National Security Job Creation

The second National Security Education Day was last week

Did you learn anything from last week's National Security Education Day on April 15?

Aside from stickers on the backs of bus seats advertising it as well as giant billboards across Hong Kong, there wasn't specifically anything new to learn unless you went onto the website to take a look.

Two former law enforcement chiefs don't think people know enough about national education and are proposing a position in the upcoming administration to promote it further.

People were encouraged to go on the website

Former security chief Lai Tung-kwok is calling for a new post of "national security education commissioner", as the public don't know enough about the issue, and that the annual National Security Education Day is far from sufficient.

During a radio program on RTHK, he said the city needs to work harder to educate people about national security, as it encompasses everything from finance to food.

So how does national security affect food, unless he is referring to ecological security, which is about ecological damage and environmental pollution?

Lai, who is also a New People's Party legislator, said if people had a better understanding of national security, it would be easier to get them to make sacrifices to ensure it is upheld.

Tang (left) and Lai want a NSL commissioner 

With rights and freedoms further eroding because of national security, not many would agree to make sacrifices -- they have no choice really and have to accept that almost everything is for national security reasons.

Meanwhile, former police commissioner Tang King-shing said the public have misunderstood what national security is all about, adding that an ageing population and gender equality issues could also undermine safety and stability.

These two enjoy stirring more fear into the pot with reasons that have zero logic.

How does having an increasingly elderly population and the fight for gender equality undermine safety and stability?

Lai and Tang both seem keen on being this "national security commissioner", if the new Chief Executive decides to create the post.

How do these elderly impact national security?

There is talk that sole candidate John Lee Ka-chiu is looking to expand his administration, and perhaps one of them will be national security education, considering security seems to be a top priority.

A quick scan of the National Security Education website does not mention the elderly or gender equality issues either, so maybe Lai and Tang should study the website first before making these ominous proclamations that are hardly credible?

Was Lockdown Worth 13 Positive Cases?

Lockdown area near Jordan was crawling with health workers

 

Residents in the locked down area in Jordan are free to come and go now after over 7,000 people were tested. Of them 13 were found to have positive tests. That's a rate of 0.17 which is on the low side.

Over 7,000 were tested, 13 came up positive

Is that good or bad?

While it was good to catch those 13 cases, it seems like an extensive 48-hour ordeal that caused a lot of grief and stress.

A bit worrying is that several hundred people were not found in the door-to-door testing and one wonders if the government statistics are correct, or that many people fled before the lockdown.

Nevertheless, Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee defended the move and wouldn't rule out doing something similar again.

Chan does not rule out lockdown testing again

"I think the compulsory testing and also the testing within an area with the restriction of movement is effective to identify and isolate these cases. Also the close contacts will be quarantined. So I think it's an effective method," she said.

Some critics wonder if this first lockdown was a test run to see how the public would react and using these residents -- mostly ethnic minorities -- as guinea pigs.

This compares to the beginning of the fourth wave started by the dancing cluster of mostly members of the wealthier echelon of society where they even refused to divulge where they were and with whom -- and were able to get away with not disclosing any information. 

With Covid-19 still hardly under control, Dr David Hui Shu-cheong, a government advisor on the pandemic, suggests the government quickly move to test the area around the Yau Ma Tei wholesale fruit market which is near the Jordan area. 

Hui says less notice should be given ahead of time

In a TV program Hui said he was concerned about those people who disappeared before the lockdown may be elsewhere spreading the virus, and said in future there should be less notice given to contain as many people as possible.

However, when hearing the word "lockdown", the immediate images come to mind are of the mainland Chinese ones, welding people's doors shut, or even dragging them out to the hospital which is probably what worried residents; perhaps some are refugees or illegal immigrants with language and cultural barriers.

The government also received a lot of criticism for supplying canned food when many didn't have can openers, and don't eat pork or meat. While some were forgiving, saying the authorities tried their best, others felt the authorities should know by now what Muslims and Indians eat, while elderly people had no kitchen whatsoever and were used to receiving hot meals delivered by social workers.

