Old School Chiu Chow in Tsim Sha Tsui

Smoked duck with sugar cane topped with peppers and garlic

 

Last night my relatives took me to a Chiu Chow restaurant in Tsim Sha Tsui that they said was over 30 years old. The current location is not the original location, but the fact that it has been going for over three decades is an achievement in itself.

Delicious stir-fried ribs in plum sauce

It's on the second floor of a nondescript building along Peking Road and inside the decor isn't much to look at, quite tired, and even the table cloth doesn't cover the table. It's quite a long narrow dining area with booths and a private room near the kitchen.

The menu has lots of pictures, though the dishes don't look exactly like them, and in some cases the actual plates of food look better than the ones in the menu!

We ate a few signature dishes, like the Chao Yang smoked duck in sugar cane, and it looked much more colourful than what was pictured in the menu, topped with chopped peppers and garlic. It indeed had a smoky flavour, and quite sweet, though not much meat on the bones. 

Another delicious dish is the spring vegetables with spare ribs in hot pot, the vegetables were very tender, the stalks similar to choi sum, and they had absorbed the pork-flavoured broth along with very meaty mushrooms.

Interesting pork head terrine with glutinous rice

We also quite liked the stir-fried ribs in plum sauce that came out very hot temperature-wise and was meaty and tender. An unusual dish is the pig's head terrine. It is apparently made chopping up the pig head and mixing it with glutinous rice before being pressed into a terrine and then cut up into numerous thing slices. One plate is plenty for four people.

Finally the oyster omelette was a highlight and looked much better than the picture in the menu! The oysters are typically small, but here they were quite large and apparently duck eggs were used in the omelette. 

Two of the desserts we wanted to try were not available -- they didn't have the ingredients for them, not because they were sold out so we had two bowls of the green bean soup to share.

We were quite full otherwise I would have liked to try the fried e-fu noodles with sugar and vinegar. Haven't had that in ages...

Impressively large oysters in this omelette

Wah Yuen Chiu Chow Restaurant

2/F, Metropole Building

57 Peking Road

Tsim Sha Tsui

2114 0889

Senior Police Officer Caught in Scandal is Reassigned

Choi will start overseeing human resources and discipline

 

Remember the Hong Kong police's national security director who was caught in an unlicensed massage parlour during a sting operation?

While Frederic Choi Chin-pang was cleared of any illegal misconduct, he has been removed from his post and assigned another one -- director of personnel and training in charge of the force's human resources, discipline and training.

Many officers were outraged when they heard the announcement today, saying Choi, 50, hadn't been punished at all, basically retaining the same rank, and that the transfer was "a fatal blow to the force's integrity".

Choi was No. 2 in force's national security

"Although it was lawful to visit an unlicensed massage parlour, as a senior police officer like him who heads a sensitive key post, his behaviour left an awful impression on society, whereas members of the public and even the force's own members question his integrity," a senior officer said on condition of anonymity.

"And now he will oversee the force's training and discipline? What shall he tell those who are accused of misconduct or those new recruits who are being trained in police college? It's a fatal blow to the force's integrity management."

Another insider said: "Choi should be whiter than white. Officers can use Choi as an example and find excuses for their alleged misconduct. He should at least be put on leave until the disciplinary hearing is over."

Choi was the No. 2 officer at the national security department of the police when he was caught during a raid on the Viet Spa in Wan Chai where illegal sex services were being offered. He was put on leave in March, but according to Commissioner of Police Raymond Siu Chak-yee, Choi still faced a disciplinary hearing, but would begin at his new post in the coming week.

Siu says Choi was cleared of criminal charges

The Department of Justice completed its review of the case last week and cleared Choi of any criminal charges. 

When asked whether Choi was fit for his new role, Siu replied," As we have confirmed no crime elements were involved in the incident, and as Choi has served the force for more than 25 years, we are confident in his work capability."

No one else in the force is just as capable, if not more?

During the raid, six women with Hong Kong identity cards were arrested on suspicion of running a vice establishment, while four people were later charged with the crime. In June a man accused of operating the spa appeared at Eastern Court, along with three women. They were charged with six offences, including four related to offering sex in an establishment.

In Hong Kong it is an offence to run an unlicensed massage establishment, with offenders facing up to six months' imprisonment and a fine of HK$50,000 (US$6,440). Buying sexual services at such premises is not illegal.

Viet Spa was raided here in Wan Chai

If that is the case then Choi is cleared, but the optics of him being reassigned to another post are not good, and it seems like the force is divided on this issue.

