China's "Old Friend" Henry Kissinger Dies at 100

Kissinger made his last trip to China in July this year

At dinnertime, I received breaking news that former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger had died. He was 100 years old.

And as expected, Chinese state media described him fondly as "an old friend of China".

So old a confidant was he that earlier this year the centenarian made one last trip to Beijing, where Kissinger had way more guanxi that he got an audience with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, and not Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.

He has met every Chinese leader from Mao to Xi

But alas China is now without its greatest advocate, who according to Xinhua news agency, visited the Middle Kingdom over 100 times.

Interesting fact -- so what was he doing in China all those times?

Can you imagine going on a plane to China over 100 times? That alone is gobsmacking, not to mention how many air miles he racked up.

In his later years, Kissinger claimed he was concerned about China and the United States in a "new cold war". 

Was he really?

There are questions who were Kissinger's clients after he left public office and had his own consultancy, Kissinger Associates. When he was appointed to investigate why the US government was unable to detect and prevent the attacks on September 11, 2001, Kissinger found out he would have to disclose his firm's clients and abruptly withdrew.

What was he hiding?

In time this will be revealed one way or another. 

Nevertheless, he will always be remembered as the one who helped break the ice between US President Richard Nixon and Chinese leader Mao Zedong. And another interesting fact -- he is the only American to have dealt with every Chinese leader from Mao to Xi.

That is super guanxi, my friend... but alas it had to end sometime...

Review: The Holdovers

Sessa, Randolph and Giamatti in The Holdovers

This afternoon we went to a matinee show for US$6 per ticket. Some went to see Napoleon, but I opted for The Holdovers, Alexander Payne's latest film.

On the surface it seems like it will be a comedy that could be full of physical and verbal humour, but it's actually a contemplative deep dive into people's lives and how you may not know the full story of anyone you meet until you really get to know them.

Paul Giamatti plays erudite teacher Paul Hunham in ancient Greek and Roman history, but he is despised by students and colleagues alike at Barton Academy, a boarding school for boys in New England.

Hunham must look after students at Christmas

Even though Paul was a graduate of the school, he loathes the students he teaches, believing they are hardly smart and deserve to fail.

It's December 1970 and he is assigned the thankless task of looking after some boys whose parents aren't collecting them for the Christmas holidays. 

All but one manage to worm their way out of staying in the school much longer, leaving Paul with a student named Angus Tully (Dominic Sessa), and Mary Lamb (Da'Vine Joy Randolph), the African-American cafeteria administrator who makes their meals.

We soon discover Mary's son was a graduate of the school but had recently died fighting in Vietnam, and so this Christmas is a tough one for her.

The film also reveals bit by bit why Angus isn't spending the holidays with his family, and why is Paul so miserable.

Payne (left) and Hemingson

The characters in The Holdovers are very believable and makes the viewers think about people in their lives. Do they know what is really going on behind their facade? There is more than meets the eye.

Giamatti is so good as the curmudgeon Paul, a tight-ass teacher who is keen to show off his academic trivia that is of no interest to others. 

It's also interesting to note in the 1970s there was a lot of open drinking and smoking. But there was also a bit of diversity too, as one of the students is from Korea, another is a Mormon (aside from the other kids with trust funds).

As Mary, Randolph's character acts as a bridge between Paul and Angus, and brings compassion and empathy.

Sessa is fantastic with his screen debut as a lanky student whose life is more complicated than he lets on.

The Holdovers reminds us to be more empathetic towards others because you never know what they've been through before you met them.

The Holdovers

Directed by Alexander Payne

Written by David Hemingson

133 minutes

Palm Springs: Post Thanksgiving Blues

Enough vegetables in this salad to fulfill my quota for days

Even though the Thanksgiving holiday ended on Sunday, many people only headed back home today, which is why Palm Springs looks much quieter tonight than the previous few days.

The downtown area (which is only a few streets) hardly had any traffic, though the parking lot was mostly full for dinner.

We went to one restaurant and were greeted outside by two young hostesses who told us there would be an hour wait for a table. An hour? 

So we moved onto Kaiser Grill Palm Springs and inside it was pretty much empty. There were only people sitting at the bar and we soon found out why.

After we were each handed a tablet to peruse the menu, we were surprised to find there were no prices next to the dishes. Our waiter later explained we had to click on each menu item to see the description of the dish and the price.

Some of the dishes were eye-watering expensive, in particular the steaks at 24oz which is huge. We joked all five of us would have to share one to finish it. Who eats 24oz of meat these days?

