Convoluted "Vaccine Bubble" Starts

The "vaccine bubble" is very confusing and tedious

 

Today the government's "vaccine bubble" kicked off, with new regulations for restaurants, bars and nightclubs depending on if staff and customers have their first vaccine or not, and that people had to use the LeaveHomeSafe app.

For restaurants, if all staff have had at least one vaccine as well as customers, then people can sit six to a table until midnight in restaurants, and if both staff and guests are vaccinated with both doses, bars can have eight to a table and dine until 2am.

However, if not all staff or customers have at least one vaccine dose, then they continue as before, four to a table until 10pm.

Leung says the new plan not backed by science

All three options could be available in one restaurant space.

However, given that many restaurants in Hong Kong are relatively small, having spaces for people who have been completely vaccinated, half vaccinated and not at all is not possible.

Apparently the government did not think about this, nor did they realize eateries in this expensive town are tiny.

Nor is this convoluted plan endorsed by health experts.

Infectious disease expert Leung Chi-chiu warned yesterday this "vaccine bubble" plan is not backed up by science and can't be relied on to prevent coronavirus transmissions.

"The number of customers far outnumbers the number of restaurant workers. They [customers] are more likely to be the infection source, and they are also exposed to any customers who carry the virus," Leung said.

"If you only require people to have one dose of the vaccine and you also do not specify the timing, for example at least 14 days after the dose, I think that may not be effective," he said.

If more people get jabs they can dine out later

"Even if you specify the timing, that they need to have the first dose for over 14 days, the actual protective effective varies with different vaccines. It's only estimated at 20 to 70 percent and that may not be adequate to prevent transmission."

Leung also doubted the wisdom of setting up "clean" and "dirty" areas in restaurants based on which groups of people have been vaccinated, saying there may be no separation in the ventilation between the different zones.

"If you really want to reduce the risk of transmission inside an indoor environment, basically you need everyone to be vaccinated, with two doses and for more than 14 days," he said.

However, one restaurant group that has several dining establishments advertised on social media a list of restaurants where people could eat six to a table until midnight.

Someone asked if all their staff had had the two jabs, and the group explained that those who had received the vaccination would work in those specific restaurants, while those who had not would be working in their other places until 10pm. 

Osteria Marzia's staff are vaccinated

In a way this is discriminatory because those who have not received the jab would not have the potential to earn more tips because they would have two fewer hours to work; but at the same time, even those staff with two vaccine doses would still risk being exposed to the virus.

Other restaurants couldn't be bothered to try to implement the new regulations without the fear of being hassled by the police and just continued their business hours until 10pm with four customers per table.

The government is also releasing an app so that people can upload their vaccination records on there to show restaurants. This evening an acquaintance tried to download it and had the hardest time even doing the first part which was scanning his HKID three different ways. It was also only available in Android.

Why is the government making it so hard to prove to others you've had the jab?

And by the way the LeaveHomeSafe app is totally useless.

Last week I went to The Royal Garden Hotel and had that fabulous meal of white asparagus.

A hotel guest had the virus, everyone was tested

Then this past Tuesday it was in the news that anyone who was at the hotel from April 13-26 had to do mandatory testing otherwise they would be fined.

It wasn't the LeaveHomeSafe app that notified me -- it was my friend who dined with me.

So much for Hong Kong being a hi-tech city. 

Having a swab stuck up my nose left it very itchy and my eyes watered.

But less than 24 hours later I was notified I tested negative.

Phew! But what a waste of an app that I still have to use if I want to eat out...

White Asparagus Feast

Poached white asparagus with Iberico and Hollandaise sauce

Earlier this week I was invited to try some dishes featuring white asparagus which are in season now. The Royal Garden Hong Kong's Sabatini Ristorante Italiano in Tsim Sha Tsui East uses the seasonal vegetable from the Black Forest every year and we got to sample it cooked in various ways.

White asparagus soup, cuttlefish and bottarga

Tasting those dishes immediately took me back to late April 2019 when my parents and I along with their friends visited Germany and whenever a restaurant we were in had white asparagus on the menu, we would try it. It was amazing to have it so fresh (and relatively inexpensively), and the thick white stalks were quite meaty too.

Here in Hong Kong our first course was poached white asparagus with Iberico ham. But before we ate it, the chef came out with a trolley and began making the Hollandaise sauce for us. 

He had cracked some eggs in a bowl and added salt, water, and reduction of white wine vinegar, and then put the bowl over a double boiler and began whisking it. He periodically took it on and off the heat to make sure it reached a maximum temperature of 80 degrees Celsius.

Then he took it off the heat and added some oil and freshly squeezed lemon juice. And prego! It was done. The sauce together with the white asparagus was fantastic, an eggy, smooth sauce to complement the thick asparagus stalks.

Veal with deep-fried white asparagus

Next was a half portion of white asparagus soup with cuttlefish and bottarga. The soup wasn't too thick, nor too creamy, and the cuttlefish and bottarga added texture and flavour to the soup.

We also had a half portion of the bigoli pasta -- a thicker spaghetti that was homemade, together with chunks of white asparagus, zucchini flower and sea urchin. Everything combined well together, the creaminess of the sea urchin with the meaty slices of white asparagus and the sauce soaked up by the al dente pasta that had some bite to it.

Finally, my main was the veal that had been pounded and cooked in a white wine sauce with proscuitto, and paired with deep-fried white asparagus. This was too intriguing not to try. The white asparagus was chopped into two-inch chunks, lightly battered, and mixed in a fine bread crumb mixture before being deep-fried. The end result was a lightly crunchy exterior and soft, tender asparagus. Very delicately executed.

Sabatini's signature Saint Honore cake

I somehow managed to have room for dessert -- the restaurant's signature Saint Honore cake -- and requested as thin a slice as possible. It has a base of puff pastry and on top is chocolate mousse, custard, fresh cream and a mini cream puff. 

After the epic dinner we complimented the chef on his dishes and he said the white asparagus was really good this year. So glad I had a chance to try them -- in many different ways!

 Sabatini Ristorante Italiano

3/F, The Royal Garden

69 Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui East

2733 2000

 

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!