The integrity of the force was already on shaky ground, and this just adds more to cracks...

Hong Kong Extends Vaccination Program

More people want to get vaccinated which is a good sign...

Now that stragglers are finally getting vaccinated, the Hong Kong government has decided to keep its community vaccination centres open for another month, until October 31.

"The demand for Covid-19 vaccination has increased recently. Should the vaccination progress be maintained at the current pace or increase, it is likely that 70 percent of the eligible population will at least have had their first dose of a vaccine by the end of September," a government spokesman said Friday.

Dr Leung wants more seniors to get the jab

That would mean the city would have to maintain a rate of at least 30,000 jabs per day.

Senior government officials have hinted the only way to re-open the border with the mainland is to increase inoculation rates. This week Hong Kong reached a milestone of half the population with at least one jab. 

While the community vaccination centres which administer the BioNTech vaccine will open till the end of October, they will be whittled down to 26 instead of the current 29 come September 1. 

Those wanting Sinovac jabs can go to the Hospital Authority's 26 outpatient clinics that will also be extended till October 31.

In addition, a shipment of BioNTech jabs -- about 956,000 shots -- arrived in Hong Kong today from Germany. 

Maybe more people are getting a jab to win a flat?

Respiratory medicine specialist Dr Leung Chi-chiu said it made sense to continue operating the community vaccination centres because of demand. But he warned there were key demographics such as the elderly who are 60 years old and above who still needed to get vaccinated, as their vaccination rate was only 20 percent.

Maybe people are keen on entering the numerous lucky draws and so they are now getting vaccinated...

Typical Hong Kong.

Double Bronzes for Hong Kong

Minnie Soo (left) hugs Doo Hoi-kem and Lee Ho-ching

 

The day started off really well with the Hong Kong women's table tennis team scoring a well deserved bronze in doubles. 

Hong Kong beat Germany for bronze today

They took revenge on Germany who had defeated them in the Rio Games in 2016. What's also interesting is that all the players are Hongkongers, not mainlanders who migrated to the city. 

"We are all home-grown and we have worked together and won medals in events other than the Olympics, such as the world Cup and world championships," said three-time Olympian Lee Ho-ching.

"The result carries a big meaning as home-grown players," Doo Hoi-kem said, hoping their bronze will inspire future generations in the sport.

Later in the day Grace Lau Mo-sheung also won bronze in karate, which made its Olympic debut. 

"I want to thank my family so much. Without their support, I could not even start as a full-time athlete," a teary Lau said after winning the bronze medal kata match against Turkey.

Grace Lau won bronze in debut sport karate

Hong Kong has now hauled in five medals for the Games, unprecedented for the city of 7.8 million.

Then many Hongkongers breathed a sigh of relief to hear that pop singer Anthony Wong Yiu-ming was spared a criminal record when the Independent Commission Against Corruption agreed to stop pursuing its claim that he gave a performance that broke the election law.

Wong and jailed former lawmaker Au Nok-hin were charged with corruption by providing entertainment at an election rally with the aim to sway voters in 2018.

A prosecutor for the ICAC said the agency agreed to settle the case against the two by imposing a bind-over order, which requires the accused to maintain good behaviour for a designated length of time, given the relatively minor nature of the offence.

Wong was spared a criminal record today

In this case, the order is for 18 months and they must pay HK$2,000 (US$257) each if they breach the terms, which included avoiding further election-related offences.

The 34-year-old Au is currently in jail serving a 10-month sentence for organizing and taking part in an unauthorized assembly on August 18, 2019. He is also awaiting trial on an alleged national security law violation.

After the ruling, Wong, 59, gave an impromptu performance outside Eastern Court of the Cantonese song, Ask Me, which he said reflected his thoughts.

The chorus is: "No matter if I am by all means correct, or if I am by all means wrong, I whole heartedly accept the consequences. To face everything in the world, no matter how it will be, I will preserve the real me."

Wong finished by saying, "Hongkongers continue singing. Hongkongers hang in there."

Au is still in jail for a 10-month sentence

The prosecution did not have enough evidence to show the court -- but promised it would when it had some. The prosecutor for the ICAC said she had no proof Au paid Wong for the performance or if the singer had been paid to appeal to voters.

Why this even went to court is curious. 

"After considering that the case involved only two songs and after reviewing the background of the case, we agreed to dispose of the case by way of a bind-over order," the prosecutor said.

There is no proof Wong and Au did anything criminally wrong and yet they must be on good behaviour for a year and a half.

The authorities are watching...