Our waiter seemed disappointed we were only drinking water until he heard where we were from and began raving about Vancouver and Whistler in particular for the skiing. 

I had a massive bowl of salad with pine nuts along with roasted fig, peach and roasted chicken breast and just barely finished it.

Walking 4 kilometres afterwards helped ease the digestion!

I have been walking 10K the last few days in order to burn off as many calories as possible!!!

Kaiser Grill Palm Springs

205 South Palm Canyon Drive

Palm Springs

760 323 1003

Palm Springs: Strange American Products

Any interest in trying this popcorn?

Ah Americans always come up with the most curious products to entice consumer to buy. Usually products that you don't need at all.

A visit to World Market is a case in point.

It sells all kinds of items from homeware and kitchenware, as well as wine and food. The food ranges from Japanese Kit Kats to pasta sauce, Ghiradelli brownie mix, coffee beans and Hello Kitty cup of noodles.

Keep wine cozy with this sweater

In the discount area there was a bag of Oreo-flavoured popcorn. I've heard of cheese-flavoured and salted caramel, chocolate and cinnamon, but Oreo-flavoured?

I was not intrigued enough to purchase it, even though it was 55 percent off. And if you really wanted to, you could make this yourself by crushing the Oreos in a food processor or manually crushing them with a rolling pin (the cookies in a Ziplock bag!).

The other strange product I saw for sale was a mini Christmas sweater -- for your bottle of wine.

Yes -- did you know your bottle needs a sweater to keep warm? And an ugly Christmas sweater to boot?

There were ones with a dog embroidered on it, and one with a cat too. The canine one says "Happy Howlidays", while another sweater says, "Cheers to the naughty list".

Perhaps that includes having a red nose?

World Market also has a stationary section. There were Snoopy notebooks, but a colouring book dedicated to cats' behinds?

It's called The Cat Butt Colouring and Activity Book, which features 45 pages of cats in various scenes, from an intergalactic feline's butt in space, to decorating a cat butt cake. 

Are cats' behinds a thing?

Apparently there are other cat butt colouring books like Cat Butt Christmas and Cat Butts in Space!

Are cats' butts a thing? I had no idea until now...

The things you discover at World Market.

Harvey Nichols Bows Out of Landmark After 18 Years

Harvey Nichols bows out of Landmark shopping mall

After 18 years, high-end luxury retailer Harvey Nichols will be vacating its space in Hong Kong's Landmark shopping mall at the end of March, citing weak consumer sentiment.

Owned by Hong Kong-based Dickson Concepts (International), Harvey Nichols will be leaving the 60,000 sq ft of space over five floors empty, though it will continue to have a presence in Pacific Place in Admiralty, according to Dickson Poon group executive chairman.

Poon (left) cites weak consumer sentiment

"Consumer sentiment remains weak", while mainland Chinese tourists in the city are "no longer focused on shopping as they used to be before the pandemic," he said, citing weaker-than-expected retail spending during Golden Week holidays in May and October.

The closure of Harvey Nichols in Central is yet another blow to Hong Kong's retail sector, which has also seen Sogo department store shut its doors in Tsim Sha Tsui in March.

It is interesting to note that Landmark, owned by Hong Kong Land, has vastly diversified its portfolio with more of its office space converted into restaurants.

One new concept is called Forty-Five in Gloucester Tower featuring four restaurants, including the newly-opened Cristal Room by Anne-Sophie Pic and a private club. 

It's gotten to the point where the restaurants in Landmark are now competing amongst themselves for customers, which doesn't bode well for the sustainability of the dining establishments there.

Cristal Room by Anne-Sophie Pic in Landmark

But back to the impending departure of Harvey Nichols. It's a hard pill for Poon to swallow, having prided himself on buying the British retailer and bringing it to Hong Kong, and now it can't keep going in Central.

It's also a sign that people are looking for something other than material goods to make themselves happy, which is a good thing, or their spending power has weakened immensely. Time will tell which one it is.

Adapting Well in the UK, Thank You Very Much

The change of lifestyle is a welcome one for many HKers

Some pro-Beijing media are trying to find the narrative that Hongkongers who migrated to the UK have had a tough time surviving, with a recent survey that revealed 52 percent of the 2,000 BN(O) holders interviewed were unemployed and 47 percent worked in jobs that barely matched their work experience and skills.

But when other Hongkongers there were interviewed, many of them said that while they might be making less money, they are happier with their work-life balance, and their children are enjoying school.

Many were making less money that was exacerbated by inflation. One man named Jeffrey Lau said he and his family had a better lifestyle in Hong Kong as their double income allowed them to go out to eat more, but living in a small northern English town called Dewsbury meant his seven-year-old daughter had a less stressful education and didn't need to commute three hours to and from school.

