Film Review: Minari

Minari is about a Korean family making a new life in the US

 

When was the last time I saw a film? 

I saw a short documentary back in mid-November, but the last time I saw a film was probably about a year ago.

The 45th Hong Kong International Film Festival kicked off yesterday but not without controversy. 

Where the Wind Blows was pulled last minute

The opening film was supposed to be Where the Wind Blows and was pulled at the last minute by the film's owner for "technical reasons", a euphemism in China for censorship.

Starring Aaron Kwok Fu-shing and Leung Chiu-wai, Where the Wind Blows is about two resourceful detectives who forge dangerous alliances with organized crime in 1960s Hong Kong. 

As it is a joint production between a Hong Kong and Chinese companies, the film may not have received the proper approval on the mainland, or perhaps the subject matter was too sensitive with the portrayal of the police.

In any event, I watched Minari, the Golden Globe winner for foreign film (because the film is half in Korean and half in English) this afternoon at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre's Grand Theatre. 

Alan Kim plays David in Minari

Every person who entered the Cultural Centre building had to either scan the QR code on the LeaveHomeSafe app or leave their contact details at the door, and everyone had to wear a mask, no consuming drinks or food inside.

Then inside the theatre, several seats were blocked off here and there where people could not sit. 

Minari is about a young Korean immigrant family that moves from California to Arkansas, the father Jacob played by Steven Yeun, is determined to make something of himself. 

He buys a plot of land with a trailer home with the intention of growing Korean vegetables, but his wife Monica (Han Ye-ri) is hardly impressed, and tensions flare up between the two.

Then there is the sub plot of the adorable son David (Alan Kim) and older sister Anne (Noel Kate Cho) who desperately want their parents to stop arguing.

Youn is a very famous actress in Korea

When their maternal grandmother (Youn Yuh-jung) comes to visit, there's some comic relief, but also three generations of cultural differences are revealed that make the film endearing.

Director Lee Isaac Chung wrote Minari based on his own parents coming to the United States to make a new life for themselves.

In an interview with Time magazine, Chung says: "When my dad was in junior high, all these American films started to be introduced into Korea for the first time. My dad started to watch westerns at dollar cinemas in Seoul and felt like America was a miraculous place. 

"His family had lost a lot of land during the Korean War and the Japanese occupation. That affected him a lot as a kid. He always felt like he needed to come to the US and get land. It's an old Hollywood pioneer story he was working on."

Chung with his daughter during Golden Globes

For many immigrant children the story in Minari resonates deeply, the heated arguments about sacrifice and money, how to raise Asian children in the west, and feelings of isolation. 

The film has been nominated for six Academy Awards this year and hopes are high it will win big following the momentum of Parasite!

Young Hongkongers Love Their Hometown

Xi gave a speech today, with Carrie Lam sitting on the far right

 

In his speech marking Shenzhen's 40th anniversary as a special economic zone, Chinese President Xi Jinping urged young Hongkongers to live, work and study in in the Chinese city, describing it as an "important engine".

"We must foster the integrated development of the mainland, Hong Kong and Macau, and they must foster each other's development," he said.

"The party has high hopes for Shenzhen... It needs to push forward the bay area plan and enrich the new practices in the implementation of 'one country, two systems'. These are historic missions that the party is giving to Shenzhen in the new era."

Xi calls for HK, Macau to be closer to Shenzhen

The three cities are part of the Greater Bay Area, where the plan is to turn Hong Kong, Macau, Shenzhen and eight other Guangdong cities into a technology and finance hub that rivals California's Silicon Valley by 2035.

It's interesting Xi has transplanted the phrase "one country, two systems" in the context of Shenzhen which doesn't make much sense, but the push to further integrate Hong Kong and Macau into the fold is evident.

But how will it all square?

Macau is mostly a gambling town, while Hong Kong is a finance and services hub. It's a wonder how Macau can help foster the development of Hong Kong and Shenzhen...

In his speech, Xi also encouraged the authorities to encourage Hong Kong's young people to seize opportunities on the mainland.

