Portugal - Toucinho do Ceu

Toucinho do ceu, meaning "bacon from heaven"

Everyone knows about pastel de nata, or Portuguese egg tart that is also famous in Macau with a caramelised top. But there are many other desserts and treats, and now that we've landed in Porto, we're definitely going to sample many different kinds!

Tonight we went to a restaurant called Alibi where we sampled "pots", or mini Dutch ovens filled with stewed cod fish with potatoes and rice, tender beef chunks with mined chorizo and fava beans, and two salads, one with slices of smoked duck Magret, the other with Sao Jorge cheese.

Dark chocolate cake with raspberries, blackberries

For dessert, we tried a chocolate brownie cake, thankfully not to sweet or rich, and a Portuguese almond cake called toucinho do ceu, literally "bacon from heaven."

It is actually a gluten-free cake, as it uses ground almonds and no flour, some eggs, sugar and butter.

First sugar is melted with water in a large pan, and then the blanched ground almonds are added and mix it as it cooks a bit, making the mixture a bit thicker. Take the pan off the heat and add butter that has already been melted, preferably to the point where it has a nutty flavour.

Mix them up well before adding beaten eggs, as well as orange zest and amaretto. Then the batter is poured into a pan that has been buttered then add parchment paper that has butter and flour to prevent the cake from sticking.

It is then baked at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for about 30 minutes. When it's done, turn it upside down, remove the parchment paper and let it cool. Then sprinkle icing sugar on top.

The version at Alibi included a scoop of tangerine sorbet that helped cut the sweetness of the cake.

Don't know why it is called toucinho do ceu, but there is a version of small tarts that have bits of bacon in them...

Quick Day Trip to Zhongshan via Macau

At the Hengqin border inspection building looking at Zhuhai

After we finished lunch in Macau, we headed to Zhongshan via the Hengqin border check point.

Hengqin is actually an island near Macau's Taipa and Coloane districts, where many of the massive casino resorts are, such as Londoner, The Venetian, City of Dreams, Galaxy, and Studio City.

Hengqin is a special economic zone 

We passed by these expansive properties with dazzling architecture, in particular the Zaha Hadid-designed Morpheus with its exo-skeleton construction so that there are no internal pillars inside the 40-storey building.

What's interesting about Hengqin is that while it is technically Chinese land, the Macau Special Administrative Region has governance over this area, which is a special economic zone, much like what Shenzhen was over 45 years ago. 

After about a 25-minute ride we arrived at the Hengqin Border Inspection Building. Once inside we had to fill out the China arrival form and then the actual passport control process is straight forward: you step up to the first counter and it's a Macau border officer with a perspex gate. 

He had to wait because the counter right after is the China officer, who was still processing the person before us; once that person was completed, the gates opened and we were allowed to move to the China officer who took a while to process our passports.

Zhuhai has some very modern buildings

Those holding wui heung jing, or "return home permits" were very quickly processed, while others with passports take a while as they scan the passport, take pictures and scan fingerprints too. 

Once that we done we were basically in Chinese territory, specifically Zhuhai. A driver picked us up in an electric car called Aion Y Plus by GAC Aion from Guangzhou. I asked the driver about the mileage on electric cars, and he said it was around 400km on a full charge.

He explained there were many places to charge, and even after 20 minutes it's good to go for a couple of hours. While they are efficient, he said the battery will wear out after about five years, much like a smartphone battery, and by that point there is no point in replacing it -- it would be better to buy a new car.

It didn't seem very environmentally friendly... were there solutions in place for recycling and such?

The drive to Zhongshan took about 40 minutes, to a suburb area that has a gated community. 

A quiet gated community with a large garden

A lot of Hongkongers have bought property in Zhongshan for retirement, as real estate is much less expensive than Hong Kong. An unfinished flat around 1,000 sq ft costs around 2 million yuan (US$282,852), and about 60,000 yuan in renovations will make it ready for moving in. 

At one point prices for apartments doubled from speculation, but now the values have fallen back to the original prices, perhaps a reflection of the property sector in the doldrums these last few years.

The gated community we checked out is very quiet, mostly because many of the flats are not inhabited full time. There's a large beautiful garden in the middle, and has a very big swimming pool that is only open in the summer.

After a hearty dinner in a nearby restaurant, we took a car to get back via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge. The 40-minute ride took us to the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge Zhuhai Port, where we bought bus tickets and then again went through passport control to exit China.