So it seems even social workers were left in the dark as to what was going on and couldn't reassure their clients, let alone ferry hot meals to them.

Each family got lots of instant noodles and cans

Was this whole exercise worth it in the end? Seems like a mixed bag.

In the meantime, residents who were released are celebrating by eating some decent food... they deserve it!

 

The Perils of China's Delivery Workers

One courier loaded with bags of deliveries during the pandemic

Even before the coronavirus pandemic, the Chinese bought a lot of items online, from takeaway food to clothing and had them delivered to their doorsteps.

When it comes to food deliveries, companies would use algorithms to determine how fast the food could be delivered, and if the courier was too slow, they would be punished financially. And they would be rated by the customer too, thus affecting their chances for a bonus or pay rise.

That is starting to change after Ren Wu, or People magazine did an expose about the plight of food delivery workers, sometimes risking their lives or being involved in accidents while trying to ferry food to people as fast as possible.

Three delivery workers waiting for orders at a fast food eatery

For example in 2019, the average delivery time was 10 minutes shorter than two years earlier.  

Food delivery platforms like Ele.me and Meituan automatically plan the shortest routes for their delivery workers using real-time intelligent dispatch systems. In order to follow the designated routes, sometimes delivery workers will ride against traffic or run red lights, putting themselves at a greater risk of being in a traffic accident.

A report said in the first half of 2017, a delivery worker was seriously injured or died every 2.5 days in Shanghai. And in September 2018, over half of the 2,000 traffic violations in Guangzhou were committed by couriers from Meituan and Ele.me.

That's because the algorithms don't take into account the real-life situation on the ground, such as road blocks, construction, or even last-minute changes of address by the customer.

Not only that, but late deliveries are not allowed. Typically a delivery worker will make 5 to 6 yuan per order (US$0.73-US$0.87) and deliver about 20 to 30 orders a day. However, if customers don't receive their food on time, delivery workers can be docked 200 to 300 yuan -- practically a day's wages gone.

In addition, if delivery workers receive negative reviews and reduced wages from being late, they can be fired. And if they are in traffic accidents, the delivery workers cannot obtain insurance claims either.

Meituan couriers may see improvements in work conditions

China's food delivery industry is worth 300 billion yuan (US$44 billion) and employs more than 6 million couriers, mostly young male migrants from rural areas. This army of nameless and faceless people were hailed as heroes during the pandemic for being a lifeline for individuals and families during lockdown.

The story published by Ren Wu quickly went viral, garnering 100,000 views on WeChat within a few hours and over 100,000 people sharing the story.

In response, Ele.me [acquired by Alibaba] was the first to announce it will add a feature on its mobile app to allow customers to grant five or 10 additional minutes to delivery workers. It would also exempt couriers with good records from being punished for late deliveries.

"The system is dead, but human beings are living," Ele.me said in a statement. "We want to do better (to protect our workers) in addition to ensuring that the deliveries are on time... Every hardworking individual deserves to be respected."

But why should it be the customers giving couriers an extra few minutes, when the problem lies with how the algorithm is created? Perhaps the programmers who wrote the algorithms should go along with these delivery workers for a day to see how their apps work in reality?

Ele.me pledges more time for delivery workers

Meanwhile hours later, Meituan [owned by Tencent], also vowed to optimized its algorithms to ensure the safety of its delivery workers. The company said it would add an eight-minute "buffer" so delivery workers can slow down in traffic, as well as Bluetooth-linked helmets for hands-free communication while driving.

However, readers were divided on the opinions of couriers. Some felt giving delivery workers extra time would make them lazier and take their time, but this is nonsense, when they make more money by making more deliveries. Others felt giving couriers extra time did not address the main problem which is the algorithm.

This serious undervaluing of couriers has to stop -- only allowing them to earn less than US$1 per delivery is outrageous -- especially when they are risking their lives everyday on the road.

Xi Wants People to Waste Less Food

People tucking into their meals, but make sure you can finish everything

Chinese President Xi Jinping wants people to cut down on food waste, describing it as "shocking and distressing".

