Latest Scam: Woman Left with HK$80K Restaurant Bill

The "date" was at Man Wah in the Mandarin Oriental

Women in Hong Kong have another thing to worry about when going on dates -- their suitor may leave them on the hook for a very expensive meal.

In the case of one woman, she was left to pay the restaurant bill of over HK$80,000 (US$10,264) at the Chinese restaurant Man Wah in the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong when her date claimed towards the end of the meal that he had to go to the washroom and never came back.

Really expensive champagne

Why was it so expensive? They had ordered the set meal of HK$2,388 each, featuring dishes like braised bird's nest, abalone, M9 wagyu, and steamed grouper.

But then the man, purporting to be a 26-year-old lawyer, chose a HK$71,800 bottle of Krug Clos d'Ambonnay champagne. The total cost of the mean was HK$84,453.

The woman had met the man on the Telegram messaging app a year ago and they arranged the date on Thursday at Man Wah.

When he didn't come back from the washroom, she called him several times but was not able to reach him and she had to ask friends to help her foot the massive bill and eventually filed a police report the next day.

The police arrested a 23-year-old man surnamed Wong in Tseung Kwan O for allegedly obtaining property by deception on Friday and seized the clothes he had worn the night of the date.

He's not the only guy who has done this version of "dine-and-dash" -- last month the police arrested a 29-year-old man who allegedly impersonated a firefighter on dating apps and apparently tricked three women into paying for lavish meals totalling HK$3,800 before running off.

But this latest scam of picking probably the most expensive bottle on the wine list is absolutely outrageous!

Tennis Phenom Coleman Wong Blazing Trails in US Open

Wong is enjoying his ride into the third round of the US Open

The US Open has started and already Canadian sensation Victoria Mboko was eliminated in the first round.

But there's another dark horse to cheer for -- 21-year-old Coleman Wong Chak-lam.

The Hongkonger has made history not only to qualify for the US Open, but to also to be the first to make it to the third round!

Bruce Wong (far left) is so proud of his son

Earlier today the world No. 173 Wong upset No. 85-ranked Australian Adam Walton 7-6, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 in three hours.

There were huge cheers for Wong when the match ended, and he looked in disbelief that he has made it this far.

"I'm swinging it, I'm feeling good," Wong said with a big smile. "This is my first main draw, first best of five, first everything. For me, for Hong Kong, for my team, everything is very new, so, no pressure.

"This is something that I dreamed of. For every tennis player, to keep going in a slam, it's one of the biggest tournaments in the world. So, at the moment, I'm still digesting, I still need to calm down, but I'm really happy."

After the match he used his coach's phone to call his parents to come to New York to watch him play this weekend. His father Bruce is a primary school headmaster, and his wife a teacher, both busy gearing up for the school year that starts on Monday.

Wong will meet No. 15 Rublev in the next match

Bruce Wong told RTHK he didn't have high expectations for his son, but him making it into the third round has made the family proud.

"It was really unbelievable for most of the Hong Kong people, like myself. Of course we're very happy, not only because of the result but the performance," the father said.

"In these few months, there were so many ups and downs, a lot of struggles. We're so happy we can see some good results at this moment."

Wong, who trains at Rafael Nadal's tennis academy in Mallorca, Spain, will next meet Russian Andrey Rublev, ranked No. 15.

"For me, I just want to go out there, enjoy, and I'm in the third round of the US Open, so I don't need to think so much," Wong said. "I just want to go out, enjoy the atmosphere, feel the vibe, and... stay as long as I can, because this is tough. Everyone is so good, everyone is so tough to play, so this means a lot to me."

Wong has an awesome attitude about being in this major tennis tournament -- relishing every moment, and trying not to put too much pressure on himself. He is the underdog, but at the same time totally blazing trails and giving Hongkongers someone to be proud of on the world stage.

WhyteCliff Park a Gem in Howe Sound

Whytecliff Park is a gem of a place... if you're in West Van

Yesterday after a lunch of Vietnamese food to refuel from climbing up the Grouse Grind, we headed further west to Whytecliff Park, a small inlet in Howe Sound that has a beach (a rocky one, not sandy), where people sunbathe, go into the water and snorkel, or check out some sea lions frolicking in the water.

The park opened in 1909 and is apparently home to more than 200 marine animal species. Whytecliff Park is also one of the first Marine Protected Areas in Canada.

The water is relatively clear with marine life

We wandered along the shoreline, and on the east side it juts out to an island that can be accessed during low tide. We happened to be there during low tide and one of the tide pools had two giant purple starfish! 

Then we clambered onto the island and admired the panoramic views of Howe Sound, and could see Gibsons across the water (a 20-minute ferry ride away) on the Sunshine Coast. We managed to spot a sea lion poking his head above the water, and a heron standing on a rock.

The children we were with hand fun looking for tiny crabs that were hidden under barnacle-covered rocks; the crabs would flee to anywhere moist otherwise they would bake in the sun. One even found a live crab far from the shoreline and carefully brought it to the water in the hopes that it would be OK.

What a lovely place to visit! As my cousin who took us here said, one needs to take advantage of beautiful places like this (aside from paying for parking), as Vancouver is so expensive to live in!

Two purple starfish were spotted in a tide pool

It's also quite far -- about an hour away by car, but definitely a memorable visit on a gorgeous sunny day.

Hiking Up the Grouse Grind

The morning light on the Grouse Grind

After many many years, we did the Grouse Grind again. One can't consider themselves a Vancouverite if they haven't done the Grouse Grind. Some people do this monthly, weekly and even daily! I can't imagine doing it so often!