At the Zhuhai border to catch the bus back to HK

Then we got on the next bus available which took us about 40 minutes to get to Hong Kong. We went on the bus at night so there wasn't much to see outside, or in the tunnel, which seemed to go on forever. We arrived at the Hong Kong border checkpoint, and individually passed through immigration and then waited for our bus. We were near the airport because we could see planes taking off nearby every other minute.

Of the whole trip, waiting for our bus was the longest holdup -- about 15 minutes -- before it arrived, picked us up and drove to Hong Kong Island, and then to North Point.

What an adventure -- Hong Kong-Macau-Zhuhai-Zhongshan-Zhuhai-Hong Kong in one day!

Lunch at the Macau Military Club

The dining room looks the same, with ceiling fans

We did a quick side trip to Macau with the intention of having lunch there and then hanging out, but then my uncle suggested we go to Zhongshan after.

Our lunch was booked at Clube Militar de Macau or the Macau Military Club, an old colonial building adjacent to the Grand Lisboa, a giant shiny bulbous tower with lotus petals sprouting up from it. 

The foyer looks elegant with antique furniture

In the morning we took TurboJet from Shun Tak Centre in Sheung Wan. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the aging building FINALLY got a refresh and looks so much better now.

For decades it was so tired-looking and considering so many people commute to Macau from here, one would think they would budget some money to renovating it, which they did a few years ago.

Taking the ferry during the week was not too bad, and we even caught an earlier boat and it's a good thing we did. By the way, gone are the stickers with seat numbers -- all seats are printed on separate tickets, which seems counter-intuitive in terms of using more paper...

After an hour we arrived in Macau (the old part), we swiftly went through immigration and then I thought we would go through the underpass to get on a hotel shuttle bus to Grand Lisboa, but none were to be found.

An old photo of the club from decades past

Instead we had to follow a series of arrows taking us on a very long walkway to get to the hotel shuttle buses. This was new! It took us a good 15 minutes to walk to the Jai Alai Oceanus station, apparently a temporary measure until December 15.

When we finally got to the shuttle stop, there was a long line of people already waiting. 

And there aren't numerous shuttles ready to whisk people off to the casino resort -- instead we had to wait for the next shuttle, which took passengers to several different stops before finally arriving at Grand Lisboa (stop number four).

From there we crossed the street to the Clube Militar and arrived just on time at 12.30pm.

The last time I was here was in the early 2000s, and its old school atmosphere is like seeing an old friend again.

The downstairs hallway to restrooms

The European-style building was originally built in 1870 as a private military club for Portuguese military and their guests. Some notable ones include Dr Sun Yat-sen, who lived in Macau for a period of time. Another was poet Camilo Pessanha, who gave a presentation on the pleasures of learning Chinese language and culture in 1915.

In 1953, Clube Militar was opened to civilians, and then in 1995 the building was restored and reopened as a restaurant to the public and still retains its club. This year Clube Militar celebrates its 155th anniversary.

The club has over 700 members, most of them non-Portuguese, after the handover of Macau back to China in 1999. 

It seems the dining room is very popular for lunch, and soon after we arrived, the tables filled up quickly with Chinese and Portuguese guests alike. We opted for for the buffet spread, which included salads, soup, braised eel, beef, seafood salad and fried rice.

The desserts were impressive, in particular the flan that was a smooth egg custard, poached pear, traditional rice pudding, and chocolate cake. 

One of the large paintings in the foyer

If you order a la carte, signature dishes include bacalhau or codfish, African chicken, and arroz de marisco (seafood rice)

975 Avenida da Praia Grande, Macau

+853 2871 4004

 

Chinese Restaurant Awards Expands Across Canada and Asia

Winners of the Chinese Restaurant Awards in Canada

Last night the 16th Chinese Restaurant Awards handed out 69 awards, not only celebrating top restaurants in Metro Vancouver, but for the first time also across Canada, and in Asia.

Held at the prestigious Vancouver Club, the awards aim to shine a spotlight on chefs focused on Chinese cuisine, not only those preserving the heritage, but also those keen on modernising dishes through produce and cooking techniques.

There was a lot of excitement in the ballroom as the names were read out, lots of clapping for chefs who are usually in their kitchens working, and rarely praised in such a high profile manner.

Chef Garley Leung of Dynasty

Four top awards were given out, three of which were to chefs:

Rising Star Chef of the Year to Andersen Lee of Oncle Lee and Oncle Lee Kao in Montreal

Dim Sum Chef of the Year to Garley Leung of Dynasty Seafood Restaurant in Vancouver

Master Chef of the Year to Samuel Su of Flavourful House in Richmond Hill, Ontario.