Xi says Shenzhen is an "important engine"

"We must attract more Hong Kong and Macau youth to study, work and live on the mainland, and boost interaction and communication between youth in Hong Kong and Macau with those in Guangdong, to bring their hearts closer to the motherland," he said.

That might be difficult given that most young people were out protesting against the government last year, and currently the local authorities are criminalizing the youth in the city. The police harass and intimidate young people and last year over 750 were arrested during the protests, one as young as 12 years old.

Opposition lawmaker Wu Chi-wai, chairman of the Democratic Party, said it was "ridiculous and laughable" to suggest that Hong Kong youth would be more patriotic if they worked or studied on the mainland.

Hundreds of young people arrested in 2019

"When the mainland government suppresses Hong Kong's freedoms, and Hong Kong young people don't trust it, how can they be attracted to work or live on the mainland?" he asked.

And now with the new national security law, young Hongkongers are even more worried about crossing the border, and also the practical reality of lower pay and job prospects there with so much competition on the mainland.

So it will be even harder for Beijing to entice young people across the border, unless they are in the tech field or are genuinely interested in working in China.

Young people love Hong Kong because they feel it is becoming mainlandized and are determined to protect it from what they see as further erosion rights and freedoms, the way of life that they cherish deeply.

Young people really love Hong Kong

While their passion may be a fruitless cause in the end, last year's protests was their political and social awakening. They will never forget what happened and it will never be washed from their memories. China must address and accept these tensions before moving forward, but knowing the CCP, it will try to desperately sweep things under the carpet as if they never happened.

So its grandiose plan of integrating Hong Kong into the mainland will continue to be filled with political tension. Beijing has been warned.

Zhang Daqian's Masterful Style

On Route Switzerland-Austria, 1965

 

This afternoon I managed to catch the last day of a special exhibition of Chinese painter Zhang Daqian's work at Sotheby's Hong Kong. This year marks the 120th anniversary of the artist's birthday.

Dunhuang painting, 1942

Entitled "Zhang Daqian: The Master", the show features nearly 60 works from the artist's family and prominent private collections, many of these pieces either rarely or never before seen in public. Many of them are works that he gave to his daughter, Chang Hsueh-liang.

When I arrived at Sotheby's in One Pacific Place in Admiralty around 3pm, the place was already packed with people of various ages, eager to examine the artist's paintings and calligraphy. Strangely not all the works were captioned in English which were otherwise very helpful for me to further understand the paintings.

Nevertheless the pieces show an array of Zhang's styles that ranged from intricate line drawings to his famous splash ink paintings that verge on abstraction. He definitely pushed Chinese painting forward, still keeping with traditional philosophy, but very contemporary at the same time.

Zhang was born in 1899 in Neijiang, Sichuan province and learned traditional Chinese painting from several teachers, including his mother. He copied the works of ancient masters, refining his skills in painting landscapes, birds and flowers, and figures.

In the early 1940s he went to Dunhuang, Gansu province for three years, copying the Buddhist grotto paintings that deeply inspired him to learn more about art from the Tang dynasty. His observations of Tang-dynasty figures were later integral to developing his style.

The lotus is a favourite subject for Zhang, this painted in 1973

However, because of the impending revolution in China, Zhang left China in 1949 and went to live in places like Argentina, Brazil, California, and Taiwan. He became exposed to modern Western art developments, like the Abstract Expressionists, and even met Pablo Picasso. It was then that he began developing the splash ink style and using vivid mineral colours.

The exhibition has Zhang's line paintings from when he was in Dunhuang. There's a dynamic painting of a girl dancing with ribbons and it comes alive with elegance and grace. Another shows a woman presenting an offering in a flowing robe.

A particularly impressive painting is called Spring Clouds Amid Autumn Landscape done in 1948. He gave this painting to a friend of his (he had many friends he gifted with art) who turned 50 years old, and this particular painting is so detailed it's mind-boggling to think he painted every single pine needle on the trees and every wave in the sea. Not only does it show his attention to detail, but also his ability to paint so finely.

And of course Zhang is well known for his lotus paintings using the splash-ink style. The leaves are lively from his large brushstrokes, and yet anchored by the deliberate lotus flower stems that are detailed with dots on them. It's more about the leaves than the flowers themselves.