"Waste is shameful and thriftiness is honourable," he said on Tuesday. The president quoted a poem: "Who knows that of our meal in the dish, every grain comes after hard toil?"

Xi wants people to be more thrifty when it comes to food

The country could be set to introduce legislation to formulate regulations to prevent food waste through various means.

"[We would] advocate a reasonable and healthy dining culture and establish a long-term mechanism to stop food waste," explained Zhang Guilong, an official with the Legislative Affairs Commission, under the National People's Congress Standing Committee.

Zheng Fengtian, a professor of agricultural economics at Remin University in Beijing, said China's food wastage was startling and could only be changed through legislation.

"It would be very hard to curb food wastage through people's consciousness or NGO campaigns," he said. "Awareness and behaviour can be changed by law, just like waste sorting in many cities."

A 2018 investigation by the Institute of Geographic and National Resources Research, and the World Wide Fund for Nature estimated Chinese consumers in four large cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Lhasa) had wasted 17 to 18 million tonnes of food served in 2015 -- enough to feed 30 to 50 million people for a year.

A law could be in place to end food wastage like this

Interesting that Lhasa was lumped in as a major city... is it a hint that Tibetans are wasteful?

"We should always have a sense of crisis over food security, especially amid the fallout of the Covid-19 epidemic, despite China having consecutive bumper harvests in recent years," Xi was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.

Earlier this year he called on China's local officials to tighten their belts and live thrifty lives.

But will people be willing to change their habits and order one less dish while dining out? It's the Chinese custom for the host to order more food to show they aren't stingy, so trying to get them to order one less dish may be hard to adopt.

Responses from some internet users were hardly enthusiastic.

Doggy-bagging a lot of food here

"Can you first limit the dining of officials? Don't always take away from the people," one said, referring to formal banquets and lavish meals officials ate at.

"This seems aimed at us bottom class, but we are already thrifty. This means nothing to the rich," moaned another. "I especially hate this kind of political action that means on ordinary people to act."

This commenter took the proverbial cake: "This level of control. Even the number of dishes people order has to be regulated?"

Life Behind a Mask

Putting on a mask is a daily ritual just before going outside

Everyday just before stepping out the door, there is one more extra step to do -- don a mask.

Take out a fresh mask, fold the top part in half, press firmly on the bridge of the nose and then loop it around the ears, then pull the mask down to cover the chin.

It's been almost a month now since health experts warned of the coronavirus spreading to Hong Kong and imploring the public to wear surgical masks when out in public.

Almost everyone wears a mask in Hong Kong these days

What's it like? It's stifling in a mask, hard to breathe. I have to remind myself to take deep breaths otherwise you can work your body into a stressed state.

Practically everyone else is wearing a mask too, all of us concerned about the situation and hoping not to be swept up in the epidemic. There are now 70 cases in Hong Kong, over 77,000 worldwide.

Everyone is washing their hands more often these days. Washrooms in our office have illustrated signs at the sinks showing you how to wash your hands thoroughly. People stand there lathering up their hands longer and longer like a competition to see whose hands are cleaner.

Sadly, the coronavirus is now an excuse to overuse paper towels and tissues in the name of hygiene. The environment has had to take a backseat now and for how much longer?

A lot of people are buying more groceries and cooking at home, not wanting to risk going to a restaurant these days. Many don't even go to wet markets even for a minute, thinking they aren't as clean as supermarkets. Yes they can be crowded places, but so can supermarkets when everyone is fighting over toilet paper...!

There are signs explaining how to wash your hands properly

Speaking of which, some toilet paper is back on the shelves and tissue paper, but in my neighbourhood there's no paper towels. There are wet wipes, and pharmacies are selling small bottles of hand sanitizers at HK$45 (US$5.78) which is on the expensive side. Not many takers.

Many people who use the gym facilities in their apartment buildings aren't allowed to in the name of hygiene, while some people who belong to private gyms have suspended their memberships in the name of hygiene. But exercise is the best way to maintain good health especially during this time, which is why some people are running or walking outdoors -- with masks on in most cases.

