Shoppers are seeing shrinkflation in many items they buy |
Consumer watchdog released report Tuesday |
This cereal had the biggest drop in size |
Shoppers are seeing shrinkflation in many items they buy |
Consumer watchdog released report Tuesday |
This cereal had the biggest drop in size |
Uselect supermarkets will be closing across Hong Kong |
More closures happening in Hong Kong with supermarket chan Uselect closing all of its locations because of the city's retail slump.
Uselect is owned by state-owned China Resources Group, and its closure comes days after its health product business CR Care announced it was shutting all 19 of its shops in November after 13 years in Hong Kong.
Uselect offered many UK-imported goods |
The supermarket chan had 100 locations in the city as recently as last year, but when it announced its closure on Sunday, only 40 were listed.
When the 2019 protests broke out, some protesters targeted mainland Chinese businesses, but they managed to survive through the Covid-19 pandemic too. But perhaps shoppers would rather patronise local businesses.
Other closures:
An American brand called Garrett Popcorn is closing all of its locations as well after calling it quits on Hong Kong after 13 years.
UA Cinemas has also shuttered its six theatres across the city, unable to recover after there were mandatory closures of the theatres in 2020 for 190 days.
The opening of Abercrombie & Fitch in 2012 |
Grocery chain Dah Chong Hong (DCH) Food Mart announced in March it was closing all 28 branches after 39 years in Hong Kong.
That said, Abercrombie & Fitch is coming back! There will be two locations, in Hysan Place in Causeway Bay and New Town Plaza in Sha Tin. The American fashion brand returns to Hong Kong eight years after it left Pedder Street where it paid an exorbitant amount for rent.
Everyone wants to know -- will they be bringing back the shirtless young men too?
Brodie is third from the left, flanked by Greens and NDP |
Not too crowded but a bit chilly at the Richmond Night Market |
A friend asked me to go check out the Richmond Night Market, and I can barely remember if I had gone before so a good a reason as any to check it out this evening.
It turns out she had admission tickets and the market ends this weekend so we were able to skip the very long lineup to get in at 7pm when it started. There are a few dragon decorations from the Mid-Autumn Festival, though there are a few dinosaur sculptures standing around which is a bit incongruous, but no one seemed to notice.
California Roll in seaweed taco |
We had some Japanese takoyaki topped with large bonito flakes that were not bad, and had some deep-fried popcorn chicken and mushrooms, both were quite good.
At a dim sum stand I got some pan-fried pork buns and Hong Kong-style curry fish balls that were not bad. By this point we were getting thirsty and had a lemonade drink for C$7, though one could get a giant bucket of a drink to carry around too.
My friend got a California roll taco, basically rice topped with fake crab meat, a bit of mentaiko, sprinkles of sesame seeds, mayonnaise and spring onions in a deep-fried seaweed taco shell; after eating that she was full. I got a giant scoop of pistachio gelato that only had a hint of the nut flavour, but the ice cream hit the spot despite it being around 8 degrees Celsius.
The non-food items ranged from earrings and fake nails to socks, smartphone accessories and even camping gear. As it is the last weekend, some stalls discounted prices to get rid of stock, only with limited success.
A man and his dog hanging out |
As we were leaving we discovered the games section of the fair, where people had to throw rings around the necks of bottles or pick up a bottle using a ring attached to a stick. One guy with his dog strapped to his chest hung on a bar; he had to stay there for two minutes, but gave up at the 1.47 mark!
Would I go again to the night market? Probably not, though I didn't mind spending C$45 for food and drinks to share on a chilly Friday night.
Ethereal-looking colours in the sky tonight |
Tonight we were able to see the northern lights again after seeing them in May.
It turns out there is a severe geomagnetic storm happening these few days and since tonight was clear, I took the opportunity to check it out.
At first I drove to the outskirts of Pacific Spirit Park, a forest that has no lights. But while it was relatively dark, the trees were in the way!
A colleague took this in Scotland |
The US-based National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center says storm watches this far south are rare, so it's worth trying to see it.
The northern lights are not visible with the naked eye -- you need to use your smartphone or digital camera to be able to see it. People in the UK seem to have more vibrant colours than in Vancouver, or perhaps I need to go to a darker place?
Will try again in the next day or so!
Ip was co-founder of non-profit Success |
A Chinese-Canadian who dedicated most of her life to public service, and was a co-founder of Success, a non-profit organisation which helped new immigrants, has passed away. Maggie Ip was in her early 80s.
She came to Canada in the 1960s from Shanghai and got her Masters in Education at the University of Ottawa, and later was a secondary school teacher.
Ip also served on Vancouver city council from 1993-1996, but before then she helped set up Success 51 years ago. Originally it focused on helping new immigrants from Hong Kong and China, but now serves people from around the world and has become one of the largest settlement service organisations in Canada.
In the beginning, many immigrants were "lost" and relied on friends for help to survive in Canada.
"Then we realised that they have so much potential... to help to build this country," Ip said last year on the 50th anniversary of Success.
"We would really like to make sure that they are adapted, they are adjusted and they will become contributory members of society. So this is how we started Success. That's why the Chinese call it 'immigrant mutual help'."
Ryan Drew, who works as the director of integrated services for newcomers at Success, says Ip leaves behind a rich legacy.
"Over those 50 years, she's been in a variety of different roles and capacities," she says. "And, you know, even right up to the present day, she was like attending volunteer recognition events.
"I think we've already seen her legacy in action. We are as an agency now... we've gone from this small group of volunteers, you know, sort of making things happen, in anyway they can, to being a large agency with over an C$85 million budget."
Ip leaves behind her husband Kelly and two adult children.
I happened to see her in February at a Chinese New Year event and she was in good spirits. Will miss her cheerful smile.
My brunch pancake combo with over easy eggs and avocado |
The entrance to the Northern Cafe upstairs |
Old school diner vibe and friendly service |
Shoppers are seeing shrinkflation in many items they buy How is it only now that the Hong Kong authorities realise that consumers are suffer...