A screen of a landscape painting for Zhang's daughter

There is a screen that he gifted to his daughter Chang when she was getting married. It features an abstract landscape that spreads across several panels. Chang wrote that her father seemed sad about her leaving home soon and it took him a long time to finish the screen, as if hoping that if he didn't finish it, she wouldn't leave. But eventually he did finish it and her brother brought it over for her wedding.

The landscape paintings -- of places outside of China are very interesting because they are painted in a Chinese ink brush style, though viewers are encouraged to use their imagination. One called On Route Switzerland-Austria looks more like a Chinese landscape, but it has a brilliant colouring from the blue-green palette, evoking greenery, but also there is contrast from a waterfall in the distance that creates a giant mist further down, or are they clouds? that create a backdrop for the chalets on the mountains.

A woman Zhang painted that's printed on the foam of a coffee

What a treat to see all these paintings. I also got a cup of (cold) coffee -- with one of Zhang's paintings printed on the foam! A few of us took pictures of each other's coffee cups. One woman didn't want to drink her coffee to ruin her print-out of a woman's face. Eventually she did drink it...

Art on the Go

Just a small section of the long rectangular mural of tiles by Ik-Joong Kang

At the San Francisco International Airport departures area, I spotted this massive mural near the SFMOMA (San Francisco Museum of Modern Art) store.

On closer inspection it's a series of tiles, each made differently, some painted, some having a three-dimensional look with collages or items glued on top of squares. Some had words, some had bold lines, others looked like scenes.

They are the work of Korean-American artist Ik-Joong Kang (born 1960) and it is titled Gateway (2000). There are 5,265 3-inch by 3-inch tiles where Kang used various media, like paint, wood carving, cast acrylic.

A detail of a few tiles, none of them look alike

According to the explanation, Kang began working on these tiles when he was a student and commuted long distances to get to various part-time jobs. These 3-inch tiles were small enough for him to carry in his backpack and paint on the subway.

This explanation speaks volumes about his dedication, persistence and creativity in doing this project. An exercise like that forces Kang to think about art all the time, what is he doing now, and what can or should he be doing next.

The size restriction also forces him to focus what he wants to put on this precious space, what is worth putting on a 3-inch square -- it better be good. At the same time he's playful with the tiles. One has a green statue of Mary sticking out, another has a string of silver beads hanging from it, yet another has two mini scissors split open like butterflies.

The eclectic nature of these tiles makes for endless viewing -- if you have time... there's so much to see in each small square! It's pretty amazing and definitely a good use of time while commuting! Hope that inspires others to find ways to pass the time more constructively...

Tried: Cashew Ice Cream

Strawberry ice cream made from cashew milk!

Back in San Francisco, my cousin took us to a food court in Emeryville, and told us about a cashew ice cream place. I was so intrigued I had to try it.

It's called Mr. Dewie's Cashew Creamery that has ice cream that is dairy-free, gluten-free and soy-free. The shop was started by two Berkeley-native brothers, Ari and Andrew Cohen in 2011. They wanted to create an ice cream to meet their dietary requirements of having no dairy, soy or gluten, only use organic ingredients and not have any preservatives either.

The shop is in a converted shipping container

Sounds like a tall order, but they did it. The cashews are ground into a fine powder then mixed with water to create "milk" and then the other ingredients are added to create the flavour, then it is put in the freezer to set.

Mr. Dewie's Cashew Creamery have three locations and the shop we visited in the food court is actually in a repurposed shipping container which is cool. It has a refrigerator, the ice creams on display, and even marble countertops.

On display were many different flavours, like tumeric spice, roasted cashew, coffee, chocolate orange chip. What to try?

In the end I had the strawberry flavour, but the strawberry and cashew taste seemed to fight each other and so I mostly tasted a thick, dense ice cream with a hint of strawberry.

Meanwhile my mom had the tropical trio -- pineapple, mango and coconut -- and it worked very well, tasting very refreshing.