It is believed the next few weeks are going to be critical to see if the coronavirus can be contained or not, but seeing how it has spread in Japan and South Korea, and strangely in Iran too, it doesn't look like this epidemic will be tamed anytime soon.

Supermarkets are busy with people buying lots of groceries

It's interesting that Chinese state media have warned Japan to clean up its coronavirus situation (over 100 cases, plus 600 from the Diamond Princess cruise ship) as President Xi Jinping will visit the country soon. And where did this epidemic originate from?

Meanwhile postmen from Hong Kong Post are getting kudos from residents who are finally receiving their packages of masks they had ordered from overseas. One was surprised to get a knock on the door on a Sunday to get their package, while others were so overjoyed on receiving their package of masks that they wept, and one even gave some masks to the postman.

Who knew masks would be so... special?

Coronavirus Numbers Keep Rising

The roads pretty much everywhere in Beijing are empty these days

The Chinese government is desperately trying to put a positive spin on how it is handling the epidemic. It has sent out confident messages that the country is at war to beat the coronavirus and that the battle will be won.

But the story on the ground couldn't be further from the truth. For example, most of the Chinese capital is deserted with everyone at home. My Beijing friends report staying at home with their families for the past 22 days, only going outside to fetch food delivered to them.

Some people only go outside to collect food deliveries

Many people are terrified because they don't have much knowledge or information about the coronavirus, and some don't have enough protective gear like masks. A Beijing friend told me about an elderly couple who went out to buy fruits and then came back home infected. 

Another talked about how sons or daughters take care of their sick parents to the hospital and then came home, didn't wash their clothes right away and then they were infected or they spread the virus to other people in the family.

Wonder if these stories were counted in the official statistics?

China is anxious to show its number of cases are declining, especially in Wuhan, but that hope is now thrown out the window with news that over 500 people are infected with the coronavirus in five prisons in three provinces which has bumped up the total of confirmed cases to over 80,000.

The numbers of prisoners infected in China are worrying

"With a heavy heart and sense of responsibility, I am reporting to you that as of February 20, five prisons in Hubei, Shandong and Zhejiang have reported infections among their populations," He Ping, head of the ministry's Bureau of Prison Administration, said in Beijing.

More than half the cases were in Hubei province, the epicenter of the epidemic, 207 cases in Shandong, and 34 in Zhejiang.

Either the prisoners were initially infected by a new prisoner who already had the virus, or from possible visits from family? Even if someone was supposedly healthy when they were initially imprisoned, they may have developed symptoms later. And then Chinese prisons are known for being overcrowded, which make them a hotbed for transmitting all kinds of things...

So now prisons have been told to be more vigilant about monitoring prisoners' health for the coronavirus.

Already heads have rolled for the outbreak of infections. In Shandong province, Xie Weijun, Communist Party secretary of the province's Department of Justice, and seven prison officials were sacked for mismanagement of the infections. And in Zhejiang province, the provincial government said two prison officials were fired as well.

There were already unconfirmed reports of infections in prisons last weekend, and again people were punished for posting these stories online.

Passengers are slowly disembarking from Diamond Princess

Another friend I had lunch with today in Hong Kong has a lot of mainland clients and has an office in Shenzhen. He says he hasn't heard from his clients at all, while his staff are also stuck at home, though they are expected to be back at work next week.

So for now he hasn't had much to do and his superior who used to be so busy is now asking a lot of questions now that she has time on her hands...

Meanwhile in South Korea the numbers of confirmed cases have doubled to 208 today, as well as one casualty. Many of the cases are linked to Shincheonji Church of Jesus in Daegu, which is really a doomsday cult that has 200,000 followers in the country.

Did their leader know this infection might be the end of them?

Japan is getting flack for how it has dealt with the Diamond Princess cruise ship passengers. Was cooping them up on the ship the best thing to do? Or did it quickly result in hundreds of cases? It seems some among the crew could be infected.