My young nephews had done it recently so it was something I wanted to try again, just not on my own!

Endless wooden stairs along the 2.9km trail

We went very early this morning, arriving just after 8am and started around 8.22am. We wanted to avoid the heat and it was good that not many people were there either. However, soon after we started, I found the trail tough, as I was not used to going up so many stairs, and huffed and puffed my way up. 

The 2.9km trail is divided into 40 sections, and every quarter of the way there was an AED, or automated external defibrillator kit attached to a tree in case someone needed it! We took breaks along the way, and at the halfway point I ate a power bar and immediately felt better -- I needed that extra energy and water. I drank a lot of water!

I wasn't the only person struggling, others were too, and some were regulars who had the Grouse Grind pass around their necks. They were impressed the kids were going up so fast and hardly breaking a sweat!

My face was so red -- but I told my relatives that it also gets red after a 5K run -- so this was normal. Boy was I so relieved when I saw the clearing towards the top and the sound of the gondola meant I was near the end! I rounded up the rear and not including all the breaks, made it in 1 hour and 40 minutes.

Stunning views of Vancouver below

Thankfully there was a water station up at the top as well as washrooms, and you could buy snacks to refuel. 

Since we were up there we did a quick walk around and saw the Grizzly Bear habitat. We saw one bear, around 24 years old, who has lived up there for over 20 years. I had no idea Grouse Mountain had this area for two Grizzlies. The one we saw was cooling off in the small pond, humans staring at him in his enclosure protected with an electric fence. The bear was neutered to keep his testosterone in check.

There's also a lumberjack demonstration, where they throw axes, climb up a tall tree pole, and walk on logs in the water, but we were too early for the first show.

As we walked back a girl flew over us on a zipline which looked exciting and terrifying at the same time!

A Grizzly cooling off in the water

We took the Blue Grouse Gondola down, which costs $20 for adults, $10 for children. That was fun in itself, and much faster than the old school gondola which is still running on another track!

Don't think I'll be doing the Grouse Grind anytime soon, but now I understand why so many people do the Stairmaster machine at the gym!

Picture of the Day: Steamed Crab and Pork Patty

Steamed pork patty surrounded by crab legs

Tonight we went out for dinner at Golden Paramount Seafood Restaurant in Richmond and had some staple dishes, like winter melon soup, crispy chicken, sweet and sour pork, and steamed fish. They were all very good, perfectly cooked. 

The winter melon soup was perfect for today, which reached a high of 27 degrees.

We also ordered steamed crab -- with pork patty cooked together with the chopped up crab.

One of our friends at the table had seen this combination on a TV cooking show in Hong Kong where a top chef made it, and it looked so delicious that they asked the Golden Paramount manager if this could be done for us.

My picture is of the dish half eaten, but you can see the pork patty has soaked up the sweet juices of the fresh crab meat. 

Will we see this variation in other Chinese restaurants around town? Very high chance. 

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Luckily nets prevented foul balls from landing on us!

Today I finally went to my first baseball game at Nat Bailey Stadium, watching the Vancouver Canadians against the Tri-City Dust Devils.

The main issue was heat and we slathered on sunscreen before we left and armed ourselves with wide-brimmed hats.

Our next challenge was finding parking, and we managed to get a spot over a block away which wasn't too bad. For easy security checks, no large handbags allowed, unless they were see-through tote bags and indeed a few women did have see-through vinyl bags. 

A sushi roll, wasabi and soy sauce run a race...

We had a spare 15 minutes to get a baseball cap ($35), two bratwurst hotdogs, a Gatorade, double fried fries and a large bag of popcorn.

Our seats were a few rows behind the plate, but right in the sun. Our hats weren't enough to save us from the heat...

Two girls did a beautiful rendition of the Star Spangled Banner in harmony, followed by O Canada. And right at 1.05pm, the game started.

It wasn't until the fourth inning when the Canadians got two home runs, but then the Tri-City Devils caught up quickly in the fifth, making it 2-2.

We couldn't take the heat anymore and moved up to the covered area which helped us cool down immensely. However the sun began creeping up to our knees... the people in front of us moved to find other seating. Eventually we moved one or two rows up too.

In the sixth inning the Canadians got two more home runs to make it 4-2. The Devils had a time-out conferring what to do, and changed their pitchers four or five times halfway through the game.

Finally the Canadians were able to get in one more home run, and hold off the Devils from scoring any to make it 4-3 in the final score.

Ruck and Broderick were at last night's game

Halfway through the game there was a race between a sushi roll, a clump of green wasabi, a Kikkoman soy sauce bottle, and two Kikkoman boxes? ran around the bases. There was also a 50-50 lucky draw and apparently the guy sitting next to me won over $3,600!

There was also the chicken dance which my nephew jumped up and danced to with a big grin on his face.

When the game ended we were exhausted and dehydrated. We went to Granville Island, and I quickly finished a cold fruit ice tea drink, and half an ice tea lemonade!

Fun experience but wow very exhausting in the heat! Next time an evening game!

Turns out last night actors Matthew Broderick and Alan Ruck, who starred in the 1986 comedy Ferris Bueller's Day Off were at the Canadians game and sang Take Me Out to the Ball Game!

Berry Good Deal

White Spot restaurant has a great deal this summer -- The Blueberry Bundle.

For $20 you get a side of green salad or Caesar salad, a Legendary burger and a blueberry pie made from blueberries from a farm in Maple Ridge.

The highlight is the dessert. While it's not exactly a baked pie, it's really a lot of fresh blueberries marinated in a light sugar syrup and placed in a pastry cup, topped with whipped cream.

The deal is so good I've had it twice in one month!