There are several interesting flavours including tumeric spice

Nevertheless it was fun and interesting to try ice cream made from cashews!

We sat at a communal table by the store and for the next few hours watched a steady trickle of customers, and at times a crowd waiting to buy the cashew-based ice cream (after dinner). It shows that this kind of ice cream appeals to men, women and children regardless of it being dairy free.

While we do have a brand of dairy-free ice cream in Hong Kong called Happy Cow, it would be good for pastry chefs and even entrepreneurs to come up with non-dairy ice creams as a healthy alternative.

Mr. Dewie's Cashew Creamery
Emeryville Public Market
5959 Shellmount Street
Emeryville, CA 94608
(510) 350 8171

San Francisco's Chicago-Style Pizza

My very stringy slice of spinach and mushroom pizza at Zachary's

On our last full day in San Francisco, my cousin took us to the botanical garden there, and for lunch we stopped at a nearby pizza place called Zachary's Chicago Pizza.

I was told this is no ordinary pizza joint and it's an institution since 1983 with several locations in San Francisco.

It serves Chicago-style pizza, which is a deep-dish pizza so that there is a very high crust, and this allows for even more toppings to be put on the pizza (more like a pie) and then it is smothered in a chunky tomato sauce.

Check out how thick this pizza is! It's more like a pie!

We didn't really know what we were getting ourselves into until my cousin highly suggested one large pizza would be good for five of us. It took 30 minutes for the pizza to arrive so we had a large plate of Caesar salad to start and my cousin and I sipped on Moroccan mint iced teas.

When the pizza arrived, it was placed on the wooden stool next to our table and the server immediately started serving the slices which were very thick!

We ordered two flavours, spinach and mushroom with three cheeses blended together, and Zachary's Special, featuring Italian sausage, green peppers, onion, mushroom and Mozzarella cheese.

Needless it's really difficult to pick up the pizza slice -- you really have to eat it with a knife and fork! And after one slice, you're practically full!

Zachary's Chicago Pizza
1853 Solano Avenue
Berkeley, CA
(510) 525 5950
zacharys.com

Visiting the Botanical Gardens at Berkeley

The poppy known as the fried egg flower at the botanical garden

Yesterday the temperatures in San Francisco were unusually hot and today was even hotter at 37 degrees Celsius! But we braved the heat and headed to the University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley.

A poppy whose petals look like they are fiery red flames

Even though we were armed with large brim hats, we still had to try to find as many shady areas as possible to keep cool. As a result, we did a relatively quick tour of the place; if it wasn't so hot we'd probably be there for two hours. We ended up hanging around there for an hour and 40 minutes.

The garden features plants from around the world, and are grouped according to their origin: Asia, Australasia, California, Eastern North America, Mediterranean, Mexico/Central America, Deserts of the Americas, Southern Africa and South America.

We just wandered down the paths to explore the area though admittedly our direction was determined by where we found shady routes. Along the way we saw so many different kinds of flowers, succulents and cacti.

According to TCM, this plant is good for many ailments!

One of the first flowers we saw was a white poppy called fried egg flower because it has five large white petals and a yellow centre. Its actual name is the matilija poppy. Love the name. We also came across an unusual looking red poppy with petals that looked like flames, particularly in the heat!

At one point we came across the Chinese medicinal herb garden, where some plants that are used in traditional Chinese medicine or TCM are grown, or at least attempted to -- some herbs were wilting under the heat.

A plant we saw was called Chinese leek seeds or jiu(3) cai(4) zi(3), or allium tuberosum. It is apparently good for back and knee pain, incontinence and frequent urination... hmmm maybe I picked a bad example. We also observed that many of the herbs were good for treating impotence!

An aloe plant from South Africa that grows in a spiral

This being California, we saw lots of aloe plants, one of which grew in a spiral pattern that I had never seen before, and some cacti that were very tall! The taller the cacti the greater its ability to store water -- it is able to store as much as 90 percent of the plant's weight.

For example, a cactus about 7 metres tall and weighing 6 tons can capture and store as much as a metric ton of rainwater in one day. This can cause the ribbed stems to expand 30cm!