The Cultural Ambassador of the Year was awarded to Carol Lee of Vancouver Chinatown Foundation, who started Chinatown BBQ and has had a big hand in reviving the neighbourhood.

When it comes to the Elite 30 restaurants across Canada, Dynasty Seafood Restaurant took top spot, followed by Chang'An, also in Vancouver. Landmark Hotpot House came in fourth, followed by Mott 32, and Sea Harbour Restaurant, which is across from River Rock Casino in Richmond. Rounding out the top 10 at No. 9 is The Fish Man, focused on seafood.

1. Dynasty Seafood Restaurant – Vancouver, B.C. | Cantonese 
2. Chang’ An – Vancouver, B.C. | Shaanxi / Northern Chinese
3. Flavourful House – Richmond Hill, Ontario | Cantonese
4. Landmark Hotpot House – Vancouver, B.C. | Hong Kong Style Hotpot
5. MOTT 32 – Vancouver, B.C.  & Toronto, Ontario | Peking Duck / Modern Chinese
6. Sea Harbour Restaurant – Richmond, B.C. | Cantonese
7. Jumbo Lobster Restaurant – Richmond Hill, Ontario | Cantonese Seafood
8. Bamboo Grove Restaurant – Richmond, B.C. | Cantonese
9. The Fish Man – Richmond, B.C. | Sichuan / Cantonese Seafood
10. aKin – Toronto, Ontario | Modern Asian
11. Jiangnan Wok – Richmond, B.C. | Jiangnan
12. Mimi Chinese – Toronto, Ontario | Modern Chinese
13. R&D – Toronto, Ontario | Modern Canadian Asian
14. Golden Paramount Seafood Restaurant – Richmond, B.C. | Cantonese / Shunde
15. iDen & Quan Ju De Beijing Duck House – Vancouver, B.C. | Peking Duck / Northern Chinese
16. Fishman Lobster Clubhouse Restaurant – Scarborough, Ontario | Cantonese Seafood
17. Miss Qu Barbecue & Restaurant – Markham / Scarborough, Ontario | Sichuan
18. Din Tai Fung – Vancouver, B.C. | Taiwanese / Shanghainese Dim Sum
19. Osmanthus Chinese Fusion Restaurant – Richmond, B.C. | Jiangnan
20. Max Noodle House – Richmond, B.C. | Cantonese Noodles & Congee
21. Lanxuan Restaurant – Richmond, B.C. | Cantonese
22. The Jade Seafood Restaurant – Richmond, B.C. | Cantonese
23. Nian Yi Kuai Zi – Markham / Scarborough, Ontario | Sichuan
24. Oncle Lee Kǎo – Montreal, Quebec | Modern Chinese
25. Kalvin’s Szechuan Restaurant – Vancouver, B.C. | Taiwanese / Sichuan
26. Loon Fong Hot Pot – Richmond Hill, Ontario | Hong Kong Style Hotpot
27. Xi’An Flavour – Richmond, B.C. | Shaanxi / Xi’an
28. Chinatown BBQ – Vancouver, B.C. | Cantonese BBQ
29. HK BBQ Master – Richmond, B.C. | Cantonese BBQ
30. Nouilles de Lan Zhou – Montreal, Quebec | Lanzhou Beef Noodles

Across the Pacific, there were awards for restaurants in Asia, which can be difficult to decide and rank since there are so many outstanding places in cities like Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing.

Chef Tang of Man Ho Chinese Restaurant

Rising Star Chef of the Year went to Jayson Tang of Man Ho Chinese Restaurant in the JW Marriott Hong Kong and Henry Zhang of Drunken Fish in Macau

Dim Sum Chef of the Year was Zeng Xianxin of De Chu in Guangzhou.

Master Chef of the Year was Fu Yue Liang of Ru Yuan in Hangzhou

Probably not surprising that The Chairman in Hong Kong took top spot in the Elite 15 Asia Awards, followed by Wing Restaurant. 