He said less academic stress meant his daughter learned more in a year in the UK than in Hong Kong. Can you even put a price on that?

Another, 59-year-old Walter Cheung used to work in a high-end hotel in Hong Kong and in the UK was a food packer and then a restaurant waiter.

"I don't care [that it is a step backwards]. In Hong Kong, I would regularly work overtime, with no extra pay," he said. "Here, I'm asked if I want overtime, and I'm paid for it."

Cheung has even improved his health by losing 7kg. 

He was surprised by the survey as Cheung found there were lots of jobs available and the government assisted people to find work.

Meanwhile Paul Leung, a freelance delivery driver who used to have an office job, is adapting to his new life well. He is even making more money than he did in Hong Kong and spend more time with his wife and child.

"I need to look after my family, I need to accept this. It is not like I can starve to death," Leung said. "You have to adapt to people's culture when you go to another country. You also need to accept new things when you leave your own comfort zone."

Well said.

How about celebrating people's achievements instead of trying to find failures? That's the true Lion Rock spirit.

Picture of the Day: Avid Shoppers at Warehouse Sale

Lots of people hunting for deals at the Estee Lauder sale

People are looking for good deals, and when they involve warehouse sales, these avid shoppers descend like hawks on prey.

Today was the start of a four-day sale of all kinds of products under Estee Lauder Companies at the Vancouver Convention Centre. Up for grabs were products from not only Estee Lauder, but also Clinique, Mac, Bobbi Brown, and Aveda.

Last year was the first warehouse sale they had in Vancouver, and perhaps because it was so popular it was back again.

It started at 9am, but I started off late and arrived around 45 minutes later to see a decent line already forming. I was surprised to see so many people -- did they not have to work today?

Nevertheless I passed the time by reading a magazine as the line would move in stops and spurts. Behind me was a group of young Persian women gabbing away animatedly in Farsi... I wish I knew what they were saying!

Finally when I was able to get into the massive hall, I got a purple shopping bag and there was a path of tables arranged like a snake, each full of products, and behind them lots of cardboard boxes filled with more products.

A staff member encouraged shoppers to move along if items on the table did not interest us -- the first table was lipstick of all kinds of brands and shades, followed by all kinds of makeup, from foundation to eye shadow and lipgloss, perfume, gift sets and men's skincare too.

The tables eventually presented skincare products. Last year it hardly had any of the products I was interested in, but this year there were to my surprise. I snapped up a few bottles at 50 percent off, along with a mint shampoo and a moisturiser.

The vast majority of customers were women with a few men who were patient enough to come along.

Interestingly by the end of the tables there was an area for shoppers to stop and take stock of what they had amassed and "curate" what they really wanted to buy before going to the till. Many people left several items behind on the tables, perhaps acting too rashly and then reality set in.

Then there was yet another line for the cashier. And before leaving a security guard checked our bill against our purchases and looked at our bags too before we headed to the exit.

Outside there were even more people lined up... and this was only Day 1 before noon.

High-Speed Rail Brings Tourists to Hong Kong

High-speed rail has led to a high volume of mainland tourists

A record 17 million passengers have used the cross-border high-speed railway this year, exceeding pre-pandemic levels. 

The vast majority of the trips were between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, taken during the National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holidays. 

But many of these tourists don't stay overnight

Since March, mainland tourists have accounted for more than half the high-speed rail passengers, surpassing 2019 levels since July.

Fanny Yeung Shuk-fan, executive director of the Travel Industry Council said the high-speed rail had made cross-border travel much more convenient and efficient, but that meant fewer tourists staying overnight in Hong Kong.

Meanwhile the Hong Kong Tourism Board reports 23 million people visited the city for the first nine months of the year, though 11.4 million of them were same-day tourists, of which 85.4 percent were from the mainland.

So while shops and restaurants may be benefitting, hotels are not...

Japanese Restaurants in HK Struggle to Survive

Hongkongers now go to Japan for food at cheaper prices

It is really sad to read that Japanese restaurants in Hong Kong are being decimated by the government's ban on importing Japanese seafood from specific prefectures for fear of contamination from the release of radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

Almost one-third of all Hong Kong's Japanese restaurants have shuttered this year not only because of the ban, but also the drop in tourism in the city.

Radioactive water is being released at Fukushima

High-end omakase restaurants are hit the hardest, as Hongkongers are opting to head to Japan to take advantage of the low yen and eat there instead.