Back in Hong Kong, my neighbourhood supermarkets and shops are having stocks of tissue paper again and wet wipes, but no toilet paper... I was tempted to buy a giant package of wet wipes when I stopped to think -- wait a second do I really need that much?

At lunchtime across from my office in Causeway Bay there was a massive line in front of a cosmetics shop called Colour Mix where they were all waiting for masks to be sold (See the above video). It seems people refuse to pay high prices and are willing to wait in line... or maybe because they have nothing else to do?

Hong Kong Declares Coronavirus Outbreak

Healthcare workers continue their strike demanding all borders closed

It was declared today that Hong Kong now has a community outbreak of the coronavirus by top microbiologist professor Yuen Kwok-yung of the University of Hong Kong.

The city now has 21 cases, eight of them are people who did not travel to China recently, which means a local outbreak has occurred and human-to-human transmission occurring. In the past two days, six people have been diagnosed with the coronavirus, five of whom had not left Hong Kong recently.

Yuen Kwok-yung declared HK has community outbreak

Yuen warned that more needed to be done to minimize the spread of the virus, including shutting down borders, but up until now Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has refused to close the remaining borders that are still open.

"The local transmission chain has begun, and if we do nothing to control it, Hong Kong will become like some mainland city that has suffered lots of cases," Yuen warned.

Starting from Saturday, all travelers who have come from the mainland must quarantine themselves for 14 days, though the government has yet to clarify exactly how this will work. It is hoped that this will stop the spread of the virus in the city.

"Many people blamed me earlier for exaggerating [the situation] previously, but what I said was based on scientific facts, not personal feelings," Yuen said, referring to previous remarks about transmission.

"Once we have a bigger outbreak, even if you do not close the border, the city will be isolated [by others]. It would be too late then."

Is Carrie listening?

Hong Kong traders assured the public there is enough food!

Today my gweilo colleagues were wondering what all the fuss was about in scrambling for toilet paper. This evening I checked my neighbourhood supermarket and the shelves are still bare. People have become so paranoid and irrational that Hong Kong traders had to hold a press conference today to reassure the public there is enough toilet paper and food to keep us going.

"There is absolutely no need to panic buy. We have always worked to ensure a stable supply of food and all these years, throughout all sorts of big events, we have never had a shortage," said Thomas Ng Wing-yan, chairman of the Hong Kong Food Council.

When it comes to rice, Kenneth Chan Kin-nin, chairman of the Rice Merchants' Association of Hong Kong said there was plenty of rice in stock.

"The supply of rice is regulated by the government and we still have 13,000 tonnes in storage, which are yet to be used," he said. Ninety percent of the city's rice supply comes from Thailand and Vietnam, and the association is in close contact with the importers in the two countries.

Shelves are still bare where packs of toilet paper should be

The traders warned that the food supply would be cut off in truck drivers were subject to quarantine, as there weren't enough regular and back-up drivers to keep the shipments coming into Hong Kong. They agree with drivers having temperature checks and additional disinfection of truck wheels and containers.

So folks, no need to panic! Hong Kong has food! And eventually we will get toilet paper!

Shocking Estimates of Wuhan Coronavirus

Gabriel Leung (left) says there could be as many as 44,000 cases in Wuhan

Today is the third year of Lunar New Year, and in Chinese superstition, you're not supposed to go outside for fear of starting up arguments that could result in bad luck and ruin the rest of the year.

And it would be pretty justified to stay in considering the mounting fears of the Wuhan coronavirus spreading faster and further than currently reported.

This afternoon infectious disease experts from the University of Hong Kong estimate that the number of patients in Wuhan had reached 43,590 by Saturday, including those in the incubation stage of the virus, which causes pneumonia.

The Wuhan market that maybe ground zero for the coronavirus

So far the number of reported cases in the country is 2,880 as of Monday, and 81 dead. That's a huge discrepancy, but lead researcher and dean of HKU's faculty of medicine Gabriel Leung said his team estimated there were 25,630 patients showing symptoms in Wuhan, and that the number would double in 6.2 days. This is according to mathematical modelling based on infection figures worldwide as of Saturday.