1.          The Chairman — Hong Kong ｜ Modern Cantonese

2.          WING Restaurant — Hong Kong ｜ Modern Chinese

3.          Ru Yuan — Hangzhou ｜ Hangzhou (Hangbang Cai)

4.          Meet the Bund — Shanghai ｜ Min Cai

5.          Seventh Son Restaurant — Hong Kong ｜ Cantonese

6.          102 House — Shanghai ｜ Refined Cantonese Banquet Cuisine

7.          Lingnan House — Guangzhou ｜ Cantonese

8.          Xin Rong Ji — Hong Kong ｜ Taizhou

9.          Yong Fu — Hong Kong ｜ Ningbo

10.       Chef Tam's Season — Macau ｜ Cantonese

11.       1996 Si Chuan Cuisine — Beijing ｜ Modern Si Chuanese

12.       Jie Xiang Lou — Hangzhou ｜ Jiangnan

13.       Man Ho Chinese Restaurant — Hong Kong ｜ Cantonese

14.       The House of Dynasties — Beijing ｜ Imperial court, Cantonese

15.       Silks House — Taipei ｜ Cantonese

The famous flower crab dish at The Chairman

Remembering a Macanese Chef

Coelho when we filmed our interview with him in 2018

A culinary legend in Macau has died. Portuguese native Antonio Coelho was the chef and founder of Antonio's who died October 12 at the age of 77. He is remembered for his food that was cooked with many dollops of butter, and the convivial atmosphere he created in his cosy restaurant.

His wife Mercy made the announcement on social media.

Antonio's sauteed clams in white wine sauce

"Our family is deeply saddened to inform you that my beloved husband, Antonio, passed away last Sunday," she wrote. "I cannot express the grief that we are feeling at the loss of such a great man in the family and to everyone else."

Coelho opened his restaurant in 2007, which was known for such dishes as sauteed clams with garlic and white wine sauce, sauteed fresh prawns with garlic, grilled sardines, Portuguese duck rice, and "Portuguese" style steak that was panfried in a lot of butter and served with a fried egg, pickles and potato slices.

Born and raised in Portugal, Coelho did many different jobs from a stint in the army where he was posted in Macau for two years, to working for the government and in a clinical lab before learning about food through his then boss. He would take Coelho to different restaurants, where the young man developed his palate and tried to recreate the dishes for his friends on the weekends.

Coelho enjoyed the media attention

Four years later he started working in a restaurant where he really learned how to cook. After three years there Coelho opened his own place.

In 1997 following his divorce, Coelho decided it was time for a change of scenery and moved to Macau to start fresh. He worked in several restaurants in the former Portuguese enclave and Hong Kong, before opening Antonio's in 2007.

I interviewed him in 2018, an assignment from one of my bosses, as it was his favourite Macanese restaurant. We tracked down Coelho who didn't seem to take our interview request too seriously. But when he saw we showed up with a video camera and keen to shoot, he went all out and allowed us to film him in the kitchen and stay for dinner.

Watching him cook in the kitchen he wasn't particularly meticulous, measuring out things exactly. Instead he cooked with instinct (and a lot of butter), which is probably why he had so many fans who could taste his love in the dishes.

Interviewing him, Coelho talked in tangents, not quite answering the question and would fall into his favourite topic of food and cooking.

The infamous Portuguese duck rice

At the time he also had a roving guitarist who would serenade diners with songs. It was definitely a unique and memorable experience. 

He told our cameraman at the time to come back anytime, and he took him up on his word, bringing his wife for a romantic weekend.

But when they walked into Antonio's again, Coelho didn't remember my colleague at all -- leaving him flustered despite explaining he had filmed him a few weeks earlier...

Hong Kong Still Trying to Attract Big Names

Coldplay's four concerts in Hong Kong generated HK$1.2B

When Coldplay came to Hong Kong to perform for four nights, the band's stay apparently helped generate an estimated HK$1.2 billion, from hotels to food, shopping and entertainment. 

However, when it comes to big names in classical music, many performers are eschewing Hong Kong and choosing Macau and other Chinese cities instead.

Bocelli performed in Macau late last month

Late last month Italian blind tenor Andrea Bocelli performed at Galaxy Macau, with 40 percent of the audience from Hong Kong. 

For example, superstar pianist Lang Lang and tenor Placido Domingo gave shows at Galaxy Macau in January and last October respectively, while Zubin Mehta conducted the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra at the Shenzhen Concert Hall and Guangzhou's Xinghai Concert Hall in March.

Some speculate it's because Hong Kong's auditoriums are aging, while places outside have newer facilities with better acoustics.

Most international stars are booked at least two years ahead, while in mainland China, venues can only be reserved six months to a year in advance. There is also the issue of visas -- when a performer goes to China, they can't pop out to Hong Kong for a performance and come back into the mainland again unless they get multiple-entry visas.

Lang Lang was also in Macau in January

There is also the problem that Hong Kong may not be a big enough market for performers.