It was the complete opposite during the Covid-19 pandemic, when diners had no choice but to patronise Hong Kong-based restaurants.

It used to be that the city had the most Japanese restaurants outside of Japan with 1,400 as of last year, but now many of them located in Causeway Bay and Tsim Sha Tsui have closed.

If people aren't traveling to Japan, they are certainly ordering the seafood online from prefectures not affected by the ban, and isn't very expensive.

Or they are throwing caution to the wind and eating in the banned prefectures, which include Tokyo.

Michelle Chiu of global real estate service JLL, said she noticed a trend of Japanese and Western restaurants having to close down or change their business operations to stay alive.

High-end omakase restaurants being hit hardest

"Some of our clients who operate omakase restaurants need to switch to more affordable meals," she said, adding her restaurant clients had found business was "worse than during the pandemic".

Hopefully the employees of restaurants that have shut down have found work elsewhere... parlaying their experience into something else! Other restaurants could use a helping hand or two...

Over 1,000 Fines on Vancouver Lawn Lovers

Watering lawns was prohibited from August to October

Metro Vancouver has a lot of homeowners who love their lawns more than letting them go yellow even when there are threats of fines.

From August to October, residents in Metro Vancouver who didn't abide by the water restrictions in a bid to conserve water were slapped with fines worth CA$166,000.

Over 1,000 fines ranging from CA$100 to CA$500 were issued on those who continued to use sprinklers to water their lawns and not leave them dry, and didn't hand water trees, shrubs, flowers and vegetable and fruit patches.

Hand water vegetable patches, flowers and shrubs

This summer there was an unprecedented drought, and the water restrictions were meant to conserve water for essential needs.

"As climate change continues to affect our region's water supply, using water wisely year-round is just the right thing to do, irrespective of a potential monetary penalty," said Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie who is also chair of Metro Vancouver's water committee in a statement.

The City of Vancouver had the most fines at 168, followed by Coquitlam with 154 and North Vancouver with 109 offenders.

These fines probably came after neighbours snitched on them... otherwise how would the respective city authorities know? Other municipalities didn't record any fines because they lacked the manpower to check out possible offenders, or only issued warnings.

But in general residents in Metro Vancouver use too much water at about 270 litres per day. If commercial uses are considered then it jumps to 400 litres per day.

This summer there was unprecedented drought

In the summer water usage dramatically increases in the summer, with nearly 40 percent used for residential and non-residential lawn watering.

"Lawn watering restrictions are an effective way to reduce water consumption for esthetic outdoor uses and ensure that we have enough water for essential needs, such as drinking, cooking and cleaning," said Brodie."

But at least greater awareness of water usage has led to a drop per capita, from an average of 474 litres per day in 2013 to 387 litres last year, below the performance objective of 402 litres.

Nevertheless, the less water we all use in general the better, not just for cities but the planet as well. 

Review: Fun Hot Pot Experience at Haidilao

Getting the "noodle dance" performance

When I was in Beijing around 2007, a local friend took me to Haidilao for hot pot. The most memorable part was the "noodle dance", where a guy in a tracksuit and cap doing a quasi ribbon dance with a stretched out piece of dough, making circles with it in the air and even snapping it at us. What a spectacle!

Many years later I went to Haidilao again for my birthday and they gave me a paper crown to wear and had a blindingly bright LED sigh that said "Happy Birthday" in Chinese, Korean and English. 

Enough food to eat? The perils of over-ordering

This year I tried the Haidilao in Vancouver and was also treated to a Happy Birthday sign on the wall and even a lit up sign with a handle. They sang Happy Birthday in Mandarin and English, and presented me with a platter that had "Happy Birthday" written on it with a candle, and six small ice cream containers stacked up like a pyramid.

Oh yes we had the noodle dance again! This time with a vegetable-flavoured dough that was green!

The service here (for Canadian standards) is very attentive and friendly and the staff speak mostly Mandarin and English for non-Chinese speaking customers. If you are a member of Haidilao you get lots of freebies, like toys for the kids and we scored some Miffy hats!

The only problem with hot pot is always over-ordering the amount of food to eat. But before you even order there's a salad bar where you can get snacks like sliced oranges and apples, cherry tomatoes, congee and even shrimp chips!

At the same bar area there is an array of condiments to make your individual sauce with soy sauce, sesame paste, chilli oil, sesame oil, coriander, and vinegar, chopped chillis, minced garlic and spring onions.

Pork bone and mushroom soup bases

Then ordering on a tablet one gets carried away ordering as you scroll down and forget what you've already picked out...

And then the food arrives via a feline-shaped robot and you're overwhelmed by the amount of dishes on the table!