The big issue is that unlike SARS, the Wuhan coronavirus is difficult to detect because it is infectious during the incubation period, and that those who are infected may not show any symptoms like elevated temperatures.

If there are 44,000 cases in Wuhan alone, how many could there be nationwide and worldwide? 

Leung and his team's research showed self-sustaining human-to-human transmission was already happening in all major mainland cities and warned a pandemic might be close. 

The Forbidden City in Beijing is closed indefinitely

"We have to be prepared, that this particular epidemic may be about to become a global epidemic," he said.

The team's model predicted the number of infections in five mainland megacities: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Chongqing, would peak between late April and early May. At that time, as many as 150,000 new cases could be confirmed everyday in Chongqing because of its large population and the intense travel volume with Wuhan.

Leung said the estimates could be too pessimistic,  as it only took into account the lockdown in Wuhan and not travel and health advisories in other cities and provinces, but in the meantime he is advising the Hong Kong government to take more severe measures to stop the virus from coming into the city and spreading.

"So, the question is not whether or not to do more... Yes, we must do more. The question really is, how can we make sure that is feasible, implementable and enforceable," he said, adding the government's task now was to study practical plans, like the logistics of importing food and supplies.

Premier Li Keqiang visited medical staff, patients in Wuhan

Meanwhile I am hearing from relatives and friends who are currently vacationing abroad that they cannot find masks in pharmacies -- they are sold out in places like London and Taipei. While the Hong Kong government claims it has enough masks, locals have trouble finding them, or are in shock as the inflated prices.

Maybe shops will have supplies by Wednesday when business is supposedly back to normal after Chinese New Year?

Hong Kong Habits Changed by Protests

Ricky Wong of HKTV sees a 40 percent jump in online sales since the protests

 

The anti-government protests in Hong Kong are now into their 21st week. This is the new normal for the city, and its residents are adapting the best they can.

With the pseudo curfew thanks to the MTR closing early, (now 11pm this week, but 10pm for Saturday and Sunday), it has changed the way people live in the city.

More and more people are shopping online for convenience

People are dining much earlier now, as restaurants need to close early so that their staff can take the MTR to get home. I've heard even wedding banquets, which typically start around 8pm, now finish by 9.30pm so that guests can make their way home.

At the same time taxis, Uber, buses and even trams are getting more business from people who would have normally taken the MTR.

The alternative is staying housebound and having everything delivered to you. Online shopping has gone up over 40 percent in Hong Kong, with people ordering prepared food to groceries, clothes and even furniture at the click of a mouse.

Before the protests people would have personally gone to shops because they were close by or they were purchasing something they had to examine in person. And grocery shopping... everyone picks their own produce, right?

However there are some people who now really depend on these services to continue functioning and it's created a boon for these delivery companies. We all need to eat, right?

The Rosewood offers a luxurious deal for a room

Hotels are hurting badly from so few tourists coming to Hong Kong and are pushing staycation deals to local residents. Some offers are too hard to pass up -- a room for a night plus dining credit that covers more than half the price of the room... Sad but true.

High-end hotels like Rosewood in Tsim Sha Tsui that opened earlier this year are offering two nights accommodation for the price of one night. If you are into over-the-top luxury, this is an unbeatable price. Personally I'd rather stay home, but there are some people who want to feel pampered.

Everyone in the hospitality industry, from hotels and restaurants to retail must be pressuring the government to do something to end the protests. But is Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor listening? The government is doling out subsidies for those in the transportation sector, and encouraged landlords to help their tenants. This isn't enough or much to give people hope the government is concerned about them.

Banquets now finish much earlier for guests to go home

As one chef-owner told me recently, now it's survival of the richest -- who has the deepest pockets to keep operating in these adverse times...

Germany's Basic Cuisine

This crispy pork knuckle in Munich was so good! The skin really was crunchy

When you think of German food, the first things that come to mind are sausages, pork knuckles, schnitzels and sauerkraut. Oktoberfest food!