Meanwhile, on a hot day, the same 7-metre tall cactus can lose 0.24 litres or one cup of water. Interesting factoids!

A cactus called African milk barrel from South Africa

Across the street from the botanical garden is the California Mather Redwood Grove and Amphitheater. We got the special door code to go in and actually the area isn't that big but still nice to walk in a mini forest filled with redwood trees, also known as sequoia sempervirens.

These trees are the world's tallest ones, with some reaching 106 metres with a diameter of 7 metres, and can live over 2,000 years.

They grow best in the California and Oregon coasts where winter rains and condensation from summer fog provide the moisture they need.

Another interesting fact is that it takes two weeks for water to travel from the roots of a redwood tree two weeks to the tree top. The needles in the tree can also absorb water, and when there are fires, the redwood tree's bark can be as thick as 30cm to protect itself. Really fascinating!

Looking up at the super tall redwood trees

University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley
200 Centennial Drive
Berkeley, CA
94720-5045
(510) 643 2755
botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu

San Francisco's Food Truck Dining Scene

Fort Point is the building under the Golden Gate Bridge under blue skies

Yesterday morning we arrived in San Francisco and the blue skies were such a welcome sight from so much rain in Hong Kong.

My cousin took us around in the afternoon, first to Fort Point, which is located under the Golden Gate Bridge -- but it was the fort that was built just before the Civil War, and that position considered as the "key" to the whole Pacific coast.

Looking down inside the fort, that was never used in warfare

The thick brick walls were considered impenetrable, but in the end the fort was never used in warfare.

We got to take look around -- free admission as it is considered on national park land -- though there isn't much to see. My cousin and I climbed up three floors to get to the top to see the underbelly of the bridge, and have a better view of both the Bay Area and the Pacific Ocean on the other side.

Afterwards we grabbed an early dinner at Off the Grid at For Mason nearby in the Presidio area. Every Friday, several food trucks gather in this spot, and with a DJ, some stands selling beer, wine and cocktails, the place was rocking, and hot, with the sun still blazing at 6pm.

Delicious grilled half lobster from Maine with parsley

As my parents had never been to a food truck festival before I was worried about their reaction, but they were game to try this new way of dining. We managed to grab a very tall table and eventually some high stools and we were in business.

Our first dish was a no brainer -- fresh half lobster from Maine cooked on a mesquite grill. The lobster wasn't too big, but the taste was delicious, juicy, meaty and a smoky taste. We even tried to dig out as much meat from the claws as possible.

Then we got some carbs -- a paella with chick peas, chicken, tomato and shrimp. It was quite filling but also very tasty, evidenced by the rice dish being cooked for a long time so that it soaked up all the flavours of the ingredients. Another dish we tried were tater tots garnished with some sour cream and chives.

A few food trips served Filipino food

We washed it all down with some fruit juices from Hawaiian Sun -- the guava and passionfruit with orange flavours were refreshing! And we did some people watching as many brought kids or their furry ones (ie dogs) with them.

There were many other dining options, particularly Filipino, such as lechon, sisig, and adobo, while a Shandong-style dumpling food truck was extremely popular with its constant long queue. You could also get pizza, satays, and Nepalese momos.

For dessert, there was a frozen custard bar that could be covered in chocolate sauce with nuts, and looked so good, but we were already too full. There was also a stand that sold cookie dough, or macarons, or ice cream in between two maracons. Tempting but we had reached our quota!

A big crowd for a Friday evening chowing down

Off the Grid
Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture
2 Marina Boulevard
San Francisco, CA
94123
offthegridsf.com

Review: California Typewriter

Actor Tom Hanks loves typewriters so much he has 250 of them -- that work

On the flight back to Hong Kong I watched several movies. One was a documentary that was a labour of love called California Typewriter, named after the shop in Berkeley, California that repairs and sells old typewriters.

An African-American called Herb Permillion III, a former IBM employee, started the shop believing that people would go back to this mechanical machine, but his dream doesn't quite work that way -- there are fewer people interested, and more typewriters are dumped at flea markets.

