-staring off into the distance” pose at the airport as a plane takes off in the distance. Or a “Keanu on a rooftop blank stare” with sunglasses. So many possibilities.

Tailor made coffee blends at TATAs

Little packets of instant coffee in a hotel do not cut it for extended stays. True you may have a Starbucks, Pacific Coffee or Epoch close at hand but you require a bit more variety in your daily caffeination. TATA will whip you up a customized blend based on your specific tastes and requests. TATAs is for lovers of coffee or for those seeking something more than the standard fare. 

Address: Suite 401, 4th Floor, Kamming House, 49 Queen’s Road Central

Phone: 2868 3726

Chicken feet and beak eating etiquette

You’re sitting at a restaurant in Hong Kong and you’ve been presented with a curry featuring such parts of a chicken as feet and beak. Crunch, snap, and gnaw. There’s beak in your mouth and you need to spit it out. What to do? You have a couple different choices depending on those you are dining with. If you’re with people accustomed to eating such foods, then you don’t have to worry about being shy or polite and you can spit it onto your plate without fear of embarrassment.

Now, if you’ve ordered the dish and you’re with people that are…sensitive to to such table manners (business partners from out of town for example) then the only way out of this conundrum is to discretely lift a napkin to your mouth and pretend cough, while transferring the beak to the napkin. If no napkin or tissue is present, you could politely excuse yourself to the restroom to dispose of the offending beak, and to plan your curry eating strategy upon returning to the table, IE being a bit more careful of what you decide to put into your mouth. 

Good luck!

CEROC dance swap meet

Ceroc Hong Kong is a dance workshop that teaches you to spin, twirl, and hurl yourself at your nearest partner. The Ceroc hostess is a capable teacher, but it can safely be assumed many of those in attendance  at the dance workshop in Club Sugar (speaking for the men) were there not for the dancing, but the speed dating style singles scene.

If anybody ever said that being a single man in Hong Kong was a good thing, the Ceroc workshop was proof. The man to woman ratio was easily 1 – 4 and the women had to rotate in lines to make sure each of them had a dance partner for at least part of the time. Keep this in mind if you go with a date because your date will be twirling about with a variety of other people until the freeform dance portion. The $120 door fee doesn’t include drinks, but should nab you at least a date or two.

Business tips for the mainland

Heading to Shenzhen for business from Hong Kong? Regardless of whether or not you’re meeting clients at a factory, trying to secure a media rights deal, or looking to set up shop there are a few key etiquette tips to follow when venturing to the mainland. The Chinese people in Hong Kong are more aware of different Western mentalities than are those typically based in Shenzhen.

Accept that cig – You may not offend a Chinese businessman in Hong Kong by an action such as refusing a cigarette, you very well could lose a deal by doing so in Shenzhen over dinner. It is considered polite and a sign of friendship to be offered a cigarette and you should always accept. If you are not a smoker, then simply pocket the smoke and give thanks.

Table Manners – It also pays to put your sense of table manners on the back burner when dining out. You’re the best judge of your situation, but if you find yourself faced with eating some less than appealing looking dishes, do your best to at least sample each. Quite a bit of booze can also be consumed over a business dinner and if you hope to keep your wits about you its best to keep drinking so as to not offend, but nurse your drinks so you appear to be drinking.

“No” means “Yes” - Another helpful tip is to keep in mind that the word “no” does not usually fit into the Chinese business vocabulary. You may hear “yes” to a question when the real answer is no. The Chinese believe that to say no is to lose face in certain circumstance and you must discern when those circumstances are. Don’t be afraid to ask followup questions, but never accuse them of lying.

Typhoon Afternoon

Typhoons are a fact of life here. As the stormy season of fun approaches, here are some ways to pass the time when you find yourself stuck somewhere.

Stuck at work: Lets assume that during the day you go to work (if you’re one of the lucky ones). Vending machine poker is always a favorite. You empty the vending machine of at least one of each item and play poker using the items as currency. If no playing cards are available, photoshop is your friend. If the power is out then try using one of those old time contraptions that you hold in your hand and spread some ink on paper.

In the MTR: This is a bit more tricky. You’re tempted to make a run for it, but you really shouldn’t as you wouldn’t want to make acquaintance with debris flying around at 70 – 100 kmp. If you have a internet capable phone then skip this section. If not, dig through your wallet/purse/backpack and organize it. Maybe you’ll find that business card from the hottie you met at Kinds the week before. No card? No worries. She/he wasn’t that hot anyway. Count the buttons on your shirt. Finished? Time to play solitaire in your head. 

At home: You’re set! You’re not at work, you’re not in transit, so get in your PJs and watch a DVD or read a book. 

In a hotel: If you’re visiting, then an afternoon in a hotel can be a real bummer and loss of time. Depending on what you’re in town for, and where you’re staying, there are some options available to you. Sleep. Yawn, boring. Try planning out your next day assuming the storm will pass. Don’t let lost time get you down, try to pack in everything the next day be it business or seeing the sights. You can do it. You have to roll with these things. There are three things in life humans have no control over; Forces of Nature, Peanut Allergies, and the Wrath of a Woman Scorned. Done planning? Ok great. Go have dinner (stay away from the windows unless you feel like glass sorbet for dessert), a glass of wine and try chatting up some other guests. If you’re with a wife, husband, boyfriend or girlfriend then you don’t need me to tell you how to spend your time stuck in a hotel. Hubba hubba!

Playing scrabble! Ask the front desk, they might have it. “Hubba” on a triple letter tile is major pointage. 

Give us your suggestions. Best suggestion wins our love and affection.