A disappointing currywurst that was hardly fiery hot

You would be correct. Most of the restaurants serving German fare in touristy spots serve the above items. In big portions.

First we tried the currywurst and they are advertised on signs with flames to indicate how spicy they are, but it's a pathetic sham. Even eaters who can't stand a piece of chilli on their food can eat the currywurst because it's basically a boiled sausage with a kind of ketchup sauce with curry powder sprinkled on top of it.

Seriously it was really disappointing.

Then we tried roasted pork knuckle in Berlin, Frankfurt and Munich. The one in Berlin was tender but the skin was very tough and hardly crispy. We thought perhaps the Germans could learn a thing or two from the Chinese when it comes to roasting pigs to ensure a crispy skin.

A pretty bland sandwich of pickled herring with onion rings

In Frankfurt, the situation improved a bit, with the meat from the pork knuckle meat very tender, though the skin was less tough, but again not very crispy.

However, by the time we made it to Munich, at a German restaurant near our hotel called Munchner Stubn, we were surprised and impressed that the menu item "crispy pork knuckle" really was crunchy! It was probably deep fried, but the skin delicious and the meat was not salty either.

The schnitzels I tried were good, hardly tough, even though they were breaded and fried. The meat was very tender and the flavour was helped along by some freshly squeezed lemon juice.

Meanwhile I tried eat as much sauerkraut as I could as it's not often found in Hong Kong and I basically eat it once a year during Oktoberfest. We also liked the braised red cabbage, more on the sweeter side though equally delicious.

A hearty portion of schnitzel in Dresden

The potatoes are either boiled, made into a potato salad with a tangy mayonnaise, French fries, or potato dumplings, which are chewy in texture, but not very palatable!

My friend YTSL asked if I had tried pickled herring, but I didn't see it on any menus. However at a rest stop along the autobahn from Frankfurt to Munich, I did try a pickled herring sandwich for 4 euros, garnished with onion rings and pickles. It was on the bland side, but oh well. At least I tried some seafood!

Perhaps the bonus of coming to Germany in the late spring is white asparagus season! I sometimes get to try it at fine dining restaurants in Hong Kong (at inflated prices because they are shipped over), but in Germany they were very fresh and meaty, and not too expensive.

Some restaurants offered several white asparagus spears with a side order of say schnitzel or smoked salmon or beef. It was the perfect combination with schnitzel. However, in Dresden I tried the white asparagus soup and it tasted way too salty.

Fantastic white asparagus in season wit boiled potatoes

We had dessert only a few times. Once was at a cafe in the Palmengarten, or Botannical Garden in Frankfurt, where we each tried different desserts. My apple pie was pretty good, a hearty slice. However, we had a fantastic apple strudel in Munich (the same restaurant as the crispy pork knuckle!) with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

The strudel wasn't saccharine sweet, and was choc full of thinly sliced apples marinated in sugar and cinnamon and wrapped in several layers of pastry. Oh so good!

In terms of drinks we did try apple wine that was quite sour so it had to be paired with something sweet to eat, though the draft beers were refreshing, even the dark beer brewed with malt made from at least 50 percent wheat. It's easy drinking and doesn't have much of a bitter aftertaste.

Absolutely divine apple strudel with vanilla ice cream

We didn't just eat German food -- we did eat quite a bit of pasta thanks to a casual Italian cafeteria-style restaurant called Vapiano that seems to be a chain all over the country. It's relatively fast and good value for money.

In Dresden we saw a Vietnamese restaurant and decided to give it a try. The pho ga or chicken pho was basically rice noodles in a delicious broth, but with thin slices of chicken that probably came from a deli. There was way too much chicken meat in the bowl. That was the only Asian food we had the entire trip. And what was I craving as soon as I came back to Hong Kong? Soup noodles with vegetables!