From the store we meet some customers who love typewriters and explain their connection to this machine. Singer-songwriter John Meyer talks about how he used to write songs on his computer and backed up all of them, only to realize he never looks back at these old lyrics; whereas when he types them out, it's easy to refer to and corrections can be made.

Herb Permillion III in his shop, California Typewriter

Meanwhile author and historian David McCullough observes how it is important to see for example presidential speeches and how they were written and corrected, and that can only be done with speeches that were typed out. He says it's important in terms of history to understand what the president was thinking at the time.

Others talk about their relationship with the machine. For example actor Tom Hanks enthusiastically talks about how he has a collection of 250 typewriters, and each of them makes different sounds when you type on them.

One time one of his friends wanted a typewriter and he sent it to them only to find it parked on a shelf instead of being used. He says he prefers receiving notes that were typed on a typewriter than on email. Good to know.

Singer-songwriter John Meyer prefers typing out his songs

Playwright Sam Shepard talks about how he can write plays easily on his typewriter, that he never did get along with the computer screen. He says he feels closer to his words when he hits the keys that print the letters onto the paper that he can immediately touch.

Perhaps in a spooky part of the film, Silvi Alcivar is able to compose poetry on the spot for people -- she never worries the words won't come out. One time she wrote an elegant elegy of a woman who recently died and her husband was overwhelmed by how the poem touched him.

An interesting inclusion in this story is artist Jeremy Mayer, who, inspired by the movie Metropolis, takes apart typewriters and rebuilds them into sculptures. He admits getting a lot of criticism for what he does, but explains he loves typewriters too, just in another format. He is a struggling artist, but putting his work online has helped -- someone who bought his deer sculpture actually works in Silicon Valley.

Artist Jeremy Mayer takes apart typewriters to make sculptures

There are also those who turn to typewriters because they want to unplug themselves from the computer and go analog, much like people preferring vinyl over iTunes, or they definitely feel compelled to get away from computers, feeling they are taking control of their lives.

Each of the perspectives are interesting, but some of the interviews could have been a bit shorter, and more infuriating is the lack of subtitles to identify the interviewees. Nevertheless, California Typewriter is much like a love letter to the machine. Perhaps it will inspire others to rethink their lives and actually invest in a typewriter. Wouldn't that make the shop owner Herb fulfill his dream?

California Typewriter (2016)

Written, shot and directed by Doug Nichol

Starring Tom Hanks, Sam Shepard, David McCullough, Jeremy Mayer, John Mayer

Historical Legacy of Japanese Tea Garden

Walking into the garden one can't help but be in awe of its beauty

During our trip to San Francisco we spent a few hours at the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park. It is the oldest Japanese park in the United States; originally it was created in 1894 as a "Japanese village" for the California Midwinter International Exposition that year, and it grew into a one-acre garden.

Delicate wisteria blowing in the breeze

When the fair ended, the gardener, immigrant Makoto Hagiwara and superintendent John McLaren had a gentleman's agreement where Hagiwara would look after the garden and even expanded it to five times the size, importing many plants, birds and koi fish, as well as effort into the place. His family also lived on the property.

Hagiwara died in 1925 and his daughter Takano Hagiwara and her children became the proprietors of the garden. However in 1942, she and her family along with 120,000 other Japanese Americans were evicted from the garden and sent to internment camps during World War II because of unfounded fears they were spies for Japan.

The zen rock garden invites contemplation...

When the war was over, the family was not allowed to return to the garden, nor were they reimbursed either, which is a sad indictment of these innocent people. While the family was away, all the Japanese buildings, including their home and the Shinto shrine in the garden were demolished.

After the war, the Hagiwara family gave minimal assistance to fix up the garden, and in 1949 a bronze Buddha was donated by the Gump family, both efforts some of many efforts in reconciliation.

Nevertheless the garden is still carefully looked after and beautiful to admire. The trees and bushes are meticulously sculpted and pathways are very clean. There are massive koi fish swimming in the ponds, but it's sad to see coins in there -- why aren't they retrieved?

Very well fed koi fish hanging in the pond

Everywhere you look, the garden is photogenic -- the wisteria are in full bloom along with the cherry blossoms. It also helped there were blue skies overhead making it a scenic visit.

