Day #4: Wednesday, July 11, 2007

My major task for the day was to get a few of Chris's shirts pressed at a dry cleaners. I know I'm not working but the thought of ironing those shirts is truly dreadful. Slaving over a hot iron...ugh. Plus, we sent them to the dry cleaners in Milwaukee so why not in Hong Kong!?

We are in a pretty convenient spot and there are actually several dry cleaners within a two block radius. I did do a test and found that one of them was cheaper than the other. That made me super happy because I always love a good deal. The first one was HK$14 / shirt ($1.80) and the second was HK$10 / shirt ($1.30). I thought that both prices were relatively expensive given that they were just ironing, not laundering, but such is life in Hong Kong.

It really was an uneventful day, which couldn't have made me happier. I went on a tour of the "Western" grocery stores (sort of like Sendiks / Metro Market / Whole Foods) with a girl I'd met the previous day (after the bus debacle). There are quite a few around town so that's good. The challenge is remembering where they're located in the massive high-rises. That is one thing we're going to have to get used to. Everything is in a high-rise and everything's connected by enclosed walkways so it's not always easy to tell where things are.

We did stop at a noodle shop for lunch. You can sort of think of it almost as local fast food. It is quite the experience. The good ones have lines out the door but they seem to move pretty quickly. You order as you're in line and then sit down as soon as there is space for you. And by space I mean space at any table. So you could end up sitting at a table with a few other people who are all there eating by themselves. Just like everywhere else in HK, people are in every free spot. My lunch was delicious - a huge bowl of noodle soup with 3 big shrimp wontons - all for the bargain price of HK$14 (yes, the same as what I paid to get one of Chris's shirts ironed).

I did get to go out for a real "Chinese" dinner with Chris's department. And, yes, they do refer to the restaurant style as Chinese. Chris's boss and his girlfriend, Dorys, live in our complex so Dorys and I cabbed it over to the other side of the harbor (Kowloon) to the restaurant. It was good to get to ride with her and hear that she's having some of the same problems as I am. She spent about 3 days trying to get their wireless hooked up and had to go to the other side of Hong Kong to get it taken care of. I am dreading the day I actually make an attempt at our wireless. I couldn't figure it out in Milwaukee, I can't imagine what it's going to be like here.

Our Chinese dinner really was very good. Although, the fried rice was the only thing that we ate that would even come close to showing up on a Chinese restaurant menu in America. I'm pretty sure A8 China wouldn't really cut it in Hong Kong, but that's just my opinion. The fried rice comes at the end of the meal and was in the shape of a pyramid and covered in egg whites / meringue. It really was very tasty. I'm pretty sure that you're not supposed to the really eat the last course because it's sort of rude and shows that you didn't get enough to eat throughout the night, but it was so good and we were a small group so I ate it anyway.

The rest of the meal was (mostly) equally as good. There were a couple of things that weren't my favorite but overall it was a good experience. Here are some of the highlights:

• All the food goes on a lazy susan and is shared family style. This works out really well except for when people on opposite sides of the table want the same thing. That's a big of a negotiation.
  
  
• When you order seafood, they bring it to your table in a clear plastic bag before they cook it. Keep in mind that it just came out of the fish tank so the things are flapping around all over the place. We had a whole fish, which was massive, and prawns which were almost as big as my feet. Again, not an exaggeration.
  
  
• You really don't get any silverware except for a spoon and chopsticks - obviously it's a Chinese restaurant!. Please keep that in mind as you imagine us trying to eat our whole prawns (now still the size of my hand after they are cooked) that have their heads and shells. I mean, it was totally ridiculous. There is no doubt that I looked like and sounded like an idiot as I was trying to chop of the head with a spoon and practically breaking the plate. I really tried not to use my fingers but I would have starved!
  
  
• The Chinese don't drink water; they drink hot tea. This is sort of a problem when you can't stand the taste of tea like me. So, I politely asked for just some water. I've done this before in the restaurants near our house and haven't had a problem. Not so lucky in this place. They gave me water that didn't have any tea added. In other words, hot water. This was a serious note to self. I couldn't bring myself to drink the hot water so instead I enjoyed the wine that our table had ordered. It tasted better anyway.

All in all, a relatively uneventful Day #4. If only they were all like this!