Don't Take the Peanuts

Cathay Pacific has found cabin crew have pilfered a lot of stuff over the years

Cathay Pacific is trying to continue to slash costs to save HK$4 billion (despite posting a HK$2.3 billion profit in 2018), but it looks like it may have found a reason why it's spending a lot of money too.

There seems to be a lot of pilfering going on, with flight attendants freely taking items on the plane, from cutlery and wine glasses, and even bread.

One of the more popular items are Haagen-Dazs ice creams

Apparently the theft of the items amount to "untold hundreds of millions" over the years, according to sources.

One of the more popular items is the pot of Haagen-Dazs ice cream served on flights. Some cabin crew are known to have freezers stocked with these ice creams.

"In view of an increasing number of reported losses of company property, we have informed our cabin crew that random inspections will be carried out," a company spokeswoman said.

Cathay had already warned staff in January in a memo about the "unfortunately increasing trend of company property discrepancies". Does everyone know what "company property discrepancies" mean?

Bottles of unopened wine and caviar have been taken too

The cabin crew will be inspected upon disembarking the plane, and they may only take with them cabin crew-designated meals, as well as fruit, water, and plastic-wrapped sandwiches.

That means they aren't even allowed to take the wet wipes or even peanuts.

"Zero tolerance means you are not permitted to take off the aircraft any item other than what the company has authorized as per the policy," said Ed Higgs, general manager of in-flight services.

"If anyone removes company property, irrespective of the value or if you believe it will be thrown away, you will be subject to discipline which may include termination."

Don't say you haven't been warned.

But what is wrong with taking leftover food that will be binned or opened bottles of wine? Or do they donate the uneaten food to a charity, and have proper ways to re-cork the wine for later use? 

Staff shouldn't even think about taking peanuts or wet wipes

It has taken this long for Cathay to realize some cabin crew are pilfering items? There is some mismanagement here.

And what about the airline's huge mistake in 2016 when it lost a whopping HK$8.46 billion on bad fuel hedging bets? Heads rolled, but taking pots of Haagen-Dazs hardly compares to losing billions of dollars.

Nevertheless, this is the new reality for Cathay Pacific flight crew. So put down those company-branded pens, peanuts and ice cream. It's just not worth it.

Enough with the Self-Obsession

Everywhere you look in Hong Kong, people are taking selfies

Recently some colleagues and acquaintances and I have been talking about how people have become so obsessed with social media that it's become completely absurd.

Do we need to know what you're drinking?

There's a new hipster coffee shop that opened in my neighbourhood, and now every weekend there are throngs of people there -- just to take pictures -- to show that they are at the latest hot spot. Once they get their cups of coffee, they take selfies with the waterfront in the background, or the shop behind them.

The shop is located on the corner and there's heavy traffic right in front -- with so many people around the store, there's bound to be a car accident because people are too busy concentrating on taking pictures of themselves.

My colleague sarcastically joked that these people were proving that they had ticked another item off their bucket list, or that their social media posts would include hashtags like #lifegoals or #nocoffenolife or #goalaccomplished.

So getting a cup of coffee is an accomplishment?

Another acquaintance told of visiting a Japanese pancake shop, where the pancakes have egg whites folded into them to make them thick and jiggly, the latest dessert trend in Hong Kong. She reported that the customers who arrived just before her were a young couple.

Why not eat the pancakes instead of taking pictures of them?

She was there for about 45 minutes to make a video at the shop, take some footage of the signature pancakes, and eat them. When she was leaving, she noticed the couple was still sitting there, the man looking very bored and hungry while his female partner was still taking pictures of the pancakes from every conceivable angle.

Surely the pancakes were stone cold by then?

And then yet another acquaintance who was in a restaurant in Taiwan recently, and he saw the group of people next to them get up and go, and left behind a dish that was completely untouched. They had only come to photograph the food.

What a waste.

She wants to show everyone she had a bubble tea here

He also said he was in a cafe and a woman sat in a corner and was taking non-stop selfies of herself -- for an hour.

When will this self-absorbed obsession for likes and followers end?

How about putting the phone down and instead of focusing on taking the perfect picture, how about focusing on the moment?