There's a giant drum bridge that should really have a sign that says "Climb at your own risk" because it's very steep to climb up and down. Kids should definitely not be on there! And there's also a zen garden and a pagoda.

It's interesting the garden didn't give us the above information about the history of the place. But it would have given me a greater appreciation of how much work Hagiwara and his family put into the garden and how we must keep it going as a reminder of our past.

Enjoying the garden that is the oldest in America

Japanese Tea Garden

7 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive

San Francisco
(415) 752 1171

japaneseteagardensf.com

Picture of the Day: Scooter Mayhem

Lime S is one of a few scooter companies in San Francisco

The newest disrupter in San Francisco is a company offering several thousand electric scooters in the city that don't have to be docked at a station - they can be left anywhere.

Some people love using them — after signing up they just jump on them and go, saving time and money on short distances.

However, this has not only created the dilemma of scooters left all over the place, but also a lot of controversy because the company didn't ask City Hall permission to offer this service.

It was probably hoping that once people use the scooters, they would support the venture, but there's a lot of pushback from those who don't use the service, annoyed that yet another company is trying to fly under the radar without any regulations.

AirBnB, Uber and Lyft are examples of this brash behaviour. They are banking on the fact that governments are going to take a while to finally crack down on them, and when it finally gets to that point, the service would be so much a part of users' lives that the authorities can't be too severe in terms of banning the service completely.

While we didn't see hordes of people using these scooters, the service has only been around for a month or so. It just might take off — or not.

Picture of the Day: Good Company

Pictures from Barack Obama's visit to Great Eastern

We flew to San Francisco this morning and were bleary eyed and tired when we finally arrived at the hotel.

When we wanted to have lunch at around 2.30pm, it turns out many restaurants and cafes are already closed. We had to find something open and in the end the deli across the street solved our hunger pangs with hot pastrami and meatloaf sandwiches.

After a two-hour nap to battle jet lag, we headed to Chinatown for dinner. The restaurant is called Great Eastern Restaurant and it looks like your typical Chinese dining establishment.

Overall the food was average, not particularly sophisticated with really large portions. We had a lettuce wrap, a dry roast chicken, roast duck with steamed pockets, dried tofu with mustard greens, and fish sliced to pieces that were pan-fried while the bones deep-fried.

The highlight was stir-fried crab in a thick sauce that had really fresh meat. The kids at our table weren't that keen in tackling the shellfish, leaving more for us.

After we emerged from the restaurant we noticed a laminated poster. Turns out then US President Barack Obama ate there in 2012 and took pictures with staff, everyone grinning from ear to ear.

Another poster had pictures of other celebrities like basketball player Yao Ming and the late astrophysicist Stephen Hawking!

So we were in pretty good company!

Great Eastern Restaurant
649 Jackson Street
San Francisco
(415) 986 2500

A Hong Kong Start-Up with Grit

Steven Lam with his on-demand van hire service GoGoVan

Finally a Hong Kong story about grit and determination.

Meet Steven Lam Hoi-yuen. The 31-year-old grew up in a housing estate in Kowloon, where he still lives. He was a high school dropout in Hong Kong and moved to the United States to study at a community college in California in 2005.

He excelled there academically and managed to get into University of California, Berkeley and studied business. But to afford the tuition, he did a number of odd jobs, like teaching himself how to fix iPhones, bicycles and even selling electronics on eBay. At one point he even sold hot dogs to make ends meet.

Lam (far right) with two of his co-founders

He came back to Hong Kong and had trouble finding a job and worked in a Chinese restaurant as a food delivery man. He thought of an idea with his two friends of selling advertising on takeaway boxes.

But then they couldn't find enough vans to transport the takeaway boxes (printed with ads) to the restaurants which led to the idea of GoGoVan, an on-demand van hire service.

However he had trouble getting start-up money to fund the venture.

"I wanted to borrow money from friends to start the company, but they  were saving up to buy flats," said Lam. "They said that if I failed, they will lose their homes. It was very difficult for me to borrow money.

