Comments on: A picnic 44 storeys up…

By: blair_mitch

blair_mitch — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 13:22:09 +0000

Sigh. I love Hongkong. And I love what you said because I can so relate: Hongkong just “gets it” the way we never seem to back here in good ol Manila. Hongkong is great little respite. A year isn’t complete without a visit!

By: sister

sister — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 12:58:25 +0000

trislovesbread: Yes, there is Poilane bread available in NYC at Butterfield Market, Lexington Avenue and 77th Street.

By: ragamuffin girl

ragamuffin girl — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 01:58:41 +0000

My favorite place – GREAT. Hubby gets scared whenever I go in there. The prices are high, but the variety and quality attest to the superiority of its products. I also go to Oliver’s Deli at Prince’s Building in Central and City Super at the IFC Mall because even GREAT runs out of stuff, but it’s still the best gourmet grocer HK has. A newly-opened organic superstore called Three Sixty at the 4th Floor of the Landmark has interesting items as well. I have lived in a 1st world country (they say HK has first world infrastructure but not quality of life due to pollution, educational system deficiencies etc…) where the air is clean and the roads are smooth and paved but HK for me is more efficient and disciplined by far. Never mind the so-called “rudeness” of the locals. What you see is what you get. Isn’t it obvious how much I love my adopted country? Now if only I could see beyond the smog…:)

By: Maria Clara

Maria Clara — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 20:37:19 +0000

You got that right classic Parisian picnic spread! The only missing is a bottle of Bordeaux wine. Everywhere you go its typical scene to see our very own hardworking fellow citizens working in the hotel industry – from our neighboring Asian countries, European continents and Middle East. Yet, the administration brags about Overseas Filipino Workers â€“ the money they transmit – but look at the type of work they do! Most of them are exploited, yet they tolerate that working condition rather than go home and unemployed. My heart goes to them.

By: Marketman

Marketman — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 12:13:58 +0000

Carlo, excellent deductive material for an application to Scotland Yard. Yup, we stayed at a hotel in Pacific Place and that’s where we got the Poilane… Doddie, oddly, we never got to Peking Duck though we had a great Shanghainese meal with friends and the rest of the time we were eating with old friends or eating on the run! Yes, these cherries look like rainier and queen anne but I am not sure if they are the same…all I can say is, they were spectacular! They weren’t tart at all, which I like in some cherries, but not cloyingly sweet either… Frayed, yup multiple line mentality should be a patented Pinoy phrase. trish, I am not sure if you can get poilane yet in New York…though I would guess someone has figured out how to bring them in by now… Kieran, good bread is tough to find in Manila…it must be the humidity… kb, GREAT supermarket at the basement of the Pacific Place Mall…

By: Carlo

Carlo — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 11:17:48 +0000

The only place in HK that I know of that has Poilane bread is at Great supermarket located at the basement of Pacific Place.

By: Doddie from Korea

Doddie from Korea — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 07:29:32 +0000

MM, Your post brings back wonderful memories of my many trips to Hong Kong (both leisure and business). I actually lived there (well, in Shenzhen really but HK was just a train-ride away). Where did you stay? Did you get to eat peking duck?

Doddie

By: i'lltaketwoplease

i'lltaketwoplease — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 04:52:59 +0000

Isn’t it great when things/people run efficiently? Even better when the people you deal with actually KNOW something about what they do.

Anyhow, the cherries you describe look similar to the Rainier Cherries here in the states. I believe they orgininated in Washington state. They are different than the usual bing cherries, as like the Kid described, are similar to a peach. To me, they are similar to a plum/cherry mix. Have you tried the hybrids PLUOTS (plum-apricots) or APRIUMS (apricot-plums)?

By: Mila

Mila — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 01:26:12 +0000

I forgot to add that those yellow/red cherries look like the Queen Anne cherries variety. My uncle grows both bing and queen anne in Washington, I love the QA type, they’re tarter, and more aromatic than the bings.

By: Mila

Mila — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 01:07:44 +0000

Yes, I was so happy just to be a visitor in HK over the holidays, the city works, the transportation system works, and even when I was insane enough to go into City Super to buy groceries on Xmas eve, I didn’t spend more than 10 minutes waiting in line for a cashier. They had signs pointing to where to stand in line and they moved us faster than the immigration lines at the airport. And I never complained about paying taxes for the years I worked in HK because I knew it was going to be used properly. Not like here!!!! Argh.