"Hong Kong simply hasn't got a big enough potential market that measures up to mainland cities. If you are an international group that wants to build a following across China, being in Hong Kong doesn't get you onto Xiaohongshu or WeChat," says Kuh Fei, a Hong Kong critic and organiser of performing arts events.

So... who is the next big musical act coming to Hong Kong?

Singapore secured Lady Gaga for May, shutting out Hong Kong...

TeamLab's Immersive Art Experience

Golden-coloured fish swim around the room

Yesterday morning we woke up relatively early to get to teamLab Borderless in Azabudai Hills, located in a swanky undulating building designed by Heatherwick Studios.

One could tell they were in the right vicinity with so many foreigners trying to figure out where teamLab Borderless was, as the signage only said "Digital art museum". But take the escalator down into the basement and around the corner painted on the ceiling was "teamLab Borderless".

Art is projected around the walls and floors

All visitors had to place all their belongings (except their phones) into lockers, including umbrellas, as it's quite dark inside and would be near impossible to find things. 

That's because teamLab is a collective that brings together art and technology that goes beyond a frame or wall. Images are projected on walls and floors, while mirrors are used extensively to give the impression of going on and on, or maximising special effects.

Visitors are told there is no specific route, and are encouraged to revisit rooms over and over as they will change completely over time. It's a completely immersive visual and audio experience that can overwhelm the senses and one can't but help try to record videos of everything. 

At the start there is a fun procession of mostly frogs on their hind legs, walking, with the odd rabbit. The frogs bring blessings and protect travellers, ensuring their safe return. Frogs are also related to prosperity. They were a recurring motif in some of the rooms.

Spheres give a feeling of limitlessness

Not all the projections were interactive, but fun nonetheless. One fun room had amateur drawings of sea life and it turned out to be contributions from visitors themselves. They were scanned and then projected on the walls moving around and if you "touched" them, they would move away. People were lining up to have a chance to draw something. Some put their names on the fish or whatever sea creature they drew so that they could easily identify them.

Another room was completely immersive, like being in a fantasy underwater scene, with a school of golden carp swimming in and around sea plants. My friend felt a bit dizzy, while I was transfixed by how fantastic it felt to be inside this other world.

We stopped for a tea break... one of the rooms is a tea house and so we ordered two cups of barley tea. We were ushered into a dark room where we sat in chairs that we easily slipped into sideways and then waited for the staff to prepare our drinks. She first came out with a glass bowl and then returned later to fill it with the tea that had an oat taste. But wait -- flowers were projected into the bowl and the petals began spreading behind the bowl and onto the table. Again more content you had to commemorate on video and post on social media.

Sea creatures drawn by visitors projected on walls

It's quite amazing that teamLab has several projects in Japan, like Tokyo, Osaka, and Fukuoka, as well as in Abu Dhabi, Singapore, Macau, and Miami. It probably get more fun to create as technology improves, though a lot of accurate set-up and production needs to be made to ensure a flawless execution.

A lot of manpower is needed just to control crowds or ensure visitors are OK, and all the staff speak English.

It's probably become a prestige thing to be able to say you have visited specific teamLab projects, though if you have had the chance to see one, then you can see what all the fuss is about. It's not what art purists may think is art, but it is certainly art for the masses that is extremely popular, beautiful and fun.

teamLab Borderless

Mori Building Digital Art Museum

Azabudai Hills Garden Plaza B1

5-9 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo

Macau: Two Sides of the Former Portuguese Enclave

Many people at the Ruins of St Paul's in Macau

On Sunday morning I made a trip to Macau to visit relatives. I bought ferry tickets the day before to ensure I could get on the high-speed ferries. 

Tickets on the weekend are HK$190 each, and for first class it's HK$329 each; ages ago the return ticket would be worth more, but now they are the same price. Perhaps it's because there are now two high-speed ferry companies, and there are other ways to get to and from Macau, like the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge.

African chicken with pickles and potato wedges

It was a beautiful clear and cool day when I went, but very windy, which resulted in a slightly bumpy one-hour ride. The water kept splashing on the windows as if the ferry was going through a car wash or a rainstorm for the whole trip.

We made it safe and sound to the other side and unloaded off onto the Macau Taipa Ferry Terminal, a massive building that has a low capacity; which means passengers have to walk a long way to get to immigration and then out.

My relatives picked me up and we went upstairs to get to the Macau Light Rapid Transit, which is relatively new and few people ride it. It's a pleasant way to get around even though the speed may seem slow. It has convenient stops near all the major hotels, though not many people know about this public transit line or find it a hassle to get to the platform. 