"In our society, getting a [stable] job and buying a house is too deeply rooted in our thinking. When our generation is fighting for a place to stay or to make enough to meet our basic needs, there is no room for them to be [innovative], it's a huge problem," he said.

He eventually got HK$20,000 in initial capital and rented a small room in an industrial building. "We ran out of cash in two months," he said.

Lam will be chief executive of the newly merged company

However, GoGoVan attracted investment from New Horizon Capital, Singapore Press Holdings, and the Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund, a non-profit initiative.

And yesterday Lam was able to announce that GoGoVan is merging with China's 58 Suyun to create Asia's largest online intra-city logistics and freight service.

Unlike most of his peers, Lam's goal was not to own a flat. "If your dream is to buy a house, then at the end, all you have is a house," he said. "At the end of the day the story I want to tell my grandchildren is not that I could buy house, but that I did something great, something game-changing."

Spoken like a true entrepreneur.

Lam, who was chief executive of GoGoVan, will be chief executive of the merged firm, which will extend its reach to 200 more mainland cities and expand further into Southeast Asia in the next two or three years.

He urged Hong Kong people who have a dream to just go for it. "Don't wait to do something, use your own hands and [go prove it]."

How many other people like Lam are there? We need people like him to help Hong Kong get its mojo back.

Savouring Roast Goose and Sunset

How can any carnivore resist a delicious half portion of roast goose?!

With friends in town it's a good excuse to hit some old favourites restaurants. A friend's son is visiting here on his own and wanted to check out Kam's Roast Goose, a perennial favourite and Michelin-starred spot.

However I was concerned about the possibility of a long line up because every time I pass by on the bus, I see a line of people outside, as well as others waiting for take-out.

Very creamy century-year-old eggs with ginger

But today seemed to be a lucky day for us. We only had to wait a few minutes before being shown a table for four that we shared with two mainland visitors. We were forewarned that all the rice noodles were sold out -- we could only order rice or egg noodles, which might be why some discerning diners didn't wait in line. Roast goose is best with lai fun, or thick, round rice noodles that are difficult to pick up with chopsticks.

While the menu is extensive, there are only a few things you need to order and for two people, there is only so much you can eat.

First came the century-old eggs (well one sliced in half) and the creaminess of the dark grey-coloured egg was heavenly. It was beautifully paired with the pickled ginger that was hardly spicy.

Silky smooth and delicious goose blood "tofu"

Next came the main event -- half portion of a roast goose. It was quite large for two, but I told my dining companion we didn't have to rush, even though turnover at this restaurant is fast, it didn't mean we had to hurry.

So we started eating the roast goose and it had a thin roasted skin on top, and some fat in between that acted as a buffer to keep the meat underneath tender and juicy. Oh so good. We slowly plowed through this dish that had beans underneath soaking up the sauce.

Accompanying our dinner was an order of egg noodles in soup, and dry egg noodles topped with shrimp roe. And to be healthy, we also had a plate of choi sum -- the other option was cabbage, which our dining companions next to us practically left untouched.

What was left of the roast goose!

We also ordered goose blood "tofu" that was very smooth -- better than pig's blood, and it came with several strands of chives. It was my friend's son's first time eating it and he really enjoyed it the texture and taste. Not something you can get in California, let alone roast goose.

After the tables around us turned twice and onto the third batch of customers, we practically finished everything! I was impressed, though quite full. The bill came to HK$512 for two, and the restaurant makes a killing as it only accepts cash or Octopus.

As it was still early, we decided to walk off the dinner with a visit to the Golden Bauhinia sculpture -- something he wanted to see -- and that also resulted in seeing a fantastic night view looking towards Central at the tail end of the sunset.

An amazing view of Central from the convention centre

Then we tried to navigate ourselves out of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre to the harbourfront pedestrian walkway, but it was so difficult to get there with all the construction going on. We had to make several detours and run across roads to get to safe pedestrian areas.

Nevertheless, it was a good way to help us digest, though now several hours later I'm still full!

Kam's Roast Goose

G/F, Po Wah Commercial Centre

226 Hennessy Road

Wan Chai
2520 1110