Luckily Haidilao let us pack up the cooked and raw food -- we cooked the meat and put them in plastic containers and another for the soup base. 

We were so full afterwards we didn't need to eat dinner! But we did try the soup and it was oh so good.

Until next year!

Haidilao

3204 West Broadway

Vancouver, BC

604 336 2588

Review: A Taste of Middle Eastern Cuisines

A platter of various dishes to sample for lunch at East is East

The other day I met up with friends I hadn't seen for a while for some lunch at a restaurant I had been curious about. It's called East is East and offers cuisines along the Silk Road -- around the Middle East.

For CA$25, we had the "Silk Route Feast Tasting Menu", where each person can choose a soup, salad and two mains that come with small pieces of naan and boulani breads, along with a bowl of Afghan and basmati rice.

When it arrived, it was a platter filled with small bowls that were a great way to sample various dishes and you can keep ordering until you're full.

I had the Persian salad that had chopped cucumbers, tomatoes and onions with a cilantro lemon olive oil dressing that was quite refreshing, along with the dahl soup, featuring three types of lentils, cauliflower, spinach, herbs and spices.

For mains I chose mango butternut squash that was cooked with ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, star anise and bay leaves, and the Persian braised lamb with spinach and pinto beans.

Each of the dishes were so flavourful, hardly spicy, and just the right portion size to try them out.

On my second round, I had Afghan eggplant casserole with roasted peppers, herbs, tomatoes and garlic, and alu gobi, or cauliflower and potato in a tangy tomato tamarind sauce.

After we finished these dishes, we were just about full and each had a cup of masala chai made with soy milk and green tea.

I'm amazed I didn't have trouble sleeping that night with the caffeine! 

My friend explained the East is East location on West Broadway is the original location, and this one on Main Street is the second one.

East is East

4433 Main Street

Vancouver

604 565 4401

BC Government Ends Dream of Single-Family Home

These single-family homes will not exist in the future

The NDP government of British Columbia is killing the dream of owning a single-family home with legislation to densify municipalities in a bid to staunch the housing crisis.

Now up to six units can be built on single-family plots in cities that have populations of more than 5,000 residents.

While everyone agrees there is a severe housing shortage, there was no opportunity for municipal governments let alone BC residents to discuss it with Victoria -- the provincial government legislated it through the Housing Statutes (Residential Development) Amendments Act, where it took zoning authority from the municipalities and transferred it to the province.

Look forward to more multi-unit housing like this

It wasn't enough that the province had set targets of how much housing cities had to build -- Victoria basically decided there will be no more new single-family homes from now on.

Developers are probably rubbing their hands with glee, though they will also be wondering where they can find the labour to actually build these multi-units. So even if the province wants to make it easier to build more housing, it's not going to happen overnight.

Nevertheless, densification also means busier streets, noisier neighbours, and less privacy. Our neighbourhood has seen new, large sewer pipes put in, which took six months, and it will restart again in the spring in anticipation of this densification.

While some retirees may take this opportunity to sell to developers to make more money, other residents may stand their ground and do whatever it takes to keep single-family dwellings in tact.

This week a Vancouver city councillor proposed looking into how the city's most prestigious neighbourhood could be densified.

Shaughnessy is known for large homes, many of them mansions that stand along streets lined with big thick trees. Its residents have the highest median income in the city and its single-family homes are the most expensive in terms of property value.

A heritage mansion in Shaughnessy

However, Councillor Christine Boyle wanted to get city staff to look into putting in more housing, shops and services in this tony neighbourhood.

And while city council is made up of an ABC party majority that favours pro-development, its councillors did lots of verbal gymnastics to shut down the possibility of even densifying Shaughnessy, saying it was a waste of city resources to look into it, the fact that it has a heritage conservation area designation since 2015.

In addition, a representative from the Shaughnessy Heights Property said the residents there paid for the privilege of living there with its large space and homes, and that is reflected in the property taxes they pay every year. One of its residents is Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou who owns a mansion on Matthews Avenue.

One can only surmise that Vancouver is still stuck in its class system, that the wealthier residents can get away with retaining their privileges while the rest of us will have to suck it up with increasingly cramped space...

It only creates more resentment between the rich and the poor.

Picture of the Day: Mushroom Soup

Mushroom soup is very hearty and comforting

Last week I sampled some cream of mushroom soup at the annual Circle Craft Fair  and bought the packet to make at home.

The company is called Untamed Feast, where they forage wild mushrooms in British Columbia and Alberta, and then package them into various products. I not only bought the mushroom soup packet, but also one of large morels, and another with dried sliced porcini mushrooms too, and mushroom risotto.