At the end of the line -- right across from Hengqin in Zhuhai -- we got off and wandered a bit, passing by the Tin Hau temple before getting to Restaurante Litoral, a Portuguese dining establishment which has a Bib Gourmand from the Michelin guide.

Freshly made almond cookies with mandarin peel

We tucked into a big meal of bacalhau, or salted cod cakes, African chicken topped with a sauce that includes shredded coconut and caramelised onions that are browned under a broiler, stir-fried mixed vegetables, and a plate of grilled short ribs. 

Then we attempted to walk off the calories we had just consumed by walking around. We went to a side street to find a shop that sells handmade almond cookies, featuring ground almonds that are pressed into molds and baked.

My relatives were surprised to find the shop had a very short line -- typically the queue goes down the street. We didn't have to wait too long to get into the tiny shop and buy four boxes of these almond cookies that cost HK$85 each! That's because they are handmade, and not churned out by machines. You can even see men in an open-air shop making them with old equipment, the cookies left to cool on round bamboo trays.

As we walked down streets mostly catering to locals, my relatives were also concerned to see a lot of shop fronts that were closed, the shutters down. Either it was because it was a Sunday, or the business had shuttered. My relatives said if a business was not related to tourism, it would be very challenging for it to keep going.

Streets packed with visitors

This contrasted to when we got closer to the Ruins of St Paul's, where there swarms of tourists -- both mainland and Taiwanese. The streets leading up to remnants of the facade of a 17th century church are filled with shops selling all kinds of snacks, like the aforementioned almond cookies that are mass produced, beef and pork jerky, Portuguese egg tarts, egg rolls, and wife cakes. 

There were so many people at the Ruins of St Paul's that we quickly took a picture at the bottom of the stairs and then left via another street.

Macau is anxiously tracking the number of visitors to the city: in January there were over 3.64 million visitors, the vast majority were same-day tourists at 2.15 million, and only 1.49 million staying overnight. 

While the total number of tourists has gone up 27.4 percent year-on-year, most visitors only stay for the day. Those from the mainland can very easily cross the border into Zhuhai to stay the night where it is cheaper before re-entering Macau if they wanted to visit again.

This is a very similar situation in Hong Kong, where hotel rates are also expensive and again quite easy to go back to the mainland to Shenzhen to stay for the night, though most visitors are from Shenzhen and Guangzhou. It's a tough dilemma to solve, particularly for hotels eager to have more people staying in their rooms.

The Grand Lisboa in the distance

We managed to catch a cab along a small street and my relatives suggested I get to the ferry terminal and then they could continue on in the same taxi to get home. They said because cabs were so hard to come by that they didn't want to risk not being able to get another one if they got out and saw me off at the ferry terminal.

Beware of Theft on Overnight Flights!

Be sure to lock up baggage in overhead compartments

A friend posted on social media that he and his family were robbed while on an overnight flight. 

Apparently it's not just one person, but several accomplices on the plane, where they wait until the lights are turned down and when the passengers are sleeping, go to the overhead compartments and take the victims' bags into the washroom to take cash, credit cards, or valuable items. Then they put the bags back into the overhead compartments.

In my friend's case, the airline staff witnessed the incident, and the suspect was arrested by airport security, but by that point, the money had already been passed on to someone else and not on the suspect.  

HK has seen a 164% rise in on board theft

The police told my friend that it is a syndicate operating from Macau, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Vietnam.

While my friend made a police report that took three hours, it is only then that the authorities can do something, but the suspect will probably be punished with a three-month sentence.

There has been a 164 percent increase in thefts on board flights to Hong Kong in the first eight months of the year. There were 132 recorded thefts (last year there were 92), and the largest case involved a passenger from Switzerland who lost a HK$4.16 million (US$535,320) watch on August 30.

Items stolen include cash, credit cards, luxury handbags, watches and jewellery. 

"Thieves usually search for and take valuable property such as cash, digital devices and luxury watches from unsecured baggage left unattended on passengers' seats or placed inside the overhead compartments," the Hong Kong Police force's spokesman said. 

Another source said the thieves worked in pairs, taking advantage of dimmed cabin lights and sleeping passengers.

Police advised travellers to be vigilant and keep and eye on their belongings and never leave items unattended. The force also urged passengers to check their belongings before disembarking and promptly report any lost items to flight attendants.

It was brave for my friend to post what happened to him, and warns others to be careful!