The package from Untamed Feast

What caught everyone's interest was the thick soup was choc full of finely diced tubers and that it was really simple to make.

You just saute half a diced onion, and a garlic clove with either butter or olive oil. After a few minutes, add one-quarter cup of white wine, then add the packet of mushroom soup mix which is powder and dehydrated mushrooms. 

After that four cups of water are added, then wait for it to boil before turning down the heat and adding a cup of either cream or milk (or skip this step completely), and let it simmer for about 10 minutes and then the soup's ready to be eaten.

I used milk instead of cream and the soup still had a slight creaminess in flavour. The finely chopped mushrooms rehydrated and the combination of the various mushrooms made it delicious in flavour and texture.

Each packet is good for four people, and each bite is like snuggling up in a warm blanket.

Biden and Xi Meet Again

Biden and Xi shake hands in highly choreographed meeting

Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden finally met again in San Francisco following over a year of tense relations between the two countries.

They had talks that lasted four hours, which is considered really productive, going over a wide range of topics from restarting military-to military direct contact, curbing fentanyl production, Taiwan, the Israel-Hamas war, and artificial intelligence.

The two leaders held talks for four hours

Xi offered a diplomatic comment: "Planet Earth is big enough" for both superpowers, and that while their countries were different, they should be "fully capable of rising above differences."

The Chinese leader also hinted the panda diplomacy program might start up again after the US sent back three pandas over a week ago.

At a press conference after Xi had left, a reporter asked Biden if he still regarded Xi a dictator, a word he had used earlier in the year.

"Well, look, he is," Biden said. "I mean, he's a dictator in the sense that he's a guy who runs a country that is a Communist country."

Reporters freaked out that Biden had said the D-word, but he was just calling a spade a spade.

Will it undo the four hours of talks? No.

Perhaps panda diplomacy will restart again?

China needs the US desperately to woo back American companies to do more business in the Middle Kingdom, but the political risks are too high these days. 

Company executives and journalists being disappeared and detained, or have exit bans placed on them are not conducive to a good business environment...

The World's Thinnest Pasta

Very thin pasta called su filindeu or "threads of God"

Today I tried what might be the world's thinnest pasta at a small quaint Italian restaurant called Caffe La Tana on Commercial Drive.

From now until November 17, La Tana is offering this rare pasta called su filindeu for about CA$38, which comes in a flavourful lamb broth and bits of lamb that has been simmering for 24 hours, and topped with pecorino cheese and extra virgin olive oil.

Apparently only about 10 women know how to make this pasta called "threads of God" in Sardinia -- by hand.

It was served in a lamb broth and pecorino cheese

A story last year by the BBC interviewed one of the women who knows how to make su filindeu, and she made the dough every morning, pulling it into two, four, 16 noodles until she got 256 even threads that she places on a platter.

Chinese hand-pulled noodles come to mind, which is made in a similar way, but probably not hitting the dough on the table -- instead she dips it in either salt water or water to stretch it further. And she knows when the dough is ready to be stretched just by feeling it with her hands.

"Many people say that I have a secret I don't want to reveal," said Paola Abraini, smiling. "But the secret is right in front of you. It's my hands," she told the BBC.

The ingredients are only semolina wheat, water and salt.

In 2020 a team of engineers from pasta brand Barilla came to see if they could figure out how to make this thin pasta with a machine. They couldn't.

The summer of 2022 British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver came by to Abraini's to learn how to make this rarified pasta. After two hours, he gave up, saying, "I've been making pasta for 20 years and I've never seen anything like this."

Indeed! The pasta is even thinner than angel hair pasta, which probably explains why it needs a woman's touch to make it.

How does it taste? It was presented in a lattice shape (criss cross) and basically like very thin noodles in a heart-warming broth, the texture, as one of my dining companions said, like eating Chex cereal -- but much finer and smoother.

We were wondering perhaps a Chinese noodle expert could come to Sardinia to learn from Abraini... that would definitely push the evolution of Chinese noodles!

Caffe La Tana

635 Commercial Drive

Vancouver, BC

Picture of the Day: Super Mario Mushrooms

Bunch of toxic fungi sprouting from the grass

Check out these mushrooms!

These red mushrooms with white dots look like the ones in Super Mario video games and if you are of a certain age, they were the houses that the Smurfs lived in.

Recently I've spotted these fungi around the neighbourhood, including at the base of our hedge!

Reminiscent of Super Mario!

Their Latin name is Amanita muscaria and while they may look cute and inviting, they are actually poisonous!

Well, somewhat toxic. According to Wikipedia, if you parboil them twice in water, this will decrease its toxicity and break down the mushroom's psychoactive substances. But no one really eats them.

In any event, these mushrooms don't stay bright red for long... after a while they turn brown and boring... but still not something to consume!

China's Singles Day Sales in the Dark

This year's Singles Day sales were seen as lacklustre

In yet another sign that China's economy is slowing down, the much-anticipated Singles Day yesterday, the Chinese equivalent to Black Friday showed consumer not that confident in spending their hard-earned money.

Alibaba, the behemoth that came up with the commercialised Singles Day on November 11 promoting online shopping, used to show off the latest tally of sales in a giant billboard. But this was the second year that it did not disclose numbers. Nor did it have top acts like Taylor Swift or Katy Perry to ramp up sales even further.

In 2019 Taylor Swift entertained shoppers

Data provider Syntun estimated that the gross merchandising value across all e-commerce platforms only rose 2.08 percent to 1.14 trillion yuan (US$156 billion), compared to 2.9 percent last year. Major retailers like Alibaba and JD.com already slashed prices too.

JD.com claimed its orders were at a record high, but did not say what the numbers were, while China's State Post Bureau claimed its express delivery volume hit a record high, an increase of more than 23 percent between November 1-11 compared to the previous year.

China claims its economy rose 4.9 percent in the third quarter, enabling it to hit Beijing's target of 5 percent growth for this year. However, Goldman Sachs analysts are forecasting household consumption will fall from 8.5 percent to 6 percent in 2024. As a result, the GDP is expected to be 4.8 percent next year.

There are concerns that if this consumer malaise continues, the government will have to inject more government stimulus to get people to shop again in physical or virtual malls...

Remembrance Day Made More Meaningful

The Canadian War Cemetery near Juno Beach, France

Every year the media manages to find amazing stories related to Remembrance Day. There are veterans who are over 100 years old and still clearly remember being in the trenches, or relatives remembering uncles, grandfathers, brothers whose lives were tragically cut short through letters and personal items.

For Brad Palin, of Saanich, BC, he discovered more connections to his family that has sparked his interest to find out as much as he can.

Some 2,000 soldiers are buried at this cemetery

He visited the Canadian War Cemetery near Juno Beach in France, where there are more than 2,000 gravestones there and found it overwhelming.

"It brings home what the loss of life was," Palin says. "And it's just one cemetery of many [in the area]."

The tour guide asked him where he was from and took him to the grave of a young soldier from the same area named Roy Pattinson.

It turns out Palin knew of Pattinson -- Palin's late uncle Peter went to the same school as Pattinson -- and that they lived around the corner from each other.

"I remember saying at the grave site, 'They had to know each other,'" Palin recalled.

That night he began searching online for more information about Roy Pattinson and found and black and white photo group photo of him -- with his uncle.

"I just had chills," said Palin.

When he came home, he opened old family files he hadn't looked at in years and found his uncle Peter's autograph book and found Pattinson's signature. There was also a condolence card from Pattinson's family after Palin's uncle had died in a plane crash in England during the war.

Palin discovered Pattinson was his uncle's friend

He later found more pictures he hadn't seen before, including photos of his uncle and Pattinson when they were young, and group photos showing both families had socialised together before the war.

"How can it be that we've made this connection halfway around the world to my family through a random grave in France?" Palin says, still amazed.

Palin never met his uncle, but now knows more about him -- and that he was named after him, as Brad is his middle name, Peter is his actually first name. 

"So I've heard stories about him, but seeing all this brings it all home," he said.

Palin is determined to contact the Pattinson family and try to identify as many people in the group photographs as possible. 

This year's Remembrance Day has more meaning for Palin, remembering not only his uncle but his friend and neighbour too.

HK Police to Patrol Buses

Starting next week officers will board buses to prevent crime

The Hong Kong Police are flexing their muscles with a new trial to have officers on buses to catch any nefarious activities on public transport ahead of the District Council elections next month.

Officers will get on buses in the Kowloon West district free of charge, stand in the wheelchair area and monitor what's going on.

"They will board buses at different stops to patrol them, paying attention to passengers and identifying any suspicious objects," said a source familiar with the police operation.

Not many crimes are committed on buses

"If necessary, officers may ask the bus driver to pull over and request the person in question to leave the vehicle for further investigation," he added.

The officers will carry standard equipment such as firearms, a retractable baton and a body camera, as well as a mobile phone that can scan identity cards. Police officers will be deployed from divisions such as Tsim Sha Tsui, Yau Ma Tei, Mong Kok, Sham Shui Po, Cheung Sha Wan, Hung Hom and Kowloon City.

"The objective of extending police presence to public buses is to deter criminal activity and respond promptly to any incidents that may occur," the source said.

However the person did admit not many criminal cases happen on buses, but that there had been cases of bus drivers facing abuse from passengers, though it wasn't too serious. They also won't board crowded buses, or during rush hour.

In a video posted on the Facebook page of the Mong Kok police district, an officer says: "In addition to street patrols, police will soon conduct bus patrols. The objective is to prevent crimes, maintain public order, and ensure public safety."

It is hoped police presence will deter crime

The video goes on to say: "If you see police officers on the bus, please don't be surprised."

Thanks for the warning.

But why bother patrolling buses when the crime rate is low on them? Seems a bit overboard, or a make-work project.

How about the officers do an exchange and come to Vancouver to patrol the buses here? There are many passengers who just walk on and don't even pay the bus fare. There are many incidents of people hurling abuses at others, or even assault passengers and bus drivers!

Seem to make more sense for the Hong Kong Police to conduct their trial here and make a real difference in public transit safety...

Famous Macau Water Show to Return

There were lots of acrobatic stunts in the show

Macau is getting back its pre-pandemic stride with Chinese tourists flocking to the former Portuguese enclave and checking out the sights with a bit of gambling on the side. It also helps that five new hotels have opened in the last few months to house them all.

And perhaps for old times' sake -- the show The House of Dancing Water will return to City of Dreams in Macau after it effectively shut down because of the Covid-19 pandemic. During that time it had to let go of 137 performers after their blue card or work visas ran out.

One of the stars was a former ballet dancer

The House of Dancing Water was a show that featured dancing with and without water, acrobatics, dancers, really flexible African performers and even motorcycle stunts -- set in ancient China. Go figure.

The show, designed by former Cirque du Soleil director Franco Dragone, opened in 2010 and by early 2020 some 6 million people had seen it. There had been plans to tweak the show for the following year, but that was postponed indefinitely.

But now it seems there are plans to revive the show by the end of next year.

"We're just now going through the process of the remount," said David Sisk, chief operating officer of Melco Resorts. 

"We've been doing a lot of work on The House of Dancing Water theatre to get it up and ready. We just started doing our first shows there. We're doing a production right now where we're doing some musical things there on a weekly basis. And towards the middle of November, we'll get back out of that and get started back on the remount of The House of Dancing Water."

Over 6 million had watched the show over 10 yrs

Melco has to get the show on the road again -- China expects fewer Macau's resorts to offer fewer gambling -- or "gaming" activities and more entertainment.

It will be interesting to see how Melco revamps the show. The resort had just purchased the show from Dragone in 2019 and then the pandemic hit. Melco hasn't had much luck developing its own shows. In 2018 it had a car-themed one called Elekron that tanked very quickly because it solely aimed to appeal to male audiences. But even then they weren't interested.

Perhaps they will need Dragone's magic touch again?

Security Minister Looks Ahead to Jimmy Lai Trial

Lai has been remanded in custody for almost three years

When Jimmy Lai Chee-ying's trial finally gets underway on December 18, the Apple Daily media tycoon will have been remanded in custody for almost three years. 

In this case he is charged with sedition and conspiracy to collude with foreign forces when he allegedly called for international sanctions against Hong Kong and Chinese authorities, and inciting public hatred during the 2019 protests.

Tang claims HK government will be smeared

Interesting that Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung says the upcoming open hearing will reveal the extent of the "bad" crimes Lai had allegedly committed.

"When. you look at all the details as disclosed, you will see how bad they are. Let's wait and see [for] yourself," Tang told a Hong Kong media outlet.

Whatever happened to government officials declining to comment because the case was in the courts?

Tang also warned that the case would draw international attention and that foreign politicians may target local efforts to outlaw more national security offences under Article 23 of the Basic Law that the government aims to enact next year.

"I'm sure they will make use of this as another excuse to smear our government and to smear our country... It's a must. It's anticipated," he said.

Tang like Lam (above) has lots of cash

As if to further illustrate his point, Tang added that because of sanctions, he was unable to have a bank account, much like former chief executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor.

Due to this "inconvenience", he said he had to adapt to using cash all the time.

"Because I have no bank account, right? So all my auto-pay had been paralysed," Tang said. "But I would say, compared with the national interest, this small inconvenience is nothing. Actually, I feel proud to have a chance to serve my country and serve my Hong Kong."

His patriotism knows no bounds...